Rin

The clouds rolled in to cloak the moon and stars, and the darkness lay thick upon the land. Torches flickered atop the large stone walls, and the horned moon danced upon the dark waters.

The drawbridge was up and the portcullis down. But the gate brought little hope to the soldiers. The enemy before them seemed to have grown rather than diminished, and still more were to come from the An Clan.

The sound of metal rattled as men in armor darted back in forth to their positions. While some moved to the wall with bows, others grabbed spears, swords, and axes to defend the front lines.

"General Donghai," An Sun marched toward the man with a grim expression. "We have five thousand men, and our enemy has ten thousand. How do you expect these men to fight against those odds?"

General Donghai made a noise in his throat and continued walking. "Those odds have been won against once. It can be done again."

An Sun's eyes went cold. "You're willing to risks these men's lives on luck? We can still hold them back longer with traps and gather reinforcements."

General Donghai stopped and turned. The light of the torches made his scarred face shine a dull red.

His mouth twisted in a terrible mockery of a smile. "You think we have time to prepare traps?" He said, his voice rasping. "Unfortunately, because life is a piece of crap, we have no choice but to fight. You say I'm relying on luck? No. I'm relying on these men's will to live and not get their asses burned alive. So unless you have a more brilliant plan, grab your sword and start slaughtering those pigs."

The general turned his back and stormed away, leaving An Sun to stare at his back bitterly. As harsh as General Donghai's words were, he knew it was true. They had no choice but to fight.

And all because of An Ruo...

"Hey," A hand patted his shoulder.

When he turned around, he met Manchu's smiling face. He handed him a dagger.

"You should tuck this somewhere. You know, in case of an emergency."

An Sun looked down. His eyebrows raised, but he still took the dagger and turned it over in his hand. The design looked familiar.

"Where did you get this?"

"The little strategist had it made. Had nearly a hundred crafted for everyone." Manchu answered casually.

An Sun paused but only for a second. His eyes darkened as his gaze shifted back to the dagger. Catching the edge in his expression, Manchu sighed.

"You know, I didn't tell you all that to ruin your relationship. I told you because I wanted to remind you what type of people the An Clan are. And...you have to understand it from her perspective."

"I know. I don't blame her. None of it was her fault. The letter. Fan Mingli...she did nothing wrong. Rather..." His eyes flickered to Manchu, then away. He smiled bitterly. "It's nothing. Thank you for the dagger."

"Sun," Manchu turned to face him, frowning.

An Sun patted his shoulder and offered a small smile. "Hey, can I count on you to still protect my back like old times?"

Manchu blinked in surprise. He sighed helplessly, ignoring his evident avoidance of the subject.

"Of course. As long as I can count on you to return the favor." He wrapped a hand over his shoulder.

Squeezing out a smile, An Sun stepped back and tucked the dagger into his pocket.

"Ready?" He lifted his head and grinned.

Manchu's brows raised. He laughed.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

The two walked to their positions, shoulder to shoulder.

...

Aiguo was warned to dress warmly. At first, he hadn't considered much of it but still took Rin's word. He was garbed in heavily quilted breeches and a woolen doublet, and over it all, he had thrown in a bearskin cloak. In retrospect, none of the clothing worked against the cold he felt. The chill on the wall went bone-deep.

He stood in the corner of the stonewall, shivering while Rin gave orders among the archers. He was surprised she was not cold being dressed in only a simple blue cloak. Just watching her made him shiver.

While everyone kept busy, Aiguo peered out cautiously over the wall. There was all but darkness and snow-covered grounds.

"What are you doing?" A chilly voice and handed landed on his shoulder.

He gulped. Before he could turn around, the same hand on his shoulder yanked him back.

"I told you to stay put. If an enemy saw you, they would shoot you where you stand." Rin warned icily.

"I'm sorry." Aiguo lowered his head, realizing he had already made a mistake.

She frowned and then sighed heavily.

"Just stay by my side, all right?" Rather than a command, her words sounded like a plea.

Aiguo nodded his head vigorously. Just then came a blare of horns.

"They're here." Rin's voice sharpened. She turned to the boy. "Stay behind me."

Aiguo nodded, his heartbeat shaking around his ears. Fear was twisting inside of him, a wobbling cup of panic that threatened each moment to spill. A shout went up from the walls ahead, and the warhorns blew again: the enemy was before them.

He could hear their roars, curses, and running footsteps. Against the wall, the enemy roared like a sea. The armies swarmed about their feet from end to end. Ropes with grappling hooks were hurled over the wall faster than men could cut them or fling them back.

"Archers, loose!" Rin commanded.

Flaming arrows shot down at the men below. But in the end, hundreds of long ladders were lifted. Again and again, the enemy gained the summit of the outer wall, and again the defenders cast them down. Suddenly, smelling a familiar scent in the air, Rin's head swept over.

Saltpeter, charcoal, sulfur, and oil. Those were ingredients for...

Her eyes widened. "Everyone get off the wall!" She shouted to the archers and men staring back at her in alarm.

They hastily did as ordered and evacuated the wall. Rin swiftly grabbed her bow and Aiguo before nearing the edge of the wall.

The boy's eyes widened in shock. "Rin, what are you—" Just then, there was a crash and a flash of flame and smoke. A gaping hole was blasted in the wall, and a sea of dark figures poured in.

Blasts of fire leapt up from below, shaking the stones. The floor beneath her trembled. Seizing a rope from a banner above, Rin jumped down with Aiguo in her hold. She could feel the searing flames beneath them as she neared the ground. Upon landing, she didn't waste time notching an arrow to her bowstring.

"Aiguo, go up the stairs! Now!" Rin ordered as she launched arrow after arrow at the enemy in front.

Aiguo swallowed. He turned and sped up the stairs but stumbled in weariness. He looked behind him to see Rin not too far away. When he looked up the stairs again, he stopped, escaping a pair of men's long arms stretching out to seize him.

"Duck!" He did so and watched the first man fall with Rin's arrow in his throat, his body collapsing onto the stairs.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the second sprang over the corpse and charged. Aiguo unsheathed a dagger from his side. As the man slashed his sword, he ducked. Underneath, Aiguo slashed at his knees. The man stumbled and fell to the floor. Arriving by his side, Rin struck an arrow into his head and glanced in the boy's direction.

She smiled. "You did well."

A flush stained Aiguo's cheeks. She could not tell if it was embarrassment, p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, or both. Either way, it wasn't time to gloat.

"Let's go." She held her bow close to her side and sped up the stairs.