Author's Note:I'd like to thank Canadarulz and Grace Potter Evans for reviewing the previous chapter. I have seriously been working on fanfiction these days. I opened another community about the classic Mulan fics, you are welcome to be part of the staff, just let me know. =)
Rage Burning in His Eyes.
Shang knew that if he sent Mulan home she would hold it against him for a long time. She was after all his best soldier, and he could not deny a soldier his right to fight for the country. He promised himself that it would be the last time he would let her risk her life, he was going to make sure no Huns would come back so that they could live a peaceful life.
"You can stay, Mulan," Shang said simply, "but we need to talk."
Mulan nodded. His attitude made her feel guilty and selfish. Perhaps it would have been better for the sake of their relationship if she had stayed home; but he needed to understand that this was who she was. The woman he loved and vowed to love was not ordinary, she was a warrior and she had to fight.
"Shang, are you angry at me?" she inquired.
"No." was his answer. Nevertheless, she knew that her decision did not please him.
"What is wrong then?" she asked.
"We will need to discuss the matter later," replied Shang. "Right now we have to move, before the Huns penetrate any further."
Leaving Mulan behind, Shang led his horse forward in order to give instructions to the troops. They had agreed they would split. Shang would lead the main troop with five hundred and forty seven soldiers, while his lieutenant would lead the remaining three hundred and fifty two soldiers. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po would accompany lieutenant Shui. And so, the troops took their paths. Mulan had gone with Shang's troops.
They passed several villages, which were spared from any harm. In fact, the villagers were not aware of the Hun threat until they saw the soldiers.
Mulan did not know what to think about Shang. On the one hand she could tell he was trying to protect her, but on the other hand, she was upset with him, because his reaction made her wonder if he was one of those men who wouldn't bear the idea of having a wife who threatened traditions. She reminded herself about his promise of loving her the previous day; however, there were a lot of facts against him. He had been mean to her previously. Mulan shook her head, Shang was an honorable man, he could not have played with her feelings. Why would he trick her into believing that he loved her? No, it was not Shang. Yet he certainly was unpredictable. Perhaps they were not meant to be.
The sky turned dark. Shang announced they would camp in the outskirts of the nearest town, and he warned that they should keep the lights as dimly as possible, so that they would not give away their position to the enemy.
Mulan was trying to light a fire, when she noticed Shang heading towards her. She pretended she had not seen him, and continued rubbing the rocks.
"Have you eaten something?" was the first question that came up to him. She could perceive his mood was more serene than it was earlier that day.
"I ate some dumplings I brought from home."
Shang sat next to her on the ground. "Let me help you." With one single friction of the rocks he was able to produce fire.
"Thanks" said Mulan pretending she was not impressed.
Shang held Mulan's hand in his own. She could not hide her surprise.
"I want to talk to you about…"he paused to think. He did not know where to start. He cleared his throat and began, "Mulan, I . . . it's not like I don't want you to be here. Honestly, I would prefer you to be at home getting ready, but I know you feel responsible and I know you are very capable of defending yourself and the country, but there are many things that slip our hands, and right now you may think nothing will happen, but when we have children. . . Mulan, I cannot risk them growing up without a mother."
Mulan blushed. So he was already thinking about children. She had to admit she was a bit relieved, because she had considered the possibility that he would take back his promise. "But Shang," she protested gently, "I think I am a better soldier than a wife. I do not think I am ready to deal with the duties of a wife"
"Mulan, of course it's going to be hard," Shang went on reassuringly, "of all people you should know better. I mean no offense, but you were terrible at the beginning. Eventually, you worked hard and proved me and the entire world wrong."
Mulan could not help it and she chuckled as she recalled those first exhausting days in which she seemed to be getting worse and worse.
"My wife, I am proud of how far you have gone," Shang went on, "you are a heroine, and you have saved my life more times than I deserve."
Mulan's expression turned serious. He had his point. After all he had allowed her to stay, and she came up with a solution. "Fine, I will retire the moment I learn that I'm with child." Hopefully, that would be a long time away from the present.
"Fair enough," said Shang as he got on his feet. He did not want to draw much attention from his soldiers.
"Shang," Mulan called out softly.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for understanding."
The young general nodded. "Make sure you blow out the fire before you fall asleep."
All he desired was to be near her, to kiss her, to. . . He shook his head. There would be plenty of time to be together when the war came to an end. For now he needed to focus on his duties as a general.
That night Shang could not sleep. So many thoughts troubled his mind. He left his tent to check on Mulan's tent several times. She was fast asleep and he found her beautiful. Shang looked around, there was no one; he made his way into the tent. Shang dared to cover Mulan with the blanket she had kicked in her sleep. Shang saw her slippers. They were so tiny compared to his. He could not help but to smile. Did she know how grateful did he feel towards her? Did she know he would give his life to protect her? Shang kneeled next to her and gently kissed her. Mulan moaned. He did not intend to wake her. Slowly she opened her eyes. "Should we move on?" she asked.
"Not yet," he whispered as he stroked her hair, "go back to sleep."
Mulan closed her eyes and yawned. And suddenly she opened them back again, "Shang are you here for. . .?"
"Oh no, no," he cut her off, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"You haven't slept at all right?"
