Chapter 3: a new home
After a few days of traveling, the 2 benders finally found a good Inn, were they thought they wouldn't get record iced easily, after they did their hair, so that they didn't looked to clean, when your acting like you've been robbed, you can't look to clean. In this Ghazan finally got his revenge for Ming hua's mud wave from a few hours earlier. Once they were sure they looked like a couple that had been mugged, except for 1 sack of gold they had been hiding in their clothes, they went into the inn, trying to act like they were badly injured.
"We were robbed just outside the village by a pack of thieves, we managed the hide one sack of gold pieces from them, that's all we have left from our honeymoon"
The Lavabender told the Innkeeper with a sad look. Ming Nodded with a sad look as well, her long sleeves hiding over her arms, so they didn't see they were made out of water only.
"Poor souls, since those red lotus scoundrels took out the earth queen, those thieves keep coming and coming... We've had so many robbed couples here the past few weeks..."
The Innkeeper lady said with a sad look on the, cash register, which was good, because this way she didn't saw Ghazan turned red with anger.
"Calm down hothead... Were not them anymore..."
Ming Hua whispered very softly in his ear, so the Innkeeper wouldn't hear them. Ghazan looked at her with an angry look as well, and then nodded, before the lady looked at them again...
"So... How long would you like to stay? "
The lady asked, typing something in on her cash register. Ghazan looked at Ming hua now, not knowing what to say on this.
"Well... We WERE looking for a place to buy a house and start a life together... Until we were...well...you know...so... I guess... For a few weeks..."
He said after a few Minutes, looking at his "wife" with a smile, Ming Hua looked at him with a nod, agreeing with his decision.
"Well, here in the village there are a few farms for sale..."
The woman said with a kind smile.
"That's very generous of you, but... We were both born and raised in the big city; we don't know the first thing about farming"
The Lavabender admitted with an approving nod from his friend, since this was the truth.
"Well, that problem can be solved easily, my husband is earning his keep with farming as well, and I bet he would be more then glad to teach you the robes of the trade"
She said with a wink to the young couple, after that she got a key out of one of the little boxes, specially made to keep the keys in.
"I will get the forms to you after work, until then, enjoy the best room of the inn"
She said with a kind smile, while she handed Ghazan a key with a silver plate on it with the golden number 110 on it.
"That's very kind... But we can't effort such an expensive room... "
Ghazan said with a sad look on the golden key. Ming Hua nodded in agreement, placing the key down on the counter again, careful not to show her that her arm was made of water.
"I know, but after all you've been thought you deserve a nice room... it's on the house... just remembered to clean up before you leave... Okay?"
She said with a wink, shoving the key back to them. Ghazan took the key now with a stunned look, for a moment he wasn't able to react, but when he came back to earth he gave her a hearth warming smile.
"We promise... thanks a lot madam... were eternally grateful for this,"
Both benders said, while they headed to their new room. It was very luxurious, that was for sure it had a separated living room and bathroom, a nice looking bathroom with a bath, and SOAP! It even had a radio in the room, so they were able to hear what happened to their friend, without anyone getting suspicious about their behavior, once they found the info they needed...
A few hours later, both benders were sitting in their new room, all washed up, dressed in new clothes and the Lavabender had been to a barber to get a haircut and after a short while of hesitation, even let the barber shave off his mustaches and his beard, which had been his trademark. So now he assumed a new identity, he knew he couldn't keep them, not even neatly trimmed, it would give them away for sure...
"So, you finally used that big head of yours the way it intended to be used?"
Ming Hua had joked at him with a smirk, when he arrived back in their room with a freshly shaved face.
"Yeah... Does this is feel pretty weird..."
He said, rubbing his hand over his face on the place his mustaches and his beard had been...
"You will get used to it eventually, for now... sssssst, their talking about us..."
Ming hua snapped, while she turned the volume of the radio harder, so both benders could hear the newsman talk properly.
"It is said the red lotus members almost killed the avatar, and the new airbenders, so their extremely dangerous... 3 of the members are confirmed death, the members go by the named: Ming Hua, Ghazan Lee Teng and P'li Lee. Their leader Zaheer Shao tong was captured once again and is held in an unknown prison in an unknown location
Nothing more was given away by now, only that their families are heartbroken by the loss of their beloved, especially the parents of miss P'li Lee, who just found out were their daughter was being held. That was it for today..."
The story was suddenly interrupted, when Ming hua turned off the radio.
"Hey... I was still listening... I wanted to know why P'li's parents are suddenly interested in their daughter..."
Ghazan said with an angry look on his friend. Ming hua shrugged, walking out of the room, without saying another word...
