"I am Yuan Shao, the leader of this coalition. The reprehensible Dong Zhou has thrown the court into chaos! He must be extirpated! My allies, join me in this noble quest!" Yuan Shao ended the speech by lifting a clenched fist in the air. The soldiers before him folded their hands over their fist and bowed before him.
"Such a somber atmosphere" Cao Cao muttered to himself. From his secluded section of the camp, he could hear Yuan Shao's speech without having to take part in it. He watched as the other soldiers and generals bowed their heads to the commander of the coalition out of respect. His eyes scanned the faces of the soldiers.. Not one of them looked enthusiastic about fighting this battle. Yuan Shao had an elegant speech to be sure, but it did not serve to moralize his soldiers. He had heard whispers earlier around camp. They were afraid of Dong Zhou's army. Or more accurately, they were afraid of one man in Dong Zhou's army. Lu Bu, perhaps the greatest warrior of this time. Cao Cao had met him once, when he failed in his attempt to assassinate Dong Zhou and was forced to flee. Lu Bu hunted him down and for the first time in his life, Cao Cao felt true fear. If not for the efforts of Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, he is certain he would have died that day. Cao Cao shook his head at the memory and pushed it out of his mind. This was no time to lament the past. He let his eyes fall on Yuan Shao again, who looked very pleased with himself over his speech.
"The nobility...his name is his strength." Cao Cao muttered to himself out loud. "I must break free of this, and prove myself to the world."
"That settles it!" Cao Cao's eyes widened at the intrusion of the other voice. Someone had heard him. How could they have gotten so close without him noticing? Had he been that deep in thought? He turned his head to the side, to face the unwelcomed visitor. Before he could speak, the man spoke again.
"You are the one I must serve. Now I'm sure of it!" Cao Cao examined the man in front of him for a few moments. He didn't look familiar. Besides him, stood another man who seemed to want to look everywhere else but at Cao Cao. He could tell however that it wasn't out of disrespect. He got the feeling that the man didn't feel as if he was worthy of looking directly at him. He didn't recognize either of them.
"Why me though?" The man besides the first said, more to himself than anyone else. "Surely there are others more worthy..." He finally looked at Cao Cao for a brief moment before lowering his eyes once more.
"Who...are you?" Cao Cao asked. Confusion etched across his face. From behind the men, came Xiahou Dun, his cousin, his friend and one of his most trusted officers, walking toward him with his usual confident swagger.
"You said you wanted strength." He stopped in front of Cao Cao and grinned. "I got us some help." He jerked his fingers back to the two men. "These two looked like they would be useful." Dian let out a chuckle at Dun's words beyond pleased that Dun considered him to be useful. Jin shook his head at Dian's antics. Doesn't he know he needs to show respect in front of a great man such as Cao Cao?
"There's one more as well." Dun continued. A woman sauntered up to Dun and bowed her head to Cao Cao. Cao Cao studied her intently, stroking his chin. She was a beautiful woman. Certainly not the most beautiful woman he has seen or had, but beautiful in her own right.
"The time is ripe...The rest is up to you." Dun's words pulled Cao Cao from his thoughts. He looked away from the woman and looked back to Dun. He nodded.
"Yuanrang, you have done me a great service today. With you at my side, we will forge our own path. In this battle, we will make a name for ourselves."
"As you say, Mengde." Dun bowed before Cao Cao. "I stand ready to fight with you." Cao Cao nodded and clasped the other man's shoulder. He gave it a light pat before gesturing to the two men.
"Now, let me formally meet these men who will be fighting with us." Dian stepped forward first. He cupped a hand over his fist and bowed to Cao Cao.
"My lord. I am Li Dian. Styled Mancheng. It is my honor to fight for such a man as you." Cao Cao nodded and returned the bow.
"It is I who am honored, Mancheng. If Dun brought you before me, you are a man of exceptional talent. I look forward to seeing you in battle." Dian grinned.
"Yes my lord!" Yue Jin stepped forward next.
"My lord, I am Yue Jin, styled Wenqian." He bowed to Cao Cao. It is an honor to meet you at last. I...heard tales of your attempted assassination of the foul tyrant Dong Zhou. You did what no other man had the strength to do." Cao Cao shook his head.
"No, what I did was foolish." Yue Jin looked up, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"My lord! No!" Cao Cao raised a hand to stop him.
"I acted as a common thug attempting to assassinate Dong Zhou. In actuality, I am happy I failed. If I had succeeded, I would have done nothing more than make the man a martyr. No...He needs to be killed through much more honorable means. This battle shows the land that we are united against his tyranny. This is the way it should be done." Jin nodded in understanding.
