Disclaimer: I own my own people.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Minhae

A/N: I haven't updated for weeks! I'm sorry but I had good reasons…I think. First, I had no ideas for how the story was going to continue, I had no energy or enthusiasm to write and I had too much homework. :D Thank you to everyone who reviewed, read the story and/or waited for this chapter. Thanks!

By the way, I have dedicated (and named :D) a character in this story to one of my friends, who is leaving my school this Christmas. I am going to miss her a lot and I hope that this way I can still remember her. (Yeah, I'll email her and wot-not but this is a symbolic way!)

"Hey! How can we go back? I'm supposed to meet Minhae!" Yao protested, glaring at Mulan. She raised her eyebrows.

"Who the hell is Minhae?" Tiao Zao asked, irritably.

"My betrothed," Yao answered. Off everybody's looks, he added, "Oh yeah, the Emperor gave me some details about her before we set off to Mulan's house,"

"Hmm…" Ling said. "I was actually thinking of what Mulan's going to do," He turned to her.

"What?" She said, propping her face up on her elbows. "You know what I want, I just said it. I want to go back tosee my grandmother," She said, an air of stubbornness around her.

"Why don't we split up?" Shui Jing suggested. She and Ling had entered the tent just after Chien-Po had finished her story.

They all turned to her and she blushed. Ling jumped in to save her. "Why doesn't Yao and some others go to his betrothed, to meet her, then Mulan, you can go back to the Imperial City,"

"Okay, sure, that works for me," She said.

"Shall I come with you?" Shang asked her, politely. She looked at him, considering.

"Sure," She said, sounding uncertain. Everyone noticed she didn't sound too happy about Shang accompanying her to the Imperial City, but none of them had any idea why. Their doubts were confirmed when she got up and hurried out the tent.

Shang frowned after her and sighed. "What have I done now?" He asked, angrily. "I give her all the comfort I can and she throws everything back in my face! I try to help her through this pain and she doesn't even want me to go with her!" Shang snapped, banging his fist on the table. It cracked slightly.

"Oi!" Mushu said from his shoulder. "Keep it down, otherwise she'll hear. There's bound to be a good explanation to why she didn't want you to come with her. She just doesn't reject or hate people for no good reason,"

Shang scowled at the little dragon, wondering whether he should pound his head in.

"He's got a point, Shang," Chien-Po said. "Fung, go talk to her," He said, turning to the silent man.

"What? Why me?" He protested.

"You know her best," Chien-Po went on. He looked at Shang out of the corner of his eye and sighed. Shang was miserably staring at the crack in the table.

He knew that Mulan was so much closer to Fung, even Tiao Zao, more than him. "It's probably because I feel so much more for her than friendship," He glumly thought. "Every time I try to get her to open up, properly, she closes off and hides behind a wall,"

"When do you have to meet Minhae?" Shui Jing asked Yao. She had almost fully recovered but still had a limp.

"This week," He answered.

"Can't you wait?" Ling asked him. Yao scowled at him.

"Nuh-uh. Well, I can, but I don't really want to," He said, matter-of-factly.

-----

In the end, Yao left for the village next to Mulan's to see Minhae, accompanied by Chien-Po, Ling and Shui-Jing. After seeing them off, Mulan decided to leave in a few hours for the Imperial City with Shang, Fung and Tiao Zao. Shang wasn't too happy at going with them, especially since Mulan didn't seem particularly pleased that he was coming along. Fung and Tiao Zao had already talked about it and had no idea why she was suddenly against Shang, so they decided to get it out of her during the journey.

Shang was still angry at her not wanting him to come and slightly at Fung. He knew that Fung knew Mulan a lot better, despite having known her for about half the time Shang had. "Come on, you knew her as Ping…she was different then," He thought as he readied his horse. "She was different from the other recruits though…something about her made her stand out," Shang angrily hit the horse. The horse head butted him. "Stupid horse," He growled before leaving the stable, pulling the reluctant horse along behind him.

Fung and Tiao Zao were running around the camp, as Tiao Zao had stolen Fung's shoes. Bare-footed, Fung ran after Tiao Zao, yelling. Tiao Zao was laughing like crazy, his laughter echoed around the silent camp.

