First of all I would like to apologize for taking so long with this
chapter, I had lots of work to do before vacation and during vacation I
went out of town so I couldn't type this. Then I would like to thank my
reviewers for your wonderful reviews even if I had only a few of them with
the last chapter. I hope you guys like this chapter, it's interesting, I
guarantee it.
Please review. I need to know what you guys think.
The next day, after having breakfast, Shang announced he had to leave. He also asked, "Mulan are you coming with me?" Mulan immediately looked at her grandmother who sat right across the table. The elder woman simply nodded. "Do as you must do, I'll be fine here."
Mulan nodded.
"Just promise me that you will return safely."
Shang said, "I won't take my eyes off her."
Granny Fa cleared her throat and grinned mischievously.
Mulan covered her face in embarrassment her grandmother could be so out of her mind at times. Shang blushed a little and joined Granny with a little laughter.
"Granny," Mulan scolded.
So as they made their way back to Camp they talked much more than the day before. Shang knew she was trying to hide all of her sorrow, but he didn't want to make her get angry.
"Mulan about last night…I just want …"
Mulan cut him off, "Pretend it never happened."
"Right," Shang repeated, "Nothing happened."
Both sighed at the same time. Mulan started to play nervously with the golden necklace Shang had given her last night. That subject had always made her feel uncomfortable. Noticing the uneasiness in Mulan´s voice, Shang decided to change the subject, "We're only a few hours away from camp."
Mulan and Shang silently continued riding their horses through the forest.
Mulan could hear the voices of men speaking quickly in a language she couldn't understand.
"Do you hear that?" asked Mulan.
Shang pulled the reins of his horse and listened carefully. "It must be them."
Mulan´s hands started to shake, there were thousands of Turks and only two of them. She wondered if this was the end for them both. She stayed thoughtful for a moment, searching for a way to escape without being noticed, or maybe hide somewhere, but the place had nothing else but trees.
"We'll ride our horses at full speed, until we find a place to hide," Shang went on, "Or let´s see if we can make it to camp."
"I think we should try to get to camp and go tell the other soldiers, Shang."
"If that's the way you want it, we'll do it like that."
Mulan pursed her lips and nodded. Shang reached for her hand, squeezed it, and kissed it. "Don't be scared, I won't let anyone hurt you."
Mulan smiled, her eyes sparkled like the time she had invited him to stay for dinner at her house.
"I suppose I'll protect you too," she replied.
Shang let out a laugh and said, "Let's get out of here."
They pressed their heels tightly on their horses. The animals let out a loud neigh each, and immediately galloped as fast as their strong legs could move.
The Turkish men heard the neighing of the horses. All the men started to mount on their horses to look around for the spies.
Mulan could hardly breathe as she rode Khan. It was taking them forever to get to camp and still they could hear the noises of the Turkish horses approaching to them, but still they were out of sight and that was a great relief for them. Shang's horse was ahead, and she was afraid of staying behind if Khan would refuse to continue. At least the Turks weren't shooting arrows or cannons. The horses got tired, so Shang and Mulan hid in a cave a couple of hours until they were certain that the Turkish barbarians were away from them.
Mulan rested her head on Shang's chest, while he gently passed his fingers through her hair. Mulan slowly closed her eyes, Shang was making her fall asleep there, she felt so comfy and safe with Shang.
She opened her eyes and asked, "Shang is the pain I feel inside going to go away someday?"
"You'll get through this, but it doesn't mean you will forget about your parents and all the things they taught you," Shang answered.
Mulan nodded. She stayed pensive for a moment, just thinking about what might Shang had felt the day when his father was killed by the Mongolians.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go on."
"How do you feel about your father?" She heard a sigh escaping from his mouth so she apologized, "I'm sorry."
"It's all right, I don't mind…well, I miss him…but I see no big difference compared to when he used to live," Shang went on, " My father was never at home because of his rank, one day he was at a banquet in the Imperial Palace, then he could be guarding the Great Wall or The Imperial Palace, or training recruits, or war started." Shang coughed. "He rarely told me that he loved me."
Mulan felt a little sad for Shang, it seemed his father loved more his work than his own son; she wished that Shang would've had a father like her own, her father had been a lovable father always there to listen at her no matter what.
"Now, can I ask you something?" Shang spoke up.
"Yes."
"Tell me how you feel, because I'm really worried about you."
That was probably one of the sweetest thing he had ever told her, he was concerned about her, and it meant so much to Mulan.
Mulan's eyes started to get wet with salty tears that immediately began to slide through her pretty face. "I'm scared and confused…wanting this to be a nightmare," Mulan whispered, "I miss them so much, and I don't want to believe they are gone, not when they have always been by my side since the day I was born."
