160AG Summer
About a month and a half later, there was a scuffle at the gates.
Lin looked out of the window from the second floor of the residence house and saw fire.
"HuiFan! You're in charge!" She said thrusting Kang into her nine-year-old daughter's arms and opening the window. She ran across the roof top and jumped into the front courtyard then launched herself over the gates, erecting a wall as she landed before kicking it, knocking the fire bender into the door. Then she lowered the wall.
"We're sorry Ma'am, for disturbing you!" guards apologized for failing to deter the firebender from the property.
"Lin!" the voice called from under the crimson hood.
"Zumi?!" Lin asked peaking under the hood to see the Fire Lord had graced her with her presence.
"Kya told me everything! I had to come see for myself!" Izumi said pulling off the hood of her traveling cloak.
"You know this intruder?" the guards asked.
"She's the Fire lord," Lin said casually opening the gates and helping her old friend up.
The guards all exchanged uncertain glances and bowed.
"And nobody knows I'm here!" Izumi told them before following Lin inside.
"What are you doing snooping around the outskirts of Republic City? Why didn't you just tell them who you were?"
"I wanted to surprise you!"
"You know I hate surprises,"
"Yes,"
"So what did Kya tell you, exactly?"
"That you have six beautiful little babies! I thought about bringing Iroh and Ursa to come play with them but-"
"What?! Damn Kya! She was sworn to secrecy!"
"You know Kya on cactus juice!"
"Spirits! Next time she shows her face at these gates, I'm going to bury her in an avalanche!" Lin roared. Izumi just laughed.
"So it's true? You and Tenzin had a thing?"
"Nobody is supposed to know! To protect Pema and this new kid, Jinora," Lin replied.
"What about protecting you, little Linny? What about your kids?" Izumi asked putting a warm, reassuring hand on the earthbender's shoulder.
"They understand," Lin replied shrugging the hand off her shoulder and letting Izumi into her house.
They walked through other entertaining and reception rooms, courtyards, and hallways finally reaching the main residence house. "They're upstairs in their play room," Lin said bending the earth off of her feet before entering, while the fire lord slipped off her boots respectfully.
They walked up together.
"Mama, you brought someone with you?" a young girl inquired from the playroom.
"Is it Aunt Kya?" a young boy asked the girl.
"If it were Aunt Kya, I would be able to tell! I know Aunt Kya's footsteps and heartbeat. This is a stranger!" the girl replied with an brusque air of annoyance.
"She's an earthbender with seismic sense?" Izumi asked with interest.
"Yes. The three that are bending are all earthbenders. The White Lotus didn't think I could—" she stopped.
"Have airbenders?"
"Yeah," Lin sighed. They reached the door to the playroom.
"Children, will you all stand?" Lin asked. The kids. They stood up.
"Lin, you don't have to! I don't call you Chief in front of my children!" Izumi replied
"This is Fire Lord Izumi," Lin said to her children.
For a moment they were stunned. Then they all bowed.
"Just call me Aunt Zumi," Izumi said. She turned. "Lin, they ARE beautiful!"
"Growing up with a blind mother, makes you really not care about that kind of thing." Lin grumbled, frowning for a minute in silence before speaking again. "There you saw them! Now you can leave!"
"Now now! You can't get rid of me that easily! I haven't seen you in like five years!" Izumi said.
Lin growled again. "Fine! You can stay," she sighed in defeat "Nora, will you watch the children while I give our guest a tour of the property?" she asked a passing maid.
"Of course!" one of the maids said joining the children in the play room while Lin waved for the Fire Lord to follow.
"Did mom really just try to kick out the Fire Lord?" HungJian asked in disbelief.
"Did the Fire Lord really just come to our house?" HuiFan asked in even further disbelief.
"Who will teach them?" Izumi asked as they walked out the back doors onto a magnificently sculpted white marble patio with a couple white painted light oak deck tables and chairs under large umbrellas.
"Mostly me. I let them spar with the guards occasionally. When they're older, if they start becoming defiant pains in my ass, Su offered to take them to Zaofu for the summer, just for a change of scenery. She promised to make them realize just how easy I am to deal with," Lin replied with her head hung down.
"Really? You're speaking with your sister again?" Izumi asked.
"Just in letters. I sent her a photograph and wrote in code, just in case it was intercepted,"
"And she replied?"
"Yeah,"
They walked down the steps of the deck and entered the expansive gardens, taking the wing of the boar path to the northern wall that faced the city. They both climbed up to sit on the shingled roof of the wall and look out on the metropolitan area below.
"It really is a wretched city," Lin sighed tucking her chin between her knees. The Fire Lord put an arm around her and leaned her face on Lin's Head. "I hate your father and Avatar Aang's brainchild. The Bending Triads never cease to be at each other's throats and terrorizing the civilians. Who ever thought the four nations could live in peace in such close proximity?"
