The Power of Love: Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney's Mulan.  I'm not making any profit by writing this story.  I do own Ta-Ni, Yi-Pek, and Ma Ti.

By: Susan

Summary: Mulan is kidnapped from her wedding in order to save the honor in Shan Yu's family. Can she show Shan Yu's brother what true love is? Will she still marry Shang?

A/N: This is a sequel to my story, After Dinner, although you don't really need to read it in order to grasp the concept of the story ;)  Enjoy. ;)

xxx

Shang picked up Mulan's red veil, hardly believing what had just happened. "General-" The Emperor walked up and set a hand on Shang's shoulder. He shook it off, and backed away.

"She's..."

"General, we'll send for troops. We will find her, don't worry." Shang just stared at him.

"Shang..." Fa Zhou came up to him, biting his lower lip. "We must go find her."

Shang did not respond. He was in his own little world, thinking about what had just happened. Mulan had left him. It wasn't of her own free will, however, but neither was his father's or mother's death. His mother had died from a bad sickness. His father... He died with honor, on the battlefield, defending his country. But he had abandoned Shang, just the same. Mulan was all he had left. And he loved her, just as much as he loved his parents.

"Shang, dear, are you alright?" Fa Li was beside him, rubbing his back. The gentle touch reminded him a bit of his own mother and Mulan.

"Oh, Fa Li," Shang said, holding his arms out to her. "We have to find her, we have to."

"Oh, Shang dear, you cannot let my husband come along. He loves Mulan so dearly, but he..."

"I understand Fa Li. I do."

Meanwhile, the Emperor and Grandmother Fa had sent the guests back to their own homes, and anyone who had traveled a long distance was asked to retreat to the Fa home. A group of three young men made their way through the leaving crowd towards the stage in front. The shortest one punched Shang in the arm, and he turned towards him.

"Sorry, Shang," was all he said.

"Yes, Shang we're sorry," The thin one said.

"We're here for you," The fat one said softly.

"Yao? Ling? Chien Po?" Shang was upset, but seeing them did lighten his dark spirits somewhat. "Thank you for coming to see us. If you'd like, you can go to Mulan's home, guests are allowed to stay there.

"I guess you didn't hear us," Ling said.

"Yeah, pretty-boy, we're here to help you find her."

"You guys..."

"Shang, Ping- Mulan is our friend too."

"We came for a wedding, and we will stay until there is one," Chien Po told him softly. "If that means finding the bride, we shall."

"Oh shut up with all that stuff," Yao said, "We're gonna help you find her, pretty-boy." Shang gave them a weak smile.

"Thank you, guys."

xxx

Mulan awoke, the side of her face sore and painful. The room was dark, the floor dirty. She was in some type of an underground dungeon. There was no light, except for a tiny stream of it coming from the door. She staggered towards it, noticing that her glorious red dress was ripped and torn. She knew she'd been kidnapped, because the last thing she remembered was being hit in the face. Slowly, her experience returned to her, and she realized she was nowhere near her family or Shang, and she was not married, for the ceremony had not been completed. She reached the door and pulled on it, but it swung back into her face. A huge, gruff man stood in the doorway, blocking the little light received from the opening of it. Mulan stepped back, trying to hide herself in the shadows of the room.

"Who are you, and what am I doing here?" Mulan called out to the man, who turned to the sound of her voice.

"You are here for one purpose. Marriage," he growled.

"Who are you?"

"Yi-Pek. Come with me," Mulan looked at him suspiciously, but followed his huge body out of the door.

"What do you mean by marriage?" Mulan asked him, once they had begun walking up the stairs. She still hadn't seen the man's face, and it was making her nervous.

"You will see." Reaching the top of the stairs, Yi-Pek opened a door to a hallway. Through another door he dragged Mulan, and set her in front of a young women in the room. "I want her cleaned up for dinner. Tell her nothing," He snarled at the women, who nodded. He thrashed back through the door, and the women motioned for Mulan to sit on the bed.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what I'm doing here."

"Mulan, I cannot tell you anything."

"You can tell me why you know my name."

"Yi-Pek...he..."

"He kidnapped me, and I want to know why." Mulan was angry and frightened.

"He...Mulan," The women looked at Mulan's troubled face. "All right, all right," She took a deep breath and looked down at the ground. "My name is Ta-Ni. Yi-Pek is my older brother. Don't be upset when I tell you this, but... Shan-Yu is our brother."

"Shan-Yu? The-"

"Yes, that Shan-Yu. Right before he challenged you on the roof, he told Yi- Pek that he wanted revenge against you. What he really wanted, however, was to bring you down, to conquer you. Neither Yi-Pek nor I are associated with the Huns, other than being Shan-Yu's immediate relatives, but Yi-Pek was in the palace, the reason, I do not know.

"Yi-Pek said that when Shan- Yu found out you were a women, he respected you. He wanted you for his own side, as a comrade, or conquered, as a wife. He told Yi-Pek this quickly, between the time you jumped to the roof and when Shan-Yu came through. I've never seen him frightened before, but Yi-Pek claimed he was afraid of you. He masked it though, and tried to kill you for his honor among his comrades. He was killed up there on the roof, and passed on this last wish of revenge to his brother. There are no longer Huns for you to work with, and I convinced him not to kill you. He wants you as his wife, so he can properly honor Shan-Yu's death." Mulan was silent. "I'm sorry. I know that you are so young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. I didn't want you to die from the hand of one who would never know you. I don't know you, and I couldn't let it happen."

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know of what?"

"You don't know that your brother kidnapped me from my wedding ceremony. You don't know that I'm in love with Li Shang."

"The Captain?"

"General, now. Not that I'll ever see him again."

"You are to be wed to the cap... General? You are correct, I did not know."

"I can't be wed to Shang now. Look what's happened." She looked down at her ripped gown, and noticed the mirror on the vanity behind Ta-Ni. Her makeup had mostly rubbed off, her hands were black and dirty from the dungeon. "I know Shang would love me through anything, but my mother would kill me if she saw what happened to my dress, and-" She looked at Ta-Ni sadly. "Are you sure your brother still wants to marry me like this?"

"He doesn't care what you look like. All he wants is to properly honor Shan-Yu. They've been rivals for attention since children, and Yi-Pek wants to make up for all their disputes."

"So he doesn't even care?"

"Only for honor, Mulan," She stared into Ta-Ni's eyes.

"Will you help me escape?"

"I cannot."

"Why not? You don't sound happy about this either."

"Yi-Pek convinced me to vow on Shan-Yu's body to help him fulfill his plan. I do not care to be struck down by the hands of my ancestors."

Mulan looked at her once more.

"Fine, I'll find my own way out, and I will reach Shang."

"If you find a way out Mulan, then I will not help my brother find you again."

"Thank you," Mulan told her. Under her breath, however, Ta-Ni muttered,

"That is, if you find a way out."

xxx