History of Secrets Part Two

Hey guys here's another chapter I hope it isn't too confusing enjoy it because I don't know when I'll get to write more.

As Delta stood up from his seat, Lian gave him the picture of his mother back to him.

Shen looked at Zhong, "Will you go and tell the King that our business here is done and that Delta is going to be coming to see him shortly?"

Zhong nodded and asked where he could find them.

"Most of the King's retinue are staying at various houses; the King and his family and personal guards are staying at Wu and Chu's house," replied Chun.

Both Chan and Ilia looked a little surprised but they knew it wouldn't be long.

"Guess we had better get back there ourselves," said Wu and his family got up from their seats.

Wu looked at Delta and said "Again thank you for what you've done. If there's anything you require from me you have but to ask for it."

Delta nodded to him and Wu left the room. Chu got up and gave Delta a quick hug and followed her husband outside. Chan and Ilia got up to follow their parents.

Chan faced Delta, and bowed slightly, "Delta I don't know what your future holds, but I do know that you'll have a big impact on this world. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you…"

"You don't need to repay me for anything," Delta said knowing that Chan felt honor bound to repay him, "You would've done the same thing in my position."

"Well maybe… I'll figure something out someday," Chan looked at Ilia before he followed his parents out the door.

Ilia looked at Delta. He looked back at her. Those still in the room looked at the two of them, wondering what was going on between them.

"Would you want some company on the way to your house?" Delta asked Ilia.

She nodded and then thanked Shen and Chun for their hospitality.

"Don't mention it Ilia," Shen replied.

Ilia turned back to Delta and the two of them left the house.

"It's a shame that Delta didn't ask her before this all happened," Chun commented looking out the window as Delta and Ilia headed down the street for Ilia's home.

"I know," Shen sighed, "He would have been good for her and they would have been great parents. But with everything that's gone on today that won't be possible."

Shang looked at Lian and saw her lost in thought.

"Are you alright Lian?" He asked.

That snapped her back to reality, "Kind of, before we came into the house I asked Ilia if she knew that Delta was a waterbender."

Lian's parents looked back towards Lian as she said this, "Well did she?"

"I never found out. Before she replied we heard you guys talking about the trials and then we walked in the house. But if I were to guess I'd say she knew something we didn't."

"Why would you assume that she would know something as important as this?" Shen asked.

"Ilia didn't look as surprised as the entire crowd was when Delta turned all the water in the stadium into ice," Lian said.

"Just because she doesn't look surprised doesn't mean she knew about his ability," said Chun.

"But why did she hesitate when I asked her if she had known about Delta's ability?" Lian countered.

"Delta could've asked her to keep it a secret," Shang commented.

"That's the only thing that I can think of that makes any sense," Lian mused, grateful that Shang had gone on the same line of thought she had.

"Of course all of this is mere speculation until either Delta or Ilia choose to reveal those events to us," Shen said, stopping the conversation.

"We should probably get dinner ready so that Delta and Zhong won't be starving before they go to bed," Chun said.

They all agreed and started getting things ready.

As they walked down the street towards Ilia's house Delta said quietly, "Thank you."

Ilia nodded her head, "You know that there will be talk amongst your family about us?" She asked and Delta nodded his head.

"They'll be curious if anyone besides me knew about my ability before the trial. And they're going to want answers."

"What are you going to tell them?" Ilia asked.

There were crimes in their village for those who lied but in this case it wasn't really a lie they were hiding.

"The truth; you found me waterbending a month or so before the trials and agreed to keep it a secret for me to reveal to the town myself."

Ilia nodded, reassured but she still felt a little uneasy at the situation they were in.

"How did the King react when I pulled the water from his cup?" Delta asked.

Ilia looked at him and saw that he had a slight smile on his face, "I'm not sure but I think he was less surprised than everyone else."

"Why did he do a double take when your dad introduced you and Shang to him before the trials?" Ilia asked, guessing Delta's answer.

"I don't know. Perhaps I resemble someone from his past and he mistook me for that person. Whatever the case is I shall know soon enough."

Ilia nodded.

As they talked, they saw Zhong leave Ilia's house. He walked up to them and told them the King was expecting Delta.

