The young woman tried her best to imitate Kitara, but her clumsy movements were comically bad to watch. She leaned to her left, then to her right, threw her hands into the air and made a few steps backwards.
Kitara smiled and repeated the move so the woman could have a better idea on how to make it right. Her motions were stark contrasts in every respect: she coiled to the sides with the elegance of a serpent that is just about to strike down its prey; her arms rose slowly to open wide with a fluent motion giving the impression of a blossoming flower.
The woman just sighed and massaged her temple.
"Okay, I think I've finally got it," she said wearily. "Let's do it again."
"We can take a break," recommended Kitara, but the woman shook her head.
"Thank you, but I only have one day to learn this properly. I wasted enough time with your stupid warden so I don't have the luxury of rest." She slightly bowed towards Kitara. "So may I ask you to continue?"
"Of course!"
They repeated the moves a few times. The woman's dedication to learn them was incredible, but sadly, she didn't have the physique and agility to perform them properly. Unlike Kitara, she wasn't a highly trained warrior with years of experience.
Her name was Mizuki, and she was an actress, playing the role of Suki in a play from the Ember Island Theater. And she took this really seriously, to the point where she looked for the Kyoshi Warriors in their prison so she could learn and give the most accurate performance.
Her presence was a welcome change. The last week had been even more boring than usual, and the Asha-jokes Pema was making had grown old very quickly. Ty Lee disappeared but at least Azula didn't show up instead. The Kyoshi Warriors had been having the most blank and meaningless week of their stay in this prison
Mizuki's arrival has shaken up the mood and she didn't come empty handed either. She brought several gifts to win over the girls and more importantly, she brought information.
She told the girls that before she came here she had visited KyoshiIsland too. To everyone's great relief, she couldn't relate any bad events and it seemed that the island escaped the horrors of the war. More importantly, she said that the Kyoshi Warriors she had found on the island were all young girls from the village or the harbor. She didn't meet with Kei as the assault specialist was away.
And that was good, because it meant that Kei was looking for her sisters so it should be only a matter of time before she could find them.
On the other hand, Mizuki also visited Suki. Or at least she had tried. According to her words, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors was kept in the highest security prison of the Fire Nation, a place called the Boiling Rock. Luckily for her, Mizuki had a royal authorization that allowed her to move freely around the Fire Nation, so she could get into the Boiling Rock…
…but she couldn't get through the overseer of Suki's block. Mizuki had a rather hazy description of this woman so the girls didn't want to make assumptions but it looked like she was in fact Instructor Tamara. Their long lost instructor and foster-mother had returned after two years and she was with Suki, probably keeping a watch over her.
They celebrated these things only quietly, with repressed excitement. It was just too good to be true. Mizuki's trustworthiness was questionable at best and she shared quite a lot of vague and inaccurate information. Maybe she was just forgetful… or maybe she was in fact an agent of Azula.
The fire princess played her games carefully, and the girls weren't exactly sure that this wasn't another one of them. Though they hadn't voiced it in front of the woman yet, the Kyoshi Warriors seriously suspected Mizuki of having a much more sinister purpose than she showed.
Personally, Kitara knew that with Azula, even a simple hair combing could be a fatal trap.
She took a deep breath as the memory of that stupid incident came up in her mind.
"Is there a problem?" asked Mizuki with confusion. "Am I doing something wrong?"
Kitara forced out a half-hearted smile.
"Nah, you are okay."
"She has just run out of Kitara Happiness Energies!" added Pema from the background. "Don't worry, it often happens with her nowadays!"
Kitara ignored the comment. Mizuki brought a whole bunch of theatre props to show them to the girls, and now everyone was busy trying out the hilariously bad costumes and accessories. Except Kitara, who was instead tasked with training the actress. She got the work, the others got the fun.
And this left a bad taste in her mouth.
