Good morning loves! I hope wherever you are this morning that your day is going wonderfully so far! Remember to take a moment to breathe, take in the view, relax...
And read this chapter lol :P Love you guys!
"Well...I should probably go help Mei..." Mulan tried to excuse herself quickly. She still wasn't exactly sure where she stood with Shang. He didn't look angry but still...
"Mulan." She froze when she felt his hand on her arm, stopping her from leaving. Looking back she was met by warm intensity and a look she couldn't quite interpret. She waited for him to say what he wanted to.
"Walk with me?" He asked simply. His voice was carefully casual but she could now see the question in his eyes, the plea. Slowly she nodded. He smiled warmly then took her hand and wrapped it around the crook of his elbow. She tried and failed to stop her blush. It had been awhile since she had been so close to him, especially when he was still shirtless!
As if suddenly realizing the fact himself, he suddenly pulled away stuttering, "Oh, r-right. Sorry! Let me just, um...yeah. Don't leave yet! I'll just...!" With that he jogged away from her but not before she saw that his ears and the back of his neck were bright red. She smothered a giggle, glad she wasn't the only one.
He didn't go far. He had draped his tunic over a bench near where he had been sparring and was quick to pull it over his head. Mulan wasn't sure whether or not to be grateful for the shirt. On the one hand she could now look at him without blushing. On the other hand, she kind of missed the view.
Then he was back at her side and once again wrapping her hand around his arm. Together they stepped across the lily pond bridge, taking their time. Mulan could tell he was trying to come up with the words he wished to say to her so she stayed quiet. If there was one thing her military training had taught her, it was patience. Well, that and a mean roundhouse kick.
"Mulan, I feel I owe you an apology." He finally said.
"What?" Those were not the words she'd been expecting.
"I've put you through so much these last several months and I feel like it could have all been avoided if I had just..."
"No, Shang! I made the decision to join the military. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for everything I've...!"
"Mulan."
"No, listen. I should have...!"
"Mulan!"
"What?!"
"Can I finish my apology at least, before you start yours?" Shang asked with some amusement.
"Oh. Um...I guess? But you really don't have to..."
"I want to. I also want to explain a few things to you so will you please wait until I'm completely finished?"
"Of course!"
Shang quirked an eyebrow at her, a small smile on his face and she shrugged in response, "I'll try my best, anyway."
"Thank you." He grinned, then reached for her hand again. She'd been so agitated she hadn't even realized they'd stopped walking, let alone that she'd pulled away from him to try and make her point. She let him pull her close again and they continued walking down the garden path they were on.
"As I was saying, I have several things to apologize to you for but the first and foremost is that I'm sorry I didn't inform you the second I knew who you really were." He paused to see if she would react but, true to her word, she didn't say anything. She was going to let him explain. Shang continued with more than a little trepidation.
"When I first...discovered you, you can't begin to imagine how shocked I was. A young woman in our ranks! I'd never heard of any woman trying to pass herself off as a man. I knew what the punishment would be if I exposed you and therein lay part of the problem. Yes, you were one of the soldiers under my charge but I also really enjoyed your company. You had so much spirit and determination. I viewed you as the little brother I never had. I couldn't expose you. I had already tried to order you to leave and you remember how that went." Mulan laughed a little at that, drawing an answering smile from Shang. "So I decided to try and get you to voluntarily leave."
Understanding flooded Mulan with his words, "So, you got the boys to..."
"Yes. And for that I owe you another apology."
Mulan started laughing, quietly at first, but then louder, "I was so sure...they had...lost their minds!" She gasped out between laughs, "They were acting...so weird!"
"Probably not the best idea I've ever had." Shang agreed wryly, throwing Mulan into another giggle fit. She clung to his arm as she tried to catch her breath. Eventually she calmed down enough to remember the question she'd been dying to ask since she found out he'd known.
"How did you figure me out? I was so careful!"
Shang cleared his throat awkwardly. He had known this question would come up but that didn't make it any easier to answer.
"Um...do you remember that night right before we received word that we were needed on the frontline? We were camped by that small lake. Po, Yao and Ling actually made an appearance. They were playing..."
