Fan Fiction ❯ Guard My Heart ❯ Distractions ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are based off of historical figures that now belong to Koei, and the Dynasty Warriors series.

Summary: A young warrior girl seeks employment in the armies of Shu, earning a place as one of Lord Liu Bei's personal body guards. But will she earn more than that from the virtuous Emperor of Shu? And what will it cost her when he discovers the secret she has been hiding from him? Guard My Heart
Chapter 2- Distractions “And so that’s how I ended up here,” Sun Shang Xiang explained, taking a sip from her cup.

“You don’t think it’s a little extreme to run away from home and join another kingdom’s army because your brother wanted to marry you off to that kingdom’s lord?”

“Of course not! Besides, it wasn’t about him trying to marry me off,” the red head explained patiently.

“Oh? Then pray tell, what was it about?” Yue Ying asked with interest.

“Father once promised me that I would get to choose my own husband, and my brother knew this. Having met Master Liu Bei, I think I might eventually have forgiven him for forcing me to marry against my will. I’m not really mad at Sun Quan for trying to find a husband for me; I’m mad at him for his reasons. The thing that hurt so much is that Quan doesn’t want to marry me to Liu Bei because he thinks that I’ll be happy with him, or because he thinks I’ll grow to love him. He wants to use my marriage to hold the alliance until they defeat Cao Cao. Then he wants to use it to reclaim Jing. Even more than knowing how little I mean to him, although I am pissed about that, I can’t forgive him for breaking Father’s promise.”

“So you ran away from home not to get away from the alliance marriage, but to get away from your brother,” the Shu general murmured thoughtfully.

“I can’t return home until I can look at Quan without anger in my heart; until I can forgive him completely. He has dishonored our father.” The princess hung her head at the admission. “I want to forgive him, but I just can’t. It hurts.” She felt a soft hand on her arm and looked up at sympathetic honey brown eyes.

“Wanting to forgive is the first step. Still it could take time, maybe even years for you to be able to say ‘I forgive you.’ and truly mean it in your heart. Are you prepared to serve Shu faithfully while you struggle to find a way to exonerate your brother?” Yue Ying asked softly.

“I have been accepted as a bodyguard of Master Liu Bei, and I will not repay that trust with betrayal. While I serve in Shu, my life is his!” Sun Shang Xiang’s low voice was firm.

Yue Ying stared at the woman who sat in front of her. Her legs were curled under to her left, but her back remained ramrod straight. Her chin was tilted up in the slightest hint of challenge and fierce determination burned in her green eyes. Suddenly before her eyes the woman’s posture suddenly relaxed, and she grinned impishly.

“Of course it’s partially your own husband’s fault that I ended up as a bodyguard, He was the one who suggested it.”

“I can believe that. Zhuge has a hand in most everything that happens around here,” Yue Ying muttered into her own cup.

“I’m sorry?” Shang Xiang blinked. Was Yue Ying upset that she mentioned Zhuge Liang?

“It’s nothing.” Yue Ying shook herself and forced a weak smile at the other woman.

“Are you sure? You sound rather…” Sun Shang Xiang waved a hand, fumbling for a word.

“Bitter?” Yue Ying suggested in a teasing voice. It was a shame that the look in her eyes didn’t match the lightness of her tone.

“What has Zhuge Liang done that has upset you so much?” the princess of Wu demanded with a frown, already going over painful ways to kill the man who had hurt her new friend in the back of her head.

“Done? Nothing. He does not take the time to do anything to upset me.”

“But neither does he take the time to make you happy,” Shang Xiang guessed with sudden insight.

“My husband is a wise and important man. And he made me no promises when I accepted his proposal that he has not kept.” She gave a dismissive wave and took another sip of sweet plum flavored wine.

“Wise and important? His wisdom and importance do not make you or your desires less important. ”

“I have no right to demand anything from him when he has given me so much. It is an honor to have as much of him as I do,” Yue Ying murmured with a small shake of her head.

Sun Shang Xiang stared.

When her brain finally made sense of the words she exploded, “And why should you feel honored to get scraps of his time?! Gristle may keep you alive if you’re starving but it’s not going to fill you up! What does he give you that makes up for what he fails to give you?” She glared at the older woman demandingly.

“He gives me my freedom and the opportunity to fight for something I believe in. We are- I am lucky to have married such a generous man. Now enough, I don’t wish to talk about it anymore.”