Mizuki tried to perform the moves again, now with marginally more success. They were simple dance moves the Kyoshi Warriors used to play during Kyoshi Day when they were little. Kitara had spiced it up a little to make it more theatrical, but the complexity and sophistication of the new moves were sadly beyond Mizuki's abilities.
The young actress panted and started it yet again. Her body twisted and twirled as she forced some speed and fluency into her moves. She awkwardly raised her arms to get the final stance, but when she tried to open them up, she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground with a panicked scream.
Her reward was some muffled laughter from the girls.
"Should we take a break?" asked Kitara worriedly. "You are getting better and better… but you are also getting more and more exhausted." She tried to cram some sincerity into her voice but she still had a sarcastic edge in this sentence. Unfortunately, Mizuki didn't miss that.
"I must learn these moves properly," she hissed back coldly. "I have only this day to do it, so please, if we could continue…"
"Take it easy Mizuki! Nobody can learn this perfectly within one day!"
Pema's comment was simply ignored by the actress. She readied herself to repeat the moves yet again, waiting for Kitara to do the same.
The young swordfighter frowned. She too grew a little bit tired and she intended to end the training session in the next few seconds.
Kitara stiffened her back to announce the break whether Mizuki would like it or not. If the actress tried to protest then she would be silenced with the same method Kitara had been using to cut off Ty Lee when the acrobat was a little bit too chatty: with a sudden, friendly, warm and embarrassingly tight hug. It always worked, without fail.
Before anything could happen, the loud creak of the metal door interrupted them. Someone tried to get in but didn't know how to open the door properly. The girls exchanged glances. They weren't expecting visitors today. Even Mizuki was a big surprise and from the looks of it, she wouldn't be the only one.
Kitara could hear two blunt thumps then the door finally burst open with such a force that its momentum nearly tore the frame out from the floor.
"Uhm… Sorry… I'm kinda' new here." The harsh and snappish voice belonged to a woman. Kitara raised an eyebrow. Whoever opened the door should be a new prison guard because her voice wasn't familiar at all.
"Do we have new prison guards or what?" whispered Pema irresolutely, but Okako hushed her.
A large person, clad in black and crimson armor entered the room. Kitara needed a fleeing moment to recognize the characteristic uniform of the Royal Firebenders. And these guys could mean only one thing…
Five other Royal Firebenders followed him. They walked to the Kyoshi Warriors and each of them grabbed a girl, rudely dragging them apart.
Kitara chose to comply and voluntary took her place at the entrance of the junk-room. The firebender next to her didn't release her though, to the point where he got an even stronger hold on her with both of his hands, restraining Kitara's arms completely.
The other Royal Firebenders did the same with their girls. The Royal Firebender who couldn't get a girl simply threw Mizuki out from the cell. The actress had a chance for a protesting yell but then quickly disappeared through the door, taking a crashing fall down the stairs.
The girls hissed as one when the sound of Mizuki hitting the floor of the hall below reached them.
"The room is secured, Princess Azula!" said the Royal Firebender who had just kicked out Mizuki. She was a woman and she sounded somehow familiar to Kitara. It wasn't really the voice but rather the tone. Kitara was sure that she has heard it before but maybe with a deeper voice.
She followed this strange Royal Firebender with her eyes as she stepped to the firebender holding Asha and took his place. Kitara would actually pay to see her without the helmet. She had a notion to ask her to do so, but she swallowed it. This woman was probably some sort of officer and it was clear that she took Asha for a good reason.
Asha also realized the strange occurrence and when the woman grabbed her arms, she tried to break free. The young girl made a step back, pressing her back against the woman's chest armor and simply tossed herself sideways. Her trick worked and the woman had to release Asha's right arm as her motion of keeping up with the girl was blocked by her bulky armor.
"Watch out captain! My warriors are just as impetuous as dangerous!"
The voice of the fire princess froze Asha as she was about to continue her escape attempt with a sweep against the woman's legs. The Royal Firebender quickly seized the moment and regained the control over the young girl, grabbing her again with a much stronger hold.