Shang bent to kiss her forehead, and to his surprise, Mulan smiled at him through her tears. He bent a little more to kiss her mouth.
*********************************************************************
Finally, they reached camp safely, just a couple of hours before midnight. Camp was almost exactly as they left the day before, most of the men were sleeping and it looked peaceful as if there hadn't been any trouble.
Lynn greeted Mulan with a smile and a hug right after Shang went inside his tent. Still, Lynn's smile seemed fake.
Both girls came up with the same question, "How are you?" Mulan let out a giggle in response, but Lynn simply smiled lopsidedly.
"There's something I must tell you," Lynn whispered.
Mulan nodded and followed Lynn into the forest, totally carefree if someone saw them getting far in the middle of the night. Lynn's silence was making Mulan nervous; she wondered what could be happening to her friend that she was being so serious.
"Mulan…you've been a great friend so you'll be the first to know." Lynn paused for a moment and looked around the dark forest.
"What's wrong Lynn?" Mulan asked concerned.
"I know I promised you I…oh heavens how could I fall so low?" Lynn started to talk quickly and hysterically.
Mulan embraced her friend. "Whatever it is you can count on me," Mulan assured.
Lynn twisted her mouth and spilled the words, "I am pregnant."
Lynn had spoken very fast and not clearly enough so Mulan asked, " Did you say just what I think I heard?"
Lynn backed away; her eyes were wet with tears. "Yes Mulan."
Mulan bit her lips and covered her mouth.
"I know, I know," Lynn cried, "Please don't get mad at me. That's the last thing I need."
Mulan walked towards Lynn. "No, no." The two friends hugged each other one more time.
"I'm scared," Lynn confessed, "and I'm sorry for disappointing you…" Lynn took a deep breath. "Tung Ma hand I had already you know…before the day we talked."
"You don't disappoint me," Mulan soothed.
Lynn wiped the tears from her face and smiled. "Really?"
Mulan smiled back at her and put her hand on Lynn's shoulder. "There's no doubt about it," she went on, "I'm just worried about you." Mulan knew Lynn had to return to the Imperial Palace because of her condition, but it was dangerous. Now, Lynn was bound to stay with the warriors and fight to defend the freedom of their country.
"It all started as a mischief back at home," Lynn recalled, "the day before we got betrothed." Poor Lynn, it was too late to regret about her actions, now she couldn't turn back time to erase all of her mistakes. Mulan was glad nothing had gone further the other night with Shang, who knows if she would be facing exactly the same situation her friend was facing. Lynn was thankful to have Mulan´s support but she feared to tell Tung Ma that he was going to become a father when none of them expected that to happen before it was really planned, they were so young, immature and maybe irresponsible.
Shang was outside his tent when Mulan and Lynn returned, and by the look on his face he seemed to be worried and not very content with Mulan. Yes he thought of possible reasons why they would go away from the rest.
Mulan instructed Lynn to go away. She would take care of everything even if she had to lie at Shang again, to save Lynn's neck.
"Where were you?" Shang asked.
"I was…erm … just talking to a friend there," Mulan answered. She knew it wouldn't be easy, and she knew Shang didn't believe at all her excuse.
Shang sighed and looked down at her.
"Why, Mulan?" He muttered loud enough for her to listen. Shang turned his back on her, he thought Mulan was cheating on him, but he was so wrong, his heart was broken.
"Shang this is not what you're thinking," Mulan called, "Just let me explain you all this."
He turned to her, of course he would listen to her, just anything that would tell him he was just judging wrong. "Tell me."
Mulan nodded. She started to explain, "Ling has problems… really hard problems." She didn't look up at him, instead, she had her head bent down looking down at the ground.
"What kind of problems Mulan?"
"I cannot tell you, Shang," she replied bitterly. It just hurt too much to lie at the man who had been so generous and understanding with her. "Goodnight Shang." Mulan bit her lips, she wanted to cry, for Shang didn't deserve her lies. She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Shang called.
Mulan stopped and turned to him again, still not daring to face him.
"Please tell me Mulan."
"Don't make this harder Shang, I beg you," She pleaded softly. Her voice sounded nervous and unsteady.
"Can't you trust me?" Shang demanded. The volume of his voice raised and turned from calmed to daring and demanding. His eyebrows were narrowed. Mulan knew he was mad now.
"Don't you understand that I can't tell you because it's none of your business?" She yelled at him.
"Right, it's more important to keep his stupid secret go ahead do whatever you want."