“Fine, we won’t talk about it, I’ll just kick his ass. Then you can take care of him while he recovers and if he doesn’t start to appreciate you more I’ll kick his ass again; as many times as it takes to make him spend time with you!” Sun Shang Xiang popped a slice of fruit in her mouth with a small, determined nod to herself. She ignored the gaping woman who sat across the small table; she was too busy figuring out the best way to find Zhuge Liang alone.

Yue Ying burst out in surprised laughter. Shaking her head she tried to stop herself, but she couldn’t keep the giggles from escaping between her fingers. She curled over, bent nearly double with the force of her mirth.

“You,” gasp, “are so amusingly violent.” Yue Ying spoke when her giggling tapered off enough to breathe again.

“What? You think I won’t?” Shang Xiang complained, not finding it as humorous as Yue Ying apparently had.

“You, hehe, probably would too! Oh, I thank you for that, really.” She wiped her eyes with a sleeve. “But I think I’d rather you not maim my husband just to make me feel better. I might just feel guilty about it if you did.”

“So are you going to stand up for yourself and demand more from him? You deserve more than an ‘acceptable’ marriage, you deserve to be happy too.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll try to find a way to… renegotiate the terms of our original agreement, just don’t,” giggle, “hurt him.”

“Okay, I promise to not hurt Zhuge Liang unless he’s really stupid and upsets you anymore.”

“Ah, thank you. I think,” Yue Ying brushed some stray strands of honey brown hair back from her face. “You know with the amount of time we’ve been sitting here talking they’ll have expected us to go over some of the things I’m supposed to be ‘teaching’ you. I guess I should ask you some etiquette questions so that I won’t be lying when they ask if I questioned you.”

“Oh yeah,” Shang Xiang murmured vaguely. “So what do you want to ‘teach’ me?”

“Um, let’s see. Oooh, how about this one: how do you behave around the guards of other Lords?”

The princess tipped her head back and closed her eyes in thought. “Let’s see. Never provoke an altercation and always be unto them as you would have them be unto you. Unless they insult you or your lord and then you have to unload a whole lot of unto onto them. Be cautious of your words and behavior. ” She cracked an eye open to peek at Yue Ying playfully. “Was I close?”

Yue Ying shook her head with a grin. “Close enough. Alright, how do you address someone of higher ranking than yourself?”

“Lord or Lady, depending on their gender. Unless you’re addressing Zhang He or Zhou Yu, then the two titles can be used interchangeably,” the princess answered without missing a beat. They both burst into laughter. Yue Ying didn’t correct her. The two generals were after all, very feminine in appearance.

“Well done. And thus concludes today’s lesson!” Yue Ying announced with a bright smile. Then she rolled her eyes. “We have got to find a way to show them that I’m properly training you.”

“If you want them to think that you’re teaching me things why don’t we just have a public question session?” Sun Shang asked.

“Are you proposing that we go somewhere public for our talks? Won’t that get awkward?” the Shu general demanded dubiously.

“No, we’ll still talk in private… but we can have ‘reviews’ of what I’ve learned in public. That way they think all the time we’ve spent together was more than just ‘girl talk’.”

“Good idea, Shang Xiang. Why don’t we kills two birds with one juggernaut; we can have spar together and I can ask questions while we fight. That way we really do train while we pretend I’m training you.”

“Sounds like a plan! When would you like to have our first session?” Sun Shang Xiang demanded excitedly. She had never fought another woman before, Xiao and Da didn’t count. The Qiao’s trained together. She knew they never meant to make her feel left out, but it was uncomfortable to train with them. They just didn’t fight for the same reasons she did, and they didn’t train as extremely as she did either. Anyone else held back or wouldn’t spar with her because she was a girl. Back at Wu Sun Shang Xiang could only count on Gan Ning or Lu Xun to give her a good challenge. Hopefully training with Yue Ying would be as pleasant.

“How about tonight after supper? We’ll spar in the practice field until the light fades too much.”

“I may need some help finding the practice area,” Shang Xiang made a face. “This place is so huge! How do you find anything around here?”

