I Will Always Find You (1/1)
(AN: Inspired by a post by octoball on tumblr. AU at the end of 2x08, where Mulan gets away with the compass and is running to find Cora to make the trade. Hook has let Aurora go, but did not steal her heart.)
-x-
The tall trunks of oak and hickory whizzed by in mottled blurs of brown and green as boots pounded out a tempo of desperation on the decaying leafy peat of the forest floor. Briars and branches whipped at the warrior's face as she tore through the woodlands with single-minded focus. Mulan's breath wheezed in ragged gasps, pulling and aching in her lungs, but she dared not slow to rest.
Fast and faster she drove herself, muscles straining with exertion as salty sweat dribbled down her brow to sting at her eyes. She swiped at her face with a gloved hand, fighting to bat away the twinge of hot angry tears that mingled with perspiration in the corners of her dark gaze.
Her world was absolute chaos and her mind hummed with terror. The princess-her princess- was in danger.
Mulan gripped the tiny brass object, no larger than a pocket watch, in her leather-clad fist. She had to find Cora. She had to reach the broken remnants of Haven before sunset. Nothing else mattered. The sorceress demanded the compass in trade for Aurora's precious life, and Mulan was more than willing to sacrifice such a meaningless trinket to insure the princess was returned.
Her stomach moaned, twisting and churning up her acidic insides, in want of sustenance. The warrior ignored her growing pangs of hunger, admonishing the wails of her body with a hiss through clenched teeth. There was no time for food or water. Not when every passing moment counted as a second less of Aurora's safety.
Her seemingly infinite well of strength was being tapped dry, as she pushed herself almost to breaking. A painful stitch sliced through her third and fourth ribs, eliciting a growl of pain, but still she pushed onwards. Cold serpentine coils of anxiety squeezed hard in her chest making it hard to breathe.
What if the witch does not keep her word? What if I am even just a moment too late?
Mulan's thoughts ran wild and unchecked, fueled by the heady race of adrenaline coursing through her veins. Specters and shadows tortured her, twisting her imaginings into scenarios filled with hot crimson blood and the screams of the princess.
The warrior felt something akin to a sickly roiling of icy needles in the pit of her gut and had to fight the urge to vomit. The sun was setting fast, and fear breathed new life into to her slowing pace.
For the first time in many long years, Mulan felt terrified.
Her heart pounded, hammering madly against her rib cage like a howling demon raging for release as her body demanded more and more. Her skin was slick with liquid panic, hot and flushed from her sprinting, but inside she felt cold.
Her mouth felt dry and her tongue lay thickly behind her gritted teeth. Mulan's body felt leaden, weighed down with iron dread, as she watched the blood-orange sun begin to dip below the horizon.
She couldn't lose Aurora. Not now…not ever.
She rounded a curve in the path, skidding and stumbling as her boots tossed twigs and leaf-litter every which way. Her gloved fingers snatched at a low hanging branch, pulling herself out of the immanent fall, and tearing drunkenly on; unwilling to sacrifice speed for caution.
The warrior was so wrapped up in her own thoughts and her own need to cover the ground beneath her feet that she didn't hear the snap of twigs and shuddering of brush until it was far too late. Eyes widened in horror as she careened into the pedestrian at a breakneck pace, unable to stop.
Her armor took the brunt of the force as she plowed headlong into a tousled cascade of auburn curls and silken skirts. The warrior's momentum carried her forward as she grappled with her victim, arms flailing wildly and hands clawing at the air in confusion. The tangle of bodies hit the ground with a thud and a muffled snarl. A pale, boney elbow accidentally rammed into the warrior's gut and the air left Mulan's lungs in a whoosh.
The swordswoman gasped for oxygen, coughing and wheezing as her synapses struggled to fire. Grit clouded her vision, as she tumbled face first into the muddy path. Animalistic instincts kicked in, and she rolled, scrabbling in the dirt, trying to regain footing. Her face contorted into a ferocious snarl. Fists rose, teeth flashed and lips curled back, spitting madly; ready to slay any who dared stand between her and her most precious mission.
