A Change to Grace
Chapter Three
Ping wasn't sure how he had gotten to that point. Shang was yelling at someone, people were buzzing about, and he was in pain. His hands clamped on his side, he gasped in agony as blood trickled through his fingers. One moment he was a hero, shooting the rocket to cause the avalanche, destroying what was left of the Hun army, the next….Shan Yu was enraged. Ping had taken the slice with a grain of salt and still found time to save his Captain before collapsing into the snow.
They were calling the medic. Ping was going to be found out, and that meant Ping was done for. Shang's eyes were wild, afraid, concerned. Suddenly General Li was bent over him, studying the wound. "This boy is a hero. See to it that the medic does hurry, I would hate for him to be awarded for his acts posthumously."
The snow stopped being cold at one point, and he said a prayer to his ancestors. This surely was death. At least as he died he did so with honor. Glancing to Shang one last time, seeing agony on his face, Ping smile up at him, as if to try and make him feel better. The world went black, and the last thing Ping consciously remembered, before he died, was the sound of Shang yelling for Yao to hurry up in retrieving medical aid for their friend.
Mulan blinked awake in the tent a long while later. She was hot, the area was stuffy and so, she kicked the blanket down a bit. A noise in the corner alerter her to someone else's presence, and she nearly pulled the blanket back when she realized…this was not Ping's tent. It was the medical tent. And glancing into the corner, she saw Shang, Chi Fu and General Li. Shang's eyes were cast down to the ground, and Chi Fu was busily scribbling with a scowl. The general, still somewhat weak, was watching her closely, his fingers stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"So, Fa Mulan. How do you feel?"
Startled by the casual question she tugged at her bedding to cover herself again. "What's going on…why am I alive?"
"Because," Chi Fu's voice dripped with contempt as he glared at up her from where he was standing. "The Captain said that you saved his life and so, he saved yours."
"Would you lose that tone, Chi Fu?" The General's eyes narrowed in the Emperor's council's presence. "The girl saved China. We will take her to the Emperor and I am sure that he will pardon her for what she has done. Besides. My conscription notices said able bodied men. Fa Zhou should have been excluded. Instead, you forced this child to pose as a man to protect her father."
"That's the only reason I did it," Mulan choked past fear, and her superior officers nodded in unison.
"Your father was a great soldier, Fa Mulan. He saved me from death twice in our time. I am grateful to you for saving my only boy," The General clapped Shang on his shoulder and only then did he look up at Mulan. His face was calm, but his eyes seemed to dance with victory, and that was enough for her.
"I am very sorry for deceiving you, Captain." She apologized, ducking her gaze. "And for dishonoring the army with my actions."
Shang remained silent, obediently so. The General moved to the flap of the tent. "We live for the Imperial City in three hours time. Rest for now. The journey will probably be tiresome for you." He left with a rustle of the material, and Chi Fu's eyes studied the young woman before he sneered.
"I hope the Emperor has your head on the spot. Blasphemous woman."
"That's enough," Shang snapped, ushering the nuisance out before returning. He was silent for a moment and then glanced up at her. "You were touch and go, I was…very concerned." He sighed, clearly troubled, before he went to sit near her. She didn't press him, since he rarely was the type to discuss his personal feelings. Instead she watched him. "But my father is convinced that you'll be fine, once we get you to the Emperor. Despite everything you did…you were very brave out there."
"Are you angry with me?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Then what's wrong?"
He gazed at the side of the tent for a moment before he answered. "It's just that…I'm very…traditional." She blinked and he grimaced. "I know, I wasn't…you wouldn't have known. And I wasn't really…referring to that. But while I know you're of great use as a soldier, I believe your place would be in the home." Mulan remained calm, and listened intently. "And then my family…I have a big family. A scary family. And the more I think about it, the more worried I become…"
"I won't fit in there."
"That doesn't bother me so much, I don't either." That surprised her and he knew it would. Their eyes met and he smiled. "My family strongly believes in our place in the military. I have family in the palace as well. They all think I should lead this country's armed forces some day and the more I learn, the more I want to just be a normal man."
Her heart ached for him, but she just nodded. "I'd love to be a traditional woman."
"I wouldn't have you that way, as much as that pains me." He admitted with a soft smile. Mulan couldn't help but to beam. "All I'm saying, Mulan, is it won't be as simple as asking for the Emperor's blessing." He reached to touch her face ever so lightly. "Plus…we have to pretend that we're meeting as man and woman today. It can't be too fast."
She nodded, smoothing the sheets over her lap. "Well I'm not in any hurry."
His interest was piqued, signaled by his brow lifting high onto his forehead. "No?"
She shook her head. "No."
"And…if you were to discover you were with child?"
