The Distant Shores of China
Chapter 4: Voyage to China
So, this is during a few days after the Hun attack on Corona. Hope you enjoy!
OOXO
In the throne room, King Markus was pacing, pondering over the events that had occurred a few days ago. For one, the kingdom had been caught completely off guard. How had such a huge force managed to sneak into the kingdom like that? Second, he didn't know how these visitors from China had managed to come across miles of ocean and land to get to Germany, all in one day. Unfortunately, all that the visitors said was that a bright light had surrounded them before they appeared here.
As the King tried to make sense out of all of this, Merida was shooting arrows in the forest, hindered a little by her injured shoulder, trying to find answers. As she was drawing another arrow, Merida heard something behind the brush nearby. Peeking through, she saw Mulan twirling a sword in her hand then striking, with deadly accuracy, toward a nearby bush, slicing it in half. Amazed by the sight, Merida watched as Mulan promptly swung around and sliced the top portion of another bush clean off. As she gracefully executed a series of twirls and slices, she noticed Merida.
"That was impressive. I could never do that with a sword."
"Well, you're pretty impressive with that bow."
"Thanks. My Dad gave it to me when I was five."
As they struck up a conversation, they both knew that they shared a kindred spirit, of rebellion and determination. Knowing that she had to find a way to get Mulan and her friends home to save their country, Merida began to ponder ways of getting there. Since it would take too long to travel by boat and by walking on land, those ideas were ruled out. She could always find a way to contact Thor, the Norse god of lightning, whom they had met on their last adventure, on Berk. However, she didn't know how she could do that. Besides, he was probably helping his friends, the Avengers, at this point, so he definitely wasn't an option. Suddenly, it struck her. Why hadn't it come to her before?
"Mulan, I think I know a way of how we're going to get to China. We'll need to make a stop at Berk, though."
OOXO
"Wait, you want to go back to Berk?" Rapunzel asked, back in the throne room, where everyone else was gathered.
"Yes, we can fetch our dragons. Flying will take up less time than traveling by land or sea."
"The journey will take a weeks' time, lass," Fergus pointed out.
"Much better than traveling by land and sea, which would take around several months. The sooner we get to China, the better. There are people there who need our help."
"Well, if you're going to China, you'll need a map," Elinor said.
Staring at her mother in disbelief, thinking that she was the absolute last person to ever agree to this, Merida asked,
"Seriously? To be honest, I was expecting more of a fight from you."
"Well, you're right. There are people needing help, and I'm not just going to be letting you sit on the sidelines while you could be doing something. Just be careful."
"Well, if Merida's going, then I'm going too," Rapunzel announced, arms crossed, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.
"Rapunzel, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Queen Anne replied, concerned for her daughter's safety.
"You heard what Merida said, there are people needing our help. What we just witnessed a few days ago only strengthens that claim. I have to do this."
"Well, don't think that I'm not coming with you. I am your husband, after all. Somebody's got to be there to watch your back," Eugene said, putting his arm around Rapunzel's shoulders.
"Thanks, Eugene."
"Whoo-yeah, let's go kick some Hun booty! By the way, what's at Berk?" Mushu asked, not sure if he was going to like what was coming next.
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"You have got to be kidding me, right? You're telling me that there are bigger, nastier dragons than yours truly? How are you even sure that this is such a hot idea, anyway?" Mushu asked, after hearing the entire story of the princesses' adventures on Berk. Merida, rolling her eyes at Mushu's pun, replied,
"Well, unless you've got a better plan on how we're going to travel across miles of sea, not to mention the long trek across land, all the stops we're going to have to make to get all the proper supplies…"
"Alright, alright, I get it! Just don't be telling me that there might be a chance that we're going to get zapped by the all-powerful Dor, or Four, or whatever that guy's name is."
"It's Thor, for your information, and he would never do something like that. I used to think like that, believe me, but it was all prejudice."
"Okay, whatever. Even if we managed to get to China alive, though, what exactly is your plan? It's not like we're going to liberate the country in just one day. You thought that these Huns were bad, you should see the big man, himself. Shan-Yu means business. He's not going to let a pathetic girl, like yourself, defeat him."
