Chapter the second

Hi! Thanks for the reviews. Where I left off last chapter was Mulan beginning to start her story. In this chapter, I will be doing a past flashback. I know a lot of people have done that, so if you think anything is some sort of copy from your story (which it isn't supposed to be) feel free to include that in your review and I will be happy to put your name in my next chapter. Ahem…

Disclaimer: I don't own Mulan and I am not making any profit by writing this story

They sat around the weak flame of the fire they had made. Mulan took a deep breath and began her tale:

" When I was a little girl, about six, I was out in the market. I was a bit careless and the whole honour dealie didn't strike me as anything important. Anyway, I was playing with my dog, Little brother, when I couldn't find him. I called for him and went looking for him."

FLASHBACK # 1

A little version of Mulan in a red dress browsed the market streets with her little dog. (ok, Little brother isn't that old, but work with me) She ran up and down chasing her pup. He ran circles, enjoying the game until he led himself astray into the baker's tent. Mulan stopped dead at the door.

"Little brother, come back!" she called after him. She didn't dare enter further into the tent. The baker had a reputation of hating children and everything about them. Apparently, he had never been a child himself. She didn't know what to do. If she found her parents who were elsewhere in the market, they would scold her for running off and being careless. Mulan plopped down by the side of the road to think when she heard the awful voice of the baker behind her.

" Do you know anything about this flea bag?" he said, holding Little brother by the scruff of the neck. Mulan flipped her head around and got to her feet, unaware that a pair of dark eyes were watching the display from afar.

" This mutt ate half a loaf of bread and smashed one of my vases!" the baker shouted. Mulan's fear grew.

"I-uh, um.." she stammered. "I'm sorry." The baker was unmoved. He raised his hand.

" Dishonourable little girls don't belong here, filthy brat!" Mulan winced and braced herself to be struck by the baker's hand, but before she felt it, she felt a hand grab the back of her dress, pulling her out of the baker's reach. The baker missed her and was put off his balance.

Mulan ended up on the ground, sitting beside the person who had temporarily escaped her from the baker's wrath; a little boy who looked to be about a year or two older than Mulan, with deep black eyes and black top-knotted hair. Mulan looked into his eyes. They were strong and brave, yet gentle. His name was Li Shang. Mulan looked at him and he looked back at her. The boy was about to speak when they realized they were not out of the woods yet.

When the baker regained his balance, he was angrier than ever. He immediately recognized the boy.

"You again!" he shouted, pointing at the boy. "Hasn't your father taught you how to behave properly yet?" He turned to Mulan.

"And you!" he shouted. There was now a very small crowd of people who were very interested, but pretended not to watch. " Learn to keep that mutt under control! Your parents must be disgraced with you." Then the boy spoke up.

"With all due respect sir, what happened was not her fault." He spoke firmly, while politely. It was quite a sight; a little boy speaking defensively to an elder. The baker's face swelled with rage. He was about to speak when a voice rang out.

"STOP!" Everyone parted to see a tall man in armor staring straight at Mulan and the boy. You could see in his eyes that he was angry and that he had the power to make people listen to him.

"Father." Whispered the boy. Mulan noticed the boys eyes fill with fear. He got to his feet and slowly and timidly walked toward his father. Mulan was still seated on the ground, shocked. She didn't know what to expect. The man stared at his son with a drop-dead withering look. The boy began to realize that he had shamed his father by sticking up for the girl. He lowered his head as his father took a hold of hi ear and dragged him off. The baker gave Mulan one more cold look before dropping little brother as the crowd dispersed. She sat on her knees, tears coming to her eyes. If what the boy had done had been a disgrace, she would have been even more of it. The sky clouded over as she got to her feet and walked to find her parents.

END FLASHBACK # 1

"…Since then I've been very concious of how my behavior effects my family's name." Mulan finished her story and looked at Shang for a response. Shang was taking all this in. The incident in the market tweaked his memory.

"What happened to that boy?" he asked.

"Oh, I guess his father bawled him out" she shrugged. "It's a pity, too because he seemed to share my views. I haven't seen him since."

"Actually, you have." Shang said. Mulan looked confused.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Because I remember defending a little girl in the market when I was seven years old!" he said back. "Look at me, Mulan. Just look. Do you see anything familiar? Anything at all?" Mulan stared into his eyes. They were strong and brave, yet gentle. In her head she could picture those eyes. The only difference was that they were on a seven-year-old boy. It was Shang.

"I don't believe it!" Mulan exclaimed. "You were that boy from the market!" Shang smiled radiantly back at Mulan who then looked at Shang and asked:

"What happened after your father took you away?" She asked cautiosly. Shang grimaced.

"Not a particularly pleasant memory." He said. "…

FLASHBACK # 2

Shang's ear was still being pulled as his father, general Li Juang, lead him to a quiet spot at the edge of the market. Little Shang was terrified of what was to come as his father grabbed him by the shoulders and swung around to face him in the eyes. His father spoke.

"What in the name of the ancestors did you think you were doing?" he said, not yelling, but it still would have scared any sane seven- year -old out of his wits.

"Do you care nothing for our family's honour? Does it mean anything to you? What will people think if I have a son who speaks what his opinions are? They will think you have been poorly raised and taught as well as that girl!" He stopped there to take a breath. Shang was cowering away from him.

" But all I did was stand up for her." He said in a voice that could've come from a mouse. This enraged his father further.

" All you did? No! You shamed our ancestors! A proper young man does not speak that way to elders, much less in defense! As punishment for your foolishness, you shall have no dinner tonight and will spend tomorrow picking up every single grain of stray rice from the field!" His father shouted before dragging Shang off home. Shang winced. Every grain? That would take forever! He was already starving and the thought of no dinner made him even more so. He sighed. His little seven-year-old mind didn't understand it. If he disgraced his ancestors by following what he thought was right, then the only way out of it must be to do exactly what anyone else said. Yeah, that made sense.

END FLASHBACK # 2

"…And since then I've always kept my mouth shut and obeyed what I had been told." Shang ended. The silence that followed was rather awkward, but just from these stories, they felt connected. The past hour had gone by quickly and neither of them were thinking any longer about the trouble that lay ahead.

That's chapter 2. Sorry about how long it took me to update. I went on vacation over March break and had no access to a computer. Anywho, please review this chapter!