-Inside Jasmine dragon -
Sounds of chairs moving filled room as more people got closer. What was once a mostly empty tea house had filled a tiny bit. From the elders to the children, everyone wanted to hear more...very few had ever heard this story
"With one fell swoop Lo Pan conquered the fire nation capital, proclaiming himself the new Fire lord. The many frightened citizens that weren't able to escape were left with a cruel choice, obedience or death." said Iroh "With the avatar and his companion's seemingly dead, many simply had no hope left"
"What about the the great hero Xi'an?" asked Lan "The mighty earth bender, born on the shell of a lion turtle, the master fighter who took on a 100 men with is bare hands"
"You mean the mighty hero Xi'an," corrected Kanna "The great water bender, born in the great spirit oasis, the great hunter whose power matched even the Avatars"
"No, he is an earthbender"
"No, he is a waterbender"
"EARTHBENDER!"
"WATERBENDER!"
"Everyone please..." said Iroh gently "Lan, Kanna there's no need to fight over that"
"But..."
Iroh raised his hand calling for silence
"Lan is right, he indeed was a mighty earthbender"
"See told ya" said Lan said smugly
"But Kanna is right as well, he was a great waterbender"
"WHAT!?"
"But how is that possible? asked Hui
"It's not! There is nobody the history of the world other than the avatar that can bend more than one element." snorted Hahn "Like I said, I doubt that Xi'an actually existed ...-gack-"
Tai, using the red silk belt of her robe gagged Hahn's mouth shut much to the delight of the entire tea shop.
"Um, please continue Uncle Iroh" Tai said shyly
"Xi'an was indeed real" said Iroh "I've met him personally"
"You did?!" asked the whole teashop in unison
"That I did" Iroh smiled "Though the tales of his origin that you hear might be a tad exaggerated"
"-cough- Ember Island Players -cough-"snickered Hui
"Exactly" laughed Iroh "Xi'an had more humble beginnings..."
Chapter 3
The Legend
The morning sun gently peaked over the horizon, bathing the sky in beautiful shades of orange and purple. Azula groaned in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, awakened by the sound of chirping birds and the sound of rushing water. Sitting up she found herself on the on the banks of the Nan Chan river in the Earth Kingdom.
The last thing she remembered was shooting into the sky out of that distasteful compound. Her eyes narrowed as she gathered her paranoid laden thoughts. To think she almost believed Zuko. That he wanted her to get better, that he would even restore her honor and rightful place as princess. Humph, all lies. Zuko, like, everyone else wanted her dead. Last night proved it.
"I should have expect you to be cowardly, Zuzu, to send simple solders to have me killed" she said aloud "Well know this, I WILL have my revenge!"
-SNAP-
Azula narrowed her eyes in a evil looking glare as she heard a twig snapping the nearby brush. Whoever was sneaking up on her was about to have a nasty surprise
"Very nasty indeed..." she said with a creepy smile
Xi'an followed the trail carefully, making sure to keep downwind. He was no stranger to these woods, but today was irritating to say the least. For three full days his prey had eluded him, much to his frustration. Many times it doubled back and set false trails. He had to smile a bit at that, the animal was quite clever and worthy of respect. However despite that fact, with the village on the brink of starvation, the animal would have to become food.
He just hoped he could take it down without too much trouble. It was a large rogue bull saber tooth moose-lion with a very nasty disposition. It had broken the outer fence of the village, tore up crops and almost injured two very important people in Xian's life.
What was the saying the old man Kang told him? "Bad moose-lion makes good soup"
"Kip, what do you think? Right or left?" asked Xi'an to his companion
His companion, a small polar bear puppy, sniffed the ground. His tiny rounded ears perked up as he caught a scent. With a playful yip, he bolted off, taking the left path leading to banks of the river.
"Okay, left it is" said Xian following close behind "Let's get us some food"
It took everything he had to keep up with the excitable little pup as he made his way through the thick underbrush, ducking low under hangs and hoping over exposed roots. As they reached the edge of the clearing, his jaw dropped as they stopped in utter shock. It had to be a trick of the light because there was no way he was seeing what he was seeing.
He had found his bull moose-lion alright and it was much larger than he expected. What he didn't expect, was a crazy looking girl with wild hair and caked in mud trying to fight it bare handed. From their place in the bushes, the boy and his little pup watched on as the girl blasted blue fire at the animal, cackling like a madwoman as she expertly dodged its attempts to charge her. He had seen a few fire benders but never one that used...
"Blue Fire?!" thought Xi'an as he laced an arrow. "The girl is either crazy, stupid or just has a death wish"
Azula was impressed; never in her wildest dreams would she expect Zuzu to send a saber tooth moose-lion after her. It was obviously trained by that betrayer Ty Lee no less, she should have expected that. Of course they hadn't anticipated her brilliant reasoning and figuring out their flawed plan of animal assisted assassination.
