Chapter 4
Hey guys I hope you are all doing well and enjoying yourselves. This is the fourth chapter of my first FanFiction story The Heart Overrules the Mind. I am having great fun writing it and will continue doing so whenever I have the time. But, until then, please review!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors or any other Koei series. I am writing about the characters coz they inspire me (woo Koei!!!). Don't sue, just enjoy.
I woke up from bed, yawning. I looked around, at first unsure of where I was. Then, I finally twigged. I was at Cao-Wei in my new bedroom on my first full day!!! Excited, I jumped out of bed but it seemed like my legs were still sleeping as I lost control and landed face-first on the soft carpet. Ouch. Rubbing my nose I was determined not to let that fase me, I clambered back onto my feet and stretched. My eyes caught on the beautiful blue roses that Hong had bought for me yesterday. I smiled and walked over to smell the luscious scent. They smelt divine and made me think about Hong more than ever. I missed him already and wanted to feel his arms around me again. I sighed, a little louder this time. That wouldn't be happening for quite a while. Me cuddling Hong I mean. Finally, I decided that I would write letters to my family and friends tonight to ensure them that I had reached here safely and also to tell them how much I was missing them. I looked at the clock to check how long I had before I had to go and meet Lord Cao Cao in the training ring. The clock read 8am. I wasn't too late but I still needed to rush if I was going to get there promptly. I went into the bathroom and began to run a bath.
I wonder what I should wear to training? I thought to myself as I searched my almost empty wardrobe for suitable clothing. My eyes settled on a deep blue dressy set of armor. This would work perfectly. I could protect myself and still look great at the same time! I took the armor off the rail and laid it out on my rumpled bed. I went over to one of my unpacked suitcases and got some underwear out of it. Through the open bathroom door, steam came into my bedroom from the hot bath.
Whoops, I thought, rushing to turn the bath off before it overflowed onto the marble floor. I turned the cold water tap on for a bit to ensure that the bath was at a comfortable level of heat. After that, I took of my bedclothes and jumped in, comforted at the feeling of warm water against my skin. I lay back for a bit, thinking about how much fun the morning would be. Yes, I would be slightly nervous because I would be with people I had never met before but that didn't deter me. I grabbed the bar of soap that was sitting on the bath edge and soaped myself, singing a little tune as I rubbed. I rinsed all the soap suds off my body afterwards and climbed out, before realising that I had forgotten to pack a towel! What was I going to do now? There was only one thing that I could do, besides panicking like crazy. Go to wherever Ling was and ask her to lend me a towel for today. I had thought about going to Cao Cao's quarters but decided against it. Me, soaking wet, wrapped in an almost see-through kimono was bound to give him ideas. No, I couldn't have that. Quickly pushing my wet body into an old kimono, I ran barefooted out of my room and downstairs, where all the maids and escorts* like Ling stayed. I prayed that I wouldn't see anyone as I was rushing. How bad would it look if the first time they saw their new bodyguard, she was basically nude running down the palace hallways like a lunatic? Trying my hardest to stay as close to the wall as possible. So far I had seen no one, thank the gods. Finally, I reached the maids' floor and found the door with Ling's name on it. I gave it a few shrill, hard knocks. Nothing. I tried again, becoming more frantic. If Ling wasn't there, what on earth was I supposed to do then. Hoping that she just couldn't hear my knocks, I tried calling her.
"Ling! Are you there? It's me, Shen Jing!" I tried. Nothing. Panicking slightly, I called again as well as knocking. "Ling! It's me Shen Jing! Are you there?"
"Madam? What are you doing out here? Aren't you cold in that outfit?" It was Ling, making her way around the corner and towards her bedroom. I audibly breathed a sigh of release.
"Oh, thank the gods you are here, Mistress Ling" I smiled, wrapping the skimpy kimono around me tighter. "I forgot to pack a towel with me for my journey which was foolish of me. Do you have a spare you could give me by any chance please?" Ling smiled a little, finally understanding my predicament. She nodded and opened her bedroom door.
"Madam of course I have a towel that I can lend you. Come straight through". I grinned and followed her into her bedroom. It was like mine but quite a bit smaller and also minus the writing table. Apart from that, it was beautifully decorated with flowers everywhere and incense sticks burning. It made the place feel as well as smell, absolutely heavenly.
"Your bedroom is lovely" I voiced my thoughts aloud. Ling smiled at me and nodded, opening her wardrobe and digging around in the bottom. She soon found the towel and handed it to me, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Madam, here is the towel. It is new and you may keep it if you wish". I nodded gratefully, holding the towel close to me. "Thank you so much Mistress Ling" I told her, giving her a little hug.
