Due to schoolwork and my mother's birthday, I couldn't update any sooner;
but your patience was worth it. Here goes the famous interesting chapter I
promised. By the way, this story isn't finished yet; I think there's like
two to four more chapters to be added. Before anything, I'd like to thank
all the great Mulan fans who reviewed: Rowena R, Traum, jynkang,
crazygurl06, zoomamoonlight, Phoenix Feather, Wyle-CornFlake, Sue (Thanks
for updating, I'm gonna read your story as soon as I finish uploading),
Jeanine, Dragon Faere, KrissKross (Yao, Ling, and Chien Po will appear
later on), Anna, Lyn and all the people who will read this chapter someday
and review. ( I like to make my own characters and from what I've read I
see you liked little Tsien. He is really is a sweet boy. ( It's wonderful
to know you guys like my imagination. Every single review encourages me to
write more. Thank you guys again.
Chapter 8:
Forgiven and Forgotten
When Mulan returned to the rice fields, the battle was over. The smell of blood and smoke went through and inside her nose, suddenly making her feel sick. There were hundreds of corpses before her eyes, both Mongolian and Chinese. She looked around hoping to find any sign of life from her comrades. Where was Shang? The question hung unanswered. If something happened to him she would.simply not live with it. It was awful being there all alone surrounded by the dead. She started to pinch her neck nervously while she wandered around looking for Shang. Among the dead bodies, Mulan found Peng's body and his head not far away from it. She couldn't help but to feel pity for the arrogant man. He was still a living being.
Mulan started to call her General's name screaming a couple of times, but there was no answer except for the echo of her own voice. She spotted Li Shang's red cape and ran to him. He was laying there, eyes shut and covering the wound. Mulan knelt beside him. Shang looked so weak and defeated, not exactly his real self. Mushu checked his pulse and heartbeat; he was still alive. "His pulse is very weak, I could barely feel it," the dragon said leaving his pulse.
"He's breathing," Mulan observed putting her hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever.
"I think you should wake him up," Mushu suggested.
Mulan removed Shang's arm gently to see the wound. He was bleeding too much and the wound was very deep. "I have to clean this before it gets more infected," She said with a worried expression on her face, "Mushu could you bring me some water?" She pointed out to the fields further. There had to be clean water somewhere.
"Yes Sir." He did it with the intention of making her laugh but she was too worried to even grin. Her guardian disappeared into the fields searching for water.
Mulan began calling his name and shaking his shoulders, but it seemed useless. Shang just lay there motionless and unconscious. No, he couldn't die now. They had to talk and she needed to apologize and be friends one more time. Hopelessly, Mulan bent down and leaned her head on his chest. For as much as she tried, she couldn't prevent the tears from falling. She would give her life to keep this man away from pain and death. It crushed her to see him like that; it was against of how he had always been. Li Shang was so powerful to her (to the point she almost considered him all mighty). He was her hero since the beginning. "Shang you cannot die," She sobbed, "I'm sorry for being so stupid when I avoided you and didn't let you talk things over." She felt terrible, so empty and so regretted about her attitude towards him the last days. What if he never woke up? Was this his end? It was definitely not fair. Why didn't the Huns kill her instead? She had been the one who killed Shan Yu after all. So many questions unanswered.
Clenching her fists, she whispered softly, "I love you." It came out of her so easily from the bottom of her broken heart. Now it didn't matter if he knew.
Her weeping reached his ears and Shang slowly opened his eyes. Surprise was his first reaction when he saw Mulan crying so close to him. Of course, he was grateful it was Mulan; but wasn't she supposed to be mad at him?
"Mulan?" he called in a weak voice.
The volume was too low that it couldn't beat her sobbing in a way she could hear him. The picture of her wearing her short black hair loose pleased him; he had always thought she looked pretty like that. Shang tried calling her name once again, but man the way she cried was too loud. Slowly, he placed his hand on her back. Gasping, she pulled away thinking it was someone who wanted to harm her. Mulan was already thinking of a way to defend herself.it was only Shang who grinned weakly yet satisfied with her reaction.
