The Next Day
Mulan's POV
My eyes blinked open. Inhaling the scent of Igneel, I blushed. I looked at my hand and smiled. There was a mark that resembled a dragon. And that wasn't all.
I caressed the ring he gave me. He suddenly moved, and I looked up. He then kissed me.
I didn't stop him, and we kissed for a few moments. When he tried to go further, I stopped him.
"Idiot," I muttered.
"Haha, sorry," he whispered into my ear.
That sent a shiver down my spine. We stayed in this position for a while longer.
"T-the Huns are still alive. They might be heading to attack a village. We have to stop them," I said.
I tried to get up.
"Ah!" I yelped in pain.
I laid back down and winced.
"M-my waist..."
"That's right, you won't be able to move properly for a few days," he whispered into my ear.
I shoved his face away, blushing.
"Stop saying such things," I said.
He laughed like he always does. Then he grew serious.
"It's fine. My father will invade China any day now. The Huns will be destroyed in the process," he said.
I froze. What did he mean by invade?
"What?" I asked.
He just smiled and put on new clothes. He didn't answer me. Instead, he grabbed my hand and took out more clothes from the ring before dressing me.
"W-what are you doing? I can do that myself."
He smiled, then lifted me into his arms and carried me away. As we left the cave, I noticed Mushu, Khan, and Cri-kee coming my way.
Mushu jumped onto me and hugged me.
"I'm glad you're alright. We've been looking for you," he said.
As we reunited, I sensed something was wrong with Igneel.
"Come out," he suddenly said.
I paused, as did the others. Then a man larger than Igneel appeared from the shadows.
"Igneel," the man said.
"Father," he replied.
"Are you ready?" the man asked.
Igneel nodded.
What was happening? Suddenly, roars filled the air as strange winged lizards flew overhead. Below, thousands of huge men armed with weapons and clad in armor appeared.
"W-what is this?" I stuttered.
The man turned to me.
"Ah, is that who you chose?" he asked.
Igneel nodded again.
"Not bad talent," he said.
I looked back at Igneel, silently demanding an explanation.
"I am Prince Igneel of the Empire of Novus."
My eyes widened.
Erik's POV
As I watched the interaction between Igneel and my future daughter-in-law, I couldn't help but sigh.
This kid of mine is not good in the head.
"He won't be good in the head until he learns to control his powers," Diastasi added.
Well, it is what it is. But he seems extremely possessive of her. He hasn't let her go even once since I arrived.
I'll step in if things get bad. I gathered my army and we flew toward the imperial city of China. As we flew across, I noticed an army of men below.
It was the Huns. Previously I had planned to recruit them, but after seeing what they did to the villages, I decided against it.
I gave a signal to my dragons, and they all released their fire breath, killing all the men.
Using my enhanced senses and detecting no life force, I signaled to keep moving.
As we reached the city, my dragons perched on buildings, waiting for my orders while others flew around.
My men on the dragons halted their movement. I headed into the imperial palace with Igneel following, still carrying Mulan.
After we reached the entrance to what I remembered as the throne room, I jumped off my Skrill and walked inside. Igneel followed, still carrying Mulan.
Damn, this kid needs to learn to stop holding her every second. Soon we reached the throne room. Multiple guards surrounded who I could only assume to be the emperor.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am Erik, Emperor of the Empire of Novus. My army has already infiltrated the city. Surrender now or die," my voice echoed.
He went silent, contemplating.
"If I surrender, what will you do to my people?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"What would I do with your people?" I asked.
"Yes, will you enslave and kill them?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"You must be mistaken. I don't do that sort of thing. Actually, slavery is forbidden and needless killing is frowned upon in my territory. I just wanted to conquer China before moving on to my next destination," I explained.
As I planned to continue speaking, I was suddenly interrupted.
"Father—"
Igneel's POV
As Father spoke with the Emperor of China, I gently placed Mulan down on a chair. She looked confused, clearly still wanting answers.
I turned to my father.
"Father," I called.
He paused, and everyone turned to me.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I want China," I said simply.
"You brat, do you think I'm going to hand it over just because you asked?"
I nodded.
"If you do, I promise to rise to the throne in three years," I added.
"Okay kid, you got yourself a deal," he quickly replied.
We shook hands and he left. Now it was just me, Mulan, the Emperor, the rest of the guards, and I even spotted Shang among them.
"Surrender now. I will only ask once. After that, if you refuse, all of you will die," I warned.
They froze. A guard roared and charged at me.
"Stop!" the Emperor shouted, but it was too late.
He slashed at me, but I grabbed his sword and crushed it. I then seized him by his head, crushed his skull, and dropped him.
"I'm being generous. I don't have much patience today. Give me your answer."
The old man sighed and nodded.
"I surrender," he said.
"Well, that was easy, wasn't it?" I smiled. "Alright, prepare the proper ceremony for coronation. I will become emperor."
