A/N: Progress on all my other stories had stopped, 'cause I'm so obsessed with this story! I'm really pleased that so many people like my story, and also slightly worried about the contents of my morbidly sadistic imagination. But, whatever, NEXT CHAPPIE!
Disclaimer: (Facepalm) See the first five chapters.
There was definitely something going on at the docks. There were more soldiers here, as though they were trying to guard something. But what was going on? Sying ducked behind a building as a volley of arrows was launched at him, and prepared a quick fireball. He threw it at them, then quickly drew his sword from the end of the staff, and finished off the job. Up ahead, an enemy general was standing, going over some plans. He didn't seem to have noticed him. What was he up to? The docks were edging out over the lake -
Which their main camp was right next to. If they sent some men over on a boat, then they could attack right at their centre.
Sying began to run, ignoring the shouts sounding around him. Those ships weren't going to leave the docks - not if he could help it. As he drew closer, Cai Mao looked up and saw him. He cursed, handing the plans to a nearby soldier, and drew his sword.
Sying leapt into the air, and slashed at Mao, who blocked it at the last minute. Sying's sword rebounded, but he swung with it, and slashed at Mao again. Mao brought his sword down, and blocked it again. Sying spun away, but not before Mao's sword nicked his arm.
Sying gasped in pain, and felt an unfamiliar flame of rage in his chest. He was not going to get away with that.
"Say your prayers!" he roared. His sword began to flicker with lightning, and he unleashed a flurry of attacks upon Cai Mao, ending in a wave of lightning radiating from his body. Mao was flung into a nearby building, and knocked out, and all the unfortunate soldiers that were near him were killed instantly. Sying turned to Mao, to find a couple of sodiers carrying him off. That didn't matter, anymore. The attack had been averted -
"Quick! We need to launch, now!"
Sying span around to see a group of soldiers jump onto a boat that had begun to drift clear of the docks. Without pausing to think, he raised his staff, glaring intently at the boat. Which, without any warning, burst into flames. Later, Sying would wonder how this had happened, as there had been no tongue of fire, or ball of flames, but for the moment, boiling anger kept him moving.
He turned from the soldiers that were desperately jumping overboard, to find a large group of soldiers were watching him from a safe distance off. Good. They could stay there.
He marched back the way he had come, and then right. There was a base in the way, and its soldiers ran towards him, having not seen his display at the docks. Sying didn't pause in his stride, summoning a lightning bolt from the skies that struck the gate captain, and instantly killed all the surrounding soldiers. The remnants of Sying, Na, and Lings Tong and Cao's armies all cheered, and ran forwards. Sying blinked - he had forgotten the soldiers were there. He gave his head a slight shake, and strode into the base.
"Let's heat things up," he muttered under his breath. As soon as the words escaped his lips, the base spontaneously combusted. Sying allowed himself a small, humourless smile, before striding on through the burning masonry and out into the cool battlefield on the other side.
There were no soldiers here. It was perfectly calm, and there was no noise. So, they think they can ambush me? thought Sying. Let them try.
He strode on, senses suddenly alert for anything - the snap of a twig, the rustle of clothing - that would indicate the ambushers. Of course, said a small voice at the back of his head, you don't know there will be an ambush -
Sying suddenly stopped dead. An arrow whistled past where he would have been had he not stopped.
- But that's generally a good sign of an ambush. Sying smiled mirthlessly. It was always nice to be proven right.
He stood where he was, listening to the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. In one fluid motion, he unsheathed his sword, and thrust it behind him. There was a gurgle, and Sying pulled his sword back, before sending out a wave of vorpal energy. He wasn't playing anymore.
He glared around at the surviving soldiers, daring them to try anything. When no one did, he strode on, towards where Huang Zu waited.
Lu Xun sat in silence across the tent from where Na lay. He hadn't moved since the healer had left to attend to Ling Tong. Shang Xiang had left to keep an eye on the track leading up to the camp.
The healer had done what he could, healing the wound on Na's arm until only a faint, yet still noticable scar was left, but it hadn't been enough to wake Na up. The healer said that Na would awake when she was ready, but when would that be?
Xun sighed. Of all the things he had imagined would happen today, this was one of the worst. But what had actually happened? A soldier with an ordinary sword had slashed her, and she just collapsed? All right, the wound was practically gushing, and you could see the white of bone, but so what? He had seen veterans with worse wounds walk away -
But that was just it, wasn't it? They were used to being injured, they were used to the shock, they could deal with it. Poor Na, it was her first battle, and she wasn't used to the pain. It was probably just the pain, shock, and possibly blood loss...
In the chaos of Xun's mind, the little explanatory voice trailed off. He was babbling. In his head, admittedly, but wasn't it all the same in the end?
