A Stolen Future
Chapter Six: The End of Us
"See, kid? The fire's not so bad, is it?" Lin asked the young girl sitting in her lap, as they sat in front of the festival bonfire.
Tenzin looked across the fire at the sight he had given up hope of seeing nearly three weeks ago. Admittedly, the child in her lap was not theirs -not yet. She looked nothing like Lin or Tenzin, with her bright auburn hair, bronze skin, and maroon eyes; and yet, as Tenzin looked at her sitting in Lin's lap, he felt as though he finally had the family he had always wanted with her. He would admit that he never thought their first child would be a firebender who had accidentally burnt down an entire apartment building, but fate worked in mysterious ways.
"Tenzin?" Pema asked, softly from behind him.
"Ah, Pema. Do you need something?" He asked, turning to face her.
"I was hoping to speak to you." She replied, clearly wanting to pull him away from the crowded festival.
"Is it about Lin and Yanmei?"
Pema had been very shocked when she saw Lin return to the island, two weeks ago, with bags and a child in tow. She and Tenzin had spoken many more times in the days following his fight with Lin and her telling him to give up on her. He had been in despair, admitting that Pema was right and distressed over leaving Lin, but also discussing a future with Pema. As far as she knew, Tenzin would soon be ending the relationship, so the first chance she got, she had pulled him aside and demanded to know what was happening. Tenzin explained that he believed Yanmei was his and Lin's last chance. Her mother had been arrested after the fire, and they had found homes for her siblings, but nobody would take Yanmei so she had been living at the station under Lin's care. Yanmei was no stranger to Lin; and Tenzin knew she had always had a soft spot for her, so he suggested that they take her to Air Temple island to raise. Lin agreed, on the condition that it was only until they found someone to take her, but Tenzin told Pema that he truly believed that caring for Yanmei, together, would ease her fears of motherhood and they would soon be married.
Multiple times since then, Pema had pulled him aside to tell him he was being foolish and remind him of all the reasons why. Lin was too old to have enough children to guarantee an airbender, especially with her fertility issues. Tenzin argued that if they got married soon enough, his mother or sister could assist her with her whatever issues she may have. Pema questioned his plans to adopt Yanmei and argued that it would be too risky, since years of abuse had made her unstable and unable to control her firebending. Tenzin argued that this was exactly the environment that she needed and that he and Lin would help her flourish. After weeks of these conversations, Tenzin did not want to hear anymore, especially as he watched Lin ease the child's fears and smile as she held her.
"Yes," Pema replied, "if we could speak in private, I-"
"No, Pema, I've heard all your arguments, but. . . look at them. . ." He said, gazing at his future family. "Yanmei has grown so much since she got here, and Lin. . . Lin loves her. I'm going to speak to her about getting married and adopting Yanmei, tonight."
"And what will you do if she says no?" Pema asked.
"She won't."
"But if she does?"
". . . then. . . I'll have to end things. I. . . I don't think it will come to that, though. I believe the spirits brought Yanmei into our lives for a reason."
Pema looked at the child skeptically.
"Do you truly believe that, or have you just told yourself that?" She asked.
"I truly believe it."
"The spirits didn't burn down that building, nor were they the ones to arrest her mother."
"She and Lin's paths have been crossing for seven years." Tenzin explained. "Lin saved her when her mother drowned her, and ever since, she has been a common presence in Lin's life. I can't tell you how many times that child wandered up to Lin on the streets, I've been with her on many occasions that it's happened and I could always see that there was a special bond between them. We've fed her and clothed her many times over the years. . . I truly believe that her path is intertwined with ours and that we were meant to be a family."
"Tenzin-"
"Ah! Councilman Tenzin!" A man called.
Tenzin took the opportunity to leave and walked to the man approaching him through the crowd. The man was tan with black hair, sharp, brown eyes, and a broad nose. With him were two girls who bore a very strong resemblance to him. The younger one he carried in one arm, had wide eyes, she was far too old to be carried, but Tenzin could not fault him since he sometimes did the same with Yanmei, who was a year older. The elder girl was fourteen and had his sharp eyes, but was clearly not enthusiastic about holding her father's hand.
"Ah, Minjun. How are you?"
"Wonderful." He replied. "I can't thank you enough, for all you've done. Thanks to you, I finally have my daughters!"
"It was no problem on my part. The judge agreed that there was no sense in sending them to an orphanage when their father wanted them. How are the girl's settling in?"
