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Shan-Yu's Victory	By : lightbird Category: +M through R > Mulan (Disney) > Mulan (Disney) Views: 16642 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoons of Disney Studios, nor any of the characters from them. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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“Did you enjoy your day in the market, my little love?”

She looked up as he presented himself in the doorway to her small chamber and nodded.

“It was nice to get out there, even if I was being followed by your men.”

His response was a deep rumble of mirthful laughter. She was so honest and direct. He still hadn’t gotten used to that and it always surprised and disarmed him.

“That’s for your protection,” he answered playfully, walking over and setting himself down beside her on the bed.

“Oh? I thought you were afraid I would run away from you.”

He stared at her. Her face was an odd mixture of fear and flirtation. He could see that she was still so young and inexperienced that she didn’t even know her own feelings. It was delightful. He reached up and cupped her cheek in one hand, rubbing it with his thumb, then leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

“There is much intrigue going on in this palace, Mulan,” he told her, pulling back and fixing her with a serious expression. “Even among plain nomadic soldiers.”

“I had a sense of that, but I wasn’t sure. I can’t understand what they’re saying.”

“It’s my cousin and his allies.”

“Really? How do you know?”

“He’s unhappy with the way things are, and he had a guard set up to look after me, so to speak. But Suren sensed their murderous intentions.”

“He is a very smart and noble creature,” she remarked. “What did Suren do that made you know he sensed their intentions?”

“Nothing. I can tell by the way he looks when he senses danger and ill intentions. He gets a certain expression in his eye when he looks at me and his wing flutters a certain way.”

“Is he a guardian?”

“A guardian?”

“Yes. We believe that our ancestors send guardians to watch over us when we’re in need. I have a guardian who has been looking after me.”

“Really?” he asked, not sure whether to believe her or not. “Is that who you talk to all the time?”

“Yes. They’re supernatural beings.”

Shan-Yu laughed. Perhaps the guardian was real, or perhaps her faith was so strong that she believed she saw one.

“You don’t believe me?” she challenged him, quietly but defiantly.

He couldn’t help but embrace her and plant a deep kiss on her lips again. She thrilled him when she looked defiant like that, when she challenged him.

“I respect your belief,” he told her when he’d released her finally and they caught their breath. “Suren is a real living falcon. But he is like a guardian.”

He took both of her hands in his and squeezed them.

“My cousin is having his men watch you, too. But we will see to it that they don’t harm you.”

