I must say, it has been much too long since I last updated. School has been very stressful, and on top of that, I tore my ACL doing Judo (a Japanese martial art) and I had to have surgery to have it reconstructed, which put me even more behind in school. Anyway, school is almost done, so it's been less stressful.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to review and remind me that I still have to finish!

Disclaimer: not mine.

Last time:

Fa Mulan,

I regret to hear of the incident with the avalanche. By Shang's request, you will be returning home. I know of your feelings for him; however I do not feel that it is safe for you there. Please understand.

Sincerely,

Your Emperor

Shang re-read the message several times. He was in disbelief; he didn't remember requesting that Mulan leave. Then it hit him.

"I'll tell you how things are going! She's a distraction! The only reason she's still here is because the Emperor said she had to be! Lately, she's been even more distracting! Tell His Majesty that I want that woman out of my camp!" Shang roared.

"Yes, sir." The messenger stood, gave a short bow, and left the tent.

"Oh no…" Shang whispered and ran off after Mulan and the messenger. When he caught up, Mulan was tying saddlebags onto Khan. She only glanced at him for a moment before finishing tying them on.

"I've changed my mind." Shang said to the messenger.

"I'm sorry, General." The messenger replied. "I have orders from the Emperor to escort Mulan to her village. You cannot go against those orders."

"She must stay!" Shang argued. "Allow me to send you back with a message to the Emperor."

"I cannot. I have my orders." He answered. Shang realized that there was no arguing with this messenger.

"What if I were to escort her?" Shang decided to try a different angle.

"No. Unless I am wrong, you have a camp session to finish. The Emperor would be very displeased if you left."

"Shang," Mulan said quietly, earning a surprised look from the messenger. "Just let me go." Hurt was evident in her voice; Shang sighed in defeat.

"Okay." Shang answered, feeling helpless, then said to the messenger, "Bring me a message from her on your way back." The messenger nodded, relieved. Shang moved over by Mulan and whispered quietly to her, "Tell me in your note if he's treated you badly. When I get your note, I'll know you got home safely." Mulan only nodded before climbing onto Khan's back. Upon seeing Mulan was ready, the messenger climbed onto his horse and they departed in the direction of Mulan's village. Shang stood and watched until he could no longer see Mulan's figure in the distance. He turned to find the troops for the next session, but instead found himself face to face with Deng.

"You're just letting her go?" Deng inquired.

"Do I have a choice? I can't go after her-I'll get in trouble this time." Shang answered. "I must finish this camp. We're behind already." Deng shook his head sadly before walking back to camp. Shang soon followed and started an afternoon session.

Just as the one before it, this journey was taken in silence. Mulan wondered idly why the Emperor hired such pompous men as this one. After all, the Emperor was not pompous. The two only stopped for lunch and kept going in silence. In some areas, they were forced to slow down because of deep snow.

The amount of snow thinned as the pair descended from the foothills of the mountains. The trees had not yet begun to leaf out, however, but leaf buds were beginning to form. Mulan suddenly realized that spring would soon be at her home! Her Magnolia tree would bloom in only a matter of weeks! Now she was happy to be going home. Sure, she wanted to see her family again, but she wanted to be with Shang even more.

As they traveled south, patches of ground with no snow began to appear. Green grass could be seen poking through in some of these spots. The air even seemed fresher the farther they went. After a journey of three days, they reached Mulan's house. It took longer this time because of the areas of deep snow. When they reached the gate to Mulan's house, she invited the messenger in for tea. He accepted and they entered Mulan's property.

"Mulan!" Fa Li ran to her daughter as she walked in the door. Mulan was engulfed with hugs from her family. "How have you been? We haven't received a letter in a while!"

"How's your General?" Grandmother Fa whispered in Mulan's ear. Mulan blushed and didn't reply. After the family and the messenger had tea, Mulan wrote a quick note for Shang telling him that she had arrived safely and that the messenger treated her well. She gave it to the messenger, not knowing that it would never reach Shang.

A whole week had gone by and Shang hadn't gotten a note from Mulan. He felt uncomfortable writing to her family, in case the worst had happened. He became very worried and wrote a message anyway at Deng's urging. When he took it to the village, there was no one willing to deliver it. Shang had no choice but to accept it.

With each passing day, he worried more and more. He would read his letter at night. Mulan's Magnolia comb was his only real source of comfort. It was as if holding the comb meant that she was there with him. The camp had a month and a half left when Mulan had to leave. Shang made sure to have the last few days the most challenging for the new soldiers. There were a couple of tests they had to pass and all succeeded easily.

The last day ended at midday and the soldiers were allowed to go home. Shang didn't start packing up until all the soldiers had left. The last things he packed were his own possessions. As he was cleaning his desk off, the comb was knocked off and landed on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. As he did, he noticed something he hadn't before. On the underside of a petal was the Emperor's crest. He gasped and nearly dropped it again. He carefully tied it into his sash and finished gathering his things.

He passed Sung's tent on the way to Deng's. Shang entered the tent and found Sung just finishing packing his own belongings. Shang said goodbye to Sung before continuing to Deng's tent. When he got there, he pulled out the comb and explained what it meant. Deng merely smiled.