"Where's Yanmei?" Zi, the elder girl, asked. "Dad said we were going to see her."
"ZI! LULI!" Yanmei yelled, running up to her half-sisters as Lin walked behind her with a small smirk on her face.
"YANMEI!" Luli cheered, as her father set her down.
The three girls hugged each other enthusiastically, and were soon running off so that Yanmei could show them around the island. Minjun started to call a warning to them, but Lin stopped him.
"Don't worry, the acolytes won't let them go anywhere they shouldn't and Yanmei won't go to the beach."
"Well. . . if you're sure."
"They're safe here. It's not like the city. Did your wife and other children come?" Lin asked.
"No. She wanted some time alone with just our kids."
"So she hasn't changed her mind about Yanmei?" Lin asked.
"No. Unfortunately not. She accepted Zi and Luli because they're my daughters and were born before we married, but she doesn't want a child with no relation to either of us, especially one who's. . . well 'dangerous'."
"I understand." Tenzin said, secretly pleased at the news.
"What will you do if you can't find her a home?" Minjun asked with concern.
"We'll figure something out." Lin said.
"Have you gotten any leads on the older sister?"
"No, but the guy she eloped with is from the Southern Water Tribe, so Katara and Kya have agreed to keep an eye out."
"And her brothers still won't take her?"
"Nobody will rent to them if they have her, and they said that they don't know how to handle her."
"I'll admit even while I was trying to convince Lanying to let us take her, I wasn't sure how I would handle her. Zi and Luli have mentioned a few things about how Daiyu treated her. It was horrible, but. . . I'm not sure what I would do if I had a child who could start a fire at any moment."
"Well the key is to train her." Lin explained. "Once we've gotten her comfortable around fire, I'll hire a master to train her, and make sure she receives lessons wherever she ends up."
"Has she given you any problems?" Minjun asked.
"No. We haven't had any issues." Tenzin replied.
Lin gave him a pointed look.
"No major issues." Tenzin said.
"Sure, if you don't count her being terrified of baths and fire, and needing me to sleep in the same room as her, then yeah, we haven't had any issues." Lin said, sarcastically.
"Well, yes. There's that." Tenzin agreed. "But she hasn't started any fires."
"She's made a few sparks, but nothing caught on fire." Lin said.
"She seems very happy, here." Minjun said.
"She misses her siblings and still has nightmares about what happened, but overall she is very happy." Tenzin said. "And having her here has been a joy."
"Lin!" A brunette woman called, excitedly.
Lin smiled upon hearing the voice, but Tenzin noticed her smile falter when she turned her head and saw that the woman was heavily pregnant.
"Again?" Lin muttered.
Tenzin squeezed her hand, knowing that Shu Fang's abundant fertility was a sore spot for Lin -even if she never admitted it. Briefly, Lin turned back to Minjun.
"Excuse me, a friend of mine just arrived." She said.
"Of course. I'll speak to you later." Minjun replied with a small bow.
Lin released Tenzin's hand and walked away to meet her old school friend. Minjun turned back to Tenzin.
"Regarding Yanmei. . . You say she's doing well here and you're happy to have her?"
"Yes. Very much so."
"Do you think you and Chief Beifong might consider adopting her?"
"I think we might." Tenzin replied, optimistically.
Later that night, Lin stood over Yanmei's bed and covered her with another blanket to ensure she stayed warm as she slept. She looked down at the sleeping child with a fond smile. Despite having a much later bedtime than usual, it had taken forever for Yanmei to fall asleep, as annoyed as Lin had been by the nonstop chatter about the festival and her sisters, she was happy that the girl had enjoyed herself. Despite being able to distance herself from most cases, Lin had never been able to stop worrying about Yanmei, and was relievved to have finally gotten her to safety.
She reached down to brush an auburn lock off her face and suddenly had an image of their first meeting in her head. She had been so tiny, soaking wet and lifeless as Lin took her from her sister's arms and laid her down to resuscitate her. The memory of Yanmei's lifeless body was replaced by that of Rina, her once lively friend, laying in the morgue.
". . .the other will be filled with heartbreak and anger as you lose all that you care about."
Lin felt her breathe catch and her eyes widened as she stared down at Yanmei. She had to get her out of here. No matter how badly she wanted it, Yanmei could not stay with her. If Shu Fang's connections did not pan out, she would speak with Izumi about sending her to the Fire Nation, surely somebody over there would be willing to take her.
"Lin." Tenzin called softly from the doorway.