Azula entered the cell and the atmosphere instantly changed. Her appearance drew baleful air, the stench of evil. A cloak of fear and darkness followed her, enveloping the hearts of the Kyoshi Warriors with its cold touch.
The prison cell was relatively cold, yet Kitara could feel a drop of sweat running down on her back. The mere sight of Azula filled her mind with the taste of pure terror. Her breathing became heavy and she could feel her heart rate increasing.
And that wasn't all. Within the malice that surrounded Azula, there was a web of incredible personal power. The fire princess was a walking avatar of confidence and superiority. There was no obstacle she couldn't crush, no skill she couldn't master and no will she couldn't break.
It wasn't the fear that paralyzed Kitara. It was the awe, inspired by the overpowering aura of the fire princess, the delicate duality of fear and supremacy.
And Kitara couldn't explain the source of this feeling. It was like their little incident two weeks ago had opened up Kitara's eyes and now she could see who the fire princess really was.
She gulped as Azula passed by in front of her. She had a bad feeling about this.
Azula walked around the room, glancing through the Kyoshi Warriors.
"Nice uniform!" she noted gleefully when she saw Pema, who wore one of those ridiculous theater costumes. "The light green on the sleeves really enhances your pretty eyes!"
She picked up a paper fan from the floor for some examination. She tried its stretchiness but the cheap theater prop proved to be frail and it snapped in her hand.
"What a shame…" she turned around and threw away the ruined fan. "I think that… Mizuki hit the bottom of the stair a little bit too hard." She pointed at the idle Royal Firebender. "You! Go back down there and take her away! I don't want to see her again in this prison!"
The firebender complied without a word and left the prison cell in a big hurry.
"Oh yes, this brings us back here." She brought out a small green item from her belt. Kitara couldn't see it very well, but it was thin and rounded, like a sheath. "Today, I came here to ask something from you…"
"You can stick your request up to your nose!" snapped Asha suddenly. "Smokebelcher!"
The air immediately froze in the room. For a long moment, everyone remained silent and motionless. Kitara could even feel that her heart probably missed a beat or two from the shock.
Azula turned towards Asha, with a furious grimace on her face. Asha returned the favor and put up a similarly angry face.
This finally roused the Royal Firebender who held the young girl. She quickly clasped her arms through Asha's and simply pushed the girl downward.
Asha yelped up as her arms stretched in the grasp of the woman. It sure looked rather painful.
"Silence, prisoner!" barked the Royal Firebender, and put on some more pressure, forcing out another scream from Asha.
The youngest Kyoshi Warrior was now in some real pain, but her suffering at least satisfied Azula. The fire princess just smiled and turned back.
"So…" She raised the small sheath above her shoulder so it became visible for everyone. "Yesterday, I was thinking about this stalemate we are in, when an idea struck me." She slowly spun around, smugly glancing at each Kyoshi Warrior again. "I've realized that the source of our problems is the numbers."
"Just tell us what you want and leave us alone!" hissed Okako, but Azula ignored her.
"It is hard to admit, but you are a little bit too numerous for me!" The fire princess grabbed the free end of the sheath and drew it out. It was actually the hilt of a small dagger. "But don't worry, I've worked out a very good solution to this!"
Now, this really startled the girls. The sinister tone in Azula's voice was a herald of bad things to come.
The Royal Firebenders tightened their holds on the girls. Kitara hissed as the firebender behind her strengthened his grip on her arms. She was now almost completely immobile. Maybe she could break free as her Royal Firebender seemed to be rather inexperienced with holding another person but it would take quite some time to Kitara to actually do it.
She couldn't risk it. Not while Azula was in the same room as her at least.
From the corner of her eye, Kitara could see that Asha's Royal Firebender hadn't changed position. She still kept the young girl pressed down, but then Kitara caught the firebender leaning her helmeted head forward slightly, and Asha's eyes opened wide from surprise, almost as if the firebender had whispered something to her.
