"Da?"

Da Qiao lifted her head off her pillow with a puzzled look on her face. She looked at the window and confirmed it was still nighttime. It wasn't long since she had come up from the gardens, maybe a little over an hour, and she couldn't guess at what the person at the door wanted at this time of the night.

Knock. Knock.

"Da?"

That was Xiao Qiao.

"Coming!" Da pulled her robe around her body and tied it as the got to her door. She looked at the painting of Sun Ce in the corner of her room and wondered if Xiao would see it, but quickly dismissed it. She opened it to see Xiao standing in the hallway.

Well, crouching really.

"What is it?" Da asked, highly curious.

Xiao darted into Da's room and shut the door behind her.

"What's going on?" Da questioned as Xiao stood up.

"Have you been crying?" Xiao asked as she looked at her sister.

"No, but what's the matter, Xiao Qiao? Why did you crouch so?" Da asked again.

"Oh, that's just to hide from my maids." Xiao said with a wave of dismissal. "But, Da, isn't the ball invite only?"

Da raised her eyebrows. "Yes, why?"

"Do Sun Ce and Zhou Yu have invites?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with every word.

"Yes, they do." Da answered.

Xiao's face fell, "Oh…darn."

"Why do you ask this, little sister? Hmm?" Da said as she crossed her arms.

Xiao didn't answer.

Da looked at her for a moment and saw Xiao's brain forming an idea. An idea that was probably outrageous and highly complicated that would only put one or both of them in extreme trouble or danger.

"Now, Xiao, whatever it is you are thinking-"

"We have to get on that ship!" Xiao suddenly burst out.

Da blinked. "…What?" she hadn't been expecting this.

"We go to wherever they are, sneak in, steal the invites and BAM! They won't be at the ball and we don't have to worry about them." Xiao smiled and crossed her arms.

"No." Da said immediately, not even thinking twice about it.

"Why? It's a brilliant plan!" Xiao protested.

"That may be, but my answer will still be no."

"But, Da! While we are on there we could figure out why they are here!"

Da started to walk away. "I care not why they are here."

Xiao followed her, still protesting, "We could find out if they are married!"

"They could have a hundred wives and I still wouldn't care to go on that ship."

"We could see if they have any skeletons in their closet!"

Da stopped as she processed what Xiao had just said. She could get onto the ship and find her dress…

She accepted the fact that she had had Ce's handkerchief when she woke up the other day, but she still didn't believe she had been on that ship, or if she dreamed it all. If she got on the ship and found her dress… she would have the proof she needed.

But then again, if they did get caught, they would have to deal with Sun Ce and that meant she had to speak to him. Then again, she would have to speak to him at the ball.

Unless…

Unless they took the invites.

Without hesitation, she moved to her wardrobe and pulled out two cloaks and passed one to Xiao.

"Don't load up on the clothing. Just wear the basics." she instructed.

Xiao jumped up. "Yes! Can I borrow some clothes so I don't have to sneak past my maids again?"

Xiao was following Da as they climbed out her window and down the vines. She was wearing all black with a black cloak around her shoulders and the hood was pulled over her head. This was exciting to her, to play spy even for an hour, and the fact that Ce and Yu were the people they were "assassinating" raised the exciting value exponentially.

"How do you know that this is the best way to sneak out?" Xiao never thought her sister was one for sneaking out. In fact, if someone told her that her sister even thought about sneaking out she would've laughed at them.

"Just makes perfect sense really. Do we need horses?" Da said as they snuck around to the stables.

"I'd say so. It is a long way to the pier." Xiao said and followed Da as they got their horses. "Let's not bother with saddles though."

The night wind blew a chill through Xiao Qiao's hood as she emerged from the stables with her horse. She looked up at the stars and found the moon, just starting to hide her face. Adrenaline flowed through her veins and she found that the stimulating excitement of it all was wondrous. She had no idea what the rest of the night had in store but she did know something big was going to happen.

"Let's go." Da whispered and they both turned their horses towards the gate.

"How are we going to get past the gate, Da?" Xiao inquired.

"I have no idea. I figured you and your quick wit might have some ideas."

"Well, I have one… We'll need a rock."

Da smiled at her.

"Keep close to the wall and be prepared to mount quickly." Xiao said as they approached the gates, both walking with their horse's reins in hand.