“You get lost. A lot,” was the helpful reply.

~~~~~

“So how goes your training with Lian Jing?” Liu Bei asked of Yue Ying.

All of Liu Bei’s generals were gathered together for a conference of war- also known in Shu as ‘breakfast’. They all sat around the long dining table. The plush pillows and cushions scattered around the floor kept them elevated to a comfortable height at the low table.

The conversation had been flowing idly back and forth over inconsequential things. All the voices stopped at this question. The other generals looked up from their meals, interested in the woman’s answer. They had seen the new bodyguard around the place, and none of them quite knew what to make of her, even though Liu Bei had been back home for a couple of weeks now.

“You see Jing more often than you see me lord. Does she not tell you how our training progresses?” Yue Ying frowned, chopsticks paused in midair. She glanced nervously at the other men who were all staring at her with interest.

“I have asked her before how she felt the lessons were going.” He paled at the memory. “About a week ago the palace midwife had needed some herb that she had run out of and had sent to see if you had any. That day you took Jing with you when you went to deliver the herbs. Apparently Jing thought it was a fascinating incident. When I asked how her day went she told me all about it… in graphic detail.” He shook his head violently and shuddered. “I haven’t asked her how her training has been since then.”

“Our poor Brother!” Guan Yu coughed out before he began to snicker into his beard. Small choking sounds came from around the table where many of his officers were trying manfully to contain their amusement at their lord’s expense. Zhang Fei didn’t bother trying to hide his laughter at all.

“You’re not helping,” Liu Bei spoke flatly, ignoring all the other generals laughing uncontrollably at this point. Even Zhuge Liang seemed to be laughing quietly behind his fan. “It’s not funny!”

Yue Ying of course was slightly more sympathetic to the poor man’s plight, having seen other men react to the subject of childbirth. “It goes well, my lord,” the lady responded with her own smile when the men had quieted enough for her to speak. “She is a very quick learner and is very willing to work. Also her fighting skills have been steadily improving since she has gotten here. She apparently paid attention to Zhou Yun and Jiang Wei’s complaints because she’s been having me teach her how to, ah, ‘fight with a big pointy stick’ I believe is how she put it.”

“Ouch,” Zhou Yun muttered and rubbed a hand over his heart mockingly to show how much that remark hurt.

“Big pointy stick?” Jiang Wei mumbled. “That’s so mean.”

“Does she realize how many soldiers in Shu fight with spears?” Zhou Yun asked no one in particular.

“Probably,” Huang Zhong answered anyway, “Does she care? Doubtfully.”

Liu Bei seemed grateful that his strategist’s wife had managed to get the subject back on its original course, and away from his female body guard’s disturbing frankness on a subject he would have been perfectly happy to not know anything about. Ever. He ignored the grumbling of his generals who were insulted by her interpretation of spears, secretly glad he used a sword.

“That’s good then. I take it you two are getting along well then?” he asked hoping to distract his friends.

“Very well, Sire. She has been simply wonderful company. I feel very lucky to finally have a female friend. I mean no insult to all of you, of course. You have been very good to me.” She noticed the consternation that had spread through the ranks at her slightly ill-chosen words. And hoped her apology would be accepted.

“Not at all,” Liu Bei waved her apology away quickly, “We are merely confused as to why you consider her your only female friend? You have your own body guards, and they are all female. And the other women come to you when they need herbs. Are you not friends with them also?”

~~~~~

While Yue Ying was reporting to the men, Sun Shang Xiang was just reaching the practice field. She had been practicing with the spear with Yue Ying lately so she arrived early to keep in practice with her sword. She hefted the leather wrapped hilt of her blade, wistfully thinking of her much lighter chakrams back home. Swords and spears just lacked the mobility of her favorite weapons. Unfortunately she seemed to be the only person in all of China who favored the circled blades, so she couldn’t use them without someone making the connection between Jing and Shang Xiang.

She took a stance and slashed through the air experimentally a few times to get a feel for the blade. They practice blades always feel different than the her own weapon. She was about to start taking some swipes at a straw dummy that was sat up for just such practice when she heard it.

She paused with a frown; listened.

There is was again. It sounded like someone… arguing? Crying? Jing sheathed the blade and moved toward the sound, trying to track it with her ears. There was a forest with a small lake separating the castle from the nearest village. The trees began just at the fringes of the practice area, and it was toward the trees that she now headed.

“And just what were you doing in this forest?” a rough voice barked out.

Sun Shang Xiang pushed past some trees and into a small clearing in time to see five Shu soldiers blocking a couple of girls who were carrying baskets.

“This forest belongs to Master Liu Bei, you’re trespassing onto his personal property,” another man added, but his voice was gentler than the first man’s.

“But we needed some plants for our grandmother, and we haven’t gotten all we need!” one girl, the younger one tried to protest. The older one with the tear streaked face tried to quiet her, but she ignored the warnings.

“Your grandmother is not our problem.”

Sun Shang watched them carefully. They were being difficult toward the women, but not particularly threatening. That was a good thing. It meant they had no intention of harming them, merely kicking them off the land. But still… they were being needlessly impolite about it.

“We’ve been given strict orders from Ma Su to patrol the forest border from possible invasions.”

