The view afforded them a good look at the camp. Hundreds of tents stretched across the fields between the river and Langgan. The officers were quartered closer to the fort, within the protective wall.
“So many soldiers.”
“This isn’t even half of them. A full regiment stands ready to invade Cairn Ocland from the encampment outside the Imperial Palace.”
“But why are they invading?” he asked.
“The war. They are a threat to Liang, but Emperor Da-Wio finally evened the playing field.”
“I don’t understand. This was the trouble between our nations years ago when I sat on the throne. When my mother sat on the throne. How can such strife endure over the centuries?”
“For a long time, there was peace between our kingdoms,” Mulan explained. “That ended when Dalborough slew the King and Queen of Cairn Ocland during war. Their son went into seclusion, I suppose. But now he has claimed the throne and taken a wife of incredible power. A few years ago, she used that power to create a great wall of thorns, cutting off access to our forests.”
“Our forests,” he repeated.
“Yes. There are vital herbs and flowers growing there that are needed for our medicines. Now babies are ill and there’s nothing we can do for them as medicine stores drop.”
“I see. And it is not possible to propagate new stock from what is on hand?”
“No. Many of these plants require a specific environment, and it is not easily reproduced, even in the most skilled alchemist’s laboratory. When the seedlings and young plants are removed from the Forest of Melodies, they wither and eventually die. Nothing has worked. Even the most skilled botanists have failed.”
“Why do we not share the forest? That is how it was done in my day.”
“Like I said, their witch made that impossible. Our nations lived in peace until they took the throne and made demands on us. They’ve even attacked our ships.”
“No. I do not believe it,” Cheng disagreed. “How could one nation change so much?”
“How did ours?” she countered.
For a long while, he said nothing, simply stared out over the camp. Mulan watched him, still uncertain what to believe about the entire situation. Duty demanded she inform her superiors, but her heart disagreed. A few more days to determine the best course of action would hurt no one. It would cost nothing.
If she rushed and placed her trust in the wrong people, they stood to lose everything.
Upon returning to her tent, Mulan prepared the bed for her guest and went about her nightly ritual as best she could. Secretly hosting a long-lost emperor was an unexpected burden. Any moment they could be discovered, and if that happened, she had no idea what would follow.
Cheng was not safe. From what, she didn’t know. But a gnawing sensation in her chest told her the fewer were aware of his return, the better they would all be.
She had to guard him with her life.
“Get some rest, Your Majesty.”
She laid out her camp bedroll as she had the night before, ignoring the fact that she would much rather enjoy the softness of a real bed while she had the chance. If she pursued her plans, she wouldn’t see a feather mattress for a long while.
“There is room for more than one of us,” Cheng said, gesturing to the bed. The prince—the emperor, she reminded herself—cocked one brow when she remained distant. “Do you not trust my word and my honor as a man?”
“It is inappropriate. I will be fine here.” More than his status as emperor discouraged her from crawling into bed with him. Cheng was an attractive man, and his face bore all the refined features of the noble clans who dwelled in the provinces of Western Liang. Her gaze swept over his straight nose, fair skin, and hair so dark it lacked even a blue-black sheen in the lantern light.
Years as a statue had not damaged his physique. He was the perfect specimen of masculinity, from his trim waist to a wide chest lightly ghosted with dark hair. The same soft wisps of hair led a trail south of his navel to—
Mulan had to stop thinking about that.
The refusal to share a bed with Cheng had nothing to do with doubting his honor. If she had to be honest about it, Mulan wasn’t sure she trusted herself. So long had passed since she’d seen a man as more than a comrade in arms that she feared her behavior would betray her.
Why must he be so handsome?
“Tell me of yourself. Please.”
“There isn’t much to tell,” she said, hedging around the question. “I am what you see, a soldier and little else.”
“There must be more than that. Your story intrigues me.”
She rolled over to tell him to mind his own business, but the words died on the tip of her tongue. Rather than lying in bed, Cheng had sat up, the blankets pooled around his waist, light from the flickering candle dancing across his bare chest. Heat curled in her gut and flushed her entire body.
What is wrong with me? I’ve seen half-naked men before.
“I told you my story, Majesty.”
“Cheng. Please, call me Cheng.”
“That is too familiar.”
“For what? We have been together for years.” A handsome grin curved his lips.
“Fine. Cheng,” she relented, irritated with herself for the giddiness she felt saying his name. “But as I was saying, you already know my story.”
“Not in its entirety. Why are you here, if the risk is so great?”
“Because I must be. There is no one else.”
“No one,” he repeated. “Not a single man in your family? No brothers—”
“My only brother still nursed from my mother when I left. My father could barely walk some days. Our village physician saved his leg, but at a great cost. Now he lives in pain.”
“You are a rare and honorable woman,” he said after a long, silent moment. “Our realm is poorer for ignoring souls such as yours. No Liangese citizen should ever be undervalued.”
“Once you’re on the throne again, you’ll change it, won’t you?”
“Yes. I would make many changes.”
“Such as?”
