Deluding Innocence
- by Paronomastic Paragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors. Koei does, I believe.
Summary: Xing Cai was captured by Wei and is held prisoner. While there, they subject her to execution. Unless, she wins a spar with Xiahou Yuan, deciding her fate. And from there, everything is shot to hell for Shu. Better than summary sounds. Some ZhYn x XC
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2 weeks ago
"Xing Cai, watch out!" Xing Cai had barely enough time to register the forthcoming blow from a Wei soldier behind her. She instinctively ducked, and jabbed her own weapon, Sacred Light, into the soldier's stomach.
"Thank you, Zhao Yun." She said quietly, before having to hack another soldier in half coming from above. Zhao Yun half-smiled back, before jabbing his spear into an armor-clad boy's shoulder. Xing Cai wondered if this battle would ever end. They were the reinforcements for Ma Su, who had gotten himself trapped by camping on the summit, like Master Zhuge Liang to him not to. So far, they had no word yet whether Ma Su was alive or not, so for all she knew, they could be fighting for no reason.
She parried a blow to her right, and thrust the bottom of her forked spear into someone's neck. They were almost surrounded, but Xing Cai learned from her father to never give up, because the moment you think that, the enemy's already won.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jiang Wei not too far away, having some difficulty pushing a group of five or six soldiers back. She wiped out the rest of her enemies out with one fell swoop of her weapon, and ran over to Jiang Wei to help. Just as a soldier was about to injure him from behind, Xing Cai threw Sacred Light into the soldier's spinal cord, resulting in an ear splitting cry from the man before he fell over dead.
Jiang Wei turned to her.
"Thank you," He said. Xing Cai nodded and retrieved her weapon, then helped him drive the soldiers back with incredible force. "You're pretty good," Jing Wei complimented as the soldiers ran away. Xing Cai brushed the compliment off like dirt off her shoulder. Many people have said that, but Xing Cai thought she wasn't good enough. She was nowhere near the skill of her father or his sworn brother, Guan Yu. She said thank you anyway, and raced back off into the swelling groups of enemy soldiers. This battle was far from over.
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She kept getting deeper and deeper into enemy territory, much to her regret. The soldiers had surrounded her completely and kept driving her in. She could no longer see Jiang Wei or Zhao Yun, and small butterflies of nervousness crept into her stomach, fearful of what would happen if she lost. Swing after swing after swing, the soldiers fell, but for every one, two would take his place. Xing Cai's breathing was labored, and her strength she felt was failing her. This battle had gone far too long, and she had not stopped to ask for supplies. Jie Ting was lost, she felt it subconciously.
A soldier slammed the back of his spear into her stomach when she was caught off-guard, causing her to lose grip of Sacred Light and let it clatter to the ground. She put both hands on her stomach and tried to get some air back into her lungs. Just as she looked up to try to continue, a soldier with fearful and confused eyes raised his sword, and brought it down. Xing Cai closed her eyes, and waited for death. She'd lost.
"HALT!" A commanding voice boomed. The sword stopped its descent inches from Xing Cai's neck. She nervously looked up to find a man carrying a huge axe over his shoulder approaching on a white horse. She tried grabbing her forked spear, but ended up collapsing on the ground.
The soldiers parted to make way for the man, who seemed larger than any man she'd seen so far. She tried to get up to fight him, but only succeeded in lifting her head to see his feet right in front of her face.
"Hmmmm… And who do we have here?" He asked in a naturally loud voice. Xing Cai grunted in pain, which was throbbing in the back of her head, before feeling turned over on her back. "A girl eh?" Her fingers finally found the cold hard metal of Sacred Light, and she used the last bit if her strength to throw it at the man. He caught it with one hand, and laughed. "I see you still have some fight left in you." He pried Sacred Light from her hands and gave it to a nearby soldier watching the epidemic. "Take this back to camp. Follow me." He hoisted Xing Cai on his shoulder that didn't have the axe, and got on his horse. The last thing Xing Cai remembered, was the slight echo of a distorted Zhao Yun's voice from far away, desperately trying to reach her.
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Presently
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The cold hard metal chains that bound her wrists to the stone wall bore themselves deep into her skin. The cell she was placed in was incredibly cold and wet, and they only gave her scraps from their dinner twice a day. She was already a small girl, but she could feel her deprived body already getting thinner. And even though she was pale, she thought she must have looked like a ghost because of the lack of sunlight.
There were a few other inmates with her in the prison, but they were (thankfully) a few cells away. They gave her these creepy yellow-toothed grins and ravenous smiles. A few times they'd lick their lips while she wasn't looking. She thought they must be pirates, because none of them seemed to care where she was from, and none were certainly soldiers of Shu.
