Daughter of Flame
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The cry of a baby broke the silent night. The man pacing wildly outside his wife's room whirled to the door at the sound. Golden eyes locked onto the handle and stayed there. The seconds turned into hours until the handle turned. To the man waiting there, it seemed an age before the door opened to reveal the midwife's assistant. "Well?" he demanded. "Can I see her?"
"Yes, sir!" the woman told him, standing aside. "Come in, come in!"
Each step felt as though his feet were made of lead, but he walked into the room. Unlike the hallway, it was brightly lit by the sunlight streaming in through the open window. Gentle scents of jasmine, lavender, and chamomile filled the room. The man took a deep breath, feeling his nerves settle. And then a gentle, sweet voice called from the bed, "Lu Ten!"
Immediately, his eyes flew to the bed and the woman who lay there. "Lang!" he cried, racing to her side. Anxiously, he ran his hands over her face, her hair… only when he was satisfied that the turn of her full mouth was a smile and not a grimace of pain and the light in her eyes was real did Lu Ten turn his attention to her arms.
Those arms held the source of the cry and now the source of Lu Ten's greatest joy. Lang giggled. She lifted the bundle in her arms up to him. "Meet your daughter." Lu Ten took the bundle, holding her tenderly, as softly as he knew how. He sat on the bed next to Lang; she pulled the cloth away to reveal a red, wrinkly face. Her eyes were shut, but he knew from the cry earlier that she was perfectly fine.
"She's beautiful," he breathed, bending down to kiss her black hair. She was dark, like her mother, not pale like him, but he wondered what color her eyes were. "Little one, open your eyes." She yawned. One little hand wormed its way out from under the blanket. Lu Ten touched her fingers, and her eyes popped open. His breath left him. Gold. They were gold, like his! "Look at you, little one," he breathed. Sitting up, he leaned over until he could bump his shoulder against Lang's. A daughter. He had a daughter…
"Lu Ten!" a man's shout came from outside. Lu Ten cursed under his breath and snorted when Lang's elbow jammed into his arm. "Lu Ten!" Snarling, Lu Ten passed his little girl off to Lang and rose from the bed.
"What?" he hollered in a whisper. A man in brown and green armor of an Earth Kingdom soldier appeared in the doorway. Lu Ten grabbed him by his pauldrons and snarled, "Keep your voice down, there's a baby!" The man stammered out an apology in an exaggerated whisper. Satisfied, the prince released him, crossed his arms, and glared. "What is it?"
The soldier bowed with his fists crossed over his chest. "We've heard that your father has summoned you. He said to tell you it was urgent." His voice shook on the word urgent, and his bow wavered as a wave of heat flowed through the room. Lu Ten covered his face with his hands. On this day, his father had to summon him? Could the war not wait for one day?
Even as he thought it, he knew it couldn't. As much as he hated it, his country and Lang's were still at war. It would not wait for neither day nor moment. It was time to face reality once more. "Tell my father I will be along shortly," he said with a long sigh. "And say nothing of this. Not a word, not a breath. Do you understand?" He would not risk his daughter's safety, nor Lang's. If anyone from the Fire Nation knew they were here… No, he wouldn't risk anyone knowing. Not even his own father. Having even this one soldier, an Earth Kingdom soldier at that, knowing they were here, was enough risk!
"Yes, sir," the soldier said quickly. Lu Ten nodded, and the man beat feet from the room as quickly as he could. As soon as he was gone, the Fire Nation prince sighed deeply.
"Lang, love," he said, turning around. When he laid eyes on her face, he realized he need not say more. Ever since they'd met, that day by the river, she had understood. She knew the risks he took for her, for them. In spite of it all, she was willing to love him, to be with him. Lang had borne him a daughter! "I love you," he said instead.
"I know," she answered, holding out an arm. "I know you have to hurry, Lu Ten, but come and see your daughter for a moment longer." Not needing to be told twice, Lu Ten came and sat by her side once more. His large, pale hands dwarfed hers when he set them over them and held their daughter with her. Lang leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "We'll be fine, you know," she told him. The surety in her voice was no lie. She would be all right. Of that he had no doubt. Lu Ten only wished he could be all right with them! If only this curst war would end! Lang's fingers squeezed his. "For just a moment longer, think of peace, my love. Think of a name for our little girl!"
That was an easy decision to make. Lu Ten leaned over the baby's wrinkly face, kissed her forehead, and whispered, "Azarah." A Fire Nation name for a child born of two kingdoms. "Azarah, my darling…" He kissed her forehead again. "I have to go now, but I'll be back." Lu Ten sat up again to kiss Lang. "I'll be back when I can. I promise." She smiled.
"I know. Be safe."
