He was ill and getting worse by the hour. Poppy Beifong, rested one hand on her husband's gently, willing him to hold on. She would be here soon. Her touch garnered no reaction from his ailing body and she wilted at the truth of it; he didn't have much time. There were days when he had been so bright, so full of life. Now, he lay limply in this bed listening to the slow, languid plucking of a qin, just outside the room. It was the last thing he told his wife before drifting into a dreamless sleep- music would put him at peace.
Poppy dotted her eyes with a handkerchief delicately. She stood and made her way to the window, looking across the expanse of their estate in hopes of seeing some movement. After a time she became hypnotized by the stillness, losing her focus and glimpsing the space behind her in the reflection of the glass. Lao would die in this room, she thought.
But this room gave life too.
The thought put a small smile on her face and the memory of Toph's birth came rushing back to her instantaneously. She was scared, she was in pain, the midwife encouraged her to walk around. Poppy paced the room, groaning. By the time she was instructed to squat, she screamed so fiercely that her own mother entered. She gave her one look and fixed the midwife with a stern stare, "Give her the ether."
Poppy lay back in this same bed and inhaled deeply from the midwife's cloth. It was a deathly unnatural scent and it scraped her esophagus as it entered her body. She would never forget that scent.
"Just a little twilight sleep, darling," her mother whispered.
The next thing Poppy remembered was waking up in this darkened room, relieved of her swollen belly and alone.
"The baby!" she cried out, attempting to sit up, but discovering that her head was far too heavy.
"Poppy," she heard in the darkness. Lao appeared from the shadows of the room and pulled a chair alongside her bed. The soft light from the torches outside lit his face. He'd been crying.
"Lao..." she whispered. His hand closed over hers.
"Poppy, the baby is blind," he confessed, breaking into a sob. She didn't want to believe him. She insisted that she see for herself.
The child was carried in by their hired nurse and placed carefully in the arms of her mother. Poppy examined her quickly. All appeared to be normal until the infant opened her crinkled lids to reveal two clouded emerald eyes. It wasn't normal.
Toph would never be normal, and with that thought, Poppy laughed a little. It was her original dissension- just the first instance in a long line of rebellious acts. An extreme declaration upon arrival of her natural inclination toward a life of non-conformity.
As if on cue, the gates opened and a carriage appeared. Poppy's heart fluttered at the sight of the ostrich horse pulling the weight of her bloodline. With a soft kiss on Lao's cheek, the elderly woman departed the room and made her way to the main hall.
The heavy main doors were pulled inward by the head of her house, bowing regally to the women who stepped forward.
"Are we too late?" Toph asked without consideration for the pleasantries usually exchanged by members of her class.
"No, he is waiting for you," Poppy replied, moving forward to plant a light kiss on either side of her daughter's face. Behind Toph stood Lin, looking slightly out of place. In her twenty four years of life, Lin had been in the presence of her grandmother only a handful of times.
"Hello, Lin," Poppy greeted her. Lin bowed, back straight as an arrow.
"Follow me," Poppy instructed as she turned to lead the women to see Lao. There was a frustrated grunt behind her and Poppy turned to see her only child scowling.
"Really? Still sticking with the wood flooring?" she grumbled as she made her way forward gingerly. Poppy paused, realizing that Toph was truly sightless in this part of the house.
"Take my arm, darling," she said, offering her elbow.
"I'll be fine," Toph insisted, waving her off. Poppy nodded and continued on to the stairs. When she turned back to warn Toph of the change in elevation she saw that her arm was linked with Lin's and sharp pain tore across her heart. Their proximity spoke volumes. It was a closeness of mother and daughter Poppy would never enjoy.
They ascended the steps and arrived in the sitting room, just outside of where Lao lay sleeping. The man playing the qin bowed to the women as they entered and departed without so much as a sound.
The three ladies Beifong continued into the dimly lit room occupied by Lao. Poppy leaned down to gently inform him of their arrival. He struggled to speak, but managed to hold one arm out.
"Toph?" he choked out, finally. She was at his side in a flash and without ceremony.
"Dad...I'm here," she assured him, gripping his cold hand and holding it to her face.
"And Lin?" he wondered, eyes drawn.
"I'm here too," Lin replied, stepping closer. Poppy was taken aback by the low timbre of her voice and it occurred to her that she hadn't seen Lin in nearly six years.
The women each held their place silently for several minutes. No words were spoken as the seconds ticked by, echoing in the hollowed clock at the far end of the room. When it became clear that there was to be no more conversation from Lao, Poppy cleared her throat.
"Tea?" she asked.
"Yeah, alright," Toph sighed before bestowing a soft kiss on her father's knuckles and replacing his hand carefully back against his chest.
Toph and Lin followed Poppy back into the sitting room where she reached for a porcelain bell and shook it with a dainty hand. A servant entered, took his orders and retreated back into the hall.
The women settled onto the formal furniture in the room and silence stretched around them.
"Did you travel well?" Poppy finally inquired.
A smirk played on Toph's lips and Lin smiled at the sight of it knowingly. Poppy could tell there was a story there.