Xing Cai sighed and closed her eyes. Just a few weeks ago she was happy and well taken care of by her many friends. The thought of dying or being captured didn't ever cross her mind. She wasn't ever one to stray too far from someone like Zhao Yun or her father, so being separated and thrown so deep into enemy territory seemed laughable. But now, she was held prisoner, seen as an object, deprived of food and just grateful to be alive.
She had no idea where she was either. She had asked one of the inmates, and he just grinned one of those sadistic smiles.
"Why, were in Hei Fei Castle, milady," His friends laughed devilishly. "Didn't you know?" She felt miserable and embarrassed. Because she didn't. She was brought here unconscious, and barely remembered what happened. Sometimes, she wondered why that man that captured her didn't just let her die. The image of Zhao Yun weeping over her dead body crept into her mind. She mentally slapped herself while shaking her head. She shouldn't be thinking that way. But that posed another thought. Where was Zhao Yun now? Where was her father? What about Guan Yu? Or his adopted son, Guan Ping? Surely someone is coming to rescue her, right?
The butterflies that invaded her stomach during the battle came back, and she uneasily shifted positions on the stone floor. Well, someone must notice she's been gone…
The door to the prison swung open. All the prisoners looked up, including Xing Cai, because this wasn't usually feeding time. Not at midday.
A man draped in purple robes and a funny hat walked in. He carried a fan, one that strategist usually carry, Xing Cai noted, and slowly walked down the rows of prison cells. He stopped at hers.
"So, You're that drunkard's daughter. Xing Cai, I presume?" His voice had a nasty venom to it Xing Cai immediately didn't like. And he also disrespected her father, which always made Xing Cai angry, especially when she knows how much he sacrifices to keep her happy because she doesn't have a mother. She didn't answer verbally and only gave a nod. Showing her anger would only provoke him to make more fun of her father or someone else she loved…
The man in purple robes sneered. "Well, I have some happy news for you. You're to be executed tomorrow, unless fate decides to save your pitiful soul or we plan to use you against Shu as a hostage. Well, either way we'll make sure you die. Have a nice day, it'll be your last one." He laughed and said nothing more while taking his exit, leaving Xing Cai to her thoughts.
Executed tomorrow? She looked at the chains binding her hands to the wall. Well, that gives her a little less than twenty-four hours to think of a plan.
--
Sima Yi closed the iron door to the prison. He sneered at the fleeting look of shock and horror on the young girl's face. He was actually quite surprised at the control of emotion she showed, especially after insulting her moronic excuse for a father. He thought for a moment. The girl couldn't be any older than 16 or 17. Very mature for someone her age.
He continued back to his study. He'd done the dirty work asked by Cao Pi to do, and now he was free to go back to his studies. Zhuge Liang will certainly be planning another attack soon when they find out a prized officer of theirs has gone missing. And when he does, he must be ready.
"Oh, beautiful master Sima Yi!" Sima Yi fought the urge to roll his eyes. Great, just when he was so close to the safety of his room inside the majestic castle.
"Yes, Zhang He?" He asked, a fake smile plastered on his face. Zhang He, the dancing blubbering baffon with an extreme obsession over beautiful things, bounded over to him.
"My you look rather pale today, did you just come from those wretched dungeons? I hear they're keeping a rather pretty young lady inside." Sima Yi continued walking, hoping the 'fruitcake' as Zhen Ji put it, would take the hint.
"Yes, I did, and as a matter of fact, why don't you see the girl yourself?" And leave me to myself. Zhange He pondered it.
"Ah, that is a wonderful idea, Master Sima Yi! I shall be off then!" Sima Yi thanked his lucky stars and entered his room as Zhang He left. Maybe that girl would prove useful after all.
--
"Xing Cai… Where could you be?" Zhao Yun sat on the edge of a rock near a river, head in his hands. He watched the tides splash against the jagged bank, not caring whether he got wet or not. His thoughts were too preoccupied.
"Thank-you, Zhao Yun."
He hadn't seen her since. The battle had been intense, and it took all his concentration just to make it out of there alive. He'd lost sight of her, and fought as hard as he could alongside the others to reach what they hoped were survivors on the summit. Albeit, their contributions had been a lost cause... Ma Su and the units he had taken with him were indeed dead by the time they reached them, and afterward, Zhuge Liang had issued a retreat to cut their losses.
He had hoped to see how Xing Cai had done after the battle, but found her tent to be empty. He went in search later, and asked numerous soldiers from her unit. All had the same answer:
"We were separated when the battle first broke out. I haven't seen her return."
Zhao Yun didn't know how many officers he had asked after that. But none had seen her since the battle began.
