WARNING! EVERYTHING BENEATH OR PAST THIS LINE IS BEING REWRITTEN BECAUSE THE AUTHOR HATES IT! WILL BE UPDATED BY THE END OF AUGUST I SWEAR! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK~
Greetings, earth-dwellers! I've decided to make this Chocolate Orchid's Inaugural Fanfiction-Hosted Saga!
(Because I like fancy words)
So, before we delve into the tale, I would like to point out that this takes place during Book Two: Chapter Seven – Zuko Alone, as you can probably tell by the chapter title. The only change I made is that instead of running into an eight-year-old boy, he runs into… well, you'll have to read and see.
This story will follow the original A:tLA plot up to a certain point; I might change some minor details. Not by much. Just some dialogue/a short scene I find pointless or something similar to that. Besides the addition of an OC, this is STRICTLY CANON. Or at least, strictly canon with a tiny, bitsy bit of personal Gaang romantic preference. *Cough Tokka Cough* (For those of you that don't like it, it's only if you really squint in waaaaaaay later chapters. Plus I really don't like Suki, so I refuse to write Sukka or Soki or whatever you want to call it)
Enough of my incessant rambling! On to the disclaimer!
I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I don't own Zuko either, as much as I want to. Spirits, I don't even own half of the dialogue in this chapter since it's based on Zuko Alone. I hate using other people's words, but it had to be done.
Claimer!
I own Quinfen Xu, what she says, thinks, her necklace, and, of course, her wonderful ostrich-horse named Harvey.
Chapter One: Zuko's Not So Alone
Quinfen walked through the mostly empty streets of her small, Earth Kingdom town as the sun beat down on her tanned skin. A small handful of coins jingling in her pocket made her more wary than usual; the poor would do almost anything for money and the 'soldiers' that protected them liked nothing more than taking it away. She technically could defend herself, but her particular means to do so were forbidden in excess by her mother. That, and if she demonstrated them she would be executed on the spot.
She walked up to the vendor – a man named Hui – as a band of soldiers gambled behind her.
"Hello, Quin," Hui said, looking back to the inventory section of the small store. "The usual?"
"Yes, but could you throw in an extra bag of feed? One of the pig-sheep broke its leg and can't graze."
"Right away."
As he disappeared into the back of the store a man rode up behind her on a scraggly ostrich-horse. She threw back a glance, seeing the young man. He had a scar across the left side of his face, but his hair was obscured by a cone-shaped hat. He was well built and rather handsome, she noted as he dismounted. Turning back around, she straightened her olive green vest and the brownish-yellow, long sleeved shirt beneath. Both were short; only covering half of her torso, and she instantly felt self-conscious about the man undoubtedly looking at her.
"Here you are, Quin," Hui said, putting three sacks of feed, a loaf of bread, and a green and red necklace out in front of her. She eyed the necklace curiously.
"I can't afford that, Hui," she said with a sad smile; the necklace was beautiful. It was the symbol of Yin and Yang, the Yin being made of what appeared to be emerald and the Yang of ruby.
"I know; it just matches your… unique heritage," he almost whispered the last part of his sentence, glancing to the soldiers behind them. "I got it for free from a trader down in the colonies who just wanted to be free of it, and thought you might like it."
"I can't accept-"
"I won't get a buyer out here anyway. Just take it; you'll thank me some day."
"I'll thank you now," she said with a grin, fastening it behind her neck and tucking the charm below the collar of her high-necked shirt. She then moved out of the way with her bags of feed and bread so the man behind her could order. However, as she set the coins on the table and began to walk away, one of the soldiers blocked her way.
"Ma'am, the army is hungry."
"That is a shame," she retorted evenly, trying to sound as dignified and aloof as she could. "I'm sure the general will send your salary soon so that you may buy food for your men."
"Our coins will not arrive for another week."
"I apologize for the tardiness of your income. Perhaps the Earth King's subordinates will be more prompt with deliveries in the future, but I really must be going. Good day."
"We're asking for your donation to our cause."
"I politely refuse."
"It isn't an option," the soldier replied, making to grab her food. As he moved forward, however, the man who was behind her in line pulled out a sword and stuck it in-between the two Earth Kingdom citizens.
"Strangers are fighting your battles now, Xu?" the soldier asked with a smirk. "You might be a fine girl, but you aren't that pretty."
"Back away from her," the man said, now drawing the second half of his double sword and using the flat of the blade to gently push Quin backwards.
