Things Best Forgotten
A Smellershot fan fiction
A story of love lost, and gained
Chapter 1
High up in the trees above a fire nation village, Smellerbee sat, waiting for the signal to descend. Jet had been planning this raid for weeks. Once he gave the signal, the freedom fighters would drop from the trees, weapons out and take back what once belonged to the earth kingdom. She still remembered the day the fire nation had come and taken away everything she cared about.
"Mati! Mati!" a young Kasi screamed. The smoke that chocked the streets of her village swirled around her as she ran through the streets, trying to find her family. "Toji! Mati!" the fire nation soldiers marched through the town, burning everything in their path. The screams of the wounded and the lost filled the streets. No one paid attention to a nine year old girl. Kasi ran up the path to her home on the edge of the town. Her family was poor and couldn't afford a home outside the walls. The doors were hanging off the hinges and the dirt floor was litters with ashes. She ran to the room she shared with her older sister and found only empty space. Her parent's room was different. The hole they kept their valuables in was dug up. The furniture, made of straw, was burning. She wandered around the room, looking for anything of importance. When she pried open the doors to the family room, she found what she had been looking for.
Her parents and sister were on the floor, huddled together. Even in death they were tight. Her family had been eating it seemed, when the soldiers had burst in. Kasi went to them, thinking she could do something. But there was only burnt bodies where her family had shared so many memories. Kasi felt as in her entire soul had been ripped from reality, leaving only an echo of the happy young girl she had once been.
A whistle sounded threw the trees, shaking Smellerbee out of her memories. The signal. Drawing her knives, Smellerbee and some of the other freedom fighters dropped from the trees, catching the guards on the wall off guard. She grabbed the guard on watch in her section by the hair before he could alert the other guards and raked her knife across his neck. Dropping him, she waved to Jet to signal that the watchmen had been taken out. A whistle sounded again and she smiled. Jet's plan was going great. From her position on the wall, she could see the beginning of the battle. Soldiers fell by the arrows shot from the trees, died by knifes wielded by her comrades. Jet was right. The fighting only went on for a few minutes. When it was all over, only fire nation soldiers had died. And as quickly as they had appeared, the freedom fighters left, leaving the townspeople to govern themselves.
Chapter 2
Back at the hideout, there was joy. Another successful counterstrike against the fire nation. Smellerbee didn't like to take lives, but in the case of the fire nation's soldiers, she didn't mind. She walked to her hut, which was in the very center of the metropolis of tree houses. Longshot was there. She didn't think anything of it. After all, they shared a hut. He was cleaning his arrows, making sure there was no trace left of blood on them. "Hey Longshot. Nice job today." Longshot nodded at her and smiled.
You too.
Smellerbee sat on her mat, across the room from him. Digging threw her bag gave her time to compose herself. Longshot had a dazzling smile. Grabbing a cloth out of her bag, well she couldn't come up with nothing; she began to wipe the blood off of her knives.
"Hey what are you guys doing?" Jet was standing at the door, almost like he'd been there all along.
"Well I'm tap dancing and Longshot is giving a rousing speech to the masses how about you?" Smellerbee replied sarcastically. Jet was always asking stupid questions, with which she replied to with stupid answers.
"We're celebrating the freedom of the village, thought you two might want to come join in."
Smellerbee stood. If she didn't show, people would think she was feeling guilty about killing the guards. She didn't like parties but she didn't like people thinking she was weak more. Longshot stood and she could tell he was thinking the same thing. Jet sprinted ahead while the two roommates walked at their own leisurely pace.
I wonder what's on his mind. Oh god! What's happened to me? I used to be so sharp, not just with my knives, but with my mind. Boys didn't used to matter to me. Why is that different now? Why do I even care so much about Longshot? Yah sure he's my best friend, but why now all of a sudden, is he all I ever seem to think about? What's the matter with me?
Longshot was looking at her with that dreamy "what's on your mind" look. Oh man! She was saved from answering by The Duke, who rushed up to her and pulled her onto the pavilion saying something along the lines of " watch this bad ass move I picked up" it may have been different, Smellerbee had been too busy thinking to hear correctly.
The party was fun, or it would have been, if Longshot hadn't been busy watching the forest floor instead of her dancing, which she thought was pretty okay. There was laughing and clapping, and jokes. The Duke showed everyone his new move, which was grabbing his ankle and hopping on one leg. Everyone thought he was funny and laughed at him.
That night, when she was lying awake in bed, she wondered why Longshot didn't think of her the way she did of him. Was it that she was to boyish? Did she smell bad? Maybe he liked someone else. Boy would that be depressing. And it's not like no one could tell she liked him. On the contrary, everyone in the tree houses knew she loved him. The only one who didn't was Longshot.
Smellerbee had been dropping him little hints that she liked him for months. She would say he looked good one day, or compliment his fighting skills the next, she had even gotten him same more arrows. He'd just nod, or smile, and that was that. What could she do to make him like her as more than just a friend?
Chapter 3
"Longshot, you and Bee go out and hunt will ya?" Jet was planning this week's ration. Who would get how much food and so on? Saying nothing, as usual, Longshot and Smellerbee stood. Longshot grabbed his bow and walked out, waiting for bee at the bottom of the trees. The pair went out and bagged three possum-squirrels, and a small armadillo-bear. Logging their haul back to the tree houses, Smellerbee let her thoughts wonder.
What is Longshot thinking right now? Ugh I need to stop this. It's not healthy!
Jet and the other members of the inner core of the freedom fighters were waiting at the base of the tree to help them get their kills up to the fort. No one said anything, none of them were surprised that the pair had made such a great haul, it had come to be expected.
Suddenly Longshot froze. They all looked up at him. His face made it clear that something was coming. Everyone grabbed a rope to be pulled up to the tree houses. Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee, waiting anxiously at the bottom for another rope, heard the unmistakable sound of marching feet. Two ropes sailed down and Longshot and Jet grabbed onto the ropes. Longshot paused and gestured for bee to grab onto him. The soldiers were close. There was no way that the rope would be able to pull the weight of both of them up quick enough. Acting on instinct, Smellerbee ran to Longshot. But she took him by surprise. Instead of grabbing onto him, she pulled on the rope and sent him sailing up and disappearing into the canopy of leaves that hid the hideout just as the soldiers turned the bend and saw her.