His thoughts began to wander back to the battle. He thought he saw Jiang Wei run after someone who had gone in too deep into the enemy, and heard him shouting something over and over again. He couldn't tell exactly what it was he was shouting, but later Jiang Wei slumped back into camp and met directly with Zhuge Liang. Come to think of it, Zhao Yun hadn't seen either of them since the battle too. Could they know something he didn't? Zhao Yun had originally assumed a soldier of Jiang Wei's unit had gone too deep and just couldn't get back out. But…
His heart suddenly skipped a beat. No… It couldn't have been Xing Cai. She'd never go that deep into the fray. She always stuck by his side or her father's…
Zhao Yun's head dropped. Not knowing what had happened to her was just as bad as knowing she was dead… Or worse.
--
"So… You're the pretty lady that's been kept in this dreadful place. What a shame, you look so beautiful too…" Xing Cai lifted her head at the odd man. His hair was up in a really high pony tail (Unusual for guys) and seemed just to reek of…. Queerness… She thought, that would be the word. She raised a black thin eyebrow.
"Uh… Yeah, I guess…" The man danced happily and Xing Cai noted the butterflies he seemed to emanate.
"Such a pretty little thing, and you're voice is so beautiful too!" She swallowed a lump forming in the back of her throat. Was he serious, or just playing games? Xing Cai decided she'd give anything to have Zhao Yun standing there or her father to beat him into a bloody pulp.
"Um…" What did he expect her to say? Thank you? Suddenly he danced away, and came back holding a set of keys. She watched in amazement as the door to her prison cell unlocked.
"Come on now, no need to be afraid of Zhang He," He commented as he saw her grimace and scoot farther back at his advance. She had a dreadful feeling of what he was planning, and shook her head.
"I-I'll stay here. No thanks." Zhang He blinked, still holding the set of keys.
"Oh, but come now, one such as pretty as you shouldn't be locked up like this. Especially locked up with these… maggots." He scowled, distastefully eyeing her pirate inmates. "You need some fresh air, and some good food. And the servants could wash those dirty blood-bathed clothes of yours. I'm sure Zhen Ji won't mind you borrowing some clothes of hers for the time being."
The offer was too good to be true, Xing Cai knew it. But what was his plan? Why was he doing this? She decided she hadn't much more to lose. Well, except maybe her virginity, but she'd make sure he wouldn't step across that line.
"Okay." Zhang He beamed, and unlocked the shackles on her wrists.
"Come come now, don't be so slow, we have so much to do," It suddenly dawned on Xing Cai as he pulled her out of that little hellhole.
Maybe… There was an easier way of getting out of here after all.
--
"So, looks like Zhang He found our newest prisoner." Pang De said. Both him, and Xu Huang leaned against the cool siding of the castle wall. Xu Huang had his large axe tossed over his shoulder meanacingly, and Pang De just stood with his arms crossed. Xu Huang Scoffed at the sight of Xing Cai struggling with Zhang He.
"I didn't bring her here just to have her executed. I think she has some skill." Pang De looked at him curiously.
"You think so? She looks like an ordinary girl to me." Xu Huang narrowed his eyes.
"I saw her, on the battlefield. She was amazing. Enemies left and right, gone in an instant. It was quite a sight to behold. She's definitely officer-worthy. And I bet with some decent training… She could be really turned into something." Pang De looked interested, and arched an eyebrow.
"You really think she has what it takes?"
"Yes. I know talent when I see it." Pang De shook his head.
"Well, it won't matter how much talent she has, her allegiance is with Shu. I doubt you'd ever convince her to stay here." Xu Huang looked thoughtful for a moment, before he too shook his head.
"I guess you're right. But, even warriors like us can change our minds. She's no exception." Pang De started to laugh.
"Well, it's going to take a lot to change her mind. It seems she's quite stubborn," He said, gesturing to the scene of her and Zhang He bickering. Xu Huang started to laugh as well, a deep sound resonating from within his throat. After a while of silence, they watched as Xing Cai was dragged into the castle, and taken to God knows where. Pang De sighed.
"It's too bad. I wish I could have seen her fight." Xu Huang played with his axe a bit.
"Well, maybe you still can." Pang De looked at him oddly.
"What do you mean by that?" But before he got an answer, Xu Huang turned back toward the castle and retreated to the dark corridors.
"I'm going to go pay Sima Yi a visit." He called over his shoulder. Pang De just stood awkwardly in the courtyard, wondering what his friend was up to.
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Author Memorandum: I know, I know, it seems boring. But keep in mind this is just the beginning. BTW, please ignore the age differences between Zhao Yun and Xing Cai. Because I don't know who was what age when who was around or how old either of them were during these events. So, pretend they don't exist okay? They look cute together. ;)