It was quite late and all day I had been working on my sword. I was hammering out the steel as I saw the Princess just sitting in her spot again. I kept telling her to go inside to eat or sleep, but she disobeyed and stayed outside. She would occasionally go inside and bring out food and water for the both of us. I didn't really want her to leave, but I didn't want her to be bored with her day just watching me make a sword. In between a few of the swings, I kept looking up toward the Princess giving a hidden smile. She always picked up on it and smiled back. We exchanged these smiles until I was sure my sword was all smoothed down and perfect. I brought up the sword with its custom handle just admiring the sword altogether. I saw the Princess come over and stand closer to me, looking on with me. "It's beautiful." She spoke looking at the gleam of the steel. "Well, we'll have to see if it is..." I slowly held down my arm having the sword's steel gradually sink into the water. The water sizzled and spewed as the hot steel touched the water. Suddenly, a glow of purple, green, and gold tinged the sword as the water sputtered out. The glow flashed and the water completely stopped sizzling. The water didn't even appear hot anymore. I took the sword out of the water and saw the perfection of the blade. It gleamed and shined as the steel was reflecting back the sun's light. My grin came up almost to my cheeks as I saw my sword. It was perfected. And now I was a true Warrior.

I watched as the life in Mulan's eyes sprang out and her smile never once faltered. She ran out to the old tree, with her sword and it's holster, where I first saw her training with. She gripped her sword tightly in both hands, slowly bringing the blade near her face taking her stance. She swung toward the tree. In one full movement of precision and strength, the tree fell onto the ground harshly. She had cut through the thick trunk in one full swing. The sound of her steel rushed through the very air as she swung through was like symphonies to her. She held her completed stance for a moment admiring the blade, then lowered her guard. She looked toward me with such happiness and joy I smiled back widely at her. It seemed like I had accomplished something, but this was entirely her. Mulan the Warrior...has a nice ring to it...

We, the Princess and I, slumped into my room exhausted from the past days of sword making. The Princess hurriedly ran into my bed after bathing and cuddled herself within the blankets. I laid onto the bed on the bamboo flooring just happy. I kept looking up toward the closet seeing my sword leaning against the wood. I couldn't keep my eyes of my new creation, it was too precious. I couldn't keep my eyes off It until the Princess startled me with her talking. "What will you do now that you're a warrior?" I shifted my whole body toward where my bed was giving her my attention. She was already facing me, even in the dark her blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark. I stared back, "I'm not sure...join the emperor's army maybe...or I can join the-"
"The army?! But you're still young..." The Princess' words seemed almost sullen; sad. Now I really moved to face her properly. I laid on my elbows bringing my body off the ground. "Too young?" The Princess did the same motion as I had done. We both stared at each other like we were gossiping and talking like friends would. "Yes. You still have your life ahead of you..." Slowly her voice faded to a whisper. I looked at her like she was insane. My whole life?! This is my life! I felt almost attacked by her words, but I tried to keep my mind calm. The situation was just blurred and the Princess was just confused. That was all. "My life is the army. I had dreamed of this moment my entire life. I want to help those who are in need of help." We both stared at each other in silence as I spoke that. She seemed to have listened, but nothing compelled her to respond. All she did was nod, breaking eye contact, then rolled onto her side to sleep. I chuckled a bit and did the same. The hours passed, but I couldn't sleep. The gnawing feeling of my sword was still getting to me. I wanted to try it out just once before sleeping. I quietly retreated my room with the sword in its holster out into the night. I ventured near the entrance of the gate and performed various forms and swings with my sword. It was dark and the only source of light were the moon, stars, and a few lanterns that were lit near other homes. I was enjoying my sword and the sound of the blade rushing through the breeze was amazing, until I heard something in the distance. It was strange to hear noises in the usually quiet village. I opened the gate ever so slightly to just see if anyone was outside this late. I saw a figure moving around the homes' entrances just looking around it seemed. The first thought that went through my mind was that these were scavengers who were going to steal. I immediately, without thinking, I ran out revealing my sword toward them. The figure quickly turned around as it heard my footsteps coming closer in haste. In one whole movement, the figure pulled out a dagger and swung toward me sloppily. I felt pity because they weren't putting up much of a fight, but suddenly I heard more scattering around. I averted my eyes toward the noise and saw men in black shining armor run past me into the village. Suddenly, I felt a pain across my side. I whirled my head around only to see the person with the dagger run off with a bloodstained weapon. I looked down at my flimsy shirt and saw a large tear in my shirt. The blood seeped through the cloth and began spreading. I clenched my wound with my free hand wanting it to stop. I hobbled in pain back to my home as fast as I could. Men in armor ran all around me, but seemed to never notice me running among them. They didn't enter any homes just ran all over the village looking for something, or someone. As I ran into my gates, I stopped to think of what was happening. A sudden thought came across my mind at that very moment. What if they're looking for the Princess?! I locked the gates as soon as I felt the Princess was in danger. I ran into my home, still pressing down on the wound. I began screaming out for someone to come. The first person was the Princess. The Princess saw the blood drip from my knuckles and pressed onto the wound with her own sleepwear. I tried to speak, but my voice became garbled. Now I felt my heart beat faster from a strange sensation of pain and adrenaline. It seemed I was going into shock, but as soon as I almost lost myself I heard the Princess call out to me. "What happened...?!" She almost seemed to cry. I shook my head trying to calm her down with my even tone. "Nothing..." I grabbed my side harder trying to mask the blood and pain. The Princess' dress was beginning to have blood spread through the cloth.