Hi, everyone, I'm back! Before I say anything, I'd like to mention something I quite stupidly forgot to say in the last chapter: This fanfic is now TWO YEARS OLD! I mean, is that something or what? Omg! I've actually been posting on here for THAT long! I hope I get ALOT of reviews this time, congratulating me for all my hard work(heh heh!)! And I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck with me through all this time, reading and reviewing regularly despite the fact that I've only posted nineteen chapters after so long... So, thanks so much for reviewing, not just the last chapter, but all them collectively, since it means alot if anyone appreciates my work!

Anyways, here's Chapter 19 for everyone out there!

Enjoy.

"Yu?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean we're going to live happily ever after?"

Zhou Yu laughed softly.

"What do you think?"

Xiao Qiao twisted in his arms and sat up, facing him. Her beautiful face was flushed red, and there was no end to her smile.

"I think we will."

Yu cuddled her closer, so that her forehead met his.

"Whatever you say."

Xiao's smile grew, if possible, even wider. She blushed more brightly, slipped both arms around his neck and lay her head on his chest.

"I can't believe this is real," she whispered. "I can't wait to tell Sis. She'll be so happy! Almost as happy as I am now. We'll talk about it for ages. And then I'll ask her if she and Ce made up yet. I really hope they have. It wouldn't be fair if we're so happy together, and they're fighting at the same time. Ce'd better apologize to her, it was his fault anyway. Right, Yu?"

Yu said nothing, but leaned forward and kissed the top of her head tenderly. At that, Xiao bent down and covered her face from him with both hands, hiding her blush. Yu had no idea that she could be so shy! This was when he was completely at ease with her, and now she wouldn't even let him see her face.

Yu lifted her face to him, his hand under her chin. Her face was radiant, and her eyes sparkled with joy. He slowly stroked her cheek with his fingers, which made her giggle very softly. She shut her eyes and reached up for his hand, entwining his fingers with hers. Yu pulled their clasped hands to him and kissed hers, then her forehead, her cheek, her nose, and held her face away from his, gazing at her.

"Xiao," he said.

Her eyes fluttered open. She was listening. She was paying entire, absolute attention to him. Should he say it? Tell her what he, until now, had never even told himself? He knew that this was the time when she understood him completely, and would not leave him no matter what he said. He knew that this was when he could be honest with her without fearing the future. The time had come for him to confess.

"Xiao, I lo-"

"Xiao."

Yu broke off, and looked up. So did Xiao, looking slightly irritated at the interruption.

It was Da Qiao. It was pale, and there was a peculiar expression upon her face. It was curiously unfathomable.

"Sis!" cried Xiao. "Oh, good, you're here! I was just coming to see you after this! Guess what? Guess what, Sis?"

She was more excited than she'd been the whole day, and Yu had to stifle a laugh. Anyone could have guessed what had happened between the two of them just by looking at Xiao cuddled onto Yu's lap. But Xiao was too eager to tell her sister what had taken place to realize that.

Yu blinked up Da, smiling slightly sheepishly, but was surprised when Da did not smile back. On the contrary, her face was pale, vacant.

"You're not guessing!" sang Xiao, oblivious to what Yu had just noticed. "Well, okay, I'll tell you. I was looking for Yu, and then I found him, so- no, wait, wait! I was real mad, and then I-"

"Come on, Xiao." Da gave no sign that she'd heard what her sister blabbing about. Her voice was flat.

"We're going home."

"Oh, all right. But I'm not ready to go in yet! I wanna stay here with Yu a little longer. Please?"

Yu had stayed silent since Da had arrived. As he watched her, he could tell by her behavior that she wouldn't agree to any request Xiao asked of her at the moment. But he could never have been prepared to hear what she said next, and neither was Xiao, multiplied tenfold.

"I didn't mean inside. I meant home. Back to Papa."

It seemed as though the wind had suddenly ceased to blow. Yu's heart stopped. Xiao's form went rigid in his arms. Her smile didn't quite leave her face, but it did not have any meaning in it the way it did a second ago. Neither of them could feel the heat of the afternoon sun anymore.

After about a hundred years, Xiao opened her mouth.

"What are you talking about?"

It was a whisper. And it did not sound like hers. It was low, raspy.

Da didn't seem surprised by any of their reactions- although Yu had not even made one- not externally. But his insides felt as though they no longer existed.

"I said we're going home. Come inside and change into what we were wearing when we first arrived here. Papa's on hs way."

This was about all that Yu could take. He leapt to his feet, causing Xiao to slip off his lap and onto the floor, but she didn't say a word.

"What's going on, Da? What do you mean by all this?" Yu's voice came out rougher than he meant it to be. He didn't care, however.

