The first thing Zhao Yun noticed was that the ground had grown soft. Curious, he opened his eyes and looked around. The hole that had been his prison for two weeks was gone. In its place was something remarkable. If this was what the afterlife looked like, he decided that it wouldn't be that bad. The room was a mirror image of his own back home. Everything was blanketed in light. The breeze brought the sounds and smells of Cheng Du though his window. It was almost perfect.
He tried to push himself upright. Pain shot through his chest. That's not right, he thought. I shouldn't feel anything if I'm dead. Yun tried to move again. He gasped as his vision clouded. What's happening?
The door opened. Yun inclined his head as far as he could. He had not expected to see a smiling Jiang Wei walking towards him. The young man's face was puffy and bruised. One of this arms was in a splint. He didn't seem to notice his own injuries though as he took a seat beside Yun's bed.
"Jiang Wei? What is this?"
"I believe this is your room, my friend."
"I'm not dead?"
Wei tilted his head to the side, still grinning. "Not unless you want to be. You were very close to it. The doctor wasn't sure if you'd be able to make it back."
Zhao Yun let his words sink in. He was still alive somehow. Wei had also been rescued. But that was impossible. Their army had been decimated by Zhang Yui, and the two of them had been separated and tortured. This had to be some kind of trick. He turned to Wei for answers. "Escape was-"
Jiang Wei suddenly stood and strode over to the window. His expression had changed from joy to sorrow in an instant. At length, he sighed and turned back to Yun. "We were the only two survivors. I didn't think we'd make it either. The gods decided that we were to live."
"What about Zhang Yui? And the traitors?"
"I dealt with the latter over a week ago. Zhang Yui was executed earlier this morning."
Shocked by the news, Zhao Yun tried to sit up again only to catch his breath in his lungs. Wei jumped up and helped him into a sitting position. After a few minutes, he had calmed down enough to talk. "You were serious about there being only two survivors."
Wei nodded. "Those that didn't die in the battle were either burned during our escape or fled the village."
"But…how did anyone know to come for us? Our messenger was killed before he could request reinforcements."
"We've taken for granted the bonds of friendship we have in Shu." He smiled sadly. "Yin Shang and Lady Mei became worried when they didn't hear from us. They hatched a plan to rescue our men."
"What?" Yun immediately regretted shouting, but the disbelief was impossible to keep in.
His cry brought the sounds of footsteps closer to his room. The doctor and Liu Bei burst in seconds later. "Zhao Yun, you're awake!" Liu Bei rushed to his officer's bedside and clasped Yun's hand in his. "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. If I had just listened to Lord Yin and sent a scout ahead, I could have prevented this."
"My lord, you are not to blame," Wei said before the tirade could continue. "Almost everyone was dead after the first wave. There would have been no one left to save."
Yun looked from the faces of his comrades to the doctor, who was busying himself with a bandage on Yun's right arm. "What happened? How long have I been out?"
"Just over a week," the doctor said without looking up. "And your songbird is what happened?"
"Lady Mei took matters into her own hands," Liu Bei explained. "She left the capital in search of you two and brought you back."
Yun looked at Wei. His expression had not changed. "She left all by herself?" Yun asked, incredulous that such a delicate young woman would undertake such a mission on her own. "Where is she?"
"In her own chambers," the doctor said. "Her injuries are not as bad as yours or Master Jiang Wei's, but they will take some time to heal."
"Wei," Yun begged, "I need to know what happened."
And he did. Jiang Wei relayed the entire tale while the doctor redressed Yun's wounds and Liu Bei helped him to stay upright. The strategist began with her unexpected appearance in his tent and their daring escape into the woods, retelling her account of Yin Shang's concern and her journey out of Cheng Du along the way. Wei told him about her discovery of the cellar, their diversion to clear the camp, and how she had dragged his body from the prison and onto a horse so they could escape.
Yun barely noticed anything else around him as he listened. Never in a thousand years did he imagine Mei Li was capable of such feats. This tale was the stuff of legend, the kind of story told in dining halls and around campfires to entertain others. Such events didn't happen in real life. Yet here was Wei, beaten and bruised but very much alive, telling him that such a tale actually happened. They were both living proof of it. So was Li, wherever she was currently located.