Lin looked up, startled.
"Is she asleep?"
"Yes, no thanks to you." She said, glancing at Yanmei once more before extinguishing the lantern and walking away to join Tenzin in the hall.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked as he closed the door.
"It means that girl can't keep a secret and let it slip that you gave her more treats than we agreed on." Lin replied with her arms crossed.
Tenzin chuckled nervously.
"It was a special occasion."
"The doctor said we had to slowly increase her portion sizes, and you let her eat everything."
"I gave her a little bit of everything, not the full portions."
Lin raised her brow at him.
"If she vomits, you're cleaning it."
Tenzin sighed.
"I suppose that's fair." He agreed. "Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?"
"What time is it?"
"A little past one, but you have the day off."
"Fine, but just remember that you're supposed to be meditating at dawn."
"I know, but I can manage. We don't get much alone time anymore."
The two made their way down to the living room where Tenzin had a pot of tea waiting on the table. The only light came from the fireplace, but it felt warm and cozy as the two of them cuddled and drank their tea in silence. A part of Lin wanted to suggest that they go to the meditation pavilion, but she knew it was not an option; Yanmei would panic if she woke up to an empty house, and Lin did not feel like risking a fire.
"What are you thinking about?" Tenzin asked, long after they had finished their tea.
"I was thinking about going to the pavilion, but then I remembered, we have an unstable firebender upstairs. . . but this is still nice." She replied, contentedly, wrapping her arms tighter around him and closing her eyes as her head lay on his chest and enjoyed the warmth.
"About that. . . Yanmei is doing well here."
"Yes, but we still can't leave her alone -it's too cold, anyways."
"I know, that's not what I was suggesting. I was. . . I was wondering how you'd feel about us adopting her."
Lin opened her eyes and propped herself up to look Tenzin in the eyes. He seemed. . . sincere, and it scared her.
"You want to adopt her?"
"I want both of us to adopt her."
"We're not married." Lin reminded him.
"I know, but we can easily change that."
Lin felt the world slow and her heart beat faster as she stared at Tenzin and took in his words.
"You. . . . was this your plan, this whole time?!" She asked angrily.
"She needed somewhere to live, Lin, and she was already attached to you, so I-"
"You're not answering the question!" Lin snapped. "Were you using Yanmei this whole time?"
"It's not that simple."
"Yes, it is!" Lin argued. "I can't believe you, Tenzin! That girl has been through hell and you decide to play with her life to make me marry you!"
"I told you it's not that simple! Yes, I was hoping you would change your mind, but I also truly believe that three of us were meant to be a family! You must feel it too! You've always had a special bond with her!"
"Because I saved her life!" Lin exclaimed pushing herself away from him. "It's not some deep spiritual bond, Tenzin! Her mother drowned her and you want to attribute it to spirits?! What's wrong with you?!"
"Believe what you want, Lin, but you can't deny that you care about her and she needs us! She's happy here, and so are we, so why keep looking for someone to take her?"
"We're in no position to raise her, Tenzin!"
"The last two weeks have proven otherwise!"
"But that's exactly the problem! We can make accommodations for a few weeks, but eventually, I'll have to go back to working nights and overtime. What will you do about getting her to sleep? What if we both get called out for an emergency in the middle of the night? We can't do this!"
"We'll make it work, Lin. I'm sure some of the acolytes can help out at night."
"Oh I'm sure they'll love that." Lin said sarcastically. "And what will we do when we both go back to working full time? Just have the acolytes watch her all the time? At that point there would be no point in adopting her!"
"We can send her to school."
"She's never gone to school! She's six years behind and can only read a few characters! We would need to get her caught up on the basics before we even think about sending her to school!"
"In that case, this is the perfect environment. I know many of the acolytes would be willing to act as tutors and help us out with her! I've already had them offering to take care of whatever children we have-"
"They want to take care of airbenders, not a firebender." Lin reminded him firmly.
Tenzin paused for a moment, knowing that what she said was true.
"You're right, most of the acolytes only offer because they want us to have airbenders, but. . . many of them are very fond of Yanmei, and would gladly take care of her."
Lin knew Tenzin was right, a fair number of acolytes had been fawning over Yanmei. Maybe they could adopt her, but. . . .visions of Yanmei's lifeless body and Aunt Jun's words assaulted her mind. No. She could not risk it. She knew Yanmei would be better off without her, but she could not tell Tenzin the real reason.
