Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or any characters from Disney.
I will warn you before the waiting starts as I know there shall likely be at least one point where a hiatus occurs, it is regrettably inevitable, I apologize for the inconvenience. I am somewhat of a perfectionist, so fine-tuning chapters can take a while.
Somewhere past the wall in the Han interior
'You must have grown comfortable for your defenses to be this lax, old man. I'm going to memorize every facet of your fear when I kill you.' The Shan-Yu grins viciously as he scratches his beard watching the fire thrash on the ground as his most loyal men discuss strategies. A weary eye wanders over the sons of the clan chiefs that swore allegiance to his daring venture six months ago. 'Now where do your liberties lie?' His thoughts were interrupted by a firm hand squeezing his arm. He turns his attention to his archer and the man continues his thoughts. He chuckles to himself at the pleasant notion that in a fortnight he will be holding a spear with the emperor's impaled on it. Soon his vengeance will be realized.
A sight common in this ancient landscape, the village pulses with activity in the center and is surrounded by farms on all sides. The largest farm belongs to the Li family. The runner-up is owned by the Fa family. They are families with long histories of military service in the imperial army, however, both households are not equal.
The Li family is filled with delightful noise. General Li Huang has been blessed with three sons. His eldest son, Shang, and his two brothers were born of his first wife who died bringing her last son into this world. His second wife perished giving birth to his fifth daughter, who was ill at birth and joined her mother in nirvana after three days. He smiles at the hope that with any luck, he will be given the honor of dying honorably on the battlefield before his daughters are old enough for men to call on them. He regrets the probability of bringing severe harm to any potential sons-in-law but the momentary lapse dissolves after a moment. The grin grows with renewed strength as he watches his eldest teach his brothers combat and his mother teaches the girls how to sew their brothers' clothes.
The Fa household is far calmer. Fa Zhu, the family head, unlike the fellow general who lives at his left is retired. A leg injury sever enough to cause a painful limp from a battle fought twenty years ago and an twenty-five year old injury to his abdomen is responsible for the current tranquility in his life. If it weren't for his mother, wife, and the servants that visit him to report the status of his crops, he would have lived in solitude. In some ways, he already is. He would never admit such cruelty to her, but his wife is not the joy of his life, though he had come to appreciate her presence more after his retirement. He regrets admitting the fact once more as he gazes at the quiet stream that runs through his property. He should enjoy her as much as she seemed to love him but he could not bring himself to do so. She had given him five sons but the youngest who were triplets died the day they were born. He knew he shouldn't be angry and that he shouldn't have blamed her for their death but he could not bring himself to do so. His eldest son Ping would be forty now and Chu thirty-seven. He imagines the beautiful wives they would have had and the mess of squealing grandchildren he would have loved to be woken by each morning. Much like the grandchildren he envisions with one-day frolic through his friend's garden as his children have and if his had ever been allowed birth, what friendship and mischief would befall both houses. A marriage would have come eventually Shang being as strapping as he always was. Perhaps he could have had a daughter for him to marry, if his anger and grief had not blinded him with rage that night. He could have held his wife in his arms and let her cry, he should have, but he could not bring himself to do so. He had to hit her and storm over to his comrade's door, nearly breaking it from its hinges he remembered, and demand to go hunting immediately.
'What a damn fool, you have been and with nothing to show for it.', he confesses to himself as a light touch rested on his right shoulder. He turns to see his mother's concerned face. She points a finger to the gate and it was then that he heard the drums. 'Perhaps I can spare her from the torment I have no doubt caused.' He thought with a grimace as he slowly walks to the open doors with his trusty cane as horses with imperial soldiers rode into view in front of his domain. He shares a glance with Huang and both veterans shared a grimace as they returned their attention to the familiar imbecile before them that they both had wanted to strangle before. He returns his glance to Huang and gave a weak reassuring smile to combat the clear worry that mars his beloved comrade's otherwise handsome face.
Somewhere below the Forbidden City in a dimly lit maze there were two Han soldiers guarding a thick metal door that lacked a sliding door among many of the others in this realm that would have allowed them to view the contents of the room. One of them broke the silence with, ''What do you think is in there?''
''I don't care. I didn't know five minutes ago and I'm certain five minutes from now I still won't know and I still won't care to!'' The other growls.
''How certain? I mean come on, Yu! Why would we standing be here with our weapons? Why are the guards only changed on a weekly basis at this exact spot? Why can we never hear anything that goes on in there? Think about it. Something must be going on in there for the crown prince to come here regularly and why can we never hear anything? It's far too suspicious.'' The first blurts out louder than he liked.
The other man groans with every ounce of annoyance he feels for the man next to him. ''I'm not paid to care what the crown prince does with his spare time. I'm paid to guard this damn thing so I'll guard it, besides, you can't call visiting a fourth time after not bothering in fifteen years regular.'
