I'm baaaaaaaack

Sory for the delay

Please enjoy

****Charming Castle****

Ella enjoyed walking in the gardens as they were one of the very few places in the castle were she could do some work without someone breathing over her neck or interrupting whatever activity she had decided to take on that day.

(Especially now that Prudence* was more keen on having her at the castle doing "Queen's work" instead of "running around as if she was a commoner")

Jacques and Gus-Gus were still her closest friends and she cherished them just like when she had been living with her step-mother, she even still sew their clothes and made sure that they always had enough hats and shoes to use.

At first people at the castle were baffled that she liked to keep the mice around, saying that they transmitted disease or were just disgusting, but Kit had been clear that they were to be treated well and that was final since he understood their importance for her, they had been the ones who saved her and helped him break Lady Tremaine's spell*, and had decided to give them their own wing, meaning her closet, for their accommodations and even sneaked cookies and other treats for them once in a while.

The woman sat down on the ground as she looked at her garden while searching for her friends and after a few seconds of looking down she saw that the mice were trying to water her flowers with a bottle and she couldn't help but giggle a little at their attempts at that, they were always there to help her and her gardening was no exception.

She had planted some flowers that she thought that represented each person she had loved through the years: some yellow chrysanthemums for her mother, white lilies for her father, purple orchids for her father-in-law and hyacinths for her sons.

The blonde queen smiled when she saw her garden but her smile faltered when she saw the zinnias she had planted for Anastasia and Michel.

When Kit and her had send requests for them to be brought back to Auradon, King Florian had written back at least four times that "The High King and his council were studying every petition closely" but they never got a satisfactory answer and eventually they were told not to ask anymore that the Isle of the Lost was closed and no one could get out.

Then the Charmington royal had written to them to inform them about Michel's death and Anastasia' and her kids probable one…and so, Ella and Kit had mourned them and had avoided telling the truth to Elliot for a while.

(It was even worse when they had to inform Michel's sister about it and Ella had not seen Vivienne since that day)

She shook the thoughts away and decided to get some work done, Prudence wouldn't be bothering her for another hour and she needed to be away from the nobles for a little bit.

"Let me help you" Ella said grabbing a watering can and standing up to go to the well and grab some water "You can help me by sorting out the seeds Queen Elena* has sent us from Avalor"

Some nobles had started sending her different types of seeds and seedlings from their regions as a token of friendships between her kingdom and theirs, so far it was working but she had some serious doubts about planting outside the greenhouse the ice roses Arendelle had sent for her and Kit's wedding anniversary.

(The Arendelle Royals were among their closest relations since Kit's mother had been the sister of Queen Elsa's grandfather and the Winter War had been ended with King George's sudden marriage to Catherine Árnadalr)

The queen was so focused on her gardening and hearing some new stories by Jacques that she didn't notice when her older son arrived to the gardens and just saw his shadow appear next to her.

"Good afternoon, mother. Isn't it a little too early to be gardening?" Elliot asked with a grin, that seemed a little bit forced to Ella, and allowed some of Mary and Jacques' children climb up his cane "Also, I saw Prudence asking some maids about your whereabouts so I thought it would be better to tell you about that before you go to your office"

She didn't respond and hugged her son, perhaps a little too strongly because he flinched a little, before saying with a smile "I thought you were in Auradon Central, weren't you supposed to present the new financial plan for the Isle kids" She paused before adding in a hushed tone "And to suggest some changes to the Privy Council?"

"I just stayed for the day, I don't really fancy the capital" Her son shrugged, then turned his eyes to the mice that were getting inside his jacket pocket and smiled before continuing "Went to the reunion with King Ben, got the financial plan approved, had tea with Arnold and his mother, had a small meeting with Sultan Aladdin and then I was back on the road"

"So are you saying that you haven't had a good sleep in about forty-eight hours, young man?"