"Hey what's that? Is that a girl or a boy?" said one of the soldiers as they stopped in front on her.
Another soldier yelled from the back "Hey isn't that that kid from the posters in town? There's a bounty on her head." At those words the soldiers surrounded Smellerbee on all sides.
This is it. I'm going to die.
"Wait! That poster said wanted alive you imbeciles!" yelled what Smellerbee could only assume was the captain. "Bind her. We will take her to the next town and collect the reward. For now, I want her alive…..barely." the soldiers converged on the young freedom fighter. She was kicked, and punched, slapped, and stepped on. She felt her nose break, the bones in her legs snap and she couldn't hold back a cry on pure agony. As her hands were wrenched behind her back the darkness closed in around her, leaving her unconscious.
Chapter 4
The sound of footsteps stopped Longshot from hauling meat up to the tree houses. The soldiers were coming. The others heard it too. Everyone ran for a rope. Jet, Longshot and Smellerbee were left at the floor of the woods listening to marching feet approaching. As two more ropes spiraled down from the canopy, he grabbed one without thinking. He was about to soar up to safety when he realized that Smellerbee would be left here.
They will kill her.
Longshot reached out a hand to his best friend, a silent,
Grab on!
He saw the calculation in her eyes half a second too late. She reached out and yanked on the rope, sending him spiraling upwards on his own. The shock on his face was unmistakable. The other freedom fighters saw that bee was not with him and they understood.
"Oh no." was all that was said as a husky voice sounded threw the canopy below.
"Hey what's that? Is that a girl or a boy?"
"Hey isn't that that kid from the posters in town? There's a bounty on her head." And time froze. They would kill her for the money. He knew it. It was clear on the face of the others that they knew it to. The sound of shuffling feet.
"Wait! That poster said wanted alive you imbeciles!" a relief so strong washed threw Longshot, making him almost cheer. "Bind her. We will take her to the next town and collect the reward. For now, I want her alive…..barely." the cold, smug words of the fire nation soldier stopped the joy the freedom fighters felt, turning all their blood to ice. There was movement, stomping and kicking, and finally a loud sickening snap even they could hear up in the trees. And Smellerbee screamed.
Longshot started to grab a rope when he felt himself lifted off the ground. He kicked and struggled but it was no use against Pipsqueak's immense strength.
Smellerbee!
"We can't do anything for her now Longshot!" Jet's voice said. "Longshot listen to me! Smellerbee is strong. She'll survive. We can't get her now. There are too many soldiers down there. Bee is strong. She can take care of herself. We need to find out which prison she will end up in, than we can bust her out. If we do anything now they will kill her." Longshot felt pipsqueak tighten his hold on him but his mind had completely shut off. Smellerbee had been taken by the fire nation.
The reality of the situation was starting to sin in for him. Pipsqueak let go of him and he just stood there for a minute. She had been trying to save him. Wanting to be alone, he left and went to his hut.
Chapter 5
Smellerbee woke up in the back of a cart.
Where am I?
She tried to stand but a sharp jolt of pain shot up her entire body, bringing a cry of pain to her lips. And the memories came flooding back. The hunting, the footsteps, Longshot…
Longshot!
The look of his face as he sailed upwards towards safety was in the forefront of her mind. Shock, amazement, and most of all, fear. But not fear for himself, for he never showed any even if he felt it. It was fear for her.
Please forgive me. I had no choice.
The sadness was so great. She was going to jail, or worse. And Smellerbee would have continued to dwell on those depressing thoughts, but the cart hit a bump and her head hit the side, affectively knocking her out.
Chapter Six
Being in the hut didn't help Longshot. Her things were everywhere, her headbands, her spare knives, her face paint. Everywhere he looked, he was reminded of her. Laying down on the mat his thoughts wondered.
Maybe I just need to sleep.
But she was in his dreams; a young girl, smooth, bare skin, a short, boy-cut mop of brown hair, and a blue headband. But the dream wasn't anything extraordinary. It was just flashes of little, seemingly random moments of their friendship. When she first met him, the battle of the village. Little moments that, even in unconsciousness, he took for granted. But then the dream changed. It morphed; to a place he didn't remember visiting. A dark room with a small, metal cot jutting out of the wall. And there she was, her legs bandaged, her nose crooked, and an agonized expression on her face that ripped at his heart in so many ways. Than her eyes flashed open.
I'm so sorry. I didn't have any other options. Please forgive me.
Longshot didn't have time to respond, before his best friend was taken from him again, engulfed in a raging fire.
Chapter 7
The village was so different since it was liberated. Not that Smellerbee got to enjoy it for long.
The cell they threw her into was small, Just a metal box with a cot in the wall. Smellerbee's face was beaded with sweat and her color was gone. The soldiers had thrown her in, taken the money and left. Now she was at the mercy of the town she had liberated just a week ago.
Well this is ironic.
Bitter thoughts clouded Smellerbee's mind.
I wonder what they would do if they knew I'm one of the main reasons that they're not shoveling animal dung for the soldiers.
And as the days in her lonely cell went on, she got more and more depressed. But there was only one thing keeping her from ending everything. Longshot.
What is going on at home? I wonder if he's thinking about me right now.
Chapter 8
She was on his mind. Not that he paid much attention to it. The last few days, she always was. Jet didn't seem to notice though. All he was concerned with was going on as if nothing had happened, or so it seemed to most. But Longshot, being far more observant than all of the other freedom fighters, noticed how sometimes he would go off, on his own, or stare off into the distance.
The others were more open about the situation. The Duke would sit off on his own, or with a few others, and curse the fire nation, threaten anyone who so much as touched his surrogate sister. Sneers would climb to the base of the tree and pound the trunk until his knuckles bleed. And when he was done with that, he'd just sit down, and hold his head in his hands. And Pipsqueak, being the biggest, but most emotional, would sit somewhere quiet, and weep quietly to himself.
But as much as it seemed everyone missed her, no one was doing anything about it. That is except Longshot. When he was supposed to be asleep, he would sneak out and spy on the fire nation soldiers, hoping for some bit of information that could help him find her. And after a while, Jet noticed.
