Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Duty Versus Love ❯ The Shining One ( Chapter 25 )

LES: I'm taking a break from fighting Racebenders to write this. Suffice to say, I haven't been convinced, and I'm in a bad mood. (Not just because of arguments, but with life in general.) Anyway, this is perhaps the only time I'll alter the meaning of a name. The origins will still be the same, but the literal meaning of the name will be slightly different. You'll see what I mean.

 

Chapter XXV: The Shining One

 

They went out to dinner together, which is quite different from the romantic dates they had during their courtship or the early part of their marriage. Now they had Anil with them, so they took on the role of parents rather than lovers.

They got home late, and Anil had fallen asleep against Aang's chest. So they put him to bed and Katara fell asleep soon afterwards.

But Aang couldn't sleep. He could not stop worrying about his child. Everything was going wrong, and if he lost a child… he didn't know what he was going to do.

He thought he could hear the screams of a woman in childbirth, but he knew that was impossible, and that it was simply his overactive imagination.

This night, silence was his only company.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aang didn't sleep that night, and Katara noticed his appearance the next morning. “Aang! You look terrible!” Katara gasped.

“I didn't sleep.” Aang said. “I've been up all night, worrying.”

Katara embraced him, and he buried his face against her neck. Ever so slowly, she pulled out of his arms and gave him a short kiss. “I'll ask Sokka and Suki to look after Anil and we'll go see how they are doing. They should be done by now.”

Aang gave her one more through kiss. “Okay.”