He looked across at Na. She wasn't as pale as she had been earlier, but she was still paler than normal. Xun sighed again. He hated feeling so useless, but there was nothing he could do.
"Xun! Hey, Xun!"
He looked up to see Shang Xiang running towards him. He watched as she drew level, a questioning look on his face.
"You won't believe this! Sying Long has only gone - on his own - and killed Huang Zu! We won the battle! Isn't it so great?" she burbled excitedly and slightly breathlessly. Xun said nothing. Shang Xiang noticed the expression on his face, and sighed.
"She'll be alright. The healer said so." she paused, before adding softly, "You like her, don't you?"
Xun stared at her, searching her face for any hint of laughter, but only finding sympathy. He sighed, and looked down at the floor.
"Yes. But I can't tell her... what if she doesn't like me back?" he said quietly. Shang Xiang sighed, and crouched down by her friend.
"Do you want me to find out for you?" she asked. Once again, Xun studied her face, before giving up.
"Don't make it too obvious, please!" he answered. Then, something that had been at the back of his mind was suddenly thrust forward.
"What about you? I notice you said about Sying Long before you said we won... you like him, don't you?" Xun saw Shang Xiang falter, before she carefully answered.
"I'm... not sure. It could be... but then again, what if it isn't?" she said quietly. She was silent for a minute or two, before the sound of revelling shook her out of her reverie. She stood up, and turned to Xun.
"Come on, we won! Let's celebrate!" she said, before catching Xun's expression. She sighed, and exited the tent.
Xun watched her go, deep in thought. He should feel happy. He should feel as though a great weight had been lifted from his chest. And, yet, he did - but from a distance. They had won the battle, he had finally confessed his love to somebody, but all he could think about was Na.
He desparately hoped that she would wake soon.
Sying looked around him. There were no soldiers left. Those who hadn't escaped, been killed, or forfeited had been captured. The battle was overHe turned around slowly, and began to walk back to the main camp. The bank of burning rage that had led him this far was dying down, and he could think clearly about what had happened.
Most of it was a blur. He began to wonder just how many people he had actually killed - it must have been more than one hundred, he was sure of it. He looked up as he passed the area where Ling Cao had been killed. The surviving soldiers had already taken the bodies of the dead, and either buried them, or taken them back to the camp so they could be identified. He wondered briefly about how Ling Tong was taking his father's death, before remembering about Na.
His eyes widened, and he sped up. How could he have forgotten about his sister - the one person he had vowed to protect? He had to see how she was.
As he marched towards the distant firelight - it was near dusk at this point - he became aware of an incredible weariness that threatened to overwhelm him. But no - he set his jaw and marched on. He wouldn't allow himself to rest until he was sure Na was ok.
"There he is!"
"The man of the hour!"
"What kept you?"
The deluge of sound hit him like a wall. He blinked, but didn't drop his pace. He was aware of people trying to talk to him, to congratulate him, but he pushed them aside - his mind was concentrated on Na.
"Sying!"
He looked up, and his eyes met with those of Shang Xiang's. He changed his direction, and headed for her.
"Na's over here!" Shang Xiang said, leading the way to a tent that was set out of the way of the revellers. He ducked inside, and saw Na.
She lay on a low bed, her arm in a light dressing. She was quite still - you could only tell she was breathing by watching her for some time, and she was quite pale.
"The healer said she'd wake when she was ready." said a flat voice from the corner, who turned out to be Lu Xun.
Sying sighed.
"This is all my fault." he said quietly.
"How is it your fault? You were busy dealing with your own soldiers!" cried Shang Xiang.
"But I should have kept an eye on her..." Sying sighed again, and quietly walked out of the tent.
Shang Xiang watched him walk out, a look of disblief on her face, before sighing frustratedly, and following him. Xun watched them from the corner, but said nothing. He knew it wasn't Sying's fault, but he didn't really care at the minute. He hugged his knees closer to himself, and transferred his gaze back to Na. He was feeling... curiously empty inside.
Outside, Sying had wandered out of the ring of noise to a tree, which he was leaning on when Shang Xiang caught up with him. Sying looked up when he heard her, then turned his gaze aside. Shang Xiang marched up to him, and was about to demand what his problem was, when she noticed how tired and wrung-out he looked.
"You look dead on your feet." she said. Sying looked at her, slightly puzzled that she wasn't about to have a go at him, before a wave of exhaustion tugged at him.
"I feel it." he said quietly, sitting at the base of the tree. Shang Xiang hunkered down beside him.
"Why do you think it's your fault?" she asked him. He sighed, and looked away before answering.
