Fire and Ice

TITLE: Fire and Ice

AUTHOR: WotanAnubis

FANDOM: Dynasty Warriors

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dynasty Warriors 7 or any of its characters. No profit is being made.

RATING: NC-17

PAIRING: Zhu Rong/Yue Ying

NOTE: Yes, I'm ignoring the fact that Zhu Rong and Yue Ying were both already married by the time this story takes place. But I'm willing to make this sacrifice of historical accuracy in the name of pornographic fanfic.

* * * * *

Zhu Rong looked at the woman sitting calmly on the other side of the hut's small fire pit. She was dressed mostly in green, with some white and black here and there. Her features were somewhat plain, as was her brown hair, and her body was typical of a so-called 'civilized' woman. She didn't seem to have an ounce of muscle anywhere, though admittedly she didn't look soft and fat either. Still, Zhu Rong had to admit there was something fascinating about her visitor. Her brown eyes were... striking. They put her in mind of a starry night; bright and shining, yet also cold and distant.

"You were brave to sneak into our camp as you did," Zhu Rong said.

Yue Ying smiled. Her smile looked genuine enough, but it was obviously also fully under her control. It seemed this was one woman who never showed anything she didn't want to show.

"I can be quiet when I want," she said. "And there are obvious gaps in the patrols of your guards. How fortunate, then, that I'm not an assassin, hmm?"

Zhu Rong squatted down by the fire and looked her visitor straight in the eyes. They really were beautiful, but they gave nothing away.

"And then you asked for me," she said. "Why?"

"I would like to put an end to the recent trouble," Yue Ying said. "Frankly, the Shu Kingdom has greater concerns than your people. This campaign to subdue you costs time, money and people better spent elsewhere."

"We will not surrender," Zhu Rong growled.

"I think you will, in the end," Yue Ying stated calmly. "Our strategist has outwitted your people twice already and I have little doubt he will continue to outwit you in the future. So I would prefer to cut through all this nonsense and skip to the final act."

"Our surrender, you mean."

"No," said Yue Ying. "The end goal is a peaceful kingdom. To that end, I propose we marry."

Zhu Rong stared mutely at her visitor for a few moments. She blinked one, then twice.

Then, "What?"

"I think our marriage will help integrate both our people," Yue Ying said. "And it will spare you the indignity of defeat."

Zhu Rong sprang to her feet. "How can you say that so calmly!" she roared. "You hardly know me!"

"It's the sensible thing to do," Yue Ying said.

Zhu Rong didn't know whether she should be terrified by the woman or admire her, but she was bewildered by her all the same. She knew the supposedly civilized people did things differently, but this? To offer one's self to a complete stranger for the sake of... of... politics? Because it was 'sensible'? Marriage was supposed to be about lust and... and...