"Forty-three, mom…I napped a little between meetings" Elliot responded cheekily and then yawned a little "I couldn't stay for long, Adam would have tried to have a meeting with me today and would even offer accommodations at Auradon Palace if I didn't get out of the capital before he got to see me"

Ella made a face and agreed with her son that it was better to have him back home and decided that even though she would like to tend her garden, she much preferred to have breakfast with her son and so she said "I made some chocolate cake yesterday, would you like some?"

"Of course, I can never refuse some cake" He said after a few seconds and added leaning on his cane "Lead the way"

They started to walk up to the castle in silence and Ella couldn't help but feel that her son was hiding something but knew that he wouldn't give her a straight answer if she directly asked, instead she took another approach "How is college going?"

"Well enough" Elliot replied with little interest but then seemed amused while adding "Julio says that he would have never thought of me a scholar when we were at Auradon Prep though"

"You were almost Valedictorian" Ella pointed out and she always thought of her oldest son as more academically inclined than Chad, who was more into sports, despite having been good at Tourney and jousting before the accident.

"Amelia Thatch got to be the one though, I was just good with numbers and chemicals" Then added with a chuckle "The irony is that now I'm studying something totally different

"You were always good at studying" The queen countered "Though one has to admit that the Thatch siblings are difficult opponents in the academic field, though Chad says Valentina* is a little bit behind in her studies"

"They are good companions at college, Julio and Amelia help a lot" Elliot commented and rubbed his nose before flashing a smile as they reached the stairs that led to the parlor.

Ella nodded and noticed that her son was uncomfortable, though she couldn't know if it was because he had not slept for almost two days or because his leg had started to hurt more these days, and was about to ask if he needed to sit down for a moment when he suddenly said "I went to our apartment for a moment before I met with Sultan Aladdin, I wasn't going to stay but there was something that I wanted to bring" He took an enveloped out of his pocket and handed it to his mother.

The queen was confused but opened it and saw that it had some tokens she had not thought of in a while: Anastasia and her husband's photographs, their wedding invitation and some drawings Elliot had made for "Aunt Ana" when he was a toddler.

She couldn't find any words to say and asked "Why?"

"When I went to the Alumni Day in Auradon Prep, I saw Anthony and Drusilla Tremaine" Elliot said looking down as he seemed to be uncomfortable "I didn't speak to them though, I was about to when the Westergaard boy did you-know-what and then-"

When King Florian had written to her that Anastasia and her family had died over ten years ago, she didn't think to question it so when Ben had said that Anastasia's son was coming over as part of his VK program …

Ella felt betrayed by Auradon and Kit was apprehensive about the boy for reasons she could understand but not justify. Still, she had to admit that she knew how terrible Lady Tremaine could be as a mother, and now grandmother, and the Isle wouldn't do any favors to her temper and morals

"Chad has written that Anthony has been at the infirmary for a while and that he is in low spirits" Elliot said after looking at her for a moment and pressed his lips on a thin line before continuing "I wonder if he would appreciate having some of these…if you and father don't mind, you are supposed to be their guardians here…"

She was speechless for a moment before asking "Has Chad been speaking to him?"

"For all I know he has been more at ease with Drusilla but has been visiting Anthony" Elliot replied "But Chad hasn't been much of a jerk as of late so he is being a good cousin for once"

"Elliot!" Ella admonished her older son but had to admit that Chad's behavior was not the best as of late so she didn't say anything else, she instead focused on the pictures.

She realized that she had been avoiding thinking about her all these years and had not even challenged Florian's claims about her dying.

Maybe she could still form a bond with her nephew and niece, perhaps she had more nieces and nephews that she didn't know about.

(It had been robbed from them)

"So…can I bring them with me next time I go to visit Chad?" Elliot asked shyly "From what I know, Isle people don't have many pictures from before…"

Ella breathed in a few times before saying "I-I think that I will bring them myself…It's time that I meet them"

Elliot smiled brightly and she couldn't help but smile too and decided that she should have a meeting with a certain blue prince.

And bring some tokens she had kept with her next time she was at the capital.

****Arendelle Forest****

Kristoff loved his family, but as much as they were dear to him, he could never help but feel somewhat trapped at Arendelle Castle. Despite having been married to Anna for twenty years, nobles had not warmed to him and while the staff were cordial, only Kai* managed to make him feel truly welcome.

