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

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.

If felt as if I had only been asleep ten seconds, when I felt Sun Shang Xiang gently shake my shoulder. I growled at her and tossed over to my side. Shooting up right from the searing pain, I remember my injury. I heard her let out a little laugh as she reach out to help me up. Quickly she helped me dress in some thicker clothes and exit the tent. She led me over by a small fire where a few others sat woofing down breakfast. It was still dark but by the light, I could see Ling Tong among the group as I sat down. A bowl was thrust into my hands and I began to eat as quickly as I could get it to go down.

Behind me, I heard people taking down and packing away the tent I had slept in. Glancing around me, I noticed that everything else had been packed away. They had let me sleep as long as possible. That was kind of them. Abruptly I was torn from my thoughts by Ling Tong and the person from the night before sniping insults at one another. I turned to the two of them. The other man was leaning over Ling Tong as he sat on a log. The man had long blond hair with brown streaks in the front. His torso was bare save for his numerous tattoos and a string of bells that rang with every move he made. He donned baggy white, black, and red pants drawn tight to his legs just below his knees by his boots. His forearms held black and red bracers tied tight with yellow ribbons.

Apparently, I stared at the two of them a little too long. They both turned their attention from each other to me. The blonde-haired person raised an eyebrow and spread a cocky grin on his face. Straitening, he swept pass Ling Tong and brushed of his warnings that I was not one to be flirted with. When he reached my side, he sat down next to me.

"Hey there, how are you?" I chuckled to myself at the semi-seductive tone in his vocals, "I heard you were pretty from the kid over there, but I didn't believe him." He jerked his thumb motioning toward Ling Tong who was shaking his head. "Now, I still think he was lying. He came nowhere near the truth. You are simply ravishing." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, emphasizing the last word. I stared at him in disbelief.

Sun Shang Xiang's voice behind me saved me from the man, "Hey Koa, can you come here for a few minutes. We are having trouble with your horse." I smiled broadly, as I went to stand. Again, I felt the stab agony from my side, which made me wince. In an instant, I had two men pulling me up, the amorous man on my left and Ling Tong on my right. When I was settled on my feet I had to retch myself from the men's grip, and repeat that I was all right several times. Finally, I was able to escape the two of them and made my way to Sun Shang Xiang and Bay.

As I neared them, I took not that there were four men, including Lu Meng, trying to hitch Bay to a cart. Bay was whinnying and fighting them with all he had without hurting them. I could tell he was getting far too upset. I knew if he reared and hurt one of them, we would both be in a lot of trouble. I increased my pace, sweeping right past Sun Shang Xiang coming to a stop next to my stallion. I raised my hands to stroke his neck. He stilled and began to calm down.

Turning to the Lu Meng I gave him the evil eye as I spoke with arsenic laced in my tone, "Before you touch him again, run it by me first. He is not harness trained and will not pull a cart." The older man was taken aback by my snap. He mumbled an apology to me as he and the others backed away as Shang Xiang came towards us.

"Isn't he one of the Wei horses? Don't they train all of their horses to pull carts?" Her second question was focused at Lu Meng. I shook my head, "No, he is my horse. I got him for my birthday when I turned fourteen." Both the girl and man stared at me with mouths gaped open. I shrugged at them; I knew how to explain his arrival, as well as I knew how to explain my own. Lu Meng shook his head and raised a hand to me. For a moment, he was quiet; standing like a statue, hand raised and eyes closed.

With a deep breath, he opened his eyes as he began to speak. "So, what should we do with him? Would he allow another to ride him?" I shrugged. I had never let anyone else ride him I did not know what he would do. I looked to the white beast then back to Lu Meng, "Why can't I ride him? Am I to walk?" Lu Meng let out a hardy laugh, "Absolutely not. You are hurt; you will ride in a cart. We can't aggravate your injury." I wanted to spit at him. "I rode him here!" I blurted out. Gee, real mature Koa.

Something flashed in Lu Meng's eyes but I was not given enough time to analyze it. A sudden jerk on my right arm and I was facing the warden again. Green eyes burning with fury as they bore in to my soul and she growled at me, "You will ride in a cart. I will ride your horse." My only response was to nod my head. Lu Meng called to another man and he disappeared, returning shortly with another white horse. He and Lu Meng went about removing the riding tack from the other horse and placing it on Bay. He fought at first, not used to the style of the saddle. I kept petting his forehead and muzzle to keep him calm.

When they had finished I put my forehead to Bay's and whispered to him to be good. He nickered, bobbing his head; I took it as his agreement to do as told. Stepping away from him, I noticed that Shang Xiang's horse was hitched to the cart that they were trying to hitch Bay. Shrugging I went over to the cart. Someone grabbed me from behind and lifted me in to the seat without warning. Once I was seated, I turned to glare at the person only to be met with the face of the man from around the fire. He gave me wink and motioned for me to scoot over. I did so, only stopping when I bumped into another body. I turned to look at the other person as the first leapt in to the seat on the other side of me. It was Ling Tong; with a smile to me, he picked up the reigns. He gave a click to the horses and a gentle tap with the reigns and we jerked into motion.

We moved onto a path worn in threw the forest and the rest of the camp got into a line, some walking, others on horses and only one other cart with three riders. Lu Meng and Sun Shang Xiang took the lead of the caravan. For about an hour or so, the three of us on my cart rode in silence. As the sun began to rise in the morning sky, the blonde-haired man seemed to come more alive than earlier. He began to pick at Ling Tong, commenting on his driving, his clothes, even his beauty mark under his right eye. The other man volleyed back with every insult. I was content sitting there listening to the two of them until I was pulled in to argument with a question by the tattooed man.

