Book Two: Earth

Chapter 2

The Cave of Two Lovers

Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create.

The gang decided to take a break from flying to Omashu and stretch their legs. Lately they were spending more time up in the air then on land and they were running out of things to do besides sitting around. While Sokka took it as a time to rest Katara decided it was best to continue training Lin and Aang on their waterbending. They were working on the octopus form which the Avatar was having trouble forming the stance. It took an hour before the young boy was able to master the moves that Lin already had a strong grasp on. This was mostly due to Aang's playful nature of waterbending fish out of the water.

In the distance the kids could hear music and with each musical note it became louder. It turned out to be a group of travellers that mistook the kids as river people. The man playing the sitar called himself Chong and was travelling with his wife Lily and some companions. They said they were nomads which were something Aang was able to identify with as he was a nomad himself. The nomads didn't seem to be the brightest people they ever met, but had tons of great stories and songs. Lin and her friends sat down for lunch while they listened to Chong talk about a secret love tunnel that would be great shortcut to Omashu.

"Appa hates going underground and we have to do what will make him feel comfortable" Aang stated.

Lin and Sokka were relieved to get away from the singing travellers since that was all they would do, sing a song about anything. They bid the nomads farewell and took the skies until they were severely attacked by the Fire Nation. With their tails between their legs they headed back to the nomads.

"Secret love cave lets go" said an unhappy Sokka.

As they headed to the tunnel the nomads informed them that it was a labyrinth and that they must trust in love to get through or die. Lin had no doubt about her love for Zuko and from the look in Aang's eyes he believed in his love for Katara though the southern waterbender didn't know it. As Aang and his friends entered the cave the Fire Nation soldiers that attacked them earlier blew up the entrance behind them. Mei-Lin wouldn't deny that she started to dread going deeper in the cave.

Sokka took it upon himself to take a map and guide everyone through the caves. After what felt like an eternity his sister grew concerned "Sokka this is the tenth dead end you led us to."

"There is something strange here. There's only one explanation: the tunnels are changing" replied Sokka.

Any other time Lin would have just laughed at the Water Tribe boy for his silly notion, but it made sense as they felt the earth in the cave shift. "Listen" said Lin.

Out of the dark and damp corridor of the cave ahead a wolf-bat flew at them causing chaos. Appa accidently was burned on his arm when the nomads tried to scare away the bat with a flaming torch. The bison flung around bashing into the walls of the cave causing it to cave in. Aang saved everyone by blowing them away from the falling debris, but resulted in the group being separated by large boulder. Aang was on one side with Katara and Appa and Sokka became disheartened that he was stuck with the annoying nomads. He unsuccessfully tried to dig his way back to his sister and friend.

"Don't worry Sokka, I'm still here" said Lin trying to comfort him. The young boy jumped on top of Lin squeezing her as if she was his only salvation. "Sokka…. I… can't …. breathe."

Chong and his friends could make the best out of any situation and decided to sing a tale of their travels through the dark cave. They only sounded louder with the acoustics echoing throughout the tunnel. Both Sokka and Lin decided to walk ahead of Appa lighting the way while at the same time doing their best to distance themselves from the musicians riding on the sky bison's back.

"By any chance you don't happen to love me so we can get out of this stupid cave do you?" asked a sulky Sokka.

"Nope."

"Just checking" he shrugged.

"Do you think the stories are true about this love cave?" Lin took out some bread from her backpack to snack on and offered a piece to Sokka.

"I..I dunno. Normally I don't believe in old stories, but that all changed when I met Aang. Around him it seems like anything is pahsable." The boy from the Water Tribe stuffed his mouth with stale bread before he could finish his sentence.

"Yeah meeting you guys was definitely a life changer." If it wasn't for them Lin would have never learned to waterbend and would be too ashamed to ever return home. "So since we are in a secret love cave and all how about you tell me what happened between you and Princess Yue." The black haired girl started to walk backwards in front of Sokka and watched his face as he started to blush.

"What is there to say except she was my first girlfriend who then turned into the moon!" He lowered his eyes to the ground and heard Chong start to sing a song about the moon after hearing his outburst.

