The Pirate Princess

Chapter 18

(The wedding)

In the morning, Lu Xun and Ai Rong, both in formal red clothes, went to the family altar that stood near the back of the house. They paid homage first to Heaven and Earth, then the family ancestors and Tsao-Chün, the Kitchen God. Tea with two lotus seeds in the cup was offered to Lu Xun's father, who drank it quickly. Turning to each other, Lu Xun and Ai Rong bowed, completing the wedding ceremony.

As soon as the two straightened, they were swept up by a small army of servants who pushed them into the bed chamber. Ai Rong walked over to the bed, one hand stretched out to be sure that she didn't bump into the bed that she knew was there. Lu Xun's face was bright red, knowing that in as little as an hour, there would be people in the room to see them. He sat down next to Ai Rong and sighed.

"Well it could be worse…"

"What do you mean? What could be worse?"

He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat before answering.

"At least we won't be stuck in here for three days."

"Three days?!"

"It was what used to be done. Don't get too comfortable though, there are going to be people coming in to see us."

Ai Rong groaned, picking up a pillow and burying her face in it, making a whining noise. Lu Xun nodded to himself, thinking that he had to agree with her on that particular tradition.

As promised, after forty-five minutes or so of rest, guests began to pour in. Many of them were officers that they had served with, but some were total strangers to at least one of the couple. When the whole Sun family walked in, Ai Rong almost dove under the covers in an attempt to hide. Her ears turned red as she began to blush before anybody even began speaking.

Sun Ce swatted Lu Xun's shoulder and laughed, commenting on how quickly they had set up such a nice room in such a short time.

"Hey," he continued, elbowing his friend "with all the children that we had on there, you two should have some little Xuns and Ais running around pretty soon!"

Ai Rong looked down, wanting to just get up and leave, not wanting to hear all the ribald comments that she had been hearing through the day. She knew that they were all just teasing them, but she knew that they had no idea how close to home their words hit. Shang Xiang glared at her brother and smacked his arm, walking up to her friend and sister with a small package in her hands.

"I have a gift for you, Ai."

"Thank you."

Ai Rong took the package and went to set it behind her, but her friend's hand caught her wrist.

"Open it now. You'll like it."

She opened the red package and lifted out a long beaded necklace with a tassel of hair attached at one point secured to a bell.

"The hair is mine. And the bell is made of silver."

Ai Rong smiled at her friend, placing the necklace around her neck, giving them a little pat.

"Thank you. You will be attending the banquet tonight?"

The Sun family nodded, then left to let Pang Tong and Zhang Fei in.

…………………………………………………………….

Ai Rong sat with the other women at the banquet that Lu Xun's father threw as a public recognition of his son's union. Shang Xiang sat with her arm around her friend, the two laughing as they ate and drank. They occasionally glanced in the direction of the men, but didn't linger on them.

Lu Xun and his father sat with the men, talking and eating. Gan Ning was drunk already, and many of the other guests were quickly following his example. Lu Xun finally called for the banquet to end before his guests got out of hand.

……………………………………………………………..

Early the next morning, Ai Rong rose to attend the honoring of the ancestors at dawn. She turned and let the members of Lu Xun's family and friends get a good look at her before introducing herself as Lu Xun's wife. She knelt before each of the older relatives, receiving small gifts from each as she knelt. She heard the people commenting on her blindness, but said nothing. She felt an aged hand pat her gently on the shoulder.

"Welcome home, my girl. You can call me Father Lu, if you like."

His kind, worn voice took her by surprise. She had heard so many horror stories about things that happened when women joined their husband's family, she was expecting a den of lions that were waiting to eat her alive. She smiled and bowed deeply when he handed her his gift, a mirror of mercury and bronze.

Two months later, Lu Xun and Ai Rong went to the Sun family home. The couple were treated the same way as before, except that the servants no longer shared jokes with her as they passed. It was then, sitting with her husband and the Sun family, that the reality of the situation hit her. She was no longer part of their family. She wasn't from the Gan clan, or from the Sun family. She belonged to the Lu clan, completely.

Tears welled up before she could stop them, and she rose and dashed out of the chamber they had all been sitting in. Lu Xun half stood, but Sun Ce pulled him back down to his seat as Shang Xiang got up and ran after her.

"Let her go, Xun. Shang Xiang will take care of it."

…………………………………………………………….

In the room she used to sleep in, Ai Rong sat amidst stacks of trunks and boxes, crying quietly. Shang Xiang slipped in, sitting next to her friend, not sure what to say. Finally, she just asked what was bothering the pirate.

"What's bothering me? I don't like it there."

"Does his family treat you well?"

"Well, yeah, most of them. His father seems to be quite taken with me, but his brothers make it so difficult for me. They keep asking why there isn't any noise coming from our room, it's disgusting! Xun told his father about… what happened to me, but not his brothers. I'm trying to get over it, I really am!"

"I know, Ai. He doesn't… does he?"

"No, he has never forced me to do anything. We've only done anything once… I had nightmares after…"

Shang Xiang smiled sadly, hugging her adopted sister tightly.

"Don't worry… Maybe you're pregnant already… then they will back off for sure."

The girls smiled at each other, Ai Rong looking slightly pale.

"You gonna be okay to go back?"

"Yeah… I'll be okay. Thanks."

Shang Xiang nodded. If anybody was strong enough to live through the horrible things that life threw at them, it was Ai Rong…

The End

A/N

Okay guys, this story is over. But I have a sequel coming out too. It's called The Fall of Wei and Shu.

Hope I keep all my faithful readers and get new ones! Happy reading!

Deception'sChosen