"No matter" she thought "A little lightning should take care of it."
It was a mistake that would prove her undoing, trying to use a complicated form with a long setup on a large charging animal. In a blink of an eye, the moose lion gored the girl sending her flying. Sailing through the air, she hit hard with a sickening crack into a nearby tree. Her eyes rolled back as she dropped to her knees. Slamming face first into the dirt, she lost consciousness as the mad animal pulled back and prepared to charge again to finish her off.
Fearing for her safety, Xi'an quickly pulled back his bow and arrow steady, knowing he had only one chance to take it down. He took a deep breath, aiming for where the animal would be and hoping he wasn't wrong. If he missed, the poor girl would not survive. As the large animal charged, Xi'an let out his breath and fired his shot...
Night fell as Xi'an finished up the gory job of field dressing and packing the moose-lion meat. He took great care to bury the head and antlers out of respect for the animal. He wasn't one for taking trophies, that seemed a bit too arrogant for his tastes. Just take only what you need, that was the true hunter's code.
More importantly there was enough quality meat to feed the village 3 times over. Times were tough and this meat was needed badly before winter
After hanging the packed meat in a tree and washing up in a nearby stream, he decided to check up on the unconscious girl he left at camp. Taking care not to disturb her, he checked her bandages and herbs that he applied on her ribs earlier. Satisfied that she wasn't bleeding anymore, he gently closed her robe taking care not to see anything he shouldn't. For some reason, she seemed the type to take great offense to such a thing. That last thing he wanted was to fight a crazy and angry,blue fire bending girl.
However in contrast to how he saw her earlier, blasting blue fire with perfect technique and a crazed look of fierce determination on her face, now she looked different. She looked innocent and almost fragile, softly whimpering in her sleep. He decided it best to leave her alone for now, and start with dinner. Once she woke up she was sure to be hungry.
It was a dream she had every night when she allowed herself of sleep. She was the great Azula the Supreme Empress of the known world, a ruler to feared and worshiped. She had long since taken care of all who opposed her or so she thought. Despite being ever so careful, every night a faceless assassin would do away with her despite her cunning intellect. Tonight was no different; this time the assassin caught her from behind and proceeded to...lick the side of her face?!
Feeling something wet sliding all over her face, Azula forced her eyes open. It was quite a rude awakening, being licked in the face by a blurry white and blue ball of fur. It was a horrifying sight, a poisonous blurry furry assassin.
Screaming in fear, she quickly sat up only to feel a sharp pain in her side. Fighting off the pain she scrambled into the dirt backward until she hit a tree. Breathing heavily, she forced her eyes open to see her attacker.
As her eyes focused she saw the most unusual polar bear pup with blue markings. It wagged it's small little ball tail and barked happily. Azula didn't know what to think, was this another one of Ty lee's animal assassins? Of course it was, though this time it was picked to be cute so she drop her guard...
"Kip!" said a soft almost playful voice "You little fuzz ball! Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?"
The pup barked happily as he ran off in the direction of the voice.
As she looked over , she saw a very unusually dressed boy. He was about her age, maybe a year or two older. His hair was styled in water tribe wolfs tail with two beaded braids on the left side. He was clad in what appeared to be water tribe wolf armor that was dyed green on the top and a pair of black shorts tied at the knees, most commonly seen on earth benders.
But what intrigued her most was his eyes, never in her life had she seen someone with such eyes. Each was a different color. The left one was a deep crystal blue while right was a brilliant shade of jade.
As he took a step toward her, she clamped her fists ready to fight if he took a another step further.
"It's okay" he said gently "I'm a friend, my name is Xi'an"
"I have no friends...Xi'an" Azula said bitterly thinking of Ty lee and Mai
"Oh? Well think I can relate..." said Xi'an slowly easing her to her feet
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! WHAT COULD A MERE PEASENT LIKE YOU POSSIBLY RELATE TO?" yelled Azula angrily shrugging him away
"Ah great, you must be a noble" sighed Xi'an "I can tell by the haughty tone of voice and the nose high up in the air .. ..
Azula was not amused. How dare he talk to her in this fashion?
"Your ability for stating the obvious is absolutely amazing" she sighed "Did it take all of your brain power to come to such a conclusion? I didn't expect much from dirt dwellers"
The boy's eyes darkened in anger. Gritting his teeth he took a deep breath, Sure it was possible her behavior was a result of her wounds or the medicine he used to treat them. But still her condescending and haughty tone quickly chipped at him.