"You're welcome madam. Now I think you better head back to your own room, get dressed and I will be there to pick you up in half an hour". I nodded and quickly ran out the room and up the stairs to the bodyguards' floor. Rushing into my room quickly, I shut the door and dried myself.
Half an hour later:
Someone knocked on the door before calling me. "Lady Shen, it's me, Ling. Are you ready to leave now?" I gathered up everything I thought I would need and went outside to greet Ling. I thanked her again for the towel. "Now problem" she said. "I'm just glad that no male officers where there to witness that. They would have really had a field day then!" We both laughed as we walked down the stairs and out the door. Even though the morning was slightly cold, I still found myself mesmerised by the beautiful garden. I longed to just sit there and read a book, just relax. Soon, we were in a huge barn. This, it seemed, was the training ring.
"Thank goodness it's inside" I said to Ling, cautiously opening the door. Inside, it looked amazing. Everything seemed new and massive. I knew I would have quite a bit of fun here. I looked around and saw Lord Cao Cao along with two generals that I had never seem before. They all had their backs turned to us and so were oblivious to the fact that we had arrived. Making my hair look prettier, I walked over to Cao Cao and gave him a little tap on his shoulder. He turned around and smiled when he saw that it was me.
"Lady Shen Jing, I am glad that you have decided to attend today" he beamed. "You look wonderful by the way madam". I smiled at his compliment and bowed, knowing full well that the top half of my armor showed quite a bit of bosom. Cao Cao noticed this straight away and I could see the look of lust on his face as his eyes wandered the curves of my body. Deciding that he had done enough looking, I decided to speak again.
"My good lord, would you care to introduce me to these fair warriors?" I asked, touching his arm slightly.
"Of course Lady Shen" he answered straight away. The two warriors turned round. One was quite tall with black hair that fell just above his shoulders. He had some sort of eyepatch over his left eye. The other was shorter and much more stout. His hair was short and spiky and he wore a full suit of armor as well as gloves.
"This is Lord Xiahou Dun" Cao Cao pointed to the one with the eyepatch. "And this is his younger brother, Lord Xiahou Yuan", the shorter one now got the finger. "These are my cousins as well as some of the greatest warriors throughout the land". Wow, througout the land? And I had the fortune to meet them? That was so cool! I smiled at both of them, bowing to each in turn. They both gave a little bow back. Xiahou Yuan smiled and me and winked. I gave a little giggle.
"So" Cao Cao cut in, "I know that your skills are probably most impressive, Lady Shen Jing, but before a bodyguard can go into battle, they have to prove those skills to us". I nodded, understanding what he meant.
"What weapon are you familiar with using Lady Shen?" Cao Cao asked.
"A single fan, sir" I told him. Cao Cao nodded. Well the only person in this kingdom who uses a fan is my strategist Sima Yi". He looked towards one of the five guards that were standing near the door of the ring. He summoned one of them.
"Guard can you go up to Sima Yi's office and ask him to lend his War fan to Lady Shen. Tell him that that is an order" Cao Cao commanded. The guard bowed before running off. Cao Cao looked back to me, a small smile on his face.
"You shall uses Sima Yi's fan until I can order one to be made for you" Cao Cao told me. "Tonight I will place an order for a fan from the best weapon-making shop in China". I was amazed, and it seemed I wasn't the only one. Dun and Yuan looked quite surprised as well.
"Cousin are you sure that is a sensible idea?" Dun asked him. "The lady is just a bodyguard. Shouldn't we wait until she has shown herself and is promoted before you give her such an expensive weapon?" Cao Cao shook his head.
"Nonsense" he told Dun. "I believe in Lady Shen and I feel that she has some great skills. Getting her a weapon that is beyond the best would be a mere mockery of her". I grinned at what Cao Cao had said before giving him a hug. He gasped a little, surprised at my sudden affection, but was soon cuddling me back. I released myself before his hands moved to my bottom. Cao Cao was still grinning while Dun and Yuan looked mildy bored. I decided to break into the awkward silence.
"So Lord Cao Cao, who shall be my opponent today?" I wondered. Cao Cao smiled some more before answering.
"Ah, I almost forgot. I know that you are strong, Lady Shen but for today you will fight a woman with a lot of strength herself. My daughter-in-law, Zhen Luo, also known as Zhen Ji". As if on queue, the door opened and a extremely beautiful woman entered, holding a purple flute. She was wearing the barest minimum in armor. When she saw us, she came over, bowing as she arrived. I bowed back, out of politeness.
"I am Zhen, pleased to meet you" she smiled at me, holding out a gloved hand for me to shake. I took it and smiled back at her.
"I understand that you will be my opponent today here in the training ring" I said to her. She nodded.
