A/N: In this chapter, this is a warning for triggering elements involving attempted sexual assault, the mention of rape and some version of drugging in this part, as the story of what happened to Jen LuXian and Kumi in Gaoling will become clear and why they are fugitives of the town.
Chapter Three – The Tales From The Western Sea:
The ship set sail after their stay in the town of Tuji. It was a sombre departure, as Jen LuXian never expected his bodyguard to grow attached to the characters of Tuji. He learned to separate himself from anything that triggered positive emotions, as it would overwhelm him to tears. As an earthbender, Jen LuXian was not used to being off land, but his slightly calloused hands were shaking at the thought of being off land for another three days. The ship set sail from Tuji's port and they were on the Mo Ce Sea. He brought pieces of art made from earth, to ease the anxiety he had, as the clay pieces were made from his homeland in Bao Yun. Jen LuXian was never the type to be homesick; he travelled a lot, since he was expelled from the Southern Water Tribe and had no obligation to Avatar Korra anymore. In his heart, Jen LuXian missed the rambunctious Avatar he taught for two years, and grown comfortable in the schedule of living in the south pole, whilst he was teaching Korra every day and learning more about Southern Water Tribe culture.
The young master stood on the deck of the ship, waiting to see the sight of a building. Jen LuXian's obsidian brown eyes turned west, as far from the Mo Ce Sea and beyond was the eastern Fire Nation. A heaviness was in his heart, when his eyes looked that way, and all there was were clear blue waters. He wasn't sure, seeing as his ship was already close to United Republic waters. Jen LuXian had a flower crown, made from spring flowers of yellow and white on his head, given to him by the local florists of Tuji, when he and his retinue departed from the town three days ago. He didn't remove the flower crown, knowing Kumi complimented how the crown of spring flowers brought out the mourning in his eyes, and even suggested the flowers should have been fire lilies instead, which made the young master almost blush. No matter how shameless Kumi was, flowers were pretty all the same, but some flowers had special meaning over others, such as fire lilies from the Fire Nation, the frozen blue magnolias from the Southern Water Tribe and the spring flowers from the northeastern Earth Kingdom.
"This stretch of water is known as the sorrowful sea in the old language. As the Mo Ce Sea was that way because the 39th Earth King had died at sea, sailing towards the Western Air Temple. The tip of the east was so close to the Fire Nation, I could touch it with my fingertips. As shameless as Kumi was, she was right. I did have that mourning look in my eyes, maybe I missed home and didn't want to show it or I missed Su Yong so much that life in this world was empty without him, by my side and killing my enemies. I made a wish in the fireworks of Tuji, and I hope it does come true because nothing has gone right in my life and I want just something, no matter how small it was to go right for me for once."
From the master's eye, were three serving girls in plain jade green robes, who were talking amongst themselves. Jen LuXian knew their names; Daiya, Jei and Shai. The three of them were attached to him and have been serving him for five years. When Su Yong had died and Jen LuXian's old servants couldn't tolerate their young master's depression, which caused them to be moved on to serving his cousin Chou's wife Moyun, who was the future Madam of the Jen Clan. The three girls were unique in their own ways, they were born and raised in Bao Yun, as their male relatives were either earthbending mountain infantry or were household guards for the Jen Clan's residence. Jen LuXian liked Daiya the most, since she was older and sharper than the two younger girls, but they had learned much since living in the south pole for two years, as a part of his retinue and were new to serving the Second Young Master of the Jen Clan.
The master smiled at the sea, knowing he would see his former pupil again. His retinue were familiar with Avatar Korra, since Jei and Shai used to supervise the Avatar's calligraphy studies, when he was in the healing huts assisting Master Katara, when she was alone and to get advice on how to handle a stubborn and bull-headed pupil like Korra. There was no way, Jen LuXian would allow the White Lotus to make Avatar Korra culturally bankrupt, confining her to the compound and cut her off from the world. He liked remembering a time in his life, when his only enemy was Grand Lotus Master Lao and his ilk, who didn't like Jen LuXian at all and made their views known through their weekly reports. Jen LuXian was a competent teacher, and it was what the Order of the White Lotus were afraid of. A teacher, who questioned and examined their manipulative ways on their own territory.
"Warrior maid….the fried dumplings will upset your stomach at sea. Only congee will sooth it." Jen LuXian said, in a mischievous tone.
The kyoshi warrior strolled to the earthbending master's side. "I hope it's Shai that makes it this time. A-Daiya's congee tastes terrible and I'm not sure if she is ever improving." Kumi replied, in a quietened tone, not wanting Daiya to hear her and it would have been the end of her time in Jen LuXian's service.