"Do you want me to impale you with an arrow, because that is exactly what is coming for you pretty quickly, if you don't shut your mouth."
As Mushu rolled his eyes, he saw, to his horror, that those red-haired triplets were coming for him again. As he began to dash between nearby crates, which were being unloaded from ships, Mushu was relieved that those pesky boys wouldn't be coming on this journey. Not only were they dead-set on catching him, but they would also be dead meat if one of those Huns got them.
Cri-Kee, having seen Mushu's plight, dashed a few meters ahead of the boys, instantly drawing their attention. Squealing with delight, they all nearly stumbled over each other in their haste to catch the cricket, which had already squeezed into a niche, that was too small for the boys' hands to fit through. Accepting defeat, the boys ran off to find something else that would interest them. Peering from behind a crate, Mushu said,
"Thanks, Cri-Kee, I owe you one. Man, where's Mulan off to? We're going to be heading off pretty soon."
No sooner did Mushu ask before he saw her riding atop of Khan, bringing in some food from the marketplace, along with the rest of her friends.
"Man, I hope that all this food doesn't all go bad, by the time we reach… where are we going again?" Ling asked, as he dragged an exceptionally heavy bag across the cobblestone street.
"I don't know about all of this. What if this is just a trap? What if those two girls are in cahoots with the Huns? All they'd have to do would be to hand us over once we get there," Yao said, struggling with another bag.
"Well, if that's the case, why would they help defeat those Huns, a few days ago?" Chien-Po asked, lifting his bag with ease.
Not convinced by Chien-Po's logic, Yao just snarled and kept moving, deciding not to take any chances.
As Rapunzel was having a keg filled with fresh water for the voyage, she wondered how they would go about freeing China, seeing as how there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Huns holding the country, and its people, hostage. That's when she spotted Li-Shang further down the beach, his arm in a sling from when he had been slashed. He was studying the map that Elinor had given them, his brow furrowed in confusion, obviously troubled by how far they had come, all in one moment. Rolling up the map, he stared out to sea for a while before striding toward the ship.
With Chien-Po lifting up the kegs of water, they were all set to leave port. As Merida and Rapunzel bid their families farewell, Mushu, Cri-Kee, and Pascal climbed up into the crows' nest, where Mushu yelled,
"So long, suckers. Too bad you won't be able to come along to see me kick some Hun butt. Yeah, that's right, I'm talking to you, you three little red-haired tricksters. This will be the last you'll ever see of me, and good riddance."
Pascal just rolled his eyes at this act, while Cri-Kee climbed to the very top of the pole and waved, with the boys waving back. Merida promptly climbed up, as well, to stare out at the direction of their destination.
"So, just to make things clear, how do you put up with those brothers of yours? Man, I was just about ready to burn their heels off, you know, if I didn't have to run away from them all of the time."
"You get used to them. Right now, all I'm concentrating on is getting to Berk so we can get to China faster."
"Yeah, about that, I'm not sure that I'd want to meet these Vikings. For one thing, don't they pillage other places on a regular basis? So that means that they'd be just as bad as the Huns. Plus, I mean, we're talking big dragons, and I really wouldn't want to risk any of them attracting the Ancestors' attention. Because, before I know it, bam! They'll kick me off of guardianship duty, and hand it to one of those guys. Do you know how long it took me to prove myself? I really don't want all of that hard work going to waste."
"Oh, stop your griping, Mushu, it won't be that bad," Mulan, having climbed into the crows' nest as well, replied.
"Well, don't go crying to me if these dragons start causing trouble, because China already has problems, enough as it is."
"And by problems, you mean having your job taken from you?" Mulan asked, with a glimmer of humor in her eyes.
Deciding not to reply to that, the dragon just turned away, brooding in his pessimism. Taking on a more serious note, Mulan asked,
"You think that this plan will work out?"
"I know it will. We will not fail."
OOXO
So, they're on their way to Berk. Hope you guys decide to stick around, because more is coming up!