“I would put a stop to this war for a start.”
“What else?”
Cheng slid down into bed again. His head lay against the pillow, gray-ringed eyes focused on the tent ceiling. When he placed one hand beneath his head, his biceps bunched and tightened. “I would…award you the rank of general, as you deserve. I have watched you fight and lead your soldiers to numerous victories. No one may know you are a woman, but you are every bit as much a soldier as any man in this camp.”
Mulan flushed with pleasure. She leaned toward the candle and blew it out in a rush before he could see the surge of color in her cheeks. “You flatter me.”
“No. I don’t. I only speak the truth. A warrior as loyal to her kingdom as you deserves more than hollow platitudes. When the throne is mine once more, you will receive the highest of honors.”
Her heart stuttered. “For what? I’ve done nothing.”
“Mm.” Even the husky sound in his throat tantalized her. In the dark, she visualized the rise and fall of his chest. “Were it not for you, Mulan, my statue could have fallen into anyone’s possession. Instead, we found one another. I realize now our meeting was fated, and I vow to follow wherever you go.”
9
Wen waited for her outside the following morning. Following a deep bow, the sorcerer presented a sheaf of papers.
“We have received our orders, Captain. I was asked to deliver them to you.”
“So soon? I’d hoped for more time after our mission.”
“It seems our success has made us indispensable.”
She grunted and broke the seal on the missive. After quickly scanning the contents, she gestured for Wen to follow her, leading him away from her tent and toward the fort perimeter. “We have been ordered to report to the gate. Our entire regiment will join the fight in Cairn Ocland.”
“It would be faster to return the way we went thr
ough the wall,” the sorcerer muttered. “Mere days to the north versus marching for weeks to the west.”
“Doubtful that any of us would successfully cross through the wall a second time. The Oclanders won’t allow us to pull the same maneuver. We would be slaughtered. I doubt that hole even exists any longer.”
Wen dropped his head, abashed. “Ah, you are right. My arrogance precedes me.”
“Have you discovered anything regarding our friend?”
“No. I could find no mention of the collar he wears. The runes are foreign—nothing Liangese or Samaharan in origin.”
“What about Creag Morden or Dalborough?”
“They both study a similar magic based on the same fae influences of Cairn Ocland. Most of their sorcerers are fey-touched in some way, like this witch in the north. She was the Princess of Creag Morden before she wed the red dragon.”
“And you’re certain it isn’t fae magic?”
“Positive. They don’t use runes, Mu. This”—Wen removed a folded parchment from within his sleeve and unfolded it, revealing that he’d drawn the runes from memory—“is a perversion of life.”
“What does that mean?”
“I am not certain as of yet. I must do some more investigating before I can confidently say more. What about you? We cannot possibly hope to bring him with us. At some point he will be noticed.”
“The bigger issue is his drive to confront the emperor to reclaim his birthright.”
Wen dipped his chin. “Yes, there is that as well. Which brings me to a rather…delicate suggestion.”
“Oh?”
“There are others with magical know-how who might be better in investigating what happened, and one of them lies to the north.”
She stared at him and waited until a roving patrol passed before lowering her voice to a frantic hiss. “Are you suggesting I go to our enemy?”
“I humbly suggest you go to someone he knew as an ally during the time he walked this realm.” Wen stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder, his expression solemn. “Someone who has as much at stake in stopping this war as your friend.”
He was right. As her breath left her in a long sigh, she knew every word was true and that a new course had been laid out before her. Her gaze dropped to the orders in her hand and a plan coalesced in her mind.
The gods had granted her another gift.
Mulan knelt beside her travel bag and flipped open the lid of the trunk kept at the foot of her bedroll. For the past five years of their combat against the north and her unerring, faithful service to the Liangese Empire, all that she owned and dared collect had been stowed inside—save for Cheng. When the statuette had not accompanied her into battle, it had proudly sat on the makeshift altar to Yüying.
“If we want to end the war between our kingdoms, we don’t have a choice, Cheng. I have to seek out the rulers of Cairn Ocland and tell them what’s happening here. Our people have been misled and used.”
“And what if they kill you? What if they don’t listen to a word you say and kill you?”
“Then it will be an honorable death for the sake of my country.”
Cheng stepped up beside her. His large hand took her by the bicep and jerked her around to face him again. “What about your family?”
“What of them?” Her gaze lifted to his hard face and the subtle green glow shone radiant beyond the chocolate brown irises. It hadn’t been so bright two nights ago. “When I fail to return to camp, the men will assume I died during my scouting mission. My parents will receive the standard hero’s pension and they’ll be treated well.”
“You trust the empire to live up to that promise?” Cheng cocked one dark brow.
“No. I don’t. And that is why I must try to get through to the other side. As long as their kingdom wars with ours, no promise is guaranteed. Tomorrow, they may decide boys as young as my brother are old enough to battle the shapeshifters.”
Cheng’s shoulders sank. “I loathe that you’re right. Given what my uncle did to me to gain power, it only makes sense that his descendants would do whatever they can to keep control of the throne”
“Precisely.”