"Come on, don't you think that thing on his face make him look like a girl who painted it on?" I laughed at him. Craning my head to face him I cocked a brow before using what I could for a taunting voice, "Well you are the one who sounds like a marching wind chime. Why do you wear something as stupid as a string of bells? Don't they annoy even you?" Ling Tong nearly fell from the cart in laughter and the other man nearly did so in shock. He came back, with a growl and glare. He put his face right in mine and with a snarl, he spoke, "Well I wouldn't be Gan Ning of the Bells if I didn't wear them. When I was a pirate, my enemies would run in terror at the mere sound of my bells." A nod and a smug plastered on his face he turned and resumed watching the horse riders that led us.

I thought for a second before grinning and almost singing my response, "Well, I wouldn't run in terror from the sound of your bells, Mr. Gan Ning. Your breath however, that could send me sprinting for the hills." His mouth fell open and Ling Tong began stomping on the footrest of the cart as he guffawed. "Plus, Ling Tong here had enough manners to introduce himself when we first met. I had to insult you to get your name. You sir have the manners of a pig." Now I could see a vain in Gan Ning's forehead beginning to protrude as he ground his teeth while Ling Tong was gasping for air.

Gan Ning opened his mouth and I shot him a look that just screamed 'bring it on'. He shut it and again faced forward, yelling at Ling Tong to shut the hell up. The brown-haired man laughed for a few more minutes before chuckling to a stop, but every so often, he would snicker for a second. Other than that and the grumble that always seemed to follow it, we rode in silence again.

I must have nodded off, for I was jerked awake by a sudden bump of the wagon. Sit up straight I stretched a little and looked around. We were now in an extremely mountainous area. I looked at Ling Tong and he smiled and gave me a half shrug. I then turned and looked at Gan Ning. He had the look of deep concentration on his face. I went to return facing forward when I spotted his eyes flash over in my direction. He pushed himself from his slouch to where he sat straight up and cleared his throat, "So uh…" He started before glancing down for a moment when his eyes returned to my face I had tipped my head slightly to the side and watched as his face grew a broad smile.

Reaching out to me, he grasped my white lock of hair still in the braid Mei had done, but now was frayed from the trials of the last few days. His eyes went to it before returning to my own, "What happened here?" I stared at him for a few seconds before I reached out and took my hair from him. Turning where I was facing forward I took the tie from the bottom of it and undid the braid. As I combed it out to the best of my ability with my fingers, I thought of my answer. I started to weave the hair back together neatly as I replied, "I really don't know exactly. It has been white since I was a baby. My parents told me it happened one night when I had had really bad nightmares."

I noticed both Gan Ning and Ling Tong hang their heads when I finished speaking. I completed the neat braid and tied it together. Silence yet again fell over us, not as long lasted as the last time. Gan Ning's head shot up and he gave me a toothy grin, "You know, you told me that I had the manners of a pig for not introducing myself. Yet you have not done so yourself. At least not to me, did she so to you Ling Tong?" Brown hair flew as he spun his head to face us, a toothy grin on his face as well. I felt my blood run cold as I realized my faux pas. "You know, she didn't."

I giggled at the two of them; shaking my head again, I looked up, "I'm sorry guys, I forgot. Call me Koa, ok?" They both cocked their eyebrows but Ling Tong spoke first, "Just Koa? If that is the case then just call me Tong." He looked over to Gan Ning and they nodded at one another before he went on, "And him Ning. Got it?" I nodded back to them. Again, silence as the rode got bumpy. Most of the jerks were not bad but a few of the made me wince in pain. Ning and Tong would glance at me but kept quiet each time.

At about mid-day, the caravan stopped to rest. Ning helped me from the cart and held me steady as I tried to get the feeling to return to my legs. Once the tingling was gone, he let me go, though I felt his reluctance to do so. With a smile to him, I hobbled over to Bay where Shang Xiang had tied him to a tree, along with Lu Meng's horse. From behind me, I heard the deep voice of Lu Meng. "So would you care to tell me what you said to Gan Ning?" I turned to face him while I rubbed Bay's neck. "What? When I had Tong nearly falling out the wagon in laughter?" His eyes widened for a second before he nodded, "He was picking on Tong so I got even. That's all, why?"

He snickered and shook his head at me. "Those two are always on each other about something. I just do not want to have to handle another troublemaker. I am getting too old to deal with the two that I already have to put up with." I nodded my head to him and he walked away. I gave a few more scratches to Bay and turned to join the others as they began to eat.

I took a seat between Ning and Tong, giving each little shoves to scoot over for me. There was lively conversation and laughter between us all as we ate. A few little snippets of insults flew between Ning, Tong, and I. As well as Lu Meng, chiding us like a father would his children. I felt happy, at peace if only for the moment. A moment is all I really got. For two scouts came flying up the path we had already passed yelling to Lu Meng. Break was over, we had been found and now being followed. Zhang Liao was angry for my escape and not willing to let it go it seems.

In a flash our lunch was cleaned up and we were all back in formation, rushing along the path ahead. Is this what my life is coming to? Am I going to be chased by these people for the rest of it? I hung my head. The feeling of two hands, one on each shoulder caused me to look up. First to Ning, "Don't worry Koa." Then to Tong, "Yea, we will keep you safe. It is our sole job right now." I could not help the smile again. Thank you but you really do not have to.

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