By Pooky
Chapter Seven:
Mulan could not take her eyes off the compact man who stood just behind Shan-yu's left shoulder, the large Turk towered head and shoulders over him like a shadow. The way they stood together revealed more than she wished were true, daunting any hopes, they were not prisoner and captor, but allied equals.
"Looks like the tea party has begun," Shan-yu chuckled, gesturing to the two women sitting so close together. "I hope she remembers what a good host I am, at least I left her with some company." Mulan was not so startled that the words flew by her, divulging two things. One, he intended to let her live, and two, he knew what had happened to her at the Pass. She had followed him to the Imperial City without his notice, or so she had thought.
General Li snickered. "We don't know what kind of bad habits she picked up in the army. We can't have her ruining this little flower, or else the deal would be off."
She did not know whether to be embarrassed or angry, and was more startled than either. All she knew of General Li was what Shang had told her, which was little more than the brief glance she had of him riding away. From the things she had heard, he seemed so harmless, so benevolent, that she could scarcely believe she was looking at the same man.
"Why am I here?" Mulan hoped she sounded composed. Fear was a concession, a way of giving her enemies power over her heart. If you let yourself be controlled by fear, you were theirs forever, her father had told her this once.
"Not for the same reason as Tie-lin, so don't think of flattering yourself," Shan-yu half growled. She wanted to protest, she had not thought... But a shout was raised outside and all of a sudden he was turning away, without an answer. "Entertain them, Shengli, I'm going to see what new toys my scouts have found."
Mulan waited until Shan-yu was well out of earshot before attacking the General with her words. "How could you?" She demanded, shaking her wrists in their bonds. "He... he admired you, he wanted to be like you. How could you betray your country?" How could she? She berated herself silently. How could she expect confessions and affection from him when this lay on his shoulders. No wonder he had been so tempestuous, so strange. She had never bothered to think that perhaps his own troubles had consumed him. The memory of his face in the lantern light, his far off gaze, his distance. She would have given the world to know the contents of Tie-lin's letter, and what words had garnered the secret looks between Shang and Marshal Yu
"Men admire achievement," he answered her coldly. "Not character. " Folding his arms he walked to and fro as if this were a casual chat, perhaps to him it was. "I didn't even think he would still be alive. I promoted him to rank hoping he would die on the field, that was to be my gift to him, a soldier's death. Who would ever think that a women would foil my plans, a woman." his laughter held an ocean of scorn. "He could have been very useful, if molded to the right cause, but he's always been plagued by that pesky conscience of his. I blame Marshal Yu for that, and that orphan that he's much too close to. Well, no matter, with you out of the way you can't help him, with him out of the way, that puts me five steps closer to the Imperial City."
Within three seconds, Mulan had his motives puzzled out, Tie-lin was right, it was beyond sordid. "You staged that battle in the Pass, and let Shan-yu kill your own troops. You used your knowledge of the Imperial City to help him lay siege. You even helped him through the Wall didn't you?" She recalled the argument she had overheard between Shang and Chi fu. Once their troops turned successful, Chi fu had become adamant in reporting to the General as to why they should not come to reinforce them. It had been confessed to her how they had gotten their marching orders in the first place, underhanded as that was, the General no doubt had intentions of keeping them out of the way until the enemy was well on their way to victory. He had almost succeeded, almost, until she had done what was unexpected.
"Very good," he nodded in approval, not without mocking though. "The Emperor killed Shan-yu's family and he wants revenge. We formed an alliance, I help him achieve his goal, he helps me secure the throne, the throne that belongs to me." Mulan raised a startled eyebrow, he laughed. "My father was foolish in giving his second son the throne, all because of her. I never forgave him." Gaozong's first son? Shang had never mentioned this. He had spoken as though his relations to the Emperor were distant, a great grandson of Taizong, not the son of a prince. But Empress Wu's son had been chosen for the throne, that was all Mulan knew. Was General Li the son of a concubine then, eldest or no?
"And me?" She was struggling with her fear again, Tie-lin was silent as a statue, giving the appearance of meekness. "Why am I still alive?"
