Reflection_A Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Lim

Author:Elizabeth Lim [Lim, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2018-03-27T04:00:00+00:00

Pain burst from Mulan’s ankle as she ran to catch up with Shang, but she ignored it. The captain wasn’t slowing down for her; he didn’t even look back to make sure she was still behind him.

“Shang?” she called after him. “Shang. Please. Talk to me.”

Finally Shang whirled around, his red cape bright against the dead foliage. “Are you really Ping?”

Mulan winced, both from her ankle and from Shang’s question. “Who else would I be?”

“You could be a demon. I wouldn’t be able to tell.”

“I asked you to trust me,” she said, limping. “Remember? In the Tower of the Last Glance to Home.”

“I trust the Ping I trained,” said Shang stubbornly. “The Ping I know wouldn’t lie to me.”

Mulan didn’t reply. How could she? Guilt gnawed at her. Deep down, she knew he was right. She had been lying to him. But how could she tell him the truth, knowing what he’d think of her if she did?

“Look at me,” she said. “I’m no demon.”

Shang sighed, looking worn and defeated. “It’s just…it is odd. I’d forgotten about it until now, but Chi Fu couldn’t find any record of you either. He started looking into it during your training, but after I decided to send you home, he relinquished his search. Then everything happened so quickly.…You and the rest of the troops improved, and we were called into battle.”

“Shang…”

“Just tell me, Ping. Look me in the eye and tell me that your ancestors are wrong and simply didn’t know about you. I’ll never doubt you again.”

I can’t tell him the truth, she thought miserably. What I did—stealing Baba’s conscription notice and dressing up as him—was against the law. I could be executed for high treason, and Mama and Baba would be in trouble, too. She pressed her back against the closest tree, lifted her ankle to let it rest. But if Shang trusts me, shouldn’t I trust him?

She slid her back against the tree until she was almost sitting on the ground. What could she say? She valued Shang’s trust. Ever since that first day she’d reported to duty, she’d looked up to him—first as a leader, then as a friend.

And now?

She let out a silent sigh and stole a glimpse at the captain. He didn’t say anything, but she could feel the change in their friendship. He doubted her.

She picked herself up, shuffled her feet against the dead leaves. “Who else would I be?” she said, laughing uneasily.

“Ping,” said Shang thinly. “It’s a simple question. Are you, or aren’t you, the son of Fa Zhou and Fa Li?”

“I’m…” Mulan twisted her hands. She couldn’t lie to him—not to his face like this. Yet she couldn’t tell him the truth either. “I’m—”

Shang backed away from her. “All I need is a yes or no.”

“Shang, I can explain,” Mulan pleaded, but she could see from his eyes she’d lost him.

He snapped a thick tree branch behind him, broke it in half with his fists. She’d never seen him so angry before, so hurt.

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