Cause Some Trouble Chapter 11
Yes, here we go again.
CAUSE SOME TROUBLE
CHAPTER 11-- BREAKDOWN
For a long moment, Zafirah felt numb. Then the stillness shattered and she spun around, racing back to the ostrich horses. Her heart was hammering against her ribcage like it was about to burst. She got to the nearest animal, her fingers closing around its reins before the scarred man came to his senses.
“Grab her!” he shouted. She felt hands lock around her upper arms. She didn’t see who had her. She could hardly even see the ostrich-horse in front of her. All she saw were images of her brother-wasting away in a Fire Nation jail all alone, or run through with a soldier’s spear in the mad dash through the forest, or burned to a crisp-
“Let me go! Let me go!” she screamed, thrashing against the iron-like grips holding her back. Zafirah saw a foot from the corner of her eye and stomped viciously on it. The hand on her left arm loosened and she tore free of it, feeling her right shoulder wrench as she pulled away from the other one. She made it all of two steps before she was caught again. It took three men to keep her still.
“There’s nothing we can do,” said the scarred man from somewhere behind her. “We can’t risk going back there. Not now.”
“Then I’ll go by myself, coward!” Zafirah snarled.
“I can’t let you do that. We need the ostrich horse,” he said.
“You don’t get it, I have to go back!” Tears were filling her eyes now, leaving hot trails as they spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t leave him there! He’s my brother, he’s all I have left!” she choked out.
A familiar voice cut reached her ears. “Zafirah…” She jerked her head up and saw Kuei edging towards her.
“You stay out of this,” she snapped. He drew back as if she’d burned him. She struggled to break loose again, but the fight had gone out of her. She sagged against the hands holding her in place as she broke down and wept. The three guys let go of her, knowing she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Do something about her, please,” she heard the scar-faced man say. His voice sounded distant, somehow, as if he were standing behind a wall.
“I don’t think she wants me to-“ Kuei began.
“Well, that’s too bad for you, but you’re going to have to do it anyway. I don’t have time to babysit a hysterical woman. Daiyu will show you where to go.” She heard Kuei sigh, and then the sound of dirt crunching underfoot as he walked over to her. He gingerly reached out to place a hand on her arm, but she twisted out of his reach. She wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, as if she could squeeze the pain out of herself. Zafirah vaguely heard a female voice telling her and Kuei to come along; she followed Kuei and the unknown woman into the cave beside the path, her head down, barely able to see through the tears.
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Basam woke up to a roaring headache and a dull pain in his abdomen. He groaned and opened his eyes. At first, all he saw was disorienting darkness. His eyes adjusted slowly and details started to emerge: metal plating under his head, icy cold against his cheek; metal bars in front of him; a glowing crystal set into a holder on the wall beyond the bars. He heard a tiny squeaking sound somewhere close by.
The memories came back then. He remembered the long walk from the base to the Fire Nation prison, the attack, and-
“Zafi!” he gasped. He pushed himself up on his elbows, then winced in pain and fell back onto the floor. Where was his sister? Had she gotten away in the forest? And where was Kuei? What had happened to him? He shut his eyes, taking stock of the situation. At the very least, he knew he must be in the Fire Nation prison.
Basam had fallen behind in the forest after tripping on a tree root. The Fire Nation soldiers had caught up to him and he’d fought them, or tried to, anyway. Was he hurt? He reached up and felt the back of his head, where the pain was the worst. His fingers found a bump there, the hair around it matted and sticky with drying blood. And then there was his stomach; had he been cut, or stabbed? He carefully ran his hand over his abdomen to find out. His shirt was dry and undamaged, but the area underneath it was sore. So he was bruised, but there was no blood and no broken ribs. And speaking of his shirt, he noticed that they’d left him with his own clothes. No doubt they’d searched him for weapons, though.
He sat up again, nice and slow this time, grimacing in pain. Once he was up, he shuffled on his knees over to the door of the cell. It was like the one back at the base, but the bars were thicker. He grabbed ahold of them and peered out into the dimly lit hallway. Like the other prison, this one had one row of cells lining one side of the long room, only there were a lot more of them.
“You’re awake,” said a raspy voice. He looked up at the cell to the right of his and saw a figure emerging from the gloom within. Thin, worn-looking hands curled around the bars between their cells as a face came into view-a woman, maybe in her fifties. It was hard to tell, though. “I saw them bring you in here,” she continued.