The doctor's voice brought him back to reality. "Well, it looks like you'll make a full recovery, Lord Zhao." He stood and bowed to the group. "We'll need to take small steps though. Focus on regaining mobility. Then you may return to your training. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have another patient to attend to."
Liu Bei stood as well. "I will accompany you. Lady Mei will want to know that Zhao Yun is awake." The leader of Shu bowed low to his officers. "Again, I am sorry for causing this mess. I hope you will forgive me, even though I do not deserve it."
Yun shook his head. "My lord, do not say such things. There was nothing you could have done."
"Come, my lord," the doctor said. "Your soldiers need time to come to terms with this, and I do not want to keep our lady waiting."
The officers watched Liu Bei and the doctor leave, Yun felt himself relax a little, leaning back against the pillows as far as he could go. Jiang Wei sunk lower into his chair. "He insisted on coming. He was waiting for us at the gates when we returned. Ma Chao said that he had been keeping a vigil ever since he discovered Li's disappearance. Yin Shang was at pains to explain the situation to him."
"Wei…how bad are Li's injuries?"
"Minor when you consider what could have happened." Wei's gaze dropped to the floor. "I limited the details of her plight to our lord. I didn't want him to despair further about what happened."
Yun felt the blood drain from his face. "Tell me the truth."
"She has two cracked ribs, a bruised hip, and two of her back teeth were knocked out. We had almost escaped when Zhang Yui came out of nowhere and pulled her from her horse. She shouted at me to leave. You were dying and she wanted to see you safe."
"And you just left her alone with that man?"
"I got about two paces when I turned around to try and fight him off. Instead I watched her scare the remaining horse away to keep Yui from chasing me. The determination on her face was not to be questioned." Yun watched, horrified, as a single tear fell from Jiang Wei's eye. It was painful to watch one of his closest friends begin to break down in front of him. "I rode as fast as I could. I had to get you to safety before I returned or her act of bravery would have been for nothing."
"But she's still alive."
Despite himself, Wei smiled. "I made it back to camp only to find Li standing over Yui with his sword in her hand. He had beaten her and tried to kill her, but she managed to get him off of her and hold him until I returned. Yui showed no resistance after that. Her courage silenced him."
"Her courage has silenced us all," Zhao Yun said. Wei nodded in agreement. No other words needed to be said on the matter. It was a remarkable twist of fate for all three of them - they had saved Li from a life of abuse only for her to save them both from death. The magnitude of such a gift was not lost on him.
He knew she was an incredible woman. She possessed bravery that put most soldiers to shame. Her kindness and generosity won her many loyal friends and admirers. She had a talent with music and an eye for strategy. Her presence in Cheng Du had changed everyone, including him. He couldn't deny that any longer.
"I want to see her," he said, suddenly overcome with the urge to make sure she was, indeed, here in Shu and in one piece.
Wei chuckled at his friend. "In time, Yun. She insisted that you be the focus of the doctor's attention, and he hasn't thought it wise for too many people to be in here. Speaking of which, I need to tend to some other matters." He stood, reaching out to grasp Yun's hand firmly in his own. "I'll be back to check on you later."
"Godspeed, my friend." Zhao Yun watched Wei leave before closing his eyes once again. He was alive, Zhang Yui was dead, and everything had been returned to normal. There was only one thing left to do. He needed to find his savior and tell her the things he'd wanted to for so long.
As his eyelids grew heavy and his body drifted into slumber, he knew he wouldn't have any trouble this time around.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
His recovery was slow, but not as slow as he'd anticipated. Within a couple of days Zhao Yun was up and moving around. He still needed help with sitting and standing, and it would likely take another month before he could hold his spear again, but it was welcome progress. Lord Liu Bei had assured him that there were no military threats present. He had all the time he needed to recover.
Yun also found himself with an influx of visitors during the first few days. His fellow Tiger Generals were elated that he and Jiang Wei were alive and on the mend. All of them promised to help him train once he was strong enough. Ma Chao in particular had spent a lot of time by his side. Yun thought it was an excuse to stay away from his wife. Lady Yang had not been pleased to wake up one morning and find her beloved horse gone. She had apparently forgiven Mei Li once she realized that Nightwind had volunteered for the job and, as Li pointed out, Xing's horse was the only one capable of getting her there in time. That didn't stop Chao's wife from assuming that he had put Li up to the idea.
