Summary: Buffy sacrificed herself for her sister thinking she would go to heaven. Instead she finds herself back in the realm of her birth before her birth mother, the Evil Queen ... Regina Mills cast the curse that trapped the majority of people from the Enchanted Forest. And there she finds her true love.
Pairings: Buffy/Mulan
A/U: Takes place between Seasons 5 and 6 of BTVS and is set in my Once Upon A Slayer universe. This is a prequel to Once Upon A Slayer.
Disclaimer: Mulan (Live Action movie), Once Upon a Time and Buffy are all owned by Disney.
Chapter 1: A Slayer's Gift
May 23, 2001
Glory's Tower, Sunnydale, California
Buffy looked out from the tower as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Below her and Dawn a portal formed. She turned and looked at her sister, giving Dawn a sad smile.
Dawn realized what Buffy intended to do, to jump so that she wouldn't have to. "Buffy ... no ..."
"Dawnie ... I have to –"
"NO!"
"Listen to me! There's no time, Dawn, please listen." Buffy said as she pulled Dawn close to her so that she could whisper in her sister's ear. "Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I'll always love you. But this is the work I have to do. Tell Giles I ... I figured it out. And I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now – you have to take care of each other. You have to be strong, Dawn. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."
Tears began to fall down Dawn's face as she began to accept the inevitable, the loss of her sister.
Buffy smiled as she took a moment to memorize her sister's face. And then she turned and ran towards the end of the platform. She dove off into the energy below safe in the knowledge that Dawn would live, that her sister would live. As she fell into the portal energy surged through her body electrocuting her. As her eyes slowly slid closed, she whispered one final goodbye to Dawn.
A Moment in Time
Somewhere North of the Enchanted Forest
Buffy had been in Jingzhou for two years now. When she appeared, she had been immediately feared by all but one group, the Hua family. In time she had come to find herself settling into everyday life in what looked like to her at least a typical Chinese village. But the thing was, given that she had been falling to a portal, she was sure she wasn't even anywhere near China or even on Earth.
After explaining her story to the Hua patriarch she had been officially adopted into the family. Then, even though it was forbidden for women to be warriors in their society, he secretly named her as the family's protector after witnessing her strength, speed and reflexes.
Buffy stood at the door watching as the eldest of the Hua children brushed her younger sister's long black hair. Watching them always made her wish she was back in Sunnydale with Dawn.
"Mulan?" Xiu's, the younger Hua daughter, quiet voice interrupted Buffy's thoughts. Mulan's hand stopped, the brush hovering over Xiu's hair. "What happened when you fell off the roof?"
Mulan glanced at Buffy the only other person who had been on the roof with her. Buffy had reluctantly followed at her insistence because of Buffy's Slayer reflexes and speed would likely have been the best chance at catching the chicken. "I was chasing that naughty chicken," she said as she resumed combing Xiu's hair.
Beneath the comb, Xiu shook her head. "No," she pressed. "When you slipped. For a moment it was like you were a bird…." The younger girl's voice trailed off.
Mulan glanced at Buffy again. To tell the truth she wasn't sure what had actually happened. So she changed the subject. "Xiu," she said, her hand growing still. "Don't panic. But there's a spider crawling in your hair."
Xiu's shoulders crept up toward her ears and she turned to look at Mulan and Buffy, worry creasing her innocent face. "You know I'm afraid of spiders," she said, her lower lip beginning to tremble. Then her eyes darted to Buffy, she saw no movement from the woman. Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at Mulan. "This isn't one of your tricks, is it Mulan?"
Mulan tried not to smile. "Don't move," she said. "If you hold very still, I will squash it…." Her voice trailed off as, from the room below, they heard the Hua matriarch.
"You indulge her," Li, the girls' mother, said, her loud voice carrying from the living room. Buffy, Mulan and Xiu paused to listen.
Buffy tended to listen only because it might give her more insight on the world she was in.
"There's no harm in herding chickens," Zhou, the girls' father, retorted.
Mulan heard the soft, even footsteps of her mother as the woman moved closer to her husband. "First that is what Buffy is for!"