"But it was because of your actions, your willingness to stand up and fight that so many people are here today, my lord."
"If my actions helped bring people together, then I do not regret them at all. I am glad to have you with me Wenqian." Jin nodded, the faintest of smiles on his lips.
"I am honored to be here, my lord and I am ready to fight for you." Cao Cao gestured to Zhuyue.
"This is Lady Zhuyue." Dun responded as Cao Cao grabbed her hand and kissed it. He could see Zhuyue bristle at the action. For a moment, it looked to Dun as if she was going to grab her hand away from Cao Cao, but she remained still.
"I am pleased to meet such a beautiful woman." He said after his lips lifted from her hand. He looked up to Dun.
"I must admit, I am surprised you brought me a gift to celebrate our impending victory, Yuanrang." The comment caused a familiar rage inside of Dun, one that usually flared when someone insulted something he held dear. When that rage flared, someone usually wound up dead. But the person that caused it this time was his lord. As angry as he was, he would never do anything against him. Dun smothered his anger as best he could. At this point, Zhuyue had snatched her hand away from Cao and moved to the other side of Dun, pressing close to him. Cao watched her, his brows furrowing in curiosity.
"You two, leave." Dun said, his voice had an edge to it that made Jin and Dian scurry away with haste. Once they were out of earshot, Dun focused his attention to Cao Cao.
"Mengde, Zhuyue- " He paused. Exactly how was he going to explain this? He hadn't really thought about this. He only had to tell her father that he was marrying her. They never really agreed to get married. However, seeing the way Cao looked at her pissed him off. He loved and respected his lord, but he also knew his faults. Cao Cao was a lecherous man. His collection of wives was quite impressive or disgusting, depending on who you would ask and he showed no signs of stopping. If he did not stake his claim on her she would be another addition to Cao Cao's growing harem. He could figure out later if he really wanted her as a wife. Right now he didn't need to deal with this issue. They had a battle ahead of them which demanded all of their attention. He needed to buy time so buy time he would.
"Zhuyue is to be my wife." Cao Cao's eyes widened and he stared between the two then he burst out in laughter. That fire within Dun threatened to reignite but he squashed it once again.
"I don't remember saying anything funny, Mengde..." Dun said with a frown as Cao Cao wiped his eyes of the tears that sipped out in his mirth.
"Yuanrang...I'm sorry..." Cao said in between his chuckles. "It's just...you are the man who said you'd rather have your manhood chopped off before you tie yourself to some useless prettied up doll for the rest of your life. To hear suddenly that you are getting married and to see exactly who you are getting married to." Cao Cao burst out in laughter again. Dun sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes he really wanted to beat the shit out of Cao Cao. He cast a glance over to Zhuyue to see that she wasn't finding the situation funny either. Her face was fixed in a scowl. He wondered which pissed her off the most, prettied up doll or useless? Either way, he could see her hand inching toward the dagger he knew she had hidden in her robes. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly. She shot a venomous glare at him before dropping her hand.
"Mengde!" Dun said with a bit of force behind it, slowing Cao Cao's chuckle fit. He looked between Dun and Zhuyue, struggling to keep a straight face.
"I said that when I was drunk four years ago. Why do you even still remember that?"
"You know I have an excellent memory, Yuanrang. Even the tiniest of details gets committed to my memory." Dun sighed again.
"Look, I meant what I said back then. I have no time or patience for useless women. I wouldn't even consider her as a wife if she was useless. She is a warrior, she will be fighting with us tomorrow." Cao Cao rose a brow and studied Zhuyue again.
"Truly?" He asked stroking his chin once more as his eyes roamed over her body. "You would put your betrothed in such a dangerous battle? You plan to babysit her the entire fight? That would put you and her in danger. And what if something happened to her?" Before Dun could speak, Zhuyue spoke up.
"He will not have to babysit me and if I die, then I am not worthy to be his wife...my lord." She kept her eyes on Cao Cao, purposely avoiding Dun who had turned to her after hearing her words. Cao Cao nodded then pulled the woman into a tight hug.
"Well then! When this battle is over, we will have two things to celebrate! Victory over the tyrant Dong Zhou and the marriage of my dear cousin!" He pulled back and looked into Zhuyue's eyes. He whispered so only she could hear.
"Survive tomorrow." She nodded slowly, a bit taken aback by the sincerity in which he spoke. He pulled away and turned to face Dun.
"Come cousin. We have much to discuss before the night is done." Dun nodded and looked back to Zhuyue.
"I'll find you later." She nodded to him before bowing to both of them and walking away.
