Flame Of Wu

~Battle Of He Fei~

The water surrounding the ship shines as the sun's rays hit. Troops sharpen their weapons and prepared for battle, occasionally stopping to chat with each other. Lu Mei fidgeted with the pendant hanging off the spear, casting uneasy glances at the horizon. Xue sat next to her, licking her leg to make her feel better. Gan Ning stood up front, hands on his hips, staring straight ahead with his sword at his side.

She sighed and stood up as the crew started heading up to the front, getting in formation. They held their weapons next to them as they watched some land appear. Yue Fing, who've finished training last month, held her fans as she fidgeted in place.

"Lady Mei...are we going to make it out of this?" Lu Mei flushed as she turned to look at her. "Y-yes we are. And just call me Mei... I'm not that royal."

"You were the daughter of a king, weren't you?"

She was so taken back she laughed, holding her side with one hand. "Lu Bu?! A King?!" She calmed down as she continued, "He's not an actual king but...I guess you could say it that way..." She smiled as she relaxed her muscles, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be fine..." She was cut off by Xue rubbing against her leg, its tail lightly wagging.

Voices can be heard on the land approaching, Gan Ning balanced on the front of the boat, keeping his eyes focused on the land approaching ahead. "Get ready everyone! Its showtime!" He takes a large leap off as two Wei guards turn and were cut down by him almost immediately. Lu Mei dashes forward, followed by Xue and Yue Fing, each brandishing their weapons. She feels the ground fly past her feet as she goes and fights several Wei soldiers, killing them without mercy.

Her blade carried her rage, channeling it with each deadly blow she gave, dropping bodies like trees dropped fruit. Yue Fing and Gan Ning fought at a distance, clearing a path for the fighters to take down the gates at He Fei while Xue drove off soldiers that tried getting close to him. Everything had went on perfectly until-

"AHHH!! ZHANG LIAO HAS RETURNED AND HE'S HEADED STRAIGHT TO LORD SUN QUAN!!!"

At the soldier's cry Yue Fing stops and looks to Lu Mei. "LADY MEI!!"

She gulps and hops on a fallen enemy's horse, galloping away, "ON IT!"

Passing by and slashing enemy by enemy, she continues on towards their main camp. Huang Gai was there, clashing against several troop members and a familiar voice rings out. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! I'M HERE FOR SUN QUAN'S HEAD!!" Seeing the approaching Zhang Liao, she sharply turned her horse in his direction and it galloped forwards. Their horses rear and whinny, both nearly crashing into each other as Lu Mei locked her gaze on her former mentor.

"Lu Mei! Stand aside! I don't want a fight against you..." Zhang Liao spoke as he turned his horse, trying to go around her but she stops his advance with her own stallion. "The moment you decided to go for Lord Sun Quan's head was the moment you asked for a fight." She spat as their horses circled each other, then his comes and barges past hers, making it stumble aside as Zhang Liao leapt off his horse, twirling his spear as if it was a mere toy.

"I have warned you, child..." He dashes forward and she blocks it, turning the butt end of her spear towards him to hit his stomach and flipped him over her. She makes several blows at him, missing him by a hair as he launches forward before stopping, using his momentum to smack her with the butt end and followed it with the blade, being blocked by her spear again. Zhang Liao stared her down, "Your skills have weakened down ever since you've joined his army...join Wei and you can fight alongside me, not against me." She gritted her teeth and glared at him, his green eyes connecting with her ocean blue eyes.

"I may have grown weaker but I have found a place here, one can be rebuilt but the other can't. And I will stick with that decision even if it kills one of us!!!" Leaping forward, she had him dodge a blow on each side, only to get caught by a third unseen blow from below, slicing his armor and his leg. He yelled out in pain and their handles clashed, teacher against student, using the power stored from rage.

Zhang Liao continues his fight, kicking Lu Mei into a tent and leaping to her. Rolling out of the way as he struck, she bared her teeth as she sliced at his side, making him cry out in pain. Their fight grew more intense, their skills matching and eventually he stumbles back and stares her down, "You haven't ended me yet, I'll come again and defeat you next time!!" He leaped on his horse and charged away as the sound of a horn blared through the skies and Wu soldiers fell back, chased out by Wei soldiers. She stood, glaring at where Zhang Liao was until she felt something tug her back and Gan Ning's voice can be heard.

"C'MON MEI, WE LOST! WE'LL DEAL WITH THEM ANOTHER TIME!"

Lu Mei felt her stomach drop as she ran alongside him, picking up her spear. Tears of anger fell to the ground as Yue Fing and Xue caught up with them. She looked back in utter shame as the Wei soldiers raised their hands in victory and looked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~

The camp was near silent as several generals come and go to the medic. Lu Mei sat on a bench near the front gates, crossing her arms and looking on the ground. She felt something rub against her leg and looked down to see Xue, looking up with her with a sympathetic look. Smiling, she bent down slightly to rub his head, "Well...theres always another time, as mother always said...", She sighs and straightened up, looking up. "Mother, Father...I'm sorry I couldn't get my revenge...at all...and now Zhang Liao is my enemy..."

Xue whined, pressing its muzzle against her leg. Standing up, she looked back down at Xue, "I will find a way to reunite with mother and Ling Qi...They trusted me to gain strength to fight...so I'll train more..and fight for us...all of us!" After that silent moment of dedication she walked to her room with a determined look on her face. She was not going to let this defeat go in vain.