Note: This story isn't historically accurate. The author made great use of historical license in writing it. The inaccuracy is designed to add to the dramatic aspects of the plot. The Huns' invasions and the first Japanese incursion into Chinese territory are at least two centuries apart. The military apparatuses used in the story are out of their respective Eras, as well. That being said, the cultural aspects of Chinese society were extensively studied and are, mostly, accurate, though. Enjoy the reading!

Flower of China

By Kath Klein

Translated by Yoruki Hiiragizawa

Chapter XVI

'Where's Daidouji?' Xiao Lang stormed into the brothel, startling many of the girls who were currently resting in the main hall. It caused an uproar as some of the girls scattered around in fear.

'I'm here, General,' Tomoyo answered from the top of the stairs, her lips pressed together in irritation at the disturbance. Her annoyance was soon replaced by worry as her eyes took in the man standing at the centre of the salon, looking for something or someone. 'Where's Captain Kinomoto?' She inquired, her voice failing almost imperceptibly at the end.

His upper lip curled up and he scoffed, his eyes zeroed in on the concubine. 'You seem to really like the Captain, huh,' he sneered as he stalked up the stairs.

Tomoyo went ramrod at his approach, resisting the urge to take a step back. 'He's an admirable man, Sir.'

Muttering something unintelligible, the General seized her by the arm and hauled her down the corridor back to her chambers.

'Are… are you mad, General?' She inquired, trying to get rid of his grip.

He only tightened the hold, pulling her with him. As soon as they reached her room, he shoved her inside and slammed the door, blocking the way out with a ferocious stance as he scrutinized her carefully.

When he failed to say anything, she took a step ahead, back straightened and hands clenched at her side. 'We're not open this early in the day, General.'

He then took a step ahead and practically growled his next words. 'Where is Kinomoto?'

'But... That's exactly what I asked you,' Tomoyo narrowed her eyes, confused.

'The two of you have made a fool out of me for long enough,' He took a wider stance and squinted his eyes at her. 'So I suggest you tell me where she is, right now!'

Tomoyo gasped and widened her eyes at hearing him call the Captain she . 'Y-you… You know then.'

'Yes, I do,' he said through clenched jaws and with throbbing veins in his neck.

'What are you planning to do to her, Sir?' Tomoyo's fair complexion turned ashen. 'She's just a girl… She's already suffered too much!'

'Not yet, she hasn't,' he sneered, his expression contorting into a snarl of barely-contained rage. 'But she will when I'm done with her.'

Tomoyo clung to the General's arm in despair. 'Please, be merciful! What did you expect her to do, Sir? What could a poor orphan girl do?'

'Get away from me, woman!' he snapped, giving her a hefty push and causing her to fall down.

'Look at me, Sir! Look at what I became. What I was forced into,' Tomoyo looked up from her position, wide teary eyes and shallow breaths. 'I'm a concubine; I lay down with whoever pays me. I have no dignity and no honour…' she lamented, getting back to her feet on unsteady legs. 'But that girl… That girl fought to keep her honour. She fought hard to be respected and she did…'

'She's a treacherous snake!' He roared over her, trying to make her stop talking.

'She's a warrior!' Tomoyo cried out, refusing to let him bury his head in the sand. 'And she was your best student. She was your best friend and your companion. Don't deny that…'

'Don't be absurd,' he grunted and looked away, aiming for detachment but failing to deliver.

'It's the truth and you know it!' Tomoyo exclaimed forcefully, getting close to him.

The General brought up his hand to slap the woman in front of him and saw her shrink back with hunched shoulders. His mind suddenly replaced the concubine with the image of Kinomoto the week before. He recalled how she stood up tall and proud, refusing to cower in the face of his incoming aggression. It was such a stark contrast to how Daidouji recoiled from him. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, pacing out his irritation on the room.

Tomoyo heaved a sigh, watching the man pacing up and down her room. She feared for her friend's life and felt like she had to make something to protect her, though she knew not what.

'Maybe…' the General began hesitantly, looking out the window. 'Maybe Touya might've been a good soldier but…'

'Being a woman doesn't erase everything she's accomplished,' Tomoyo remarked affectionately.

Xiao Lang turned silent again, thoughtful. He crossed his arms and leaned on the wall, staring her sternly. 'What did you do at night when I brought her with me?'

