Building Bridges
Lee hefted the slop bucket over the fence and wrinkled his nose at the familiar smell. The scraps splattered into the trough and the pigs crowded around, jostling for a good position.
He turned his back, his eyes downcast against the setting sun. The pigs grunted and snorted behind him. His stomach growled. It would be his dinner time soon too.
As if on cue, his father's voice echoed from the house.
'Lee! Dinner!' Lee regarded his father. The man had returned from the front after a month, dejected. He had been unable to find even a trace rumour of what had happened to his older son's battalion. He had no training and had been too old to learn, so they had sent him home.
He leaned against the house now, shielding his eyes. But he was not looking at Lee. He was staring over the boy's shoulder. He had stiffened; his posture no longer slumped as it had been ever since he'd returned.
Lee turned, following his gaze, and was momentarily blinded. He raised a hand and shielded his eyes. A figure was riding down the track to their house. He rode an ostrich horse, and was slumped in the saddle as though exhausted. The coolie hat sent a thrill of recognition down his spine, and Lee too stiffened.
How dare he come back here?
But all at once his father was rushing past him, bereft exhaustion forgotten. He was taking the reins of the ostrich horse, leading it toward the house. He was shouting and laughing, calling Lee's mother and Lee himself. But Lee needed to hear only one name.
'Sensu! It's Sensu! He's come home!'
They sat about the table. Sensu shovelled food into his mouth. Lee's own plate remained untouched. He could not stop smiling and yet he could not bring himself to eat. If he ate, it was real and he wasn't sure he believed it yet. And if it wasn't real, he was not quite ready for reality.
'But I searched the front line for you,' his father was saying. 'There wasn't even a rumour.'
'They moved us out pretty quickly. They wouldn't tell us where they were taking us, or what for, but rumours, you know?' Sensu paused to chew a mouthful of rice. 'Eventually we found out they were planning to use us as decoys in an offensive on Ba Sing Se. You never would have found me Dad.' He smiled apologetically. Lee couldn't help but smile back.
'But we heard the city has fallen.' Sela said quietly. Glancing over at her, Lee saw her eyes were looking unnaturally shiny and her eye lashes were clumping together. She had already cried upon seeing Sensu and it didn't seem as though it would take much for her to start again. His father had an arm around her and was squeezing her shoulders gently.
'Yeah. The city had already been taken by the time we arrived.' Sensu looked down at his plate. Lee felt his stomach clench. The fall of Ba Sing Se was a devastating blow to the whole Earth Kingdom, and he had tried desperately to ignore the rumours of the Fire Nation Prince's involvement. But because the city had fallen, his brother had been spared. Guilt and gladness warred within him, effectively shutting out his appetite. He pushed his plate away.
'So how did you escape?' Gansu could not hide the proud smile. Lee forgot his warring emotions and smiled too. His brother had bested the Fire Nation.
'I didn't,' his brother admitted reluctantly. Lee's smile dropped. 'I was set loose.'
Silence greeted the statement. Never throughout the hundred years' war, had there been a tale of a captive being set free. The only such tales were of traitors who became spies. But a spy would never admit to having been set loose. Lee waited for Sensu to explain. There had to be an explanation.
'The Fire Nation Princess was in control of Ba Sing Se,' Sensu began. 'She put her brother in charge of dealing with prisoners and troublemakers in the city.' He sounded uncertain. Lee clenched his jaw. So the Prince had been there. Heat clawed at his insides. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to wish that Gow had killed the man. He had defended Lee twice, and the fact that Lee could not wish him dead only increased his hatred. He scowled down at his plate as Sensu continued.
'I was injured. My leg still isn't right. They were planning to use us as bait or decoys I think. Someone said it was against a Water Tribe rebellion in the bay south of Ba Sing Se, and that was the most believable story.' He chanced a half hearted grin at his family.
'Another prisoner said we were going to be used as hostages to force the Avatar to surrender. Someone even said the Avatar was with the Water Tribe ships. Crazy right?'
None of them smiled back at him. They all looked too stunned to speak.
'Anyway, the Prince inspected all the prisoners,' he paused. 'I hope you never meet him. His skin is ghostly pale, like all Fire Nation scum. And his eyes burn like fire. He looks half way mad all the time. And the scar, it's terrible. Covers half his face and he can hardly open his eye on that side. Rumour says his own father did it to him.' He glanced at his own father.
'Anyway, I don't know why he picked on me, but when he saw me he stopped and just stared.'
'Asked my name, and after… uh… some coaxing from one of the soldiers with him, I told him.' Sela winced, but he ignored it. They didn't need the details. 'Asked me where I was from. I thought he was going to find you all and torture you and I wouldn't tell him.' He couldn't help lifting his chin proudly.
'After a while he seemed to just get bored with us. He ordered his soldiers to split me off from the rest, put me in a prison car on a train and next thing I knew we were outside the wall. He told me he had no use for a weak injured pawn and told me to go home to my family, and never to trouble the Fire Nation again.' He was scowling deeply at his plate now. He couldn't understand how the Prince had even known he had a family. Of course he could have just assumed, but why would he even care?
'I would've been here sooner except I took a roundabout route to make sure I wasn't followed…'
Lee clenched his jaw, if only to keep his mouth from gaping. His brother's voice trailed off, recounting his journey home, how he had come upon the ostrich horse. Lee found his attention wandering. After a while he stood and asked to be excused.
It was dark out, but not cold. He walked through the sun flower fields, desperately trying to ignore memories of a moonlit night, learning to use dual broadswords with a wandering stranger.
He came upon the town square without realising his feet had been carrying him there. He approached the watch tower. It was deserted. Gow and his men never actually kept watch.
Lee knelt in the earth at the foot of the post to which he had been tied. He scrabbled in the loose dirt, digging. It took only minutes to find what he was looking for.
His fingers closed about the dirty leather sheath and he brushed it off as he pulled the knife out. He stared at the inscription, the pearl shining white in the moonlight.
The stranger had left it here in the dust for him, even as he walked away. He had returned later, curious. He'd found it there, and determined not to bring it into his home, he had buried it.
He swung the knife experimentally, the movements as awkward as they'd been with the broadswords.
He glared at the knife.
'I still hate you.' He muttered, even as he put the knife back in its scabbard and attached it to his waistband. He turned for home.
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AN: There's a part two to this fic, but as of yet I'm unsatisfied with it. So it can wait.
