Prologue:

The night was dark as the lone soldier patrolled along the Great Wall. Turning, he peered over the edge of the Wall, into the great space of wild woods that belonged to no one. A bad feeling settling deep inside of him, someone was moving down there. The wild animals were being too quiet for anything else to make sense. As if to confirm his feeling, a rope with a grappling hook attached to the end suddenly appeared out of nowhere, attaching itself to the edge of the wall. A gasp tore from him, as he turned and ran for all he was worth. He had to warn all of China that the Huns were invading!

~Emperor's Throne Room, Next Day~

The elderly Emperor of China clasped his hands together as he looked to the men that knelt down before him. They were soldiers in his mighty army, though none of them were his top general. "Let me get this straight commandeers. The Huns have invaded China?"

"Yes sir." They nodded fervently.

Silence fell as he thought it over, before turning to the councilman that was standing next to him, posed to take notes. "Get me General Li… and able bodied men from all households. If it is war that the Huns want… we will show them what are army is capable of."

"General Li? But sir! He is away due to the fact that his son's wedding is about to take place. They made the arrangement s for this wedding years ago and it will only…" The councilman spluttered, panic edging his voice.

"Chi Fu… do as I say." The Emperor firmly confirmed his orders. "Just one man can change the course of the war."

~Few Days Later, the Wedding! ~

Fa Mulan sighed softly as she stood in front of a long mirror, looking at her reflection. Her long straight black hair was pulled back into a bun, held together with a red ribbon, a single decorative comb tucked into it. A single strand of her hair hung down into her forehead. She was wearing a traditional hanfu, with white makeup covering her entire face, while bright eye shadow covered her eyelids and bright red lipstick painted her lips. A light layer of blush brushed against her cheeks, while gold earrings dangled from her earlobes. Turning, she spotted a small cricket standing on her windowsill watching her every movement. "Wish me luck Cri-Kee."

A soft, almost sad, chirp escaped the cricket as he watched as his friend moved to the door. Fa Zhou was leaning against his crutch as he watched her with sad, soft eyes. "This is for the best Mulan."

"I know Father." Mulan sighed, before allowing him to guide her out to the courtyard where the wedding to a young man that she had never met was to take place.

…

Li Shang as wearing the uniform for a captain in the Imperial Army, standing stiffly next to his father, the great General Li. The rather somber Fa Mulan, now Li Mulan, stood next to him to greet each guest to the wedding. A loud banging sound suddenly filled the air as a drummer announced the presence of a representative from the Imperial Court.

Moving quickly, the guests swarmed out of the courtyard to see what was going on. Shang followed his father closely, just as interested in what was going on as was the rest of the class. The women grabbed small their small children and moved away from town center to make room for the men. It wasn't until he felt something brush his side that he realized that Mulan had followed him to see what was going on. Shang bit the inside of his lip as he recalled why this marriage had been arranged so long ago. Mulan was too strong willed and, different, from other girls to get a good match. Or be a good silent wife like she was supposed to be. Fa Zhou and General Li were old friends and had decided that Shang could marry Mulan and hopefully get her to stay within the role assigned to her.

"You are supposed to stand back with the rest of the women." Shang muttered softly, hoping that his young bride would listen to him.

"I want to know what is going on here." She stubbornly responded, her voice just as soft as his.

Shang groaned, running a hand over his face. "Just stay here and don't say anything." Looks like he had his hands full already.

"We'll see about that."

Shang gritted his teeth together as he stared at the two soldiers that had escorted the councilman, Chi Fu, to the small village. "The Huns have invaded China!" Gasps rippled through the village, as the women now ushered the children inside so that they wouldn't hear what was being said. "All families must provide a man to fight in the army! The Cho Family!"

Shang tensed, wondering if he would go or not. He had the training and, most likely, there were going to be some new recruits that will need training. "The Fa Family!"

Shang stifled a groan as a cry of no escaped Mulan. Thrusting his arm out, he managed to stop her from running up and stopping Fa Zhou from taking the recruitment scroll. "The Li Family!" General Li went to accept the scroll, a nod of understanding directed to the Chi Fu.

There was a soft rustling as Mulan fled from his side, rushing back into the Fa Family Gardens. Shang followed her movement with his eyes, even as worry crept in. He wanted to help with the war… but how can he do that and work with Mulan?

~That Night~

"We best leave first thing in the morning." General Li commented to Fa Zhou as he lifted his steaming cup of tea to his lips.

Fa Zhou nodded in agreement, worry creasing his brow. "I agree with that plan."

"Well! I don't! There are plenty of young men out there to fight for the Emperor!" Mulan, who had been the one serving the tea, slammed the teapot down as she exploded, turning to face her father.

Fa Zhou somehow managed to keep his voice calm and even as he spoke to her. "It is an honor to serve one's Emperor."

"You will be killed! You have already served him; let someone else fill in for you." Mulan continued standing, not moving to sit.

Shang shifted slightly, before speaking slowly. "Mulan… it is your duty to…"

"I know what my so called duty is!" Mulan glared at him, before rushing out of the room.

Shang winced, even as Fa Zhou sighed as he lowered his cup slowly to the table. "Now you see why we need your help. You are the only chance that we have for her to bring honor to us all."

General Li dapped his napkin against his lip, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Perhaps we should duel after dinner. Make sure that you are still in shape from the last war."

"I would love to, general." Fa Zhou nodded in agreement.

Shang glanced silently towards where Mulan had disappeared, worry creasing his brow. What was he going to do about his new wife and her tendency to speak her mind?

A/N: Done! Um yeah… tell me what you all think. Basically a what if Mulan and Shang were married the entire time. Not sure how well this is going to go. Basically Mulan's forward thinking has gotten her into soo much trouble that Fa Zhou contacted his old friend, General Li, and arranged for Mulan to marry his son, Shang. And word of the war reached them after the wedding ceremony. (I didn't go into details about that…) Next chapter a solution to whether or not Fa Zhou should go or not will be made. As well as how Mulan ends up at the army's training camp with Shang.

Review please!

SkyTalon