"From the Diary of Hua Mulan: The Yaoguai" - Once Upon a Time - 1/1?
Title: "From Diary of Hua Mulan: The Yaoguai "
Fandom: Once Upon a Time (with a slight reference to the Mulan Disney movie)
Wordcount: 605 words
Summary: Episode tag to season 2's "The Outsider". An entry from Mulan's journal after she meets Belle for the first time.
A/N: Written for the OnceUponaLand comm's "Dear Diary" challenge. There's a 100 wd continuation of this comment fic written by ariestess HERE if you'd like to read it.
Dear Diary,
For months, I have been tracking the beast known as the Yaoguai, and finally, today, I found the monster's den. Victory should have been mine, and yet the creature terrorizing the local villages, my home and my people, still lives. I have faced greater foes than this lone demon, but I respect my enemy, and I know it to be mighty. However, its might had nothing to do with its escape. What angers me most is that the Yaoguai did not defeat me. No, I lost my quarry because I was not the first to find it.
When I arrived at its den, I found a woman trying to lure the creature out of hiding. I knew from one look at her that she'd meet a dark fate soon enough, so instead of cornering my prey as I had intended, I had to draw the beast away from this foolish woman.
I know I am too easily brought to a rage these days, and my patience has all but diminished since-
I have been quick to anger since returning from my post. Perhaps it is because of all the years I spent surrounding myself with hot-headed soldiers. I have, myself, become one. Or perhaps it is the reason for my return which leaves me so volatile. Perhaps it is what I have left behind, who I have left behind, which puts fire in my eyes…
It does no good for me to think on it, though. Purpose-purpose, whether it is aiding a village against rogues or defeating monsters, is what gives me some contentment.
So, I was understandably hard on the woman who took my focus away from my purpose. This woman-no, really, she was more of a girl, the kind quick to smile and laugh, so very different from what a warrior should be. Very different from me. This woman was a foreigner to the empire, without a doubt a stranger to forests such as these, and she came so ill prepared that I might have just as likely taken her for a trader who'd lost her caravan as a hunter of demons. If I had not arrived in time, I have no doubt the monster would have had his fill of her.
Yet…
Now that I consider her again, I have to wonder if my judgment was not made too hasty. If this woman truly was able to track the beast in days, there might be more to her than meets the eye. I, as this journal can prove, have been making careful record of the creature's movements, and yet she only studied an old book a few days and was able to determine where it would return? The very foolish can also be very clever in their own way, it seems.
In truth, as I record my notes for this day, I know I should be in the village, seeking out this woman. Pride has its place, and I am my father's daughter, but I am also a warrior of my people. I cannot let my pride stop me from finding the beast. I will have to ask her for help if I'm to do my duty.
I'll make for the village after my meal.
Even if she is not as clever as I think she may be, at least this foreign woman has fortune on her side. A good luck token is always welcome when facing danger. I made friends with a cricket once for much the same reason, when I was younger. Though I'm sure she'll turn out to be more noisy than he.
Hua Mulan
Fandom: Once Upon a Time (with a slight reference to the Mulan Disney movie)
Wordcount: 605 words
Summary: Episode tag to season 2's "The Outsider". An entry from Mulan's journal after she meets Belle for the first time.
A/N: Written for the OnceUponaLand comm's "Dear Diary" challenge. There's a 100 wd continuation of this comment fic written by ariestess HERE if you'd like to read it.
Dear Diary,
For months, I have been tracking the beast known as the Yaoguai, and finally, today, I found the monster's den. Victory should have been mine, and yet the creature terrorizing the local villages, my home and my people, still lives. I have faced greater foes than this lone demon, but I respect my enemy, and I know it to be mighty. However, its might had nothing to do with its escape. What angers me most is that the Yaoguai did not defeat me. No, I lost my quarry because I was not the first to find it.
When I arrived at its den, I found a woman trying to lure the creature out of hiding. I knew from one look at her that she'd meet a dark fate soon enough, so instead of cornering my prey as I had intended, I had to draw the beast away from this foolish woman.
I know I am too easily brought to a rage these days, and my patience has all but diminished since-
I have been quick to anger since returning from my post. Perhaps it is because of all the years I spent surrounding myself with hot-headed soldiers. I have, myself, become one. Or perhaps it is the reason for my return which leaves me so volatile. Perhaps it is what I have left behind, who I have left behind, which puts fire in my eyes…
It does no good for me to think on it, though. Purpose-purpose, whether it is aiding a village against rogues or defeating monsters, is what gives me some contentment.
So, I was understandably hard on the woman who took my focus away from my purpose. This woman-no, really, she was more of a girl, the kind quick to smile and laugh, so very different from what a warrior should be. Very different from me. This woman was a foreigner to the empire, without a doubt a stranger to forests such as these, and she came so ill prepared that I might have just as likely taken her for a trader who'd lost her caravan as a hunter of demons. If I had not arrived in time, I have no doubt the monster would have had his fill of her.
Yet…
Now that I consider her again, I have to wonder if my judgment was not made too hasty. If this woman truly was able to track the beast in days, there might be more to her than meets the eye. I, as this journal can prove, have been making careful record of the creature's movements, and yet she only studied an old book a few days and was able to determine where it would return? The very foolish can also be very clever in their own way, it seems.
In truth, as I record my notes for this day, I know I should be in the village, seeking out this woman. Pride has its place, and I am my father's daughter, but I am also a warrior of my people. I cannot let my pride stop me from finding the beast. I will have to ask her for help if I'm to do my duty.
I'll make for the village after my meal.
Even if she is not as clever as I think she may be, at least this foreign woman has fortune on her side. A good luck token is always welcome when facing danger. I made friends with a cricket once for much the same reason, when I was younger. Though I'm sure she'll turn out to be more noisy than he.
Hua Mulan