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gingerale2017 · 3 years ago

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YAY IM SO EXCITED AND HAPP6 AND YESSSS IM SO HAPPY YOU DID IT 🎉

BREATH OF LIFE

Note: here it is! Breath of Life, aka my mulan retelling! Is Jacin out of character at the end? Oh most definitely. But Ling Chen my beloved <3 Read on ao3

Masterlist

Warnings: none

01: Imposter

LING CHEN’S FATHER WAS DYING. She had known that for a while now. Everyday he lost more and more strength until he couldn’t even get out of bed. Everyday Ling went about her chores and then sat at his bedside taking care of him. Everyday, she knew less and less what was wrong with him.

If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he had caught Letumosis. But that was a purely Earthen disease, and they were on Luna.

Early one morning, Ling made her way down the short hall from her closet-sized bedroom to her father’s room. Her family’s living quarters were slightly bigger, as they were a family of four (what should have been five, had her sister not been a shell), but that didn’t mean the living quality was any better.

She stood in the doorway for a minute, watching her father sleep. He had told her yesterday that he didn’t want her taking care of him anymore, or else she might catch whatever he had. Ling had refused. Even if the idea of getting sick did scare her, she wasn’t going to abandon him. Better she get sick, when she has a better chance of recovery, than her grandmother who didn’t.

Her father wasn't awake, so she looked around the small room to see if there was anything she could do before she had to do her chores. Her gaze landed on her father’s guard uniform. It hadn’t been worn in days. He had been allowed some time off from his duties as a royal guard, but they all knew their luck was drawing to a close. Soon, he would be forced to go in, healthy or not.

Looking at the uniform, Ling realized there was something she could do. Instead of sitting by his bed all day, hoping that he would magically get better, she would do something that would actually help.

She’d take his place in the guard.

It wouldn’t be for long — just long enough that he could recover.

She quietly gathered his grey-tone uniform and returned to her room. Better to get this done with before she backed out — and she would, if she let herself.

Just as she had thought, when she put the uniform on, it was way too big. The sleeves tumbled off her hands, and the pants pooled around her feet. The shirt was more like a dress, and the pants wouldn’t stay up. She rolled up the sleeves and cuffed the pants, and used safety pins to make it fit better. She didn’t bother touching the armor or the gloves, and slid on her own shoes.

She didn’t really even have to wear the uniform. Her glamour was strong enough that she could wear whatever she wanted, and she would be fine. But for something this big — something where, if she were caught, she would be killed — it was better for her to have to alter as little as possible.

The easiest part was the glamour. She focused on the image of her father. The good ones — the ones of him happy and laughing, telling her stories and showing her how to fight, the ones smiling at her — not the ones of him sick and pale and inches from death.

She wasn’t entirely sure if it worked, because she still felt small and like she was drowning in the uniform. When she looked, though, her hands were larger and more calloused than hers, and her clothes did look like they belonged on her.

Ling didn’t actually know what she looked like. There were no mirrors on Luna, and she’d never been to Earth.

All she knew about her appearance was what she’d been told, and what she could see herself. She was short and scrawny. She wasn’t sure how tall she was, but she was short enough that the aristocrats constantly questioned why she didn’t glamour herself to look taller.

Her hair was long and black, her skin was pale, and her eyes were the same dark brown as her father’s.

That was all she really needed to know about her appearance, but she still wanted to see it for herself. To look at her own reflection.

Ling took a deep breath. She had one last thing to do. She dug around the drawer next to her bed, and pulled out a golden dragon charm necklace. Her grandmother had given it to her for her fifteenth birthday just a few days earlier. She had said it represented good luck and strength, before telling her “You’re a strong girl, Ling, you just need to get out of your shell.”

She left a note explaining where she was on her door, and then hesitated. Did she really want to do this? Getting caught would mean her and her family would be killed. But going through with it meant doing something, and she had to do something. She couldn’t save him, but this would at least buy more time for someone to. Reckless and stupid as the decision was, she had to do it.

You’re a strong girl, Ling.

She left.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to do — she only knew from what her father and told her, and Jacin, whenever either of them had time together.

The pit in her stomach grew as she tried to find her way, and eventually she found herself in the same hall as the armory, checking herself in to none other than Head Thaumaturge Sybil Mira. Her father sometimes worked on her entourage, but Jerrico Solis, the Captain of the Guard was the one to check the soldiers in. Something was going on.

She knew of Luna and Earth’s strained relationship — had something happened?

Thaumaturge Mira smiled when she saw her (him?), though it wasn’t genuine. “I’m surprised to see you back already, Sir Chen.”

Ling panicked. What was she doing? She couldn’t do this — she was a weak servant girl who always stayed in the background. The very act of being here threw away everything she had learned the last few years — stay in the background, don’t let yourself be seen, don’t do anything that could get you in trouble.