''He's still the only-'' The inquisitive man hushes at the creak of the door and returns to standing up straight and looking ahead down the dark corridor as the door between them creaks open and the prince emerges from beyond its threshold. He acknowledges the silent man and walk down the hall out of view. ''What do you make of that? He hasn't so much as glanced at us since we-'' For a second time the inquiring mind falls silent though this time the culprit is the sword that pierces his heart.
A sickening lurch echoes off the walls as the weapon is removed from the man. ''Like I said, kid. I'm not paid to care.''
On the other side of the wall a figure uses a key to remove the shackles from her feet. 'Mother was right, men are as simple to control as breathing. Now for vengeance.' The door creaks open and a satisfying crunch sounds as the man's neck is shoved against it. He drops to the ground lifelessly as a wicked smirk glistens in the torchlight. The figure kneels next to the guard with the broken neck and dons his uniform. A dark glow envelopes the individual and as the smirk grows slightly. 'I despise admitting the impressively extensive lengths you have gone to stop me, old man. It is rather humorous to think how you will fall by the grace of a single thread coming loose from your robes. We shall see how well they fair.' The sinister voice laughs in the mind of the otherwise quiet culprit who hides their victims in the very room they guarded. She uses the key found in a pocket of her victim's jacket to lock them and slides it under the door. The glow fades and the woman follows the path her magic revealed moments ago.
Twelve minutes later, he curses the sun for its immediate warmth as she leaves the palace grounds. The feeling is so foreign to her he finds more comfort in the shaded pathways. Gasps of horror make themselves known as his previous smirk shifts to an uneasy grimace. 'Am I really that noticeable?' He checked to ensure that his gait and stature were the same as the soldiers passing his by and noted that while not perfect it was clearly inconspicuous, for they had not stopped to question his. He touches a hand to his face as he remembers that one of the female citizens had mentioned something about it. She freezes, on either side of her skull there were two empty holes with what feels like some manner of rust on his cheeks. 'This must be the cause of their distress. Odd, how can I know something must lie within these spaces and not recall what the things were or their purpose? Stop, there is no time for pondering while freedom is just outside of my grasp.' She uses the same dark glow under his armor to find her way beyond the city gates. 'Hm, father said there was no use for navigational magic when entries and exits are easily found. Perhaps the lack of whatever it is I suppose I have lost makes it work more efficiently than it ever had when he used…Or was he simply born without an ability to use it and pretended he could to make me attempt the use of it harder.' He finds her way to a merchant's cart, by way of walking into its side through the distraction in her thoughts. The man asks him to be his bodyguard in the event of a bandit attack. The man retracts his offer at the point in which he guessed he had seen the gone things. An even more interesting reaction is the man's stumbled apologies and an offer to bring him home. A smile that passes as appreciative cautiously grows on his face. The man helps her into his wagon and asks the inevitable question regarding his domain and name. ''I am Ji. I know it by another name but if I am not mistaken, the people here call it Tung Shao Pass.'' He fumbled in Han from probing her mind for the correct words.
''Well you're in luck, friend. I happen to have steady business up that way and it isn't too far off from my usual route. My name is Qua Din by the way. You should wear this to lower suspicion, Axri.'' The mildly plump man beamed as his leathery hands brought the wagon to life with a snap of the reins. The soldier at his side shifting his legs in a vain attempt to get better footing as he ties a thick leather band over where his gone things should be and adds the straw hat the merchant gave him to further hide any recognition. The soldier in appearance is as unfazed by the last word as with all the others, inwardly familiarity beats in his skull though he can not place it or why. It bothers him, the many things he should have certainties about such as why exactly being in a place away from that thing that seemed to warm his exposed hands and parts of his face and neck felt so unnerving yet similar he could've sworn the damned goat cast a spell before he realized there was no trace of one. He had once thought he knew the ways to tell whether the goat was casting something like the storehouse he used to play in clearly he had missed something. Aside from the fact had the goat caught him it would've rammed him into a wall with more infuriating ways to subdue him, again. One day he swore again, the goat will be placed over a well-lit fire alive with all of its lovely cries in protest. His smile thins as he hears the noise the soldiers are making, his thoughts frozen for a moment as the oxen unbeknownst to him stirred up enough dust in the merchant's haste to obscure the soldier from view altogether.