Mulan's face fell and she crossed her arms. "Well for my sake I hope it doesn't take that long for your family to accept me. But all in all, I'm hoping that won't happen for a good long while."
It was Shang's turn to grimace. "I would very much like children."
"I don't dislike them," She said softly, dropping her gaze shyly. She realized she was at an age where childbearing was a natural part of life, but she resented the fact that she would have to give just about everything she loved about life in order to do that. "I'd give you children if I were your wife. I'm saying..I hope we don't conceive out of wedlock. I've heard tell of some severe punishments."
He nodded his understanding and sighed. "I better round everyone up. I'll be back in a bit to wake you." He looked all around before stealing a light kiss.
Mulan sighed as he left. All this talk of marriage and children, and aside from their heated meetings in one another's tents, she had no idea what it was that Shang really felt for her. Shang was unlike anyone she had met. He was kind to her, affectionate even, yet he never confessed that he truly had feelings for her. It was one of the reasons she was unsure about whether or not she wanted to marry him. She could easily say she had fallen in love, she wasn't sure Shang could.
And now he seemed to even be brushing talk of marriage aside. She shook her head and tried to settle in to sleep, despite the persistent buzz of butterflies in her belly. They needed to make their minds up. Home was not far away, and she needed some sort of resolve after all of this.
General Li was studying his son intently, wriggling his nose past a ticklish sensation. An itch, even. "If I am to understand you correctly, son, you're asking my opinion on you're taking Fa Mulan as your bride?" His son nodded nervously, even swallowed hard and suddenly, the general broke into a joyous smile. "Son, I am delighted. She would make a fine wife with her heritage."
Shang felt relief cool his bubbling blood. "I find her appealing, father. She is pleasing to the eye as well, and she seems…" He paused. "She seems like a good girl."
The general sighed. "Now we must only convince the others," He scoffed, taking a drink from the wine that a cadet had just brought. "Son, even after all of these years married, I do not understand why woman must be so picky. Perhaps you will grow to understand this in your marriage, and then you can share with the rest of us."
Shang laughed at that, something that was rare enough for him. "I don't know if men will ever truly have any understanding of women."
"You can say dat again," Yao grumbled, storming up to the pair with a half-hearted bow. "Camp is all packed up an' ready to go."
Shang sighed. "Well that can't be possible, I haven't even gone to wake up Fa Mulan yet."
Yao blinked up at his superior and suddenly grew nervous. "Uh, sir, your…you….We packed up medical too, Chi Fu rode her off not a hour ago." He was glad for his short stature then, because with the look storming into Shang's eyes, he was sure he'd have gotten a mouthful of his fist.
"What!" Shang darted to where the medical tent had been, and then whistled for his horse. General Li was right on his heels. "He's going to have her sentenced to death, he's not even going to tell the Emperor what she did for me…" The General surprised his son by climbing on the back of the horse. "Father? I can retrieve her myself?"
"It's too late for that, Shang, the city isn't far from here, Chi Fu has undoubtedly arrived. We'll both need to speak with the Emperor in order for this to work out the way we'd like." Shang made orders for the men to follow and sent the horse off. He almost dug his heels too deep into the poor animal, imagining the rosey color of Mulan's face when they made love, and the wideness of her eyes when she had been Ping, cut open and collapsing to the earth.
She did not deserve to die.
They rode into the city in time to see the Emperor seated in his chair. People were filling the public area, and Shang's heart leapt in his chest when he saw Mulan laying on the platform, still sleepy from the opium they had given her. He was up on the stairs first with his father shouting behind him. "Your majesty, the Captain and I wish to speak with you at once."
The Emperor did not signal his guards to come, and instead, watched the General approach, before dropping his gaze to Shang, who was bent over Mulan, checking that she was breathing before he scooped her up into his arms. "Gentlemen, Chi Fu has already informed me of this treachery," But he watched Shang still, and swore he saw loving concern in the younger man's face. A realization that brought him joy, considering that the child was far too serious.
The General bowed before his feet and then looked up at him. "Excellence, it is true. She deceived us, she wore Fa Zhou's armor and pretended to be a man, but she also showed bravery and skill. She destroyed the Hun army with a single cannon and then she saved my son's life. She was granted a stay in execution because of that and we'd like for her to be pardoned."
The Emperor listened to everything and clasped his hands together in prayer. Considering all that had happened, he nodded to the General. "I will approve your request, nephew." Shang sighed with relief and stood with Mulan in his arms. "Captain, why don't you go lay her down in one of my rooms? I will have a nurse attend to her while she is still groggy." Shang bowed politely and took Mulan inside to obey, and the Emperor looked at his General. "The boy seems quite taken. I am pleased."
"I'm glad," The General bowed once again. "Shang has requested to marry her. It would honor us greatly for your blessing, Uncle."