Then Kitara noticed that Azula was looking at her, and Asha and her strange Royal Firebender quickly became insignificant.
"Question is…" whispered the fire princess malignantly. "…which one of you should make the ultimate sacrifice…"
"None of us!" screamed Okako desperately. "Please, just leave us alone!"
"There is no fun in that!" replied Azula.
Her transfixing gaze was still on Kitara, and the young swordfighter began to feel quite uncomfortable. Terror gripped her heart, and it was immensely worse than the hold of the Royal Firebender. She tried to combat it with all her willpower, but only to a marginal success.
Azula walked to Kitara and grabbed her chin. The girl tried to at least turn away her head but as the panic overwhelmed her senses, she lost control over her own body. Her right hand instinctively made a snatch towards her belt where her sword would be and her whole body reeled back to get away from Azula's hand. The Royal Firebender behind her just barely managed to keep her restrained.
Kitara was on the edge of fainting. Darkness gathered on the edges of her vision and she could feel all her muscles tightening under the mental pressure.
But she still had strength to gulp back a squeak. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the worst.
The touch of cold metal surged through her nerves. It ran down from the top-left corner of her neck to her right collar-bone. She could feel the blade of the dagger scratching her skin, but it didn't cut into her.
"You decapitated that guy, right?" Azula's whisper was like chant of death for Kitara. "It should have been an incredible experience."
"Yeah, it was pretty neat," murmured back Kitara. She now really felt the urge to finally black out.
Azula took away the dagger and flashed a small smile.
"You are definitely one of my favorites, Kitara." And with that, the fire princess stepped away from her. "If I remember correctly, you said that if I want to do something nasty with one of you, then I should do it with Nirmal, right?"
This immediately cleared Kitara's head.
"What?"
Azula made a few steps towards Nirmal, spinning the small dagger between her fingers. The healer's eyes widened as she looked at the fire princess then at the dagger and finally at Kitara.
The young swordfighter had to strain her memory to remember that occasion. She had some blurry memories about this, but she didn't mean it then.
But as Azula approached Nirmal, it became clear the she hadn't got the joke.
"N-no, w-wait!" stuttered Kitara. "That wasn't what I really meant!"
"Why? Who should I pick then?"
Even in her unsettled state of mind, Kitara spat out the right answer in an instant.
"Pick me!"
She heard the hiss of the other girls and saw their worried looks, but at this point, she didn't care. Yes, maybe it was a trap from Azula. To force Kitara to volunteer and eventually perish under whatever unpleasant thing the fire princess devised for her.
But she would rather suffer than watch one of her sisters getting hurt. If she had to walk into this trap to save Nirmal, then so be it. They were sisters and Kitara knew that in a different situation, Nirmal would do the same for her.
"Blah!" And this was Azula's whole response. She didn't even turn back towards Kitara.
Nirmal released a pitiful whine as she realized that Azula really picked her this time. She tried to push herself away from the approaching princess, but the Royal Firebender holding her proved to be stronger.
Kitara witnessed something she hadn't for ages: Nirmal completely lost her self-control. The young healer's body shook and buckled as she tried to break free and her whining turned into crying then terrified screaming. The sober and composed girl disappeared and all that remained was just a pitiable, scared animal.
"Why do you do this?" shouted Okako to Azula, but the princess ignored her again.
The princess reached Nirmal, and grabbed her head with her free hand. The touch literally froze Nirmal. She immediately stopped moving and her screaming changed back to a barely audible whimper.
Azula raised the dagger to strike. Kitara turned her head way. She didn't want to see what was going to happen.
Kyoshi, save us!
She heard a slicing sound, followed by Nirmal's shrill scream.
A heavy silence fell to the room.
"Come on, it wasn't such a big deal at all!" Azula's voice was like a sword, cutting right into Kitara's heart.
