House of Chen

 Xin sat, surrounded by all the men. She was in her element, teasing and laughing and having fun. She looked over at Bǎo who just smiled indulgently. Shaking his head, he got up and placed himself next to her. Putting and arm about her shoulders, he turned to the men, "Gentlemen, time to organise our movements. The women are already settled in Zŭmò's old house. There's a small band of men on their way up to Border town to keep that open and flowing freely. Next is to start our aggitation of the area around Chenxi. Who's up for a bit of.."  "Fun!!" Xin clapped her hands with delight. "Can we play with the.." Bǎo held her back, "Yes, we are going to cause trouble. No, we are not going to have fun. Behave yourself, and wipe that grin off your face, I know only too well how you and Mother work." She grinned and leant forward, planting a kiss on his cheek.  "But it still causes mayhem" she said, with that sultry look on her face....

Second Master lay in his cot, mulling over his conversation with their host. Nothing had surprised him, his father's drunkeness, his stupidity, the fall out. No, nothing surprised him, but he knew it was down to the next generation to find a solution.  The Mu family had been humiliated. Their only daughter, who was being escorted to meet her future husband, had been deflowered and was no longer a virgin. She had been raped by a drunken man preparing to collect his own bride the following day. They had every right to be angry with the Chen family, so why did Grandfather Chen do nothing regarding his errant son? Or did his grandfather never know? Did his father know what he had done? Did he realise he had strayed outside the horehouse and into a respectable boarding house? Did he not realise in his drunkeness that the protestations were genuine?  Probably not.  Second Master turned on his side.  Then there's the humiliation for the Zhang household. With great pride and...

 Within an hour of the call-outs, a small figure was seen climbing out of the water. She wore her usual skins with her boots and bundle over her head. She let out a low cat call to her kittens. "Mother!" The air shifted and men silently rose from their bedrolls, heading towards the water's edge, each calling gently to their mother. The majority of the men stayed still, not really understanding the weight of the arrival. They watched as each of the Blades had stood and started to call in a kitten voice, so different from their normal behaviour... it was as if they had returned to childhood and were going to find someone important from way back when.  Then they saw her. This diminuative little figure surrounded by sixteen burley men, all deferencially treating her like royalty. Hao had heard her but stayed still. He didn't believe. He daren't believe, but he hoped. Then he saw her. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry or be sick, but the intensity of the emotion...

Hao brushed his thumb across the hilt of his hunting knife. The air was turning decidedly chillier as the season progressed, and the dilapidated farm house kept little warmth inside its broken walls, even though it hid them well. He stood outside waiting for the final scouting party to return, staring out at the crimson sunset. He remembered and smiled. 'Stop this mopping around and get on with it!'  'What are you going to do then? Make a decision and stick to it. If it needs changing then change it but stop this dithering.' He heard her in his head, telling him off, telling him to take the decision to stand aside and allow the Blades to take over. He had one cell and they could take over the day to day deployment better than him. He was a paper pusher, an organiser, not a soldier who was destined to lead and he knew that now. In the past, it was Niao who had made the decisions and he had followed. She had responded to new situations in a split second, pushing him in th...

 Poom turned to Second Master, "I know of a place just up ahead where we could rest. They are also from across the border but settled in Shipao territory. There's an old Master there, who I suspect, knew your father from way back. Maybe he could answer that burning question you have locked in your heart." Second Master's head whipped round,  "How did you know?" "Because of the look in your eye. Because there is something eating you up inside. Because of the interactions between you and your father, between your younger brother and your father. Because I sense there is something you need to know before this senseless war can be put to bed." He smiled gently at Second Master and lightly touching his arm, he continued, "you are a good and caring man. I have watched you with the soldiers and prisoners alike. You are fair, you treat us as human beings, you give us the same as you give your own troops. Sir, that is unheard of in our parts. But I hav...

The night was hot and sticky. I lay on my bed looking up at the stars. It was my turn to stay on look-out; there were three others, each of us stationed at different parts of the village. I turned my gaze out into the night. It was too still with no relief from the suffocating heat. I sat up and cast my eyes around, watching, but nothing came...until...I saw something move in the shrubbery, then another, then another. My body automatically reacted, and standing up, I grabbed my bedroll and started backing into the village. I growled an alarm call and other Blades came out. "Snakes!" It was all I said. Two looked in the direction of my gaze and saw as I did, large numbers of venemous snakes heading in our direction. "Grab the embers, re-ignite the fires, quickly!" He barked out orders to his men who immediately moved with speed. I grabbed a lighted stick and approached a bush, setting it on fire. The oils in the shrubbery took hold and soon there was a massive blaze,...

Second Master had become used to carrying the whip everyday. He'd only used it on two occasions but the strikes has come with a level of anger and brutality no man missed. He wasn't proud of this. He was tired. He had been away for too long. He missed his family, his forge and the quiet life which came with it. That gentle rhythm which welcomed each new day, leaving space to live in peace with the world. Lost in his own thoughts, he failed to notice an aide approaching. "Sir, would it be appropriate to ask if we may stop? There are many men who are beginning to stumble from sheer exhaustion, and this is causing problems with cuts, abrasions and an increasing level of unrest." The aide backed away as he spoke, he too, had noted the change in spirits of the Commander and was wary of creating more ill temper. Whispers around the caravan likened him to his father and his irrational temper. "Like father, like son," some were heard to say. Second Master snapped ou...