Chapter 7

A short time later, we stood before my Uncle, just outside of the Emperor's Throne Room.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Al and Mulan. I am not at all surprised to see you here, Phaedra. Good to see you again, General." He finished, appraising each of us.

"What is going on in there?" Mulan asked, and Arthur sighed. "He is eating his breakfast, and likes doing so alone."

I snorted. "Speak your peace, Uncle. Why are we here?"

Arthur nodded, and Mulan stepped hard onto my foot for my rudeness while he spoke. "First of all, I have to return to England. Secondly, A Hunnic army is massing near the northern boundary, so the Emperor needs all hands on deck. Thirdly, Allie, I allowed you enough time to recuperate, but things are moving more quickly than I anticipated, and the Emperor doesn't trust me half as much as he trusts you."

Phaedra frowned. "Then why come here yerself?"

Arthur shrugged. "From what the scouts have been telling me, Alaric needed a rest, so I volunteered to step in until he was ready to return to the fight."

He pointed his finger at her. "And while we are on the subject of fighting, I suggest that you stay with Alaric to give him whatever assistance he requires."

Phaedra looked relieved, and unsurprisingly, so did Shang.

"I was gonnae stay anyway, so of course I'm staying!"

I was surprised to see a smile of affection on Arthur's face when he looked at her, the same kind he used when looking at me. "Even if I ordered you not to stay?"

She smiled smugly. "Especially then, former Mentor."

Shang looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, and she winked at him. Blushing, he returned his eyes to the Emperor's closed doors.

I shook my head, both at the obvious flirting and the fact that I wanted nothing less than to leave this place.

"We will do whatever is necessary to protect our country." Mulan said, with Shang nodding with her.

I was afraid she would say that, damn it all! There was no way to back out of this now, since Mulan's eyes held nothing but passion and conviction.

I smiled, knowing it was one of the countless reasons that I loved her so much. "The Assassins will do their part, Uncle."

I was taken aback when Arthur, who never feared anyone, glanced around the room for others before speaking in a hushed voice. "It is not just the Huns that we need to be concerned about. I have a suspicion that there may be a Templar among the Emperor's closest advisors."

I folded my arms, Phaedra and I stiffening in reactive anger.

Mulan raised her eyebrows in surprise, while Shang glared at my uncle, and it was he that spoke next. "That is a serious accusation to throw around, one that cannot be made without direct proof. If this were true, then Alaric would not be so highly regarded by the Emperor and all of China. Despite being a foreigner, Alaric practically rules the streets in the Imperial city. This would not be so if the Templars had a key connection to the Emperor."

Arthur nodded. "Both of your points have merit, General, I'll give you that. But something just does not seem right. Anyway, now that you are here, I am no longer needed here."

We that, he patted me on the shoulder, shook his head playfully at Phaedra, and bowed to the rest before departing.

I rubbed my forehead as Shang glared at me.

"My uncle can be somewhat paranoid sometimes, but he was able to lead the Assassins in England for several years."

Shang did not look convinced, and neither did Mulan. When she met my eyes briefly, I knew that we would have a long talk later.

Phaedra spoke up, looking at me. "There was something wrong with him, as if he was hiding something from us."

I grimaced. Now that she brought it up, Uncle Arthur did seem to have a stick up his arse, as he was never open and trusting, not even to me.

Our relationship had never truly been a matter of affection, since Arthur seemed to think that making our relationship an affectionate one was taking away from the love between my father and I, Phaedra being the one who provided the affection and comfort that I admittedly needed.

Still, I felt it necessary to defend my uncle, for the time being.

A few minutes later, the doors opened, admitting us into the Emperor's presence.

"So you have come to assist me again." The Emperor noted with a smile.

We all bowed, and after the customary greeting, the Emperor got down to business. "As your uncle no doubt has told you, Alaric, Huns are massing in the north, a large number of them. I need all of you to train an army to combat them, since you have done that so ably in the past. General Shang, you shall be the leader of the army, with Mulan and the Assassins providing aide and training."

All of us bowed.

"I will train the best army China has ever seen, Emperor." Shang said confidently.

I chuckled, Mulan smiled, and Phaedra beamed.

"You are your father's son." The Emperor said, and then dismissed us, giving us rooms for the night.

Interestingly, he put Mulan and I in the same room, which meant he had noticed something we were trying to hide.

The old man was the most observant man of his age that I had ever met.

He also placed Phaedra and Shang in rooms next to each other.

However, before I could get into that subject, Mulan lit into my uncle with a vengeance. "Does he always make groundless accusations, and is he always this paranoid?"

I folded my arms. "Sometimes, but there are times when he is bang on target. He's not the type of person to bring this up with such company, preferring to make suggestions to me alone."

Mulan huffed, tucking a strand of silky hair behind her left ear. "I don't trust him, Al."

I threw my hands into the air, my anger flaring. "What do you want me to say?"

Mulan sighed, wrapping her arms around my neck soothingly. "Nothing but the truth."

I smiled sadly, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Something is up, but I do not know what to do about it. Let us think about this tomorrow."

An alluring smile curved Mulan's lips, as her hands removed my armor, with mine taking slow care with her tunic. "Whatever shall we do tonight then?" Mulan asked, her eyes dancing in the candlelight.

"I'm sure we can figure something out." I said, capturing her lips with mine.

Not far away, Shang was in his room, writing orders to several villages, requesting troops. China would need every man they could muster.

Most of the recruits would have some experience in combat, since mandatory military service was considered essential to the survival of the country.