‘Invasions?’ she thought incredulously. She flicked another glance at the two young women. The oldest couldn’t be more than sixteen, and that was being generous in judging her age. ‘You have got to be kidding me.’

She decided it was time to interfere and strode forward, making a point to crunch across every twig in her path so they couldn’t possibly miss her approach.

“What seems to be the problem here?” she gave a friendly smile to all of them.

“Nothing that concerns you. These girls were just leaving is all.” Shang Xiang caught a glance at the insignia on his shirt. He was the captain and the other four were his ensigns.

“Well I’m standing right here, so I’m making it my business. What are you two doing here?” she spoke kindly to the scared girls.

“Hey! You can’t just barge in here and try to take over when we’re doing our job!” one of the soldiers announced loudly, cutting off any reply the two girls might have made.

“We don’t need anyone from the Bitch Squad in our business!” the last one added snidely.

Sun Shang Xiang smiled brightly as she walked over towards him. He was only a couple of inches taller than herself, but she tilted her head to look innocently up at him.

“I am not a member of the Bitch Squad as you have so affectionately titled the Lady Yue Ying’s guards.” Before he could respond her hands shot out. The fingers of one hand were wrapped around his throat, the fingers of the other hand were wrapped around his privates. The man went up on the tips of his toes trying to get away from her grip, but she refused to relinquish her hold on either body part. “I am one of Master Liu Bei’s Elite Royal Guard. As such I am well within my rights to get involved in your business!” she spat at him.

“Now,” her voice was all cheerful and friendly once more as she turned her head to look at the two girls. “I believe you were going to answer my question of what you two were doing here?” The man in her hands tried to use her distraction to pull away, but she flicked him a flat look, and tightened her hands in warning.

“Our grandmother needs these plants to make ointments for the village. It’s our only income since the war began, but the plant only grows in the forest,” the young girl was the first to recover from her shock enough to answer.

“We’re sorry, we didn’t know we weren’t allowed. We usually come here to get the plant. No one has ever stopped us before,” the older girl was wringing her hands and staring wide eyed at the scene.

“Well, look at that, they didn’t know. Don’t worry, Master Liu Bei is a very kind and generous ruler. He would never try to purposely cause any of his villagers harm, even by indirectly preventing their livelihood. Now tell me soldiers, do you think honestly believe our lord would begrudge these nice girls a few plants?” Sun Shang Xiang glanced at them all, and nodded approvingly at them when they all shook their heads. “Fair enough. Since Master Ma Su is of the opinion that these woods are in such danger, why don’t one of you be a gentleman, and offer to protect these young ladies while thy gather what they need. And then you can be an ever greater credit to our Lord and escort them safely home.”

One of the men stepped forward.

“May I be of service in escorting you ladies,” he asked with a polite bow. Sun Shang Xiang recognized the voice as the kinder man who had been speaking earlier. The two girls were looking rather dazed by what was happening.

She smiled brightly at him. “What is your name soldier?” she asked.

“I am Jiang Cai, Lady.”

“And you girls? What are your names?”

“We’re Ju Qi and Ju Jia, Lady.”

“Very well then. Jiang Cai I want you to take very good care of Ju Qi and Ju Jia for me, ok?”

“As the Lady commands,” he bowed politely once more. He didn’t seem much older than the girls he would be escorting.

She watched the three walk away. Then she turned her attention back to the other men.

“You three may return to your regular duties. You are coming with me,” she announced to the man she still held to remind him that she hadn’t forgotten about him. “Now move.”

She dropped her hand from his throat but kept her other hold, and marched him along behind her. He had to trot to keep up with her brisk pace or risk losing his little soldier. Shang Xiang kept going until they had cleared the trees and were back in the practice area. By this time other people were on the grounds and they all stopped to stare at the guard who held the foot soldier in the palm of her tiny hand.

She paused for a moment, ignoring the odd looks that were being aimed at her. Finally her eyes found what she was looking for and she started forward again, tugging the poor man along.

“Good morning to you, ladies,” Sun Shang Xiang greeted the body guards of Yue Ying cheerfully. A chorus of confused good mornings greeted her sudden appearance in their midst. She received not a few odd looks for the man she was holding behind herself. A small crowd started to form behind them, she could feel the curiosity pouring off the people in waves.

“Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to my new ‘friend’. His name is,” she gave him a pointed look, and a small squeeze.

“Mao Qin,” he choked out nervously.

