So, if any of you were sissies and decided to skip the last chapter because you have an aversion to hot, sexy man-love, here is a summary of what happened: Zhang gets out of the meeting with Sima Yi and goes to see Gan Ning, who, for reasons I have not yet explained to you, decided not to tell him about the Ling Yi torture session. Don't worry, I will explain it in chapter 7. After talking and growing sort of friendly-ish with each other, Zhang He starts to put the moves on Gan Ning. Initially, all goes well, but then Ning freaks and we find out that he's in the closet. I mean waaaaaay in the closet. Then some pervy stuff happens. Yup. (Please note that Prov. Crow sucks at summaries. You're better of just getting over your namby-pamby squeamishness and reading the damn chapter.)Oh yeah, and this chapter has mild gore in it. G0r!

Ch. 6

Disclaimer: "I'm not a bitch, I'm The Bitch, and to you, I'm Miss Bitch."

Ling Yi's cold, unfeeling gaze swung from the condemned soldier to his captain. She was not pleased. "Captain," she said, voice frigid as her eyes. "This man was supposed to be dead half an hour ago. So why is this pitiful worm kneeling before me with his head still attached?" She noted with some satisfaction that both men winced as she raised her voice. "With all due respect miss, d-don't you think that executing an, um, an otherwise loyal soldier f-for simply spreading some…some disrespectful rumors…" He faltered a bit under Ling Yi's glare, but regained confidence and continued, much to her disappointment. "Well, uh, i-isn't that just a little-" His sentence was abruptly cut off by a brutal, back-handed slap. "No." She snapped, dangerously irritated. "It's a lot. And you and all the other soldiers serving under my Lord would do well to remember that. I do not give second chances. I do not tolerate rumors. And under no circumstances do I tolerate those who spread rumors."

She stalked over to the captain and glared up at him. "Now," she hissed, "I suggest. That you. Do. Your. Duty." She stared pointedly at the axe that leaned against the stake to which the rope binding the doomed soldiers hands was tied. To her fury, the foolish, bleeding-heart captain did not move. She slapped him again, then reached over and yanked the dagger on his belt out of its sheath. If you want something done right…She strode to the prisoner's side, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head back to look up at her from where he was kneeling. Though he said nothing, his eyes watered, silently begging for mercy.

Staring directly into his pleading, desperate face, Ling Yi growled one word. "Pathetic." And so saying slit his throat. She continued to look him in the eyes as the life drained out of the gaping rift in his neck. When the light had gone from his eyes, she shoved the body face-first to the ground. She brought her gaze back to the captain as she walked towards him, offering him his dagger by its hilt. As he made to reach for it with a trembling hand, she snatched it back before he could touch it and pulled him down by his armor until they were face to face. "Never question me again, Captain, or you will find yourself sharing the same fate as the miserable wretch whose blood stains the ground as we speak" And with that, she turned away from him and stormed back towards the palace.

- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

While Ling Yi's disposition was never what one would call sunny, today it was exceptionally foul. This was because lord Zhang He had finally proven himself utterly insane. She sighed. Personally, she didn't care about her lord's love life, and under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be any of her business; she had devoted herself to maintaining his reputation and political standing, not being his matchmaker. She wasn't opposed to the fact that he was homosexual, and truth be told, he could have been attracted to his horse for all she cared. Unfortunately, the status quo had to be respected, and the status quo was firmly homophobic. She had done her best to impress this upon her lord, but it never really seemed to sink in, and lord Zhang He would carry on flamboyant is ever. This was all well and good for him, but it left Ling Yi with a lot to cover up for. One of the most recent examples of this (and the reason she had just executed an otherwise loyal soldier) was the "Butterfly Wings Incident". She still couldn't understand how he'd managed to slip that one past her.

She was always very careful to accompany him to the marketplace in order to regulate what he bought, but in this case, he must have snuck out. Just thinking about it made her want to…to…ugh. Ling Yi had been walking out of Sima Yi's study with several important scrolls she had been instructed to deliver to her lord, when she overheard a snippet of conversation between two guards. "I'm telling you, it's true," insisted one. "He had butterfly wings. Big, purple, butterfly wings, and an entire outfit to match. Nobody knows what to make of it." Ling Yi felt slightly nauseous as she stood, rooted to the spot. She had a terrible feeling that she knew who they were talking about.