"Nope," he explained, "I can't. China needs me to be alert in case those barbarians approach."
"China needs you get some sleep, so your senses are alert in the battlefield." She chided him softly. "Lie down."
He did not hesitate to do as he was told. Although he had to admit, he never thought she would want this as much as he did.
"Close your eyes. Relax," Mulan commanded, and he obeyed. "Take a deep breath."
He wondered why she couldn't just start by kissing him. "Let out the air, and breathe in again." Mulan gently massaged his head with her fingertips.
"That feels nice," he said.
"Shh . . .just relax," she whispered.
Shang wrapped an arm around Mulan's waist and pulled her body closer to him. Despite she was confused by his reaction, Mulan continued massaging his head until he kissed her. She did reply the kiss; however, she pulled apart and demanded, "Shang, what are you doing?"
"I . . . isn't it . . . consummating our marriage?" He felt so embarrassed; there was no easy way to explain himself. 'Why did she have to ask anyway if she was the one who initiated it?'
Mulan froze. Her true intentions were to make him fall asleep. She could not get angry at him, for the situation was awkward and hilarious indeed. Mulan covered her mouth and giggled.
Shang stared at her bewildered and sat up.
"What is so funny?"
Mulan could not answer, she could not stop laughing.
"Mulan, was it some kind of teasing?"
She shook her head and continued laughing.
Shang began to worry. If someone found out they were together, they would get in serious trouble, not to mention he would lose respect among his subordinates. "Mulan, be quiet, someone could wake up."
She faked a cough and the laughter was gone. By then Shang was already standing to leave.
"Shang, I was trying to make you relax so you would sleep," she explained and pursed her lips in order not to laugh.
How could he been so stupid? He was even more embarrassed. "Mulan, I'm sorry I thought you wanted me to…"
"Come back," she whispered, "we can start all over again."
Li Shang lied next to his beloved, and once again she began instructing him to close his eyes and take deep breaths. When he reached number eighty three, he heard a swift movement coming from outside. He hoped for Mulan's sake no one had gone looking for him to his tent. Shang slowly crawled and peeked outside, hundreds of arrows were being aimed in their direction.
"Put on your armor Mulan!" he commanded and ran outside.
The rest of the soldiers took their positions.
Dodging the arrows, Shang quickly picked the sword inside his tent and fetched his stallion. "Fire the cannons!" he yelled as he took the lead.
It was chaos in there. Some of his soldiers had already been wounded by the arrows, and some tents had been set on fire.
Soon the barbarians' roars filled the air, they were now visible.
The last canons had been fired taking down several dozens of Huns. It was time for the real battle to begin.
"Soldiers, we cannot let them win" Shang addressed his troop, "Be strong for your country and for those waiting you home."
The soldiers clutched their sword.
"Charge!" roared Shang.
They raised their swords and moved forward to meet the enemy.
Swords crashed and blood stained the earth.
Shang was dealing with three barbarians at the same time. He disarmed one of them with a kick but his other attacker aimed to his wound him. But the soldier next to him thrust his sword on the back of the barbarian, who roared in anger as he collapsed. Shang took care of the third attacker on his own. When he turned around the brave soldier who helped him had fallen to the ground dripping blood from his neck. Shang kneeled next to him and applied pressure on the wound. Shang ripped a piece of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped it around the man's wound. The soldier was choking. "Stay with me!" Shang commanded. But the man lost consciousness. Another barbarian attempted to hurt the General, but he quickly sank the blade of his sword through the barbarian's hip. Shang turned to his soldier again, and checked his pulse. The man was dead. Shang got on his feet he could feel the rage burning inside him.
Mulan fell on her back completely disarmed. She rolled so that her attacker would not hurt her. Again the muscular barbarian lunged toward her. Her reflexes were quick and she docked. She picked up a bamboo sleeping mat and used it as a shield. It served her well for a few seconds until the Hun tore it in half with his sword. Just when she had ran out of ideas, she saw Shang riding his horse towards them. In a swift motion of his sword he beheaded the barbarian. In all the time she had known Li Shang, never had she seen his eyes burning with anger. Shang dismounted his horse and wiped the blood from his face. In a blink of an eye, the rage in his eyes faded giving way to a cold look she was familiar with.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
Mulan hugged him without an answer. She squeezed his body against her own. It felt different than other times she had sought for his embrace. He could tell she was scared. Shang pulled away and gently searched for wounds in her body. She had several scratches. He would not allow them to hurt her any more.
"Get your horse and leave Mulan," he said.
Mulan shook her head. "I'm staying. There are many wounded people."
"This is not a request Mulan!" his voice raised. "I am ordering you to leave immediately."
Mulan narrowed her eyes at him. How dare he? She turned her back on him and walked away from him. Shang followed her and gripped her right arm. She turned to face him and slapped his face. But he did not loosen the grip, instead he tightened it. Mulan fought to set herself free. "Get out of here!" he commanded once again. "I am your commanding officer and you do as I tell you without questioning my authority." Mulan pulled away from him, until he finally let her go. Once she was free, she ran away from him.
None of them had noticed that the other troops had arrived. They helped them vanquish the rest of the Huns.
The battle came to an end. Suddenly there was silence. The sun had barely risen.
Author's Note: I would sincerely appreciate your comments.