The pounding of her raging pulse mingled with cold fear made her twitch; itching for a fight.
She wiped the grime and soil from her eyes, grimacing as it grated in her tear ducts and stuck fast to her sweat-slicked cheeks. Her breath was stolen away for a second time, as she beheld what could surely be nothing more than a miracle.
Mulan's face went slack and her hands fell limply to her sides, her fury evaporating like mist in the light of the morning sun.
"Aurora…? You….You're here." Dark mahogany eyes blinked wide with disbelief. "You're alive?!"
"I wouldn't be so sure. You nearly trampled me." Snorted the princess, as she pulled herself up gingerly, and staggered out of the mud. Spatters of wet earth clung to the soft lilac of her dress in messy clumps, and her face was covered in bits of leaves.
A twig stuck out haphazardly from amongst Aurora's amber-brown ringlets, peeping out from between the fine jeweled diadem adorning her head. The princess tenderly rubbed the sore places, wincing as she inspected all that had been damaged by the fall. Several dark red splotches indicated a few new bruises that would undoubtedly come to fruition by then next morn.
To the warrior, the bedraggled maiden clad in muddy silks was the most beautiful and welcomed sight in all the realms.
"How did you...I mean…what did…How are you HERE?" Mulan sputtered in astonishment, her questions out-running the dead-weight of her tongue.
"Oh, and I suppose you thought I couldn't handle Cora myself?" Aurora cocked an eyebrow, planting a hand upon her hip.
"No, I was just…I thought she was going to kill you. I was coming to…to rescue you. How did you escape?" At last the swordswoman's mouth was able to overcome the shock and form complete sentences. Mulan internally berated herself for her incredibly slow reflexes as her brain struggled to comprehend the situation.
"Hook, he let me go. How, may I ask, did you intend to save me? Cora would have ripped out your heart as soon as she laid eyes on you." Aurora asked, flicking bits of dirt out of her beautiful tresses. The princess cocked her head, curiously vexed by the military woman's apparent lack of plan.
"I…stole the compass from Snow and Emma. I was going to trade it to Cora. " The warrior mumbled, suddenly ashamed of her rash action. She studied her boots; half wishing that she could sink into the mud pooled at her feet.
"Mulan." The princess sighed with a baleful shake of her head. The warrior felt her heartbeat instinctively quicken at the sound of her name on Aurora's lips. "You would steal a compass and risk Emma and Snow's only way home to their loved ones? All just for one person?"
Mulan felt the princess step close, awaiting an answer. Azure eyes studied the dirt-stained face with a quizzical intensity, making the swordswoman's blood rush and roar in her ears.
"Not just any person. For you." Mulan replied. The warrior's palms suddenly felt exceedingly clammy beneath her glove's hardened leather.
The dainty and flittering touch of slim, soft fingers cupped Mulan's cheek, drawing her gaze upwards to the waiting eyes of icy azure.
"I didn't know anyone cared about me." Aurora whispered, her brows furrowing as she scrutinized the swordswoman's face; seeing her with new eyes. "I thought…I thought I was just someone who slowed you down. Why would you come back for me?"
Mulan cringed at the words she herself had spoken only a few weeks prior. It seemed that her efforts to remain distant for the sake of the princess's well being had done the exact opposite. She had deeply hurt Aurora, and princess thought the warrior hated her.
Mulan's heart twisted painfully with her regret, trying to tear itself in half.
"Princess…I was scared. I thought you were going to die and…and I could not bear that. Not after…we have become friends."
'Not when I love you so much.' Admitted the inner workings of her secret guarded heart. But the warrior tamped down the fragile warmth of her affections with layers of hardened duty and the fealty borne of her promise to the prince.
"Thank you for coming back for me." Aurora murmured, breathily. Tears welled in her sky blue eyes, rolling like raindrops down her cheeks. "Thank you, my friend."