"You aren't worth the energy, stranger," the soldier spat before walking away. The man moved back to the vendor, taking two bags of feed and some water before remounting his ostrich-horse. Quin quickly grabbed the reins to prevent him from taking off.
"Thanks for what you did back there," she said, a light blush forming on her cheeks.
"No problem," he replied, urging his ostrich-horse forward. She pulled backward on the bridle, halting the beast in its tracks yet again.
"Hey, how about you come back to my parent's farm? We could get you and your ostrich-horse a meal in return for your help."
The man sighed and nodded as the girl drug his animal forward. "I'm Quinfen Xu, Quin if you prefer."
"You a friend of Quin's?" her father, a man named Gonsu, asked as the man walked up to the farm behind her.
"He needed a place to rest," Quin clarified. "And he stood up to the soldiers downtown."
"Impressive," her mother said with a nod before turning to the man. "Do you have a name?"
"I'm… uh…"
"A man doesn't have to share his name if he doesn't want to, Sela," Quin's father said to his wife. "He's welcome here, name or not, for standing his ground against those Earth Kingdom soldiers. The real men are fighting the Fire Nation, like my son, Sensu."
"Supper's almost ready," Sela said, changing the subject and adressing the man. "Would you like to have some?"
"I need to be moving on," he replied, too proud to take the family's food.
"Gonsu could use some help on the barn," she continued. "Why don't you two work for a while, then we'll eat?"
The man paused, but then grudgingly agreed at the fierce growling of his stomach.
"It's this way," Gonsu said, guiding him to their left. "We're just re-shingling a part of the roof."
"I don't see why I can't help," Quin sighed to her father as the two men climbed up the ladder and started working on the roof of the old building. The man picked up the hammer, and after examining it for a few seconds, began to unskillfully pound the nails into the wooden frame of the barn.
"Because you're a young lady," her father reminded her as he worked.
"Are people like that where you're from?" she asked the man.
"Yes and no."
"Where would that be?"
"Don't ask the man personal questions," her father said. "A man's past is his own business."
"Okay."
There were a few minutes of silence, during which the man hit his thumb with the hammer twice. He refused to gasp in pain, though; he only grimaced before trying again. Quin sighed and climbed up the top of the ladder, sitting down next to him and taking the hammer away.
"Hey!" he protested. "I'm using that!"
"You're doing it wrong. Hold it like this, not like… a sword," she said while demonstrating. She handed it back and jumped down from the roof before her father could reprimand her, dusting off her poofy, olive green pants.
"I'm sorry about her," Gonsu said after she was called inside by her mother. "Ever since her older brother went off to fight she's been trying to prove that she's just as good at working around the farm as he was."
Zuko didn't reply, merely readjusting his hold on the tool and driving the nail into the roof.
oOo~oOo~(The Line Break Wasn't Working Here)~oOo~oOo
"Quin," her mother said from inside. "Can you come help me find the spark rock?"
"Sure, Mother," she sighed, walking into the kitchen. Her mother had been starting a fire in their old-fashioned wood stove, but dropped a spark rock underneath it on accident. She was currently stretched out on the floor, fishing around beneath the oven blindly. Sela turned to her daughter thankfully.
"Can you reach it? I think I felt it a bit to my right, but it squirted out from beneath my fingers. I need to get the fire started if I ever want to cook dinner."
"I could start the fire myself," Quin said with a shrug.
"You are not to use that devil-bending in this house, do you hear me?" Sela hissed, her good mood changing dramatically.
"It isn't my fault Grandpa was a firebender."
"Quinfen, if the men in the village hear of that, do you know what they would do to you?"
"Rip me limb from limb," she recited with a sigh. "But Hui knows and he's fine with it."
"Hui is a family friend who found out by accident when you were seven and obviously not a threat. The other men won't take it so lightly."
"But it isn't like I work for the Fire Nation, so I don't see why I can't just start a little cooking fire or something."
"You are never to use it, no matter what for. Agreed?"
"Yes, Mother," she said in defeat, pulling the spark rock out from underneath the stove. Sela nodded in approval, setting the kindling aflame.
Dinner was passed mainly in silence, and afterwards the man was offered a space to rest in the barn. Quin retired to her room, but sleep evaded her.
It's pretty strange to get visitors in town, she thought, lying awake in her bed. He must not know the area well; there isn't anything for miles outside this place.