"You scared the heck out of me," she said wiping the tears from her eyes. Of course she was not letting him see her cry.
Shang was a little confused; the last thing he remembered was one of the Huns was running away riding his white horse. "What happened?"
"You're wounded," she told him.
He tried to sit up but the pain was too strong he was forced to lie back again. "I've noticed," he added.
Their selfish pride reminded them they were still mad at each other keeping their mouths quiet for some seconds. Both realized it was time to end this nonsense and apologize. They began with "Shang, I," and "Mulan, I" at the same time. Their eyes met as they chuckled. It seemed years had gone by since the last time they had shared a laugh, when only days had gone by.
Mulan directed her gaze at Shang's stomach and inquired, "Does it hurt much?"
"There are worse pains," he answered.
She thought it was clear what kind of pain did he meant, the pain in your heart. Still she was puzzled if it meant losing his father and mother, and maybe even losing her friendship and the way she had treated him. "Shang listen, I'm sorry for being so rude to you. It's just that ."
He interrupted her, "It's my fault. I behaved like an idiot."
"No, Shang. I was the one who didn't act like an adult with my foolish behavior."
"It doesn't matter now. We should just forget the whole problem and start again," he suggested.
"Ok."
Shang's eyes began to feel heavy, and the vision of Mulan became blurry. She noticed right away what was going on. Gently she commanded, "Shang don't shut your eyes!"
"I can't help it, they feel so heavy," he said with his eyes almost closed.
"You're not cooperating."
"Mulan," Shang said in a weak voice, "I think my time has come you are the right person to take my place and lead the troops."
"Don't talk to me like that," she said. Tears filled her eyes.
"I can leave this world in peace now that we've forgiven each other," he replied. He caressed her cheek affectionately and smiled lopsidedly.
"No, you can't!"
Li Shang closed his eyes and fainted. He was still dripping blood from the wound.
"Shang you can't go!" Mulan cried, "I need you." She took his hand and squeezed it hard. "I need you more than anything," she whispered. Her love had finally been truly confessed, unfortunately, he had fallen unconscious. Fate wasn't fair. Why Shang? The man she admired was now between life and death.
There was some hope though, if she could stop the bleeding. Mushu and Cri- kee returned carrying water in Mulan's helmet and some herbs. "These ones can be useful to disinfect the wound."
"Great," she muttered. Mulan removed his sash and unfastened his robe a little to care the wound. Her fingertips stained with blood; but she cared less it was Shang's blood after all. To start, Mulan poured some water on the wound. Then, she put the herbs which caused an ache that made Shang come back from unconsciousness. "Aggr," he complained. Mulan told him to lie back again to continue the cure. "It's gonna hurt more if you sit."
"Pain? It doesn't hurt. Not more than just a little scratch," Shang lied.
Mulan pressed a piece of cloth to block the blood. She shook her head. "I'm not going to mock you if you feel pain or you want to cry. You've been very brave and strong since the first day I met you."
"I wouldn't blame you if you mock me."
"I have no right to mock you in the first place."
"Why not, I deserve it after all the awful things I've done to you."
"Like what?" she dared.
Shang started to name the silliest details Mulan never bothered to remember. "I told you to leave Camp Wu Zhong because I thought you were not fit to be a soldier a year ago."
"I was very lazy at the beginning." Mulan confessed, "I was not used to do exercise. So that's Ok."
"I spilled my fury on you when I discovered you were a woman," he continued.
"I have already forgiven you," She looked down and sighed. "Besides, you had so many things torturing you that moment." It was something to admire, that she held no regrets against the young man; Mulan had always justified he was doing the right thing since she had been the one who lied.
"There are times in which I can't understand the reason why you show all this mercy to me.I don't deserve it."
"Mercy?" It was not really mercy; it was her way to show him that she cared for him. Shang assented. "I wasn't merciful when I saw the stupid poem in your hands. Honestly, I was really silly. You were not the one who read the poem first."
