Disclaimer: I own my own people.
CHAPTER TEN – Attempt One: Failed
A/N: Thank you to Haylin4 for her review!
Big thank you to blazzing-mystery for the review and I am going to have a bit about the pregnancy. Yeah, Mulan will have a sibling, so yay! Thanks to oneredneckgoddess for her review and I'm glad you like my execution part. I'm actually kinda proud of it. :D
HUGE thanks to my loyal reviewers: Lynn12, Lobs-StAcEy-Ters, sumayyah, narfgirl, Mii-chan1 (I won't accuse you of copying now that you've told me :D), pepeok, A Cute But Psycho Bunny and Angel452.
Please review this chapter as well. :D Thank you so much!!!
"Shang!" A tap on Shang's shoulder made him whirl around, from where he was talking with Fung.
"Wei-Xian!" Both Shang and Fung cried. Wei-Xian pulled both of them into a big group hug. Shang started to laugh.
"So, how you doing?" Fung asked him.
"Not bad, actually. I'm married and have two children: one boy and one girl," Wei-Xian smiled. "They're called Qi Ji and Dang Gao,"
Fung sniggered. "Great names...'Miracle' and 'Cake',"
"Yeah, well," Wei-Xian blushed. "My wife had a craving for cake before he was born and Qi Ji was called 'miracle' because...well, she is a miracle in my eyes. She's my own child,"
"Doesn't sound as silly as her father being called 'Danger'," Fung smiled. Wei-Xian glared at him.
Wei-Xian had met best friends Fung and Shang in the Academy. The three of them stayed best friends until they graduated and then left, Shang and Fung going into the army while Wei-Xian stayed behind to be an artist. His excuse was that as his elder brother was in the army so he didn't have to. Fung and Shang had seen pass this lie; Wei-Xian was bad at martial arts and when kicked, would collapse to the ground and start to cry.
He was a dark man, with unruly hair that bounced on his shoulders. He wasn't particularly muscular and his dark eyes sparkled. He had a large nose and thin lips. He wasn't very attractive, in a man way.
"Baba!" A little girl ran up to Wei-Xian and hugged him.
"Qi Ji!" Wei-Xian picked her up and kissed her forehead. "Here, meet some of Daddy's friends. This is Li Shang and this is Loon Fung,"
"Hello Li Shang. Hello Loon Fung," She gave them a sparkly grin, showing her uneven teeth. Fung felt Shang recoil slightly next to him. He elbowed him in the ribs.
"Hello Qi Ji," They both said back, forcing smiles.
"Wei-Xian, there you are!" A soft voice came from behind them. They all looked and saw a woman standing there, holding a little boy. She was wearing a red robe with gold decoration. Her face was completely white, framed with long locks of ebony hair. However, the make-up on her face couldn't hide her identity.
"May-Lynn!" Both Fung and Shang gasped.
"Do I know you?" She asked, a puzzled look coming over her, causing her to raise her carefully plucked eyebrows.
"Yeah, we're Loon Fung and Li Shang," Fung said, with a slight bow. "We went to your school,"
"..." May-Lynn looked at them, then she began to smile. "Oh yes! I remember you now! You were the slightly fat boy, who was always eating biscuits!" She said to Shang. Shang blushed and mumbled something unintelligible. Scowling, he turned and walked off to the Gang of Three. "What did I say?" May-Lynn said, worried.
"I wouldn't let it bother you," Fung said, watching Shang's back. "He's a little bit ashamed of his biscuit-addiction now," Fung started to grin. "I didn't know you married Wei-Xian. When was the wedding?"
"Quite a few years ago," May-Lynn smiled. She turned to Wei-Xian. "I'm just going to wander around for a bit,"
Wei-Xian nodded and pecked her on the cheek. "Okay, sweetheart. I'll see you at dinner," She nodded and then walked off.
"How come I wasn't invited to your wedding?" Fung asked, pretending to be insulted.
"I did invite you, but you never replied. Shang didn't either," Wei-Xian sighed. "I didn't know you knew May-Lynn. You never mentioned her at the academy,"
"Oh yeah. Shang had a major crush on her at school," Fung smiled at Wei-Xian's horrified expression. "I think it's worn off now," Fung added, then Mulan drifted into his mind. "Yeah, it's definitely gone now,"
"Is that why he went off a minute ago?" Wei-Xian asked.