"Not interested, she's death... we can't help that... And we now know Zaheer is captured again so, I'm going to get some sleep... "
She said, walking into the bedroom with a wave of her water arms. Ghazan looked at her with a grumpy look, before he turned the radio back on, just in time to hear the parents of the now death P'li talk:
"I left P'li for adoption when she was just a baby, under the pressure of the man I was forced to marry by my parents... We never intended to leave her... and once I realized the man I was forced to call my husband, the now passed away Warlord Shong, had my daughter in his custody, I tried to warn her father to get her out of there... to a place she could truly call home... But we failed... And now... my poor girl is... gone forever..."
Ghazan heard a female voice say on the radio. The Lavabender looked at the radio with a sad look, remembering far too well that this was true, P'li had told them about this failed try to get her away from that horrible place as well... many years ago...
"Flashback"
"Wow... You sure got a lot scars P'li...it looks like someone beat you up a lot..."
The then 21 year old Lavabender said with a stern look, while he looked at his best female friend healing her.
"Yeah... I know...me... I have been beaten up a lot by Shong... last time was so bad it was a wonder I survived..."
The then 16 year old combustion bender said with a sad look.
"You wane tell us what happened back then?"
Zaheer asked her, while he sat down in front of her and placed his hand on both of her hands.
"No...it's too painful to talk about... "
P'li said with a sad look to the ground, almost crying.
"P'li... you will never get over it if you don't talk about your problems, Like Guru Laghima once wrote: Your not only free when you can freely roam the world, but also when your free to say what lied within your hearth"
Zaheer said, quoting his favorite ancient guru for the 5th time that day. We all rolled our eyes in annoyance, but it did work for P'li, because she now took a deep breath and started to talk.
"I became Ill one day, after the warlord's wife had begged her husband to take me along to the marked... I don't know why... But the warlord agreed..."
She started looking at Zaheer with a sad look.
"While I was ill... The warlord's wife... Miss Thina... Treated me with all the respect and kindness I never got before... It was amazing to feel love at long last... But she wanted to do more... She asked a combustion bender that lived in a far corner of the earth kingdom to come and get me... adopt me... Then give me the live I so longed for..."
She continued with a glimpse of hope in her eyes, remembering the moment she told her that Miss Thina had arranged that for her so she could have a normal life... Like she always wanted...
"But then...everything went wrong... Diego found out about the deal she made and intercepted the last message, and then called the police to force the man to leave the city forever... then he gave me a good whipping... All, because I wanted to have a normal life, and a place to call home... and someone that would care about me the way I am..."
She concluded her story with a sob.
"That was terrible... and the man... never tried to come and get you another time..."
Zaheer asked with a sad look directed at the combustion girl who was now sitting with her head in her knees crying...
"No... Shong told Miss Thina and me he killed him... we only found out he was alive a few weeks before she divorced from him..."
P'li sobbed her head still in her knees while she cried...
"Maybe... Maybe we could try to locate them... then you can have the family you always wanted so badly..."
Zaheer now suggested. This made P'li's head snap up, and look at him with a fierce look.
"And leave you... After all we've been through together... No way! I can't... And I don't want hear any more about it..."
She said, before she stomped off into her own tent...
*end flashback*
That had been a few weeks after they had rescued her from warlord Shong as well... A few weeks before they would start their mission as members from the red lotus...
"If only we had started about it again...she would have been saved..."
The Lavabender thought with a regretting look at the radio, before he turned it off, before he buried his face in his knees, just like she had done so long ago, and started to sob...This was why he didn't saw Ming Hua coming up behind him, he only realized she was right behind her when he felt her water arms around him, her wet face against his...
"I know... I miss her as well..."
Her voice said, trembling, because she was crying as well... which was very rare for her, but Ghazan didn't felt the need to make a funny remark about this. He just wanted her to hug him for now.
"If...If only... W...We h...h...had...f...f...figured out a way t...t...to C...c...c...convinced her t...t...to...l...look f...for her F...Family...S...She w...w...would still be here..."
He said his head between his knees, unable to keep himself from sobbing.
"I bet we all wish we had...And I just know...Zaheer misses her just as match as we do...maybe even wished he had been more careful... been there to protect her when she needed him the most..."
She said with a sad voice.
"And that's why we need to free him...We need to get together again and live out our lives in freedom... I'm sure she would have wanted us to do just that..."
Ming Hua said with a sad look on the radio now.
"Yeah...it' just too bad we can't visit her parents... tell them what a great friend she was too us... How match her meant to us... as a friend... not as a tool..."