"All what?'" Da snapped. And here her voice was beginning to show traces of emotion.

"Haven't you noticed that Lord Sun Jian's returned? He's sent word to our father to come and take us back with him. We're leaving now."

Da paused. Yu didn't speak.

"So am I wrong to ask my sister to get herself ready?"

None of them made any answer. They simply stared at her.

Da turned her back on them and made as if to walk back to the palace.

"No."

Da stopped, and looked back at them.

"What?"

"No," Xiao repeated, more firmly. She had got to her feet and was still quite shaky, but her stare at her sister did not waver.

"Xiao, what are you-"

"I'm not going!"

Da's eyes narrowed.

"You've no choice."

"I don't care! I won't go! I'm not coming with you, I'm staying here! Yu, tell her! Tell her I'm not going! Tell her I'm staying here with you, tell her!"

Xiao was on the verge of hysteria.

Da's face clouded with anger. She stepped towards Xiao, her hand outstretched to take hold Xiao's arm, but Yu came between them swiftly, shielding Xiao from her sister.

"Get out of the way, Yu."

"No."

Da tried to push past him, but Yu clamped his hand over her shoulder, preventing her from getting past him.

Da looked up at Yu, her eyes full of astonishment. During the past few months, she and Yu had behaved like brother and sister. She'd grown to respect him greatly, and he had always valued her presence. He was always polite to her, and friendly as he should be. Granted, he was only six months her senior, but he treated her with reverence, and on rare occasions, Da would act as if those six months between their ages were years.

"I won't let you take her."

Da's eyes and lips trembled, but with anger.

"Yu, this is between Xiao and I! This is none of your business. Get away from her!"

Before Yu could answer, Xiao jumped out from behind him.

"No, he won't! I don't want him to! You get away!" she screamed.

It was fatal.

Da shot at Xiao, swung her around by the arm, and slapped her.

The sound was like the crack of a whip, and reverberated off the air. Even several bidrs took flight from the branches.

None of them moved. Then-

"You disrespectful girl," Da hissed between her teeth. "Did you forget the eight years during which I raised you?"

Yu couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't accept that this was really Da- Xiao's older sister, the sweet, beautiful girl he'd come to respect and like so much, the quiet, sensible young woman with whom he shared so many things in common...

But when Yu saw the side of Xiao's face turn red from Da's stinging slap, he lost his memory of who Da was.

He took a step towards her furiously, but Da turned to him, angry tears beginning in her eyes.

"Don't you dare," she whispered.

The seconds passed like hours.

Xiao suddenly wrenched herself free of Da. Tears were flooding down her face without restraint. Her gaze was fixed at Da as if she'd never seen her before.

"I hate you!" she breathed vehemently.

Then she turned and ran until she was out of their sight.

Da threw herself at her bed, burying her face into her pillow. She wept. She wailed. She sobbed. She broke down completely. She cried long and hard. She couldn't do this. She couldn't. She wasn't strong enough. Whether her eyes were open or closed, all she could see was Xiao's face, her cheek reddening after she hit her, and the tears gleaming in her eyes. All she could hear were Xiao's screams, all she could feel was the way Xiao had snatched her hand from her own.

But worst of all, no matter what Da did, no matter how much she cried, she heard Xiao over and over again, declaring that she hated- hated her!

What was she to do? She remembered her promise to Sun Jian. She was bound to it. She'd called him Father. She'd sworn to return to her father. What was she to do? What was there to do?

She raised her hand to her face. The one that had hurt Xiao. Should she drive a dagger through it? Drown it in a bucket of boiling hot water? Twist her wrist around until it broke?

While she was still thinking up ways to punish herself for striking her sister, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Da shut her eyes. She knew who it was, but she couldn't bring herself to face him out of her shame.

"Please, Yu, just go away," she whispered. "Please leave me alone."

Yu didn't. She hadn't expected him to anyway. He just waited for her to turn to him.

When she finally did, he concealed both his shock at seeing her swollen, blotchy face, and his wonder how she could still be beautiful despite her state.

"What happened, Da?" he asked her seriously. "What is it? What is it that you can't tell us about?"

Da lowered her eyes. She attempted to sit up, but Yu put his hand on her shoulder once more, and shook his head. Only this time, she was astonished at how gentle he was. She would have thought he'd like to punch her for how she'd treated Xiao.

Instead of letting her rise, Yu sat down on her bed instead, not too close, but close enough to survey her. She lowered her eyes.

"What did Father say to you, Da?"

Da's eyes snapped to Yu's face at once. She was stunned.

Yu seemed satisfied at seeing her response.