They both stopped when Shang and the horse came into view. Fung snatched his shoes back from Tiao Zao's limp hand.

"What are you doing?" Tiao Zao asked.

"I thought we were going to the Imperial City," Shang said, puzzled. Tiao Zao sniggered.

"We are, but later. We're not going for a few hours or so," Fung replied. Shang sighed and let the horse go. The horse, relieved to be away from Shang, galloped back into the paddock, to where Khan swished his tail in his face. They weren't the best of friends.

Shang sat down and leaned against a tree. Fung sat opposite him and Tiao Zao lay sprawled on the grass, behind him.

"What's up?"

"You know what's up," Shang said shortly.

"Don't let it get to you," Fung said sharply. "You're acting like a kid over something that hasn't happened, and probably won't!"

"'Not happened'?" Shang repeated, disbelievingly. "You were there when she said that I could come along, but she didn't want me to!"

"So why are you going?" Fung snapped. "You could have gone with Yao to meet Minhae!"

"Because!" Shang snapped back. His forehead creased and his tone dropped. "…it hurts to be away from her. Even if she's mad at me, for whatever reason, I still like being around her,"

"Snap out of it!" Fung said. "It's good that you want to be around her but stop obsessing over her! She's a woman, with her own feelings and ideas,"

"I know!" Shang snapped, his soft tone now gone.

"This is Mulan were talking about! She doesn't want to be like all the other girls her age, dressing up for the matchmakers and all that palaver. She won't want someone fussing continuously over her. It'll just start to piss her off. So control your feelings for a while, find out what's up with her and above all, stop trying to tell her!"

"What the hell? You've been encouraging me to tell her ever since you first came to Wu Zhong!" Shang protested.

"I know that, which I shouldn't have done. Just leave it, it'll come by itself. Forcing it out of you will just screw it up and make it sound fake. Just drop it until the best time comes," Fung replied, getting up and walking off.

Shang glared at his retreating back but had to admit that his best friend was making a lot of sense. Tiao Zao rolled over from his back and looked at Shang thoughtfully.

"Fung's right, Shang," Tiao Zao said.

"I know he is," Shang said, curtly. "I'm going to my tent. Give me a yell when we're going,"

-----

Shang clambered smoothly onto his horse and watched as Mulan gave Tiao Zao a leg up onto Khan. She seemed to be a better mood than she was before, but whenever their eyes would lock, she would look away.

"Does she think that she'll die if she keeps eye contact with me for more than five seconds?" Shang thought bitterly as Fung came up beside him.

"How are you holding?" He asked him, as Khan trotted over the bridge, Fung and Shang's horses following. When Shang didn't answer, Fung guessed whether he was doing okay or not. "Shang, just leave it. Tiao Zao, or I, will talk to her and find out what's up. Stop freaking out!"

"Freaking out? Who's freaking out? I'm not freaking out," Shang muttered to himself as Fung pulled ahead.

He watched as Fung trotted alongside Mulan and Tiao Zao. He felt slightly isolated; Mulan, Fung and Tiao Zao got on really well with each other and always had plenty to talk about. Fung was his best friend and he couldn't help but feel slightly upset that he had no one to talk to.

"God, Shang, you sound like a five-year old, crying because he has no one to play with!" He scornfully thought. "Fung's right, you are freaking out because of Mulan. Well, stuff her, I'll damn well ignore her until he figures out what's up with her and then I'll see what her problem is with me," Within seconds, the love that he was towards Mulan was slowly turning to anger. He began calling her as many bad names as he could think of.

"You know, she wouldn't be too happy if she heard you calling her 'wench' or 'wench's daughter'," A voice said.

"ARGGH!" Shang yelled. Mulan and Fung stopped their horses immediately and all three of them turned to a horrified Shang. He was sitting on his horse, leaning back from the horse's head. The horse, slightly scared out by the yelling, began to spaz out, kicking and throwing his head from side to side. (A/N: I have no idea whether horses do that when their scared, but go with me)

"What?" Mulan cried.

"What?" Tiao Zao yelled at the same time.

"What the hell? Am I that scary?" Mushu snapped, popping up from where he was seated on Shang's horse's forehead.

