A/N: Okay, this must be my longest break between updates. Fail. Anyway, on with the story. And thanks for the reviews you guys gave me! Happy Easter~

Chapter 17: A little trip

Ma Chao, Ma Dai, Yun Lu and Pang De prostrated themselves before the Lord Liu Bei.

"We," started the four in unison. "Hereby swear our loyalty to the benevolent Lord Liu Bei until de—"

Ma Chao cut in with, "Forever, even after death."

Yun Lu gave him a weird look, but then thought over what he had said. "Well, I'll just second that."

"I third it!" followed Ma Dai.

"I—" Pang De pondered before bowing his head a little. "—agree."

The audience, who were the other generals, chuckled at this as they watched the four new warriors. They had just made the ceremony seem light-hearted, but that was not the case.

"Thank you, dear generals. Well then, I welcome you to Shu!" declared Liu Bei.

The audience clapped enthusiastically as Yun Lu swept her eyes across them. They seemed friendly enough. All she hoped was that being here could bring peace to the land. She knew that reason was lame, but wasn't peace what everyone wanted?

She caught Zhao Yun's eye and they nodded to each other.

"Before I show you to your rooms," announced Liu Bei. "I'll introduce my fellow comrades to you…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Early next morning, Yun Lu asked Ma Chao to familiarise the environment (Shu) with her.

"Yes, alright. I'll—" Ma Chao was cut off by a presence at the door.

"Good morning General Ma. Lord Liu Bei wishes to speak with you," announced the messenger. Ma Chao nodded and thanked the messenger before turning back to his sister.

"Sorry, I guess I won't be joining your little outing," said Ma Chao. Yun Lu waved it off.

"That's fine, you're not that important anyway," answered Yun Lu jokingly.

"Why do you always talk like that to me, I am your older brother," growled Ma Chao, but Yun Lu just smiled innocently at him. Ma Chao looked about their new house. "Why don't you get Shao to go with you?"

"I tried to find her, but she's disappeared. And then I tried to get Ma Dai to come, but he's now where to be found either," said Yun Lu with a frown.

"Oh, so I was your last resort was I?"

"Of course, I wouldn't go on a walkabout with you unless I had no choice."

Ma Chao stood up as he glared at his sister. "I will go meet our lord. Farewell, hope you have a nice day," he snarled. "By yourself."

"Sure will," said Yun Lu, waving as her brother left the house.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dressed in a simple Hanfu dress, Yun Lu made her sight-seeing trip alone. She was fascinated by everything around her.

Now why doesn't Xiliang have so much stuff on the streets?

She bought food of the street stalls which included three flat cakes and skewer of little red balls which she was happily munching on as she sauntered through the streets. She had no idea what the little red balls were, but they were sweet.

"Lady Ma!"

Yun Lu swivelled around and smiled at the familiar face. "Hello Lord Zhao Yun," greeted Yun Lu.

Zhao Yun looked at the food in her hands. "Well, you seem hungry."

"No, I just felt like using money." Yun Lu offered Zhao Yun a flat cake. "Want one?"

"No thank you…So Lady Ma, what brings to these streets by yourself?" asked Zhao Yun.

"Couldn't find anyone to join me…and I thought coming out to see the town would be a good idea."

"May I join you on your trip?"

Hell yeah.

"That would be very kind of you, Lord Zhao Yun," answered Yun Lu all too cheerfully.

Zhao Yun bowed. "Shall we go then?"

"We shall."

As they took a step forward, Yun Lu waved her half eaten sticker of red balls around. "What's this called?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Ma Chao fixed his clothes up before entering Liu Bei's room. "Lord Liu Bei, you wished to speak with me?"

Liu Bei moved to the door to greet him. "Ah Ma Chao! Please come in."

They sat down at a small table where Liu Bei had his servants prepare tea for them.

"How is it here? Is everybody treating you kindly?" asked Liu Bei.

"Yes, it's all good, thank you. I couldn't ask for any better," answered Ma Chao before taking a sip of some expensive high quality tea.

"I'm glad. Oh yes, I'll be assigning you to a position as one of our generals. Your Liang troops will train with our army to get used to our methods," explained Liu Bei.

Ma Chao nodded and smiled sincerely. "Thank you, my lord."