"This certainly has been an interesting camp." Shang said.

"Yes," Deng agreed. "But something tells me it will get even more interesting." He gave no explanation, but Shang didn't need one. Both knew what Shang had to do. After saying their goodbyes, Shang went to the corral. Only three horses were left-his, Deng's, and Sung's. Shang drew his horse away from the others. After saddling his stallion, he tied the bags on and climbed up. With one last look at camp, he took off in the direction of Mulan's village.

Shang only stopped to sleep, continuing at a walk when he needed to eat. Of course, he allowed his horse water, but the snow that remained at the beginning of the trip made it rather difficult. Soon, there was no snow and a few trees had pale green leaves. As Shang continued south, everything grew greener and some trees had blossoms. It only took Shang two days to reach Mulan's village. When he arrived at the gate, he climbed off his stallion and pushed open the doors.

Mulan was sitting on the bench under her Magnolia tree in the garden. It was just before the peak of its blooming and she was surrounded by the flowers. However, for the first time in her life, she wasn't enjoying it. Sighing, she reached up and plucked a flower from a branch. She cradled it in her hands and looked at it as though it would bring the old Shang back to her. Movement caught her eye and she glanced up as her grandmother entered the garden.

"There's someone here to see you." Grandmother Fa said. As she did so, Shang appeared behind her. Mulan sighed and looked away. Grandmother Fa looked between Shang and Mulan before walking back into the house. Shang waited until he heard the door shut before walking over to the tree. When Mulan refused to look at Shang, he grasped her chin and gently pulled her face towards his. Still, she refused to meet his eyes.

"Please, Mulan. Why won't you look at me?" Shang asked, almost begging. She didn't' respond. Instead, she pulled away from him and turned around so that she was sitting with her back to him. Shang sighed and moved around her. Instead of standing in front of her, he knelt and looked up at her downcast eyes.

"Why did you come back?" Mulan whispered suddenly. "You wanted me to leave."

"Oh Mulan, that was fro the avalanche." Shang replied. "I was frustrated. I did want you to leave then-"

"Why?" Mulan interrupted.

"Because I thought you were a distraction. When you saved the man from the river, I should have rewarded you, but instead, I yelled. Like then, and all the other times, I just didn't see that you weren't at all a distraction or a bother, but a huge help!" Tears had formed in Mulan's eyes and were now running down her cheeks. Shang reached up and wiped them away.

"When you went to the village, I was so scared that something bad would happen to you. I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time if something had happened. And, when you started slipping away from me during the blizzard, I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to tell you what I'm here to tell you now." He clasped her delicate hands between his own. "Mulan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being distant and mean and uncaring. I understand if you can't forgive me, but before you think about that, I have something even more important to say."

Mulan's breath caught in her throat as Shang opened his mouth to speak. She was almost sure of what he was going to say, but he was taking to long to just say it. He seemed to be fumbling with his words. Again, she pulled one of her hands from between his and placed on one of his. She gave a gentle, reassuring squeeze and smiled slightly. He took a deep breath and said simply:

"I love you." Mulan dropped to her knees in front of Shang and threw her arms around him, much like her father had done to her. Shang was frozen in shock for a split-second before returning the hug.

"I love you too, Shang." She whispered in his ear. She pulled back suddenly, her eyes downcast once again. Shang grew worried.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern showing in his eyes.

"How are we going to make this work?" At hearing this, Shang broke into a grin. Mulan stared at him with a questioning look.

"An emperor from a past dynasty had given a small token of friendship to his best generals. This was a small artifact that had an imperial seal on it. With it, the holder was allowed to choose who he wanted to court without having to go through the matchmaker. They would still have to use the matchmaker in order to keep the tokens secret; after all, everyone would want one. This token was passed down to the first born in each family."

"So, you have one?" Mulan asked.

"No," Shang shook his head. "I don't."

"Oh…" Mulan responded. "Then how-"

"But you do." Shang pulled the magnolia comb from his sash.

"My comb!" Mulan exclaimed, lifting it from his hands. "But how did you end up with it?"

"I found it when you ran away. It was in your tent."

"I don't know how it got there…I didn't pack it."

"No, I did." Both Mulan and Shang turned around to see Fa Zhou. "I put it in your bag before you left."

"So it's all true?" Mulan asked.

"Yes," Her father answered. "And you have my blessings." Mulan's eyes widened and she jumped up. She ran over to her father and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, Baba." She said, releasing him.

"You're welcome. Now, I'll leave you two in peace." Fa Zhou followed the same path that Grandmother Fa had taken back to the house.

"Are you sure it's one of the tokens?" Mulan asked, staring at her comb.

"Yes," Shang answered, turning it over in her hands. He pointed to the underside of one of the petals. "The crest is right there." Mulan didn't see it at first, but as she shifted the comb, the gold crest shined in the light. Mulan's face lit up and she threw her arms around Shang's neck.

Mushu smiled from across the garden. After watching her go through so much, his 'baby' was finally going to be happy.

Fin.

Yep, that's the end! Sorry it took so long, just to have the last chapter added! Thanks so much to all me reviewers!