2: Mulan

Mulan stood on the balcony of the Imperial Palace, watching the lanterns drift like fallen stars over a city at peace. Below, courtiers laughed. Above, the banners of the three kingdoms hung still and hopeful.

Mei blinked. “The treaty? It’s our duty.”

The lanterns above the city would have to wait. Tonight, they would teach three princesses how to fight for their own hearts. Mulan 2

“I would have you look at their faces,” she said. “Not at the treaty lines on a map.”

“You’re brooding,” Shang said, leaning on the rail beside her. His wedding band caught the firelight. “It’s your best skill.” Mulan stood on the balcony of the Imperial

“If we force them,” she said, “we are no better than the Huns.”

Shang reached for his sword.

“How much do you want this?” she asked them directly.

“The good of China,” she repeated. The phrase tasted like ash. She had once believed in orders without question. Then she had dressed as a man, climbed a mountain of corpses, and learned that honor was not always found in obedience. Mei blinked

“Not the treaty,” Mulan said. “The men you’re being sent to. Do you love them?”