With nowhere else to go, we ended up joining with none other than Katara and Sokka's father and his Water Tribe fleet of ships where they were stationed at Chameleon Bay. I was a little surprised to see so many Water Tribe soldiers and without even thinking about it, I started looking around at their faces trying to see if anyone stuck out at me, hoping I might feel an instinctive connection to my father if he was here. "What happened?" Hakoda, Katara and Sokka's father, came to meet us as we got Aang down off of Appa.
"Aang got hurt and the Earth Kingdom has been taken over by Zuko and Azula." Sokka informed him in a low voice, shoulders sagging. Hakoda momentarily looked alarmed but quickly recovered, giving orders to his men to prepare room for us all before giving Sokka a hug before he then looked at Katara. She was staring at him and looked a little teary so I nudged her gently.
"Is that your dad?"
"Yeah. We haven't seen him in a long time." She turned her head away and focused on Aang instead, starting to lift him up but I set my hand on her shoulder.
"I'll lower him down to you." Together we got Aang down, who was yet to regain consciousness and once he was down, I slid off Appa then rubbed his face as he moaned with worry towards Aang. "It's okay Appa, Aang is in good hands. He'll be awake before you know it." I assured him, before then looking around to find that a lot of people were looking me. Right. Newcomer. "Uh…hi. I'm Kayo, it's nice to meet you." I almost instinctively made a Fire Nation bow but I quickly corrected myself to an Earth Kingdom one.
"Dad, I don't want you to panic, but Kayo is actually from the Fire Nation." Sokka began, but his words were immediately met with hostility and many of the Water Tribe warriors yelled out in warning and grabbed their weapons, thrusting their spears at me and one or two got very close to my chin. "Wait!" Appa stomped down his feet behind me and roared, his breath making my hair rise up as he rather defensively told everyone to back down, Hakoda also giving the order as Sokka waved his arms. "She's Fire Nation, but she helped Aang and Katara escape from Azula, Zuko and the Dai Li! Also, she's a water bender."
"Maybe you should lead with that one next time you give an introduction Sokka." I said, my hands having raised up in surrender to show I wasn't a danger to anyone.
"You're a water bender?" Hakoda looked at me in surprise as I nodded, Toph coming over to my side.
"She's on our side now, so if you want to mess with her then you've gotta go through me first!" Toph declared rather firmly and I couldn't help but smile and ruffle her hair. "Hey!"
"You're so cute Toph, you're like my own little bodyguard. I could get used to this." Toph rolled her eyes at me, or at least, it was meant for me since she was actually staring at a bunch of rocks. "I know none of you will have any reason to trust me, but I promise I'm not a threat. If you like, you can tie me up and keep an eye on me for a while, so long as it makes you all feel comfortable." I offered, presenting my wrists for them but Hakoda raised a hand, ordering everyone to stand down with just that simple gesture.
"Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my tent. Sokka, bring your friends." Sokka exhaled and gave me a nod, inviting me to follow him. The Earth King and Bosco were rather curiously inspecting everything around them, from the warriors to their ships and even some food that was cooking, though it took a lot of effort to keep the bear from trying to eat it. Once we were all gathered in the chief's tent, Hakoda asked for a complete report on everything that had happened, which was left to Sokka. He explained how he and Toph had gone to warn the Earth King about the coup only to find they were too late, that Azula had infiltrated by pretending to be the Kyoshi Warriors.
Once the whole story had been shared, Hakoda looked rather grave but he continued to stay calm, then turning to me and asking for my story. So I told them. I told them everything, from the beginning where my mother met my father, how they met and fell in love, all the way to the time I'd been pulled overboard during a storm at sea and how Zuko and his men had rescued me, then carried on with the narrative all the way up until the present. "And that's how I wound up here." People blinked at me, as if they couldn't quite believe their ears. "I know, it's a lot to take in."
"So your father is actually from one of the Water Tribes?" Katara asked me in disbelief. "Do you know which one? What's his name?"
"That…I don't know. My mother never told me. I think partially because it hurt too much because she missed him, and also to protect us both. If I had accidentally let slip that I was a water bender, my entire family could have been arrested on suspicion of treason. The less I knew, the less dangerous it was. I had to hide my bending from the outside world. It was part of the reason we had decided to move to the colonies in the first place. There's more diversity there." I explained to them all before looking to the chief. "Actually, I've always just assumed that my father was a water bender because I could bend, but I don't even know that for sure. Is there…is there anyone you know who could possibly be my father?"
"This was a long time ago, Kayo, sixteen years, yes?"
"Seventeen. Almost eighteen." I corrected. "I'm seventeen now, so it would have been longer." Seeing that Hakoda was looking at me apologetically, my shoulders slumped and my head lowered. "It's alright, I've learned never to get my hopes up. Truth is he probably died a long time ago if he's been fighting in the war all this time. I just…I just thought I'd asked." Looking at me sympathetically, Katara placed her hand on my back to offer me comfort.
"Don't give up just yet. He might still be out there. You can't give up until you know for sure." Giving her a smile in thanks, I turned a little further so that I was looking at her.