As they approached the house they saw two guards outside it, "That was some of the best fighting that I'd ever seen," one of the guards called out.

This took Delta a little by surprise, but he thanked him.

They walked into the house and Ilia giggled at the look on Delta's face, "What stunned that you'd get a compliment after what you did today?"

"No. Just shocked that it came from one of the King's guards," Delta replied.

"Well don't be startled if more of his guards compliment you," Ilia shot back.

Delta nodded in agreement.

As they walked into the main room they saw the King in conversation with Wu.

When they had stopped chatting Wu looked up and the King turned around, "Ah Delta, Ilia come right in."

Delta and Ilia walked in and sat down.

Chung looked around the room and the focused on Delta, "Well now that you're here I imagine you have a few questions for me."

Delta nodded, "What could you possibly know of my past?"

"Well for starters I know waterbenders don't wind up in the Earth Kingdom without a cause beyond his control. I also know that you're built more like your father, but you have the look of your mother."

Delta looked down at the floor at the mention of his parents.

Ilia looked at him and asked, "Shouldn't you tell Shen and Chun this? They were the ones who found him and raised him."

"I could tell them but I think Shen might find this a little redundant as he already knows a little of how the story goes."

Delta looked up from the floor, "What are you talking about?"

The King gave a small sigh, "I've already told Wu and his family this so you have the right to know as well," he said looking at Ilia.

I would think so Ilia thought; rolling her eyes considering the story is about him.

"Shen and I grew up in the city of Omashu. I was heir to the throne as was my sister, Chun. Shen was from a noble family and a very skilled warrior. He rose quickly in the ranks of the military and soon my father promoted him to General over the whole army."

Delta interrupted him, "What does this have to do with my real parents?"

"Patience Delta I'm getting to that. I first met your father when he was in the streets of Omashu. He had a Saber Tooth Moose Lion on a cart pulled by some Ostrich Horses. Naturally the size of the animal drew a large crowd and people wanted to know how he brought it down. After telling us how he did it he asked if anyone would be interested in buying or trading with him for the animal. I said that I would be and he turned and looked at me. He saw that I was wearing royal garments and bowed and said 'I thank you your highness, I hope this beast isn't too big a burden for your cooks and craftsmen.'

The king smiled as he recalled the memory, "With that we took the animal to the royal palace and I had someone fetch the cooks and told them that there was going to be some extra meat at the feast tonight. Their jaws dropped when they saw the Saber Tooth Moose Lion. Just then my father came out and saw the animal being hauled away. He asked who had killed it and your father answered him. Then my dad extended an invitation to him to join us for the feast. At that point Shen walked out of the hall with my sister Chun at his side. There wasn't any question in the minds of our families that they were going to end up married."

As he said this Delta and Ilia looked at each other and then back towards the King.

He smiled at them, "I know it isn't an easy situation to be in, but if you wait it will be worth it."

Delta nodded and the King continued, "Anyways after that my father introduced your real father to Shen and Chun. During the feast someone tried to kill my family. We don't know who but it was a terrible thing that they tried to do. After the feast people were trickling out of the palace and back to their homes. Your father was talking to my father about his travels where he'd been, who he'd seen and so on. It was during this that two of the guards who my father had mistaken as allies drew the doors of the hall shut. From what my father told us of the encounter your dad saw this and then he saw that there were four people in the room.

'Friends of yours?' he asked my father and my dad looked at them.

'Hardly, they are assassins here to try and kill me.'

Then the two guards joined the group, 'Your highness you should know that before you die that it's for a very good cause,' one of the assassins called out.

'Good is a point of view,' your father replied.

He had most of his weapons with him. One was a bow. He also had a boomerang and a spear. My father realized something was wrong and he heard a scream from the vents in the room.

'You're not just here to kill me,' he said this and one of the assassins started moving closer to the table.

'Correct. We are here to make sure the line of your family doesn't continue.'

Chung stopped talking for a moment to take a sip of water.

"I can't imagine what my father thought of that situation and not really knowing the royal family," Delta said.

Chung nodded, "After the battle with the assassins in the hall both our fathers raced out to find a group of men had my mother, sister, and my brother bound and were dragging them away from the palace.

'Guards stop them!' As my father said this the men took three different chutes that were part of our distribution service, got into the stone carriers and rode down them.

