Love in War

Love in War - Chapter 1: Our Next Move

It had been anything but an uneventful evening. Mulan had nearly given herself in marriage to Prince Jeeki of Qui Gong under the impression that Shang had been killed and it was the only way to complete their mission of alliance. When Shang was revealed to have lived, chaos consumed the gathering as he asserted what Mulan had tried to argue since the beginning. No one should be forced to marry someone they don't love.

Outraged, Lord Qin tries to have him executed for interrupting the sacred ceremony. Thanks to quick thinking from Mushu, posing as the Golden Dragon of Unity, he didn't prevail. Under his guise, Mushu promptly marries Shang and Mulan and releases the princesses, who were hiding amongst the crowd, from their vow to marry the princes of Qui Gong.

The battle was won and the crisis had been diverted... Or had it?

Mulan, Shang, the princesses, and the soldiers reconvened on the outskirts of the city in an effort to escape any more attention from Qui Gong's inhabitants for the mayhem they had caused there. An important question needed to be answered:

What do we do next?

The seven of them stood in silence for some time, as if they could all read each other's thoughts, but no one could put them into words.

Mulan finally spoke,

"I told Lord Qin that you were all killed when the royal carriage fell into the river. I can tell the emperor that as well so you all can get away!"

The princesses stared at her in shock. Lie to their father? Break his heart by leading him to believe all three of his children were gone forever? And what would that make of Mulan and Shang? The ones that got away? Surely conspiracies would spread, not to mention the potential consequences they would face for allowing such a tragedy to occur.

"No," Ting Ting responded, "that's not an option. We have to return to our father."

"What!?" Mei interjected, "We can't do that! We took a vow to marry in Qui Gong! How can we face him after what we've done?"

"So you just want to run away? No one is asking you to change your decision, Mei. Just to take responsibility for it! I, for one, can't spend my life hurting others by hiding from my problems. You shouldn't be content to spend your days living a lie!" Ting Ting lectured.

"Mei, it'll be okay." Su added, "He's not just the Emperor, he's our dad. He'd want us to be happy! And look at Fa Mulan!" she said, gesturing to Mulan. "She broke the rules to join the army, AND HE HONORED HER! He's understanding! Everything doesn't have to be according to tradition! Not to mention we didn't break our vow! The Golden Dragon of Unity released is from it! Everything will be alright."

Shang gripped Mulan's hand and the two spent a moment reading each other's expression. He then faced the princesses, "The decision is yours, and we'll be here to support you in whatever you choose."

Mei and Yao exchanged glances before both nodding in agreement, "Let's go home."

With that, the team started out of Qui Gong to return.

The journey back to the Imperial City was a long one. The caravan moved slowly and there was a feeling of anxiety that radiated through each of them. Though none of them would dare speak of it, they each feared the Emperor's reaction to their actions. Mulan and Shang hadn't secured the alliance they promised, the princesses hadn't honored their vow, and the soldiers had stolen the princesses' hearts.

It's true, the emperor had been understanding in the past, but that didn't change the fact that he was the emperor, the most powerful man in the country. Anything could happen.

There was a slight rustling coming from Mulan's satchel. She turned to face it and a familiar red dragon snaked his head out of the side opening.

"Mulan, are you sure you want to do this?" Mushu asked her, worry written across his face.

"Do what?"

"Face the Emperor," Mushu clarified.

"Of course! What else would I do?" Mulan scoffed.

"Leave! You could run! Start over! You and pretty boy together!"

"Your last move as guardian would be to dishonor my family by having me run away?" She asked, both accusingly and genuinely shocked.

"Forget honor! Forget all of that! I couldn't live seeing anything happen to you, and who knows what the emperor might do!?" He didn't care to impress the ancestors, or even to keep his pedestal anymore. He just didn't want Mulan to get hurt.

"Nothing will happen. We'll work this out!" She reassured him as she stroked his head,

"Besides, we've been through much worse than this. Everything will be okay."

At this point, she was talking to herself more than to Mushu. Her words did little to calm his fear, but they gave her enough courage to wear a smile for the time being.

The princesses and soldiers were walking together in a group with an ox following closely behind if needed. They mostly stuck to their pairs, occasionally glancing at each other to see if they wanted to engage in conversation. After some time of walking in silence, Ling pulled Ting Ting to the side.

"Do you really think the Emperor will be okay with this? With us? All of us?" He asked, trying to keep his voice down to a whisper.

Ting Ting exhaled and broke her posture, "I don't know," she started, "I know he wants us to be happy, but we still let him down. I just hope he doesn't do anything to any of you."

As they continued to walk in silence, each of the princesses' faces read the different narrative of what was swirling around their minds:

Mei had had high hopes for a happy future filled with love, and feared what facing her father would mean for those hopes.

Ting Ting worried for the well being of the team. She knew that the emperor wouldn't hurt her or her sisters, as they were still his children and heirs to his kingdom, but what about Ling, Chien-Po, Yao, Shang, and Mulan? She didn't want them to have to pay for the choices she and her sisters had made. She didn't know what she would do if any torment was paid to them for her or her sisters' actions.

Meanwhile, Su was scared. She had no idea what was coming, and she didn't want to upset anyone by choosing one way or the other. She just wanted everything to turn out alright. No one wished anything bad to happen to another.