Dancing On His Flames
New Life
Chapter 3
Xiang took her usual position on the windowsill. Thinking about what had happened that night made her uneasy. The one time she actually seemed to have been able to make friends, she had turned away with something even she was unsure of.
Bringing her knees to her chest, she put her head down and sighed. She watched the water float endlessly, unable to stop or go anywhere but where the tide was going. Being carried by the currents of fate that swallowed her without warning was all that seemed happened in her life. Nostalgia overwhelmed her as she could feel herself suddenly full of sadness. Having no control, only being forced by the decisions of others of how her life would be, to not have a voice.
That was the most frustrating thing of all.
An entire week had passed, yet no one could explain what had happened that night. How one girl could possibly control all of those elements yet not be the avatar was absolutely mind boggling to every man on the ship. This frustrated the young prince who was now greatly confused and growing impatient with the lack of answers.
Prince Zuko paced back and forth in his office. He hadn't set foot back into his room where Xiang was and had forbidden every man on the ship away from that corridor. She had no answers. No one did.
How?
Why?
That was all that pulsed through his mind with every minute of the day. He sat himself in his chair and held his head in his hands. Breathing deeply, he sat there, contemplating, when a sudden idea came to him.
His eyes widened as his fist pounded the table. It made perfect sense, but he had to be sure.
"Zuko, I think considering the weather, and that enormous migraine you have, it would be the perfect time for some t-" Iro began.
Zuko pushed him aside as he jolted out the door. The tray Iro was holding nearly fell from his grasp as he quickly jerked forward and caught almost everything except the tea pot. It almost seemed to be happening in slow motion. The cups were almost going to hit the floor. Shoving his tray forward, he managed to save the jade cups. However the tea pot was far out of reach and met the floor with a shattering noise as tea spilled all across the doorway. He tossed the rest of the tray to the floor in fury. While pulling at his hair and falling to his knees, he succumbed to grief and roared,
"MY TEA!"
The door slammed open. Xiang turned alarmed, eyes wide with shock and almost fear. Zuko was standing there panting. She arched a delicate eyebrow and quickly went to meet him.
Zuko looked up and met with her large, now cerulean eyes that stared at him with concern and apprehension. Feeling suddenly flustered, she looked downwards and turned her face away from him, her hands fumbling with her robe. He grabbed her wrist and slammed the door as he led her to his desk where he had last interrogated her.
Astonished by his sudden action, she was momentarily stunned until he spoke to her with great demand.
"Who are your parents?"
It was a simple question, but Xiang paled and was immediately nauseated. Unwanted memories she had pushed away came back to her. Her hands formed into tight fists and shook from all the vigor in her grip.
Noticing the sudden tension from his query, Zuko took her hand into his. He turned her hands over to her palm and saw her fingernail marks had impaled her skin. Blood seeped through the open cuts. Looking up into her pain stricken face, he probed once more.
"What happened?" he asked softly.
She removed her hands from his weakly picked up the brush from the ink bowl. The brush glided across the paper fluidly, but even the simple motion of stroking the paper could not hide her misery.
It is a long tale. My past is not very pleasant as my days of bliss were numbered from the day that my parents met each other. Do you still want to know?
His eyes scanned through her message briefly as he nodded. She closed her eyes momentarily and continued to write. He patiently waited for her to finish.
My father was a soldier for the water tribe. His mother was raped by a fire nation soldier and impregnated her with him. She died giving birth to him and he was raised with contempt by the rest of the village. They had only spared him because of his mother's dying wish of him being able to live like a normal child. He grew up with the idea that he had to prove himself that he was just like everyone else, so he joined the army and fought against the fire nation. He fought bravely and was known to take down many. Yet the village could not help but to see him as the man of the traitor's side.
He was captured one day by the fire nation in a battle. My father was eventually freed and taken in by an earth tribe militia. A woman nursed him back to health. When he discovered that she was like him, half earth and half air, he could not hold back his feelings for her.
They eventually wedded, against the wishes of everyone and left the village in order to get away from the constant scorn. I was eventually born in that small wooden hut my father had made with his bare hands. From the day I was born, I was surrounded by the love and warmth of my parents. Truly, I was happy.
Most children try to speak after they are a few months old. I sang. I had a voice that was truly unique and was something my parents heralded as a gift from the heavens. My songs brought them joy, and it was a passion that I truly adored.
It was when I was five when it happened...
The door suddenly burst open. Xiang craned her neck to see who the visitor was. It was a man. His face was contorted with anger as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Xiang's father.
"Come out here Chang! I have a retribution that must be carried out!" he cried.
Xiang's mother came and held Xiang in her arms.
"Who are you?" Xiang's father asked, eyes filled with trepidation, they flickered slightly to his wife who saw and understood what she was to do.
"Your father killed my entire family! I will only give back what is deserved, so prepare to die!" He shouted and charged with his blade.
A shriek escaped from Xiang's mouth as her mother tucked her face into her chest and fled. Screams could be heard from within the house along with many noises of objects breaking.
"Be silent my love, we must escape quietly or else it will be the end of both of us," she murmured into Xiang's ears.
She whimpered and pressed herself more tightly against her mother. More footsteps could be heard from behind him. The man had caught up to them. Her mother placed her down and took a stance.
