Rewrite, Rewind

Chapter 23


"Traitor," the soft voice of a sullen child whispered to Ursa, she pulled back at the word, surprised at first and then offended soon after.

"How dare you!" Ursa tried to snarl but her voice was little more than an angry husk of breath. The fox-owl pup stood up and walked away, seemingly dismissing Ursa with its gentle silent steps.

"Mama?" Azula whimpered, "Did the Fox-owl call you?"

"You'll know instinctively when you hear the fox-owl's voice in your mind." The memory seemed to ridicule Ursa as she looked back up for her son, unconsciously tugging her bottom lip between her teeth in an old nervous habit.

"You're not going up there," Ikem hissed at her, his dark brown eyes flashing angrily

"I'm not a fire bender," she reminded him, her arms tightening on her daughter.

"Father!"

"Mommy!"

"Aunty!" Ursa turned at the strained panicked voices sounding from the exit. Lu Ten and Hai He was charging through the Circus hands with painful ease, slipping between their numbers and dismantling their attempt to restrain. Iroh was making his way to his father, angry enough to be blowing steam out his mouth and nose as he charged up the steps. Only Xiulan was making headway towards them, upon reaching them the teary-eyed girl reached out for Azula. Ursa relinquished her hold and allowed Xiulan to cradle the nine-year-old, crying quietly as she patted the sickly girl's body to reassure herself that she wasn't injured.

"Zuko!" Ikem's voice called out but his voice didn't reach the entranced boy. Ursa gestured for the girls to retreat to Hai He's safer location, who just sent a brutal kick to a circus stagehand and sent the young man into a support pillar of the seats and sent said collection crashing into the ground and tearing that section of the tent wall down. Azulon was standing in his seat-box now, Liah supporting him at his side, his two guards standing ready for a battle.

"He made it," The Ring Master's cold voice drifted over the chaos to Ursa, making her attention snap to him. "Now, she'll be free." There was something in that man's voice, something that made the impenetrable ice shake with an emotion Ursa couldn't name. She turned to face her son, one hand on Ikem's thick arm, preventing him from charging onto the ice. Ursa may not have been a fire bender but Ikem was, a weak one but still a fire bender.

"Not yet," she urged her husband, discreetly adjusting her feet to give her better leverage for the shaky plan being ripped together in her maternal panic. She adjusted her position, making sure Ikem's attention was riveted to their son. She silently loosened her cloak, skirt and discreetly hidden weapon's bag. She only needed the wire in it anyways.

Zuko reached the center of the ring, back straight and head high, as if he's walked on ice all his life and he wasn't afraid of the frozen child floating before him. He reached out and set his palms on the glowing ice, a whisper left his mouth, too soft for Ursa to hear. The orb cracked around Zuko's hands splintering like a thousand spiders weaving their webs together into one great map only they could read. The ice didn't break apart like Ursa was expecting, it didn't shatter into palm-sized pieces, it didn't crumble into giant blocks. No, after the initial cracks spread throughout its glowing surface it burst. The orb burst apart like a storm born, snowflakes twirled like a white tornado, lifting into the air and ripping the roof off the ten, stilling and silencing all chaos that once reigning in the tent.

The child frozen inside was floating, soon she was kneeling on the ice before Zuko, her hands folded before herself and her spine straight like a spear. She looked like nobility; a princess carved from the very glaciers of the south. Her eyes opened to reveal three shades of ocean blues, bright and intelligent, and her smile was as gentle and fond as a parent seeing their baby for the first time. Zuko kneeled before the strange white-washed girl in leather and fur, looking like the perfect little fire prince that he was.

"Hello," her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, whisper-soft and warm in the way the ice that surrounded her was not. "I am Akira, daughter of Shyama, the chieftain of the Aquila Clan in the South Pol." There was no other word then 'princess' that described the girl kneeling before Zuko. Her manners were perfect, even by Fire Nation Standers and Ursa knew from experience that those standers were sky-high. The former Fire Lady, Lyra, was personally teaching Ursa palace etiquette before she passed away. As she stared at the young, frightfully pale, little girl kneeling so serenely, Ursa wondered if Princesses were born not trained.

"Daughter of the chieftain?" Zuko questioned, "Does that make you a princess?" the girl giggled, shy and soft, one-sleeved hand raised to hide her smile.

"That is one word for me," Akira agreed gently, laughter still shaking her words. "I have long awaited your arrival, little prince of Agni and Roku."

"I'm a prince of the fire nation," Zuko tilted his head to the side. "Who are Agni and Roku?"

"They are your ancestors," Akira answered with a gentle smile. "Just as Tui and La are my… 'ancestors'." A shiver ran straight up Ursa's spine, in a moment too clear she realized that the girl kneeling before her son was anything but human. Her son hadn't noticed the hesitance though, he seemed quite content to stare and smile at the strange pale ghost of ice and snow.

