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The incessant buzzing would not stop. Aurora slapped her hand down on her alarm clock and smiled to herself when the noise finally stopped. She had almost drifted back off to sleep when she remembered the reason why she had set the clock for such an early hour. Today was the martial arts expo at the college. Aurora sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes and looked at the time, about fifteen minutes had passed since she turned off the alarm. She'd have to hurry, otherwise she wouldn't be ready when Snow and Red showed up to get her.
It had been her friends Mary Margaret and Ruby's idea to go to the expo, they loved this sort of thing, and while Aurora wasn't as crazy about it, she could see and enjoy the beauty in it. Besides all sorts of demonstrations of martial arts, there was also games, food and other activities to enjoy. Personally Aurora was looking forward to the calligraphy exhibit. She was in the middle of brushing her hair, when there was a knock at the door
"Hey Sleeping Beauty, shake a leg, it's time to go!" she heard Ruby call through the door. Mary Margaret and Ruby were best friends, had been since childhood, and they called each other, and had been called by others, Snow and Red for as long as they could remember. Mary Margaret, because she loved the season of Winter and was always happy to see it snow. And Ruby, because she loved the color red and always wore it on her person in some form or fashion.
There was another knock as Aurora grabbed her jacket, a cream colored leather one, and headed for the door.
"Aurora? Honey, you're awake aren't you?" This time, Mary Margaret voice was heard.
"Man, if she's still asleep..." Ruby said. "I'm gonna call her." Aurora could hear Ruby messing with her phone and yelled "Don't bother!" as her phone began to ring. "I'm awake, just getting my shoes on." she said, speaking into the phone.
"Then let us in, please." Ruby replied. "We brought coffee and pastries."
Aurora still hadn't found her shoes, but headed for the door. "I don't know little red wolf, should I really be doing that?" she teased, opening the door.
"If you would like your wake up call, little night owl, you will." Ruby laughed. "And you're wearing jeans, I'm shocked." she finished as they walked in, a carrier with coffee and a bag in Mary Margaret's hand.
Aurora normally wore and loved skirts and dresses, seeing her in jeans and a sweater was a sign of the seasons changing, and that she was consenting to them. She also enjoyed staying up at night and arranged her classes so she could.Gratefully taking a sip from the cup that Mary Margaret offered her, Aurora smiled her thanks at her first caffeine infusion of the day. She handed the cup back and tugged on her boots, which had been tucked under the coffee table in front of her sofa. She shrugged on her jacket and the three were ready to go.
It was the middle of the afternoon, but you wouldn't know it by all the clouds in the sky. The seasons were getting cooler and the clouds were hanging around more. The three girls walked to the college that was holding the expo. College was how the three of them had met. Mary Margaret and Aurora were room mates their freshmen year and Mary Margaret had introduced Ruby and Aurora to each other, along with the three of them having a class in common. The expo was being held in one of the school's larger auditoriums and the girls quickly made their way across campus to it.
The auditorium was filled with people and the three stopped at the information booth for maps and a schedule of events and Aurora soon found herself wandering the school's botanical garden. The calligraphy exhibit had been set up near the gardens with a lesson taking place in the garden itself. A white tent was set up near a small waterfall and stream, people moved in and out of it, the front flaps were pulled back to allow for air movement and light.
Aurora removed her jacket as she walked in. Inside the tent were several low tables and cushions with a bigger table and cushion in front of them. Each of the low tables were set with a bottle of ink, some nibs, a pen holder and a brush. There was a cubbyhole under each table and what looked to be several scrolls of paper in it. The larger table at the front had the same set up, along with scrolls on it's surface. An Asian woman dressed in a blue kimono with a gold sash wrapped around her waist was at the front. The young woman's hair was secured back into a ponytail with several clips. Aurora thought it looked pretty and her fingers twitched to run through the thick mane. Aurora laughed at herself, her inner six year old was showing. Aurora loved to spin beautiful creations from people's hair, even if it was just from hair ties, bows and ribbons.
The other woman clapped her hands to get the attention of the people around her.
"Hello everyone, welcome to the expo, my name is Mulan and I will be teaching the calligraphy lesson. We'll be going over a brief history of calligraphy, getting more into detail about what's covered in the exhibit, the tools used and why and practicing calligraphy of our own." She moved back to her table. "Everyone please take a seat and we will begin."