"The other three who came with you, are they your main generals?" inquired Liu Bei.

"Well, one of them is my sister, Ma Yun Lu. I'm sure you've seen here because she was fighting Zhang Fei. The younger male is my cousin, Ma Dai and the older man is Pang De, one of my father's old friends," explained Ma Chao.

"Ah, your sister…how old is she?"

An alarm bell went off inside Ma Chao's head. Liu Bei was asking how old his sister was and…there was obviously a reason behind such a question. He was beginning to see the true purpose behind the meeting on this day.

"Um…eighteen," answered Ma Chao after some thought. It had been a bit more than half a year since Yun Lu's last birthday. "She'll be turning nineteen at the end of the year." Why are you giving him so much information Mengqi!!

"Would you be interested in a marriage proposal for your sister?" asked Liu Bei.

Ma Chao swallowed. He knew it. An arranged marriage for Yun Lu. That sounded impossible. "Oh," was all he managed.

"Is something wrong?" asked Liu Bei, tilting his head a bit.

Ma Chao snapped his head up. "No, everything's fine." Not.

He remembered the time when his father had tried to arrange a marriage for Yun Lu when she was sixteen. He remembered how Yun Lu had yelled at Ma Teng and then didn't talk to him from days on end until Ma Teng gave up in defeat about the marriage. And that was her father. Ma Chao could just imagine what she would do to him.

But this is Liu Bei, our new commander, asking. I cannot afford to disappoint him. Would Yun Lu be understanding of the situation? He weighed his choices; show Liu Bei his loyalty and risk ruining the relationship between him and his sister, or decline Liu Bei, which could seem as if Ma Chao did not want to get too closely tied with Shu, and let Yun Lu decided who to marry. If Liu Bei trusted him, then everything would be good. Besides, Yun Lu had to get married someday. He doubted Yun Lu could attract anyone with her childish and unfeminine behaviour.

"Lord Liu Bei….are you the one who wishes to marry?"

"Oh no, not I! I am already married!" exclaimed Liu Bei. "I just have a candidate in mind. He is not married yet, and I wish the best for him."

"And who might this warrior be, if I may ask?" asked Ma Chao. If the one who was to marry Yun Lu turned out to be some old man, he was definitely done for.

"I'm quite sure you already know him. Why don't you guess?" said Liu Bei teasingly.

"Guess? You're joking…right?" Ma Chao added that last word when Liu Bei just stared at him.

Liu Bei refilled both he and Ma Chao's cup with tea. "No, I'm serious."

"Ah…" Ma Chao scrolled through the generals and advisors he had gotten to know in his mind. It couldn't possibly be Huang Zhong, could it? He had to be married.

"May I ask the man's age?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment. "I think twenty four."

Ma Chao breathed out in relief before realising that he had unconsciously held his breath after he had asked for the age.

"You seem nervous," said Liu Bei with a laugh.

"It's quite a story if you want to know why."

"I'm sure it is, but let's save it for later. Guess," Liu Bei pressed on.

"Yes my lord," uttered Ma Chao.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I think I've covered the most important things about Cheng Du. Why don't you tell me about Xiliang?" asked Zhao Yun.

They had been walking on the streets for quite a while. Zhao Yun did all the introducing and explaining to a captivated Yun Lu.

"Xiliang's quite a different…it's more like nature's home. It doesn't have as many streets and development like here in Cheng Du. Explains why I find everything so interesting, doesn't it?"

"I see. Then Xiliang should have cleaner air…" Zhao Yun stopped and looked at Yun Lu. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really, why do you ask?"

Zhao Yun pointed to a restaurant they had stopped outside of. "This place has really good food. But never mind then."

He made to keep moving, but Yun Lu grabbed his arm. "If Lord Zhao Yun recommends it, then I should try it. We can rest our feet from all the walking."

A waiter showed them to a small table in the corner. Zhao Yun took command and ordered two small plates of dim sum and baozi. "Continue," he said to Yun Lu.

Yun Lu took a few moments to figure what he meant. "Oh, about Xiliang. Right, it gets pretty cold at times. But I love it, it's been my home since I was born, and it's been home to my ancestors." Talking about Xiliang made her want to go back. Xiliang was not a particularly big city compared to Cheng Du and Luo Yang, but it was perfect for her. Yun Lu missed the environment which wasn't hindered by too many technological developments.