"Longshot, you need to rest, or take a break. You're going to kill yourself."
Longshot looked up sharply, his eyes red and angry.
Smellerbee doesn't get a break, for all we know she's already dead. And we just sit here doing nothing. She's in trouble and we're not doing anything!
Jet kept his face calm, but his eyes flashed. "You think you're the only one here who's pissed about what happened. Smellerbee was our friend to, she was my friend. And we all miss her. But you know what, you think you're so observant, you don't seem to notice that the reason all of this happened is because she loves you!"
Longshot froze. What the hell is he Jet talking about? Smellerbee is my best friend she couldn't….. The realization dawned on him. Her nice comments, her lingering smiles, her small gestures. They all made sense.
"Yah. She saved your life because she was in love with you. She knew the rope wouldn't carry the weight of both of you up fast enough to get out of sight, so she took the blast. So that you wouldn't have to. Because she loved you. And it took me throwing it in your face for you to see it."
Longshot couldn't move. Jet was right. He saw it now. But this was all way too much to take. Longshot left, needing time to sort things out.
Chapter 10
Some of the other inmates weren't so bad. If you liked rapists and cold blooded murders, gangsters, and thieves yelling profanities at you every two minutes.
Not that I'm any different. I've lied, stolen, killed.
But I am different than these people. I don't kill in cold blood, and only steal, cheat, and lie when I've had to.
God! I need to get out of here. My legs! Oh man my legs!
Smellerbee had been stuck in her cell for twelve hours, no food or water, and her legs were starting to set wrong.
I may have to re-brake them. That's going to be pleasant.
And as the hours went on, she faded in and out of consciousness. Her thoughts miles away, high above the ground, soaring threw the trees with her family. Her real family, not the people she was related to by blood, but by something stronger than blood. And as she slept, she dreamed of him. The firm muscles on his arms, his strong features, his arrow callused hands. But most of all, she dreamed of his eyes. The way they smiled at her when she walked into a room, or how he didn't need to speak. The feelings the memories brought to her made her smile, and for the first time in days, she slept peacefully.
Chapter 11
As Longshot wondered threw the trees, his mind raced.
How long has she felt this way? We have been friends for over a decade, and I didn't notice the most potent feeling in the world on her when everyone else did. Why didn't she tell me?
But he knew that answer. What if he didn't feel the same way and things changed for the worse?
Do I feel the same way?
Longshot didn't dwell on that thought.
Chapter 12
Smellerbee woke to the smell of smoke. She didn't have to wonder what was happening, for she knew it would. The fire nation had come back to the village, to take it back. Under normal circumstances, Smellerbee would have leapt into action, daring anyone to oppose her will. Be things as they were though, Smellerbee couldn't do much of anything. She wasn't even sure if she would have even if she could. These were the people who had treated her like a piece of filth, thrown her into a cell, only bothering to feed her every day or so.
What makes them any better than the fire nation. They certainly aren't good people.
Smellerbee continued to think, bitterly, as the screams of the men in the village echoed into the prison, as they dragged those who dared to fight back into cells, just like hers. It almost made her want to laugh. Almost.
After a while, the screaming stopped and the calm battle aftermath set in. The moans of the men in the cells, the howls of the woman and children looking for surviving family, or the sobbing when they discovered the bodies.
But Smellerbee could sympathies with them. She knew the thoughts that would be running through their minds. So what now?
Chapter 13
As Jet wonderd the forests, looking for berries to help compensate for the loss of one hunter, he let his thoughts wonder to Smellerbee. What was happening to her? Where was she?
We need to do something soon. The firenation never keeps female prisoners for more than a few months. Than they usually kill them, or marry them off to someone. The thought made him laugh.
yah. I'd just love to be there to see smellerbee destroy whoever dared to wed her. She wont go anywhere without a fight.
A small plume of smoke drifted up from the distance, startiling Jet. He took to the trees, and made a fast pace towards it. In a clearing, the fire nation soldires sat, laughing and drinking brown liquid out of a bottle they all shared.
Discusting. They sit here laughing and drinking while the world is engulfed in despair. Very civilized.
" Sir! The money is almost gone!" one of the soldires shouted as he ran out of a tent, red and coverd with the ensignia of the fire nation.
" Impossible. The reward from the urchen should have boosted out income ten fold."
" Sir. It would have, but im afraid it was all foolishly spent on ale and girl's ransom was not nearly as much as it should have been."
The man jet assumed was the captian stood and glared at the man. " And why is that?"
" The prison, it was the wrong one to go to. We needed to clame the full reward at the compound in adashi. We went to konami, therefore the entire reward was not paid."
Jets mind raced as he thought this threw. The voice of the captian was the same one he had heard when Smellerbee was captured. These were the soldires who had taken her. His anger gushed threw him, and he felt himself tence.
I cant kill them now, I need to wait. Now we know where Bee is. I need to tell the others.
And Jet left, leaving nothing behind as he sailed threw the trees to deliver the news to his famialy.
Chapter 14
Longshot couldn't believe his ears! Jet knew where smellerbee was being held. She was alive
!
This is amazing! How could she be so close and I not know about it? That dosnt matter now. We are going to save her.
" We need to get her out of that place as soon as possible" Jet was saying " theres no way to tell her condicion, so we should plan for the worst, we know one of her limbs is broken, if not two or three" they all flinched, remembering the sickining snapping of bone and the gut wrenching scream that it caused " the soldires who took her didn't get the full reward for her, being that they turned her into the wrong prison. I wouldn't put it past one of them to break her out just to collect the reward money at the other prison."
So many things could go wrong. What if they move her? What if she dies?
"Longshot, you are going to find her once were inside the prison. We can't go running in and cause ahuge scene. We do that and they close up shop so fast we wouldn't be able to get to her with an army. Pipsqueak, you will need to keep the men off of me and Sneers. The Duke, you are going to have to take out any of the guards who spot us, like keep watch. Everyone get it? Got any suggestions?" when there were none, Jet smiled. We leave tomorrow at nightfall.
Chapter 15
As dawn broke over the wall separating the prison wall from the rest of the world, Smellerbee was hard at work. The soldiers had aroused her from her sleep, dragged her screaming by her hair to the yard. There she had been ordered to help bandage the wounded men from the battle yesterday.
