Chapter 7:

Back At The Palace

Tai was pacing back and forth in her room. "Where are you Mulan?" She murmured to herself. "Should I go to someone and tell them?" "Should I just stay quiet?" She asked herself in her head. There was a sudden knock on the door. Tai ran to the door to open it in hopes that it would be Mulan but instead it was Sang. She was happy to see him but was hoping it would be Mulan that answered the door.

"Good morning madam Tai, how are you doing today?" Sang asked as he bowed down to her respectfully. Tai bit her lower lip and blushed deeply. "Here, these are for you." He said holding a bouquet of beautiful red roses.

She placed a hand on her chest at the sight of them. "Oh...Sang their beautiful, thank you." She replied with a smile upon her face. She took the flowers into her hands and put them up to her nose to smell them.

"May I come in...." He said pointing inside.

"Oh yes, of course let me just put these away." She opened the door wider letting him come in. She then closed the door behind him. "Please make yourself feel at home." She said as she put the beautiful roses in a water filled vase.

"Thank you." He responded. He looked around her little place, then back to her. He watched as she arranged the roses in the vase. She was everything that he ever wanted, she was smart, funny and beautiful. He loved her personality, all the other girls that he meet weren't like her. She was unique.

"I didn't think you were going to come here and bring these beautiful flowers." She said as she began to approach him.

"Well I saw the roses and they reminded me of you." He replied complementing on her beauty. She blushed red again in the checks and giggled.

There was silence between them now. Tai thought about Mulan that second, should she say anything to him about it? "Um...Sang um.... It's about Mulan I think........" The door opened to reveal Mulan and Shang in the doorway. Tai and Sang turned around. Tai was speechless.

"Tai, Captain Sang how are you today?" Mulan asked trying to hide the anger and worry about her necklace.

"Very well Mulan and you two?" Said Sang cheerfully.

"We're all right we found Chi Fu but didn't capture him." Shang responded in disappointment.

"Why what happened?" Sang asked concerned.

"It will be explained at the Emperors, he wants to talk to us." He then turned to Mulan and put his hands on her shoulders. "You stay here, will you be all right?" Asked Shang. Mulan simply just nodded her head.

With that he turned to the door and Sang and him left the room closing the door behind them. Tai ran towards Mulan. "Mulan, what happened? Are you ok?" Tai asked concerned about Mulan. She looked so depressed and worried at the same time.

She turned towards Tai, "It was the necklace, and it was beginning to glow."

"What necklace?" She said getting confused by all of this. Mulan shook her head back and forth.

"The necklace that I showed you, the dragon one. It started to glow and I remembered Ho Chi telling me that it means that evil is around. I knew then Shang and his men had to be in trouble."

"What happened when you got there?"

"There were these guys but they were all covered in black and you couldn't see their faces, they looked like ghosts, Tai. I never saw it before." Tai listened more tensely and carefully, interested in what Mulan was telling her.

"When I got there they all began to come towards me, I didn't know what to do, but then my necklace began to glow again, the guys saw it and slowly backed away then like that they off galloping away on their black horses."

"I don't know it doesn't sound good though. Where is the necklace now?"

Mulan looked at her in fear, "I don't have it anymore, just this morning I found out that it was gone."

"Wasn't it on your neck the whole time?"

"Yeah, I never take it off, I'm thinking that one of those guys did or Chi Fu." She said pondering about whom could have took it.

"Chi Fu?" She said bewildered at why Chi would take it.

"Chi Fu was with the guys when I got there, I have a bad feeling about this Tai, he's still out there and he wants me dead. What should I do?"

"I don't know." She replied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What do you mean Chi Fu was with cloaked men." The Emperor asked in furry. "Where exactly did you go?"

"We went into the Dark Forest to try to find Chi Fu and when we found him he wasn't alone." Shang responded in an honest matter. The Emperor put his hand on his Chin to think.

"What did they look like?"

Shang thought for a moment on how to describe them, "Um...Well they were in black and you couldn't see their faces. They resembled a lot like ghost's sir." The Emperor pondered, his thoughts raced though his mind.

"Shang, Men I have a feeling we are dealing with a dark side and Chi Fu will help them at what ever they desire. But the only problem is if Chi Fu made a deal with them, I fear the worst for Mulan and maybe all of China."

Shang and the men looked at each other in worry and fear. "What should we do then? Mulan doesn't have the necklace anymore so I don't think.........."

"Necklace? What necklace?" He stopped Shang from going any further.

"Mulan got a necklace from Ho Chi before he left, he said to her that if it glows it could mean that evil or danger is around somewhere." Shang waited for the Emperors response.

"Describe what it looked like." He ordered calmly.

Shang cleared his throat, "Well it was gold and it had a dragon on it. The eyes of the dragon were made of red diamond." The Emperor put his head on the palm of his hand resting it there. It was all starting to make sense now.

"Shang, I am afraid to tell you this but that necklace is a special necklace. Mulan had that necklace witch brought her to be one with the dragon. It's like she became their queen. That necklace scared off those guys that came at you witch are called Orcs. Orcs are a powerful villain, they hunt down dragons and take their hearts and become more powerful. That is the one thing that can stop an Orc, is that necklace."

It seemed to good to be true, the men talked amongst each other. "So what does this all mean, Sir?"

The Emperor cleared his throat, "Shang, If Mulan does not have that necklace the dragons will be destroyed and China will surly die with them. But if she somehow gets the necklace back, the necklace will glow bright on her neck and make her feel the power of the dragon's mighty heart."

Everyone stared in amazement and aw. "Wow!" A solder said breaking the silence. Everyone turned towards him. He shrugged his shoulders, "What?"

"So I suggest that you watch Mulan and keep an eye out on the villages." Said the Emperor.

Shang and the solders bowed down to him and began to exit the huge room's doors. Shang was the last one out. "Oh and Shang." Shang turned around to face the Emperor. "If you do see any Orcs, I have a feeling that they are more powerful then last time." Shang bowed down once more and was out the door.

The Emperor was left in the room. "What are we going to do?" He sighed heavily "Mulan.....Don't fail us now."