I wonder how he got that scar. He isn't a very skilled hired hand, so it seems fair to rule out a work accident. Or maybe it makes it more likely, depending on how you look at it. Maybe he stood up to someone who actually fought back, not like those weaklings in the village. I bet he's some sort of vigilante, roaming the countryside and fighting the evils of the world.
That's pretty hot.
So is he.
Okay, okay. Not thinking like a lop-eared rabbit in spring. Just think about something else. Anything else.
I can't believe Mother keeps lecturing me about my bending. It isn't like I can do anything more than start a brush fire. I might as well know the enemy's tactics well enough to beat them if – when – they get to this hole-in-the-wall town.
Her mind made up, she placed her pillow under the covers in case her parents checked on her, as they were known to do. Quietly, she crept out of her room, down the hall, and out to the sunflower field.
Zuko awoke from his restless sleep with the feeling that something was out of the ordinary. He had gotten the feeling a few times before, usually a few minutes before someone tried to assassinate him. He took his sword off the wall and started moving outside slowly.
Is that… fire? He thought as he saw flashes of light from the nearby field. No, it can't be. That light's green.
He silently drew closer to the field and saw Quin, who was punching the air with the occasional small flame spouting from her fists. The flames, however, were the exact hue of her eyes; a vibrant light green.
"You're doing it wrong," he said from behind her, causing her to stumble and fall down. She immediately picked herself up and brushed herself off, crossing her arms angrily.
"And you know the right way any better?" she grumbled. "We're at the crossroads of Dirt and Mud. There isn't exactly a firebending academy anywhere nearby."
"I get around," he responded, slightly regretting saying anything to her. "You're thinking of fire as a crude weapon. It's an extension of your body, of your soul."
"Care to give me a demonstration?" she asked hopefully.
"No."
"Are you saying that you don't firebend? I swear I won't tell if you do."
He remained silent; an act which she decided was a conformation of his abilities.
"Please?"
"I don't want to burn down your field," he replied.
"Come on," she said. "Just a little bit?"
Zuko didn't answer. Deciding that two could play his game, she went back to training. He went a little over ten seconds before he couldn't resist correcting her.
"Your form is off. You could fall over with one solid blow. Stand like you know what you're doing, whether you do or not."
"Well, I don't have any idea what I'm doing. I mean, I've been practicing in secret for years, but I don't really know how to control it. Or how to make anything more than a spark. You clearly think you know what you're talking about; how about you give me a few pointers?"
Zuko sighed in annoyance, but gave her a sharp nod and spoke, remembering a lecture that his uncle had given him more than a dozen times, but he had mever taken to heart. "Power comes from the breath. You're trying to force the fire out of you. It needs to come to you as easily as breathing."
She tried another combination of punches, the flame spouting from her outstretched fist with a slight bit more power. He shook his head.
"No. Your attacks are only half-hearted at best. Now do it again, but actually try."
Zuko's fifteen-minute long tutelage session proved to be exhausting, as by the end she was panting heavily.
"I said pointers, not full-blown workout," she groaned, her dark, reddish-brown bangs falling over her eyes as she braced herself against a dead tree.
"You improved," he said. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess. I still suck, though."
"You aren't bad for someone with so little training. You should go to one of the colonies and learn from an expert."
"I can't. Mom would kill me if I even suggested leaving. She doesn't exactly support my bending," she said with a yawn before her eyes met his, gratitude displayed across her face. "I should get back to bed. See you in the morning?"
"Yeah, sure," Zuko replied as he saw her disappear into the darkness.
"This should get you through a few days," Sela said as she gave Zuko a package of food the next morning. He nodded thankfully as a cloud of dust in the distance caught the family's attention. As it grew closer they saw that it was composed of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Quin cast a quick, accusing glance over to Zuko, who shook his head slightly. She nodded in relief before squinting at the cloud and seeing the figures of five soldiers on ostrich-horses, racing towards them.
"What do you think they want?" Gonsu asked, not noticing the two teenagers' nonverbal exchange.
"Trouble," Zuko replied.
The men approached, sneers plastered across all off their faces.
"What do you want, Gow?" Gonsu asked the lead soldier.
"Just thought I should tell you; your son's battalion has been captured. You boys hear what they did with the last batch of soldiers they got?"
"Dressed them up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the front lines unarmed," one soldier replied with a laugh, spitting on the ground at Quin's feet. Zuko saw her start to shake with rage out of the corner of his eye. "Not like any farm hand knows how to wield a man's weapon in the first place. I doubt he's still standing."
