I do not own Dynasty Warriors... (Sigh...)
Found Out Of Water
Chapter 7: The Eventful Day Part 2...
Da clenched her eyes shut as she clung to the horse's mane as she gave out silent shrieks and took panicked breaths.
She managed to gain a tiny amount of her composure to open one of her eyes slightly; her eyes shot open seeing a low thick branch almost directly in front of her.
The moment she came in contact with the hard tree she was airborne and landed with a crash sending her unconscious as the gleaming wild white horse carried on galloping none the wise.
As soon as he was there Ce jumped off of his horse and was in an instant by her.
"Da!" he cried concerned as he kneeled down close to her
He placed one hand on the top of her head and the other on her cheek as he quickly looked for any signs of her wakening. He got out a small dagger from his belt and put it under her nose checking to see if she was still breathing.
He did not notice Da fluttering her eyes open feeling the pain of the fall before noticing him.
She immediately went a scarlet red and did not notice the sudden brightness of her necklace.
He was relieved seeing her breath on his dagger before looking back to her.
The two were sent into some kind of a trance looking into each other's eyes. With the blush on her face and the feeling that came from her eyes, he thought she had never looked more beautiful.
He leaned down to her slightly making her gulp.
He was so close when...
"Hello there!" cried a female voice
The two were snapped out of their reverie as they looked at each other for a second before looking to the woman who was holding the reins of Zhou Yu's horse.
She was an aging woman with thinning dark brown hair and deep green eyes; she looked as if she worked every day and was a slightly big boned woman.
"My, what a necklace you have there" cried the woman noticing the brightness of it
The two looked at it...
Ce couldn't help but ask. "Did it always do that?"
Da looked up to him as the woman approached them with the horse.
"Why don't you come back to my cottage? It's close by and you might've been injured by your fall" suggested the woman
Da looked at Ce as he nodded to the woman. "Thanks..."
He helped her up, keeping her close to him.
"Here, let me guide your horse, you probably want to make sure she's okay yourself first" she said with a smile that just increased Da's blush as she took the reins of the horse
Ce cleared his throat lightly as he turned to her putting his hands on his shoulders.
"Are you hurting anywhere?" he asked, his voice full of concern and seriousness
Da shook her head but it did not satisfy him.
"Are you sure?" he asked
She couldn't help but smile a little at his concern as she nodded and he let it suffice for the moment.
He kept his arms round her keeping her close being especially protective in front of anyone they didn't know.
The old woman's cottage was situated on a sandy area with a lake next to it that eventually led back to the ocean.
Da stood obediently by Ce as he knocked on the door with the horses tied up outside. When she didn't come, he opened the door peering in before going in taking Da's hand as he did so.
"Hello!" he called
"In here!" she replied as they entered the kitchen
Da saw her putting what looked like another copy of her necklace in a small container before locking it up as Da watched confused.
She turned to them with a friendly smile before looking at Da slightly concerned.
"Dear, you look a little flustered, why don't you sit down?" she suggested
Da had to ask herself, was she blushing because he was holding her hand? She shook her head slightly to herself, of course she was!
They sat down as she made them some green tea.
"Take as long as you need, you don't want any accidents on your back" she told them with friendly voice
Da smiled gratefully at her before taking a sip of her tea. "I'm sure your mother and father will be worried"
Ce bunched his eyes together "We're not related"
The woman couldn't help but give a light laugh "No, I think that's quite obvious"
Ce cleared his throat lightly as Da tilted her head to the side not knowing what she meant.
The woman smiled good naturedly at them "My son can take back one of your horse's tomorrow-"
"Son?" asked Ce
She nodded "Yes, he's away now but he'll be back later today, we had a young girl staying with us, around the age of you miss-"
"Da" corrected Ce
She smiled at him "Qiang, I suppose there's no reason to ask yours, prince of Wu"
Ce said nothing not wanting to discuss it with someone who could take advantage of them. "You were saying"
"Oh, it's nothing really, Himiko can be such an unruly child at times but I know she means well, she does take after her mother, Ji was always like that..." she mused before looking at them "My apologies, it's not your concern, Chao will bring your horse tomorrow"
"I can take em both" replied Ce
"Can you look after both of them and Da? I would rather you not take the risk" cried Qiang
Da looked at Ce wanting to tell him he didn't have to worry about her but she sighed gaining their attention.
"Dear?" inquired Qiang
She instantly looked at them with a genuine smile as she shook her head.
Qiang nodded understanding "I see" she said with a soft tone as she put their empty cups on a tray and placed it on the counter.
"My son's like that" she finished "He hasn't got voice, not yet anyway"
Da looked at her; maybe it was just a coincidence that Qiang had a necklace just like hers and that her son didn't have a voice...but either way it wasn't any of her business.
"We should probably get going" cried Ce as he stood up taking Da with him
Qiang nodded understanding "I'm sure everyone will be very worried about you both..."