"I've never seen the ocean. Xiliang doesn't get one, and if wanted to, I would have to go north for a long distance," said Yun Lu quietly. She remembered that time when her father had described the ocean to her when he came back from a journey to a city near the coast.

"It's a vast expanse of water, greater than any lake you've seen!" said Ma Teng. "I couldn't see an end to it!"

"Was it pretty?" asked Yun Lu, looking awed as she dreamed of what this ocean would look like.

"Oh yes, it was beautiful. As beautiful as you…"

"Oh daddy, stop exaggerating."

Ma Teng chuckled. "Do you mean the ocean, or your beauty?"

Yun Lu smiled to herself at this thought. At this particular memory which highlighted her stupidity at choosing the right words when she was a young child. Her eyes got a little watery, which did not go unnoticed.

"Are you okay? Yun Lu?" asked Zhao Yun, putting his hand on her shoulder and looked at her with a worried face. Yun Lu shook her head and reinforced her point with a smile

"Yeah, I'm fine." A small sniffle. "No worries, I was just thinking of my father. He died at the hands of Cao Cao six months ago," she said stoically.

"…Then you must hate him."

"Yeah," answered Yun Lu with a shrug. "But not as much as my brother." She looked up and realised Zhao Yun was staring at her. There was something in his gaze that…

Does he pity me?

The gaze was broken as a waiter came in and set their ordered dishes between the two on the table.

"Cheng Du's in inland, but there'll always be a chance to see the ocean," said Zhao Yun, picking up his chopsticks.

"I hope so, I don't want to miss out on seeing something my father deemed beautiful." Yun Lu bit into one of the dumplings, still a little fazed by Zhao Yun's stare.

"How are they?"

"Huh…oh, the dumplings are really nice," said Yun Lu, nodding as she placed the rest of it in her mouth. She savoured the delicious juices and thin pastry of the dim sum.

Zhao Yun smirked. "Good, then I recommended the right place to you."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ma Chao let out a breath of relief when he knew who was to marry his sister. He was a sincere man and would treat Yun Lu well, he was sure of it. Despite that, Ma Chao was quite sure was going to get bashed up anyway.

"So what will it be?" asked Liu Bei.

There was no possibility for Yun Lu to accept if Ma Chao discussed with her. He hesitated a short moment before answering. "I accept this marriage on behalf of my sister."

Liu Bei broke into a cheerful grin. "Wonderful! I will notify him of this. I will be the guardian for him, as you will be the guardian for your sister, I assume?"

Ma Chao nodded, a fake smile plastered on his face while feeling grim on the inside. Liu Bei clapped his hands together joyfully and proceeded to tell Ma Chao of all the possibilities for the marriage.

"Eh…Lord Liu Bei," said Ma Chao, cutting off Liu Bei's excited ramble. "Can I ask for a favour from you?"

"Oh yes, go right ahead!" Liu Bei refilled his cup with warm tea.

"I would like a grave for…" Ma Chao bit his lip before continuing. "My…family. They died during my battle with Cao Cao," he said, accenting the Wei warlord's name with a negative tone. Just by mentioning his family, Ma Chao felt the pain of loss gnawing at his soul.

Liu Bei looked at him solemnly, his previous ecstatic mood gone. "Of course I will help you do so. If you would like it done, then it will be. Do not consider it a favour. Where would you like the graves erected?"

"Anywhere is fine, as long as it's quiet," replied Ma Chao. "She always liked tranquillity."

"You decided and tell me. Whether it be a grand procession, a simple ritual or nothing at all, we will honour them as you wish," promised Liu Bei. With a sigh, he placed his tea cup back on its saucer. "Your wife must have been a beautiful woman."

"Beautiful?" Ma Chao lips curled slightly into a smile. "That word doesn't begin to describe her."

XXXXXXXXXX

Yun Lu and Zhao Yun left the restaurant when the finished their food to continue on their tour around the city. Yun Lu spotted a tea shop ahead and rushed straight for it.

"Hey, wait up!" called out Zhao Yun, setting off at a brisk pace to catch up with her.

