A/N: Belated Birthday present for my good friend, AStormIsBrewing. Happy Birthday! And I hope you don't mind that I used your character from the Lu Ten Saga. )
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or Beaches of Cheyenne by Garth Brooks
Dr. Lin had waited for news from Ba Sing Sae for a month while she worked on returning soldiers. Many had lost legs, arms or eyes to the terrible earth benders while fighting the barbarians to spread the peace and prosperity of the Fire Nation. The siege of the great walled city had lasted nearly a year and she had had many letters from Prince Lu Ten in that time. Her prince.
They
packed up all his buckles
And shipped his saddle to his dad
And
by the way the house looked
She must have took it bad.
The
workers come on monday
To fix the door and patch the wall.
They
say she just went crazy
The night she got the call.
In the last letter, he had told her that he was weary of war, tired of the constant battling, killing and barely surviving. How so many of his comrades and friends had died next to him, and that he was barely hanging on, despair taking hold of him. He was even questioning the need for war, and why they needed to fight the other nations. He told of how he longed to be home, with her, with his family and make a home with her. To leave everything behind, his title, her work and find their own way away from the war torn world.
He
was up in wyoming
And drew a bull no man could ride.
He
promised her he'd
turn out
Well it turned out that he lied.
And their dreams that
they'd been living
In the california sand
Died right there
beside him in cheyenne.She
had been furious and sent a quick retort back, saying that it was his
own father and grandfather that had led him to that point, that
marvelous point of being a commander under his father, the great
General Iroh. And that he was going to be able to see the fall of the
Earth Kingdom firsthand. And it was for them and his country that he
was fighting. He should have been as proud as his comrades were proud
to fight and die for what they knew to be right. He should be proud
to die for his country as well.
They
say she just went crazy
Screaming out his name
She ran out into
the ocean
And to this day they claim
That if you go down by the
water
You'll see her footprints in the sand
cause every night
she walks the beaches of cheyenne
Lin was now sorry she had sent the letter. There had been no reply from Lu Ten in the past two weeks, which had been more than enough time for two replies. After she finished her shift and said her goodbyes to the nurses and several of her patients, she went to the beach and stared out to the east as the sun started to set behind the dormant volcano behind her. After a few minutes of staring at the darkening sky, she heard someone running down the beach towards her. Rising, she turned and saw an intern nurse running towards her with a scroll in her hand. Lin took the scroll and waited until the intern had disappeared back to the hospital before unrolling the scroll and reading it. Her hands shook as she read the letter before dropping it into the sand and running into the waves.
They
never found her body
Just her diary by her bed
It told about
the fight they had
And the words that she had said.
When he
told her he was riding
She
said then I don't give a damn
If you never come back from
cheyenne.
Dr. Lin never returned from the beach. When she was reported missing, a search was made, but only the letter was found in the sand from where the intern had last seen her. The magistrate read the letter as he walked back to the doctors' apartment. Everywhere were letters to and from Prince Lu Ten, recently killed in the siege of Ba Sing Sae. As the magistrate looked at the stack of letters on the doctors' desk, he even found plans for a house and possibly a wedding, sanctioned of course by the also recently deceased Fire Lord Azulon.
Nobody
can explain it
Some say she's
still alive
They even claim they've seen her
On the shoreline
late at night.
So if you go down by the water
You'll see her
footprints in the sand
cause every night she walks the beaches of
cheyenne.
Puzzling out what could have happened to the promising doctor, Magistrate Chin Sang returned to the beach as the sun set. Shockingly there were footprints in the sand. They were small, in the shape of doctor's boots and walked to where he had found the letter. Then the footprints were running into the ocean. The footprints had not been there when he had found the letter at noon, but they were there now. The magistrate opened up the letter he had found there and read it again. Inside the scroll was a simple letter written by the prince. It said goodbye and I love you, and also that Doctor Lin had been right. He was proud. Along with the simple love note was a letter saying that the prince had died at the siege of Ba Sing Sae. Magistrate Chin Sang looked out at the ocean. It was simple. The doctor had followed her prince to the spirit world, but it looked as if her spirit would never rest because of her last letter.
Every
night she walks the beaches of cheyenne.