"Nah. He's got a lot on his mind," Fung said.
"Like what?" Wei-Xian probed.
"Stuff," Fung said, not wanting to reveal the whole Shang-liking-Mulan thing. "It would take forever to explain," He thought.
Wei-Xian nodded. "Oh, guess what. May-Lynn's pregnant again!" His face lit up at the thought of his third child.
"That's great," Fung smiled. "I'm pleased for you," He said, absent-mindedly. "Yeah, I am pleased for them. What's with all the pregnancies tonight?" His thoughts drifted back to Mulan. The last he had seen of her was when she had left the room with her grandmother and her pregnant mother. Her father hadn't arrived and Mulan was worried about him. Her distressed face made Fung feel sad inside. "I hope she's doing all right,"
::::
"No offence, Mama, but don't you think...you and Baba are a bit old to be...having another child?" Mulan said to her mother.
From the steps that led into the Plaza, was a long, wide walkway that went around the entire Palace. It was covered by a red roof where dragon sculptures were perched, their wings open and teeth bared. Mulan, her mother and her grandmother were standing in this walkway, Mulan standing opposite her mother and grandmother.
"It's not like that-!" Fa Li stopped abruptly, staring behind Mulan. Mulan whipped around, to see her father standing there, solemn but angry at the same time.
"Baba?" Mulan looked at him. "What's wrong?"
Ignoring Mulan, Zhou walked past her and glared at Fa Li. He then turned back to Mulan. "I see she told you about the child," He glared again at Fa Li. "It's an absolute disgrace,"
Mulan raised her eyebrows. "Baba, isn't that going a bit far? Another child wouldn't be an absolute disgrace,"
"You think that's what the problem is?" Zhou said, his voice growing louder with each word. "It's not even mine! That child-," He pointed a quivering finger at Fa Li's stomach, "-isn't mine!"
Mulan's mouth dropped open. "What?!"
"She obviously had a fling with some other man! Stupid wench!" Zhou lashed out at Fa Li, knocking her to the ground. Mulan gave a short shriek.
::::
"What was that?" Yao said to the rest of the Gang and Shang. They all looked around.
"It sounded like Mulan," Ling commented. "Come on," They all rushed outside to find the Fa family assembled on the walkway.
Fa Li was cowering on the floor, Grandma Fa kneeling next to her, supporting her by holding her arm. Fa Zhou towered over them, Mulan standing on the other side of her mother, her hands covering her mouth. None of them seemed to have noticed that all the Gang and Shang were watching them.
"Baba!" Mulan cried.
"You stay out of this!" Zhou yelled at her, hitting her around the face. Mulan stumbled back, her cheek slowly growing red. "It's got nothing to do with you!"
"It's my sibling! It does involve me!" Mulan wanted to yell, but she knew better than to answer back when her father was in this mood. "He'll calm down soon. He always does,"
"I swear to God," Zhou threatened Fa Li. "If I ever see you again or that child of yours, I'll beat the living daylights out of you!" With that, he turned and stormed off.
Silence drifted around for a while. Mulan rubbed her red cheek, feeling the heat radiating from it. She looked at her mother and couldn't help but feel slightly disgusted.
"It's not Baba's?" She asked quietly. Fa Li looked at her daughter. She couldn't lie to her, Mulan would know whether it was the truth or not.
"No," She replied, staring down at the ground. Mulan nodded and then turned around, walked away from her mother, past the Gang and Shang and disappeared into the Palace. Fa Li watched her go, her heart sinking.
The Gang watched as she walked past, her head drooping and cheek red. She didn't look at them, but stared at the ground. As Fung and the Gang went forward to help Fa Li up, Shang hurried after Mulan, guessing she had gone to her room.
"Madam Fa? Are you all right?" Fung asked her politely, hoisting her up with the help of Ling.
"Is there anything we can get you?" Yao asked. "Some ice?"
Chien-Po hit him over the head. "This is no time for jokes!"
"I wasn't joking..."Yao mumbled, frowning at Chien-Po.
"No thank you. I'm fine," Fa Li said, dusting her skirt. Grandma Fa looked on worriedly. "Where did Mulan go?"