Mulan picked up a scroll and opened it, showing it to the group, once everyone had sat down. The scroll was divided in two and had writing on both sides."Calligraphy is found all over the world. This class will cover mainly Eastern Asian calligraphy, specifically that from China, but calligraphy has been found in Japan, Korea, Mongolia, India, Tibet and Islam. For most Westerners, their exposure to it comes from the Bible and the Church." She pointed to the writing on the right side of the paper. "The calligraphy of the Bible tends to be more blocky then that of Eastern calligraphy. It tends to not have as many flourishes, but the letters still have a flow to them. This writing is in Latin and was done with a pen head made for calligraphy, we'll be using both a pen and brush to write with."
Mulan then pointed to the writing on the left. "This was done with a bamboo and horsehair brush, the writing is more flowy then the one on the right, the brush has more movement then the pen head." She went on to explain what the writings were talking about, an old Chinese legend about a girl who took her father's place in the army and helped defend her country. Mulan picked up other scrolls are showed them to the class and talked about the tools used in both Western and Eastern calligraphy and how what kind of brush, pen head, even ink and type of paper, all influenced the final result of the calligraphy.
"For today's lesson, we will be using a pen head and holder, a bamboo brush, parchment and rice paper and India ink. Please be careful with the ink, it can stain skin and clothing. The ink will come off your skin after a few days, but it is permanent with fabric. Everything should be in the cubby under your tables, everyone take out a scroll of paper, the stones to hold the edges should be there as well."
The air was filled with the rustle of paper and of bottles being moved.
"Don't worry if it's not perfect. Calligraphy takes time and practice to learn." Soon pens scratched across paper and several students had their names on the paper. Mulan walked around watching as people drew and wrote, offering advice and adjusting hands were needed. They soon moved onto the brush and Aurora found herself falling in love with the feel of the brush, it moved much smoother then the pen. She was still splattering ink on the page a little, but it was fun.
"Relax your hand a little more, you're strangling the brush." she heard from behind her. Aurora startled, dropping her brush and upsetting the ink bottle. "Oh no!"
The ink spread quickly and was only stopped by Mulan's sleeve, the fabric soaking up the liquid rapidly. The spill wasn't too bad, but Aurora still felt bad.
"I'm so sorry, I've ruined your kimono."
"That's alright it was old and you're not the first." Mulan pointed to a faded splotch of ink along the lower half of her robe. "I did this a few years ago when I started doing calligraphy again. That's how this became my calligraphy and art kimono." She traced the faded stain and smiled at Aurora. "It's not the end of the world, don't worry."
The ruined paper was replaced and after wrapping the long sleeve around her arm, Mulan helped Aurora with her brush hold.
"See the difference?" Mulan asked.
Aurora nodded.
"Good. Try one more time, class will be ending soon."
After a few more minutes Mulan called the lesson to a close and everyone began to clean up.
"If you're interested in continuing, our next lesson will be here, tomorrow at the same time."
The other students were happy to hear that and as they filed out, Aurora went up to Mulan.
"I just wanted to apologize again, I'm not normally that clumsy."
"You're forgiven, Aurora, right?" Mulan replied as she packed up paper and ink.
Aurora nodded. "Why so long between lessons, if you don't mind my asking."
"I have a tournament this afternoon that I'm competing in."
"What kind?" Aurora asked
"Kendo.It's a style of fighting with swords."
"Oh. Then why do you do calligraphy?"
Mulan finished packing the last of the paper. "Because I enjoy it and teaching others helps me with my weak points in it." Zipping up the bag, Mulan excused herself and wished Aurora a good day.
Aurora stayed under the tent to look at her schedule. The tournament would be happening in a couple of hours. Aurora smiled to herself and decided that she would be skipping the lecture she had planned to see and go to the fight instead.
The crowd around the kendo tournament was massive. Aurora was lucky to get the spot she had as people jostled around her, all of them looking for the best spot to watch from. The fighting ring was an area marked in red with two stripes marked in white and it was set out in front of a small stage. The stage was set up for commentaries and the event leader came up to the microphone. He looked to be in his 30's, had brown hair and blue eyes. He tapped the mic to gain everyone's attention and began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen, hello and welcome to this afternoon's kendo tournament. I'm your host, David Charming and out guest commentators are..."