"You are a woman, are you not? Women are only good for homely tasks." The captain, a man named Zhou had told her with a cold hard expression on his peach fuzz face that had made her want to bloody him. But being in her situation, Smellerbee gritted her teeth and grabbed a roll of bandages before hobbling as best she could with two mending legs over to a cot.
The work had been long and tedious. Most of the men had been at war since their early adulthood, and therefore had not seen a woman in years. By the end of her shift, Smellerbee had been approached with many interesting, varied, creative propositions that made her despise men. As she made her way back to her cell, escorted by a young officer, vile scenes ran threw her head. Inventive ways to make those who had offended her pay; pealing his skin from if body one small layer at a time, pulling out their tongue and strangling them with it, using the bandages from their wounds to hang them from the battlements.
Alright so I'm a bit rusty when it comes to imagination.
They turned into the sector that her cell was in, but instead of taking her to her cell, the man made her keep walking, out the cell block, and into the vast fields of the work yard. It was deserted this time of year, the hot humid air and searing heat.
"Where are you taking me?" Smellerbee demanded
The soldier smiled cruelly as he pulled her into a small garden the men had built in the blind spots between the battlements. It wasn't even a proper garden. Just a collection of shrubs and a few thick, tall trees. There waiting for them, was a trio of armored men sitting on a stone bench with a small box of something Smellerbee couldn't see.
"Hidaka, where have you been, we've been waiting. Ah there she is." One of the men took Smellerbee's face in his hands, examining her with some sort of quiet amusement of his face "do you remember child."
"What are you talking about, get away from me!" Smellerbee tried to free herself from the soldiers grip and surprisingly it worked, as the man holding onto her doubled over in pain, most likely from her elbow in his gut. "I don't know any of you fire swine" she snarled from the ground, ignoring the pain in her jarred legs.
While the man called Hidaka dry heaved on the dirt, the one who had held her so affectionately just a moment ago hauled her up by her hair. She cried out in pain, feeling the roots give way.
"DO YOU REMEMBER YOU WRECH! YOU FOREST URCHEN! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" The man screamed the words in her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Please! I don't know!"
"Li, she doesn't know." One of the other armored men spoke up for the first time.
Li's eyes were wild; his face beat red with anger. "Oh you better remember. You and your little band of rebels took away my son. He was a guard here in town. You slit his throat. I know it was you; you're their sword and knives master. My son died here, for some seedy little village. You killed him!" there were tears in his voice, his eyes. "And I'm going to make you pay. I won't kill you, but will give you so much pain you'll wish you were dead."
Li motioned forward the armored men. With them they brought the box, which looked like it carried weighed a ton. He reached into the box and pulled out a hammer and two nails.
"Hold her against that tree there. I want her palms facing upwards. Flat against that tree." The men were obviously confused, though they did what they were told. Smellerbee was too weak to struggle, for the full day's work had worn her out.
He's going to drive those spikes threw my hands.
Li held the nails to the center of her palms and smiled as he swung the hammer.
Smellerbee thought that she had felt pain, and suffering. She knew real and extreme pain as soon as the nail made contact with the tree. A scream gathered in her throat and was released as he swung the hammer a second time.
But he wasn't done yet, she could tell by the smile on his face. Even as she faded in and out of consciousness she felt the burning, the hot, searing pain of the flame as it carved into her cheeks, a deliberate pattern though she couldn't concentrate on it.
Instead she pushed herself into the safe darkness of unconsciousness.
Chapter 16
Longshot paced a branch high up in one of the many large trees hanging over the wall to the prison.
What if I don't make it in time, or I can't find her, or they moved her? So many things could go wrong.
Jet had given Longshot a pep talk before they left, but all the encouraging words he had heard meant nothing as he waited for the signal that the coast was clear and he could go get her. As he waited, he flashed back to the first time he had met her, not too far from here.
As Jet and Longshot wondered threw the ruins of a burned village, Longshot felt a tear slide down his face. Whipping it away before Jet could see it; he followed a trail he knew well, from the center of a village he had once lived in, to the outside of the wall towards the forest he now called home.
As Jet started scaling a tree, Longshot heard a rustle above his friends head. He yanked Jet clear just as a young girl dropped down to where they had been just a second ago, holding a knife crudely made of tree bark. She lunged and Jet danced out of the way. Longshot snuck up behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders, and lifted her small frame off the ground. She had kicked and screamed curses at him as Jet grabbed his knife and held it to her throat.
"What are you doing here? This is my home, I'm not going to let you destroy it anymore!" tears ran down her face, which was covered in soot and dirt.
"We're not going to hurt you, or your… home."Jet lowered his knife and stepped back. "I'm Jet and this is Longshot. Were not fire nation if that's what you're thinking. Longshot will put you down if you don't try to hurt us again alright?" the girl studied him, than nodded. Longshot released her and she stepped back.
"You're not fire nation?"
Longshot shook his head and she relaxed visibly.
"We're runaways, just like you I'm guessing. You're fierce. What do you say to joining us? We live just a little ways away from here. There's a whole bunch of us. You'll be safe, and even better, you can help us fight the fire nation." Her eyes cleared and narrowed. She seemed to consider them, than grinned.
"I'm in."
"Awesome. So what's your name?" she looked down and her smile faded.
"My parents called me Kasi. But their gone now. Everyone is gone." Her eyes filled with tears, but didn't spill.
"Well than you need a new name, for a new family. How about' Smellerbee."
"Um…..why?"
Jet smiled "You're an amazing fighter, from what I've seen. Like a bumblebee, you're probably underestimated, but you pack a huge sting. Like a bee."
Smellerbee grinned "Like a bee huh? That's kinda cool. I like it."
The memory made Longshot smile. Even when she was suffering, she was a fighter.
Jets head appeared over the balcony of the prison, letting him know everyone was in place. It was time to get her out of this place, one way or another.
Chapter 17
When Smellerbee came to, she was on the ground, her hands screaming and her face burning. The men were gone, a small blessing.
It's over. At last it's over. Please god make them stay away!