"And how will they treat her if we were to get married and have children? Would they forget about her in favor of children that might be airbenders? And what if some our children aren't airbenders? How will they be treated?"
"I don't know, Lin, but it's worth the risk!"
"NO IT'S NOT!" Lin yelled.
Tenzin looked confused by her outburst, and Lin was startled as well. She had not meant to yell, but the risks she was truly thinking of, far outweighed any that Tenzin thought of.
"Lin-"
"I'm going to bed." She interrupted, not wanting to explain herself. "Yanmei will panic if I'm not in the room when she wakes up. Goodnight."
She walked away, but stopped in the doorway and looked back at Tenzin.
"I've asked Shu Fang to use her connections to find a home for Yanmei. If she can't find anything, I'll ask Izumi about sending her to the Fire Nation."
Tenzin looked heartbroken by Lin's words.
"It's for the best, Tenzin." Lin assured him, before walking away.
When Lin entered her and Yanmei's room, she was careful to close the door quietly, so as not to wake her. Lin's eyes locked onto the bed where Yanmei slept, and she felt her heart break. None of this was fair to Yanmei. It was not her fault that she was born to a woman who hated firebenders. Why had her mother not simply given her up when she started bending? Why keep her and put her through so much pain and misery, and turn her into a child that nobody wanted? Why did the one person she bonded with, have to have such a dark prophecy attached to her? Lin would keep her in a heartbeat if she could, but the thought of what could happen to her kept her from doing so. She had to send her away, no matter how much it would hurt all of them. . . it was the only way to keep her safe.
That night, Lin dreamt of a happy family with Tenzin and Yanmei. It all seemed so realistic at first, she agreed to marry Tenzin. Why had she waited so long? They adopted Yanmei. Why had she been hesitating? She retired. There was no point on seeking Toph's approval. They had children, and the world celebrated the new airbenders. She and Suyin made up and all their children played together. It was all so wonderful. . . and then a visitor stopped by.
"I tried to warn you." The woman said.
"Warn me about what?" Lin asked, as she bounced a fussing baby on her shoulder.
"I told you that you carry the future of an entire nation."
"Yes, I do -quite literally." Lin replied, more focused on calming the baby, who's cries grew louder.
"I warned you that you would lose all that you care about."
Lin felt a chill run through her and finally focused on the woman's face.
"Aunt Jun?"
Suddenly, she heard a scream.
"Ting Ting!" Lin called, running away to go find her daughter.
She raced through the island and saw several of her children running towards her. When did she have all the these children? What were their names?
"What's going on? Where are you sisters?"
"At the beach! A lady came out of the water and grabbed them!"
Lin handed the baby to the oldest boy.
"Take your siblings back to the house!" She commanded, unable to remember if the baby was a boy of girl.
Lin ran to beach and was horrified to see Rina. Her jet black hair was tangled around her face that was no longer tan, but grey. Her eyes, once full of mischief and laughter were now those of a monster as she looked up from the auburn haired girl she dragged into the sea.
"This is your fault." She said.
"NO!" Lin screamed.
She yelled at the girls on the beach to go back to the house as she ran into the water. She noticed a raven-haired girl was already following Yanmei into the water, and yelled at her to go back. She waded deeper and deeper into the water until she had to swim. Rina had pushed Yanmei under the waves and disappeared. Lin swam under the water and searched for her. It was so hard to see, but eventually she saw that bright hair drifting further down and swam to her. She struggled to drag Yanmei back to the surface, but refused to give up.
On the shore she realized that Yanmei was neither conscious nor breathing. She wasted no time in attempting to resuscitate her, but Yanmei did not wake.
"HELP!" Lin screamed. "SOMEBODY HELP!"
"It's no use." Aunt Jun said. "You should have listened to me."
Lin looked up and saw the fortune teller standing over her with a bloody knife. Her eyes were wide and she shook as she looked at the dripping blood and wondered who it belonged to.
"It had to happen." Aunt Jun said.
Lin finally saw the victim.
"ANKITA!" She screamed in horror as she ran to a small raven-haired girl lying in a pool of her own blood.
She desperately checked for any signs of life but could not find any.
"No, no, no!" She cried pathetically. "Wake up sweetie! Please! WAKE UP!"
She looked up at Aunt Jun with tears in her eyes.
"WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!"
"I told you. It had to happen."
Suddenly she heard something drop on the sand and looked over to see that Rina had dropped the first raven-haired girl next to Yanmei.
"TING TING!" Lin yelled, running to her.
