Chapter 13: A Cold Princess

I'm so boooooored...Shao went to help the servants, or so she says. I mean, what kind of person would actually want to do work? Anyways, Ma Dai has disappeared off the world for the time being. Mengqi's got things to attend to, I asked to go with him but he told me to stay behind. And Pang De...I think he's still in bed, probably because he's still sick. I'm all alone...so sad. Ah well, I guess it gives me a chance to explore this place.

After ten minutes of randomly sauntering around, Yun Lu found something of interest. It was a small field filled with shrubs and red dots on them, which she guessed was berries.

Hawthorn? Ooo, I like hawthorn.

Yun Lu entered the little berry farm and found out the red little berries were indeed hawthorn. A girl about her own age walked into her view and flicked her a glance.

"What are you doing here?" asked the girl coldly, without even looking at Yun Lu.

"Hi!" replied Yun Lu. Only one thought registered in her mind as she eyed the basket. Food. Finally she snapped out of her trance and introduced herself. "I'm Ma Yun Lu, Ma Chao's sister."

"...Ma Chao, I've know of him. My father wanted to marry me to your brother, but the man who is always by my father's side, Yang Song, he said not to do so. And so my father listened to his 'wise words'," said the girl. Yun Lu scratched the back of her head.

"Ah, I see—"

"No you don't," she snapped.

Man, she's as cold as ice!

Moments of silence followed as the girl picked more berries and filled up her basket.

"My name is Zhang Xing, Zhang Lu's daughter," she said all of a sudden. "I guess you wanted to know that. I mean, after all, I am your superior's daughter."

Oh my god, Zhang Lu wanted to marry her to Mengqi. I've gotta tell Ma Dai and we'll laugh about it together. That Yang Song man saved her! Sometimes I really wonder how Yang survived that long with Mengqi...

Yun Lu grinned from ear to ear. "So you were gonna marry my brother."

"Yes, I've seen him and…I suppose he looks…good," Zhang Xing said, with no sign of blushing whatsoever. She was merely stating what she thought was a fact.

Oh really now? To me, Mengqi's just an ugly stupid head. But I guess he looks better than a couple of people.

"His looks deceive Xing—"

"It's Zhang Xing, I don't know you that well."

"Sorry. Now, continuing, Zhang Xing, Ma Chao, his looks, which I don't think is that great, deceive. I've lived with him for," Yun Lu momentarily stopped to remember her age "eighteen years. The truth is… he sucks. I'm serious. There are times when he's nice and all, but I don't really like him."

"Che, just because he's you're brother. All siblings have the love-hate thing," replied Zhang Xing.

"Yeah well, I've done my part telling you my dork of a brother. Care to tell me why a princess is on a hawthorn farm?" asked Yun Lu. Zhang Xing actually turned and looked at Yun Lu.

"Princess? Psh, I think not. Well, it's none of your business, but I'll tell you anyway," said Zhang Xing as she prepared herself for the little story. Yun Lu listened intently.

"I like hawthorn, so my father let me grow them on a patch of land," Zhang Xing faked a smile "wasn't that interesting." Yun Lu's eyebrow twitched.

"Elaborate please?"

Zhang Xing stared at her, hands on hips, all activity of hawthorn picking stopped. "FINE. So, this farm is where I grow and pick hawthorn berries. Then I give them to the workers who make those hawthorn cakes by adding sugar and all…" she explained.

"And then?"

Zhang Xing took a great dramatic gasp. "I eat them." Yun Lu's eyebrow twitched again. Zhang Xing took from her pocket, a packet of sweet red slices. "Want some?" Yun Lu's face brightened.

"Why thank you!" said Yun Lu with a grin as she greedily took a third of the slices and stuffed them in her mouth.

Mission accomplished. I've have successfully leeched hawthorn cakes off the princess!

"Greedy pig…" muttered Zhang Xing. Yun Lu didn't mind the comment.

"Can I have more?"

"Sure," Zhang Xing heaved out a large pack of the little packs of hawthorn cake. "Take it. I command you to. I think I have too much. After all, I do have a whole patch of land to grow them on."

"YEAH, sweet! Thanks princess, yes, I love hawthorn plus sugar!" exclaimed Yun Lu.

"Well, you got what you wanted, are you going?" asked Zhang Xing as she turned back to her berry picking.

"Do you want me to?"

Zhang Xing faked another smile nodded slightly. Yun Lu grinned back, she didn't really mind being shooed out, at least she got something from it.

"It was nice talking to you—"

"Not for me…"

Yun Lu made an unhappy face.

"Just kidding," and for once, Zhang Xing smiled a real smile, not a fake, sarcastic one. Yun Lu beamed as she turned and left.

"See you around princess," said Yun Lu with a wave.

"Stop calling me princess. You can call me…Xing…if you want."

Yun Lu smirked inwardly.

Maybe she's not all that cold after all.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey guys, guess what?" I met the princess today!" exclaimed Yun Lu. It was after dinner; Yun Lu, Ma Dai and Shao were sitting together, but to be specific, Shao wasn't exactly sitting with them, but cleaning up the cupboards and wiping the table tops.

"Eh, what princess? I don't recall a princess…" asked Ma Dai as he grabbed a pack of Zhang Xing's hawthorn cakes without knowing who made them.

"Zhang Lu's daughter, her name is Zhang Xing. You're eating the hawthorn cakes she made right now!" shouted Yun Lu, pointing at Ma Dai's munching mouth, who stopped in mid-chew.

"What's she like?" asked Shao as she came around with a wet cloth, journeying to the other side of the living room to wipe the windows.

"Cold as, but in the end, she let me call her Xing, hehe…damn right she liked retorting, a person of few words. Being a princess, I thought she would've been an arrogant but talkative princess. Instead, she's cold and arrogant but I guess she has a warmer side," described Yun Lu.

"Hey, what does she look like?" Ma Dai sounded eager and Shao flicked a brief glance at him before returning to her work.

"She's alright looking, not the epically pretty or hideously ugly type, in between I say. Pretty good for a girl with Zhang Lu as a father! Her mother must've been really pretty to balance it up," replied Yun Lu. "By the way, where the hell did you go off to Ma Dai?"

Ma Dai looked at Shao who was staring back at him and then turned his attention back to Yun Lu.

"Well I um, yeah, um—" All of a sudden Ma Chao walked in cutting off Ma Dai in his the middle of his stuttering to his relief.

"Hey" started Ma Chao "We got an assignment. Protect Liu Zhang's region from an assault."

"Who's the enemy commander?" inquired Yun Lu. Ma Chao's face turned into a quizzical face as he struggled to remember, but failed.

"I forgot…let's see—"

"How could you forget who we're fighting? Is your brain that small to not be able to contain that little piece of information?"

Ma Chao shoved Yun Lu away as he searched through his papers. "Ah here it is. The enemy commander is…" His eyes scanned the lines of words.

"Liu Bei."

A/N: omg, so sorry for this epically, epically late chapter. Too much goddamn school work, my dad keeps telling me off for doing stuff that isn't school work sigh. Anyways, thanks for reading. Read and review PLEASE!! Thank you, please click that green button =D

Btw, I just realised that the first chapter says Yun Lu's horse is called Ivory, but I changed it to Chalk afterwards. I've fixed it up now, please know that it is Chalk, not Ivory. Yay, hope I can update soon…