A/N at the end!
Chapter 24 – Ba Sing Se: The Betrayal Pt. 1
The morning after, Milah and Zuko weren't able to keep their hands off each other again, making their morning routine longer than it usually took. This also caused Milah to be late at work, earning her a stern look from Mrs Yin senior.
Meanwhile, Zuko had a little talk with Iroh, who congratulated Zuko on finding his courage while asking for forgiveness for bringing Milah so much pain with his actions. Zuko told the General not to worry about it, that Milah had probably forgotten about it already seeing the honeymoon-like state they were currently residing in.
Luckily, their day went by fairly quickly and before he knew it, he heard the tinkle of the bell of the tea shop at dusk, signalling a new customer. And when he turned around to greet them, he looked into the beautiful eyes of his new wife, with his mother's ring, now hers, residing proudly on her ring finger.
''Hey,'' she greeted him softly before another person entered the shop, a person that made his blood boil. Immediately, his joy was replaced by jealousy. Zuko couldn't think of a good reason why the man would be by Milah's side now. Why Milah would even let him be by her side. She had to know what his presence did to the Prince.
Bohai walked up to him all of a sudden, giving him a respectful, traditional bow which Zuko reluctantly returned, his burning eyes trained on the green ones he despised. ''I believe I ought to congratulate you, Lee. Kya told me about your new union.''
Zuko eyed him warily, not really knowing what the hell was going on. Why on earth would he-
''Lee, I believe you haven't met Bohai properly,'' Milah stepped up to him, grasping his hand with such tenderness that he forgot about Bohai all of a sudden, the overwhelming desire to kiss her overruling everything else. ''Bohai lives in our apartment building as well, did you know? He asked his girlfriend Yin, the daughter of my boss, to move in with him. I've told you about her, haven't I?''
Zuko's heart went still for a moment, his eyes widening. ''Wait, you have a girlfriend?''
Bohai looked at him strangely. ''Yes, I have a girlfriend. Didn't Kya tell you?''
Milah looked at him sheepishly, her eyes as big as saucers. Zuko shook his head at her, a small smile playing on his lips as everything played out in his head. ''I guess she forgot to mention it.''
She chuckled nervously, rubbing her thumb over his fingers. ''Sorry.''
Zuko nodded at her, bending down to kiss her properly for a small moment before placing them at a table so he could get their tea. Iroh was waiting for him on the other side of the room, looking at the far distance like he was thinking hard about something.
''Uncle, what's wrong?''
Iroh turned towards his nephew, a smile appearing instantly on his face. ''It's nothing. So, I saw you chatting with Kya and Bohai. Did you finally realise that he wasn't interested in her all along?''
Zuko gave him an annoyed look that thankfully shut him up, although Iroh did snigger behind his nephew's back when he went to the back to make some more tea.
The next day, Zuko woke up with a heavy heart, although his mood was somewhat improved by his naked, gorgeous wife laying in his arms. After all, today should have been his cousin's birthday, Lu Ten. And when Zuko told Milah why Iroh would probably be feeling glum today, she didn't know how fast she had to get out of bed and dressed before rushing out of her bedroom, hoping to catch Iroh already sitting on the sofa with his usual pot of tea.
But Iroh wasn't there.
And Milah didn't catch him before she went away for work, even going as far as taking a peak into his bedroom, but he wasn't there either. He had left for the day, and Zuko told Milah that it was probably for the best. He needed to be alone for the day to grieve. His uncle probably didn't want to bother the two of them with his sorrow, Zuko told her.
Milah could understand that to a certain level. After her mother died, she wanted to be alone as well. Not even her grandfather could cheer her up with his stories about his life at her Tribe, or Yue with her somewhat inappropriate jokes she made when no one was looking.
So Milah left for work with lead in her shoes, her heart hurting for the first time in a few days. It grieved along with Iroh. How it must hurt to lose your son.
That evening, Iroh came home late. Zuko and her had already finished dinner, figuring that he would probably eat something for himself. And when he at last entered the apartment, his smile was evident but didn't conceal the redness and puffiness of his cheeks, giving away the fact that he had been crying.
Milah almost lost it at that moment. ''Iroh, I'm so sorry,'' she softly said while standing up and walking over to the man, pulling him in such a fierce hug that the man almost stumbled back. He dropped his basket, wrapping his own arms around the woman he had come to love over the past 7 months. The woman who was beginning to feel part of his little family he had created together with Zuko.
