Disclaimer: None of the ATLA characters are my property. I claim only my OC's.
Kitsu's eyes shot open as she drew in a sharp breath. The room around her was strange and dimly lit. The smell of cherry blossoms surrounded her in warmth and peace but panic rushed through her veins none the less.
"Hush, my lady. You are safe." An older woman cooed gently from beside her. Kitsu tried to move, to get away but her muscles felt like jelly and she hardly managed to lift her arm off the bed she found herself in. "Steady now, you'll feel weak for a few days." The woman daubed Kitsu's forehead with a cool cloth as her eyes searched the room frantically. Dongmei watched as the girl blinked slowly, her eyes darting about frantically. Lady Beifong swallowed roughly, confirming the old healer's suspicions that she was badly dehydrated.
"W-where?" Kitsu's voice came out as thin and quiet as a river reed. She could hardly recognize it as her own. Swallowing made her throat chafe and burn in protest as she struggled to regain the power of speech. Dongmei's brow creased in sympathy for the poor girl. Now that her peculiar eyes were open the dark purple bags beneath each was puffy and starkly visible. The poor thing looked like death, and had probably been close enough to it to kiss the reaper's cheek.
"You are in the home of Lord Gumo. Your husband and uncle brought you from a farm not far from here. Lord Lee is bathing now but I can fetch him if you like." The woman's gentle voice echoed in Kitsu's ears as she struggled to comprehend what the woman was saying. Husband? Did she have a husband? No that wasn't right. The woman frowned at her confusion and shook her head. "You are lucky to be alive, Lady Beifong… " The woman turned to a tall girl Kitsu had not noticed before and spoke. "Chen, call for the young lord. He will be happy to know his wife is awake." The lovely girl nodded solemnly and rushed to the far side of the room, her pale green kimono flowing behind her like a ribbon. Kitsu's head was pounding like giant badger moles were tunneling through it. She swallowed once more as panic rose in her throat like bile and made her choke.
Kitsu's leg throbbed dully and seared with pain when she tried to move it, making her croak out a mangled yelp. A door slammed open across the room and in an instant there was a young man by her side, with wet hair falling into his face and an half open robe thrown haphazardly over his pale shoulders.
"You're alive." He blurted out awkwardly, but she could see the depth of relief plain on his face. She squinted at him, trying desperately to recognize the amber eyes that were boring into her, but she could not. Could it be true? Was this handsome, young man her husband? She couldn't remember. How could she not remember? She felt her cheeks grow hot as she gazed into his eyes and looked away. Those eyes were just like her fathers. Flashes of a memory danced in her mind. Was it a dream? The smell of Jasmine and leather were shoved from her mind as the pungent smell of patchouli filled her senses.
Zuko watched as she looked at him in utter confusion before looking at the floor flushed. "What's wrong?" He didn't like how dazed she looked, but it was to be expected after being out for so long. What really scared him was the complete lack of familiarity in the way she looked at him. It was like she'd never seen him before. Maybe they hadn't known eachother very long, but after everything that had happened she had to recognize him didn't she?
"Do not be alarmed, my lord. She may not have her memory, it is common with this poison, you must be patient with her." Dongmei answered calmly. "She should remember in time."
Zuko's eyes widened in shock as he looked from the old healer to Kitsu. She would not meet his gaze. Her eyes burned holes into the walnut floorboards as though she could scare the answers out of the wood grain if she looked hard enough.
"You can only reassure her and show her affection until she remembers. I will leave you to speak with your wife. Chen will be outside if you need anything." Dongmei lurched to her feet, careful of her stiff joints, and waved for her eldest daughter to leave the young couple in peace.
"You mean she doesn't remember me!?" Zuko snapped as he watched the old woman hobble across the room. "What am I supposed to tell her!?" Dongmei glared at him over her shoulder with a thin set to her lips.
"To start you can quit speaking like she can't hear you. You can figure the rest out yourself!" Dongmei gave an aggravated grunt and left the room with her daughter in tow. Zuko reddened as though he'd taken a firm slap and turned to find a pair of harlequin eyes glaring at him.