Tomoyo sat on her bed and sighed, relieved that he'd calmed down enough to talk. 'We talked about our lives. I taught her other languages and she would tell me whatever it was that she had learnt recently,' she explained with a weak smile. 'She always talked a lot about you, Sir.'

He rolled his eyes and groaned, dismissively.

'She really admired you, General…' Tomoyo insisted.

'She lied and fooled me,' he grunted feeling the irritation creep back up, shooting a glare her way. 'You both did.'

'If she had told you the truth, Sir, you would never give her the time of your day. Would never listen to what she had to say or value what she did,' Tomoyo replied.

He took a deep breath, pinching his nose; he couldn't deny that she was right. Had he known Kinomoto was a woman, no matter how intelligent her strategy might be, he'd never listen to it.

As Tomoyo watched the man in front of her, she noticed a softer look on his face. She could almost see the hint of a smile on his lips. She felt her cheeks warm a little when he looked up straight at her and caught her staring.

'Tell me everything you know about her, Daidouji…' he demanded, watching her attentively.

Tomoyo hesitated, considering her options and the consequences of what she was about to do. She knew the General had a soft spot for his pupil and she still remembered the mesmerized look he wore the day he'd mentioned the green-eyed girl from Shanghai. Not to mention the desperate crusade he'd launched trying to find said girl. She wondered if he'd put two and two together, yet. Nonetheless, if Sakura had any chance of happiness, of completion, he needed to know the truth; so she told him.

She told him about the childhood spent in an orphanage and the grievances Sakura had endured for being not only a bastard but the child of a Japanese officer. She told him about the girl who'd been sold to a brothel after being deemed ineligible for marriage. She told him about the humiliation of having her virtue auctioned amongst drunkards. She told him how Sakura was ignored when she tried to explain her condition and how she ran away after knocking out the soldier that had bought her virginity.

The concubine noticed how Xiao Lang furrowed his brow, looking away when she mentioned Shanghai and the brothel. Even if Sakura hadn't mentioned the General's regret over those events, she would still be able to see it through his reaction. As she'd told Sakura once, he was a refreshingly transparent person.

'... And I don't think I need to give you the details about her life from the moment she joined the army, do I?' she concluded, watching him with caution. Tomoyo hoped that her gamble would pay off and help her friend in the long run, because otherwise, she might've just made Sakura's life a lot more difficult.

A fraught silence descended over the room when Tomoyo stopped talking as the General stared at his reflexion in her dressing table mirror as though it held the answer to all of his problems. When the thoughtful look on his face transformed into steely determination, the concubine felt her heart start pounding in her chest.

'What… What are you going to do, General?' she stuttered, holding her breath.

Instead of answering, Xiao Lang turned away from her and walked purposefully toward the door, stopping short of leaving the room. 'If you ever see her again, tell her there's nowhere she'll be able to escape me. Tell her I'll be coming for her,' he warned over his shoulder before stepping out and slamming the door.

'What have I done?' Tomoyo sobbed, bringing both her hands to her heart, feeling it constrict in her chest. She didn't know where her friend was; she had no idea of how Sakura was fairing and at the same time the concubine wished to know she was safe, she also hoped that her friend never came back to The Forbidden City. 'May the gods help my dear friend and protect her from that General's cold-heartedness.'

Sakura watched the house where she lived for the first sixteen years of her life from afar with a sense of detachment. A small group of young girls – probably about five years old – played in the yard without much fuss, certainly knowing that punishment would follow if they disturbed the lady of the house. The older girls were moving around performing the household chores.

She blinked and had suddenly lost track of the time she spent watching the house movement through her burning haze. She was currently fighting a fever that made it hard for her to focus.

Furrowing her brow, she looked at the sky. "Is it getting dark already?" She could swear it had been dawn when she sat under that tree across from the house. She never knew time became blurred when you spent your days fighting a fever that went down and came back up again as it pleased. She couldn't remember much of the last days. How much time had passed since the fight against the Huns? How long since she had last eaten something? She wasn't even sure if the kind woman who helped her up – what was her name again? – had actually existed or if it had been the fruit of her imagination.