"This dirt dweller just saved your life! I have no idea what you were thinking trying to take on a full grown bull moose-lion with any sort of bending but it was pretty stupid" snapped Xi'an.
"How dare you?!" snapped Azula "I had the situation completely under control"
"Did you now?" said Xian "Had we not showed up, it's pretty good chance that it would have killed you. And what do I get? Insults! Now I'm not asking for any sort of a grand reward but perhaps maybe, just maybe, a small shred of gratitude might be nice."
Normally she would have laughed, a mere earth kingdom peasant thinking he could lecture the perfect Princess Azula. Then she would have destroyed him for his insolence without a second thought. But she was injured and far too tired to firebend.
So instead she let two words escape her lips. Two words that she never thought she'd ever say sincerely
"I...I apologize" she said softly
"What was that?" said Xi'an sarcastically "I didn't quite catch that"
"I said I apologize for the dirt dweller remark" sighed an irritated Azula
"Apology accepted" sighed Xi'an, feeling a bit bad for yelling at her "It's probably been a long day for you. Hey are you hungry?
Azula shook head no, but much to her irritation her stomach growled loudly. Ugh, even her stomach was betraying her
Laughing, Xi'an handed Azula a bowl of moose-lion stew, took bowl for himself and set a bowl down for Kip who quickly dug in, slurping happily.
Azula looked at her bowl of stew which looked very appetizing, chunks of potato and meat in a creamy broth but she knew better. It was just another trick, it just had to be.
"So Zuzu, you send this handsome stranger to gain my trust and then poison me" thought Azula "Wait... HANDSOME?! Where did that come from?"
She shook her head out of her confusing thoughts. Why would she be thinking such things at a time like this?
"You know, it's just going to get cold if you keep looking at it" said Xi'an slyly taking the bowl back "Though I understand if you don't want to eat it, I mean, peasant cooking can be quite strong. I'm sure a noble such as yourself wouldn't be used to such powerful food. I'll see if I have some fruit or something that's a maybe little more gentle on your stomach"
Her nostrils flared as her eyes formed in the small slits of a glare. How dare he to think that she, the great Princess Azula, was a just another soft noble lady. She who brought down Ba Sing Se, she who commanded over armies and crushed her enemies beneath her heel would be afraid of... of a simple peasant stew.
Snatching the bowl from him, she proceeded to devour every last morsel almost in spite. She glared at the strange looking boy as she did so, stuffing her cheeks with each bite. Xi'an stifled a laugh as she did so, it was almost cute in a childish sort of way.
Silently declaring her small victory,she found herself starting to relax and enjoy her food. She had to admit that he wasn't a bad cook at all. It was remarkably delicious and a bit spicy, almost to fire nation standards but not quite. Still, it felt good to have something to eat.
It was roughly 3 bowls later before Azula realized she had been tricked. But by then, her eyelids were feeling so heavy, her body felt so drained.
"Oh no!" she thought as panic and paranoia filled her mind. How could she be so reckless and naive to allow this to happen? That was his whole plan all along!
"You...You poisoned me, didn't you?" she accused "I'm obviously dying anyway so you might as well admit it! At least grant me that much! What did you use? How long do I have?"
"You're kidding right?" asked the boy cocking an eyebrow
"Of course I'm not... kidding!" snapped Azula "How much were you paid? Who hired you? Was it Zuzu?"
"I think you hit your head way too hard when you slammed into that tree" said Xi'an chuckling slightly "I don't know any Zuzu and I didn't think my cooking was that bad"
"DO NOT...*Yawn*TRY TO..." Azula shouted trying to fight the sleepiness "*YAWN* PATRONIZE ME!"
"Look, I have no idea what you are talking about" he said softly "If I wanted you dead, you would be!
"Ah ha!" Azula countered "So you do admit it! * yawn *
"What? NO!" he laughed "It would be easy to let the moose lion finish you off or just to leave you to the elements.
"But.." argued Azula
"Besides what kind of hired killer saves your life, brings you back to his camp, treats your wounds with medicinal plants and feeds you?
"Then why am I having a hard time keeping my *yawn* eyes open, then?" accused Azula annoyed that she let another yawn go "Why?"
"A full stomach and an exhausting day would do that" said Xi'an noticing the dark circles under her eyes "Honestly, it looks like you haven't slept much as it is."
"So you say!" sneered Azula as she fought hard to keep her eyes open
"You will wake up tomorrow, I promise" smiled Xi'an softly patting her head
Before she could argue the point further her eyes closed and an unwelcome darkness spread all over her body
"I...Hate...You" groaned Azula as she slapped his hand away and letting go a long yawn before finally falling asleep
"She's a weird one isn't she, Kip? said Xi'an scratching the pups head as they too prepared to turn in for the night
Kip barked in agreement as he curled up into a ball on his stomach and fell fast asleep.