Zuko swallowed and straightened his posture, considering Kitsune silently as he puzzled over what to say. Before he could speak she tore her eyes away from him and sat forward with a pained shiver. The sight made Zuko wince. One of Kitsu's tanned arms threw the comforter off of her legs and the other gently probed the sticky, honey soaked bandages. Zuko watched broodingly as her nose curled in revulsion and she looked away towards the rice paper window.
"How long was I out." The ragged anger in her voice startled Zuko when she spoke. He'd never heard her sound so dark. Although he couldn't say he would sound any more pleasant if he were in her position.
"Almost three days." Zuko figured he would allow her to ask questions at her own pace. It would save him the mental gymnastics of figuring out what to tell her. Kitsu's strange mismatched eyes slid away from the window and pinned him to his spot once again. He couldn't decipher what she was thinking as green and gold flashed at him mysteriously. Had he missed the silent tension? Zuko couldn't tell, but all the same he was deeply relieved. Kitsu absorbed the information the young man provided, becoming more and more agitated by the moment.
From the looks of it, she had indeed been poisoned with gu. The sharp aroma of boiled viper's kiss permeated the room. Three days unconscious was more than enough to cause memory loss, so she had little choice but to believe what she was told, even if it seemed impossible.
"And you are supposed to be my husband?" The bite to her words was unnerving. Zuko had no choice but to lie until she remembered everything. He did not allow himself to wonder how long that might take. The whole situation was absurd.
"Yes." Even to his own ears he didn't sound convincing. Did Kitsu's eyebrow twitch or was it a trick of the dim firelight?
"Get out." Kitsu growled lowly. The anger in her stomach was roiling and threatened to pull her under the wave of nausea that broke over her. Zuko clenched his jaw and took a step back in surprise.
"No." He answered firmly. "I'm not going anywhere. I didn't sit over your lifeless body for days just to be thrown out when you wake up." Zuko felt a flame building in his belly that was fierce and volatile. Suddenly he was the imperial prince he was raised to be. Straight backed and unmoving, he watched her face pinch into one of sheer frustration.
"I said get out!" Kitsu shrieked at him as she raised a clenched fist. Zuko could feel the heat building in her hand just as clearly as if he'd lit it himself. In one strike, fast as a sparrow vipers bite, he had her fist clenched firmly within his own. Zuko's eyes flickered in the warm light as he glared down at Kitsune who returned his fury in equal measures of green and gold.
"Do you want to get us killed!?" He hissed between his teeth. "If they see you firebending there is no telling what they will do!" Zuko watched as Kitsu's eyes widened for a split second, in shock or anger he couldn't tell. She shoved towards him and shook off his grasp. The fiery, stubborn girl was strong, even in her weakened state.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped back. "And I don't know you!" Somewhere in the back of her mind a memory clawed at her thoughts, desperately trying to make its way to the surface, but the more it struggled the angrier she became.
"You have to try!" Zuko barked back as he sat on the bed next to her and captured her hands once more. Kitsu shrunk away from him but he wouldn't let her get away. She didn't like the way this strange man was handling her and she had no clue what to do. Her body was too weak to put up a real fight. Kitsu dodged his heated glare and tried to look anywhere else but at his eyes. "Look at me!" He demanded firmly. Kitsu started and pressed her body deeper into the plush pillow as she slowly forced herself to look into the two amber pools that glowed at her in the low light. She swallowed thickly as her cheeks heated and a strange queasiness settled in her stomach. The ferocity in his eyes was bellied by a look of concern. Harsh scar tissue that curled around his left eye was barely visible beneath his mop of jet black hair that lay in a sopping mess against his forehead. He appeared somehow endearing and violently aggravating all at once.
"What do you want from me?" Kitsu's voice was smaller, almost desperate, and she focussed on the sensation of his hot, rough hands encircling hers. She couldn't remember a man ever holding her hand, or sitting so very close. It was all foreign and she didn't have a single clue how to respond. As her memory served, she lived alone in her cozy little compound with no one but Poki and her sheep pigs as company. She remembered hard hands and cruel words; none of her memories were firm and gentle in this way, except of course, memories of her parents.
