A/N: Sorry this chapter wasn't posted earlier. I've had writers block, cute little psycotic kittens wielding claws, transfer projects, a new school to get used to, and a badly twisted ankle to battle through. But I'm back, and still marginally sane, so I hope you enjoy this next chapter. (I apologise in advance for the messed-up time scale)
Disclaimer: I didn't own the rights when I started, and I sure as hell don't now. Apart from the twins, Sying Long and Na Mei. So there.
There was darkness all around. That was a bit of a shock. How did that get there?
That was a stupid question. It would probably get a stupid answer.
There was also complete silence. Not the silence of thousands of everyday, little background noises. Complete and utter silence that felt like a vaccuum.
Well, this was new. But, and this was the suprising bit, it wasn't scary. There was nothing to be scared of, and being scared of nothing was stupid.
Out of the endless void, there floated a picture. It was of a young woman, wielding twin maces. She was outside a small hut, made of mud bricks and straw thatching. Was it... home? And Mother?
The picture of the woman passed, and another one floated past. It was of a man, this time. He was tall, and he looked immensly strong. He was wielding an evil looking haleberd, and wore some strange antennae things on his ornate head piece. He was standing proudly in a field of bloody corpses. Father? What's going on?
As soon as the image had passed, another one emerged. This time it was of a small boy. He was sat on the ground, crying. In front of him was a broken urn. I remember that urn... he boke it years ago. Mother was furious with him. Oh, where are you now, Sying?
The image rolled past as another one appeared. They seemed to be getting faster and faster. This time, it was another boy, but he was 15. He was flushing slightly, but nodded curtly. He wore red clothes that revealed his stomach, and a winged hat. Lu Xun... you ever looked that young? You're so much older now. Oh, I wish you were here now... I need some support...
The pictures drifted past... the Wu palace; Sun Ce sitting on the throne; Sun Shang Xiang sitting in a tree and laughing; Lu Xun down at the docks, spilling his past; weapons practice on the dummies; the burned ruin of their hut; the look of fear on the villagers faces; the tiger that had mauled Sying before it was killed; Lu Xun's face...
The flying images rose to a blur of white, which slowly faded to reveal a green pasture.
"Na!"
Na turned to see Lu Xun and Sying Long emerging from the shrubbery behind her. She ran over and hugged them, feeling a lump in her throat.
"Na, you have to beat it. You can do it." Xun whispered in her ear.
"Beat what?" she said, confused.
"You'll know when the time is right. You'll know what to do. Go with your gut." said Sying.
"What do you mean?" Na cried out.
"You must beat it. Don't let us down." said Xun, handing her the Twin Wonders. Na took them, just as a twig snapped behind her. She span around to see a sickly green giant.
"Good luck!" came a faint voice, that became a whisper on the breeze. Na knew with a sudden certainty she was all alone. Alone with this hideous green thing.
"What are you?" she shouted at it. It turned its ashen head towards Na.
"I Am Your Death."
Something about the leaden tones it spoke in froze her, so she just had enough sense of survival to leap to the side. As the giant lumbered past with suprising speed, the greenery withered and wilted into a brown mush. The leaves fell of the trees, and soon the whole clearing was a mass of dead and dying shrubbery.
Na scrambled to her feet, and turned to face the monster. It laughed as it turned to her.
"You Are Brave, But I Will Win!" it roared, before rushing at her again. This time, she was too slow, and the monster sliced her arm in the same place the sword had slashed it, and all of a sudden, she knew. The man who had slashed her had poisoned her, and now she was fighting for her life. And losing.
Red hot rage coursed through her as she stood up and turned again to the monster.
"Is that all you've got, Bogeyman?" she snarled. Before the horrible apparation could react, she ran up to it, jumping at the last minute, and thrusting with her twin wonders. The blades were buried up to the hilt in the monster's ashen flesh, and before her eyes, it withered, the remains sagging like a dirty old sack.
As the monster vanished, Na stood up, with her blades dripping. Without knowing quite why, she let out a primal scream of rage. As she screamed, the life flooded back into the little clearing. The trees and bushes sprouted leaves; the withered flowers sprang upright and practically glowed. As the scream ended, the scene faded into darkness.
And Na opened her eyes.
"Na?"
Na blinked at the ceiling, before looking at her brother.
"Sying?" she said. Sying emitted a dry sob before pulling his sister into a bone-crunching hug.
