Crossroads
AN: I have decided to start ending this fanfic. It's been a great ride, but I have other stories to write. I do hope that you like this chapter. Things are finally moving along!
Crossing Paths
"It's hot, child," the woman said gentle and sat across from Rae. "You need to be careful when you eat it."
Rae didn't reply. His golden eyes were set on the silver platter that the maid held close to her. She waited for the mistress instructions to serve the food. She waited patiently until her mistress gave her a quick nod, indicating that it was time to serve dinner. The maid placed a bowl before the famished child and smiled kindly at Rae.
"You may leave, Zhen." Her mistress ordered.
"Yes, Mistress," the maid said with a curtsey.
Proper table manners escaped the young child. The moment he sat at the table and the maid placed the warm, delicious bowl of miso soup, Rae was done for. He'd been hungry for days. It had been such a long time since he'd a proper meal, that he cupped the bowl in his small hands and drank the hot soup without caution.
"Agh!" he cried, dropping the bowl of soup on the table and all over the floor. He moved his chair back and stared with horror-filled eyes at the person that given him a second chance at life. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he chanted apologetically.
"Zhen, bring a towel, please and clean this mess quickly!" the mistress shouted to the maid. "Poor child." She said and offered him a tender, sympathetic smile. She got up from her seat and moved around the table. When she stood beside Rae's chair, she used her pink, silk robe to clean Rae's dirty hands. Rae cringed when the lady touched him. "I won't hit you or hurt you. I promise." She said softly and knelt beside his chair. "I would never hurt an innocent child."
The woman could see the fear in the child's eyes. She pitied him. Her heart broke at the sight of his frightened expression. Something inside her wanted to protect him. Rae's innocent face reminded her of someone she'd left behind. She shook the thought away and focused on the boy in front of her.
"Please, don't hit me," Rae begged and ran to the corner of the room.
"No," she muttered as her ocher eyes welled with tears. Her gaze followed him. "Poor child." She muttered sadly and moved toward him.
"Oh, what happened?" the maid asked as she entered the room and noticed the spilled soup on the table. "Did this heathen do this?" Zhen shouted in anger.
"Please, Zhen, keep quiet. You are scaring the child."
"He deserves it!" Zhen said haughtily and looked in disgust at the table.
"Zhen, do as you are told. Clean this mess and bring the child more soup. Also, make sure that this time is not scolding hot. He could have gotten hurt." The mistress said sternly.
Zhen glared at Rae with gray, cold eyes. The child shuddered and was started when the kind mistress moved closer to the corner of the room where he was. She gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder. Rae cringed, afraid that he would be hurt and tried to cover himself with his small hands.
"NO! Don't hurt me!" he shouted and a rush of bright, blue flames erupted around him, burning the kind woman's hands.
xXXXx
Zuko's hands were sweaty. The suspense nearly killed him. He silently prayed that his son was fine. He didn't know why he experienced the nagging sensation that something was about to happen. He'd felt this way many times before: when his mother disappeared, the day that Toph took off without a single word or when his father challenged him to an Agni Kai and he became the Vanished Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Absentmindedly, he reached his free hand to touch his scarred eye.
"Whatever happens," he whispered to himself and sighed. "I'm going to face this..."
"What did you say?" Toph asked behind him.
"Nothing," he said, clearing his throat.
With trembling hands, Zuko yanked the reigns, making the ostrich-horse come to a complete stop. They stood a few yards away from the collapsed carriage, afraid to know what was before them.
"I should get down," Toph commented.
"No," Zuko shook his head and looked over his shoulder. "We don't know what we might face."
"And you are going to take them all by yourself?" she asked arrogantly. "Look, if I get off this damn thing," she paused when the animal neighed. "I might be able to see with my feet! I can't sense anything on this thing."
"No, you stay." He said with finality and averted his eyes to the fallen carriage.
"Why do I have to do what you want!" she hissed, clenching her fists.
He didn't reply to her question. His eyes were focused on the emblem that was engraved on the thick, dark wood of the turned carriage. He swallowed hard as he studied the intricate details. He wasn't wrong. This carriage had once belonged to his grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon.
"Please, Toph, stay put." He said seriously. "We don't know this people." He exhaled concerned, as he glanced at the group of man and women trying to unearth the carriage. The sound of men screaming and the few women crying brought him back to reality.
"No, Zuko. You need me."