"You shouldn't say such things, Kumi."
"It does suck….Shai makes it with love and even the younger household guards at your mansion like hers more."
"I would like to know more of Kyoshi Island and your life, before you came to serve me."
"My fellow Kyoshi sisters and I would used to babysit the village kids, whilst their parents went fishing in the bay. The only true friend I had back home was Ayeka. She and I were as thick as thieves, always trained together and slept in the same quarters. We would play pranks in the Blue Lagoon, it's where couples go to smooch each other and give panda lilies to each other. Most of my sisters dream about asking out the village boys, but I wasn't interested as I was only focused on being the best of my class."
"How did an island girl, like you end up in a ruthless Dojo?"
"It was years later, Young Master. When Ayeka and I were on work placement in the Kyoshi Dojos in Republic City. It was Matron Suki's idea in getting the best warriors experience life outside Kyoshi Island and prepare us for the future. Some of us wanted to be bodyguards and gain more training. I trained harder and stronger for three years, as the training in the Dojos were tougher than on the island. The head shifu at my dojo selected five of us, because she had connections with the Jen Clan and they needed a bodyguard for their young master so off we went."
"It's sad...my uncle Xizuan would have liked you."
"I've always heard about that uncle, the one that got banished for whoremongering and taking a lover from the Northern Water Tribe."
"He lives in Omashu, working in Domestic Forces."
"I was homesick for a while, Young Master. You looking like the living dead made me feel better, like I wasn't alone in being sad about missing home."
"I never knew you were homesick, you hid it well."
"It's better to not tell. I had a big responsibility, being a bodyguard for a reputable young master. It's a rare position only the best kyoshi warriors get, even Ayeka got a similar job, working security for the Qian family in Republic City and I can't wait to see her again. " Kumi said, in excitement in her tone in seeing a fellow kyoshi warrior again.
"Do you know what your responsibility is, Kumi?"
"To shield your body from anyone, who tries to harm you." The kyoshi warrior said, with a gleeful smile on her face.
A chill went down Jen LuXian's spine, knowing what Kumi said was no joke. It was the reason why Uncle Han hired her, because kyoshi bodyguards could kill anyone, no matter social status or nationality. He would never allow Kumi to cut off the hands of royalty, unless they were a threat to his life or were from Ba Sing Se. Jen LuXian was the kind of man, people couldn't stop looking at, because of his earthly beauty, but no meant no and some people didn't take that lesson to heart. He had a sick feeling, every time Kumi had to kill someone, who starred at him too long or got handsy with him. It was exactly what happened in Gaoling and why he and Kumi had to get out as fast as they could. The warrior maid cut off the hands of two of Master Daojing's household guards, because Kumi sensed those guards were planning to sexually assault him, out of the sight of their dishonourable master, who was named after Earth King Kuei. Until Kumi found Jen LuXian missing from his chambers and did what she had to do, before the household guards would rape him, whilst under a heavy sedative, put in his tea during the evening meal with the serpents of the Daojing family.
The master wore three layered robes for a reason, but it didn't hide the disgust in his stomach. Whenever Jen LuXian tried to recollect the large, calloused hands pulling up his nightly robes, forcefully putting those same hands on his legs, whilst he faintly heard sniggering or hoarse moaning in the background, as he was waking up from the sedative, before Kumi carried him. Jen LuXian hated the smell of mint, even the slightest because it reminded him, the household guards who tried to assault him were dead and Kumi had saved him. He blamed himself, putting Kumi in that situation, where she had to spill blood in a nobleman's home to save him, and cause trouble between the Daojing and the Jen families for what happened, and why Jen LuXian and Kumi could never go back to Gaoling.
The waves of the sea were slow, home to many sea creatures, but not like the animals of the Southern Water Tribe. Jen LuXian was fortunate to be acclimatised to the Southern Water Tribe and it's culture, whilst he served two years, as Avatar Korra's earthbending shifu, which he never expected to happen. Years later, Jen LuXian didn't know the reason why Lord Zuko asked him, specifically to train the Avatar, out of all the shifus in the Earth Kingdom, much older and experienced than himself. It was something the retired Fire Lord will keep as a secret to the grave. Jen LuXian took the offer, knowing it was the highest honour for any shifu to receive, as Lord Zuko didn't know who Jen LuXian was, but his grandson Prince Iroh did. The Fire Nation prince told his grandfather, how gifted of an earthbender Jen LuXian was in his teen years and cultivated that skill to a fully realised master by the time he was nineteen, and just finished mastering metalbending in the southern Earth Kingdom, in the middle of expansive swamp territory with Toph Beifong, a harsh and unrelenting elder shifu.
