A Stolen Future
Chapter One: Uncertainty
"You will never bear his child!"
Lin Beifong woke with a start. She gasped for air as she sat up and took in her surroundings. She smelled the sea and felt a cool breeze blowing through her wavy, black hair. She took a deep breathe as she felt the wood floor beneath her and the warm arm lying across her hips. Looking down, she saw her boyfriend sleeping peacefully next to her, on the ground. She was on Air Temple Island.
Once again, she and Tenzin had fallen asleep in the Meditation Pavilion. It was a common occurrence stemming from their teenage years when Tenzin when had tried teaching Lin to meditate. The lessons were unsuccessful, but not a complete waste. Lin had given up on meditation, but discovered that she loved the view and found it relaxing to simply sit and take it in. One day Tenzin had suggested that she stay to see the night sky from the pavilion, and knowing that her mother would not care, Lin agreed. That was the first time that she had fallen asleep with Tenzin. She remembered waking up in a panic the next morning and demanding that Tenzin fly her home on Oogie. She had worried that she had finally crossed a line and that her mother might actually be upset about her fourteen year old daughter staying out all night, but Toph Beifong seemed indifferent to her daughter's carelessness. Lin had been hurt by her her mother's lack of care, but chose to swallow it back and get her eight year old sister ready for school. Despite knowing that she would not get in trouble for staying out all night, Lin promised herself that it would never happen again. Teenagers ought to be home at night, and Suyin needed her in the mornings.
It turned out that this was one promise that Lin could not keep. She did well for the first few months, but then one night after a particularly stressful week, she asked Tenzin if she could stay a few hours and watch the stars. He agreed and chose to sit with her again. The next day, she awoke wrapped in Tenzin's arms for the second time. As time went on it became a more common (and welcome) occurrence. For the first few years she would be upset with herself about her lack of willpower. She would fight back a smile and wake Tenzin up, demanding to be taken home and reminding him that they were committing a taboo in the Air Nomad culture. By the time they were sixteen, she let herself smile when she woke up and would lay a content hand on his cheek (or in his hair before he had committed to keeping his head shaved).
This time it was different. For one, it was still night; and this time, she had been woken by a memory that had manifested itself into a nightmare. Her usual contentedness had been replaced by a bittersweet feeling as she stared down at the man that she loved. She reached down stroked his cheek and brown beard for a moment, as she fought back the tears that had begun to form in her eyes. When she felt his arm tighten around her waist, she suddenly felt that she had to act. Lin wiped her eyes to ensure they were dry before gently shaking Tenzin's shoulder and waking him.
"Tenzin." She whispered. "Tenzin, wake up."
The Airbender opened his eyes and saw his beautiful girlfriend looking down at him.
"Lin, it's still dark, is something wrong?" He asked, reaching up and holding his hand against the scar on her cheek.
Lin rested her hand on top of his and held it there, feeling his warmth.
"No, everything is fine." She replied, with a sad smile.
"Then let's go back to sleep." He said as he gently tried to pull her close to him again.
Lin wanted to listen to him. She wanted to curl back into his arms and fall asleep, but it did not feel right at the moment. Lin pulled back.
"No Tenzin," She whispered to him. "We shouldn't be here."
Lin stood up and began pulling him with her. The tall man begrudgingly rose and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.
"Where are we going?" He asked, fairly certain that the years of rushing her home were far behind them.
"The dormitories." Lin replied as they walked away from the pavilion.
"Why?" Tenzin asked scratching his head. "It's still dark."
"Exactly, you're supposed to be sleeping in your room in the men's dormitory, and I'm supposed to be in the women's dormitory where your parents and the Acolytes have graciously allowed me to stay the night."
"Are you serious?" Tenzin asked, as he stopped walking and pulled Lin back to face him. "Lin, we're not fooling anyone. I'm pretty sure that they know we always sleep on the pavilion."
"Your parents turn a blind eye because they like me, but that doesn't make it okay, Tenzin." She told him firmly as they held hands. "You're responsible for keeping the Air Nomad culture alive, you can't break the rules just because you want to."