She also wasn't sure of how she managed to get back to Yuhan of all places but back she was. If there was one thing she knew for sure was that Mr Yang would help her if she asked. She knew he'd help but she still hated the need to ask. If she could shake her fever long enough to be clear-minded and take care of herself, she would be fine on her own. She'd be able to hunt or fish something to eat and the food would help her body heal and fight the inflammation that she was sure was causing that damned abhorrent feebleness. Right now, though, she felt like there was a hole in her stomach and she was starving on the brink of passing out.

That was the last place she wanted to be and the only place where she could think of going at the moment. Taking a deep breath, she slowly approached the house, trying not to scare the children - to no avail. As soon as the girls noticed her, they immediately stormed into the house, crying out in fright. She was sure her appearance was deplorable, and she must've looked like an indigent. No, not "look like"… She was actually an indigent now, wasn't she? What a joke! The proud Captain Kinomoto, renowned War Hero reduced to a pauper homeless.

'Please, don't be scared,' her voice cracked, and she put her arms out with her palms forward in an attempt to look as non-threatening as her ragged appearance would allow.

Hearing the commotion, one of the older girls came out of the house holding a broom and, at seeing Sakura, stepped in front of the children to defend them. 'What do you want here, bum?' She seethed with curled lips in disgust.

Sakura widened her eyes in recognition of the pretty dark-haired girl with ebony-like eyes. 'Cixi?' She beamed with a broken voice and tears in her eyes. She hadn't thought her oldest friend would still be at the orphanage.

At hearing her name, Cixi tensed her shoulders and blinked once, then twice really looking at Sakura now. Dropping the broom on the floor, she gasped and placed her hands over her mouth. 'S-Sakura?' She shook her head as if she couldn't believe who was in front of her.

Sakura just nodded, feeling her mouth dry and her throat constrict, the movement making her slightly dizzy and she almost missed the way Cixi bounced before throwing herself into her arms.

'By Buddha, Sakura!' Cixi hugged her effusively as tears started forming in her eyes. 'I'm so glad! I'm so glad to see you!'

Sakura flinched, her whole body aching at being squeezed, and her hands gripped onto Cixi's shoulders for balance as she suddenly found her knees too weak to support her own weight. Her pained hiss startled Cixi who took a step back to regard her more closely.

'What happened to you? Where's your husband?' Cixi questioned concerned. 'And… oh, your hair! It was such a beautiful hair! Why did you cut it?' Her voice broke into a whine as she ran her hand over Sakura's hair, pulling at the tips of the shoulder-lengthed grimy tresses.

'I… I-I need help, Cixi,' Sakura muttered, ashamed. It was so hard to ask for help after everything. She had become so used to accomplish things for herself.

'Of course! Come, come,' she embraced Sakura by her waist and started moving toward the house. 'But tell me what happened to you…'

'I'm so… I'm so hungry, Cixi…' Sakura groaned, leaning heavily against her friend and stumbled almost causing them both to fall.

Cixi squeaked lightly and held tightly to Sakura's waist, practically carrying her inside when they heard a high-pitched shriek that made them stop.

'CIXI! What are you doing touching this… this indigent?' Both girls raised their eyes, seeing the plump red-face of Mrs Yang scowling at them.

Cixi flinched slightly at being reprimanded but didn't let go of her friend. 'It's Sakura, Mrs Yang. She's hungry and I think she has a fever, too.'

'Sakura?' Mrs Yang snarled, narrowing her eyes at them and looking at the stranger in Cixi's arms. She then darted with surprising speed toward the girls and furiously yanked Cixi away from Sakura. 'What are you doing here, impure?'

'She's hungry, Mrs Yang,' Cixi repeated, trying to bypass the older woman to reach Sakura again but was held tightly by the forearm. By then, all other girls from the house had assembled on the porch and windows to watch the commotion.

'She can starve, for all I care!' Mrs Yang thundered unsympathetically. 'Just look at you!' She sneered, giving Sakura a cold stare. 'You're really worthless! Not even as a whore you were of use.'

Contrary to what the old woman expected, the jab at her honour made Sakura jerk back at attention, straightening her back with her shoulders and standing suddenly taller with an unblinking focus. Sakura refused to let that woman humiliate her again.

'I. Am. Not. A whore,' she bristled, taken by an overwhelming fury that brought her mind to a state of swift focus.

'How come? Mr Quang paid me good coin for you. You're his property now,' The woman pointed out with a dismissive hand-wave. 'If even he tossed you out, that's your problem.'