"How- how did you-?"

"How stupid did you think I was?" he demanded. "I admit that it took me a while to figure it out, Da, but don't insult me. I knew you'd never hurt Xiao like that unless you had no choice. And the only reason for that was most probably Father. I know you better than that."

Da's eyes filled with tears again.

"I did feel like smiting you with my sword for a minute there, though," Yu added, half-truthfully, and half-attempting-to-cheer-her-up, and Da smiled.

"How is she?" she whispered.

"Not so bad. I found her about ten minutes after you left. She kept telling me she wasn't going back with you, and she was still crying a bit when I left her, but she'd alright, I guess. I held her for a while. She's in her room now."

Yu's voice was calm as he told her this, but Da could sense his concern for her sister, and knew how much he cared for her.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"No, really," she insisted, trying to convey her gratitude and apologies to him. "You've given her so much, you've made her so happy. She's been happier here than I've ever seen her ever since our mother left us. How can I ever-"

"Don't be so stupid," said Yu, smiling faintly. "Xiao's given me much more than I can say. I- well, I guess I like her...more than I should."

Yu had never made a bigger understatement in his life. Da hadn't noticed his last words, however. She was preoccupied with something else.

"Was she very angry at me?" Da's voice suggested the tiniest bit of fear. Yu smiled before answering.

"Not really. She was more on the upset side, to be honest."

Da seemed slightly more relieved.

"Da."

Yu's voice was growing imperative. He was the only person she knew whose voice revealed more of him than his face did.

"Come on. Tell me what Father said."

For a moment, Da considered playing dumb, and saying that returning home was her decision and no one else's. But then she thought better of it.

"I-I can't, Yu," she said. "I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone."

"What could it be?" Yu said, frowning slightly. "What could be that bad? What did he do? Threaten you? Force you? Well then, what?" he said frustratedly, as Da had been shaking her head violently as he spoke, tears rolling down her face.

"Yu, I swore that I'd tell no one!"

"But what if I could help? What if you didn't have to go if you told us?"

"I want to go!"

Yu scoffed.

"Da, please, that's enough. There's no point in pretending that you're okay with leaving. You don't want to go any more than Xiao does. After all, you were the one who insisted that you and Xiao stay here in the first place."

"How do you-"

"Because I know everything. Now will you tell me what this is all about, please?"

Da looked at him. She wished that she could tell him all. She wished that she could relieve herself of her burden. But she knew that she could not.

"Yu," she said deliberately. Her voice shook, but she'd made up her mind. "All I can say to you is that I'd never- never do this if I had a choice. You believe that, don't you?"

Yu hesistated for only a fraction of a second before replying.

"Of course I do."

"Then please don't ask me to say any more. I can't. I'm helpless. There's nothing anyone can do to help me, Yu, you've got to understand that!"

"But how do I know that you're making the right decision?" Yu almost shouted at her. He looked anguished.

Da was silent for a long time.

"You just have to trust me. You'll have to trust that I know what I'm doing."

Yu stood up. He looked down at her pensively.

"I'm not sure if I do."

He turned away from her and began walking towards the door.

Alarmed, Da leapt to her own feet.

"Yu," she called after him in panic. "You're not going to do what I think you will, are you?"

He didn't reply. She had to stop him! He was almost at the door already. What if he went to Sun Jian?

She half ran, half stumbled towards him, and seized his hand.

"Yu, don't! Don't tell them, please! Wait, I- I..."

"I can't let you ruin Xiao's life. Or yours."

"No! I mean- I... Yu, you can't go to Lord Sun Jian! Don't tell him I told you all this, he can't know, no one can!"

"I'm not. I'm just going to go and ask him what he's done to get you like this."

"No, don't! Yu, no one should know that I'm doing this against my will!"

"Well, why not?" Yu yelled at her.

Da looked around at the door in panic to make sure no one heard him.

"Because then they'll try stopping us!"

"So what? Let them!"

"But we can't let them! We've got to go!"

"'Got to'? Why?"

Da couldn't find anything more to say. She just mouthed for words which wouldn't come out.

Yu actually roared in frustration. Da jumped about a foot in the air.

He grabbed her shoulders, barely restraining himself from shaking her.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? Why can't you just tell everyone? What the hell is wrong with you? What- why-"

Yu released her and stepped back, looking at her incredulously.

"What am I even doing here?" he said finally, more to himself than anything. "Why haven't I just gone and asked Father what he's doing this for by now?"

Da raised her tear-streaked face to him. She still had no answer.

"There has to be a way," Yu was saying, almost pleadingly. "There's got to be a way out of this!"