“His name is Mao Gin. Now Mao Qin, these are the Lady warriors of Shu. He thought I was one of you when we were talking earlier,” she explained to the confused women in a loud voice. She continued at the same volume with a brilliant smile. “And you called them something that wasn’t very nice didn’t you, Mao Qin?”

The other women seemed to understand that what she was getting at because they started frowning at the captured soldier.

“What did you call their squadron again?”

Painful squeeze.

“The Bitch Squad,” he squeaked out in a pain filled voice. His face was turning red, but she ignored this. Some of the women got angry at this and began to glare and mutter angrily amongst themselves.

“He wanted to come and apologize to all of you in person, didn’t you Mao Qin?”

He saw the looks the women were giving him and rolled his eyes to look in her direction before nodding a vigorous agreement.

“Now be a good boy and tell them how sorry you are,” she coaxed him, adding a slight twist to her usual squeeze.

He opened his mouth to try and speak but his voice was breaking too much for him to say any words. All that came out was pained squeal.

“Look at that!” the princess loosened her grip the slightest bit once again and stopped twisting. “He’s so overcome with remorse he can’t even properly beg your forgiveness! Will you ladies take pity and forgive this poor misguided man?”

Most of the women watched him writhing in pitying amusement. Some of them were still angry at the bitch comment but most of them seemed willing to let it slide. Sun Shang waited patiently for all of them to nod or speak their agreement. When the last one ‘forgave’ him she suddenly released her grip.

He hobbled forward a couple steps before falling on the ground in a shaking, fetal ball. Shang Xiang nodded in parting to the other women and turned to go back to practice. They bowed in return and gathered around the man on the ground.

When she turned around she noticed a lot of the men back away suddenly, holding their hands protectively over themselves. She raised her eyebrow in confusion as all of the male soldiers hurried to scuttle out of her way. With a shrug for the vagaries of men she went back to her straw dummy to wait for Yue Ying and work off some of the aggression she was still feeling.

~~~~~

In the dining hall Yue Ying frowned and tried to find the words with which to express herself. “I am the Lady Wife of the Commander General of Shu. My guards could not forget that even if they wanted to. So we are friendly, but not truly friends. They cannot be, even though we are all women and fighters, because our status separates us. ”

“And Lady Jing has no such reservations about status?” Guan Yu rumbled.

“Prolonged contact makes her already dubious humoring of social restrictions even more flexible. There is almost no formality between us at this point, unless she is speaking to me in front of my subordinates. I have noticed that she is always very careful to observe the formalities when not doing so may hurt my standing. You will have no troubles with that when you march to Wu, my lords.”

“And what of the women in the castle, the ones you provide medicine to and help when they come to you?” Jiang Wei questioned.

Yue Ying cocked her head thoughtfully, “They are not quite certain of what to speak of around me, so many do not even speak to me unless they must ask a favor of me. If I ever tried to join their conversations we would stare uncomfortably at each other. Also a number of the soldiers have ordered their wives not to have contact with me, for fear that I might infect them with my strange ideas,” she smiled faintly. “It’s quite silly, but they must live with their husbands so I cannot blame them for doing as they are told.”

“Well, Jing doesn’t have any issues with finding topics of conversation. That’s for certain,” Pang Tong commented. “And she’s definitely not like the other women around here.”

“Indeed not. She doesn’t talk about clothing and babies all the time, or behave spitefully towards me because she wishes to be Zhuge’s wife. It has been very refreshing.”

The armored woman noticed them all staring at her, and she looked back curiously. Then she smiled apologetically when she realized what they must be thinking. “I am sorry my lords, I did not mean to bore you with my observations. That was probably, once again, more information than you cared to have Master Liu Bei. If you will all excuse me, I’m supposed to meet my young friend at the practice area soon in any event, so I will leave you all in peace now.”

They all murmured polite goodbyes, unable to think of anything else to say to her startling revelations.

“Yue Ying,” Zhuge Liang began. She paused where she stood at turned to look inquiringly at him.

“Yes, my husband?”

He shook his head. “You said earlier that you had finished your new weapon design? I would like to see it this evening. ”

“As you wish husband.” Yue Ying gave a polite bow as she excused herself and then started to make her way to the armory where her practice scythe was stored. She didn’t notice the Prime Minister’s troubled eyes following as she made her way from the room, or the looks the other generals were exchanging.

Silence reigned.

“I never even considered how hard it must be for her not have other women that were like herself around here,” Jiang Wei broke the silence with his quiet whisper.

“So it turns out keeping the snippet was a good idea after all. Her presence has certainly been an eye opener,” Zhang Fei commented while sloshing some wine into his cup.

“Indeed it has brother,” Guan Yu stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“Some of our soldiers are forbidding their wives from being corrupted?” Zhuge Liang repeated with a disbelieving frown. By Yue Ying? Preposterous.

“Lady Yue Ying is much like Lord Liu Bei’s newest body guard. She does not fit the mold that society has cast for her, and that scares some people. It would make sense if she wasn’t quite accepted, even if they would never openly ostracize her because of her position as a general and as your wife. She just said as much herself after all,” Pang Tong pointed out reasonably.

“I had not realized that the other women didn’t accept her. I have meetings all the time, why was this never brought to my attention before?” Liu Bei demanded.

“And why didn’t she feel like she could trust us enough to tell us how she felt about it?” Zhuge Liang questioned. ‘Why didn’t she tell me?’ he wondered silently.

“Maybe she’s so used to it, that she doesn’t consider it an issue. She didn’t seem upset about the other women, she wasn’t emotional about how distant they were to her. She was just stating it as a simple truth,” Zhou Yun guessed.

“Or maybe she considers her relationship with the other women something she has to deal with on her own,” Huang Zhong added. “Not all battles that can be fought can be shared.”

“But that’s not the point! If I didn’t know about that, then what else do I not know about?” Liu Bei demanded.

“You still don’t know what Jing’s hiding for one thing,” Zhang Fei added helpfully, before taking a slurp of his wine.

“I know I don’t know about that. I want to know what I don’t know that I don’t know about!” Liu Bei snapped. The other men stared at their lord trying to work through that statement.

“I think I understand what our lord is trying to say. If we have been this oblivious of the women then perhaps there are other things that we have not seen that need to be addressed as well,” Zhuge Liang interpreted for the rest of them. Pang Tong and Jiang Wei nodded their agreement as he spoke, having come to the same understanding themselves.

“Perhaps that is what we should focus on today. Winning the war will mean nothing if issues within the court are allowed to grow unchecked and we collapse from within. That is exactly the reason that the Han began to fail in power; because the discontent of some was ignored, and soon grew to be the discontent of many.”

“It…going… be… long… afternoon.” Wei Yan finally spoke up.

“Tell me about it, boy,” Huang Zhong agreed, settling back on his pillows with a resigned sigh.

