Honour to Us All (Mulan)

2 K Special Chapter !!!

A/N: So after about a week of voting, the majority have chosen the option C. Therefore, here is your special. A piece of Shang's childhood! Enjoy! This took a long time to make that we have long hit 2 K readers so this is a 2 K Special Chapter instead of a 1 K.

"Mother?"

Dark, shadowed eyes did not turn to face Li Shang.

His small hands placed themselves hesitantly upon the soft and pale, yet, frozen hands of his mother. She did not react or acknowledge his presence and touch. How could she?

Li Shang whimpered silently, praying to the ancestors that his mother would recover from the attack and call his name once more. He despised those traitorous men who had kidnapped his mother and attacked her into shock. Since she was recovered from the attackers, despite their escape, she had not spoken a word, not done a thing. Her handmaidens found feeding her alone difficult, for she would hardly chew. The worst part, however, were her night terrors. 

Every night since her return, she would scream in her sleep, terrorised by nightmares of the ordeal. No amount of servants could calm her down, and none of the medications from the Imperial Doctor helped her condition. Not even Shang's father, Li Chen, could help his wife.

Shang would finish his daily duties and studies, and always spend every free moment he had sitting by his mother's side, hoping she would recover. 

Yet, months flew by. He was losing hope. 

He wanted his mother back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His father had insisted that he joined the trip to the east countryside. He did not in the least have the will to leave his mother in the home alone without him, but he reluctantly agreed, as he noticed how his father became extremely tense and cold when his mother was mentioned. 

His father had left him with his two servants, Yi Tian and Shui Juan. The two kept a close eye on him, ensuring that he would not wander off on his own and get lost. Although the village was known for being quite safe, his father feared that he would be targeted as his mother was.

Quite frankly, Shang wasn't that afraid of the potential scenario. To his young mind, it was simply an opportunity to find out the identities of those men so he could one day avenge her.

The markets were crowded with people, and Shang yearned to explore the small village. "Shui Juan, can't I go look around?" he asked the female servant. "I won't go far. I promise."

"Young Master, I cannot allow that," Shui Juan gasped. "I would be punished severely for disobeying your father. You heard him, you are to remain close to him at all times. We don't know if more attackers are out there."

"I'll be careful," he insisted. "I promise. I just want to do more than nothing!"

Shui Juan hesitated, but stiffened as Yi Tian glared at her sharply. "No, young master. I'm sorry, you cannot leave the premises."

Shang sighed dejectedly as he looked longingly at the crowded streets where the village children were playing. He didn't know many children his age, and he so longed for a friend to call his own. 

"Huan gei wo!"

His head snapped up to the direction of the distressed voice. A young girl, most likely a few years younger than he was, was reaching for a rolled up piece of paper. The girl's eyes shone with rage and determination as she tackled the boy holding the paper, wrestling him to the ground.

The boy cried out for his mother, who immediately pulled the girl off of her son and screamed at her for attacking him. "He took my homework!" She protested.