"I want you to try to remember." Zuko squeezed her hands as his eyes swept over the bandages that spanned from her ankle to the top of her calf. "You need to remember."
Zuko's mind raced as he digested the facts of his current situation. What in the fuck was he going to do now!? He watched her swallow painfully and look around as if she was trying to think of what to say. Zuko realized that she must be more confused than he was.
"How are you feeling?" He asked dumbly. It was the best he could come up with. Even though Kitsu still seemed suspicious of him, she had visibly relaxed as he held her hands tightly. She didn't move to take them away, so he continued to hold them in hopes it would help keep her calm.
"W-weak." Kitsu mumbled. The sound of her voice so frail and quiet made his stomach twist with guilt. Her outburst had taken a lot out of her. She seemed to struggle with herself before she swallowed once more and tried to speak. "Your…-name?" She could barely croak out the words. Zuko's hopes fell as she looked at him apologetically.
"My name is Z-... Lee." He caught himself, before revealing his true name. If she did not remember him, she would not remember the need for secrecy. Kitsu nodded slowly and took a shallow breath.
Zuko watched her as she puzzled over something and rubbed the back of his damp neck anxiously. He'd never planned for this. Kitsu tussled with the comforter for a moment in an effort to move her arms, before she pointed weekly at him then herself. "We're really M-married?" She croaked. She looked just as lost as he was. Zuko thought he saw a glimmer of disbelief in her eyes and felt a strange tug in his chest at the thought.
Zuko felt his cheeks heat up and swallowed as he nodded. He felt rotten for lying to her, especially a lie so big, but what choice did he have? Kitsu stared at him, in shock or confusion he couldn't tell.
Cautiously, she lifted her right arm towards his face, pausing when he flinched away from her. Zuko froze, not sure what to do as she gently pushed his wet hair back, revealing the raised pink flesh of his scar. Her hand shook as she stroked his marred cheek, but she did not recoil and he did not push her away. He felt like he was suddenly made of stone as the sensation of her delicate touch shook him to his core. Zuko couldn't take it. Suddenly he grabbed her wrist and carefully pulled her hand away, being certain not to harm her. Kitsu turned red and looked down apologetically.
"Sorry." She whispered. Her apology made Zuko grit his teeth and drop her hand. Years of shame and anger reared its ugly head as he turned away from her.
"I've always been this way." Zuko snapped back. "If it offends you now, just say so!" He knew his anger was illogical, but it did nothing to quench the raging fire in his belly. He'd never let anyone touch him like that, not ever. Even Iroh had never touched the wound that was a daily reminder of his deep, unshakeable shame. Like a bad dream the vision of his father's flaming palm descending on his face ripped through his mind.
"N-no!" Kitsu yelped in surprise. The strange man who was her husband faced his back to her, trembling with anger. She could see the strong line of his shoulders through the thin silk of his robe as he clenched his fists. He was tall and extremely strong from what she could tell. How deeply did he know her? How many tender moments and loving gestures had she forgotten? Kitsu's mind spun at the thought that she could forget someone as dear to her as a husband.
Sharp eyes caught sight of the bandages on his hand and she frowned. She reached out and gripped his sleeve, pulling the injured limb closer. A simple shake of his arm would have dislodged her weakened grasp, but he allowed her to turn him and examine the damp wrappings. Zuko scowled at the floor as she delicately surveyed his wounded arm. How was he going to deal with this-this intimacy. He could hardly handle her when she hated him and now she would be confused.
"I.." Kitsu began but stopped and bit her lip. "I'm sorry I don't remember." She cleared her throat and tried her best to speak clearly but she felt as though she hadn't had a drink in days. Zuko clenched his jaw and said nothing. What was he to say? Of course she didn't remember having a husband! She didn't!
"It's fine." He growled, still quaking like a komodo-rhino under too much weight. How had he gotten himself tangled up in this mess!? What mistake had he made that had caused the slippery descent into this ridiculous situation?
