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.

The meeting went on for a few more hours, working out the details of the full strategy, including who would be guarding me. Zhao Yun argued several times to be among the group but either Lu Meng or Zhuge Liang shot him down every time. In the end, I had Xing Cai, Yue Ying and a group of ten lower ranked men to protect me in the coming battle. Finally, the meeting ended and we warily exited the room.

Just as I felt the sinking sun on my skin, I felt a strong hand grab the shoulder of my shirt and pull me away from the rest of the people. We marched for some time before coming to a sudden halt nearly out of seeing distance of the camp. Letting go of me, Zhao Yun spun on his heel and came millimeters from my face. I could feel the anger seeping off him as his eyed me for a few moments, I assumed he was gathering his thoughts.

"What were you thinking back there?" He snapped at me, I stepped back unsure of his outburst. "Why did you agree to that? You realize that you could end up back in Wei's clutches! Is that what you want? What did I do to make you that angry?" His eyes flicked to the ground for a moment, coming back with all of the rage replaced by his pleading worry again.

I shook my head, my anger had gone at the mere sight of his pathetic look, "It was not anything you did Zhao Yun. I just want to be helpful and show you that I am not as helpless as you seem to think I am. I do not need you feel like I am some weakling you need to defend all the time." He took a step forward and reached out to me, his eyes now full of regret. I let him place his hand on my arm, and I moved mine to cover his. He gave my arm a gentle squeeze; I responded with a smile before he moved away.

"You do not need to prove anything to me. I know you are not helpless; I just..." He paused and looked to the sky, shifting his feet uncomfortably before he looked back at me. "I just worry that you will be taken away again. I think you and I need to have a serious talk about the future after this." His words hit me hard. The future? Is my future here? I glanced to the grass again; the sound of retreating footsteps made me look up. Zhao Yun was gone, I was left to my thoughts I guess.

I do not know how long I stood there before Tong's voice pulled me back to reality. "Koa, hey where in the hell are you?" I turned around in circles several times, trying to pinpoint him. "Dammit Koa! You are going to end up in trouble if you stay out here too long." I gave a laugh and moved to come up behind the longhaired man. I placed my hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump and let out a sound, a mix of a yelp and a squeak, to which I promptly laughed as he turned to glare at me. "What the hell! Do not do that to me!" I could only laugh harder as he stood there stewing in his anger.

His hard eyes on me as he raised his hand and pointed behind me, indicating the location of the camp, he was sent to bring me back. I turned, still giggling, and headed to the safety of the confines of the grouping of buildings and tents. Tong continuing to glare at me as he stomped along beside me. When we reached the bustling camp I could hear people shouting to each other's, 'grab this' and 'don't forget that' all around. The whole area had the aura of the impending battle. I felt something deep in me twinge, excitement maybe. Was I really excited about this? What is happening to me?

Someone grabbed my right shoulder; yanking me from my thoughts. I turned to come eye to eye with Yue Ying. She nodded her head to Tong who returned the gesture and walked away from us. Her attention returned to me once the man was lost in the crowd. "Come on, you need at least a little armor for tomorrow. One of the blacksmiths has agreed to fit you tonight." I nodded and fell in step as she pushed through the mass of humans. We weaved in and out of the hordes of bodies, a few carts, and more horses than I could count. At last, we slipped into a small hut that radiated enough heat to melt my skin from my bones.

Inside there was the sound of banging metal and the groans of exertion of the man who was working to shape the stubborn mineral. We stood silent as we watched the man slam his hammer multiple times on to the sheet of glowing ore. He moved it from the anvil and sunk it into a bucket, which made it hiss and bellow steam. As he moved to remove it, he looked up to see Yue Ying and me standing there; he raised his hand and motioned for me to approach him. I did as commanded, he held the plate to my chest, and he pulled another from the table next to us and held it to my back. He called Yue Ying over and instructed her to hold the back tight to my own as he pulled a couple of links of metal and fastened the two pieces together. It was very tight and pinched in certain areas, crushing in others; I told him that when he asked. He nodded and relieved me of the vest. Pulling it apart, he re-heated it and gave it some more shaping to repeat the process many times before it fit me well enough to allow me to ride comfortably.