Jen LuXian's hand reached out to feel the splashes of water on his hand. Had he not been an earthbender, he wished to be a waterbender. There was something inherently beautiful about seeing water move like the wind, as blue liquid could freeze into a sharp weapon or be used to heal people. The master knew there were some things water cannot heal, such as a broken heart. It was the way Jen LuXian lived his life, after being expelled from the south pole, hardening his heart to the point of his noble peers scorning him for being aloof. Being at sea afforded Jen LuXian time to think through his fractured memories, of the times in his life that were good and uncomplicated, by circumstances that happened years, after his expulsion from the Southern Water Tribe.
The flower crown on Jen LuXian's head didn't fall into the sea, but it would. He was used to getting flower crowns from people, whenever they were thankful of him doing something for them or they couldn't afford the highly priced gifts his wealthier admirers gave him. Leaning against the edge of the ship was a force of habit, as Jen LuXian grew bored of standing around and looking at clear sea and no sign of any land, apart from a stretch of land that was on the eastern Fire Nation. It was better to be away from the Earth Kingdom and it's moral degradation. It was something Jen LuXian had seen grown over the years, soldiers doing whatever they please because they had no central authority, as the Council of Five was an aged institution. The King of Omashu, Fu Huang had a smaller council than Ba Sing Se and he managed to keep his kingdom stable and flowing with gold from land growth and trade with the other nations.
The master was a traditionalist, but his heart broke for what his country had become. A mighty kingdom forged in earth was ruined by war and subsequently incompetent monarchs. The rulers got worse and the Earth Kingdom's last great monarch was Tian the Great, before she died and her awful nephew took the throne and had to rely on Avatar Kyoshi to save his reign, from falling to ruin from the exploits of Chin the Conqueror and clan warfare in the south. Jen LuXian pulled out his folding fan, and waved it inches from his face. The climate further west was warmer than in Tuji, where he would never forget the smiling faces on the children and the crying women, after they gave Jen LuXian and Kumi their flower crowns. Smiles that made life worth living and brought Jen LuXian out of the dark cloud he had been sitting in, since Su Yong died. He was used to being alone, only relying on the people he trusted and trusted no one else, because the only true friend Jen LuXian had was dead because of a bloodbender.
Jen LuXian realised, the warrior maid at his side knew about Republic City. Having lived there for three years to study and train in the toughest of the Kyoshi Dojos in the country. "What was it like. To live in a cultural backwater of a city." Jen LuXian said, rolling his eyes at the idea of a metropolis city and the people in it. They have lost the cultural identities of their respective nations, that made the city a backwater in Jen LuXian's eyes; he was a traditionalist, born and raised into an old Earth Kingdom family that used to be loyal to the crown.
"It's not such a bad place to live, there is so much to see and do there. I'm glad those Equalist insurgents are gone from the city. How dare they? Steal Kyoshi Warrior techniques and use them to harm folks, whose only crime is because they are benders and they even kidnapped civilians." Kumi gritted between her teeth, her voice inching towards a snarl at the thought of those Equalists, Jen LuXian was hearing about in his travels.
"Had you been there, what would you have done?"
"I would have cut the bloodbender to pieces for stealing the skills of my kyoshi sisters and those that came before us. Senior Marshal Ty Lee repented her ways and taught the Kyoshi Warriors chi-blocking as a defence technique and not to use lightly on people. I hope Ayeka wasn't hurt in their so-called revolution, since she has Fire Nation heritage and Equalists liked to stir up hatred for innocent firebenders, whose only crime is being who they are."
"I didn't know you felt so strongly about this."
"I maybe your bodyguard, Young Master Jen, but I am still Kumi of Kyoshi Island, the orphan girl raised by the warriors."
The young master looked away from Kumi. Even though, the warrior maid had no interest in men, Jen LuXian found her enthusiasm cute and inspiring. Little Kumi was someone, who was too young to have killed before, but too young to become hardened and jaded the way Jen LuXian had become in the last five years. "I hope you see your friend again and detach yourself from me during our stay. No one in Republic City will be foolish enough to try and kill me, a foreign visitor from the Earth Kingdom."
"What if someone does try to kill you, Young Master? You have a name, inherited wealth and good looks, a lot of people would hate that about you."
"I am a master earthbender and I can metal bend. I'm perfectly capable in fighting against benders, who want to challenge me."