"After you throw the rock, only open one of the gates, Xiao. We only need one to get out and it will save more time. And leave it unlocked so we can get back in." Da instructed.

"Gotcha'." Xiao replied as she picked up a medium sized rock. "Okay, here it goes! One, two, three!"

Xiao threw the rock with all her might as she stood as close as she could get towards the gate.

Instead of going airborne and hitting the destination of the other side of the gate as she had wanted, it went on the other side of the wall and into the trees.

"Uh oh…" Xiao said.

But the guards at the gate immediately jumped up and ran out of the gate and to the other side of the wall to see about the loud thud.

"That works too, I guess." Da said and jumped on her horse. "Come, silly, before they get back to the gate!"

Xiao hurriedly mounted her horse and followed Da silently out of the gate.

They snuck out and looked in the direction of the guards.

"Do you see anything?" one asked.

"Just this huge rock…hey, isn't this supposed to be over by the stables?"

Xiao held back a giggle as she and Da moved into the opposite forest. As soon as the trees were covering them, they raced their horses at full speed towards the village.

Da secretly blessed the horse for its knowledge of how to get to the village in the dark. Though the moon was out, it was still hard to see with the constant tree cover.

"Do you know what ship it is?" Xiao asked as soon as they got to the outskirts of the village.

"Yes, I do." Da replied as they made their way through the streets.

"How?" Xiao inquired. She had a feeling there was something Da wasn't telling her. This wasn't the first time either.

"I saw it after trying on dresses." Technically, that wasn't a lie.

"Oh. Have you talked to Ce any?"

"No, why would I?" Da looked at Xiao puzzled.

"I don't know. I just thought since I talked to Zhou Yu, maybe you talked to Ce too."

Da faced her, "When did you talk with Zhou Yu?"

Shock came over Xiao's face when she realized she hadn't told Da everything about her and Yu's encounter.

"Well, I was running from suitors and he helped me and we talked for about a minute. But I think I was sort of rude and left rather… meanly. I can't believe I didn't tell you. I guess I was so shocked about you knowing about them I just forgot to." Xiao said as she shook her head.

Da fell silent. She had felt guilty about not telling Xiao about Sun Ce. Partially because she was still trying to accept it all herself and partially because she didn't exactly know how to tell Xiao. But then again, she could be making a big deal about nothing at all. Maybe Sun Ce had had a woman maid take care of her in a show of gallantry. But yet again, she didn't know how much he had changed in the last few years. The way he stared at her in the village could have been a stare to rip her clothes off and-

"Da?" Xiao called to her, breaking Da out of her thoughts.

Da blinked and turned towards Xiao. "What? Did you say something?"

Xiao studied her. "I asked how we were going to get on the ship unnoticed."

"Oh. I haven't really given it much thought. You are the one who came up with this, remember?" Da pointed.

"Yeah…do you think they have guards?"

Da thought about that night. She had heard shouts…

"Yes, I'm sure they do. If not to protect Sun Ce, then to protect the cargo they hold."

Xiao pouted. "Why does there always haveta be guards?" her eyebrows came together in the cute little way they always did when she thought her hardest. "Okay, this makes things harder. Maybe there's a back way."

"On a boat? Not likely. What if we do something to distract them?" Da suggested.

"Like what? It's not like we can fake an injury to get past the guards." Xiao said with a snort. She crossed her arms and looked the other way with a little pout.

Da thought for a minute. Then smiled. "Give me your wrap."

Sun Ce looked at the invite as it twirled between his fingers. The fireplace on the opposite side of the room sent an ominous glow about the captain's quarters. The boats movements of tide didn't disturb him as he sat on the edge of his bed, one foot propped up on a stool, deep in thought. He hadn't bothered to change out of his clothing. He already knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight.

He had to admit it and face the facts: he did not want to go to the ball tomorrow. But then again, he did. He had to know how Da was doing out here compared to his homeland. He had to know about what she did while she was around people during social parties, and how she would react now that he was there.

Most importantly, he just wanted to see her.

He looked at his locker that still contained her clothing from the other night. For some reason, he just couldn't throw it away even though no one could wear the dress. Maybe some part of him wanted some part of her.

It was ridiculous really. To hang on to something, someone, like he was doing. Two years… But after last night, old scars felt like new cuts. It was amazing how someone could hold onto something for so long.

He heard a commotion from the deck and instinctively rose up to listen to the running footsteps of his men.