"Oh god, Mushu!" Shang said weakly. "What the hell are you doing there? You scared the crap out of me!"

"I gathered," Mushu said calmly. "Rather a girlie scream, huh?" He dug his elbows into Shang's ribs to receive a glare.

"What happened?" Mulan said, riding up to Shang, worry and concern in her eyes.

"Nothing," Shang said sullenly, the words '…I'll damn well ignore her until he figures out what's up with her…" scrolling through his mind. Mulan raised her eyebrows while Tiao Zao sniggered.

"Well, if you're sure…" She said uncertainly. She looked away from him before pulling Khan away from Shang's horse and up next to Fung. Fung looked at Shang in concern and was surprised to get a frown in return. Shrugging, he turned his horse around and they set off again.

As soon as Mulan, Tiao Zao and Fung were out of earshot, an angry Mushu turned to Shang.

"Why the hell are you calling her a wench?" He demanded. Shang didn't answer. "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you liked Mulan!"

"I never said I didn't, did I? She was just ignoring me and…" Shang sighed.

"Are you taking your anger out on her, because she ignored you?!" Mushu said, incredulously. "Are you crazy?! You're acting like a spoilt child!"

"I have my reasons," He muttered under his breath.

"Mulan will have her reasons also!" Mushu glared at Shang. "I'm not going to watch you be horrible to my little baby, you better snap out of whatever state you're in and get your act together!"

"He sounds like a father, lecturing his son," Shang thought scornfully. Out loud, he said, "Why's she angry at me?"

"For god's sake!" Mushu whacked Shang on the arm. It didn't hurt, obviously, but Shang glared down at the little dragon. Mushu didn't seem put off by the glare but, surprisingly, seemed happy that Shang was now paying some attention to him. "She's had a pretty bad fortnight! First, she was kidnapped. She meets Tao, the Emperor's son and who is in love with her-" Shang winced at the words, ", then her mother's found pregnant and her father's just been killed. Give her a bit of sympathy!"

Shang bit his lip. The fortnight and a few days' (A/N: I'm not sure if a fortnight's gone by, but let's just say it has) events had registered in his mind but he had never paid that much attention to them. Blinded by his sudden anger towards Mulan, he had clean forgotten about everything except how mad he was at her. The sudden flame of rage towards her died down as quickly as it had come.

"You're right. Oh god, I've been so stupid!" Shang hit his forehead with his palm.

"No, you haven't," Mushu said sympathetically. Off Shang's look, Mushu added, "ok, you have been pretty much a jerk, but I'll let you off,"

"Cheers," Shang grinned. Mushu smiled back, red stains on his teeth. "Urgh…Mushu! When was the last time you brushed your teeth?"

"Um…" Mushu looked genuinely confused. "It must have been when Mulan was first in Wu Zhong,"

Shang stared in disbelief. "That's about four weeks ago!"

Mushu shrugged. "So what?"

Shang pulled a face. "You're disgusting, you know?"

"Shang, you put your hand down the toilet. If that isn't disgusting, I don't know what-!" Mushu toppled off the horse and landed in the dirt. Sitting up, he glared at the back of Shang's horse as he galloped away. "Jerk,"

-----

That night, Yao, Ling, Chien-Po and Shui Jing stayed in a nearby inn. Shui Jing stayed by herself in a room where she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Yao was too worked-up to sleep, he lay in his bed, tossing and turning. Chien-Po and Ling shared a room with him, and both of them were getting annoyed by their friend's continuous rolling around.

"Oi!" Ling snapped after five minutes of listening to Yao. "Is the bed uncomfortable?"

Yao sat up. He looked puzzled. "No, why?"

"So why can't you stay still?" Ling demanded, also sitting up.

Chien-Po groaned and massaged his temples. "Guys, please try to keep it down. My head really hurts and your arguing isn't helping!"

"Sorry," Both Yao and Ling said. Ling lay down again, but Yao leaned against the headrest, deliberately keeping himself awake.

"Yao, what is your problem?" Ling snapped.

"Nothing. Well, I mean…I'm going to meet my fiancée tomorrow. What if she doesn't like me? What is she thinks I'm too stupid, too fat or too short?"