~~~~~

Sun Shang Ziang was hurrying back inside when she ran into someone on her way. She felt strong hands grab her before she fell down. She regained her balance to look up and thank the person that had caught her. Her eyes widened when she met the dark eyes of the man who stood in front of her.

“Master Zhuge Liang! Please forgive me, I did not see you there at all!” she blurted in surprise. She couldn’t help wondering what the Prime Minister doing so close to this part of the palace. He normally had nothing to do with the actual training of the troops.

“No. The fault is mine, Lian Jing. I was waiting for you and stepped into your path. I failed to realize that you did not see me before. I apologize,” Zhuge Liang inclined his head politely. She blinked up at him.

“You were waiting for me? Was there something you needed?” she asked curiously. Uneasily she wondered if he had heard about her encounter with one of Ma Su’s men earlier.

“Aa. I did not see Yue Ying out there practicing when I arrived. I wished to speak with her before supper. I was hoping you would be able to tell me where she went?” the man asked, folding his hands from sight within the sleeves of his robe. She noticed for the first time that his fan was hanging from a tie on his belt rather than waving through the air as it normally was.

Shang Xiang felt a surge of relief before she began to worry about what he would want to talk about to Yue Ying.

She stared up at him as though considering something. He could see that she was debating with herself whether or not to tell him, and he felt himself grow concerned at her hesitation. Suddenly a slightly impish smile tugged the corners of her lips. Now he felt a sharp tug of alarm in his chest. The guard seemed to pick up on his concern because her smile widened knowingly.

“She left practice a little early. She wanted to go for a walk. I was going to go with her, but Yue Ying thought it would be better if someone stayed to oversee the training.”

“Go for a walk? Alone?” Zhuge Liang frowned.

“We’re in the capital and she’s more than capable of taking care of herself,” Shang Xiang tried to remind him.

“Do you know where she went exactly?” he questioned worriedly. Apparently the heartless woman was willing to take pity on him and answer his question. She nodded agreeably, and pulled the pack that she was carrying over her shoulder around so that she could dig in it. He recognized the bag as Yue Ying’s, she frequently kept it with her so that she could carry books, or writing supplies with her wherever she went.

“Sure I do. She’s going where she always goes after practice. She went walking down to the lake. She left this behind. I was going to take this your quarters for her, but I guess I can give it to you instead. But first, have you eaten lunch?” She asked, pausing with her hand in the bag.