"Oh, god, we were so worried... thank god you're okay... I was so worried for you..."Sying murmured into her shoulder, tears flooding down his face. Na sat up and hugged him back, tears making their way down her face.
"Na? Na!"
"Xun!"
Xun ran over and joined in the hug. They stayed in the embrace for several minutes.
"You were unconscious for 5 days, we thought you'd never wake up..." said Sying.
"...You mean I nearly died."
It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Xun and Sying exchanged uneasy glances.
"Lord Sying! Lady Sun wants to see you."
They all turned to the doorway where a messenger stood.
"Can it wait?" Sying asked.
"I don't think so, my lord."
Sying sighed.
"Tell her I will be up in a few minutes." Sying turned back to Na, hugging her before leaving. As he reached the doorway, he paused, and turned back to her. "Take it easy, alright?" he said, a playful grin on his lips.
Na watched him go in silence.
"...Na...I...I..."
She turned back to Xun, her heart in her throat. Was he...?
"Yes?" she gently prompted. Please say what I think you're going to say...
"I..." Xun swallowed nervously. "I've wanted to say this since the day I met you, but I've never found the courage..." He paused again, screwing up his dwindling courage. When he spoke, it came out in a rush.
"I love you. I've always loved you. At first I didn't realise it, but it's true. When you were unconscious, I thought that was it. I'd had my chances. I thought I'd lost you forever..."
He was suddenly silenced as Na pressed her lips to his. When they broke apart, Na stared deep into Xun's eyes.
"I've always loved you, too."
Sun Shang Xiang sat in front of her mirror, nervously pulling a brush through her thick auburn hair. Was she doing the right thing?
She had just put her brush back on the dresser when someone cleared their throat behind her.
"You wanted to see me?" Sying said as she turned to face the door. Shang Xiang stood up and walked over to him.
"Do you love me?" she asked. Sying blinked, momentarily stunned.
"W...why do you ask?" he managed to say.
"Because I think I love you." she said softly, and watched as a grin slowly appeared on Sying's face. Her heart skipped a beat as she mirrored his huge grin.
Pulling him inside the room, she grabbed him around the waist and kissed him. Sying froze at the sudden contact, but instantly relaxed into the kiss. He was beginning to realise how much he loved this woman - her touch was electrifying, her smell the finest fragrance in the world. He ran her hands up and down Shang Xiangs back, pulling her deeper into the kiss.
Eventually, and reluctantly, they broke apart.
"Will your brother approve?" Sying asked.
"Will your sister approve?" she countered. "Besides, he's desparate for me to get married, and he certainly approves of you. Who wouldn't, after you single-handedly scared the hell out of the enemy soldiers and took down the man responsible for Wu's founding father's death?"
"That was a long time ago - I'm sure people will have forgotten by now."
"You'd be surprised. Anyway, how is your sister?"
Sying's face split into a pumpkin grin.
"She woke up five minutes ago."
"That's great!"
Smiling at each other, they slipped their arms around the others waists and kissed again.
"Alright, people, enough chatter. We've just recieved wod that Wei is moving their entire naval fleet up the Chang Jiang.We need to intercept them before they reach us. The ideal intercept point is near Chi Bi, but we'll need to move out next week if we want to get there on time."
Various officers shifted uncomfortably in their chairs as Zhou Yu continued, pushing wooden figures around on a map.
"We will be allied with Shu during this battle. I know some of you have enmities with some of the Shu officers, but we must put these aside for the sake of victory." Several officers grinned - Yu's own personal differences with Zhuge Liang were well known. "The Wei forces vastly outnumber us, but we should be able to come up with a plan to ensure our victory. Also, if we win this battle, we will need to have some of you further up the river in case Cao Cao tries to escape. Please begin preparations for this battle - on no accounts will it be easy. I will send a mesage around when the details are decided."
Sying, Shang Xiang, Xun, and Na exited the meeting hall together. It was unseasonably hot, and all everyone could think of was the cool water of the spring at the other end of the palace grounds.
"What do you make of this proposed battle, then?" said Sying conversationally.
"Well, Cao Cao is after Liu Bei, which is why they've allied with us. They have at least twice as many men as us, as well as boats, but the Sun family was practically brought up on a boat, so we have the advantage naval-wise. Plus, Yu has the pleasure of devising a plan with Zhuge, but at least Huang Gai is there to stop Yu killing Zhuge..." Xun trailed off. Na, Shang Xiang, and Sying were all staring at him. He shrugged nervously. "Hey, you learn a lot when you're training to be a strategist."