"I'm not good at this sort of thing." Kitsu mumbled. Zuko turned and looked at her in cautious surprise as his words from the moonlit night by the lake were spoken back to him. Had it really been less than a week ago? What was he supposed to say to that? Why did she have to sound so vulnerable? Had he sounded like that when he said it? Questions flew through his mind rapid fire as he watched her chew on her bottom lip. She began gently drawing circles on his injured palm with her slim fingers as she thought, forcing him to control an involuntary shiver. "I don't know how I managed to fool someone into thinking I was wife material." She coughed from the strain of speaking and Zuko winced at the sound. His anger wavered but he clung to it for lack of any clue what else to feel. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away from her. He owed it to her to at least put up with this until she remembered. Then she could go right back to hating him and everything would be normal again.
"I'm hardly husband material. So maybe you didn't have to fool anybody." He grumbled back with a shrug. He glanced at Kitsu from the corner of his eye and was surprised to see a small smile on her lips. Zuko peeled his eyes away from her and picked up a small cup of water that was set on the bedside. "Here, you need to drink something." He held the cup out to her while looking at the floor and was relieved when she stopped stroking his hand to accept it. He took a seat in the chair where he'd gotten a few moments of rest and deliberately allowed his hair to fall into his face once more. The unnerving tenderness of her touch left him feeling naked and vulnerable somehow.
Kitsu watched Lee as she took a sip of water. The moment it hit her throat she realized just how thirsty she was and gulped it down. "Is there more?" She asked, sounding a bit clearer. Zuko nodded and took the cup from her to fill it.
Kitsu observed him closely, taking in the hard line of his jaw, as much as the grace he moved with. "How old are you?" She asked as she accepted her second cup of water. The cool china felt soothing in her weak grasp and the pungent smell of patchouli tickled her nose. It felt weird to go from anger to acceptance so quickly, but she had little choice. She felt like she'd stepped into a dream. How many times had she wished for a normal life and a handsome husband? It felt too surreal. How could she forget something like that?
"Nineteen." Zuko answered shortly. Kitsu nodded thoughtfully and winced as she attempted to shift her leg. It felt dead and heavy, making her hesitant to look at it any closer.
"How long have we-?" Kitsu accepted the cup once more and gulped it quickly before finishing her sentence.
"Hey slow down, you'll get sick if you drink too fast." Zuko chided grumpily. Kitsu shrugged and lowered the cup into her lap.
Her husband was a grumpy irritable man by the looks of it, but there was an edge of care hidden deep beneath his roughness. It was hidden in the wrinkle of his brow, and the frowning set of his thin lips. With her index finger tapping the rim of the cup gently she gave him a thorough once over. He looked ragged, and worn thin, but beneath the raw exhaustion she could see refinement that couldn't be found in a small village. He had the sort of grace and form that was nurtured in palaces, and Dongmei had referred to him as a lord.
"You didn't answer my question." Kitsu murmured as she realized he was studying her just as closely. Amber eyes flashed at her with keen intelligence.
"Not long." Zuko hoped he could skirt vaguely around the issue without having to bury himself in more lies. Kitsu nodded and looked around the room once more.
"You're not going to surprise me with children I don't remember right?" Kitsu asked in sudden horror. Zuko nearly choked and shook his head furiously.
"No. No we don't have those." Even the idea that he was old enough to have a child petrified him. He had cousins who would have little snotty goblins running around already, but he was happy at least that being a fugitive left little time for making those mistakes.
"Thank the Spirits." Kitsu released a breath. If she had forgotten that she would be devastated. "This is like a weird dream… Waking up to all this." She waved her hand absently at him.
"I barely remember what dreams feel like." Zuko mumbled as he rubbed his eye and stifled a yawn. Kitsu's brows knit together and she frowned.
"Were you really awake for three days watching over me?" She asked gently. Zuko scoffed and attempted to roll his head in a circle to loosen his shoulders.
"More like five days." He grumbled.
"But I thought I was only out for three?" Kitsu couldn't imagine being awake for five days. How was he even speaking coherently? "Why were you not sleeping before that?"
Zuko scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "We were fighting I guess." He grumbled lowly. Kitsu frowned and looked down at the cup in her hand.
"I'm sorry." Kitsu took a brief sip of water to soothe her angry throat and cleared it quietly.