Wait…was that the warning call?

Ce dropped the invite on his bed as he made way to the door just in time to see one of his crew members about to knock.

"Captn' we found another body. It looks like a woman."

Ce dashed out the door. "Get Zhou Yu."

Zhou Yu was at his desk pouring over scroll after scroll to try to sleep. Usually, reading the teachings of the Tao were interesting, but could get tiring after awhile. He had started on this two hours ago and had made no progress in getting more tired.

Just when he would start to get even a little tired, he would think about tomorrow and a jolt of adrenaline would surge through his body, sending him wide awake again. It was a never ending battle that he seemed to be fighting.

Tomorrow seemed so far away yet so close. He didn't want it so close but he didn't know if he could endure sleepless nights as this one over and over again. He dealt with them when she left, he didn't need to deal with them when he saw her again.

He looked over at the invite on the table by his bed and scowled then looked once again at the scrolls scattered over his desk. He needed to read more. To drown the thoughts of her out by the words of wisdom from the Tao.

Like that had worked so far.

He set his elbows on his desk and put his head in his hands.

By the gods why couldn't he get this girls out of his skin?

The warning call.

His head rose out of his hands as his body moved out of the chair and towards the door just as there was a knock on it.

"Me lord, the captn' wants ta see ye on tha deck." the cabin boy said. "'Dey fount an'er body."

Zhou Yu ran out of his quarters.

Xiao Qiao's hands hurt immensely. Dangling from a rope while crossing a body of water was so not one of her top ten most favorite things to do. Or anywhere near it. Ever.

The rope jiggled as she felt Da scaling it behind her. They were climbing the rope from the pier to the Wu ship.

Xiao's extra wrap was put around a potato sack and thrown where the watchmen would see it. It didn't take the men long to notice it and send out warning shouts. In the meantime, Xiao and Da went and found a rope that connected to the boat and started to climb it heading towards the massive war ship.

Xiao was beginning to hate whoever the idiot was who invented the rope. She promised herself that she wasn't climbing another rope again. Ever. The freezing water below didn't help her uneasiness either. Except, at this time of night with the boat blocking the moon, it looked more like a menacing black hole.

She reached the ladder at the side of the boat and put her feet on it then her hands. The cold of the iron bars was a godsend after the burn of the rope.

She turned to check on Da and saw she was about to get on the ladder also. Xiao scaled up till she was just below the railing.

"Do you see anyone up there?" Da asked below her.

"No. They are all looking at our potato sack." Xiao whispered with a giggle.

"Get on the boat then." Da didn't like being above the water she nearly drown in not too long ago.

Xiao raised up, looked around, then jumped over the railing and crouched till Da joined her. "Now what?"

"We find their rooms. Come, they must be down the stairs."

They both dashed to the closest wooden wall and slowly made their way to the opening to the stairs.

"That's it! Over there." Xiao pointed and Da made her way over there with Xiao following.

Da pulled Xiao against the wall and eased around the corner to look in the doorway. She saw light from blazers and the bottoms of some doors. She pulled back around the corner where Xiao was hiding.

"Well?" Xiao asked impatiently.

"There are tons of doors down there. I'm sure that's the living area." Da confirmed.

"Okay, let's go." Xiao urged but as soon as they rounded the corner, they saw three figures about to emerge from the hallway.

Da's mouth opened to let out a gasp but Xiao smothered it with her hand as they both hastened back towards the side of the wall.

Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and one of the crew members emerged. The crew member was talking about the "body".

As soon as they were a few spaces away, Xiao released a breath. "Whew, that was close."

Da grabbed her hand. "Let's go before they come back!"

They went through the doorway and down the stairs. Then suddenly stopped.

"Uh," Xiao started as they looked around. "Which rooms do we look in?" There was door among door after door without signals on them about what was kept inside.

"We will start with finding the captain's. It's usually the biggest and it's probably the easiest to find." Da answered.

"What if we split up? We can find them more easier that way." Xiao suggested.

"Sorry, Xiao but I really don't like the idea of you going around by yourself, especially on a ship with sailors."

"I'll be fine! I promise. We will get out of here faster and time is against us as is." Xiao pointed out.

Da sighed. "Okay but as soon as you find it get out and head for the meeting place. Don't worry about me."

Xiao nodded. "Gotcha! I'll be really quick!" She bounced off heading for another direction.