She remembered everything. Even in the darkness, she could feel the pain. Looking down at her hands, Smellerbee gaped at the hole that had been punched clean threw. Looking at it made the pain worse, impossible as that seemed. The tears welled in her eyes, and this time she let them fall. Her life was ending, she could feel it.
There's no one coming to get me. I'm going to die here, in the dirt.
The realization crashed over her, not unexpected, but hard all the same. And as her last line of hope fled, taking her into the darkness yet again, she felt herself being lifted.
Chapter 18
As Longshot creped along the inner wall, trying to find a way into the facility, he thought of the possible areas Smellerbee may be being held in. because of her injuries, she could be in the infirmary. On the other hand, if she is considered a dangerous individual, as she might be, she could be in solitary confinement. There were so many possibilities.
But as he passed through a garden on the left side of a door, he felt something pulling his into it.
Maybe she is on the other side. This is the men's quarters anyway. If I keep going, I might find another entrance.
Longshot quickly made his way towards the other end of the shrubbery. And he would have kept going, but he smelled the unmistakably scent of blood nearby. Running through the paths, a feeling of dread filled him, afraid of what he might find at the other end.
And when he rounded the last corner, his heart stopped. There she was, lying in a small pool of blood, curled on her side with her hands clutched into herself and her legs crooked against the dirt. Her face, once a pale, clear white, now striped with red. Longshot rushed to her, his entire being filled with a cold dread, and pressed his fingers to the spot in her neck. It seemed to take years, but finally, there was a faint beat. Shifting, his breath caught as he saw her hands.
What the hell did they do to you?
Careful not to hurt her, Longshot lifted Smellerbee up into his arms and ran as fast as he could go with a broken and battered girl in his arms back to the tree, where the other freedom fighters kept watch until the friends disappeared into the forest.
Chapter 19
Longshot's heart was still racing. Smellerbee had not woken up. They had been in the tree houses for over twelve hours. Anyone who lived in the tree houses with any medical knowledge had come to see if they could help her, but nothing had changed. Jet and The Duke had stolen supplies from the town and asked around to see if anyone knew what to do about someone in her condition. They all said the same thing. Nothing could be done, she was gone.
She can't be gone. Not after all she's been through. She can't die. Not like this.
Sitting anxiously next to her mat, Longshot watched Smellerbee's chest rise and fall with a growing fear. Never, had he felt this level of fear in his life. With every passing minute, her chances of ever waking up grew slimmer.
"Longshot?" his head snapped up to see The Duke standing in the doorway, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Mind if I come in?" Longshot nodded and he sat down on the other side of the mat. The Duke sighed a deep sad sigh. "You know, my mom was in the same situation right before she died. Left me with my father, if you could call him that."
Longshot looked up and studied the young boy with narrowed eyes. The Duke had never shared any part of his past with anyone in the tree houses. All anyone knew was that he was a run away, and had joined Jet after trying to steal food from him. Everyone in the houses could respect that, as they had all been in the same position at one time or another.
"My mom, she was amazing. She took care of me, and did anything she could to provide for me. When my step father died, my father, my real father, made her a deal. She married him, and he would give me anything I required. She hated him with a passion, he was a sick, evil man, supported the fire nation, and had a heavy hand. But she agreed to his offer, because I needed food, and cloths. Than one day, I found her in the garden, broken, bloodied, barely alive. It's hard; to see someone you care about hanging onto life be their nails." He looked at Longshot then, his eyes storming with emotion.
"My mother woke up, just before the end. She's the one who told me to run. That he would kill me to is I didn't leave. So I did leave." The Duke sighed as he reached to hold onto Smellerbee's broken hand. "They sat they can hear you. When people talk to them, they can hear them. And sometimes, it may remind them who they are, and why they need to come back." He stood than, and walked out the door.
Longshot sat where he was for a while, taking it all in. the images The Duke had painted in his head brought to the surface the painful memories he had been trying to suppress for hours. Smellerbee; broken, battered, bloodied, hardly alive. How could someone, even Fire Nation soldiers, so something so horrible to anyone.
You didn't deserve this Bee. Why did this happen to you? Who did this?
Anger surged through Longshot's body, making his hands clench, and his body tense. Jumping up to pace, his thoughts darkened further.
Bee I swear, whoever did this to you won't get away with it. I will hunt them down and tear them apart limb from limb, them make them eat them.
Stopping up short, he sighed. Seeing Smellerbee this way, made him want to do anything to change it. Longshot knew he would take her place in less than a heartbeat. There was nothing he wouldn't do to spare her even a fraction of the pain she was almost certainly suffering. Even if she did wake up; and that was not a guarantee, she would have to go through so much more pain to get back to where she would want to be.
What if she dies?
Knowing that that was a distinct possibility, Longshot felt himself being pulled into a deep depression.
What would I do without Smellerbee? Man what is wrong with me! Sure Bee is important to me, she always has been, but why have I started feeling like she's the thing the earth rotates around? Girls never mattered much to me before, so why since she was taken, do I feel like a hole has been ripped in my chest and will stay there until she gets better. Why do I feel like this?
Chapter 20
That evening, Jet walked into the tent to find Longshot crying softly to himself. When the archer saw him he sprung up and tried to whip away the tears, but they just kept falling.
"You know it's okay to cry Longshot. Even I've had my fair share of it, just like everyone else. I'll only be a minute. I wanted to see how she's doing." Longshot hesitated, than nodded. He hated to be seen so weak, but Jet wouldn't tell anyone. Jet walked over to sit near Smellerbee's mat. He gritted his teeth when he saw the full extent of what had been done.
The holes in her hands were starting to scab over, but not so that her hand was whole again. Instead, it was scabbing inside the hole, so that it just made it look worse. Her legs were not as bad, for they had been mending a while, but they still needed treatment for the skin around where the bone had shoved threw. But her face, there was no making prettier. The dark, red tissue, exposed to the surface in the absence of skin, made four horrible striped across her cheek bones, and down onto her neck. Because of charred skin and tissue, the healing process had not started, making the scene all the more gruesome.
"Smellerbee, we will make sure that those monsters pay, I know you can hear me, so if you want to help me out here, you just need to come on out. I know you're in pain, but we need you here, I do, The Duke does, Sneers, Pipsqueak, even Longshot. Please, you gotta come back up."