"Prepare yourself sweetheart!" she joked with me. Cao Cao and I laughed. Just then, the guard that had gone to Sima Yi came back, carefully carrying the most beautiful black fan I had ever seen. It was made of feathers but I couldn't tell what creature they had belonged to. The guard handed the fan to me before going back to his place with the rest of the guards. The fan I was holding was bigger than the one I was used to but I soon adjusted to it. Cao Cao lifted his hand in the air.
"Are you two ladies ready to fight?" he asked us. We both nodded mutely.
"Remember that this is only training so let your skills shine through without injuring the other person too badly". We both nodded again, slightly more impatiently this time.
"Okay then. On your marks, get set, FIGHT!!!" he called. We immediately sprang into action. Zhen leaped at me, flute slashing through the air. I blocked. I attacked with my fan once, twice, three times but each time, Zhen blocked. Zhen leaped again. I was just about ready for her this time. I rolled under her and when she landed, I attacked the back of her knees. She staggered, almost dropping to the floor. She seemed to find a new sort of power in her then as she attacked wildly, occasionally blowing dazzling bubbles which I avoided. Our weapons clashed together numerous times as each one of us tried to catch the other off-guard. We could hear the three generals cheering us on from the side rails and we battled. Zhen kicked me and I just managed to recover myself before I fell to the floor. Suddenly, we both leaped forward, our weapons colliding with each other at the same time in a deadlock. Zhen managed to win it. Just. Then, Zhen tactically tried to attack me from behind. I just managed to save myself by swinging my foot around to hit Zhen. It caught her and she dropped on the floor, flute out of her hand. The three officers started clapping wildly as Zhen staggered to her feet. I held my hand out for her to take it. She smiled a little and reached for it. I lifted her up.
"Well done" Zhen told me. "You are truly a great warrior" I smiled modestly. Cao Cao, Dun and Yuan came into the fighting arena, a big grin plastered on Cao Cao's face.
"Lady Shen that was excellent!" he called out, coming to shake my hand. "I never ever thought you would be this good at the beginning! Defeating a strong officer, wow!" I giggled a little, thinking that Cao Cao was taking it just a little over the top. I was happy that he was proud of me still. "Are you coming to the party tonight?"he asked me, his eyes lighting up. The party! I had completely forgotten about that! I would have to find something to wear but if it made him happy, I would attend.
"Of course Lord Cao Cao" I told him. "I'll be there. What time does it start?"
"7pm" Cao Cao said. I nodded. "I am glad that you will come Lady Shen. You will meet all my generals while you are there and from there, I will choose who you will serve under as a bodyguard. Is that alright?"
"That is perfect my lord" I smiled angelically at him. He grinned again, softly stroking my hair and making me blush slightly.
"Well I best get ready to leave. I have to meet Lord Cao Pi in a minute" Zhen bowed. "May I be excused?" Cao Cao nodded, smiling a little.
"Yes Zhen you may go" he told her. She left, running a bit as if she was late. Cao Cao turned back to me.
"You are free to leave as well, Lady Shen. I will see you at the party tonight okay?" I nodded and turned to leave, bowing at the three relatives before I left. Walking out into the fresh air again, I smiled, breathing it in. I looked down. Oh gosh, I was still holding Sima Yi's fan! I supposed he probably wanted it back so I decided that I should go to his office and give it to him personally, just in case. I entered the palace again and climbed up the many flights of stairs until I reached the top floor where Sima Yi's quarters and office was. His office door was slightly ajar so I knocked gingerly.
"Come in" called a voice. I wandered in, smiling as I entered. I bowed before the man in front of me. Sima Yi. He was young (probably about 20) and was wearing a purple robe that was slightly open at the chest. His face was undeniably very handsome and he wore a scholar's hat on his head. His straight, raven locks flowed out of the sides and reached just past his shoulders. He watched me with his beautiful emerald eyes, a confused look on his face.
"Would you like something, madam?" he asked uncertainly. I nodded and handed his fan out to him.
"Thank you for your loan sir" I smiled at him.
"Ah, my fan. Did it do you any good?" he asked. I nodded again.
"Well yes my lord, it drove me to victory against Lady Zhen Luo". Sima Yi looked slightly surprised.
"Zhen Luo eh? That's quite impressive". I took that as a compliment and smiled at him.
"Well thank you again for the fan lord Sima Yi and now I must be leaving". Sima Yi got out of his chair and followed me to the door.
"You are very welcome madam" he told me in an odd, syruppy sort of voice. I left the room quickly, hoping that he didn't see my blushes as I left.
(So what did you think of that chapter dearies? I think that it wasn't my best but hopefully I will be making up for it with my upcoming chapters. Remember, if you have some ideas about anything I should add in the story, feel free to tell me when you review and I will see what I can do. Toodles!)