Ghazan said while he followed her gaze to the radio. Slowly she wiped the tears from his face.
"Well... Not without getting caught again"
The Lavabender joked with a slight grin on his friend. Ming Hua nodded sighting.
"One thing will never change... Whatever happens... your sense of humor will never get better..."
Ming Hua said while she whipped the tears of her face as well with her water arms, which only made things a little better, since the water made her face even wetter than it already was.
"Thanks Ming... That REALLY made me feels better..."
The Lavabender said with a smirk on his face, knowing his friend was just teasing again, but she was right about one thing... Some things will never change...
"And maybe... When we have Zaheer back with us... We can re-visit Laghima's peak and bury her remaining proper..."
She started, but stopped when she heard a knock on our door... The Innkeepers wife... the papers...The new house...
"I will make a fake note to cover up why we cried... just... act cool... and... make something up..."
Ghazan quickly said, while he grabbed a pencil and a paper and walked into the bedroom. When Ming hua was sure he was in the bathroom with the door locked, she opened the door to let the Innkeepers wife in.
"Hello, Here I am with the papers you need for your new..."
She started her line, but she stopped when she saw the Armless girl had been cried.
"But sweetie... You have been crying... what's the matter?"
She asked with a worried look, wrapping her one arm around Ming hua, while she closed the door behind her with the other.
"W...We...J...Just r...received... A...A m...message from m...my b...b...brother in law...h...h...his w... I...I...is...death..."
The armless waterbender said, acting like she was sobbing again. The in keeps wife immediately felt for the act do, and the carefully hugged her as both woman sat down
"That is so horrible, how did it happen? If you don't mind me asking"
The woman asked with a sad look, while she kept Ming hua in her arms.
"It...It was an accident...a...a car crash..."
Ming hua quickly made up, since a car crash was the only thing that could pulverize a whole body. So it was the only thing they could tell except from the truth that was...she kept carefully used her waterarms to make her face wet again so it looked like she was still crying.
"Zan and I want to visit as soon as we can, to take him in... so he doesn't have to stay all alone there with his memories of her..."
She now made up, acting like she had calmed down a bit, just then Ghazan came in with a shed of paper in his hands, looking like he had been crying some more.
"Your wife just told me what happened to your sister in law... Are you okay? "
The innkeeper's wife asked with a sad look. Ghazan nodded with a sad look, looking at Ming with a stern look, not knowing what she had told the innkeeper and he didn't want to spoil their cover story.
"Were both very sad about the way shi was killed...Heero wrote us he will be able to leave the hospital by tomorrow morning"
Ghazan said with a sad look, praying to the spirits this would add to whatever Ming Hua had made up.
"Phew also lucky that they caught the one that caused the car crash..."
Ming said with a stern look at Ghazan "That's what I made up, so you better play along" the look on her face told him. Ghazan nodded to show that he understood and that he agreed with the back-story, because it would fit perfectly...
"So... When did you wane go and get him?"
She now asked, surprising Ghazan a little, since he hadn't expected Ming to tell the innkeepers wife were they were going.
"Were leaving as soon as we found ourselves a suitable home..."
Ming said with a stern look on the papers. The woman nodded now, fully understanding this... Then the wife started to explain the papers to the young couple...
From the "little money" they had the 2 former red lotus members bought a cute little farm on the outskirt of town. The husband of the innkeeper's wife got to them every day at first to help them with the basics of the farming life, Ming Hua... Who thought farming was more of a man's job, helped the innkeepers wife in the inn every day...
A few weeks passed by like that, and soon they had everything ready for Zan's "brother" to come and live with them as well. They decorated the house so it looked like a regular house, while Ghazan got the hang of the farming routines without using his bending, do he did figure out metalbending in his spare time, with some metal pipes he found in the basement.
"You never know... It might get in handy when we pick up my brother"
Ghazan smirked with a wink, stretching his legs around Ming hua, who was trying to sow some new clothes for Zaheer once he got out of jail, he would need them.
"Who Knows?"
The armless waterbender said absently while she kept trying to sew, but the needs sprang out of her grip and landed on the floor near her feet.
"MAN! THIS IS DIFFICULT!"
She exclaimed while she bowed over to pick up the needle from where it felt too.
"Yeah, maybe you better let Heero sew his own clothes, since he's more "Handy" then you"
Zan joked while he took over the sewing stuff and put it away for her.
"Oo very nice one mister "joke a lot"
Ming Hua snapped while pulling her water arms around Zan before pulling him into a passionate kiss. In the few weeks they had been living together, something had start to change between them, not only the way they had been living together, but also their friendship... ore what WAS their friendship... Now it looked like there was something more between them... Love... A love that was starting to get stronger each day they were living together...