The next morning, Azula woke up as the first rays of light peaked though the top of the forest. Sometime during the night Xi'an must have taken the time to slide a makeshift pillow under her head and draped a thin but warm blanket over her. It was a small kind gesture, but one very much appreciated, though would never admit that to him. It had seemed that he was telling the truth and he didn't poison her.
She noticed that he was already up, simultaneously packing the camp and cooking a very delicious smelling breakfast of eggs, boar-q-pine bacon and fruit.
"Kip, could you get me my first aid bag, please?" asked Xi'an
The little pup barked in response, retrieved a bag in his mouth giving it to Xi'an who rewarded him with a treat and a pat on the head. She had never seen a polar bear dog quite like Kip before, must be a different breed she reasoned. Only tell tale sign was his rounded ears and ball like tail He was an excitable small ball of fur zipping around the camp site helping to pack up.
"Why did you do that?" Azula asked quite intrigued
"Oh, good morning. Did you sleep okay?" asked Xi'an
"I slept fine thank you" said Azula "But you didn't answer my question. Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" he asked slightly confused
"You asked your little beast to do something, and then gave him a treat for doing something he should already be glad he's doing anyway?" asked Azula "It seems odd, you're the master, you should just order him to do what you want."
"Well I guess I could order Kip around and give him a hard smack when he doesn't do what I want him to do, but that doesn't exactly instill loyalty. It only gets him to fear me." said Xi'an
"What wrong with that? Isn't fear the best form of control?" asked Azula
"Maybe it's different for nobles" said Xi'an said leaning down to scratch Kip behind the ears while he ate a bowl of food. "But I think that you're a fool to try to rule anyone through fear
"Oh?" asked Azula slightly amused "Why is that?"
"You're going to be on borrowed time to try rule through fear" explained Xi'an "He may not look it but Kip is gonna be a pretty big dog some day. If try to get his loyalty through fear and pain, yeah he'll obey for a bit but he won't respect me and most certainly won't be loyal. In time his fear of me will slowly become hate. So when that happens he'll bide his time, just until he's until big enough to do something about it."
Azula took it all in. Was that the way she was with Ty lee and Mai? Is that why they did what they did on the boiling rock? No...She was the princess; she had the divine right to order them how she saw fit... didn't she? It was so confusing...
"So... what's the alternative?" asked Azula
"Well I'm far from an expert on these things, I can only speak for myself and Kip, I'm firm but fair, treat him with respect and try to never force my will on him" explained Xi'an while finishing packing "Isn't that right Kip?"
The little pup barked happily as if he truly understood licking Xi'an on the face
"But even then there is a chance of betrayal, isn't there?" said Azula "Your dog could mistake your kindness for weakness"
"That's where trust comes in"said Xi'an
"Trust?" laughed Azula bitterly "That is a very..quaint notion"
"Quaint, huh?" laughed Xi'an " I take it you never trust anyone?"
"Trust is for fools!" snapped Azula " It only leads to betrayal"
"If you think that..well I feel sorry for you" said Xi'an
"Ah yes, well I think it I'd better be on my way then" Azula said suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.
The conversation stirred up quite a few emotions like regret, self doubt, and self loathing. Emotions that her father said were useless and trivial. If that was the case, why did they hurt so badly?
Getting to her feet she winced as the pain in her side got a bit worse. Taking a deep breath she started to walk away from the camp. She got about three steps before feeling a strong hand on her wrist.
"Hey wait! Look, um how about you follow me to my village, we're not far. You may feel okay now, but you don't exactly know how bad you're hurt from getting gored and slammed in that tree." said Xi'an
"That's...That's really not necessary," Azula said lowering her head "I really should be going"
Gently lifting her chin, he looked at her in the eyes. He had to admit they were a pretty shade of gold, though he could tell she'd been though a lot.
Azula' mind was in a knot of confusion, normally she would annihilate anyone who would dare have the outright audacity to touch her without her permission. And yet she was letting this Earth Kingdom peasant boy do so without any hesitation.
Her face blushed slightly, as she looked into his eyes completely mesmerized by them. They were such contrasting colors and yet strangely appealing to her. Despite herself, she felt she could possibly...trust him...
"Can I trust him?" she thought as she allowed herself to linger on his eyes a bit more
"Sorry" Xi'an said misunderstanding and almost immediately looking away "I sometimes forget that my eyes creep people out"
"Maybe to others" she thought with a smile "But not me"
"Anyway, I'll make a deal with you" said Xian shyly "How about you come to my village, get checked by the healer and if everything is okay then you can go on your way. I'll even spring for some new clothing. No offense but the ones you have on now look pretty ragged. So is it a deal?"
