Hina passed through the open set of doors and bowed low, her hands held in a traditional posture, flat against her thighs. He had called her using formal means, so she was going to answer in kind. "You asked to see me, Master." She stated politely.
The man she addressed had seen neither her entrance nor her bow, given that he was turned away, writing at his desk, though she was certain he had heard both perfectly.
"Come, join me." Piandao said in his rough voice. Privately, Hina had always thought that it made him sound grumpy despite his good and peaceful nature. He didn't have to gesture to the space beside him, for they had met this way many times before. Hina sat patiently, knowing that her master took his time, and no amount of rushing would get him to his point any faster.
"You have made great progress in your studies since your arrival here." Piandao said, not looking away from his writing, which she now saw was a particularly artful poem.
"Thank you, Master." Hina replied placidly, studying the man's face for any sign of what this talk might be about. He was a darker-toned man than most in the Fire Nation, having hailed from its southernmost island. His eyes were a blue-grey color that Hina didn't have a name for. He kept his beard cropped short, and his hair was always pulled into a clean topknot; one that somehow managed to resist every manner of jostling associated with teaching the art of the sword. He looked to be in his mid forties, and although Hina knew he was older than that, she wasn't sure exactly how much older.
"Of course, I had no doubt that you would become a great swordsman. Your skills were not in question. No, it was your heart that was so troubling." He said slowly, drawing long strokes across the parchment.
"A waterbender, raised by the Fire Nation, trained to be used as a spy against your own tribes, and a good one at that." Piandao added. "There were those in our organization who feared you could not be turned from the Fire Lord's cause, especially after your differences with Master Pakku became...irreconcilable."
Hina shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the waterbending master. He had hated her from the beginning, not for her actions, but for everything she was. She could admit now, so many years later, that she had done next to nothing to change Master Pakku's mind. If only she had, she might have been able to learn proper waterbending in place of the odd, makeshift style she had invented from watching earthbenders and firebenders. It was among her greatest regrets.
"But through training and hard work, you have proved those doubts to be baseless." Piandao dipped his brush in the clean water basin beside the inkwell, then dried it on a cloth before laying it flat in the wooden box that held the rest of his brushes. Next, he capped his inkwell and put that, too, inside the box. Only then did he stand and face Hina directly. She rose, mirroring him. Piandao looked at her for a long moment and seemed to change his mind about whatever it was he had been about to say.
"Walk with me." He bid instead, folding his hands neatly behind his back and stepping away from his desk. Puzzled and growing concerned, Hina followed. What could be so serious that Piandao would not speak of it within his office? What could possibly make him stall this way?
"The truth is, Hina, I see much of myself in you and your history." Piandao said as they walked down the open hall toward the courtyard. "Both pressed into service at a young age to fight in a war we wholeheartedly believed in at the time. Both eventually coming to see the truth about the war and the Fire Nation. Both choosing to dedicate ourselves to causes that transcend the divisions of the four nations. I've had more in common with you than any apprentice I've ever trained."
"I'm pleased to know that you hold me in such regard." Hina replied, unnaturally formal, when Piandao was quiet long enough to imply he was done speaking. He was being exceedingly odd about all of this, and Hina was no longer simply concerned, but was now unnerved by her master's behavior. Was he sick? Or leaving? Had he grown tired of her presence and was making her leave? A wide array of possibilities spread out before her, and in an instant shshe was prepared for any one of them, as ready to close off her heart as she was to open it.
By now they had reached the courtyard garden, and the swordsman lingered by the small pond that sat sheltered beneath an ancient willow tree. She was starting to sense that whatever he needed to say was serious and important, but also difficult. She thought that a gentle prod might be enough to get him back on track. "Forgive me, Master, but you seem troubled. Is there something you're not telling me." She said, no coldly, but not as kindly as she would have spoken a half hour ago.
Piandao was quiet at first, thinking something over. When he finally began to speak, his words were tentative. "For five years, you have studied with me. But you have also lived in my home. You've taught my students, worked in my forge, sold my swords. You have been more than my student or my ward. I've come to think of you as a member of my family; as something of a daughter."