"I can't wait to meet the Avatar, since she never visited Kyoshi Island like the last one did. I heard she is younger than A-Jei and squashed those thieving bastards." The kyoshi warrior said, with enthusiasm in her tone, as she never met the Avatar before and it was going to be her first time meeting her. From what Jen LuXian heard from the trade road from Omashu to Tuji, he had no hopes for Avatar Korra, who he had taught for two years. As leaving her meant the White Lotus were complacent in carrying on the structure he instilled on her, and all the hard discipline and proper behaviour he taught her has gone away.
"I hope that goes well for you."
The short-haired kyoshi warrior began to sharpen her knives; they were shorthand blades, not like the sai blades used in the Fire Nation. "Have you been in love, Young Master Jen?" Kumi asked. It was out of nowhere and it was not the time or the place for such a conversation between warrior and a master.
"…..It…..doesn't matter…." Jen LuXian replied, then gave out a light cough because of the slight fog in the air, "It's not appropriate to ask such a question to the one you serve, Kumi of Kyoshi Island." The man said, in a stricter tone. The same tone he would use, against unruly students back in his homeland or when Avatar Korra was tempting to push his buttons. Jen LuXian was not unreasonable, but he knew when to draw the line between the questions the warrior maid was allowed ask him.
The Young Master placed a hand over his head, but he wasn't seasick as he got over that years ago. He couldn't believe he was considering Kumi's question, as it came out of nowhere. It didn't matter because Jen LuXian was failed the Avatar, deemed garbage by noble society and his soul was unclean. Love was difficult for Jen LuXian to discuss openly, knowing he internalised everything inside, afraid of what the reaction other people and how he will be judged. Jen LuXian has never been in a relationship, outside the one he had with his old bodyguard Su Yong, who was closer than a bodyguard should be with him. As private as he was with his personal affairs, Jen LuXian's life was boring as an earthbending shifu in Bao Yun, and he did nothing else in his life, unless Jen LuXian needed to secure a trade deal for his uncle. No one would bother to approach Jen LuXian because of the reputation, he developed for being a cold man, who lived a structured lifestyle as a shifu.
The man looked west again and lowered his head. Jen LuXian couldn't afford to look to the past, as the future was wide open for him. He folded his fan and clutched it between his fingers. His heart ached again, as tears fell from his obsidian brown eyes. Jen LuXian was not the man to cry for no reason, which had nothing to do with the slow poison, that was killing the Earth Kingdom and the Earth Queen was the one administering it from the north to the south. He didn't like the uncertainty in travelling to a foreign city, where people didn't have the same derision that his own people had towards him, for forgoing a traditional arranged marriage to better his clan and choose selfish aspirations, which didn't go well in a country, where the clan matters above individual wants. Republic City was said to be a place of opportunity, but Jen LuXian had no opportunity to gain from the city. He was born a nobleman of the Earth Kingdom, but his soul was stained in blood. Jen LuXian will do anything to cleanse the dishonour he had done years ago, even though he will always remember the events that led him to staining his hands for the rest of his life.
"Young Master Jen, may I ask something else?" Kumi said, in a low tone of voice. Not wanting to be scolded again by the man, who commanded her or talked down to her as if she was a child. She lived a comfortable lifestyle, being the young master's bodyguard and would never trade it for the world, even if they disagreed with each other.
"What is it?" Jen LuXian replied.
"Why do people see you, as an abhorrent and cold man?"
"It's a long story and it happened after my fostering with the King of Omashu ended. Noble families like mine don't marry for love, Kumi. They marry for politics, alliances, a crown or even undisputed land that is free for the taking. Uncle Han married a retired Kyoshi Warrior for love and caused upset to the noble clans, to the point no one can say anything to his face because they were afraid of him. As I came into manhood, I grew into my mother's looks and I was being sort after by many offers of marriage. I had more marriage offers than my cousin, who was the heir to my clan. From the heiress of the Yum Soon Han family, the Crown Princess of Omashu, the Eldest Lady Te and even Ba Sing Se royal officials secretly pleading any available nobleman to marry Earth Princess, Pei Ling, being concerned for her, as isolation in the Upper Ring was damaging her mentally from her great aunt controlling her and having no socialisation skills outside the royal court."
"Wow...that's complicated. I'm lucky to only kill for you."
"As I was saying. The advancement of the clan mattered more than individual wants, it's why my Uncle Xizuan was banished from Bao Yun. The most valuable offers were from the fathers of young women, who were to inherit a throne or lead their family clan in the future, which meant I could live the life of a lazy lord consort. I can give my in laws Teng looking children and take a noble wife to bed without any strings attached. They were good women and I didn't want to marry any of them. Not even, Princess Meifen of Omashu, who had been my friend, during my years in Omashu and was the closest thing to a sister. I rejected the offers, much to the fury of my uncle and the clan elders."