Yun Lu sauntered in and smiled. The shop held an assortment of tea leaves, teapots and cups. She stepped towards the teapot section and gazed.

They're beautiful…

"Do you like tea?" asked Zhao Yun, suddenly appearing beside her.

Yun Lu jumped at his sudden presence. "Don't scare me like that!"

"You're the one who ran off."

"Well I'm sorry." Yun Lu turned her attention back to the teapots, scanning over the various types. She stopped at one with engraved patterns and was made of a pale green frosted glass, which made it seem like it was created with exceptionally thin jade.

"You have good taste there, lady," said the shopkeeper.

"How much?" Yun Lu queried instantly.

The shopkeeper offered up a high price of $500 and Yun Lu's attempts of haggling did not get through to him. She pulled out her wallet but realised he did not have enough money.

"Can you keep it for me, and I'll come back tomorrow for it?" pleaded Yun Lu.

"Sure you can come back tomorrow, but I can't guarantee anything," answered the shopkeeper.

"I'll lend you money if you don't have enough," offered Zhao Yun.

"No, owing people money isn't good." Yun Lu turned to the shopkeeper. "I'll come back first thing in the morning."

They left the store and returned to the busy streets.

"You're not particularly into shopping are you?" asked Zhao Yun, noticing that Yun Lu's hands were empty after three hours.

Yun Lu shook her head. "It's usually only on food. And the occasional item." Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, staring right ahead. Zhao Yun was confused, wondering what was happening as he scanned the street. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

"Those two," uttered Yun Lu softly, but Zhao Yun picked it up. Yun Lu pointed to a young couple, walking hand in hand along the street ahead. "I can't believe it!"

Zhao Yun followed her finger and saw the couple. He could only see their backs, but the boy had short brown hair and the girl had shoulder length black hair. "And?"

Yun Lu charged forward, but was halted by Zhao Yun when he grabbed her arm. She spun around and glare at him. "Hey, let g—"

"Don't disturb them, they look quite joyful by themselves," explained Zhao Yun. Yun Lu huffed and crossed her arms.

"Fine."

"Who are they?" Zhao Yun asked, watching as the mysterious couple walked off onto another street. "I don't suppose it be jealousy or the male two timing if you didn't give pursuit." Zhao Yun flashed her a smirk.

Yun Lu rolled her eyes at the man before answering. "My cousin and my maid, who I would also call my best friend."

XXXXXXXXXX

After a long day, Yun Lu returned home, intent on asking Shao about her relationship with Ma Dai.

I knew there was something between them!

But the first person Yun Lu saw as her brother. "Mengqi!!"

Ma Chao turned and fixed her with a somewhat horrified look. Somewhat.

"Have you seen Dai or Shao?" asked Yun Lu.

"No…"

"Okay, I'll just keep searching for them then."

"No, wait. Come here, I have…something to tell you," muttered Ma Chao.

Yun Lu raised an eye at him. "I don't see what you seemed so scared about, but alright." Yun Lu moved towards him and they both sat down on a nice couch.

"Well today, I met with Lord Liu Bei and I…" Ma Chao hesitated but pressed on. "I asked to bury Yang and the children—"

"Oh I see," said Yun Lu. She patted Ma Chao on the shoulder. "You make it nice for my sister in law, won't you?" She stood up and turned to leave.

Wait, then why is Mengqi so scared?

Yun Lu faced Ma Chao once again as he finally decided to speak.

"Well Yun Lu…Lord Liu Bei also talked about marriage between you and—"

"WHAT?!" shouted Yun Lu.

"And I said yes…"

Yun Lu watched her brother with an expression mixed with confusion and anger. "Why? I thought I told you not to meddle with my marr—"

"Marriage is used like a bond of trust," said Ma Chao, dominating Yun Lu's voice. "I don't like how it's used that way, but it is. Liu Bei wants to use this so that we can trust each other. If I rejected his offer, then it would be like we're unwilling to be so familiar and…you're already, what, eighteen?" Ma Chao sighed. "Sorry, I know I should have talked to you first, but would you have even contemplated saying 'yes' if I did?"

To Ma Chao's surprise, Yun Lu sat down opposite him with a frown without hitting him or in general letting our any anger.