"Watch your mouth, bastard," she said angrily. Gow raised an eyebrow and rode his ostrich-horse closer, but was cut off by Zuko, who had moved in-between the two. The man glared at Zuko for a second, sizing him up, before turning away.
"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" he said with another sneer before riding away. Zuko glanced down at the girl behind him, still trembling, but this time in fear.
"Sensu," she murmured, barely audible. She wrapped her arms around her chest and Zuko noticed her red and green necklace, the charm right beneath her collarbone.
Isn't that Grandfather Sozin's lost necklace?
No, it can't be. She's just some girl in a po-dunk Earth Kingdom town.
A girl who can firebend…
"I'm going to find Sensu and bring him back," Gonsu announced, interrupting Zuko's thoughts and embracing his wife. She burst out into tears and raced inside, her husband quick to follow.
"I take it you aren't staying?" Quin asked Zuko, who was looking at her parents in slight interest and confusion.
"No. I have to move on," he replied. She looked at him slightly and felt something curl up inside of her; an undescribeable urge to do something to make him at least remember her. She felt cold stone touch her neck and saw her necklace, an idea forming.
"Before you go, I want you to take something," she said with a half-smile, unfastening her necklace and handing it to him. "As a memento."
He took the necklace delicately, then tucked it into a pouch on his saddle. As he did, he dropped his sheathed dagger onto the dirt. Giving her a brief nod, he spurred his ostrich-horse off towards the plains.
"Wait, you dropped your- oh, forget it. Just go ahead and leave," she said, rolling her eyes and taking a step towards the barn. After a second of consideration, however, she tucked the blade into her belt with a slight smile.
"Quin, what are you doing?" Sela asked her daughter, who was twirling the knife on the table.
"Nothing," she sighed, quickly covering the dagger. A harsh knock on the door called her mother away from interrogating her, despite the 'we'll talk about this later' look that the girl received. Sela opened the door to see a band of soldiers, all of them smiling malevolently.
"Hello, Ma'am. The army requests a noble donation."
"I'm sorry, we don't have enough food to spare," Sela replied, attempting to close the door. The man stuck his foot inside, opening the door back up.
"We weren't talking about food, Ma'am," he replied, casting a hungry glance at Quin.
"In your dreams, pervert," she snorted, putting a hand on the knife subconsciously.
"Let's make it a date, sweetheart," he said, shoving past Sela to get to her. Before he could get there, Quin drew her knife and held it as threateningly as she could, a strand of hair falling out of her ponytail and into her eyes.
"Oh, I'm so scared," the soldier laughed, looking at the short knife. "I have a weapon bigger than that in my-"
A burst of lime-green flame came from Quin's free hand, scorching the man's beard. All four of the men stared at her blankly for a second before storming through the door and attacking in full force. She saw her mother race out the door, and was thankful that she wouldn't have to aim around her – not that she had much of an ability to aim at all.
Extension of my soul… Power from my breath... extension of my soul… she repeated to herself mentally as she inhaled deeply and threw another ball of fire at the men. It set one of the soldier's hats ablaze, but before she could celebrate her arm was enclosed in stone, her other quick to follow.
"Damn," she hissed. Gow earth-bent the stones so her hands were encased in earthen gloves, connected like handcuffs. He also manipulated the earth so the dagger was pried from her fingers and into his hands.
"We have a special little firebug here, now don't we?" Gow asked rhetorically, examining her weapon as two soldiers shoved her forward, out the door of the small house. "Take her to the village square."
"You have to help," Sela yelled to Zuko, who she found napping by a stream. "The soldiers came back after Gonsu left and Quin pulled a knife on them! I don't
even know where she got it! The men took her to the village square to execute her!"
"What else did she do?" "Zuko said, moving over to his ostrich-horse.
"She attacked them with the knife, I told you that! Now hurry, please!"
"You don't get executed for drawing a knife on a soldier," Zuko said, mounting the creature. "So what else did she do?"
The woman didn't respond and he nodded in understanding.
"She firebent at them," Zuko finished to her surprise, kicking his ostrich horse in the sides to spur it towards town. He fingered the necklace she had given him, which he had moved to his neck as soon as he was out of sight of the village. "I'll get your daughter back."
"Well, we've decided to let you go out the way you came in; burning," Gow said to Quin, who was bound to a post in the center of the village while many of the villagers looked on in disbelief and horror. She was concentrating on not trembling in fear, despite the fact that she was terrified. He gestured to the spark rocks he found in the house and the wood piled at her feet. "Any last words?"