"It's always a good day to go ice harvesting" He muttered remembering what he had told Anna the night before she traveled to Auradon Central.

Also, it was what he always said when he needed a break from royalty.

The blond man breathed in a few times and looked at the surroundings, and felt something warming in his heart as he saw the rocky land and the tall trees that grew near the trolls' valley.

He would have stopped by his adoptive family, it was always a good time with them, but he had to get to the mountains before it got dark if he wanted to survive the night.

(There was no chance of a blizzard but one could never be sure in these lands)

As he and Sven II went through the path he knew so well, he reflected on how much at ease he felt during his stays at the mountains with Sven and Sven II, and of course, with the trolls who had adopted him all those years ago when he had been an orphaned child.

Reindeers and trolls were better than people.

(He still missed the first Sven but despite Fairy Godmother's offer to magically extend his life, he knew that everyone had their time)

Another reason he had to go ice harvesting was that for some reason the first snow hadn't fallen yet, and it was starting to worry everyone.

Especially Elsa.

His sister would never voice her worries out loud, but he knew that she was growing restless as the days passed and no snow fell.

Sure, the Árnadlr family (now) had ice magic in their veins, which was the reason why King Adam distrusted them, but they also needed Arendelle's icy waters, snowy mountains and cold breezes.

Jana, Anna, Arnold and himself couldn't exactly understand their connection to the kingdom's magic, but they could see how much it was starting to affect Elsa when they saw her using her gloves more constantly and her grimace when scorch was left on things but couldn't freeze the fountain.

Kristoff found himself wondering about his sons and niece, were they feeling the control over their magic weakening? Were they worried about it?

(Was Hal Westergaard losing control over his new magic?)

"I thought you would already be at your camping site, especially without a blizzard"

He almost fell down on his back at hearing another voice but quickly recovered when he saw his wife's brother in law up in his horse and with two bags on his back.

"That was the plan, though I may still have time to get there" He responded and extended his hand to shake. It was just their usual way of greeting each other, not close enough for a hug but not so much of strangers to only nod at each other.

"You have grown quite distracted in your late years" Axel said climbing down his horse and taking Kristoff's hand.

"I'm only 2 years older than you" Kristoff responded rolling his eyes and releasing the other's hand.

"Then you are getting old real fast" The royal said cheekily and then said "It would be better if we camped near, I'll accompany you on your…task" He took a pause before looking down to the ground "If you don't mind, of course"

Prince Axel was not an experienced ice harvester but he had been of use the few times he had accompanied him, though he had no spoken much, so after a second the blond man responded "We should get to my usual camping site, it's only a few minutes from here"

"Fantastic" The dark haired man said with a smile and guided his horse to follow Kristoff and Sven II.

There was silence, which was always appreciated, but Kristoff asked just out of cordiality "How was your trip to Norberg?"

"My dear brother has been good" The other man responded with a shrug "Taking care of the lands, hearing their grievances, placating Freezenburg…just the usual"

Prince Hugo was the current Lord Paramount of (the former kingdom) of Norberg and he was one of the very few royals who was kind of vocal about being against the magic ban. Kristoff was sure that it was because he could no longer keep flying horses* and his wife's dragon was sent to a reserve.

"Elsa will be glad to hear your report; she has been quite at edge about Princess Astrid's complaints about Norberg farmers going further the frontier with Freezenburg" Kristoff commented.

"There's always problems with Freezenburg" Axel rolled his eyes and then seemed to be remembering something "Oh, there was also a Northuldra leader was on his way to Arendelle to speak with the Queen about something regarding the Enchanted Forest*"

"More of them having you-know-what?" Kristoff asked carefully. At first they had thought that only Elsa had elemental magic but over the years they had met some others that had a strong connection to the elements and had tried to keep them out of Auradon's reach.

(Not that it always worked and it had put some strain on their relationship with the capital)

"She didn't mention anything" Axel shook his head but seemed a little bit taken aback "Though there was an allusion to Henri Westergaard's issue…"

"Which we all agreed not to discuss until the Winter Break" Kristoff cut him off with a warning look.

