Nari of The Earth Kingdom
As I walked home from shopping in the village a few miles away I noticed an ostrich horse standing beside a large pile of rocks. I walked over to see what was going on and froze in horror. There was a hand sticking up out of the pile of rocks. I dropped the bags I had been carrying and rushed over to the pile using my earth bending to move the rocks. Under all of the stone and dirt there was a dark haired boy with a big scar over his left eye. Checking his pulse I was relieved to find that he was still alive. I looked through the bags on his ostrich horse and found a large blanket tying it to the saddle. I carefully used my earth bending to put the boy on the part of the blanket that hung down on the ground. Getting on the ostrich horse I headed off toward my house making sure that the boy stayed on the blanket. We walked slowly so that he wouldn't hit rocks to hard. When we reached the river that lead across to my house I made an earth bridge, so that he wouldn't go through the water.
"Dad, I need help!" I called as soon as I got to the front door. My father rushed out and helped me take the boy inside to our guest room. My mother gave me some medicine to give him and for the next two days I sat beside his bed and tended to him. He finally woke up on the third day and we were all relieved.
"What's your name?" My little sister asked that night as he ate dinner with us.
"Tao, leave the boy alone." Mother said sternly. We ate in silence and the boy went back to his room. Later that night I woke up to the sound of someone opening the front door. I walked out of my room and saw the boy walk outside.
"What are you doing?" I asked running up to him and grabbing his arm. He turned around and glared at me but I didn't let go.
"You can't leave yet. Your wounds aren't healed enough for you to be riding your ostrich horse." I said firmly. After staring at me for a few minutes he sighed and we walked back to the house.
"May I ask what your name is?" I asked as he walked back into his room.
"Zuko." He replied flatly.
"I'm Nari." I said with a faint smile.
"Where am I?" He asked looking up at me.
"You're in the earth kingdom. I found you buried under a bunch of rocks three days ago." I said sitting on the bed beside him.
"How did you get me here?" He asked.
"I'm an earth bender, so it wasn't hard for me to get the rocks off of you. I went through your bags and found a blanket and tied it to your ostrich horses saddle. He did most of the work." I said.
"Well, I'm going to bed." He said lying down. I stood up and walked to the door and stopped.
"Don't try sneaking out again." I said with a smile before heading back to my room. The next day was like any other day on my family's farm. My mother made breakfast, my father fed the animals, and my sister and I took care of the garden. As we walked back inside with our hands full of fruits and vegetables I noticed that Zuko was sitting at the table talking with my mother.
"Good morning." I said walking over to them. Mom got a basket and we put all of the food we had gathered in it.
"So, what are all of your names?" Zuko asked as my sister and I sat down at the table with him and our mother.
"This is my mother Li-Fen and that's my sister T…" I said but I was cut off by my sister standing up on her chair and putting her hands on her hips.
"He doesn't get to know my name until I know his." She said firmly. My mother and I laughed and she sat back down.
"His name is Zuko." Mom said.
"Hiya Zuko, I'm Tao." My sister said holding out her hand for him to shake. He hesitantly reached out and shook her hand with a very faint smile.
"Hello everyone." My dad said walking in.
"Good morning daddy." Tao said jumping up and giving him a hug.
"Zuko, this is my father Genji." I said gesturing to the large man before us.
"So, you finally got him to tell you his name." Dad said cheerfully. He picked Tao up and put her on his shoulders and my mother walked over to him. Zuko and I watched as he wrapped an arm around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Nari, aren't you going to be in the hug?" Tao asked looking down at me.
"Sorry, but I'm not really up for a hug right now. Maybe later Tao." I said with a kind smile. I walked out of the kitchen and across the yard to the barn.
"Hi, Kogu. How are you buddy?" I asked my ostrich horse as I patted his nose. I heard the door open behind me and turned around to see Zuko staring at me.
"Do you want to see your ostrich horse?" I asked looking at him. He gave a slight nod and I walked over to one of the stalls.
"Here he is." I said as Zuko walked up beside me. I walked back to my own ostrich horse and started grooming him. Forgetting that anyone else was in the barn with me I started to sing like I normally did when grooming the animals.
"You have a nice voice." I heard from behind me. I turned around and smiled sheepishly at Zuko.
"Sorry, I forgot you were in here." I said quietly. I sat there in silence for a few moments then stood up and walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" Zuko asked as I opened the door.
"I have to go help my mom make dinner." I said walking back to the house. I sat at the table with my mom and sister and started peeling potatoes while Tao rinsed the ones that were already done. Half an hour later dad and Zuko came in and we all sat down to eat.
"This is good." Zuko said taking a bite of his food.
"Thank you Zuko. I made the whole meal out of things we grew right here on our farm." Mom said smiling. We ate the rest of our meal in silence and Tao helped me wash the dishes when we were done.
"You're from the fire nation aren't you?" I asked walking into Zuko's room that night.
"How did you know?" He asked looking up at me in surprise.
"When I was going through your bag the other day to find the blanket I saw a fire nation symbol on one of your shirts." I said leaning against the door frame.
"Are you going to have me arrested now?" He asked frowning.
"No, but make sure my family doesn't find out. If my dad knew that you were a fire bender he's kill you on the spot." I said sadly.
"Why is that?" Zuko asked looking at me.
"I can't tell you that. Just be careful okay?" I said frowning. He nodded and I walked back to my room. I crawled into bed that night and fell asleep quickly.
"I have to leave today." Zuko said the next morning at breakfast.
"Why?" Tao whined looking up at him.
"I'm looking for someone and I need to find them as soon as possible." He said looking down at her. He frowned and started eating her food very slowly. Later I helped him pack his things and load them onto his ostrich horse.
"Come back whenever you want, you're welcome here any time." Dad said walking up and shaking Zuko's hand.
"I packed you some food. It should last you a few days." Mom said handing him a package of food.
"Zuko, I made this for you so that you wouldn't forget us." Tao said running up to him. He held out his hand and she gave him an earth bender bracelet. He smiled and reached into his pocket pulling out a sheathed dagger.
"Don't lose that okay?" He said handing it to her. She took it and nodded clutching the knife close to her chest.
"Be safe Zuko." I said walking up to him to give him a hug. He froze in surprise for a second before hugging me back. After a few seconds we let go and he got on his ostrich horse taking one last look back at us as he rode off. That night no one said a word as we ate our dinner. Once everyone was done I washed the dishes by myself and everyone else went into the living room to play a game.
"Is something wrong sweetheart?" Mom asked as I walked past the living room door. I paused and shook my head before walking into my room and going to bed. The next morning woke up to my dad yelling.
"What's going on?" I asked walking into the guest bedroom where everyone was standing.
"That boy was a fire bender! We allowed a fire bender to stay in our home! He's probably on his way back to the fire lord right now to tell him where she is!" Dad said not even noticing that I was in the room.
"Dad, what's going on?" I yelled making sure that they knew I was there.
"He left one of his outfits in the dresser and it has the fire nation insignia on it!" He yelled holding the shirt up in front of my face. Throwing the shirt to the ground he stormed out of the house and I quickly ran after him. I got to the front door in time to see him use his earth bending to make a huge wall around the farm. My eyes widened and I ran toward the mountain behind out house. Running over to a huge boulder I used my earth bending to move it and walked into the dark cave that it hid. I got to a large room in the base of the mountain and sat down. I made a fire and lit the torches that were set in a circle around the room. In the middle of the room was a huge bed and off to the side was another smaller bed.
"What's wrong Nari?" A booming voice asked from behind me. I turned around and looked up at my old friend with a smile.