Requested by Marichatforlive13 . Hope you all enjoy!
Trudging through knee deep mud in the blistering Chinese sun was never a favourite pastime of mine. Ever. My already damp clothes never helped the ordeal but since I was nothing more than a piece of 'scum' it wasn't important. My goal was to survive, I'd be proud if I could find another drop of water at this point.
With a muddy face and a weary body I trudged on. This towns roads had been turned to sludge from all the Chinese armies passing through. Since that Mulan girl saved China from the Huns and suddenly went rogue, it was tension so sharp a katana wouldn't dent it. Mulan out in the wild with the power to manipulate anybody with only deceit and a clever mind was clearly a threat. A threat to everyone.
It was as I slipped, once again dirtying the front of my shirt that a blast of an armies horn sounded behind me. The Generals Army. With a silent curse I was moving way faster. Slushing through thick mud with ferocity in an attempt to get out of the way but still manage to find food. At least, this would've happened if a fat greasy man hadn't grabbed my arm and yanked me into the shade beside his restaurant. "And what would your name be, beautiful?" He wheezed, red faced enough from the exertion of yanking me out of sight. His fleshy arms were wrapped right around me, his left hand already snaking it's way downward to my behind. "None of your damn business" I spat back as I struggled in his chunky grip.
His face contorted in disgust and swiftly he raised a meaty hand and whipped me across the face. The sting and the sound was enough to draw attention... but with one glance passerby's kept going. A poor, beggar girl getting molested by some middle aged man was none of their concern. Not in the damn slightest.
But with this absolute pig of a male already groping me I tried to scream, to drag attention towards us. "Somebody hel-!" I didn't get to finish my sentence before another fist collided with my face and I was sent sprawling onto the alley floor. The male kicked a heavy booted foot right into my stomach. "You dare disgrace me? Woman!? I decide that you are worth my time and you decide to try and get me arrested!?" More kicks to my stomach and another meaty punch to my cheek. "You cow! Your not equal to the damn dirt on my shoe!" He continued to roar his outlandish insults, kicking, bruising my body all over. I could feel bones snapping and fracturing. I knew my skin would be painted in blues and greens. But it was the dimming of the light, and me slowly slipping out of consciousness that frightened me most.
A couple minutes later I'd given up hope. This is it. This is where I, Y/N, die a lonely miserable life.
As the fat man whom had been mercilessly beating the living daylights out of me moved to land a strong kick to my skull, he was thrown to the ground with a left hook from a muscular man in- in a... in a Generals uniform.
Good spirits above it's General Shang.
I wish the guy had of killed me after all.
But the General gave no heed to my broken body on the cobble. No, he was focused on teaching the perverted male a lesson. After the General had made the restauranteur blacker and bluer than I currently was, he spoke in a even voice. "If I catch a whisper of you setting your gaze on another woman in a malicious way, your dead." And with a sweep of a scarlet cape the General turned on the male and ignored his laboured breaths. The fat pig must of gotten the hint, before he rolled away out of sight and away to the shadows of a perverted mind.
The General came straight to me, as he kneeled, he undid his cloak around his neck and laid it over my shivering, bruised and dirty body. I shook my head, this wasn't right. The General shouldn't be assisting a peasant girl let alone be laying his cloak around her. Such things were frowned deeply upon. "S-Sir it's fine. Thank you but I'll be fine from here.." I gave a half hearted smile, it was too much effort to even see. Slower than a snail, I lifted my chest off the ground and attempted to heave myself up. Grimacing, and a firm hand clutched around my wounded stomach and ignoring the throbbing pain in my jaw and cheek. The General became frantic. "It's not fine." He said- "I insist you allow me to see you to better health, at least get you medical assistance and new clothes" he gave a frown to my ragged garments and my swelling face. But his ebony eyes slipped to my arms clutching my stomach. I hadn't even realized that the Generals cape had slipped off my shoulders. "Is there something wrong with your stomach?" He questioned, raven haired eyebrows furrowing. I shook my head, my face contorted in pain. As I gaped my mouth open, about to insist I'd be alright, I tipped closer to the ground and a black void of unconsciousness attacked me with an open hand.
I awoke inside what seemed to be like a carriage of sorts. The canopy roof sheathing the lowering sun, the gentle rock of the carriage on the road wanted to lull me back to sleep. As my senses returned to me I could hear the distinctive clip clopping of horses plodding hooves. I stared at the canopy above me, the gentle rock of the carriage shaking me side to side in a comforting slowness. The pain, for some strange reason hadn't attacked me yet. It's shadow was there but it was as if my hazy awakening gave me some sort of reprieve, before the onslaught of pain.
But then it came.
A roiling wave of molten lava starting at my toes and coursing through my body like a hellish tidal wave. The pain in my stomach seemed to be being prodded with an iron rod and suddenly, I screamed. Although my throat burned as if I had swallowed mounds of gravel and scratched like a dragons metaphoric claws, I screamed. In my suffering, I could taste the faint taste of fire flower. An extremely rare flower found in the mountains of the Emperors zen gardens, used for healing. It's healing was almost instant and never seemed to fail in its use. But, it caused the user an unbearable feeling of fire. The fire of the flower.
