What's up everybody? I finally got the next chapter of "Burn Me Gently." It would've come earlier but you know how things can get. Reviews make me feel more obligated to update!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Flash Back
Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, why would I be writing fanfcition instead of making the magic happen?
Chapter Two: Jin
Part One: The Market
Katara
It's hard to keep the negative attitude I had when I left the house this morning. I can tell already that things are much different here in the middle ring. Nobody turned their nose up at me because of my plain robes and the 'holier than thou' atmosphere was replaced with a lighter, merrier one. It's hard to believe that in all the months I've been in Ba Sing Se, this is my first time visiting the middle ring.
People seem to be so happy and carefree. Maybe…maybe it was selfish of us to try to inform them of the bloody war raging outside these safe walls. But then, what if Ba Sing Se was attacked? They wouldn't be able to defend themselves and…I shook my head more violently than I meant to.
Surely the Dai Li would have everything under control. I might not be the fondest of Long Feng but I am positive about one thing—
His mother didn't raise a fool
With that bittersweet thought lingering in my mind, I continued my task of pasting Appa posters onto the sides of buildings. Someone had come by that night and ripped them all down which was the cause for my sour mood earlier. With a sigh, I set down my pail of glue as well as the paintbrush I'd borrowed from Sokka. (Why he owns it I will never know)
It had taken me all day but I finally finished. "Oh well," I thought aloud while stifling a yawn, "at least I didn't get the upper ring like last time." The ridiculously huge space with ridiculously huge houses took me well into the night to finish. I was extremely sore and went to bed thinking I would sleep the day away only to be thrown right back out the door, armful of extra flyers in tow.
I stretched my stiff arms over my head before letting them drop back down to my sides. Surely the others wouldn't mind if I stopped for a little tea and maybe a snack as well. It's evening now but I've yet to have breakfast. My stomach rumbled loudly as if trying to prove my point. I quickly covered it with my hands, blushing madly as I looked around to make sure no one had heard. Luckily for me everyone was too busy enjoying each others' company. With a smile, I disappeared in search of a restaurant.
Part Two: Pretty Boys Deserve Pretty Girls
Jin
I weaved through the crowded streets of the middle ring. I've lived here all my life and still can't figure out why it is so much more active at night. 'I hope I'm not too late!' I thought worriedly to myself. I was on my way to the Jasmine Dragon. Sure their tea was great but I go to the cozy tea house for something else, or rather, someone.
I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought of Li, the waiter.
Even with that horrible scar he is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen. I turned down a deserted alley, to in bliss to be aware of my surroundings. "Maybe tonight will be the night!" I giggled. Curtseying awkwardly, I exclaimed: "Why of course Li, I'd love to dance!" Before I knew it I was twirling. With every spin my robes fanned out farther and farther until they reached way pass my outstretched arms. By the time my world stopped spinning, nothing around me seemed familiar.
Suddenly I felt a cold fear grip my heart. What if something happened to me? "Ba Sing Se is a safe city. Ba Sing Se is a safe city…" I repeated this over and over in my head but it did nothing to calm my nerves. I'm sixteen years old yet I still make childish mistakes such as not paying attention to where I was going. My mother always told me that if I ever got lost that I should stay where I was. I wonder now as I gaze into dim darkness if the same rule applied when no one was looking for you.
Deciding to take a chance—I ran.
The sound of my slippers padding against smooth stone seemed much more unnerving than it does when there are others padding along with them. Even my shadow looked gigantic and menacing instead of small and insignificant like it usually does. Squinting ahead, I could faintly make out the hunched silhouette of a man. 'Maybe he can help me!' People have always called me naïve but I'd never believed them until that very moment when he grabbed my arm and slammed me against the wall.
His breath reeked of whiskey and I had to keep my mouth firmly shut or I'm certain I would have puked. The man smiled, revealing all of his rotting yellow teeth. His mouth formed words but my heart was beating too loudly in my ears for me to hear anything he is saying. Just when I knew it was all over, she appeared.
A girl dressed in water tribe robes, would she help me if I called to her? "Don't even think about it." The man grunted into my ear. My gaze followed her desperately as she passed by the alley obliviously. 'No, come back!'
