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Part Three But just because it burns, doesn't mean you're gonna die

"I'm sorry Princess Aurora but you and Phillip and I- I can't… I am sorry Princess" and just like that Mulan left her, a few feet away couldn't have felt further to Aurora. She sat there for a minute on the cold ground letting the loss of the other woman sink in. There was a sting of rejection in the air and the taste of heart break in her mouth. But the kiss, the kiss had been perfect. There was no way the warrior hadn't felt that. Was there? Aurora prayed with every ounce of her being she hadn't been wrong. Had she been the blind one? Did she just imagine Mulan's affections?

And what of Philip? Perhaps she'd just been starved of love so long she'd been mistaken…

Aurora asked these questions of herself, wondering if the flame she imagined was only an illusion.

Aurora didn't want it to be true. It wasn't true. She couldn't have imagined the way Mulan looked at her. She hadn't made up the warrior's affections for her, and she certainly hadn't invented her own from thin air. She knew love when she saw it, when she felt it, and this was so real, she'd thought.

There was still a fire in Mulan's eyes when she looked at her but it was restrained. Mulan didn't look her eyes again and didn't speak other than to tell her direction if she strayed too far from their route.

Sometimes Aurora would stray, so only to hear the other woman's voice. She needed her to talk, not because they seemed to be the only ones left in this land but because she need confirmation that the warrior was still there, even if she was acting so distant.

Aurora didn't want to forget the kiss but she wished Mulan had. It'd been a three days now, three days without the other woman speaking to her or acting anything other than quietly respectful to her.

She was waiting for Mulan to yell at her. Waiting for her to tell her she ruined things between them. Mulan could tell the princess she hated her and it would make her feel better at this point. At least she'd know the warrior felt something about her even if it wasn't love. The silence was driving her insane, and in some ways she blamed herself.

Maybe she had ruined it; maybe kissing her was wrong. But every time Aurora brought that question to mind her heart always told her no.

It been the second day of searching the mountains and no one seemed to be there. The land was barren and destroyed. The tree line seemed to end before the mountain even began. They were all alone in this world and they couldn't even talk to each other.

"We should stay here for the night and continue searching in the morning." Mulan said determinedly.

She said nothing more than what she needed to, and yet somehow didn't say what she truly needed to at all. They'd found a spot by a rocky alcove in the mountain. It took only a second before Mulan left to see if she could find some small game to kill, and Aurora got to work on the fire. She gathered the kindling and placed some dry brush in top of it. She took her time making a ring with stones around the pile and retrieved the piece of flint and limestone from Mulan's bag. She struck one against the other trying to make a spark but it wouldn't. She tried again but nothing happened. She smashed the two rock tougher over and over again willing them to make a fire but they wouldn't. a few minutes later, Mulan found her curled up by the unlit camp fire her knees pulled up to her chest and tears streaming down her face.

The spark rocks had been thrown away in frustration and were laying a few feet away from her. Mulan rushed over to Aurora immediately, forgetting that she'd been trying to keep her distance.

"It won't light;" muttered Aurora "No matter what I do it won't light. It's like I'm doing something wrong. What am I doing wrong?" Mulan squeezed the other woman shoulder tightly before reaching over to pick up the rocks. After a strike or two a spark flew from the stoned into the brush and began to smoke.

Fanning the growing flame Mulan sits back down next to the princess, not willing to leave her side but not trusting herself to say anything to Aurora. While Mulan was gone looking for food she had come across a rabbit and she decided to start preparing it to be roasted over the rising flames.

"Please." Aurora said softly as Mulan skewered the rabbit and placed it over the fire. "Please talk to me, Mulan."

Mulan looked down, "What's wrong, Princess?"

"Look at me!" demand Aurora taking the warrior hand in her own and pulling the other woman to face her "This is what wrong… My name is Aurora and your name is Mulan. You know me… and I thought I knew you. But lately you've ben acting like were something less than strangers."

"I need you to say something anything please." Aurora looked to the warrior; her eyes pleading with her.

"Prin- Aurora I-I can-" Mulan stuttered out.

"You can't. I know. I've heard, but I need you to say something. I need t know if you hate me." Mulan's eyes shot up to look at her.

Hate her? Was that what Aurora thought. Mulan could never hate her, no matter how long she lived.

"Fine say nothing," Aurora grew frustrated. "I'll speak; I tell you everything. I know love, Mulan. But there are many kinds of love, even true love. I loved Philip but he was my friend, Mulan, I kept trying to feel as if I love him romantically but I couldn't. That wasn't how we loved each other, but…" Mulan eyes flickered with fire light, were these thing even possible, could Aurora really love another. She had no idea but she'd like to believe it.

"I love you Mulan, and it is so different from how I felt about Philip. Didn't you feel it when we kissed? We are meant for each other." Aurora could see the hope in Mulan's eyes. The warrior wanted to believe her so badly but she was holding herself back from the flames.

"I love you too, but I am terrified" said Mulan quietly; Aurora wasn't even sure she heard her correctly. The bravest woman she knew was afraid, for once. The woman who vowed to go up against Cora to get her heart back, who fought with the walking dead and didn't flinch, who risked the wrath of Snow White to try to save her. The woman she thought was fearless was afraid of love.

"You don't have to be afraid," said Aurora meeting Mulan eyes. "I'll keep you safe."

Aurora knew that was a promise she could keep, there wasn't much she was suited to protect her from but as long as she lived and loved her, she'd make sure love could never hurt the warrior.

Mulan held Aurora's gazed for a long moment every inch of her wanted to believe the words Aurora had told her (and in her heart she knew she did).

"Always," repeated Mulan. Aurora wasn't sure if it was a stamen of a question but she agreed. Aurora moved closer to Mulan so she could feel the warm caress of the warriors to quick breathing. They were so close now that when they kissed it was like two flames meeting, neither were burned rather they became one and shined more brightly than ever before.

A/N: this is almost done i still have a epilouge and i promise to post it asap but right now i have a lot of homework to atend to with midterms coming up and i'm producing and original play so i won't post untill the weekend. Sorry...

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