Zhuyue arrived back to the horses where she had left Xiulan and Xiaolian. There was a large man there, dressed in armor with green trimmings and his hair bound in a wild ponytail at the top of his head. He seemed to be paying an unusual amount of attention to Xioalian. Xiulan had her arm around her little sister's shoulder, trying to futility pull her back from the man who was clearly drunk. Zhuyue stepped between them and the man, her eyes narrowed. Standing in front of him now, she could see that he had wild bushy eyebrows and a full bushy beard. The man stared up to her with glassy eyes and red cheeks.
"Who...are you? Move, I'm talking here!" He slurred.
"You're done talking. Leave us." She responded, her voice held a dangerous edge. She could smell the alcohol permeating from the man and she knew from experience with her father how dangerous a drunk man could be.
"You don't tell me when I'm done woman!" He spat angrily and grabbed for her. Zhuyue easily sidestepped the sloppy attempt and caught hold of his arm as his momentum kept him moving forward past her. She twisted his arm behind his back and used that same momentum to knock him off his already unbalanced feet. The man landed face down onto the ground, stunned and obviously not expecting this turn of events. With a groan the man pushed himself off the ground.
"You fucking whore! I'll kill you."
The man moved faster than she expected but not towards her, to his spear which he had propped up on a nearby tree. He turned to face her, circling his spear in his hands expertly. It seemed as if his fall sobered him up a bit because his eyes no longer had the clouded look it once did. They had a dangerous glare to them. Zhuyue grabbed her own weapons and held them at the ready. It was going to be hard fighting in her current wear. She wouldn't be able to move at full speed so she would have to be careful with him.
They circled each other, others from the camp gathering around. With a cry he charged her. At first she was going to block it but at the last moment thought better of it after taking in the sight of the bulging muscles in his arms. She opted to dodge, narrowly missing the attack. The spear catching the side of her garment and tearing through. He didn't let up, he followed up that attack, swiping up. She didn't have time to dodge this one and she was barely able to block it, catching the spear between two of the 'horns' of her duck blades and twisting it, jerking the spear in his grip. He focused on trying to steady his grip on his weapon and she capitalized on this, ducking forward and placing a hard side kick to his stomach. He doubled over gasping for air and she followed up by bringing her knee up to his jaw. He released his weapon and howled in pain. Instead of grabbing his face however, he grabbed her leg and with a hard yank, he pulled her down. She tried to scramble away from him but he was already mounting her, using his weight to pin her down. She tried to lift her arms to stab at him with her blades but he held her arms down. This man was a mountain of muscle and weighed twice what she did. She couldn't move from under him.
"Get off of me you bastard!" Squirmed under him, trying to pull herself from beneath him but it was too late. He had fully placed his body on top of hers. She found it difficult to breath, his weight pushing the air from her body.
"I'm going to make you pay!" He said his face inches from hers, she winced as the alcohol from his breath burned her eyes. She was running out of options so she did the only thing she could think of. She lifted her head and bit his lip as hard as she could, drawing blood. He screamed in pain and jerked back, releasing one of her arms so he could punch her in an attempt to get her to release his lip. Her arm now free, she moved quickly, to stab one of its points into his side, only to feel her weapon wretched from her grip. The man was pulled off of her and she sucked in quick breathes as she scrambled away from him.
"Zhang Fei, what is going on here? What are you doing?!" Asked a man who looked a lot cleaner and neater than the one she was just fighting. From beside her, a man with a long beard offered his hand to her. She rejected it moving to stand on her own, only to be pulled up and held tightly around the waist by another man behind her. He felt her body tense, she was still alert, ready to attack whoever had grabbed. He held her tighter and whispered so only she could hear.
"Relax..." She knew that voice. One she recently became acquainted with. Her body relaxed only slightly, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. She swished her saliva in her mouth for a few moments before spitting, trying to rid her mouth of the blood that slipped into her mouth when she bit down on that disgusting pig's lip. The man with the long beard bowed his head to both of them and moved back to the clean cut man and the man she learned was named Zhang Fei. The clean cut man stepped forward to both of them and bowed.
"My apologies for my brother's actions. He...is celebrating our victory a little early. He meant no disrespect to you." He bent down and retrieved the weapon that was wretched from her hands earlier and returned to her. She accepted it but did not respond. The grip around her waist was released and Dun stepped in front of Zhuyue to face him.
"Liu Bei, Keep your man in check. He even looks at any of them again and I will kill him myself." The man with the long beard stepped in front of Liu Bei.
"You will not threaten my brother in such a way!" Dun turned to fully face the long bearded man, a wicked grin on his face.
"It wasn't a threat." Liu Bei stepped between the two men.
