Chapter 3

Fa Zhou smiled as he watched his daughter slam her fiancee to the ground with a punch.

"Come on, old master, you can do better than that!" She laughed, as Alaric shook his head to rid himself of his obvious dizziness. "For the last bloody time, I am not old!"

It was the morning after their engagement, with Fa Zhou reaping monetary benefits from Grandma Fa, who had predicted that Alaric would ask for Mulan's hand later than he had done, placing money on it.

Unfortunate for me, but for me, it was!

How happy Mulan looked!

The couple always seemed to glow whenever in each other's presence, and Fa Zhou could not ask for a better son-in-law, despite the fact that Alaric was not Chinese, or have a profession remotely honorable.

Mulan could do much worse, admittedly. He was curious how his grandchildren would look, of course.

There was a slight gust of wind, and he could sense the ghost beside him, and glanced in that direction.

It was Alaric's father, watching his son and his future daughter-in-law sparring from the shrine that both were standing in.

"Quite the pair, I must say. But that is not why you are here. I can appear anywhere at any time, you know."

Fa Zhou smiled at the talkative ghost. "Your son has inherited your quick mind, I see. It is true that I could be somewhere else, but I wanted to speak to you where I was more comfortable."

The ghost nodded. "Of course. This is your life, after all."

Fa Zhou nodded. "It is about your brother, Arthur."

Aldric, whose face was almost identical to his son's, grimaced. "Ah, yes. He was my younger brother by five years, so it was I that brought him into the Brotherhood. Our family have been Assassins for as far back as I can remember. The thing is, when I led the Brotherhood, I ruled through patience and freedom, while he..."

He trailed off, sighed, and began again.

"My brother ruled through control and loyalty, often forcefully. He had always been jealous of my success, but he was not involved in my death. You see, younger chidlren often grow up under their older sibling's shadow, yearning for a chance to shine, to come out and make their own mark on the world."

The former Master Assassin folded his arms over his chest. "Both he and my son are men of strong will and are unshakable in their loyalty to the Brotherhood. My brother is a suspicious man who believes that what he wants is best for the Brotherhood, and will rarely admit to a mistake. Despite this, he is not your enemy."

Fa Zhou nodded, feeling relieved. "You are a boon to an old man's worries, Aldric Rose."

The man smiled. "My son has a good father-in-law, but I would let him do the fighting. Your fighting days are behind you, my friend."

Fa Zhou nodded, smiling as Alaric was thrown off his feet once again.

Aldric whistled. "Your lass is a natural. It is a shame she won't be an Assassin."

Fa Zhou frowned. "You say that as if you are certain."

Aldric shrugged. "As I'm sure my boy already told you, the job requires you to be detached."

Fa Zhou shook his head, pointing to the couple, who were resting in each other's arms.

"Your son does not fit this description."

Aldric sighed. "You've only ever seen him away from the hunt, Lord Fa."

Fa Zhou frowned. "Then why does he love her?"

Aldric smiled. "She brought out the man in him, the man that Lizzy and I raised. The loving, charitable man who would give his life for others. Because of her, he believes in humanity again. To be an Assassin, one has to ignore all the bigotry and violence that is man's evil nature in order to truly serve humanity. In short, your daughter, with her love and her devotion, the sacrifice and the goodness that she shows every day, made my boy believe again."

Fa Zhou sighed. "I wish I had believed in her as he did."

Aldric smiled. "You do now, and she does not despise you for it. You are a blessed father, to have such a good daughter."

Fa Zhou smiled back. "I could say the same for you, although I wish you were here to witness it."

Aldric laughed. "But I am here, just not in the body I was given to use. Keep my son safe and warm, will you?"

With that, Alaric's father faded away, but not before Fa Zhou saw a single tear run down one of the late Assassin's cheek.

That evening, Mulan tended to a shallow gash on my left arm that I had received from her sharp nails.

"Stop squirming, you big baby!" She said, as I sighed impatiently.

"You are going to file your nails soon, luv." I said, as she sewed my gash closed.

"You've had worse, so stop being such a girl."

I narrowed my eyes at her playfully, then pounced.

Unfortunatley, she had already vacated her position, and I thudded into the floor face-first.

"Ow!" I groaned, and Mulan giggled madly before straddling my waist, placing a kiss on my lips.

Mulan squeaked, then moaned, as he returned the kiss roughly.

"Yech! Do ya mind? Yae don't have do that while ah'm around!"

Both of us leaped to our feet. Mulan looked up at the doorway, from whence the voice had come, as I dove for my sword.

In the doorway stood a hooded Assassin, with the customary white robes and armor of an Assassin.

"Who the hell are you?" I growled, sword pointed at the stranger. I knew that voice.

"Did ya really just ask that question?" The figure chuckled, and removed her hood. I gasped, sword dropping from my grip.

A young woman with waist-length lustrous golden hair, tied into a long braid, stood in the doorway. Buxom and beautiful, with dark green eyes twinkling from a smooth youthful face, she smirked at them.

"Hello, Brother. It's been tae long! And this would be the famous Fa Mulan, eh?" She asked, her heavy scottish accent obvious.

Mulan watched in surprise, and a little bit envy, as Alaric and the girl hugged.

"Pheadra! Little Pheadra!"

I turned to Mulan. "Mulan, meet Pheadra, my first student. Pheadra, this is my future wife, Mulan."

The girl smiled, and pushed Alaric out of the way to bow to Mulan. "So y'are the one who finally softened him up. A pleasure!"

Mulan nodded back, glad to see that she did not have a rival, as she could sense that whatever relationship Alaric and the girl, who couldn't be any older than sixteen, it hadn't been romantic.

"I'm sorry she disturbed you." Fa Zhou stepped into the room, looking apologetic.

"Well, Phea," I said, turning to her, "I'd hate to be rude, but I have to ask: what are you doing here?"

Pheadra chuckled. "Aye, mate. I'm here tae help yeh, of course."

I raised my eyebrow. "Knowing you, you did so against direct orders."

She sniffed, waving her hand. "Ter blazes with orders! Yo're goin' ta need help, judging by what's going on at the palace. Our Master is knee deep in it, and he was goin' to send someone teh make sure that you weren't intending tae go help him. I was one of the poor buggers assigned tae assist him, so I took my leave. I hate court politics, anyway."

I frowned, not liking that answer. There was something that she wasn't telling me.

I could feel my impatience building, and I had a sudden urge to do just as he thought I would do.

Mulan, who could read Alaric like an open book, glanced at her Father.

Seeing this, Fa Zhou cleared his throat. "You must have had a long journey. Allow me to offer you some sustenance, as Mulan finds a room for you to stay in."

Pheadra nodded. "Ah won't say no tae that, Honorable Fa Zhou."