Azula nodded silently as she knew Xi'an probably wouldn't take no for an answer and she was still far too drained to fight him.
"Good, now let's have a bit of breakfast before we head out. I promise it's not poison" he teased
She glared at him almost playfully before accepting a plate of food. However a slight paranoia persisted, so she waited until he took a few bites of his food before she ate anything herself. One can't be too careful. As she ate, she took the time to really look at him. She had to admit she found him very intriguing. His appearance alone raised many questions.
"So, Xi'an" she asked "I have to ask..."
"Yes?" he responded
"You are earth kingdom are you not?" she asked"Why do you wear a water tribe wolfs tail?
"My father was water tribe" said Xi'an with a hint of sadness in his voice "I wear my hair like this to honor his memory"
"What happened to him?" asked Azula
"Look," he said roughly "I won't ask about how your able to bend an unusual color of fire or why you think people are out to kill you and you don't ask anymore about where I'm from, okay?"
"I ...I didn't mean to... " she stammered
"* sigh * No... Look , I didn't mean to snap at you." said Xi'an kindly again feeling a bit bad " I'm sorry but it's just a subject I don't like talking about. I'm sure you have a few of your own"
"Yeah, I do.. "she agreed "Perhaps it's better we change the subject then
"Agreed" said Xian
"So..." Azula started "
"Yes?" said Xi'an
"You didn't try anything when you were bandaging me up" Azula asked with darkened eyes and a malevolent voice
"I was a total gentleman" blushed Xi'an "I swear. I had to make sure the bleeding stopped that's all"
"Oh really?" asked Azula glaring a hole Xi'an through while conjuring up a ball of blue flame "You are positive you tried nothing?"
"I promise" gulped Xi'an " I tried nothing and saw even less"
"Oh?" smiled Azula evilly "Oh and exactly what did you see?"
"Nothing I shouldn't have" said Xi'an gently
"You are lucky I believe you" said Azula putting out fireball and enjoying watching him squirm a bit "Otherwise I'd have to burn your eyes out"
"Uh...Yeah" Xian stammered not quite sure if she was joking or not
"That will teach you to snap at me" Azula with a slight smirk
She noticed after their little exchange, he didn't exactly fear her. Perhaps afraid of offending her but not outright fear of her. She found it oddly refreshing.
"Well as soon as we're done eating, we better be off." said Xi'an nervously changing the subject "You feel okay to hike?"
"I think so" said Azula rubbing her side
"It's still better to err on the side of caution" said Xi'an handing her a leafy herb "Chew on this"
"What's this?" asked Azula suspiciously
"It's the leaf of gum gum tree" Xi'an explained "You got beat up pretty bad when slammed into that tree, It'll help with the pain"
Azula looked at the leaf in her hand, looked back at Xi'an and just waited. Sighing in frustration, Xi'an ripped the leaf in half, put it in his mouth and started to chew.
"Satisfied?"asked Xi'an
" For now" said Azula taking the rest of the mint flavored leaf.
"So now I've proved that I am not trying to poison you" smiled Xi'an "Are you ready?
Azula nodded with a slight smile finally feeling the pain subsiding almost immediately.
The hike to the village was mostly silent, she seemed like she had a lot on her mind and Xi'an wisely decided to leave the poor girl to her thoughts. Besides he had to concentrate more on dragging a heavy pack sled full of meat. He had to admit he was quite impressed with the girl. Even with her injuries, she kept up a decent pace and didn't complain. In fact there were times he had to tell her to slow down so that he could keep up. He had to smile at that a bit.
It wasn't long before the heavy wooden gates of Latun village appeared in the distance.
"So I never did catch your name." said Xi'an finally breaking the awkward silence
There was no way she was going to tell this boy who she really was. She knew that Princess Azula was a very hated name in the Earth kingdom. So very quickly she came up with the first name that popped into her head.
"Its umm uh Mei...Mei Li" Azula lied cringing
"Well Mei Li, It might be a good idea that you not to tell anyone you're a firebender, okay?" Xi'an said
"Do you have problem with fire benders?" asked Azula almost insulted
"I used to until I meet a few decent ones." said Xi'an "However there are some people in the village that are still reeling from the war and may not take too kindly to you, understand? Better to keep that between you and I. Okay?"
Azula nodded understanding that it would be wise to keep a low profile. She took a deep breath as the gates opened, hoping nobody noticed the color of her eyes
Entering the village, Azula noticed the hate filled looks and the cruel whispers. She should have expected that she would not have been too well revived in this small peasant village.
