𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 | 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏

Sheng slowed his horse to a trot. The stream was too dense to see through and he didn't want to risk the big horse stumbling on one of the thermal vents that dotted the landscape. For what seemed like hours, but no more than a few minutes, Sheng and Mulan wandered, lost, inside the stream clouds.

When the clouds cleared, Sheng and Mulan gasped simultaneously. The barren landscape was a riot of vibrant color. Red lava poured from vents, transforming into lines of black frozen rock as the air cooled. It was though he had ridden into a whole other world.

And Bori Khan was nowhere to be seen.

An ear-piercing shriek filled the air. Looking up, Sheng only had a moment to register the hawk diving towards them before they were knocked from their horses' back's. They toppled to the ground. His helmet knocked loose from the impact, fell from his head and tumbled across the ground.

Sheng cast a glance at Mulan, her helmet was also laying on the ground. Her face was covered in dirt, showing exhaustion. Her topknot had come undone, her hair falling over her shoulders.

Scrambling to their feet, Sheng and Mulan looked up, hearing the shriek of the hawk. Sheng watched in disbelief as the hawk transformed into a beautiful woman. The woman appeared strong, and deadly.

"You're a witch . . ." Mulan said, the words sticking in her throat.

The women nodded. She walked closer, looking Mulan up and down, her eyes lingering on the armor and moving to the hair that now fell over Mulan's shoulders. Something flashed across her eyes, a revelation.

"You've kept your secret. Well done. But now you are in my way. You must retreat. Go."

Sheng's eyes widened as he realized the women had seen past Mulan's disguise.

"I am Hua Jun," Mulan said. "Soldier in the Emperor's Imperial Army."

The witch's gaze flickered to Sheng. "And who are you, soldier?"

"I am Hua Sheng," Sheng said. "Soldier in the Emperor's Imperial Army."

Lifting their swords, they charged at the witch. But Xianniang fended them off. With a wave of her hand, she sent them flying to the ground. Mulan let out a shout and jumped to her feet, standing in front of Sheng. Terror washed through Sheng as Mulan let out a shout and charged at the witch. Once again, Mulan charged at Xianniang and once again, the witch brushed her away.

"Your deceit weakens you," Xianniang said as she wrapped her long fingers around Mulan's neck. Sheng's heart pounded in his chest as he pointed his sword at the witch, fear flooding through him. "It poisons your chi."

Lifting his sword, Sheng ran at the witch, bringing his sword down. While holding Mulan, the witch blocked his blade with her palm. Desperately, Sheng tugged at his blade, hoping to release Mulan from the witch's grasp. To his surprise, the blade came back, slicing the witch's palm. As blood bloomed on her palm, Xianniang's eyes filled with anger. Mulan scrambled to Sheng's side, keeping her sword steady in front of her.

Xianniang tilted her head. She pulled a dagger from her belt and threw it at Mulan. Mulan tried to block it, but the force of the dagger was great, and when it contacted her sword, the dagger sent the blade flying from her hand. The sword twirled through the air, end over end, before landing on the ground where it skittered across a thin crust of cooled lava that covered a nearby lake, like ice.

Panic washed over Sheng and Mulan. Their father's sword! They couldn't loose it. Mulan surged forward, Sheng pointing his blade at the witch. Mulan raced onto the lava crust. Like ice, it was slipperier than it appeared and Mulan instantly fell, the impact causing the surface to crack around her. Sheng knew that there was no way it would hold. Not for long. On her hands and knees, Mulan inched further out onto the crust as all around her more cracks began to appear.

The witch knocked Sheng aside, slamming him into a nearby rock. Sheng let out a groan as he slammed onto the ground, his vision blurry.

Behind Mulan, Xianniang stepped onto the cracking lava, her own steps so light that they left no impression on the thin layer of ash that covered the ground. Blood dripped from the wound that Sheng had inflicted on her palm, dotting the black with red.

Mulan let out a triumphant cry as she gripped her sword. She spun around, meeting the witch's gaze.

"Who are you" Xianniang asked.

"I am Hua Jun. Soldier in the Emperor's Imperial Army" Mulan shouted.

"Then you will die pretending to be something you're not." In a flash of silver, Xianniang threw another dagger. It flew through the air, striking Mulan square in the chest. Mulan was lifted off her feet and sent flying backward, slamming hard into a rock. She tumbled the ground, laying limp.

"No" Sheng cried in agony, a sob bursting through his lips.

He burst up from the ground, running towards Mulan. His boots pounded on the ground below. The layer of crust beneath him broke open. Sheng fell through the hole and into the lake below.