"How do you know?"
"Mushu told me."
"Is that the guiding spirit?" Innocent Shang, he actually believed the pesky dragon's lie.
Mulan coughed a little. As a matter of fact, Mushu was behind Mulan. She turned to him and shot a playful glare at her guardian. "As far as I know, Mushu is a guardian of the Fa family. I don't know where you get that from." Mushu threw a little rock straight to Mulan's back; he was certainly not pleased with her last comment.
"He told me so."
Mulan shook her head. "He told me once he was the guardian of the Fa family.guardian of the last souls when he was really not least than the gong ringer of my ancestors."
This whole thing about Mushu was really a puzzle Shang couldn't put together. "What is he really?"
"Hey! I am the guardian of the Fa Family!" Mushu proclaimed.
"Yeah, but you were the gong ringer who destroyed the Great Stone Dragon and advised me the first time I joined the army so my ancestors would absolve your mistakes and disasters," Mulan corrected him. She spoke fast, but at least now Shang was starting to solve the mystery of Mushu's real job.
Mushu inspected his nails and puffed his chest proudly. "You forgot to mention that thanks to me you became a heroin and your ancestors gave me a job as a guardian of the Fa family once again."
"Yeah, whatever."
Shang let out a laugh that ached so badly.
"Don't laugh," Mulan chided him.
"I couldn't help it. This thing is funny."
"We're not telling you this to sound funny," Mushu dove in, "Actually; we're trying to keep you awake."
"Thank you," Shang said.
Mulan smiled at him kindly and stared into his black eyes. Their darkness made them shine in a way they could hypnotize her. They were fascinating. "You're welcome," she replied.
"Why do you do this for me?" he asked.
She took some time in thinking of a good answer that would assure him it wasn't for pity. He waited patiently and watched her gazing at the sky for an answer. To Shang, she looked quite intellectual and amusing when she got lost in her thoughts. She was a mystery to him, he was desperately aching to discover. "Ok, in the first place," She began, "You are my commanding officer and it is my duty to give you my aid whenever you need it." She made a pause allowing him to nod. "Then, you are my friend, and friends are always there to help each other."
"I haven't been a good friend to you."
Mulan rolled her eyes. Was he doing it on purpose? "You have listened to me no matter how crazy my words were, you spared my life, you told me things I bet you've never spoken to anyone before, and you are probably one of the few persons who don't judge my appearance."
"You're right, but I'm still an idiot."
"Oh, enough with that," She said, "As long as I forgive you the world keeps spinning."
"Ok, because I couldn't stand you being mad at me."
Mulan's cheeks flushed red. Her heart told her it meant something that he was trying to give her a clue that he cared for her. Yet, her brain reminded her they were only friends, and that's the way they would always remain. She uncovered the wound to check it's progress. "You're not bleeding as much."
"I feel better now."
"I'm glad you're doing well."
"Thanks to you again."
"You're always welcome." She bowed her head humbly. Indeed, whenever he'd need her she would always come to his aid not matter the distance, the difficulty, the boundaries. Her loyalty had been proven so many times before. "Where's your horse?"
"I guess one of those barbarians stole it," Shang supposed.
Mulan swallowed hard. She thought it was all over now. "You mean there are still some Huns?"
"I bet they went straight to the Imperial City," The General explained, "But it will be easier this time. There aren't many left alive."
"Right," Mulan said with a smirk.
She helped Shang to get up, but he insisted he could do it on his own. Once he stood on his feet he got dizzy and leaned his arm on Mulan's shoulder. "It's not like you've lost your strength," she said, "Come on." The lady brought her horse to him. "You are too weak to walk, get up."
"But Mulan." He sighed. There had to be some way he had to repay her kindness.
"Just get up."
Shang put his feet on the saddle and slowly helped himself up. He shut his eyes as the pain came.