"Yeah..." agreed Ce for the sake of it, he honestly thought that the only one to be worried was Xiao, he could imagine her freaking out the second the horse sped off but he seriously doubted anyone would be worried about him, they knew he could handle himself
"Thanks" cried Ce ready to leave before Da tapped him on his arm lightly making him remember to tell her where to bring the horse "We live at the-"
"The palace, I know" she cut in "I should know where the prince of Wu lives after all"
"Right." Agreed Ce before they made their way outside
Da bowed her thanks to Qiang before Ce helped her onto the horse.
Ce nodded to her before the two set off.
Da looked up to him apprehensively, she wanted to say sorry to him and that she would try and do better in future but she couldn't communicate anything without Xiao.
"It's alright" he told her making her look up to him with bunched eyebrows, he shrugged slightly "You just had a guilty face and all, I just assumed...so you don't have to worry about anyone being mad at you, they'll all just be glad to know you're safe...and besides, I like making sure you're okay"
She couldn't help but smile at him making him clear his throat lightly, what he had to her made her stomach twist in knots and she wasn't able to take the smile off of her face.
Ce started his horse off on a quick trot back to the castle. She shook slightly as the horse gave a light bounce.
The horse took them back to the stables. Ce stopped the horse as he looked down to Da where she had eventually nestled herself against his chest as she struggled to keep her eyes open. To her he was very comfortable but she hadn't thought he would be, he wasn't rough or serious with her, he was sort of soft – for him anyway and careful with her.
He watched her struggle to flutter her eyes open before giving a graceful yawn as she tried to cover most of it with her hand. He subconsciously decided it was the most endearing sight he had ever seen that he couldn't look away.
She looked up to him and it took him a couple of seconds to realise she was waiting for him to do something but he wasn't sure what...
A few more seconds later and she waved her hand in front of his face checking he was alright. He chuckled slightly as he put her hand down with his own.
"Sorry about that..." he mumbled
She gave him a smile that practically glowed; he couldn't help but start to close the distance between them, her face immediately changed to anxiousness as she swallowed.
He was so close to her when...
"What do we have here?" came Lady Wu's highly amused but somewhat stern voice from the entrance of the stables
The moment immediately passed them by as they looked to see her with her lips pursed together obviously not embarrassed as Da's face immediately went to a crimson red and Ce couldn't meet his mother's eyes.
She let out a light chortle as two young girls who were both clairvoyants about a year older than Ce came behind her. They were identical twin sisters with chestnut hair tied into an intricate bun and wearing traditional formal Chinese dresses making them look regal.
The two girls giggled in unison. "We told you he wouldn't be alone"
Lady Wu shook her head slightly "This isn't what I had in mind though..."
The two hid their giggles behind their hands "We did"
"Hey Ma..." mumbled Ce quietly as he rubbed the back of his head lightly
"I come home expecting to be greeted by my family and not the generals who I don't actually live in the castle and only Quan and Zhou Tai bother to say hello" she cried unimpressed
"Well...we were out..." tried Ce before motioning to Da "This is Da..."
Lady Wu smiled politely at her but could not shake the feeling of familiarity from her while Da managed a small smile as she bowed stiffly.
Lady Wu opened her mouth to speak which Ce had no doubt would embarrass Da and make her shy away.
"We'll go get the others" he said quickly as he put his hands on her shoulders and started to quickly lead her out
Lady Wu put her hands on her hips as the girls behind her giggled.
As soon as they were a safe distance away in the gardens Ce let her go as she smiled hearing Xiao loudly worrying about her.
"You should go calm her down," he said after hearing her and seeing the two failing to calm her down
Da nodded before starting gracefully scamper to Xiao as he followed behind her easily keeping up with his normal speed.
As soon as Xiao caught the slightest glimpse of her sister, she gasped and shouted for her as she ran and tackled her to the ground.
"Sis don't scare me like that again! Okay?" she cried worried
Da nodded with a smile as she sat up.
"Hey Da, glad to see your back, we thought Brother lost you for sure" chirped Shang Xiang
"Yeah!" agreed Xiao scared
"Thanks" came Ce's voice
"They didn't" assured Yu "They were just worried about Da"
"Same thing" muttered Xiao before turning her attention to Da "Are you okay? Did you get you hurt?" she asked concerned
Da shook her head with a happy smile making Xiao sigh in relief.
"Ma wants to see us-" started Ce
"She's back?" asked Shang Xiang more to herself
"Don't worry, I'll get Sis checked out, while you go see the old lady!" chirped Xiao happy to have her sister again
"Do you know where the infirmary is?" asked Ce not believing that she did
Xiao's face faltered "W-well..."
"I'll take them there and follow you on" said Yu as he put a hand on Xiao's shoulder making her happy again
Ce nodded "Right, I'm sure Da's fine though..."
"Well, I don't believe you!" cried Xiao defensively
"Alright, let's go before you make Xiao even angrier!" cried Shang Xiang
Ce took one last look at Da's smile before following Shang Xiang....
Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'll take on board what you say!
Remember if you want the next chapter please REVIEW!!
P.S. So happy that Da's back in the game, I know it was announced a while ago but...oh well