'I ran from that hole where you left me before they could turn me into a concubine, as you certainly hoped,' she growled, stepping ahead and coming face to face with the chubby woman. Even though Sakura was shorter than Mrs Yang, she managed to tower over her somehow. Sakura squinted her eyes and bared her teeth looking almost feral. 'And later I tracked Quang Dan down and slit his throat as he deserved.'

Mrs Yang widened her eyes, terrified of the coldness in Sakura's voice and eyes. She jerked away from her, shoving her by the shoulder. The sudden fortitude that rushed through Sakura's veins was actually illusory in its nature and the brief impact caused her to wobble, almost falling to the ground. The only thing keeping Sakura standing was pure unadulterated stubbornness.

'Go away! Don't you dare sully this house and the pure and dignified girls that live here!' The woman tried to impose command but failed due to the quaking in her voice.

Sakura then looked around for the first time, seeing the disgusted spurning glares and scared looks in the girls' faces. 'I want to talk to Mr Yang,' she demanded, turning once more to the red-faced woman. She knew that the kind-hearted old man would at least offer her something to eat, even if he also sent her away.

'My husband is dead, you petty thing,' Mrs Yang uttered an exasperated snort. 'Now get out of here!'

Shock, silence, dismay and a plethora of other emotions took over Sakura as she felt her eyes sting with unshed tears and her face contorted. She couldn't believe that the only man to ever treat her with kindness was dead. She almost called Mrs Yang a liar and challenged the woman to prove that what she said was true but the saddened look on Cixi's face deterred her. Hunching her shoulders, she turned around and headed back to the house entrance, as there was obviously nothing else for her in that place.

'Sakura, wait!' She heard Cixi call for her and stopped, clenching her fists. Taking a shaking breath, Sakura kept walking without looking back. It would be better for Cixi not to be even more implicated.

'Stay put, Cixi!' Mrs Yang harshly chastised her charge before yelling at Sakura's retreating back. 'And you, you filthy creature, don't you dare coming back here!'

She was a pathetically forlorn figure, dragging her feet while sensing the upbraiding snubbing stares following her every move.

When she reached the gate, Sakura was startled by a black stallion that came to a halt short of trampling over her. She stiffened noticeably, the sight of the familiar hulking mount made her blood run cold in her veins even before she raised her glance to see the face of the rider.

He pursed his lips in a self-satisfied smirk. 'You should know that you can't escape me, girl.'

'Gods, no!' She swallowed a lump in her throat, feeling her heart pounding in her chest and, without a second thought, she turned away running back toward the house.

She completely ignored the startled gasps and Mrs Yang's raging squawk complaining that she had lost her mind. Only one thing mattered at that moment and that was the dire need of fleeing from the General's grasp. If going through the house was her only option, then that was exactly what she would do. In her despair, she lost her footing for a moment and hit the ground hard, scraping her hands and twisting her ankle. She quickly recovered, limping away for a couple more steps before Xiao Lang finally captured her.

As an instinct reaction, she thrashed against him, hard enough to make him stumble trying to keep his balance and forcing him to pin her to the ground.

'Be quiet, girl!' he grumbled, seizing her wrists to prevent her from lashing out again.

'Let her go!' Cixi let out a wail, disentangling herself from Mrs Yang's grip and running toward Sakura to try and help her.

The General took his eyes out of his mark and glared at the girl who stopped in her tracks at the threatening look. 'Stay out of it,' he snapped at her.

Cixi hesitated, clenching her fists at her side before stepping forward, defiantly. 'Can't you see that she's sick?'

'Let me deal with it, Cixi!' Sakura groaned still trying to get rid of his hold.

'Well, good luck with that,' he smirked, flipping her onto her stomach to bind Sakura's hands at her back, before pulling her to stand up by her clothes. He looked down with a dark glower at Cixi and turned to Mrs Yang who had grabbed the girl's arm with her chubby fingers. 'You would do well to teach these girls to hold their tongue in a man's presence.'

Sakura couldn't hold the derisive snort from leaving her mouth before hissing at being suddenly jolted by him.