How had she forgotten about her?
"This is a good thing." Aunt Jun said.
"Why? Why? No, Ting Ting, please wake up. Why didn't you listen to me?" Lin begged the child pathetically.
"Why didn't you listen to me?" Aunt Jun asked.
Suddenly Lin smelled smoke and hear more screams. She looked up and saw flames rising into air, from up above. The buildings were on fire, and the children were all inside, so was her husband and sister. . . everyone she cared about.
"Mom."
Lin looked back and saw Yanmei's eyes open and staring at her lifelessly as she spoke.
"Mom. . . Mom, I'm hungry."
Lin looked at the corpse in confusion.
"Mom, please wake up, I'm really hungry."
Lin woke up and saw Yanmei, alive and begging her for food. She began reaching for her face to make sure she was real, but stopped and retracted her hand when Yanmei flinched. She stared at Yanmei in confusion.
"Yanmei?"
"Are you mad?" The girl asked in confusion.
"No. . . I just. . . I told you not to call me that."
"Sorry, Chief." The girl said in disappointment.
"What time is it?" Lin asked.
"I don't know."
Right. Yanmei had never been taught to read a clock. Lin sat up and looked at the clock on the nightstand. That was weird.
"Why are you waking me up? Shouldn't Tenzin have made you breakfast by now?"
"He isn't back yet." Yanmei said.
What the flameo was going on? Why was Tenzin not back from meditation?
"Go get your coat on while I get dressed. I'm taking you to the dining hall."
"Yes, Chief." Yanmei said, obediently leaving the room.
Lin put on a simple green shirt and black pants. She left her hair in a braid and went downstairs to meet Yanmei. After slipping a light coat on, she walked Yanmei to the dining hall. Upon scanning the hall, Lin noted that Tenzin was not there. She filled a plate for Yanmei and asked the elderly Xing Ying if she could watch her and make sure she did not eat more than Lin had served her. The abbess agreed and Lin went off to search for Tenzin.
Using her seismic sense made him easy to locate. He was close by and Lin was very irate to notice that he was not alone, but with a woman. After trying to convince her to marry him and adopt Yanmei, he shirks his duties to spend time with another woman? Maybe it was something important, but what could be so important that he would let Yanmei go hungry?
Lin swiftly made her way to the gazebo by the men's dormitory, where she found Tenzin with a female acolyte. Their backs were turned to her, but Lin was fairly certain that the acolyte was Pema, who Lin recalled had been talking to Tenzin by the bonfire last night. She had a sinking feeling in her gut and softened her footsteps so they wouldn't hear her.
". . .hard to believe this is really happening." Tenzin said. "I truly believed she would reconsider."
"There's no need to feel guilty, Tenzin. You've given her everything, but. . ."
"I know. I know." Tenzin said mournfully. "You were right, but I just didn't want to believe it. . . it's probably for the best. Like you said, we would probably struggle to have children and Lin pointed out that both our jobs would get in the way of raising children. . . ."
Lin felt her eyes prickle as she realized what was happening. Tenzin was finally leaving her. She knew it was coming. She had prepared herself for it, so why. . . why did it still hurt?
"I want one more day with her and Yanmei. I'll break it off tomorrow."
"No, Tenzin. You need to do it, now, otherwise you'll get your hopes again and lose your nerve."
Why did she know longer call him Master Tenzin? When did the two of them become so close?
"I. . ." Tenzin sighed and dropped his head. "I hate when you're right. . . . There's just one last thing. . . ."
"What is it?"
"I know you have your reservations about Yanmei, but she's happy here, and Lin doesn't want her. . . I'd like to adopt her. Is that okay with you?"
The woman reached out and held his hand.
"Of course." She said, far too sweetly. "I think it's wonderful that you want to help her."
"Do you think you'd be able to take Yanmei on a walk while I speak with Lin?"
"Yes, Tenzin. Anything to help."
"So this is it, then?" Lin asked, angrily.
Tenzin and Pema practically jumped out of their skins before turning to face her. Pema looked terrified, she clearly had not meant to be caught by Lin. Tenzin, on the hand, looked horrified and heartbroken as he looked at Lin.
"You were just gonna have your little girlfriend take Yanmei on a walk without feeding her, while you wake me up and kick me off the island?"
"Lin, no. That's not what's going on!" Tenzin said frantically.
"Then tell me what is going on, because it seems very clear from where I'm standing!"
"I'm not kicking you off the island, Lin."