Ling sat up again, rearranging the pillows behind his head so he could lean against them. "What?" He asked, doubtfully.

"I'm worried,"

"Come on, it's not such a big deal. So what if she doesn't like you? She has to marry you, she's got no choice. The Emperor matched you," Ling replied. Yao drew a shaky breath.

Chien-Po looked over at them and then sat up also. "What's wrong Yao?"

"To state the obvious, he's scared about having to meet Minhae tomorrow," Ling said.

"Don't be Yao. Just be yourself," Chien-Po encouraged him.

"Come on, I want to be in with half a chance," Yao scornfully said. Chien-Po raised his eyebrows.

"Yao, just leave it. If she has any sense at all then…" Ling stopped talking and began to snigger.

"What?" Both Yao and Chien-Po asked.

"I think we've all been hanging around Mulan too long. You used to just want a girl who admired you, that's all and look at you now! You're all freaked out that she won't like you!" Ling sniggered again. Chien-Po turned to Yao, who looked baffled.

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Chien-Po said.

Ling stopped laughing. "I mean…well…I don't know!"

"I don't want her just to a pretty girl. Well, yeah, she needs to be pretty but I want her to have a personality also. If she just stood there, silent and pouring tea, she…I wouldn't be attracted to her," Yao said.

Chien-Po smiled. "That's nice Yao. You're finally looking beyond the face and at the person,"

"I guess," Yao said.

"By the way, while we're on the subject of women, I want to ask Shui Jing to marry me!" Ling said suddenly. Yao and Chien-Po turned to him, both of them gaping at him.

"What?!" They both gasped.

"…why's it such a big deal?"

"You've known her for about… under a week!" Chien-Po protested. "Isn't it a little early?"

"I'm not going to ask her right now!" Ling said. "I'll ask her later. Well, after I've asked her parents,"

"Ling? Her parents were killed in the Hun attack," Yao said.

"Her mother was," Ling interrupted. "Her father, who works in the Imperial City, wasn't, so I'll ask him,"

"Really?" Yao said, one eyebrow raised.

"Look, I know you guys think I'm too dense to appreciate…like proper feelings but…I love her. I really do, she makes me feel happy whenever I'm with her. I really miss her when I'm not next to her," Ling said.

"I didn't know you were capable of such strong feelings, Ling," Yao sniggered. Ling ignored him.

"I'm happy for you, Ling. It's good that you've fallen in love," Chien-Po stated, no emotion whatsoever. He looked…blank.

"Gee, you're so enthusiastic," Ling said, sarcastically.

"I mean…I'm never going to feel that sort of stuff, am I?" Chien-Po choked back a few tears. A lot of emotions had been brewing inside him, ever since his illness, and he was prone to cry, laugh or fly into a temper very easily nowadays.

"What do you mean?" Yao asked, gently.

"This illness, it's going to kill me before I ever feel that," Chien-Po stated.

"You don't know. You might meet someone,"

"In under a fortnight?" Chien-Po snapped.

"Two weeks?!" Ling cried.

"I thought you had, like a month!" Yao protested. "A month is four weeks!"

"What's the difference? I have about three weeks left, which means in two weeks, I will hardly be able to walk around, let alone find someone, fall in love and get married!" Chien-Po snapped again.

"It's possible…" Ling mumbled, more to himself. Chien-Po looked over at him.

"Don't let it bother you. If I'm lucky, I'll go without pain. I guess…that's all I can hope for; a good and peaceful way to go,"

"No, you can still hope for a cure," Yao said, stubbornly.

"I don't think there is one. I'm not going to be able to stand the pain within three weeks, I much rather just go,"

"What else can you hope for?" Ling asked. "What would you want, if you weren't ill?"

Chien-Po smiled to himself. "I'd go into the spiritual profession. You know, chants and maybe become some sort of monk,"

"A monk?" Yao said, scornfully.

Ignoring him, Chien-Po went on, "I'd get married to a beautiful girl…who can cook and who I loved, and in turn, she loved me. We'd have three children…two boys and a girl. I'd name one of the boys after myself and I'd let my wife choose the other names," He smiled, again, to himself. "I'd watch them grow older…they'd have children and I'd see all my grandchildren grow over five years of age and then I'd go," He looked over at Ling and Yao.

