Hey guys! Thank you so much for your reviews and advice! Don't worry, this is going to get pretty exciting these next few chapters. This one is kind of slow, but I think you will like it, but after this, the story really starts going. Thanks you so much! Please keep reading!
A month passed, word came about of many battles. Thankfully, Shang was still in camp, not on the battlefield. He and Mulan wrote many letters, but only a few were received. Another month passed, then another. With each day, they grew farther apart. They thought of each other everyday. After eight months, they lost communication for Shang's troops had changed position, and no letters were allowed to be sent out, in fear that they might get into the wrong hands.
Mulan grew depressed, but she never gave up hope that Shang would come back to her. She loved him dearly, but a war can do a lot to a person. It sure had changed her. Her family watched as all their hopes for Mulan slowly slipped away. After a year, news came of a horrible ambush. Many of their men had died. Hundreds more remained missing. One of them was Captain Li Shang.
Hearing this, Mulan broke into tears. She knew Shang was dead. She ran home and into her room before her parents could even ask her what was wrong. For a good long time, she cried. After a while, Granny Fa came in and sat down on her bed beside her.
"Child, you must tell your Granny what is troubling you," she said.
"Grandma, Shang is, he is, …. dead. His troops were ambushed and he is missing. He promised that he would…." Mulan couldn't continue. She broke out in tears as she cried into her Granny's lap.
The next month was awful. The first week, Mulan never left her room. She didn't want to eat, and she was plagued with nightmares each night. After a few weeks she started to get used to her old routine. She did her chores half heartedly. She hardly spoke except to sat thank you or your welcome when her parents tried to talk by complementing her.
Mulan was not herself. She was not their spirited, bold, smart, and faithful Mulan. She seemed un whole. Everyday, she woke up and went for long walks in the village. She often stared at the families, bustling about. Then she would come home and do her chores until she once again climbed into bed. Her parents too, grieved, for Shang had been like the son they were never able to have.
They gave Mulan time. But she was 19. It had been almost 2 years since she had come home from the imperial city. Soon, no man would take her. If not for her mood then when she finally healed for her age. They knew that they were growing older, and that they would not always be there to support their daughter.
They decided that she would once again meet again with the match maker. Upon hearing this, Mulan again broke into tears. She knew that her parents just wanted what was best for her, but she still felt in her heart loyal to Shang, even though she knew he was gone. The next day, she began her training.
In the Fa temple, the ancestors were busy talking. The entire Fa family was unhappy. Fa Li and Fa Zhou knew that their daughter, their one and only child, was unhappy and this made them even more unhappy. Mulan was in a dangerous position. It was going to get worse. They knew something that the Fas didn't.
A body could be seen in the snow, dragging along, trying to get out of that death trap of a canyon. He rested, eventually he got to his feet and pulled himself about limping. He could feel pain inside of him with each step. Only one thought was in his mind. That one lovely vision that stood out against all of this death. He had to come home to Mulan.
How long had he been out? An hour? A day? A week? It didn't matter as long as he was alive and willing. Dried blood was smeared across and on his clothes. His Armour had been useless and he had been stabbed right through. He took it off for he thought it was weighing him down. He was just in his robes and wrapped in his red cape. The snow had fallen on all the bodies and it looked like a burial ground. There still blood on the snow, and most of the dead were his men.
He was still bleeding in the side, but it didn't matter as long as he was alive. He hoped Mulan would forgive him for being gone so long. He knew she would. He found a little stream and drank from it. Then he remembered why he was in this position. He had to get help. To tell someone. Just then, a shrill whinny rang out against the silence. Shang looked up to see his horse. He had never been so happy to see anyone, except, maybe once.
He slowly approached his horse and gently brushed his mane.
"Good boy, lets," He looked around. "Lets go home."
He mounted his horse. At first, slow and gentle they rode. But they needed to cross China's border, so they rode faster and faster. Shang rode nonstop that whole day except to rest his horse. Only one thing gave him the will to go on. He had to keep his promise. Eventually he made it to an Inn. He tied up his tired horse and went inside to wash up. After that, he collapsed on his bed, exhausted. He would ride again tomorrow. Right now he needed to dream.