She returned his kiss, and they set out together.

~~~~~~~~~~

They dropped off Anil and went to the house in the middle Ring together. They made it to the house a lot quicker than the day before because they now knew where it was.

Aang had always been sensitive to the environment, especially the feelings that prevailed the air; and the air inside the house was heavy and stale with illness and suffering.

The environment was oppressive.

One of the Water Tribe healers noticed Aang and his wife come in. She stood and bowed. “Lord Avatar and Lady Katara, we have been expecting you.”

“How is the baby?” Aang asked desperately.

“Alive.” The healer said. “It's a girl.”

Aang sat down in a chair heavily. “A girl! I have a girl!”

“My Lord, she is alive, but it was awfully close, and we believe that she will never… be able to live a normal life.”

“What do you mean? Is she going to be all right?” Aang asked.

“There is a strong possibility that she will spend the rest of her life sickly and bedridden.” The healer said. “She may also end up dying young.” At this news, Aang places his forehead in his palms in despair. “I'm sorry, Lord Avatar.”

Aang took a shaky breath, and looked up at the healer. “Can I see her?”

“Yes, but there is one more thing you need to know.” The healer said. “It appears that the large amount of Spirit Water we used during the birth has had an unexpected side-effect. Large amounts of Spirit Water always seem to affect a normal person's appearance. The former Princess Yue was bathed in Spirit Water when he was an infant and her hair turned white. But the effect on your daughter was different… maybe because the Spirit Water was created by you and not the Moon and the Ocean Spirits.”

“What side-effects?” Katara asked.

“She's glowing.” The healer said. “It's not a bright glow, and it has all ready dimmed since she was born, but it's still visible to the naked eye.”

Aang seemed to be shaken for a moment before he accepted it. He didn't care about side-effects. All that mattered to him was if his daughter would live. She could glow like the sun, and she would still be his daughter. “Take me to her, now.” Aang said.

The healer bowed again. “Of course, Lord Avatar.” She said, leading him away. They passed Ming's room, and Aang glanced in. She was alive, asleep, but alive. And she all ready looked much healthier. “And how is Ming?”

“Tired, My Lord, as to be expected.” The healer said. “But she'll recover, and she'll still be able to bare children. The Spirit Water healed her well.”

They walked right past the room. “Why isn't my daughter in with her mother?” Aang asked.

“It was Lady Ming's request.” The healer explained. “As soon as the child was born, she asked for her to be removed from the room without letting her see the girl.”

That confused Aang. “Why?”

“I cannot presume to know what Lady Ming wants to do, but her actions are common for a woman about to give up her baby.”

“But the laws that were made when this agreement was passed say that she can keep her for three years.” Aang said.

“Unless…” Katara finished. “The child is freely given up. All she would need is a witness from the Council and she could give the baby to us early.”

Aang sighed. “It is not certain yet. We'll reserve judgment until we know what Ming wants.”

“Very well, Lord Avatar.” The healer paused outside a door. “Your daughter is inside here.”

After a moment's hesitation, Aang stepped inside. His daughter was being fed from a bottle by one of the healers, who looked up as Aang entered. “Just one moment, Lord Avatar, she's almost done. We have put out a call for a suitable wet nurse, but none has been found yet.”

Katara almost volunteered herself. After all, Anile was nearing the age to be weaned, and she was still producing. But she didn't. She wasn't a wet nurse, and she would probably end up forming an emotional attachment to the baby. She didn't want to do that while the girl's fate was uncertain.

The healer set aside the bottle, signaling that the baby girl was finished, and Aang moved over to her swiftly.

He could tell the difference between her and Anil and Sho immediately. Anil and Sho had been born healthy and perfectly formed. This girl was painfully small, thin, and pale. And, Aang leaned in closer, she was glowing. It was so faint that it was hard to notice in the brightly lit room, but Aang was sure that it would be very noticeable at night.

“Spirits.” Aang whispered, taking her from the healer's arms. “I'm so sorry.” He whispered to her, holding her close.

Katara moved closer to her husband to look at the girl. She had the same reaction as Aang. “Oh Spirits…” During the time she spent delivering babies at the South Pole, she had seen lots of babies born in different stages of health: from stillborn to healthy and strong. This baby was seriously undersize and underweight. Katara knew that if Gran-Gran were here, she would give this girl a few days… maybe a few weeks if she were lucky. But she couldn't say that to Aang… not about his daughter. So she simply embraced him.

After a few moments, the door opened, and the first healer stepped through the door. “My Lord? Lady Ming is awake, and she says that she wants to speak to you.”

Aang nodded. “Okay.” He said, carefully and reluctantly handing his ill daughter back to the healer. Once Aang was sure that she was back in good hands, he followed the healer back to Ming's room.

He stepped in and walked to her side. “Ming?”

The woman sighed, and didn't meet his eyes. “I have failed you, Lord Avatar.”

“No. No, you haven't.” Aang said. “You have given me a daughter.”

“A sickly daughter.” Ming corrected. “Even if she makes it out of infancy, she'll never be able to live a normal life. If she has Bending abilities, which is doubtful at this point, she'll never have the strength to train. She will be useless in bringing back the Air Nomads.”

“She is not just a means to an end for me.” Aang said. “She is my daughter; my flesh and blood, and above all, I want her to be happy. Bending abilities has nothing to do with happiness.”

“That heartens me.” Ming said. She looked at the healer. “Can you bring a member of the Council here?”

“Lady Ming, I am a member of the Council.” The healer said, bowing. “I represent the Healers of the Northern Water Tribe before the National Council.”

“Good.” She sighed. “Avatar Aang, I willingly relinquish custody of my daughter into your care.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Aang asked.

“I'm sure.” Ming said. “It's just… too painful… to bear seeing her.”

“It's has been witnessed.” The healer said, adopting her role as Councilwoman. “From this moment on, your daughter will be in the care of Avatar Aang and his wife. If you wish, you may visit your daughter, but all her care will be given to her by the Avatar and his wife.”

“It is done.” Aang finished. “Do you want to name her?”

Ming tuned over. “She's your daughter.” She said simply, and did not reply further.

“Very well.” He said, stepping out of the room with the healer to join his wife.

“My Lord, if I may be as bold as to suggest a name…” The healer began. “Perhaps if you give her a name in honor of one of the great Spirits, they will show mercy on her.”

“A Spirit name? Which Spirit?” Aang asked.

“The Sun Spirit.”

Aang nodded. “Amaterasu.”

“It means `The Shining One'.” The healer said.

“It certainly fits.” Katara said. “Amaterasu. Ammy for short.”

“The two women in my life… the moon and the sun.” Aang muttered to himself. “It fits perfectly.”

“Amaterasu, it is, then.” The healer said.

They stepped back into the room, and this time, Katara took the newly named Amaterasu from the healer. “Her fate has been decided. She is mine and Aang's now. I'll feed her myself.”

“Lady Katara, what about your son?” The healer asked.

“Anil is nearly old enough to be weaned.” Katara said. “It will only take a few days for me to resume fully lactating again. But this is the best chance she has. The faster she gains weight, the better.”

“Of course, My Lady.” The healers said, leaving the room to give the family some privacy.

Aang leaned against the wall. “I can't believe I've caused this sort of suffering to my own daughter.”

“Aang, you didn't cause this.” Katara said. “There was no way you could have known.”

“But what if she…?” Aang trailed off.

“Aang, we both are going to do everything we can for her.” Katara said. “And… if it comes down to that, we'll make her as comfortable as possible.” She stood and moved over to Aang's side. “I can't promise that everything will be all right, my love. But I promise that we'll make it through together.”

Aang leaned his forehead against hers, and then they gazed down at Aang's daughter together. Katara tilted her head and kissed him.

He desperately returned the kiss, desperate for whatever comfort his wife could provide.

Suddenly, Amaterasu woke up and began to cry. Thanks to their experience with Anil, they learned to tell the difference between each of a newborn's cries. They recognized this one. She was hurting, sick, and in pain; and there was nothing her parents could do about it.

 

LES: “Amaterasu” is probably the only time I'll change a name's meaning. Amaterasu is the Japanese Sun Goddess and it literally means “Shining Over the Heavens”. But I changed it to “The Shining One”. Please don't hate me. (Dodges rotten fruit). And the nickname “Ammy” comes from the videogame “Okami” where you play as he Avatar-wolf form of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Also, I've gotten a lot of criticism (not the bad kind) that maybe Katara's being too understanding of the fact that her husband is having children with other women. So I hope you noticed that Katara (and Aang) had next-to-no concern for Ming's health and only the baby's health. She does have unconscious feelings of resentment towards the women. However, those feelings do not, and will never, generalize to the children. They are innocent in all this, so there is no resentment towards the children because I don't condone punishment of the innocent. (Watching my parents have a nasty split up where my father blames the failures of his marriage on me and my sister really beat into me that you should never punish the innocent.) Anyway, that is my view on a complex psychological matter, and I respect that fact that people disagree with me on this. I only ask that you hang around long enough to see this story come to a head. XD