"Wow…" Ling said. "I didn't realise you had that much of your life planned out,"

"Well…they're just shattered dreams now. I'll never manage any of them, it'd be best for me to forget them," Chien-Po said, flatly. Something in his voice showed that the conversation had ended and both Yao and Ling did nothing to start it up again. All three of them pulled the covers over themselves and fell asleep.

-----

While Chien-Po, Yao and Ling lay in their beds talking, Fung and everyone were setting up camp.

They were going through the Tung Shao Pass (A/N: I don't know if the amount of time and distance match each other but I don't really mind. Go with me) when Tiao Zao fell asleep in front of Mulan. He was about to topple off Khan when Mulan noticed he was slipping about and caught him.

"Fung!" She yelled up to him, where he was riding with a silent Shang.

They both stopped, but only one turned to look at her. Mulan noticed this and frowned. "What?" Fung called back.

"I think we should stop here," She said, trotting up to them. Again, Shang did not look at her. She glared at him, but he did not notice. Fung did, however, and decided to have a word with both of them.

"Why?"

Mulan gestured to the sleeping Tiao Zao. "He needs to sleep,"

"He can sleep on the horse, can't he?" Shang snapped. Mulan glared at him and he turned away. Fung rolled his eyes, and if Tiao Zao had been awake, he would have done the same.

"It's not good for him," Mulan snapped back.

Fung decided to intervene before Shang could say anything back. "Okay, let's just get a little further to get out of the Pass and then we'll set up camp," He looked at Mulan, then to Shang and then back to Mulan. "Okay?"

"That's fine," She said. Shang didn't answer, he didn't even nod. Mulan clenched her teeth and held back anything she wanted to tell at him.

"Idiot. The pompous, spoilt, arrogant, self-centred jerk," She muttered as she followed Fung out of the Pass. "I wish you'd go away,"

-----

Mulan sat in Tiao Zao's tent, watching the little boy sleep. She smiled at him, the way a mother would, and stroked his hair. Fung strode his head in, demanding to talk to her.

"Okay, okay!" Mulan said, getting up and leaving the tent with him. Shang was inside his own tent, the candle glowed brightly through the material walls.

Fung sat her down in front of the fire and watched as the flickering flames danced in her eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked. Mulan looked at him. "In fact, don't answer that question. What's going on between you and Shang? If looks could kill, you'd both be dead," Fung said. "What a lame sentence," He thought. "Oh well, who cares, I've said it now,"

"I don't know why he's mad at me," She said slowly. "I don't even know if he's mad at me," She ran her finger along the ground, dirt collecting on her fingertip. "I just…"

"What?" He pressed her gently.

"My father's death was a shock. I still can't really believe that it's happening. Well, that it happened," She paused. "It made me realise…how much it hurts when someone you love goes away," She looked up at Fung.

"What do you mean?"

"I loved my father more than anyone else in the world. His death…hurts. I don't want to love anyone now…after his death…because everyone I love goes away," She turned way from Fung and bit her lip. "Everyone goes away…no one can stay with me forever, they'll either go on with their lives or die. It hurts too much when someone you love goes away, so if I don't love anyone; it won't hurt when they go,"

Fung had no idea what to say. They sat in silence before Fung opened his mouth. "What about people you don't love? What if they go away? Will you be hurt then?"

"I'll be hurt, but not as much," She replied. Her tone was sad and her hair was hanging in front of her face, hiding it.

"Is this why you've been avoiding Shang?"

"Trying. If I don't see him, or I just steer clear of him, then I won't be hurt when he leaves. I don't want to be hurt when he leaves…"

"Did she just say that she loves Shang?" Fung thought, triumphantly. He grinned widely. "Mulan, he won't leave,"

"He will when he goes and starts his own family. You'll get married, Ling will probably marry Shui Jing, Yao's already betrothed…and Chien-Po…well, he won't get much of a chance," She said quietly.

"What about you?"

"I won't get married. My name is mud, I've done so much to dishonour my family, so much that no one will ever marry me. My father's dead, my mother's pregnant with the Emperor's son's baby and I dressed up as a man, ran off to the army and learnt to fight," Her voice stopped.

