Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or any of the characters.
Kiela awoke from her sleep with a start. The moon was full and bright lighting her comforter through the windows and the sheer red curtains surrounding her bed. She wasn't sure what awoke her until she heard it again, a muffled scream from one of the neighboring rooms.
Kiela scrambled out of bed throwing on her short sleeved pink dressing gown. She could only find one of her slippers by her bed. The other must have been lost somewhere the previous night. She heard the scream again and decided to go without. Her stockings slipped on the polished stone of the corridors as she ran to Zoren's room.
She knew Zoren didn't like the dark and often had nightmares. She slipped into his room and saw him thrashing about in his large bed. She crawled up onto the luxurious comforter and went to his side. He continued to thrash about as she tried to calm him.
She frowned at Zoren. Beads of sweat were slipping off his face. She put her hand to his forehead and pulled it back quickly. He felt hot, really hot. He could be sick or something. She wondered if she should get Uncle Zuko or Aunt Mai. Of course, then she would have to explain why she was in Zoren's room and likely be scolded by Aunt Mai.
She decided to try to wake Zoren up first. She shook his shoulder roughly. "Please Zoren, wake up" She pleaded with him her eyes tearing with worry. He grumbled something in protest, but did not rouse. Kiela shook him harder trying to get him to come out of whatever nightmare he was in. "I command you to wake up right now," Kiela commanded in a voice as close to Aunt Mai's as she could manage.
Zoren did not wake, but he did grab her left arm with his right hand. His hands were as hot as his face, hotter even. Kiela began to sweat herself as her body temperature rose from being close to Zoren. His grip on her arm was beginning to hurt her. "Wake up Zoren," she practically shouted at him.
She clutched at his hand, desperately trying to pull it off. She suddenly wished that she had gotten her Aunt and Uncle and was being scolded by Aunt Mai right now. "Please Zoren," she said once again. This time the tears in her eyes were caused by pain and fear rather than worry.
Suddenly a searing pain raced up her for arm and she let out a sharp, high-pitched, scream. Zoren's eyes snapped open in response and he immediately removed his hand from Kiela's forearm, but the damage was already done. An angry red mark in the shape of Zoren's hand was burned into Kiela's arm. Tears slid silently down her cheeks as Zoren looked at her, still dazed from sleep and his nightmare.
"Kiela, what's wrong?" he asked. She shuddered in pain when he touched her shoulder. "Kiela?" he asked again helplessly.
"Oh Zoren," she gasped out. It hurt so much. She had never felt such pain in all her life. This was nothing like the cuts and bruises she received while playing. "It hurts," she managed to say.
He looked at her confusedly, and then his eyes found where she was clutching his arm. He gently made the six year old pull her right hand away from her left forearm. He stared at the mark on her arm dumbly.
Tears began to drip down his cheeks when he saw the hand print. "Kiela, Who?" he began.
She looked up at him with her devastatingly blue eyes. She didn't want to tell him. It would only make him sadder if he knew, but he had figured it out.
"But I couldn't of…I can't…I'm not a bender," he stuttered out in denial. He held the hand on her uninjured arm tightly. "Oh, Kiela. I'm so sorry. I would never hurt you," he tried to assure her.
"I know," she said breathlessly. She tried to stop the tears, but she couldn't. The burn still ached and felt like it was on fire. She wondered if the sensation would ever leave her arm. She tried to smile weakly at Zoren. "It was an accident," she told him. She was very strong willed for a six year old.
"We have to get father and mother," Zoren said making to get out of bed.
Kiela felt dread well up inside of her. She stopped him with her good arm. "No, you can't," she told him the tears continuing to leak out of her eyes. "We'll get in trouble," she said breathlessly. Her arm ached so much.
Zoren shook his head. "No Kiela. You need a doctor," he tried to reason with her.
"What if…What if they don't let me see you anymore," she cried out holding on tighter to his sleeping clothes. She couldn't bear to live here anymore if she couldn't see Zoren. He was her only friend, unless you counted Uncle Zuko and Grandpa Iroh. "Please Zoren. We don't have to tell. It's not that bad," she told him. She let go of his shirt and tried to brush the tears away from her eyes with her good hand. "See," she said in a trembling voice.
Zoren frowned at her, but he was also afraid that he wouldn't be allowed to see Kiela after he had burned her. His father was very protective of Kiela, and his mother had already made her feelings about their friendship known. He nodded at the teary eyed girl. "Okay, but we have to bandage your arm," he told her.
Kiela nodded weakly in response and watched as he looked for something that could be used as a bandage. Zoren rifled around in his dresser until he found the strips of cloth he wrapped his hands in for martial arts. They had been cleaned and would work perfectly for a bandage. He pulled it out of the dresser triumphantly and looked back to see that Kiela had fallen asleep on the bed. He frowned and rushed to her side. He lay his head lightly on her chest to make sure she was still breathing.
He knew soldiers who were burned in training sometimes went into shock and stopped breathing. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt her small chest move up and down. He knew he should treat the wound with some sort of ointment or disinfectant. However, he didn't have anything like that in his room and he didn't know where to go to get any.
He then remembered that there were plants in his room that could help a little. He had a prickle-stem growing in his room. Its thick green leaf like braches could be broken off and contained a soothing numbing sap. It was one of the most common plants in the fire nation and certainly one of the most useful.
He finally felt thankful for the classes he was forced to take. He broke off a spray of the plant and brought it over to Kiela. He didn't want to wake her, but he knew this would help in the long run.
He touched her right hand turning her arm so he could have better access. She gasped and turned her shining eyes towards him. There was no fear in her eyes only trust. He squeezed the sap out and spread it across the wound. Kiela winced, but did not cry out or let any more tears fall.
Zoren finished and wrapped her arm carefully avoiding looking into her eyes. He tied off the white linen and looked up. She was smiling thankfully at him. Her cheeks were still stained by her recent tears. He felt another wave of guilt wash over him. He crawled back into bed with Kiela.
He didn't want to go to sleep. He was afraid of hurting her again. Though a small part of him felt happy that he was going to be fire bender, the rest of him felt incredibly guilty. The burn looked bad. Kiela would have a reminder of this night and what he did for the rest of her life.
Kiela brought her hand to his cheek. "It's okay Zoren. Go to sleep. You won't hurt me again". Her voice was filled with so much confidence that he almost believed her.
"How do you know?" he asked her with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He hadn't meant it to come out that way.
Kiela just smiled dreamily in response. "The moon spirit is watching over us," she told him looking towards the window where a white moon hung.
Zoren looked to the moon and then back to Kiela doubtfully. She smiled at him again, "She'll make sure you don't have any more nightmares. Grandpa Iroh told me she was a spirit of the northern water tribe princess who loved my Uncle Sokka very much. They'll protect us and make sure you don't have any more nightmares," she promised.
Kiela soon fell back asleep, but Zoren continued to stay awake. He didn't have the same amount of faith in the moon or the spirits that Kiela did. He eventually did fall asleep and he didn't have another nightmare that night. In fact he didn't have another nightmare for many years after that night.
It could have been the birth of his bending that ended his childhood nightmares or growing up by taking care of Kiela, but he liked to believe as Kiela did that the spirits were watching over them.
Not any new Zuko/Katara information in this chapter. I hope no one was too disappointed. I promise we get some more information about their relationship in the next chapter.