“Did they bring anyone else in? A brown-haired woman around my age, or a thin, pale man?” Basam asked. Worry twisted in his stomach. Please, Spirits, let them be okay…
“No, as far as I know you’re the only new prisoner they’ve had today,” she said.
Basam heaved a sigh of relief, then winced again as his bruised abdomen throbbed. “Thank the Spirits, they’re still free,” he breathed. But then a horrible thought struck him-what if that wasn’t the reason they weren’t here with him? What if they hadn’t gotten away? The thought chilled his blood but he pushed it out. I can’t let myself think that way! There’s nothing to say that anything bad’s happened to them, he thought desperately. “I’m Basam,” he told the woman, forcing his voice to stay level.
“My name is Linh,” the woman said. She studied him for a moment. “Are you from the desert, young man?”
“Yeah,” he said, watching her for a reaction, but she just nodded.
“There’s no sand for you to Bend here, I’m afraid,” Linh said. “The guards keep the floors washed, so that bits of dirt won’t accumulate. There are many Earthbenders here, you know.”
“Are you one of them?” Basam asked. Linh smiled faintly.
“No,” she said. The guards came by with bowls of food then, and Basam was surprised to see that it wasn’t the same gruel they’d gotten at the base. It was rice with some kind of meat in it. Basam’s stomach growled as he eyed the bowl warily.
He wanted to refuse it; he’d wanted to refuse the gruel back at the base, too. He didn’t want anything from the Fire Nation. It wasn’t like he was afraid of going hungry-he was a Sandbender, and Sandbenders knew how to deal with hunger. But they also knew how to scrounge and save every little scrap of food, no matter how meager. And as evil as the Fire Nation was, he couldn’t bring himself to waste food. He picked up the bowl and ate it all.
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Daiyu was a short, stocky woman with a keen eye and an air of confidence that put Kuei at ease. She greeted him with a nod and cast a sympathetic look at Zafirah.
“C’mon, I’ll get the two of you settled,” she told them. Without any further words, she led the two of them away. Or rather, she led Kuei, while Zafirah stumbled along behind him. She seemed to have retreated into herself, weeping quietly as they walked along. Kuei’s chest constricted in sorrow as he glanced back at her. If the situation had been bad before, it was ten times worse now. Basam was gone, his status unknown, and Zafirah was broken by his loss. And Kuei couldn’t help but feel as though the whole thing were somehow his own fault.
He forced himself not to dwell on the pain, and instead busied himself with observing the crowd they’d fallen in with. The dark-clad group was filing into the cave behind the three of them. Some members of the group were in the cave already, undoubtedly having come in while he and Zafirah were still outside on the mountain path. Some led the ostrich-horses along, while others gathered crates and sacks that lined the left-hand side of the cavern. Kuei guessed that they were supplies.
Moving with the rest of the group, the three of them passed through the cave and exited into a tunnel through a rough-hewn doorway at the back. No one spoke as they walked down the tunnel. The only sounds that penetrated the dark space were the grunting of ostrich-horses and the faint shuffling of boots and bare feet against stone. His own breathing sounded excessively loud in his ears.
The tunnel opened up into bright sunlight. Kuei blinked in surprise, taking in the sight before him. The tunnel brought them out into the bottom of a deep valley, heavily forested and swarming with activity. He saw tents set up everywhere, people doing laundry or cooking, others sparring or just sitting and talking. Steep mountains surrounded the valley on all sides; looking over his shoulder, Kuei saw a high peak extending up above the cliff where the tunnel emerged. He instinctively looked over at Zafirah for her reaction, but she didn’t even appear to notice any of it. Her gaze was turned inward, her face twisted in pain, still consumed in a private world of her own grief.
Daiyu spoke suddenly, making him jump. “That tunnel’s the only easy way into this valley,” she said with a hint of pride in her voice. The rest of the group was emerging from the tunnel behind them now, walking around the three of them and making their way into the camp.
“Where are we, exactly?” Kuei asked wearily.
“Safe from the Fire Nation,” Daiyu said. “I’ll tell you more later. For now, let’s get you and your friend set up here.” She guided them through the bustling camp and eventually came to an empty tent. She walked up to it and pulled the flap back, but Kuei hesitated. How was it that they just so happened to have an empty tent there?
“You were expecting us, weren’t you?” he asked. Daiyu nodded.