Nirmal...
Kitara took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The first thing she could see was Nirmal, and she was still alive, sobbing and clearly scared out of her wits but as far as Kitara could determine, she was physically unhurt.
Or at least her body was unhurt. Kitara had an odd feeling that Nirmal was still missing something, and it took her a moment to realize what.
Nirmal wore her hair in three buns: one was on the top back of her head and the two other were on the sides of the bottom back slightly angled downwards. They were like the sides of a triangle that pointed down towards Nirmal's neck. Or at least they were, until now.
Azula drew out a small piece of cloth to put away her newest acquisition – Nirmal's big top bun. She used the dagger to cut down the bun.
Just the bun.
"Okay, I've got what I wanted!" said Azula. She turned towards the Royal Firebender holding Asha. "Pack up your men, captain, we are leaving."
As an answer, the firebender roughly tossed Asha towards the center of the room and put enough strength into it to send the young girl to the ground. The other Royal Firebenders did the same with the other Kyoshi Warriors, too, and soon Kitara found herself in the middle of the cell, piled on the floor with her sisters.
With her prize secured, the fire princess left the room without even glancing back at the girls. The Royal Firebenders followed her without hesitation, and they even forgot to close the cell door behind themselves.
"Well, that was weird…" murmured Pema as the last Royal Firebender disappeared in the entrance. "Azula sure knows how to make a show."
"Tell me about it," added Okako. "She totally freaked me out."
She crawled to the still sobbing Nirmal and reassuringly wrapped her arms around her.
"Are you alright Nirmal?"
The young healer sniffled and wiped off her tears.
"I was so scared…" she whispered. "I thought she was going to kill me… I… I really thought…" She gulped as she tried to pull herself together. "I was so scared…"
"Everything is alright.," hushed her Okako. "We were all scared."
Kitara noticed that Asha remained silent, as if she had other things to worry about. There was something with that Royal Firebender who had held her. Kitara had a feeling that something odd happened between those two, and she couldn't wait to investigate.
"And what was the deal with your Royal Firebender?" she asked from the young girl quietly. Luckily, the others were occupied with tending Nirmal. "Do you know her?"
To Kitara's biggest surprise, Asha nodded.
"I think I do," she replied with uncertainty, and then she stood up and started to walk away towards the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Okako.
Asha looked to the left, then to the right, and then simply shook her head in confusion.
"Sorry, but I have to find Kavi as soon as possible!"
And with that, she rushed out from the prison cell without giving any more explanation.
"Okay, and what now?" Pema gave voice to the inevitable question. "I don't know what you got from this little incident, but I'm rather anxious about Azula's newest revelation. What did she mean with this numbers thing anyway?"
"Maybe it was a joke we couldn't get!" guessed Kitara but Pema put her off with a frown.
Okako sighed. She tightened her hug around Nirmal, and looked up, right into Pema's eyes.
"I don't know what game Azula is playing," she said bitterly. "But we have had enough."
She stood up, and the other girls did the same. There was something grave hanging in the air, Kitara could feel it. It was an inevitable course of action, something they should have done for a long time by now.
Her lieutenant stiffened her back and raised her head. Her eyes sparked up with determination as she announced their next move.
"Tonight, we are going to break out from this prison!"
Asha had to wait a good ten minutes - hiding in a corner of the hall under the prison cell –while some of the Royal Firebenders stopped for a little chat in the corridor that connected the hall with the rest of the prison.
It was inconvenient, but at least she could go through the exact words of that woman again.
"If Azula comes closer, I will let you escape. Don't try to fight, just run down to Kavi. He will know what to do."
The Royal Firebenders finally began to move and Asha quickly seized the opportunity to slip past them. Using the bad lighting of the corridor to her advantage, she moved through the four firebenders like a shadow, and by the time they realized that something has just sneaked through their ranks, Asha was already behind the next corner.
