The pain stung and I knew it was because of all the stress the armor was putting on the already tender wound. The Princess insisted on helping me with the wound, but I didn't want to show weakness. Weakness was a Warrior's weakness. But, I had no choice. She was so stubborn and helped whether or not I wanted it or not. I tried to take my armor off as gently as I could, but the wound rubbed more. I tried not to make any noise, but a breath escaped my lips. I almost dropped the armor aside revealing a bloody stain on my shirt. It had almost soaked up the whole side and would have been worse if I didn't take it off now. The Princess gasped at the wound and quicky looking for something to clean the wound with. "If you get the water canteen I have a rag to clean this with..." I spoke out my tone hitching up from pain. I sat clenching my side still, wanting the pain to go away. The Princess brought the canteen over and I took the rag out from my pouch I carried with me and doused the rag with the water. I lifted my shirt and revealed the gash that had dry blood around the cut. I looked toward the Princess knowing she would either swoon or feel sick from this, but she looked more sad than anything else. "May I...?" She asked looked toward me opening her hand for the rag. I held the rag tight, feeling drips of water run down my hand. It wasn't proper for her to do anything, but she looked determined to help. I slowly offered the rag to her. Her fingers gently wrapped around my hand, holding it for a moment, then took the rag from me. She wrapped the rag into a manageable size slowly dabbed around the wound. I hissed out from the pain, but I tried to hold my tongue. I bit my lip to keep myself from giving off any other signs or notions of discomfort. The Princess was gentle and quiet as she cleaned the gash. After a few minutes, she had successfully cleaned the wound and kept it from opening up any further. The cloth was completely soaked in my blood after she had finished. I noticed my hands been closed into tight fists, and as I finally released them a tingling went straight through my hands. I hadn't noticed how much it had hurt until now. "Do you have anything to put on this wound?" The Princess asked setting the bloody rag aside. I noticed her hands were stained with my blood before I spoke up feeling a bit embarrassed, "Only that cloth..." I pointed toward the bloodied rag. She gave a small smile and stood before me, "I'll clean it." She spoke out almost turning away until I stopped her. "No, you cannot leave without me to escort you." I didn't realize I had stopped her by grasping her free hand. My hands felt cold compared to her warm, wet hands. She turned her head toward me looking down at my grasp then back up to my eyes. "Mulan! You cannot stand or move! I'll clean the rag in the nearby river and I'll come right back." "I will come with you." I tried to stand, but the more stress I put upon my side to even stand, made me feel a piercing pain throughout my body. I almost dragged the Princess down with me as I tried to stand. I slumped back down letting go of her, trying not to have the wound open again. An annoyance fell over me that I was showing such weakness, I couldn't even stand to help myself. I sat still and just averted my eyes angrily toward the woods.
I smiled down at Mulan who sturggled so much to show she was strong. But she was human after all. Without another word I went off to the river we had passed as we made camp. It wasn't far, she probably could still see me from the camp, but I know all she wanted to do was keep me safe. I kneeled next to the clear river as I set the cloth into the river. Even though it was black, the moon reflected off the crystal clear water. The rushing water as it passed through my hands was euphoric. The water always made everything better. As I cleaned the cloth, I was curious to how far the small camp was from Mulan. I turned my head and saw the camp quite close by. I almost laughed out seeing that Mulan was not even 40 steps away. I could see her countenance perfectly, how her brows furrowed down from annoyance and how her chest seemed to heave angry breaths out. I smiled back down as I cleaned the rest of the rag. It didn't even take long, but all I wondered was Why does Mulan make such a big deal? I came back to the camp, the fire disorienting my vision from the darkness of the river, but I could perfectly see Mulan still pouting. I kept my smile and noticed myself blushing. Why do I suddenly feel flustered? I tried to shake the feeling away, but every time I tried to keep it away it would come back stronger. I sat next to Mulan, now realizing, her shirt had been up to her chest, exposing her abdomen and a bit more. I blushed hard. I was suddenly feeling all these emotions, and seeing her in a different light. I was embarrassed to even look at her, but my eyes soaked up every inch of her body.