My father pursued the one that with my mother. Your dad hopped into a carrier after the one carrying my brother. I don't remember exactly how it all finished but I know that the next time I saw my family they were in the hands of the slayers. A few guards had been killed during the chase and my father had been captured by them. They were at the city gates and demanded that they be opened up. My dad nodded to the guards and they opened up the stone walls.

"What they didn't see was your father on the outer wall. He took in the situation and saw that there were six assassins that had hold of my family. He knew that any direct action against them might result in their deaths but he did something anyways."

"What did he do?" Delta asked eagerly.

"I'll never forget it for as long as I live," Chung replied, "As I watched with fury at my family being taken from me I heard the low swoosh of a weapon being thrown. Then I heard a bowstring being pulled and within less than a minute five members of the group dropped, either wounded or dead. Then I saw a spear fly through the sky and hit the final assassin in his head. With this he let go of Chun and my family was safe again."

Delta shook his head in amazement when he heard this, "He does sound a lot like me."

Chung nodded in agreement, "Your father was never one to shrink away from overwhelming odds, even if it meant putting himself in harm's way."

"What happened after that?" Ilia asked, not sure how this story fit into Delta's situation.

"After the last assassin was killed the guards rushed out of the city. Shen and I were in the front wanting to see that my family was okay. I ran to my mother and brother and asked if they were alright. They told me that other than nearly being frightened to death, they were fine. My dad was holding my sister and asking the same questions. She said she was alright. It was at this point that Shen came over to her and hugged her. My father turned to me and asked who had managed to free them.

"I turned and pointed to your father who was busy retrieving his weapons from the dead assassins. One of the guards asked why he was retrieving them and he replied 'it isn't like they're going to be able to put them to much use.'

The guard laughed at this remark. My father walked over to your dad and did something that members of the Royal family rarely did. He bowed to him. When I saw this I did as well. My entire family did and when I talked to your father about it later he said it looked like the entire city was bowing to him. When my father rose, he said that he and his family were forever in your father's debt."

Delta nodded knowing the feeling after he had saved Chan from the knife during the trial; Wu said something similar afterwards.

"Then what happened?" Ilia pressed on.

"When we all got back up we saw Shen propose to Chun. I knew that after what happened he wouldn't waste anytime asking her to marry him. She agreed and there was applause throughout the city. Your dad in his typical style of humor said 'I love weddings; Drinks all for everyone!'

"Everyone in the area laughed and we all went back to the palace. Within four days Shen and Chun were married. It was after this that your father said it was time for him to go back to the North Pole. Everyone was sorry to see him leave but he had things to do.

"Before your dad left, the three of us Shen, your father, and I made a pact to help each other if one should ever need it. After that he left. I didn't see or hear from him until another two years. He had sent a messenger to Omashu. My father and mother had died during this time and I was made King. His messenger said that he was going to marry and he requested that Shen, Chun, and I attend the wedding. I told the messenger that we would all be going to the wedding. It was near the end of summer that the wedding took place. Your mother was very beautiful. And I had never seen your father happier than during their ceremony. It was like they were soul mates," Chung nodded to Delta.

"Is that when this was painted?" Delta asked, carefully pulling the picture out of his pocket.

Chung sat up at this, "You have a picture of your mother?"

Delta nodded and handed it to him. Chung looked at it earnestly.

He shook his head, passing the painting back, "No this was not made at the wedding; it must have been made sometime after."

Delta took the picture and put it into his tunic.

"That was the last time that I saw either of your parents. I don't know what happened but I do know that there was some political unrest in the Tribe after your parents got married."

Delta's eyebrows rose at mention of this, "What kind of unrest?"

"Well for the Water Tribe it is a well-known tradition that women are forbidden to waterbend. I can only guess that your mother was a waterbender and that someone found out and there may have been a falling our between different groups in the Tribe."

For a moment Delta couldn't think straight. So my mother is a waterbender and that's why she and my dad had to leave the Water Tribe?

Chung looked at Delta carefully, "I know it must be hard taking all of this in, but it's important that you know more about your past. After all your past isn't what really defines you."

Delta looked up at him in surprise.

Chung smiled at him, "It gives you the starting point for who you're going to be."