i walked through the halls carrying scrolls that were supposed to go to lord cao cao and xun yu. i spot a familiar face walking towards me and i simply bow and look up to his icy and hatred filled eyes. he stares down at me and i feel a shiver go down my spine which felt unnaturally pleasant.

i mutter a "good morning lord cao pi." god, this man was absolutely beautiful. everything about him screamed confidence and you could see why most ladies want this man. there's just something that makes my skin crawl about him- he's a ruthless man.

he looks down on me, nodding slightly to acknowledge me. he reaches his hand out and i flinch thinking he was going to hurt me. noticing this he looks down and smirks softly saying " i was just offering some help."

he starts taking the scrolls from my hands and starts walking away not even waiting for me to catch up. i follow him into the war council room, bowing as soon as i see lord cao cao.

"here are the scrolls you requested my lord." setting them down on the table, i look up to see xun yu staring at me. i nod a hello and start to walk out.

"rylyn wait, there's something i wish to speak to you about," cao cao began saying, "how would you feel about joining the front lines our next battle?" oh man was i completely shocked. i look over and cao pi raises his eyebrow at his father and then goes back to reading the scrolls.

"honestly my lord, nothing would make me happier than to be on the front lines." there's a small smile on xun yu's face and cao cao looks more than proud. having a good friendship with most of the wei army, i've learned to train in multiple different scenarios. there's one person who you never really thought of being close to and that man was now standing behind you.

he leans down to whisper "careful now, pretty girls can be ripped apart on the battlefield. don't fall behind." and i can just feel the huge smirk on his face. being close friends to his father i wonder if he would actually let anything bad happen to i. i smirk and look up at his handsome face and whisper the words "wouldn't dream of it my lord."

i walk off to prepare for my battle and think more of what cao pi actually meant. maybe i was just looking too far into it. what if he did want something to happen to me? what if he wouldn't care? then i wonder why i'm thinking of something he says. i should be focusing on everything i've learned. except the fact that this was the battle of chibi coming up and how it made my anxiety shoot through the roof. we're counting on this battle and i don't want to let anyone down.

"...maybe this will be a mistake," i speak to myself. i hear boots approaching and look behind me to see my best friend li dian standing there. i've grown so close to him and yue jin throughout the years. he just smiles down at me knowing that i'm anxious and gives me a small hug.

"everything will be okay rylyn. you're strong and you will do amazing. just remember everything we all taught you. i will make sure i do my best to protect you." i look up at my best friend and smile. i give him a small kiss on the cheek because i have never been good with my feelings. i appreciate this man more than anything. he's been with me through everything and would never change anything about our friendship.

"i know, thank you. i just don't want to let anyone down. lord cao pi said that i might be in danger because i'm a female-" "lord cao pi said that? he doesn't mean any ill by that. he probably said that to warn you to keep your guard up because it's scary at first-" "mancheng! you think he would try to warn me about this when he would never care about someone like me?"

li dian stared at me with wide eyes and his mouth flew open, "rylyn... what did you just imply about lord cao pi?"

"i-i don't even know why i said that..." standing outside the door was a man who just heard everything. cao pi peered at her door and walked away meeting with his father to discuss more details about the battle.

i look up at li dian and he takes my hand saying "rylyn nothing will happen to you. we all care about you and we all know you're ready for this. you know we all will protect you. now get some sleep." he kisses my head and walks away. i know he's trying to comfort me but i needed to walk off the rest of my anxiety. i walk towards the garden below my room and on my way out i run into two familiar faces. master jia xu and of course lord cao pi.

"ah.. lady rylyn what brings you out here at this time? you should be in your room resting." he looks at me with concern and i just smile at him. "ah good evening master jia xu and lord cao pi. i was just taking a walk to the garden to enjoy some fresh air for a bit."

cao pi looks down at me and asks if he could join me. i smile and nod my head yes. jia xu scratches his head and then walks away wondering why cao pi and i are suddenly friendly-ish.

there i was, walking with cao pi in complete silence. he doesn't even look towards me as he's walking. then he stops and tells me to follow him. i raise my eyebrow and decide to follow him. he takes me to this field and stops right in front of me.