Aurora didn't hear him, her attention was drawn to the ring where the contenders were warming up.
Both Mulan and the young man she would be fighting were dressed in black protective gear. It was concentrated on their chests, but was also on their arms and thighs as well. The garments had long flowing sleeves and pants legs but both were able to move freely and unrestricted. Aurora watched as both practiced with their wooden swords and were able to move with ease. When they put on their face guards Aurora could only tell which was Mulan, by the fact that she was a little shorter then the gentleman she would be fighting. Each of them stood at a white line and a referee came out as David explained the rules. Both bowed to the referee and to each other and at the signal began to fight.
Aurora stood there stunned. Mulan was amazing and while Aurora had no experience with fighting herself, even she could see how good Mulan was with a blade. The two fought back and forth, the clacking of their wooden swords being heard through out the arena. The fight was an evenly matched one in skill but Mulan was just a bit quicker and was able to over power her opponent. When Mulan was named the winner, the crowd roared its approval and both she and the man shook hands.
While people were clearing the area, Aurora wanted to talk to Mulan and congratulate her on a well done fight, but couldn't because she quickly lost track of Mulan in the crowd. Aurora decided that she would try again later and, after getting a look at the time and hearing her stomach growl loudly at her, headed towards the food booths and her friends.
The three met and made short work of the booths, getting things they liked and anything that looked interesting and yummy. Sitting at a table, they commenced to eat and talk about what they had seen and done. Well Ruby and Mary Margaret were, Aurora was just stirring her cup of egg drop soup and staring into the distance.
"Earth to Aurora, come in Aurora!" Ruby called, cupping her hands over her mouth.
"Huh? What?" Aurora asked, spoon ratting against the paper cup. She belatedly realized that her friends must have been trying to get her attention for the past several minutes.
"Wow. You know if this is too boring, you can always leave right? You don't have to stay." Mary Margaret said.
Aurora shook her head at those words. "No, I'm enjoying myself. She's fantastic. I-I mean it's fantastic." Aurora spluttered, trying to cover up her slip up.
Both Ruby and Mary Margaret grinned.
"She who?" Mary Margaret asked.
"I didn't say she, there was no she!" Aurora protested.
"Oh yes there was!" Ruby chimed in. "Who is she?"
"C'mon, tell us!" Mary Margaret cajoled.
Aurora refused at first, maintaining that she hadn't said anything, but her friends soon wore her down.
"Okay, okay. It's the calligraphy teacher."
"Why am I not surprised?" Ruby asked.
"Be quiet Red." Mary Margaret swatted at her friend and turned her attention back to Aurora. "So what's she like? Is she nice? What's her name?" she rattled off.
"Oh, um..." Aurora stirred her soup again, pausing to eat some of it. "Her name's Mulan and she seems nice, she's smart." Aurora blushed and looked at her soup. "She not only teaches calligraphy, but does kendo and I saw her fight this afternoon."
And with that, the dam was broken and Aurora told them of the match she had seen.
"What? What is it?" Aurora asked when she had finally stopped talking. Both her friends were smiling at her.
"What you guys?"
Ruby and Mary Margaret broke into song at the same time. "'Rora and Mulan sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
They both started to giggle as Aurora blushed brightly.
"Shut up! We are not!" she said indignantly.
"We know, but it's so cute." Mary Margaret replied, wiping away tears she had laughed so hard.
"Yeah, the last time you were like this was when you first met-" Ruby started to say.
"I don't want to talk about her." Aurora cut Ruby off.
"Okay. Sorry, didn't mean to bring up a sore subject, it's just that-" Ruby replied.
"We haven't seen you be this chatty about someone in a very long time is all." Mary Margaret finished for her.
"I know." Aurora stirred the dregs of her soup, her appetite for it totally gone.
"We'd like to meet her."
"Yeah, can we?" Ruby asked excitedly.
Aurora nodded and told them that the next lesson was the following day. Both Ruby and Mary Margaret smiled at that and went back to their food.
The following day they came back to the tent.
"Is that her?" Ruby asked, standing behind Aurora.
Aurora nodded. "That's her."
The trio watched Mulan move about the tent, setting bottles of ink down. Mulan looked up and smiled at the group.
