Crossroads

AN: This chapter was to let Toph vent out.

Sadness

The haunting sound of the whistling wind breezing through the tree branches and the loudness of the pelting rain woke the child up from his dreamless slumber. He sat up and reached for his temple and groaned softly. Rae's head was throbbing. He bit the inside of his cheeks to prevent himself from crying. He'd learned not to complain. His keepers didn't like it when he cried or fussed.

"Rae," he sighed unenthusiastically, "you are going to be okay. Now, get up," he ordered himself in a stern voice, as he rubbed his throbbing left temple with his dirt-covered hand.

He was tired; exhausted from the endless carriage rides. He'd gotten bored of staring out the carriage's small window. The further they rode from civilization, the stranger and glumly the panorama became. He'd tried to remain awake, hoping to remember how to get back to Gaoling, but the arduous rides had been tough on him, causing him to drift in and out of consciousness since early that morning.

There is so much a child can handle; the inhumane treatment towards the boy and the lack of a proper feeding schedule kept him disoriented. He didn't know how long it'd been since he was taken away from his parents. All he knew was that he was bushed, hungry, and he had no more tears left to cry. Rae had a resilient spirit... but little by little, he'd begun to quietly accept his faith. He would never return home.

"Where are you taking me?" he'd asked one of the guards that had taken him by brute force from his grandparents.

"You're going to be sold," the guard had chuckled mercilessly as he grimaced at the little boy. "You will never know freedom."

His words sent chills down Rae's spine. He would be sold as a slave in a far off village, where no one knew of him. Rae didn't believe it at first, but the more time he spent with the guards, the certain his future became.

"I'm alone," he whimpered into the afternoon. "Alone!"

He was alone in the world. Rae had been snatched away from his lovely family. He'd been pried from his grandparents' arms a few days ago; forcefully thrown into an unidentified carriage and tossed into a life that wasn't meant for him. He was destitute.

"Where are my Mom and Dad?" Rae had asked countless times in his nightmares. He didn't know where his parents were. He'd never gotten a proper respond, until a few days later.

"They are dead," the lead guard laughed.

"Dead?" Rae blinked several times.

He didn't want to believe the guard's words. He couldn't believe the guards words.

"They'll never come back for you. They are as good as dead!"

Rae's aching heart sank in his chest. He knew about death. He'd experienced it when Hana's youngest son died in a storm at sea while going fishing with his father. He'd drown and everyone mourned his death. For the first time in his young life, he hated life.

"You'll never see them gain," a large, massive guard came from behind him and grabbed him by the collar of his dirty robes.

"Where are you taking me?" Rae asked frightened.

"You've been sold," he laughed, crooked, yellowish teeth showed as he smiled viciously at the poor child. "You aren't our responsibility anymore."

Rae sighed deeply and leaned his back against the wooden wall of the carriage, curling his legs, until his knees flushed against his chest. He folded his arms over his knees and rested his chin on his forearms. He stared at the door; the carriage rocked as it moved. He lost sense of time, letting fond memories of his parents wash upon him. He smiled, remembering his mother's hugs and kisses. He wanted to see her. He missed his father, and his friends. Suddenly, the carriage came to a screeching halt and the door swung open.

"You've reached your destination!" the guard reached for him, startling Rae. The child began to trash in the carriage room, frantically kicking the guard's arm and hand. "Little shit!" he yelled, grabbing Rae by his collar and pulling him against his chest.

"Where are you taking me?" Rae gulped, trying hard to breath, as he scratched the guard's hand. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"You've been sold! You aren't my responsibility anymore," the guard chuckled deeply, hoisting the child over his shoulder.

Rae screamed and kicked, hoping to free himself. He wasn't aware of where he was being taken. His tears acted like a watery curtain. He didn't dare to look beyond, because he knew that wherever he glanced, he would never be able to see his parents' face again.

xXx

Toph woke up for the tenth time that night, covered in sweat and with a sharp piercing pain in her chest. She tried hard to not mind it, but the dull ache was enough to keep her awake. She sat on her folded bed and touched the ground with the palms of her hands. Most of her friends were asleep. She sat there for what seemed like hours. She tried hard to drift back to sleep, but couldn't.

The nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach didn't cease. She played with Zuko's blanket, torn between deciding if she should wake him up or let him sleep. She knew that he was tired. He fell asleep immediately after eating supper.

Toph bent down and kissed Zuko's cheek and gently brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Toph," Zuko yawned sleepily and turned on his side, facing her. "You are awake."

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Go back to sleep." She said softly, tracing her index finger across his forehead.

"Come here," he said. Zuko had one eye closed and another opened as he forced his eyes to adapt to the dim light of the moon that filtered through the crack of the earth shelter Haru had made for them.

"I'm not sleepy. I'll keep you awake if I stay here."

Zuko shook his head and motioned her to lie beside him. Reluctantly, she obeyed and lay next to him. He draped a protective arm tightly over her torso and pulled her to him.

He rested his chin on the crown of her hair and inhaled her scent. He traced lazy circles on the small of her back and hummed a familiar tune that his mother used to sing for him when he was but a child.

"What are you humming?" Toph asked.

"A song,"

"I know... but, what is it about?"

"I don't know." He shrugged and gently kissed her earlobe. "My mother used to sing it to me. I forgot the words. Is that bad?"

"No," she said, pressing a bit closer to him. "You still remember the tune. I can't sing, so I used to hum tunes to Rae at night. He seemed to enjoy them."

Zuko caressed her hair and buried his face on the nape of her neck. Toph could feel the hot liquid of Zuko's tears dripping on her skin. She slowly lifted his head and pressed her hands against his temples. She used seismic vibration to outline his face, but it was hard. She used her hands to touch contours of his handsome face and she held her breath.

Her hands fell to her chest and she slowly sat up. Zuko also sat up and stared quizzically at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, as she brushed his tears with her thumb. "Touching your face... Rae must look exactly like you, don't you?" she wept.

"Yes," he said sincerely. "He does look a lot like me." he chuckled dejectedly, "But he has so much of you in him."

"Kiss me, Zuko, please." She uttered, leaning forward. "Help me forget this pain... only for tonight, please." She begged, as she wound her arms around his neck.

"Toph," he said confused, "I won't know how to stop-"

"Don't hold back. Just make me yours once again," she said. She entwined her fingers in his soft hair to draw his head downwards. All rational thought fled her mind the moment his mouth came over hers.