"King of the Rock." Mulan remembered.
Shang watched anxiously as all the color drained from Mulan's face for a moment before she suddenly flushed a brilliant red.
"You were there?" She whispered in horror, "Where?!"
"I had arrived before you did. I had stepped into the reeds to wash in some privacy. Khan was between us while you um...disrobed." By this point the back of his neck was burning hot and he wasn't even sure if his ears were still attached.
"I truly didn't see anything until you heard the boys coming from the camp and then you, um...stood up and...turned around." He finished on a mutter, hanging his head in shame. That moment was still burned into his memory in every crystal clear detail. He doubted he'd forget it even on his deathbed. He looked up to find Mulan watching him, her face as red as his felt.
"You saw..."
He nodded, knowing what she was asking, "It was an accident and only for a brief second but yes, I saw..."
They walked in silence for a long, long moment. Then Mulan drew in a deep breath before straightening her shoulders and stating matter-of-factly, "Well, I suppose it's only fair. I mean, I saw you without a shirt plenty of times and you didn't even know I was a girl!"
Shang could see that her cheeks were still very pink but he appreciated her effort to make things less awkward for both of them.
"Never-the-less, I sincerely apologize." He insisted urgently.
Her lips quirked into a smile and she squeezed his arm reassuringly, "Apology accepted."
"Can I ask you something?" Shang queried. The house was starting to come into sight, so he led her over to a nearby stone bench and they took a seat.
"Of course."
"Why did you do it? I know you've said it was to save your father but I would really like to hear the full story."
Mulan smiled, but this time he could see a hint of sadness in the expression. Slowly she told him everything. Her despair upon bringing dishonor to her family. Her anger and confusion when she couldn't figure out who she was or where she belonged. The dreaded visit from the Emperor's representatives. Her father's anger at her behavior. How she reached her decision to step in and take his place. All the steps she took to disguise herself.
Shang shook his head in astonishment. Her story really was unbelievable.
"You know, it's kind of funny, but sometimes I really miss being Ping. There was a certain freedom in being someone completely new. Someone no one knew." She concluded thoughtfully.
"I miss him too but you know what?" Shang murmured.
"What?" Mulan whispered back. They were sitting close on the small bench, shoulders touching as they looked at each other. Shang reached up and gently tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, fingers brushing her soft cheek.
"I like Mulan even more than I liked Ping." He answered lowly, drawing closer.
"You do?" Her dark eyes were vulnerable, completely open to him in that moment.
"Hmm."
"LI SHANG! Is that you?! I can't believe it!" A loud, female voice ripped through their quiet moment like cannon fire. Mulan jerked away from his touch and they both turned to stare up the garden path to where a petite female, clothed in pink, was hurrying towards them. Shang attempted to keep his irritation at the interruption at bay but it was extremely difficult. Who was this interloper and how did they know him?
"Peijing! I told you to leave him alone!" Mei yelled, chasing after the pink figure at full speed.
Peijing. So this was the visiting cousin. But how did she know him? He was fairly certain he had never met this girl in his life.
"Shang?" Mulan questioned quietly.
"I have no idea who sh..." He quickly tried to reassure the woman at his side, keeping a hold of her hand.
"Shang! Don't tell me you've forgotten!" The girl, Peijing, cried as she drew closer, "We used to play together as children! Lin Peijing! You remember my brother Lin Shing, don't you? You used to call me..."
"Pei-pei." Shang whispered in horror. Unfortunately she had reached where they were sitting and heard him.
"You do remember!" The girl exclaimed happily before unexpectedly throwing herself into his arms, conveniently shoving Mulan off the bench into the nearby flower bed as she did so.
"Peijing!" Mei yelled furiously, "What are you doing?!"
Mulan landed with an involuntary yelp of pain forced out of her as the slight twinge she'd been dutifully ignoring transformed into a sharp throbbing ache that tried to steal her breath from her.
Note to self, she thought wryly, no hard landings for a while!
"Mulan!"
She glanced up from her place in the flower bed in time to see Shang push Peijing abruptly out of his arms and into Mei's waiting grasp.