"Actually, there is something I'd like to ask you, Katara. You see I've never actually been taught any water bending, everything I can do is self taught, so I'd really love it if you could teach me."
"Of course! I'd be happy to teach you all I know. I helped Aang with his water bending, so teaching is something I'm used to. You really taught yourself everything you know? From what I saw in the crystal catacombs, you've got a lot of raw power and natural talent. We should talk more about it later, I can't wait to get started." Smiling at each other, I felt like Katara and I had connected, which made me happy.
"Your Majesty, now's the time we should probably plan your next move." Hakoda finally turned to the Earth King and his bear, who had been rather silent and sullen this entire time. "We can get you to one of the Earth Kingdom outposts where your people and generals will protect you, or you can stay with us. What do you want to do?"
"I've lost my kingdom, I'm no longer a king so there's no need for formalities." He answered with a heavy sigh, scratching his bear under the chin as he moaned softly with worry. "As for what I want to do next, I've been thinking…perhaps I should explore my kingdom." All of us yelled in shock. He can't be serious?! "It might sound a little untoward, but before now I had never even left the palace. Before the Fire Nation completely takes over, I'd like to travel around with Bosco here and see for my own eyes what my kingdom is truly like. I don't think I should allow myself to be ignorant any longer, my own blindness allowed my own minister to betray me, and I never even knew about the war until a few days ago. I need to go out there and see for myself what it's like."
"That's…surprisingly noble and adventurous, but it won't be safe for you alone." Sokka tried to reason, but the Earth King just smiled.
"I'll go in disguise. It's not like anybody knows my real face since I never appeared in public before. No one will ever know who I am, and I'll have Bosco with me. I'll be fine." Before we knew it, decisions were being made and us kids were suggested to go to bed to get some rest. Katara invited me to stay with her and Toph in a girls' tent which I accepted, laying down in the first empty spot I saw in order to crash. I was so exhausted that this time, I couldn't help but sleep, though I didn't feel any better after waking up.
It was early, barely even dawn so I got up and walked to the water in order to watch the sunrise, observing the mist as it flowed over the water's surface. "Kayo?" Jolting out of my reverie, I turned around to see Hakoda. "Trouble sleeping?"
"It's been a tough couple of days." I admitted, turning back to the water. "Just a few days ago my life was perfect. I had two people I cared about more than anything by my side, I was living my dream dancing on stage in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, everything seemed to have fallen into place. Then this all happened." Lifting a hand to my face, I rubbed at my tired eyes as I exhaled. "Now I feel like I've lost everything. I have no family, no home, nothing. Just the clothes that I'm wearing."
"I know it seems hopeless right now, but you're not alone here." Hakoda said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "You made the right choice following my children and joining the fight for peace, because now you're a part of our family. You are a water bender, which means you have Water Tribe blood running through your veins, which means no matter what else, we're all kin." He said to me and I looked up at him in surprise.
"You're talking like you trust me. Isn't that a little too easy? When it comes down to it, I was raised in the Fire Nation by my mother who is a fire bender. The Dragon of the West is like a father to me and the Fire Nation Prince is…well. Actually he's a jerk and I really want to punch his lights out, but affectionately." This made Hakoda laugh, patting my shoulder lightly in amusement.
"I trust Sokka and Katara, and they say that you're trustworthy, so I'm not going to question it. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, so long as you have the will to do good, that's more than enough for me." Hakoda paused, thinking for a moment before addressing me again. "I was hoping I could ask you for a favour, if you don't mind."
"Sure, what is it?"
"If ever I have to leave my kids again and we go our separate ways, look after them for me." I blinked up at him, tilting my head slightly as he lowered his head and winced as if he were in pain. "Sokka might be glad to see me, but I can tell Katara is angry that I left them whilst they were so young. I don't blame her, but I can't help but feel that I failed them. If I'm not there to protect them, I hope I can ask you to be there for them. They're both so young but have so much on their shoulders, but there's nothing I can do about it. Sokka probably feels the most responsibility since he's the oldest of the group, but if you're there, he might feel a little less weight resides only on him…"
"I'll do it." Speaking up before Hakoda could go on a tangent and just work himself into a state of worry, I turned to face him directly with a serious expression, meaning every word. "You can count on me, Chief Hakoda. So long as I'm around, nothing will ever happen to your children. I'll protect them, and I'll help in whatever way I can. I promise." Relieved to hear me say that to him, Hakoda nodded his head gratefully.
"I have a few contacts from years back when Water Tribe warriors started participating in the war. I'll ask around and find out everything I can about your father. Don't worry. We'll find him for you Kayo. You have my word on that." Brightening a little, that promise helped me to feel a small measure of hope again after feeling such heavy disappointment in my heart. It had felt heavy, like a rock instead of flesh and blood, but now I felt a little better. Hopeful. Despite having left Iroh behind and leaving the perfect life I had made for myself, I couldn't help but acknowledge that I felt like I was in exactly the right place at the right time, like I was meant to be here. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes for a second before turning back to the sea, enjoying the scent that had become so familiar to me over the past year and praying that soon, things would simply unravel themselves and start to get better.