"Oh." The word came softly from her lips. Hina was surprised, but happy. More than happy. Privately, (so much so that she had never spoken the words aloud) she had long thought the same of her mentor. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find the words to convey not just the way she'd come to care for Piandao, but her appreciation that he had never given up on her, even when she'd given him plenty of reasons. In the end, she just nodded agreement with a smile, her eyes a little misty.
"Perhaps..." Piandao began again slowly, then paused and sighed, hanging his head. When he spoke again, he faced the ground and sounded almost ashamed. "Perhaps because of that, I sought to shelter you from the war longer than I should have. But I cannot wait any longer." He looked up and met Hina's gaze firmly. "You're a member of the White Lotus in your own right, and a notice has been put out to all members: the Avatar has returned."
"The Avatar..." Hina gasped, before letting out a small, disbelieving laugh. "I thought he was a myth. Or gone forever. Are they absolutely certain?"
"Signs have been seen around the world." Piandao confirmed. "And there have been at least a dozen different sightings of a sky bison."
The implications blossomed in Hina's mind. sky bison meant airbender. But there were no more sky bison, and no more airbenders. They had all died a hundred years ago. This wasn't a new Avatar, whose absence could be explained by rapid rebirth and death through the cycle of elements. This was the Avatar following Roku, the same Avatar that had negligently vanished, only to suddenly, mysteriously reappear over a hundred years late.
"So...with the Avatar on our side, the Fire Lord shouldn't stand a chance." Hina reasoned aloud before amending her statement. "But...in a hundred years, why hasn't he – or she – challenged the Fire Lord? Any of the Fire Lords? Why the delay?"
"Because the Avatar is a child." Piandao said flatly, shocking Hina into an immediate, dumbfounded silence. She straightened, her excitement shattered and replaced by something more serious. More protective. She listened more intently, every word a lifeline to one of the last things the world still held on to hope for.
"From what we've heard, he was preserved in ice for a hundred years without aging." Piandao continued. "What's more is that he is only an airbender. He has yet to master the other elements."
"Then...he needs a waterbending teacher?" Hina asked, confused and alarmed. "Master, that isn't why you've called me here, is it? There are others who would be better suited. Master Pakku, for one. I'm not-"
"No, that responsibility belongs to another." Piandao agreed quickly, to Hina's immediate relief. But her teacher swallowed tightly and looked away again, and Hina knew that her relief was short-lived. She was about to find out what was troubling him so deeply, and whatever it was, it was news that somehow eclipsed that of the Avatar's return.
"There was a second message, sent by one of the other grand masters." Piandao said in a tone that Hina could only rightly call begrudging. "Here." He pulled a piece of parchment out from the inner pocket of his robe and handed it to Hina as if it were somehow dangerous.
The paper had been pressed flat, but still bore a large number of heavy creases, evidence that it had once been elaborately folded. On the back of the bottom right corner was a black wax seal inlaid with the sillhouette of a dragon. Black for grand master, and dragon denoting the specific member of the White Lotus, though only the grand masters themselves knew which member belonged to which stamp. Hina glanced over the seal briefly before turning to the content of the letter.
Friends, my efforts have stalled. The youthful lily no longer blooms in the light. A fresh, modern cultivation technique is required, else our garden may wither before another year passes. Hina read the cryptic message three times before lowering the parchment.
"I'm afraid I lack context." She said plainly, turning to her master and blinking in an unspoken plea for more information.
"The dragon seal belongs to General Iroh, brother to the Fire Lord." Piandao stated in a quiet, somewhat defeated voice. Despite his obvious reluctance, he still looked at Hina expectantly. Like most things involving Piandao, this was a test. He wanted to know if she could devine the content of the message with only the given information. She spared only an instant for her surprise, learning that the White Lotus had a member within the Fire Nation's own royal family, before she got to work.
"The youthful lily..." She mused aloud. The only youthful things she could think of that would involve Iroh and be of interest to the White Lotus were the Fire Lords's children, particularly the son: the banished prince. "Would that perhaps be Prince Zuko?" She asked, and received a small nod off confirmation.
