"We must be swift as the coursing river,

with all the force of a great typhoon,

with all the strentgh of a raging fire,

mysterious as the dark side of a moon"

In some ways, training with the Northern Troops was no different to before. It was the same schedule - breakfast before dawn, dinner after dusk. But with the tang of blood that was hardly masked by the smell of pine trees, reality seemed to be seeping into all the soldiers.

The unmarked graves and bodies buried under thick layers of snow reminded them how real this war was. Compared to the previous camp, this was silent. People spoke in hushed whispers and hurried around the buildings with their heads down. Even the horses made no sound.

And at night, all Mulan could hear was the wind whistling as it twisted around the buildings and through the forests and mountains.

Day by day, the snow started to melt, and blades of grass made small green patches across the flat land. The nights became warmer and the days longer. The scent of spring was fresh and welcoming. Time had flown by and Mulan hadn't seen home for an entire year. 

How is father now? 

A little voice inside her head told her that she would probably never know.

The number of soldiers had lessened by a third. Throughout the winter, there had been multiple attacks from the barbaric tribes. Mulan had spent those evenings sitting with the other soldiers, painting the names of those who had died on peaces of wood that hung across the buildings. General Han had lead 5000 soldiers to fight against the tribes and only a few hundred had returned. The soldiers had seen little of him or his two commanders. Their were even rumours flying around that they had died during the invasion. However, Mulan didn't agree. If they had died, new commanders would have taken their places.

As the weather became warmer, the soldiers spent more and more time outside. They practised their drills in the afternoon, until it was perfect.

They were halfway through one of the practises when it happened.

There was panic when the soldiers heard the cry.

She didn't hear it at first, but Luhan did. She gasped as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the stables.

Confused, she was dragged across the dirt into the stables.

She barely had enough time to catch her breath, before Luhan through a saddle at her.

"Hurry up!" he exclaimed, fixing a saddle onto his own horse.

Mulan had never seen a panicked Luhan before; usually he was the epitome of calmness. 

Aware that something was very wrong, she too hurried after Luhan as they led the horses out of the sta