The hardest visit had been from Yin Shang. The man had broken down in tears at the sight of Yun's condition. He apologized over and over for not being able to leave the treasury and for sending Li after them alone. Yun told him there was nothing to forgive. He understood the urgency of the situation, and without Shang's intervention he would have been dead. Both men parted that day feeling better and, oddly, more understood.
Only one person had refrained from seeing Zhao Yun. It had been eating away at him since he awoke in his own room. He knew Mei Li was well enough to walk around. Chao had even reported on her work in the stables. Yet she had stayed away from his room, not even bothering to send him a message or inquire about his health. He couldn't help but wonder about its cause. She had become his confidant since her arrival. He could talk to her about anything and she would listen completely. It wasn't like her. He needed to see her, to talk to her, to tell her what he was thinking. It was driving him crazy with worry and fear.
Finally, nearly a week after he returned to Cheng Du, he saw her from his bedroom window. She was sitting with her back to him, beneath the peach tree he remembered from their last walk together. It was in full bloom now. Even with such beauty around her, Li's posture was that of defeat. Her shoulders were drooping and her back was hunched. That wasn't acceptable to him. Not for someone who had been so strong and had risked so much for her friends.
His feet moved of their own volition, pulling him down the hall and into the gardens below. A couple of guards bowed to him, and two servants offered to assist him. Yun politely declined. He was on a mission, one that he knew he would survive. There was no need for reinforcements this time.
Mei Li stood up and turned just as he had reached her. Her face lit up at the sight of him. His heart began to beat faster. "My lord, you're walking!" She smiled, then immediately frowned when she noticed his limp. "Does the doctor know you're out here alone? You should at least have someone help-"
He put a finger against her lips. The tirade halted. "I wanted to surprise you. It's no trouble." Yun carefully lowered himself onto the bench and patted the spot she just vacated. "I haven't seen you since I left on my mission. Your company has been missed."
She blushed and sank back into her seat. "I'm sorry, my lord. You were very ill and I didn't want to be a burden. There were many others who wanted to see you. I thought they should have a chance before me."
"Li, you pulled me from the brink of death. Jiang Wei told me about your heroic rescue. Why would I want to see anyone else before you?"
"The blossoms were waiting for your return," she said, ignoring his comment.
"Li," he said softly, reaching out to take her hand in his, "you're changing the subject.'
A nervous giggle escaped her lips. "You were always able to read me better than anyone."
"Why did you really stay away?"
She turned her sad face to him. Tears brimmed but would not spill over. Even after the journey she had taken and the pain she had endured, she continued to be strong. "If I had taken one step into your chambers, I would not have been able to contain myself. You were broken, badly injured, and frail. I couldn't bear to see you in that condition." She looked back up at the colorful branches. "It was devastating enough to see what had happened to you. I didn't want you to put up with my hysterics while you were recovering."
"So you left me to Wei and Chao's devices?" He chuckled. The support of his friends was invaluable to him. Li knew that as well as he did. "Talking with them isn't the same. They're quick to add insight or random comments. They don't listen like you do."
"I'm sorry," she said. "It seemed like the right thing to do, letting you heal on your own."
"How are your own injuries?"
She winced. "The bruises will fade. My ribs will take a little longer, but I'm not itching to return to battle. Working with the songstresses is not a physically demanding job."
A gust of wind blew through the garden, pushing Li's hair away from her face. Zhao Yun felt his eyes widen with rage. Her pale, graceful neck was marred by deep, purple bruises. The pattern was nearly identical to the one she bore almost a year ago, that fateful night where he saved a frightened young woman from abuse.
Li quickly turned concerned eyes on him. "Yun?" Her voice was only a whisper. She gently squeezed his hand.
He hadn't realized that her hand was still clenched in his. "I'm sorry," he said, letting go but not removing his hand. "It's just…Li, I can't understand why you would risk so much for someone like me."