"Marry me, Lin."
"What?" She asked taken aback.
"Marry me, Lin. Then we'd never have to spend another night apart." He looked at her with so much hope as he practically begged her. "Please Lin. Please say yes!"
Lin stared into those blue eyes that she had known since she was born. She loved those eyes. She loved when those eyes were happy, and she could make that happen right now with one simple word. One word that she wanted to say so badly. Lin felt her heart fill with apprehension as she tried to find the words to say. Finally, she realized that she would be unable to say them as long as she looked into her love's eyes. Lin turned her head away and looked first at her hands and then to the Air Temple.
"Tenzin..." She said she released his hands. "We've talked about this."
Even without looking at him, she could see the pain flashing through his eyes.
"I'm not ready yet."
She turned to walk down the path toward the women's dormitory, but soon felt strong arms wrap around her in a hug.
"Someday. Someday you'll be ready, and you'll let me know when that is. Please say you will." He begged, choking back the despair he felt every time she rejected his proposal.
Lin was quiet for a moment, fighting back her own tears as she tried to find the courage to tell him the truth. She reached up and held onto the arms that were wrapped around her, trying to find the strength to release him. It did not work, she just wanted cling to him more. When she finally trusted her voice not to tremble, she spoke.
"Tenzin, if it were simply a matter of marrying you, I would say 'yes' in a heartbeat. I would have said 'yes' the first time you asked me... but it's not just you. You're asking me to be the mother of the new Air Nation, and I don't know if I can ever be ready for that."
Tenzin loosened his grip enough to walk around and face her. He held Lin's shoulder with one hand and used the other to gently direct direct her head towards his. Lin still refrained from making eye contact, but could not resist the urge to rest her hand on the one cupping her cheek.
"Lin, I realize that I'm asking a lot of you, and I know that you think that I'm blinded by love, but we've known each other our entire lives. I know what you're capable of, and I know that you would be an exceptional wife and mother -and I don't think that there's anybody in the entire world that would be a better mother to the future of the Air Nation,"
"What about one of those Air Acolytes?" Lin asked.
"What?" Tenzin asked, confused by the suggestion.
"One of the Air Acolyte women." Lin clarified. "They strive to live the Air Nomad way of life. They've taken the oath of non aggression, they don't eat meat, they spend their days meditating and minding the temple. It seems like one of them would be better at raising an Airbender family."
"You may not choose to live the life of an Air Nomad, Lin, but you've grown up with my family. You know my culture, and understand it's importance -sometimes even more than I do. You also know when to stand up and tell me that I'm wrong, which is something that no Acolyte has ever told me, and something that myself and our children would desperately need."
Lin let out a small laugh, but still did not look up.
"I also know that if our children were ever in danger, you would protect them better than any Air Acolyte or White Lotus guard could. Don't you see Lin? You will be the best mother an Airbender could ask for, and we love each other so much, it must be fate! I'm so sure of it! Please Marry me, please, Lin!"
Tenzin looked at Lin with renewed hope. He had not planned this speech, but he had thrown his heart and head into it and was certain that his argument was air proof (no pun intended). He truly believed that this time he had succeeded and she would say yes. Tenzin could feel the hope rising in him and knew that the moment she agreed to marry him, he would be yelling and jumping for joy. He would fly around the island and wake everybody to tell them the good news, he might even wake the residents of Republic City -he had been waiting so long for this that he was sure that he would not be able to contain his joy.
As Tenzin's hope continued to rise, Lin still refused to look up. A tear finally managed to leak out of her eye.
"What if I can't give you any Airbender children?"
The question hung in the air and began to deflate the bubble of hope in Tenzin.
"What?" He asked.
"I'm an Earthbender, Tenzin. What if I can only give you Earthbending children?"
He had never thought about that before. He had been so determined that he and Lin would be the parents of the new Air Nation that he had never thought of the possibility of their children being anything other than the Airbenders that he was destined to have.
"I suppose some of them might be Earthbenders, but I would still love them." Tenzin finally replied.