"Of course" The other man said in a huff "Though I still think that Elsa should have already taken care of that"

"Arendelle can't do that"

"The Westergaard boy would be safer around here"

"I know but we can't do anything" The ice harvester sighed and rubbed his nose "Let's talk about Freezenburg instead"

Axel didn't seem satisfied with the turn of conversation but said "Anna would be better to speak with Astrid if the problems aren't solved by Hugo, your dear wife is good at dancing which is always a good way of building bridged and she was good friends with Astrid when they were young"

"That was before the incident, right?" The blond man often heard Anna and Axel joke about the old days with quite a mortified Elsa but almost never named the other ones involved.

(He was not surprised by it since Anna had been quite isolated so had made friends with the portraits around the castle and gradually forgot about her actual-people-acquaintances)

"Yes, all the royal kids from Norberg to Seaside were good friends back then since we are close in age" Axel confirmed with a nod while petting his horse and then tying it to a fallen tree "Though King Eric is a few years older than Elsa"

"When was the last time all of you hung out?" Kristoff asked curiously"

"I think the last time we all saw Anna was on Elsa's eight birthday just before the incident, though we didn't know why Arendelle shut all of us out" He made a pause and smiled a little "We had chocolate cake, though I had a bad stomachache after the party and was scolded by my mother all the journey back home"

"I guess Jana got her weak stomach from you" Kristoff teased remembering that his niece often had to take medicine after royal banquets despite being told not to eat some dishes.

(Though he couldn't blame her, the cooks were among the best in Auradon)

"I suppose so, she got my weak stomach and her mother's taste for sweets…she had bad luck" Axel smirked and then seemed to get serious before saying with a cough "I'll go gather wood"

"Then it's my turn of setting the tents"

Kristoff couldn't help but think that there was something bothering Axel but he wouldn't ask, if the other man wanted to tell him…he would, eventually. He was almost sure that it was something that wouldn't make Elsa happy and would only add to her current problems.

He finished setting the tents quite fast and then proceeded to give some food to Sven II and the horse, he couldn't remember the name, before starting to play his laud as he couldn't cook without fire.

"I should have brought one of those hot plates Arnold mentioned" Kristoff muttered while running his fingers through the strings and then sighing.

He looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun would set in an hour or so and decided that it had been a good thing to cross paths with Axel, he would have continued travelling till he found his safe house up in the mountains.

The ice harvester started to feel somnolent and wondered if he could take a nap while waited, but heard some steps near him and said without opening his eyes "Took you so long, I almost wondered if we were going to starve tonight"

"You'll never guess who I encountered"

"Who?" He almost smirked while asking but then opened his eyes.

Was that a water horse?

And a freaking Earth Giant?

****Honeymoon Cottage****

It wasn't often that Aurora and Phillip got to spend any time together without people around them, or spying on them, so they considered themselves lucky to have this tea hour together at Aurora's drawing room.

Especially Phillip, as he had been spending less and less time with his family these days for he had to take care of both kingdoms (ehem… for the region) as Leah had decided to take temporary residence at Auradon City.

The old queen had said that it was because she missed the capital and Phillip doubted it, she had something in mind, and he didn't want to take part in it. He would let Leah take care of "her half of the region" but Phillip knew that while she had been her father's heir from birth, dealing with minor lords and the common folk was not her forte for she had been brought even more sheltered than many princesses as she had been the survivor of three sisters.

Leah was much better at managing the household and dealing with court politics, which she was great at, and the man had to admit that he admired the way she charmed other royals and high nobility.

Still, sometimes he wished he did not have the task of hearing complaints three days a week, though the prospect of dealing with the Blauprinz or the Seaside royals was not a better option.

"How was your day?" He heard his wife asking, and he was taken out of his thoughts.

It was just the usual way of starting a conversation between them. And it was a code for "we are safe to speak". Also, it wasn't like Aurora would be really interested on politics and even if the thought was uncharitable, it wasn't like she would actually understand them as she was never too involved in them for she found most nobles an unbearable bunch.