Mulan was about to yell at him again when a beautiful gracious maiden got between them. She was wearing training clothes and her long black hair was loosened. "I…I can explain this," she said nervously.
Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review.
Thank you. (
Please review. I need to know what you guys think.
The next day, after having breakfast, Shang announced he had to leave. He also asked, "Mulan are you coming with me?" Mulan immediately looked at her grandmother who sat right across the table. The elder woman simply nodded. "Do as you must do, I'll be fine here."
Mulan nodded.
"Just promise me that you will return safely."
Shang said, "I won't take my eyes off her."
Granny Fa cleared her throat and grinned mischievously.
Mulan covered her face in embarrassment her grandmother could be so out of her mind at times. Shang blushed a little and joined Granny with a little laughter.
"Granny," Mulan scolded.
So as they made their way back to Camp they talked much more than the day before. Shang knew she was trying to hide all of her sorrow, but he didn't want to make her get angry.
"Mulan about last night…I just want …"
Mulan cut him off, "Pretend it never happened."
"Right," Shang repeated, "Nothing happened."
Both sighed at the same time. Mulan started to play nervously with the golden necklace Shang had given her last night. That subject had always made her feel uncomfortable. Noticing the uneasiness in Mulan´s voice, Shang decided to change the subject, "We're only a few hours away from camp."
Mulan and Shang silently continued riding their horses through the forest.
Mulan could hear the voices of men speaking quickly in a language she couldn't understand.
"Do you hear that?" asked Mulan.
Shang pulled the reins of his horse and listened carefully. "It must be them."
Mulan´s hands started to shake, there were thousands of Turks and only two of them. She wondered if this was the end for them both. She stayed thoughtful for a moment, searching for a way to escape without being noticed, or maybe hide somewhere, but the place had nothing else but trees.
"We'll ride our horses at full speed, until we find a place to hide," Shang went on, "Or let´s see if we can make it to camp."
"I think we should try to get to camp and go tell the other soldiers, Shang."
"If that's the way you want it, we'll do it like that."
Mulan pursed her lips and nodded. Shang reached for her hand, squeezed it, and kissed it. "Don't be scared, I won't let anyone hurt you."
Mulan smiled, her eyes sparkled like the time she had invited him to stay for dinner at her house.
"I suppose I'll protect you too," she replied.
Shang let out a laugh and said, "Let's get out of here."
They pressed their heels tightly on their horses. The animals let out a loud neigh each, and immediately galloped as fast as their strong legs could move.
The Turkish men heard the neighing of the horses. All the men started to mount on their horses to look around for the spies.
Mulan could hardly breathe as she rode Khan. It was taking them forever to get to camp and still they could hear the noises of the Turkish horses approaching to them, but still they were out of sight and that was a great relief for them. Shang's horse was ahead, and she was afraid of staying behind if Khan would refuse to continue. At least the Turks weren't shooting arrows or cannons. The horses got tired, so Shang and Mulan hid in a cave a couple of hours until they were certain that the Turkish barbarians were away from them.
Mulan rested her head on Shang's chest, while he gently passed his fingers through her hair. Mulan slowly closed her eyes, Shang was making her fall asleep there, she felt so comfy and safe with Shang.
She opened her eyes and asked, "Shang is the pain I feel inside going to go away someday?"
"You'll get through this, but it doesn't mean you will forget about your parents and all the things they taught you," Shang answered.
Mulan nodded. She stayed pensive for a moment, just thinking about what might Shang had felt the day when his father was killed by the Mongolians.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go on."
"How do you feel about your father?" She heard a sigh escaping from his mouth so she apologized, "I'm sorry."
"It's all right, I don't mind…well, I miss him…but I see no big difference compared to when he used to live," Shang went on, " My father was never at home because of his rank, one day he was at a banquet in the Imperial Palace, then he could be guarding the Great Wall or The Imperial Palace, or training recruits, or war started." Shang coughed. "He rarely told me that he loved me."
Mulan felt a little sad for Shang, it seemed his father loved more his work than his own son; she wished that Shang would've had a father like her own, her father had been a lovable father always there to listen at her no matter what.
"Now, can I ask you something?" Shang spoke up.
"Yes."
"Tell me how you feel, because I'm really worried about you."
That was probably one of the sweetest thing he had ever told her, he was concerned about her, and it meant so much to Mulan.
Mulan's eyes started to get wet with salty tears that immediately began to slide through her pretty face. "I'm scared and confused…wanting this to be a nightmare," Mulan whispered, "I miss them so much, and I don't want to believe they are gone, not when they have always been by my side since the day I was born."