Buffy let out a sigh.
"You okay?" Mulan asked looking at the blonde Slayer.
"Sometimes I wonder if your mom sees me more as a servant than as a member of your family," Buffy told the sisters.
"Second, you know I'm not talking about chickens," Li went on. "I'm talking about her…her bold spirit. We can't encourage it."
"Mulan is young," Zhou countered. "She's still learning to control herself."
"And that is another thing I wonder about," Buffy added. "Where I'm from, women are free to do as they please. The only reason I do what I do is because of your father. If your mother had her way, I would be married already even though I'm not from your village."
"We know, Buffy," Mulan said as she looked at her friend sympathetically. In the two years Buffy had been there. She and Buffy had grown close, to the point they could have almost been sisters if not for the fact they were in reality not related at all.
"You make excuses for her!" Li said, her voice laced with frustration. "You forget Mulan is a daughter, not a son. A daughter brings honor through marriage."
"Any man would be fortunate to marry our Mulan," Zhou said.
Buffy watched Mulan's face and she took a step toward the younger woman and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. "They may not see it, but you need to be you."
As if hearing Buffy, Li continued, "Xiu gives me no trouble. The Matchmaker will find a good husband for her. It is Mulan I worry about. Always Mulan. Her and Buffy…" There was another pause, and then she continued, her voice almost impossible to hear: "I just don't know where either of them fit in this world." The room below grew silent.
"She doesn't mean it," Xiu said.
Mulan stayed silent.
"Are you sure about that, Xiu?" Buffy asked. "Because I'm fairly certain she did."
Xiu was nothing if not determined. "Tell me about the spider," she pressed.
"There is no spider," Mulan mumbled.
"How many legs does it have?" Xiu went on, ignoring her sister's grumbles and frown.
Mulan sighed. "You know spiders have eight legs," she answered, unable to stop herself.
Buffy watched Xiu knowing what the younger girl was doing. She smiled at Xiu in thanks for the attempt to brighten hers and Mulan's spirits.
"It's not black, is it?" Xiu said, pretending to look frightened, as if a real spider were there and crawling toward her.
Buffy and Mulan looked at Xiu, who's face was still innocent and full of hope. "Yes, it is black. With red spots," Buffy said.
Mulan glanced at Buffy and smiled before looking back at Xiu. "I'm sorry to say that it's unusually hairy. And it's crawling toward your neck right now!" She reached out her fingers and ran them up and down Xiu's neck.
In response, Xiu shrieked.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy woke to the sound of a scream. She rushed across the room she shared with Mulan to Mulan's bed. "Everything okay?" she asked.
"Nightmare," Mulan replied. "I was running from a human-sized chicken."
Buffy smiled. "Just be glad you don't get dreams like mine."
"Tell me of your home," Mulan said.
Over the two years Buffy had been there she told the entire family quite a bit about her life. One thing she had yet to mention was Dawn. "Once upon a time, there was a girl, beautiful brunette hair, her name…Dawn. She had this sister who loved her fiercely, much like you love Xiu."
Mulan listened and she slowly began to put the pieces together. And by the time Buffy had completed the story, she knew who Dawn was. "She's your sister," she said.
"Yes," Buffy answered. "I miss her dearly."
"Maybe someday you will see her again," Mulan told her friend.
"Maybe," Buffy said. "Back to sleep."
Mulan nodded as she laid back. She watched Buffy lie down and wait till she was sure the blonde Slayer was asleep then she slowly slipped out of bed.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Tiptoeing out of her room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, she reached into the cupboard and pulled out a big bowl and grinding stone. Moving to the table, she set them down before filling the bowl with the leftover sticky rice from their evening meal. As quietly as she could, she began to grind the rice. The large grains quickly turned to mush, and soon it had become a thick, sticky paste. Satisfied, Mulan picked up the bowl and moved outside.
The phoenix, always frozen as if about to rise from the ashes, looked hobbled with only one wing. Mulan nodded to herself. Just like Buffy had told Dawn in the story, she would be brave and she would fix what she had broken.