"Good"

"Just good?" Aurora asked again and sounded actually interested on what he had to say so he collected his thoughts before responding.

"Nothing interesting happened today, just the usual" The man said shrugging in an unkingly manner that he had kept since his teenage years "Complaints about Tangletown and Andalasia farmers extending their lands beyond their borders, some lords asking for loans for heaven-knows-what, some ladies asking if their daughters could be yours or Audrey's ladies-in-waiting, your cousin Lord Rose asking me to put a good word on him when his majesty decides to form his council…"

"And surely you haven't given him a positive response" Aurora said, raising an eyebrow but having a playfulness in her eyes and adding while offering him the sugar bowl "Two?"

"Just one this time, please" He responded, then said with a frown and scoffed "Lord Rose can ask all he wants, your mother will never allow him to have such a position"

"Has any of the lords asked for Audrey or Briony's hand again?" The blonde woman asked, changing the topic because she didn't like to discuss her cousin's political affairs.

Aurora had liked their distant cousins well enough when Leah presented them at court just after their marriage, Phillip wanted them at arm's length for Maximilian had thought himself Leah's heir while Aurora was being raised in the forest by the Three Good Fairies.

Also, Lord Rose had practically shoved Ariana to their hands as a companion for their daughters, not wanting to see how much the three girls despised each other and having them living under the same roof didn't help the matter.

Which brought a factor to Aurora's question.

"They did ask for Audrey" The king said taking a sip of his tea and noticed that Aurora had caught that he didn't mention Briony but neither would say anything" And I told them that we would study their proposals carefully as she has just recently broken her betrothal to King Ben and has been brokenhearted" He then added "They also asked about Ariana since she is our ward, especially the Hexleys*"

"Wasn't Ariana interested in Lady Hexley's son?" Aurora asked having a pensive face"We may ask her what she has to say about it"

Phillip was skeptical as Ariana had once been interested on said boy, if her having every excuse possibly to speak to him was an indicator, but as of late she had expressed her desire of marrying outside Auroria, preferably Seaside if Audrey's rambling about Merric and her cousin were to be believed, which would fare well for their family as they needed alliances to survive their broken engagement scandal.

Still he refrained from saying so and instead said "A meeting between them should be arranged then" He made a pause before adding with a frown "Sir Emmet Keyes asked if we would be willing to arrange a meeting between Briony and his son but I refused"

There was an implied "They are too low born for our daughter" that Aurora easily caught on despite having been raised a peasant so she didn't ask more for she trusted her husband's and mother's judgement.

"Mother said that Benjamin will find a suitable suitor for the girls as he was the one to unilaterally dismiss the agreement we had with his parents and causing us great shame by starting to date another girl " Aurora said dismissively and avoiding speaking about Maleficent. On the other hand, Phillip knew that his wife didn't care much for the shame he and her mother had felt when they heard the news "If he fails to pay his debts of honor, your aunt, Lady Conway, has expressed interest in helping us…"

"Who will she suggest? Prince Chad? Prince Roland? Or Kurt Bjorgmann?" Phillip snorted, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his tea "None of them are good options, even if I respect the opinion of my lady aunt"

"It's not like we will get something better than His Majesty" Aurora responded taking a scone "There is nothing wrong with the boys you mentioned, they are royal enough"

"Chad is kind of an idiot and but he would be great for Audrey had they not broken up recently, Roland is too young and he will be king by rights someday which bring another kind of complications and Mr. Bjorgman is a commoner despite being the son of a princess, not to mention that he is a magic user and has caused problems-" The brown haired man explained.