She kept on running through the passages of the prison, right towards Kavi's living quarters on the first floor.
But she had to stop at the final turn. She could hear a conversation going on, and even though the voices were familiar, she decided to stay put and keep listening for a while.
The first voice was Kavi's. He sounded rather furious.
"…it's just unbelievable! These five women just appeared out of nowhere, waved some random papers in front of the warden and in return, he gladly gave them everything they wanted! And when I tried to question them, he ordered me to hold my tongue!"
The other voice belonged to a woman. It lacked the rigorous edge but Asha could still recognize her Royal Firebender.
"Just keep it calm, Kavi! You should be happy to have some extra heads here. With them, the warden will give less work for you so you can spend more time with your girlfriend!"
"Yeah… About that… Those women have taken the whole upper level! They don't allow anyone to enter, not even me!"
"Oh… Poor you. Maybe I can get you a special permission or something. Those women are probably here to guard Princess Azula's friends."
"That's not funny, mom! It is just one thing that I can't get in, but I'm afraid they won't let Asha out either! I'm gonna die without her!"
Asha nearly chuckled upon hearing Kavi's tormented confession. He was just so sweet when he was anxious.
But she got the information she needed, too: Kavi called the woman "mom". Asha wasn't exactly happy that her suspicion turned out true, especially since she had called Kavi a liar when he tried to tell her.
And Kavi's mother really turned out to be a captain of the Royal Firebenders. The fact left a bad taste in Asha's mouth. The Royal Firebenders were the elite of the Fire Nation military. They were the best firebenders of the world and the living incarnations of the virtues the Fire Nation held dear like blind loyalty, ruthlessness, and utter devotion to the superiority of the firebenders.
For Asha, it was unsettling to know that her boyfriend was the son of one of these people. Not to mention that this automatically gave credence to the other stuff Asha hadn't been able to believe about Kavi, like that forgotten city and his ancient tribe of firebenders.
She decided to face this nuisance though. She could slip back to the cell room, but it wouldn't solve anything on the long run. She was a big girl now. She could deal with this, one way or another.
As she finally took the turn, she had a feeling that she had just made another important step to finally finding satisfaction in the messy situation she was in with the other Kyoshi Warriors.
In the short corridor behind the corner lay the entrance of Kavi's room. And, and in the front of it stood Kavi and his mother. Without her helmet, the woman was disturbingly recognizable. She had the same long, black hair as Kavi and they shared many distinctive facial features that overall made their relation undeniable. She was probably in her late thirties, and Asha could even see some grey strips in her hair. But what was even more interesting was that she had light green eyes, so she had some Earth Kingdom blood, too. This immediately made her a little bit more likeable.
"ASHA!" Kavi's shout was full with happiness and relief. He ran to the girl and clasped her in his arms.
They kissed, long and passionately. For that moment, the world ceased to exist for them; it was swept away by their overwhelming love.
"You two are a lovely couple."
The woman's slightly mocking comment broke the magic. Asha peaked over Kavi's shoulder to see her face but it was so neutral that it was impossible to get what she really meant.
Lacking a better idea, Asha gently pushed Kavi aside and slowly walked to the woman.
"My name is Asha," she said to her, and offered her hand.
"I know. Kavi has talked a lot about you and I've seen your prison files." She accepted the hand. Her shake was strong but friendly. "My name is Kwang. I'm Kavi's mother."
"I'm aware of that," noted Asha sharply.
Kwang's neutral impression suddenly turned into a sad smile.
"Look, about the things that happened in the cell…" she began with a careful tone. "I appreciate your boldness to stand up against Princess Azula, but we have a saying: if you play with fire, you will eventually burn yourself."
"Don't worry, my shoulder is okay," snapped Asha. She couldn't decide if Kwang had just made an apology or wanted to lecture her. It sounded a lot like the latter. "And we have a saying too: if you can't hold down a young girl properly, then maybe you should take extra hand-to-hand lessons."