'I beg your pardon, Sir,' Yang bowed her head and lowered her eyes, pinching Cixi and ordering her to do the same. 'We're just nervous about this whole commotion.' She then sneered at Sakura with total contempt. It was such a hatred-filled glare that he was slightly taken aback. 'I'm just glad that you were here to help us get rid of this thing before it infested our honourable house.'

'Harpy…' Sakura hissed at the woman, gritting her teeth.

Xiao Lang turned toward his former pupil with a furrowed brow at the interaction, causing Sakura to raise her eyes, staring at him with an unblinking focus and he momentarily ignored their situation. 'Is this woman your former matron?'

Mrs Yang looked up, startled at his question and noticed the way they were looking at each other. 'I don't know that woman, Sir!' She claimed hurriedly before Sakura could implicate her house and tarnish their reputation. 'I would appreciate it if you would take her away from my pure and chaste charges.'

Sakura sighed, slumping her shoulders as much as the General's strong grip on her arm would allow. Xiao Lang looked away from Kinomoto, observing the scorn and the loathing in the eyes of not only the old lady in front of him but of all the other girls watching them. All of them, except the one who came to her aid.

"Can you imagine what it is to grow up hearing every single day about how worthless and useless you are? What it is to be shunned like a mangy dog as if your own existence was an offence to the people surrounding you?" He suddenly remembered Daidouji's words while she was telling him about Kinomoto's childhood. "How could you know? How could a man born of such a privileged and honourable lineage understand what she's been through? She had to fight for every ounce of respect she'd earned, and she did earn it! You know she did!"

'Let's go, Kinomoto,' he shook his head, scattering his thoughts and turned to leave, pulling her along with him toward the gate and his horse. Xiao Lang hoisted her to the saddle on her side, hopping on behind her in a way that kept her secured in between his arms.

Her last attempt to flee had consumed the last of her energy and she went limp in his arms, her back slumping against his chest when he spurred his horse.

'Damn but you're reeking terribly…' he complained, wrinkling his nose.

'Where you're taking me, it makes no difference,' Sakura replied with a slur in her voice.

Xiao Lang regarded the girl in his arms as if seeing her for the first time and found it hard to believe that she'd successfully passed as a soldier for so long. And not just any ordinary soldier but a good one. No, an excellent soldier, actually. He wondered how she managed to do that with such a small and delicate frame.

'How did you manage to make Tomoyo talk?' she asked, heaving a tired sigh.

He stared at the top of her head with widened eyes, surprised that she'd already figured out how he was able to find her. He couldn't deny that the little tricky rascal was smart. 'I didn't kill her if that's what you're worried about.'

'I hope you didn't hurt her, General,' she said with just a trace of admonition in her voice. 'She's a very kind person and…'

'Stop talking!' he cut her off, sternly. 'You're done pretending. You're a woman; start acting accordingly.'

Sakura complied, not because he had ordered, or because she didn't have a suitably cutting retort but because she was too tired, too hungry and in too much pain to do anything else. Remaining conscious seemed like an uphill battle by and of itself.

Xiao Lang furrowed his brow and leaned forward watching her face over her shoulder at her uncharacteristic lack of an answer only to take notice of her glassy eyes and flushed face. With just a moment's hesitation, he placed his hand on her forehead and his breath caught in his throat. 'You are burning up! And how long has it been since you last ate something?' he questioned, his brow knitting and a dithering disquiet taking a firm grip on his chest as she took a while to answer.

'Five... five days… I think…' she answered, her breath rasping in her throat.

The General spurred his horse, setting off a fast lope. They galloped for nearly ten minutes and stopped in front of an unassuming little inn just past the northern border of Yuhan. He dismounted and set Sakura down.

'Why are we stopping?' she inquired, standing on wobbly feet.

He didn't answer. Instead, he just tied his horse to the hitching rail before turning to face her. 'When was the last time you tended to your injury?' he asked, feeling rather grouchy.

Sakura widened her eyes as he pulled her into the inn. They approached the innkeeper, attracting the patrons' attention and the General threw a handful of coins onto the stand.

'Give me a room,' Xiao Lang ordered brusque and impatient. 'And set up a hot bath, as well.'

The innkeeper frowned looking up from the coins and taking in his Officer's attire, then he looked at Sakura, crossing his arms. 'Who's the kid?'

Xiao Lang pulled Sakura closer to him, standing between her and the innkeeper while staring the man down. 'That's no concern of yours,' he growled, jutting his chin.