"Your parents had three children and you were the only Airbender, Tenzin. What if we're not even that lucky? What if I can only give you Earthbenders?"
"Then I would still love them because they would be our children!"
"Then the Air Nation will die!" Lin snapped at him. "The Air Nation would die a second time and everybody would remember that it was because Tenzin, the last Airbender, was selfish and chose to marry an Earthbender instead of doing his duty and marrying a woman who was more capable of producing Airbenders! Is that what you want?"
"Of course not! But I've already told you that I love you and I believe that fate made us to be together, so I'm willing to take that risk! Any children we have will be incredible whether they bend the Earth, Air or nothing at all!"
"And what if I can't have any children?"
"Why would you think that Lin?"
Tenzin looked down at the love of his life. She still refused to meet his eye and the confidence she usually carried was no longer present. Tenzin was the only person that Lin ever allowed herself to be vulnerable with, but right now it went beyond that. At this moment she seemed. . . fragile. It was something that he had only seen twice before, and it scared him to be seeing it now.
"It happens. There are plenty of women who can't have children, what if I'm one of them?"
"If you're really worried about that, then just ask my mother to look at you. If there really is a problem then I'm certain that she can fix it. We have nothing to be afraid of."
Lin finally looked into his eyes, and he was shocked to see the tears that were trying to escape her pake green eyes.
"I wish that I could be so sure." She said before pulling out of his grasp and continuing down the path.
"Lin!" He called. "I love you and I'm not giving up! I'll keep asking! Promise me that you'll keep thinking about it!"
At that, Lin turned back to look at him. Despite her feelings of despair, he could still make her smile. Without warning, she crossed the distance between them and pulled his head down to hers for a kiss. When their lips finally parted from each other, the stood still with their foreheads touching and their hands entwined between their chests.
"I love you too." Lin finally said. "I love more than anyone else, and I do want to be your wife, but right now... I don't think that I'm ready. I'm not sure if I'll ever be, but I will keep thinking about it."
"And I will keep asking until the day are ready -although I should warn you, the longer you make me wait, the happier I'll be when you say 'yes'. If you make me wait long enough, I'll have enough enthusiasm to fly around the world and tell every single living creature our wonderful news."
"I'll hold you to that, Tenzin," Lin said with a chuckle before pushing back from him, "but for now we need to go to bed."
The couple kissed one more time before going their separate ways for the night. Lin turned back at one point and watched his retreating figure. Her smile had left and was instead replaced with a mask of regret. She wished that she had the strength to let him go. It was not fair to continue stringing him along like this, she knew that she had to let him go and find the woman that he would propagate a nation with, but no matter how hard she tried she simply could not do it.
When Lin had finally entered the room that was given to her for her visits, she wasted little timed in getting ready for bed. Not wanting to turn on the lights, she used her seismic sense to locate her nightclothes and change before making her way to the bathroom for her nightly hygiene routine. She was feeling miserable when she returned to her room, she pulled the towel off of her hair and walked over to the dresser to grab her comb. There was just enough moonlight for her to see her reflection in the mirror. Upon seeing the scar her sister had left on her face, she heard voice of the woman from her nightmare ringing through her head.
"You will never bear his child! He will leave you for another woman and you will never love another man!"
Lin dropped the comb and lost her balance. She supported herself against the dresser with one hand and grasped at her abdomen with the other. The young woman felt as though a part of her had been ripped out. She let out a cry as she sank down to the ground. The tears that she had been holding back for the last few hours were now flowing freely. Lin Beifong, the exceptional police officer and Earthbender who feared nothing, was now curled in a ball on the floor with one hand covering her mouth in an attempt to muffle the screams and cries that she could no longer hold back.
She loved him so much. They had been together since she was born. He was one that she had entrusted her damaged heart to -and yet she knew that one day, he would leave her and shatter what was left of her heart.
I started watching Legend of Korra again, and after doing more research on Tenzin and Lin (who os honestly the most interesting character in the show), this idea popped into my head. I woke up around midnight and felt like I had to write it. Originally it was meant to be one shot, but things got away from me and it will now 4-6 chapters.