Chapter 5
Day One
Chi Fu waited near the servants' back door to the palace. He watched Mulan and the royal carriage leave the outer palace courtyard. Smirking evilly, he snuck to the stable, mounted his horse, and rode in the direction Mulan had gone. Two men rode out of the bushes and up to Chi Fu.
"It is done, sir, the tree has fallen." One of the men told Chi Fu.
"And you are positively sure that it is in the path they are traveling on?" Chi Fu asked. He didn't want any mistakes. This part was integral to his plan.
"Yes, sir. Our men checked and double checked."
"Good. Now, follow me," Chi Fu smirked even more evilly and rode on. All was going as planned...
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"This is not going as planned." Shang told Mulan that evening. They had traveled all day, and the only people who had gotten any rest at all were the princesses. And Ling, who had fallen asleep on his horse. Needless to say, Shang was tired and feeling grumpy. Adding to his crossness was an enormous tree that had fallen across the path. Shang and Mulan had harnessed the horses to the tree in an effort to move it, but the horses were also tired, and decided that they would rather eat than pull. Shang couldn't blame them.
"Well, Shang, why don't we make camp here for a while and give the horses a break? We should have some dinner ourselves." Mulan untied Khan from the tree and led him to a patch of lush green grass. Khan gratefully began eating. Smiling, Mulan walked over to the small supply wagon. Mushu already had it open and was thoughtfully viewing its edible contents.
"So, Mushu, what are our choices for dinner?" Mulan asked the little dragon. Mushu hopped into the wagon to see the food items more closely.
"Well," he said, "it looks like we could have rice puddin', rice cakes, rice porridge, rice soup...actually, we could have anything we want; as long as it's made outa rice!"
"Hmm, " Mulan skeptically looked at the dozens of sacks of rice in the wagon. "I guess we'll be having rice."
Mushu nodded,
"You got it!" He grabbed a bowl, filled it with rice, and slithered to where Cri-Kee waited under the carriage. The two friends shared the rice and bickered as usual.
Inside the passenger wagon, the princesses were waking up from their naps. The tallest woke first, made her bed, and sat properly in her seat.
"Su! Mae! Wake up! We have stopped." The princess viewed her sisters. Su opened her eyes and looked around. She yawned and stretched.
"What's for dinner, Ting-Ting?" Su asked. Her prim and proper sister sat tall in her seat, without a hair out of place. How does she do that? Su wondered. Her own hair desperately needed brushing. Then Su looked at her other sister. Mae was smiling in her sleep, and hugging her seat cushion. Ting-Ting looked disdainfully at Mae. She was always doing something inappropriate, even in her sleep!
"Mae, wake up! Everybody else is already awake!" Su gently shook Mae. Mae's eyes opened in an instant.
"Is that short guard out there? Has anyone seen him?" Mae flew to the window to look out.
Ting-Ting gasped, "Mae! Sit down this instant! What kind of behavior is that for a princess?"
Mae obediently sat down and grabbed Su's hairbrush. She brushed the tangles out of her long, dark hair, and then she twisted it up into decorative buns.
"You're right! I have to look my best when I see him!" Mae handed the brush back to Su and smoothed out her dress. Ting-Ting looked annoyed.
"Do not forget yourself, Mae." Ting-Ting warned. Mae sighed. Ting-Ting was so uptight!
Su smiled warmly at Mae, "Yes! Imagine, we are to be married in just a few days! And to princes!"
Mae frowned and sat down, placing her pillow on her lap.
"But what if I don't want to marry a prince?" she asked, "what if I want to marry someone of my own choosing, like other girls can?"
"You are not like other girls, Mae." Ting-Ting said gravely, "You are a princess, and your duty is to your people. You took an oath to marry a prince, and you will honor it."
"What do you like about that guy, anyway, Mae?" Su asked gently. "He's ugly and rough."
Mae smiled dreamily, "He may look like that and act like that, but I know that inside, he's all soft and cuddly...like a big panda bear!" She hugged her pillow tightly.
Su giggled, "A panda bear!" He didn't look like any panda bear she'd ever seen! "Personally, I like the big, gentle one best. What about you, Ting-Ting?"
Ting-Ting was horrified. This talk totally went against everything she'd been taught about honor and being a princess! "It doesn't matter! We shouldn't even be thinking such things so close to our marriages!" She flipped her fan out and waved it in front of her face. "Quick! Here comes Fa Mulan!"
The other two princesses also brought out their fans and hid their faces. Fa Mulan already had doubts about the princess' marriages. They didn't want her to guess their thoughts!
Mulan knocked on the door.
"You may enter." Ting-Ting said, trying to sound cool and poised.
The door opened and Mulan poked her head into the carriage.
"Dinner is ready." Mulan began to pass three bowls of rice into the carriage.
Mae politely held up her hand, "If you don't mind, Miss, we'd like to eat outdoors this morning. We've been inside much too long."
Mulan nodded in understanding, "Of course! I'll set up a table for you out here."
As they exited the carriage, Mae grinned when she spotted Yao. Ting-Ting glared at Mae over her fan, but she didn't want to say anything in front of Mulan. Su was just glad to be eating soon.
The three princesses sat on the ground around the low table that Mulan had made for them out of some crates. They daintily ate their rice and held their fans in front of their faces.
Yao peeked at them from behind a tree. He smiled as he watched Mae eating her rice. Suddenly, she peeked around her fan; straight at the tree Yao was hiding behind! He shrunk back, hoping she hadn't spotted him spying on her. What would she think of him!
What does she think of me? Yao wondered. Well, he'd never been one to sit around wondering! He was going to find out! Yao marched up to where the princesses were eating and cleared his throat. They looked up at him, but Yao only saw Mae. She fluttered her fan in front of her face, trying (for Ting-Ting's sake) to hide her smile.
"Yes? Did you want something?" Ting-Ting asked politely, if coldly. She didn't like the effect this man had on her sister.
Yao, suddenly shy, didn't answer. Instead, he shook his head and backed into the forest.
"What a strange man!" Su remarked.
Mae just set her fan down. She wished that she could tell Yao how she felt about him.