"The Hexleys used to be magic users too" His wife pointed out interrupting him "Hexley Hall* was theirs just before Adam became king"

"Their magic died out a generation ago, when their last magician, the Lady Holly, married into House Blackwood and had that wretched butterfly witch as a daughter " He countered and added in a mutter "And Ariana would be marrying into that family not our Audrey"

"And for Briony? Wouldn't Roland be good for her? She would be queen of Enchancia" The blonde woman commented with a pensive face "All the reasons you mentioned apply only for Audrey" Then she conceded "Except maybe for Mr. Bjorgman…though my best guess is that they would understand each other and they used to be friends before"

"Chad is her sister's ex-boyfriend, a second son and they have never liked each other, and Roland is younger than her"

"Prince Roland is fourteen" Aurora defended her opinion "Briony is fifteen, it's not an age gap that would cause a problem"

"I think Briony would be…better closer to home, knowing her" Phillip responded shaking his head "Maybe a Millington would be good, she would still be on Auroria and near her family"

There was a silence in the room that made Phillip become uncomfortable and he knew that his wife was disagreeing with him, his thoughts were proven right when she spoke.

"Briony has wanted to rule Auroria since she was a child" Aurora said pressing her lips and looking absentmindly at her tea and voiced her thoughts "Mother had been training her to rule since Audrey was going to be High Queen Consort and has invested a lot of her time here to learn"

"She has to learn her place as a second daughter" Phillip dismissed her words "Briony has to support her sister"

"Becoming a queen by marriage may not be enough for her but she wouldn't refuse and Audrey has not been raised to become a queen by rights, they are not close to each other-"

"You think of our daughter a traitor? You think she would betray her sister someday?" Phillip interrupted raising his voice and feeling uncomfortable at the thought of that but he knew that there was some truth behind Aurora's word.

Still, he knew how much a marriage could strengthen someone's position or weaken them depending on who and where one married. That was why it was so important to make arrangements, just like their parents had done when they were children.

It had eventually worked out for them both and their families, making both kingdoms greater and influential, and that had almost been crushed by the current High King of Auradon.

"No, of course not" Aurora denied shaking her head "But you know how much influence Mother had on Audrey… and she has been spending a lot of time with Briony now, speaking about the importance of her being the future of House Rose"

The King of Ulstead knew that he couldn't counter that and instead her said "But let's not bother ourselves with that…B- King Benjamin will help us settle this matter"

"I just hope he chooses well"

"He will, he has to" Phillip assured her and grabbed her hand across the table "He will choose someone right for both of them"

His wife just nodded, but didn't look too convinced, and said "I'm just worried about them…especially when Briony and Audrey don't have a sisterly bond"

"They'll learn to work together" Phillip assured her "Briony will be attending Auradon Prep soon and I may have an idea about how to make them become closer"

"If you say so" Aurora just sighed and hoped that the change would be for the better.

****Imperial Palace****

Shang and Mulan had been invited by Emperor Zihao to the celebrations for the anniversary of their victory against the Huns.

The invitation was not a surprise as it arrived every year and usually, Mulan was the one to go since Shang could never understand why the pageantry during the celebrations

Sure, they had won, but after a while the celebrations seemed like a waste of money and time.

Also, he had learned the hard way that war wasn't like in the songs and tales people told children when they were growing up.

"We all must serve our emperor, who guards us from the Huns. A man by bearing arms, a girl by bearing sons"*

While Northern Wei had lived for twenty-five years without a war, Shang could feel a certain something looming over Auradon that neither his majesty the Emperor and his majesty the High King would be able to face at the moment.

Both boys had trained from childhood, but had never used their techniques on the field

They only use it against other boys (or girls) who are also training without ever facing battle.

(Shang had already faced his first battle at King Benjamin's age, and sometimes the memories resurfaced when he was asleep)

The Empress had given them the quarters he and Mulan had during the festivities of the princesses' marriages and the subsequent tenure of them both as Master of Arms and Chief of Surveillance.

The main room had a balcony that faced the training yard, and as he looked down he wondered if these recruits he had been in charge of training could manage to survive a war.

After five years or so in their post, they had decided to leave the palace for a quiet life at the Fa family estate and to raise their children without the pressure of the court.

(Shanyuan and Lan-Ying had left Northern Wei court as kids, but soon after had been taken to Auradon Central by High King Adam)

Three years ago, Shang had been taken out of retirement by Emperor Zihao to be the Headmaster of the Imperial Academy, and he couldn't refuse, for he thought that the young man needed help.