It was late when Yue Ying showed me to the mess tent. I let my eyes wander across the area; it was similar to the Wei mess tent. Rows of tables lined up with seats for men to sit on each side, and a long table set against the far side that was open to the night air. Now there were only a few stragglers left in the tent. The rest must have already gone to sleep; being fully rested for the morning was a good idea after all. Among the stragglers were Tong and Ning sitting at a table with several other men dressed in red hues same as them. At the far table was a couple of forest colored uniformed men talking, a sparkle coming from that group made me look closer. Sure enough, there sat Zhao Yun, still fully dressed in his armor, completely ignoring the men around him. I could feel his eyes burning my skin as I trudged through the line for food with my guide. Once we had full plates, Yue Ying moved to sit with the green clad men at the far table.

I stopped following her, choosing to sit instead at an empty table. I quietly began to eat my simple meal as I heard some of the men turn their conversations to my figure sitting by myself. I heard the scarlet group call me over, inviting me to sit with them. I gave them a glance, only to meet Ning's eye. Politely I turned them down, still feeling the burn of Zhao Yun's stare through my very soul. The next sound that came to my ears was that of a shifting stool and the telltale sound of jingling bells approaching me. I felt the burn intensify as Ning took a seat next to me, he leaned close to me, and for a moment, I thought I might just combust. His strong voice gave me something other than the intense stare to focus on, "Hey, about earlier, I am sorry. I did not mean to upset you. I just thought that you needed some comfort." I glance up to him; he was not looking at me, but returning the hard stare coming from the far side of the tent. "I just want you to know. There are other options for you here. You do not have to stay with Shu." He then moved his head extremely close to my own, his face a hair's breadth from mine, as a mischievous smirk came to his lips. It only took a second for the sound of falling stool and clanging metal closing in fast to fall on us.

"Just remember that, OK Koa?" he whispered before he backed off and stood as the sound of a slamming hand on the table came from my other side. I turned to see a look on Zhao Yun's face that I had only seen once before, that morning focused on the back of Ning as he marched down the hill. I heard other stools move and felt the air of the tent grew thick with tension. "Just what do you think you are doing pirate?" The question came from Zhao Yun's mouth in a hiss. Ning shrugged and turned to saunter out of the tent, his friends moving to follow him. All but Tong shooting Zhao Yun scalding looks. I watched as the men as they disappeared into the night as I felt Zhao Yun sit down my next to me. His body still emitting the tension from the confrontation with Ning, but it was slowly relaxing. I felt his hand graze mine; I shot my eyes to the source of the sensation. My hand was curled into a tight fist, he was stroking it; trying to get it to relax.

I pushed him away and jumped to my feet, collecting my dishes I let my eyes wander to the far table for a moment. Everyone was staring at me, and the rabid dog of a man that still sat on the stool; I let out a huff and turned away from the whole scene. Depositing my dishes with the first person that offered to take them I stalked from the tent and out to the now vacant street. The whole placed seemed like a ghost town; almost peaceful, like the valley. Oh the valley, how I wish I could be there again. Footsteps, coming to me, heavy and accompanied by the sound of clanking metal made me bolt. I did not know where I was going; just that maybe if I ran they would not follow. However, as usual, they only met my pace.

I ended up coming to a stop in front of the horse barn, now at a loss for where to go next. I fell against the wall of the solitary building, panting hard as my body fought for a decent breath. I closed my eyes and let my body slide to the dirt. After a few minutes, my lungs calmed down and I sat up. It was quiet; maybe he got the point this time. I felt a smile tug at my lips as I rested my head against the wall; my entire body relaxed and darkness engulfed me. The next thing I felt was the gentle warmth of the rising sun. I sat up, my back and neck protesting the movement but I stretched it away. As I twisted around trying to shake off the night on the ground, a movement caught my eye. Next to me, sitting in the dirt with his head hung low yet his face craned to look at me with sad eyes, sat Zhao Yun. I felt the same anger from the night before bubble up in me; his pathetic look was not enough to quell it this time. I let out a low growl and went to stand. A hand stopped me, grabbing my wrist and pulled me back to the ground. I twisted to free myself, but the grip tightened and another hand went to the opposite shoulder. "Please Koa, stop for a minute." His voice made me want to slap him; he had the tone of a scolding father.

I opened my mouth to let loose the barrage of insults that had built in me over the last few seconds, but the hand on my shoulder moved to cover them before a single syllable could make its way out. His tone had changed, now sounding more like a concerned friend would than an angry father. "Koa, please. I just want to know. Did that pirate kiss you last night?" My mouth fell ajar and I could tell my eyes where about six times their normal size. Is that what he is worried about, if Ning had kissed me? What would it matter if he had? I shifted to where my feet were underneath me, the hand from face went back to my shoulder, to hold me where I was. I snapped my mouth and closed my eyes as I tried to form the sentence in my head before it made its way out of my lips. A wicked grin grew on my face as I leaned forward, coming with in touching distance of his face with my own, "And so what if he did?" I bit out, my tone hardly more than a whisper.

