Flying Arrows and Unwilling Teachers
The day was surprisingly sunny for a usually rainy September. Birds chirped from the skies and trees, and everywhere, one went, one was met with a smile from the passing citizens. Even Mulan, hid away under her helmet as she was, felt the warmth of the early-autumn and the people around her. It did not make her fully relaxed, though, and she kept her hand a small distance from the hilt of her sword.
Between her and the subject of her protection, there was not much distance to be found, either. While she had usually, before the reveal of her true identity, stood in a corner and followed the princess like a shadow, now she walked beside her, much like a comrade. Things were friendly between them, though Mulan would hardly call Aurora a friend. Their relationship was too professional for that. Conversations were shallow, only scratching the surface of the deep sea beneath, and they were interrupted. They only had time to talk properly when they were alone, which did not happen as often as one would think.
One topic, they had consistently touched, was Aurora's want to learn how to defend herself and fight like Mulan did it. However, Mulan had kept refusing to teach the princess. She was not a teacher, that was not her role. Never had she been one, who had been respected, and been seen as smart enough to become such a figure. Her parents had simply not raised her to become someone worthy of teaching others what she knew, and so Mulan was against the idea. While others might become the general, she was only a foot-soldier.
On top of her upbringing, everything rebelled inside of her at the thought of the princess with a sword in her hand. Mulan was here for a reason, and that was to protect that foolish girl. That would be impossible if Aurora cut off her own hand with the sword, which was meant to protect her. Even play fights could turn into something more deadly, or at least hurtful, and as long as Aurora had her own protector, it was not necessary for her to learn the skills.
As her employer's daughter stopped to ask a merchant about his goods, Mulan tapped her foot and scanned the marketplace for possible threats. The farmers, merchants and bakers around them seemed safe enough, and they were all busy with making deals with customers either way. The beggars and thieves were a different matter, but though many of them seemed dangerous at first sight, they were not masterminds, nor as crazy as they looked. None of them would try to kill the princess.
Just as Mulan relaxed, however, she spotted something on the roof. Squinting slightly, for the sun got in her eyes in that direction, she could make out a dark figure. The figure looked almost like a person kneeling, except there was something more... Her eyes widened with the realization that this 'something' was a crossbow, and it was pointed in her direction - in Aurora's direction.
With her heart in her throat, but feeling oddly calm otherwise, Mulan closed the distance between them in a couple of steps, and grabbed her arm. Mulan's hold was not a delicate one, but she tried not to make it hurt. Leaning in, she nearly-whispered into Aurora's ear, "On the roof of the white building, there is a man with a crossbow." She let that sink in, but did not wait long enough for panic to spread. "At my call, you jump behind that wagon," she nodded towards the merchant's wagon, which was parked just beside his stand. "Not yet. Just be ready." The man might not be alone, and if they did something, which indicated that they knew he was here, that might make his comrades jump from the bushes and kidnap the princess (or worse).
