I tucked my old clothing into my dress, and flew into the air once more with my determination as strong as ever. Next stop, Southern Air Temple.
Chapter 4: The Southern Air Temple
"Ahhhh," I yawned, in the morning light; it had been about half a day since I left Gaoling. I looked ahead to see blue skies, and to my surprise, some Winged-Lemurs. How nostalgic, I thought, remembering the chattering ones that hung around the Eastern Air Temple. Soon, the Patola Mountain Range came into view. That must mean I'm almost there!
"Huh, I must have been flying faster than normal!" I giggled. Sister Iio had once told me the distance between the Eastern Air Temple and the Southern Air Temple was a nonstop flight of about two days. It's only been about a day and a half of traveling for me! I laughed, attracting a couple of lemurs towards me.
"Well, hello!" I said to them, as they started flying in circles around me and my glider. "Haha, you guys are so cute! I bet Luca would have loved to meet you all!" And as soon as the words were spoken, I regretted them immediately. My heart cried for my Sky Bison, who I still didn't know the whereabouts of. I hope you and the girls are safe, and with that, I pushed him to the back of my mind, and tried focusing on what was to come: my husband.
Hmm… I wonder what my husband is like... Is he kind? Is he funny? Is he better at Airbending than me? Or…What if I've been engaged to an old monk this whole time? I thought in horror.
"The Nuns wouldn't do that to me!" I shouted, startling the Winged-Lemurs, who then dispersed. I watched them go, sad to lose some company. I'm just nervous. He can't be that bad, and even if he is an old monk, I will accept him for who he is. There has to be a reason why I need to find him and help him. After what happened at home… But, before I could continue being lost in my many thoughts, I opened my eyes wide, seeing the Southern Air Temple in the distance. Whoa, I'm actually here!
I could see they were still safe, and untouched by tragedy. There were some Airbenders flying around on their gliders, and a new class of little kids attempting to glide the air currents. I landed at the entrance, and looked at the Southern Air Temple. My mouth hung open as I gaped at how different it was compared to my home. I was a little scared: it was forbidden for us girls to go to the Northern or Southern Air Temples before we went through the initiation of becoming a Sister. As I stood there, an old monk with a unibrow standing nearby approached me. I closed my mouth and looked at him. We both did the traditional greeting of bowing to each other, and then, he spoke.
"I am Monk Pasang, senior monk of the Southern Council of Elders. Seeing that you came here by glider, you are an Air Nomad, too. Though, I can also see you aren't wearing the normal attire," he commented, making me cringe with guilt. "Who are you?"
"I'm Lily, from the Eastern Air Temple. Please forgive my appearance! You see, tragedy stuck my home, and I was in danger of—"
"Lily? As in Lilyanne?" He asked, voice rising in anticipation.
"Yes, that is my full name, but as I was saying we were—"
"You shouldn't be here, yet! You don't even have your tattoos!" He said, pushing me back to where I just landed. At that outburst, anger filled my being, and before I could breath and calm myself, I lost it.
"I KNOW THAT! BUT WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SAY IS THAT WE WERE ATTACKED AND SISTER IIO TOLD ME I NEED TO FIND MY HUSBAND, MISTER!" I yelled, disrupting a couple of classes and gaining some unwanted stares. I breathed heavily, and stared into the eyes of Monk Pasang, seeing his gray eyes opened wide with shock. My own eyes also widened, as realization of what I just did dawned on me.
Oh dear Buzzard Wasp, please don't tell me I just yelled at a Monk!... AH! And that was not just any monk but the Senior Monk of the Southern Council! Ahhhh, WHY AM I SO STUPID? I mentally yelled in my head. As I was mentally abusing myself, Monk Pasang started to regain his composure, and a small crowd of young boys started to gather around us. Not only had I just yelled at a monk, but I was a girl. A girl was finally at the Southern Air Temple. I looked around at the expressions of fascination. Uh oh, I'm in so much trouble, I thought.
"EVERYONE! BACK TO YOUR CLASSES!" Monk Pasang yelled at the crowd. They all ran, knowing the consequences if they didn't. Phew, saved, I thought, relieved. Monk Pasang then turned to me, and I gulped. I shut my eyes, in shame, expecting the worst.