Mei-Lin couldn't hold in her chuckle as she started to walk forward again. "How could she have been your girl when she was engaged to someone else?"

The question really upset the boy with the ponytail as he stopped in his tracks and stamped his foot down. "Well it may not have been official, but that doesn't deny how we felt about each other. Yue didn't want to marry that jerk! If you had only seen how tormented she was between her feelings and her duty. Even though we only knew each other for a short while we still really loved each other."

Lin was shocked by his reaction and felt bad for teasing him. There was no denying that what he said was true. She could remember when the non-bender volunteered for a secret mission it caused Yue to shed a tear. "I'm so sorry Sokka. I wasn't trying to make a joke of it. It must have been hard for you to lose her and you never really opened up to us about it."

Sokka continued walking with Lin following right behind him. "I don't know how to talk about it. It's like she's gone, but then she's not because she is a spirit so she's everywhere. Yue and I met in secret a lot so I get that you guys wouldn't believe that a princess would want anything to do with me. Anyways don't worry about it. I feel better already talking to you about it."

"You can talk to me about anything."

"Anything huh? Let's turn the tables then and put you on the spotlight. So since we are in a secret love cave you have any old flames that turned into a spirit of some kind?" Sokka mimicked Lin's tone from before.

"I wouldn't call them an old flame and they definitely didn't turn into a spirit, but it does feel like he is everywhere." There was no way she was going to tell her friend it was Zuko, but she could be vague on the details.

"Uh-huh." Sokka was eager to hear more.

"Let's just say I met this guy when we were younger and it was the same deal as you and Yue. We were both from different worlds and fell for each other in the short time we were together. It was kind of a summer thing when I went away on vacation. I ran into him years later and he doesn't even recognize me. In fact he's become a completely different person." Lin's voice became more solemn as she explained her feelings for Zuko.

"Now I see why you're not attracted to me. I can't compete against years of you wanting to be with this guy. Looks like we both got the short end of the stick."

Lin turned to look at Sokka with her ice blue eyes and together they had an unspoken moment. They were both heartbroken in their own way and were able to finally come clean about it. Sokka opened up his arms to Lin as she gave him a long loving embrace. Just before separating she gave him a kiss on the cheek and was expecting some sort of remark about her having secret feelings for him. There was none.

Someone had found out about Yuki and Mei-Lin origins and the word was spreading that enemies from the Water Tribe were living in the Fire Nation. Ursa had overheard her handmaidens talking about it and had no idea how they were found out. Nobody seemed to know that Zuko and she were associated with them nor Yuki and Mei-Lin's identity. It was possible that no one may ever figure out who belongs to the Water Tribe, but she wasn't going to take that risk. The princess decided that she would help her friends escape and make it back safely to the North Pole. During their last get together Ursa managed to convince Yuki to open up to her about who she truly was. She had never seen such fear in a person's eyes like when she told Lin's mother that she knew they were from the Water Tribe.

Zuko was alone in his room reading a book when his mother entered and closed the door behind her. The young prince had kept Lin's secret, but when his mother told him that she was from the Water Tribe he told her he already knew. Zuko was surprised to hear that he was going to have to say goodbye otherwise they might be captured and kept locked up like slaves. He didn't want Mei-Lin to leave, but he didn't want her to be hurt either. If he knew Mei-Lin was from the Water Tribe before he really got to know her then he may have turned her in so that his father would be proud of him. They didn't seem as rebellious or dangerous as everyone made waterbenders to be. In fact Zuko was able to open up and be accepted by a person that should be his enemy. He was confused by everything the Fire Nation had taught him, but he didn't want to think about that right now. The girl he loved was going to be gone from his life and most likely forever.

At the fabric shop it was a normal day for Yuki as she was finishing up an order of carpets for the neighbors down the road. Lin was making lunch for her mother in the half kitchen in the back of the store. As she was about to serve her mother she noticed a woman enter the shop and handed Yuki a letter. Her mother turned pale once she read it and quickly rolled it up and tucked it into her robes. Yuki rushed to talk to the store owner who was packing up the finished orders. "Rei, I know this is going to put you in a rough position, but my husband has returned from battle and gravely injured. I must get back home to the colonies immediately and I don't think I will be returning."