"Toph, for my peace of mind, please, stay here. I'm going to find out if he is here or not," Zuko gulped and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Whatever happens... I love you! We can get through this."
"I love you, too." she muttered and shifts uncomfortably. "But don't say that. We will find Rae. I know that we will! And whatever is ahead of us, we can face it together. I won't leave you again." she reassured him.
"I know." He said. "But still, wait here. I don't wan-" Zuko got off the animal and quickly steered it to a nearby tree. He tied the reigns and sighed.
"I'm going too." she interjected.
"Toph! We don't know what we are up against or what we'll find..."
"I don't care. I am getting off this animal and I'm going to help those people," Toph said and hopped off the mount. "What if they know where Rae is? I can't lose this opportunity because you are acting like a petulant child!"
"What if Rae isn't there? What if they do-" Zuko he grunted, when she trudged passed him. "Ugh! Toph!" he shouted after her and trailed behind the earthbender. "What if they don't know where Rae is? What will you do?"
"Then they don't know about my son!"
"What will you do?"
She exhaled in irritation. "I don't know, Zuko! I don't know what I'll do! I just need to confirm that my little Rae... that my baby isn't there. At least, let me do this, please. I have to do something, because if I don't, I'll lose my damn mind!" she said, her voice shaking. Zuko tried to touch her, but she jerked away. "Now," she said in a clipped tone, "if you don't have anything else to say... I am going to help those people!" She sauntered rapidly, quickly closing the gap that separated her from her destination, when she gasped, halted, and trembling fell to her knees.
"Toph! Toph, baby, what's happening?" the Fire Lord asked when he saw Toph kneeling down. He ran to her side and gently placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her up. He cupped her face and stared worriedly at her. "What's going on? Talk to me! Toph, what's happening?"
Toph pushed him away from her as tear were falling down her face. She didn't respond to his questions. She just knelt down on the ground, her hands and clothes were getting dirty and muddy. She laughed behind the tears and sighed.
"Rae! Rae!"
"What's the mattered, Toph?" Zuko asked alarmed. "Why are you calling – Is he here?" he said taken aback.
She nodded, as tears streamed down her pallid cheeks. "He-" she paused, shutting her eyes closed and placed a muddy hand on the young lord's chest. "He is in there, Zuko!" she cried bitterly and pointed at the carriage.
Toph fought to get on her feet, but her legs gave in beneath her. Zuko carefully helped her up and with hurried steps; they rushed to the mud-covered carriage to aid their son.
Zuko held his breath as he watched the men dig with their hands the wet soil.
"There's a child in there, right?" Toph managed to say to one of the crew.
He nodded and stared curiously at her. "How do you know?"
"We just know."
"B-but how?"
"We just do! Where is he? Where is my son?" Zuko asked.
"He can't be yours. Mistre-"
"He is my son!" Toph shouted, launching herself at the man, but Zuko stopped him.
"I'm sorry. I don't know if the child is yours. One of the foremen bought the kid in a slave auction and gave him to our mistress. He accidentally burned her hands and we took her to see the nearest doctor." He said.
Zuko's chest began to tighten. He looked around and didn't see his son. Desperation settled in and he pushed the man away from him and moved closer to the carriage.
"Help!" a low voice called from inside the carriage.
It was Rae's voice. Zuko could hear Rae's desperate pleads. This moved the firebender and the earthbender into action. They needed to aid their son. Time was of the essence.
Toph took a stance and carefully began to make the ground beneath her shake.
"Don't!" A weeping female shouted.
"You can't earthbend here. The soil is unstable. It's saturated from the rain. If you use your bending, you can bury the carriage and my mistress will die." Another weeping female that sat on the other side of the path shouted. She ran to where Zuko and Toph stood and took Toph's hands. "I beg you, please, don't do it. My mistress is in there. She could die."
"What about my son? Didn't you hear his pleads?" Toph asked dejectedly and shoved the lady's hand away. "I have to save my son! He is my priority!"
Katara, Haru, Aang, and the other watched attentively as Zuko and Toph approached the carriage. Katara felt uneasy and tapped her foot nervously.
"Can you stop that?" Sokka asked annoyed.
"Why are they talking to those people?" she asked, gnawing at her bottom lip. "I think we should go." She said, turning to face Haru and her brother. "I have a bad feeling. Toph needs me."
"What makes you think that?" Haru asked gently.
She turned to face the edge of the cliff and pointed at Toph. "She tried to earthbend," she paused, "but that woman stopped her."