As they walked by, she listened intently trying to gauge their reactions to her. She needn't have been worried because they weren't talking about her, they were talking about Xi'an. She couldn't understand why it upset her as they did so, but it did. She clinched her fists in anger as she heard them, mocking him. It didn't just bother her, it enraged her.
"Look the freak is back" whispered one
"Ooh, looks like he got a girl, I bet he had to bribe her" whispered another "The poor thing, he couldn't even buy her decent clothes
"Humph I doubt it. Look at her wild hair I bet he probably drugged her. It's the only way anyone would be interested in a weird-eye like him" said another loudly
"If he couldn't hunt, he'd be totally worthless" said yet another
He just ignored them too busy pulling the heavy pack sled to care. Azula however was livid, ready to burn each of the ungrateful peasants to ash. Normally she could care less but she didn't like how they were talking about him. She didn't understand why but it just infuriated her to no end.
"Mei Li?" said Xian gently squeezing her shoulder "Just ignore them"
"But…." Azula argued "How can you let them insult you like that?"
"It doesn't matter" sighed Xi'an "I'm used to it"
"What do you mean 'It doesn't matter?' " asked Azula "How can you put up with this?"
"Because I got more important things to concern myself with"
"Like what?" snorted Azula
"Like them" smiled Xi'an as two clouds of dust headed in their direction "My little brats"
Two twin girls, Te and Ye, ran full speed at him and attached themselves to his waist. They were cute cherub faced girls, either about 7 or 8 years old. Te had her hair in pigtails and Ye had hers in a long braid. Sadly at times that the was only way he could tell the two apart though he'd never tell them that
"Big Brother, you're back!" smiled the girls noticing Azula "Who is she?"
"Hey brat girls" smiled Xi'an returning the hug "Look I got to take this meat to the elders. Can you two take Kip and my friend Mei Li home? She hurt herself in the woods, so have Aunt Sho make sure she's okay. Oh, and here's some meat for dinner tonight, I'll be home soon"
"No Prob! Let's go Mei Li, We'll get mom to fix you up"
"It's about time Xi'an brought a girl home. Come on Kip!"
Before Azula could argue, the girls each grabbed one of her hands. Xi'an found it amusing how her face went from a sneer of pure anger to an almost comedic desperate -PLEASE HELP ME- look as the girls dragged the poor shocked princess in the direction of their house
"Wait!" she asked as she was yanked away "Where are...Hey!"
"That poor poor girl" thought Xi'an chuckling gently as he pushed on toward the elders house " She does not know what she is in for"
Vice Elder Fung practically drooled over the meat. However, he could do without dealing with the boy with the strange eyes. To be honest the sooner the little freak left his sight the better.
"Well, the meat is sub-par quality at best" Fung haggled "I think the price of 5 silver is more than enough for your trouble"
"You and I both know that meat top grade" Xi'an said "The deal was for 20 pieces of gold and I refuse to take any less"
"Things change" Fung said smugly "You can't really think that your talents are worth 20 gold. I mean seriously, my son could have done this for much less"
"Then why didn't he? " Xi'an argued "It's funny; I noticed that while the rest of the village was starving, you two looked pretty well fed"
"How dare you speak to me like that?" Fung roared
"I say it how I see it" said Xi'an
"You listen here you little freak, the only reason any of us even deal with you is that your useful to the village. Now I don't care what I said before..."
"But I do" boomed the deep voice of Elder Kun "Fung, did you offer to pay 20 gold?
"Yes but..."
"But nothing! You gave your word, now keep it!" Kun ordered "That is the law"
Fung grudgingly tossed a bag of 20 gold to Xian.
"I'd like to speak with Xi'an alone" said Kun
"You're in trouble now" Fung whispered hatefully as he left.
"Xi'an.." Kun started "Despite what my colorful vice elder may think, there are a few of us that are more than grateful for all you've done. You have proven your worth many times over since you first arrived in this village. However we are in the minority"
"Yeah I know" said Xi'an "Almost everyone in the village takes great care in reminding me"
"What worries me is when I'm gone" said Kun "Fung will be elder, and I have no doubt he will make nothing for trouble for you"
"We've had this conversation before, Elder Kun" said Xi'an "What? Are you thinking about banishing me?"
"Of course not, Xi'an" said Kun
"Then my answer is the same as always, and that is until I have enough money for Sho and the twins to move too, I'm not leaving"
"Xi'an, you must understand the ways of the world" started Kun "Sho and the twins are normal, you are not. Know this; the village will never accept you no matter what you do. I'm offering you a way out, please take it under consideration. It is better this way"
"As far as I'm concerned this conversation is over" said Xi'an in disgust as he walked out "I won't abandon the only family I have. If we have nothing else to discuss, I will be on my way. Enjoy your meat, Elder Kun"
Azula had a very interesting afternoon, being dragged to the healer's house by a pair of overly cheerful and hyper 7 year old twins. It was a modest home on a hill over looking the village. Of course it was nothing compared to the grand palace of the fire nation to be sure but anything was better than the small padded windowless room she escaped from.
"MMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOM!" Te yelled at the top of her lungs as both Azula and Ye both jumped
"Te!" scolded her mother from another room "You don't have to do that every time you come in the house! What is so important you have to yell that loud?"
Their mother Sho was not exactly what Azula expected when one thought of as a healer. From the other room walked out the tall and muscular woman with a long dark hair and deep dark green eyes. Even from across the room, Azula could tell she was very powerful bender. Though despite the height and muscles there a was a beauty and grace that radiated from her.
"This is Mei Li" said Ye "She's Xi'an's friend"
"But Xi'an said she was hurt" said Te quickly opening Azula's robe showing her bandaged ribs much to the shocked princesses embarrassment
"Te!" scolded Sho
"What? We're all girls!" said Te
"You'll have to forgive my sister" said Ye "She does a lot of things without thinking"
"It's...Its fine" said Azula "What kind of house did Xi'an send me to?!"
"Mei Li, huh?" Sho said flatly
Azula panicked what if she knew she was princess Azula? Her heart raced as she quickly ran through the very worst scenarios through her mind. What if she had to fight this bender to escape
"Oh Sweetie! What happened to you?" said Sho kindly as she looked Azula over
Sho looked at the girl and to be honest she looked absolutely pathetic. Wearing a tattered red robe that was caked with mud, tangled unkempt lopsided hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in long while. She had the most sad, almost dead eyes.
"You're a mess!" She said firmly "First and foremost, you're gonna need a bath"
"That's really not necessary, miss" said Azula "I'm fine really"
"Please call me Sho" said the woman "And yes it is necessary young lady. I don't know if you've seen yourself but you're utterly filthy. With all your wounds, that is not a good thing. They can easily get infected. Now as a healer, I'm under a sworn oath to do my job the best I can. So, you can either take a bath willingly or I can sling you over my shoulder and drop you in, it's your choice."
Azula grumbled as she washed herself, in the supposedly "warm" water. Warm for the earth kingdom must mean 3 degrees above freezing. Still she thought with a sly smile, at the royal fire academy for girls, she was taught that earth kingdom commoners didn't bathe. According to her instructors, they just tossed dirt on themselves.
"Obviously untrue" she thought as she looked around the bathroom
While not as grand as the one in her palace she had to admit it had a simple charm to it. The walls were made of a dark stone with blue sparkling crystal that gave off a comforting soft glow. The tub itself was made of entirely black lava stone polished to a glass like shine that would almost be comfortable if...
"...If the w..water w...w..wasn't...so c...c...cold" said Azula through chattering teeth
Looking around she decided to risk using her fire bending, using a trick that her kooky uncle showed her and Zuko as kids. Concentrating on using just her feet she warmed the the water slowly at the bottom. Taking a deep breath she softly blew a bit of steam from her lips to heat the top. In just a few minutes it was just right.
Hmmmm... Maybe Uncle Iroh isn't so kooky after all" thought Azula dunking her head under the water.
She then closed her eyes enjoying the warmth, soothing all the tension and soreness away. Right now, it felt like pure heaven.
Until...
"Wow! What's your name mean? Where do you do come from? Can you bend? Your pretty! Are you Xi'an's girlfriend? Did he kiss you yet? Who cut your hair last?" chattered Te while trimming and brushing Azula's hair
She had barely gotten done having Sho look her over before getting snatched up by the two twins. Again before she could argue she found herself at the mercy of the two little girls who for some reason decided to attach themselves to her like a pair of purple pentapus
"Te, settle down" Ye snapped as she filed Azula's nails "You know Mei Li, its really nice to have another girl in the house. Mom's too busy and Xi'an, well doesn't like to have his hair or nails played with."
Azula had to smile at the thought of him prissily getting his hair and nails done. He just didn't seem the type... not that she knew what type he was...
She also had to admit that despite the annoying chattering, she missed being pampered, it felt...nice.
"Yeah well, he might if you hadn't come up with that idea to dye his hair purple and paint his nails pink! Te said
Azula unable to contain it, let out a giggle along the little ones. Ah poor Xi'an.
Sho greeted Xi'an at the door with a back cracking hug. She always worried whenever he went out hunting. While he wasn't her blood relative, she cared for him as if he was her own son.