"Don't be." Zuko answered, suddenly staring at his bare feet on the dark wooden floor. "I'm the one who messed up."
"It's honorable of you to admit that." Kitsu watched as Zuko rubbed the back of his neck again, no doubt trying to soothe a sore muscle. His eyes slid up from the floor and grabbed her as he absorbed her words.
"For what it's worth… I do think you're pretty." Zuko didn't know why he was saying it, but the second he did he felt a small weight lift off his shoulders. Maybe it was that the days without sleep, or the miles of travel had made him crazy. Kitsu's unusual eyes went wide and she stayed perfectly still, staring at him as though he'd said something she'd never heard before. A single tear slipped down her cheek before he realized she was beginning to cry.
"Wait, no, why are you crying?" Zuko stood from the chair and moved to sit on the bed next to her, an action that surprised himself more than anyone.
Kitsu swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head as she swiped at the traitorous tear that spilled out. "I'm just being stupid...Th-thank you."
Zuko frowned and let a pregnant silence fall between them as he watched her thumb the hem of the comforter while she sniffled. Zuko felt anger sizzle in his chest at the fact that such a simple compliment could move her to tears. As lonely as he had been, at least he'd had his uncle. Kitsune had survived in solitude. Zuko watched as Kitsu's hand wandered up to her mess of hair and she suddenly groaned.
"My hair is a rat's nest!" She grumbled as she drew her braid from behind her and surveyed the lumpy mass of knots it had become.
"I can get on of the servants to help you." Zuko offered, but the instant he began to move she gripped his good hand tightly.
"No please don't." Kitsu's eyes were glued to the door that lead into the hallway. "I-I don't know them. I don't like strangers." Kitsu's turned and looked at Lee pleadingly. Thus far he had been kind to her, if a little bit moody. She didn't want anymore strangers poking and prodding at her. Zuko nodded, unwilling to question her fear. So many new faces were uniquely terrifying to the recluse before him, and sadly, he could understand. He nodded calmly and looked about the room for a solution.
"There is a comb and hair oils in the bathroom. I'll get them for you." Zuko stood, tightening his robe about him as he did. "It will take me a moment to dress, then I'll be back. I'm not going anywhere." Zuko watched as Kitsu nodded appreciatively before turning on his heel and striding across the room.
His bathwater was, by now, luke warm and barely steaming. He peeled off the thin silk robe he'd thrown on and hung it on a hook on the wall. It was odd, pulling on the loose, silk trousers of an earth kingdom nobleman. A linen undershirt and silk tunic that reached his knees were the final pieces to his ruse. Without looking in the mirror Zuko took up the comb and hair oils that had been left in the washroom for him.
"Here." Lee said as he reentered the room. He held out a fine toothed bone handled comb to her and she took it as soon as it was within reach.
"Thank you." Kitsu began to hastily pull the comb through the very tips of her braid, beginning from the bottom. "That outfit suits you." She added. Zuko sat in his cushioned chair and watched as Kitsu weakly struggled with the comb.
"You think so?" He answered flatly as she began to work at a particularly large knot holding the binding of her braid in place. The strip of woven cloth had been absorbed by the braid and was putting up a proper fight.
"It makes you look regal." She said with a flash of a friendly smile. It seemed to Zuko that she had relaxed a bit. Zuko chuckled sarcastically as he watched her struggle. Regal was about as far from his self image as possible. As the moments passed Kitsu became more and more frustrated with her hair. She absolutely hated detangling a mess and seeing it in such a state made her unbelievable self conscious.
"Here." Zuko plucked the comb from her hand as she growled at the stubborn knot and slipped his slender fingers around her braid. With the comb in hand he took up one of the bottles of hair oil and poured some onto the comb. Jasmine and Lavender tickled both their noses as he began to massage the oil into her braid and gently untangle it with deft strokes of the comb. "It doesn't help if you get impatient." He mumbled as the knot slipped a bit looser. As he tended to her hair, memories of his mother slipped to the forefront of his mind. She would let him comb her long ebony hair as they sat in the garden. For once he did not force the sweet memories from his mind. Instead he reminisced as they fell into a comfortable silence. Kitsu watched as he combed her hair, not missing the tiny quirk of a smile that ghosted over Lee's stern face. She was shocked that his attentions did not make her feel nervous or uncomfortable. For some reason she trusted him, and in this unusual situation she needed to accept that if she was going to stay sane.