"Run Xiang! Run and go away as far as you can! Don't look back!" she cried as she shoved her daughter forward.
"No mother!" Xiang cried, but it was deafened by the sounds of the fight.
Her mother moved, beckoning for the rocks in the ground to defend her. But her half blood could only do so much as the man came forward. His blade pierced her. A soft startled noise escaped from her mother's mouth as she crumpled to the ground.
"One more to go…" he muttered and turned to Xiang.
Taking the blade from her mother's chest, he came to Xiang, eyes filled with bloodlust. He raised his blade, ready to strike. Xiang screamed, waiting for the blow that she knew she could not escape and then felt blood splatter on her.
She looked up and realized it was not hers. A rock had somehow stabbed him through the chest and killed him. She watched the man's breathing slow and grasp at his wound.
"You will neverkill my daughter," her mother's voice croaked.
Her hand lay out with her index finger pointed, the same finger that had led the rock to its target and killed. Xiang's mother struggled for her last breath and then was no more.
Xiang ran to her mother, but a hand gripped her ankle and caused her to fall. She looked down and saw the man gripping her ankle, but his blade was away from his grasp.
"You may have escaped death, but you will face something even worse. The spirits of my family and I will haunt your forever. We will curse you to redeem for the murderers' blood that runs through your veins. You are to be a slave to agony, your life will be carried into nothing but eternal misery and anguish. Your voice will be gone, along with the rest of your free life…" he wheezed.
His eyes were still open, but they were dead, like him.
Xiang panted. Her eyes wide with fear as her mind tried to decipher everything that had happened. Suddenly her throat burned. Screams were everywhere wailing into her ears. Xiang kicked her legs and grasped her neck, and it burned hurt so badly. She cried out in all of her pain. It would be the last noise she would ever make again.
Xiang awoke to a foreign room. She jerked up looking around. There were no bodies, she was in a room on a bed.
"You're finally awake huh you lazy bum?" said the withered voice of an old woman
Xiang turned and saw an elderly woman sitting in a chair beside her. She opened her mouth to ask where she was but no sound came out. Her eyes widened in shock as a sickening voice ran through her mindYour voice will be gone, along with the rest of your free life… Tears stung her eyes at her realization. She was doomed to a life of wretchedness
The woman took care of me. She was the one that taught me dance, I was her novice and became a prodigy dancer in the village. The earth king saw me perform at a festival at my village. He stole me away and for the past 6 years I have danced only for him and suffered at his hands. That is until you came. Now I am to be whatever you want. I am a slave in your very hands.
She dropped the brush into the ink bowl and pushed the paper towards him. Zuko read the pages, his heart feeling heavy with every misfortune she had experienced. Finally finished he moved the paper aside.
"Xiang?" he called out.
She refused to look at him. Her heart ached, she'd rather just die then have to go through what she was cursed to. If death meant the freedom of her bondages to tragedy, then she would full heartedly embrace it.
"I'm not interested in slavery or making people serve me," he stated.
She looked up at him. He wasn't looking at her, but it was serious and pensive. His left knee was placed up against his chest and his elbow rested on it.
"So long as you are with me, it's not going to be like that. Do you want to stay?" he asked.
His face was facing her now, his eyes were bore into her own as they searched and called out for an answer. She felt something inside of her yearning for a different life. To a chance to be free. Her entire being ached to accept his offer. But could she really escape?
Her head faced downwards and her shoulders rolled forward as she placed her hands onto her thighs. Zuko turned towards her, waiting for a response.
"What do you want to do?" he pressed for an answer.
She did not reply, but just continued to look downwards.
Sighing, he stood up and was about to leave and said, "I'm going now then. Answer me later if you want jus-"
She grabbed his hand before he finished. He turned towards her and realized that her face was wet with tears. Her eyes were pleading for him to stay, to let her stay, to free her and protect her from her damned life.
He kneeled down to her level and stayed there for a moment confused, he had no idea what to do when a girl cried. Wasn't the girl at this point supposed to just fall into his arms or something? Or was that too similar to what lecherous Iro would do?
But before he could figure out what was the proper move, Xiang let go of his hand and covered her face with her long sleeve, embarrassed and startled by her own sudden actions.
"Um, I'll take that as a yes. Just…stay here. I'll let the boys know not to mess with you, so you can start looking around later on when it's ok. Are you hungry?" he desperately tried to change the subject to alleviate the tension on the air.
She nodded. He guided her out of his bedroom and into the dining room. While following behind him, she couldn't help but to feel a sense of volatility. It was as if her life had taken a sudden turn unknowingly to a better place. Sighing in relief, she only hoped that this feeling and relief would last.
(End Chapter)
Hm, so now after changing the plot countless of times, I think I can actually start to update. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. It's hard to get your muse to pull off a Jesus when it just wants to stay dead. --' Hopefully the next one won't take a century and gosh, I know Zuko seemed OOC. But I don't want him to turn out like he did in the show. That really pissed me off. D: So he's going to be slightly different in this. I hope he stays Zuko. Because the one in my head is like macho cool. Sorry to keep you waiting and I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting so I vented it and got it out.