''Thank you, dear Milah,'' he whispered in her ear.
That night, they all drank a lovely pot of jasmine tea empty while huddled on the couch. Iroh shared some wonderful stories of Lu Ten and Zuko from when they were younger, making Milah laugh and tear up at the same time, all the while holding on to Zuko's warm and familiar hand because, to be honest, it was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment.
''Why did you go on that date with Jin?'' Milah asked him out of the blue that evening when they were cuddled up in bed, still enjoying the afterglow from a previous engagement.
''I'm not sure,'' Zuko answered honestly. ''I guess I hoped that going on a date with her would somehow help me get over you, seeing I thought you and that Bohai were thing.''
Milah scoffed. ''You're such an asshole.''
''I know.''
It was silent for a moment.
''I love you,'' Zuko whispered in her ear sometime later.
''I love you too,'' she whispered back, ''but that doesn't mean I forgive you.''
''I know.'' His eyebrows furrowed, panic slowly spreading across his chest.
''But I will, eventually.''
Silence ensued.
''I'm truly sorry, Milah,'' he apologised once more.
''I know,'' she answered this time.
And with that, Milah could feel herself forgive him slowly and steadily. She'd forgive him one day, but she wouldn't ever forget. Although she would see past it and try to accept the fact that it had happened. After all, if Zuko wouldn't have gone on that day, who knows where they would be right now? He probably wouldn't have admitted his feelings for her, resulting in more heartbreak in the end.
No, the date with Jin had been meant to be and Milah could accept that fact.
The five days that followed were spent working, spending their free evenings cuddled up in bed, making love to each other, or trying out new dishes at restaurants all over the neighbourhood, having a double date with Bohai and Yin and most of all, telling each other how much they loved one another.
But good things must come to an end, as was a saying in life. And so their peaceful and loving days came to an end as well.
It was a sunny and warm morning when Milah and Zuko woke up to the early calls of chirping birds and soft chatter of multiple people out in the streets. Milah was holding her husband in his arms and against her side, his hair softly tickling the exposed skin of her left breast.
''Morning,'' Zuko softly greeted the beautiful woman next to him, kissing her forehead.
''Good morning, my dear Prince Zuko,'' she replied while lazily tracing her fingers over his forehead. His hand was moving from her hip to more… private parts of her, leaving her gasping and moaning until she was riding him with so much passion that the world seemed to disappear for a second and only she and Zuko remained in a great abyss.
She came twice. Once when she was on top, once when he had her bent her over the nightstand. And then when she had turned around to face him, he finished, hard, while giving her a bruising kiss.
''Our life together has finally begun,'' she whispered in his ear when they were laying in each other's arms again. ''Can you believe that?''
Zuko thought about this for a moment. It had been dancing around in his mind for the past week, putting him on edge every time Milah brought up the subject. He knew she wanted to settle down with him here, in Ba Sing Se, while he knew that his destiny would not let him remain here. His destiny was to find the Avatar and restore his honour in the Fire Nation, not for his father, but for himself. But he couldn't bring himself to say this to Milah. Not when he knew that she would be crushed.
He was, however, certain of the fact that she would move with him to the Fire Nation. To be by his side once he would take the throne. And maybe it made him a fool, but he even believed his father would look past the fact of Milah being a Waterbender. Surely when his father saw his love for the Water Tribe girl would he understand.
His father had to understand. Or otherwise there was no hope for them at all.
''Zuko?'' she called out to him when he hadn't answered yet.
''I'm sorry,'' he apologised for taking so long. ''I mean, yes, our life together has begun.''
Milah smiled contently upon hearing him say those words.
Meanwhile, Zuko tried to be as cryptic as possible when she would bring up the subject again.
After a while, Zuko announced he had to get ready to start his shift in the tea shop, reluctantly bidding his stunning wife a passionate goodbye. Milah watched him leave with butterflies in her stomach, readying herself for the day as well. She had earned a day off and she was about to use it wisely, busying herself with running some errands on the market. She decided to look for a little present for Zuko as well, feeling like he could use something new for his wardrobe. And so she came upon a stall that sold fine suits and dresses from the latest Earth Kingdom fashion. It cost her a little fortune, but it was worth it. She even found Iroh a new straw-hat to replace his old battered one.
Milah even found a new book to read in her windowsill. She had grabbed a pillow, made herself a pot of jasmine tea and spend the rest of her afternoon quietly reading the story until she heard the front door open.