"Yeah... you know that is how I am"
He smirked while he got up and went inside. A moment later he came back with 2 sleeping bags and 2 normal bags with all the things they would need on their travel to get Zaheer back with them...
After a few hours of riding they arrived at the town near a white lotus base. They had agreed to wait there for someone to get out and mug him from information, since they thought they were all death they wouldn't have to hide the location of the last remaining prisoner to their other members...
"Let's hope we find out by the first one... I don't think it will be safe to kill more than 1 guard a base..."
Ming whispered while the 2 of them were hiding in the tall grass, waiting for a guard of the white lotus to show his face, and they were lucky... The first man was one Zaheer had described as the leader of the guards that guarded him last time... quick as lightning, Ming hua jumped on him and took him in a iron grip, the man, who hadn't been prepared for a attack lied on the ground with his head on the mud a moment later
"You better do as we day, ore things will end very badly for you"
Ming hua hissed at the man, while picking him up, holding his head in a firm grip now, so he couldn't see who were behind him.
"I... I don't have any money with me... I'm completely useless to you"
The man said nervously as Ming hua put her ice dagger on his troth
"Well...this looks familiar"
Ghazan thought chuckling thinking back to their escape from republic city, when she had done the exact same thing to the man that they had needed to escape the city...so many weeks ago...
"We don't need your stupid money... we need info... About the last red lotus member you guys arrested"
Ming snapped, obviously irritated by the fact the man (again) thought we wanted money.
"Zaheer... why would you wane know about him..."
The man nervously said, again trying to look up to see who were behind him, obviously having a pretty good idea of who were behind him right now.
"That doesn't matters... tell us what we need to know or else..."
Ming hua said while she slides the sharper edge of the ice over his throat treating to kill him if he didn't cooperate.
"Okay then, Zaheer is held in a prison above a sleeping Volcano not far from republic city buried 3000 meter underground ...heavily guarded by the white lotus, he only gets food 2 times a day and for the rest everyone avoids his cell after that..."
The man now said sweating heavily as he says this, Ming Hua still hold a firm look on him, while Ghazan wrote this down, before nodding to Ming Hua who finished him off with one simple movement of her ice arms, both benders knowing all full well that he would sound the alert if they had let him go.
"Not that this isn't risky..."
Ghazan said while they searched his pockets for things that might come in handy while they would go to free their friend, then tied up the body and hide anything valuable to make it seem like a robber got him, then erased their tracks and left the body...
"Okay then... Were almost at the place that wretched guard described..."
Ming Hua said while parking the Sato mobile they had rented for this trip behind some trees and got out.
"Now let's hope Zaheer's still alive..."
Ghazan said while he walked to the stone wall that was the back of the cave zaheer was buried under, closing his eyes to see if he could sense zaheer somewhere in there...
"Don't worry Zan... They won't let him die...leftover of that pafetic last avatar... in a few hours we will have our friend back with us..."
Ming Hua said while placing her water arm on the younger lavabenders shoulder. Ghazan now looked up at her, his eyes full of tears.
"Ming... I'm just so... I mean... What if he robbed himself of his life... thinking we were death as well... I don't want lose him as well... not now..."
He said with a sad look. The armless waterbender looked at him with a shocked look now, realizing they hadn't thought of that option... the white lotus wouldn't kill him themselves... That hadn't happened since avatar aang and General Iroh had been in charge of the white lotus... But they wouldn't mind if zaheer would take his own life either... they weren't there all day to make sure he wouldn't... so he only needed something sharp and one moment of desperation…..
"No...Zaheer wouldn't get so desperate... He's strong..."
Ming hua told Ghazan with a stern look.
"I know he's strong... but believing were all death... don't you think he might have been,"
He started, but stopped mid-sconce when Ming Hua slapped him in the face with a water whip
"Stop that! The only way we can find out he's alive or not is to get into that cell and see for ourselves..."
She snapped while she pointed to the stone wall. Ghazan now nodded and got into position, carefully making a hole in the wall which would be the start of their escape tunnel.
"Don't worry Ming... I will be back... with or without Zaheer... I'm NOT leaving you alone..."
Ghazan said with a smile, kissing her one last time before he entered the tunnel and headed towards the cell were... if he was still alive there... Their friend was...
And with that I end the next chapter of my story
Sorry it took me a while to update because my computer broke and I needed some time to either buy a new one ore get the old one repaired, well I really hope you liked it
Until soon
REVIEUW