Quin's only response was to spit in the soldier's face, to which he laughed.
"It's going to be fun to watch you blister, traitor."
Before he could click the two rocks together, a thump distracted him. Turning around, Gow saw Zuko using the hilt of his sword to knock a soldier out. Quin smiled to herself.
"Thank the Spirits," she murmured as her heart melted in relief and Gow and the other four soldiers moved into formation.
"Let the girl go," Zuko said.
"Who do you think you are, stranger?" one soldier asked.
"That doesn't matter. I know who you are, though. You aren't soldiers, you're tyrants. Freeloaders. You abuse your power over women and children. Why burn an innocent girl because of abilities that can help your army?"
"Are you going to let that boy stand there and insult you like that?" Gow asked. One of the soldiers raced at him, Zuko knocking him backwards with the hilt of his sword. The next three came one by one, each one being defeated by nothing more than a well planted kick or punch.
"That's enough of that," Gow said, drawing his hammers.
As the two men fought, Sela moved towards her daughter and began untying her from the pole. As the ropes around the girl were cast away, an attack from Gow sent Zuko flying backwards.
"No. Get up…" Quin whispered when he didn't stand back up right away. A few seconds passed and Gow's grin widened. He moved over towards the fallen man, his hammers drawn and ready to strike. Before he could, however, Zuko lunged to his feet and let loose an inferno of bright orange flame that sent Gow to the ground. As soon as the conflagrations around him died down slightly, he sent blasts of fire at the soldier, propelling him backwards into a wall. Rubble piled around the man, trapping him under wood and rock.
"W-who are you?" Gow asked weakly.
"My name is Zuko, son of Princess Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne."
"Liar!" a man from the crowd shouted. "I've heard of you! Your own father gave you that scar and disowned you!"
A banished prince? Quin thought, raising an eyebrow as her mother finished untying the cords and embraced her. That's even better than a vigilante.
Zuko didn't respond, but instead took the blade from the cowering combatant and moved towards Quin and her mother.
"Not a step closer," Sela said, shoving Quin behind her. Zuko halted, but extended the dagger to her.
"It's yours; you should have it," he said.
"Get away from my daughter!" Sela yelled, dragging Quin away from the man. Quin glanced back, only to see Zuko riding away on his ostrich-horse, towards the setting sun.
You improved… You aren't bad for someone with so little training … Prince of the Fire Nation…You should learn from an expert… expert… expert…
"Ach!" Quin said, bolting upright in her bed. She had been tossing and turning sleeplessly for a few hours, and the memories full of Zuko's voice were not making it any easier.
Maybe I should go to the colonies. I do want to train my bending. I want to be someone who can help my country in this war.
And I think I know the perfect way to do it.
She crept out of her bedroom as silently as ever, stopping only to throw a few clothes into her olive-colored sack and scribble a quick note to leave on her pillow. She then snuck into the kitchen and grabbed a few days' worth of food, sticking it in a spare saddlebag she found. After securing a leather water satchel, she went out to the barn.
"Shh, Harvey, shh,"she said to her elderly ostrich-horse as he squawked. She strapped both of her bags to his back and mounted him as quickly as possible, spurring him out the open barn doors and towards the western plains and the rising moon.
Sela awoke the next morning to a silent house. since Sensu had left a year ago, the house was rarely quiet. Quin cooked breakfast fairly early to busy herself, which usually consisted of a hearty amount of clanking pots and pans. She shook her head with a sigh; Quin must be sleeping in – she had been through a lot in the past few days.
Sela looked sadly to the sunken-in part of the mattress her husband usually occupied. Shaking her head to banish mournful memories, she walked out of her room and began busying herself in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for herself and her daughter.
As soon as the rooster pig's eggs were properly fried, she let herself into her daughter's room.
"Quin," she began, then realized that the room was vacant. "Quin?"
She saw a half-folded piece of paper on the pillow and opened it nervously. As Sela read the fifteen sloppily-jotted words, she felt tears welling up in her eyes and choked back a sob.
I've gone to fulfill my destiny and learn firebending. I love you. Don't stop me.
There you have it, folks, Chapter One of The Jade Dragon.
Next Week = How will she manage to find Zuko? How will her react to having an unwanted student? And most importantly - how will Iroh deal with her stunning admission?
What is this admission, you ask? Wait 'til next weekend and see in Chapter Two ~ Chasing Bittersweet