In the fortress, Wei Lan could feel the vibration of war, the cold marble shaking beneath her. Her father's army had made it to the north. The snow fell like ashes that night, but the tension stretched over the valley, each man with his sword.
Wei Lan was in the great hall, her emotions shifting from anger to pity. She hated Wang Xu for his cruelty in choosing to sacrifice her father's men for his course, but silently, his course was that of pity for the people who had to die of starvation in the north. His vengeance was not out of madness, but justice crafted with precision.
Her resolve was bleak; if the wolf of the north defeated her father, she would have to remain his prisoner forever, but if he didn't, her father would take her back, only to be sold again, but this time, for a higher price.
Then the door creaked open, and a familiar voice came, 'Lan'er.'
She turned to the voice and there he was, General Lian clad in black steel, snow melting on his shoulder.
'Lian,' she breathed, 'you shouldn't be here.'
He took her into his arms like a miner who had just found his gold, and for that brief moment, she missed everything she was before she was abducted, even before she was married.
'I'm here to take you home. Come quickly, we don't have much time,' he pulled her wrist, but she resisted.
'Home? And which home would that be, the cage or the prison?'
Lian's eyes begged her, 'Your father had specially instructed that I take you.'
She whisked her hand from his grip, 'Tell me. What else has Father done aside from betraying the trust of the North on their day of battle?'
'Lan'er, this is not the time for this.'
'Father wouldn't have betrayed their trust unless he had a hand in the schemes of the southern nation.'
She watched closely as something similar to guilt flashed across his face. And all the while, she had hoped not to be right. She hated that Wang Xu was right; her father was utterly ruthless.
'I'm not going,' she told the general, 'inform my father that I have decided to stay here.'
'They will label you a traitor,' Lian protested.
'They can label me a demon if they wish to. From now on, I am carving my path.'
Then a distant rumble shook the walls of the fortress; the southern pass had fallen. Lian looked towards the window. The southern pass was gone, consumed by fire and smoke.
'It's a trap,' he gasped.
'And you walked right into it.'
Just then, at the nick of time, the doors flew open, and in strode Wand Xu, his sword dripping with snow and blood and his steps laced with war. His gaze shifted to the intruder.
'How convenient it is for the emperor to send his hounds through the back door.'
'We meet again,' General Lian drew his sword.
'Last time, I remember, I almost claimed your life.'
'Last time is a lifetime go. You cling to fond memories.'
Wei Lan drew Lian back, 'Don't engage in this fight. I have already told you what to tell my father.'
But he didn't listen; his wounded pride needed to feed, and what a feast it was going to be. The general lounged ahead and was met with a corresponding strength. The first clash rang like thunder; steel against steel, strength against precision. Wang Xu fought with the cold calm of a beast who had mastered rage. It was like two storms colliding.
Wang Xu quickly overpowered his opponent, knocking his sword from his hand and his sword at his neck.
'Don't kill him,' Wei Lan screamed from the corner, a voice laced with desperation.
'Yield,' the wolf said instead.
Lian chuckled, defeated, 'You must already know this, that when a prey is cornered, it has no choice but to bite,' he immediately pulled out a dagger from the arsenal he had on his girdle. Before the wolf could counter his attack, Lian slashed him on the arm.
Wang Xu winced at this familiar pain; it was wolfsbane. The familiar scent tugged at his consciousness; the air itself seemed to recoil from the smell of it. He staggered, falling back, the poison burning through his veins like ice.
Wei Lan instinctively lunged forward to him, 'What have you done?' she screamed.
Lian grabbed her wrist, 'Now is our chance, we have to go.'
Something fierce rebelled inside her as she watched the wolf go unconscious. She tore her wrist from his, 'no. I am not leaving.'
She took off the silver pin holding up her hair and burned it red hot in the brazier next to her. Then she took it and pressed it against the wound. The hiss filled the hall, and the poison spread slowed.
'You are saving him,' Lian protested, 'have you gone mad?'
'I have seen madness before it wore a crown, and that person is my father. Relay my message to him. Tell him that I have decided to stay in the north and he should come to terms with it.'
The general turned and took the route he came in with, 'may the gods forgive you, Lan'er,' and with that, he faded into the darkness.
Wei Lan stayed by his side till dawn crept upon them. His breath had steadied, but it was still shallow, faint, but alive. She looked at the man she once called an enemy, 'I should hate you,' she whispered, 'but I guess fate is more cruel than we thought.'