Rei was more sympathetic than angry as she too had lost her husband to the war. The shop keeper gave Yuki and Mei-Lin a farewell hug and some extra coin for the journey home.

On the way to the Flaming Dragon Inn Yuki was pulling her daughter to walk quickly.

"Mom what's wrong? Why did you lie to Rei? Is something really wrong with daddy?" asked a concern Lin.

"Your father is fine sweetie." Yuki tried to give her daughter a reassuring smile even though her face was still white as a ghost.

Yuki didn't explain the letter until they were safely inside their room and started packing. The letter was from Ursa warning about a search for two people from the Water Tribe and that they must leave at once. The cover story was written on the parchment as well as when a carriage would be sent to the inn to take them to the docks. Lin became just as scared as her mother because she knew how the Fire Nation dealt with waterbenders.

As they waited for the carriage outside the inn the young waterbender realized that she was never going to see Zuko again. She wished they had the chance to say goodbye as tears welled up in her eyes Lin hugged her stuffed turtle-duck. After waiting in the sweltering sun for a few minutes a carriage rolled up to the entrance of the inn and the driver opened the door for the two ladies. Yuki and Lin were pleasantly surprised to see that Ursa and Zuko were inside.

It was a quiet ride after Yuki repeatedly thanked Ursa for helping them, but Ursa believed she had more to be grateful for. Zuko held Lin's hand throughout the ride in hopes that it would comfort her. He had never seen such fear in her pale blue eyes. When he noticed that she was hugging the present he won for her it made him smile.

At the docks their parents gave the children some time to say their goodbyes before the boat left port.

"I don't want to leave." Lin looked out towards the ocean watching the waves.

"I don't want you to leave either. You're the only girl that I like to play with that doesn't annoy me."

Lin giggled "Well you found me annoying in the beginning."

"Yeah but I was being dumb, literally a royal pain like my sister. Do you think you will ever come back?" Zuko hoped she would say yes.

There was a long pause before she answered as the tears she was holding back the whole time began to run down her cheeks like a river. "…No."

Zuko heard the sniffles and realized that Mei-Lin was crying. He reached out to hug her and he never wanted to let her go.

The boat was allowing passengers to board and that meant it was time to say one last goodbye. As Zuko let go of her she gave him a kiss on the lips which caught him by surprise. Lin was in love with Zuko as he was the most handsome and sweetest boy she had ever met. When she broke their kiss she hoped he would say something like a declaration of love of some sort, but there was nothing but silence. She felt embarrassed and ran off towards her mother.

The prince was caught in a daze and felt stupid for not saying anything to her. There was no way he could let her get on that boat broken hearted. He chased after her and grabbed her by the arm forcing her to face him. He wanted to tell Mei-Lin he loved her, but no words would come out so he let his actions speak and kissed her back. They were only tap kisses, but there was so much meaning in them. Lin smiled and then she was gone.

After walking for what seemed like forever another strange sound came from the cave. This time instead of one wolf-bat it was a large swarm and to make matters worse right behind them were two giant badger moles. Lin didn't want to waterbend and hurt these innocent creatures and couldn't think of anything else to do. As everyone scrambled to dodge the badger-moles attacks Sokka accidentally fell on the sitar Chong dropped during the commotion causing a musical note to play. The note echoed loudly and the earthbending moles suddenly stopped moving. "Sokka they like music!" yelled Lin. Sokka tossed the sitar to Chong so the nomads could play their songs as the badger-moles lead them out to an exit. Once outside in the fresh air they caught up with a different Aang and Katara then they left with.

"Hey how did you guys get out?" asked Lin.

"We followed love" said Aang proudly while Sokka pointed at the badger moles "We let ferocious beasts guide us".

It was great to finally part with the nomads as they were way too mellow about everything and would only slow down their pace. The Avatar with his friends continued their hike to Omashu. Once they made it to the top of the mountain they were relieved to be almost be at the city. The only problem was that it already belonged to the Fire Nation as their flags covered Omashu.