He stopped only inches from her, not tall but tall enough. His eyes were cold. "I no longer have access to certain inside information. You fell into our hands, it was never my intention to capture you. Don't worry, you'll be killed soon enough. Now," he paused for emphasis, Mulan's heart stopped with the ebb of his words, perceiving her doom to come next. "I will give you time. Think of everything you know that will help me win the throne, every secret you have overheard. I have been a general for twenty years, I will know if you are lying, a disobedient soldier will be dealt with harshly. But let me ease your mind, I can be merciful. If you chose to be noble and tell me nothing, you will die slowly, and for nothing. If you chose to be smart, you will talk, and if what you say proves useful I will perhaps let you live. You have one hour to decide."
She opened her mouth to say something, some insult, some protest, something to reflect how much she detested this man. No words would come and she was left staring at his back as he exited the tent.
~ * ~
Striding down the torch lit hall, Tai-shan made his way towards Shang's room. His old friend had been usually quiet the past day and the captain knew the news he must deliver would not appease his troubles. They had known each other for ten years, school friends and military friends under the mentorship of his uncle Marshal Yu, the supreme commander of the complex at Louyang. He was sure he knew everything about Shang, his likes and dislikes, what he could not talk about and what must never be said to him. His life at home could never be touched in conversation, especially Li Shengli, nor the subject of Fa Mulan anymore. That sat well with Tai-shan, he did not care to hear Shang babble amorously about her, except that now he was forced to dredge up the latter of those painful subjects. It wasn't that he was afraid, or that he had any personal grudge against Mulan beyond the fact that she had not earned her rank as he had his, it was more that he did not want to feel obligated to provide solutions that eluded him. He hoped for her safety, but could only shake his head at the way she and Shang had been at odds the past few days. It took force to get through to Li Shang.
A knock on the heavy door wrought no answer. That was odd, Shang was not likely to be asleep, he hardly slept at all. Tai-shan knew that from sharing a room with him at the Academy, often wondering what visions lay behind his fitful nightmares. His uncle had said to never tread there, a man's demons were his own, and so he had followed that advice for years. Still, in the back of his mind he often wondered what haunted his friend and what it would take to chase those demons away. Whatever it was, it wouldn't let Shang sleep at night, not ten years ago, not now, and that was cause to worry.
Pushing the door open, Tai-shan gave himself away by the soft creaking. Three candles kept the room lit, enough to read by on the desk. Shang had his back to him, sitting in the large cushioned chair and gazing out of the window. A quick surveillance of the room alerted Tai-shan to something amiss, the empty scabbard on the desk, the scattered papers, and strangely enough, clothes strewn across the floor. Shang was neat and tidy, almost to an aggravating extreme. He did not move as Tai-shan crept closer, but a sword clattered from his hands only when Tai-shan's fingers were an inch away from shaking his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Tai-shan stared at his friend in disbelief, checking for blood on the blade, sighing in relief to see that the steel was clean. Even so, this was not like Shang at all.
Picking up the sword again, Shang held it in his lap. "Do you ever wonder if there's more honor in living, or choosing to leave the... the crime of our own nature?" What? Was he drunk? The words frightened him, so much that he felt something catch painfully inside. Reaching down he pried the sword from his friend's hand and placed it safely behind him on the table. There was no way he would let Shang harm himself.
"The dead can't do their duty," Tai-shan shrugged, still unsettled by Shang's question.
Turning only his head, Shang fixed cold eyes on him. "Exactly."
Afraid to ask what he meant, Tai-shan wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders, waiting for Shang to relax a moment before he spoke. When he only remained tense and stiff, Tai-shan grew even more worried but decided there was no point in stalling anymore. Shang's mood couldn't possibly grow worse than it already was. "She's been captured, Shang," he said softly.
"Captured?" It was with infinite sadness that Shang repeated that word. Tai-shan instinctively tightened his arm around Shang's shoulders.
"We found her horse, and Hun footprints in the forest. No other information has come back." He sighed, preparing himself for the violent and hysterical reaction that was sure to come at any moment. Why couldn't he just admit he loved the girl and stop torturing everyone? Why did he have to condense his feelings for her into some private inner space as if it were something to be ashamed of. No one questioned a man's love for a woman. Did he think he was the first man ever to feel it? It made this, and everything else five times more difficult.
But the general was still frozen. "Women are worse than the gods," he chuckled bitterly. "No matter how many prayers you offer, they will only come to you in their own time."
"Shang!" Tai-shan had had enough of this melancholy nonsense. It wasn't helping anything. "One of our generals has been captured by Huns. We don't know where they've taken her, or if she's even alive still. First of all, she's a lone woman - a woman - in the hands of a monster, and second of all, she has information. Should she weaken under torture, and I don't want to imagine what kind, our country could fall. You're supposed to be in command, Shang, the Emperor didn't make you General for nothing."
