Seven

Honghui

*CLANG*

I hear the sound of metal hitting the ground. Everyone went silent and turned around. It was Mulan! I was so excited to see her. I have to tell her how much I enjoyed her kiss, and how I wanted more. Hopefully, she would allow me to court her.

We stared at each other for a second, then she turned and ran out of the tent.

"Is that... MULAN?" my friend beside me asked. I jumped a little. I had almost forgotten that Li Xiuying was still there. She is from my village. We have been friends ever since we were 13.

"Yeah... It is," I whispered.

"Oh... are you friends?" Xiuying asked, disappointment heavy in her voice. I had told her all about Mulan, how brilliant she was, how kind she was, how smart she was... but I told nobody about our goodbyes from the previous week.

"I'd say we are more than that," I thought. Instead of saying this out loud, I said, "I'll be back Xiuying. Don't wait up for me!"

I stood up and ran outside. I heard her protest, but it was no use. I need to find Mulan.

I looked all over camp. She wasn't in the Officer's tent, nor any of the other tents. Her horse was still there, so she can't have gone far.

Suddenly, I had an idea. Maybe she was at the lake she had taken her baths at. There was a tree there that would be blooming with flowers at this time of year. I was going to confess my feelings there when she came back.

I ran towards the lake, and sure enough, I saw Mulan under the tree. Her armour was beside her, and her red dress was at her legs. She was crying. I quietly walked up to her and touched her shoulder. She jumped at my touch but didn't look up.

"Who is it?" Mulan asked. "I'm not in the mood for cheering up at the moment."

I decided not to say it was me. I don't know why, but I just had an odd feeling.

"It's me, Ling," I replied with a deep voice. Oh no, would she realize it's not him?

"Oh, hi Ling," she said without putting her head up.

"What's wrong?" I asked, voice still deepened.

"It's Honghui," she responded. It's me? What did I do to her? Oh no! I made her sad!

"What did he do to you?" I asked, my voice starting to go back to normal.

"The new female recruit," she answered, "They seemed really close, and she kept getting closer and closer to him. He could have been courting her for all I know!"

"Courting her? Courting Li Xiuying?" I asked, deepening my voice again, "I don't know anything about Honghui courting anyone."

She sighed. "I just thought that he would think I kissed him on the cheek for a special reason, not just to say goodbye," she responded. What special reason? Oh yeah, Ling doesn't know about the kiss.

"Uhh, wow! You kissed him on the cheek?" I asked, pretending to sound surprised.

"Yep, it's a secret Ling," she warned. "I also have another secret, I hope I can trust you."

"Of course you can trust me!" I exclaimed.

Ooooh, now what? This was SO fun to write! -canadiansyrup777 🦋