The carriages back doors swung open as it trundled along. A soilder looked in with bewildered eyes, he only stayed a moment watching my roiling body before spinning back and running up front. His hollers calling over the the sound of booted feet marching. "GENERAL! GENERAL! THE GIRL!" the shouts carried up the line and then a thundering of hooves rocketed towards my carriage. The pain was absolutely unbearable and my skin had become red and white, patching and decorating it like a kaleidoscope. A thump, and General Shang had dismounted his horse and almost jumped into the carriage. Immediately, he grabbed my body and pulled me to his embrace. The feeling of my skin against his armour made it itch and burn. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks and dropping delicately onto the black iron he clothed himself in. "Miss, it'll be alright. The flowers affects will die away shortly" His voice wavered as his eyes searched ravenously. Worry, creased his features. But his fucking armour was driving me to insanity and my skin was beginning to welt. As I writhed and thrashed in his secure grip I forced my blurry eyes to meet his. "Y-your armour!" I gasped as I wrenched away. The truth was, the user of the flower had to be restrained. They could severely damage themselves in the moments of healing. That was why the flower, was only used in severe cases. Like being close to death...
But Shang seemed to get the idea and began unbuckling the armour. He cast them away like used chopsticks and threw away his shirt along with it, leaving his chiseled torso bare. He looked at the armour coating his legs and without a moment of hesitancy yanked the plates off leaving him in a silk like fabric trousers that yielded at his calf. With sure hands, he hauled my shaking body towards him. He flipped me so that my face was pressed against his chest and I was unable to wriggle away. With a firm hand on the small of my back and one on my left thigh, he held me in place.
The General held me like that for what seemed like hours. He reassured me, comforted me, and cared. He would rub a comforting hand down along my hair to calm my raging body. The stimuli always seemed to help... even if it was momentarily. But soon, my body decided it was done with the turmoil of the fire and began to subside to infrequent shakes and shudders. To which Shang, only held me tighter. He spoke after a long baited silence, obviously coming to the conclusion that I needed an explanation. "You fainted in the alley. I brought you straight to my medic and he cared for you in this carriage. We are moving to our next camp... I'm sorry if you had family in the village. I was beginning to panic and your heartbeat was slowing-"
"Why" I croaked out after the shivering had become an odd occurrence, and only came due to my skimpy clothing. As Shang seemed to notice the shivers turn into coldness from the now night air he grabbed a fur skin blanket and wrapped it around the two of us. "You were dying, the medic saw the damage that man did to your stomach and... The internal bleeding was severe. He also manage to break and rupture various bones and joints." He paused and looked down into my eyes. His gaze so intense I freezed in his grip. His eyes traced my face where the swelling has disappeared to leave only faint purple bruises. The flower had done it's job, for the pain was nothing more than a hot summers breeze along my body. "That shouldn't of happened to you. I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner." And with a sweep of shock, a tear trickled from the corner of his eyes and down his cheek. He hadn't looked away, he just gazed at me. With a hint of hesitancy, I raised my hand and with the pad of my thumb I swiped away the tear, and I repeated this with the rest. I wiped away his tears until he was no longer crying.
After that, I saw that he was not the only person in need of healing in this carriage. I pulled his face down to mine and softly kissed his lips. It was a fleeting show of affection before my attention went back to the marching of the men outside. "Your men need you..." I whispered, watching for his reaction. Again, his gaze didn't waver as he spoke. "My men know what to do. But I dont" His voice cracked and he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to regain his composure.
I sat up in his lap, my legs straddling him and wrapped around his waist. I looked into his eyes before I spoke. The stories his charcoal eyes were telling, roared like a mighty mountain lion, an injured, broken lion. "General Shang. She has left. She has gone. She took your heart with her and butchered it on a mountain top and blew it's pieces back to you in the wind. She saved China just to destroy it herself. You did what you knew to do. You know. You are strong Shang. You are as strong as the Wall. But it's up to you, do you wish to believe in yourself? Or allow Mulan, to crush and conquer your home, and you." For an unknown reason, I was looking into the eyes of a broken hearted man. A man's fiancee who ran away and took his heart. Took his confidence.
The carriage turned and began to slow. Who knew how long we had been in there, but I had a feeling the soilders wouldn't disturb us. That they would allow their General to take care of the poor, abused girl in the storage cart. Little did they know it was their Leader needing the most healing.
So I intertwined my fingers into his silken hair, I guided his head to the crook of my neck as it contorted into anguish and the tears began to run like a waterfall. He brought his muscled arms around my body and clutched my sheath of clothing on my back. And as his body wracked with sobs, I knew that something had changed. Shang needed healing, but he needed someone to save him.
He needed Y/N.
The fire flower.
A/N
Why, hello there.
A one shot. Finally. Thanks to @Marichatforlive13 for the request! I, honestly loved this.
Still open for requests!!
-AA