Um...I'm back?
I do not own Mulan.
I ducked around my mother to stand at my aunt's elbow. "Here, Auntie Bo. Have some more tea?"
"Why, of course, Daiyu! You are turning into such a sweet young lady." She warmed her hands around the cup as I poured the drink. "I remember last year when I came for the new year celebration. You were playing outside while your sister was spilling the tea everywhere." She chuckled, and I tried not to scream. How could she make such a joke? The fact that Mulan wasn't here should've given her some kind of clue that, hey, maybe Mulan was a sensitive topic!
"Some here, Daiyu" said Aunt Lei. I maneuvered to pour it for her. Father and our other male relatives were outside talking about the war, so our aunts and female cousins were gossiping in here with Mother and Grandmama. Liang, one of my cousins who was newly married, swirled her lukewarm tea in her cup before taking a sip. As she set her cup down and swallowed, she smirked and wiggled her eyebrows at me.
"Who was that handsome young man?" She ran a well-manicured nail around the blue porcelain rim of the cup. "The one who stole you away earlier? He was quite a catch. He reminded me of my Cao when he came courting."
I tried not to blush as I set the tea pot down. "That was Lin Kai," I said, brushing some imaginary crumbs from the table. "We're friends, and he had found a riddle in one of my lanterns. I gave him his prize, and he invited me down to the creek with him."
"Is there any intention of marriage there?" my older cousin Qing asked my mother. As a spinster, she was infinitely interested in everyone's romantic life. Although she'd never confirmed it, it was guessed that her intended was killed in battle, maybe even the same one that had injured Father.
"Oh no, sadly," said Mother, folding her hands on her lap. "The Lins are a very prosperous family, nowhere near what we could marry into."
"Surely you could try to arrange something," said Auntie Bo. "Why, he's such a handsome young man!" She tapped my backside. I twisted away. "Daiyu is turning into such a lovely woman! You haven't sent her to the matchmaker yet, have you?"
"No, we wanted Mulan to marry first. My husband was ready to send her off, but I think she's too young." Mother's tone had a wistful edge that nobody seemed to notice. "Besides," she repeated a little more firmly, "the Lins want Kai and their daughter Holea to marry well."
Auntie Bo snorted. "Not every wealthy lady will be like our Daiyu! The lack of nobility and grace in the upper class these days...do you remember that girl Shui who I used to teach calligraphy to?"
Sighing, I retreated back to my room. I did like Kai, but only as a friend. Yet a momentary flash of his eyes and that strange flutter in my chest shook me for a moment. Of course I only liked him as a friend! Besides, Mother was right. The Lins wanted Kai to marry a wealthy woman.
I glanced at Mulan's little bed shrine. Of course you like him, I heard her tease in my imagination. Tell me about him!
"Well," I said softly, kneeling, "he's very handsome. And he's funny, and kind, and caring. He notices things like you would. When I was crying he noticed, and he's so simple and uncomplicated. Maybe...maybe I like him because he reminds me of you."
Because that was what I liked about him. He was like Mulan, but different. Something about him made my chest tight and my thoughts go silly. "What do you think about him?" I asked Mulan's shrine, then shook my head. I missed her desperately, and what if she never came back? Instead of coming and meeting Kai and 'accidentally' spilling tea on everyone, what if she was far away, trudging cold through the mountains or...or something else? Don't cry again. I stood, swiping at my face and tiptoeing out of my room. Not particularly feeling like going back to my family, I turned to the courtyard. Father and our male relatives were talking somberly in the garden outside the wall, so I snuck out of the gate and started down the road. Petals drifted through the air, kissing the ground, my hair, my shoulders. I guessed I was going to town, so I obeyed my feet and let them take me where they wanted.
I did end up in town, with people bustling, chatting, and celebrating the festival. I threaded my way through the people and among the booths, smiling as I saw Kai standing near a vegetable booth. "Hi, Kai."
He looked up from the booth, smiling. "Hi, Daiyu! What're you doing? Isn't your family over today?"
"Exactly," I said, shrugging. "They were being boring and adult-y weird so I decided to take a walk." I twisted my foot onto its side, lowering my voice. "I just need to get away sometimes." I smiled again. "So what are you doing?"
"Holea and I were sent to get some last-minute things." Holea was here? My contented mood evaporated. I didn't want to leave Kai, but I didn't want to talk to Holea. "We're just getting some vegetables and some flowers. A few peaches, too. And yeah, I wanted to get away from the weird adults." He laughed.