"Guan Yu, Master Xiahou Dun. Please, stop. We are on the same side. We should be fighting Dong Zhou, not each other." Neither man moved. They stood there in silence, eyeing each other.
"Liu Bei, I allowed you and your brothers to join the coalition in good faith...this is making me regret that decision." All heads turned to the new arrival. Cao Cao stepped forward, his hands folded behind his back. Liu Bei bowed to Cao Cao.
"My lord...my apologies. There will be no further incident. I promise you." Liu Bei looked to Guan You pleadingly. Guan Yu regarding his sworn brother for a few moments before bowing to Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun.
"Please accept my apologies." Liu Bei looked back to Zhang Fei who had been leaning against the tree where he left him. Zhang Fei stumbled forward and gave a half hearted bow to Cao Cao. He then turned to Dun and Zhuyue, his eyes lingered on her for a few moments as he ran his tongue across his wounded lip which was still bleeding albeit not as much as it was previously. He gave them the same half hearted bow he gave Cao Cao.
"Apologies." Dun grit his teeth, irritated by the blatant disrespect. Cao Cao sensed his irritation and moved to his side.
"Peace cousin..." He said low enough for only him and Zhuyue to hear. He turned back to Liu Bei.
"I think it is time for you and your men to retire for the night. We have a long day ahead of us." Liu Bei nodded and bowed again, leaving with his brothers in tow. Cao Cao let out a sigh, turning to face Zhuyue.
"Well, it seems my cousin was not lying when he said you had talent." He handed her a cloth and motioned to her lip. She accepted it and wiped Zhang Fei's blood from her bottom lip.
"Thank you my lord." She responded with a slight bow of her head. He looked past her to Xiulan and Xiaolian.
"And this must be the ones you came with. His eyes roamed over Xiulan's thin frame for a few moments before glancing at Xiaolian.
"What are their names?" Zhuyue gestured to Xiulan.
"This is Xiulan and-" She gestured to Xiaolian. "Her little sister, Xiaolian." Cao Cao nodded as Xiulan bowed with the practiced courtesy she gained from serving in Zhuyue's household. Xiaolian tilted her head curiously at Cao Cao before moving to hide behind Dun out of sight of Cao Cao. Cao Cao chuckled.
"Who knew you had such a way with women cousin?" Dun sighed and offered no other response. Cao Cao continued.
"I have arranged for you to be taken to Yan Province. You need to leave now as there is no guarantee you will be able to do so tomorrow. When this battle is over, your lady will join you there."
"By themselves?" Zhuyue asked, feeling uncomfortable about this arrangement.
"They either leave now or pick up a sword and fight tomorrow. Your choice." Dun said in a brusque tone. She frowned. That wasn't a choice at all. Cao Cao shook his head at Dun's rough mannerism.
"I'll send them with trusted vassals. They will be fine. I assure you." Zhuyue nodded.
"Thank you my lord." She turned to face Xiulan.
"I will see you when this is over." Xiulan nodded and Zhuyue pulled her into a hug. She then faced Xioalian , getting on her knees so she would be at eye level with her.
"Xiaolian, no running away okay? Stay with your sister." The girl nodded and wrapped her arms around her neck in a hug. Zhuyue returned the hug and stood. In a surprising move Xiaolian wrapped as much of her arms as she could around Dun's waist in a hug. Dun stared down at the child in confusion who removed her arms before he could respond. Xiaolian moved to her sister's side and was led away by three of Cao Cao's soldier's. The trio watched them mount their horses and ride away till they were no longer in sight.
"Now..." Cao Cao said, breaking the silence. "I believe it is time for us to get rest as well. We have quite the task ahead of us tomorrow and I will not be left behind." Cao Cao turned his back to the two but looked over his shoulder at them.
"Yuanrang...I do mean rest. I need you at your best. You'll have to save your fun with your betrothed for after the battle." Dun muttered something under his breath and Cao Cao laughed at the discomfort he was causing his cousin.
"Ah I cannot wait to share this news with Miaocai." Dun groaned at the prospect. Zhuyue watched on in silence as Cao Cao walked away laughing. Once he was out of earshot she turned to Dun.
"Who is Miaoci?"
"Our cousin. You'll meet him soon enough." She nodded.
"So..." She started as she relaxed her grip on her weapons.
"So what?" Dun responded as he started walking away from her towards their camp.
"What now?" She responded following after him.
"I'm going to sleep. Do whatever you want. Just don't get into anymore fights." He responded, not looking at her. She hastened her steps until she was beside him.
"I want to go to sleep too."
"So go to sleep."