"Aren't those Spirits?" Zuko asked, "Sister told me about them from her book."

"You are correct," Akira smiled at him.

"Does that mean that Agni and Roku are spirits?" Zuko asked, earning himself another giggle.

"No, not quite little prince," Akio raised a hand the snow that once fell silently and without noticed, swirled into her palm, a tall imposing figure that screamed dragon to Ursa's frantic mind. "Agni is the first spirit to step aside from the circle of reincarnations, however, he could not step aside alone and drew forth his good friends who followed him throughout each life. He was lucky his friends chose to follow him. The other great spirits that joined Agni created the very Spirit World you know of."

"OOO! He sounds cool!" Zuko gushed, a big smile on his face. The small statue of the thin reptilian spirit shifted, reforming a tiny figure Ursa knew well; the figure of her three times great grandfather—Avatar Roku.

"Avatar Roku," Akio's voice slipped like a fond whisper, her eyes gentling like a proud mother, a fond smile slipped across her pale round cheeks. "He still lives but in a different from than what he was before."

"The avatar still lives?" Zuko asked

"Of course," the girl sounded surprised at first, then her next words were filled with laughter. "Who else can keep the balance between the living and the dead better than the Avatar? The Avatar is a bridge between worlds. One avatar must exist in order to keep the two worlds from clashing."

"How could the two worlds clash?" Zuko asked, his question brought a bout of laughter.

"Oh little prince, you need not all your answers now," Akiko laughed at him. "It is you who is fated to stand by his side. Fear not, when it is time you will find him. This is what you promised after all."

"I promised?" Zuko repeated, "What did I promise?"

"In your last life," she lifted her other hand and a new figure stood tall and proud in her palm. "Avatar Roku saved you and you swore to stand by his side eternally. From this life to the next and throughout all lives after. Thus when Avatar Roku died, you anxiously awaited for the next avatar to awaken and find you but the news of Air-Avatar's death broke you and you soon died after." The little statue broke in half, crumbling into pieces to the cold floor they kneeled on. "Mother and father took pity on you and so made sure everything was timed so that when you mastered your element, you could teach the next avatar all he would need."

"Who are your parents again? That chieftain… um…" Zuko squinted in thought, his whole face scrunching as he tried to remember the name.

"My tribe father, Shyama," Akiko giggled at him. then the wind kicked up and the ice melted, forming a great fish that swam through the open air around the two children. "This is my true father, La." The fish nuzzled close to the girl as it swam around the ring with a lazy swish of its great tail.

"My sweet girl," Zuko looked up, staring wide-eyed at the moonlight that soon surrounded them, a figure of a woman shimmered in the falling snow. The woman touched down next to Akiko, kneeling with the grace of every spirit, and wrapped her gentle pale arms around the equally pale girl. "ready to return home now?"

"The message has not yet been delivered," the giant fish whispered, its deep voice river bating through the air like the echoes of a storm clap.

"You mustn't forget Little Prince of Agni," Akiko called as the moon spirit stood, cradling her ghostly child close with a fond smile. "You swore to protect him. No matter the lives you must live, never forget your vow."

"You've decided my fate… what of my sisters?" Zuko asked, "Azula is better at fire bending than me. She should teach the avatar."

"The little blue flame?" the giant fish questioned; its dark eye swiveled from Zuko to the cowering little girl nestled in her older sister's arms. "Her fate is unwritten."

"The little blue flame writes her own fate," Akiko explained. "The Hai-Twins have always been wandering but they love the mortal world just like mama and papa!" On the giant fish's next pass he lifted Tui and Akiko, turning again to go to the sky above. "They'll be your greatest allies! Remember the Hai-Twins!"

"I don't understand!" Zuko called, moving to stand, stretching one hand out to catch Akiko and her mother, who sat regally atop the giant fish called La. "What do you mean by unwritten?!"

"NO!" Ursa burst forward, shoving her husband aside as she leaped and dashed across the ice. From her perspective, the spirits were trying to take her son away.

That was not going to happen.

She sprung forward, throwing out her wire to wrap around her son and yanking him towards himself. The tail of the giant fish swished in front of her, blocking her view, entangling her wires and—she screamed as Zuko was lifted into the air. She tightened her hold on the wire, winding it tighter and tighter as she charged the spirits, never losing pace of her speed and steps. When the fish lifted Zuko into the air, Ursa screamed as she leaped, crashing through the giant fish's body to wrap her arms around Zuko.