"But you are breaking up with me."
"I. . ." Tenzin paused and looked as though he was fighting back tears. "Yes, I am."
Lin felt something in her break. Tenzin was breaking up with her. It was really happening, and just as Aunt Jun said, he already had a new girlfriend lined up to take her place. A lifetime together, and he replaces her that easily. Lin felt sorrow and anger building up inside her.
"You can still stay on the island and visit whenever you like. It's just as much your home as it is mine."
Lin let out a bitter laugh.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure your little girlfriend would love that." She said sarcastically. "Would you like that Pema? Would you like me to visit all the time?"
"She's not my girlfriend." Tenzin corrected.
Lin let out another laugh that scared the couple.
"Oh, I'm sorry. How silly of me! How could I forget? You're too pious to do things the wrong way. You have to break up with me and then she'll be your girlfriend. How long were you planning to wait? A day?"
"We. . . we hadn't decided that yet." Pema squeaked out.
"So you have discussed it." Lin confirmed.
Tenzin gulped and Pema looked up at him to determine how scared she should be.
"Lin. . . it's not. . . please, it's not like that."
"Not like what, Tenzin?!" Lin half screamed. "You're breaking up with me, replacing me with a. . . How old are you?" She asked Pema.
"Twenty-one." Pema squeaked out with a hint of smugness.
"Twenty-one? TWENTY-ONE?!" Lin exclaimed before looking at Tenzin. "We've been dating longer than she's been alive!"
"She's an adult and she understands my duties."
"And I don't?" Lin asked. "I've supported you in your duties more than you'll ever know! So don't you dare accuse me of not understanding!"
"I need to have children, Lin! You know I need to have children, and you used to say that you would have them, but you changed your mind and I've finally accepted that!"
Lin felt her eyes prickling again. She tried. She had tried to have his children. She tried to prove Aunt Jun wrong, but she had failed every single time. Lin's chin began to quiver.
"So this is it?" She asked, choking back tears. "You're really leaving."
"Lin-" Tenzin said with concern.
"Just like the rest of them."
Lin tried to push back the tears. She would not cry -especially not in front of Pema. No, she would not give them the satisfaction. Tenzin knew Lin well enough to also know that she would not cry. He stepped forward and reached out to her.
Lin stomped on the ground and a crack began forming and moving towards the gazebo. Tenzin stepped back, and the crack stopped. Lin looked at Pema clinging to Tenzin in fear and something snapped inside her.
"Lin! NO!" Tenzin cried as she stomped on the ground.
Cracks began running up the gazebo. Pema screamed in terror and Tenzin pulled her out before the gazebo broke into pieces and crashed. The three of them stared at the rubble for a minute before they looked up and made eye contact over it.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Pema screamed.
Lin felt a rush of satisfaction.
"You destroyed my world. It's only fair that I destroy yours." Lin replied.
"Lin, please, be reasonable!" Tenzin called. "This isn't like you!"
Lin scoffed.
"I think it's exactly like me!" Lin replied.
"I'm hot headed!"
She pulled up a paving stone and punched it at Tenzin, who pulled Pema with him as he dodged.
"I'm ill tempered! I'm violent! I'm too stubborn!" Sending more earth flying at Tenzin after every exclamation. "Nothing I do is ever good enough! I couldn't give you what you want, so you're throwing me away and replacing me with a perfect little acolyte girl!"
"Pema, run! I'll try to talk to her!"
Pema ran, but Lin stomped on the ground and created a bump to trip her. Tenzin jumped in the air, landed behind Lin and wrapped his arms around her. Lin broke from his grip and turned to face him with fury in her eyes, as Pema got back up and escaped.
"Lin, please. Let's just talk. We can still be friends."
"No. . . we can't." Lin said as a tear escaped her eye. "How could we ever be friends again?"
"Because that's what we've always been."
"Friends? That's all we were?"
"That's not what I meant, Lin. I love you. I always-"
"STOP LYING TO ME!" Lin screamed as she stomped on the ground again.
The ground began to open up and Tenzin jumped high in the air to avoid falling into the newly formed crevice. From there, Lin lost control. She ripped chunks out of the ground, slamming them into buildings and trees. White Lotus members tried to stop her, but they were no match for her fury and were easily thrown to the side. She destroyed the men's dormitory, damaged the temple, razed the paths and half the training grounds, and began making her way through the woods, raining down destruction as she went.