"Hello Aurora, who are your friends?" she asked coming over.
Mary Margaret nudged Aurora from behind. "Say hi." she encouraged.
Aurora stumbled a little at the push. "Hi Mulan. These are my friends Ruby and Mary Margaret. I told them about the lesson yesterday and they wanted to check it out too."
"In a manner of speaking." Ruby muttered under her breath.
"Shut up!" Aurora hissed, her elbow catching Ruby in the side.
Mulan smiled, ignoring what was going on between the three others. "Feel free to find a table, class will be starting shortly."
"Sure, no problem." Aurora nodded and began to walk towards the table she used last time.
Mary Margarete and Ruby walked after her trying their hardest to hide their smiles. "It was nice meeting you." Mary Margarete called back to Mulan, while Aurora muttered under her breath about needing new friends.
"Oh c'mon Sleeping Beauty, you know you love us." Ruby smiled, sitting at a table.
"No, I don't." Aurora replied as she sat.
"Yes, you do, don't lie." Ruby replied.
More people trickled into the tent after they took their seats and Mulan soon began the lesson. She covered the basics for the new students, of which there were several, and then moved on to a little more advanced technique for those that had been there the day before.. While it wasn't too hard, most of the students stayed with what they learned so far, but Aurora was willing to try it. Mulan came over to her table to see Aurora's progress.
"Remember to clean the brush of excess ink and relax your grip." Mulan said, watching Aurora, smiling when she did so. "Very good Aurora."
Aurora smiled. "Thank you."
"Here, let me show you something." Mulan took Aurora's hand in hers and began to move the brush in a more complicated pattern while talking her through the steps. Aurora blushed at the attention and her friends just grinned like loons and went back to their work.
After the lesson was done, Aurora thanked Mulan again and left with her friends. Both Mary Margaret and Ruby giggled as soon as they were away from the tent.
"You really like her." Ruby teased. "You should ask her out."
Aurora stopped in her tracks. "No, I couldn't. I'm too busy."
"Yes, you can and that is a blatant lie." Mary Margaret replied. She knew Aurora's schedule for the semester and that asking Mulan out would be a good thing for her.
"You really should." she continued. "Just because Maleficent was a total bitch who screwed you over, doesn't mean that everyone else is."
"You aren't the one she cheated on." Aurora responded. She had thought that everything was fine between the two of them, but finding Maleficent in bed with Regina had dashed that. Finding out that they had been together, behind her back for a while, was just insult to injury. And after Maleficent left, Aurora felt cursed and it showed in any relationship she tried to have. They all ended in disaster.
"Besides, why should I?" Aurora asked, looking at them both.
"Because if you don't, I'll do it for you." Ruby stated, staring back at her.
"You wouldn't." Aurora dared.
"Watch me." Ruby took off running for the tent.
"Ruby!" Aurora yelled and began to run after her friend.
Aurora got there in time to hear part of the conversation.
"-you. Would you like to join her for dinner? She wants to know you better, but was too shy to say anything."
"Ruby!" Aurora exclaimed.
Ruby looked over at her. "What? It's true."
"It'll be our treat." Mary Margaret said. "Just pick a time and place."
"Is this true?" Mulan asked Aurora.
"Yes." Aurora thought she couldn't blush any brighter, but her body continued to prove her wrong. "You can say no if you want to, you don't have to say yes."
"Is tea on Friday afternoon alright? We could get to know each other and decided if dinner would be nice or not." Mulan replied.
"What time?" Mary Margaret asked.
God, her friends were acting like they were the ones going out. Maybe all she needed was new friends, not a date.
"Around 3 o'clock at the Emerald Dragon." Mulan said.
"She can be there." Mary Margaret nodded.
"With bells on." Ruby confirmed.
Aurora just stared at them. Yep, new friends were sounding better and better by the moment, ones that didn't feel the need to interfere with her life.
"I'll see you then Aurora." Mulan smiled.
"Okay, bye!" Mary Margaret and Ruby chorused and pulled Aurora out of the tent. What on Earth had just happened?
"I can't believe you just did that. What the hell just happened?" Aurora asked as they walked away.
"I told you I'd do it and you have a date." Ruby replied, her smile a mile wide.
"And yes, we really are paying, so relax and enjoy yourself." Mary Margaret said.