"Mulan, you can't stay away from people forever. You can't help loving people, you can't control it. Not everyone is going to leave you, you're still going to have friends and Mushu will stay with you. He's your guardian after all," Fung said.

"I…" Her voice faltered. "I…don't want to be hurt again,"

"You'll be hurt without everyone's presence. You'll feel empty, isolated and you'll alone….for the rest of your life," He looked at her, as her turned her face to the fire again. "Do you want that? Do you want to be alone forever?"

She didn't answer, but her head moved very slightly, from side to side. It was a small action but Fung noticed it.

"Do you want to let go of everything you have? Everything you like? Everything you love?" Fung went on. "Everyone you love?" He paused again. "Could you let it all go?"

Mulan didn't say anything, but Fung could see her shoulders shaking. He guessed she was starting to cry but he went on, without comforting her. He knew it would be better for him to say everything that he wanted to and then leave her alone to comfort herself.

"Or would you let everyone let you go? Erasing you from their memory…until you were gone from them. You'd be a blank memory…gone…lost…and forever," He said.

Mulan didn't look up but the tears had stopped. Fung stood up and went into his tent, leaving her sitting there, in front of the fire.

-----

"Okay…here goes," Yao cleared his throat and looked at Ling, Shui Jing and Chien-Po. They were sitting on a bench behind Yao.

"Go on," Chien-Po urged.

"Just get it over with," Ling snapped.

"Be yourself," Shui Jing added.

"Okay…" Yao said, before knocking on the door. He heard quick footsteps run to the door and it was opened by a tall woman. She had long black hair, fat lips, a large nose and she was rather fat. Yao gaped.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

Yao didn't answer, his mouth was fully open. Chien-Po and everyone hurried up behind him.

"Yes, is Minhae in?" Chien-Po asked, politely.

"Yes, she is. Who are you and how do you know my mistress?" The woman demanded.

"My name is Yao," Yao said, pushing in front of Chien-Po. He was very relieved that the woman was not his fiancée. "I am your mistress's betrothed; I believe the Emperor matched us a few weeks ago,"

"Humph," The woman snorted. Shui Jing cringed. "Come in," She rasped, turning around and entering the house. Yao turned a horrified face to the others.

"She's the worst maid I've ever seen, looks and personality," Ling commented. Shui Jing elbowed him.

"Come on you guys! I need some moral support, please come with me!" Yao pleaded.

"We can't. Well, not all of us," Chien-Po said, looking around. "Shui Jing, you better. She'll need some…girl support, if you know what I mean,"

"Who, Minhae?" Shui Jing asked. Chien-Po nodded. "Okay, sure,"

"I think it'd better if only two people went in," Chien-Po went on. "Ling, you'd just take the piss out of Yao, eat all the food or be rude to Minhae. You'd better stay outside,"

"Great…" Ling muttered.

-----

"Aren't you hungry Mulan?" Tiao Zao asked as he watched Mulan stare at her piece of morning bread. Shang looked up from his piece of fruit and looked at her with concern. She met his gaze before he turned away from her, the concern disappearing and being replaced by scorn.

"No," She answered. Fung did not look at her, he knew perfectly well why she was acting this way.

"What's wrong?" Tiao Zao asked.

"Just thinking…"

"Of what?"

"Damn you Flea. You and you're bloody questions," Mulan thought. "My father," She answered, knowing it was the only answer that would shut Tiao Zao up.

"Oh right. I'm sorry," He said, sadly.

Knowing that she had hurt his feelings, Mulan pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back, still knowing that something was wrong with her. He looked over at Fung, through Mulan's arms, to see him watching Shang, who was scratching words into the dirt. Tiao Zao couldn't read them from where he was.

"Come on, let's go," She said, standing up. Fung stood up after her, then Tiao Zao did. Shang put the fire out and saddled his horse slowly, watching to see if Mulan would grow impatient. She didn't however, she was preoccupied with what Fung said last night.

-----

"If you'd like to sit here, Madam Hwang and her daughter will be down in a minute," Another maid said, referring to the dining table. Yao and Shui Jing smiled, sitting down opposite each other.

"Oh god…" Yao muttered.

