Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Prophesied ❯ Life's Truths ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: Life's Truths

 

Shasa had been in the process of checking up on her niece when she heard Agni's cry. She spun around and ran through the waves to him.

A wave burst up onto the deck and there was Shasa, a crimson robe covering what the blue nightgown she still wore didn't. She took in the scene quickly and knelt on the prince's other side. Everyone was silent.

Shasa glanced at Agni.

“Be calm my love.” Agni took several deep breaths and nodded.

Shasa placed a hand on Zuko's chest and then slid her hand up towards his throat and then over his open mouth. The water lodged in his lungs followed her hand, but still Zuko did not breathe. Shasa let the water flow over her hands and her hands glowed blue, and the she pressed them to Zuko's chest.

The Fire Prince jerked and gasped as life flowed back into his body. His eyes flashed open then closed and he went limp once more, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.

Agni looked lovingly and gratefully at his wife. “Thank you.”

She kissed his forehead and was gone, no doubt to Katara.

Agni lifted the unconscious prince into his strong arms and carried him to the infirmary, closely followed by the doctor. Iroh shouted to the men to continue following the Avatar, and then followed the Fire God himself.

Placing Zuko on the bed, it took every ounce of his being not to stay with him. But instead, Agni turned, leaving the boy to the doctor, and walked out into the hallway. Instantly, he felt someone grab his arm and throw him into a room. He hit a wall before he could react and someone grabbed his shirt collar and pushed him up the wall so his feet were a good foot off the floor, and he stared shocked into the face of Prince Iroh.

For a brief moment they just stared at each other, Iroh's face contorted in fury and Agni's in blank open-mouthed surprise. Then there was a burst of light and Iroh was forced back several feet. Agni fell back to his feet and stood there nonchalantly, straightening his clothes.

“That was impressive, Prince Iroh. Stupid, but impressive.”

Iroh glared at him. “Look, I don't care if you are the Fire God; you are not going to put Zuko's life in danger!”

Agni's eyes flashed. “The only person who put his life in danger today was he himself! If he had listened to me…”

“He's a teenage boy! Since when does he listen to anyone?”

“You'd think he'd listen to his god!”

“Is that all you are to him? Or is he something more to you?”

Agni gaped at Iroh. “I need him to take the Fire Throne!”

“I believe it's more than that. I saw more than concern for the key piece of your plan in your eyes today.”

“Am I not allowed to care for the children of my nation, of my element?”

“There's no need to get angry.”

“I'm not angry!”

Iroh looked at the Fire God, who blinked and stepped out of his aggressive pose.

“Well, I have a right to protect my nephew, and I want to know what your plan is that includes him.”

“I don't have to tell you.”

“No you don't, but I'd like you to.” Iroh motioned to the pot on the table, his earlier aggressiveness gone. “Tea?”

Agni crossed his arms across his chest, leaned against the wall, and stared off to the side. “I don't want any tea Iroh.”

Iroh froze, staring at the Fire God. There is no way in the nine hells…But there it was, staring him in the face. Iroh shakily poured himself a cup of tea and sat down to sip it.

“Are you sure Prince Zuko is nothing more to you than a pawn?”

“Yes.” Agni spat the word out as soon as Iroh finished speaking, much too soon. Iroh smiled into his tea cup. Agni glared.

“I'm leaving now.” And he stalked to the door. With the door half open he turned. “Zuko will marry the Daughter of Nen, and he will be the next Fire Lord.”

Iroh merely took another sip of tea. When he looked up, Agni was gone. The general sat back to evaluate the situation. From the first words, Agni had been on the defensive, had gotten angry despite his own calm words, and finally, had answered his last question much too quickly. Completely ignoring the fact that in the moment when Agni had refused the tea, he had looked just like Zuko. Iroh took another sip of tea, and smiled. He was a little closer to figuring things out.

Agni stayed on the bow of the ship for several minutes. The wind stirred his shoulder-length black hair and it distracted him from his thoughts by falling in his face. As he pushed the rebellious locks back he was unaware of the stares he received from the passing sailors. His thoughts had turned back nearly ten years.

She ran through the halls, seeking the balcony where she'd first seen him. Fear drove her and erased all rational thought from her mind. Finally, she reached the balcony, running full force into the stone railing. Gasping she called out to him, to the one who'd sworn he'd protect her.

“He suspects! He suspects the truth! Dear Agni, he'll kill me if he finds proof! Agni help me!”

She fell to her knees and sobbed, her heart pounding in fear. There was a brilliant flash of gold that hurt even against her closed lids. When it faded and she opened her eyes, the golden dragon was there; his wings beating a steady beat as he hovered just off the balcony.

“This place is no longer safe for you Neith. Come with me.”