''Milah, I'm home,'' Iroh shouted out to her from the living room, making her come over from her room to the living room.
''Iroh, you're early,'' she greeted him back, washing her teapot and cup in the sink.
''Quon, a wealthy businessman from the Upper Ring, has offered me my own teashop together with a whole new apartment in the Upper Ring,'' Iroh told her excitedly while preparing another pot of tea for himself
Milah gasped. ''No way!''
''It's true,'' he exclaimed, clapping his hands once that showed how happy he was. ''And that's not even the best thing.''
''It isn't?'' she asked incredulously.
''I even get to name it myself!''
Milah laughed hard at that, coming up to embrace the old General in joy. ''I'm so happy for you Iroh.''
''Thank you, Milah.'' His words were muffled by her hair which she had left down today.
Milah began to make immediate preparations, packing her and Zuko's spare belongings in various bags. After she was done, Zuko still hadn't come home, but she figured it must've been busy in the shop, so she didn't think much of it. She headed out after informing Iroh she would be back before dinner and made her way towards the fruit selling shop of Mrs Yin Senior, hoping that she hadn't left the shop yet. The sun had already set and the first crickets were already chirping, signalling that night time was already starting.
Luckily, she was just on time to catch the old woman. Mrs Yin was sad to see her go, but wished her well in the future. Milah promised her that she wouldn't forget Mrs Yin and that if the old woman would invite her over for tea, the blue-eyed girl must accept. Milah laughed at this, but agreed to the terms, bidding her goodbye with a heavy heart. After this, she made her way towards the apartment where Bohai resided in, hoping to find Yin there as well so she could wish them farewell at the same time.
It was her lucky day, it seemed, because they had just begun on their dinner when she showed up on their doorstep unannounced. They invited her in to share their meal which she politely declined, wanting to have her last dinner inside her own home. A home she was leaving.
Tears were shared between the two women together with promises that they would keep in touch. Bohai hugged her firmly, a glint present in his eyes that told her that he was equally sad to see her go. In turn, she whispered something in his ear that she never thought she would ever admit to someone.
''You were right, you know,'' she had whispered.
''What do you mean?'' he whispered back softly enough that Yin wasn't able to hear them.
''I'm a Waterbender from the South Pole.''
And with that, she left him behind, winking one last time before closing the door behind her, leaving him behind perplexed and in awe.
By the time she stepped through the door of their apartment, it was already dark outside. The bags that had been standing in the corner that contained all of their belongings were already gone, meaning that Iroh had probably already handed them over to the movers. ''I'm home!'' she shouted into the dark, which she found strange seeing Iroh always lit a few candles whenever it started to get dusky outside.
No one answered her, making her worry instantly. Where could they have gone? Surely they wouldn't leave her.
No, her mind assured her. Zuko wouldn't leave you. The evidence is right here, on your left ring finger.
She fiddled with her ring nervously, trying to think of reasons why they wouldn't be home. One scenario after the after went through her head, each one worse than the last. Her breathing began to quicken along with her beating heart, her hands becoming clammy. She started to pace in the living room before figuring out that that wouldn't do her any good.
She started checking the apartment, going through every drawer, cabinet and closet just to find out where they could have gone. She even went as far as going into Iroh's room to see if he had left anything behind that would give away his whereabouts, but even there she couldn't find anything.
It wasn't until she had taken a look at the trashcan when she realised that it was the one place where she hadn't searched yet. And after counting to three, she took out the garbage bag, opened it and was met with a flyer that made her almost vomit right there and then.
The Avatar's sky bison was painted onto the small piece of paper together with the question if anyone had seen him, together with an address that made her head spin. And for it to be in their trash can… could it be that Zuko and Iroh had found the pamphlet and had gone to search for the sky bison?
But more importantly, did this mean that Katara and Sokka were here, in Ba Sing Se?
Milah didn't know what to think or whether to be angry with Zuko or not. Maybe he didn't know about this flyer. Maybe Iroh had found it and decided to throw it away, which would mean that she should be angry with Iroh for keeping such information from her.
As quickly as she could, she changed her attire into one that would blend in with the shadows. Luckily for her, Zuko always kept some dark clothes in his closet which she donned on herself. They were far too big, but with the help of several ribbons the outfit stayed on as best as it could.
While raging she rushed through the door and outside where the only light came from the full moon. A rush of power went through her body, although it was less distinct than it normally was whenever a full moon greeted her every time it came around. She wondered about it for a second but dismissed the thought quickly afterwards.
