Fearless (A Mulan Retelling)

Chapter Sixteen

It was mid-afternoon when General Zayn was finally done training the archers. He wished it differently though, because he was now on duty to patrol the campground. It wasn't a hard thing to do, he knew, but it was boring.

It was rare to see anything out of order, or anything different at all really. Just the same soldiers he saw everyday all going about their business on the dusty and dull grounds. He straightened his spine, however, and began striding towards the trees bordering the camp.

He'd decided that they were the most beautiful things here. The only sign that the real world existed beyond this place was the forest.

Upon reaching the tree-line, he began staring out into the depths of the woods. At first, he didn't notice anything unordinary; in fact, it was quite a while before he heard the noises. He could hear loud rustling amongst the plants and twigs snapping left and right.

The first thing he felt was alarm, as if they were under attack. Hoping that wasn't the case, he wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword and went to investigate further.

When he breached the woods, he hid behind a tree and immediately looked left to right. He did not see an army or even a group of enemies like he'd expected.

All he saw was a single armor-clad figure dashing through the woods as if he was running from something. He did another search of the area, but found nothing chasing the soldier. His glance flicked back to the figure and squinted his eyes.

He was able to make out a face. It was easier because it was a face he'd seen quite a lot. It was his recruit, Ingred Gwenneth.

Even though the presumed threat had been confirmed as safe, he still watched in fascination. Ingred, since day one, had mystified him.

Ingred jumped from the ground and the general watched as he quickly grabbed a tree branch and yanked himself upward. It didn't take long for him to reach the top and then clamber back down just as quickly. However, it didn't also didn't take very long for Iris to spot him, especially with the view from the treetops above.

Iris scurried back down from the tree in which she was currently climbing and walked over to Zayn, who had moved himself out from behind the tree. She stood there for a minute, staring at him in puzzlement.

"Yes, General? Do you have need of me?"

The General still didn't understand how such a small figure could have a voice so gruff. He stood there dumbly for a minute before answering the question. In his silence, he saw Ingred almost smile. It was a sight he had not yet seen.

However, the smile fell not even a millisecond later.

"I was patrolling the grounds, and was wondering who was in the woods."

Iris could tell that the general was telling the truth. Iris gave a little bow to the general before running off again. This time, General Zayn only watched until the rogue disappeared from his sight. The incident with the general made Iris wonder how much of her workout he'd actually witnessed. She began her work out again, but only for a few minutes. She was stopped again by another onlooker. Except, this one was one that she expected.

"Kayde, you're back."

"That I am," he nodded, and leapt from his horse. "I see you haven't shirked your training or exercising since I left. Which is a good thing." His green eyes were alight with a sense of pride.

Iris nodded in agreement, wondering what she could say next to Kayde.

"I have to at least be decent. Tonight was the last night of training. I'll only have one more session with the General. If I'm to fight and live in this war, I have to continue doing what it takes to be good," she stopped talking for a few seconds, "I guess I can be thankful for small favors. I fit in well enough here. I didn't think it would be so easy..." she subconsciously motioned to her small frame while finishing her thought.