The man didn't even fight back and just nodded in agreement.
I turned back, lifted Mulan into my arms, and walked around the palace until I found an unoccupied courtyard. I entered and noticed it was clean.
Mulan's POV
Igneel carried me around for what felt like an eternity. We finally reached a courtyard and entered the abode. He placed me on the bed. As I sat there, I came back to my senses.
"I-Igneel, y-you lied to me," I stuttered.
He looked confused.
"When did I do that?" he asked.
I bit my lip, anger simmering.
"You've been lying to me since we met," I shouted.
"Oh, I never lied to you. You just never asked."
I grew angrier and attempted to take off the ring from my finger, but he grabbed my hand.
"You don't want to take off that ring," he said coldly.
I shivered at the coldness of his voice.
"I-I want to go home," I said, my voice shaky.
He suddenly caressed my face.
"This is your new home. You will become empress of China, remember." He smiled.
I shook my head.
"No, no, I want to go back to mama and father. I should have never left in the first place," I stuttered.
He didn't say anything. I couldn't take the stress anymore—this was too much to handle all at once. I tried to stand up but was pushed back down.
"Don't make me repeat myself," he said calmly.
But I sensed uneasiness from him. Why was he acting like this? Was this how he always was? Did I choose the wrong man?
Igneel's POV
As I saw her face pale and change, I felt uneasy. I knelt down and looked up at her.
"You love me, don't you?" I asked.
"I-I don't know," she muttered.
I paused at her statement and stood up.
"You're lying, right?" I asked, uncertainty in my voice.
"I don't know," she repeated.
I grew angry and smashed the wall.
"You said you loved me!" I roared.
I walked toward her and she moved back. I could see the fear in her eyes.
I gritted my teeth and punched a vase. I breathed heavily as my head started hurting.
The feeling from before was back. But this time it was different. It felt raw and destructive.
I took a step forward and pulled her into a hug.
"You love me, right?" I asked again.
She just shivered and didn't answer. The longer she stayed quiet, the more powerful my headache grew.
"Answer me," I begged.
I put her down and softly held her hands.
"W-why are you acting like this? You're scaring me," she whispered.
I paused.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I replied.
Before I could say anything else, she suddenly fainted. I caught her.
"Mulan, Mulan!" I shouted.
I carried her and rushed to the throne room where the emperor was still with his men.
"Get me a physician," I commanded.
A man walked forward.
"I'm a physician," he said.
"Check her," I ordered.
He did as told and began his examination.
"It appears to be mental exhaustion. Whatever happened was too much for her mind to bear, which caused her to fall unconscious. When she wakes up, I suggest not overloading her with too much stress and trying to fulfill any requests if possible to help reduce her stress."
I nodded and took out a pouch of gold and tossed it to him.
I then looked at the others.
"There will be a meeting tomorrow at noon. You may rest for now," I said.
They nodded and dispersed. I carried Mulan back to the previous courtyard and entered the building, placing her on the bed before lying down next to her.
Mulan's POV
The next morning
I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a bed with Igneel holding me tightly. He wasn't sleeping but staring directly at me.
I pushed him away, and surprisingly, he let me go. Looking around, I saw the same room from last night.
"I-I want to go home," I said.
"Not now," he replied.
"I want to go home," I repeated.
This time I stood up and tried to leave. He suddenly appeared in front of me. Remembering what happened last night, I feared he would become aggressive again.
Instead, he lifted me into his embrace.
"Calm down, I've already prepared everything. We'll leave for the village in a few hours," he said.
I don't know why, but I sensed he wasn't lying. This helped me calm down and relax. Then my stomach growled.
"Get some food," he ordered.
"Yes sir," some men outside answered.
A few hours later
After we finished eating, everything was finally ready. He carried me onto a dragon and sat down.
"Make sure you finish what I ordered," he said to the emperor and some other men.
The dragon then took flight and within seconds soared high into the sky.
As we flew, Igneel held me tight in his arms. Was what I remembered from last night an illusion? Why was he so different now?
"I'm sorry about last night," he apologized.
I didn't say anything, too tired to speak.
"W-why were you so aggressive?" I asked weakly.
"I don't know why. I guess the thought that you didn't love me anymore scared me, and anger was the only thing I could express at that moment," he explained.
I considered his words.
"Do you really love me that much?"
He nodded.
"That mark I've placed on you signifies my choice. It means for the rest of my life, I cannot love another woman," he added.
"Is that really true?"
"Yes. You might not know, but I'm not fully human. I'm part dragon, and dragons' emotions are ten times more powerful than humans'. It's extremely hard to control my instincts when you refuse me," he explained.
The information was surprisingly helpful. The fact that he could only have one mate—and that was me—put my heart at ease. I'd worried he might have a harem, but I guess that wasn't something I needed to fear anymore.
Note: sorry for being late. After this I plan to add the secret movie that I haven't revealed yet. Enjoy.