Mulan took care of leading the horse. She intended to take him somewhere to rest and regain his strength. Maybe Tanni would accept him two.but she felt she had asked her more than enough with the two kids. On the way to the village she planned to reach the Imperial City and take care of the Huns with the help of Mushu and Cri-kee.Shang said they weren't a lot of them left. But how much was a few? Three, five, probably ten? Despite war and everything, Mulan felt peace inside of her now that she had talked things over with Shang and she was convinced Shang would always be her best friend.
Chapter 8:
Forgiven and Forgotten
When Mulan returned to the rice fields, the battle was over. The smell of blood and smoke went through and inside her nose, suddenly making her feel sick. There were hundreds of corpses before her eyes, both Mongolian and Chinese. She looked around hoping to find any sign of life from her comrades. Where was Shang? The question hung unanswered. If something happened to him she would.simply not live with it. It was awful being there all alone surrounded by the dead. She started to pinch her neck nervously while she wandered around looking for Shang. Among the dead bodies, Mulan found Peng's body and his head not far away from it. She couldn't help but to feel pity for the arrogant man. He was still a living being.
Mulan started to call her General's name screaming a couple of times, but there was no answer except for the echo of her own voice. She spotted Li Shang's red cape and ran to him. He was laying there, eyes shut and covering the wound. Mulan knelt beside him. Shang looked so weak and defeated, not exactly his real self. Mushu checked his pulse and heartbeat; he was still alive. "His pulse is very weak, I could barely feel it," the dragon said leaving his pulse.
"He's breathing," Mulan observed putting her hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever.
"I think you should wake him up," Mushu suggested.
Mulan removed Shang's arm gently to see the wound. He was bleeding too much and the wound was very deep. "I have to clean this before it gets more infected," She said with a worried expression on her face, "Mushu could you bring me some water?" She pointed out to the fields further. There had to be clean water somewhere.
"Yes Sir." He did it with the intention of making her laugh but she was too worried to even grin. Her guardian disappeared into the fields searching for water.
Mulan began calling his name and shaking his shoulders, but it seemed useless. Shang just lay there motionless and unconscious. No, he couldn't die now. They had to talk and she needed to apologize and be friends one more time. Hopelessly, Mulan bent down and leaned her head on his chest. For as much as she tried, she couldn't prevent the tears from falling. She would give her life to keep this man away from pain and death. It crushed her to see him like that; it was against of how he had always been. Li Shang was so powerful to her (to the point she almost considered him all mighty). He was her hero since the beginning. "Shang you cannot die," She sobbed, "I'm sorry for being so stupid when I avoided you and didn't let you talk things over." She felt terrible, so empty and so regretted about her attitude towards him the last days. What if he never woke up? Was this his end? It was definitely not fair. Why didn't the Huns kill her instead? She had been the one who killed Shan Yu after all. So many questions unanswered.
Clenching her fists, she whispered softly, "I love you." It came out of her so easily from the bottom of her broken heart. Now it didn't matter if he knew.
Her weeping reached his ears and Shang slowly opened his eyes. Surprise was his first reaction when he saw Mulan crying so close to him. Of course, he was grateful it was Mulan; but wasn't she supposed to be mad at him?
"Mulan?" he called in a weak voice.
The volume was too low that it couldn't beat her sobbing in a way she could hear him. The picture of her wearing her short black hair loose pleased him; he had always thought she looked pretty like that. Shang tried calling her name once again, but man the way she cried was too loud. Slowly, he placed his hand on her back. Gasping, she pulled away thinking it was someone who wanted to harm her. Mulan was already thinking of a way to defend herself.it was only Shang who grinned weakly yet satisfied with her reaction.
"You scared the heck out of me," she said wiping the tears from her eyes. Of course she was not letting him see her cry.
Shang was a little confused; the last thing he remembered was one of the Huns was running away riding his white horse. "What happened?"
"You're wounded," she told him.
He tried to sit up but the pain was too strong he was forced to lie back again. "I've noticed," he added.