"It could be an interesting battle, then. You think Cao Cao really means business?" said Shang Xiang as they emerged into the pleasant sunlight outside.
"There's no such thing as a half-hearted battle, Shang. I heard that Xiahou Yuan and Zhang Liao are going to be there. They're tough opponents once they get going." said Xun. "You'll be ok, anyway. Quan won't let you go to the front - he'll probably make sure you're with the party down the river waiting to get Cao Cao when he tries to escape. You know how he is - he won't want his only baby sister to go injuring herself. That is, if he lets you go at all."
They approached the spring just as a gentle breeze struck up. It had been fully a month since Na had recovered from the poison - in that time, Ling Tong had discovered about Gan Ning's newfound loyalty, and had already attempted to kill him, and, of course, there had been an increase of Shu people in the region.
The four friends sank gratefully down onto the grass, trailing their fingers in the cool water, and chatting idly.
"You've finally got together then, you two." said Sying, propping himself up with his elbows, a playful grin on his face.
"So have you and Shang." Na countered lightly.
"It won't be long before the rest of the castle, or at that, the rest of China, know about us. The walls might not be full of ears, but the servants certainly are." said Shang Xiang, rolling onto her back and squinting up into the cloudless sky.
"And? What does it matter that people know who is together with who? All it does is turn into gossip." said Sying.
"Talking of gossip, you're still all the rage down in the town. I wouldn't be suprised if even Wei knew about you." Shang Xiang shuffled closer to the spring. "Which means, either the Wei soldiers will take one look at you and run, or they'll target you. Same goes for you, Na. I know for a fact we always target the strongest person first - Wei will probably be the same."
Na and Sing glanced at each other, suddenly worried. Xun noticed the sudden tension.
"You'll be okay. We don't even know you'll be up at the front yet - you might be one of those stationed down the river to catch Cao Cao."
"And the chances of that are? They won't want to waste 'our talents' on something that may never happen. Cao Cao has never run as far as I know." said Na.
They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, before Shang Xiang broke it.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, really. We might as well just sit back and let it happen. Whatever it is. I mean, come on, it's a lovely day, the siun is shining and the spring is nice and cool. Let's enjoy it while it lasts."
"Yeah, you're right. Come on, we could be doing anything! Who fancies a game of Go?" said Na brightly.
"We don't have a board." pointed out Xun.
"We can get one! Come on, You versus me, and Sying versus Shang. Winners play each other."
They whiled away the rest of the day until the sun sank below the horizon. As expected, Xun won both games, with Shang Xiang a close second. As they packed up the board, Na laughed.
"I suppose we should have known better than to challenge a strategist to a game like this. Come on, I reckon the evening meal should be ready now."
"Oh, that reminds me. We're eating with the Shu generals. You and Sying are lucky - you get to sit together. I'll be stuck on the Royal table, talking about strategies for the upcoming battle." Shang Xiang said, pulling a face.
"Hey, I'll be up there, too. If you think it's bad, try being the one they quiz on tactics all the time. Not fun." Xun said glumly.
They reached the entrance to the palace, and entered in silence. Inside, there seemed to be more servants than usual bustling around.
"Oh, hang on a minute, I need to get changed." said Na as they passed the staircase.
"Ok, I'll get you a seat." said Sying as Na started up the stairs.
She went up to her room, quickly rifled through her clothes until she found the right ones, and ducked behind the screen in the corner. As she emerged, she heard a slight rustle from out on the balcony. Fastening her belt, she carefully went out into the pleasantly warm night air, and looked around.
"Must have imagined it." she muttered to herself as she entered her room again. Shoving a few extra things into her pockets, she braced herself for the evening of male bravado that was to come, and went down into the hall again.
A dark shape hangingin the ivy below the balcony grinned to itself. After making sure she wasn't coming back, it flipped easily onto the jutting balcony and inspected the crumbling brickwork. When it had satisfied itself, it moved into Na's room, chuckling darkly.
"So that's who they're after. She doesn't look so tough, but..."
The shape pulled something out of it's cloak, placing it inconspicuously in a drawer, glanced around, and hopped out of the window where it disappeared into the shadows.
A/N: Finally I have reached the end of the chapter! (Does a lil victory dance)... Ahem. Yes. Well, if any of you have any suggestions or ideas as to where the hell I am going with this, please review and tell me! We can save the story yet! Toodles for now!