Chapter 9

In the morning, I stormed into Phaedra's tent. I had found out what she and Shang were planning from Mushu, who took it upon himself to me about it, for some reason.

Phaedra was putting on her leather-padded armor, Mulan following me into the tent. She had been unsuccessful in calming her future husband down.

If Phaedra was a cat from hell, Alaric was certainly the Lion from hell.

"What the blazes do you think you are doing?!"

Phaedra didn't turn toward me. "You shouldnae be worried so much. I will'na get hurt."

The Lion paced, growling. "That does not concern me. What does concern me is what you will do to him."

Phaedra shrugged. "Good on ya. Ya learned at least that much from our years together." She sighed, as if preparing for a fight. "Speaking of our years together, yeh've changed rather drastically from the last time I saw ya before ya came to China."

Mulan and I exchanged a look. "Well, I am getting married." I offered, and she shook her head. "It's not just that, Al. It's a complete change. Yeh've been acting like new man."

Mulan winced, and Phaedra turned to her, and smiled. "I'm not sayin' it's a bad thing. It's actually been inspiring."

I tilted my head to one side. "Inspiring, how?"

She looked me directly in the eyes. "I want yeh to be honest with me: are you thinking of leaving the Assassins. It will give you peace, peace that yeh've been deserving of and denied so long?"

I took a moment to think. I was going to say no, but would life be better for me and Mulan without the Assassin Brotherhood to worry about? If that were the case...

"If I had to choose between Mulan and the Brotherhood, then I would choose her without any hesitation." Mulan gasped, and I gave her a smile, before turning back to Phaedra, who had turned back to looking at her reflection.

Mulan's heart ached for the girl. Not long ago, Mulan had been obsessed with her own reflection, until Alaric had changed everything.

"I feel as if I will be makin' the same decision soon, with Shang, who has offered to help me find another life."

I straightened, frowning. "Is that what you want: to leave the Brotherhood for him?"

She shrugged. "Aye, I might soon."

I sat down, sighing, not surprised at all. "Oh, Phae, did you really think I was going to stop you?"

When she said nothing, I reached out, and pulled her into a hug. "Come here, sweetheart. I just want you to be happy, and if you get hurt, I would never forgive myself."

Her breath hitched, and Mulan melted at the paternal care in her lover's voice and embrace. He was going to be a great father someday, but then she realized that he already was, in some sense.

"I've always wanted to make yeh proud." Phaedra said shakily, and I chuckled. "You could never make me more proud than I am now, Kitten."

After a long moment, Mulan joined the hug, and the three of us shared a long embrace.

"So!" I said, after we had parted to wipe our eyes. "What is this display going to be about?"

Phaedra poked me in the chest. "This is about proving ma'self to those primitive, sexist bigots out there on the fecking parade-grounds. I'm also going to show Shang what kind of woman I am: that I'm not some damsel in distress to rescue."

I frowned. "So this is all just an act, a way to impress them."

She rolled her eyes. "Wow, you're quick!" She noted snarkily.

I kneaded my forehead with the tips of my fingers, a headache starting to set in. Before I could say anything more, Phaedra raised a finger. "Now, it's your turn. Who told you about our arrangement?"

At the most inopportune moment, the culprit made himself known. "What y'all still doing here? The show is about to start, and people are starting to group together!"

Phaedra took my silence as an answer, and glared at Mushu, whose wide smile was replaced by a grimace of fear.

"Ya slimy-tounged, slippery, puny little grease-stain!"

Mushu held his hands up, and Phaedra advanced on him. "Calm down, Doll..."

Shang heard a feminine roar of fury coming from Phaedra's tent, and he hurried over to see her chasing a screaming Mushu from her tent, snarling curses under her breath.

Before he could move aside, she bowled him over in her attempts to catch Mushu. "Come here, yeh fecking...oh, it's yeh!" Phaedra said, looking down at her love interest. Her legs straddled his waist, and their faces were not very far apart.

"I heard a commotion, so I came to investigate." Shang stammered, flabbergasted by her wild beauty and temper.

"Ach, well! No harm done." She said, and he could smell her scent of flowers and leather, as she could smell his masculine musk.

"Hey, yo! Get a room!" Mushu catcalled, but regretted it a second later, as Phaedra's temper exploded, the chase beginning again.

"Get back here, yeh slimy bastard!" Phaedra snarled, leaping to her feet.

"Holy Ancestors!" Mushu swore, turning to run away.

Shang watched as the woman he was steadily falling for chase after the Fa's Family Guardian.

An hour later, Shang and Phaedra faced each other.

Mushu was off nursing various wounds from his brush with death, Crik-ee tending to him. Phaedra looked refreshed and smug.

Mulan and I watched the proceedings from behind Phaedra.

Shang turned to Phaedra. "I was planning to fight you in front of the men, but I do not think that would be necessary. I do not want you to get hurt."

She shrugged, smirking. "Aye, I wouldn't want to embarrass you in public." Shang winced, and I laughed at his pathetic attempt to patronize her.

Even Shang doubted her, but not for long. Phaedra glanced at me, and I could see the rage and hurt in her eyes.

I gave her a calming gesture, but she ignored it.

Shang and my girl faced off, and Shang foolishly tried to explain his battle plan. "I want you to display your skills, but we won't be trying to kill each other-"

Before he could finish, Phaedra struck, throwing him to the ground. His helmet flew off, as Phaedra gave a war-cry, screeching like a banshee. Her eyes were wild, and a sneer of superiority on her face.

"Now, ya primitive arse-hole, I'm going to show you why no empire in history has ever conquered Caledonia!"

Shang rose to his feet, and drew his sword, attacking her without a warning.

