Ta da!!! New chapter! Please review!!!!
I was swimming in blackness. Faintly, I heard the roar of a crowd.
"Shang? Oh, Shang, please. Please. Shang? Look at me. Shang!" I used all of my energy to crack open my eyes. Colours drifted before me, but they pulled together. And everything came back to me. Mulan! I turned my head to see Shan Yu looming over me. I gently pushed Mulan back and grabbed the dagger hidden in my belt. Shan Yu only kicked it away and struck my face.
His strong hands gripped me by the collar. "You took away my victory!" he hissed, baring his sword. I squeezed my eyes shut. I'm sorry, Mulan. But nothing came but the sound of a soft thud and Shan Yu's growl.
"No!" I jerked my eyes open. Mulan stood behind him, one foot bare, her slipper resting discarded on the ground. Run! But she didn't move. "I did," she said fiercely, and pulled back her hair. Ping. I still wasn't used to how she could transform before my eyes.
"The soldier from the mountains," hissed Shan Yu. He dropped me, and I struggled through my pounding head to get to my feet, but I couldn't. But I could watch as Mulan pulled back on her slipper and fled down the steps. They were gone. Please, I prayed, be careful. And then the darkness swept over me once again.
Cheering. A monstrous cheering. And then a continuous exlosion, each bang shooting daggers into my aching head. I pulled open my eyes, and colours danced and swayed before them. The world spun and turned, and it took minutes to right itself. Fireworks? Fireworks! Mulan! I pulled myself to my feet despite my protesting body and stumbled down the steps. I became more and more steady as I ran. I had to find Mulan. She had to be alive. She had to be. I hadn't apologized. I hadn't made things right. Stay alive, Mulan, please.
I wove through the Palace and out through the front doors. My legs pounded down the stairs three at a time. And then I was hurtling into the stone, something heavy hit my back and caused me to fall. I stared up at the colour stained sky and pulled myself up. Mulan lay beside me, looking rather dazed herself. Relief flooded through me. Shan Yu's sword bounced down at my feet. But that means–
She had done it. She had saved China. Again. And I was an idiot. I left her on the mountain. If she had gone home, we would have no hope. "Mulan–"
She looked up at me, her eyes lighting up. "Yes?" Her eyes met mine, her breath ragged.
"I–" but then Yao, Ling and Chien Po rushed up, and I let out a sigh of disappointment. I thought I heard the same from her. Maybe it was just my imagination. I pulled myself to my feet as the men joined us on the steps, laughing and cheering. I reached down and helped Mulan to her feet, my hand closing around hers. How did I not notice she was a woman?
But as the smoke cleared, Chi Fu descended the stairs, his tall cap still smoldering.
"That was a deliberate attempt on my life! Where is she?" I stepped in front of her. If I get my hands on you, it won't be just an attempt.
"What a mess! Stand aside, that creature's not worth protecting." Creature? I looked back at Mulan. She stood tall. Confident. Beautiful. I turned to face Chi Fu once more. He leaned his weasely face forward. His mousy moustache was singed. Everything about this man was rodent-like, and Mulan was the creature? My anger boiled.
"She's a hero." I spat. I would never forget that again.
"She's a woman! She'll never be worth anything!" He sounded out each syllable. I gripped his collar, pulling him close. Rage boiled throughout my body. My hands shook.
"Listen! You pompous–"
"That. Is. Enough." The Emperor emerged from the smoke. It seemed to bow down and curl away from him, leaving an almost carved trail. I released the rodent from my hands and approached him.
"Your majesty, I can explain–" He raised his hand to silence me. Strange how my words matched Mulan's so long ago on the mountain. It seemed like years past. I bowed out of the way, revealing Mulan standing alone. She quickly bowed to the Emperor.
"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan." My anger flashed again. Chi Fu. If said even one negative word about her–
"You stole you're father's armor. You ran away from home. Impersonated a soldier." Oh no. I would fight for her. For her honour, if I had to. She was so much more than that. "Deceived your commanding officer." I don't care! I wanted to cry. It doesn't matter, don't you see? "Dishonoured the Chinese army. Destroyed my palace. And–" He motioned to the flames around him.
"You have saved us all." And I watched as the Emperor, of all of China, bowed to her. Chi Fu quickly fell to his knees. And I followed, sinking to my knees and falling to the ground, my fingertips at her feet. Mulan looked around, bewildered, as all of China followed.
After several minutes, she turned back to the Emperor. "Chi Fu," he called.
"Your Excellency," he squeaked, pen ready.
"See to it that this woman is made a member of our counsel." Chi Fu stuttered and stammered, and I enjoyed every moment of it.
"But, there are no counsel positions open, your Majesty," exclaimed Chi Fu, looking smug.
"Very well," said the Emperor, "You can have his job." I had never been the physical contact type of man, but I wanted nothing more than to cheer and throw my arms around him. Chi Fu sputtered again, then fell to the floor, looking like a mouse caught in a trap.
"With all due respect, Excellency," Mulan's soft voice broke me from my thoughts, "I think I've been away from home long enough."
"Then take this," the Emperor removed the pendant, the royal crest, from around his frail neck. "So your family will know all you have done for me. And this," he smiled, baring Shan Yu's sword, "So the world will know what you have done for China." Mulan let out a breath of air and threw her arms around him.
"Is she allowed to do that?" whispered Yao. I just shrugged, silently laughing at how she had done what I wanted to do only moments ago. She turned and embraced her friends, laughing and smiling triumphantly. She then turned to me, and my pulse pounded and my words grew thick again.
"Um, you," she looked up at me, waiting. So beautiful. "You... fight good." I looked away, embarrassed. Nice....... Very smooth! You call yourself a man?
"Oh. Thank you." and walked passed me. Idiot!
I watched as she mounted her horse. She turned and galloped down the stone steps. Away from the Palace, away from me. Forever. I stared after her. Gone.... I heard someone clear their throat beside me, and turned, shocked, to see the Emperor, proud and tall, at my side.
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." Was he–? No, not possible...
"Sir?"
"You don't meet a girl like that every Dynasty." He plucked his cap back onto the top of his barren head and walked smoothly back up the steps. I glanced back. Mulan was gone. And then I ran.
A little more humour in that chapter! Hope you liked it! Please review! I'd like to know if anyone is actually reading this....