The True Ending
A young man closed his eyes and began playing a lyre in an obvious attempt to woo the lady before him with his unearthly cadences.
He scratched his russet head and opened dark lashes to reveal matching almond eyes.
"You mentioned the legend little witch." he said after his tune was complete
Her intelligent gray eyes twitched at the name and before he could react the wind smacked his cheek.
"You're just jealous that you can't bend like me. But yes what is the Prince and the Nurse?" curiosity overcoming his offense.
His head leaned back against the willow and he scratched his chin.
"It's true that you never leave this mountain then. But I'll tell you the story Malu, but I'll tell you something that you must never repeat."
He strummed his instrument and closing his eyes recites,
The Prince and the Nurse
Alone,
Scars exposed .
Crime committed and new scars formed.
Encounter,
One a prince, hated by his land.
One a herbalist, bereft of her family.
Temporary Fix,
The prince changed general.
The herbalist changed nurse.
A Different Task,
Battlefield met
Old scars reemerged.
Fight the Feelings,
Poison extracted.
She healed his heart.
Turbulence,
Already forgiven.
She loved his heart.
An Undeniable Reality,
Friend's betrayal
Led to her trial.
Head on Collision,
Burning death
Awaited her savior
Duplicity,
Blue Spirit resolved
Lightening reawakened
Warm Hospitality
Fire Lady lit the straw
Her captive's faith wouldn't waver
Deliberating Death,
An alliance strike
Freed the Maid
Reprisal,
Captured his sister
Revenge not met
Apprehension,
Years after the Great War
One will never know how it ends.
He laid his palm on the strings to end the tune.
"That's depressing." His companion mused.
"Yeah it always ends with the explanation 'they disappeared without a trace. They left before they were given honor, so this is why their story is told and will be forever told.'"
"Why?" She asks wrinkling her nose
"I'm not sure who started that tradition." He says thoughtfully looking at a rabbit-like cloud.
"okay Shen so what happened to them?" she interrupted his tranquility irately pursing her lips together.
"Just getting to that part." He takes a shallow breathe. "I wrote this myself."
"A swallow crying breaks her heart
Watching as her beloved
Exchanged heated glances
With kin
She claws her uncovered arm
Calloulously
Casually spilling her blood
On her native land
A hard hand embraces her own
The guilt ends
A future begins
A deafening thud
A life taken
Strong arms protect her soft heart
The swallow moaning
Armageddon evaded
A vigilant enemy makes his presence known
His unperturbed partner flying about
They leave unscathed
'I'll find them' The general vowed. 'this will be my life's work'
Not as a Lord.
His lady vowed to never leave his side.
So thus they disappeared
That very day."
"I like it." Malu said decidedly.
Shen puffing his chest accepts her praise. "Thanks my mother inspired me." His voice turns serious and he concedes, "right before she died."
Her dark eyes envision his doting mother encouraging his craft.
"I don't ever want you to let the music die from your heart." she requested. He remembered his parent's story. He had not been too young to remember his scarred father.
Malu touched his hand carefully.
"I wonder if they ever found those two people."
"Yes." He said hollowly. Malu pulled back her hand and played with her dark hair.
"What happened?" she asked carefully
"he was killed." The beautiful sky stabbed at his dark memories. "my mother never really recovered from that."
"Oh…" she trailed off awkward and wishing she never asked him to answer her query.
"Yes." He agreed. "They were my parents."
Not surprised she nods.
"Irah takes after her then." Shy around this new Shen, she mentioned his older sister to change the conversation.
His eyebrow moved skyward "You do listen to my prattle. Yeah Irah likes to know how to heal the things she burns." He thought of his raven-haired sister with large golden eyes.
"She fire bends?" she asks intrigued leaning forward. Shocked he gives her a once over.
"Yes. So does my brother Long. You tried to attack him remember?" His face masked laughter envisioning the slight hermit flailing her fists at his stern brother with his mother's hair and father's eyes.
She removed her hand and flicked another gust of wind at him. Relieved at the lessening tension.
"Duh. It was his fault lost his tempter, and I just couldn't trust a person wearing a mask!"
"There is a wind wench
With eyes like storm clouds
She attacked the Blue Spirit
Got thrown into jail
Threw such a temper
I gave over her bail
Sounds good don't you think?"
she stuck out her tongue at him.
"You're lucky I owe you."
Author's Note
Because of the overwhelming need for a continuation, I added this piece that I just penned. I hope it reads well.
Shen means cautious or deep
Long means dragon (and it rhymes with Song)
Malu is the name of a character that should be introduced in the next season. I just loved the idea that a family of airbenders settled on a mountain keeping to themselves.
I hope you like this edition to the story. It's not quite a happy ending, but Song and Zuko shared many years before they died. This is how life is.