"Yeah." Peaches. I attempted a laugh as well as my mind drifted back to my birthday peach. Mulan had ended up stealing it and eating it all, before feeling bad and taking over my chores for a week. "Well, I should probably go back."
"Daiyu!" Holea's fluty voice halted me. "What a surprise! Kai told me you were with your family." A basket rested on her arm, full of bok choy, cucumbers, some ginger, and a spray of roses and daffodils. With her hair pulled back and her brightly-colored hanfu, she looked like a picture someone might painstakingly inscribe on a fan, dotting watercolors on with precision and love. I knew, however, that her personality was nothing like the fresh-faced beauty she displayed.
"I was, but I decided to take a walk." As soon as I said it, I regretted it. Holea's face morphed from a quiet smile to an angelic-seeming mask of 'concern.' She was going to find fault with me. My shoulders slumped.
"You left your family? Don't you have duties? Did your mother release you?" She tilted her head to one side, and I felt something ugly flare inside me. With that beautiful, beautiful face and that perfect body and her angelic pretenses; once you knew what was underneath it was hard to mask the rotten smell with flowers.
"Yes, but-"
"Holea!" Swallowing a sigh of exasperation, I glanced over my shoulder to see Bao. "Good to see you!" She also carried a basket, although hers was empty. She giggled. "Doing some last minute shopping, too?" She glanced at Kai, flicking a few stray locks behind her ear and smiling wider.
"You know it," said Holea with a smile. "Kai, let's go." She faked a smile. "Nice to see you, Daiyu."
"Oh, Daiyu." Bao smiled, although it seemed more of a grimace. "Are you friends with Holea, now?"
Holea snorted. "Hardly. She ran away from her duties to come to town." Ouch.
Holea waved flippantly. "Your duties?" asked Bao with a frown. She looked at Holea, who tittered in agreement, before looking back at me. "You shouldn't leave your family all alone, especially now that Mulan's gone."
"Maybe you shouldn't bring that up," said Kai. "That might be sensitive, especially since now is a festival time." He folded his arms across his chest, fixing Bao with a reproaching look.
Bao's eyes widened, and she pressed a hand to her lips. "Oh, of course! I didn't mean to say anything mean." Were those fake tears welling up? Give me a break. "I just didn't think."
Kai nodded, smiling again. "I know it's easy to let hurtful words slip. I'm sure Daiyu forgives you." No, not really. I smiled and nodded.
Holea pursed her rose-petal lips. "Ready to go, Kai?"
"Yeah, let's go." He unfolded his arms, smiling as he reached out to rest his hand on my elbow. My mind froze. My lips parted to speak, but the words were caged somewhere in my throat. "See you later, Daiyu. I hope Mulan comes home soon."
I forced my mouth to work. "I do, too. Thank you so much."
He smiled, dropped his hand, and turned to follow Holea and Bao. I looked after him for a minute, then lifted my arm, looking at my elbow. An unstoppable smile spread across my face.
"I'll just check to see if this booth has the ginger I need," said Bao. Her face was creased disagreeably for some reason Kai couldn't fathom, her thin eyebrows drawn together. "You can wait out here."
"Okay," said Holea. "Go ahead." As Bao perused the stall several feet away, Holea's sweet expression fell away to one of indignation. "Lin Kai!"
He sighed. "What, Holea?"
"You were flirting with Fa Daiyu!"
He smirked a little. "No, I wasn't."
"Yes you were! You touched her elbow." Holea put her hands on her hips. "You better not be getting ideas."
"Ideas about what?" Kai raised his shoulders defensively. "Is it illegal to have a friend who's a girl?"
"You know you're going to marry Bao, and you hurt her feelings."
Kai sighed. "We haven't even talked to the matchmaker. Can I help it that she's prettier and nicer than Bao? Ouch!" He tried to twist away, but Holea didn't release her pinch on his ear.
"It's your job to marry well, and the Fa family are not well off at all! The Bao family is much more respected. Plus, Mother and Father would not want Mulan to be in the family." She shuddered, releasing his ear. "I'm telling Mother and Father."
"Holea, no!" Kai wrapped his arms around her in an attempt at placation, giving her his puppy eyes. "Please, I wasn't flirting. She's just lonely and I wanted to be friends with her." He rubbed her arms comfortingly.
"Let go. Bao's coming." Holea's face reassumed its pleasant expression as Bao returned with some ginger. Kai released her, pasting on his flippant expression even though the thought of Holea putting ideas in his parents' heads was the last thing he wanted.