Pleased despite her growing sense of dismay about involving herself in anything even remotely close to the royal family, Hina looked at the rest of the note. ...my efforts have stalled... What was the effort, the mission that had been untertaken? Hina knew that Iroh was traveling with Prince Zuko and had been doing so for three years, since the prince's banishment. But what if his motives went beyond accompanying his nephew? Away from the Fire Lord, a member of the White Lotus could potentially sway Zuko to their side of the war. Having the crown prince of the Fire Nation on their side would be a victory, banishment or not. It could divide the Fire Nation and give a voice to all of those who opposed the war but could not speak out for fear of retribution. For the first time in a hundred years, there was potential to blur line that had long ago defined who was on which side of the war. It wouldn't just be the Fire Nation against the rest of the world, but the whole world against tyranny.
She read the contents of the letter again, exchanging the veiled details with what she had already managed to riddle out. Iroh's mission to turn Zuko away from the Fire Lord had stalled. The light was undoubtedly Iroh's own counsel, which meant Zuko was no longer heeding his uncle's advise. However, it seemed Iroh did not think Zuko was without hope, not if he was asking for assistance. He wanted help. A fresh, modern cultivation technique.
"General Iroh has been trying to turn Prince Zuko to our side. Only, Zuko isn't listening anymore. Not enough to sway him before Sozin's Comet arrives." Hina had it halfway worked out, but she still wasn't exactly sure what the genral wanted. What was it about this message that made communication worth the risk? Her eyes skimmed the note over and over, as if there would be some additional detail if she only read it one more time.
"But Iroh hasn't given up yet." Hina said absently, her brow screwed up in concentration. That much was obvious, else why not simply say he had failed? "He wants help of some sort. A new strategy, maybe? Or..."
Then it really hit her. Hina opened her mouth in stunned silence, gaping a moment before the right words began to come out. "He wants someone to take his place. Or come help him. In person."
Another time in her life, her breathing might have quickened with adrenaline, but not today. Today was a day of returning; and for Hina, that meant that her quiet, idyllic lifestyle in the country, studying and teaching at Piandao's side; had concluded. Her loyalties might have changed, but Hina still possessed the skills that the Fire Nation had beaten into her, and today, those skills returned to the forefront of her attention as easily as takong a new breath.
"You wouldn't show me this unless it was relevant to you and me." Hina said factually. "And you can't go. Your face is too easily recognized. Which means..." Hina paused, giving Piandao a chance to say it for himself. However, he stared silently across the pond, so Hina said the words that her master seemingly could not.
"You intend for me to go."
There was a long, struggling pause on Piandao's part. Hina noticed all the signs in his body language that she had missed before. Every part of him seemed to either droop with sadness or tremble with pain. He was grieving already. Whether he believed the mission would end in her death or he was broken that his surrogate child was leaving, she could not be certain. She knew only that he was preparing to lose her, whatever the duration.
"Hina, I have never doubted that you were meant to play a greater part in ending the war." He said, and now she could hear the weakness in his voice, too. "When I read Iroh's message, I felt a great sadness, for it felt as though the hand of destiny was upon us." Piandao still managed to choose the most profound way of getting his point across, even now. "Iroh is specific in his request. 'Modern... fresh... youthful...' There are few in our organization that fit that description." He added pointedly before shaking his head. "The boy does not need another wizened advisor, but a peer."
"You want me to be his friend." Hina corrected shortly in a low voice. Out of nowhere, she had become angry. This was what all the fuss was about? The spoiled prince needed someone his own age to whine to? The Avatar had returned. The Avatar had returned. Hina was ready and willing to fight for him; to fight for the right side of the war. And yet...she was being asked instead to stand on the wrong side of the line. She knew that her skills as a spy were her most vital ones and she knew that the White Lotus had every intention of using them as soon as they felt that she had thoroughly proven her devotion to their cause; but she hadn't realized how it would feel. Hina had always imagined that she would feel better and more honorable no matter what she did so long as it was in the name of stopping the Fire Lord, but it didn't. It was a horrifying, gut-wrenching revelation, to know that crossing the line from the other side was just more of the same.