"Are you alright?" He knelt in the dirt next to her, hands hovering anxiously as he stared into her eyes, searching for signs of pain.
"Whoops! I am so sorry. I didn't see her at all! Perhaps if she had worn brighter colors...!"
Mulan rolled her eyes in annoyance. She had dealt with bullies all her life. The line Peijing had just fed them was typical 'mean girl' language; not-so-disguised insults meant to sound like sweet nothings to men. Case in point, Shang completely ignored what the girl was saying, focused solely on Mulan.
"I'm fine." She muttered, attempting to push herself to her feet. Shang was quick to take her hands and help her stand. However, once up, the sharp ache in her side intensified and Mulan felt the blood drain from her face as she tried to breathe through the pain.
"You do not look 'fine'." Shang scolded. Before she could protest further he had one arm behind her shoulders and the other under her knees, scooping her gently into his arms.
"Shang!"
"What have we talked about, Mulan? Let me take care of you, please." He interrupted, baritone voice rumbling under her ear. She found herself blushing and hoped everyone mistook it for embarrassment as they approached the house. Jing Hai opened the door for them as soon as he saw them coming.
"What happened?" He asked angrily.
"Peijing." Shang answered shortly. Marching into the house, he ignored the boys' hovering and anxious questions, heading straight down the hall to Mulan's room. Mulan simply buried her face in his tunic unwilling to witness her friends' seeing her so helpless. When they entered the room Shang immediately angled for the bed.
"No, not there. I'll get it all dirty." Mulan protested quickly.
Without hesitating, Shang carried her to the chair instead and gently sat her in it. Instead of backing away or leaving, he knelt in front of her and began untying the sash at her waist.
"What are you...hmm!" Mulan interrupted herself with a sigh of relief as some of the painful pressure lessened the moment he got the sash off. She arched her back slightly as he made quick work of unwrapping the navy overskirt from around her waist as well. He stopped there but examined the fabric over the location of her wound carefully.
"I don't see any blood seeping through." He stated matter-of-factly, "How are you feeling?"
"Better." Mulan sighed and she truly did, "so...Peijing?"
Shang sat back on his heels with a sigh of his own, "Yes, Peijing."
"I take it you do know her?" Mulan asked wryly.
"I knew a pesky little girl who always insisted on following me and her older brother around wherever we went."
"You were kind to her though." Mulan pointed out knowingly.
"How could I not be? She was so much younger than us."
"Kindness sticks in the memory for a long time. Especially with little, love-struck girls."
"Love-struck?! She was only about eight years old the last time I saw her!" Shang exclaimed, sounding slightly horrified.
"Yup. Just the right age to have a crush on her hero." Mulan giggled.
"What about you? Did you have a crush at that age?" Shang asked, suddenly curious.
"Of course! Every girl I've ever known has."
"Who was it for you?"
"Hmm...Ian the butcher's son. He was maybe...fourteen? All the girls had a crush on him. He had the most dreamy eyes!" She finished with a dramatic sigh and giggled at the memory.
"Oh, really? What about now?" Shang asked, dark eyes flashing that intense look at her again. The one she still couldn't quite identify.
"What?" She found herself flushing under that look.
"Do you have a crush on someone now?" Shang clarified, leaning closer.
"Um...n-no?" She stuttered out as he came closer still.
"Really?" He waggled his eyebrows teasingly at her.
"What about you?!" She shot back quickly.
"Oh, definitely." He answered firmly.
"You do?" Mulan breathed.
He nodded seriously, but one corner of his mouth tipped up ever so slightly.
"Who?" She whispered.
"Oh, there you are! I just heard what happened! I am so sorry...!" Ai came bustling into the room looking flustered and harried. Shang growled out a word that had Mulan giggling slightly. This family! How were they so good at interruptions?! Standing up, he let the anxious Ms. Chien move in to assure herself Mulan was alright. He kept his gaze locked with Mulan's as he backed to the door, watching her blush deepen prettily before finally turning away. He supposed he better stop Mei and Jing Hai from murdering Peijing on the first day of her visit.
Whew! So what do you think?! Ready to murder me yet? Lol