A/N: Well… We are back from finals and high school and whatnot, and ready for CHRISTMAS BREAK! Wa-hoo! To everybody else out there, stay healthy, happy holidays, etc.
So we're out of backstory and into the main plot now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted/whatever. To know that people like our story (especially with the unpopular Zuko/OC pairing) makes us want to write more.
Anyway. Reviews, reviews?
Usual disclaimer applies.
Chapter Four
Ta Min hummed to herself softly, wiping down a wooden counter decorated with a dozen sparkling necklaces. Her black hair was tied up in a messy style, an apron was tied around her slender waist. She was sixteen years old and made a meager living working in this tiny shop in Ba Sing Sei.
The city itself was healing, after the war had ended, just as Ta Min was still healing. People were coming out of the shadows, at least, the ones who hadn't already after the Avatar had made a surprise visit. The Dai Li had been dismissed, obviously, and the world was mending itself slowly but surely.
An old Fire Nation folk tune escaped her lips, the words barley making any sound, inside the little building of the bustling market.
Normally the city wouldn't be this busy, but there had been talk of the new Fire Lord coming to make a visit- nobody wanted to miss this. So visitors had flooded in, from each of the three nations. Greens, blues, and even reds were visible in the crowds outside.
The tiny metal bell gave a sharp ting. Someone had walked into the shop. A slender girl with a strange hair color had come in and began to peruse the necklaces. She had dark blue eyes that scanned the jewelry with a silent interest and her hair was a golden color that fell like a wavy river around her shoulders. She was wearing blue, so she must have been from one of the Water Tribes. The girl picked up a thin blue necklace, fingered her own that she was wearing, and set it back down. The necklace was... odd. It had a thin, long chain and a wooden charm that hung on it. Engraved on the square charm, was the symbol for the Water Tribe; which confirmed Ta Min's theory. Then she looked up and smiled.
"Hello," she said. Her voice sounded young, even though the girl looked to be sixteen or so. "Do you work here?"
Ta Min merely nodded. Usually no one spoke much in this shop unless they came in together or met someone they knew. And no one ever wanted to speak with the workers.
"Nice to meet you! Do you live here? Or are you just here for the celebration?"
"I live here." It must be the war being over, that's why everyone wants to talk, she thought.
"For how long? You been here a while?"
"I guess."
"I just got here a few weeks ago. I love it here though, it's so beautiful now that the war is over. Won't ever be the same though, don't you agree?"
"Yeah," said Ta min as she puzzled over whether this girl was here alone or with family. She seemed eager to talk with someone.
"Life will probably never go back to normal," she said sadly, looking back down at the necklaces. "How much so these cost?"
"Depends on what kind of currency you use."
"Um... Do you take Water Tribe money?"
"Sure, the exchange rate is really good down here. 'Specially with all the visitors. It'll be three pieces."
"Okay," she said as she looked over the blue necklace again. "Do you like this?"
"Yeah, it's really pretty." Ta Min had honestly been hoping no one would buy it because she had been going to get it once she was off work.
"All right, I'll get it."
Ta Min exchanged the money and handed the necklace to the girl. "Here you go!" she said with a false smile.
"Thank you!" Then, to her surprise, the girl handed her the necklace.
Ta Min blinked. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's for you! Take it! A present!"
"Why..?" Ta Min blinked again. "Why would you get this for me? You don't even know me."
"Yeah, but, the war is over and I'm feeling generous." The girl smiled. "I'm Aurora by the way. What's your name?"
"I'm Ta Min," the amber-eyed girl said, still dumbly staring at the jewelery in Aurora's hands.
Aurora laughed. "Are you going to take this necklace or am I going to have to force it on you?"
Ta Min gave a small, grateful smile, a genuine one this time, and took the necklace.
"So, do you get off soon? We could go get some tea! I hear this great place called the Jasmine Dragon just opened up!"
Ta Min blinked, again, in surprise. Something about this girl was different. Some tone to her voice or some way she looked like she could take on almost anything. She could quite place her finger on it.
"I get off in ten minutes. And tea sounds great, all this busyness gets me kind of stressed."
"Great! I'll just browse for a while then!" The girl turned away and froze as a large group of people walked by, all in red. Then, slowly, she spun around and walked to the back of the store to look at the clothes.
Ta Min wondered about the girl with the gold hair for the rest of her shift. Why had she frozen at the sight of people from the Fire Nation? Had something happened in her past that made her resent them?
The dark-haired girl was an understanding person. She knew what motivated the Fire Nation, what motivated the rest of the world, during the war. She knew that not all Fire Nation people were bad, just as not all others were good. She understood that much.
But she couldn't help but feel a little squirm of prejudice find it's way into her heart. What had these people done, maybe not these particular people but people like them, to make a person who seemed as good and kind as Aurora turn away?
They were the ones who killed Yuan.
