Thanks to everyone who's be putting up with my erratic schedule.

Please Read & Review

Three weeks. Three weeks, spending every night hold up in a cave, trying to move a rock. Sai wanted to cry. She wanted to give up, to beat the ground in sheer frustration. She felt useless. Worse, she felt like she was disappointing Shu. If she kept failing, would her regret taking her on as a student? Would he abandon her or worse?

Sai stared at the rock before her, panting.

"Take a break, Sai. That rock's not going anywhere." Shu said dryly.

"That's the problem." Sai ground out.

She sat heavily on the cave floor. Her throbbing head rested in her hands.

"Maybe there's a different move I could try." She suggested.

Shu looked carefully at her, "I've shown you every move I know." He said. "I wish Oma was here. Her style is easier."

Sai looked up, "It is?"

Shu nodded, "I learned to Earthbend after I went half-blind, so it's kind of hard to explain to a person with full sight. Oma learn with both eyes open, so I imagine it's easier and more adaptable for a normal person."

"Or at least as normal as people who can throw boulders around can get," she said dryly.

Shu laughed softly.

Sai didn't want to talk about moving rocks right now. Her eyes traveled over Shu's body. He had discarded his shirt and shoes like he always did for her lessons. He was tanned skin over hard muscle and every inch was covered with scars. He was unquestionably a veteran of many battles. "How did this all start?"

Shu looked at her "Earthbending?"

"No, the war. You know between Jiang and Yangtze." Sai said

Shu frowned. "Supposedly, the Yangtze and the Jiang were once a single village with one head family. About six or seven generations ago, the leader of the village had twin sons. Nobody knew which son was born first, so no one could say who should inherit."

"Why didn't they just support whoever was the better leader?" Sai asked reasonably.

Shu shrugged "They did. Only, some people thought one brother was the better leader, some the other. The village was split down the middle. So, one brother got the fields and made Jiang. The other got the rivers and made Yangtze. And they traded for a while. But it was never enough. So a war broke out, and another and another. And here we are today."

Shu sipped angrily from his skin, "I don't know if that's the truth. Anyone knew the real story is long dead. We don't fight for a reason anymore. We just fight because that's all we've ever done." He drank again from his water skin.

Sai felt uncomfortable, so she changed the subject. "Then how did you and Oma fall for each other?"

Shu looked at her again, "I know I told you this. She got lost in the caves."

"No," Sai said "I mean why did you fall for her? You two don't seem anything alike."

Shu smiled "You mean she has the personality of a rabid tiger-wolf. Your half right. Oma only acts like that around strangers." He held up a hand to stop her question. "I fell for because of the moment I first meet her. She was in a cave, the one filled with the big glowing crystals. I think she thought she was alone. She just looked so sad and desperate, I went straight up to her and asked her what was wrong." He smiled at the memory. "She nearly clawed my good eye out. It took a while, but she eventually told me about her situation."

"Tai Yang has a fetish for beautiful things." He explained, "He wants only the most flawless gems and rarest flowers. The same goes for his women. When he comes across an exceptionally beautiful woman, he makes her his Panda-Lily, his royal consort."

Rage colored Shu's cheeks, "Oma's father sold her to Tai Yang for an enormous amount of sum. If I ever find him..." he left the threat hanging.

"Oma had been the Panda-Lily for about six months, when Tai Yang went on inspections and she disappeared into the catacomb under the palace. Somehow she ended up in the tunnels and got completely lost. That's when I found her. We were both pretty lonely. We started to meet regularly after that. One thing led to another and we became lovers."

"And you never regretted it." Sai asked.

Shu shook his head "Oma is melodramatic, ill-tempered, and harsh, and the most perfect woman I've ever met."

Sai looked at Shu. His eyes were faraway and he grinned into the open air.

Shu swirled the water in skin. Memories of his relationship with Oma always made him feel like he was ten years younger. But that didn't take away from his current predicament. Sai had the ability to Earthbend. The ability to be a great Earthbender, he was sure of that at least. He just needed to find a way to make her think like one.

He remembered how defeated he felt after he lost his eye. Without it, his days as a swordsman had come to an end. He'd come to these caves hoping the monsters that lived here would eat him alive and spare him the slow death of starvation that was the fate of a crippled soldier. Instead they taught him to see in a whole new way. He returned to his brigade months later, ready to fight again.

His eye fell on the sword belt he had discarded during the training session. With a grin, he retrieved two of the knives he kept there. He turned back to Sai sat straighter, eyes as wide as a spooked rabaroo. He flashed her a bright smile.

"Don't worry." He said calmly. "It's just that it's been three weeks. I thought you would be Earthbending by now, but you can't stay out here without something to defend yourself with."

He tossed her a knife which Sai caught.

He cleared his throat, "Take your Ox stance."

Sai stood, lead foot forward, the hand with the knife level with her collarbone. She had long since stopped questioning any order he gave. Shu took the same stance opposite her. He stood carefully, eyes locked on her. She stood waiting for him to strike. He darted foreword, knife snaking out to strike her side. Sai stepped back and blocked.

"Good reflexes" he thought. "Again."

Sai looked up at the stars, hands behind her head. Shu had left the hour before sunset for his head call. He was a Jing, a brigade commander for Rong's swordsmen. They had still had plenty of time for knife practice. It was comforting to know she could do something right.

Sai rolled over on her bed, trying to get comfortable. The unpleasant conversations she had with Shu were swirling inside her head, making sleep seem an ocean away. She couldn't imagine anyone, much less her father, selling her to a stranger as a consort. It was too horrible to imagine a parent binding their daughter to someone for life against her will. But, then again, she never considered her marriage prospects. Wise Women were supposed to remain unbounded as the animals. And she had never been attractive enough for anyone to convince Grandmother to break Sai's vow to the Spirits.

"Jai Li was always the pretty one." She thought. "People fell in love with her at first sight. The only nice thing they said about me was I was sturdy."

Sai's thoughts turned back to Shu. The smile on his face when he talked about Oma.

"He really loves her." Sai thought amazed. "That prickly, detestable woman. I only hope Oma knows how lucky she is to have him. And I hope I can have half of that luck someday."

Sai drew the blankets to her chin, turned to her side and fell fast asleep.