Upon the Riverbanks We Stand

A hand raised into the air, signaling a cease in pace.  Another hand a few rows down followed suit, then another even farther down, until after a few minutes the long line of cavalry was at a standstill.  Audible orders could be distinguished as the line went on, foot soldiers, relieved to catch their breath, stood at attention and awaited further orders in the mid-afternoon sunlight.

As the dust cleared, the figure who had first raised his hand dismounted his steed.  He pat it lightly on the neck as he turned to address a man running to him, ready to receive his orders.  A quick verbal exchange was had, words were yelled out and dispersed throughout the entourage, and horses were soon being tied to nearby trees, soldiers beginning to engage in casual conversation with each other or walking off to attend to other matters.

Lu Kang turned away from the busy scene before him, looking instead to the southeastern sky.  Summer was drawing to a close; much of the tall grass around them a golden hue, the sky above clear with a few wispy clouds visible on the horizon.  It would be another cold night, but the thought of home being so close helped to distract from such uncomfortable conditions for many of the companies.  They were two-and-a-half days ahead of schedule, and the young general felt safe in taking the rest of the day to let the soldiers and horses relax.  A river ran about two lǐ away, and Kang could see the silhouettes of fishermen on their small boats.  He noted that there was a village on the other side of the river, his men out of danger of crossing too close to any crops.

He took off his helmet and slowly inhaled a soft breeze, thankful for the cool touch it brought to his face.  Leading his horse to a nearby tree, the travel-weary young man tied his companion accordingly, giving the beast enough slack to easily eat surrounding vegetation and move about comfortably.  He located an unoccupied log and lowered himself to sit on it restfully, content to think of things other than the events of the last few months.

[I meant to post this a while ago, oops.

Anyway, I apologise for the lack of activity on Hao (and others) these past few weeks!  I’ve re-injured an old hand injury and added onto it, so typing — and everything else — is quite painful, even with the heavy doses of painkiller I’m on most days.  I also started a manual labour night job a little over a month ago, so I can’t afford to aggravate my hands before going to work.  That means little-to-no typing and next to zero productivity. ó x ò  Beyond that, the job sucks my energy, so even when I can come on and write something, I rarely have the strength to do so.

“Oh, goodness me. Good morning." Luyu hadn’t been expecting to run into anyone outside, but the courtyard was just so beautiful in comparison to the dark interior of the palace. But who was this boy? She didn’t think she’d ever seen him before, especially not just wandering around like this… maybe he was here, waiting to see her father? He did look a little familiar. 

"Good morning, Princess Sun," Youjie greeted, offering a bow.  Though the two had never spoken before, the young Lu had seen her from afar once before.  Zhu Ji, whom he had been in the company of that day, had divulged the identity of the younger of Lady Bu's two daughters, and though he had only seen her from a distance, the girl before him now was unmistakably the same person.  "My name is Lu Kang, styled Youjie.  I am a son of one of your esteemed father's vassals, Lu Xun."

Water laps upon the rocky bed, lapping peacefully near the borderline. Border duty, in such great necesity to absolute the lines of the kingdom, was a chore best suited to a trusted man, yet it was required he would do such a thing as well. Even with his skills being far greater in court, Fa Zheng knew the blunder to go against his Lord’s will.