"take my weapon," and i just look up at him confused. he puts his weapon in my hand and steps back. "i'm helping you prepare for tomorrow." my face lights up and i smile at him. we train for a few hours and he just looks at me and says "you'll do fine tomorrow rylyn." i just nod at him. he walks me back and i wonder what's on his mind. he's usually too busy to even acknowledge anyone. i was about to ask him something but then lady zhenji walked up. she goes straight for cao pi and i start to walk away.

"thank you lord cao pi." i smile and finish walking up to my bedroom. tomorrow was your first battle and you had to admit you felt better after your walk with cao pi.

the next day ~

i meet up with li dian and yue jin and they both greeted me with a hug. i look over and notice xun yu was looking at me and gave me a soft smile. while we were heading to battle xun yu asks me how i'm doing, and i notice cao pi was staring at me. i smile at him and look back at xun yu.

"i'm fine master xun yu. thank you for asking." and i was fine. i was ready for this. he excused himself and caught back up to cao cao. cao pi trotted his way over to me when we arrived and he whispered "stay by my side during this battle." i was shocked, mainly because i would expect zhenji to be with him, but also he never wants to be with anyone due to the fact no one could keep up with him. he was cruel to some of his enemies.

throughout the battle i was fighting by cao pi's side. i saw an enemy come up behind him to end his life and i jumped at him and slit his neck. "don't touch my lord." and just then i realized what i said. cao pi stares at me then walks away. inside my body was tearing itself apart because i just made a mistake that he will probably yell at me for.

it was after the battle and i was walking back to camp when i realized i was alone. i don't even know how it happened. i was knocked out but when i woke up i was in a tent. it didn't seem like mine but then i saw li dian come in.

"rylyn! you're awake!" he beamed as soon as he saw me. "hi mancheng, what happened?" my head pounded and i feel like i've been hit by a tree or something. "lord cao pi brought you back. he said he found you beaten and your clothes were torn up."

before i could even say anything cao pi walked in and immediately looked at me. he seemed relieved to see me but he could also just be really tired. "li dian, would you mind giving us a minute? i need to talk to her." i gulped as soon as i saw the look in his eyes. he wasn't happy but he wasn't mad enough to scream at me for getting lost. li dian bowed and headed out.

"how are you feeling?" cao pi questioned me when i was trying to sit up but the pain was so bad. "my lord.. what happened?" i look up at him while he was standing over me. the second i asked that his eyes went darker. "you were just attacked by some bandits. i took care of them. i'm sorry but i also had to address some of your wounds." and with that comment i blushed a little.

"thank you my lord, who knows what would of happened if you hadn't shown up on time." and with that i could see his fists clench. "...cao pi, is there something you're not telling me?" he turns to me and walks to me until he's in front of me. he puts his hand on my cheek and i flinch a bit not used to anyone touching me. he leans down and softly kisses my cheek.

"i'm just sorry i couldn't protect you better." i stare at him while he walks out of the tent, holding my cheek thinking that cao pi never says sorry or let alone be nice. he's sorry for not protecting me better? something bad must of happened if he's acting like this.

i was so deep in my thoughts that i didn't realize cao cao and xiahou dun came in to check on me. "rylyn? are you okay?" "OH yes my lord! what brings you to visit? i know you're a very busy man!" i couldn't stand up very fast but i bowed as best as i could. xiahou dun pats my head and tells me i did great today. cao cao looked at me very concerned. "how are you feeling? cao pi told me he found you injured. he seemed more mad than usual so i just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

okay something was wrong and i needed to see the one person who knows what happened. i figured the best time to talk to him was when we were back home when he's cooled down a little. i wonder if i did something to make him mad, and then it struck me... i know what happened and i need to see him.

we make it back to the castle and the first place i went was to look for cao pi. he could of been anywhere but then i see zhenji. "lady zhenji! have you seen lord cao pi anywhere?" she smiled at me and told me his location and i run as fast as i can despite my injuries. i knocked on his door and when he opens it his mouth drops.

