Playing With Fire
Chapter 8 - Fate
He'd finally found her; he debated previously on whether going after her or not was the best choice, and after several hours of deliberation he'd finally decided. He approached her fragile figure slowly, careful not to wake the graceful sleeper. His eyes narrowed slightly as his vision truly fixed on this creature. Despite what he'd felt about her previously, after all that she'd done to him, he loved her. Even though he was sure she would not come back, not immediately that is, he wouldn't leave her to freeze to death. Withdrawing the cloak from around himself, he'd laid it on her, watching her violent shivering stop immediately. Regardless of what she may have done to him, he felt something for her, whether he wanted to or not. It was almost as if it were instinctive.
Amira awoke under the warmth of a delightfully smelling cloak. Her eyes lazily opened as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Having looked down at the rather new (or it appeared as if it were for that matter) cloak, her mind staged several scenarios. She hadn't heard footsteps, nor had she felt as if someone was watching her. Although whoever the stranger may have been was friendly, she didn't like the feeling that this stranger was watching her every movement. That this stranger could creep so close to her without even giving the slightest clue as to his presence made her a bit uneasy. This stranger had an eerie aura about him … friendly and kind, but eerie and frankly creepy. Amira dismissed all thoughts as the sound of her stomach growling seemed to be the loudest cry filling her ears. Food, she thought to herself. Gathering up her own cloak and throwing it around her shoulders, Amira embarked on her mission for food, leaving behind the other cloak sure that she would return to this location. Amira moved along the darkest corners of the streets and navigated her way through several crowds of people. She did her best not to stand out in the crowd while she moved from street corner to street corner or while she politely helped herself to the many kiosks surrounding the street. She could smell the wonderful scent of Jasmine tea brewing in the distance. She must've been only about a corner or two away from the tea shop. Suddenly her stomach lurched unsettlingly as she recalled the conversation she'd overheard previously. Her mind became clouded with thoughts, millions of voices speaking to her all at the same time; neither reaching a conclusion and adding more and more questions to the mass amount already instituted there.
Her head spun as she tried desperately to separate these voices while keeping her composure in public as well as avoiding the eye of everyone who passed her way. Her head felt as if it could've split right open then and there. She hadn't known what her decision may have been, but she was sure that she had to make one rather fast. She could not let this go, it seemed. Something in her would not just let her forget this, let her leave, let her do as she would normally do and run. Something, instinctively told her to find them, to find Zuko, to … tell him everything she felt. The anger she felt because of the withheld secret and what it could've possibly meant in terms of her safety; the guilt that had washed over her as she thought about the way he defended her with his own body while she repaid him by simply running away, and finally, what she was unsure of from the very first meeting the two shared … the feeling of love and belonging that he brought out in her. Her mind interjected once more, however, (she hadn't realized that she'd reached her previous location (the alleyway) until she'd placed the warm cloak in her lap) what if it were a trap? What if all this thinking, all this revelation was planned? What if they'd intentionally revealed their secret so as to inspire Amira's thoughtful mind to instil a sense of compassion towards them and therefore leading her to her demise? They were, after all, Fire Nation. They were cunning, devious, and would attain exactly what they wanted at any lengths, at any costs, regardless of who or what gets in their way. Taking a bite of the piece of bread she'd pocketed from a kiosk nearby while the owner served many of his customers, Amira closed her eyes as she felt the bit hit the bottom of her stomach.
She'd never known the feeling of food hitting an empty stomach to be so tranquilizing or fulfilling; however, she'd definitely known now. It was as if the silent pang had muted all thoughts. She was sure several scenarios and decisions were being made and re-made in her mind, thought about and rethought over and over again, but it was as if she wasn't conscious of it. It was as if she didn't care fully anymore. All that mattered at the moment was filling an empty stomach and mustering up enough strength to deal with the thought-provoking situation she'd found herself in. Finally fitting the last piece of bread into her mouth, Amira rested against the alley wall running her hands up and down the soft cloak that lay in her lap. Her eyes wandering down at the cloak had discovered something unusual in an instant. This cloak was no ordinary cloak as it appeared to have something included in one of its pockets. She supposed in the numbing cold and half-alertness of her mind, she'd been completely oblivious to it. As she turned over the cloak and searched in a bulging pocket, she'd noticed it to be a scroll. Every voice in her mind had silenced once more. Untying the neat knot used to fasten the scroll together, Amira unravelled the scroll, her eyes scanning the parchment in an instant then travelling back to the top so as to taken in the message. Her heart sank lower and lower as her reading progressed.