Even after all this time, commanding troops into battle was emotionally draining, knowing that they might never go back home to their families, but Shang dealt with it as best he could.

THUD!

He sat up, having just finished the letters, hearing the noise from one of the rooms close by.

"Donnae bother. It's just our two friends having a go at each other."

Surprised, he turned to see Phaedra leaning languidly on the wall next to the entrance of his room. "Would it be too much to ask you to knock next time, rather than sneaking in?"

She shrugged, expertly twirling a throwing dagger in her right hand. "Aye, General. Sneaking is what I do for a living. Other than killing, that is."

Shang frowned. "You make it sound trivial."

She smirked. "You and I do what is needed to be done. I donnae enjoy it, but I don't know anything else."

Shang regarded her for a moment. "Do you not have a family?"

Her eyes hardened. "My father was killed in a street fight when I was twelve, and my mother died soon afterwards from a broken heart. Alaric and the Brotherhood are my family."

Shang reached forward, and touched her cheek. "I'm sorry for your loss. My father died fighting the Huns."

She didn't shy away, her eyes meeting his. "I think I will enjoy working with ya, General."

He touched her arm. "What if I could teach you another way to live your life? If there is one thing I know about you so far, it is that you don't like to cause pain to others."

She regarded him for a moment, then removed her hood. Shang drew in a breath at her beauty while she smiled, her light green eyes sparkling. "Aye, when this shite is all over, I'll give you a go."

Shang nodded. "You won't regret it, Phaedra."

She returned the nod, patted his hand that gripped his arm, and then walked out of the room. As she did so, she swayed her hips seductively, grinning when she heard Shang's intake of breath.

When she was in her room, she closed the door, and then leaned back against it. Her skin seemed to burn where he touched it, and she fought to control her urge to snog him senseless.

"One step at a time." She said to herself, before preparing for bed.

Shang shook his head. "That girl will be the end of me, or my career, or perhaps both."

A voice interrupted his musings. "I should hate for it to be both, General."

Shang turned to see Alaric standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest.

"I thought you were...preoccupied." Shang said, and the Assassin smirked. "We finished a few minutes ago, long enough to see and hear what I needed to."

Shang stiffened at his less than friendly tone. "What are you suggesting?"

I stepped into the room, staring him down. I knew Mulan was behind me, but I also knew that she would only interfere if things got violent.

"You're attracted to her, and she is attracted to you. Maybe this romance has a happy ending and maybe it does not."

I paused, as I stepped up to him. "I do know one thing is for sure: Phaedra is like a daughter and a sister to me. For every tear-drop that she sheds because of you, you shall pay for it with a drop of your own blood. I swear by all that is holy that if you hurt her, I will make you regret it."

Mulan watched, and shivered at the ice-cold tone in her lover's voice, the promise of a slow and painful death left unsaid.

There was no warmth or compassion in his voice that she so loved, and she was fervently thankful that she was not his enemy.

If she had anything to say about it, she would tame the animalistic nature that the Assassins had bestowed upon him.

Shang bristled. "Is that a threat?"

I stepped closer. "It is a damned guarantee. You and I may be allies, but I still have not forgotten how you left the both of us to die in the mountains."

Shang winced, and then raised a hand. "All I am asking is that you give me and her a chance."

I paused for a long moment, then nodded. "Do not make me regret it."

When Mulan and I reentered our room, she cuffed me upside the head. "What was that for?"

I sighed. "What I am supposed to be doing: making sure that she doesn't get hurt."

Mulan snorted. "I don't remember her asking you for help. You have nothing to prove to her or to me, so why exactly are you being so protective?"

I looked at her with pained and haunted eyes. "Because I've lost too much in my life, and I will not stand another."

Mulan's took my face in her hands. "Al, listen to me: I'm not going anywhere, and neither is she. I know it is hard for you, but you need to stop worrying, or it will hurt us in the end."

After a moment, I nodded. The moment of weakness had passed, and I hugged her gently. "I should've known better than to worry while you are with me, my love." I said, after we had parted.

"Yes, you should have, old man. Now shut up, and kiss me!"

I did so, parting a second later to warn her. "Call me old one more time, Tigress!"

She smirked, shoving me playfully onto our bed. "Tigress, am I?" She straddled me, moving with the grace of a cat.

"Aye, Lass. My Tigress." I said, as I pulled her on top of me and I crushed her lips against mine.

"After this, I don't think you will call me old." I promised, as our naked bodies met for the second time in less than an hour.

Our love-making was slow, intense and almost painfully pleasurable, our bodies fitting perfectly with each other as only the bodies of soul mates could.

Nearby, both Shang and Phaedra had similar erotic desires, manifesting in both of their dreams.

The two couples didn't realize that very soon, things would become very dangerous.

As the four were sleeping, the Templars infiltrated the Huns' leadership with time-honed precision and speed that had gained them the Roman and Sassanid Empires in the past.

But since both empires were on their last legs, the Templars thirsted for a new challenge in the East.

They allied themselves with the Huns on the border of the Roman Empire, promising them their former lands that had been taken by the Chinese in return for the right to command this new invasion.

The Huns, underestimating the Templar's lust for power and control, accepted eagerly, setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to the renewal of hostilities between the Chinese and the Huns.

War was coming to the East, and to China. The Templars were at work, and, thanks to a certain spy, they knew that the Assassins were at work in China.

This only whetted the Templar's appetite for battle. The battle lines were being drawn, and conflict was unavoidable.