Wow! I got reviews! Thanks a lot, especially to Lynn12 for correcting my silly spelling mistake!
Disclaimer should be right about.......... ..........here.
Last time:
"Okay, Baba, I'll go." Mulan decided even though it wasn't hers to decide. The rest of the meal was finished in silence. Mulan was sent to bed early in order to be rested for her long journey to the imperial palace.
Mulan woke early the next morning. She washed and put on her usual dress. As she got ready, she wondered what the emperor could want. Could there already be another war? Surely she would be allowed back into the army! It must be something else!
Little Brother, her dog, followed her around happily as she rushed about to get her chores done. Mulan fed the chickens and Little Brother chased them away. She then went to get Khan ready. He was still sleeping and was not happy about being woken up by a yapping little dog. Khan kicked out at him to show his displeasure.
"Quiet, Khan." Mulan soothed him. "We have a long journey today." Khan snorted in return and lowered his head to eat. After Mulan had gotten a blanket and groomed him, she took Khan and his feed bucket out into the courtyard. She tied his lead rope loosely to a fence post, knowing he wouldn't run away. Then she went inside to help with breakfast.
"Don't worry about it, Mulan." Grandma Fa said when Mulan entered the kitchen. "Go wash again. You smell like that horse." Another short of displeasure could be heard from the courtyard. Mulan rolled her eyes and walked away to, again, wash up.
Shang woke up around the same time Mulan did. He washed and got dressed. Instead of doing chores like Mulan, he merely went and sat at the table. Mei brought him his breakfast.
"I'll need my horse readied." Shang told her when she came back with his tea.
"Yes, sir," she bowed, "I'll tell one of the stable hands." She turned and quietly left the room. Mei returned a little while later to take several empty bowls.
"Where is that messenger?" Shang asked, sounding as though he didn't really care that much.
"He woke much earlier. He ate and left saying he would return later." Mei replied. Shang merely nodded and finished his breakfast. Mei cleared the rest of the dishes away.
"Have a safe journey." She told him and bowed back into the kitchen. Shang got up to see that his horse was ready. When he walked outside, he saw that the messenger had returned. The messenger got off his horse and bowed to the General.
"I am just about ready." Shang muttered. He walked away from the messenger into his stable. A stable hand was walking towards him with his gleaming white stallion.
"Here he is, sir." The stable hand bowed and handed the lead rope to Shang. Shang nodded his head and turned to lead his horse out into the courtyard. The messenger had gotten back onto his horse and was waiting patiently. Shang mounted his stallion and the messenger led him out of the gate onto the road. Instead of going in the direction of the imperial palace, he turned in the opposite direction.
"Where are we going?" Shang demanded.
"We will have another person traveling with us." The messenger answered. "We must go to the next village." Shang did not reply. The village was only a ten-minute ride away. When they got there, they waited at the edge.
Mulan sat silent under the magnolia tree in their courtyard. It was about to blossom. The buds on the tree were light pink in color and looked like they were about to burst. It was her favorite tree and she was sad because she felt she was going to mess it.
"Do not be sad." Her father leaned on his cane behind her. He knew exactly what was wrong. "It will blossom again next year." Mulan nodded quietly. "You must go. You don't want to upset the messenger."
"Yes, Baba." Mulan rose and hugged her father. "I will see you soon."
"You're right Mulan." He returned her hug. She bid farewell to her mother and grandmother and, of course, Little Brother. After tying a bag that contained clothes and food to the blanket on Khan, she led him out the gate. It wasn't a long walk to the edge of the village.
There were two men there, both on white horses. One, the messenger, looked at her with disdain because she was a woman. The other looked at her also. His eyes were cold and uncaring. He didn't even show that he recognized her.
"Shang?"
I know it was short, but the next one will be longer, I promise! Thanks for your reviews!