"Hahahahahaha!" All I could hear was laughter. I slowly opened one eye to see him laughing. I quickly opened the other eye, and openly stared at him, seriously wondering if he was okay. He looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I'm sorry! Haha it's just that nobody usually yells at me! But, it is refreshing," Monk Pasang said to me, smiling. I returned the smile, mostly smiling out of relief. Monk Pasang's face soon turned serious once more as he said, "You say you were attacked? Come with me, we should talk in private."
"But, what about my husband!" I protested.
"Yes, we will discuss this in a more private room. Come." Monk Pasang started walking off, and I hurried to catch up. Along the way, I could see some boys playing Airball, Monks meditating, and many Sky Bisons. Finally, we arrived in, what I assume to be, Monk Pasang's room. It was pretty much bare, except for a bed, and mat. He motioned for me to sit with him on the mat.
"So, explain to me what has happened, Lily," he said. I recounted everything that happened at the Eastern Air Temple, not sparring one detail. It was like reliving a nightmare. When I came to the part of me parting ways with Luca, I could feel my heart break all over again. Regardless, I continued on with my story, all the way up to when I got here. Once I finished, I looked over to see a perplexed Monk Pasang.
"It's a good thing you escaped. You did well and endured much, but it's not over. I sort of expected something like this to happen… Lily, you must come with me and talk with the rest of the Council. Oh! But first, let's put you in a cloak, so as not to draw more attention."
"Okay," I agreed, watching him disappear and reappear with a long brown cloak in his arms.
"Make sure you put the hood up," he advised me. I did as I was told, putting the cloak on over my dress. Monk Pasang, looking satisfied that no one would guess I was girl, walked out and I followed him out of the room. Earlier, what did he mean by 'I sort of expected something like this to happen'? I wondered, as we walked down long corridors, passing other Monks.
On our way to wherever we were going, we came into an open air kitchen with an oven, where there was another Monk with a boy around my age. They were laughing together, and I peered over the edge to look at what they were laughing at, only to see some fruit pie covered Monks. I had to stifle a giggle. I looked at them, and did a double take on the boy: he already had his arrows! He must be a genius, I thought.
My attention was quickly brought back to Monk Pasang as he asked the other Monk, "Monk Gyatso, what exactly are you teaching this boy?"
"Aim and precision, of course. He deserves to have some fun, so why not during training?" Monk Gyatso replied. He turned his blue eyes towards me, and I stared back. He was an old Monk, with a white mustache and a kind face. I could tell from the look in his eyes he held much wisdom. Then, Monk Gyatso smiled at me, and bowed. I bowed in return. The boy behind him looked curiously at me, but bowed in greeting along with Monk Gyatso. I looked at the boy, and we held a moment of eye contact. Purple eyes gazed into big, gray ones. Something inside me jolted, and I had to look away, blushing. Who is this boy? I wondered. When I looked back, the boy had a confused expression on his face, too.
"Well, whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. We need to have a meeting, right now. Please go get the other members of the Council," Monk Pasang requested and pulled me along with him to the Council of Elders' meeting room. I could hear the two we just left talking faintly.
"As you wish," I heard Monk Gyatso say.
"Who was that, Gyatso?" the boy asked in excitement.
"Ah, Aang, you will find out soon enough."
"Aw! You always do this to me!" the boy, or Aang, complained. They laughed at something, but Monk Pasang and I had walked too far away for me to hear. We walked through an arch and into a room with five distinctly colored mats for each Elder. Monk Pasang took his place in the middle of the five mats, and motioned for me to sit on a mat in the middle of the room, in front of the five. As I sat down, I smiled, remembering those poor Monks with fruit heads. Well, at least I know what that boy's name is now. Aang… What an interesting name, I thought. I wonder what's going to happen after the meeting. Will I finally be able meet my husband? Who is my husband?
End of Chapter 4! Wow... this one took me a while to write! We finally got to see Aang, but not for long :/ I promise he will pretty much be the center of the next chapter! So loook forward to it! Haha :)
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :) And thank you to you all that have reviewed so far! :) Your reviews keep me motivated to keep writing!