"I think she went inside," Fung said, looking back, expecting to see her pop out.
"Shang went after her," Chien-Po added. From his right, Ling began to snigger. This time, Fung hit him.
"This is no for jokes!" He snapped. Ling muttered something unintelligible. It was obviously something rude as Yao began to laugh and Fung shot a death-glare at Ling.
"Guys? Not the best time..." Chien-Po said, gesturing to Fa Li and Grandma Fa, who were looking at them, their eyebrows raised.
::::
"Mulan? Can I come in?" Shang asked through the door.
"Yes," She answered. Shang pushed open the door and looked in, expecting to see her lying on the bed, crying her eyes out over her absent-for-the-moment father and pregnant mother. He did not expect to see her curled up on the sofa, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Are you all right?" He asked, bewildered.
"Why shouldn't I?" She asked, giving him a sparkly grin. If it was a different situation, Shang would have considered himself extremely lucky to be on the receiving end of one of her phenomenal smiles. Right now, he was puzzled at why she was smiling so much.
"...because of your parents?" He asked. He came over and sat down opposite her on the bed.
"What about my parents?" Her smile was still there.
"It looks more forced now, than natural," Shang pondered. "What's up with her?!"
"Well...with your father leaving and your mother being pregnant," Shang added. Mulan's grin fell but was then hoisted up again.
"Definitely fake," Shang thought.
"Oh...that's no big deal. It'll blow over soon," She stood up, smoothing her skirt. "I think I'm going to go back to the banquet now, I'm really hungry," She strode briskly across the room, only to be stopped by Shang.
"Mulan, what's going on?" He asked her. "Why are you being...weird?"
"I'm being weird?" She snapped, insulted.
"No! I mean...why aren't you more...upset? Can it not have affected you that badly?" He asked her, his hands on her shoulders. She moved out of his grasp.
"Not really," She added before escaping out her room. Shang stared at the closed door, slightly freaked out.
::::
Outside, Mulan leaned against the door, breathing heavily. "Idiot...why did he have to come after me?" She scowled. "He cares for you...that's why," Her conscious replied. Mulan kneaded her temples, trying to drown the voice out. "No, he doesn't. Mama probably sent him after me," She sighed.
Her stomach grumbled. She punched it lightly. "Be quiet," She scolded it, knowing that it couldn't hear her, let alone understand her. "What am I doing? Has it really not affected me?" She thought, not hearing her door open.
"Mulan?" Shang asked. "How come you're still here? I thought you were going down to dinner," He frowned. "Are you all right?"
"Hmm,"
Shang reached into his robe and drew something out. "Here," He pressed it into his palm. Mulan looked down to see a golden biscuit lying in her hand, the crumbs tickling her palm.
"A honey biscuit?" She giggled. Shang smiled as well.
"My mother made me a whole batch. Eat it, they always make me feel better," He smiled again. Mulan raised the biscuit to her mouth and nibbled along the edge of it. Shang couldn't help but watch in amazement as she ate it, exposing her shiny white teeth.
"What?" She asked, aware he was watching her.
"Nothing. Well, I've never seen anyone eat a biscuit like that. Normally, I just swallow it whole,"
"I have a little bit more grace than you, Li Shang," Mulan replied, smiling. She swallowed the rest of the biscuit.
"You feel better?" He asked. Mulan nodded. "It's a magic biscuit,"
Mulan giggled. "Shang, we're not five anymore,"
Shang blushed. "All right, all right. Don't rub it in. I was addicted to those biscuits," Shang's eyes glazed over. "The house would always smell of...delicious smells whenever Mama was baking them. I used to wait outside the kitchen, just sniffing..." Shang's smile was creeping up again. "I used to want to eat them as soon as they were finished. Once, I ate one as soon as it had finished being baked. It was scalding hot and burnt my tongue,"
"Put you off them, huh?" Mulan sniggered.
"Not really. I just didn't eat them as soon as they had finished baking," Shang answered, grinning. "I know, it sounds really silly now,"
"It doesn't," Mulan replied quietly, smiling. Shang smiled back, his eyes twinkling.
"How are you?" He asked. Mulan's shoulder sagged.