She finally made it to the meditation pavilion. . . her favorite place in the world. The cold autumn winds whipped through her hair as she remembered so many happy moments here. Memories of Aang showing her the view and offering council. Her play wedding with Tenzin as children. Picnics with their dolls, and later Suyin. All the nights gazing up at the stars with the man she loved, and sleeping in his arms. So many moments she would never experience again.
"Lin. . ." Tenzin called tentatively.
"You proposed to me here." She said in a choked voice.
"Multiple times. . . but you rejected me."
"I had to. . ."
"Why?" Tenzin asked desperately.
Aunt Jun's warnings echoed through her head again.
"Because I do understand." Lin said.
"Then you need to understand why I have to do this."
"She can't have this." Lin said.
"What are you talking about?"
"She can have you. She can have your children, and your family, the island, and the house, but. . . not this. . . not this place. . . ." Lin said as she raised her foot.
"Lin, what are you-"
Lin stomped on the ground and spikes of earth shot up from under the pavilion, destroying the wooden planks.
"Stop!"
She stomped again and moved her arms as if she was ripping the air. The earth beneath the pavilion cracked in two. The pavilion broke apart and Lin watched as pieces of it fell into the sea. It felt as though she was watching a part of herself disappearing beneath the waves.
"Why- Why would you. . . . You loved this place."
"Pema can't have it."
"That's no reason! Our parents built all of this together and you-"
Tenzin froze as the smell of smoke drifted up to them. They both looked down the hill in horror as they saw smoke rising in the air. Lin felt a chill run down her spine, as she remembered her nightmare and the girl in her care. Lin and Tenzin both raced down the hill, using their bending to move as fast as possible.
It was pure chaos as they exited the woods. Acolytes and White Lotus sentries were running around the rubble, trying to tend to the wounded and escape the flames that were further back. Lin and Tenzin raced towards the flames, screaming Yanmei's name.
"Over here!" A sentry called. "The water and fire benders have done their best to contain the flames, but she's not calming down!"
Lin followed him and soon heard Yanmei screaming at someone.
"NO! I WANT LIN!" She screamed.
"I'm sorry, Yanmei, she's not coming back!" Pema replied.
"Stop saying that!" Xing Ying snapped, holding the child close to her, despite a burn on her arm.
"It's true!" Pema argued. "You saw-"
"Shut your trap!" Lin snapped at Pema.
"CHIEF!" Yanmei cried running to her and giving her a hug.
Somebody must have doused her in water because she was soaking wet, Lin noticed as she wrapped her arms around the child.
"It's okay, I'm right here."
"She said you were leaving!" Yanmei cried.
"I. . ."
"Master Tenzin, what is going on?!" Xing Ying demanded. "Pema started spouting off nonsense about you breaking up with Lin!"
"I'm afraid she's telling the truth." Tenzin admitted.
"What? Why?" Xing Ying asked before turning on Pema. "What did you do?!"
"It's true?" Yanmei asked, looking up at Lin with tears in her eyes.
Lin crouched down to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry. I didn't. . ." Lin paused and choked back a tear. "I have to leave, but you don't. Tenzin wants to adopt you."
"NO!" Yanmei screamed. "I want you!"
"I. . . I can't. . . I told you that I can't keep you. You'll be. . . Tenzin will take care of you."
She did not like the thought of Pema raising Yanmei, but she knew it was better than sending her to an orphanage, and this way, the prophecy could be fulfilled without Yanmei losing her life.
"Will you come back?"
"No. . . I can't. I don't think his new girlfriend would like that."
Yanmei looked confused.
"That lady?" She asked, looking back at Pema.
"What did you do?" Xing Ying asked Pema in a low, menacing voice.
"Nothing!" Pema exclaimed defensively.
"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME, PEMA!"
"Pema did nothing wrong." Tenzin said.
Lin scoffed.
"Lin, please." Tenzin begged.
Lin stood up and glared at him.
"Fine. I'll keep your secrets. I always do." She said, bitterly. "Take care of Yanmei."
She tried to walk away but Yanmei grabbed her arm.
"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME!"
Tenzin crouched down to Yanmei's level.
"Yanmei. I know this is difficult and I'm really sorry that this all happened, but you don't have to leave. Pema and I will adopt you, and I'll take you to visit Lin."
Yanmei looked back and forth between her two caretakers. Lin bent down and eased her arm out of Yanmei's tiny hands.
"It's okay, kid. Tenzin will take good care of you."
"And so will I." Pema said, kindly as she approached Yanmei. "I'm excited to be your mother."