Da didn't feel good about letting her go alone, but time was against them as she said. Besides, the sooner she finds the invites, the sooner she and Xiao get to go home and snuggle in their beds, all nice and safe.

Da rushed down a hallway and realized she wasn't going the right direction. She turned and went down another hallway and stopped when she saw that at the end of the it, a door was left ajar.

She looked back then slowly made her way down. She peaked inside the room and saw a fireplace burning but the rest of the room she couldn't see. She listened for sound but only heard the popping of the fire.

She pushed the door opened and immediately realized that this was the captains room. She looked around and saw that there was another room from the one she was currently in, but she didn't have time to investigate because she saw what she was looking for on the enormous bed across the room. She made her way over there and picked it up, looking at the impression on the bed of how someone was recently sitting on the side.

Was that…footsteps?

Da whirled as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She prayed that they would turn into another door but they kept coming. She looked frantically around the room trying so spot a hiding place or anything she could hide behind. Then she saw one.

A locker at the other side of the room.

She opened it and climbed over some clothes before shutting the door. She turned around and peaked through the little slits in the wood.

"…just a prank, me lord. Sorry to bother ye." a crew man said.

Sun Ce walked in and Da felt her heart leap in her chest. If her skin wasn't blocking it, she was sure that it might have jumped out of her and went straight to him. Even her skin felt traitorous as every nerve in her being seemed to want to break off and go to him.

Darn that man for making her feel that way!

"That's ok. I'm glad no one was hurt." Ce said.

"Well, goodnight, me lord. Hopefully we won't have to bother ye again." The crew member said as he shut the door behind him.

Ce checked on the fire then walked over to the bed. A puzzled look came over his face.

He then looked at his desk. Then around the room.

He bent to the floor and looked under the bed.

Da knew he was looking for the invite she had in her hand, but she didn't seem to notice his movements as she noticed a familiar smell coming up from her foot area. She looked down and it took all her being not to let out a gasp.

Her dress!

She stared at it for a moment before coming back to her senses. She was here. There, at her feet, was her proof. She couldn't breathe.

She knew she might find it but to look at it… to stare at it and feel it… She was getting dizzy. The room seemed so spin.

"Me lord!" Da looked up to see the crew member again. "There's an intruder on board!"

Ce looked around. It made sense! His invite was stolen! He ran out of the room following the member.

Da's shock at her dress was quickly replaced for concern for Xiao. As soon as Ce left, she darted out of the locker, taking one last look at the dress. She promptly turned around and shot off down the hall.

She had to find Xiao!

Xiao opened the twenty-second door and stole a look inside. "Nope."

Then the twenty-third. "Nope."

She continued looking down the other doors with an exasperated sigh. Being a "spy" was a lot harder than it seemed to be. Why didn't people just put signs on the doors saying whose room it was? It would make her job a lot easier!

She was just opening her thirty-second door when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She flew the door opened and rushed into the room. She cracked the door behind her and listened.

"Me apologies, me lord. We had thought that it was another woman like the last time." she heard someone say.

A woman like the last time?

"It was probably someone from another boat wanting to toy with us."

Xiao peaked through the crack in the door and saw Ce's retreating form along with someone she didn't know. A crew member. They went down a different hallway and Xiao didn't hear their voices after a few more seconds. But that didn't matter because, as she looked around the room, the fireplace dimly lighting the scenery before her, she knew exactly where she was.

Zhou Yu's quarters.

She knew it by the amount of scrolls and paperwork on his desk that was obviously recently handled. The room smelled like the way she remembered he did, and she looked around and saw little traces of him everywhere. She slowly made her way over to the desk and saw everything he had set his mind to reading.

After that, she made her way to the bed and let her fingers drift down and feel the soft fabric he had been sleeping in. She noticed how, although it was well into the night, he didn't seem to have laid down in it: the sheets were still pulled tightly on the bed.

She was pondering over this when she saw the invite beside the bed on the table. She smiled and raced forward towards it and swept it up with a victorious cry.

She stole one last look around the room before making her way over to the door. She heard footsteps down the hallway and stole another peak out of the crack in the door and saw the crew member returning to deck without Ce this time.

As soon as she could no longer hear the sound of his heavy boots hitting the wooden floor, she opened the door and went out into the hallway. She nearly choked when she saw someone rounding the corner to where she was. She panicked for a moment before she saw a foot and, instinctively, she knew it was Zhou Yu.