"I don't know. I mean..."
"What?" Shang pressed her.
"I don't know,"
"Sometimes, it isn't good to keep things bottled up inside you. Maybe if you talked about it to someone, you'd feel better," Shang said. Mulan looked at him, her usual glittering eyes, filling slightly.
"If I don't tell it to myself, then it's not true," Mulan said, turning away from him. She bent her knees and sank to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs and then resting her chin on her knees. "If I don't say it to myself, then it's not happening," She repeated, more to herself than to Shang.
Shang sank down to the same position. "What am I meant to say to that?" He thought. "Comfort her! Comfort her! ...How? Put your arm around her! Yeah...good idea. Wait, would she get the wrong idea about that?" Shang thought. The thoughts whizzing through his mind started to hurt, so he rubbed his forehead.
"Are you all right?" She asked.
"That's what I love about you," Shang thought, looking at her. "You ignore your own problems, however big, and always worry about others. You care so much for others; sometimes it's scary...well, it's scary to me,"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little headache," He lied. "You were saying?"
"I don't really want to talk about it," She replied, staring at her knees. She ran her fingers over the embroidered patterns on her dress.
"Yes, you do. You just don't know what to say," Shang replied. "Whoa...where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, when Fung talked to me about Mulan's kidnapping..." Shang couldn't help smiling slightly at the memory.
"I guess..." She nervously nibbled her nails. "How can my mother be pregnant? Also, how can it not be my father's? My parents love each other, what went wrong?" She burst out, turning a tortured face to Shang. He was amazed to see a flood of emotions painted across her face; anger, sadness, frustration and sorrow were just a few.
"Maybe there's more to it than you know," Shang replied simply. "Your mother might have a good reason to why it's not your father's,"
"Like what?" She demanded.
Stuck, Shang's mouth fell slightly. "I can't think of anything at the moment!" He replied. "But don't go jumping to conclusions before you know everything about this whole pregnancy issue. Listen to both your parents and then figure out which one you're the maddest at," He smiled.
Mulan smiled back. "Thanks,"
"No problem," Shang gave her a small smile back. She flicked the last crumb into his face. "Hey! Be nice to the guy who just made you feel better!"
Mulan stood up and gave him his hand. "Who said I'm feeling better?" She grinned.
"I can tell," He prodded her mouth. "It's your smile, it gives you away,"
"Drop it," She warned him. "Come on, let's go. I hope Mushu hasn't eaten everything," She grabbed his hand and they ran down the corridor, laughing.
::::
"Pass the chilli sauce, would you Lucky Bug?" Mushu asked Cri-Kee.
The pair were sitting in an air vent opening, similar to the one they had been in when Mulan was talking to Tao. They had sneaked as much food up there as they could carry and were having a 'Royal Feast', according to Mushu. They had taken five dishes and many smaller foods were piled high on one plate.
Mushu had taken four bowls of rice for himself and let Cri-Kee struggle to carry one bowl, for himself. Several meat dishes had been smuggled up also as well as three bowls of soup. Cri-Kee had protested, saying that people would notice if a lot food suddenly grew red or black legs, jumped off the table and then ran up the walls into an air vent. Mushu had interrupted, claiming that lots of people had been invited therefore a lot of food had been cooked and that they wouldn't mind a few dishes disappearing.
"Here," Cri-Kee gave Mushu the small dish containing the chilli sauce. He watched, in slight disgust, as Mushu emptied the entire dish's contents onto his rice. Mushu's dinner was now the same shade of red as he was. "Urgh..."
"What?" Mushu looked up from his chilli-drenched rice.
"Urgh..." Cri-Kee turned away from Mushu, creeped out by the chilli sauce dripping from Mushu's mouth. It looked uncomfortably like blood. "Hey look! Mulan's back!" He pointed down to the Ballroom door, where Mulan stood next to Shang.
"Aaw...at last my little baby's getting on well with her husband-to-be," Mushu pushed his rice out the way and lay down on his stomach. "This will be funny, Lucky Bug,"
Cri-Kee lay down next to Mushu and watched as the Gang went up to Mulan and talked to her. They could see Mulan nodding and then she started to laugh as Fung whispered something in her ear.
"What was that?" Mushu said to Cri-Kee, who shrugged.