It worked perfectly, just as I wanted he jumped back, and released me from his grip as he moved to catch himself. I took the newfound freedom to jump to my feet and make a run for the camp. My escape was short lived however; I was caught again by his strong arms and pulled close to his chest. A tingle went up my spine when his breath passed over my ear. His words were lost to the sensation until he moved away, heading to the camp in a jog. I stood there recovering from the shock when what he had said hit me, "I'll kill him." Oh, that's not good...

I came to the camp in a full sprint to hit a wall of the backs of men. I pushed through them, fighting to get to the front. As I shoved one to the side, I caught a familiar voice, "Hey, come on now, and quit pushing me. Oh, what are you doing Koa?" I looked up to meet Tong's amber orbs. "What is going on?" It came out a bit more frantic than I meant but it got the point across. He shrugged, "Don't really know. Ning and I were do the last few preparations for the battle when Zhao Yun came blasting up, yelling something about how Ning was going to pay for what he did. Koa does this have to do with last night?" I turned to continue my push forward as answered, "Zhao Yun thinks Ning kissed me." Tong stopped shouting for people to move and grabbed my arm, effectively spinning me around to face him, "Did he?" It was a simple question but the answer seemed so difficult. I just pulled away from him and we kept making our way through the crowd.

Finally, we broke through, coming to a stop in the middle of a circle of men, and not four feet from the figures of Zhao Yun and Ning. The held themselves in fighting stances, yelling back and forth. Without thinking, I rushed to stand in between them. "Knock it off you two!" My scream silenced the entire crowd. The combatants froze and stared at me, instantly I pointed an accusing finger at Zhao Yun. "You need to calm the hell down. No; no he didn't, is that what you wanted to hear?" I shouted. At this point, I noted that people in the crowd were steadily disappearing. I caught why out of the corner of my eye, Lui Bei, Sun Quan, and a few others were coming towards us, but I was on a roll now. "He didn't do anything but give me an offer I might just take him up on!" Zhao Yun looked as if I had slapped him, and I felt Ning's arm on my shoulders. "At least he understands that I am fully grown woman capable of making my own decisions. I get that you feel something toward me, but I don't need you hovering over me all the time. Just back off, for a day!"

Now Liu Bei and Sun Quan had gotten over to us and the crowd had completely dispersed. I shrugged Ning's arm off my shoulders and turned to go get ready for the battle and leave them to face their bosses. As I rounded the last turn to the blacksmith's shop, I came face to face with Sun Shang Xiang, Xing Cai, and Yue Ying. They stood shoulder to shoulder with their arms crossed, frown etched on their faces as they stared at me. I came to a stop and stared back at them, "What?" Gee, real smooth. They looked at each other, silently deciding who was going to speak first. Finally, Yue Ying stepped forward. Clearing her throat, she eyed me before she spoke, "What happened with Zhao Yun and Gan Ning? Why were they fighting?" I cringed and shook my head, I really did not want to answer that, but I knew they would keep on until I did. "Zhao Yun had it in his head that Ning kissed me. However, I am not sure why that would bother him. It's not like he has a claim to me." I watched as surprise washed over each of their faces.

Sun Shang Xiang stepped forward with her hand held out, she was about to say something when a voice rang out through the camp. "All right everyone. It is time to go; we will clear up this mess later. Gear up and move out!" It was Liu Bei's voice above the crowd. The women sighed and Sun Shang Xiang bid us farewell, while Yue Ying and Xing Cai helped me get into my new armor and saddle Bay. We soon joined the rest of the army in our march. My guards gathered around me as we headed south to the place that many called red cliff during the meeting. I sighed when I saw Zhao Yun ride up to my little group. He spoke to Yue Ying for a moment before falling in step with me. "I understand you want me to let you be for a while. However, I want you to know, should you need assistance. I will not be far from the point where you are to make your appearance. I will be guarding Zhuge Liang. Please, do not hesitate to come to me, if you need it that is." With that in the open, he gave his mount a quick nudge and melded back in to the herding army. Well at least he is letting me make the choice. I rode the rest of the way with a smile plastered on my face. It's a start…

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.

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-Alwayshappytohelp