Haru nodded and placed a caring arm around Katara's shoulders. "Let's go. They might need our help."
"I'll go, too." Aang chimed in.
"Good," Haru smiled thankful. "The more the merrier."
"We are going too." Suki said and pulled Sokka's hand. He was about to complained, but she glowered at him. "Let's go!"
The afternoon sun beat down on them, as they worked simultaneously, digging with their hands to try to get to the carriage door that was buried under the earth. Tears stained Toph's face as she listened to her son's heart beat. There was no doubt about it: they'd found their lost son. Happiness, sadness, and a myriad of emotions overwhelmed the young bender. She got to her feet when she sensed seismic vibration coming from the top of the hill. She stood up when she sensed Aang, Haru, Katara, and the rest of her friends. They would be of great help!
"Katara! Aang! Hurry!" she shouted and ran towards them. "Please, hurry!" she begged.
Katara made Haru stop the animal and looked around and found several large puddles of water on the earth. "I'm going to go ahead."
"I'll go with you," Haru said, as he jumped off the ostrich-horse.
"I'll go, too." Aang said. "There is enough water on the ground to make an ice floor. We can slide to where she's at. We'll make it there faster."
"Good idea." Haru said.
It took Katara and Aang a few moments to create enough ice on the floor to slide themselves to where Toph and Zuko were standing .
"What happened?" Katara asked her friend. "Why are you crying?"
"Rae is in that carriage. I can sense him. He's been hurt. I can't earthbend this piece of shit, because the ground is unstable." Toph sobbed and took Katara's hand in hers. "You need to waterbed the excess water from the soil, so I don't risk hurting Rae when I earthbend the carriage out of the mud. I need to get him out of there fast. If we don't do it soon, he can... suffocate." She gulped.
Katara gasped and together they ran to where the men struggled to get the people out of the carriage.
"We have to hurry. This part of the land is known for mudslides." Toph heard a man whispered to someone.
She paid no attention, waiting as Aang and Katara worked in unison as they bent the water from the muddy carriage. When most of the water had been removed, Toph used her bending to raise the shattered wooden carriage out of the ground. It toppled several times and she cursed under her breath. She couldn't hear her son anymore. Fear filled her and she began to get nervous.
"Concentrate, Toph," she heard Haru's voice as he stood next to her. "Aang and I will help you," he said. Together, the earthbenders and the Avatar, worked in unanimity, lifting the battered carriage onto stable ground.
The door was damaged by the fall. It took all of Zuko and Sokka's strength to pry it open, but it finally budged. The moment that Sokka opened the carriage door, Zuko's eyes opened in surprise. A stranger held Rae's limp body tightly against her chest.
"Give me my son," he ordered in a calmed voice.
"He is hurt! We have to be gentle with him." The woman said softly. Her voice rattled Zuko to the core. "He hit his head when the carriage turned."
Zuko watched the woman's bandaged hands. Just like the man had said earlier. "Can you give me my son, please?" he asked sternly, but politely. The stranger tightened her hold on the child and slowly lifted her face to stare at Zuko.
"Zuko! Take Rae from her," Toph said desperately demanded.
Zuko's eyes focused on the stranger. He reached for Rae, but halted, when understanding settled in. The stranger rested her chin on Rae's shoulder and stared attentively at Zuko. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't articulate a single words. The stranger smiled at him, a lonely tear streamed down her porcelain face. She smiled at him tenderly and her vision quickly became clouded by the tears that fell uncontrollably.
"He is your s-son?" the stranger asked.
Her question irked Toph. "Yes, he is our son!" Toph gritted, moving passed Zuko and climbed inside the carriage. "Give me my son. Now!" she insisted.
"You have a beautiful son," the stranger said. "I don't know why... h-he reminded me of my own son."
Toph was becoming annoyed. Why wasn't Zuko yanking their son from this stranger's burned hands? She took a step forward, prepared to snatch her son out the woman's arms when Zuko spoke.
"Yes, the kid that you are holding... he is mine," he paused and cleared his throat. Toph could smell the salty scent of tears filling the carriage's small cabin. "His name is Rae. He is going to be the next Fire Lord... She's Toph... she is the mother of my son..." he trailed off and climbed inside the carriage and sat across from the woman. He reached for her hand and Toph heard Zuko sob under his breath. "...and he is your grandson, mother." Zuko said, choking on his words.