"lady rylyn? you should be resting." i'm out of breath from the pain and running and he sits me down on a chair in his room. "lord cao pi, i needed to see you. i need to know what happened tonight?"

"why? why do you need to know?" and i could tell he was starting to bring his colder personality out. i stand up and touch his arm softly, i could instantly feel him start to relax and he just stares down at me.

"my lord please.. others are saying you are not acting the same and if i made you mad after you gave-" and i was cut off by him gently pulling me into a hug.

"you did nothing wrong. rylyn... when i said that they would rip girls apart on the battlefield i didn't realize they would go after you." and i look up completely shocked

"you mean they...?"

"yes."

"and you saw it?"

and just like that i saw him grit his teeth as he answered "i ended it."

"... zihuan" he looked to see tears in my eyes. using his thumbs to wipe the tears he leans down and softly kisses my cheek. he pulls back and just as i'm leaning back in someone barges in his room.

he made just about the sexiest grunt i've ever heard when he looked to see a certain female in his door. "zhenji, leave." she looks at me who is still in cao pi's arms and i quickly break free to let myself out. cao pi quickly grabs my arm holding me still and turns to zhenji again. "leave." she does and i swear i can now hear my heart pounding.

he begins to speak "rylyn, i don't know why i went back for you but i know that you saved my life earlier. i also know that when you killed that guy for me i saw the fearless woman i know you are. when i noticed you weren't around the camp i went to find you..." i clench my chest remembering how i screamed at someone for almost hurting cao pi. "when i did find you, you were on the ground blood coming out of your head and your body all scratched up. the main bandit saw me and tried to get off of you fast but i ended him right there. i found the others at a nearby camp."

he pulled me closer to him and raised my chin to have me face him. "no one will ever touch you again if i have anything to do with it." i lost it right there, i lean up and softly kissed his lips. testing the waters a little further i kissed him again just with a little more pressure. just when i was starting to feel rejected he moves his hands down to my waist pulling me closer to him. he was gentle with me because of my injuries.

"LORD CAO PI!" a messenger ran to the door and he pulled away to stare at the messenger. "sun quan and his army are attacking!" cao pi whispers that he's sorry to me and runs off to go see his father. honestly, i was too tired to go back to my room so i crawled into cao pi's bed. i sat there thinking about everything that has happened. i slowly fell asleep with his scent surrounding me.

i woke up later and cao pi still wasn't back so i got up and headed back to my room. i got ready to go back to sleep when i hear a soft knock on the door. i'm greeted by my best friend. "mancheng, what brings you here so late? what's wrong?"

"oh, rylyn, i came by earlier and you weren't here. i just wanted to see you before we go off to our next battle." i give him a confused look and he tells me that they're going off to battle again early in the morning. after we hug i look over to see lord cao pi waiting to speak to me. li dian excuses himself as my i invited cao pi in.

"so you guys are leaving?" cao pi sighs and sits on my bed. "for how long?" he takes my hand and slowly pulls me closer infront of him. he looks up at me and smiles softly. this man was too beautiful for his own good. "i'm not sure how long but i just know i needed to see you." my face slightly turned red and he reached for my hands. "everyone expects me to be better than my father but where would wei be without him?" i could see how much stress he was under. i could see that he wants to surpass his father. i slowly reach one of my hands up to his cheek and i could tell he was finally relaxing.

cao pi sighs and i understand he's not very vocal with anything he feels. instead i just lifted his chin back up to look at me and i can see he's finally starting to open up to me. "you know my lord.. i think you're brilliant and you make everyone proud. you will find your own dynasty and you will be an amazing leader." he just stares at me and slowly stands up.

he moves his hand to my cheek and traces it down my collarbone and then slowly pulls me in to kiss him. i swear my heart is racing out of my chest and it feels like a dream. i wrapped my arms around his next to pull him closer and he breaks the kiss to slowly push me on the bed. he gives me one soft kiss and whispers "it's late and i need you to rest rylyn."

