Word Count: 2,206
In Your Dreams
Chapter 2
It was a lovely sunny day and the birds sang a cheerful song. Zhou Yu walked calmly through the garden, admiring the beautiful sight of the nature around him. He smiled when he saw a tattooed blond standing not so far away, near a vast flower field.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Zhou Yu whispered when he was close enough for Gan Ning to hear him. He saw as the tiny white flowers moved delicately with the breeze.
"…" Gan Ning scratched the back of his head. "Hm… It's okay, I guess."
Zhou Yu chuckled at the blond's awkward answer, "I thought you liked it as you're standing here gazing at it."
"No, I was walking around and I just ended up here, not really sure how."
"I know, it's confusing in the beginning, but if you concentrate you can will yourself to go to specific places," Zhou Yu explained.
"Can I go to any place?"
"Yes."
"Sounds cool, but what if I get tired of wandering around? I mean, aren't you guys bored sometimes?"
"Bored?" Zhou Yu thought about it for a while. "I don't feel bored, there's always something interesting to see. Sun Ce and I like to see what's happening in the kingdom. He's very proud of his brother."
"I see…" Gan Ning said. "Well… don't you guys do anything else besides observe the living?"
"We think about a lot of things, we talk-"
"Can you guys have sex?"
Zhou Yu was taken aback by the question, "Excuse me?" he wasn't sure if he heard right.
"Can you do that? I mean, you guys are in the same dimension, can you do some things to each other?"
Zhou Yu seemed to think about the question for a while, before he answered, "Well... sort of, but it's not exactly the same thing... It's a little different."
"How different?" Gan Ning was curious.
"It's more like a... How can I say it… A joining of souls," Zhou Yu felt so embarrassed.
"Hm..." Gan Ning scratched his head in confusion. "Joining, you said? Do you feel pleasure in it?"
"It is a kind of pleasure, a feeling of fulfillment deep in our-"
"That's great! Pleasure and fulfillment are great!" Gan Ning said happily.
Zhou Yu was still a little embarrassed, but felt satisfied in being able to cheer the other man up. "It's good to see you happy again," he smiled gently.
"Yeah, I just had a great idea!" he said in excitement.
Zhou Yu saw a mischievous gleam in Gan Ning's clear eyes and felt a little unsure for a moment. "Hm... Good," he answered carefully.
"See you around, I need to do something," Gan Ning waved goodbye and started to walk.
"Okay…" Zhou Yu saw the blond going and felt a little uneasy. There was something a little disturbing in the blond's spiritual energy and he couldn't guess what that was. He tried to will himself to calm down, maybe it was just an impression...
xxx
"What a beautiful day, the sun is warm and the wind is kind, heaven is smiling upon us," Ding Feng smiled in satisfaction.
"Yes, such a beautiful day for a picnic!" Lian Shi said excitedly. It had been her idea and she was proud of it.
"It's a very nice day indeed," Sun Quan smiled warmly, feeling the breeze caress his skin.
Zhou Tai nodded in agreement.
"The flowers bloom in their grace," Ding Feng stared around in contentment.
Everyone was carrying baskets with food and items for the picnic.
"We need to pick up some flowers later," Lian Shi smiled. "I just wish my lady was here with me, we used to enjoy such moments…"
"I hope my sister is alright…" Sun Quan stared down in thought, feeling guilty. They had battled Shu recently and emerged victorious; nevertheless, there was still uneasiness in the air.
"Don't worry, my lord, I hear word that my lady is alright, no harm was done to her, Liu Bei kept his promise. I heard he has fallen ill though…" Lian Shi said.
Sun Quan pondered upon the words, "Something tells me Shu won't be a problem to us anymore, Wei, however…"
"Don't worry about it now, my lord," Lian Shi touched his arm to reassure him. "We need to recover our forces first."
"You're right," Sun Quan smiled warmly.
"Ah… the flowers blooming on the fields are beautiful," Ding Feng said, "But not as beautiful as the ones that bloom in people's hearts," he sighed.
"Yeah… right…" Ling Tong said in annoyance before yawning lazily. He didn't know why they wanted so much for him to come to the picnic. They knew he hated to wake up early. "Where's Lu Xun?" he looked around and saw no sign of the young strategist. "I thought he would come too."
"He's in a particular meeting with our guest from the other land," Lian Shi said sweetly, almost dreamy-like.
"It's not fair… Why Lu Xun can escape while I can't…" Ling Tong muttered to himself.
"Did you say something?" Lian Shi arched an eyebrow in question.
"Not really!" Ling Tong tried to defend himself.
Lian Shi chuckled. "Alright, I'm not accusing you of anything…"
"Look, I think there is the right spot for the picnic up that hill," Ding Feng pointed to the said place. "It seems to have a privileged view of the lovely fields."
"Yeah, you're right, seems like a good place," Sun Quan agreed in contentment.
"I'm going to make sure the place is safe for my lord," Zhou Tai ran like the wind to the hill's direction.
"You don't need to…" Sun Quan started, but soon found no trace of Zhou Tai's presence anymore. "Well… okay then…"
They started to walk leisurely to the hill's direction, talking cheerfully to each other until Zhou Tai came back.
"The place is safe, my lord," the tall warrior said seriously.
"Great!" Sun Quan exclaimed and everyone cheered… well, except for one person…
"Ouch!" Ling Tong yelled in pain and everyone turned their heads to stare at him.
"What happened?" Sun Quan asked in concern when he saw the general fallen on the ground.
"I…" Ling Tong lifted himself up, trying to understand what happened. "I felt something pulling on my leg and I fell…" he laughed nervously. "I'm okay now, nothing to be worried about."
"Are you sure, you're alright?" Sun Quan asked.
"I'm sure, my lord," Ling Tong smiled reassuringly.