“Very well then. What am I to do? Are we to approach together, or will you wait until dawn to make contact?”
“The odds may be in our favor if you’re a coherent, walking and talking man of flesh. We have a better chance of escape if they turn hostile. If you’re a statuette…”
“They could imprison me.”
“And you’ll be no better than you were before and also at the mercy of the enemy. How well can you fight?”
“I had the best sword masters as my teachers.”
Her lips twisted. Of course he had. He was an emperor, and they received the best of everything. He had the grace to not appear offended by her ridiculous question, even though she hadn’t realized the stupidity until the words left her mouth.
“How much power do you have?” she asked him. “If we want to reach enemy lines and breach the thorn wall, we’ll need magic.”
“Little. I can get us to the enemy, but there’s no guarantee that I can keep up a shield once we’re there. Once we cross to the other side, we’ll be at their mercy.”
She eyed him critically for a moment. “Then we will go the same way I did before, following the river. It will be tight but I think you can make it through. Save your magical strength for when we truly need it.”
“If they’re smart, they’ll have fortified the area.”
“Why? A small point of entry is nothing compared to the gateway our armies march through.”
“A wise tactician would ensure they cover weaknesses at their flank. A single assassin can do far more damage than an entire army. Armies serve as diversions, distractions to conceal true danger.”
“Fair enough. Perhaps that will make things easier, then. We can surrender once we cross through and ask to be taken to their king and queen.”
She expected him to argue, but Cheng considered her idea and nodded. “It would be better than trying to blindly attempt infiltration of an unfamiliar kingdom. What of your men?”
“Our orders are to make our way to the gate and pick up recruits along the way. They’ll be able to take their time using that to their advantage and will wait for us outside Imperial City.”
“You trust them all?”
“I do. Wen will lead in my stead. He’s already given me this token to allow his eagle to find us.” Mulan held a carved wooden bead with a down feather tied to the end between her fingers. “Wherever we go, she’ll bring us word from camp.”
“Excellent.”
As an army captain, Mulan traveled by day. She rode with Cheng tucked out of sight within her shirt and tried to avoid thoughts regarding whether he sensed and felt his surroundings. While lonely at times, she made remarkable progress without others slowing her down.
No one gave her more than a passing glance, seeing only a military officer. If anything, they went out of their way to offer whatever assistance they could, whether it was drink or nourishment. She pushed through lunch and ate in the saddle, determined to reach her next checkpoint well before sunset. With her beloved Fusan entrusted to Togashi’s care, she needed fresh mounts for the final leg of their journey north, and she preferred to swap them before Cheng made his miraculous appearance.
Later, just as the sun kissed the horizon, she concluded an exchange at Fort Qiangda, leaving her exhausted steed and riding away with two of the stablemaster’s finest stallions. He hadn’t asked why a lone officer needed two horses. He’d taken the offered coins and bid the captain a safe journey.
A tingling began against her skin that heralded the change. She urged both horses off the road into the thick of the trees and set the dragon statuette on the soft soil. By the time Cheng was both human and coherent, she’d unpacked a second officer’s uniform and prepared scarlet wyvern armor to conceal the collar around his throat. Finding a spare breastplate to fit those massive shoulders hadn’
t been easy. Worse, had been the moment the quartermaster almost saw her lifting it from the mobile armory. Mulan’s heart nearly leapt from her chest.
If we’re caught, we’ll both be executed for impersonation of an officer.
Fabric rustled as Cheng donned clothing. “Where are we now?”
“Miles north from where we were, Your M— Cheng. This is all open country. The few towns this far north abandoned their homes once the war began.”
“The Oclanders raided villages?”
“No. The black powder crafted by our alchemists made the air intolerable. Between that and the constant threat of explosions…” Cheng’s incredulity transformed into a mask of rage within seconds. She trailed off, staring at him.
“The military endangered our own people?”
“War endangers everyone, and the wall allowed few options. They tried fire, black powder, even magic. Nothing has worked.”
“So our own people suffered and our so-called enemies were unaffected.” He spat the words and paced in agitation. “This is not how it should be.”
“You’re right.” How many ruined fields had she passed, saddened by the sight of scorched tea gardens? Entire families had lost their livelihoods, their ancestral homes reduced to blackened kindling overnight. Often, she had wondered if Samahara would be next, putting Songshi in similar danger.
“This is not the Liang I knew during my reign, or that of my parents.”
“Then we should strive to make Liang better. Are you good to ride?”
“Are you?” he countered, turning his studious gaze on her face. “You’ve been riding all day. If you require rest, surely we can spare some time.”
“I’ll be fine.
They rode side by side through the early night hours. Cheng spoke little, his attention fixed on their surroundings. More than once he turned his gaze to the stars above.
“What are you searching for?” she finally asked.
“Things look different. As if they are slightly off. I was taught to read the stars in the sky as a youth, so I would always know the season and my place in the world.”
Mulan and the Jade Emperor: an Adult Folktale Retelling (Once Upon a Spell: Legends Book 1) Page 7