A deep sigh escapes his lips once their yells are out of earshot with a weak prayer. It is a prayer to as many deities whose names he could recall from stories told in a time that has no memory of in a tongue he never remembered learning yet somehow understood the instant the words jumped off his tongue. He knows no deity that could grant such a strange ability but he knows only to thank his mother and father for teaching it to him. The prayer weak in the faith that required belief that he did not possess with a stubborn flicker of hope that his homeland is repaired and his people are as strong as they ever were and safely hidden as far from the Han as possible. The little of his childhood that he remembered had been stories told by those who one of those days wound up as prisoners and the soon-to-be executed of the Emperor. They would fill his head as much as he could of what used to be and little of what happened in between because of some attempt at keeping a child's innocence or the piercing regret and fear that knowing the events may make everything worse by repeating whatever it was, he could not say.
''Good to see some among your generation know their betters, Axri, though you will find few who come to your banner. The snakes have lured them out and penned them in, most have never known anything other than acting like a goat being lead to be killed and blatantly ignoring the signs or being to naive to understand the meaning and being thankful to some degree that they were killed by the snakes in the first place. I pray they awaken from their slumber soon, perhaps you can do it and perhaps an attempt will make them sink further into the denial they seem to cherish.'' The soldier was at a loss for words the grips on his seat tightening 'Axri? Must be a code word, probably working for the Hans, damn it! What a brilliant plan ya fucking genius, get onto a cart with a brown nosing informant. It's great to know I'll be in my cell again, heh, I'm sure it misses me already'
Later that night
''I look ridiculous.'' Fa Zhu grumbles with a glare at the man assisting him with his armor.
''Nonsense, you're a general remember. How do you expect for subordinates to obey your orders if you can't command the attention of an audience by your presence alone? Besides, you haven't worn a uniform in decades you should look presentable at least.'' The mischievous general helping him with the new armor could not resist laughing at his comrade's defeated groan that is accompanied by a sour face and rolling eyes.
''The Huns have begun attacking villages near the wall. We need to send troops to meet them immediately. The villagers cannot be allowed to perish.'' General Li bellows as he marches into the emperor's throne room with his red cape swaying with each step once the emperor beckons them.
''I do not question your morals Huang, but the villages are more important than the people. I do support you in gathering troops to bolster our defenses but it would be wiser to wait for them to enter territory that gives us the advantage. Running after them will only give them the opportunity to decimate our men with the advantage of being able to choose the battlefield.'' A shiver trickles down Li Huang's spine. The warmth of the emerald cape behind does nothing to melt the ice in his brother in arms' voice and eyes.
''So you condemn them to die?'' Li growls after reminding himself how to use his voice.
''An acceptable sacrifice to spare the many.'' Fa states with the cold tone never leaving him.
''Enough!'', the emperor roars as General Li, ''Do either of you know where the Jidan princess is?''
Both men look at each other with clear confusion. ''Isn't she in her cell?'', they ask in broken unison.
''I have investigators delving into the matter but she escaped. We still do not know if she remains in the city. As you both can recall, that shamanic mother of hers was highly dangerous and her father was equally so in his ties to the Huns. I cannot accept the idea that the shamanic skill was not passed down to her as well!'' He yells loud enough that it echoes throughout the throne room. With an exasperated sigh he continues, 'Thus, thousands will die by her hands, if not millions. It is imperative that if she cannot be recaptured and returned to her cell with increased defenses, mind you, then I give you the freedom to kill her on sight. General Li, you are to bring forces to meet the Huns in any way that you deem wise. General Fa, you are to oversee the new recruits training beginning with your comrade's son. After all training is complete you are to assist Li. Chi-Fu will record your progress. If either of you come across anyone harboring the bitch be they fugitive, bandit, Han, or otherwise and they resist her arrest, they are to be treated as accomplices. I trust your judgement. You are dismissed.'' He says in a far calmer tone than before.
Fa Zhu involuntarily winces as he and his comrade bow and exit the room. 'I am to be saddled with that? Does he think I am incapable of performing the tasks at hand? No, he is probably right. I am of more use in the field not being tied down by paperwork, yet couldn't he have chosen someone more reasonable?'
The Jidan are a fictional ethnicity of my design, as I am a fan of history you may or may not be able to notice a few ''easter eggs'' tucked away. Feel free to review constructive criticism is welcome. One of the issues all those months ago when I first wrote it was the tense being messed up. Past and present being all over the place and I remember getting half maybe 65% of it in line but after about a year or so of it being there I just read through again and finally fixed all those damnable tense issues.
Also, if you've read this far, I understand how you may have been confused about my nationality due to their rarity of my sparse editing spurts and the jumbled tense and word placement. No, English is my first language and I even majored in English in High School. For those of you in countries that have them but under a different name they are that level in between already having gone through a lesson on reproductive biology and old enough to if there is a strong enough drive to do so attempting to get into a college/university, and with any luck a scholarship in hand. I'm living proof for those of you learning my mother tongue that even those of us who know it have at least some trouble remembering every rule, especially when it comes to my tardiness on putting hiatuses in a locked closet for once.
