Love or Law

Sleeping Arrangements and Dragon Marks

The next morning was spent taking inventory of what they still had. The first wagon to cross the river had held their sleeping mats and their food, all of which had made it safely across. The second wagon held their weapons, their cannons and half of their tents. When it had crossed, there had been a surge in the river and water had breached the wagon. Luckily, the tents had soaked up the majority of it, leaving the cannons relatively untouched. Ping's wagon had held the other half of their tents and whatever odds and ends they thought they might need but weren't necessary for survival. All in all, they weren't in terrible shape. All of the men had made it across alive, as well as the majority of their gear. The only thing that needed to be thought out were their sleeping arrangements. Captain Shang wanted everyone in a tent if the weather took a turn for the worse.

Most of the men were easy to divvy up, the smallest men were set to sleep with the larger, and the middle men were paired up. All who were left were Ling, Yao, Po, Ping and Shang. Shang eyed the men up in front of him. There were three tents left. It made sense for Po to have his own tent, he was so large it was necessary. That left the four of them and Shang could think of only one way to ensure Ping's continued safety and secrecy. Put her with someone who already knew her secret and that someone would be him. Shang kept telling himself it was a bad idea but his mind kept circling back to one thought. He did not want any of the other men, even her best friends, to discover her identity.

Of course, if he was being completely honest with himself he would also admit he would like the chance to lay down next to her and listen to her breathing until it slowed into the rhythm of sleep. It seemed like such an innocent but intimate moment and he wanted none of the other men to have that moment, even if they did think she was a he. Shang also didn't want any other man to wake up in the morning and watch her face as she slept. He wanted every moment for himself.

But then, when was Shang ever honest with himself?

"Po." He stated, "You will have a tent to yourself." When the other men began to grumble Shang turned on them, "Unless someone is willing to share with him?" That question shut them up very quickly.

"Ling, Yao. You two will be sharing. Ping will be with me. It makes sense because Ling and Ping are smaller than me and Yao. Everyone has their sleeping assignments. Let's pack up and move out!"

With quick efficiency, everything except the soldier's daily rations and weapons were re-packed into the wagons and packs were thrown over shoulders. Within the hour they were back to marching.

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"Psst!"

Mulan barely registered that someone was trying to get her attention. Her little adventure in the river had taken more out of her than she realized. Every muscle in her body ached from fighting the strong current and, as she marched, sharper pains made themselves uncomfortably known. The scrapes on her hands from where they had met the sharp river bed rocks. A throbbing behind her ear letting her know of a bruise there with every step. The shallow gash on her knee pulling and being pressed on with each step. Worst of all was the huge, nasty bruise where Khan's hoof had caught her shoulder. One of the straps to her pack lay right across the center of it and was shooting agony across her chest and down her arm. Of course, she couldn't exactly have that looked at by their traveling physician unless she gave away her identity. That just wasn't an option at this point.

"Psst! Ping!" Came louder from her right.

Glancing up, Mulan found Ling marching next to her looking painfully chagrined.

"Look, I wanted to say sorry. I never should have pushed you in the river. I had no idea things would go that bad that fast. You know I'd never hurt you like that on purpose, right?"