"Then who is this man I am going to marry?" questioned Yun Lu.

"Lord Liu Bei said no to tell," replied Ma Chao quietly.

At this, Yun Lu bounded up and grabbed a fistful of Ma Chao's shirt.

"This marriage has been held against my will, and I don't even get to know who the hell I'm marrying?" yelled Yun Lu angrily.

"Lord Liu Bei said to keep it a surprise," answered Ma Chao, staring into Yun Lu's enraged eyes.

"Lord Liu Bei, Lord Liu Bei! What, have you suddenly found sucking up to that man something very fun?"

"Hey!" Ma Chao pulled Yun Lu's hands off his shirt and shoved her away. He was offended by such an allegation. "I have done no such thing!"

A door clicked shut and the two siblings turned to look.

Shao walked in with a couple of bags of food and stopped upon seeing Ma Chao and Yun Lu standing with angry looking faces.

"Well hello Shao—"

Yun Lu broke away from the heated argument and dashed over to Shao. "You!" muttered Yun Lu, fixing Shao with a glare.

"Me?" squeaked Shao as an answer.

"Yes you! Where is Ma Dai?"

"Oh, Da—I don't know where Ma Dai is," replied Shao, leaning away from Yun Lu. "Wh-why would I anyway?

At that moment, Ma Dai entered the living room through another door.

"Hey—oh damn, did it get out?"

Yun Lu jumped back and pointed at her cousin triumphantly. "Hah, you blurted it out yourself!"

"Dai!" exclaimed Shao. "Why did you tell?"

"It looked like she was interrogating you!" answered Ma Dai.

Ma Chao strode towards the younger three. "Calm down, what's happening?"

Yun Lu pointed accusing fingers at the two. "They're going out together."

Ma Chao looked between Shao and Ma Dai a few times before breaking into a smile. "Good job Dai, you've become a grown man."

"I'm twenty, cousin," Ma Dai reminded him.

"Well good luck with it you two," said Ma Chao with a chuckle. "Is there something wrong with them going out together?"

"Well no, but Shao!" said Yun Lu exasperatedly. "You didn't tell me anything!"

"Dai said not to tell," muttered Shao in reply.

"Well, it's out now, so we don't have to hide it any longer." Ma Dai wrapped an arm around Shao. "Be prepared to lose you maid Yun Lu," he said with a smirk, earning a blush from Shao.

"Che, as if I will." She and Ma Chao exchanged a glance. "Let's leave them to themselves shall we?"

"We should." Both of them left to return to their rooms.

Ma Chao kept a smile on his lips as they walked off. "See Yun Lu, even they're together."

Yun Lu frowned again. "But this…my marriage isn't about love is it?"

"You'll learn to love," answered Ma Chao. He then turned and retreated to his own room.

"Really depends on who I'm going to marry!" called out Yun Lu, hoping that Ma Chao would give up on the secrecy.

"I'm not telling!" shouted Ma Chao in return. He slammed the door and left Yun Lu to stand in the corridor alone.

He's right though, I'm already eighteen. Girls usually get married at sixteen. What would you say, dad? Hm, what kind of stupid question is that? He tried to arrange a marriage for me before! Like father like son. Still, I wish you were here, father, I miss you so much.

Yun Lu sighed and clenched her fist. Her father, brothers, Yang and young nephew and niece, all dead, all slain, by Cao Cao. But she couldn't hold such a burning hatred for the man as Ma Chao did. Yes, she hated Cao Cao, but she didn't have the desire for revenge. Hatred doesn't let one enjoy life as it is, and Yun Lu didn't want that to happen.

She turned and went to her room, remembering that she had to go buy a teapot the next morning.

A/N: Thank a lot for your reviews guys, it made me go: I MUST UPDATE. Thank you so much for the support, hope you will continue to do so by reading this story and reviewing!!

Wink wink.

And at Dagomon, thanks a lot for your suggestions, I'll think about it. And yeah, I really should write a detailed description of Yun Lu shouldn't I? Hmm, might be a bit hard to insert that now the story is onto chapter 17, but I'll give it a shot!

Thanks for reading, please REVIEW! I'll try to move along with this story...least I got a plan aye.