The Waterbender rushed through the streets of the capital towards the Upper Ring, district 96, house number 217. She knew she would have to get past the guards who would hopefully let her pass so she could get to the home where hopefully, she could still find the Avatar and then ultimately Zuko.
The sun was already rising when Milah finally reached the home. It had taken her all night to reach the Avatar's house and her body was aching in places where it shouldn't ache because of her lack of sleep. The trip had been filled with dodging guards, gate keepers and government officials because none of them would've let her enter the Upper Ring without any clearance.
The house was large, far larger than a home where a child should be living in. But, she had to consider that it was the Avatar and that he was over a hundred years old. So maybe, it wasn't so strange after all.
The Waterbender peeked carefully through the window, prepared to meet a sight which would make her hurl the content of her stomach out of her mouth because she wouldn't be able to stand seeing Zuko trying to capture Aang even after declaring his love for her. But it was dark inside the home, meaning that either they were all still asleep, or no one was home. Which would be strange either way, seeing the birds hadn't even started chirping yet. Surely if Zuko had gone after Aang then he would've been there. But if they were all asleep, then where could he have gone?
A small whisper of a sound came from the roof suddenly, making her startle and hide herself deep into the shadows of the walls. But no one was there after looking up slowly. I have probably imagined it, the woman thought to herself after five minutes of standing still and barely breathing.
She entered the house with ease – which worried her because if she could break in, then who else could as well? – and looked around for a while, going through each room while tiptoeing. But no one was actually there, which made the whole situation even more difficult.
Her eyes felt heavy upon seeing the comfortable looking couch inside their living room and before she knew it, she let herself fall upon the cushions. It's probably best to just wait for them to come back, she thought to herself. And after three seconds, sleep had taken her.
It was after midday when she woke up with a gasp. She scrambled herself together, wiping the sleep from her eyes before making her way back to the window she had left open. She had been dreaming of Azula, strangely, and was woken up when the vicious Princess had sent a killing lightning bolt towards her. The Waterbender shuddered upon remembering the cold look in her golden eyes, so different yet so similar to Zuko's.
Milah halted by the window through which she came. Should she leave? She wanted to stay, wait for her siblings, but what then? There was no way that Sokka would let her leave, which would mean that she would probably need to stay away from Zuko.
Even thinking about it made Milah's stomach churn. She could never leave him. She loved him too much.
But if she left now, then maybe she would maybe never see her family again.
Her throat closed up. She was at a crossroad. On the one hand, she wanted to go to Zuko and be in his arms, forgetting about what had happened and what he had done. But on the other hand, she couldn't keep denying to herself that she wasn't hurting her family in the process, even if her family didn't know what she was doing with their worst enemy. After all, Zuko had done so many terrible things to their group in the past. She could only imagine the hate all of them harboured against the Fire Nation Prince.
The birds outside kept continuing their little lullaby when the Water Tribe girl made her final decision.
Iroh was pacing their old apartment. The worry he was experiencing was too great for him to sit still. First of all, Zuko was laying in his bed with a fever, mumbling about how he had to get out of 'there'. Secondly, Milah was no where to be found and left no traces of her whereabouts whatsoever – the old General could only imagine where she had sped off to after he and his nephew had disappeared for a whole night. Thirdly, the sun had almost set and she still hadn't returned. Iroh had tried Bohai and Yin, the tea shop, the fruit shop and the tavern but she hadn't been there nor had anyone seen her.
It was enough for the old man to forget the pot of tea he had made, which said a lot since Iroh never forgot about his tea. It was sacred to him, so for him to abandon the hot beverage was exceptional.
Iroh checked on Zuko once more, replacing the wet towel with a fresh one, seeing it had gotten hot under his blazing forehead, when he heard the front door open all of a sudden. He sprang to his feet, hoping to find the Waterbender who had captured a part of his old heart.
And there she was, dressed in a black outfit, her hair messy and her eyes bloodshot.
''Milah,'' Iroh brought out when she let herself collapse into his arms, her whole body shaking from exhaustion, grieve and nerves for what she was about to do. She knew it was inevitable, but it broke her when even thinking about it.
''Iroh, I-'' she started, but her voice broke before the first set of tears fell down. ''I have to see Zuko. I have to, Iroh, please, tell me where he-''
''Shh,'' he shushed her, patting her head affectionately. ''He's here. But I'm afraid he won't be much use to you now. He's having a fever.''