"Then you shall have it," He told him, but held a finger up to signal he had more to say. "Now tell me everything that happened. We will feast in the young lady's honor tonight, and your son can have his chance to ask her hand then."
Before the general could recount the tale, the squawk of a bird caught their attention, and they both glanced up at the sky in time for everything to go black.
"Nooo!" Mulan shot up in the bed and immediately grunted in pain, touching her tender stomach through the dress she was wearing. She blinked and glanced around, unsure of where she was once again. The room was lavish, the bed was big, and sumptuous, and she had never been more comfortable in her life. The Imperial Palace. Mulan gasped and hurried from the tangled covers, and nearly fell flat on her face. "Aiyaa," She whispered, hurrying to the door. No sooner was she up than a commotion began out in the hall, and Mulan peaked out of the door.
"The palace is taken! The Huns are alive!"
She gasped again when she heard that, and immediately her thoughts strayed to Shang and his safety. She saw her armor sitting nearby and hurried to grab her sword, sliding it into the sash on her hip before dashing out through the crowd of people who were running to leave. Out on the outdoor platform was the General, and Mulan rushed to his aid. He was alive, merely unconscious. Just as she began to fret over what to do with him, Yao and Ling ran up to her.
"You're awake!"
"What happened!" She grabbed one of the generals arms and Yao grabbed the other and together they dragged him indoors.
"Shan Yu and a few of his boys survived."
"Where's Shang?"
"We're not sure." As soon as the General was safe, Mulan drew her sword and lead the others down the hall, searching through rooms as they went. Suddenly, Chien Po rounded the corner ahead of them, and right behind him, Shang perked at the sight of her, his resolve melting into relief as they rushed to meet the others.
"Mulan, why did you leave your room?" He looked her over to make sure she was all right, and barely restrained himself from grabbing her and embracing her tightly.
"I heard the Huns were alive and I was worried…" She cleared her throat in front of the others. "I thought you might need help. I couldn't just lie there."
"They have the Emperor locked upstairs with Shan Yu. I need to find my father and then we'll figure out a plan."
"Uh," Mulan rubbed the back of her neck, and Shang was struck by it. He had seen Ping do it a thousand times, but never her. "He's safe. He's just….out. We don't have time to come up with a strategy," She looked over at the three soldiers and her face broke into a smile. "But I do have an idea…fellas. Let's find the seamstress' room. We need to give you all a disguise."
Once Shan Yu's guards were out of the way, thanks to a few "ugly concubines", Mulan and said concubines evacuated the Emperor while Shang took on Shan Yu. But it wasn't long until the Hun had the upper hand, and so Mulan cut down his only means to the Emperor before revealing herself as the soldier who had blasted the mountain with a canon. Enraged, Shan Yu took the bait, and Mulan lead him on a wild goose chase through the palace.
As he was getting onto his feet, dizzy and nauseous from the blow Shan Yu had given him, Shang could see his father approaching with a concerned expression. "Son, son, are you okay? Where is Shan Yu?"
"Mulan," He gasped out, leaving the General no choice but to help him walk out of the palace. No sooner had they then Mulan came swinging down off the roof and a huge set of fireworks went off, igniting one of the palace wings, and blowing Shan Yu to bits. She hit the stone ground with a grunt, and clutched her wound. She hoped this was the last of battle that she would see before she was healed.
Shang and the General both helped her to her feet and suddenly Chi Fu was marching down the steps with purpose. "That was a deliberate attempt on my life! Where is she? Now she's done it! What a MESS!" He reached the group standing there, where Yao and Ling and Chien Po all helped Shang crowd Mulan to protect her from the sizzling man. "Stand ASIDE! That creature is not worth protecting!"
Shang pointed back at her. "She's a hero."
"She's a woman!" Chi Fu cried incredulously, and Mulan's gaze dropped. He was right. She could save all of China a thousand times, that didn't change the fact that she was just a woman. "She'll never be worth anything."
The General had to run for Shang when he grabbed Chi Fu by the collar. "Listen you POMPOUS…"
"THAT is enough." The Emperor was walking down the steps with Grace Mulan had never seen a man possess, and her heart jumped into her throat. He looked angry. Very angry. He would probably force the general to decapitate her on the spot.
Shang still tried to protect her, and her heart swelled a little with love. "Your Majesty, let me explain.."
The Emperor, however, would not have it. He held up his hand, and Shang was silent. The group moved away to expose her, she stepped forward and bowed to him, and immediately, her eyes hit the floor. "I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan. You stole your father's armor, ran away from home. Impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Chinese army…" At that, Mulan flinched. She was going to get it. Right then. Right there, in front of hundreds of people. "DESTROYED my palace AND…." Here it came. She waited for death, she welcomed it. At least her family and others in China, at least Shang, would be safe. "You have saved us all." Blinking, she lifted her head.
