Chapter 25 – Answers
All happiness was gone, for the time being. The injured were being carried away, and the dead were being buried were they lay. It was a sad prospect, saying goodbye to the ones that were loved, to those you had grown up with. But like all things, it had to be done.
Death hung in the air like thick rot. Bodies lay mangled and torn on the ground. Blood had been shed; it stained the ground because of a promise for peace. The blood was shed willingly for this hope, so many had given themselves to this cause. Narim in his final moments had given himself for its insurall. He had sacrificed himself for the others, for peace. The city no longer looked clean; it was tarnished with all this blood, with his blood. Any second Yochinn expected him to walk up to him and tell him he did a great job. But he wouldn't, he was gone, Yochinn would never joke with him again, nor would Ajein or Melay receive his advice or company. NO, Yochinn thought. His body may be gone, lost to the dark angels who took him for their own. He may be ashes amongst the dirt. But his friendship, his loyalty, would live on forever. His story of ultimate sacrifice would be passed on through the ages. He would be honoured. This is what comforted Yochinn as he stood on top the hill looking out over the ocean of purest blue. The pot was turned over and the ashes fell from it. After a second of falling they were caught in a breeze that Yochinn could not feel and flew over the ocean like butterflies. Yochinn watched as they spiralled up into the sky and vanished from view.
"Keep flying Narim. Higher and higher. Fly until you reach the stars and beyond. But do not miss us, as we will miss you." Yochinn said through wet eyes. Beside him Ajein smiled up at the sky and wiped away the heavy tears.
"Goodbye," She whispered.
Yochinn turned around then, to see the same brunette girl that he had seen speaking secretly to Narim on the day the ships were being readied for departure, standing behind the small gathering, crying. She dabbed her eyes lightly with a piece of her white shirt. Without thinking Yochinn walked over to her.
"How did you know Narim?" He asked calmly, although the word Narim cut at him like a knife.
"Oh, I-I suppose I was his girlfriend," She tumbled through tears.
"Oh," Yochinn said although he suspected as much. "I'm very sorry; he really was a good friend to all. You were very lucky."
It seemed strange to speak of Narim in past tense, Yochinn thought. But after all he was a good friend, there is no denying that.
Yochinn left the brunette girl, with Ajein not far behind. They made their way down the hill and back to the camp where Melay was waiting, having been to distraught to attend such an affair. As they entered the campsite they were greeted with a round of applause and loud cheering. But it all seemed wrong, like it was far away. No sound was really coming from anywhere; it was all drowned out by despair.
Yochinn and Ajein went inside Melay's tent; they had heard that during the battle she had fought like no other warrior any one had seen. She took down fire benders without attack moves and helped revitalise other warriors. Of course Yochinn and Ajein knew how she had done it.
"How was it?" Melay asked as Yochinn and Ajein sat down in her tent.
"It was good to say goodbye," Ajein said solemnly.
"Well I'd like you to meet someone," She said suddenly. As she spoke these words a brown skinned man entered the tent, his hair was long and deep blue, and he looked weary and ravaged for his age.
"This is my father," Melay said.
Yochinn turned back to Melay, but Ajein asked his question for him.
"I thought all the men, including your father were killed in your village."
"I thought that too, but, you explain it father." Melay replied.
"Well actually," her father began in a cracked voice. "We were taken by the fire warriors as prisoners."
"They took the warriors from my city too." Ajein interrupted.
"Yes, that's because the fire empress wanted all the water warriors for their ability to bend blood." He continued. "She forced us, after many years, to control vulchers to attack a town."
"It was you," Yochinn gasped. "So all along it was Josi's plan to turn the nations against each other, so that we would destroy each other and her work would be done." The words came as an incredible shock, all of it stemmed from the fire nation, everything.
"Why did my mother tell me the water warriors had been killed?" Melay asked intently.
"Well, I suppose it's because she knew how brave you were and didn't want you to go after me and get yourself killed." He answered absent-mindedly, as if lost in a memory.
"During my night at the water temple I saw her again, it was as if she was a ghost," Melay said hoping for some kind of explanation.
"That was probably your energy bending skills showing themselves." Her father answered, patting her hair with a proud look in his eyes.
I remember when I was taken by the fire warriors, no matter how badly they treated me I always kept the thought of you in the back of my mind, and your mother," Melay's father said as if Yochinn and Ajein weren't in the room.
"What kind of things did they make you do?" Melay asked.
"Horrible things," he trailed off. "Like eat human flesh, and she made us blood bend a fellow earth warrior to give the queen a child."
"WHAT!" Yochinn yelped jumping up from his seat.
"Yes, I know it's despicable," Melay's father said hanging his head in shame.
"No, it's not that, it's just," Yochinn looked down at Ajein for a brief moment. She had a look of shock on her face as well. "What did he look like?"
"Well he had brown hair and green eyes, kind of like you. He was one of the men at my village when the fire warriors raided it. He was taken by mistake but they made us control his blood to give the queen a child, as there were no strong suitable males at the time." Melay's father said shamefully.
Yochinn collapsed onto the floor. His father hadn't betrayed his nation; he had been a good man after all. Josi had lied, even in her final moments. If she had been lying about his life, maybe she had been lying about his death, maybe he was still alive.
"What happened to him?"
"To fire warriors eventually killed him, after they had finished with him," Melay's father said.
Yochinn's heart sank; she hadn't lied about that last part. Thoughts buzzed around his head, now that he knew the whole truth about everything, he felt angry again. Like he could go and slaughter all of the surrendered fire warriors. But he knew he wouldn't, it wasn't what his father would have wanted.
A long sigh escaped him and he left the tent with Ajein, leaving Melay to her father.
As Yochinn sat underneath a tree in the cool shade of the leaves his eyes welled with tears and his thoughts came back to Narim. With all that he learned about the fire nation and his father he had suddenly felt weak and could no longer deny the horrible truth that burned at him from the inside out.
"It's my fault Narim is dead, if I hadn't left him there in battle things might be different, he might still be alive." Yochinn blurted out.
Ajein took his face in her hands.
"It's not your fault," She whispered. "He asked you to go on ahead. Besides, he sacrificed himself willingly to give us this chance at life. Let's not waste the gift he gave us."
Her words were soothing to the throbbing internal wound inside Yochinn.
"You did the right thing all along, like your father." She said
"Ok," He managed to whisper back, finally content with all that had happened. "What do we do now?"
"Whatever we want to do," Ajein replied calmly, as if it was such a simple answer. "Firstly I would like to go and find out what happened to my parents when they were taken."
Yochinn nodded and then added.
"And I would like to see my mother again."
"And then we can see the world," Ajein said dreamily.
Yochinn smiled at the idea, and then kissed Ajein.
"I'd like that," He agreed.
Ajein took Yochinn's hand and pulled him up from underneath the tree, to the edge of the hill. Yochinn stood hand in hand with Ajein. The two looked out over the bright green fields and distant forest. With one last glance into each others eyes they took their first step into a new world. A world that they would explore together, wherever it took them.