"I still can't believe you, both of you, did that." Aurora mumbled to herself.
Friday, Aurora swears, is really a ninja; because it snuck up on her. She stood in front of her closet wondering what to wear for several minutes. She decided on a pale green turtleneck, a black calf length broom skirt and gray leggings underneath and a pair of black lace up boots. She braided her hair back and kept her make up simple, a light dusting of gold eyeshadow and a pale pink blush and lipstick. Her jewelry was a small pair of silver hoops and necklace. She let Ruby and Mary Margaret in when they knocked.
"Hey guys." she said, as they walked in.
"Is that what you're wearing?" Ruby asked as a greeting.
Aurora shut the door behind them. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"Nothing." Mary Margaret assured her. "You look lovely."
"Thanks." Aurora smiled.
Ruby looked at her. "It'll work, you do look good." she admitted. "But I did have something else in mind..." she trailed off.
"No!" both Aurora and Mary Margaret chorused. Anything that Ruby had in mind most likely came from her closet and possibly involved leather.
"Oh for... it wasn't gonna be anything bad! Just a little...brighter, is all." Ruby objected.
"How bright?" Aurora asked out of curiosity; it would be the death of her some day.
"Not too much, just a bit of red." Ruby replied looking over Aurora's outfit again. "On the other hand, the gold works for a bit of color pop."
"Are you ready to go?" Mary Margaret asks. Aurora nodded and the three were off to the Emerald Dragon.
A few minutes after three, the group walked into the tea shop and stood at the door for a moment as their eyes adjusted.
"Table for three?" the hostess asked.
"Actually she's here to meet someone, but we need a table for two." Ruby said, nudging Aurora forward.
The hostess smiled. "Alright then. Do you know if your party is here then miss? Or I can look them up by name." she asked.
"Her name's Mulan. I never got a last name." Aurora admitted.
The hostess looked at the list and her seating chart. "Mulan... Ah yes, here she is." Picking up three menus, she motioned for the others to follow. "Come with me, I will show you to your tables."
The hostess walked through the large tea room and stopped at an empty table three away from Mulan. Mulan smiled as she saw them. "How is this?" the hostess asked Ruby and Mary Margaret.
"Very good." they replied, sitting down and taking the menus she handed them.
"Your server will be with you shortly." the hostess told them and then led Aurora to Mulan's table.
"Miss Fa, your guest had arrived." she handed Aurora a menu after she had sat.
"Thank you." Aurora said, taking it.
The hostess nodded and went back to her post after letting them know their server would be back soon.
The Emerald Dragon had a wide selection of teas, severed hot or cold, a variety of finger foods and cakes, and a few small meals as well. Both glanced at the other over their menus and blushed, looking away when they caught eachother's eye.
"You look really nice Aurora."
"Thank you." Aurora smiled. "You look nice too, Mulan." Mulan was wearing a pair of black jeans with a silver chain belt and a pair of black boots. Her sweater was a pale lavender and she had paired it with a jade charm on a silver chain.
They began to discuss teas and what they liked and didn't, and what food would go well with what tea. They decided to try the Mad Tea Party to combine their tastes and try something new.
The Mad Tea Party consisted of six small pots of tea, severed hot or cold, with cream and sugar on the side and a choice of finger sandwiches or cakes. They decided to split the difference and order two hot pots, two cold pots and two that they were curious about. All six pots would come with enough tea for them to have a cup each and a pitcher of water would be provided as well to cleanse the palette between each tea. Their teas soon showed up, the pots color coded for ease of reference, with the hot teas in cream colored pots, the cold ones in lavender and the experimental teas in a pale green, one of which was hot. They had decided to pair the teas with a light sponge cake and some berries.
"What would you like first?" Mulan asked.
"Surprise me." Aurora replied. "I'm feeling adventurous."
Ruby and Mary Margaret watched as events unfolded in front of them.
"They are so cute." Ruby said, sipping her tea. She smiled as the spicy cinnamon apple worked it's way through her system. "Nice choice on the tea, by the way." Mary Margaret had ordered for her and she had ordered for Mary Margaret.
"They really are." Mary Margaret agreed, sipping her mint flavored green tea.
Neither could hear what was being said at the other table, but both could see the relationship that was beginning to form.
The End