"Alright, we'll continue then…"
Everyone turned to their destination again, until they heard another painful yell.
Ling Tong brushed his head in discomfort and felt eyes on him again. "Oh… that… A stupid branch fell on my head, nothing serious…"
"Are you sure you're okay…?" Lian Shi asked in concern.
"Yep… just things... falling… over me…" he sighed.
Lian Shi whispered something in Sun Quan's ear and the leader of Wu nodded in agreement, walking ahead with Zhou Tai.
"Is there something you want to talk about?" Lian Shi asked Ling Tong when the rest of the group was further ahead and couldn't hear them.
"No… nothing…" Ling Tong said.
"If there's something, you could tell me, or any of your friends. I'm sure we're all willing to help."
"Why? Do you think there's something wrong with me? Do you think I need help?" Ling Tong asked, slightly annoyed.
"No… it's not what I meant… I just…" Lian Shi started but fell silent again.
They kept walking slowly, following behind the rest of the group, until they reached a stone bridge above a river.
"Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine," Ling Tong finally said after the long period of silence. He stared at Lian Shi reassuringly and then fell off the bridge…
"Ling Tong!" Lian Shi shouted.
The rest of the group halted and stared back in worry, watching as their lady jumped into the river after the general.
"Lian Shi!" Sun Quan shouted and jumped onto the water.
"My lord!" Zhou Tai followed after.
Ding Feng was almost shouting someone's name and jumping, but he felt suddenly paralyzed, he just couldn't do anything before declaiming something emotively, "There's no beauty in a fate that make us throw ourselves into dangerous waters, but may we all be blessed with the divine hand of grace and emerge victorious in this honorable endeavor…"
"Somebody help me!" Lian Shi shouted when she finally appeared above water, trying to bring Ling Tong with her.
It was then Ding Feng finally stopped what he was saying and jumped into the river, swimming graciously—well, as graciously as a guy that size could—, reaching Lian Shi and Ling Tong to bring them to the riverbank. "Are you alright, my lady?" he asked in concern.
"Yes, I'm alright, but Ling Tong is unconscious…" she stared at the man, laying his head on her lap.
"I see… It seems he needs mouth to mouth…" Ding Feng concluded. He stared at Lian Shi, and for an awkward moment neither of them said anything, until he finally felt compelled to say, "Well, it is my duty then…"
"I'm fine!" Ling Tong suddenly gasped, after spitting some water aside. "I don't need… mouth to… mouth…" he coughed.
"Oh thank goodness you're safe!" Lian Shi said in relief. "Are you okay now?" she stared down at the general.
Ling Tong stared up in order to look at Lian Shi's face, but couldn't with the woman's generous pair of breasts in the way. "Hm… yeah… I'm fine…" he said, entranced by the sight.
It was then a splashing sound was heard and they looked to the river's direction to see Zhou Tai helping Sun Quan out of the water.
"My lord!" Lian Shi shouted and went to the Sun Quan's direction, without realizing she made Ling Tong's head drop to the ground with a thud.
"Ouch…" Ling Tong rubbed his head.
"Is he alright?" Lian Shi asked when she saw her lord on his bodyguard's arms.
"I'm fine… don't worry…" Sun Quan answered, still a little out of breath.
"My lord must rest…" Zhou Tai said.
"No… really, I'm fine," Sun Quan finally stood without his bodyguard's support and walked to Ling Tong's direction. "Are you okay?"
"Hm… yeah…" Ling Tong answered pathetically. It was uncomfortable to have that kind of attention directed to himself.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I…" Ling Tong scratched the back of his head. "I fell off the bridge."
"Was it slippery? Did you feel dizzy or something?"
"Dizzy… yeah… I felt a little dizzy, I guess, like something heavy weighting on my head then… I felt something pull me to the water…"
"Something pulling you to the water?" Sun Quan was very alarmed.
"As strange as it may seem… Well… maybe it was just my imagination…" Ling Tong said.
"I think it's better if you go back and rest."
"I think we all should go back…" Lian Shi offered.
"You're right, I think we should have this picnic another day," Sun Quan stared at his officer with concern.
"No, you wanted to have the picnic; it's not fair you don't have it because of me!" Ling Tong said.
"It's fine, we can have it to another day, we're all wet and we've lost the food anyway…" Lian Shi said.
"Let's go back then," Sun Quan decided.
Well… now I'm going back to my bed… that was what I wanted to do… I just don't like the way they're staring at me… There's nothing wrong with me…
There's nothing wrong…
Ling Tong tried to make himself believe that the day just wasn't his lucky day, but something seemed strangely odd. He felt a peculiar sensation that made his breath quicken sometimes. He spent the rest of the day in his room, only going outside to order something to eat. Ling Tong tried to sleep, but found it difficult for some reason. Whenever he closed his eyes, the air felt heavy and he had to make great effort just to breathe. Then he would open his eyes and it seemed he saw a shadow moving fast from one side of the room to the other. He would blink in surprise, but then everything seemed to be normal… until he caught glimpses of objects moving at the corner of his eye.
Everything's okay… he repeated as a mantra, but deep down he knew something wasn't quite right…
A/N: Here's a little hint of when this story happens. The story takes place some time after the battle of Yiling, Shu against Wu.
Thank you so much Nan Ma, Animelover6000, Scytherageroses, CherryNinja and Nightlore for the reviews. You're awesome, guys, your support means a lot to me. I'm really touched by the fact that you really spent some of your time to tell me what you thought and to help me when I was in doubt. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you have any questions, just ask me and I'll answer. Special thanks to Nightlore for being my beta-reader :)
I posted a fic about Cao Cao called The Last Poem, if someone is interested. It's not a romantic story, but you're always free to imagine things xD
See you in the next chapter!
