[fanfic] Blossoming Magnolia
Title: Blossoming Magnolia
Author: myself, chromatic_coma
Rating: K, G
Genre: Romance, History
Characters/Pairings: Wang Yao x Hua Mulan
Summary: She was his humble warrior, and he couldn't help but fall. Based on The Ballad of Mulan
Words: 296 The original was 381... *mourns the lost words*
Notes: My response to the ever-popular FrancisxJeanne D'Arc pairing (which I love). Also my entry for hetalia_contestweek 011 prompt "fairytales"
EDIT: There is now a long oneshot version of this fic, which has a more scenes and excerpts from the poem. You can read this version here.
This woman is incredibly strong, that was his very first impression of her. Draft notices were passed out; one per family, regardless of family. Young men lined up to receive letters in the place of aging fathers, while old mothers wiped their eyes and bit their tongues. He saw this girl from the corner of his eye, her mother’s hand a restraint against the dishonorable act she wished to commit. He saw it, and his eyes caught hers for the briefest of moments, and then he knew.
China smiled.
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He had to admit, had it not been for those eyes, he would not have recognized her. The armor shielded her secret, and she was a quick learner. Soon he became fascinated with her, the way she moved with grace and beauty, even on the most hostile battlefields. In time he learned that it was not just admiration, but he did not want to deal with the other emotions. So, he watched.
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When the war ended, he stood beside his emperor while he (she) and her family were bestowed with honor. And when she looked, his eyes were quick to catch hers. Once again they wrinkled, and this time she knew.
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When he next saw her, dressed in skirts, he felt as though he was beholding her for the first time. The years her body had spent hiding in armor, it had also spent blossoming like a beautiful magnolia. He could not believe that this delicate, curvaceous, feminine being was the very one who had shed blood in his name. But her hands were calloused from the sword, and her eyes darkened as only those which had beheld war could be.
And, had all that not been enough, the way that she kissed him let him know.
End
Based on The Ballad of Mulan, which can be read HERE. My original version of this fic included snipets of the poem, and was far more verbose, so now I'm sad because I clipped away a lot of detail. I'm sorry, and I hope you enjoy nonetheless.