After Ever After

Chapter Seven

The Li Household

Sunday Afternoon

Bleary-eyed and exhausted, body stiff and a little grimy, Mulan took careful steps as she dragged her body towards the bathroom. One hand held onto the wall for balance while the other hung aimlessly by her side. Her now long black hair sat in a wild arrangement atop her head with a bit of it spilling over into her eyes, further hindering her vision.

She couldn't remember the last time she slept. All of the days had blended together; time didn't really matter anymore. The only thing that mattered these days was the little bundle of joy—finally asleep—in the nursery down the hall.

Mulan ran the water in the sink, waiting for it to get warm. She took the rare opportunity to look at herself in the mirror and grimaced at the sight. Dark circles framed the bottom of her dark brown eyes; her fair skin had become pale and dry, her lips so chapped she was sure to cut someone if she offered them a kiss, and she didn't even want to acknowledge her teeth, yellow as they were.

Mulan huffed, cupping her hands under the water and splashing it on her face. She hummed to herself, relishing the warmth of the water against her neglected skin. How she longed for a nice hot shower, or even better, a long soak in the tub with her favorite orchid scented bubble bath and candles. She would wash her hair with her vanilla shampoo. Then she'd put on her cherry blossom body oil and wrap herself in her over-sized, fluffy green bathrobe and slippers. She sighed at the fantasy before drowning her face into another handful of warm water. This was probably the closest thing she'd get to a bath before Shang came back home.

After several minutes of soaking her face, Mulan walked out of the bathroom, heading to her bedroom. With the baby fast asleep, the house had settled into an uncomfortable silence. The house had somehow turned into a mansion; it felt enormous without him there.

It always did.

How could someone be in a relationship and still feel so alone? Mulan didn't just feel alone she felt...abandoned. She knew Shang had to travel often for his work, but she had hoped that after they had gotten married that he would spend more time at home especially since they had Lotus to take care of. Yet, as always, Shang put his job before anything else. Even if he didn't mean to, he did and never seemed to think of how it would affect those around him.

Shang was very traditional. Always has been, always will be. He probably thought that leaving Mulan three days after she gave birth was completely normal. He probably thought that Mulan could handle taking care of a newborn by herself.

"You're a woman Mulan, you'll know what to do," he had told her once, attempting to be reassuring. She scoffed. The nerve of him! Whether she did or didn't know what to do, that was not the problem. The problem was that Shang left her alone constantly. The pregnancy was hard enough with him not being for half of it, and now for him to be completely gone is frustrating as hell.

Mulan curled into a ball on her side of the bed. She glanced over at the empty space where Shang was supposed to sleep. She scowled, punching his pillow with the little strength she had. How could he just leave like that? She thought as she brought down her other fist. He's so selfish! Before she knew it Mulan went into a fit of rage, pounding her fists over and over into her absent husband's pillow. Tears poured down her face, dripping into her lap. In a last attempt to release the tension, Mulan stuffed her face into the pillow and screamed. Once. Twice. Three times, she screamed out her desperation. Then she sobbed, not knowing what else do to.

At that same moment, small whimpers sounded on the baby monitor. Lotus was waking from her nap. Mulan choked back more sobs, climbed back out of bed and walked towards the nursery. Lotus stirred in her crib with her eyes still shut; her beloved pacifier had popped out of her mouth. Mulan wiggled the rubber toy back into her daughter's mouth and picked her up out of her crib.

Swallowing the remainder of her wails, she sat the two of them in the rocking chair by the window. Mulan soothed her baby girl, trying to shush her distressed murmuring, all the while wishing that someone was there so soothe her too.

A/N: Credit to ChaDrawsThings for the chapter artwork! I love Mulan, both the character and the movie, but I always thought her and Shang's relationship would require a lot of work, so I'm definitely going to be addressing that here.