Walking inside the shrine, Mulan kneeled on the ground. Then she lifted the broken wing and placed it on her lap. Slowly and carefully, she spread the thick paste on the edge of the wing. When the entire side was coated, she stood and walked over to the statue. Reaching up, she reattached the wing to the body. She stood still, her fingers turning white as she kept pressure between the two points on the bird, hoping to seal the bond. When she was sure it had been long enough, she ever so slowly, finger by finger, took her hands away.
Mulan waited, watching to see if the wing would hold.
Hearing footsteps, Mulan kept her eyes locked on the bird. A moment later, she felt her father and Buffy step beside her. Their eyes went to the bird, too.
"Sorry," Buffy whispered. "I heard you leave. It's not easy to sneak past me. I can, remember, go on three hours sleep."
Mulan glanced at Buffy and nodded.
"Mulan," Zhou said. His voice as hushed as Buffy's, but where Buffy's was soft his was firm. "What happened today, I never want to see happen again." He paused, turning so that he was looking at her. When Mulan didn't meet his eyes, he reached out and put a finger underneath her chin to lift her head. "Do you understand?" he asked.
Taking a deep breath, Mulan nodded. Her father smiled but disappointment lingered in his eyes. Mulan turned her gaze back to the phoenix. As she watched, the wing began to slide off.
Mulan's eyes filled with tears as the permanence of what she had done hit her.
Buffy sighed as she knelt next to Mulan and wrapped an arm around the younger woman. "It will be okay," she whispered.
Not speaking, Zhou reached up and, with some difficulty, pressed the wing back into place. "Do you know why the Phoenix sits at the right hand of the Emperor?" he asked, not taking his eyes from the bird. Buffy and Mulan both shook their heads. "She is his guardian. His protector. Just like you, Buffy, are ours."
"But I broke her," Mulan whispered.
Zhou nodded. "Ah, but did you know she is half male and half female? She is both beautiful and strong. Failure is not fatal. This is the lesson of the Phoenix. What matters is that each day you rise up and continue. The Phoenix will watch over you. That's her job. Your job is to bring honor to your family. Do you think you both can do that?"
"Both?" Buffy said with a frown.
"You are our protector, Buffy," Zhou stated looking at the blonde Slayer. "But you are also a woman. As much as I have tried since you are not of our people to protect you from our customs. It has become increasingly difficult to continue to shroud you. People are beginning to question why you are not married."
"Like Li," Buffy said.
"Yes," Zhou said. "I don't know about Mulan or Xiu of course. But given your hearing is much sharper than normal humans. I expected you heard our argument this evening."
"I did," Buffy said. "I was raised in a world that saw women to be free. That we could choose. But you and your family have been most generous. If I have too…"
Zhou nodded. "We can discuss that later if the situation arises."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
As the days passed, Buffy silently watched as Mulan tried, and tried, and tried to be the honorable daughter who would make her family proud. Li never pushed Buffy to be an honorable woman, well by their standards, but sometimes she suggested that Buffy should learn this or that.
Li had suggested once she learn weaving. And to tell the truth Buffy could see the benefit. Especially in a society where the only way to get goods was to either craft them yourself or trade for them, sometimes with another village.
One afternoon Buff and Mulan arrived home from the countryside, where they had been racing their horses. That was another thing that Buffy had learned rather quickly was how to ride a horse. They could smell dinner wafting through the window toward them.
"We're late," Mulan groaned to Buffy.
"Yeah," Buffy sighed. "Your mother is not going to be pleased."
Quickly, they made their way across the courtyard and into the home.
The family was sitting at the dinner table. Rushing in, Buffy and Mulan each grabbed a plate and joined them.
"Buffy and I rode alongside two rabbits running side by side," Mulan said, picking a piece of rice out of the bowl. "I think one was a male and one was female…." Her voice trailed off as she and Buffy both realized the family hadn't moved. They were all looking at them both, the room silent except for Mulan's own voice.
"What?" Buffy asked.
Li nervously wrung her hands. She opened her mouth and then shut it.
