If she had been paying attention, she would have noticed the faces of the other soldiers, watching intently and with curiosity. She would have heard the whispers with her name and his, wondering what this fight was about. She would have seen how Zhao Yun, flanked by his sons, gave her a nod of approval while her brothers gave a sneer of disgust. She would have looked to Guan Ping and Zhang Shao, eager to see the fight but worried about how their friend would fare.
But San was completely focused on the man in front of her. He balanced a great deal of his weight on his right foot, and his right arm moved to balance the staff in his hands. His left side would be weak, she noted. With that in mind, she checked her own posture to make sure he could nor read the same in her. He would not make the first move, she knew. That had been proven back during the raid. So, with a plan of action in mind, she cried out and charged forward.
San brought her staff down hard on Lu Ba's, but he maintained a firm grip. With a shout, he hauled his own weapon into the air, breaking her hold. He charged with an attack of his own. San discovered that he was quick despite his larger build. He swung the staff around with accuracy, and she was forced to take up a defensive position to protect herself.
As they neared the edge of the crowd, San found a hole in his attack and rolled to safety. She swung her weapon to catch him on the left side. But he surprised her by blocking it with his arm and swinging with his right hand. San ducked out of the way and successfully landed a blow to his shin. Ba winced but maintained his footing.
"Impressive," he shouted. "You don't focus all of your energy on one weak point."
"I like to keep my enemy dancing," she answered with a smirk.
"But do you like to dance as well, Lady Zhao?" He charged again, this time bring his staff around to cut off her balance. She jumped out of the way but was forced back on the defensive. She managed to break away, and the bouts continued. After some time, she brought her staff around to catch his left side again. He blocked it but left his right side vulnerable. San grabbed his arm and yanked it behind his back. "Pinned," she whispered in his ear.
"Says who?" Ba kicked his staff into his left hand and brought it behind her, catching San in the cheek. Blood trickled down her face to a chorus of shouting. He now held his weapon in his left hand. It looked as comfortable there as it had in his right.
"You…you can change hands?" San asked. She felt rather stupid. Of course he could; otherwise he wouldn't have been able to pull off a stunt like that.
He nodded. "A trick I learned from my uncle. What weakness will you attack now?"
"Your pride." San cried out and charged, forcing Lu Ba to whirl around in circles to avoid her. He tried to catch her feet as she moved to his backside, but she stepped lightly on his arm and vaulted herself over him as she had done that morning. San landed gracefully on the other side of the circle and prepared to charge again.
"Enough." Zhao Yun's voice echoed through the yard. Lu Ba and Zhao San halted, staring at him. "You both fight well, and I have no doubt that you would have put on a spectacular show during the raid. But I must end this before it gets out of control. San, you need to have that cut checked. Lu Ba, we need to get these weapons back into storage."
San stared at her father, dumbfounded. Lu Ba immediately bowed to her, and she managed a stiff one in return. In a matter of seconds, Ba had retrieved his bundle from Mei Li and followed Yun away from the field.
"That was excellent, daughter." Mei Li was the first to break the silence that had settled over the others. She shooed them away like children, and they all went back to their morning practice. "You did well."
"I couldn't find a weakness."
"You did. You just haven't figured it all out yet." She looked at the battered remains of San's staff. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't let you fight with swords. You would have destroyed the weapons."
"And each other," added Ping as he came over.
"You would've had him," said Shao, smacking San on the back. "Too bad your dad called an end to the fight. It was getting good."
"No, he called it at a good time," Mei Li said.
"How so? I wanted to see her kick the crap outta that kid."
Ping placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Lu Ba is the enemy here. To see him fight, especially when he is allowed to, has made the other men angry. To let him injure San made it worse. Who knows whether or not he would have beaten her? Master Zhao Yun wouldn't let it happen either way. The soldiers would have probably killed Ba right then and there."
San was stunned. And yet, it all made sense. The battle had turned so quickly. Either of them could have walked away the victor. But Ping was right. It was better to stop the battle before a winner could be decided. She had worked so hard to give Ba his life back, and it would have been a shame to lose it over something so stupid.
"Phew! I need a bath. Badly." Zhang Shao pulled San from her thoughts to see him sniffing his armpit. She struggled not to laugh. "Oops, begging your pardon, Lady Mei Li."
