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.

Tong pushed the horses to their limits to keep up with Sun Shang Xiang and Lu Meng. Ning kept peering behind us and complaining on how he should be in the back holding off the enemy. Tong would bark at him each time and urge the horses to go faster. I clung to the seat with all I had to keep from being thrown helplessly to the ground. Every bump and jerk of the cart sent shock waves of agony through my body; I kept my mouth clamped to hold my silence.

As we rounded the next bend, we had lost sight of our leaders. Tong slapped the reins on the backs of the poor beasts were giving their all too simply stay moving. Ning glanced back again and hissed a string of curses that would make most sailors blush. I turn to see what was going on. My blood ran cold.

Behind us ran two equestrians. One covered in silver armor, carrying two war axes and the other with his hair drawn back in a ponytail holding his spear above his head. Ning stood and worked his way to the back of the cart, picking up a nasty looking sickle from behind the seat. Reaching the very end of the cart, he stood tall, holding his weapon in a challenge to the other men.

I shrunk down to the footrest, Tong giving me a curious look but not saying a word as he focused on maneuvering the vessel in a way that would not throw Ning to the ground behind us. I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. I cannot let him fight them. They will murder him. He cannot die over me; I cannot let him. My eyes shot open with renewed vigor.

Standing up, working with the shifting of the vehicle and pushing away Tong hands as he tried to hold me in place. I made my way to stand behind Ning; I wrapped my arms around his waist for balance. Feeling him tense at my actions I spoke as loudly as I could without screaming in his ear, "Ning, go back to the front please. You can't fight them both." I felt him shrug and turn his head toward me, his cockiness thick in his voice, "Don't worry Koa, you have never seen me fight. I do not intend to attack them head on. Just fend them off if they try to get on here."

Pulling my head from his back, I glanced at our chasers. They had gained on us greatly, flanking out slightly; they moved to come at us from both sides. Ning flung his head back and forth between the two, watching to see who would try to jump first. I could hear the slap of the reins on the backs of our horses as Tong tried in vain to put distance between them and us.

Ning pulled me to the left, dodging Zhang He's attack at us. I looked at his face, his brows were furrowed at me, but his eyes showed his smug look. He had the same look he did back in the mess hall, as if he was going to eat me. He thrust his spear again, meeting the metal of Ning's sickle in a flash of sparks. Ning growled and he returned with a teasing laugh.

A light brush of gloved fingers on my left leg caused me to react with a swift kick. It landed square in Zhang Liao's face, it caused him to lose his balance for a moment. His horse moved wide to the right putting a bit of distance between him and the cart. I smiled when I realized what I had done. Glancing down I spotted spear on the floor of out ride. With a smug grin on my face, I reached down and picked the weapon up. I moved so that my back was to Ning and I faced Zhang Liao, holding the spear across my body. I felt Ning parry another attempt from Zhang He as Zhang Liao regained his position next to us; he held an angry scowl on his bruising face.

"Hang on you two!" Tong yelled back to us. The cart gave a sudden jerk, I looked up ahead of us, and my grin grew. I gave Ning a nudge and he too looked. He gave me a wink before he turned back to his opponent. Zhang He thrust his spear at Ning's legs again but this time Ning parried his blow and managed to hook his sickle in to the intricately designed head of his spear. He used this hold to keep Zhang He precisely where he was, no closer, no farther away. Zhang He struggled to free his weapon from Ning's, but I could hear my friend laugh at his attempts.

Zhang Liao began to move closer to the cart and I watched him reach out to grab the edge before I turned and smacked him in the face with the handle of the spear. It must have surprised him greatly because he went to jump back only to grasp the fact he had already slip completely from his mounts saddle and it was now slowing to a stop. I heard him give a sound between a growl and a squeal before he hit the ground and rolled several times, finally coming to a halt face first in the dirt.

I turned to see Ning laughing at Zhang He's vain striving to tear his weapon from Ning's hold. I glanced up seeing where we were headed; with a smart-ass grin, I peeked around Ning's side and gave Zhang He a little wave just as his horse jolted to the left. The move placed Zhang He dangling between his stirrups and his weapon, I closed my eyes just as Ning released his hold on the other's weapon and heard the sickening crack of his outstretched body hit the trunk of a passing tree. Ning and Tong gave hardy laughs while I simply sighed. Happy to be rid of those two, if only for the moment.

Tong pulled the horses to a more reasonable speed, easing them to the bottom of the last mountain. Reaching the flat ground, we were met by our lost allies. Lu Meng and Sun Shang Xiang rushed to us worry etched thick on their faces. Bay pulled Shang Xiang right up next to Ning and threw his head into the man's lap. I gave a little giggle at his expression of worry and Ning's surprised jump at the sudden touch of the white beast. I reached over and gave his muzzle a comforting scratch to show him I was indeed all right.

"I thought you had followed us! Damn it Ling Tong! Don't you pay any attention to your surroundings?" Lu Meng's voice stole my attention from Bay. I turned to see a very angry longhaired old man a mere centimeter from Tong's face. The younger man was looking down and scratching the back of his head. I could tell he was trying to come up with some kind of excuse for his commander but was drawing a blank.

I cleared my throat, causing both of them to look at me, "Well, Lu Meng. We are all ok. Zhang He and Zhang Liao should be off our tails for at least a little while and we are here. Can you at least be happy about that?" The older man gave me a puzzled look and opened his mouth to give me a piece of his mind before the sound of hoof beats cut him off, riding to us from the path a head were a group of combined green and red clad warriors led by Yue Ying and a young man clad in red.

"Lord Lu Meng, Lady Sun!" The young man called, "I am glad to see that you are all well. Lord Sun Quan sent us to escort you the rest of the way. Are you ready?" Lu Meng shot me a glare that all but screamed 'we will finish this later' and climbed from the cart. He remounted his horse and called to everyone else to pack in and head out. In a few minutes, we were heading down the road again.

As we slowly made our way down the path before us, Tong leaned over to me and spoke low so that Lu Meng would not hear him, "Thanks for helping me out back there, but I think Lu Meng is going to rip you apart. Next time let him just wear himself out. OK?" I nodded. Well now look what you have done Koa, good job.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I just wanted to rest for a few minutes. We bumped along for a while in silence. A sharp poke to my right side made me jolt up right only to hear Ning laugh at me. I growled at him, he just pointed a head of him. I turned to see a small village just crawling with red and green clad soldiers. Ning smiled at my gaping mouth, "This is Jiangling, our camp before our next battle, and where we drop you off. I hear there are some pretty important people in Shu who want you back." He gave another laugh when I sat up and began to scan the area.

We came to a stop in the middle of the camp. Ning helped me down from the cart, and then it was pulled away. I guessed they were going to unhitch the horses and let them have a well-deserved rest. Ning gave me a pat on the shoulder and I turned to him, he opened his mouth but someone called to him. He shook his head and gave me a wave before he walked away, leaving me very alone in the middle of a sea of people.

"Koa!" Came a familiar voice, I turned to face it only to be squished into a hard silver wall. It felt like I was going to be broken in half. "I am so glad you are alright. I am sorry I was unable to protect you. It will not happen again, this I swear." I smiled into his armor, reaching around him I returned his hug and giving him a pat on the back.

"Zhao Yun, it is alright. I am back now. Don't worry about before. It's over." He placed his head on top of mine; I could feel him smile into my hair. Suddenly his gave me a quick squeeze and I could not stop the yelp that burst from my lips. He pulled away with a worried look as he eyed me. I just shook my head and pointed at my injured side. He nodded and took my hand, leading me off from the middle of the now staring people. Well this is nice, I feel like I am home again… Home?

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