Chapter the fourth
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or any other original character. The only one I own is Fi Wan.
Back in their little shelter from the bitter winds, Mulan and Shang woke only to find that they had no food. Another fire was built and the two decided to venture out to find something to eat. Shang discovered a small bag of almonds in his saddlebag, but it was obviously not enough. They hadn't gone far when they found a small patch of forest. (not the same one from the last chapter) Equipped with only Mulan's sword, they made their way in.
Neither of them said much, because of their feelings for each other that they were afraid would be made obvious. They decided to split up to get the best results. Shang went left and Mulan right.
It had only been a few minutes when Shang heard yells and growls.
"Mulan?" Shang called. He ran toward the noise, praying nothing was wrong. When he reached the source, He found Mulan heaving rocks at an enormous bear who was snarling and growling and towering over her.
"Shang, help!" she called back. Shang had nothing on him, so all he could think to do was throw rocks. He looked frantically around for anything around him. Suddenly, he remembered Mulan's sword.
"Mulan, throw me your sword!" he yelled. She was about to do so, when the bear leaned closer and prepared to swipe at her. She screamed but gave it a karate kick in the stomach. The bear stumbled a bit, but that made it angrier. With those few seconds, Mulan threw Shang her sword. He caught it and ran up behind the bear. The bear, its attention focused on Mulan, didn't notice him. Wasting no time, Shang proceeded to jump onto the bears back, and butt it on the head with the back of the sword. He then jumped off and grabbed Mulan's arm to pull her put of the bears path. It staggered before relizing that the two were not defenseless and walked away.
Mulan and Shang stood panting and looked at each other and laughed nervously. Breaking the awkward silence, Shang asked Mulan what she had found to eat.
"That's how I got into the scrape with the bear in the first place." She said. "I found a blackberry bush and I picked some which she seemed to think were hers." Mulan opened her small pouch to reveal a handful of blackberries. All Shang had found were some nuts. Since they were now weary from lack of food, they went back to their spot. When they arrived, Mulan had pointed out another problem.
"Well, this might hold us until we can think of somewhere to go from here." Shang said.
"Shang, I don't want to, burst any bubbles, but we have two horses to feed, too." Replied Mulan, gesturing to their horses standing outside the door. They both looked considerably skinnier and had been doing nothing all day because they were too weak. The grass was covered by the snow, so there was nothing they could eat.
"Do you feel as defeated as I do?" Mulan asked. Shang nodded.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE CARRIAGE OF DOOM…
The day wore on and the gang just sat, feeling utterly defeated in every way. Even Ling couldn't be the optimist now. Some time in the morning, the gang couldn't tell what time it was exactly because the sun was blocked away from them, Chi Fu entered their tent. What made it even more terrifying was that he was smiling. He walked over to the frightened trio.
"I have a little bargain I'm willing to make with you." He said.
"What kind of bargain?" asked Yao suspiciously. Chien Po and Ling looked at Chi Fu, wondering what his idea of a bargain was. Chi Fu grinned.
"You tell me where the girl and captain went, and I'll let you go." He said. The three looked at each other. That was his idea of a bargain? Ling spoke for the group.
"Betray our friends for you? Not a chance!" he said. Yao and Chien Po agreed.
"We don't even know where they are." Said Ling. That was a lie. The gang had seen Mulan and Shang head off west, but they weren't about to let Chi Fu know that. Chi Fu still smiled.
"That's a shame you won't make this easy," he purred. "But never mind. I have a few things that may persuade you to tell me." With this he pulled a long knife. The gang took one look at it and gulped. This would not be easy to get out of.
Sorry that was so short. I'm suffering from severe writer's block. If you bother to read this, can you please include what you think is the best idea in your review:
A) The gang will accidentally tell Chi Fu where Mulan and Shang are.
B) The gang runs away and finds Mulan and Shang, unknowing that Chi Fu has followed them.
C) The gang break down and tell Chi Fu where Mulan and Shang are, therefore getting their freedom.
I can think of how to work with any of them, but I want to know which one sounds best to my readers. Please, please review. Once again, I'm sorry if this chapter sucked.