Her mother laughed. "It is no problem, Shao. Perhaps it is time for all of us to head to the baths. We need to be on time for the morning meal after all."
"Very true. See you both there." Ping dragged Shao away from the women, waving to San until they were out of sight.
"You, too, need a bath, daughter." San let her mother guide her back to their chambers. Instead of stopping in San's room, however, they wandered into the room Li shared with her husband. She instructed servants to bring up warm water, then proceeded to drag a comb through San's unruly hair. "So, San, have you figured out the young man's weakness yet?"
"Huh?" She winced as her mother hit a knot. "Uh, no, I wasn't really thinking about it. I want to fight him again for a longer period of time. I'll be better able to find it when I see him a second time."
"Mmm." Mei Li said nothing as she continued to work through San's hair. "Your brothers do not like Lu Ba," she said at length. "They see him as a threat to our family."
"How so? He's only been here a few days."
"I know. But he is slowly and surely disproving all of their notions about how Wu soldiers should behave. They want him to be rude, ungrateful, to try and escape, anything that will lend evidence to their theories that everyone from Wu is heartless."
"Or brainless," San said, remembering what her father had said earlier. "Still, he's been kind for the most part."
Li nodded. "I think he's having some trouble adjusting, for all of his facades. He is truly a son of Lu Meng."
San turned to face her mother. "Do you know anything about his parents? Or his uncle? I've only heard the rumors, but I'm starting to believe that they can't be right."
"The only one who will be able to tell you is Lu Ba. I know that both Lu Meng and Li Tai are famed throughout Wu for their skills on the battlefield. I also know that Zhou Tai, her brother, is a man to be feared. He has been on several missions to fight the pirates from the east. I suggest that you talk to Lu Ba about it when you aren't feeling so competitive."
"Do you think Ping and Shao hate him, too?"
"I cannot say. I do know that, whatever they think of him, they will respect your decision to befriend him or dislike him." There was a knock on the door, and four serving women came with tubs of steaming water. "Ah, it is time for your bath. I will go and get some robes for you while you bathe. And San," she paused in the doorway, giving her daughter a look of concern, "be careful about your encounters with this young man. I have a feeling there are others closer to you who will loathe anything and everything he does."
News of her bout with Lu Ba had reached the dining hall far ahead of San. By the time she sat down with her brothers, four other soldiers had congratulated her on a fine performance. Even the great Ma Chao had heard about it. He grinned at San as she sat down near him. "I hear you finally put the young Wu rebel in his place," he said before taking a bite.
San sighed. "I did no such thing. Father ended the bout before a winner could be declared." She threw a glance at Zhao Yun, who ignored her remark and continued his conversation with Lady Yang.
"That's not what the others are saying." He held up a hand to stop her protest. "Let them say whatever they want, San. Most are not happy with your decision to keep the boy alive. I have no qualms about it, and neither do most of the head officers. But those below them may see it as a betrayal to Shu. Letting them believe that you defeated him in battle will make them feel better."
She gave in and said nothing. San stayed that way through most of the meal, although she did have a quick spat with her brothers over the rope wall and told them that Ping had disabled it. Towards the end of the meal, she noticed Shao making movements out of the corner of her eye. He was slashing his fingers across his throat and nodding towards the head table. Ping was shaking his head. Panicking, she shot a glance to where Liu Bei was sitting. She calmed when she noticed that his attention was elsewhere, but frowned when she caught Liu Chan's glare. He looked annoyed and angered at the same time.
Shao mouthed, Because of you, across the hall to her. Ping buried his head in his hands, but she could tell that Shao was truthful. What did she do to have Chan mad at her? Then she remembered Ma Chao's words and groaned.
"Ooh, looks like your dead," Tong hissed across the table. He had also seen Liu Chan's stare.
"Must be because he likes you," Guang said. The twins snickered in unison before falling silent from Mei Li's glare.
When the meal ended, San jumped up and bolted towards the door. She rounded the corner and ran into something very hard…and very soft at the same time. "Are you alright?" she asked quickly as she straightened. It was Lu Ba, accompanied by four menacing guards. "What are you doing out of your room?"