“We have our spies in Hideki’s ranks,” she explained. “I’ll go and fetch some food for the both of you. Wait for me here.” She turned and threaded her way through the crowded camp. Kuei ducked into the tent, Zafirah following behind him. The tent had been set up for three people, Kuei noticed with a pang of sadness. There were three sleeping bags piled up in one corner. Zafirah took one of them and laid it out along the back wall, then settled down onto it and curled up like a wounded cat.
“Zafirah,” he started, his voice quiet. He had to at least try to reach out to her. Despite everything that had happened since the night before, he couldn’t stand the thought of her suffering in silence by herself.
“Just leave me alone, please,” she murmured. She curled further in upon herself, her body quivering.
He turned and left the tent, suddenly feeling as though he were intruding upon a very personal moment. He too felt the pain of Basam’s disappearance, as he considered the Sandbender to be his friend, but he knew it just wasn’t the same as what Zafirah was going through.
Daiyu was waiting for him outside the tent, with a covered pot, some bowls, and a tea kettle sitting over a cooking fire. “Where’s the girl?” she asked.
“I think she’d like some rest,” Kuei said quietly. Daiyu nodded and set the pot down, lifting the lid. The smell of roast duck wafted out. He sat down next to her and accepted the bowl and chopsticks she handed to him.
“As you’ve probably guessed by now,” she began as she spooned rice and roast duck into the bowl, “We are rebels fighting against the Fire Nation invaders. Some of us are ex-soldiers from the Earth Kingdom army; some, like me, were just ordinary citizens who got swept up in the war. I’m Daiyu, as you know. The man with the scar is our leader. His name is Quan. We’re part of a larger resistance movement within the Kingdom. Our group in particular has existed in one form or another for decades, but we just came to this valley six months ago. As I said, we have our spies among Hideki’s soldiers, and that’s how we knew to expect the convoy. And as for you… well, as I said, we have our ways of gaining information. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”
Kuei winced. “Please don’t call me that. Technically it isn’t even my title anymore. Since you have your spies, you should also know that I’m in exile. I’ve been stripped of my crown.” And I’m surprised that you call it an honor. Ba Sing Se belongs to the Fire Nation because of me, he added inwardly.
“If you insist,” Daiyu said as she ladled a portion of food into a second bowl. “And what about her?” She nodded back towards the tent. “And the brother she spoke of back at the road?”
“Their names are Zafirah and Basam. They’re Sandbenders, I met them at the Misty Palms Oasis.” Kuei noticed that Daiyu frowned a little at the mention of the siblings’ origins, but if she had anything to say on the subject, she kept it to herself-a decision for which Kuei was very grateful. He lifted his chopsticks and ate a slice of duck. It was delicious, and certainly a nice change of pace from the dried meat the Sandbender tribes had. Daiyu stood and ducked inside the tent with the second bowl in hand. Kuei heard her say something to Zafirah in a hushed voice, and then she returned without the bowl.
“And now, the biggest question: what in the Spirit World were the three of you doing hanging around an occupied military base?” she asked as she sat down again.
“Well, in our defense, we thought it was still under Earth Kingdom control. We had some important information to give to the general; we thought it could help in the war effort,” Kuei said unhappily. He looked up at Daiyu, his mind working quickly. “Perhaps it still can,” he murmured. “In less than a month’s time, there will be a solar eclipse. The sun will be blocked for a span of about eight minutes, and during that time, all Firebenders will be completely defenseless. With the sun’s light blocked by the moon, their Firebending will stop working.”
Daiyu sat back, her eyes wide, and let out a slow breath. “I’ll be damned,” she whispered. She shot to her feet. “Come with me. We need to relay this information to Quan right away!”
“But what about Zafirah? Should we bring her?” Kuei asked, looking back at the tent.
“Let her rest, she’ll be fine. Now come on!”
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It was sunset, or at least Basam thought it might be. The only window nearby was a narrow slit in the wall across the hallway, and keeping track of time was already getting tough. Basam had never been this confined before. And he’d never been so cut off from his element. Even in the cramped basement that had been his family’s home, there’d still been walls of earth surrounding him. And even out in the woods, he’d still been in the open wilderness. But here, everything was metal. And just like Linh said, the floors were spotlessly clean. He felt the absence of his element like a physical loss. He’d had a feeling like this out in the forest, when he and Zafirah had discovered that their Sandbending didn’t work, but this was so much worse. It was like waking up to find someone had lopped off one of his ears. He felt off-balance.
