New rewrite! Soon we'll get to advancing the actual story!

The next day, I awoke early to see Mulan still sleeping. I quickly dressed, then tiptoed out of the room to begin my chores. Mother was already at Ang Dandan's bathhouse. Ang Dandan was an old family friend, and she was the one who would have the 'honor' of preparing Mulan for this momentous occasion. There were two bowls of rice steaming on the counter. I brought one into Mulan's room and gave her a gentle shake. She grumbled and rolled over. "Mulan!" I prompted. "You have to eat right now if you don't want to be late!" Fat chance my warning would do any good. Mulan was always late anyway.

She yawned and sat up, taking the bowl of rice. "Thanks, Daiyu," she said through a mouthful of rice. I just rolled my eyes playfully.

"Make sure Father gets his tea," I reminded her. "I'm going into the village."

I rode off to the village on my gray mare Jin. Arriving at the Ang bathhouse, I saw Mama and Grandmama waiting outside. Dandan poked her head out through the curtain that was the entrance to her establishment. "Fa Li! Is Mulan here yet?" She shook her head scoldingly. "The matchmaker is not a patient woman!" Ang Dandan was a short, chubby little woman with a double chin, a wide face as smooth and white as milk, and her hair always on top of her head in a springy bun that I longed to flick. She disappeared back into the bathhouse.

Mama sighed. "I should've prayed to the ancestors before leaving," she mused.

"What can they do?" Harrumphed Grandmama. "They're dead! I've got us much better luck, right here." She pulled a small, carved mulberry wood pagoda out of her pocket, inside which was a pitiful runt of a cricket. "Let's test you, shall we?" Murmured Grandmama, half to herself and half to the cricket. She put her hand over her eyes and stepped out into the street.

"Grandmama, NO!" Called Mama, but it was too late. Carts skidded to a stop and swerved recklessly to avoid crashing into the half-crazy old woman who was crossing the street. When she reached the other side, Grandmama took her hand off her eyes, surveyed the streets, and then called to Mama, "this one's a lucky one!"

Mama sighed heavily as Mulan streaked into the village on Khan. She slid off, presenting herself to Mama. "I'm here!" She announced energetically. Noticing Mama's unamused expression, she deflated a little. "Sorry, Mama, but-"

"None of your excuses!" Scolded Mother, shaking her head. "Let's just get you cleaned up."

Inside the bathhouse, the scent of jasmine soap and incense hit you like a wall of bricks. Mulan was already in the bathtub by the time I had tied Jin and Khan to a post and made sure they were good. Dandan was giving her a good scrubbing and encouraging Mulan as she ruthlessly cleaned and detangled her hair. "When we're finished with you, you won't even recognize yourself! You'll make us all so proud."

There it was. The ever-constant reminder that a woman must be beautiful and perfect to make her family proud. I had known a girl who had been in a horrid fire, and as a result, her face was scarred. Her family was constantly hiding the fact that she was their daughter, until finally, she had run away. I didn't know where she was now, but most likely not somewhere very good.

"Daiyu," called Mama, interrupting my thougts, "there's a shift for Mulan in the other room. Go get it for me, please." I darted into the other room and returned with the thin white gown. Mother dried Mulan off, then bundled her into the shift, pulling her into another room. There, Dandan and another woman, her sister, I think, sat Mulan down on a cushion and commenced to brush her hair.

"Such lovely hair," sighed the assisting woman. "I don't know any boy who wouldn't go to war for you. Why, if my son wasn't engaged already, I'd have you as my daughter-in-law in an instant."

Such talk embarrassed Mulan, and I could see a small flush rising. To make her feel better, I made a little sign that we had created as kids. By simply putting my two pointers together, I had created a signal for her nickname: Weedling. I had called her that ever since I could form the words. Her name meant 'wood orchid,' but Mama and Father always joked tht she grew like a weed, hence the nickname. She smiled and mimicked the sign with her thumbs, signaling back my nickname, Little Jade.

After they finished yanking Mulan's hair aroud and doing it up, the two women gave Mulan a light blue shirt to wear so she wouldn't have to walk to the dressmaker's shop in just her shift. I slipped one of her hands on my shoulder and grinned up at her. Being the shorter of the two always gave me a sense that she would protect me, but I realized today I would have to help her as well.

"Mama! You'll suffocate her!"

Mama gave me an exasperated look. I had been offering 'helpful suggestions' all morning long, and I think Mama was getting tired of them. "Wait outside, Daiyu," she commaded, turning back to Mulan. Sighing, I stepped outside. Had it really been an hour since Mulan rode into town? I sat down on the back steps of the shop and watched life in the busy streets.

"There you are!" I looked up to see a boy standing next to me. I grinned. Lin Kai was a boy I had made friends with recently. He was neither awkward around girls nor flirtatious, and I enjoyed hanging out with him. "What are you doing?" He asked, sitting next to me. His silky black hair had been tied back into a bun, and his mahogany eyes scanned my face, waiting for an answer.

"Mulan's going to see the matchmaker today," I confessed.

"Really? Holea's going today, too!" Holea was Kai's older sister, and embodied all of China's ideal of the perfect woman. With an ideal body, calm, pale, and generally beautiful, I had no doubt that finding her a husband would be smooth sailing.

"Well, I wish her luck," I told him.

"Yeah, I hope Mulan does well." We both caught sight of the parade of girls heading to the natchmaker. Lin Holea marched in front, her hair adorned with a white narcissus. Mulan trailed behind, looking shy but beautiful. Oh please, I prayed, hastily bidding goodbye to Kai to wait with my family, let her be OK.

It took only a few moments after Mulan had entered the matchmaker's house for Hin Dai-tai to burst out, shrieking like a madwoman. "Put it out!" She screamed, turning to indicated her flaming rear end. "Put it out! Put it-"

Mulan ran out of the building, splashing her with a pot of tea, extinguishing the fire. Handing Hin Dai-tai her teapot, Mulan gave a hasty bow and hurried to join us.

Hin Dai-tai looked like a demon as she ran towards us, hurling her teapot down to the ground. "You are a DISGRACE!" She shrieked at Mulan. "You will never, NEVER bring your family honor!" I let out a tiny gasp and wrapped one arm around Mulan.

"Come on," I told her. "Let's go home."

As we left Mama and Grandmama to console the raging matchmaker, I caught sight of the Lin family. Kai was with them, giving me a sympathetic look. Holea, still in line with the other possible brides, had a smug look on her face. The Lin parents, Chang and Ju, were shaking their heads at Mulan's failure.

I could practically hear the tears running down her face. "Daiyu," she said quietly, pushing me gently away and looking me in the eye, "I have to be alone."

I nodded, biting back the tears I could feel coming. I needed to be alone as well.