#will probably come back to revisit it some time later aoijseoaseu

[aurantia-ignis]

The Ballad of Moon

Day 6: Fairytale

When I saw the prompt, I knew I wanted to write a Mulan AU even if it’s more of a folktale than a fairytale whoops ^^;  Spent far too much time over the last two days or so on it, sorry for being so late! Please enjoy 8′D

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Gladion didn't trust Sun, not one bit. There was something about the soldier that seemed... off, though he wasn't exactly sure what. From the moment he first met the conscripts, Sun stood out. For one, the skinny boy was almost a head shorter than most of the other men. For another, he had a strange habit of looking at everyone else with a sharp, intense gaze, as if he was observing them. For a third, no one had ever heard about Sir Jotos adopting a son.

Aside from the bow, Sun showed no great proficiency with weapons, but he had the sharpest mind the instructors had ever seen. He could barely pass the physical fitness tests, but he could clear the strategy tests faster than anyone. Most incriminating of all, he had a habit of disappearing by himself every now and then. When questioned, all he offered in response was that he needed to use the privy.

Everything together painted the picture of a possible spy, Gladion thought. But when he voiced his concerns to Senior Instructor Nanu, the latter merely laughed and said his imagination was working overtime.

"Why on earth would the Skullions send a spy to a training camp, filled with a half-baked bunch of new recruits?" he'd asked. That made sense, but didn't clear Gladion's suspicions. Sun was definitely hiding something. But none of the other officers seemed to agree. Much to his annoyance, most of the instructors liked Sun, especially after his multiple successes in the mock battle campaigns they held.

"He's smart, he's loyal, he doesn't shirk his responsibilities. What's not to like?" Nanu had said, shrugging. "He'll make a good second-in-command for you, Captain."

Gladion snorted in disbelief. He resolved to keep an eye on Sun, but the dark-haired young man somehow still managed to disappear at least twice every day, while fulfilling all his camp chores and training sessions.

Watching him riding now, Gladion frowned. Sun was talking to the men near him, and they laughed as he cracked a joke.

"We're going to war, not on a damn picnic," he muttered darkly under his breath.

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