“But Zuko…”

“…must stay here for now. Do not fear for him.”

She nodded and stood on the balcony's railing. Placing a hand on Agni's curved neck, she slipped onto his back. He beat his wings once and they were gone.

Zuko had grown up believing his mother committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor balcony. In fact, only Agni knew that Zuko's mother, Neith, was still alive.

Agni stood on the railing of the ship and leapt into the air, transforming as he moved. Golden wings beat the late afternoon air as he flew towards Kyoshi Island.

The gang rolled from Appa's back onto the ground. For a moment they just lay there, and then Aang began to laugh. Soon, Katara and Sokka had joined him. They didn't really know why they were laughing, but it felt good.

Suddenly, a sound came from the forest near them and when Katara looked up she could see a light bobbing in the darkness. The trio fell silent as the light grew closer and they all feared a fire-bender, but when the light came into the clearing, moments after they all hid in the trees, it was an elderly woman carrying a lantern. She was dressed in a soft white habit and a veil covered her hair and face, save for her eyes. She glanced around.

“Hmph. Could've sworn I saw someone land here.”

Aang stepped out from behind a tree. “You did. Sorry, we thought you were a fire-bender.” Momo flew down from the treetops to land on Aang's head. The woman chuckled.

“Me, a fire-bender? That's a first I do believe, but I am not a fire-bender. I am the Water Sage Qing-Yuan. I saw the flying bison, assumed the Avatar was here, and came to offer you shelter.”

At this Sokka ran out and fell at the woman's feet. “Please tell me you have food!”

“As much as you can eat young warrior.”

Sokka jumped at least three feet into the air and whooped. “What are we waiting for?”

Aang grinned. “Only Katara.” Katara came out and smiled at the woman, who nodded.

“My sisters and I will be happy to accommodate you and your friends young Avatar. If your bison will fly ahead…” Appa took this moment to burst out of the trees and head towards the north. “…then I will lead you to the temple.”

A little while later, Qing-Yuan had sat down with the young travelers as they ate. The room they were in was intricately carved from white stone, and on the far wall was a huge tapestry showing each of the elements.

Katara was fascinated by this tapestry, especially since, to her eyes, the white caps of the wave had taken on the form of a woman. Qing-Yuan noticed her stare.

“Do you see a figure dear child?” Katara nodded.

“If I may ask, what figure?”

“A woman, in the wave.”

Qing-Yuan turned to look at the tapestry. “You see Shasa, the Water Goddess. That tapestry is believed to be a gift from Alem. A non-bender will look upon it and see only a wave, a flame, a rock, and a column of air, but a bender will see the god or goddess of their element. Only the Avatar can see all four.”

Aang stood and walked up to the tapestry. “I can see them.” Qing-Yuan nodded.

“Perhaps you'd like to hear a tale of the gods, and how the world as we know it was made.”

Aang was delighted and Katara and Sokka were just as intrigued, so the Water Sage began.

“In the beginning, there were no humans in this world, only the elements. In the Spirit World, only Alem, the god of gods, existed. Alem wished for the line between the Spirit World and our world to be a little bit thinner, so he asked each element to create a piece of them-selves to live in the Spirit World. The earth produced Mamoru, the Earth God, and Kaia, his mate. The wind brought forth Makani, the Air Goddess, and Samir, her mate. The seas separated and Shasa and Nen emerged as sisters, though Shasa in the end would be recognized as the Water Goddess. But unlike its peers, fire was proud, and claimed he only needed one to represent himself, and so created Agni, the Fire God.”

Qing-Yuan paused in light of her rapt audience before continuing.

“These new gods and goddesses took council with Alem in the Spirit World, and Alem told them of us, and how we would be coming soon. He asked that they make the world ready for us, and he decided that each nation would have an element. It was Kaia that suggested that certain people of each element possess a type of power over that element. All her peers liked and agreed to this, so the benders were formed.”

“Mamoru returned to the Aye, or the physical world, in his true form and pushed earth up from the depths of the oceans. Shasa helped him in his work, drawing back the seas, creating lakes and rivers over the land as Agni dried it so it could be worked with. Alem came down and stretched out his hand so that the land became fertile. Trees and grasses grew over the land, and animals came forth.”

“All this time, the gods and goddesses had been working by the light of Agni who flew over the lands and seas nearly constantly. But when he left and returned to the Spirit World, Aye became dark. So Alem asked to borrow some of Agni's fire. Agni relented, and Alem kept the fires going in his heaven home. They burned down after several hours, but Alem found he liked the softened light, and so day and night were formed.”

“All went well for a time, the people came to Aye, and they loved their new world, and the gods and goddesses were content, save one. Most of the world was water, and fire could not survive in water, so Agni conspired with Mamoru to increase the landmass in the world. When Shasa found out, she was not happy. She and Agni nearly tore the world apart with their resulting battle.”