And to the amazement of both boys, Smellerbee's' breathing seemed to become more even, more easy. Not a large improvement, but a little piece of hope.
Is she going to wake up? Please let her wake up?
Longshot lunged to her side, almost knocking over a small table. He laid his hand on her arm and watched, waiting for any other signs she was going to be alright. Jet studied his friend's anxious but hopeful face carefully.
"You know, she might wake up if you talk to her Longshot. I know you can dude. You're not mute, you're just quiet. And that's something I respect, I respect you. But Smellerbee needs to hear us, her family. You're the closest person to her, and your normal method of talking obviously doesn't apply here. She loves you man, and I'm getting the feeling that you love her to." Longshot tore his eyes away from Bee for a moment to study his leader.
How does he know I can talk? I've never talked, not since what happened.
Painful memories surged through Longshot as he thought of his village, burned to the ground, everyone in it trapped. Because of him.
"Look Longshot, I get that there is a reason you don't talk, and it's probably a really good one. But Bee is in trouble. She needs you. And I know you will help her through this, because you love her." He turned to Smellerbee's still form on the palate. "Bee we need you here. You can come on out now, your safe. I've got to go. But I'll be back. Longshot's here with you." He seemed lost, like he wanted to touch her, let her know he was here for her, so he just lightly rested his hand on her shoulder. Than he left.
Jet certainly has gotten more mature the last few days.
He looked at Smellerbee, and thought, even with her injuries, he could almost see the girl inside pushing to wake up.
Do I love her? As more than a sister?
The way he has been feeling the last few days, the question didn't take long to answer.
Yes.
And with that realized, he smiled and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 21
All Smellerbee could feel was pain. The darkness had yet again proved no shelter for her.
Why can't this just be over? Why haven't they come back and killed me yet!
Smellerbee had been in the dark for almost 12 hours. True the pain had gone down drastically, but it was still more than anyone should ever have to bear, under any circumstance.
Smellerbee was seriously considering letting go of everything, just giving up, forgetting everything she cared about and just letting herself die. But then she heard a voice she couldn't quite identify….
".. Day, I found her in the garden, broken, bloodied, barely alive. It's hard; to see someone you care about hanging onto life be their nails."
At first she thought they were talking about her, but the voice continued "My mother woke up, just before the end. She's the one who told me to run. That he would kill me to is I didn't leave. So I did leave." The voice sighed "They sat they can hear you. When people talk to them, they can hear them. And sometimes, it may remind them who they are, and why they need to come back."
The confusion and annoyance Smellerbee felt distracted her from the pain enough for clear thoughts.
Why do I get the feeling they aren't talking about me? I'm nobodies mother, but who else was in this spot?
Over the next few hours, Smellerbees' attention went from pondering the half-story she had heard and the pain she felt. Every once in a while, she felt a cool, light pressure on her forearms, or her head, and when she could concentrate on it, it was more comforting than any amount of medication she had wished for.
After a while she heard the rustle of a curtain, a soft breeze a soft thud. "You know it's okay to cry Longshot. Even I've had my fair share of it, just like everyone else. I'll only be a minute. I wanted to see how she's doing." Jets voice. He and Longshot were in the room with her.
"Smellerbee, we will make sure that those monsters pay, I know you can hear me, so if you want to help me out here, you just need to come on out. I know you're in pain, but we need you here, I do, The Duke does, Sneers, Pipsqueak, even Longshot. Please, you gotta come back up." Jets voice was pleading, which alone astounded her, but him admitting that he needed her, Longshot needed her, was so shocking. It was like a breath of fresh air blew threw her, making breathing easier.
Longshot needs me. Jet needs me.
The fact made her heart soar over the pain.
I've got to get up. I can't just lie here like a tomato-carrot.
Smellerbee tried to push against the enormous weight that seemed to be holding her entire body still, but the weight only grew the more she tried.
"You know, she might wake up if you talk to her Longshot. I know you can dude. You're not mute, you're just quiet. And that's something I respect, I respect you. But Smellerbee needs to hear us, her family. You're the closest person to her, and your normal method of talking obviously doesn't apply here. She loves you man, and I'm getting the feeling that you love her to."
What the hell is Jet talking about?
There was silence, full of meaning, but no sound to be heard. "Look Longshot, I get that there is a reason you don't talk, and it's probably a really good one. But Bee is in trouble. She needs you. And I know you will help her through this, because you love her. Bee we need you here. You can come on out now, your safe. I've got to go. But I'll be back. Longshot's here with you."
Smellerbee felt a hand on her shoulder. It was warm, but she knew it wasn't Longshot. His hands here hard but gentle, while Jet's were soft and firm. Another curtain rustled as Jets footsteps faded.
The effort of pushing against the darkness seemed to drain Smellerbees energy, and as she heard Longshots breathing deepen, she followed him into sleep.
Chapter 22
Longshot woke to find Sneers staring at him from across the room. Startled, Longshot jumped back a bit in his chair, almost tipping it over.
"Man you must be tired. You usually wake up if a mouse crawls into your hut but I've been sitting here for a while and you didn't flinch." There was no joking in his tone for once, so Longshot could tell that he had seen Bee.
Longshot got up and went to join Sneers next to the bed. Sneers hand was resting on her shoulder as jets had been a few hours ago, but Sneers, unlike Jet, was obviously struggling to keep calm. Longshot sent him one quiet look and his face went completely red, and then he exploded.
"Who do those fire nation swine thin they are! No one and I mean no one should have laid a hand on her! Where is the honor in torturing a woman, much less a child! This never should have happened to her! That should be me in that bed!" the startled look Longshot sent him distracted him from his rant. "I took a rope. I'm the only one who doesn't have a wanted poster out, yet I still took a rope. One of us would still be in that bed, either way. But I got out, I got safe. She didn't" his voice was barely a whisper as he finished.
Longshot touched his shoulder, something he rarely did to anyone but Bee. Sneers looked up and Longshot shook his head. And for once Sneers understood what he was trying to say.
It wasn't your fault Sneers. I'm just as much to blame as you are. We both grabbed a rope.