"Friend, confidant, ally, lo-" Piandao faltered. Hina was certain he'd been about to add 'lover' to his list and her disappointment burned up in anger. Lover, really? She thought. Is the White Lotus willing to sell me, too?
"Whatever it takes to earn the prince's trust and convince him to turn against the Fire Lord." He finished without meeting her eye. Evidently they are.
"No." Hina shook her head. When she spoke, she did so tightly and through gritted teeth for fear that she might snap at Piandao. So soon after hearing that he thought of her as a daughter, she wasn't quite ready to let him down like that, angry as she might be.
"If the prince's own uncle failed, then the task is impossible." She couldn't voice any of her chief objections, not without making it personal and losing her temper, but this reason was as good as any.
"I cannot force you on this path." Piandao's tone was quieter, but somehow firmer. "But I do not know of any others with the proper age and training to do what must be done. If you decline, then you abandon Prince Zuko to his fate and to his father."
At that, Hina was silent. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Then she grimaced and shook her head once, violently, as if to clear it somehow. It didn't work. Hina ran her hands over her face, using her middle and ring fingers to put pressure on the bridge of her nose while her index fingers pressed at her temples. She was still angry. Even more angry, perhaps, because now she felt obligated. And confused. And conflicted. And a whole range of emotions across the spectrum.
The problem, really, was that she not only knew his story well, but she had actually met Zuko once. He was a real person whose face she could see clearly in her mind. Worse, he'd been kind to her. It had been a child's kindness, which meant little now that the boy had grown into a man, but it had been kindness nonetheless. How could Hina turn her back on him, knowing that he only wanted to return home? How could she condemn him for his transgressions when hers were just as numerable? It had taken her years just to understand that she had been brainwashed at all, and she'd been among the people of the Earth Kingdom, hearing their stories firsthand. Zuko was a prince, isolated by his birthright. There was a distance around him, meaning he did not see or hear the truth of what the Fore Nation was doing. He saw the world through the lense that the Fore Lord had created. How could Hina deny Zuko the same chance she jad been given and the same patience she had been shown in order to shatter the illusion?
"Take the night to sleep on it." Piandao said suddenly, breaking Hina's torn silence. "This is a long and dangerous mission, one that will test your resolve to our cause, for you will be alone, and during the course, you might be called to do a great number of things you find unsavory or immoral. You might have to fight on the side of the Fire Nation. You might hate him and have to give him your devotion anyway. You might come to care for him so much that you lose sight of what we need him to be. You may lose sight of the person you've decided to be. Look at the mission from every angle, then take a good look at yourself."
Abruptly, Hina realized from his tone that she was being dismissed. Too conflicted to be anything but grateful for the opportunity to collect herself, she bowed to him stiffly. "Thank you, Master."
An evening of long walks and meditation meant that, by the time Hina placed her head on her pillow, she had made up her mind. The mission was folly and she wanted no part in it. She would tell Piandao in the morning and that was the end of it.
Except that it wasn't. Hina would have liked to say that while she slept, she had visions from the spirit world or a dream from her past or that she woke in a cold sweat, beholding a sign to determine her fate. She would have liked to say that there was some cosmically ordained reason why her mind changed as she slept; but the truth was that there were no dreams, visions, or signs. Instead, Hina had woken with the absolute gut-wrenching knowledge that she was taking the easy way out. She knew the mission was worthwhile, and that she was the only one who could pull it off. There was no reason, save her own fear, to turn it down; and Hina refused to be controlled by fear.
As per usual, Hina saw her master early the next morning at breakfast. She longed to burst out her decision the moment she entered the room, but she held to good habits. She was going to be a spy again, and that meant controlling her face, thoughts, and emotions at all times. So she sat down quietly and calmly before helping herself to some of the breakfast spread before her.
"So, Hina," Piandao spoke first, in a mild voice. "Have you reached a decision?"
