The Sword and the Rose (1/?)

(AN: An anon prompt request. Mulan and Aurora return to the ancient castle in the sands, eager to search for answers regarding Phillip's soul …but memories often cleave to broken stones, and dark secrets still lie in wait. AU Enchanted Forest; set just after 2x09. Sleeping Warrior with a teensy touch of Philora.)

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The heavy fall of horse hooves pounded the dry, sun baked earth, tossing sandy plumes into dusty billowing clouds as a pair of equines tore across the landscape. The strong backs of the black horses bore riders cloaked in shadow, their faces obscured by scarves, and eyes narrowed against the wind.

The figures tore across the scrub-littered plains, their sweaty beasts frothing heavily as the horses were pushed harder and faster beneath their rider's booted heels.

Far in the distance the high walls and iron spinnerets rose from amongst the hidden sands, cradled and jewel-like. Beige sand-worn stone materialized, looming from the empty expanse of desert as if by magic. Parapets and domed roofs wavered in the torrid heat, intangible and far away like some twisted mirage borne of a fever-plagued mind.

The twin travelers raced onwards, hot gusts of wind tearing at their headscarves and whipping the manes of their burdened horses. They reached the outer wall in a matter of minutes, and swiftly reigned in their foaming steeds, shaded beneath the darkened shadows cast by the broken stones. The once fortified barricade was falling, giving way to the cruel touch of time.

The tallest of the pair sat ramrod straight in her saddle, craning her neck up to look at the vacant and abandoned parapets. An ornate helmet of polished steel glinted brightly from underneath a dusty cloth covering; the ragged linens were loosely wrapped to keep the sun from baking the gleaming metal that lay beneath. A thin slit of tanned flesh beneath the helmet's facemask was all that could be seen of the warrior's sweaty face and neck.

She ran a practiced eye over the wall, subconsciously measuring each stone and mentally cataloging every crack, while her hands played errantly along her horse's heaving flank. The perspiration soaked fur of the horse coated her gloved palm in hair and dust as she gave the faithful creature a firm but loving pat for his efforts. He had bourn the journey well, and would soon have a well deserved rest in the royal stables…if they could find a way beyond the hindrance that lay before them.

Mulan pulled the veiled scarf down and away from her nose and mouth, glad to be rid of the stifling thing. She blinked and shielded her eyes against the glare of the sun, her eyes narrowed as she scoured the beige brickwork, searching.

Her gaze, dark and unreadable as the night sky, skimmed and flicked over the impenetrable barrier scanning for any sort of clue for entry.

"It's here somewhere…" she murmured half to herself as she shifted in the well-worn leather saddle. She pitched her weight up and rocked forward, standing high in the stirrups to get a slightly better view. Her hawk-like eyes finally caught on a tiny dark line hidden by the curvature of the wall. A low ground-level crack arcing far to the west and sprawling spider-like up into the stone, a smudge among a sea of unending beige brick.

"There!" The warrior called out, pointing eagerly as she waved for her companion's attention. "That's our point of entry, princess." The guardswoman's dark black armor peeked out from beneath her thin linen cloak, the dense leather was worn but well oiled.

"What is it?" Aurora called over the howl of the winds, her words muffled behind the sand-guard of fabric as she squinted at the distant anomaly. Her skirts of lilac silk fluttered and flapped about her legs, battered by the sandy desert airstream.

"A crack in the wall." Mulan explained "The stones have crumbled there and fallen away. It's how Phillip and I got into the castle. We slipped through the fissure when we…when he…found…you." The warrior's mouth felt dry and gritty and she suspected that the desert sands were not the only reason why. Her words suddenly felt thick in her throat.

"Phillip" His name clanged in her head, discordant and resonant like a death knell. "My commander. My prince. My friend." her thoughts whispered as her fist clenched, fingers twitching in want of a swordhilt to grasp. Her hard fingernails cut dull red semicircles into her palm despite the hard thick leather of her gloves.

"Then we should go. The sooner we're through to the palace, the sooner we can search the libraries and get what we came for." Aurora's words cut through the swordwoman's heavy silence like the sharpened steel of a blade. Mulan glanced over her shoulder, nodding in agreement.

The princess's face was hard, and her mouth was pressed into a thin line of resigned determination. Her azure eyes looked both watery and fathomless, but she fought to keep her visage cold and unaffected. They both knew what lay in wait for them, the dead body prone upon a bier, arms folded, and eyes unseeing. Soulless, cold, and rotting.

They both knew, but neither wanted to say it aloud.

"I agree. We will search the library for any books that tell of wraiths…and then we can be free of this cursed place by night fall." Mulan growled, her emotion masked as flippant distaste. She nudged her stalwart palfrey on with a click of her tongue and a heel, angling herself towards the inky black crack that marred the wall, guarding the dark memories of what lay beyond. There was no going back.

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