Mulan's eyes narrowed. "What is it?" she pressed.
"We have excellent news," Li said, though her voice betrayed her uncertainty. "The Matchmaker has found you an auspicious match, Mulan."
Buffy and Mulan looked at each other in surprise.
Li's expression hardened. "Your father and I have spoken about this, Mulan," she stated.
Zhou nodded, though he looked sad. "Yes, Mulan. It is decided."
"But—" Mulan started to say.
Zhou cut her off with a shake of his head. "It is what's best for our family."
Mulan glanced once again at Buffy. She knew what her father meant even if her heart wasn't in it. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Yes," she said, her voice soft. "It is best. I will bring honor to us all."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"How long is it going to be before I'm pressured into getting married to someone I don't love?" Buffy asked Zhou and Li later that evening.
"It is only a matter of time before the matchmaker finds you an auspicious match, Buffy," Li told the blonde Slayer.
"I'm not even from your world, Li," Buffy said shaking her head.
"I am aware, Buffy," Li replied. "But you are here now. Unless a way comes for you to return to your world. You will have to eventually get married. There is no way around it."
"I have tried to shroud you from our customs as much as I can, Buffy," Zhou added. "But I am afraid that Li is correct. In time you won't have a choice."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The next morning Buffy stood watching as Mulan sat on a stool, trying not to move as Li gathered her long black hair and tugged and pulled the strands into submission. Her own hair had been put through the same treatment as Mulan's, her makeup done and dressed in a very oriental looking dress. As a result, Buffy looked like a porcelain doll. Li had suggested she come along to Mulan's interview with the Matchmaker, so that she could see what her future might entail, should the Matchmaker find her a match.
"Look," Li said when she had finished with Mulan.
Buffy looked at Mulan who was looking in a mirror. If she hadn't stood there watching the younger woman's transformation, she would have thought Mulan was a stranger. As she looked at Mulan, she could help but admire Mulan's curves that were now visible because of the dress Mulan wore.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Mulan and Buffy headed out of the house and into the courtyard. Zhou stood waiting, also in his own formal attire. Seeing his eldest daughter, he smiled.
As soon as Li and Xiu joined them, both also dressed up though neither looked quite as exquisite as Mulan or Buffy.
"I mean no offense, if I'm not…" Buffy started.
"This may not be your interview, Buffy," Zhou said. "You need to look your best for your first meeting with the Matchmaker. It might make a noticeable impression on her."
Buffy sighed as she followed the family through the village.
Passing by people she had known her entire life, Mulan felt their eyes on her and heard the surprised whispers as they walked by.
Sensing his daughter's discomfort, Zhou smiled warmly. He stopped and looked at his family. "I am truly blessed to be in the presence of such enchanting women," he said. "I have no doubt that today will be a momentous day for the Hua fam—"
"Never mind that," Li said, cutting him off. "We must be on time." To emphasize her words, she resumed walking, her pace quicker.
"Are you having as much trouble as I am," Buffy whispered to Mulan. The dress she wore was the tightest thing she had ever worn, and it made it hard to actually walk in.
"Yes," Mulan whispered back. If not for Buffy she was sure she would have toppled over.
Then, as if on cue, Mulan's stomach growled loudly. "I'm starving," she said, stating the obvious.
Li rolled her eyes impatiently. "I have already told you—you cannot eat. It will ruin your makeup."
"Is that why I haven't gotten anything to eat this morning, either?" Buffy asked as she glared at Li, who didn't answer.
"Probably," Mulan replied for her mother. "Which for you can be bad, since you need more than the rest of us."
As befit a woman of status, the Matchmaker's house stood alone. The sides were newly painted, and fresh flowers and herbs blossomed on either side of the door.
The Matchmaker, after introducing Mulan to Fong Lin, the mother of her prospective match, nodded for everyone to sit. Quickly, they all sat. For one long moment, silence filled the small room.
Slowly, Mulan reached out a hand and lifted the delicate porcelain teapot. As she began to pour the steaming liquid into the equally delicate cups—without spilling—she could almost hear her mother's shoulders sag in relief.