They both fell, unable to protect themselves from the height the fish had gained in just those few short minutes. Ursa heard the screaming and shouting but couldn't bring herself to care, she just tried to land on her back, hoping to protect Zuko from the impact. She didn't need to, an explosion of orange and yellow flame enveloped her world, followed by the heavy body of an islander. They crashed, landing amongst the stands that grumbled around them like wet paper mâché. Ursa looked first at her son, watching the ice-crescent moon on his forehead fade as his breaths evened out and fell asleep. A wet cough and breathless gasp, warm air atop her head was followed by a burst of gray smoke at her feet and the rolling stench of burnt flesh.

"That's why I don't fire bend," Ikem's voice sounded weak, even as it rumbled against her back. Carefully Ursa slid herself off her husband, one hand on Zuko as she used the other to push herself up. "Damn… that hurts…" Ursa stuttered over her words as she tried to find his injury, her eyes landing first on his burnt and bloody feet. "You good?" Ikem asked, "Zuko? He… is he hurt?"

"He's fine," Ursa's voice was a weak gasp of breath, "he's asleep." She didn't know if that was good or bad but at that moment, she wasn't very worried about her son. She knew now the spirits meant him no harm. What concerned her was the budge in Ikem's waste, an unfamiliar round bump. She examined it, already knowing that it was a bar from the destroyed seats of the tent. The bar stabbed Ikem through the back but its edge wasn't sharp enough to cut through the skin of his belly, it rippled the flesh there instead.

"You… you," she was stuttering again, unable to finish her sentence as she erupted into sobs.

"Hey now," Ikem chuckled weakly. "I waited nearly twenty years for you," she looked at his face, willing her tears to stop so she could see his warm smile. "I'd wait a thousand more, or a million lifetimes or to the end of time if that's what it takes for your love."

"Oh you idiot," Ursa sobbed. "You've always had it!" They were surrounded in falling snow, the ice that once filled the ring had floated up with Akiko, only to float back down in gentle white crystals of cotton. At that moment, Azulon wasn't seeing his adoptive daughter and her husband and child amongst the ruins of a circus tent. He was staring at a water tribe woman, cradling her bloody husband, with her dying child at her feet.

He knew it was the spirits doing. He knew it was his warning.

The Spirits did this to remind him, remind him of their power and their limited patience.

"Grandfather!" Azulon looked down to see Lu Ten at the base of the circus ring, the Ring Master's mask in hand a crumbled form at his feet. "The Ring Master is dead! He's a frozen corpse!"

"These two are too!" Hai He called from near the exit.

"Over here as well!" a guard called, waving at one of the circus people. Azulon watched his soldiers moved, checking every person that was dressed to cover every inch of skin and wearing decorative masks. Thirty-people, they had found. Thirty frozen corpses.

"I was in the south, searching for a new creature to share with the world." No, they were soldiers of the fire nation. They were apart of the raids meant to find, capture or execute the Water Benders of the South pole.

"the fox-owl was created to teach the very first water-Avatar." Azulon looked down at the winged, six-legged creature. Its capture was unlikely, it was too fast to even see in that tiny ring. How could normal men see it amongst an ice-plane or through a blizzard? The creature was sitting with all the regality of a nobleman, head raised towards the full moon. It was no longer living, all sources of its life were gone, replaced with the white touch of ice and the cold embrace of the ocean's frigid embrace. It was nothing more than an ice carving now. A simple relic of a fictional creature that didn't really exist.

"All it wants, and us, is to free the girl. It would be a pity for the last of the bird tribe to die in a giant ball of ice." Tricky little spirits. The girl was already dead, so too were her murderers. The spirits Tui and La, sent their daughter (Akiko apparently) to possess the corpse of a death Southern Water Tribe-child. Azulon looked again at the corpses, blue-skinned and wet from their ice now melting due to the heat of the fire benders near them.

"Tricky spirits," Azulon sighed, leaning into the side of his daughter, finding comfort in her strong arms that supported him and embraced him. "They took possession of the dead to remind me of their presence. There must be a lot of corpses in the south. I wonder if the 'Ring Master' had spoken any truth to his words or if they were all lies to meant to enchant us." Liah sighed and shook her head, her thoughts on the matter neatly hidden. Azulon told himself to make sure she got a brush and paper later, he wanted to know what she thought about all this.

"Father?" Azulon turned to see Iroh, red-faced and panting, his arms wrapping around himself to keep himself warm with the strange snow that drifted from above. "Are you well?"

"I'm warmer than you," Azulon smirked, silently acknowledging and thanking the two guards who stood closest to him, their flames brightening in their palms. "Make sure to question the rest of the Circus crew, figure out who these people were, and meet us back at Ursa's home."

"Yes father," Iroh agreed, bowing as Liah escorted his father and guardsmen out of the tent. Somehow their seating area was the only one not affected by the Spirit Show.


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