“Several days passed with no end to the fighting in sight, and Alem grew tired of it. To force Agni and Shasa to compromise, he trapped them on a single island together and told them they could not leave until they learned to work together. When Alem went to check on them three months later, they had worked together and compromised. They'd also fallen in love and conceived a son. Their son, Nuri, became the first Fire Lord.”

Aang sat there with his jaw dropped. Katara looked at the ground, and Sokka just stared.

“You mean to say that the Fire God and the Water Goddess fell in love? How is that possible?”

Qing-Yuan shrugged. “Anything is possible young warrior.”

Katara looked up from her hands. “Sage, what happened to Nen, Shasa's sister?”

“Nen? Well, it seems the Water Sisters have something for unusual marital choices. Nen fell in love with a mortal. Now, it is late, and you must be tired.”

To emphasize this, Sokka stood, stretched, and yawned, causing Aang to laugh. The boys traipsed out to their room, but Katara paused a moment before leaving. Qing-Yuan's voice drifted out to her just as she reached the door.

“I know you are the Daughter of Nen.”

Katara froze but said nothing.

“You see, I am a water-bender, and I can see Shasa in the tapestry. And she is above the wave, not in it. You can see Nen. Only one of her blood could see her in the tapestry.”

Katara said nothing, but walked out, the curtain falling behind her as she left.

Agni strode through Kyoshi in his human form, the night like a cloak around him, and knocked on a certain door. The woman who answered wore work-worn clothing, her hair was messy, falling down from its haphazard bun, and her hands were rough, but her eyes were happy. She smiled when she saw him.

“I am pleased to see you my lord. Won't you come in?”

Agni shook his head. “I merely wished to check on you Neith. I haven't visited you in nearly a year, and a lot can happen in a year.”

Neith held up her left hand for Agni to see, and the fire light from within the house caught on the gem that sparkled on her left ring finger. Agni smiled.

“Like betrothals.” She smiled and stepped out into the night, closing the door behind her. “Who is the lucky young man?”

“An earth-bender, Damek is his name. I…I think he loves me. He's told me so.”

“Does he know…”

“Who I am? Who I used to be? That I have a son and daughter? Yes, he knows all of that, and he doesn't care.”

“Does he make you happy?” Neith smiled.

“Yes, nothing makes me happier than to be with him.” Agni took her by the shoulders and kissed her forehead.

“Than all is well. Alem only knows how you deserve someone who truly cares for you.”

Suddenly, Agni's eyes softened. “You know that I cared for you Neith, don't you? I don't want you to feel like I used you.”

Neith looked horrified. “Oh, my lord, I could never feel that way. I know you care for me, as you would a child of your element.” She looked into his eyes and had barely gazed a moment before she cast her arms around his neck. “Oh, please don't feel remorseful! I can't stand to see you like this!”

Agni sighed, letting her behave as she wished though he disliked the physical contact. She pulled away as she felt him stiffen.

“My lord, you gave me a son. How could I feel anything against you?” She looked at him as he looked away, and then understood.

“You fear Shasa's reaction if she knew.”

Agni nodded.

“She will understand, like I do, that you did what you must for your people. She will understand. Perhaps, you would do best to tell her.”

“Perhaps.” Agni kissed her forehead once more. “Take care Neith.”

She turned, opening the door partially to go inside, and then looked back at him.

“My wedding is two months from tomorrow. I would so like it if my son could attend.”

Agni said nothing, and Neith went inside. The Fire God waited until his legs had carried him out of the Kyoshi before he transformed into his true form.

He flew over the oceans, over the mountains, and over the skies until he reached the palace he shared with Shasa, changing into his human form as he landed.

The Water Goddess was waiting for him, sitting on their bed idly bending. When he came in she rushed into his arms, wearing only a sheer blue nightgown. He pulled her close in a firm embrace, hiding his face in her hair and loving her scent.

She sensed his frustration and held him close.

“What's wrong Agni?”

“I love you Shasa, I love you more than anything else in Aye or our world, but there is something I must tell you.”

Shasa tensed.

“Zuko is my son.”

Shasa let out an audible sigh of relief and Agni pulled away to look at her. She met his golden gaze with her sapphire eyes. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

His eyes narrowed, then widened. “You knew.”

“I guessed, but I trusted you to tell me…” She started to go on, but was interrupted by his kiss. They fell down onto the bed together and Shasa pushed the heavy crimson robe from the Fire God's shoulders while he tore at the flimsy material of her gown.

That night, a huge storm ravaged the land, lightning-induced fires erupted, and rain fell in torrents, but no one was hurt, and the land was renewed when the sun returned.