The innkeeper held out his hands, giving the General a key and directing him to a room upstairs, saying that the bath would be set up in just a bit. Xiao Lang dragged Sakura upstairs only releasing her when they reached the room.

Sakura briefly assessed the room before turning to face Xiao Lang who was locking the door. 'W-Why did you bring me h-here?' she stammered, wrapping her arms around herself, though she was uncertain if it was out of fear or to try controlling the fever-induced shaking chills.

Glancing at her over his shoulder, he moved from the door toward the windows and started locking them too. 'You'll take a bath, clear all the grime and soot ingrained onto you and will cleanse your injury,' he commanded, brooking no argument. He fastened the last window closed with a satisfied grunt. 'You won't be able to escape now. I'll get you clean clothes and some food while you clean up…'

Sakura tilted her head and blinked in confusion looking at him as if he'd grown a second head. 'W-what? Why are you-?' She snapped her mouth shut and took a few steps backwards as he moved toward her.

He grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him and gazing at her green orbs in silence for a couple seconds. 'You need to learn not to stare back at a man, girl.'

'I'll be executed in front of the very men I helped save once we're back to The Forbidden City, Sir,' she looked at him with unblinking eyes, putting her shoulders back and raising her chin. 'Nothing will change my fate now. Why should I be the one to lower my gaze? I'm not ashamed of what I did.'

They kept staring at each other until a knock on the door drew their attention. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Xiao Lang went on to open the door and allowed the servants to enter the room carrying buckets of hot water to the adjacent washroom to prepare a bath, all the while hastening them to leave just as quickly as they came.

When they found themselves alone again, the General turned to Sakura holding the door half-opened. 'I'll be back in a few minutes, so I suggest that you do as I said instead of trying to run away.' And without waiting for an answer, he exited the room, locking it up behind him.

For a couple minutes, Sakura just stared at the closed door, unable to understand what was going through the General's head. What was he planning to do to her? Why would he insist so much that she takes a bath? Was it just to be taken before the Emperor? Shaking her head, she decided not to think about that now. It had been days since she last tended to her injury and she was certain that it was inflamed if her febrile state was any indication.

She staggered into the washroom, undressing as she went and leaving her mucky clothes carelessly fall to the floor. She wrinkled her nose at the realisation that she indeed was letting out an unpleasant smell. Stopping in front of the tub filled with the warm water, she felt her knees buckle some, making it necessary that she held on the edge of the bathtub to remain standing.

Leaning against the wall, she started undressing her abdomen. She grunted painfully when she pulled the extremity of the linen band that covered her injury. The cloth had stuck to the scabbing, it seemed, and a yellowy pus started to ooze from the purplish wound as she unbound it. Her body stiffened in pain when she tried to twist her body to better access the injury. It didn't look good; it didn't look good at all. She went too long without caring for the cut and it had swelled up, not healing up properly.

Sakura took a deep breath, watching the tub in a daze. She looked down to her calloused hands, noticing how dirty they were. She really needed to clean up before treating the gash. She kept her underdress near the tub and dove into it, submerging to her chin on the warm water.

She slowly leaned against the walls of the tub and closed her eyes, letting her body relax. She took a deep breath as she fought to remain conscious and sharp-minded.

Sakura, slowly and carefully, started to wash, taking special care with her cuts and bruises. She knew she was ailing and therefore found herself debilitated. She needed to heal, she needed to get better to have any chance to escape him again.

The General was most certainly delirious if he thought she would just give up without a fight. She didn't accomplish everything she did by submitting to the will of men. She had fought to come to this world, she would fight to remain on it.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the room door opening and felt herself freeze with wide eyes, her breath stuck in her lungs. She blinked repeatedly, shaking her head to disperse the drowsy cloud that had set over her.

"Have I just fallen asleep in the bathtub?" she wondered as she swore under her breath for letting her guard down like that. She should've been clean and out of the tub by the time the General came back.

'I've brought you some clean clothes,' she heard him say and sunk more under the water to better cover herself. 'I don't want to see you wearing breaches anymore,' he pressed on as her eyes darted around her, locating her underdress on the floor, just barely out of her reach. To get to it, she would need to get part of her chest out of the water and out of the covering of the tub. 'Are you listening to me?' the general inquired when she didn't answer. 'Kinomoto?'

