Several days had passed since Mulan had been promoted to personal guard of Princess Aurora. The two had barely spoken, and when they had, their topics had been light and impersonal; the weather was a typical one. It was not that Mulan disliked her lady, but she was not a spontaneous talkative person by nature. Her throat also complained painfully whenever she tried to keep a conversation going more than a few sentences, which had led her to slowly lower her voice less and less. Hopefully, she would be able to use her own voice soon, without Aurora noticing.
At this very moment, Mulan stood outside the dining room. She had been told to wait there; the king was confident that Aurora would be safe without her guard lurking in the background, and he wanted some time alone with his daughter. Being able to relate, Mulan had gladly watched her lady and this lady’s father walk through the door and close it behind them.
Caught up in thoughts about her own family, Mulan flinched when a loud noise rang out from a room close by. It did not come from the dining room, so much was certain. Hand grabbing her sword, Mulan walked to the end of the hallway, and made a right turn. She was greeted by the sight of a servant, carrying two, large shields. On his foot rested a third shield, although, judging by the expression on his face, it was not meant to be there. Letting go of her sword, Mulan helped the servant, who thanked her almost a thousand times, and cursed at the shield at least a thousand times.
Turning left just in time to see the king exit the dining room with an equally angry and exhausted look on his face, Mulan was confused by the lack of his daughter. The king saw her expression, which must have turned her face into a question mark, and explained that Aurora had, most likely, returned to her room. Curious, but not about to ask the king about personal matters, Mulan thanked him. She took her time, walking to Aurora’s room. There, more hours of standing awkwardly outside her door - or, even more uncomfortable, inside her room - would be waiting for her, and Mulan was in no rush to resume that duty. When she had accepted the king’s offer, she had not considered that a lot of hours would be spent on doing nothing at all.
When she finally reached the room in question, Mulan seemed to be right about how she was going to spend the rest of the day. The door, however, was not properly closed, and that piqued her interest. Usually, the princess would either close the door completely, or let it be open for all to see. This change suggested that something was wrong. The king’s expression was still clear in Mulan’s mind. What exactly had happened? Had something happened to Aurora? Deciding to investigate, Mulan knocked on the door, though, not before hesitating a few moments. Without waiting for an answer, she pushed the door open.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her body froze. The princess was crying; not wailing like a small child, but crying nonetheless. If Mulan had a weakness, it would be tears. Something about the sight of them made her terrible with words; sometimes she was even rendered speechless. That was the reason why it took her several seconds, just to close the door behind herself, and ask, “Your Highness, are you quite alright?”