"Yu," she whispered, one which contained a tiny hint of hope somewhere. A strange possibility came to her. "Yu, if your younger sister asked you for one- just one promise, would you keep it for her?"

Yu stared at her.

"What?"

His voice was quite different now. He was definitely shocked, but could he also be...touched?

"Would you?"

Yu kept staring at her for a long time. His face was blank, and his eyes empty, but Da knew that there was no end to the thoughts running through his head. Finally, he said,

"Yes."

Da shut her eyes, tears coursing down her face.

"Then will you promise not to tell anyone what we've just talked about?"

She was now looking up at him beseechingly.

After yet another long time, Yu inclined his head slightly.

Da let out a long sigh of relief, and shut her eyes again. With them still closed, she said,

"Thank you."

When she opened her eyes again, Yu's face was softer.

"If anyone alive can be my sister, then it's you, Da and I can't refuse you this. I promise not to let anyone know. But... Da..."

Yu suddenly looked pained.

"What is it?"

"Da, what about Ce?"

Da blinked. Her legs could no longer support her, and gave way to her weight.

She fell to her knees. Her eyes were wide, and her face white. Her breathing was heavy and irregular. She had lost all sense of herself. When Yu bent down and kissed the top of her head, she burst into tears and cried into his arm, long and hard.

Sun Ce's green eyes reflected the blue waters of the Chang Jiang River, which gave them an eerie, turquoise hue. All he could remember was how, the last time he had been here, he had been here with Da, and he had promised himself that he would never let her go. He had promised himself that he would never lose her. She had been with him, in his arms, her head against his chest, her hand in his, and her eyes letting his stare directly into them. How could it all have been only a matter of weeks ago? To him, he seemed to be reliving the memories of another life.

He did not know how long he had been sitting at the river's banks for, but now, as he raised his eyes to the horizon, he could see the sun setting beneath it. His eyes were painted golden as he watched it disappear little by little. Suddenly-

"Ce! Ce! Ce, get up! You've got to come home! Now!"

It was Sun Shang Xiang's voice. She was screaming hysterically, and sounded as though she'd run all the way from the palace to reach her eldest brother.

Ce didn't even turn his head. He wasn't worried about his sister's exhaustion, as he already knew that she'd covered much more distance than this on the battlefield as she fought for her life. He couldn't imagine anything worse than the situation he was in. Nothing, absolutely nothing Shang Xiang told him could be worse.

Shang Xiang finally reached him and collapsed near him, sprawling in the mud. He was vaguely surprised that the run had taken so much out of her. She could usually handle much more than this. What could have weakened her so?

He turned his head to look at her, and, with a slight pang of shock, saw that her face was streaming with tears. Instinctively, he took hold of both her shoulders and raised her to him. She was panting.

"Ce," she breathed, "Ce, we've got to hurry. You've no...no idea. Th-they...Daddy... Da and Xiao... He's making them go home Ce, they're going home! They're going back forever!"

And she buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

This was the only thing that had registered into Ce's head completely ever since he arrived to Chang Jiang River.

His eyes widened, and that was when Shang Xiang knew that he was listening. She broke into a flow of sentences.

"That's why I ran here to find you, because Daddy isn't changing his mind, and I knew that you'd never let this happen, Ce! Please, please stop them, Da isn't even saying anything about it, she isn't protesting, and I haven't even seen Xiao at all! Even Yu isn't trying to stop Daddy, and I just can't figure out why!"

Shang Xiang's eyes were now dry. She was never a girl to cry for too long. But they stared into Ce's with more depth than ever.

"Please, just help."

When Ce and Shang Xiang dismounted his horse, even though it was weary from galloping at the speed they had forced it to, they knew that they were too late. They knew the instant they saw the unfamiliar carriage pulled up outside the palace. There was a huddle of people gathered around it. None of them seemed happy.

Shang Xiang seized Ce's wrist as they drew towards the carriage together, and watched a nobleman climb out of it. The man made his way toward Sun Jian and bowed before him.

Ce was dimly aware of Shang Xiang's fingernails piercing his palm as she drew in a gasp. The man had now turned to face everyone, and the two siblings were close enough to see who he was.

Qiao Xuan had arrived to take his daughters away.

Okay, so now I REALLY hope no one hates me enough to not review this chapter! Please bear in mind that this story's two years old! I hope you all drop in your birthday presents on your way out (even though the fifth of march passed by over four months ago:P), which are, of course, your reviews!

Lol, don't worry, there's still ALOT more to come, if I can fit it in this story, what with my late updates and laziness... But I'll keep my promise, even though I'm not revealing whether or not this is all going to end up in tears, I'm still sure it won't disappoint you, regardless of it being a happy ending or not!