Her worst fears were confirmed when the second man replied, "Well, that's Lord Zhang He for you…" The scrolls clattered to the ground. For the first time in her life, she found herself thinking traitorous thoughts towards her master. It was something along the lines of: I'm going to kill him… She flew through the palace looking for him, a miniature tornado of panic and desperation. She had to find him and clear this all up before he did something irreparable. She finally found him in the dining hall. Along with every other officer in Wei, and Cao Cao himself at the head of the table. Of course. To make matters worse, it seemed that her lord had drunk a bit too much wine, and was now slightly tipsy. This meant he was drawing more attention then usual, and all eyes were on him as he laughed and gesticulated wildly, butterfly wings bobbing up and down cheerfully all the while as if to mock her. Ling Yi suddenly had the inexplicable urge to walk up to the nearest wall, bang her head against it as hard as she could, and repeat the process until she either fainted or put herself out of her misery once and for all. She resisted…but just barely.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Ling Yi almost never raised her voice to her master, but this was a special exception. "WHY DIDN'T YOU AT LEAST CONSULT ME BEFORE GOING OUT IN PUBLIC LIKE THAT?" Her lord looked at her calmly and replied: "Because, Ling Yi, if I had consulted you, you would have said no." There was a long period of silence while Ling Yi stared at him. She stared at him for a very long time. When she finally spoke, she noticed she sounded strained and slightly on edge. After this, she was going to have to get a nice hot cup of tea and lie down for a while. With any luck, she would have an aneurism and never have to get back up. "My lord," she said tersely. ""I do not think you quite understand the consequences of your actions this evening. You have jeopardized everything we have been working towards. Do you want them to find out about you?" Lord Zhang He rolled his eyes. "No, mother." He said, mockingly. She scowled. "I had to execute another soldier, you know." That did the trick. He immediately sobered up. "What? Why?" She stared at him again. Lord Zhang He stared back. Eventually, she gave in. "Why do you think?" She said, with an exasperated sigh.

"Rumors again?" He ventured. Ling Yi massaged her temples. ""Yes. Rumors." He was quiet for a bit. He looked very solemn, and very sad. "Ling Yi," he said finally. "I don't like the idea of executing men for something as petty as telling stories. Especially when the stories are true." There was guilt and pain in his voice. He sat down heavily and looked away from her. Ling Yi felt slightly guilty for speaking so harshly, but it couldn't be helped. He simply had to learn that there were repercussions for reckless behavior, and this was the only way to teach him. He sighed again and said softly, "Wasn't…wasn't there any other way to…to deal with that?" He still would not look at her. "You know there wasn't, my lord. There is only one way to stop a rumor from spreading. Next time you decide to make a spectacle of yourself, perhaps you will keep that in mind." His head snapped up angrily, features contorting with a mixture of shame and fury. Oops. She had gone to far. He started to say something, then abruptly snapped his mouth shut. The anger seemed to drain out of his face, leaving him looking deflated and beaten. "You're right." He said, so quietly that she almost didn't hear him. "You're right." Ling Yi managed to keep herself from saying: Well of course I am!

Awwww, poor Zhang He! The "Butterfly Incident" idea came to me while I was playing DW4 with Fang of the Inugami-YOUR REGULARLY SHEDULED A/N IS BEING INTERRUPTED BY A SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: GO READ FANG OF THE INUGAMI'S FICS! GO READ FANG OF THE INUGAMI'S FICS! WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED A/N- and she was showing me the different models for Zhang He. They actually had a model with giant, lavender butterfly wings. I saw it and was like; "DUDE! I have GOT to put that in my fic!" …so I did. Although I didn't think the guard that Ling over heard was able to make the distinction between lavender and purple. I think it's one of those chick/gay guy things. Damn, I was going over this chapter when I realized that Ling Yi was even bitchier than I had originally intended. And I intended her to be really bitchy to begin with. Heh. I think it kinda works though, so I'm going to stick with the "blood-hungry-hell-bitch" attitude. It works for her. Oh yeah, and I've got a special message for Fang of the Inugami (who was a huge help with defeating the writer's block I had with this chapter): OMG, SHE PULLED A DOOM! AMAGAH! THE CLOSET! SUPPLY DEPOT! TEA! PH34R MEH SKILLZ !111 Yeah, anyway, I'm done being a twit now. I apologize to everyone who isn't Fang, but keep in mind, Fang and I are two halves of a whole idiot. Next chapter: SHAMELESS SMUT! W00t for pr0n!