She turned and darted around the corner closest to her. But not fast enough.

Zhou Yu turned and saw a cloaked figure dash out from his doorway and around the corner.

"Intruder!" he yelled as he turned to the crew mate he had just passed. "Alert the captain!" he ordered.

Before the mate could reply, Zhou Yu was already dashing towards the direction he had seen the figure leave.

A horn blew overhead which seemed only to give wings to Da Qiao's feet as she raced down one hallway then another in what seemed like a never ending maze.

She looked around before she realized she had been down this hallway before. Twice actually.

She stopped running when she saw shadows coming from the hallway in front of her. She turned and jumped behind the boxes beside where she was at and covered her mouth to muffle her breathing as they ran by talking about an intruder.

This was a comfort to her. Obviously they had just spotted Xiao. Not caught her.

The thought crossed her mind that during all the mayhem Xiao might have slipped off the ship and was waiting for her back at the place they stashed their horses.

If that was the case, she had to get off this ship before Xiao came back for her.

Da listened for any sound of movement then looked for it. As soon as she realized the time was right to move, she jumped back over the crates and turned down a hallway she thought would lead to the exit. Then she stopped. All time froze.

Sun Ce was standing at the end of the hallway.

Da froze for a moment but realized he wasn't looking at her…but then he started to turn.

Da whirled around and took off in the direction she came from at full sprint.

"Hey! Stop!" Ce yelled and Da did the exact opposite, hearing his running catching up to her as she turned a corner.

Xiao Qiao tiptoed down the halls, trying to figure out where footfall was coming from. She had made many turns and was able to shake Zhou Yu off after he had tried to pursue her. But those turns also mean one thing.

She was totally and utterly lost.

She was sure she had come down this hallway before but she wasn't sure. Maybe if she found Zhou Yu's room again she could-

A crew member was coming down the hallway. She turned and went to jump behind some boxes but failed because they were shoved up against the wall and these were too heavy to move without directing attention towards herself. She scooted to the last box that was up against the wall tucked in a corner.

She slowly inhaled and exhaled her breathing so it wouldn't resound in the hallway. She heard the boots get closer, but they stopped when they were about to round the corner where she was at.

They stayed there for several minutes. Xiao wondered if he had left but she just didn't hear it. She slowly leaned forward to see around the hallway…

"Arrr!" a crew member screamed as he jumped in front of her.

"Ahhh!" Xiao screamed.

"Ahhh!" he screamed, but the roughness that was in his voice suddenly was replaced by a high pitch.

Xiao screamed again, and he screamed in that soprano again and jumped back… and fainted.

Xiao looked over the box at him. He really just… fainted? She couldn't believe it. Even as she stared at him, she expected him to rise up and snatch her. But he didn't.

Xiao jumped off the box and stood over him and waved her hand in his face. Nope, he was out.

She thought about stealing his clothes and using them as a disguise but she didn't get time because she heard boots running and she turned to see Zhou Yu stop at the end of the hallway.

She jumped over the man's unconscious body and took off down hallways turning over and over again.

Sun Ce rushed down the hallway trying to figure out exactly where the woman in front of him was going. It was obvious to him that she was lost.

She turned another corner, then another and Ce knew she was going around in circles yet again.

He stopped and dashed down another hallway to cut her off.

Da Qiao was seriously getting fed up with being chased. Honestly, didn't men have something better to do?

This was when she realized the footfalls behind her stopped. But she didn't.

She took off on a harder sprint and was determined to get out of this ship when an arm grabbed her around her waist and shoved her against the wall.

Sun Ce pinned both of her arms above her with one hand and had his other arm beside her head.

She had her face turned away from him and the cloak masked it.

Ce only saw her chin but that was all he needed to see to realize just who he had in his arms, a jolt of excitement flowed through his veins. He dropped her arms, pulled her close to him, his arm wrapped around her waist, and pulled the cloak off her head.

Her face was turned away, but he cupped her chin and turned her toward him. And he confirmed his suspicions.

Her face turned toward him and she was looking down at first, but then she blinked and met his eyes levelly.

He couldn't help but have a flashback of their encounter in the village. If she knew of all the emotions that were running through him, would she be shocked?