This made Milah pull herself out of his arms, quickly striding towards their shared bedroom. And when she opened it, she could indeed see Zuko laying in their bed, shivering and sweating. She rushed towards him, caressing his arms and face. Her heart hurt upon seeing the one she loved in such a state.
''What happened?'' she asked Iroh when she had sensed him entering the room behind her.
''It's a long story…'' Iroh started, but told her everything. He told her how Zuko had found the pamphlet before disappearing in the night to search for the Avatar. Iroh had been lucky when he could trace down his nephew, but he hadn't had enough time to find Milah first to tell her where he was going, so he had gone without her. Then Zuko had found the Avatar's sky bison and had wanted to take him for ransom. But Iroh had stopped him. ''Zuko was confused, Milah, and he makes mistakes because he still feels like he has to return to the Fire Nation one day. There is anger inside of him that even you can't diminish. He has to make a decision one day, one where he must choose between accepting his own destiny or the destiny that someone else has laid out for him.''
Milah nodded, still caressing the Prince's hand while having sat down onto her bed. ''I understand that Zuko is troubled, Iroh. And I have accepted everything that he has thrown at me. Everything. I was prepared to settle with him here. I was prepared to abandon my family, my Tribe, my beliefs, just so we could have a life here. But now…'' Another tear left her eye.
Iroh watched her with sadness. He understood all what she was saying and couldn't blame her when she would decide to leave his nephew. He couldn't deny that Zuko had defied her trust when he had gone after the Avatar's bison last night.
''Now I feel like I won't ever be enough,'' she whispered finally, closing her eyes. ''I won't ever be enough for him. He will always feel like something is missing, and I don't want to be the reason why he's feeling like that. He must choose what is best on his own, and if that means that he will or won't choose me, that's up to him. I can't force him to choose a destiny that I want for him.''
Iroh put a comforting hand on her shoulder, feeling immensely proud of the girl next to him. ''I think you are very wise, Milah.''
Milah smiled through her pain. ''I know. I can be, sometimes.''
Iroh laughed at that.
Both of them sat together in silence for a while, watching Zuko with worry. Milah was still furious, but the grieve was slowly overtaking it. She dreaded the second Zuko would wake up and be conscious enough to have the conversation with her. She dreaded everything that would come after. And she dreaded that it would be the last time they would ever see each other.
But she knew that no matter what would happen, she would never stop loving him. Even if he did choose the Fire Nation over her, she would not hold it against him. She could only hope that he would choose that which he would be happiest about. Even if it would crush and depress her.
It was a difficulty to ship themselves to their new apartment while Zuko was still sleeping from the fever. It took both the movers to haul him inside the carriage that would take them to the Upper Ring and then when they arrived, it took both Milah and Iroh to carry him upstairs while the movers carried their stuff to the upper apartment of the building.
And after Milah and Iroh thanked the movers for their help, they turned to one another, bid goodnight and crawled into their beds. Milah didn't sleep well that night, constantly worrying about the shivers coming from Zuko's body next to her. She iced the towel on his forehead several times that night by using her bending, but even then he was unusually ill.
It was early in the morning when Milah woke up from a gasp next to her. Zuko had scared himself awake from a nightmare, as it seemed. The woman immediately got into action.
''Zuko! You're finally awake!'' she softly exclaimed, taking his cheeks into her hands so she could inspect his face.
But what she found surprised her.
A/N: my dear readers, friends, loves, first of all I want to apologise that the wait for this chapter was so long. Please understand that I have been INCREDIBELY busy with the last few courses of my Bachelor (which I passed, yay! Master here I come) so I haven't had much time to write at all. Above all that comes that I find this part so fucking hard to write because the timeline is really not clear regarding what happens when and how I can include Milah in it as best as I can. Like I said at the beginning of the story, I like it when a character is integrated so well and deeply that you don't even notice it wasn't there to begin with. In other words, the fanfic storyline should be like 90% the same as the original. That's how I like my fanfictions anyways :).
Lastly, huge thanks to the anonymous reviewers that have encouraged me to write on! Mainly because of you I decided to split this goddamn shit chapter into two because otherwise I'm certain it will take me far longer to even finish this part (I'm not even mentioning the word count, which would be like 20,000 lol).
Okay enough rambling is done! Please leave behind a review, they always make my day :). Love you all!
PS. I'm sorry if this chapter has a lot of spelling and grammar errors. I was too lazy tonight to do a thorough edit. Please bear with me ;).