She didn't
"This won't hurt a bit." The man chuckled. It was a Lie, I knew it was. Once again I made a decision but hopefully this would have much better results than the last. "HELP ME!" The girl stopped in mid step. She turned to face us and I could feel my breath catch in my throat. She was beautiful. Glassy blue eyes seemed to pop against her dark skin. Even as her face distorted with anger they still shone like miniature seas.
Her water eyes widened. She yelled out to me right before a pain shot through my head causing my entire world to bleed black.
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When I woke it was warm. Wherever I was, it smelled of dogwood blossoms and rain. 'Wait, does rain even have a smell?' "Oh good you're up!" I glanced upward to find the beautiful girl from before standing in the doorway. (This by the way looked more expensive than my entire apartment) She smiled, walking over and placing the tray in her hands on the nightstand by my head.
"I'm Katara, what's your name?"
"Jin." I rasped out. "That's a pretty name." She responded but I knew she was lying just like I knew the man in the alley was. It is a plain name, not exotic and mysterious like hers. Even though I knew it was wrong I could feel jealousy as well as dislike building in my chest. How is it fair that she got to be so perfect, so…flawless?
"You hit your head pretty hard." Katara continued. "I managed to heal your wound but it may be sore for a while." She picked up a shallow bowl filled with what looked like tea and blew it gently before handing it to me. "Drink this; it will make you feel better." I took my first sip hesitantly. It was surprisingly sweat, almost like honey that warmed my throat on its way down.
"Where am I?"
Katara, who had obviously lost herself in her thoughts, nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of my voice. "Oh I'm sorry. I spaced out for a bit. What were you saying?" Her sheepish smile made her look even more radiant and I could feel my resentment for her grow.
"Where am I?"
"You're at my house in the upper ring!" She exclaimed with the irritatingly faultless smile on her face again. "You know, you really shouldn't wonder the streets by yourself, especially at night." I tuned her out as she continued to babble. Did Li worry about me when I didn't come in today? Suddenly I knew exactly why I hated Katara so much. Sure I'm pretty and I deserve a pretty boy. But Li? He's beautiful. Beautiful boys like him deserve beautiful girls, girls like Katara.
Part Three: Blind Dates
Zuko
"I'm not going uncle." I growled to lowly, crossing my arms and turning away my nose. "There's nothing you can do to make me." Many would consider what I was doing 'making a scene' but I thought of it as forcefully disagreeing. "Come on Li, it will be fun!" Just how is going on a date with somebody I haven't even met fun?
"We have very different definitions of 'fun' uncle" I grumbled. I was not in the mood to put up with my uncle's ways at the moment. I've had to deal with crying babies, fighting middle aged men drunk off too much tea, and my cheeks were starting to ache from all the fake smiling. (And yes, I mean the ones on my FACE) Now he expects me to go out with some complete stranger? I think not, for all I know they could be a guy!
Whoa…scary thought.
"The date isn't until tomorrow—"
"There will be no date." I interrupted be he ignored me.
"Just think about it." He finished. "Yes uncle." I replied even though I had no intention whatsoever of doing so. This seemed to satisfy him though for he (Finally) left my room that he'd barged into so rudely earlier. I lied back on my bed, folding my arms behind my head to act as a pillow. Why was my uncle being so pushy about this whole date thing and establishing a life here? He wasn't planning on staying…was he?
He does seem much happier here than he did back in the fire nation. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we ended up staying here. I rolled over my side. With a flick of my wrist all the candles simultaneously died. These problems could wait until morning. "Right now, what I need is sleep." I said just loud enough for uncle to hear in the next room. Maybe now I could get some peace even if it was only temporary.
If I'm going to be completely honest, the thought of sleep frightened me. For a while now I've been having these weird dreams. In my dream I'm surrounded by darkness. Out of the darkness come two dragons. A red one and a blue one. They are both screaming for me to do something but I can't hear one for the other. They continue the yell at me, the blue one sometimes shooting fire and taking swipes in my direction.
I don't know what it is about the dream that is so terrifying but lately it has begun to effect my physically as well. I've been feeling sluggish and out of breath. My skin has become paler and I often find myself breaking out into cold sweats. I have managed to hide it from uncle so far, I know it will not last long. He may be a senile old man but he is extremely observant.
I finally drifted off to sleep thinking about how I didn't like all those buts.
Zuko has been getting the shorter end of the stick hasn't he? Well, he's going first next time so his side of the stick will be so long that nobody will be able to see it! XP