“Have I- No. Why? What does that have to do with anything?” Zhuge Liang questioned with a mystified expression.

“Well then you better eat this on your way over,” the princess took a cloth wrapped box from inside the bag and thrust it towards him. Stuck through the bow at the top were two simple wooden chopsticks. The scent of food rose from the edges of the box in a mouthwatering aroma. He took the box in one hand, noting absently that it was still very warm.

“I should? And why is that?”

“Because you haven’t eaten yet this afternoon. Yue Ying gets all grumbly when you don’t eat,” she said matter of factly.

“She gets… grumbly?” Zhuge raised his eyebrows in wonder.

“If you don’t eat,” Sun Shang Xiang repeated patiently. “And if she’s grumbly then she won’t be fun at supper. Oh, here’s her bag too. Well, if that was all that you needed from me, Master Zhuge Liang, then I should be on my way. I have to clean up a bit before reporting for duty.”

“Good afternoon to you then Lady Jing. Speaking with you has been very, educational.”

She grinned at him, and ducked her head in a quick bow.

Something about the little woman was unsettling and he knew he was feeling slightly paranoid about her. So when he thought he heard her mutter something to the effect of not how educational speaking with his wife was going to be he shook his head, dismissing the thought. He was probably hearing things. She couldn’t possibly know what he planned to discuss with his wife.

Zhuge Liang handed the bag to the first servant he found and asked them to see it delivered to his chambers. With both hands now free he untied the cloth and opened the lid. He used the chopsticks to raise food to his lips. As he did he let his mind wander over what he had learned of his wife that day.

He frowned, realizing that he had learned more in the last few weeks about Yue Ying than he had in the over three years that they had been married. And somehow the little bodyguard of his master still knew her habits and understood her even more than he himself; which was more than slightly embarrassing. It’s time, he decided, to learn even more about the woman he had married. He wondered what he would learn from their next encounter.

And he wondered what she used to season the rice. It really was delicious.

~~~~~

What was up with Sun Shang Xiang today? Something had made her cranky apparently because she was still fuming over it when they began sparring that morning. Yue Ying rotated her shoulder, wincing at the slight pull in her muscle. Yue Ying had called an end to the sparring session when she realized that Shang Xiang wasn’t being as careful or as focused as she normally was.

Now she found herself at her favorite spot by the lake. She knew Ma Su had some of his soldiers patrolling the forest in the morning for gods know what good the man thought it did. As soon as practice ended her guards would go run them off so she didn’t have to worry about being interrupted by anyone. This was her alone time for the day, and anyone who knew her realized that she wasn’t to be bothered until she returned to the full castle grounds.

She carefully placed her scythe on the ground and removed the small blade she kept hidden behind the bow at her back to place it beside it. She leaned against a boulder and removed her deep green boots, swearing softly to herself when one of the fastenings was stubborn. Finally she straightened back up. With nimble fingers she unbuckled the various straps of her armor. With a sense of relief she tackled the last one.

Yue Ying took off her circlet and shook her hair loose, combing it with her fingers for a few seconds. It felt nice to just stand there with the slight breeze dancing across her body. She remembered that she still had some final adjustments to make to her designs and that her husband would probably want to see the finished product that night. She didn’t really have time to just stand around enjoying the breeze. With a final sigh she bent over to place the circlet with the scythe, and grabbed the dagger from its sheath.

She placed the blade between her teeth and clamped down on it. Then with her hands both free she pulled her hair up and twisted it into a knot on the top of her head. Holding her hair with one hand she took the blade and twisting her hair carefully around the blade and then sliding it securely against her head. She tested her hair a bit to see if it would hold while she bathed and was satisfied when it didn’t come undone.

Yue Ying tugged on the large green bow that wrapped around her waist. Her top fell open, the armor sliding from her shoulders along with the silk of her robe to pool on the ground with soft ‘chink’ sounds. The woman immediately unwound her chest bindings and began running her hands along her abused breasts to try to get circulation back in them. When the soft sting finally faded she let her hands to wander lower and loosen the ties of her pants. She allowed the soft material to slide along her legs until they fell to the ground with the remainder of her clothes.

Finally she was ready to take a relaxing bath. The Shu general began to walk towards the water, intent on taking as long of a peaceful soak as she dared. When she reached the edge of the lake she tested the temperature with a toe, swishing it through the cool water with a delighted smile.

Raising her arms above her head in a luxurious stretch she let her arms settle back behind her neck, allowing her head to fall forward slightly. Yue Ying’s eyes snapped open when she heard a sound behind her. Keeping her movements casual she raised her hands up to her head once more, wrapping her fingers around the decorative handle of her blade. When the noise got closer she whirled around, drawing the blade and falling into a defensive crouch, knife held in front of her.

She gaped in shock.