Sneers breathing turned from panting, slowly down to normal. He studied Longshot for a long minute than stood. "Thank you." Looking down at Smellerbee, his fist bunched" Smellerbee come on! Don't go hiding in there, come on out! Who am I going to spar with, or talk to when I need to blow off some steam! Come on, old no sound here is going to be lousy company for me, so you got to wake up." He waited, as Longshot did, but nothing happened." Jerk." He stood and without another word, left.
Longshot sighed; Sneers could turn a conversation from caring to aggressive in a breath.
I guess he's got a point. If me, or him, or anyone else had not taken a rope, she would be alive, or rather not in a coma.
The next few hours Longshot passed changing the bandages on Smellerbees hands, face and switching her legs into a splint in hopes that the previous mending could be healed. He didn't want to have to re-brake her bone, didn't know if he could. After a while, one of the younger freedom fighters, a girl with dark brown hair and eyes the color of oak came in with a tray of food.
"Hey Longshot, hey Bee. I brought you some food. Pipsqueak made it. He asked me to bring it to you." Longshot raised an eyebrow in question and the girl looked down sadly. "He said he didn't want to see Smellerbee like this. Said if she died, he didn't want his last memory of her to be a bad one." Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked at Smellerbees still form. "Now I understand why." She set down the tray and hurried out.
Longshot peered after the girl for a long time. Even the people she didn't know well were devastated. For a girl Smellerbee had probably never said more than a few words to be crying over her said a lot. Picking up one of the bowls, Longshot sat Smellerbee up and ladled a bit into her mouth. When she swallowed, his heart skipped a beat but he forced himself to stay calm. When the bowl was empty, he set it down on the tray and retrieved the other.
Watching her as he ate, Longshot felt a small shadow of hope enter his mind. Is she could swallow, she may be getting better.
Maybe Jet is right. If I talk to her, she might get better a bit faster.
Setting down his bowl, longshot held Smellerbee's hand gently in his own. Careful not to hurt her, his sat on the bed nest to her and took a deep breath.
"Bee. It's me, Longshot. Look I know you haven't heard me talk, but I need to tell you something. I'm so sorry about this. It's my fault. You're the most important thing in the world to me and I miss you. Please come out, I need to see you smile again, to hear you laugh. I promise if you come out, I won't ever let you get hurt again, just please, please come back to me."
He watched her face, waiting for some kind of sign, anything that she was going to get better. He laid his hand against the side of her head to cradle her and sighed.
"I guess it was too much to hope for." He turned to go sit down in his chair again, but stopped short when he felt her head roll into his hand, not an accident, but like she was trying to wake up. "Bee?" She let out a soft groan and Longshot watched, his hope spreading. He waited for a long time, but when no other changes came, he sighed.
I guess I can't be too disappointed.
"Thank you. Bee your almost there. Come on, you missed dinner; wake up, all the way. Please."
It seemed hours passed, with no other changes, but as sundown passed Longshot felt himself drifting off to sleep, dreaming of her.
Chapter 23
Smellerbee had spent hours trying to open her eyes to no avail. The harder she tried, the harder it seemed to get. She had heard people, coming and going, but she didn't remember what was said. Sneers and a few others had talked to her, but she was beginning to forget the things that mattered. She could feel herself getting closer to becoming conscious, but she was still under the surface.
"Bee. It's me, Longshot. Look I know you haven't heard me talk, but I need to tell you something. I'm so sorry about this. It's my fault. You're the most important thing in the world to me and I miss you. Please come out, I need to see you smile again, to hear you laugh. I promise, if you come out, I won't ever let you get hurt again, just please, please come back to me."
Longshot.
The name rang threw her thoughts, all she could think was that he was talking to her. He missed her and cared about her. He needed her. Hearing him say it meant more to her than anything she could have ever imagined. She felt his hand against her head and heard him sigh.
"I guess it was too much to hope for." His weight shifted as if he were going to get up.
No, I'm not ready for you to leave me yet. Please.
She tried to open her eyes, to shake herself awake, but it was like she wasn't connected to her body. As he was about to stand, she made a last ditch effort and somehow managed to turn her head to the side, into his palm. The contact made her wounds burn, but she managed to ignore it, filing herself with the sensation of his hands of her face.
"Bee?" his voice was questioning and almost hopeful. She gritted her mental teeth and managed to make some sort of sound, though she wasn't sure what kind. His breath caught and she felt his hands clench a bit on her wounds. Losing her concentration, Smellerbee lost the ability to think clearly as a new wave of pain rolled through her mind, taking what seemed to be hours to quell. When she was able to think again, she heard Longshot "Thank you. Bee your almost there. Come on, you missed dinner; wake up, all the way. Please."
I'm trying Longshot! Please don't give up on me, please!
Getting a good hold on her mental veil of darkness, separating her from those she loved, and began the struggle again. It seemed to take hours, but after a while, all her thoughts began to fade and all she could remember was trying to lift the veil, not knowing why, just that it was important. As her memories fled, she gave one last final shove and opened her eyes.
Chapter 24
Where am I? God, my face, my hands! What happened?
The moonlight shown through the window and Smellerbee recognized the room as her hut, in the tree houses. As her eyesight cleared a bit, and as she got a better hold on her body she let out a weak whimper. A figure outside the light stirred and his breathing hitched.
"Who- who's there?" Trying to sound strong, Smellerbee shifted her weight towards the door instinctually, even though she knew she was in no shape to run.
The clouds parted and the figure was illuminated, and his wide brimmed hat though it hid his face she knew immediately who it was.
"Longshot? L-Longshot?" her voice escaped in a whisper and though it was almost impossible to hear, his eyes flashed open.
"Bee."
Chapter 25
As Longshot drifted, he thought of Smellerbee. The way her hair always fell in her eyes, how she laughed when he pinned Sneers to a tree with one of his arrows. Pleasant memories, but they quickly turned sour. Her agonized face filled his mind, as he thought of many explanations to what had been done to her, each more gruesome than the last. He heard her whimper and his breath caught as he saw her, holed in her hands and blood covering her face.
The scene changed again, where she was standing in that horrible garden outside the prison. A few dark figures melted out of the shadow and her voice, weak and broken rang out "Who- who's there?" He ran forwards and stood in front of his friend.
"Longshot? L-Longshot?" Her voice was much closer, and had taken a real life edge to it. His eyes flashed open and the moonlight illuminating the room reflected off of her eyes, which were barely open, but open all the same.