Ta Min turned away from the crowd as well. She gently hung some fallen necklaces back on their small wooden stands and put her apron away.
She found Aurora. "You ready?"
The Water Tribe girl smiled and nodded. Ta Min lead her to the back exit, away from the group of Fire Nation people.
The two girls walked toward the Jasmine Dragon, tending to avoid crowds. Well, at least, Ta Min did. Aurora was always smiling and waving at anyone in blue or green, and to those in red, she just walked past them without a second glance.
Ta Min didn't smile or wave to anyone, red, blue, or green.
The two made it to the Jasmine Dragon, which was absolutely packed with people. Everyone wanted some of the best tea in Ba Sing Sei.
Aurora smiled and found an empty table for them, amongst all the madness. They sat down and waited for someone to take their order.
"So, what brings you to Ba Sing Sei?" Ta Min asked casually, looking over at the different flavors of tea the shop offered. "All this hustle and bustle over the Fire Lord?"
Aurora only shrugged. "I'm waiting for an old friend, actually. Though," she added, almost laughing a little, "I doubt he'll remember me. It's been so long..."
Ta Min nodded. "Were you separated because of the war?"
"I suppose you could say that," Aurora said, pursing her lips in thought.
Ta Min only nodded again. The thoughts of Yuan had only brought thoughts of the war.
"Why?" Aurora questioned, reading Ta Min's expression. "What brings you to Ba Sing Sei?"
"Well, I live here," she explained softly. "And, I came here because..." She had never really questioned her motives for coming here, after she had outgrown her years in the circus. But it was obvious now. "A friend of mine always wanted to take me here. It seemed like I should honor his wishes."
Aurora nodded sagely, not asking much more about this mysterious friend. "I know how you feel." She paused. "The war took a lot out of us. All of us. I mean, a century's a long time."
The other nodded, thinking about her efforts to stop it. And then her lack of interest, after Yuan's death.
"You lose someone too?" asked the golden-haired girl timidly.
"Yeah... My fiance," replied Ta Min quietly. "And my parents."
"I'm so sorry." Aurora thought for a moment. "Well, that's something we have in common. My parents were killed too."
Ta Min blinked. This was something she hadn't expected. Although, she probably should have. A lot of people had family members killed in the war.
That's how the girls got on to the topic of family, past, and the war. What they didn't know, was a man in the back was watching them.
"Did you know them?" Ta Min asked. "Your parents, I mean."
"No, not for very long. I was maybe five or six..."
Ta Min nodded in sympathy. "I don't remember mine at all... I was probably still an infant... Still, doesn't mean I miss them any less."
"Yeah."
There was a moment of silent, both girls lost in their memories.
"So you were separated from this friend of yours," Ta Min said.
"Yeah. He... He got more involved in the war than I would have liked."
"I see... Was he a soldier or something?"
Aurora hesitated. "Sort of."
"Ah."
"He was, actually, from the Fire Nation."
Ta Min choked on the tea that had been brought out to them and began coughing.
The man in the back was still watching them, especially the girl with the golden hair. The man, himself, had grey hair that had thinned out on the top and a pointed beard. His amber eyes had narrowed in suspicion as he watched the two girls conversed quietly. Then, he walked toward them.
"Are you two young ladies enjoying your tea?" the old man asked.
Aurora looked up and nearly dropped her cup full of jasmine tea.
"Yes, it's very good," replied Ta Min. Aurora nodded in agreement, looking into the dark liquid.
"I'm sorry, if you don't mind my asking, is your name Aurora?" the man asked with curiosity.
Ta Min looked at Aurora, who did not look up from her tea as she slowly nodded.
"I knew it! It has been years since I have seen you! You sure have grown up!"
"I didn't know you worked here, General Iroh," said Aurora quietly, still refusing to look up.
"Well, I should! This is my shop after all! Does Zuko know you are here?"
Now Ta Min's eyes widened as she interrupted.
"Wait. Zuko? As in, the new Fire Lord, Zuko? That Zuko?"
"Why yes! My nephew! Aurora and Zuko were very close when they were little kids! Does he know you're here?"
"No, he doesn't," Aurora replied shortly.
"Sorry, let me get this straight. Zuko was the one you were talking about all this time?"
Aurora nodded.
"Yes, they used to play together all the time! Ever since poor little Aurora's village was burned down when, I think... You were four, right?"
Again, she nodded.
"I'm sorry, again, I'm still confused here," Ta Min said, somewhat in shock.
It was at that moment that a sea of red came into the shop. Red and orange and yellow, all at once. Iroh beamed and walked toward the center of them.
"Out of my way! Out of my way! Uncle of the Fire Lord coming through!"
"Speak of the devil," said Aurora with acid dripping off her tongue. "Come on Min."
Aurora pushed her way out of the shop with Ta Min following closely behind as they made there way into the crowded street.
"Uncle, it's great to see you!" said Zuko as people began to grab tables around him.