She was immediately captivated by those eyes yet again. He was looking at her, devouring her as if she might disappear again. She was sure she was looking at him the same way because the feel of his arm around her made her dizzy. His build had grown and so had he. Time seemed to stop and everything froze.

Just then, about five crew members came running down the hallway and Da turned, getting out of his hypnotized trance and saw a chance to escape.

She mustered all her strength into pushing him into them and pushed his chest as hard as she could.

He stumbled back and she saw her chance to escape.

And she took it.

Xiao dashed down one hallway, then another, and another. For some reason, with all her turning, she couldn't shake Zhou Yu off of her heels again. She stole a peek back behind her and realized, with a shock of fear going through her, that he was close. Very close.

She turned down another hallway and dashed into an open doorway and threw the door shut behind her and locked it.

Zhou Yu noticed the door and stopped for a catch of breath. He slowly processed the door and took off in another direction to cut her off.

Xiao, though, had other things to worry about. She turned around with a sigh of relief before realizing that there was thirty crew members sitting at tables, food in their mouths, staring at her.

She realized she had just ran into the kitchen right when people were getting off their shifts and getting a late snack.

The door that lead out was on the opposite side of the room, and she couldn't go out the other way because Zhou Yu was there.

"Uh oh…" she said.

All at once, they jumped and ran towards her.

She dodged many of the hands that reached for her but realized that there was no way she could dodge all of them all the way to the door. So she did what any self-respecting girl in her situation would do…

She jumped on the table.

She table hopped over or around everyone. She barely dodged the reach of several hands that tried to grab her feet. She nearly stepped on countless glasses and slipped on several plates but she considered it a victory when she reached the other side of the room.

As she reached the last table, she slid too close to the edge, making the table topple over, sending her airborne out of the door but also effectively blocking the doorway from the other crew members.

Unfortunately, it also sent her into the arms of Zhou Yu.

He caught her as she fell, but he also fell with her, not expecting the force behind her fall.

Zhou Yu let go of her and twirled, not wanting to fall on the intruder, just now realizing it was a woman. As soon as he recovered, he went to grab her but she was already off the floor and jumping over him, heading for the exit.

He grabbed at her but only caught the cloth of her cape which she unpinned and let him have. He threw down her cloak and ran after her yet again, telling the other crew men to run around and block her off. He realized, at that moment, she was close to escaping as she found the hallway that lead up the stairs and onto the deck.

He had to do something or he would lose the intruder, and whatever she stole from his room, forever.

He lunged for her, trying to get an arm around her waist, but as he lunged, so did the other crew member he told to cut her off.

All hell broke loose. They all collided, a string of curses coming out of everyone's mouth, and fell in a pile to the floor.

Xiao Qiao turned and looked at the entanglement of bodies on the floor and couldn't help but stare. Normally, this kind of thing would be comical but this was just weird.

Zhou Yu looked at the intruder as everyone scrambled off of him, and realized that there was something about her that looked familiar and he couldn't place what it was exactly…

No, it couldn't be. There's no way…

"Xiao…" the name left his lips.

As if suddenly waking up from a deep thought, Xiao shook her head and ran towards the steps. She heard the sound of boots running on wood and dashed up the stairs as fast as she could.

She burst through the entryway to the lower deck and ran towards the dock. She was shocked that no one on deck had stopped her, but she realized they were watching something at the front of the boat in the water.

She didn't have time to think about this, though. She ran over the dock and onto the street then turned and ran back to where their horses were stashed, confident that Da was already there.

She heard running from behind her again, and she turned to sneak a peek and saw Zhou Yu gaining on her.

She turned back around and started running harder, ever conscious of the sound of footfall behind her.

Da Qiao had a feeling of déjà vu as she knocked over a barrel of potatoes to block Ce's advancement. But, like before, they did no good.

Why does that stuff always work in books?

Sun Ce couldn't understand why she had snuck upon his ship. He was starting to question whether he knew this Da at all. He had to admit, he certainly didn't like her behavior the last few days.

He panicked when he realized she was running up toward the stairs that lead to the deck.

She was going to get away.

But, as she hit the first step, she turned and looked at him and with the moon shining on her face.

And his heart sped. He skidded to a stop, catching a breath as he stared at her

But just as the moment happened, when their eyes met and full understanding came in, it ended and she dashed up the steps.

