So I decided to continue.... So not good on the romance, so beware......
We ate mostly is silence. The odd question or two would come to me or Mulan, but other than these few brief words, nothing. Fa Li rose from the table and started to clear the dishes. Mulan started to rise, but her mother shook her head, and she sank back down beside me. After a minute of silence, Mulan's Grandmother broke the dense quiet.
"So, Mulan, would you like to share with us exactly what happened, seeing as you've been gone for so long now? Waking and finding your only granddaughter has vanished in the night leaves you with many questions." Mulan blushed furiously. So that's how she did it. Gone in the night... Her poor parents.
And Mulan told them. Everything. Her journey, her time at the camp, the march, the town, the discovery. Everything. I listened intently, hanging on her every word. I couldn't help but notice how she described me. I heard myself as a proper commanding officer. Someone who was tough yet fair. A true warrior. This made the guilt creep up my throat once again. Did she truely see me like this, or did she just wish to be respectful to her commanding officer in front of her father.
When she finished her tale, Fa Zhou took her hand in his, looking at her with proud eyes. "You have been brave, Mulan. And you have saved my life, and all of China. You have brought great honour to the Fa family, Mulan." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you, Baba," she whispered, blushing from her father's praise, and rose, walking into the kitchen. I wondered how those words would sound coming from my own father. I tried to imagine growing up in this environment. My mother, firm and kind, not timid and too shy to stand up for her son when he collapsed on the grass during training from exhaustion, his hands bleeding and his feet blistered. And my father, strict but loving, not too hardened to know how to express emotions, or raise a son differently than he would raise an army. I couldn't comprehend her life.
This is when I noticed the awkward silence that had fallen between Fa Zhou and I, the only ones remaining at the table. It was him who spoke first.
"I must thank you, Captain Li, for saving my daughter, and for sparing her life." His voice was steady, but still rang with emotion. For a moment I was speechless.
"I, I'm afraid I don't deserve your gratitude, Sir. I, I left her behind. She was a soldier, the bravest of us all, and I left her. My father never would have left one of his soldiers behind." I looked into my hands, the guilt rising like bile into my throat.
"Your father," Fa Zhou said calmly; respectfully, "would never have spared her life. I am quite aware of my daughter's crime, Captain. And I am quite aware of your father's dedication to the law. I owe everything I have to you. I owe you my life. My heart." I stare at him, amazed; stunned.
"I, I, uh, Sir, I..." Fa Zhou just smiled. I clear my throat, trying to speak. I give a weak smile back. The women reenter the room, seating themselves at the table. Fa Zhou smiles knowingly.
"Why, Mulan, why don't you give our guest a tour of your home before dark? It would be the proper thing to do." Mulan blushed slightly and nodded to me. I immediately rise and thanked Fa Li for dinner. I follow Mulan around as she gave the tour. It was short and awkward, but as we moved around, I felt my confidence grow. We eventually made our way outside, and as we did, Mulan gazed quickly over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, about, well, that. They can a bit of a handful sometimes. Especially Grandmother." She gave an embarressed laugh, and I smiled at how it transformed her face.
"It's really okay. You must be thankful for them." She nodded and smiled. A moment of awkwardness hung between us.
"Mulan, I've been wanting to talk to you." Here goes nothing. "I must apologize for my behaviour. You have saved my life. You have saved China. And I left you behind. I was wrong to leave you, and I was wrong to not believe you. I am sorry, Mulan." I am suddenly tired and out of breath.
"You did nothing wrong. I realize the crimes I have committed, and if anything, I should be in debt to you. Shall we say we are even, then?" Dumbfounded, I stumbled to regain my sense of speech.
"You saved my life, twice. We're hardly even."
"That was Ping," she smiled and shook her head. Sticking out a hand, she smiled kindly. "I am Mulan. " I smiled and took her hand.
"Li Shang. A pleasure." She laughed warmly, and I thought of warm, smooth molasses. A comfortable silence captured us, and I felt myself leaning closer and closer.
"Mulan?" We both pulled away. I realized I had not released her hand and immediately let go, feeling the warmth of her skin drain from my hand.
"Yes, Grandmother?" The old woman appeared, looking quite amused.
"Your mother is wondering if you have completed your tour. It is already dark and you both will freeze." Mulan sighed.
"Yes, we are finished." Her Grandmother nodded and vanished behind the wall again. We turned to each other and she sighed.
"I should probably be going," I said finally. She looked disappointed and nodded. We returned inside and I thanked the Fa family once again for their hospitality.
"Where will you be staying?" Mulan's Grandmother piped. I shrugged. "I will find an inn somewhere in town." The Fa's nodded, excepting this.
"Perhaps you will join us tomorrow?" she said again, and I tried to conceal my laughter. Mulan flushed, staring downwards.
"Thank you, perhaps I will." I bowed to the Fa's and made my way out of Fa residence. I smiled, my emotions stirring within me.
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