Phaedra laughed, as she dodged and blocked all of his blows. Shang was trying to use his size and strength by slamming his blade down at her, as if using an axe. She simply brushed them aside as if they were pesky but harmless insects. "Come on, General! Yeh're not even tryin'!"

Shang frowned, breathing heavily. "I could say the same for you!"

She laughed. "You haven't given me a reason to do my damndest. I can read your every move!" With that, she disarmed him, but he tackled her around the waist in reply, both of them fighting to gain the upper hand.

Even though Phaedra was a slight woman, she fought like a demon, landing a few blows before he pinned her to the ground.

The two stared at each other, neither surrendering. I folded my arms, feeling uneasy.

Shang wanted to kiss her, to taste her. However, he stood and helped her up, fighting against his impulses.

"I was wrong about you. Forgive me for underestimating you." Mulan watched as Phaedra's sneer slipped from her face, and was replaced by shock and gratitude.

Mulan realized that Shang did what no other man had done for Phaedra except Alaric: he respected her for who she was, and had mended his ways. A glance at Alaric's smile proved it.

"Yer not so bad yerself." When they fought in front of the men, Phaedra put on an equally fantastic display, and there were quite a few men among the recruits who now feared and respected her because of her prowess in combat.

A few hours later, the couple were in Shang's tent, looking over the huge battle map laid stretched out on his table.

The spies had just reported that the Huns had over ten thousand soldiers, with foreign troops arriving constantly as well.

"Ten thousand, with more on the way. This is more than last time, more than we've had to deal with in many years." Shang noted, looking shaken.

Phaedra nodded, and then shrugged. "We'll be ready when they come."

Shang raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "We only have about a thousand in this camp, and this is one of the biggest camps in the whole country. We need more men, more supplies, more..."

Phaedra took him by the shoulders, and shook him none too gently. "Calm down, d'ya hear? Get a hold on yourself!"

Shang nodded after a long moment, patting her on the shoulder. "Thank you. I fear for my country, Phaedra. Everything that I have done, what my father has done, might be for nothing if our enemies are not stopped."

Phaedra touched his cheek with her hand. "Aye, but we are here to stop them. And I'll be by your side."

He smiled up at her. "And I am fortunate to have you at my side." Their hands met and held, the two basking in each others' presence.

In Mulan's tent, Mulan and I were rereading the reports that the spies had sent.

"So many arrayed against us." Mulan said, sounding sickened from worry. I put the reports down, and went to my soul mate, wrapped my arms around her waist.

"You have no reason to doubt yourself, my love. How many times have you worried yourself to the point of collapse, only to pull through even when the odds were stacked against you?"

Mulan sighed, remembering such times less than two years ago, when Alaric had been training her after she had been dismissed by Shang. "This is different, darling. Back then, the Huns were not half the size of the army we now face."

I grimaced. She had a point. "Okay, so we're outnumbered ten to one, but it's nothing-" I was cut off by Mulan breaking away from my arms, turning on me angrily.

"Al, don't just brush this off like it's nothing, not with so much at stake. Too many lives are at stake, including our families' lives!"

I wilted, raising my hands, not used to her anger. "I know, Mulan, I know! I will not have you panicking. We need to think about our options."

Mulan glared at me. "There are no other options than stopping them, before they kill us all!"

I glared in return. "And we will stop them, Mulan! We will stop them, as we stopped the Huns. It won't be easy, but we can do it!"

After another angry moment, Mulan sat in her chair, seeming pained by her own outburst. "I'm sorry, Al. I'm just so scared."

My anger vanished as she began to cry, and I gathered her into my arms. "I will not allow harm to come to you, my sweet."

Mulan sniffed, wiping her eyes on her sleeves. "I know that you will try, darling."

A few hours later, after Mulan was asleep, I left the tent, shaken by Mulan's fear in her eyes. I never, ever, wanted to see that in her eyes again.

I had seen and felt many things in my life, had many losses and triumphs, but Mulan losing faith and her fear had me shaken to the core.

Only my parents' death had shaken me more.

Phaedra was waiting for me, beside the campfire, sharpening her sword.

"How long have you been here?" I asked, and she shrugged. "Not very long, but long enough."

I nodded, and sat beside her. "The Templars are here because of us. If it weren't for us..."

Phaedra cut me off. "Donnae even try to pull that card. It's too late to run, and they wouldn't come with us if we did run."

I threw my hands into the air, my anger rising quickly. "Well, all I've got is staying here, and going down fighting, so unless you have any better ideas, that is about all I have!"

She nodded, smiling. "Yer the brains of the both of us, Dad, and yeh always have been!"

I chuckled weakly, touched and proud to be called that by her.

"And you were always the talker of the both of us, Hellcat!"

Phaedra nodded, smirking. "Stay on the subject, Lion heart!"

I smiled at the nickname she had given me because of my supposed courage and my sizeable temper. "All right, have it your own way. Any other options?"

A voice interrupted us, answering the question for me. "Well, mates, I've got a few good ones, if you don't mind listening to an old veteran!"

We both turned to see Arthur standing there, his arms folded across his chest, a broad smile on his face.

"'Allo, you two! I came to help you two out with your Templar problems."

Arthur always had a way of turning up in the right places at the right time, and this seemed to be no exception.

"Ah'll be damned!" Phaedra said, and he smiled at her, with her returning the smile back. He had the same crooked smile that Alaric had, and it was infectious.

"Don't ask me how I got past your General's guards, Phaedra. I don't want them to get killed for being incompetent."

Phaedra blushed. "He's not mine, not yet."

Arthur winced. "That is too much information! Now, let's get back to our present problem: the gits who are currently knocking at our door."

With that, my uncle sat himself down, and laid out his current scheme.