"Stop worrying," Shui Jing said. "You're going to be fine! Just be yourself, don't be rude, say thank you when she gives you tea, don't snort, eat with your mouth full, say rude jokes and remember to control your temper," Shui Jing went on.

"How the hell am I meant to remember all that?" Yao demanded.

Shui Jing shrugged. "Be nice to the mother as well,"

"She might be really ugly and mean!"

"That has nothing to do with it! You have to be nice to your in-laws,"

"I'm going to marry her anyway. Her parents have no say in it,"

"Yes, they do. They'll tell the Emperor if they approve of you. Madam Hwang and her family are well-known by the Emperor and throughout China, it'll be a great honour to marry their daughter," Shui Jing whispered, as they could hear footsteps on the stairs. "Okay, here they come. Remember everything I've just said," She hissed, standing up hurriedly. Yao quickly followed her as Madam Hwang swept into the room.

She was tall, slim and had piercing dark brown eyes. She was old, but had the faint remnants of prettiness. She was wearing a dark blue robe with a pale blue sash. She was wearing no make-up except eye-liner. It gave her eyes a dark rim, making her look sort of intimidating.

"Please sit," She said graciously. Yao and Shui Jing sat down, hurriedly, as Madam Hwang seated herself carefully. "My daughter will be downstairs in a minute," She smiled. "May I ask who your friend is?" She asked Yao about Shui Jing. Shui Jing obviously could not answer as women were not meant to talk in a man's presence. Madam Hwang's husband was away, so she was in charge of the house.

"This is Shui Jing," Yao said. "She is one of my close friends,"

"It's nice to meet you, Shui Jing," She smiled at Shui Jing.

"Thank you, it's nice to meet you too," Shui Jing replied. She took it that she could speak now as the woman had just spoken to her.

"Tell me, is your father working in the Palace?" Madam Hwang asked.

Shui Jing nodded. "Yes, he is," She kept her responses to a minimum; she didn't want to sound rude.

Then, the door opened and a young lady entered. She had black hair that bounced on her shoulders; penetrating dark brown eyes and her face had a glow about it. Her slim figure was covered by a red dress that fell past her feet. She smiled at Yao, who was staring.

"Ah, Minhae! Come in, have a seat,"

Minhae walked past Yao to sit next to him, on the last remaining side of the square table, opposite her mother and between Yao and Shui Jing.

"This is Yao, your betrothed," Madam Hwang said, gesturing to Yao, who had gone pink in the face. Minhae smiled at him.

"Hello," She said, awkwardly.

"She's probably just as nervous as I am," Yao thought. "Hello," He replied.

"This is Shui Jing," Madam Hwang went on. "She is one of Yao's greatest friends,"

"Hello Shui Jing," Minhae said, not as awkwardly.

"Chien-Po was right. It was a good thing Shui Jing came in with me, she wasn't as nervous saying hello to Shui Jing as she was to me," Yao thought.

"Hello," Shui Jing replied.

Three maids came in, two holding dishes on silver platters and one, holding a porcelain teapot. They placed them on the table and then left. Minhae took the big porcelain teapot and, under the watchful eye of her mother and Yao and the bored eye of Shui Jing, poured a cup of tea for Yao, then Shui Jing, her mother and then herself. Not a drop was split.

"Thank you," Yao said, smiling. Minhae nodded, but didn't smile. Yao sighed.

The rest of the meal, for Shui Jing and Minhae, was boring. Madam Hwang asked Yao lots of questions about himself, his family and his goals in life. Yao answered most of her questions truthfully, but he lied about his ambitions. Shui Jing knew very well that he wanted to do nothing during the rest of his life; Yao had said often enough that he wanted to lie around all day and have people work for him. So when Yao said that he wanted to help the poor and maybe go into preaching, Shui Jing snorted into her tea cup, making everyone look at her.

"I'm sorry, I had a cough in my throat," Shui Jing lied. Her blushing face was hidden by her hair but Yao could see her ears start to go red. He knew what she was laughing at and hurriedly went on to say that if he had a family, he'd devote all of his time to them. Shui Jing wanted to laugh at this too.