Da took off up the steps, a fire in her lungs from all of her running. She reached the top of the stairs and ran onto the deck, Ce's lunging leaps of three stairs at a time giving him a gain in the distance between them.

Da took off straight in the direction of the only escape route she could think of. She dashed across the deck and up the stairs to the front. She unpinned her cloak and let the wind blow it away from her before putting her foot on the railing and jumping off the front and into the water.

Ce took off running after her and dove in the water right behind her. It sent a shiver through his body as the icy chill covered his body.

Then he was off.

He let her get away twice. There was no way she was getting away again.

He looked at where she was going and saw a dock that she was climbing up, water dripping off her clothes.

He grabbed hold of the side of the dock and hoisted himself up, her just a few feet away.

Da heard him come out of the water and she knew the place where the horses were wasn't too far away. However, she felt the weakness she did the other night and noticed it was getting increasingly harder to put one foot in front of the other.

"Da Qiao! Stop this now!"

Ce's voice cut through the foggy haze that was threatening to consume her whole. She found her strength again and started running harder.

She heard someone else running and she saw Xiao heading towards her, Zhou Yu close behind her.

Xiao came and joined her and they ran beside each other, trying to get back to their horses.

It hit Da that they couldn't go to their horses because Ce and Yu would just catch them as they tried to mount. She thought about where to go and grabbed Xiao and dashed down an ally then nearly tripped over a barrel that was knocked over.

The barrel she knocked over herself that night not so long ago.

Xiao noticed there was something amiss about Da. She seemed to be getting slower and slower but kept running. Xiao had no idea where Da was leading her but she followed anyways.

But just as they were about to get into the opening of the entryway, two figures Xiao didn't recognize appeared at the path.

Xiao stopped and looked at Da and gasped. Da had a look of horror on her face.

She grabbed Xiao and turned her back in the direction they had come.

"Run!" She ordered.

Xiao started to protest because Da was running towards the people they were trying to run away from. "But ,Da, they-"

"RUN!" Da yelled, and pushed Xiao forward.

But Da was tackled to the ground by one of the men.

Da felt her world crash, literally. She tried to turn but someone lifted her off the ground and slammed her into the wall closest to them. She was vaguely aware of Xiao screaming but she didn't get a chance to look because the man raised his hand and was about to slap her. Da cringed and tried to brace herself for the incoming assault…

When someone caught the man's hand.

She looked up in time to see Sun Ce ball up a fist and punch the man who was pinning her to the wall. One punch, he was off of her. Another punch, and he was knocked out on the ground and wasn't moving.

Da looked to Xiao in time to see her being lifted up into Zhou Yu's arms, Xiao's body was limp in his arms.

Da looked up and saw Ce above her. His eyes spoke of concern and fear. But it was only those eyes she remembers as an extreme pain shot through her head and she felt herself falling.

She never felt herself hit the ground.

The sound of boot thuds woke both the men up and they barely raised their heads to see the ominous figure that stood over both of them.

"You have failed me again." came a low but menacing voice.

"My lord!" one of them protested. "We didn't have time to get them away from those sailors who came with them!"

The figure turned and the moon poured over his face, showing just how mad he really was. "Enough! We will deal with them tomorrow, but tonight, I shall deal with you."

He turned and started to walk away. "Come!"

Both of the men scrambled up, ignoring the pain in their heads, and followed his orders of coming, knowing they did not want to object a direct order.

"Tomorrow shall be different. I will join you myself in this pathetic game you seem to have trouble with." He said, his elegant brow lifting ever so slightly. "Tomorrow, we will be bringing our lord his prize. I shall make sure of it."

When I uploaded this, FF had made everything bold and underlined. I swear, if that happens after I took twenty flippin minutes correcting it, I will pull my hair out.

Aside from my lil outburst, I just can't keep away from the spy thingies can I? Hahaha! And, yes, I know the ball scene was supposed to go here, and believe me, I had it all written and ready to submit, until I listened to Pink's "Trouble" and I conjured up this idea. Odd, yes, I know. But it was eating me up and I had to write it

Honestly, I've had this written up for awhile but I currently have an obsession with a new book series I started and this promptly had me up at three in the morning reading the first book so I could get the second that next day. Or later on that day. Whichever. Needless to say, I didn't have time to get my proofreading done when I had wanted to.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and I can't wait to hear from you guys!

Your Author Who is Hungry,

ShadowingPassion9532