Love in War

Love in War - Chapter 4: Coming Home

By this time, Mulan and Shang had spent about half a day on the road and would arrive back at their village by nightfall. Their conversation with the Emperor had left them in a state of peace and contentment that they hadn't experienced in quite some time. Everything just seemed right.

As they made their way through the countryside, they were accompanied mainly by the chirping of birds and the hoof steps of their horses. Mulan couldn't help but notice that other than an occasional comment she made on the scenery followed by an indication of agreement from Shang, there wasn't much talking going on between them. This had been less noticeable when they were accompanied by the caravan where she could listen in on Yao, Chien-Po and Ling's conversations or have enough attention diverted from herself that she could chat with Mushu, but now that it was just the two of them, she realized he never really initiated conversation without intent. If he didn't have something important to say, he didn't speak.

"Let's talk," she suggested, turning to Shang with a smile.

"Huh?" he responded instinctively before trying to cover his stutter with a cough, "Uh ... sure ... About what?"

"I don't know, I just want to talk to you," she said, leaning forward into a more relaxed position.

Shang tried his best to stifle his nervous laughter while his eyes raced from her to the road to the sky, looking for something to say.

Mulan couldn't help but giggle; was he always this nervous talking to her? Thinking back, he kind of was. When they weren't fighting for their lives, talking missions, or caught in their recent arguments, he was actually quite shy talking directly to her, especially when he felt put on the spot. From his attempted compliment to her following their triumph over Shan Yu, him coming to her home to return her father's helmet, and even his first attempted proposal! He wasn't very articulate around her, was he?

"I really don't know what to say," he finally admitted after about a minute of awkward silence.

"Well, let's see..." Mulan started, holding a hand to her chin trying to think of a conversation topic, "Oh, I've got it! What's your family like? I do find it a little strange that we're engaged ... technically married now, and I haven't actually met them."

"Oh, you're not missing much," Shang assured her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well ... now that my father is gone," he said before pausing to take a breath and organize his thoughts. When he finally exhaled he was able to continue, "... Now that my father is gone, it's just me and my mother. She's amazing and I love her, but she's not very fun."

Mulan stared at him with both concern and intrigue, urging him to continue.

"My mother's very strict. She's always run the house as though she was a general ... and in a way, she is." he explained, the revelation making him think a bit, "She's very 'by the book'. She loves order and tradition." He let out a soft chuckle as he thought, "Of course that didn't leave much room for causing mischief and acting out. Like any general, she also believed in military-level discipline! I remember one time when I was six, I tried to sneak off to battle with my father! When I was caught, I got such a beating from her!"