"I want to sleep with you." He stopped abruptly at those words and looked at her. She felt her face flush as her words replayed in her mind and she grasped exactly what she just said.
"I mean...I have to sleep with you. No wait! I mean I need to sleep in your tent. Yuan Shao is here. We have to keep up this pretense that we are getting married otherwise he may think I am still available for his son...this...this is a pretense right?" Dun did not respond, instead he started on his way to the tents once more. He paused in his steps to look over his shoulder at her.
"Gonna stand there all night? Let's go."
She followed behind him in silence. He stopped to speak to a soldier who looked at her then back to Dun and nodded before running off. As they reached the front of his tent. He ducked inside and she followed after him, her eyes glancing around the inside of the tent. It was fairly large. She imagined that probably only Cao Cao had a larger one. The tent itself was sparse. Only containing makeshift table and a makeshift bed made up with furs and linens for padding. Her eyes moved back to Dun who had already removed his overcoat as well as his chest piece and placed them on the table. She found herself frozen, staring at the broad expanse of his muscled chest. She swallowed hard, this being the first time she had actually seen a man with such little clothing. Dun noticed her stare, it was hard to not feel her eyes on him. He moved forward towards her, her eyes following him each step. He took the weapons she still held out of her hands with little resistance and put them on the table next to his armor. He stood in front of her again, a scant few inches away. She titled her head up to look at him.
"Earlier, when we first met Lord Cao Cao, you were going to pull your dagger on him." This snapped her out of her trance.
"He insulted me." He ran a hand slowly down the side of her cheek to her neck where he grabbed her and squeezed tightly.
"If you ever do some shit like that again, I will fucking kill you. If you have a problem with him or any one in my family, you tell me and I will handle it. Do you understand." Her eyes went wild with anger. She first tried to claw at his hand gripping her throat then at his face. He backed away as best he could, avoiding her clawing. She then reached inside of her clothing to pull out that hidden dagger. He predicted her movement and grabbed her hand.
"You're always so full of fight." He said with a low growl and lifted her a few inches from the ground.
"Tell me you understand and I'll let go." Instead, she began kneeing him, catching him with a knee in his abdomen. He grunted and moved her towards the bed and slammed her down. The covering cushioning the blow. He stared at her below him and she stared back at him, defiance in her eyes. His grip relaxed slightly and she sucked in breath, grateful for the air. This woman somehow managed to irritate and intrigue him at the same time.
Dun did not know how to handle this. He never encountered someone as willful as her. If he had to be honest, he wanted her, right then and there. He wanted to rip her clothes off and claim her. After choking her however, he was pretty sure that was the last thing she wanted. He could feel himself getting hard as his body pressed against hers. He needed to move away or he would wind up raping her. That wasn't what he wanted. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted from her or what she wanted from him for that matter. He broke the eye contact first. He really needed to get away from her. He begin to lift himself off of her only to find that she had locked her legs around him. She used her legs to push him closer against her and lifted her head to mash her lips against his. He didn't understand what was happening but he wouldn't think about it. Not right now. He reciprocated the kiss hard and passionate. He felt her groan against his lips. He dully wondered if this was part of a trick by her to get him to lower his guard just so she could stab him later. At this point, he didn't care.
His hands moved from her throat and down the front of her robe which he yanked open, revealing the modest cloth she wore to cover her breast. Before he could make another move a voice from just outside of his tent interrupted them.
"My lord?" The voice called. Dun broke the kiss and growled. Zhuyue looked at him in confusion. He pulled away from her and went to the front of the tent, fully intent on killing whoever was on the opposite side.
"What?" He growled as he threw the tent flap open. The soldier on the other side almost ran away in fear. He held up light infantry armor in front of him like a shield and spoke rapidly.
"I got what you asked for sir!" Dun let out a frustrated sigh and grabbed the armor from the man.
"Leave." The man nodded quickly and ran off as fast as his legs would carry him. Dun stepped back into the tent and put the armor on the table. He looked at Zhuyue who was now sitting up on the bed, retying her robe closed. Whatever moment they had, it was gone now. Dun really wanted to beat the shit out of something.
" You can't wear what you are wearing now in battle tomorrow. You'll wear that." He said while motioning to the armor he had just placed on the table. She nodded. He moved back over to the bed and laid down, his back to her.
"Go to sleep." She laid back down on her side, her back to his back. She remained silent for a few moments before speaking.
"I understand." Dun twisted around so he can see her.
"What?"
"I understand. As long as I serve you, I will never raise a hand against your family." Dun regarded her in silence for a few moments before letting out a grunt in acknowledgement and turning back over to go to sleep.