He grinned. "And here I thought you were concerned for my safety." One of the guards made a motion to smack him, but San held up a hand to stop him. "I'm on my way to Liu Bei's quarters. My guess is that he wants to try and get information out of me."
"Oh," San said. She tried to stop the blush from creeping across her face again. Why did she keep doing that?
"Is there a problem?" San cringed at the voice behind her. Liu Chan had exited the dining hall and had his eyes fixed on Lu Ba. His disgust was not lost on San. "Why are you holding up the Lady, rabble?"
Ba frowned. "If I recall correctly, she was the one who stopped me."
"Hold your tongue!" Chan snapped. "You were not given permission to talk to me, servant. Get him out of my sight." He waved off the guards, who pushed Lu Ba forward.
San spun around to face the Shu prince when they were gone. "What was that for? I was having a civil conversation with him before you interrupted."
"There is no such thing as a civil conversation with a boy like that."
"He's only a few years younger than you, Chan."
He scoffed. "It makes no difference. And I don't like the way he looks at you. I will never understand why you saved him"
"Because he deserved to live." San pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. A headache seemed to form every time she talked to Liu Chan. "Unless there was something else you needed to tell me, I need to find my father."
"Actually, there is." Chan looked around to make sure no one else was listening. San spotted Ping and Shao a ways down, watching them but not listening in on their conversation. "My father is sending out a group of soldiers to a village about two days from here. They're taking supplies and such to the people. I overheard him saying that your father and brothers would be among those going, so you would likely be going as well."
"And?" Already, San could feel excitement building inside of her. Another mission would be a welcome respite from the trouble that was brewing here.
"I've told my father that you don't want to go."
"What? Are you out of your mind? Why would you say that?"
"Because I don't think its right for you to run off into battle. Even on missions like this one, there is a chance you may get hurt in a raid or something. I want you to stay behind."
San was aghast. Was she really hearing this correctly? "You don't like women going into battle, period. But I've proven myself. You'd be hard pressed to convince your father to let me stay."
"I've only got your safety in mind, San. Why won't you listen to good advice?"
"Because it comes from you. Are we done?" She could feel her anger growing, and she needed to get away before she pulled a Shao move and punched him in the face.
Chan sighed. "No, I'm finished. Just think about what I said."
Ping and Shao immediately surrounded San as the prince walked away. "What the heck was that about?" Shao asked. San gave them the details of the conversation. "Seriously? Since when does that prick take an interest in your life?"
"Since he is of the age of marriage," Ping said hesitantly.
"But he's betrothed to my sister."
Ping nodded. "I know. But he's had eyes for San for a long time. Maybe he means to present his father with a stronger match, one that would break their engagement. Lu Ba seems to be a threat to him in more ways than one."
"Do you really think he'll convince Lord Liu Bei to keep me behind on this mission?" San asked.
"Probably," Ping answered. "My guess is that he's already spoken to some of the other generals about it. If he can convince them that you're not needed on this mission, he will make you stay back." He rubbed his temples. "With the addition of Lu Ba, it will be even more likely. Liu Bei will want someone to stay behind and watch him. Ba can't go with your family because there's a high risk of him running away. Your mother will not want to guard him herself. Anyone else will try and kill him, most likely."
"Cheer up, San," Shao said as her face fell. "We'll still be here with ya. Maybe we can beat up on Chan together. Heck, I'll even pretend to be him if you wanna have another bout on the field."
San shook her head. "No. It wouldn't be the same. But thank you." She looked back to where Chan had vanished. That boy was taking things too far. Was he really threatened by Lu Ba? He was just a servant and would remain so the rest of his life. It wasn't like Ba liked her anyway. They had fought twice, for goodness sakes. Still, something wasn't right about this situation. San was determined to figure out what Chan's real motive was. But first, she had to think of a way to get back at her brothers for their trap, and then work on her father to go along on this mission.
A/N: My apologies to anyone who likes Liu Chan. I swear I had no intention of making him a total jerk. Keep in mind that he feels threatened by Lu Ba though. His intentions are good...he's just not going about this the right way. Sympathy!
AngelEtty: Yay girl power! Haha I really enjoyed writing the scene between San and Ba. She kicks so much ass :P My story will probably be comparable in length to my other stories. My goal is 20 chapters, but I'll have a better idea the closer I get to the climax. I'm longwinded.