"will you please just lay with me?"

"yes."

cao pi layed beside me and played with my hair. i was getting sleepy and rolled over to face him when he gave me a soft kiss on my forehead. "zihuan?" "yes?" "i have never doubted once that you were meant to rule." i felt him pull me closer and burry his head in my neck giving it a small kiss. for the first time in my life i wonder if this is what falling in love is like.

i woke up again to something moving in my bed and considering it was still dark, it was probably cao pi. i reached out to him half asleep and mumbled "stay.." he looks at me and gently kisses my lips. "i should get going, i have to get up in awhile for battle." i grab his robes and pull him back down to me. he took it as a sign and kissed me with passion like it was his last kiss. i pulled him on top of me. i started to run my fingers up to grip on his hair but he broke the kiss. he was out of breath but he then he said "i need to make sure i'm coming back home to you before we do this.."

at that point i knew something about this battle was going to be bad. cao pi is hiding something from me, but i decided that maybe i shouldn't ask him about it. if he hasn't told me yet maybe there's a reason. i know he's stressed and i don't want him to have to worry about me at all. i could only give him a kiss to try to distract him from the tears that are trying to spill out of my eyes.

he sighs and turns away quickly and rushes out of there. the next time i woke i was alone and i know he left to go to battle. i went out to see cai wenji and zhenji playing music. they invited me to sit and have some girl time with them and i admit it was fun. when cai wenji left zhenji decided to speak up, "so are you and cao pi together?" i really didn't know what to say so i just stared at her. "lady rylyn, it's perfectly okay. i see the way he looks at you. i see how he is a completely different man with you. you two are destined to be together."

i admit i would never believe zhenji would be so supportive of cao pi and i. i had to know though, "do you still have feelings for him?" she looked at me and smiled softly "yes, but you and him are good for each other. you bring a side out of him that no one has seen. you both deserve happiness." as soon as she said that i knew that i needed to tell cao pi my feelings for him. i gave zhenji a hug and we continued to catch up and talk.

3 months pass~

i see li dian and yue jin come in the gate and they come over to me. they try to talk to me but my mind is in a totally different place. "looking for a certain raven haired man?" i nudge li dian in the stomach and he laughs at me being a blushing mess. then i see him, even 3 months gone and he still is so perfect.

he looks at me with those gorgeous eyes and suddenly all i see is him. he says something to cao xiu and then walks straight over to me. "i've missed you so much my lord." oh how he had been needing to hear my voice. you were expecting him to not say anything to that but then he says "i've missed you as well," and my heart just exploded.

he had some last minute work to do, so i was catching up with everyone and seeing how everyone was doing. i started to head back to my room but then i heard "rylyn." turning around i see cao pi and he reaches his hand out for me to follow him. i take his hand and he takes me to his room to talk. as soon as we reach his room he pulls me into a tight embrace and i could hear him whispering that he missed me. when he pulls away i immediately go in for a kiss and i didn't care if it made me look bad, i missed this man terribly.

cao pi starts pushing me back into the door while he runs his hands down my sides. he pulls away and asks me if i'm sure i want this and i only have one answer for him..

yes.

cao pi lifts me off the ground while he's kissing my neck and all i can do is just cling onto him and pull him closer to me. he takes me over to the bed and lays me down hovering over me. he scans my face then leans down to kiss me while starting to loosen my clothes. once he undressed me he muttered something about me being beautiful.