They watched as Mulan left Shang's side and walked off with Fung.
"Huh? Why isn't she staying with Shang?" Mushu stared down at Mulan's little form.
"Who's that dude she's talking to?" Cri-Kee asked.
"That's Fung," Mushu answered.
"No, the other guy. The thinner guy, with the girl on his arm," Cri-Kee pointed to the little forms of Wei-Xian and May-Lynn.
"I don't know. I've never seen them before," Mushu replied.
"Come on, let's get down there," Cri-Kee stood up and hobbled over to the curtain. "God knows how we got up here with all those dishes," He said. Mushu grinned.
"That's because you're hanging with the Great Mushu," Mushu swelled his chest up and gave Cri-Kee his 'killer-smile'. Cri-Kee recoiled at the sight of the chilli-stained teeth.
"Okay...let's go," Cri-Kee slid down the curtain, wincing at the curtain burn that was developing on his hands. Mushu was about to follow him, when he grabbed two egg rolls, stuffed them into his mouth before gripping the curtain and following Cri-Kee down to the marble-tiled floor.
::::
"This is my wife, May-Lynn," Wei-Xian introduced May-Lynn to Mulan. She gave Mulan a graceful smile. Mulan replied with one of her cheeky grins before shaking her hand.
"I'm Fa Mulan," Mulan said.
"Oh, I know who you are," May-Lynn replied, her voice dripping with contempt. Mulan's eyebrows rose.
"You do?"
"Yes. I heard all about you, dressing up as a man and going into the army! What on earth possessed you to do such a thing?" She exclaimed. Mulan glared at her.
"I did it for my father. He would have been killed if he had gone into the army,"
"He would have died with honour, Fa Mulan. You're lucky that the Emperor was forgiving to you, otherwise you could have caused your family great shame," She went on, oblivious to Mulan's face, which was going steadily red.
"It didn't turn out like that in the end, did it?" Mulan snapped back. Fung looked worriedly at Wei-Xian. Wei-Xian shrugged back.
"I know, I'm just saying you're lucky," May-Lynn went on, an annoying smile playing on her lips.
"Luck's got nothing to do with it!" She snapped.
"I guess. It's a shame you had to cut your hair, isn't it. Look how short it is!" May-Lynn reached up to touch Mulan's hair but Mulan's hand shot up and grabbed her arm in an iron-strong grip. May-Lynn winced.
"Mulan!" Fung hissed. Reluctantly, Mulan's let May-Lynn's hand go, feeling a little bit guilty for leaving a red mark on her arm.
"You're got quite a temper, haven't you? You really aren't fit to be a woman!" May-Lynn scorned.
Fung stepped in front of Mulan, knowing that she was about to jump forward and hit the woman. He grabbed her arm and restrained her from going forward. "It's been nice to see you again, May-Lynn. I'll probably see you around sometime, Wei-Xian. Good luck for the future," Fung said, pulling Mulan along behind him. Mulan glared at May-Lynn's back as Fung dragged her away.
Fung pulled Mulan to a corner of the Ballroom, where they were hidden from May-Lynn's view by packs of people.
"Bitch," She muttered. "Why did you stop me for hitting her?"
"You have to learn to control your anger, Mulan," Fung reasoned. "Besides, that was Shang's old crush so don't go picking fights with her,"
"So what if she's Shang's old crush? What did he ever see in her?" She spat. "Besides-," She paused and looked at Fung. "'Old crush'?"
"Yeah?"
"Does that mean he likes someone now?" She questioned. Fung instantly realized what she was getting at.
"Um..."
Mulan's eyebrows rose again and she began to giggle.
"All right, all right," Fung started to laugh himself. He dragged Mulan back to the buffet table and found Shang, his mother and the Gang sitting at a table. "Hey guys!" He said.
"Hey," They all answered. Mulan started to laugh at the little pile of biscuits that were sitting on Shang's plate. "What?" They all asked.
"Nothing," She said, bouncing over and sitting next to Ling. She took an egg roll from Ling's plate and popped it into her mouth. "Yummy,"
"Excuse me!" Ling protested. "Did you just steal my egg roll, right in front of me?"
