Please hear the first three stanzas of the song called "Light" by Sleeping at Last.
May these words be the first
To find your ears
The world is brighter than the sun
Now that you're here...
159AG
"Mommy, What will you name him?" eight-year-old Huifan asked peering into the bloody tub where her mother held the sleeping baby boy.
"Kang."
"Why?"
"Because I am tired. I am done with legacies and with fancy names. I just want this boy to be healthy, and to survive, longer than me at least," the mother sighed looking down at the mess in the bathtub.
"You're hurt!" Huifan gasped noting now just how much blood had come out with the baby just how pale her mother looked.
"My love, I'm fine. I promise. Will you bring me a towel for Kang? And that length of string on the counter and a pair of scissors from the drawer?"
HuiFan ran over to pull the requested items off the counter and the scissors from the drawer. Her mother set about wiping the blood and paste and other gross fluids from the baby's skin. She tied off his umbilical chord about an inch off his belly and cut it, then wiped down her own chest and held the boy to her breast as he instinctively began sucking.
"Mama, I want to get you a healer!" Huifan said.
"No! Remember? No one can know about us. The nursing staff may speak and sell stories about you and me!"
"But Ma! You're dying! I have to do something!"
"I'm not, Love. I have survived hung Jian. You, Jinkun, Jiexue and Xiaoyu just fine. I can survive Kang too!" Her mother said weakly.
"But you weren't as tired after Jiexue and Xiaoyu!" Huifan argued.
"I was. You were just too young to notice," her mother said faintly, her eyes fluttering closed, before only opening half way again.
"I notice. I know you," Huifan said sadly with her hand on the ceramic bathtub, feeling both her mother and her new baby brother's heartbeats with her seismic sense.
Her mother wiped a hand clean on the towel and put it behind her eldest daughter's neck. "I love you, HuiFan. No matter how things may change, never forget who you are." Her mother tilted her head back and fell asleep in the bathtub with the new baby in her arms, and her legs still spread. Huifan took the opportunity to run. She ran as fast as she could. She wrote a note and went to the guard at the gate.
"You WILL go to Air Temple Island, locate a woman named Kya from the Southern Water Tribe and hand her this. If anyone other than Kya of the Southern Water Tribe sees this letter, I will have your family's heads displayed on my bedroom wall next to the Tiger swords I will use to decapitate them!" Huifan ordered the guard with her mother's infamous scowl marring her face. The guard gulped, took the letter, bowed to her and took off.
Huifan returned to her mother's side in the master bathroom on the fourth floor of the main resident's house. She still hadn't woken. Huifan placed a hand on the bath tub and listened to the baby's heart beat gain strength strong as her mother heart beat slowly began to fade.
"Come on, Aunt Kya! Hurry!" Huifan cried, gripping the bathtub with her tiny hands as tears flowed down her eyes steadily. An hour passed before the guard returned with Kya.
"Oh my!" Kya gasped at the sight of the blood and the two unconscious beings in the bathtub. She turned on the sink and filled it with water to use to heal. Kya covered her hands in the water and searched her friend's body, finding massive where the baby came out. Kya healed the wound, but the new mother still didn't wake.
"She's lost a lot of blood, Huifan," Kya said sadly putting an arm around the eight year old girl.
"You're a master waterbender, Aunt Kya. You are Master Katara's daughter! Can't you just bloodbend it back into her?" Huifan asked.
"Huifan, blood is not like that. It changes when it comes out of the body. It won't have the same properties if I just 'put it back in her'. Besides, it could have been infected by something on the bath tub or in the air," Kya explained to the young girl. "Why didn't you call for me sooner? By telephone would have been faster than sending a sentry."
"The White Lotus forbade us from contacting anyone on Air Temple Island by phone in case someone overheard or the wrong person picked up the line," Huifan reminded Kya. "And I couldn't call the hospital because the nurses might speak and I figured since you already know us, it would be okay to-" Huifan's controlled crying became consumed by sobs.
Her aunt sighed. "I'm sorry, for all that you have had to go though, Huifan," Kya said softly.
"She will live, won't she?" Huifan sniffled.
"Yes. She will live." Kya washed the blood and other fluids away from the new mother's body using her waterbending and discarded the placenta in a bag to burn after using blood bending. Then Kya lifted up the younger woman and baby and carried her naked into the other room. She wrapped both mother and baby in diapers and let them rest.
"I am glad you called me when you did. She had lost a lot of blood, but I was able to stop her from losing more. She just needs time to rest now and recover and replenish her own blood supply. You're a good daughter," Kya said putting a hand on Huifan's head. The little earthbender hugged her Aunt.
"Even though we don't live on Air Temple Island anymore, you will still come visit us, right? Even though Dad has left, you still love us?"
"Just because your Dad had to leave, doesn't mean he loves you any less. He can't stop loving you. He just had to rebuild the Air Nation,"
"I know, but YOU will come visit, right?" Huifan was pleading, desperately. Tears welled up in the girls eyes as she nearly lost hope.
"Yes, I will come visit you," Kya said sweetly holding the earthbender in her arms and sitting on the bed beside her sleeping mother. She took out a little blob of water and spun it into a vortex in her hand making Huifan laugh. Huifan loved all of the different bending art forms but was stuck with earth. So boring. So common according to her.
Kya stayed the night to monitor her friend and the new baby's condition for a full twenty four hours before having to leave again.