Snapping out of his trance, Shang whipped his entire body around, seizing him by the collar of his shirt. Caught by surprise, Tai-shan gasped for air, inadvertently avoiding the chill of the other man's eyes, mere inches away. "My Mulan is not weak!" he growled fiercely, dropping Tai-shan so abruptly that he fell on one knee. Rubbing his throat, he grumbled, it was a start at least.
"Maybe not," he said calmly. Shang was moody by nature, he never took that to heart. "But we're still in trouble."
Rising at last, his old friend sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, Shan. I've had no sleep in the past week and I'm not thinking straight." He began to pace. "To defend or attack? They say it's easier to lose a yard than gain an inch. Well if we wait them out, she might be killed, if we attack, we weaken our troops, and thus the Wall and therefore China. Which is more important?" It was an honest question. Tai-shan was surprised, any good commander would say one life must be sacrificed for his country, it was the soldier's way. But not for Shang, not her life anyway.
"Prepare for both?" The captain shrugged. It was so hard not to let his bitterness show. "If she's meant to die they would have killed her. She's worth more alive than dead."
Shang nodded, only half convinced. "Right."
~ * ~
Tie-lin tapped her lips with a fingernail. "We have on hour," she mused aloud.
"An hour for what?" Mulan snapped. "There's no choice to make, we tell them nothing. I'd rather be dead than a traitor. We've got to get out of here and back to our troops in time. Now for the love of your Ancestors, Tie-lin, untie me."
Obeying at last, Tie-lin puzzled over the ropes a moment and then suddenly the knots dissolved easily. Rubbing her hands, Mulan smiled, freedom. But Tie-lin was frowning. "I'm putting the ropes back on before my father returns. We aren't running away." She said it with such authority, since when did she appoint herself the one giving orders?
"Why not?"
"You can't stop a raging flood, and you can't outrun it either. But if you are very wise and learn to stay afloat in the water, you'll know the right time to grab onto something and jump out." Mulan blinked, remembering a saying from Sun Tzu's book. Your forces should be like water, water moves downhill, and swiftly.
By now, she was getting good at picking out Tie-lin's riddles. "So we play their game and see that they attack, let them bring us to Shang?"
Tie-lin smiled. "That's right. We do nothing, and they will do everything for us."
"Do nothing?" She pondered this, irritated all the same, what did that solve?
Reading her thoughts again, Tie-lin stood, taking a few teetering steps back on her deformed feet. She was tall for a girl. Standing straight and still, she motioned for Mulan to rise. "You are skilled at martial arts?" Mulan nodded. "Attack me and try to knock me to the ground."
What foolery was this? "I don't want to hurt you." It was impossible for the other woman to be learned at such things, not with those little feet.
"Go on," she insisted. "Try."
With no real choice, Mulan rose to her feet and faced Tie-lin, giving her a little bow which earned a smirk in return. Tie-lin did not adopt a fighting stance, but remained with her arms at her sides, her hands covered by the tapestried borders of her wide blue sleeves. Readying herself, Mulan lunged for her, thinking to force her weight against her shoulder and knock her over that way. But one moment she was in motion, the next she was flat on her face on the ground. Glancing up dizzily, she saw Tie-lin was standing as before, with only her right arm extended to indicate how Mulan had fallen. She had never even felt the blow, in fact, she was not sure they had even come in contact.
"How... " Mulan swallowed. "How did you do that?"
A soft smile graced the pretty woman's face. "With my qi. By being one with the universe. I am the Tao, the only thing that can stop the raging flood." When she saw this had only confused Mulan further she laughed a little. "When something comes at you your desire is to fight it, you might call that instinct if we were speaking of a beast. Your energies are divided, in fighting and standing, therefore it is easier to become ungrounded. If you put aside that desire and concentrate on being still, so still that nothing can throw you off balance, by returning to what is natural, you can stop whatever comes your way." It started to make sense. Mulan remembered Shan-yu's troops at the Pass. Shang had ordered them to fight, but instead Mulan had let the snow do the work for her. Only a force of nature could stop Shan-yu's army.
"You're a strange woman, Tie-lin." Mulan walked about to stretch her
legs a bit. "Teach me more."