"Yup," Mulan's voice was muffled because of the egg roll. She began to laugh again at Ling's angry and astonished face. "Well, I'm going to get some food. See you later," She jumped up and skipped over to the table.
She ladled some soup into a bowl and was about to move onto the meat dishes when she noticed something in the soup. She could make out her own reflection and...
"What?" She said, turning around to look at Shang.
"Nothing. I talk to you?"
"Sure," She replied, leaving her soup bowl on the buffet table. Shang took her hand and led her to the walkway where Mulan had been minutes before, with her parents. She couldn't help but shudder at the memory of her father lashing out at her and her mother.
"You look beautiful tonight, Mulan," Shang said, smiling at her. Mulan flushed and stared down at the ground.
"Oh...thank you," She continued to stare at the ground.
"Okay...next move..." Shang thought worriedly. "Okay...what did Fung say next?" "So...how are you?"
"I'm fine. Well...it's bit a little hard, what with my mother's pregnancy," Mulan explained. She could feel her eyes slightly brimming over at the memory of her father's outburst. "...'I swear to God, if I ever see you again or that child of yours, I'll beat the living daylights out of you!' How could Baba say to her?" Mulan sighed.
"Oh...well...just remember what I said earlier," Shang said, trying to get a smile back on her face.
"I know," She hesitantly said. "I'm sorry, I'm going on about myself. What did you want to say?" She gave him a smile.
"Wow...she really does have a beautiful smile," Shang thought. "Um...I mean...I need to say...no...I mean...um..." Shang's face was now the same shade as his cape. Mulan, puzzled and amused, watched as Shang tried to get some words out of his mouth.
"Yes?" She pressed him.
"I need to talk to you," He said.
"We are talking..." Mulan said, confused.
"I mean..." Shang paused again. Mulan began to giggle. Shang's red face was now wearing a tortured look. Mulan hurriedly swallowed her giggles.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." Her voice trailed off.
"No, that's okay..." He said. "My god, Yao was right! I do suck at talking to people I feel a lot for," Shang cringed inside. "I must sound like such an idiot," "Mulan? Okay...well...recently, I've been feeling these..." He paused again.
"Oh my god. What's he getting at?" Mulan started to feel nervous inside, but excited at the same time. "Yeah?"
"Um...at first I didn't know if they were just friendly feelings but now...I mean...yeah, now I know that they're-!" Shang stopped abruptly.
"Mulan!" Tiao Zao came running out from the Palace and threw himself onto her. "Hi!"
"Hey, Little Flea!" Mulan bent down and gave him a hug. "How are you doing?" She held him at arms' length and looked him up and down as a mother would to her child. "You're look very smart, Little Flea,"
"Baba gave me a cape. He said I mustn't get it dirty," Tiao Zao turned around and showed Mulan how he had bundled it up and tucked it into his ceremonial armour. "See? I think it's a good idea. This way it won't get dirty,"
"That is smart. It does look rather silly though," Mulan giggled. She tugged the cape out of his armour and let it dangle between his ankle and knee. "Look, it won't even touch the floor. It won't get dirty," She stood up and ruffled his hair.
"Oh yeah. Your grandma sent me to tell you that she wants you to join your mother and herself in their room. They're staying in the Guest Suite Five," Tiao Zao said importantly. He obviously thought himself extremely clever to give her a message and to remember it all.
"Damn you, Tiao Zao," Shang thought bitterly. "Well, Attempt One has screwed up. I'll have to try another time," Shang scowled inside. "Every time I try and say something, something happens so she has to go,"
"Okay, sure," Mulan said. She turned to Shang and gave him a sad smile. "I'm just going to talk to Mama. Do you want to talk later?" She asked.
"Oh...nah..." Shang said. "What? Why did I say no?" Shang cursed inside again. Mulan looked slightly disappointed. "Quick, say yes! Say yes!" "Um...er..." Shang's voice came out all croaky.
"I'll see you later then," Mulan said, going off with Tiao Zao. Shang sighed.
::::
Mulan was about to push open the door, when she felt a tugging at her skirt. She glanced down.
"Guys!" She smiled as Mushu and Cri-Kee scampered up her and settled onto her shoulders. "Where were you?"
"We were eating," Mushu grinned. Mulan giggled. "What?"