"Before my Mother died, i promised to look after Na, and Na promised the same about me. Then she died, and Na saved me from the tiger. Now, it's my turn to save her, but I fail. Na will say that it doesn't matter, but it does matter to me. All my life, I've lived in Na's shadow. I try not to let it her me, but I can't help it sometimes. It's not her fault, but..." he trailed off.
"...I know how you feel." Sying looked at her. She gazed at the sky as she continued. "I've had to live in the shadow of my father and my brothers. You never met my father, but he was just, and clever, and strong. 'The Tiger of Jiang Dong'... then he was killed in an ambush. My brother, Ce - well, you saw him. He was popular, brave, strong, liked to have a good time. He gave us a land to call our own. People called him 'The Little Conqueror'. Paired up with Zhou Yu, he was unstoppable. Then, along came this Yu Ji, and his lies. My other brother, Quan - people will remember him as a just and fair leader, won't they? But me... they'll just remember me as the tomboy princess with a fiery temper, or something like that. And every day, you have to remind yourself that you're better than everyone at being you..."
Sying stared at her for a minute or two, with his mouth slightly open. He honestly hadn't thought of it like that.
"I never realised how -"
"Sying! Shang Xiang! Na's awake!"
It took a minute for what had been said to sink in, but when it did, they both scrambled to their feet, and ran over to the tent.
Na blinked. How had she got here? Wherever here was?
"How are you feeling?"
Na looked around, and saw Xun.
"I'm ok." Now that the initial confusion was out of the way, she could see the expression on Xun's face. He looked... very relieved. Na's heart leapt. Was Xun relieved that she was ok? it looked like the only explanation. But was it as a friend, or...
"Where's Sying?" she asked.
"I'm here." said a voice from the tent entrance. Na propped herself up on her elbows, ignoring the warning stabs of pain from her arm and head, and watched her twin walk over. Next thing she knew, Sying had swept her up in a huge embrace, which she returned.
After they had released each other, she sneaked a glance at Xun. Did he look slightly... resentful? ...No, probably not. She shuffled back, into a sitting position.
"How did I get here, anyway?" she asked. The other three exchanged awkward looks, before Sying answered.
"Do you remember when Gan Ning turned up?"
"Vividly."
"well... someone took a chunk out of your arm. You killed them, then you... collapsed."
There was an awkward pause as Na waited for the rest of the explanation that wasn't coming.
"So... is that it? And I collapsed?" Na said, looking embarassed. then, she remembered something.
"How's Ling Tong, anyway?" Catching Xun and Shang Xiang's puzzled expressions, she added, "That Gan Ning killed Ling Cao right in front of him."
"What?" burst out Shang Xiang.
"Yeah, I helped him get rid of that pirate. I'd forgotten about him, to tell you the truth." said Sying.
"If I know Tong, he'll have found somewhere to mourn on his own. And, also, to swear his revenge. They were really close." said Xun.
"In that case, he'll probably want to be left alone. Come on, we won! Let's go celebrate!" said Shang Xiang.
"You go without me, I'm knackered. I must have used loads of magic..." Sying said, stifling a yawn.
"I'll turn in, too. After what happened today, I'll just be embarassed." Na answered, shrugging.
"I might." said Xun, non-comittally. Shang Xiang rolled her eyes.
"You're all a right boring lot, you know that?"
"At least we won't have monster hangovers tomorrow." said Xun, before instinctively ducking. When nothing came flying past him, he risked opening an eye. Shang Xiang shook her head, smiling amusedly before exiting.
Na swung her legs off the bed, and stood up, a bit uncertainly.
"Are you ok, Na?" Sying asked, appearing at her elbow.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit disorientated..." she shook her head, and walked out of the tent, with Sying following.
Na awoke to the sound of shouting. Propping herself up onto her elbow, she glanced accross at Sying. He was still soundly asleep. She smiled softly, before slipping out of bed, pulling on her shoes, and quietly exiting into the cool night air outside of their tent.
Creeping silently through the shadows towards the shouting, she glimpsed other people crawling out of their tents, or being woken by the shouting. She followed the sounds of shouting throuhg the camp until she reached the main tent, where she dithered in the shadows, until a soldier ran past her. She quickly grabbed him, and dragged him into the shadows.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"The pirate Gan Ning has surrendered to us, my Lady!" the soldier stuttered. Na let him go, and he ran off. Gan Ning, the strongest man under Huang Zu's command, was willingly surrendering to them? What about all the soldiers he had killed? What about -
She froze. What about Ling Tong?
Na bit her lip, and slipped off into the shadows again. Maybe it would look better in the morning...
A/N: Gasp! Gan Ning of the Bells has surrendered? Whatever will happen? I'll tell you when I decide. Toodles!