I'll Make A Man Out Of You, Again

Chapter Seven

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"What a hard head!" Mulan exclaims, gritting her teeth against the bumpy horse ride. Mushu sits in the saddlebag with Cri-Kee chirping angrily beside him.

"Face it girl, you know he's doin' the right thing," he says, "and 'specially with you bein' in your condition."

Mulan rolls her eyes and snaps the reins against Kahn. "Mushu, you know I don't want to be treated like some weak little woman. I'm a hero!"

"You're with-child! You don't need to be slayin' Mongols what with that baby in your belly!" he points out.

"It's not like I'm showing yet." She silently urges the horse to go faster, to take her away from the wretched camp as fast as possible. "I just wanted to figure out how to win this quickly, and then have the baby safely at home."

Mushu scoffs. "Win a war quickly, ha. Girl, just what was in that river water? If Shang never found outta 'bout you, your baby-carryin' butt would be sitting out there in the snow for months! If you wasn't killed yet, anyway. And even if you could hide that bump, what then? Did you really wanna squat out in the middle of the forest to have the baby? Hide the thing in this here bag, with us? Girl, what if it was cryin' and-"

"I get it, Mushu," she mutters. "But it wouldn't take that long."

Mulan slows and eventually comes to a stop as they follow the trail around a hill and to a cliff. They can see the makeshift camp in the distance, nestled in a mountain gorge like a tiny village, illuminated by the moonlight. From what is visible, it looks like all the men have dispersed back into their tents. All except one. Mulan sees his red cape whip against the wind as he slowly walks along the river's edge. Pain stabs in her chest when she watches him sink to the ground and cover his face.

She wonders for a fleeting moment why he's upset, why he isn't happy she's going home. But Mulan realizes for the first time that it very well could've been the last time they'll see each other.

Her pulse races.

In her stubborn rage, she hadn't even bothered to say 'I love you', hadn't bothered to give him one last kiss. He was down there probably beating himself up about the very things. Mulan can't imagine the feeling of knowing you might not see your wife again, and that you left her on bad terms. Knowing that you might not meet your only child.

Shang turns around. He stands and faces the cliff and Mulan, albeit being far away, knows that he is looking at her. She lingers there for a moment, hoping that she can somehow send a silent apology. She feels tears welling up in her eyes and she roughly jerks Kahn away before they spill over.

"Mista' hard head, huh?"

She snaps her head back and shoots Mushu a dangerous look. "I didn't need that comment."

Either of them are quiet for awhile as they find their way back to the main road.

"He just wants to protect you," Mushu tries.

"Don't you think I know that?" Mulan says softly. "I must've made him feel so awful. I never even told him I love him before I left."

"He knew."

The posse stops momentarily at the river to water the horse. Mulan uses the time to quietly vomit into a shrub. Horseback riding is not ideal when you're in your first trimester. As she rinses her mouth with the river water, the thought of Shang troubles her more and more.

"But what if he didn't know?" she blurts, her throat becoming incredibly swollen when she tries to fight back tears. "What if he thinks I hate him for sending me back? What if he's killed and our last conversation was us arguing about me going home?"

Mushu gives her a sad smile. "Killed? Ol' Shanghai? Nah, girl that'll be the day yer cow here starts flyin', Shang ain't gonna let himself die. Not with you to come home to," he adds.

"And this baby." Mulan looks distastefully at the shrub she had defaced. "If it weren't for this damned baby I could've stayed however long it took. And I bet Shang wouldn't even be as angry, had you not told him."

Mushu raises an eyebrow at her dirty look. "Hold up!" he protests. "This ain't the poor child's fault you had to go an' fool around 'fore you was even married, behind my back I might add! And I am your almighty dragon guardian, missy!"

She starts to roll her eyes, but a faint sound makes her stiffen in surprise. Mulan identifies the sound coming from the Yuzhao Pass, way off in the distance. At first it sounds to her like thunder, but she slowly realizes with a sinking feeling that the noise is the pounding of horse's hooves.

The Mongols.

"Mushu..." she trails off, fervently searching her brain for an idea.

"Ah! They comin' for us!" Mushu hollers, diving down into the saddlebag. "Girl, what we gonna do?!"

She looks closer at the pass. "Calm down, almighty dragon guardian," she says, relieved, "they're going in the opposite direction."

Mulan anxiously watches them move through the pass, barely missing the company. They head north near the border, rather than west and in depth into China. The fools, she thinks contemptibly. Her and Mushu look at each other and they both wonder the same thing: had Shang heard the stampede of horses on the other side of the mountain?

The last of them go out of sight and everyone, including the cricket, breathes a sigh of relief.

"Them Mongols were too dang close to the company," comments Mushu. "I'll bet they's scared straight right about now."

Mulan peers again into the pass for a moment, and then shakes her head. "Well, they're gone now."

But she finds that not to be so true when suddenly a giant hand clamps over her mouth.

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