#center.

Identification help needed - I have been searching for almost an hour now and can't figure it out! Red & white w/ a yellow sun in the center.

“Sir. I’m ––– not sure I understand.” A stop over in a neighbouring town on his way back to the palace had proven worthy. A nice little tea shop where he could take a moment to put something in his stomach. He hadn’t expected his presence to spark attention from the older man at a neighbouring table. But it had so he tries, his best, to engage politely.

At his poking, she releases her breath in a shocked laugh and stumbles forward. A smile lights up her face as she glances back at him, shooting him a mischievous raised eyebrow. Maybe he wasn’t as up his own butt as her father assumed.

“ Okay, whatever you say. ”

She readjusts into her previous position, taking in his observation and then changing once more per his instructions. It still doesn’t feel great ; she needs more weight on her weapon, but it’s his choice.

Finally, she gives him a pointed look and holds the string the way he’s asked. It makes her look silly, and she’s well aware. So, she’s going to make him know about her feelings towards this drill - especially since now she knows he can take some teasing.

“ Like this, Mr General? ”

His upturned grin is still on his lips as she shoots him a glare. He stifles a chuckle, his arms still crossed over his chest. He takes to observing her as she tries to correct herself. It’s better, not great but, workable. He has a feeling that if she had an arrow it wouldn’t go sideways at least. 

Her words force an eyebrow upwards. 

“You can address me as General Li.” A name he takes pride in, and for the moment he is serious. He adorns that title with a lot of pride. His father bore it, his grandfather had as well. It felt like everything his life had been building up to. But there’s a moment, seconds after where he lets his smile creep back in. 

“Or just––– Shang.” His shoulders round a little bit, his eyes flicker back to the task at hand. As if to shake himself from his momentary lapse in rule-giving, he licks his lips and takes another step forward. 

He pokes the spot between her shoulderblades. 

First days of training were always the hardest. You’re harsher than normal to establish a command over the new recruits, you’re reciting rules every few minutes, and the exercises are more like crafts projects than they are actual work. Some pick it up better than others, some have never touched a weapon in their life and require more attention. To balance that was difficult, but General Li was getting better at it. 

There’s a moment where he’s walking down the line when he sees an empty slot where a man used to be. Their name escapes him until he glances around. Sure enough, to his right, napping on a bunch of sand-bags, is the infamous Robin Hood. An outlaw who chose to work for the army rather than spend his days locked in a cell. Much to Li Shang’s frustration, it would seem. 

There’s a dramatic rise in his shoulders as he leans forward into a march and walks straight up to the man in question. He delivers a swift, and short kick to the man’s shin, rousing him from his sleep. 

Shang hadn’t foreseen the things that transpired. His map was out of date. And while normally he would travel an extra couple of hours into the night to see a plague of a city behind him, it was dark and wet now. The rain had begun to pour and he had to find a place to stay. Soaked and disheartened, he knocks on the doors of inns with the hope that someone might allow him inside. 

But the dancer had been right. No one wanted to let a soldier inside. He knows that Paris has a large temple. Or–– church, they call it. He makes his way there, his feet soaked and tired, his expression weary. He’d really hoped to be out of this city before the end of the night. No such luck. 

As he rounds the corner he finds someone. 

“Excuse me. I’m looking for––” He stops in his tracks as he realizes it was the woman from before. Brows knit together in surprise. Oh. Great. The last thing he needed was to hear an ‘i told you so’ from the woman who told him exactly so.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. She was here, and while the King might have some choice words for General Li, he had already discussed with the Emperor the situation. Both of them agreed, the Princess was free to stay in China so long as she wanted to. Her father could have no say in her return. Much to Shang’s conflicted emotions, he does believe it was best for Rapunzel, even if it’s caused a bit of tension between the parties involved. 

He had only wished Rapunzel had been allowed to stay till the end of the meeting. It felt strange to speak on her destiny when she had only been in there to give her own thoughts on the matter, and then escorted out. 

He leaves the chamber, bowing to the emperor before he crosses the large entry of the Palace to find Rapunzel. He clears his throat to let her know he’s here.