CHAPTER 5

I'll Make an Army, out Of You

"You can have today off, I kept you up all night, I'm sorry" Mulan said as they galloped back to camp, she had broken a silence that was so comfortable it should have been left alone.

"Oh, it was simply riveting though!" Mai exclaimed, not able to hold in her excitement and happiness any longer,

"What, seeing me and Shang argue for hours on end?" Mulan said perplexed,

"Ah, but you weren't always arguing, you two were so sweet at times!"

"We never!" Mulan said sternly,

"And you know we're practically enemies, at best we're friends…no, not friends. Friends need trust"

"Would you trust him with your life in battle?" Ting Ting questioned,

"Of course" Mulan said without hesitation, before realizing that she was contradicting herself,

"But that's in battle, the whole army is a unit in battle, all personal affairs are left behind, the safety of what you're fighting for it the same and all that matters" Mulan said, as if rehearsed.

"And we aren't tired; father taught us a long time ago there isn't always time to sleep. So we learnt to sleep every other night" Su smiled proudly as she spoke of her father, sometimes Mulan forgot how isolated they were, and that they were even royalty.

"Mulan?"

"Yes Su?"

"Why do you and Shang fight?" Mulan was caught off guard,

"I, um, don't really know"

"Someone must start it…and they can finish it; that is if you don't like fighting all the time" Su could be so wise, Mulan realised she could learn so much from her.

Mulan let all the things they had said to each other run through her head:

"Why are you here? Has something happened?"

"And they're right, you should have sent a messenger, then we could have arranged a meeting and you wouldn't have had to travel at this time"

"There's no need to be embarrassed Mulan, you were remarkably brave; you were from the start"

"She could miss and hit you!"

"I'm not shooting arrows at you Mulan"

"I can never trust you Mulan if you won't return it"

"Just because I wouldn't take your life doesn't mean my trust wasn't wounded"

"You'd do well to bow in the hero's presense"

"You can't guarantee survival Mulan"

Shang had shown concern, worry, and general kindness, along with wise words. Yet, she herself had started an argument about trust. Shang had simply said that he wanted her to trust him, and she had decided to go into how he didn't trust her, deflecting from herself and how he preferred Ping.

"I'm an idiot" Mulan said, only then remembering she wasn't alone,

"You can fix it" Ting Ting said nodding her head, she was sure,

"I don't need to; it's easier for me to concentrate when I'm mad"

"Are you saying you're going to force you and Shang into an elongated and unnecessarily drawn out fight simply so you can fight him without wanting to kiss him?" Mai asked innocently,

"That's exactly what I'm saying…hey, I never said I wanted to kiss him"

"Oh, have you already been paired with the matchmaker? I'm sorry-" Mulan shook her head,

"No, no, it's nothing like that. I just don't think we're compatible" what do you know about star signs?

"We beg to differ" Su said in a sing song voice, Mulan rolled her eyes and told them to ride faster, they needed to make it to camp quickly.

They finally reached camp and only a few people were up, already stretching, and eating. She was glad her message had gotten through. Mulan fluidly swung of Khan and landed silently, something she hadn't yet showed the group so the princesses sloshed loudly down from their horses.

"I think we'll do some running today, go get some food in you if you are truly not tired" Mulan said flatly, who needs emotions anyway? Emotions only get in the way,

Mulan hadn't noticed where Mushu had gone, she hadn't heard him all the way back to camp, but she soon found out when she went into her tent and there stood, hands on hips were both Cri-kee and Mushu.

"Hello Mushu, Cri-kee, If you'll excuse me I'm really tired-"

"Oh no you don't" Mushu said,

"What was that? Do you want to scare Shang off? Because I'm telling you now, if you keep going the way you are he'll be running for the-"

"Mushu, I know" Mulan looked so sad, her shoulder slumped, her face showing the same defeat it had when she fell with the bags of water on the run Shang made the troops do regularly. Shang.

Mulan burst into silent tears,

"I'm so confused" She whispered,

"I want to go home, I want to feel safe, and warm, and loved"

"Why don't you write to your family?"

"Because it's not them I want comfort from" She said, looking Mushu straight in the eyes.

"It's not them I need to set me straight, there's something wrong with me"

*I*M*A*A*O*O*Y*I*M*A*A*O*O*Y*I*M*A*A*O*O*Y*I*M*A*A*O*O*Y*I*M*A*A*O*O*Y*I*M*A*A*O*O*Y*

Mushu tiptoed into the male camp, Cri-kee chirping protests as he jumped alongside him.

"Oh shut up bug, I know what I'm doing"

"Cri, cri!"

"No! stay, you're lucky" Mushu flashed the little cricket a dazzling smile before continuing his advance.

"There!" he said pointing and charging in the same direction, towards Shang's tent. Mushu ninja tiptoed his way to the tent, rested his ear against the corse material before entering without hearing a sound. Shang wasn't in the main part of the tent, but round in a separate segment, presumably asleep…hopefully asleep, or this could go very wrong.

Shang was asleep, and was muttering,

"Come back. Ping!"

Mushu grinned,

"Ow!" Mushu presumed that was from the time Mulan had knocked him down and hit his jaw, Shang still smiled proudly though,

"No!" Shang startled awake, sitting up and grabbing an already prepared cup of water and downing it.

"These nightmares have to stop" Mushu frowned from the shadows where he was hiding, well, it was all or nothing. Mushu cleared his throat,

"What are these nightmares of which you speak?" He said before movies stealthily to a next location which he could speak from whilst causing the illusion he was a ghost or ancestor,

"What! Who's there?" Shang reached for his sword, holding it at the ready,

"Calm, young one, I am an ancestor, here to help" Shang looked incredulous,

"Tell me something only a spirit would know" He said, feeling utterly credulous and ridiculous all at the same time,

"You were just dreaming about the hero of China" Mushu said moving as he talked, Shang sighed.

"It was happy until the end" he whispered, sounding scared and young,

"What happened at the end?"

"They took her away, she died, all because I wasn't there…" Mushu was thoroughly confused,

"Wasn't where?" Shang maybe saw visions like grandma fa, and so, it could be important,

"All I saw was smoke, smoke without a fire" Cri-kee looked as puzzled as Shang and Mushu felt but otherwise left Mushu to the human meddling.

"You must speak to her"

"She hates me, it will be unpleasurable for us both; if you were truly a spirit wouldn't you know this?" Shang said, immediately getting defensive,

"I do know, I'm also trying to point you in the right direction. The one which has the most and many positive outcomes" Mushu said, trying his best to sound old and grouchy.

"Fine, go" Mushu was about to snap a sassy remark, he couldn't tell him what to do! But Cri-kee covered Mushu's mouth,

"Are you gone?" Shang asked hesitantly, Cri-kee still restrained Mushu so he couldn't reply,

"That was weird" Shang muttered.

"No one is really here to guide me, I'll need to guide myself" Shang got up and grabbed his sword, quickly dressing in his armour. Shang rode fast and swift towards Mulan's home.