"...zihuan" is all i can moan out while we explore each other through the night. when i woke up the next morning. i woke up to cao pi's sleeping face and i have no words. he's sleeping so peacefully and i wonder how he can look so god like while he's sleeping. i also wonder if he really does have any feelings for me. i reach over to slowly run my hands through his hair admiring how far he's come and just what is next for him.

he started waking up while he pulled me closer to him. "are you feeling okay?" he looks at me with such soft eyes and all i can do is nod and smile at him. he gets out of bed to start getting dressed in his armor. i decide to help him and slowly walk up to him with his chest armor. he mumbles a quiet thank you and when we finish he starts to walk away. i decided to take a walk to li dian's chambers to see if he was there.

"mancheng?" you peaked into his room and he gives you the biggest smile. he was also still getting dressed and i wanted to help him as well. he looks down at me and tells me how i would make a wonderful wife someday and i just smile at him. sometimes he's too sweet for his own good. then he asks me if there's something going on with lord cao pi.

"i honestly don't know how to answer that" was all i could muster out. he gives me a small frown and says "rylyn.. he's not someone you want to get too closed to. he's cold and i don't want to see you hurt." i smile up to him and he could tell i didn't want to talk about it right now. i know he just wanted to know one thing and a silent yes escaped my lips. yes for multiple things; yes for having something with our icy lord, yes for me being happy, and yes for me falling so in love with cao pi.

li dian didn't push me any further. he knew exactly why i said yes and he knew i was still trying to figure out who i am in cao pi's life. i didn't want to talk about it because honestly i don't even know what it is yet. after last night i haven't had a chance to talk to him since i was enjoying our blissful morning.

we walk to the war council meeting together and since i've recovered and took some time off battle, it felt like brand new territory for me. i start to remember my first battle again and how i got lost, injured, and humiliated but then i look up and see yue jin and zhang liao. they tell me that i'll be with them today protecting a castle and then i notice li dian disappeared. i found him talking to cao pi when i overheard their conversation.

"-don't let anything happen to her."

"yes my lord. i will protect her with everything i have."

"i will be there in a few days to meet up with you all."

"my lord.. do you love rylyn?" and with that cao pi widened his eyes slightly then started walking away. li dian sighed to himself and noticed me looking around the corner. he chuckled softly and told me how he had a feeling i was over here.

we got ready for the battle and of course li dian kept his promise. he would not let anything happen to me. then i heard him, i heard him yelling at his army. i look around but can't find cao pi. then it hits me we haven't had a chance to go and clear the path for our reinforcements. i get on my horse and race off to find him. my best friend is screaming at me to come back but there's only one thing on my mind which is to find my lord.

"MY LORD!" i found him on the ground injured and bleeding. i instantly do all i can do make the bleeding stop and yell out for someone to come and help me. li dian and yue jin run up and find me over cao pi's body. they help me get him on my horse and we rush to the main camp. i couldn't ignore my mission so i helped clean him up and bandaged him. after we finished with cao pi we went back to battle, which i knew i should of stayed with him but a part of me knows he would want me to finish what i need to.

we returned back to the main camp and i went immediately went to check on cao pi. he was breathing harder and faster and for the first time i started to wonder if he would come back to me. i couldn't protect him. i couldn't save him. if i lost him then i don't know what would happen. i whisper a very soft i love you and kissed his forehead.

it's been a few days but i refuse to leave cao pi's side. i hear him groaning and then he says "please don't take her from me," and i just stare at him. my heart shatters because he's having a nightmare. i bend down to softly kiss his forehead and wish he would just come back to me. i hear a knock on the door and look to see its zhenji. "hello lady ava," she bowed at me and i did the same. "how is he doing?" i smile and tell her that he's recovering slowly. she brings me some flowers and offers to walk with me to get some food and some air.

"i would love that," i smile as i put the flowers on the table. we start to walk outside and she and i catch up on everything. she asks me how i'm dealing with everything. she can tell i'm upset and stressed and she comes to hug me. after we finish up with our walk i walk back to cao pi's chambers where he was resting. i walked in to see him finally awake and i rush over to hug him.

