The Price
k.l.
Note: Italics indicate "Mandarin". Bold and italics indicate "Mandarin and past". Last piece for two weeks. Might re-write this at a later date. Might continue this. Who knows!
The doorway is not as Mulan expects. It is an enormous stone set amidst a garden of greenery. The stone itself is an unnatural black and its once smooth surface is marred by protruding characters. What they mean Mulan cannot say.
Mulan shifts her gaze to Aurora, carefully observing. In those blue eyes, as endless as the clear sky, Mulan sees what she has not seen since prior to Phillip's death. She sees hope and love and it pains Mulan to know she could never be enough, that her love and her devotion would forever linger in the shadow of the prince.
Drawing breath, Mulan relegates the stirring emotions to the furthest corner of her mind. Cautiously, she treads through the winding path to the stone. As she stands before it, Mulan can't help the feelings of insignificance that wash over her. She pivots and she searches for the clouded gray eyes that have long lost the ability to see. "Shīfù."
The elderly man Mulan addresses sits upon a suitable sized rock. To his right stands Aurora and to his rear half a dozen soldiers. With the assistance of Aurora, he stands. "We must begin the ceremony." As he makes his way towards Mulan, he motions Aurora and two soldiers bearing a wooden chest to follow.
As they draw close Mulan steps back, allowing the old man to take her place before the stone. The chest is set upon the green earth before the stone, the two soldiers staying in wait for further orders.
While preparations are made Mulan turns to the men. She draws her arms up bending at chests height and extending as far forth as the rigid frame allows for. Her hands meet such that open palm right rests upon closed fisted left and her head tilts forward. In her country it is a sign of respect and of honour. "Thank you. You have done much to aid us in our journey but I have one last favour to ask."
The warriors - including those further back - take to one knee with arms held in a manner identical to Mulan. "General."
"Protect her. No matter what might happen protect her and deliver her safely to the land of her origin."
"General!" Mulan can sense the unspoken distress but there is nothing she can do to quell them. All she can do is smile softly, bow, and return her focus to the task at hand.
/-/
The ceremony is simple. A carnation is dipped in spring water contained in a brass bowl. The flower is then brushed across the forehead, down the nose then flicked over both shoulders.
When it is done the old man steps toward Mulan, holding her face gently. His unseeing gray eyes fix upon her dark eyes. "Hua Mulan of the Wei Nation there is no one more honourable. It is the greatest privilege to have met you - the heart of our nation. Worlds will retell your story until time itself ceases. May the Lord Yan bear you swift passage to your place among the stars."
Tears slip unwanted from Mulan's eyes. She must stay strong. She cannot falter. Hands trembling, she reaches up, allowing her hands to clasp upon the outstretched forearms, "Will it be enough?"
The warm hands upon Mulan's cheeks draw her forth and down, warm lips press to her hairline, "The exchange must be a love equal or greater. Your love for her, Hua Mulan, has no equal. You will not fail."
As Mulan steps back, Aurora reaches out, "Mulan, what's wrong? What has he said?" Her hands wipe away the tracks of tears.
It takes all the strength Mulan has not to fall into those warm arms, to turn back, to break her promise. "Nothing Princess, he simply assured me this will not fail, Phillip will be returned to us. These are tears of joy." Half lie, half truth.
"Oh." The response seems to appease Aurora though some hesitation lingers.
Mulan can no longer resist and she draws Aurora into her, burying her nose into the nape of the woman's neck.
"M-Mulan?"
Biting back the sobs that threaten to erupt, Mulan tightens her hold, "Thank you Aurora, my Princess."
"Mulan I do not understand, what's going on? Why are you thanking me?" Panic fills Aurora's voice.
Stepping back, toward the stone, Mulan smiles softly, "For allowing me to love again. Thank you." With that Mulan draws her dagger and pivots. Palm open she cuts and presses it to the stone's surface.
It is a cold Mulan has never before felt. It is biting and piercing and the pain is overwhelming. It is squelches Aurora's screams; erases the hands that cling so desperately to her.
The stone is swallowing her; consuming her.
"Hua Mulan what you seek comes at a high price. Are prepared to pay it?"
"I am."
"You will not be reborn. Your soul will never find peace."
"I know."
"She can never remember you."
"I know."
As the last of the stone devours her body, Mulan is given vision of her new world. It is bleak, devoid of life and matter sans the stone. Upon its smooth surface Mulan can see Aurora and Phillip embrace.
If Mulan could, she thinks she might feel some form of elation for Aurora and for Phillip - for true love - but she knows all she will ever feel again is the empty void in her chest and the cold in her bones.