July 7th (Day 12, Dawn)
"Hey. It's time to wake up." Ping weakly rolls over to return to sleep, but the dragon pulls the sheets from the bed, "Come on, now. If you want to continue this performance of yours, then you're going to have to wake up and make breakfast."
Ping opens his eyes to see the dragon right in front of him, "I'm tired."
"You always are, but you can't let a little thing like that stop you."
Ping sits up and shakes his head at the training-robe, "Grandmother was right. Sleeping with it on isn't nearly as satisfying as actually wearing it."
Mushu tries to hide his concern, "Come on, now. I picked out an outfit for you. All you have to do is put it on."
"Right. That's all I have to do." Ping puts a hand to his head, as he notices the green and blue attire, "I'm getting really sick of wearing dresses."
Mushu shrugs, "Well, you don't have to wear it. You could just leave as you are."
Ping shakes his head, "No. I have to." He grabs the dress and slowly walks to the mirror, but it takes a moment for him to realize it's of no use, "Why's the mirror covered?"
"I thought you'd be happier without it."
"Mushu—"
"No need to thank me," he interrupts, but a frown remains on Ping's face. "Hey. You don't need that old thing." He grins, "You have me."
"Right. I have you." Ping sits on the edge of the bed as he looks through the pieces of fabric, "Then why do I feel so alone?"
"Hey. You're not alone." He leans onto Ping's knee, "You have me, you have your grandmother, and then, of course, there's always pretty boy."
He tries to smile, "And I'm happy to have you, all of you. It's just— I feel like I have no one. I feel like I have no support and that no one even bothers to listen to me."
Mushu hesitates, "I suspect this has more to do with your parents."
Ping shakes his head in frustration, "Mother knows. I know she knows, but she's so stubborn and persistent. I can't believe she's actually letting me do this to myself."
"Doing what to yourself?"
"Just this," Ping gestures to the dress pieces. "It's pretty clear I'm not happy, isn't it? I mean, I'm not just imagining this, right? She really doesn't care how I feel, does she."
Mushu stands back up, "Your mother is trying. It may seem like she isn't, but you need to realize how hard this must be for her. To her, you will always be her little girl." He sees a tear fall to Ping's face and tries to hug his arm in support, but he's only flung to the other end of the bed in protest. "Look. I know it's not what you want to hear, but that's probably why she doesn't seem to care. She just doesn't want anything to happen to her little girl."
"Except I'm not." Ping looks away from Mushu's concern and notices the dress lain out on the bed. "Never mind. Just turn around, so I can change."
Mushu does as he's instructed but can't help but feel he's done something wrong, "You know we care about you, right— all of us— and that nothing means more to me that your happiness?"
There's a pause, "I know."
Mushu stays quiet for a second, "So, what are you doing today?"
"Just the same things as every day." He finishes putting on the dress, "After you do my hair I have to bring in water from the well and make breakfast. After that it's feeding the chickens and working the fields. At some point Shang will join, and then later on I have dinner with him outside."
"This breakfast you're making, are you eating it?"
"What do you think?"
"I think you need to look after yourself better." He doesn't reply. "Please, tell me, you're at least going to eat dinner with Shang."
Ping takes a deep breath as he grabs the brush, "I'm fine. Trust me."
"You know I worry about you."
"I know." Ping throws the balls of hair into the fire, "Could you do my hair again?"
"Yeah, sure."
Ping ignores the dragon's excitement, "Thanks."
"No problem. I'm happy to help."
Ping weakly laughs, "Yeah. I can tell."
"Now, what's that supposed to mean?"
He hears the agitation in Mushu's voice, "Nothing. It means nothing." Ping almost shakes his head but doesn't, as he remembers that it's being put up. "You just act more like a girl than I do."
"Well, what do you expect? Dragons are very emotional creatures."
"Yeah, and do all dragons like to do people's hair?"
Mushu finishes, "I wouldn't know. I've never met another dragon before."
Ping almost laughs but is too tired to, "If you've never met another dragon before, then how do you know dragons are emotional?"
"Come on, now," Mushu commands. "Now's not the time for stupid questions. Go out there and be the best soldier— I mean, bride— you can be."
"Right." I almost forgot. Ping stands and turns, "What do you think? Do I look like Mama's little girl?"
Mushu smiles in hesitance, "Ah-um. Is that a trick question?" Ping stands still and gives the dragon a serious look. "Yes. Perfect. You would've made a great actress."
"A what?"
Mushu waves his hands, "Never mind. You'll be great."
"Right." Ping takes a deep breath and tries to smile, "All I have to do is be the perfect daughter." He shakes his head, "Mother will never believe I'm good enough."
"Come on. You're doing great." Ping nearly collapses, but he manages to catch himself on a knee and uses it to stand back up. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ping puts a hand to his head, "But admit it, I'm not great. I'm terrible. Mother doesn't even believe I'm trying."
"This is just a suggestion." Ping gives him a look. "But maybe you should have breakfast with them. You know, to prove that you can properly pour tea and serve a meal."
"Yeah, right." Ping takes a calming breath, "I know they're my family, but I really don't want to talk to anyone right now." He looks down for a moment, only to wrap his arms over his chest in embarrassment. "And I definitely don't want anyone to see me like this." He shakes his head, "I have to make breakfast." and leaves the room before the dragon can speak.
- Okay. So, I don't know how to describe this any better than I did in the fic, but because even I got confused when I first read it, I'm going to try. The part where he nearly falls and catches himself on a knee, both of his feet still remain on the ground... Have you ever done lunges? Yeah, sorry. Unless you're obsessed with health, are a body builder, are a personal trainer, or have an eating disorder, you may not even know what this is. I didn't even know what it was until a few months ago when I got that 30 day challenge exercise app on my phone... Never mind that. I'm just letting you know that if you don't know what it is then look it up, because I'm going to use it as an example. Okay? Okay. So, when he fell he caught himself as he was in some kind of lunge position, except that the legs would have been closer together. He had placed his hands on his knee to prevent himself from falling, and then he pushed down on that knee to help himself back up. Yeah, it's complicated and everything, but that's how I've always caught myself when I would fall; therefor, it's only natural I would imagine the characters catching themselves in the same way. Sorry if this has been too confusing. I tried.