She heard the rustle of cloth being moved around and turned toward his voice, seeing he open the drapery that separated the bedchamber from the washroom. 'Yes, I heard you, General!' she replied quickly, watching him stop at the entrance from over the rim of the tub, a low hiss escaping her lips as she contorted her torso to be able to look at him. 'Now, turn around until I get dressed,' she said, her voice involuntarily commanding.

Xiao Lang frowned at her, obviously displeased by her attitude. 'So you can hit me on the head again? I don't think so,' he crossed his arms over his chest, a bundle of dark-green cloth hanging from his hands.

She huffed, feeling insulted and raised her head, so fast it made her dizzy. 'I've never attacked you from behind, General! I'm not a coward! And that would be dishonourable!'

The General furrowed his brow, noticing how her hand gripped tightly onto the brim of the tub, her knuckles turning white. He looked at the clothes he bought for her and placed them on a low stool near the door, before turning around. Maybe he should just leave her alone to redress herself, but she had paled too brusquely for comfort just a second ago.

'When you're done, we'll take a look at that wound of yours,' he stated to fill the silence as he waited for her to get moving. After a little while, he heard her splashing around to leave the bathtub.

Sakura stood up on the tub, taking her underdress to cover herself, all the while keeping her eyes trained on the General's turned back to make sure he wouldn't peak. She quickly stepped out of the bath but in her haste her foot slipped on the dripping floor, causing her to crash into the bathtub rim, barely missing her existing injury. She let out a mix of a wheezing and a whimpering out of pain.

'Are you alright?' the General asked, turning to look at her and seeing her on her butt on the wet floor.

'Turn away!' Sakura shrieked at him in embarrassment as she tried to cover her body the best she could in her precarious position. She gritted her teeth, gripping onto the edge of the bathtub to pull herself up on unsteady legs, hating herself for looking weak like that in front of the General.

Xiao Lang huffed and rolled his eyes exasperated at her stubbornness. Shaking his head, he quickly scooped her up in his arms, making sure that her underdress remained in place.

Sakura squeaked feeling her face burn for a reason that had nothing to do with the fever she'd been fighting for the last few days. 'Let me down, General!'

'Don't be stupid! You can hardly stand on your own as it is!' Xiao Lang chastised her as he took her to the bed. He frowned watching as the embarrassed flush she sported just a moment before faded away and her face turned ashen instead. 'Truly, woman, you're not well! You need to eat something and rest,' he remarked, sitting her on the bed.

The way he was talking to her made Sakura feel a slight pricking in her eyes and her vision blurred. It was almost as if he actually cared about her but she knew that couldn't be real and she was most likely delirious due to her feeble condition. She closed her eyes, before he could see her on the verge of tears and took deep breaths to get a grip on her weakened emotional state.

'Let me take a look at your wound so that you can dress up and then eat something,' he said, his tone brooking no argument, not that she would just accept it.

'I don't need your help,' Sakura grumbled, opening her eyes to stare right through him.

'What would you gain by being headstrong now?' he asked, taking in the state of alarming debility she found herself in.

Sakura clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, aware that she wouldn't have enough strength to fight him on that, not on her current condition. 'Fine,' she said, turning her face away, avoiding looking at him as he prodded, cleansed and bandaged her.

She could hear him muttering about how bad the wound looked but couldn't make out the exact words he was saying, especially when it took all of her to remain conscious as he applied the medicine. It just hurt too much. She barely noticed when he helped her put on the green hanfu he had bought for her before leaning her back against the pillows.

'Kinomoto! Wake up!' Sakura was startled out of her hazy mind by Xiao Lang's stern voice and looked up to see him holding up a rice bowl practically to her face. 'Eat this.'

Sakura ate as much as she could with unthinking, numb movements, not even tasting the food. As starving as she'd been, however, her stomach couldn't take a great amount of food in one go and she left half the bowl untouched. Ensuing, the General pressed a flask of something terribly bitter against her lips, probably some medicine, and then offered her a cup of tea to wash the tart taste away.

Feeling strangely detached from her body, she just went through the motions as he helped her lie down, her mind sinking into oblivion. And maybe, who knows? Maybe in her dreams, she would finally be respected and loved for who she was.

To be continued.

Mild editing on January 10th, 2020.