When the visit had finished, Yao and Shui Jing stood on the front doorstep, saying thank you and goobye to Madam Hwang and Minhae. Minhae had not spoken, ever, during the visit, and Yao was sorry for it.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Madam Hwang," Yao bowed to her. Madam Hwang nodded her head gracefully and Shui Jing smiled.

"It was a pleasure. I take it that you'll be visiting us again, soon?" She asked.

"If you'll have me," Yao replied.

"After you're married to my daughter, you'll be welcome in any Hwang house," She went on.

"That is a great honour," Yao said, bowing again. Shui Jing giggled quietly. Minhae noticed this and smiled at Yao's continous bowing as well.

"It was nice to meet you Shui Jing," Madam Hwang said as she and Yao went down the path. She turned back and smiled.

-----

"Fa Mulan, it's so nice to see you again," The Emperor said, smiling down at them.

It was the same evening (A/N: Still no idea between time and distance. Again, go with me) and Mulan. Fung, Shang and Tiao Zao had arrived at the palace. Mulan and Tiao Zao got off Khan and they both ran into the palace, to find Mulan's grandmother. Fung took it upon himself to take Khan into the stables, as he knew Shang wouldn't.

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Mulan said, bowing slightly. The Emperor found this unusual; Mulan was not a person who stuck to protocol.

"How come you are back so early? I thought you would stay with your father for a week or so," He said. Mulan's face sagged slightly.

"My father's dead," She stated. The Emperor's mouth fell open. Mulan avoided his gaze and looked around the empty throne room.

"When?" He asked, his face haggard.

"About two days ago. That's when I found him. I came here to check up on my grandmother," She said.

"Of course. You may go to her now," He replied, keeping his sadness hidden.

Mulan nodded and then ran out the throne room. The Emperor watched her leave and then looked at his grandson.

"Are you all right, Tiao Zao?" He asked. Tiao Zao shrugged. The Emperor sat back down on his chair and invited the little boy to come and sit on his lap. Tiao Zao sat and looked up at his grandfather.

"What are we going to do about Mulan's baba?" He asked him.

"He must be buried with all the honours of a veteran," The Emperor told him.

"What's a veteran?"

"It's an old soldier, general or warrior," The Emperor explained.

"Was Mulan's baba a warrior?"

"Mulan's father was a General,"

"Oh right,"

The Emperor leaned over and pulled a cord that was hanging next to him. It must have created a signal as two advisors walked in.

"Yes, Your Excellency?" They asked, bowing.

"I want you to both to go to the village of Fa Zhou and bring his body back here," The Emperor ordered. Neither of the advisors showed any emotion at the mention of a body, nor any confusion. They bowed, again and then left the room.

-----

Shang hung the saddle of his horse onto a hook and watched as Fung petted Khan.

"Fung?" He snapped. Fung turned around.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong with Mulan?" He asked.

"Do you mean what she's done to make you act like a jerk to her?" Fung snapped.

"I haven't been a jerk to her!" Shang protested. "…have I?"

Fung sat down on a bale of hay. Shang sat down, opposite him.

"She's had a lot of emotional stress, ever since her father died," Fung started.

"My father died and I didn't freak out," Shang said.

"Your father died in war. Her father was stabbed in cold blood," Fung went on.

"I guess," Shang said, grumpily. "It doesn't explain why she was pissed off at me,"

"She wasn't," Fung said, choosing his words slowly. "She…was having problems with her heart…sort of,"

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't want to feel anything for anybody," Fung said, still slowly.

Shang's face was confused. "What?"

A/N: Not so much of a cliff-hanger, but still. I'm so sorry for the delay of this chapter, but as I've explained I had a few problems.

I'd like to say thank you to my friend, Minhae, who gave me some ideas and who has really supported me during the writing of this story. Cheers!! :D

By the way, I bought Mulan 2 today, it's such a funny film. The storyline isn't bad, I guess, and the songs are funny! I like Mushu in this one just as much as I did in the first film, he's still got some reall good jokes. Shang's a little bit weird but still he's funny! I'd give it a 9.5/10 because the animation wasn't brilliant. I'd really recommend you to get it, its so funny!!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm not advertising for people to buy Mulan 2, or anything, I'm just telling you what I think of it :D)