This chapter has been edited and re-post. Don't care? Skip it.

I must say thank you to Ritalyn for pointing out that I had mistakenly copied the last chapter over this one. I am sorry for that. Here is the real 'Plotting'

I do not own any of the DW characters; they belong to Koei or whoever. I do own the OC and some minor characters that might pop up.

I remember the calm, feeling the light as it covered my body and the soothing sound of gentle humming. Slowly I cracked one eye open, the light searing it until I squished it close again. The humming ceased, the ruffling of soft fabric filled the void left by the soft voice. Soon I felt a cool hand touching my face; an involuntary mumble escaped my lips followed by a soft giggle from my caregiver.

"Hush now little one." The voice was almost like bells. I knew she was not human. "You need to listen to me. Heed my words well. Our deal is not finished, and you are not safe. You must return to him. You must fulfill your promise to me. Dark will come soon, when it does aim for the river. Follow it downstream. Help will be near."

Words spoken the light and the presence faded from me. I felt colder than before, but there was a blanket over me. Slowly I opened my eyes; I was in a tent. Sitting up I took in my surrounding a little better. All around me were what I assumed to be rather expensive items. Sitting by the far side was a stand with large porcelain bowl and pitcher on it. I moved to stand; a sharp pain in my side caused me to stop. That is right I had been hit. I had almost forgotten. Moving the blankets, I took in the sight of my nearly bare top half, save for large fresh bandages around my midsection. Gently I pressed on my ribs on the left side and bit back the cry of pain that came to my throat. Shifting at the flap door caught my attention; quickly I covered myself with the blanket.

A man's voice came from the flaps, "Miss, please cover yourself for a moment. I must speak with you." He was quiet for a few minutes before he moved one flap just enough to look in. His gaze transfixed on mine and he slowly pulled his full body into the tent. My curious look turned in to, what I am sure was the nastiest glare I have or could ever muster. He was the same axe wielding man that had injured both Xing Cai and Guan Ping and dragged me over the wall. I could see a flash of something in his eyes before he sighed and held out his hand. In it was some almost indigo fabric to which I cocked my brow at him.

"They are clothes, unless you wish to remain mostly naked. My men would appreciate it; my lord however, would not." He moved to bring the clothes to my now outstretched hand. I placed them in my lap and looked back up at him, relaying my wish for privacy without speaking. He nodded and stepped back out of the tent, but I could see his silhouette in front of the entryway.

Grabbing the top bit of cloth I unfolded it to see a rather pretty shirt like dress thing. I slid it over my head and after a few moments finally got it straight. It was almost like a tee shirt that had a series of buttons that ran up the outside of my left breast to the center of my throat. With a little effort, and batting away the offers of help coming from the shadow in the entry of the tent, I stood to see whether I was wearing a dress. I realized it was not quite one. That explained the black pants that were still sitting on my bed. There were two flaps on the shirt, one in the front and one in the back, which began at my hips and extended to my knees. They left my lower body fairly uncovered, I snatched up the pants, and with a little more effort, I managed to get them on without falling completely over. However, I did come close a few times. With a limp, I made my way to the bowl and pitcher on the side of the room. Looking down into the pitcher I took note, it was empty.

Behind me, I heard the flaps move again, I heard him quietly chuckle before he spoke, "I was unsure of how long you were going to be out so I had them hold off on filling it. That way it would not be cold before you woke. If you would like I can have them fill it now." I turned to him and shook my head. Carefully I thought how to word my question. I would not want to give away too much of what I already knew. I tried to muster an innocent tone as I spoke in little more than a whisper, "Is there somewhere nearby I could bathe?" I saw a slight smile tug at the corners of his mouth; I mentally winced. Had I failed at my feigning of ignorance?

If I had, he was better at his when he spoke, "There is a river close by. However, you are injured and we are in a bit of a hurry. Could you wait a few days, maybe three, or four? By then we will be near another one and your wound should be well enough to allow for a quick dip." It was clear I had no chance of changing his mind.

I was unable to hide my grimace at the instant failure of my thirty-second plan. He again chuckled, at the look on my face. He moved toward me, his eyes not leaving my own, as he seemed to float across the floor. As he neared me, I stood my ground; he raised an eyebrow. Reaching past my unmoving form, he grabbed the handle of the pitcher and held it up between us. The smile that had been tugging at his face finally came fully as he spoke, "My apologies, Princess, but you must be content with a simple wash basin for the time being." He turned and went back out of the tent. I heard him called to another, they approached him, and he handed the pitcher to the smaller man while giving him instructions. I looked around the room for another excuse to leave the tent. I could tell by the fading light seeping through the canvass dwelling that dark was coming soon; I had to think of something quick. Glancing to the bed, I spotted the abandoned indigo slippers that the man had given me with the clothes. Moving as quickly as my sore side would allow went back to the bed and sat down. He returned, pitcher in hand, as I was sliding the second shoe on.

