Magnolia Blossom, Chapter 1: Beginning (Mulan, Shang/Mulan, #1)
Summary: Alternate storyline based in part on the Disney movie; each chapter will center around one of the themes.
Title: Beginning
Author: lightbird
Fandom: Mulan
Pairing: Shang/Mulan (“Ping”)
Theme: #1, Kiss
Note: Mulan is Chinese for magnolia or magnolia blossom.
Disclaimer: Characters, dialogue from the movie, etc. all belong to Disney.
A thick cloud of dust rose up behind them as they galloped across open plains of blonde grasses toward Wu Zhong on their white stallions, the trademark horse of the Imperial officers. Time was of the essence.
Li Shang rode behind his father, three other generals that would be leading the armies of the Chinese against the invading Huns, and Chi Fu, the Emperor’s skinny councilman.
Chi Fu glanced his way every once in awhile, sniffing in a haughty manner, his snobbish disdain clear in his demeanor. But Shang didn’t care about the councilman. Excitement and wonder made his stomach flutter and his thoughts were occupied with other things. He could hardly believe it. After spending his entire childhood in the camps with his father, watching as the Emperor’s greatest officers went off to war and returned again; having finally graduated from the Imperial Academy after spending his youth there, he was now going to be one of those elite officers going off to battle, a moment he’d been training for and dreaming of since he’d practiced with his first sword.
Once in the academy, a young teen, he had read Sun Tzu and all the great texts, hungrily acquiring all the information that he could, taking the lessons of duty and honor, of bravery and valor to heart. He trained hard to be the great warrior that he was expected, destined to be, often pushing himself to the limits of exhaustion. And now he’d graduated number one in his class, a year early.
He longed to be a celebrated and honored leader like his father, the great General Li, the most trusted military advisor to the Emperor himself. And he looked forward to the moment that he would make the general proud of him, proving that he’d indeed followed in the footsteps of all of the great military men that he was descended from.
Vague apprehension filled him as he wondered about what was to come but he shook his head, briskly snuffing out those negative thoughts. He was trained in all of the arts of war! And he would be prepared to deal with any adversity that he met with. Sure, the Huns were fierce; but he would be fiercer.
They reached Wu Zhong, where the newly drafted soldiers were arriving, and the sight of the tents pitched in two lines cut off Shang’s musings. Many of the men had arrived already, reserves and new recruits; there would be a lot of paperwork to do as conscription notices were collected and the men were assigned to their regiments.
His father would be at the front, in the path of the Huns, no doubt; his regiment would be the one to halt them. Shang wondered what General Li’s plan was for him. Would he be at the front as well, fighting by his father’s side? True, he had no rank, nor was he seasoned in battle yet. But he was keen and observant, highly skilled in martial arts and swordplay, confident in his prowess and abilities. He was sure that he could handle it.
They dismounted and as the horses were seen to, Shang followed his father, weaving through the crowd of men, some youthful, some more mature; men in various stages of physical condition seated before erected tents eating, cleaning their toenails, new arrivals who were just now scrambling to find a spot to set up their own tents. One young soldier dressed in full armor save for a helmet wandered aimlessly among the rough-looking men, confused and clearly out of place. He looked like he couldn’t have been more than fourteen; a skinny runt of a boy with a soft girlish face and an awkward, timid demeanor. The boy almost reminded him of a shy maiden.
He won’t last long, Shang thought as he eyed the young teen, half in disdain and half in amusement.
For some reason the boy made him think again of the odd dream he’d had the night before. He’d pushed it to the back of his mind, but hadn’t completely forgotten it. So vivid was it that the images and ambience of the dream and the feelings he’d had remained with him, wrapped around him like an ethereal, intangible skin. It had merely been pushed out of his immediate consciousness briefly while his thoughts had been occupied with other things; the sight of the boy brought it rushing back to the forefront of his mind again.
In the dream he was sitting on a stone bench under a magnolia tree that overlooked a small clear pond. The scene was beautiful and peaceful, the tree covered with the pink and white blossoms. Sweet smells from the flowers permeated the air and filled his nostrils. As he sat there staring at the pond a face appeared in the still water, the pale oval face of a pretty young girl. Unable to take his eyes off of her, he merely gaped, his gaze drifting from the large almond-shaped eyes to her full, sweet lips. His heartbeat quickened as he wondered what it would feel like to kiss those lips and there was a stirring in his loins. The calm surface of the water rippled suddenly as a soft breeze blew, causing the girl’s face to disappear. Stunned and disappointed, he blinked at the empty pond where the image had been a moment before. His gaze shifted to the branches around him when he heard the swishing sound they made as the gentle wind shook them; the flowers shimmered as they moved. A lone mulan blossom was pried loose from the momentum and it drifted down, landing on his palm as soft as a kiss. He stared down at the lovely flower in his hand, an odd feeling of warmth and affection swelling inside of him. It was then that he’d woken up to his father calling and shaking him.
