Reflection (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,58
Shang. “You have your father’s pride. He was hard on you as a commander and a teacher and father, and you are his son through and through. But that does not mean you should be hard on your friends—on the people you can trust and rely on. If Ping has a secret to hide, let him hide it. He has already proven himself to be trustworthy, so he must have his reasons.”
A shadow drifted over Shang’s face, darkening his aura’s shimmery blue light. He leaned against the tree for what felt like a long time. Finally, he lifted his head and walked over to Mulan.
“Whatever secret you have,” Shang said solemnly, “I trust you keep it for the right reason, and I will honor that.”
Behind him, ShiShi backed away to give them some space, and he nodded for Mulan to accept the captain’s apology. But Mulan couldn’t.
Why couldn’t she?
She looked up. Shang’s eyes burned with that intense earnestness she had grown to admire. That gaze ensnared her now.
He’ll never trust me if he doesn’t know the truth. She grimaced and squeezed her fists. I can’t lie to him anymore. Even if he hates me, he deserves to know.
She opened her hands. “Shang, you’ve never once lied to me. ShiShi’s right—you’ve been tough on me and the other soldiers back home, but it’s always been to make us a team…and to build trust among us.”
She bit her lower lip, a habit the village gossip had once told her was unladylike and unattractive. Strange; all her life she’d striven to become a proper young woman, to make her family proud of her. These past few months, she’d spent doing the opposite. Trying to pass as a man, a soldier.
Her worst fear had been that she’d be caught impersonating someone who didn’t exist. She never imagined she’d tell anyone of her own free will. She swallowed. “So you…you should know it’s true. I’m not…Ping.”
“If you’re not Ping, then who are you?” Shang asked.
“I’m…” Mulan sucked in her breath. Her voice shook, and she worried her heart might burst out of its armor.
She set down her sword, rubbed the sweat off her palms onto her bare arm. Then she reached for her hair and undid the knot. The black sheet of hair tumbled down, brushing just against her shoulder blades.
“My ancestors were right,” she said, surprised by how calm her voice was. “My parents never had a son. There is no Ping.”
She raised her eyes to meet Shang’s. “There is only—Mulan.”
Shang’s lips parted slightly, but he didn’t say anything. Then, slowly, muscle by muscle, she saw the betrayal register on his face. The warmth in his brown eyes chilled, his neck turned rigid, and his lips thinned into a flat, tight line.
“You—” Shang clenched his jaw. “That’s impossible. You can’t be a—”
“A woman?” Mulan finished for him. She said, quietly, “I told you some girls could fight.”
Shang didn’t laugh. His face darkened as a shadow washed out the pale blue light from his body.
Mulan knew he wouldn’t take it well, but she hadn’t thought about the effect seeing him like this would have on her. A hard lump swelled in her throat, and her heart pounded so intensely she would have sworn Shang could hear it.
“Please,” she said, “hear me out. It’s not what you—”
“Why should I listen to you?” Shang said, stung. His fists curled at his sides. “You lied to me.”
“I’m the same person.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Shang…”
Shang flinched at his name. “Captain Li.”
Mulan turned to ShiShi. The guardian’s head was low, so she couldn’t see his reaction to her confession. But she could guess—he wouldn’t look her in the eye, and his whiskers tilted down in a doleful expression.
“I did it to save my father,” Mulan told Shang softly. “Please understand that everything I—that Ping—did was true and in service to the Emperor’s army. I never meant to hurt you.”
Shang didn’t reply.
“Please understand,” Mulan tried again. She moved closer to him, until her shadow brushed against his glowing silhouette. “I wanted to spare my father. I hoped to make him proud of me, the way you and your father—”
Shang recoiled, his rigidness snapping. “Do not speak of my father. You lied to him, too.”
“I had no choice!” Mulan bit back another protest. “You should understand, Shang. I was trying to save you. He—”
“Understand? That I couldn’t save my father when he needed me, so I should understand that you lied and deceived the entire army so you could save yours?”