Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or Mulan only the OC characters.
Chapter 2: Arielle
Arielle was laying awake thinking, as she had been doing most nights this week. The raids had gotten worse, 3 villages had already been levelled killing the men and taking the women and children. There had been warnings left all around area near the Great Wall heads on poles and mounds of burning bodies. Her uncle had been trying to tell the village elders to evacuate for days, but they had insisted on everyone staying in the village until they had celebrated their grandsons going to war. Conscription notices were sent to every family in China commanding every oldest son in China to go prepare for war and those without to come fight themselves apparently the Commander had gone ahead to face the Huns and had left his son in charge.
Sighing in defeat Arielle sat up and looked over at the sleeping form of her cousin who was still deep asleep. Rising quietly she made her way from the room and stepped out onto the veranda pushing away the strands of black hair the wind blew across her face. Climbing and walking along the wall she came to a stop at the roof and looked out over the rooftops of the other houses.
"Ha I bet they're all......." she abruptly stopped as she saw a movement on the street below where she was standing. The figure tried to duck behind a corner but not before Arielle had a chance to glimpse the crest on his back. Huns. They were in the village!
Frozen with indecision she contemplated whether to run inside and wake her uncle or to dismiss the vision as a hallucination. Her decision was made for her when she saw black shapes approaching from the west of the city.
Leaping down from the wall she ran inside running into her uncle's room not caring about how much noise she made now.
"UNCLE," she screamed as she shoved the paper door aside and ran to his bedside, watching as he shot up.
"Dear God Arielle what is it!" there was alarm evident on his face.
" Thehunsareoutsideiwasontheroofandisawthemandthenirantotellyou!" she stammered, her heart was beating so fast she was sure her uncle could hear it.
"Arielle child slow down so I can understand you." He repeated slowly even though he had understood the main jist of her conversation the first time.
"The Huns they're here in the village and are going to attack!"
"Honey go back to bed it's obvious she's delusional", her aunt sneered as she regarded Arielle with open contempt; "it's just a plea for attention."
" But it's true," Arielle pleaded. Her uncle looked into her brown eyes trying to discern the truth; any doubt from either of them was soon silenced as the gong sounded from the village hall, signalling the threat of an imminent attack.
Springing from the bed with the agility of a man half his age Arielle's uncle shouted "GET EVERYONE OUT NOW USE THE ENTERANCE TOWARDS THE MOUNTAIN."
Before anyone had a chance to protest he was running out of the door with his sword in hand.
"Arielle you heard what he said go wake Mariah up!" her aunt screamed waking her up from her temporary stupor.
Sprinting as fast as she could to the other side of the house, she through back the paper door ripping it in the process, "MARIAH, get up we have to leave"
Mariah was already awake and running towards the door her pink hair flying out behind her. Arielle turned and ran behind her automatically running towards the back door of the house.
Everything happened so quickly after that it was impossible to recall any of it correctly.
One minute Arielle had been right behind Mariah the next she was flying through the air, she slammed against what had once been the outside wall of their house.
Her eyes kept going out of focus and when she finally opened them enough to see the scene in front of her she was greeted with the sight of their house in pieces. The roof had caved in and the paper doors were burning. Arielle vaguely registered the scream coming from her right. Looking slowly around she saw her uncle cut down by one of the Huns.
Sadness, pain and anger all surged within her as she got up and started running out of pure rage towards the Hun, not entirely sure what she intended to do.
" HAHAHAHA, awww does the little girl want a piece of me too," the Hun mocked while narrowing his eyes at her, " why don't you run away like a good little girl and at least make this fun for me."
This was the last thing he ever said, Arielle picked up her fallen uncle sword as thrust it between his chest armour and his helmet to the unprotected skin of his neck, catching him off guard. He barely had time to register what happened before he met the ground.
Spinning around she barely missed a swipe from another of the Huns, quickly parrying the shot she aimed the sword at his side and pushed downwards watching as he fell.
Looking down she met her uncle's dead eyes, bending down she closed them silently cursing the Huns and vowing to take revenge, slowly raising her head she looked around at what had become of the village. There were bodies everywhere, houses burning and people screaming. Something glinted as the fires cast it into light, reaching out Arielle picked it up and recognised it being the conscription notice from the emperor. Pocketing it she got up and turned around to where Mariah and her aunt should have been, instead she saw the billowing flames get stronger and higher.
'They must have already left!' she thought to herself panicking. She had nowhere else to go, but she couldn't follow them she didn't know these paths as well as they did, that was their only chance to escape the Huns.
On a decision made within a hundredths of a second Arielle raced to where the horses were kept, thanking God that the barn was still there. She didn't have much time the Huns would be descending on this part any second. Sneaking in the back door she found her uncle's horse, easily distinguishable by its jet black coat and white mane and tail. Saddling the horse as fast as she could she mounted and waited for the right time to urge the horse into a gallop. Hearing the shouts of men and the pounding of hooves she kicked her feet into the horse's side and pushed against the barn doors, bursting through them in a fury of sparks and wood.
The noise was all around her, the men shouting at her the pursuit of their horses, not daring to look behind and not trusting her horse to be able to out run the rain of arrows that would be unleashed soon, she guided the horse into the forest. The horse dodged the trees and rocks wildly as Arielle pushed it even further, knowing the horses in this area were more agile than the ones from across the wall pushed her to continue going deeper into the forest.
Finally the sound of hooves in pursuit died down and she found herself at the tracks leading to Guilin. With tears streaming down her face Arielle guided her horse towards the city.
