She could hardly feel the branches as she crashed through them, heedless of the obvious trail she was making for her pursuers.

There were only two thoughts in her head.

The first was that she had to put distance between herself and the group of men chasing her.

The second was a simple plea: "Save me, Aurora."

The princess was not the type to swoop in and save a warrior from being filled with arrows in the forest. No, Mulan was the hero. That was why she had joined Robin Hood's band of Merry Men in the first place.

The outlaws followed a code of honour rather than the law of the land. She had thought she would be safe with them, but it appeared as though some subjects were forbidden even among the Enchanted Forest's outcasts.

An arrow whizzed past her on the left. Judging from the proximity to her head, Little John had fired that shot.

She heard another arrow bury itself in a tree eight feet away. That one must have been Robin's.

Through the thicket to her right she could see Nasir closing the gap, hoping to cut her off before she could reach the bridge.

Crossing the river gorge was her only chance. If she could make it across the bridge, she could cut the rope on the other side before Little John caught his breath enough for a clean shot.

Her blood ran cold as she heard Robin crow the Merry Men's tune—a signal to someone yet unseen. He must have known she would best him in her tent when he ambushed her. Must have known she would head toward the bridge.

Without slowing her pace, she scanned the trees ahead for signs of ambush.

Nothing.

She had no idea who would be waiting in the shadows for her, but they would make their move soon. She could hear the river now. She was close. Nasir was fast, but without any armour weighing her down, she was faster.

The trees ahead thinned. A shape, near the bridge. But he wasn't waiting for her.

The moon glinted on his sword as he hacked at the ropes connecting the bridge to this side of the gorge.

It was Will. The only one of the Merry Men with a longsword. Besides her, of course.

But she didn't have her longsword right now. Scarcely five minutes had passed since she'd awoken in her underclothes at the sound of Robin Hood's purposeful gait nearing her tent. She'd taken the few seconds she had to put on her shoes. The sand she'd thrown in his face had been her only weapon of escape.

Another arrow hit the ground she'd just passed. Robin again. She'd run outside of Little John's range—he wouldn't waste any arrows on her until he knew he could hit her.

From her calculations, she had thirty seconds to best Will and get across the river before Little John would start firing again.

She measured the speed of the man running through the thickets. She would have less than five seconds with Will before Nasir arrived with his knives.

She wasn't worried about facing Will empty-handed. She would need a sword now, and his would be easily liberated from his hands. Nasir could be held at bay with the sword and wouldn't risk throwing one of his last two knives into the river as she crossed the bridge.

But crossing the bridge was now a problem. Will's inexpert hacking had freed the right side from its tether. There was no way she could run across it now.

Will abandoned his work and held his sword in his overly confident hands as she ran towards him. She ducked to the left before he could complete his swing against her and jammed her foot into his shin as hard as she could.

She couldn't help but smile as the man toppled to the ground. She'd taken out his knee. That would be one less man on her trail. If she made it past this river, that is.

Nasir arrived right on time, knives in hand.

He could deflect her sword with the knives, but he wasn't expecting her to use her legs again. She feinted right and drew his attention up to her sword as she kicked his legs out from underneath him.

An arrow sailed into the river, three feet to her left. Robin had nearly caught up.

She took in the structure of the bridge and made a decision. Twining the loose rope around her free arm, she hacked at the remaining threads of the left side of the bridge.

The first second in the cold, raging water made it hard to breathe. Her lungs burned as she clawed her way up the bridge out of the water, toward the other side. The task was made more difficult by the weight of Will's oversized sword, but she couldn't let it go. If it didn't get her killed now, it would keep her alive later.

An arrow hit the planks of the bridge to her right. Little John had arrived, but his breathing hadn't steadied enough for his aim to be deadly.

Another arrow plunged into the river.

Mulan barked out a laugh. Robin's horrible aim wasn't particularly funny at the moment, but another arrow by Little John would surely follow his and she would rather die laughing.

The next one grazed her neck, giving her one final adrenaline surge to make it over the top of the cliff to relative safety.

As soon as she made it past the treeline, she stopped behind a thick redcedar to assess her attackers. Nasir was helping Will to stand as the less fit thieves finally arrived at the cliffs after Robin and Little John.

One by one, every man she'd spoken to since joining the Merry Men emerged from the forest. Every single one of them now knew what she'd told Robin in secret only yesterday.

Had they known his plan this morning before she'd arisen? This afternoon, when they'd chattered together over their bowls of stew? Certainly they'd known it when they'd cheerily bid her goodnight only half an hour ago.

If Aurora were here, would she be rallying with them? Would she sneak off in the night on a horse to be with her, or to slit her throat in her sleep?

Mulan was not given to sentimental gestures, nor to purposeless ones. But, all the same, she whispered into the peeling gray bark.

"Save me, Aurora."