~~~~~

Zhuge Liang froze, gaping right back.

When he had come searching for his wife he had never expected to find her gamboling around the forest naked. Yue Ying had apparently never expected him to find her gamboling naked around the forest naked, if it came to that. Or so he gathered from the astonished expression on her face.

‘This explains the weird look her bodyguard gave me when I asked where by the lake she was.’

His dark eyes trailed over the slopes of Yue Ying’s slender body where she crouched at the water’s edge. Her lower body was angled away from him, giving him a clear view of the line of her thigh and her creamy flank. Soft pink lips had parted on her sharp intake of breath. Her hair had come loose when she had pulled the knife, and now the honey gold locks tumbled over her shoulders in soft waves. One raised arm blocked part of his view, but the soft curve of her left breast was clear, one rosy brown peak visible.

Yue Ying’s quiet brown eyes continued to stare at him like a startled deer in sight of a hunter.

Delicately he cleared his throat.

“Normally I would turn away, but I’m not sure I would feel comfortable with you holding a blade to my back at this instant, wife.” He gave a pointed look at the gleaming silver in her fingers.

Brows drawn together she followed the path of his gaze. Her expression turned dismayed when she realized she still held her weapon drawn against him. She seemed even more dismayed when she realized that she was bare to his gaze. Blood rushed below her skin in a deep flush.

Zhuge watched the red spread along her cheeks and sweep down her chest. Fascinated, he wondered how far the blush would continue to extend along her body. He got his answer when the blush continued all the way down to her stomach before it started to fade enough not to be noticeable.

She was incredible, his wife. Most women would have flung themselves into the water or scrambled for their clothes. Instead she grabbed a weapon, choosing practicality over modesty. It was reassuring to know that when cornered she not only responded quickly but also thought clearly. That was, after all, one of the reasons he had originally asked her to marry him. Still seeing this aspect of her personality in action was very impressive.

“I was not expecting to see you until the meetings this evening Zhuge Liang.” her words faltered.

It was also amusing to see that he could provoke such a response from the normally reserved woman. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously when she noticed the smile. Even seeing the challenging look that took over her features he never expected her next action.

~~~~~

An unfortunate side effect of prolonged contact with Sun Shang Xiang was that you began to pick up some of her habits. One of her most annoying ones, as far as Yue Ying could tell, was her… impulsiveness? Defiance?

Whatever the word for this quality was, Yue Ying felt it quite strongly when she saw her husband’s expression. Before she could think her actions through she gave into the urge that overtook her when she saw the man’s little smirk. She tossed the dagger to land on her clothes. Standing and shaking her hair back she walked toward the master strategist with her own little smile.

The smile dropped from his face.

No. She didn’t walk toward him. What she did could not be called anything so tame as walking. She moved toward him in a slow glide, allowing her hips to sway provocatively with each step.

He stared down at her with glazed eyes. His mouth was opened as if he had been about to say something but the thought had completely deserted him. She was just fine with that.

Cocking her head she blinked up at him with a look of innocent curiosity.

“Was there something my husband needs of me?” There was something exciting about teasing the man. For possibly the first time in her whole life Yue Ying fully felt the potential that she held as a woman. She felt aggressive. She felt weak. Right at that instant she wanted to push him to the ground and peel off all those layers of clothes until she got to the warm skin underneath. She wanted her husband to take her into his arms and kiss her until her knees buckled and she would fall without him.

And it was that thought that snapped her back to reality, made her remember why wanting was dangerous. Zhuge Liang had offered her a lot of things. Catching her when she fell wasn’t anywhere on the list. She forced her face into its usual pleasant lines.

When she spoke again she tried to speak as if she were passing him in a hallway in the palace, fully clothed like any other day, “No? Well then, if you will excuse me. I’m about to take my bath. I will see you tonight, Zhuge.”

Yue Ying took a step back, giving a small bow, then turned and walked back to the water. This time she didn’t stop until the water teased against the gentle flair of her hips. She sank down in her usual spot, leaning back against the small boulder that peeked above the surface of the water. She closed her eyes, and let her head fall back.

She heard a faint noise, but didn’t open her eyes.

“Tonight then,” her husband’s fading voice floated back to her. When she opened her eyes again he was gone.

“What the hell was I thinking just now?!”

She dropped her head into her hands.