There was a soft smile on the Emperor's face and their eyes met briefly before he bowed half over. ChiFu fumbled to throw himself to his knees, and Mulan was shocked when the General, her Captain and comrades, as well as the entire gathering followed suit. Her heart pounding as she twirled, looking at all of the people, she felt tears trickle down her face. All of those weeks of hard work, agony, sadness, and fear. All of it summed up with the greatest honor a woman could ever hope for.
They stood upright after a brief moment and the Emperor looked at Chi Fu. "See to it that Lieutenant Fa is treated as she deserves," He smiled at her. "She will always have her place in my armed forces."
"Oh your majesty I…" She was going to decline the offer, tell him it wasn't necessary but that would be terribly rude, and Mulan couldn't pretend not to be thrilled at the prospect of anything but an ordinary life. "Thank you." She forgot herself a moment and hugged him, and he smiled, patting her head like a doting father.
"We will still feast in your honor tonight, Lieutenant. Tomorrow you will return to your home. Take this," He slipped his crest off. "So your family will know what you have done for me. And this," He presented her with Shan Yu's sword gingerly. "So the world will know what you have done for China."
Mulan was in tears, and she still smiled at him before darting inside. Chi Fu followed to set to his new purpose, keeping her happy. Shang watched with an ache in his chest and a smile on his face. The Emperor saw this, and approached him. "You know, great nephew, in this day and age, not many people find love before they are married." He adjusted his robes. "And the flower that blooms in adversity, is the most rare and beautiful."
Shang nodded with a smile. "Great Uncle?"
"You don't meet a girl like that every Dynasty," He clarified, popping his little hat on with that grace that had stunned Mulan before. "You have my blessing to be married. So long as her father agrees."
Shang stared at him in stunned silence before he shook his head, watching the Emperor go inside. He decided it was as good of a time as ever to do the same. After all, Mulan's banquet was going to be a night that he hoped they both remembered.
Mulan silently ached for her mother as she got ready. It had been too long since Fa Li had primped her up, and she found applying the thick makeup was more difficult than she would have expected. But somehow she got it right and now, dressed in a cerulean gown with her hair piled up in a plain little comb, she smiled softly at her reflection. Makeup and all, she had never been so at peace with herself. After all, she was a woman in love, and now, she was a lieutenant in the Emperor's army.
She was lead to the hall, where a prayer was said and everyone began to eat and drink. And talk. Mulan had never been forced to chat with so many strangers in her life, but she found it easy, and enjoyable, to answer questions about her time on the battlefield. She found she had been talking about it for hours when Shang found her, finishing off her third glass of wine. He shook his head and lead her to dance, delighting in the sound of her laugh as he held her close.
"Oh Shang. This turned out so much better than I thought it would have. I told you you were a great captain." She pressed her cheek to his broad chest and Shang's heart began to pound as he realized there was no greater time than the present. Stepping back, the dancing stopped and Mulan stared up at him like she were afraid she had done something wrong.
Shang cleared his throat, trying to pretend all eyes weren't on him. "When I set out for this war, I expected to win and to be proud…but I never…I didn't expect you to come along. Like you did." He glanced at the Emperor who nodded to him, signaling he was doing just fine. "Fa Mulan, I…you changed something in me. And I am indebted to you for it." He brushed her cheek with his fingers, and smiled down into her wide eyes. She was a child again, like she had been when he had first been with her. A child and, somehow, very much a woman. "I love you, Mulan." And suddenly her big, dark eyes were filled with tears of joy. "And I don't want to ever live a moment without you from this day on."
It was rare for a couple to set up an engagement on their own, but Shang knew exactly what people did on those rare occasions. He dropped to his knee and took both of her hands into his, and there was a collective gasp in the room. "Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"
Some of her tears fell to the floor but Mulan's face was all smiles. "Yes, Captain. It would bring me great honor to be your wife."
Everyone in the room applauded and somewhere nearby, Mulan could hear Mushu sobbing like a woman. Shang stood and scooped her up in his arms, spinning for a moment, until they were too dizzy to keep going. They kissed, softly, but sweetly, and the applause got louder, followed by a few whistles. Shang immediately blushed crimson, and Mulan matched in her own shade of pink before he set her down and they grasped one another's hands.
The General approached and bowed his head gently. "You will be most welcome in our family, Fa Mulan."
"Sir please, just Mulan." She told him softly, but she smiled at him, then up at his son. "I look forward to being a part of it." She glanced to the general once again. "Did you want to come tomorrow? I'm certain my father would be more than happy to host you in his home. Especially with such joyous news for us to share."
Shang and his father exchanged grins and the older man nodded. "It would be an honor to join you, Mulan."