"How did it go this time?" she asked
"Same old same old" said Xi'an "Fung trying to cheat me and Kun telling me it best to leave"
"As long as I'm here, you're staying" said Sho "End of story "
"I thought you'd be glad to be rid of me" teased Xi'an
"Of course not, who'd do all the heavy lifting for us helpless women then?" countered Sho with a grin
"Yeah, yeah" Xian shot back "There is not a single helpless women in this house"
"Speaking of helpless women" Sho teased "It's about time you brought a girl home. Once she's cleaned up, she's quite a pretty one"
"It's not like that, she was injured and I didn't think it was right just to leave her out there" said Xi'an
"You are such a little liar" smiled Sho "I can see it in your eyes"
"So how is she?" said Xi'an avoiding both eye contact and the question
"Her injuries weren't bad, some bruised ribs and a gash on her side. Nothing a bit of herbs and rest won't cure"smiled Sho "You did well with your bandages, though had you had used your gift..."
"Sho, we've been through this" started Xi'an "You know I don't like using it unless I REALLY have to."
"I know, I know" said Sho tousling her adopted son's hair "You have your reasons."
"So where is she?" asked Xi'an
"Oh, she's with the girls" said Sho
"And she hasn't been annoyed to death? Wow!" Xian teased
"HEEEEEY!" Ye and Te yelled from the other room "We'll have you know that we've been bonding!"
"Bonding, huh?"
"Yep!"smiled both girls happily "It's a girl thing"
Azula came from the girl's room and Xi'an's jaw dropped. Dressed in a simple green robe, she looked much different than dirty wild eyed girl he found in the forest. Her long black hair was pulled back in a simple pony tail with two long bangs framing her face. Her gold vibrant eyes sparkled as she gave him a slight shy smile.
"Um….. hi!" Xian said shyly to the beautiful girl "You look really..nice"
"Thank you" Azula as her smile got a bit bigger
"Okay you two, stop flirting" Sho teased turning to her adopted son "I didn't want to have to say this, but go take a bath"
"What? I'm fine" he said sniffing his under arms
"No, you stink big brother" said Ye holding her nose
"Yeah, you do and you're dirty!" said Te also holding her nose "Go bathe stinky!"
"Fine" Xian sighed in defeat "I'm going"
While Xi'an took his bath, Azula helped Sho and the twins set the modest table. Azula smiled inwardly at the situation. Normally she would think that doing such things would be beneath her and yet she was having a bit of fun helping Sho and the Twins. She even helped cook a bit, making helping the girls make rice balls and Sho even taught her how to cook sweet and sour boar-q-pine. Even though she was not used to cooking she had to admit that she had a bit of fun doing it.
"So is this what a family is really like?" thought Azula to herself
Dinner was for the most part uneventful. Te and Ye deviously adjusted the seating arraignments so that Xi'an and Azula sat across from each other. Both of them would sneak a look at the other when they thought nobody was looking. Xi'an couldn't help it, Sho was right, cleaned up she was quite pretty. For Azula, well she was conflicted. He was a peasant, so far beneath her station and yet she found it hard not to be attracted. Once he cleaned up, he was quite handsome.
"So, Xi'an" said Te " So when are you gonna marry Mei li?"
Xian choked slightly on his food at the question taking a small swig of water help the food down. Azula couldn't help but be a bit amused at his reaction.
"Yes, Xian..." she asked resting her chin on her hands "When are you going to marry me?"
"I...weell I um...!" He stammered whiled turning bright red "Hey, stop teasing me"
All the girls started laughing at his reaction. It was a nice family dinner one that Azula wasn't used to but was starting to enjoy none the less.
After the meal, everyone decided to turn in, Te and Ye called dibs on Azula sleeping in their room, much to the slight dismay of the fire princess. A few hours later, Azula lay awake lost in her thoughts, so much had happened. So many feelings she repressed over the years were starting to bubble to the surface and honestly that scared her.
Azula looked at the sleeping Te, the child with so much energy that reminded her of Ty Lee. And Ye? Definitely a smaller version of Mai
"How long before they both betray me just like Mai and Ty lee?" thought Azula angrily
Te and Ye as if reading her thoughts snuggled close, Te resting her head on Azula's outstretched arm and Ye resting her head on Azula's belly. She gently stroked the each child's hair as her mean expression softened into a slight smile
"Maybe" Azula yawned "Maybe, these little ones are different"
She almost laughed at the irony, 5 months earlier she she would have gladly burnt the entire earth kingdom to a smoking ember. Yet this small family took her in and showed her kindness. Why?
"A thought best left for tomorrow" thought Azula "They're no threat to me"
Closing her eyes, she settled into a peaceful slumber, the first she had in quite a long time.
-Meanwhile-
Led by a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes, a troop of black armored soldiers marched though the nearby forest, coming across an old campsite abandoned only a few days prior...