Their selfish pride reminded them they were still mad at each other keeping their mouths quiet for some seconds. Both realized it was time to end this nonsense and apologize. They began with "Shang, I," and "Mulan, I" at the same time. Their eyes met as they chuckled. It seemed years had gone by since the last time they had shared a laugh, when only days had gone by.
Mulan directed her gaze at Shang's stomach and inquired, "Does it hurt much?"
"There are worse pains," he answered.
She thought it was clear what kind of pain did he meant, the pain in your heart. Still she was puzzled if it meant losing his father and mother, and maybe even losing her friendship and the way she had treated him. "Shang listen, I'm sorry for being so rude to you. It's just that ."
He interrupted her, "It's my fault. I behaved like an idiot."
"No, Shang. I was the one who didn't act like an adult with my foolish behavior."
"It doesn't matter now. We should just forget the whole problem and start again," he suggested.
"Ok."
Shang's eyes began to feel heavy, and the vision of Mulan became blurry. She noticed right away what was going on. Gently she commanded, "Shang don't shut your eyes!"
"I can't help it, they feel so heavy," he said with his eyes almost closed.
"You're not cooperating."
"Mulan," Shang said in a weak voice, "I think my time has come you are the right person to take my place and lead the troops."
"Don't talk to me like that," she said. Tears filled her eyes.
"I can leave this world in peace now that we've forgiven each other," he replied. He caressed her cheek affectionately and smiled lopsidedly.
"No, you can't!"
Li Shang closed his eyes and fainted. He was still dripping blood from the wound.
"Shang you can't go!" Mulan cried, "I need you." She took his hand and squeezed it hard. "I need you more than anything," she whispered. Her love had finally been truly confessed, unfortunately, he had fallen unconscious. Fate wasn't fair. Why Shang? The man she admired was now between life and death.
There was some hope though, if she could stop the bleeding. Mushu and Cri- kee returned carrying water in Mulan's helmet and some herbs. "These ones can be useful to disinfect the wound."
"Great," she muttered. Mulan removed his sash and unfastened his robe a little to care the wound. Her fingertips stained with blood; but she cared less it was Shang's blood after all. To start, Mulan poured some water on the wound. Then, she put the herbs which caused an ache that made Shang come back from unconsciousness. "Aggr," he complained. Mulan told him to lie back again to continue the cure. "It's gonna hurt more if you sit."
"Pain? It doesn't hurt. Not more than just a little scratch," Shang lied.
Mulan pressed a piece of cloth to block the blood. She shook her head. "I'm not going to mock you if you feel pain or you want to cry. You've been very brave and strong since the first day I met you."
"I wouldn't blame you if you mock me."
"I have no right to mock you in the first place."
"Why not, I deserve it after all the awful things I've done to you."
"Like what?" she dared.
Shang started to name the silliest details Mulan never bothered to remember. "I told you to leave Camp Wu Zhong because I thought you were not fit to be a soldier a year ago."
"I was very lazy at the beginning." Mulan confessed, "I was not used to do exercise. So that's Ok."
"I spilled my fury on you when I discovered you were a woman," he continued.
"I have already forgiven you," She looked down and sighed. "Besides, you had so many things torturing you that moment." It was something to admire, that she held no regrets against the young man; Mulan had always justified he was doing the right thing since she had been the one who lied.
"There are times in which I can't understand the reason why you show all this mercy to me.I don't deserve it."
"Mercy?" It was not really mercy; it was her way to show him that she cared for him. Shang assented. "I wasn't merciful when I saw the stupid poem in your hands. Honestly, I was really silly. You were not the one who read the poem first."
"How do you know?"
"Mushu told me."
"Is that the guiding spirit?" Innocent Shang, he actually believed the pesky dragon's lie.
Mulan coughed a little. As a matter of fact, Mushu was behind Mulan. She turned to him and shot a playful glare at her guardian. "As far as I know, Mushu is a guardian of the Fa family. I don't know where you get that from." Mushu threw a little rock straight to Mulan's back; he was certainly not pleased with her last comment.