"Bee." The relief he felt, saying that one word and seeing her eyes flick to his face. He was at her side in a second, holding her in his arms before he could stop himself. Her breath caught, than she relaxed against him and sobbed in to his shoulder.
"It hurts. Longshot please help me it hurts." Longshot pulled away from her long enough to see that her eyes were not just open, but clouded with pain as well.
"You're going to be alright Bee. I promise." He held her close and gently cried into her hair "You're alive!"
Chapter 26
Everyone was there, in the room, and frankly, Longshot felt a bit edged out. Smellerbee had gone back to sleep, but she was still alive. Jet couldn't seem to stop grinning, The Duke was almost weak with relief, Sneers stood aside, a scowl on his face, but with a small smile tugging at his lips once in a while. Even Pipsqueak was there, his face almost frozen in a smile, soft and relieved.
When The Duke had come in to see her, he had frozen mid-step, seeing Smellerbee, eyes barely open, face pale with a pained grimace on her face. Longshot had been so absorbed in his friend, he hadn't heard him until he spoke, drawing attention to himself. "Smellerbee?" he had rushed into the room, and sat next to Longshot. Smellerbee had been concentrating on breathing, trying not to cry or pass out again, and Longshots' face. Turning to see the young boy, she tried to smile, but couldn't.
"She's doing good." Longshot looked up from his thoughts to find everyone had left, but for Jet. "I knew she wouldn't die. She's a fighter. You helped her out of it, mostly, you're the reason she's awake Longshot." He placed his hand on his friends shoulder. "Thank you." Longshot nodded and Jet left with a smile on his face.
"Longshot?" her eyes were open and fixed on him. Longshot went around the bed to stand near her head and smiled down at her in his sad, quiet way.
What is it?
" can I have a drink of water, please?" her voice was dry and her lips seemed to be cracked. Without a word, Longshot pourd a bit of the cool, clear liquid inbetween his friends lips. " thanks. I know this must be weird huh." She smiled a bit, careful not to stretch her burns.
No Bee. Its fine, really. "
"I'm sorry you have to do this for me. But I appreciate it" her eyes closed and her body relaxed into sleep again.
Don't be sorry, doing all this made me realize how I felt.
Chapter 27
As Longshot wrapped Smellerbees legs in bandages, he smiled. The wounds had set and were now healed enough to where she could walk a bit each day. Her hands had begun to heal and her burns were getting better, though they still hurt.
They will continue to hurt, until the day she dies.
"Longshot, I can do that." Smellerbee was beginning to get the movement back in her hands and Longshot could tell she enjoyed the ability to move them a bit further every day.
She almost lost her hands, I can see why.
Taking the bandages, Smellerbee continued rolling them around her ankle, up to her knee. Now a days, she never said much, always lost in her thoughts, or looking at her hands. She didn't remember anything about what happened to her, which Longshot wasn't quite sure was a bad thing.
If she doesn't remember, she won't be in as much pain.
When she was done, Smellerbee set down the empty roll and gently lifted the jar of aloe. Carefully, as not to start the bleeding again, she smeared the pungent paste onto her cheeks and winced. Watching her, Longshot thought, just a few weeks ago, she had been laying in the very same bed, him not knowing if she was going to die or not.
"Longshot?" torn from his thoughts, Longshot looked up to find Bee studying him.
Yah?
"What happened? I mean, while I was in prison. Can you tell me?"
Not much. Mostly looked for you.
Scarlet bloomed across her cheeks, making her entire face look like a cherry. "I guess I caused a lot of trouble huh. I'm sorry."
Don't be.
"It's just that I don't remember what happened, how I got these." She lifted her hands palms up, so she could see the still small hole, almost covered in skin." And maybe that's a gift, but….I don't know."
Maybe you don't remember because your body doesn't want you to.
"Yah maybe, anyways it's probably not even a bad thing. It's bound to be painful, whatever it is so I probably shouldn't even worry about it. Thanks Longshot."
He nodded and smiled at his friend, relieved she wasn't in as much pain.
Chapter28
As Smellerbee sat down, exhausted after a full days' worth of walking, she thought there was defiantly something to be said about Longshots patience. Almost all day they had walked along the bridges of the tree houses; stopping frequently for her to catch her breath.
This is torture. I don't think I can so this much longer. Maybe I should take this a bit slower.
But she knew she couldn't. Not after she had worked so hard to get where she had been before.
Hopefully that won't just be a fond, distant memory for long.
Laying herself down, Smellerbee let her thoughts drift as she dig threw her bag, careful not to hurt her hands, for her most prized possessions; her knives. Gently laying them out on the blanket, she ran her fingers along their honed edges, kept in tip top shape in case they were needed. Trying to be careful, she palmed one into her hand and slowly closed the hilt in a loose fist.
At least I can still use my hands, sort of.
Balancing it in her hand, Smellerbee adjusted her grip on the handle and flicked her wrist, releasing at just the right second to impale it perfectly in the wall. She grinned and picked up the second knife, performing an almost exact replica of the pervious move.
I still got it.
Still grinning, Smellerbee let herself fall into a deep dark sleep.
Chapter 29
When Longshot entered their hut, he found Smellerbee sleeping on her mat, tossing and turning, clutched in the troughs of a nightmare. Touching her shoulder, he felt her shrink away, cringing as if she'd been slapped. She mumbled something, her voice frightened and pained. Shaking her softly, Longshot tried to wake her up but she pulled away, soft tears running down her face. Giving up, Longshot sat next to her and held her hand until the tremors ceased and his friends' body became still, but for her breathing.
I hope she doesn't remember this one when she wakes up.
Stroking her hair, he pulled the blankets up around her shoulders, and whipped her hair from her damp forehead. Lying down on his mat, he watched his friend sleep, her eyelids fluttering with silent pictures flashing across her mind's screen.
I wonder what she sees in her sleep. Am I in her dreams?
Moving that thought aside, he turned himself over and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. For hours it seemed, his thoughts wondered time, thinking of her. The gruesome state he had found her in cane into his head again and again, refusing to be suppressed.
She may not remember, but I know I won't ever get that image out of my head.