What an odd dream that was, Shang mused with a slight frown at his own foolishness. So strange that I should be dreaming about flowers when I’m going off to war.
His father would probably laugh at him if he knew. Shang moved off and continued on his way, promptly forcing away thoughts about the dream and the boy that had so strangely and inexplicably sparked the memory of it.
Before they arrived a larger officer’s tent had already been set up for the general. A few days later, as the drafting campaign and paperwork was wrapped up, he sat inside with General Li and Chi Fu. The three of them sat around a low table that had been placed inside the tent for the general’s use and a map had been spread out before them. Shang sat on the ground cross-legged and leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin on his hand. He peered at the map intently as his father prepared to discuss their strategy.
“The Huns have struck here, here and here,” General Li began, placing markers on the map and picking up a pointer to gesture with. “I’ll be taking my regiment here to this village to stop Shan-Yu in his path.”
“Excellent strategy, sir,” the sycophant councilman spoke up, clapping his hands excitedly.
Shang straightened up and glanced at him. The man was really quite annoying with his flattery and he wondered if his father was taken in by it for real. General Li cleared his throat and he turned his attention back to him.
“You will remain here and train the new recruits.”
He stared at his father, feeling a tinge of disappointment that he would not be going with his troop. Training new recruits wasn’t a particularly glorious assignment and he felt slighted that he would not be joining his father and the other seasoned soldiers. Though he didn’t have experience yet, he was confident in his abilities. Wasn’t his father?
“When Chi Fu believes you are ready, you will join us. Captain.”
General Li held his hands out, offering him the newly forged sword that lay across them. Shang blinked in disbelief, accepting the finely crafted weapon.
“Captain?” he murmured incredulously, only vaguely registering that his father had said something about Chi Fu being involved. He was a captain already? Stunned, he sat frozen, in a stupor, his hands still held out in front of him, the sword now lying across his palms.
An indefinable high-pitched sound escaped from Chi Fu.
“Oh! This is highly unusual, General!” he squeaked. “Perhaps a soldier with more experience…”
“Number one in his class? Extensive knowledge of training techniques?”
The general rubbed his chin thoughtfully, an expression of pride on his features.
“An impressive military lineage. I believe Li Shang will do an excellent job.”
“Oh! I will,” Shang began excitedly. “I won’t let you down. This is…I mean…”
He caught himself, realizing that he was gurgling like an excited and immature schoolboy instead of behaving like a dignified officer, and bowed to his father.
“Yes, sir.”
His father stood up, and Shang and the councilman followed suit, walking toward the opening in the tent. The general gave an order to Chi Fu as he exited but Shang didn’t really notice, and he only vaguely heard the retort that Chi Fu then aimed his way. He was too excited about his new captaincy to pay attention. Left alone in the tent, he tested the rank and his name out loud as he tied the new sword to his waist.
“Captain Li Shang.”
The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile as he imagined all of the possibilities. Though training the recruits wasn’t glorious, it was still a great honor, he conceded, and he was already taking his first step toward being a great military leader. He was a captain now, with his own regiment! He would train these boys well; his father would be proud that his own son was the leader of China’s finest troops.
Shang’s face fell as he stepped out of the tent, his pleasant daydream cut off abruptly as he caught sight of his regiment. They were beating each other up.
He could only stand there and gape at them.
“Most impressive,” Chi Fu quipped sarcastically.
A man that looked worse for wear stumbled in front of them and saluted before collapsing to the ground. Shang stared down at him, then at his father, who looked amused.
Without a word the general stepped over the fallen man and made his way toward his horse, mounting in one swift, fluid motion.
“Good luck, Captain,” he called out and spurred the white stallion forward.
The rest of the men of his regiment thundered after him and Shang watched forlornly as his father and the other elite soldiers disappeared into the distance, leaving him alone to deal with these unruly recruits that were beneath him.
“Good luck…Father,” he murmured dejectedly.
Shang sighed heavily and watched the brawling recruits, self-doubt washing over him for a brief spell. This was what his father had planned for him? Was he really up to being a captain?
Then he glanced at Chi Fu who was eyeing him the way a cat eyed its prey as it played with it before dealing the fatal blow. The man was actually waiting to see him fail. But he wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
The councilman’s words were spoken in a soft drawl, taunting.
“Day one.”
(Link to Chapter 2)