Chapter 31
We have around 10 more chapters to go! I have written all of them but am editing before I post. Enjoy!
Azula coughs in the dusty street, where the battle has disintegrated into small clusters of fighters. She can think of many ways to end this conflict. Capture Mayor Sota and hold her hostage unless the Fire Nation army backs down. Use lightning to send the precarious buildings on either side of the road toppling into the street. Or she could reveal herself to the soldiers and command them to retreat, sparing the civilians. The best plan by far would be to decapitate the leadership of both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldiers.
Unfortunately, leader of the Earth Kingdom forces is exactly the person she's trying to save.
Don't be a conqueror. Think.
A slash of silver. Azula jumps to the side, barely missing an Earth Kingdom soldier's blade. Instinctively, she punches his elbow, grabs the sword hilt, and slams her opponent backwards, her foot placed behind his so he trips. The soldier crumples. Before he can get up, Azula slams the hilt of the blade into his skull.
One down. Azula breathes in and out heavily. Her arms tremble, and she drops the sword. Has she become that weak? Her lip curls. She can't disable everyone here. Maybe she could capture Altan, drag him away from the fight?
First, she has to find him.
A Fire Nation soldier stumbles from the haze, but before Azula moves, a huge man barrels in from a side alley, swinging a hammer. With one strike, the newcomer breaks the soldier's arm. She screams. And then, to Azula's surprise, the bull-like man grabs his victim by the back of the arm and drags her back into the alley.
"Stay down!" he yells at the woman, who clutches her arm and wails. When he turns, Azula recognizes him: Jinlian's beefy new husband, Guo. She doesn't think she's ever heard Guo speak before. Who is he fighting for?
Azula steps aside, unnoticed, as Guo rushes past. As she watches, the blacksmith downs an Earth Kingdom soldier, then, joined by another villager, attacks a Fire Nation one.
Remarkable. The Qima villagers are fighting back. Azula wonders who their leader is, how she can turn this to her advantage.
She ducks a chunk of flying this entire town is not her mission.
Staying apart from the mass of struggling bodies, Azula scans the scene for Altan or Temurin. Not to her left, but maybe—there. She spots a slender man kneeling over a body, frantically trying to stop blood gushing from the soldier's leg.
Azula runs, weaving through swinging swords and blasts of fire, until she reaches Temurin. It's only when she grabs his shoulder that she realizes he might know who she is. Did Altan tell him?
Temurin starts at her touch. Stares at her for a second.
"Give me your hand!" he yells. Without waiting, he grabs her wrist and holds it over the soldier's exposed upper thigh. Azula falls beside him, confused, but swimming in relief. He must not know.
"I need you to cauterize the wound," Temurin shouts over the din. "Can you do that?"
In response, Azula heats the air around her hand until it shimmers, without summoning a flame.
"Now!"
With a sickening feeling, Azula presses her hand to the wound while Temurin holds the man down. Flesh sizzles, and Azula looks away. This happened to Zuko in the arena, she remembers. A direct burn, leaving a scar in the shape of a handprint.
"That's enough!"
Panting, Azula rocks back on her heels, and Temurin begins to bind the wound.
"Temurin, you can't be here!" Azula shouts in his ear. "You're going to get killed!"
"I have you," he replies. "Besides, they need me!"
"Come back later," Azula begs. "Please, Temurin." Why can't he understand? Does he think he's invincible?
Temurin finishes bandaging the cauterized wound, then starts to drag the unconscious to the side of the road. Azula helps; to her dismay, her hands begin to shake again with the effort. They hide the soldier behind a bush, then Temurin turns to her, pulling down his mask.
"I have to stay, Nekana," he says harshly. "You know what I've done."
"The only reason I'm still here is to make sure you and Altan don't die!" Azula yells. "Don't make me knock you out and drag you away!" At this point, she isn't even sure she can.
"You're here to find Altan?" Temurin asks, eyes wide.
"Yes."
"To protect him?"
"Yes!" Why is he so shocked? His mouth trembles.
Without warning, Temurin pulls her against his chest, left arm around her waist, right hand cupping the back of her head, clutching her like she's in danger of falling. She feels his cheek against her ear; he smells of dust, sweat, and herbal medicine. Tentatively, she puts her arms around him. He doesn't feel as thin as he looks.
He breaks away first. "You're a good person, Nekana," he says fervently. "Now go find Altan. Save him from himself."
Azula starts to argue, but Temurin shakes his head. "I'm just a doctor. No one will attack me. Now go."
Azula backs away. What just happened? The only reason he'd be surprised she is helping Altan is if he knew who she is. But he can't know, or else he wouldn't have held her like that. He wouldn't have told her she was a good person.
"Go!"
Still unsure, Azula runs out into the open. There are fewer fighters and more bodies, but she runs amongst the shadowy figures. Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, colonials…none of them are her target. She turns a corner, then another, searching the streets and hoping she isn't too late. She examines a cluster of bodies outside the butcher's stand: a bearded man knocked out cold, a woman biting her lip with pain, half-scorched person with long black hair. None of them are Altan.
Her earlier running high has disappeared completely. Every step hurts, her lungs constricting painfully. She begins to long for something to smooth away this pain, to smooth away everything. Already? Dread sinks in Azula's stomach. Even if she can't trust her own mind, she's always been able to trust her body. But her quest to find the spirits has weakened her. She staggers against a wooden cart, gripping the side with white-knuckled fingers. Where is Altan? She has to find him. Altan, so pretty, so pretty he wants her dead.
Someone yells up ahead. Forcing her head upwards, Azula sees a half dozen Fire Nation soldiers arrayed in a half circle, pinning down two green-robed figures against a storehouse wall. One swings his sword wildly, briefly parting the crowd.