"Then you don't see yourself clearly." She folded her hands in her lap and looked out across the gardens. "I lost my mother when I was a very young girl. She was the only friend I had, the only one who seemed to understand me and my gifts. Even as I was passed from master to master, the other girls would stay away from me. Some were jealous; others were scared. I learned to swallow my emotions and hide behind a stoic façade. No one cared about me, so why should I feel anything for them?
"My life changed in an instant. The blindfold had literally been lifted one dark night by a man who had no reason to trust me and no reason to spare me. But I saw something in his eyes. There was concern and compassion, things I had not seen in many years. He cared about my well-being even though he didn't know me. I knew in that moment that if I could repay him for the kindness he had shown me, I would do whatever was necessary to make that happen."
Zhao Yun was stunned. "You rescued me to try and repay me?"
"You gave me a second chance. An entire lifetime of sorrow was wiped away with the offer of a home, friends, and work that I love. Did you think I would just let the one who gave me such a gift die for nothing?"
The tears she had been holding back began to fall freely. Yun impulsively reached out to wipe them away. "I'm just in awe that someone would risk their own safety for mine. You gave me your trust, shared your voice, and helped me to sort though my own inner turmoil. Li, you already repaid me."
"A life for a life, and yet I still feel as though my debt is unfulfilled." Li put her hand over his and leaned into his touch. A smile shone through her tears. "Even now, with your mind and body still on the mend, you continue to give. It is in your nature."
"I served many others before I began to help Lord Liu Bei with his cause, so I know what it's like to feel passed around. In Liu Bei I saw a man of virtue and honor, a man who strove to give more to the people who meant so much to him. I believed in these same things and wanted to be a part of his mission. He took me in, guided me, supported me, and praised my efforts daily. I've have spent my life trying to return the kindness he has shown me. I would give my life to keep him and his vision safe. Now I understand what such devotion looks like from the other side."
His face had changed. "Yun?" Li said hesitantly.
"Do you remember our first conversation, my lady? You told me that you knew of my name, passed along through war stories and feats of bravery and strength. I thought about that while lying in Zhang Yui's prison. My legacy was one of fighting and violence. My name was tainted by bloodshed. I had ignored the simpler things in life, the small things that bring such great joy. At that moment, I promised that if I had a second chance, I would correct that. If I survived, I would learn to live and love as fiercely as I fought."
Mei Li was shaking now, her body wracked with sobs like a small child. Yun reached out and gathered her in his arms. Her slender hands grabbed the front of his robe tightly as she soaked him with her tears. Zhao Yun was suddenly struck by the emotional toll this journey had taken on both of them. They had both made sacrifices for the other out of duty, loyalty, and love. He knew, as he held her and stroked her hair to calm her, that they had both changed dramatically. He also knew that if he let her go, his heart would shatter.
At length she stopped crying, but they continued to embrace under the shade of the peach tree. "You know," Li whispered, tilting her head up towards his, "this changes everything between us."
"You're saying that this connection wasn't here all along?" Yun questioned.
"No, but…I was always afraid to say anything. I didn't want to be a distraction. Yet I couldn't help myself. You're the only man that's made me feel complete." She leaned back to look him square in the eye. Zhao Yun knew what she was going to say before the words left her mouth. "I love you."
"I know," he said, and bent his head down to kiss her. Until his lips touched hers, he hadn't realized how long he wanted that. Until he felt her touch, he hadn't understood what it meant to love another so unconditionally. Until he whispered those same words in her ear and saw her face transform from happiness, he hadn't known what it was like to be completely captivated by one person.
It relieved him to know that she felt the same way. They were two hearts connected by their journey and bound by love. It had taken a long time for them to find each other, a long time for their old wounds to be healed and for their layers of protection to unravel. There was time now to savor this new gift - the gift of a lifetime together.
And as he took Mei Li's hand and guided her into the castle to speak to their lord, he realized how much he was looking forward to it. This would be a journey worth fighting. The Little Dragon won loyalty through his prowess on the battlefield. The Tigress won hearts with her music and courage. Together, they would win the blessings of a nation and the love of the people.
After all, even the most broken of souls can have a happy ending.