She took a deep breath. Breathe, Ling. “I’m feeling much better today.”

Thaumaturge Mira’s smile tightened. She’d noticed her panic. “That’s good to hear. You will be patrolling the halls today. And please, smile. Today is a special day, after all.”

Ling faltered. Had she forgotten something? Was there a party today she would be expected to work at? Would she be caught before she got to do anything? “Special day?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t have heard yet. Early this morning, Her Majesty finally secured an engagement with Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth. They are to be married by the end of the month.”

Ling relaxed and forced herself to smile. “Well, tell her I send my congratulations.”

Walking the halls, Ling had little else to think about than this new alliance. She knew Her Majesty, and she knew she had no interest in Earth and forging a relationship with them. She wanted their land. She wanted the power. She wanted to expand her empire.

Ling wasn’t a fan of authority figures, and she didn’t know much about Earthen politics, but she had to admit she felt bad for Emperor Kaito. He had just been crowned, and he was already thrown into the messiness of Lunar politics.

It wasn’t anything she’d wish on anyone, no matter how much she may distrust them.

Walking the halls managed to calm her nerves, just a bit. She knew these halls. Being a guard meant blending into in the background and not being seen, and that was exactly what she excelled at. It was her armor, her way of survival. If no one saw her, then no one would care what she did. She wouldn’t be noticed, and she wouldn’t be manipulated.

It was tricky, sometimes, when the aristocrats were always looking for someone to turn into entertainment. And especially harder when her strong glamour was no secret. She knew, one day, she’d probably be forced to become a Thaumaturge. It wasn’t a job she wanted, but if it was necessary for her survival, she’d take it.

But until that day, she’d stay happily in the background.

Her thoughts crept back to her family. By now they would have woken up and read her note. Would they be angry? Upset? Scared? It was the most reckless thing she’d ever done, and stars was it a risk.

They would all encourage her to find help, though. Someone to back her up and help keep her secret. There were two people she could ask — Princess Winter and Jacin Clay. Winter would be able to defend her in a trial, should she be caught, and Jacin would show her the ins and outs of being a guard, make sure she wasn’t caught, and overall have her back.

That night, after checking out for the day, she found Jacin returning to his quarters. He looked the same as ever, pale blond hair pulled into a ponytail and face emotionless.

She caught up to him, and said, “I need to talk to you, Jacin — er, Sir Clay.” Quieter, she asked, “can we talk?”

Jacin’s face flickered into confusion, but he agreed.

Ling led Jacin to a small alcove free from the line of cameras — she’d have to be careful about cameras — and turned to Jacin.

“What do you need? Is it about Ling?” Jacin asked, looking straight over her head. Ah. She’d forgotten she still looked like her father. Which meant she looked taller. Her father was closer in height to Jacin than she was — she was a full foot shorter than Jacin. “She’s not sick now, is she?”

“Kind of? She’s not — she’s not sick. But yes, this is, uh, about Ling?” Ling closed her eyes and dropped her glamour.

When she opened her eyes, Jacin was glaring down at her. Fury twisted his face in a way she had rarely seen. She recoiled back. “What are you thinking? Impersonating a guard is high treason! Did you even think it through? What are you going to do, hope no one notices you on the cameras? Hope no one notices they can’t control you? Your glamour is strong but you’re not strong enough to keep a disguise for days. You—” Jacin stopped. Squeezed his eyes shut. Took a deep breath. “What are you doing, Ling?” he said, quieter. Gentler.

Playing with her sleeves, Ling stumbled over her words. She had expected Jacin’s reaction, and it still frazzled her nerves even more. “I just thought — if I took his place — just for a few days, not that long — it might buy more time for him to recover. He’s not going to be given much more time off, Jacin. Not with everything going on. But if I take his place, we don’t have to worry about Thaumaturge Mira or Sir Solis or Queen Levana.”

“That’s a stupid idea.”

“I know.”

Leaning against the wall, Jacin stared down at her. His face was once again carefully emotionless. “Then why’d you do it?”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yes, you did.” Jacin let out a frustrated sigh. “You could have not done this. You’re going to get killed.”

“I know that!” Ling said, her voice trembling. “I know exactly what will happen if I’m caught. That’s why I need your help! You can help me stay hidden. Make sure I don’t do anything wrong! I don’t know, but I need help, or else this will go wrong.” Her voice cracked on the last words, and she realized she was shaking.

“Does your family know?”

“I left them a note . . . but I haven’t actually talked to them.”

“They’re not going to be happy.”

Ling said nothing.

“You shouldn’t do this at all,” said Jacin, “but I’ll help you.”

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