Love or Law

Little Brother...?

I know after that dreadful cliffhanger you are all dying to discover what Shang saw ;) So I won't make you wait any longer! Ladies and Gentlemen it is my great honor to present to you...CHAPTER 3!!!!!!!!!!!

Shang could only stare in shock as Ping desperately grabbed a lily pad for camouflage. He could not have seen what he had just seen. It just couldn't be possible. Even as he tried to deny it, Shang knew there was no use lying to himself. That had been no hallucination.

"Hey Ping!"

Shang cursed. He had completely forgotten about the other men who had come down to the lake. Ping was in the process of trying to hide behind a rock when they approached. Shang's hands balled into fists as he watched, unsure if he should intervene. He had no idea what he could do to help, or why he even wanted to help. He should feel betrayed and angry. Shang had taken the youth under his wing, put all he had into training him, even begun to like and trust the boy he thought he had come to know so well.

Only now, Shang didn't know. How were you supposed to react when you found out that the boy you treated like a younger brother was not even a boy at all? The girl was trying to keep herself covered while remaining as casual as possible. She had deepened her voice to sound more like a male, but it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.

"And I am Yao! King of the rock! And there's nothin' you boys can do about it!"

Despite how dire the situation was, Shang almost laughed as he watched the girl discreetly cover her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at Yao's nudity as he stood confidently on a rock. He wondered how Yao would react if he realized he had so blatantly revealed himself to a young girl.

Shang's attention was drawn back to the group in the water as the girl tried to make her escape only to be cornered by Ling as he tried to get her to fight Yao with him. When Ling started tugging on her arm, Shang had to quell a very strong urge to march out there and deck the idiot. He had actually taken his first step out of the reeds, forgetting about his own state of undress, when Ling suddenly screamed, "SNAKE!"

All three men yelled and ran through the water towards the nearest rock. The girl, on the other hand, let out a piercing whistle. Her horse galloped into the water to her and the girl quickly grabbed the blanket draped over the beast's back to cover herself as she stepped out of the water, using the horse's bulk to shield her identity as well.

Shang still couldn't wrap his mind around it. Ping was a girl. A GIRL! What was a female doing in his army? How could she do this to herself and to him? What was he supposed to do now that he knew? The law stated that she must die. Shang automatically baulked at the thought. He had grown to like the boy he had trained. He admired the girl for her strength and determination, even as he felt anger at her for betraying him and his men in the worst possible way. Ping, if that was even her name, had proven herself over and over again in training. She worked harder than most men to earn her right to stay and yet, because she was female, what she did was viewed as a crime.

Shang knew what his response should be. He knew what he had to do. He had never broken the law or any protocol in his life. It was what had gotten him so far, so fast in life. So why was he contemplating going against everything he knew, everything he was, for one girl? Why was he even weighing the risks and punishments he knew would occur if he kept her identity secret? If she was discovered and word somehow got out that he had known, it would not just be her execution he would be facing. It would be his own.

He couldn't make this decision on his own. He needed another to discuss this with. If his father were in camp he would not hesitate to go to him. His father had always been fair and just. Perhaps he would find a way to quietly confront the girl and then dispel her from the camp in a way that would not dishonor her or lead to her death. But the great General wasn't here. This decision was up to Shang and Shang alone. However, he might be able to get some advice on the subject from someone who had the trust of the Emperor himself.