This took Kwang by surprise. For a moment it looked like she would return the sting, but at the end, she let it pass.
"Anyway, all I want to say is that I know how you feel about this stupid captivity and…"
"You don't!" Asha interrupted angrily. In her head, Kwang was going from acceptable to ridiculous with a steady pace. "You are just an insolent firebender lapdog!"
It was maybe a little bit too strong, but Asha felt no regret. Kwang played the stereotype so far with all this clearly faked friendliness and the stench of cold, calculating professionalism behind it. She was from the same batch as Azula.
"No problem mom, she called me a big stupid prison guard at the beginning," noted Kavi with a clear intention to save the situation. "Her disposition will improve over time. You definitely don't have to judge her now just because of this!"
Kwang barely flinched, but her face hardened – a sign of irritation. The air in the corridor grew hotter and Asha knew well that it was coming from the woman. Her anger was rising, and so was her firebending power.
"The tribe is going to love you," she spat out coldly in the end, and prepared to leave.
Asha followed her with her eyes as Kwang parted from Kavi and slowly walked away. She only stopped in the corridor to shot a stern look back at Asha. Of course, the young girl couldn't leave this without bidding a proper farewell
"Hope you will have fun celebrating your victory over a bunch of helpless girls with the other ashmakers!"
Kwang just sneered.
"The only girl in that room was Princess Azula, as we all know, right?" she replied sharply. Asha's face instantly turned red from the embarrassment. "And personally, I have no problem with beating women."
And with that, she disappeared behind the corridor, leaving Asha and Kavi alone.
Kavi tried to be small and insignificant. It was pretty hard under Asha's wrathful gaze.
"Did you tell her or what?"
It was a rhetorical question from Asha's part, but Kavi still had the urge to answer it.
"She kinda' found out on her own." He took a big breath. "Look, you don't have to be like this with my mother. Yeah, maybe she is a Royal Firebender, but nobody can be perfect. I know that as the part of the nobility, you are naturally inclined to spit on the members of that organization, but maybe you can make an exception with her." He slid a little bit closer and gently hugged Asha from behind. "Can you do it for me?"
Asha sighed. As she repeated the scene with Kwang over and over again in her head, she had to admit that she was undeservedly rough with the woman. She should at least let her finish her sentence about why she knew how Asha was feeling about her time in the prison.
She still had a chance to learn this, though.
"Why did your mother say that she knew how I was feeling?"
Kavi stopped the cuddling for a moment. He hummed like he was unsure if he could tell this to Asha, and then gently spun her in his arms so they were facing each other.
"My mom was pretty much a captive of the Sun Warriors tribe for eight years. It is a… very complicated story, and she is not very proud about what she did then. I guess she referred to those times."
This hit Asha badly. Now she felt horrible for being rude with Kwang. That woman just wanted to show some sympathy and she repulsed her just because of her prejudices.
Kwang played a nice game and in return, Asha had been a complete jerk.
She felt really, really stupid. And it was odd, because she wasn't used to regretting her outbursts like this.
"Oh and there is something else!" said Kavi suddenly, breaking Asha's chain of thoughts. "During her stay with the tribe, she had someone who comforted her: a boy called Kavi, her son. Very familiar, isn't it? This Kavi sure knows something!"
At least this cheered up Asha a little bit. She playfully pinched his nose and snuggled up to him even more. She decided to hold no regrets about Kwang. She was a big woman; she would swallow this little incident after some time anyway. And then maybe they could be friends too.
"Your mom also said something similar," she whispered seductively.
"Uhm…" Kavi staggered back as Asha pushed forward, towards the door of his room. "Is this going somewhere? Because I kinda' want to know what happened with your shoulder and all that…"
"Don't worry, it was nothing serious."
"O… Okay…"
They finally got into the small room and Asha quickly closed the door behind them. This day had been horrible so far, but she was sure that she could at least end it with something good.