Author's Note: So this scene is so moving and amazing in the movie and I really did try to do my best to bring it justice...let's see how I've done, huh? Please make sure to leave a review!

Chapter Thirty One: Burnt

For a moment, I feel as if all of the air has been pulled from my lungs. I can't believe the sight in front of me. It can't be real, can it? The smoke that invades my nostrils is way too real, though. I look at the village General Li had come to protect; that is, I look at the burnt remains of what used to be a village. All that is left are the skeletons of houses, burnt black. The village bell, barely holding on to the beam it is tied to, rings forlornly, as if crying out to us. All thoughts of a girl worth fighting for are forgotten as we take solemn steps into the village.

"Search for survivors!" Captain Li orders.

I pat Kahn on the snout, silently telling him to stay put. The men disperse, setting to their task. I walk deeper into the village, passing through what used to be a doorway to a makeshift home. As I walk through, I gasp. Laying on the ground is a small rag doll in a tiny pink dress. 'Mulan.' It has been months since my encounter with Meixu. I know that this was a village for refugees, but she wasn't here, was she? A lump a few feet away from the doll answers that. I walk up to it, only to realize it's not an 'it' at all. It's Meixiu. Perhaps the corpse is burnt and bloody, but I know that this body was once a beautiful, sweet young girl. She is laying on her back, her right arm forever outstretched towards her doll, Mulan. I feel tears sting at my eyes, but blink them away. Carefully, I pick up Mulan and hold her to my chest, my eyes closed in grief. I open them a few seconds later when I hear someone besides me. I look up to see Captain Li Shang standing next to me, staring at Meixiu in utter disbelief.

"I don't understand, my father should have been here."

"Captain!" Chi-Fu yelps, startling us both. He is standing on a ledge, his mouth agape, pointing to the ground beneath, seemingly too shocked to speak another word.

We make our way over to him. Many of the other soldiers are already there, mouths in a similar position as Chi-Fu's. Looks of pure horror cross their faces. A chill runs down my spine as I see what everyone is looking at. The Imperial Army. The entire Imperial Army is laying in red snow, dead, surrounded by broken wagons, torn flags, and slaughtered horses. Solemnly, Chein-Po walks up to Captain Li, holding the helmet of the General. The helmet of his father.

"The general," are the only words Chein-Po seems able to manage.

I watch as Li Shang's face morphs from shock and disbelief to utter grief. In absolute silence, the entire company watches as he walks a few paces away to a small ledge. He stands there for a few moments, his cape flapping in the wind. Then, he unsheaths his sword and stabs it into the ground. With more grace than a man of his size would be thought to possess, he kneels down, carefully placing his father's helmet atop it, and bows. It hits me that, had my father come instead of I, and survived this long, he would also be dead, lying in a pool of his own blood in the snow.

I remember that feeling of emptiness I felt that fateful night, when I paced in the cold rain, trying desperately to figure out a way to save him. I decide that I never want anyone to feel that alone. So, I walk up to my captain's slumped form. He may be my superior, but he has always been like an older brother to me, and I a younger one to him. He has always been more emotional and open to me than any other man in camp, and I know that I must be here for him now.

"I'm sorry." It is the only form of sympathy I know he will accept. He stands, and I back up a pace, giving him space. Li Shang places his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes, only to quickly turn away and march forward with new found motivation. Quickly, he mounts his horse and wipes all emotion from his face.

"The Huns are moving quickly!" he announces, shaking everyone out of their trance. "We will make better time to the Imperial City through the Tung Shao Pass! We are the only hope for the Emperor now. Move out!" With that he turns his horse and gallops off, the others following.

I turn once more to the general's make-shift grave, however, and kneel down beside it. Carefully, I place Meixiu's doll, Mulan, on the ground so that she leans against the sword. 'There, a memorial for the fallen soldiers and for the fallen innocent.' I say a quick prayer before following the others. As I walk away, I realize that my girlhood, any tiny shred of innocence I had left, now lies in that village, as dead as the countless women and children that inhabited it.