"It is true, you rejected two princesses and two heiresses for marriage. No wonder why the household servants always talk about you throwing away good, noble wives, for a teaching occupation and your abrasive attitude would have caused a war, had your cousin not married another noblewoman years later."
"Becoming a teacher was what I wanted, but everything had a price. Chou brother married Moyun, the Eldest Lady of the Pang family to undo the face my family lost rejecting those marriage proposals and causing minor scandal."
"You became a good shifu. Good enough to teach the Avatar, which means everything worked out."
"Things did work out, until the White Lotus found out about my plotting to take her into the Earth Kingdom."
"It's their loss, Young Master Jen."
Kumi breathed a sigh of relief, of not being on Second Young Master Jen's bad side and being on that bad side was no good for anyone. That bad side of the Second Young Master reduced Eldest Lady Te to tears one time, visiting the current Governor Te's palace two years ago on Kumi's first job. "Thank spirits, I'm not an enemy of yours. Ayeka wrote to me that triads run around Republic City. I hope they have sense and stay away from you, unless they want the same fate The Strowman and the Daojing household guards suffered from."
"Bending criminals are no different, than the scum of the western plains."
"Whatever you say, Young Master. I get paid a lot of yuans to protect you from any scum the Earth Kingdom has to offer, no matter if they are bandits or perverted household guards to rich masters." Kumi stretched her toned legs, practicing her high kicks, which did hurt if anyone was at the receiving end. She was one of the best warriors of her class, and she wasn't in the young master's service for nothing. The warrior was one of Governess Kirima's best students and he trusted his life in her capable hands.
"I hope you are good with children. We will stay two nights on Air Temple Island, before we carry on our journey to the mainland." Jen LuXian looked towards Kumi, knowing she was capable of taking care and keeping children occupied, making her seem more human than the protector she was hired to be. The lord himself was awkward around children, but that subsided when Jen LuXian took his father's place in teaching at the Bao Yun Academy and grew more comfortable around his young students.
The ship was sailing through United Republic waters, it was telling by the fishing boats that floated in the bay. Jen LuXian shook his head, but the flower crown from the Tuji locals fell into the sea, with the weltering petals floating above the water. He frowned at the thought of losing such a gift, but flowers wilt and rot and it was for the best. Jen LuXian had a strange feeling in his stomach, knowing it was the first foreign country he had been to, since his residence in the Southern Water Tribe, as the Avatar's earthbending shifu. Republic City was said to be the new centre of the world and modern values, Jen LuXian shrews in favour of holding onto the traditions of his culture, but he was to open his mind and he was curious to see what was on the other side.
PS: The families of Pang and the Yum Soon Hans are mentioned in the City of Walls and Secrets episode of ATLA: Book Two by Toph and they are still around in the era of Avatar Korra as well. The first daughter of Master Pang is married to Jen LuXian's cousin, which establishes the connection between the Jen and the Pang families in the story. The Yum Soon Hans have a female heir at this time, another of the marriage proposals mentioned in the chapter.
The Te family are a noble family mentioned in the Rise of Kyoshi. The clan is still thriving in Hujiang to the point the first daughter of the current Governor was one of the many marriage proposals Jen LuXian had, when he was twenty. The Te and the Jen families have a good relationship with each other, until Jen LuXian made one of the Govenor's daughters cry because he refused marriage with her.
Earth Princess Pei-Ling is another OC of mine, the Earth Queen's great niece and Prince Wu's older cousin and second in line for the throne. She is the granddaughter of Hou-Ting's younger sister Maoying and has an brother named Mu Yang, who is the Crown Prince and a mix between Wen Chao and Joffery Baratheon, but sharper and smarter.
The titles used in this story differ from any person in the Earth Kingdom's noble society, as it's inspired by xianxia and wuxia fiction.
-The title of Madam refers to the wives of noblemen, who rule the household or the leaders of their own clans. (eg. Jen LuXian's maternal aunt is known as Madam Teng and Toph's mother Poppy would have been called Madam Beifong)
-The title of Jen LuXian is Second Young Master, because he is younger than his cousin Chou, who is the heir to their family. Chou's sister Jen Meiling is known as Young Miss or Little Lady, being the Lord Han's only daughter.
- Eldest Lady refers to the firstborn daughter of a noble family. (eg. Eldest Lady Te or Eldest Lady Daojing)