"You've got some chilli on your teeth," She pointed.
"I know where my teeth are, you don't need to point," Mushu smacked her hand.
"Mulan?" The door opened and Grandma Fa stuck her head out. "I thought that was you. Who were you talking to?"
"No one," Mulan lied. She sidled into the room to see her mother and Madam Li sitting on the bed.
"Mulan, this is Madam Li. She is Shang's mother and one of my greatest friends," Fa Li said.
"I didn't know you knew each other," Mulan said, offering her hand to Madam Li, who shook it. (A/N: They did shake hands in Ancient China, right?)
"No, well, not until we both got married. Your father and Shang's were best friends in the Academy and when they were both General's in the army. It was Shang's father who saved your father when he was injured in battle and took him to safety," Madam Li explained.
"Oh right..." Mulan said, sinking down onto a chair opposite them. "Okay, what's going on?" She asked.
"Well..." Fa Li started. "As you know, that this child isn't your fathers," Mulan's face grew stern and Fa Li noticed it. "Let me finish, before you start blaming me," She went on.
"She sounds like Shang," Mulan thought, Shang's words coming back to her. But don't go jumping to conclusions before you know everything about this whole pregnancy issue. Listen to both your parents and then figure out which one you're the maddest at'," She smiled at the memory.
"I am about five months pregnant. That's why you can see the bump," Fa Li went on.
"Five months?!" Mulan burst out.
"Yes!" Fa Li snapped back. "Will you listen to me before you start yelling?"
Mulan flushed. "Sorry,"
"As I said, I'm about five months pregnant. As it was so long ago, I can remember very little of the night. I can remember that I was walking in the market...it was about seven 'o' clock. I had just finished picking up the onions that I had forgotten when I did my mid-day shop. I was coming home and...I dropped some onions. I reached down to pick it up and..."
FLASHBACK (When Fa Li got pregnant):
"Onions...stupid onions..." Fa Li cursed as she walked along. She had bought many of them and the two bags that she was holding, were full to the brim. As she walked, a few fell from the top bag. "Damn,"
She bent down to pick them up and froze as a hand picked them up for her. Straightening up, she found herself face to face with a man, who was dressed all in black. He had a stern mouth, sharp nose and a strong chin but he had glittering eyes.
"Thank you," She said hesitantly. She reached out to take the onions but the man stepped back.
"Can you tell me where I can find the Fa family?" He asked.
"I am Fa Li, the mistress of the Fa family house. I'm sorry to trouble you, if you give me the onions, then I'll be on my way," She snatched the onions from his grasp, getting more and more nervous.
"It's nice to meet you, Fa Li. Tell me, your husband is Fa Zhou, is he not?" He asked her, walking forward. She began to creep backwards.
"Yes, yes, he is. How do you know my husband?"
"Oh, we go way back," He said. He reached forward and stroked her cheek. Fa Li opened her mouth and was about to scream when he silenced her by placing a hand over her open mouth.
He took a small bottle of white liquid from his pocket and emptied it down her mouth. It had no taste but burned as it went down her throat. She felt her arms go limp and she felt several onions bump against her legs as they fell from their bags. She felt the man drag her away before she went blacked out.
END FLASHBACK
"You were raped?" Mulan shuddered and she could feel Mushu trembling from inside her collar. She squeezed her eyes shut, in an effort to stop grotesque and sick images from scrolling across her eyes.
"I think so," Fa Li. Madam Li put an arm around Fa Li's trembling shoulders.
"It must have been some sort of weakening solution that he gave you," Madam Li suggested.
"I think it was," Fa Li replied. Her responses were short, which showed she didn't want to talk about it. It was a trait that Mulan had inherited.
"What do you remember about this man?" Mulan asked.
"Quite a lot, actually. He had a handsome face...a fairly muscular body as well, just like if he had been in the army. He was wearing a black tunic and brown boots and..." She thought for a while. "I remember he had some sort of necklace around his neck. I think it was green...green jade. That's right and it was in the shape of a lizard? No, a dragon,"
A/N: I think you would have figured out the whole green dragon necklace thing and who it relates to. I hope this chapter was okay. I still need to work on more emotions and thoughts. Oh well. Please leave a review anyway!!
