Chapter 11: Coming Home
Mulan camped overnight. It was not that long a ride home, but she wanted to ride during the day rather than overnight.
She lay awake that night, feeling anxious and upset. She would never see Shang again and it had made her sad. She was hoping he would have at least said something other than 'you fight good' to her. She'd never heard anything so idiotic, and she knew that he wasn't an idiot at all. At least he was safe and alive. She had cringed as she watched Shan-Yu slam his head into Shang's with such ferocity. It had knocked him completely senseless for several minutes and she'd been afraid for him.
She was very uneasy about the reaction she would get when she arrived home. Would her father take her back? Or had he disowned her, rejected her forever after what she had done? She would present the gifts from the Emperor to him; they were a symbol of how she had finally brought some honor to the family and maybe that would make up for what she'd done. Maybe he would forgive her and she could return to the family.
She felt that she understood her father a little better now. After she had seen that Shan-Yu and some of his men were still alive, she knew she had to go to the Imperial City to warn Shang or somebody. It could have meant her death; but it hadn't mattered. In that moment, she knew that many more lives other than her own were in danger and she knew she had to do something, no matter what might happen to her. She had the same feeling and intention when she had cut the rope on the balcony so that Shan-Yu couldn't get to the Emperor, even though that cut off her only escape from him. She also knew that she had to make sure that Shang was alright after the nasty blow he'd received from Shan Yu. All of those things gave her a new understanding of her father. She knew now that when he had stepped forward to take his conscription notice and to serve the Emperor despite his wound, he had the same motive; it was not just out of his own pride. She knew now that he understood that there were things that were more important than his own single life; he was thinking of others before himself. That was where the honor and glory of battle lay. Not in war, not in killing, but in serving your country and protecting the ones you love.
She left camp the next morning and rode to her village, reaching her home in the afternoon. She passed through the gate and put Khan in his stable. Then she headed through the gate toward the garden. She found her father in the garden, sitting on the stone bench under the magnolia tree where they had always sat together and talked. She was very nervous. She approached him, carrying the sword of Shan-Yu. He saw her and stood up.
"Mulan!" he exclaimed, looking shocked, as if he hadn't expected to see her again.
"Father!" She knelt on the ground before him and he sat back down. "I have brought you the sword of Shan-Yu." She handed it to him. "And the crest of the Emperor," she added, taking it off and placing it on top of the sword in his lap. "They're gifts. To honor the Fa family." She bent her head, waiting tensely, hoping that these symbols of their restored honor would please him and that he would still love her.
To her great shock, her father tossed the gifts aside on the ground. He dropped on his knees on the ground before her, throwing his arms around her. She began to cry as he told her that the greatest gift and honor was having her for a daughter.
"I've missed you so," he said, wiping her tears away.
"I've missed you, too, Baba."
It was a relief to feel his embrace again and to hug him. And to know that he loved her for who she was.