Training young boys raised in peaceful times was a tiring task, but not a totally impossible task as most of them had been at the Imperial Academy by their own will, so they trained harder than those who had been left there by their parents.

(And they weren't former farmers called hurriedly to battle a war they weren't prepared for)

As he looked down the training yard, he recognized some of his old students and snickered a little at their swordsmanship. They still lacked polishing, but were eager to slash something with their swords.

"What's on your mind?" Mulan asked him, taking him out of these thoughts and having a concerned look on her face.

"Nothing important" He responded and shook his head before adding "I'm just wondering if these soldiers could improve their techniques before getting themselves killed"

Mulan directed her eyes to the trainees and has a pensive look on her face before saying "Shanyuan said that some of his old friends had passed the test to become an Imperial Guard"

"Shanyuan could have enrolled the Imperial Academy and been an Imperial Guard by now had he trained more and not decided to invest his time in that sport" Shang blurted out with an annoyed tone and the added almost in a whisper "And that foolish dream of becoming a singer in the south"

"Shang" His wife admonished him and put but of her hands on her hips "We have already spoken about that"

"What? It's true! The Li family is a military family just like the Fa" He shook his head "It's not like one can totally forsake trad-"

"I thought we were past that"

"You know that one can never escape tradition and duty, not totally"

"It was tradition to forbid women from being soldiers" Mulan countered and then pointed out "All your cousins are already in the Imperial Guard, the Army or the Navy, why can't our son be a singer or a pro ROAR? Don't you want our children to be happy?

"Yao filled his head with nonsense, how long can he be in ROAR before he gets too old to play or gets seriously hurt? He needs to secure his future"

"You are worried about him getting hurt in sports but want him to join the military?" The woman was baffled and was about to add something but he responded.

"There hasn't been a war in about twenty years…" He said and didn't want to admit that his last statement was hypocritical and contradictory to his own thoughts but then added "And if he had joined the Imperial Academy, he would never really face the battlefield as he would be assigned an administrative role…"

"How can you be so sure of that? You were the son and grandson of a general, had academic success and still they sent you to the battlefield"

Shang closed his eyes and breathed in, he then took his wife's shoulders "You know why we are here, right?"

"For the twenty-fifth anniversary of our victory over the Huns" Mulan responded but didn't look at him.

"That's half of the reason and you know it"

"Shanyuan is going to be matched soon, he just needs to get that single out"

"I'm not speaking about Shanyuan" Shang said with some resignation "It's about Lan-Ying"

"You don't think that Zihao is going to-"

"The Emperor is going to do what he thinks is best for our region" Shang declared "We may not like it but…if it's for the greater good, we have to accept it"

"Qui-Gong?" Mulan asked after a few seconds of gathering her thoughts.

"Qui-Gong" He confirmed "Why else would he be so keen on having us here for the festivities just days before an ambassador is sent from that wretched kingdom?"

Mulan breathed in and went to one of the sofas to sit, she seemed taken aback and asked "Is there any way out for Lan-Ying? Can't the High King do something?"

"The High King may do something but won't meddle unless explicitly asked to do so"

There was a silence and neither of them looked at each other for a while, then they were called by a servant to the first of the banquets scheduled.

Shang crossed looks with the Empress and realized that the conversation would arise soon.

Chapter notes:

*Prudence from Cinderella II, yes...she still works there.

*Cinderella III is canon here guys

*Elena Castillo from Elena of Avalor

*Kai is one of the servants that are featured in Conceal, Don't Feel and that appears on the movie.

*Flying horses appear on Sofia the First and are used at the Flying Derby

*Despite Frozen II not being canon for this fic, there will be some elements used here like the Enchanted Forest

*Hexley Hall is a magic school mentioned in Sofia the First, I'm putting it on Auroria and a magical family to run it because reasons. Also may be related to a certain mentioned character.

*Lyrics from "Honor to us all" from Mulan

Thank you for reading!

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See you soon :D