"Always." Without another word, knowing he would never go if he tried to speak again, Lu Ten rose and left the room.
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"Papa!" a five-year-old Azarah screamed as Lu Ten pushed the gate open. The ostrich horses squawked as she bolted past them. "Papa, pick me up!" The Fire Nation prince obliged, snagging his little princess around the waist. Up she went over his head; he spun her around while she squealed with laughter.
"There you are!" Lang called from the door. "I was wondering when you'd show!" Lu Ten swung Azarah up to his shoulders, where she settled down easily. He kept his hands on her ankles to hold her steady as he went to Lang. She hugged him tight, her smile small but powerful against his chest. "I'm so glad you're home."
Azarah bounced on his shoulders, done with the lovey dovey stuff already. "Papa, Papa!" she cried. "Put me down, I wanna show you something!" Laughing, Lang and Lu Ten separated and he swung his daughter down to the ground. "Lookit me, Papa!" Her eyebrows came down, her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth, and she punched the air. A sound like a small thunderclap sounded, and a tiny flame shot from her fist. Lu Ten froze, and Lang grinned.
"Didn't know she'd inherit that from your father, did you?" she teased. "I told her you'd teach her some forms when you came back."
His daughter grabbed his hand. "Please, Papa, please! Teach me something!" Lu Ten smiled.
"All right, all right. Come on, let's go behind the house, where there's more room." Holding her hand, he walked around the house. As usual, he walked past Lang's gardens, and he couldn't help but smile. The flowers this time of year were always so vibrant. Azarah giggled as she trotted along with him. Lu Ten smiled down at her. "Here we go, my darling," he said at last. "Now, do you know what it was you did?"
"Mama said it was called… 'bending'?" Azarah's face screwed up in confusion at the word. "It means I can do stuff with fire, right?"
"Exactly. It means you can do stuff with fire." Lu Ten ruffled her hair. "Now, listen to me very carefully. Where does the fire come from?"
"Inside me?"
The Fire Prince nodded. "Yes, it comes from inside you. How do you feel when you do it?"
Azarah thought about it. "I think… happy?" she asked more than said.
"That's good," Lu Ten told her. "Fire shouldn't come from anger. If you get mad, or hurt, or frustrated, don't look for your fire. You won't like what happens when you use it that way."
"Only use it when I'm happy?" Azarah wondered. "But what about when the kids are mean to me? I can't use it on them?"
Lu Ten felt his heart drop at her words. She didn't say 'if' the kids were mean… She said 'when'. How often were the other children in the village mean to her? To his little girl? "No, darling, don't use your fire on them." He reached down and scooped her up again. "If you do, are you any different?" Azarah thought about it, frowning. At long last, she shook her head. "Good. Remember that."
"I will, Papa. I promise."
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Twelve-year-old Azarah threw her arms around her father's waist. "Papa, do you have to go?
Lu Ten hugged her back. "I'm sorry, my love," he told her as he kissed her hair. "But I can't stay." She stepped back and pouted. The Fire Prince rubbed his nose. "I know, darling. I wish I could stay, too." Lu Ten reached into his pocket. "Azarah," he said. "I have something for you." She whirled around, anger forgotten. "You do? What is it? Lemme see!" Brown hands reached out, and her parents laughed. Lu Ten knelt down. He loved giving gifts to his little girl! No matter what it was, she always got so very excited! He held a box out and set it in her hands. Azarah took it, stepped back, and opened it with slow, trembling hands. Lu Ten held his breath. He'd had it made specially for her, because he knew how much it hurt her to have him go away all the time.
The top of the box came off, and Azarah pulled out her gift. A pendant of silver fell into her hand. Azarah squealed. "Papa, it's beautiful!"
"Open it."
"Hm?" Turning it over in her hands, she realized that it had a slit in the side. "Oh, a locket!" It opened easily. Azarah gasped. In it was a tiny, painstakingly painted picture of her parents on one side. On the other was a man with dark hair and a beard. He had her father's eyes and smile.
"That is your Papa Iroh," Lu Ten told her. "Your grandfather. Someday, when I can come home for good, I want you to meet him." Azarah bit her lip, her eyes wet. "I'll come home for good soon, my dearest," he promised, gathering her up in his arms. A lump in his throat stopped the rest of his words. He hated leaving her and her mother. He wanted so badly to simply stay and be the father she deserved, the husband Lang needed!
Curse this war…
"I'll be home soon," he promised them. "I love you both."
"Be safe," Lang told him. Lu Ten hugged her tightly to him with Azarah squished between them. "Please, my love, be safe."
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"General Iroh," the soldier said brokenly. "I'm… I'm so sorry, sir. Your son… The battle…" Iroh covered his ears, but he still heard those damning words. "Your son, Lu Ten… He died."