Residents of The Jasmine Dragon,
I extend my deepest apologies for the rest of the letter as the formalities end here. Be weary that this letter is not addressed to all the inhabitants of the teashop, however many stray rats you take in, but to a lone stray … a boy named Lee. According to my advisors, my daughter Princess Amira is boarding with or near you. I'm a reasonable Chief and understand that teashop dwellers are hard working people who do not earn enough as they should, which is why I offer this. In exchange for my daughter, I will award you any amount of money you so choose to have. Then, you may return to your lone teashop and build on your fortune, or use it however you see fit. If you choose to be uncooperative, however, I'm afraid you have to understand that I'm a father as well as a Chief. I would do anything to get my daughter back however way my men see it fit and by any means necessary. I'm sure you've acquainted yourselves with my top men - Kota Long and Rin Lei. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough that my daughter knows these men very well, especially… the prior. At any rate, they've informed me of your pathetic struggle against them, and I assure you, they will be back. They will always come back, and this time the bounty will not simply be for my daughter, but for you, Lee. Long has informed me of the bond you two seem to share, and I have no remorse in saying that this has instilled an extra sense of determination in finding not only my daughter, but in destroying you.
Yes, this is a threat. I want my daughter back, and I assure you, I will get my daughter back, Lee, whether or not you choose to cooperate.
Chief Osamu
Northern Water Tribe
Amira's eyes scanned the parchment several times, but always came back to the same location. She stared fixedly at the name of the men. Kota, her eyes watered as she mouthed his name, so this is what has become of you. Tears streamed down her face as she threw the piece of parchment at the stonewall opposite her. How could he do this to her? How could he betray her? He wanted to get her out of there in the first place; was this - this job of his, his way of getting back at her for simply leaving? Would she blame him for this? Bringing her knees to her chest and burying her face in them, Amira allowed her mind to fill itself with the last images of the Kota she knew. She remembered the night she left, the night that nothing stood before her except a vast ocean. She was sure her troubles were behind her, but she always carried that guilt in her heart. She had loved Kota immensely, and he loved her as well. She couldn't imagine the pain it brought to him to realize that the girl he always wanted, the girl he was engaged to had left, had run, had selfishly stolen away. Lifting her head up from her knees, she allowed the tears to run down her cheeks. She couldn't be mad at Kota; it was her fault. She was selfish enough to run, but couldn't he understand? Couldn't he see that as long as she were free she would be happy? Was letting her go to be free, to be happy really that bad? Amira shook her head. She didn't know what to think. Whether blaming Kota or not was proper was still undecided to her, even though she still immensely blamed herself as the cause of all this.
Hugging her knees her crying slowly ceased, for realization had settled in. She was no longer 'Princess Amira'; she was now just simply Amira. She was sure her father had disowned her by now, and she was sure that she would make every effort not to see his face, nor her mother's ever again. She no longer wanted to claim her past as her own; she would no longer look to it for answers. Instead, she now wanted to make new decisions, new choices - choices that would better her, and if they displeased anyone, well then, they displeased them, and that would not be her concern. She was anew. She was reinvented. She was herself, a person, a person of freedom. She now looked not to the past, nor the future, for looking to both can greatly mislead a choice or decision. One is so greatly fixed, but unchangeable; the other so loose, and completely changeable. How was one to trust looking to either for answers? No, she would look to the present. She would stop worrying about what every little mistake impacted, and instead, build on them. She was taking control of her life now.
Stirring to her feet as if by an involuntary act, she looked out toward the street already growing dark as the night approached. Things were clearer to her now. She was unafraid to face destiny just as she was unafraid of changing it, and she was willing to accept her fate, whatever became of it. Words like fate and destiny so often intertwine with one another, but how similar are they? Yes, she supposed one affected the other, but what if they were complete opposites? What if fate was a simple chance, and destiny was yours to hone and manipulate if one eventually attained it? What if a person could have both, but neither meant anything to the other? What if fate and destiny, which so closely resemble one another, truly were anything but relatives? Suppose destiny was a destination one would reach, but in a longer period time, what was her destiny? Amira hadn't the slightest clue. Then suppose fate was a 'now' destination, the one your heart lead you to at the moment, what would be her fate? A smile twitched on Amira's face as she stooped down and picked up the cloak. That was easy, she thought to herself. There was only one stranger who could've had the nerve to follow her here, leave her sleeping in an alleyway as indifferent and cold as it may seem, but do one nice thing, in turn of revealing something even greater. Something that he assured her 'did not concern her', but in fact did. Folding the cloak over and over in her hands, Amira looked in the direction of the street once more. Yes, Amira's perception of the cloak's owner and her fate was as bright as day, so what exactly was her fate? Her fate, she concluded, was that she would pay a visit to the stranger whose cloak and heart she was in grave need of.