Obviously pleased as well, the Matchmaker began to speak. "Quiet. Demure. Graceful," she listed. "These are the qualities we see in a good wife." She paused and looked directly at Fong Lin.
Buffy rolled her eyes. With maybe the exception of graceful, she wasn't any of those things.
"These are the qualities we see in Mulan. They say," the Matchmaker went on, not bothered or nonplussed by Fong Lin's blank look, "that when a wife serves her husband, she must be silent. She must be invisible." She stopped. Her eyes focused on Mulan, looking for the slightest hint of a tremor, the smallest exhale of breath. Mulan was silent.
As she put a final cube of sugar into the last cup, Mulan returned to her seat.
"The Fong family honors the Hua family with this exquisite tea set," the Matchmaker went on, a glimmer of approval in her eyes. "A gift from the Imperial Family."
Mulan, Li, and Xiu bowed their heads in gratitude.
Mulan was just starting to believe she could get through the meeting when she looked over at Buffy and her heart fluttered. Then she noticed that Buffy was looking at Xiu. She followed Buffy's gaze and saw that her younger sister's eyes were wide with fear. Following her gaze, Mulan saw a large spider slowly unspooling itself from the ceiling toward the table. Inch by inch it made its way down…right toward Xiu. It dropped onto the table, its long, hairy legs undulating beneath it.
Underneath her mask of white makeup, Mulan felt the color drain from her face. If the spider took even one step toward Xiu, the girl was certain to scream and the Matchmaker would be furious. Smoothly, and thankful for the mask her makeup provided, Mulan reached out and placed the teapot over the spider. Then she returned her hands to her lap. But not before shooting her sister a look.
The look, unfortunately, was not lost on the Matchmaker. Her own eyes narrowed. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No, Madam Matchmaker," Mulan said in her most demure voice.
"Thank you."
The Matchmaker's lips tightened in unspoken aggravation. Mulan met her gaze, her own expression revealing nothing. Finally, the Matchmaker nodded toward the teapot. "It is ideal," she said, her tone dripping with condescension, "for the teapot to remain in the center of the table."
"Yes," Mulan agreed. "I understand. But I think the teapot should remain where it is."
"Just do it, Mulan," Buffy said shaking her head. "I will catch it if it tries to leap at Xiu.
Mulan looked at Buffy and nodded. Slowly, she lifted the teapot.
The spider, released from its makeshift prison, leapt—right into the lap of Fong Lin.
Letting out an ear-piercing shriek, Fong Lin jumped to her feet, brushing wildly at her lap and sending the spider flying. For one beat, the room grew still again as the women all looked to see where the spider had landed….
And then the Matchmaker let out a scream of her own as she looked down and saw the creature crawling across her chest. Terrified, she stumbled backward, her arms pinwheeling wildly. The momentum sent her tumbling into a chair. Her feet, kicking furiously, contacted the table, flipping it up. The teapot and teacups were sent flying, end over end, shooting hot water in every direction as they spun.
Watching as the room devolved into absolute chaos around her, Buffy stayed still. Her eyes were the only thing that moved as they tracked the arc of the teapot and cups. Then, in with the reflexes of a Slayer, she reached up and pulled out the four long pins that held up her hair. Extending one of the pins, she caught a teacup. Then another. Clink. Clink. Clink. One by one, she snagged the other teapots out of midair, balancing them on the pins.
"Mulan," Buffy said noticing one teapot was still falling.
Mulan acted, quick as lightning, she stuck out her foot. She grimaced as she heard her dress rip, but the handle of the pot snagged on her toe. It hung, dangling precariously as the teacups continued to swing on the pins.
For one long moment, the room was silent. Buffy and Mulan felt the eyes of the four other women on them. And then, Buffy's blonde hair, freed from the pins that had kept it contained, began to escape its buns. Like water pouring from the top of a falls, it dropped down, the long strands covering her face.
"Take them, now," Buffy said. She may have Slayer reflexes and could even fight blindfolded semi well. But she knew given time she could easily lose the battle.