She Walks in Beauty
A novel of the nineteenth century
"Multa fernut anni venientes commoda secum, Multa recendentes adimiunt."
Chapter One:
Living Each Day Like You're Already Dead
It was a rainy day when Zuko Sozin was walking along the stone path to get to his Uncle's tea shop. It had been years since they had corresponded, not since his mother's death, and he was looking forward to seeing him again. Of course, Zuko loathed tea, he much preferred coffee, but the tea wasn't the point of his visiting. It was almost that day. Five years ago, his father had killed his mother in an outrage, shocking the whole Sozin family. Especially Zuko's younger sister, Azula.
She idolized her father. He was a great, impressive man, after all. Something inside of him just snapped, and mother happened to be the one around when it did. At the time, when Zuko was still a child, he was furious with his father. He wanted to go to the Spring Hill Institution and murder that man, then and there. Thank Agni, he did not. For now, now that Zuko was older, more mature, he finally understood his father's actions. Of course, he did not feel that execution was the most suitable choice, but he felt as if he knew where his sire was coming from.
At least, where the psychiatrists thought he was coming from. No one would ever really know now, not for sure. Zuko's father, after the horrible incident, had completely shut down. The boy used to have hope that one day he would snap out of it, pull him self together. But it had been ten years. Ten years of waiting for his father to return to his normal state, not the agonizing sense of silence he was putting the Sozin family through.
But now, as previously stated, Zuko had come to forgive his father. The man had clearly been out of his mind, and there was no power in the world that could have stopped him. Zuko had moved on from that tragic happening, he rarely thought about it, and it was even rarer if he ever mentioned it to anyone. So, imagine the young man's surprise when he received a letter from his Uncle just days before the anniversary.
Dear Nephew,
I am writing to inform you that your mother's untimely death will not go unrecognized this year. It would be very much appreciated if you were to stop by the Jasmine Dragon to mourn with your old Uncle. Ozai Sozin is not the man whom you believe him to be.
Cordially,
Uncle Iroh Sozin
The message had been simple and brief, but urgent all the same. The cryptic letter had intrigued Zuko deeply and he responded quickly, reassuring his Uncle that he would be there on the anniversary of his mother's death.
Now, here Zuko was, a day before the ten years, wandering the streets for a jovial tea shop. He hadn't the slightest idea where it might be, and the rain was pounding hard on his umbrella. The young man growled, he hated the rain. Almost as much as he disliked tea. It was a nuisance to him and he came to the conclusion that life would be better off without a good rain.
The sky seemed to darken even more, giving the solemn, near empty streets a dreary look. Zuko scowled at the couple that walked past him, a young lady with long, dark hair wearing a green dress being escorted by a young man in a ridiculous pale yellow suit. Zuko repressed a smirk; the woman must've been color blind if she still insisted on being seen with that goof in public.
But other than the young couple, the path was empty and Zuko had to admit he wished there was at least another soul to be seen. He walked past shops and restaurants, searching the buildings for a sign with the name of his Uncle's tea shop. Agni damn it, he was lost. Zuko's scowl returned as he stomped in the puddles on the cobblestone road.
Snapping Zuko out of his sallow mood was a piercing scream that echoed along the empty road. The young man was on full alert, his eyes wide, scanning for the cause of the scream. The place was still deserted. The couple wasn't even in sight anymore. The scream came again and this time Zuko caught sight of an alley beside an old dress shop.
The man dropped his umbrella and ran to the alleyway. He assumed a woman was getting mugged or dishonored and he quickened his pace. He rounded the corner, his heart racing and his lungs heaving. There was a man standing in a corner looking down at his feet. Zuko narrowed his eyes to see closer. Ah, there she was.
A young woman, Zuko guessed only a few years younger than himself, was cowering on the ground, her blue skirts held in one dark skinned hand. She whimpered when the man standing above her inched closer and she looked around his legs. She had spotted Zuko. Her eyes flickered and her attacker grunted before turning around. The man was probably a year older than Zuko. He seemed like rouge, a tough guy.
And he was looking for a fight.
A/N: Yessss, this is the same fic. I had thoughts about putting it on hiatus, but I figured I might as well finish it out. If anything it'll help my writing skills. So this has been revised. I went through and read the original version of She Walks in Beauty and just about fell asleep reading chapter one. Now there are smaller chapters. Other things are changed, but I'll leave it up to you to pick them out. Thanks for reading! Review please!