It's Altan. And next to him is Mila. She's dressed in green but her dark skin and grey braids are unmistakable. She lashes out at the Fire Nation soldiers with a waterwhip.
In an instant, Azula is among them. Two blazing fire daggers in her hands, she kicks out one soldier's knees and grabs her arm as she falls. Azula twists the arm behind the soldier's back and pulls, causing a sickening crunch as the shoulder dislocates. She jumps in front of Altan and Mila and summons twin whips of blue fire.
"It's over!" she yells at the five remaining red-armored troops. "Stand down!"
Everyone freezes, confused.
And then something hits her hard in the back. She falls to her hands and knees, gasping for breath, as pain blooms across her upper shoulders. Her fire goes out. And when she turns her head, she sees Altan standing over her, another rock in his hands.
Of course.
It's an ancient Earth Kingdom punishment, stoning. But one Altan probably finds fitting. Eyes resolute, he lifts the rock, soft brown hair still hanging in his eyes.
Then with a sudden blast of fire, the fighting resumes. Mila sends a host of small ice daggers flying over their heads, forming a V like turtle-ducks in migrating south. Altan crouches, and the icicles rattle off the Fire Nation soldiers' shields and ricochet dangerously back at them. Azula heaves herself to her feet.
When she rises, Altan's sword is locked with a soldier's. His teeth are gritted, jaw clenched. Whipping her shin up, Azula kicks Altan's opponent squarely in the side. He buckles. And then Azula slams her foot into his forehead, and his eyes roll to white.
"I don't need your protection!" Altan yells. He cuts downwards with enough force to split Azula in half, but she dodges to the side. Darting around Altan, she sends a blast of blue flame at the Fire Nation's firebender, who braces herself and parts it with difficulty. The return blast is swift, but instead of merely shielding herself, Azula redirects the fire back at the sender. She hears a whistle in the air, and drops to the ground just as Altan's sword passes over where she had been standing.
She has to keep moving. As she somersaults, then tackles another soldier, she tries to keep an eye on Altan. He may be inept with his sword, but she still can't turn her back to him.
The fight seems to blur. Duck, punch, bend. Save Altan. Dodge Altan's blows. Does Zuko feel like this when he's with me? Because no many times she drags a soldier off of Altan, no many times she tries to help him, he lashes out with the same determination and fury. She spins around Altan, her back briefly pressed against his as she protects him from a wave of fire.
Fighting Zuko at the Western Air Temple. At the Fire Nation Palace. In the forest on their way to find their mother. Again and again, she tried to end her brother's life. And again and again, he spared her. Because deep down, he loved her.
Tears fill her eyes. She never apologized. Even when she left him.
Something grabs her ankle; Azula crashes to the ground. Mila stands over Azula and strikes down with a blade of ice. Azula rolls to the side. The ice sword pierces the ground near her face and splinters. Azula sends a wild fire blast at Mila and stumbles to her feet. Altan advances, his bloody sword in hand.
"I told you not to come back!" Altan says.
Azula struggles to stand, but water whips snake around her wrists and ankles, pulling her to her knees. The water freezes to ice and encases her hands. Altan's face is pale, but determined. He raises his sword.
"Forgive me," Azula gasps, looking up at him.
He hesitates.
And that's when the last Fire Nation soldier drives a knife into the side of Altan's skull.
Temurin halts in horror as he sees Altan fall. Nekana screams. The ice pinning Nekana to the ground melts away, and she crawls to the young man's side as Mila and the Fire Nation soldier turn on each other.
Even as he runs up, Temurin knows there is nothing he can do. Altan's eyes are blank, a pool of blood slowly expanding around him. Hearing his footsteps, Nekana rounds on him.
"Temurin, Temurin, do something," she sobs.
"Nekana, I can't," he chokes out.
"I command you to heal him!" she begs, tears tracking down her hollow cheeks. She drags Altan into her lap, and her words devolve into a wordless moan, interrupted by her rapidly shortening breath.
"I—my fault—" she gasps.
Temurin's vision blurs with tears.
"We can't stay here, Nekana," he says.
Somehow, Nekana stands, heaving Altan up with her. Her golden eyes are wild and unfocused as she backs away from Temurin, back down the ruined street. Her back is unprotected.
"You can heal him, Temurin, I know you can!" she begs.
With a shout, Mila finishes the Fire Nation soldier. She stands panting, her ice-sword dripping with blood. But Qima's streets are quiet and full of the dead. Mila seems to assess the situation, her wizened and wiry arms trembling. Her eyes fall on Temurin, Altan, and Nekana.
"Get out of my village," Temurin spits, standing protectively in front of Nekana, who is still trying to drag Altan through the rubble.
Mila's face tightens. Then she dissolves her ice-sword and runs.
Immediately, Temurin turns and takes a tentative step towards Nekana. The influence of the yapian, and now this…she's probably seconds away from collapsing from shock herself.
"Come back, Kana," he says gently. "He's gone. It's not your fault."
She shakes her head vehemently, gripping Altan under his armpits. She is covered in his blood.
"Kana—"
A blur of green behind her. A flash of grey. And before Temurin can even scream, an earthbender appears from the side and swings an axe at Nekana's head. The blade cuts across her skull, silver turning red. And she, too, falls to the dust. Altan's body falls on top of her.
Gone. Both gone. The sky shimmers.
In a second, the earthbender is gone too. Temurin drops his bloody scalpel and cradles Nekana's head in his hands. Her face is covered in scarlet. Desperately, he presses his last bandage to her head.
Hands working quickly, he begins to pray.