No price is too great a price when it comes down to family.
❝She was a warrior, a fighter, a lonely soul in disguise. And all she needed to do was bring down the Hans.❞
Exceptional achievement isn't born on sticks.
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"You would've done the same...
❝PEOPLE WILL STARE. MAKE IT WORTH THEIR WHILE.❞ - HARRY WINSTON
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MULAN WAS NOT BEAUTIFUL.
She was incomparable to the delicate beauties on either side of her. They were graceful and timid, while she was wild, and often at times, irrational. She tried her best to honour her family, but she seemed to mess up everything she did. They were graceful in every way; their dresses and sashes seemingly floating in the wind around them. She had been forced to sit in an itchy gown, with an unnaturally straight back, and as much as she despised it, a more sensible part of her forced her to pay attention, reminding her how important this ceremony was. She felt shameful underneath the scrutiny of their harsh gazes. She knew they were mocking her in their own silent way; they just didn't want to upset her.
"Hua, Mulan!" The assistant eyed her snootily, no doubt judging her choice of clothes. Mulan cast her eyes downward in a blush, fingering the hem of her dress. She could feel the gazes of everyone burning holes through her back.
"Why was she selected first?" muttered one of the girls, not even attempting to keep quiet. "People can do whatever they want when they're rich." replied the other one, not in a hurry to hide her distaste. Mulan clenched her fists, not one to act irrationally when sense was priority.
She stepped into the wooden shrine, coming face to face with the matchmaker, Bai Jia Wei. She was a mean sort of woman; with lanky arms and expression of ice permanently carved onto her face. What Mulan found ironic was that Jia Wei herself did not have a husband. Well, that was not to say she never did; she was a widow, a shell of her former self; one of the few to fall in love with her partner. Mulan remembered Jia Wei when she was younger. Why, she was only a few years older than Mulan herself! Gazing at the woman now; she could not help but feel a pang of pity in her chest.
"Hua Mulan, yes?" The glare in her eyes made Mulan cower away with shame. It was like a reflection of her soon-to-be future; a widow. After all, the country was in a crisis, and the army was enlisting men, left and right. "First you will pour the tea. Pouring tea smoothly and gracefully is an art form, and you need to be able to do it properly to please your future family and husband. Doing it properly shall show that you come from an honourable family."
Mulan lifted focused hard on her how her hands lifted the teapot and poured it into the cups, trying her best not to spill it; which was an obviously failed attempt. Jia Wei took one hard, distasteful, look at it, and put a big fat cross through the box.
"Now tell me, what is the purpose of a wife in a man's life?" Mulan took a deep breath and recited what she had been memorising the night before. "The role of a woman in a man's life is to provide a family and pleasure when needed. The woman is a supporting role. She will cook and bear his children for him." Jia Wei nodded gravely and grimly, for she was a very grave and grim woman, and was very talented at nodding gravely and grimly. She put a tick in the box.
"Now, tell me your standards for your husband." Once again, Mulan recited what she had previously memorised. " It does not matter. I shall follow any man my family chooses and support him with all my heart." Not if I can help it. Jia Wei's mouth curled into a smirk. "That's all I need to know." Mulan picked herself up quickly, and bowed, ready to leave. "Wait!" She called. Mulan turned around swiftly.
"I am worried, you see. Worried about you." Jia Wei said, her mouth pressing into a thin line. "Why would you be worried?" asked Mulan. " I am worried, because, because..." Taking a deep breath, she finally blurted out her thoughts.
"I am worried because I answered exactly the same way." Peering into her eyes, Mulan could not find anything but loneliness, regret and despair.
❝ I AM WORRIED BECAUSE YOU ARE LIKE ME. ❞
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AN
Hope you liked this chapter!
Please vote and comment if you want your suggestions to be known. I accept criticism.
I probably won't put up a cast list bc I'm lazy.
Also, if I don't update for a long time MAKE SURE TO SPAM ME. Sometimes I get rlly lazy, so if I stop uploading for a while, just make sure heaps of people spam the vote button, or you spam my private messages every few minutes, and It'll annoying the hell out of me soooo much that i'll write & Post another chapter!!!! IK I'm weird, but hey, what works works right?