"It is great to see you, too, my nephew!" said Iroh as he pulled up a chair at a nearby, empty table. Zuko sat down across from him. "You will not believe who I saw today! She's right over-" Iroh stopped as he looked over to the table of which the young girls had occupied earlier and scratched his head. Two cups of steaming tea were still sitting, mostly untouched. "That's odd. She was there just a moment ago, right before you came in."
"Who are you talking about, Uncle?" asked Zuko as he took a sip of the tea that had just been set before him.
"Aurora... She was sitting right over there," he said, gesturing to the table that had now been taken over by several people dressed in red.
Zuko quickly swallowed his tea.
"Aurora," he said, thinking. "The one I used to play with?"
"Yes, that's the one! And, if I remember correctly, you used to have quite the crush on her, didn't you Zuko?"
"Yeah, I did," he admitted absentmindedly, thinking back to a time where the war hardly affected him. A time where the sun and friends almost made you forget that the rest of the world was in turmoil. "You say she was here?"
"Yes, she was. And she was wearing that necklace you had made for her! The one with the little wooden charm at the end!"
He had been working on it for the past week, trying to get the symbol just right. The Water Tribe symbol, as a little joke, since he was the only one that knew. Young Zuko blew on the piece of wood, getting all the spare shavings off.
"Perfect!" he said excitedly as he hung the trinket on a long chain. "I've got to go get Rory right away!"
He ran down the many halls of the Fire Nation Palace, nearly running into his sister, Azula.
"Watch where you're going! It's not like you'll get anywhere any faster!" she called out as Zuko ran down the hallway and out into a garden.
Aurora was sitting in a high branch of a tree, singing softly to herself as she twirled a flower between her fingers. It wasn't really a song, more like a poem put to music and strung together.
"Aurora!"
The little girl stopped her singing and turned her head toward the voice that had called out her name. She beamed and stood up on the branch.
"Hey Blaze!" she called out, not bothering to hang onto the main trunk of the tree.
"I've got something for you!" he said as he ran toward the tree.
"Really? I'll be right-" Her words were cut off as the branch she had been standing on broke. She screamed as she began to plummet towards the ground.
Zuko dropped the necklace and ran straight for the tree, gaining speed as Aurora got closer to the ground. He swiftly got under her and caught her before she could hit the ground, falling down in the process.
"Ow," said Aurora as she sat up and shook her hair out of her face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," lied Zuko as he, too, sat up. "That was scary."
"Very." She tried to catch her breath and held her side. "Thanks for saving me."
Zuko turned red as Aurora hugged him gratefully. "Uh, yeah. Um, no problem." Then he remembered the necklace. "I made something for you!"
He stood up, walked over to the spot on the grass where he had released the chain, and walked back. Aurora gasped when he showed it to her and eagerly put it on.
"Oh wow! Blaze, it's beautiful! Thank you so much! I'll never take it off!" This earned Zuko another hug. "I promise! Never ever!"
"Did she really?" asked Zuko, coming back from his thoughts.
"Yes she was!" Iroh stirred his tea before saying his next words. "You know, your mother always like Aurora, too. She said she would rather have had her for a daughter than Azula. She was happy that you liked her."
"Well, anyone is better than Azula," Zuko pointed out.
"Yes, but she also like her best of of Mai and Ty Li also. She said she would have been a great Fire Lady. Of course, she only told me."
Zuko continued to look into his tea. His mother? Like Aurora best? This information had never been new to him but something about hearing that she thought Aurora would make a great Fire Lady made a little blood rise to Zuko's face.
Iroh continued to speak. "I never thought much of it back then, but now, I'm beginning to think she was right."
Zuko merely nodded once more. Aurora... He thought back to when he had found that note. He had been devastated. Azula teased him for weeks, but he had wanted nothing more than to be left alone.
Iroh let out a groan which made Zuko look up. "What are you still doing sitting here? You think I am reminding you of all this just to have some nice reminiscing? No! Why aren't you going after her?"
"I... I don't know. She probably doesn't even care anymore anyway. She's probably gone her own way and I've gone mine."
"Zuko," he sighed. "If she didn't care, why would she still have that necklace on?"
Zuko couldn't argue with that. Determined to find her, just to see her, he stood and left, leaving the dozens of Fire Nation royalty who had been following him baffled and wondering.
"Finally," Iroh muttered to himself. "That boy has always needed a lot of unnecessary convincing."
AN: So, another quick ad for my other fanfic: Harry Potter/Percy Jackson crossover called Battle Scars. Come on, who doesn't love Harry Potter and Percy Jackson? It's centered around a witch named Echo… And the plot (which I've just now solidified) is gonna be amazing. Like, really amazing. If I do say so myself.
Well, yeah. There you have it. Now, look down… Further… Further… There! You see it? That little review button? Click it. Something amazing will happen. ;)