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Mulan hummed a soft tune as she rode into the market of the nearby village. "Blue silk, pink silk, white silk, more! Soft shoes, hard shoes, bamboo!" She sang. "Apples, and bananas, and mangos more..." The list her mother sent her blew away in the breeze a few miles back, so Mulan took to singing the list instead. She reached the fabric market and tied Khan up just before. She handed him a sugar cube and rubbed his head. "Hey, if it isn't Mulan!" The market guy shouted. She smiled. "Hey, Xiou! It's been a while!" She shouted back. He chuckled. "What can I do for ya, oh great hero!" He teased. Mulan stuck her tongue out. He laughed. "Can I have a yard of blue, pink and white silk please?"
Xiou nodded with a smile and began rolling out the fine silk. "Is 60 enough to cover it?" She asked. Xiou waved his hand. "Nope, it's on the house, as a thank you," Mulan shook her head. "Nope, absolutely not. I insist," She put the 60 in his money pocket before he could protest. "And just to confuse you, I put way more in than 60 anyway," She jibed. Xiou narrowed his eyes.
"Move!" A sudden voice barked. Mulan repressed a sigh. Lau and his goons, Jin & Chun, sauntered through the market, knocking over little girls' baskets and carts. "Oh look who's back! How was the army, she-man?" Lau shouted. Lau was the bane of her childhood. He tripped her up, threw water from the trees, threw stuff at her and vandalised their family gate. His goons, Jin & Chun, usually laughed as he did them. "Lau," She greeted stiffly. "Uh, that's Sir, to you, woman." Mulan raised an eyebrow. Xiou came out and stood next to her, frowning. "On with ya boys. I don't want you loitering around my stand," Lau looked Xiou up and down with a sneer. "You slept with him as well?" He snapped.
Mulan blinked in shock.
"Pardon?" She asked. "Well, you clearly had a thing with your officer, otherwise they'd've sent you home in pieces!" Lau roared in laughter. Mulan lurched forwards and snatched his shirt in her fist. "It's one thing to disrespect me but it's another to disrespect Captain Li Shang," She hissed. Lau's eyes widened. She dropped him and dusted her hand off. She turned back to Xiou. "I apologise for my uncouthness. I won't stand for anyone disrespecting the man who helped save China," Xiou waved his hand. "I wouldn't neither, Miss Mulan," He smiled. He turned around and walked back to his stall.
Something sharp jabbed into her back. "Yeah, you ain't the only one who can use a sword, she-man," Lau hissed. Mulan sighed quietly. She hated fighting people in public. She slowly pulled out her dagger from her sash. "What's stopping me from driving this through your stomach?" Lau whispered. Mulan swung her arm out and slammed her dagger into Lau's sword. It clattered to the ground. She put her foot on the hilt and held the dagger to his neck.
"And what's stopping me from doing it to you?" She hissed. Jin audibly gulped. "Uh... Lau?" Chun stuttered. Lau didn't move. Mulan's dagger wasn't close enough to hurt him if he moved. In fact, he could take a good step forward and still not be in any immediate danger! The sound of hoofbeats met her ears. Great. She thought. "If I hear you say anything else about my commanding officer or the army in general," She hissed. "I will gut you like a fish. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. Are we clear?" She snapped. Lau nodded quickly.
"What's going on here?" A voice asked. The market went quiet. Mulan groaned loudly. "Mulan, why are you holding a dagger to his neck?" She wrinkled her nose and pulled it away. She faced the man on the horse and gestured to Lau with her dagger. "He held me at swordpoint," She shrugged. "So, I defended myself,"
"Not true! She attacked me!" Lau shouted, falling to his knees. Mulan scoffed. "Oh, get up. It wasn't less than 5 minutes ago you were slating this man!" She snapped. "Oh?" Shang asked, sliding off his white horse. He stood in front of Lau. "Any witnesses to what happened?" He asked. Xiou coughed. "Uh, me, Mr Captain Sir," Mulan bit back a smirk at Shang's red face. "It's true, Lau, the cretin on the floor, came up to Mulan for a fight. He disrespected the army and yourself, sir. Mulan merely told him off," Xiou mumbled out.
Shang turned with a smirk, while Mulan tried to fight off the red face. "Oh yeah?" He asked quietly. She slapped his arm. "Shut it," She mumbled. Shang chuckled and faced Lau with a stern expression. "That, Low, or whatever your name was, is why the Fa family were called to war, and yours were not. You are a disgrace to your family," He spat. Mulan smirked at her bully's upset face. "The army wouldn't want to offend your family, now would they? Shame..." He continued, playing with his cape. "Not that you'd've stayed for long. Mulan would've ran 10 laps around you before you were halfway through with your first,"
Mulan snorted.
Lau shouted, red in the face.
He stormed out of the market, Jin & Chun scampering after. She turned to face Shang and giggled. "I remember being put down like that... I hope he has his tail in between his legs for a week," She laughed. Shang laughed back. "Here, Miss Mulan. Your rolls of fabric," Xiou suddenly interrupted, handing her several coloured rolls. "Need any help?" Shang asked. "No, I'm good." She smiled.
They walked back to where she tied up Khan. "So, what brings you out this way, Captain? This is at least a day's travel from the capital," She asked. "Well... there was an incident in training." He began. Mulan frowned. She put the rolls in Khans saddle and hoisted herself up. She urged him into a steady walk. "What happened?" She asked. Shang rubbed his neck. "There... was an injury involved." She narrowed her eyes. "Fine, I broke my arm and sprained my ankle. Happy?" He mumbled. "Shang, you broke your arm!?" She asked in shock. "Yes, but the emperor wanted me to take some time away to recover. So, I figured I'd go to my mother's family villa, just outside of this village. Maybe another days travel,"
Her heart fell a bit, but she pushed it away. "Oh." She said. "Oh," He echoed. She stayed quiet for a moment. "Do you wanna stay at mine for the night? My mother's cooking the dumplings you liked last time," She offered. Shang smiled, sending butterflies in her stomach. "They wouldn't mind?" He asked. Mulan shook her head. "Not at all. In fact, my parents asked me when you'd come by next this morning," She smiled back.
"By the way, I saw the move with the dagger," He said. Mulan wasn't even looking at him, but just knew he was smirking. "Yeah... it wasn't my finest moment." She rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Actually, I thought it was pretty cool. You'll have to teach me how to do that,"