"The four nations do live in piece. Neighborhoods quarreling with each other is nothing compared to global warfare," Izumi replied.
"I know. I just sometimes feel so alone dealing with it. The council is even more useless now that Tenzin is on it permanently,"
"What is wrong with having Tenzin on the council?"
"He thinks that there is a non-violent approach to everything and is constantly pushing the passive stances, reducing our budget at the Police Department, and taking no affirmative action on anything!"
"How often do you have to see him?"
"Every Friday afternoon for the weekly report I have to present to the council,"
"Other than Tenzin being Tenzin, how is the city?"
"Alright, I suppose. This new 'pro-bending' thing is becoming more and more popular. They have a massive arena now, on the bay and we've been asked to provide the additional security. Shouldn't private events be privately secured?"
"Yeah. I can relate with that. People can be so demanding," Izumi sighed.
"Lady Beifong, Jiexue is throwing a tantrum and she's been inconsolable for about about an hour now," an attendant said from the base of the wall.
"Coming," Lin said standing up on the roof of the wall with Izumi before they both jumped down into the garden and walked towards the house.
"You let her cry for an hour?" Izumi asked, slightly surprised.
"If I always come instantly, she will never stop crying. I don't want her to be spoiled. I want her to struggle," Lin explained as they walked up the stairs. The four year old was pounding her fists on the stone floor screaming while her other siblings just knelt around her just watching with uncertainty. Lin walked up to the girl and picked her up off the floor, standing her on her feet, not yet hugging or comforting, but looking into her eyes soothingly.
"Speak," the usually cold, stern Chief of Police said to the four year old. "What happened?"
"I missed you," Jiexue explained rubbing her large eyes with her tiny fist. "I thought you'd left us."
"Even when I leave, I am always with you, in your heart," Lin told the girl touching her flat baby chest.
The little girl looked at her mother's grown hand and then up at her mother's face and threw her short little arms around her mother's neck and hugged her. "I don't like it when you leave!"
"I don't like it either, but we all have responsibilities, don't we?" Lin asked holding the girl behind the head and neck, rubbing circles on her back.
"Motherhood suits you, though I felt no tremors when she was pounding her fists. She doesn't create earthquakes like you and Su did as babies," Izumi said.
"I know," Lin sighed.
"So, I won't be an earthbender?" Jiexue asked sadly.
"We don't think so, but don't worry about that. You don't have to bend anything for me to still love you," Lin replied holding her tight, trying to slow her own rapidly beating heart that she knew at lease HuiFan could also feel.
"But how will I protect myself? I am still a Beifong aren't I? Beifongs aren't supposed to need anybody to keep them safe at night," Jiexue wimpered. Lin's heart broke for her four year old. Why did she feel this pressure? Lin had never even told her children what Toph ingrained into hers and Su's minds since their births, but somehow, they knew, just by watching, they knew what the Beifong name meant to the world. Maybe it WAS just in their blood.
"Jiexue," Izumi said kneeling beside them. "My own mother was never a bender, and trust me, she got along just fine." Izumi pulled out a triple bladed throwing knife and smiled. "With these, she was still able to best soldiers twice her age, firebenders, swordsmen, spearmen, seasoned soldiers, prison guards, war generals, and even your grandmother Katara, your grandfather, Avatar Aang and your Grandmother Toph with these. This is only one of many different weapons you can choose to learn to use. You can still be a warrior, Jiexue. You can still learn to protect yourself. I can teach you, if you like. But remember, you still are only four years old." Izumi said reaching out to touch the four year old's tear stained face.
"I that what you're afraid of?" Lin asked her four year old. "Not being able to protect yourself?"
"That I will always need to be saved," Jiexue whispered as if it were a sin to consider such a thing.
"Awwwww! Jiexue, you are only four years old! You have time! Don't worry," Lin said pulling the ribbon out of the little girl's hair so she could run her fingers through it. Maybe the knot was too tight and had been pulling for a while. Lin doubted it but decided to try anyways. She always felt relaxed when she let her hair down after work.
"So would you like me to teach you how to use these?" Izumi asked the little girl.
Jiexue nodded and Izumi placed the three bladed thing in the girl's little hand.
"This is not a toy," Izumi emphasized.
Jiexue nodded and folded the blades closed into each other and clutched the weapon to her chest before turning away from Izumi to bury her face in her mother's neck.
I hope this chapter was okay! I just love writing about the Chief of Police being a huge softie when no one is looking. As I said in my story on the beach, I think the woman has a heart bigger than Ba Sing Se. All comments and criticisms and feedback are greatly appreciated!