"He told me so."
Mulan shook her head. "He told me once he was the guardian of the Fa family.guardian of the last souls when he was really not least than the gong ringer of my ancestors."
This whole thing about Mushu was really a puzzle Shang couldn't put together. "What is he really?"
"Hey! I am the guardian of the Fa Family!" Mushu proclaimed.
"Yeah, but you were the gong ringer who destroyed the Great Stone Dragon and advised me the first time I joined the army so my ancestors would absolve your mistakes and disasters," Mulan corrected him. She spoke fast, but at least now Shang was starting to solve the mystery of Mushu's real job.
Mushu inspected his nails and puffed his chest proudly. "You forgot to mention that thanks to me you became a heroin and your ancestors gave me a job as a guardian of the Fa family once again."
"Yeah, whatever."
Shang let out a laugh that ached so badly.
"Don't laugh," Mulan chided him.
"I couldn't help it. This thing is funny."
"We're not telling you this to sound funny," Mushu dove in, "Actually; we're trying to keep you awake."
"Thank you," Shang said.
Mulan smiled at him kindly and stared into his black eyes. Their darkness made them shine in a way they could hypnotize her. They were fascinating. "You're welcome," she replied.
"Why do you do this for me?" he asked.
She took some time in thinking of a good answer that would assure him it wasn't for pity. He waited patiently and watched her gazing at the sky for an answer. To Shang, she looked quite intellectual and amusing when she got lost in her thoughts. She was a mystery to him, he was desperately aching to discover. "Ok, in the first place," She began, "You are my commanding officer and it is my duty to give you my aid whenever you need it." She made a pause allowing him to nod. "Then, you are my friend, and friends are always there to help each other."
"I haven't been a good friend to you."
Mulan rolled her eyes. Was he doing it on purpose? "You have listened to me no matter how crazy my words were, you spared my life, you told me things I bet you've never spoken to anyone before, and you are probably one of the few persons who don't judge my appearance."
"You're right, but I'm still an idiot."
"Oh, enough with that," She said, "As long as I forgive you the world keeps spinning."
"Ok, because I couldn't stand you being mad at me."
Mulan's cheeks flushed red. Her heart told her it meant something that he was trying to give her a clue that he cared for her. Yet, her brain reminded her they were only friends, and that's the way they would always remain. She uncovered the wound to check it's progress. "You're not bleeding as much."
"I feel better now."
"I'm glad you're doing well."
"Thanks to you again."
"You're always welcome." She bowed her head humbly. Indeed, whenever he'd need her she would always come to his aid not matter the distance, the difficulty, the boundaries. Her loyalty had been proven so many times before. "Where's your horse?"
"I guess one of those barbarians stole it," Shang supposed.
Mulan swallowed hard. She thought it was all over now. "You mean there are still some Huns?"
"I bet they went straight to the Imperial City," The General explained, "But it will be easier this time. There aren't many left alive."
"Right," Mulan said with a smirk.
She helped Shang to get up, but he insisted he could do it on his own. Once he stood on his feet he got dizzy and leaned his arm on Mulan's shoulder. "It's not like you've lost your strength," she said, "Come on." The lady brought her horse to him. "You are too weak to walk, get up."
"But Mulan." He sighed. There had to be some way he had to repay her kindness.
"Just get up."
Shang put his feet on the saddle and slowly helped himself up. He shut his eyes as the pain came.
Mulan took care of leading the horse. She intended to take him somewhere to rest and regain his strength. Maybe Tanni would accept him two.but she felt she had asked her more than enough with the two kids. On the way to the village she planned to reach the Imperial City and take care of the Huns with the help of Mushu and Cri-kee.Shang said they weren't a lot of them left. But how much was a few? Three, five, probably ten? Despite war and everything, Mulan felt peace inside of her now that she had talked things over with Shang and she was convinced Shang would always be her best friend.