"I have, Master." She answered in the same tone, though her stomach was churning anxiously. "I will answer General Iroh's call for assistance."
Given his words of persuasion the day before, Hina had expected her mentor to respond with more enthusiasm. Instead, he grew quite sad. "I am pleased to hear it." He said, although his face suggested otherwise. His brow knitted and he swallowed tightly. Evidently Piandao was more concerned for Hina's safety than he had let on. Either that, or...he was going to miss her. It was a sobering thought, one that deepened the tension. She longed to say something meaningful, something that would let him know that she cared for him as she would a father, bit she had never been good with those kinds of words. Instead. she blathered, making idle chitchat.
"I don't suppose General Iroh included a ready-made method of gaining a place among the prince's men?" Hina asked, half-joking.
"No, he did not." Piandao replied dryly, looking away. The tension mounted, and again, Hina filled the silence instead of reaolving the cause of it.
"Well, the truth is usually the best cover, and in this case it works for me. I can tell him I was a Chameleon, and that I was banished and that I want to join him because I want to go home, same as he does." She explained, trying to catch Piandao's eye. He seemed to gather himself and focus on the conversation, but it was a testament to his willpower and ability to put aside his feelings, not Hina's botched attempt to reassure him.
"Your knowledge of the cryptic arts outweighs mine. Piandao said. "I'm certain you will make the correct choice."
"There is one big lie I think it might be best to tell." She added hesitantly. "I don't think I should tell him I'm a waterbender."
Piandao's head shot up and his eyes narrowed. "Why is that?" He asked sharply, his interest genuinely piqued.
"Well, asking him to take on a stranger to his crew is enough, but asking him to take on a waterbender? You know how the Fire Nation is taught to see other benders." She said, scowling. It was common belief that members of the other nations were savage, unintelligent, and unaccepting of what the Fire Nation considered "proper" culture or modern technology. "It will just undermine my credibility and raise suspicion about my motives. I'll tell him the Fire Nation chose me for their Chameleon program because I look like a waterbender. Besides, I'm not even that good at it and my swordsmanship will be more than enough to get by."
"The logic is sound." Piandao replied, sounding unconvinced, but at least not as worried as he'd been a few moments ago.
"I just...' Hina started, but quickly trailed off, temporarily lost in thought. Her idle chatter had turned into a serious discussion. "Master, as much as I think about it, I don't know what I could possibly tell the prince to turn him, and I think it's because I can't remember what you said that really turned me." She admitted sheepishly. "I was so angry back then, I don't know if I ever actually heard anything you said."
At this, Piandao finally lightened. He even chuckled a few times. "I can tell you that you most definitely did not. Not until it came to swordfighting lessons." He told her.
"Well, I can't exactly do that." She said, stumped, before continuing with an emphatic gesture toward her mentor. "I mean, he already trained with the great Piandao." She said with exaggerated reverence. "How would I convince him to study with me?"
"The lessons were not the point, per see." Piandao said, shaking his head. "You were lost and in need of perspective and purpose. Learning the art of the sword gave yoyou a small dose of both, and small doses have a way of blossoming. It does not matter how you choose to interact with Prince Zuko so long as the interaction leads to trust. Once you've established trust, the rest should become easier to see."
Hina thought on his words, playing absently with her chopsticks. When she made no attempt to speak, Piandao went on. "When General Iroh first embarked on this mission, he believed he could provide the warmth and nurturing that the boy never received from the Fire Lord. Given the timing of Iroh's request and the task that the prince was given, I would guess that the prospect of returning home with the Avatar in tow has sidetracked whatever progress that Iroh made. Home and family make for powerful motivation, even when they are less than desirable. Bear that in mind, for turning Prince Zuko against the Fore Lord will mean turning him against his home amd father."
"And on that happy note..." Hina grumbled sarcastically, sighing. Piandao chuckled heartily and Hina eventually smiled.
"What about my students?" She remembered suddenly. Hina taught several beginning sword classes as Piandao's protégé, posing as his niece.