Lord Gumo's carriage rolled onto the lane just in front of the small Inn of Hebei Village. An elderly man stood sentinel by the front gate and he bowed stiffly as the carriage's ethereal passenger descended the carriage steps with the epitome of grace.
"Good evening, Fine Lady. I see Lord Gumo has sent you to us for the night." The old man had eyes that had seen many turns of the sun and weathered skin that wrinkled like crags in a mountainside.
"Indeed. I will need your best room, a meal, a bath, and a messenger sent to me immediately." Her tone was commanding and unquestionable. The old man nodded with a blink of his rheumy eyes and turned towards the inn with an outstretched arm. "My wife will see to your needs. You will find her inside." The moon faced woman nodded, a cool mask controlling her countenance. She slipped past the old man as quietly as a ghost and disappeared through the doors. Lord Gumo's coachman nodded to the old man and snapped the reins, sending the ostrich horses into a snappy trot.
Old man stood in silence for a long moment before he heard the faint steps of a rider approaching. He turned his milky eyes towards the shadowy lane and watched as a young man mounted on a grey ostrich-horse appeared from the inky shadows. The two men passed a glance between themselves that conveyed more than an hour of discussion. The young man took a purse from his hip and tossed it at the old man's feet.
"See to the woman's needs…" Bo murmured. Before turning his ostrich horse and disappearing once again into the shadows. The old man bent down and scooped up the silk purse full of gold. He sifted through the coins, nodding as he did so.
"And your master?" The old man called into the darkness.
"Would know her intentions." Came the disembodied answer. The old man gave a final nod and hobbled into the Inn to speak with his wife.
Soo Ming glanced about at the meager suite the Inn of Hebei had to offer. The bed was small and draped woolen in blankets that smelled heavily of the roots that died them the unsavory green of her dirty hosts. Obsidian eyes settled on the copper tub that was being filled with water by the innkeeper's young daughters. The oldest heaved a bucket of water into the tub with a groan of effort and froze when she caught the obsidian eyes of the fine lady observing her.
"You are a pretty, little thing, aren't you?" Soo Ming cooed to the girl. The child shrugged and shrunk away from the lady. "Oh no, little thing. No need to run. Come closer." Soo Ming sat upon the stool that was settled in front of a rickety vanity. She beckoned to the child when she did not move from her spot and smiled sweetly. The girl hesitantly stepped from behind the tub and did as she was told. Soo Ming reached out and coiled a single strand of the girl's hair around one of her slender fingers. She observed the dark mahogany against her pale white skin. "I have a niece who looks like you." Soo Ming whispered as though she were confiding a secret and the girl leaned closer to listen. "I hope to meet her very soon."
"Haven't you met her before?" The girl asked, overpowered by the curiosity the lovely woman evoked in her childish mind.
"Oh yes. I met her a very long time ago." Soo Ming honeyed her words until they sounded like the beginning of an epic fairytale. "But her evil mother stole her away." Soo Ming's grip on the girl's hair tightened, but not so much as to cause any pain. The girl gulped and cast her eyes about, searching for something to say.
"I'm sorry." The girl mumbled.
"Oh no, Pretty Thing." Soo Ming cooed. "A lady must never apologize." She had the tone of a teacher speaking to an energetic pupil. "Apologies are for the meek of mind. You aren't meek, are you?" The young girl shook her head as a vicious smile spread across the woman's face.
"Good. Now go tell your mother that if she continues to eavesdrop I'll have to cut that pretty smile off of your face. Understood?" The little girl's eyes widened like an elephant-mouse in a sparrow-viper's death grip. She nodded vigorously, and the moment her hair slipped from Soo Ming's gentle fingers she bolted for the door and scurried out.
"Ugly little chit." Soo Ming spat as she turned to assess herself in the mirror. The journey had left her weary and in desperate need of a bath. In the morning she would find her niece, and put an end to the dishonour that cursed her family.