In the blink of an eye, Yanmei sent a flame flying towards Pema. Tenzin used his bending to blow it out before it reached her, but Pema was still horrified.
"Why did you do that?!" She cried. "I want to help you!"
Yanmei shook her head.
"I don't want you!" She cried.
"Yanmei." Tenzin said, reaching out to her.
Yanmei slapped his hand away.
"I wanna go with Lin."
"You can't stay with me." Lin said. "I'm too busy for a kid."
"I don't care!"
"If you stay here, you'll have a home and parents." Lin explained. "If you come with me, it will only be until I can find you a new home, and I can't guarantee you'll be adopted. Do you still wanna come with me?"
Yanmei nodded.
"Yanmei, you don't understand what that will mean." Tenzin argued.
Yanmei glared at him.
"I hate you." She told him angrily.
Tenzin was taken aback, so Pema decided to step in.
"I think you're just worked up over everything that's happened." She said, nervously, as she reached out and pulled Yanmei to her. "Let's go get you a change of clothes and something to eat."
"Let me go!" Yanmei yelled. "I hate you! I hate you!"
"Let go of her, Pema." Lin warned.
"You should really be going, Chief Beifong." Pema said, as she struggled to keep her grip on the thrashing child.
"For Yangchen's sake, Pema! Let the child go!" Xing Ying snapped.
"No! Tenzin is adopting her!"
"Let her go or I'll arrest you!" Lin warned.
"For what?!"
"Kidnapping!"
"What?! I'm not-"
Pema screamed and let go of Yanmei, who had set her sleeve on fire. Tenzin pushed her down and shoved her arm in a puddle to put out the flame.
"I think that for now, we can all agree that it would be best for Yanmei to come with me." Lin said. "I'll send someone to get our stuff."
"You can't-"
"You've done enough, Tenzin!" Lin snapped. "If Yanmei changes her mind, I'll send her back. Until then, you have a lot of repairs to do."
Tenzin sighed in resignation.
"Fine, but please don't shut me out of your life."
"You made your choice." Lin sneered. "I'm not gonna sit front row to watch your life with that little thief."
"I'm not a-"
"Can it, Pema!" Lin snapped.
"I-"
"Quiet, Pema!" Xing Ying hissed.
Pema stopped talking and Lin took Yanmei's hand.
"Let's go, kid." She said.
With every step Lin took, she felt her world shatter a little more. Tenzin was right, Air Temple Island was her home. She had spent so much of her life on that island, and knew every nook and cranny of it. It was her solace and stability, but now it was gone, along with the man she loved. How was she supposed to live without Tenzin and the island? She wanted to crumble into a ball and cry, but for Yanmei's sake she kept walking.
For the next two weeks, she distracted herself with work and Yanmei. Though Lin did her best to hide her pain, the girl saw it and did her best to cheer her up. Lin appreciated Yanmei's efforts, but did not think it was good for her to be worrying about such things, so she arranged outings to take both their minds off of their troubles. She was still heartbroken, but with no time to herself and responsibilities to attend to, she was able to distract herself from it until the day that Shu Fang's contacts came through. She had found an orphanage that was willing to take Yanmei in exchange for large donations. Shu Fang made an attempt to convince her to keep the girl, but Lin, still plagued by nightmares of Yanmei dying, stood her ground.
It was raining when Lin dropped Yanmei off at the orphanage. It was a decent place, but still not what Lin had hoped for. She was tempted to change her mind, but knew she could not. Yanmei cried as Lin walked away to embrace her destiny of solitude.
She returned to her empty home and found herself disturbed by the silence. There was nobody there but her, and that was how it would be forever more. Rina, Suki, Aang, and so many comrades were dead. Shu Fang would soon return to Ba Sing Se. Her family was gone, and Tenzin. . . he had abandoned her, and taken what little semblance of family she had left. She had known for years that her destiny was to be alone, and though she accepted it, it did not take away the pain she felt. She was truly alone now, and with no one to witness her crumble, she let her emotions go. She screamed, she cried, and she destroyed until she had no energy left and dropped to the ground, sobbing. She fell asleep, there on the ground, knowing that she would have to wake up and carry on for the city that needed her.
After years of perfectionist induced writer's block, I suddenly typed this out in just a few days. A part of me wants to see if I can make this chapter better or more succinct, but I know that would just lead to another two years of waiting. There is one more chapter, and hopefully, it will not take two years to write.