Her eyebrows went up in surprise.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. They’re watching you and the men who serve me closely.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Watch them, just as they’re watching us. We are wise to all of them, especially my cousin. And I’m a better swordsman than him. Have no fear, my dear.”

~~~

“That was an interesting conversation you just had with him,” Mushu remarked as she strolled out in the garden, walking toward the orange trees and the bench that she liked. “So the waters are troubled.”

She nodded.

“Do you want me to go tell the others?”

“Not yet, Mushu.”

Her guardian looked at her closely. “Oh, no. No, no, no! You’re not thinking of helping him, are you?”

“Mushu…enough people have been hurt…”

“Oh, I really don’t believe you, Mulan!”

“Look, Mushu, we’ve been talking a lot, me and him, and…”

“Yeah, I’ve seen the talking the two of you are doing all the time.”

“Mushu, cut it out once and for all,” she muttered through gritted teeth, scowling at him, “do you want to hear what I have to say or not?”

“Okay, fine.”

“We talk a lot about this. About how he should rule. When he crossed our border he wanted revenge, and that’s all he wanted. To punish the Emperor for what the Imperial soldiers did to his people. He wasn’t looking to be the Emperor because he wanted to rule our country; it was a prize to prove that he’d avenged himself, and he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to do after that. Now he’s in power and he’s intelligent enough to realize that ruling as a tyrant is unwise. He has sent envoys to the provinces to deliver orders and make contact, and he has been attempting a peaceful transition. That’s really something, don’t you see?”

“So you think old Shan-Yu is doing a good job? Is that what you think?”

“I think he’s trying to. Better than his cousin would do.”

“Who cares? Let them kill each other! These are Huns! You can get yourself out of here and home safe.”

“Then what, Mushu? There will be chaos here if that happens.”

“I know,” he said with a grimace.

“Mushu, did you know that the previous Emperor was of mixed blood?”

“What?”

She nodded. “He was half Chinese and half Hunnic. And so is Shan-Yu.”

“Related?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. He didn’t say so anyway.”

Mushu shook his head at her. “You have lost your mind, girl. You really have,” he sighed. “But, I’m your guardian. I guess I’ll just have to see you through your madness. I will warn you though that I may have to do things against your wishes to ensure what’s best for you.”

Mulan grimaced at him and indicated for him to be quiet and hide as she saw a tall Hun soldier approaching her. She gasped involuntarily and her heart skipped a beat as he approached and she got a clear look at him.

“Shang,” she whispered.

Mushu poked his head out. “I’ll go talk to him. I’ll be right back.”

“Mushu,” she hissed fiercely, turning to stop him, but it was too late.

She sighed and turned away, continuing in the direction of the orange trees and the bench that she always went to. A minute later Mushu returned.

“Don’t go to the bench yet.”

“What?”

“I spoke to Shang. It will look suspicious if he just comes and sits down with you, and your new boyfriend will have a fit if he hears about it. I’ll give you a signal when Shang comes back this way. Pretend you are ill and he’ll come over to help you.”

“How did he get in here?”

“He’s in a Hun uniform. He came in with a group of Hun soldiers that were on their way in. I told him that it was clear since the falcon has been with Shan-Yu all the time lately. Anyway Shang’s been waiting for you to come out here.”

She began to stagger toward the bench on Mushu’s cue, clutching her stomach.

“Dammit. They’re all coming toward you, Mulan.”

A strong arm came around her waist and supported her as she walked unsteadily and she looked up, relieved to see that it was Shang that had reached her first and was leading her to the bench. She sat down and leaned forward, pretending to be doubled over in pain.

“Mulan,” Shang whispered, taking a seat beside her. “Are you alright?”

She looked up, suddenly aware that they had been surrounded by several other Hun soldiers and she heard what sounded like Shan-Yu’s voice and the squawking of Suren. She cursed inwardly. She and Shang hadn’t even had a minute to talk. Shan-Yu must have been following her himself that day.

Shan-Yu was suddenly crouching before her. “One of my soldiers went to get a doctor,” he told her soothingly. “He said there’s a man in the market that sells medicinal herbs. He will bring him here.”

She nodded, knowing that he was talking about Dr. Kong.

Shan-Yu was looking at Shang now, who had risen to his feet and drawn his sword to protect himself.

“I knew you would come back for her, Commander,” he remarked with a low laugh, rising to standing and drawing his own sword.

“Shan, I don’t want him harmed,” Mulan pleaded urgently to him.

The other soldiers that had surrounded them had their swords out, but Shan-Yu indicated for them to step back. It was his fight. The others moved back, remaining in a circle around them as they moved away from the bench and prepared to fight.

“This will be an honorable fight, gentlemen,” he told them. “Both the commander and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

They faced each other, swords down, merely eyeing each other. Endless moments passed as they stood there not moving, each one assessing the other. It was Mulan who made the first move, leaping up and rushing forward to stand in between them as they finally began to move toward one another, swords raised now.

“Stop!” she shrieked.

The two of them halted, stunned. They had both come very close to running her through from either side.

“Mulan, move out of the way,” Shang ordered her softly. “This is between the two of us now.”

Shan-Yu gestured to one of his men to come and remove her forcefully but she took a defensive stance and Mushu took that opportunity to hop out of her collar and onto the ground, spitting out a stream of fire in his own nervousness and making himself known to all.

Shan-Yu’s men stared at the little dragon stunned and no one came near her now.

“There really is a guardian,” she heard him mutter.

Mulan took a deep breath, drawing on all of the strength and conviction that she could muster.

“I don’t want you two fighting!” she demanded strongly, turning her head to look at each of them in turn. She faced Shan-Yu then. “Shan, I don’t want him harmed. You’ve been attempting to accomplish things peacefully these days. Let this be done that way, too. If you kill him, you can kill me, too.”

She turned to Shang then. “The same goes for you.”

“Mulan, you…have you gone crazy?” he sputtered, staring at her in disbelief. “He’s the enemy! He killed the Emperor! Have you forgotten that he and his men killed my father? And destroyed the Imperial army?”

“And Imperial officers killed his wife! And his army was destroyed too! Where does it end?” she cried out desperately.

She stopped suddenly and glanced at Shan-Yu, realizing immediately that she’d slipped. His eyebrow had gone up and he looked thoroughly puzzled; and she knew that he was wondering how she could possibly know that his army had been destroyed.

She turned back to Shang quickly. His jaw was slack as he stared at her in unbelief. Everything and everyone was eerily still and she could feel her heart thudding in her ears. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she had to stand her ground. All she knew was that she didn’t want anymore bloodshed, especially not the blood of two men that she cared about.

She was about to speak when she suddenly felt a terrible pain in her stomach. Mushu squinted at her, thinking she was continuing to fake the illness that she had. She was barely able to shake her head at him, indicating that it was real this time. It was so sudden and violent that it took her breath away. She sank to her knees, eyes closed, clutching her stomach, unable to take the pain.

“Mulan,” Mushu muttered, suddenly standing right beside her.

She opened her eyes and at the same time that he spoke his next words she saw.

“You’re bleeding.”

There were drops of blood on the ground beneath her. Another pain, like an excruciating menstrual cramp gripped her and she collapsed onto her side, curling up in a fetal position and groaning. She took a deep breath as the cramp passed, but just as she felt as if she’d recovered another one hit, each one worse than the last. She could feel the blood, sensing it becoming heavier and more profuse.

She barely heard the scurrying and exclamations around her. There were flurries in front of her eyes and she knew she was about to lose consciousness. She was vaguely aware of a strong pair of arms lifting her off the ground and she heard Mushu speaking close to her ear.

“It’s okay, baby,” her guardian soothed quietly. “That soldier went to get the doctor. You’ll be alright.”
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Shan-Yu's Victory