"Are you cold, my lady?" I almost balked at his words; realizing then that he was acting as if I were a trapped royal. I shook my head and went to stand again. This time I was not given the choice of refusing his help as I struggled to stand. He placed a gentle hand on my upper arm and carefully helped pull me to my feet. Once up I huffed and shrugged off his hand. Maybe I could use his seemingly respectful attitude to my advantage. He spoke as I moved to the stand where the pitcher and bowl sat noticing that he had filled the bowl with water and had gotten me a cloth to use. I blinked, surprised at how quick he could move. Chastising myself for missing the few details silently while I soaked the cloth and wiped it across my face; clearing off the left over paint that Mei had put on me before the party.

While I cleaned up the man continued to speak, "I must apologize again, Princess, I fear I have been quite rude. My name is Zhang Liao, I was sent by Lord Cao Cao to collect you. He seems to believe you are too important to leave in the care of those uncivilized brutes of Shu." At this, I nearly fell over in shock, 'uncivilized brutes'. Who were the ones that crashed a rather nice party, attacked people that had been more than kind to me and kidnapped me? I decided it would be wise to keep my mouth shut while he continued to speak, "As well as I must apologize for you injury, Zhang He can be a bit rougher than need be sometimes. The medics have assured me that it is only a few cracked ribs and you will recover quickly."

Finishing wiping my face, I rinsed the cloth and draped it over the edge of the basin. With as deep of a breath as I could take, I turned to face him again. Biting my bottom lip unsure if my next wing it plan was going to work but I figure 'here goes nothing', "Do you think I could at least take a walk? I feel like I haven't moved in a month," I brought my voice to a whisper to sound as pathetic as I could, regret may get him to agree, "Besides, I have always heard that keep one's blood flowing helps wounds to heal."

His eyes again flashed with the same thing as before. He let out a low growl before he held his hand out to move the tent flap to the side. I smiled and whispered a quiet 'thank you' as I scurried out of the opening. I got no more than two steps from the tent and he had his hand on my arm. I turned and tried my innocent look again; question his act. With his free hand, he gestured to a large tent nearby. It was enormous and had open sides. There were many men inside it. I stared for a few moments before I realized what it was the mess hall!

"I also, often hear that eating will help the body heal. Will that satisfy your need to walk, my lady?" He almost sounded like my brother used to when he was being a know-it-all. I wanted to growl now, wisely kept it in whilst he ushered me to the tent. Inside the building, I could barely hear my own thoughts over the rowdy conversations. Zhang Liao led me to a table at the far end and had me sit on a stool with my back to the open wall. He nodded to me again, telling me that he would get my food and to wait for him here. I nodded back to him, before he turned to walk away. Just as I was shifting to turn in my chair, a figure appeared next to me. I looked up to see the man that had fought Zhao Yun in the garden staring most intently at me. I raised my eyebrow to him, he gave me a grin that gave me the idea he was getting ready to eat me.

He then took a seat on the stool next to me; his voice put me to mind of a drag queen when he let it fly from his lips, "You know, attempting to run is not in your best interest. Lord Cao Cao was insistent that we bring you to him alive and unharmed. However, you never know with soldiers, sometimes they disobey orders and can be a bit… oh shall we say, rough." I flashed him an un-amused look and continued to turn and face the opening. I could see him tense but as soon as I had a good view, I settled in. I was content just staring out to the forest beyond. I had my reasons for doing so but he did not need to know that. He seemed intrigued, for he turned to see what I was looking at. With the last bits of the fading light I could see two men coming from the woods, each of them carried clearly heavy buckets. When one sloshed his, I smiled in my mind, water.

The sound of dishes hitting the table behind me prompted me to crane my head around to see Zhang Liao almost glaring at me as he set his meal on the table across from mine. I nodded to him and whispered my gratitude for the meal as I slowly turned to eat. Now I knew where the river was, all I need was a distraction. I began to scan the men in the area as I slowly ate my food. Rowdy, the whole lot; I just needed something to set them off. From the other side of the room I spotted my opening. With an internal smile, I took another bite. Well here goes….

PS- Please R&R the reviews would help me greatly in writing, I would like to know what you think of the story so far.

Thanks

-Alwayshappytohelp