"Fat and I will teach your classes until we find another master for them to study with." Piandao reassured. "Though I should think that would be the least of your concerns."
"They're my responsibility, one that I didn't take on lightly." Hina protested sharply. "The White Lotus comes first, of course, but I do care what becomes of them. Should I tell them I'm leaving?"
Her master shook his head. "You must leave as soon as possible. Today."
"Today?" Hina's voice shot up an entire octave in shock. "Wh- I- but..." She stammered, unable to form a cohesive thought.
"You will have to track the prince, who travels by ship tracking the Avatar, who travels by sky bison. Just catching up will prove challenging, and the longer you wait, the further behind you are." Piandao explained with sad patience. "I told you to take the night because it was essential that you were certain, but now there is no more time to wait."
Hina swallowed hard and looked sullenly at her food; her appetite gone. Today. Everything felt as though it was collapsing around her, and duty was fighting against a sudden wave of fear. She wasn't ready to leave her home, not really. And yet, the Fire Nation had trained her to be a spy. The White Lotus had trained her to hide in plain sight behind enemy lines. She'd spent most of her life preparing for the espionage in one way or another: always for a mission that she never quite seemed to be assigned. Perhaps Piandao was right about the hand of destiny. Perhaps this mission was what she had been training for all along.
"Okay." She agreed, though her tone was less certain than her word choice. Abandoning her breakfast Hina stood. "I suppose I should be getting ready then."
Piandao also rose. "I sent Fat out this morning to retrieve some things you may need that we do not have. A sturdy pack, bedroll, cooking pots, and the like. He should return soon."
Distressed, Hina swallowed tightly and found that she could not move her feet. "Master," She began, finally finding a question, if not quite the exact question, to voice her greatest concern. "What if...what if Prince Zuko succeeds in capturing the Avatar, because of my help? How far am I supposed to go? When does maintaining my cover turn into betraying the world's last, best hope? Before, with the Chameleons, I never had a mission like that. I don't know where thw line is."
"That, I cannot answer." Piandao sighed. "You have within you the wisdom and capability to make those decisions as you face them. Trust in yourself as I trust in you."
"But what if-"
"Hina." Her master cut her off. "I believe you are allowing your nerves to get the best of you. Take a breath and remember that no one could be better prepared for this mission. Fate has brought it to you and fate will guide you along the way."
When Hina saw what was soon to become her pack, she felt the weight of her responsibilities crash over her like a wave Surprisingly, she also felt her trepidation lift, less like water and more like a spirit departing the physical world. Her training, her sense of duty, and her hope that she might succeed and build a better future for her nation and the world all took over. After that, everything was a great deal easier.
She spent most of the morning preparing. There were precious few personal items to pack, mostly a few pieces of clothing that were versatile and nondescript, as well as a small bottle of oil that could be used to slick down her hair so she would look less like a girl from the Water Tribes. For a heartbreaking moment, Hina looked at the room where she had slept for the last five years and found that there was precious little left of herself inside to show for it. Her breath caught slightly. No. No tears, no goodbyes. A place is just a place, Hina told herself firmly. With that, she turned and walked out the door.
Parting with Piandao an hour to later was a much more difficult affair. When Hina finally looked up from her pack and met her mentor's eye, the hard and focused expression that she'd been wearing all morning broke. Unable to stop herself, Hina rushed forward and embraced Piandao, hiding her face and therefore her weakness in the soft, silken cloth and comforting warmth of his shoulder.
"Thank you." She whispered. "For everything." Saying it plainly would have been too much: she would have started crying outright. As it was, Hina knew she had allowed herself too many luxuries in her farewells. It was time to go.
"Abruptly, she pulled out of the hug and shouldered her pack. Without a single homeward glance, Hina set off down the road and on her way to what she knew would be the end of the war, one way or another.
•••••••
This is chapter one of what I hope will be a full, three season adventure following the events of the Avatar: the Last Airbender series. I'm always looking for feedback and ways to improve my writing, so please feel free to leave reviews. Thank you so much for reading!!