"Yeah, it was alright," Toph responded, keeping the tale to herself. "I'm just sorry we couldn't make it here any quicker."
Poppy nodded, being left in the dark about what had transpired was not altogether unexpected, but it hurt nonetheless. She supposed Toph wasn't to blame for the break down of communication in their family. It was the pressures of society life, Lao, and Poppy's own attitudes that landed them here. She let out a heavy sigh, regret coloring her features as she looked across the room at the women before her.
Her very own baby sat there, with the same clouded eyes she had from day one. But there was more to her now, there was a history. Toph had a life- a whole host of experiences unknown to her mother, full of successes and failures she would never be privy to. There were streaks of gray in her hair as well, undeniable evidence that she was aging and Poppy nearly cried at the thought of all the time lost between them.
Toph sat there, with her own baby by her side. Lin wore an elegant silk dress, accented with bamboo shoots that brought out the flecks of gold in her eyes. She was stunning and Poppy thought sadly that Toph would never know the simple pleasure of seeing her child. Her beauty was offset by her demeanor, which radiated discomfort. Her posture was rigid and her face serious. Poppy allowed herself to wonder what kind of a person she would be looking at if Toph had given her over to their care all those years ago. As it was, Lin was clearly her mother's daughter- there was a hint of mischief in her eyes when she exchanged words with her mother. They were friends on top of it all, bonded by a common lifestyle and shared experiences.
"Lin," Poppy began, "you are working for the police department I understand?"
"That's right," Lin confirmed.
"How do you like it?"
"I love it," she insisted and there was a hint of defiance in her answer, as if she were defending her job against a resolute dissident.
"Is it the same now that your mother is not around to keep you in line?" Poppy asked, attempting to lighten the atmosphere with well-intended teasing.
The servant entered the room again, holding a tray adorned with a beautifully decorated tea set. He set it on the small table between the three women and took his leave again with a bow. Lin reached out for a cup as she replied, "She left the force in capable hands."
Poppy sighed inwardly at the flatness of her granddaughter's voice. She was clearly not going to respond in kind, preferring to stick to their regular dance- formal and stiff.
"I knew it was time for me to go when I... well, never mind," Toph caught herself with a light snort as she bumped Lin's shoulder playfully. Lin suppressed a smile at her mother's words and looked at the floor.
"When you what?" Poppy asked, eager to be on the inside of their joke.
"Nothing," Toph answered with a smirk and a wave of her hand.
It was enough of a dismissal to boil inside Poppy and she set her tea cup down with an exaggerated clanging sound. Toph and Lin's heads both snapped to attention in her direction at the noise.
"Dammit," Poppy cursed and Toph's mouth hung open. She'd never heard her mother say anything remotely scandalous or behave so brazenly. It would have been considered extremely tame to the average person, but in their formal and detached setting it was astounding.
"Mom..." Toph began, still collecting her thoughts in the wake of her mother's outburst.
"No, Toph. Please don't patronize me," Poppy huffed, "I realize we may not have much in common, but that doesn't mean you two should sit across from me in judgement."
"What?" Toph blurted, incredulous. "Us in judgement? That is your department!"
"I may not have been a perfect mother, but I always tried to do what I thought was best for you, Toph. I shouldn't be punished for that," Poppy retorted, eyes swimming with unshed tears.
Toph softened when she heard the hitch in her mother's voice and leaned forward to close the space between them, "Mom...I know that. I'm not trying to punish you," she reminded her in a soothing voice.
"Of course you are," Poppy insisted as the tears began to fall, "You wouldn't speak to me for over a year after we offered to take Lin to Gaoling. You sent back our money, you mocked me for offering to pay for music lessons for Lin..."
"I took those lessons," Lin interjected, killing Poppy's rant stone dead.
"You did?" She asked with a light sniffle. Lin nodded and Toph smiled.
"I learned to play the pipa, as you suggested," Lin confirmed.
"See, Mom?" Toph told her softly, reaching out to rub her knee, "I didn't disagree with all of you ideas. There's no reason to flip your shit."
"Toph Beifong!" Poppy admonished. Toph lifted her eyebrows playfully and Poppy allowed herself to laugh at the crudeness of her daughter's remark. She relaxed slightly and explained, "I just wanted something we could all share," she told them.
Lin sat forward and made eyes at the instruments set alongside the wall. Beside the qin leaned a pipa, asking to be plucked.
"May I?" Lin ventured.
"I think your grandfather would appreciate it," Poppy told her gently.
Lin moved to the other side of the room and sat in the musician's chair, carefully lifting the beautiful antique pipa into her lap. The other women followed suit, and Toph stood proudly at her side, awaiting the beautiful music.
"Any requests? Should I play The Ambush?" she wondered aloud.
"Too disruptive," Poppy supplied, "How about something classic? Do you know Sai Shang Qu?"
Lin nodded.
The women were silent as Lin slowly plucked the first few strings. A small smile worked its way onto Toph's face and Poppy found herself grinning as well. This was all she could ask for. On the eve of such a tragic event, it helped to be surrounded by those she loved and to understand finally that they loved her in return.
A/N: This is based on and inspired by Q's beautiful art work which has helped my writing so much, I cannot thank you enough!