"You will be able to manage being Lady of the House, won't you?" Kya asked.
"I don't really have a choice, do I? Hungjian is not really the responsible type when it comes to these things," Huifan shrugged mentioning her older brother.
"I'm sorry you now have so much on your shoulders, I truly am," Kya said.
"It's okay. We all knew it would happen eventually. It's good practice now since mom is still here."
"I suppose. Remember to keep her body temperature stable with cold compresses on her head and blankets or fans. Put Kang to her breast every few hours. I showed you how to burp him and change his diaper, right?"
"Yes."
"And have Mr. Doan prepared some rice porridge for when Lin wakes. Or something smooth and warm with not too strong flavors. I would say to try to get her to eat around dinner time this evening. Her entire torso will be pretty tender for a while so if she doesn't want to move yet, don't make her until tomorrow. Tomorrow, try to get her to walk at least an hour, with breaks."
"Thank you, Aunt Kya."
"I wish I could stay longer. I love you, my little niece."
"I love you too!" HuiFan said wiping her eyes and hugging the waterbending master and her biological father's sister. She ran back into the house.
"Can we see mommy now?" Seven-year-old JinKun asked as soon as she entered. He was holding their three year old sister's, Jiexue's hand. Nine-year-old HungJian was holding one-year-old Xiaoyu.
"Yes but you all have to be REALLY quiet, okay? Mama lost a lot of blood and needs to heal right now," Huifan told them.
"Okay!" Jinkun whispered.
"We can be quiet!"Hungjian promised adjusting his hold on their one-year-old sister, Xiaoyu.
They all climbed onto their mother's large bed slowly and silently, but not silently enough for the master earthbender to remain sleeping. She recognized the feeling of her children on the blankets as she woke but didn't open her eyes, watching them with her seismic sense, avoiding the light. A smile formed on her extremely pale face.
"Thank you, loves," she said to all of them in a barely audible whisper.
They knew something had gone wrong with the birth.
"Aunt Kya came," Hungjian informed his mother.
"I know. I can feel her handiwork. Thank you for getting her, Huifan." their mother replied quietly.
"I knew you needed a healer. I knew you've never been that week before. And Aunt Kya said a little while longer, you wouldn't have made it. Mama please don't do that anymore,"Huifan begged wrapping both hands her mother's arm.
"Do what?"
"Almost not make it because you're too stubborn or prideful to seek help. We need you here. You're all we have since Daddy left to rebuild the Air Nation. We need you!" HuiFan said holding her mother's arm while Hungjian held her band and Jin Kun placed a hand on the arm that held the new baby Kang.
"I am sorry, my loves. It was selfish of me to let pride cloud my judgment. I will be better next time. I will ask for help," their mother promised.
...Cause you are loved,
you are loved more than you know...
...[Last two stanzas of "Light" by Sleeping at Last]
...With every heartbeat I have left
I'll defend your every breath...
The mother sang to them until they all fell asleep with their heads and bodies all pressed against each other in the large bed. She smiled and tilted her head back and closed her eyes for a short while, falling asleep to six tiny, comforting heartbeats echoing her own. Six tiny lives were completely dependent on her to grow and thrive. Each day she walked more, longer, faster, and stronger. She walked around the gardens trusting the older children to watch Kang sleep while she walked then she took over for the rest of the day. She brought the baby to the children's sparring practice wrapping his ears to muffle the sound of rocks being smashed into sand and metal making contact with other alloys and compositions and other bangs from his delicate ears. She would not let another life interfere with the individual attention she gave each child. No. She refused to neglect any of them them as her own mother did to her and her sister.
After the mother and her baby were healthy enough, the mother resumed her old routine that included training her children for three hours before going to the city to work for twelve. Even though they had a team of chefs and servants, she would come home, cook dinner, and then eat with all of her children, asking about their day, their triumphs and struggles. After dinner they had family downtime in the cozy living room. They would read independently but be physically together, play board games or card games before sleeping and each enjoy a cup of tea. In their new house, the children all had their own rooms but chose to spend most of their nights together with Mom in her bed, and she didn't mind it in the least. As long as they had each other, they were happy.
This is a prequel to my story, "Lives Forgotten". This chapter takes place eight months after Lin Beifong and Tenzin are broken up by the White Lotus (when Lin was one month pregnant with Kang, and only Huifan knew but didn't say anything because she thought her words were useless and nobody would listen to them anyways). Lin moved her children into a massive estate in the mountains that surround Republic City, safe away from all of the crime and gossip of the metropolitan area. Aunt Kya visited for a while to try to work through Huifan's mental trauma (like how Katara had to 'heal'/sooth Jet's head before he could recount what happened under Lake Laogai). Huifan cares for her mother and runs the household whenever her mother is gone (at work or sick/injured).
Song is "Light" by Sleeping At Last and this fic is kind of inspired by that one AMV by Zoopoe on YouTube: ATLA/Korra- Aang's Family.
I chose the names based on the meanings listed on some random baby name page.
Hungjian (born in 150AG) is supposed to be "courageous strength"
Huifan (151AG) Clever Lethal
Jinkun (153AG) Golden Earth
Jiexue (156AG) Heroic and Learning/Study/School
Xiaoyu (158AG) Filial piety/being good to parents, and Yu can mean jade, delightful, or rain.
Kang (159AG) Healthy or well being