Shang bent to kiss her forehead, and to his surprise, Mulan smiled at him through her tears. He bent a little more to kiss her mouth.
*********************************************************************
Finally, they reached camp safely, just a couple of hours before midnight. Camp was almost exactly as they left the day before, most of the men were sleeping and it looked peaceful as if there hadn't been any trouble.
Lynn greeted Mulan with a smile and a hug right after Shang went inside his tent. Still, Lynn's smile seemed fake.
Both girls came up with the same question, "How are you?" Mulan let out a giggle in response, but Lynn simply smiled lopsidedly.
"There's something I must tell you," Lynn whispered.
Mulan nodded and followed Lynn into the forest, totally carefree if someone saw them getting far in the middle of the night. Lynn's silence was making Mulan nervous; she wondered what could be happening to her friend that she was being so serious.
"Mulan…you've been a great friend so you'll be the first to know." Lynn paused for a moment and looked around the dark forest.
"What's wrong Lynn?" Mulan asked concerned.
"I know I promised you I…oh heavens how could I fall so low?" Lynn started to talk quickly and hysterically.
Mulan embraced her friend. "Whatever it is you can count on me," Mulan assured.
Lynn twisted her mouth and spilled the words, "I am pregnant."
Lynn had spoken very fast and not clearly enough so Mulan asked, " Did you say just what I think I heard?"
Lynn backed away; her eyes were wet with tears. "Yes Mulan."
Mulan bit her lips and covered her mouth.
"I know, I know," Lynn cried, "Please don't get mad at me. That's the last thing I need."
Mulan walked towards Lynn. "No, no." The two friends hugged each other one more time.
"I'm scared," Lynn confessed, "and I'm sorry for disappointing you…" Lynn took a deep breath. "Tung Ma hand I had already you know…before the day we talked."
"You don't disappoint me," Mulan soothed.
Lynn wiped the tears from her face and smiled. "Really?"
Mulan smiled back at her and put her hand on Lynn's shoulder. "There's no doubt about it," she went on, "I'm just worried about you." Mulan knew Lynn had to return to the Imperial Palace because of her condition, but it was dangerous. Now, Lynn was bound to stay with the warriors and fight to defend the freedom of their country.
"It all started as a mischief back at home," Lynn recalled, "the day before we got betrothed." Poor Lynn, it was too late to regret about her actions, now she couldn't turn back time to erase all of her mistakes. Mulan was glad nothing had gone further the other night with Shang, who knows if she would be facing exactly the same situation her friend was facing. Lynn was thankful to have Mulan´s support but she feared to tell Tung Ma that he was going to become a father when none of them expected that to happen before it was really planned, they were so young, immature and maybe irresponsible.
Shang was outside his tent when Mulan and Lynn returned, and by the look on his face he seemed to be worried and not very content with Mulan. Yes he thought of possible reasons why they would go away from the rest.
Mulan instructed Lynn to go away. She would take care of everything even if she had to lie at Shang again, to save Lynn's neck.
"Where were you?" Shang asked.
"I was…erm … just talking to a friend there," Mulan answered. She knew it wouldn't be easy, and she knew Shang didn't believe at all her excuse.
Shang sighed and looked down at her.
"Why, Mulan?" He muttered loud enough for her to listen. Shang turned his back on her, he thought Mulan was cheating on him, but he was so wrong, his heart was broken.
"Shang this is not what you're thinking," Mulan called, "Just let me explain you all this."
He turned to her, of course he would listen to her, just anything that would tell him he was just judging wrong. "Tell me."
Mulan nodded. She started to explain, "Ling has problems… really hard problems." She didn't look up at him, instead, she had her head bent down looking down at the ground.
"What kind of problems Mulan?"
"I cannot tell you, Shang," she replied bitterly. It just hurt too much to lie at the man who had been so generous and understanding with her. "Goodnight Shang." Mulan bit her lips, she wanted to cry, for Shang didn't deserve her lies. She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Shang called.
Mulan stopped and turned to him again, still not daring to face him.
"Please tell me Mulan."
"Don't make this harder Shang, I beg you," She pleaded softly. Her voice sounded nervous and unsteady.
"Can't you trust me?" Shang demanded. The volume of his voice raised and turned from calmed to daring and demanding. His eyebrows were narrowed. Mulan knew he was mad now.
"Don't you understand that I can't tell you because it's none of your business?" She yelled at him.
"Right, it's more important to keep his stupid secret go ahead do whatever you want."
Mulan was about to yell at him again when a beautiful gracious maiden got between them. She was wearing training clothes and her long black hair was loosened. "I…I can explain this," she said nervously.
Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review.
Thank you. (