"I know my place. It is time you learn yours."
These words were those that hurt the most.
Like a stab to the heart.
Gender roles. She had to marry who they wanted. She had to be the perfect bride, the perfect daughter. This wasn't her. It wasn't what she wanted. It never was.
She ran outside, leaving her family to eat alone. She began to cry, sobs rattling her shoulders.
It rained. It rained as she sat curled in a ball, at the pedestal supporting the great stone statue. Her father couldn't go. He couldn't. How would she cope if she lost him? Greave? Could she do nothing but watch? All because she was a girl?
She watched her parents silhouettes in the dim candle light, coming from a window. Her father cupped her mothers face…. and then… she walked away. The light went out.
No. This wasn't supposed to happen. Because she was a girl didn't mean she couldn't do something. She wouldn't sit there and let it happen.
Determination surged through her body.
She stood, soaked from the downpour, and walked with a newfound purpose to the shrine. She lit the oil, saying a quick prayer, and ran back out into the rain. Into her father and mother's room she went, replacing the scroll her father had received from the messenger with her hair comb, laying it on the dresser. She looked at her parents with a loving gaze, wishing them safety before running off to her father's armor room.
She used the sword to cut her hair to her shoulders, and then gathered it up into a queue, tying it with a green ribbon.
The armor was huge, but it would have to do. She bound her chest with linens, and though it hurt slightly, she would have to pull through. She pulled the armor on, which fit surprisingly well, securing it how she had seen it on the stand onto her body. With the sword at her belt, she rushed to the stables, where her horse did not recognize her. After reassuring it, she clambered to its back. Scroll and sword strapped to her body, a newfound purpose replacing the alienated feeling that had harbored there before.
No, Mulan would not sit back and watch this happen. She had to be strong. She would fight.