"my lord you're finally awake!" he weakly pulls me closer to him and i have no words because it's so nice just seeing him awake. "thank you for saving me again.." and all i can do is hug him a bit tighter. he groaned in pain and i pulled away to look at him.

i look up to him and wonder how he's feeling but he makes it clear he's okay with just the small smile on his face. "why do you always save me rylyn?"

i have no words. now isn't the time to tell him how i feel so i just respond with "because you're important to our kingdom. you're important to everyone."

"even you?" he gives me such an unreadable expression. "yes of course my lord." he gives me a soft smile. we hear a knock on the door and it's his father coming to check on him. i just leave the room quietly after giving lord cao cao a bow.

as i approach my room i see xun yu walking and call out to him. "ah, good evening my lady. what can i help you with?" i tell him i just wanted to catch up so we take a walk to the garden.

"so rylyn, did you enjoy being back on the battlefield? you saved lord cao pi's life again." i blush at hearing his name but not enough for xun yu to really notice. "ah yes master xun yu. it was nice being back with everyone." i respond back smiling.

he gives me a weird look and asks me about my relationship with cao pi. "i really don't know how to answer that master xun yu. everything is just kind of confusing."

"i see the way he looks at you rylyn." "and how does he look at me?" "like you're someone he's scared of losing and getting close to. you should talk to him rylyn. he's cold but he's honest." as xun yu is walking away i start to wonder if it's time for me to tell cao pi about my feelings. it's not the fact im scared of rejection.. im scared that one day he won't come home.

"ugh i just wish i knew how he felt..." i mumble to myself as i hear someone walk up behind me. "why don't you tell my son how you feel then?" i recognize the voice and get up to bow our lord cao cao.

"lord cao cao! what a pleasant surprise. what do you mean tell your son how i feel?"

"rylyn, do i really need to explain? i have never seen you get so excited by someone or willing to put yourself in danger for them. please tell my son, because one day i won't be here to see him married with a family."

i immedietly blushed and hid my face muttering a simple yes my lord. i start to walk back to my room while i'm thinking about my conversation with cao cao.

when i get to my room there's a note on my desk.

rylyn-

meet me in the garden tonight after dinner. i wish to speak with you.

-cao pi

when i read that a million different emotions were going through me. is tonight the night i tell cao pi how i feel? is he going to tell me how he feels? i know deep down in his heart he has to have some feelings for me. i blush at the thought that maybe him and i will have a future, but a part of me wonders why now? we've been in the same battles and kingdom and he used to never talk to me. i wonder what changed.

as i go wash up after some training my throughts go to what tonight's going to be like. i heard down for dinner and sit with li dian and yue jin. i witness yue jin blushing and i raised my eyebrow. 'li dian and yue jin? that would be cute." of course i know my best friend is a good man and would never hurt someone just to be an asshole. they're already inseparable.

"hey rylyn!" mancheng said to me and yue jin just smiled and waved. he was still blushing and oh my gosh it was so cute. i sit next to li dian and whisper "so you and yue jin?" he just blushed and stayed silent. i whisper back "as long as your happy. you guys support each other in every way. go for it. i can see how happy he makes you mancheng."

after dinner i say my goodbyes to my friends make my way to the garden. "cao pi?" i felt a hand on my shoulder and immedietly get into a fighting stance.

"rylyn. it's just me." god how i love his voice. i turn around and smile softly at him. "my lord why did you call me out here?" he raises his hand to my cheek and rubs it softly. "i wanted to talk about us."

my heart is racing, my knees go weak, and my anxiety goes through the roof at this point. there's only two options here, hes in love with me or he wants nothing to do with me.

"you've saved me and protected me when i was nothing but mean to you before." "my lord of course i will protect you!" cao pi grabs my hand and goes on, "rylyn, you are a fearless woman. you amaze me. you care about everyone in our kingdom and there's not a time where i don't want to see your smile."

i blush instantly and look down to the ground. i can't believe it, is cao pi actually saying all this? "you're beautiful. you're kind. you're strong. i don't want to go another day without you being mine."

"zihuan..? are you saying-"

"yes. i love you rylyn. marry me."