More time went by, though he wasn’t sure how much. He passed the time walking the perimeter of his cell, stopping whenever the ache from his bruises got to be too much. And all the while, he wondered where his sister and friend were. He and Zafirah had never been apart. Losing her hurt even worse than losing his element.
Night fell and it was starting to get cold in there. It had been chilly before, but not like this. Basam sat down against the back of the cell, hugged his arms around himself and shivered. He wasn’t as used to cold as he was to hunger. Nights in the desert got cold sometimes, especially in winter, but he usually had blankets to help with that.
A tiny glow from the cell next to his got his attention. He looked up and his jaw dropped at what he saw. He could just make out the shape of Linh, sitting huddled against the back of her cell. She held her cupped hands up by her face, and nestled within her palms was a little ball of fire. Its light reflected off the faint smile curling the corners of her mouth. Basam scooted over to the door of his cell, staring through the bars.
“You’re a Firebender,” he breathed. He hadn’t even realized he’d spoken aloud until Linh glanced up at him. Her smile grew a little.
“Yes,” she said simply. “Does that bother you?”
“N-no,” Basam said quickly, embarrassed. “It’s just that, heh… this is the closest I’ve been to a Firebender that wasn’t trying to roast me alive.” He watched the tiny fireball flicker and dance in Linh’s hands. It was sort of pretty, actually.
“I suspect most Earth Kingdom subjects would say the same, unfortunately,” Linh said, sadness in her voice.
“What’re you in here for?” he asked.
“Disobeying orders,” she told him, frowing a bit. “I used to be a soldier. My garrison was stationed in an occupied Earth Kingdom village. But the more time I spent around the people of the village, the more I started to question whether we’d done the right thing in taking over their home. And the more I wondered about that, the more I started to doubt the war. One day, a higher-ranking officer told me to brand a boy who’d been caught stealing food. He couldn’t have been any older than twelve or thirteen. The officer said I was to make an example of the child, to deter other thieves. I refused.”
“Wow, I-that’s… That’s quite a story,” Basam said, stunned. “I mean, no offense, but you don’t really hear about Fire Nation soldiers abandoning the cause that often.”
“No,” Linh agreed. “The army suppresses news about dissention and deserters as much as they can. It’s better that they present a totally unified front to their enemies.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Basam murmured.
“And what about you? What brought you here?”
“I was aiding and abetting a known fugitive,” Basam said. He wrinkled his nose as he repeated Captain Hideki’s words. “Of course, I didn’t know he was a fugitive at the time. He, uh…” Basam paused, wondering how much he should tell her. He figured it couldn’t do much harm to tell her the truth, even if someone else overheard them. “See, my sister found this guy in the cantina back home, at the Misty Palms Oasis. He didn’t look like anything special, really, but I guess she just felt like helping him out…”
He told her the whole story, keeping his voice to a whisper the entire time just to be safe. While he talked, anxiousness tugged at his gut. Where was Zafirah now? Was she okay? When he’d finished, Linh sat deep in thought.
“A solar eclipse,” she murmured. “There are legends in my homeland regarding the last solar eclipse… but the Fire Lord likes to keep that information suppressed as well, of course. Still, the people refer to it in whispers as the darkest day in our history.”
Eventually, Linh drifted off to sleep. Basam laid down on the cold floor, but all he could do was stare at the metal ceiling. Then he remembered something and reached for one of the pockets in his pants. It was his prayer stone-the last time he’d used it was during the sandstorm in the desert, after leaving the Oasis. His father had carved it for him out of a piece of stone from Si Wong Rock itself. It was a tradition among Sandbenders for fathers to carve them for their children. They were generally carved with symbols for good luck or prosperity, or with prayers to the Spirits. He knew Zafirah still carried hers, even if she never used it.
For a terrible moment, he thought that the guards had found it while searching him for hidden weapons, but then his fingers brushed against the smooth leather pouch. He let out a relieved breath. But then he felt something else against his fingers, too, something rough. It felt like… sand! He sat upright and looked around to make sure no one was watching. His heart pounded with hope. When you lived in the desert, it was just a fact of life that everything you owned was going to be full of sand-your hair, your food, and especially your clothes. Sand got in everywhere, and that went double for pockets! He flicked his wrist and drew his hand from his pocket, and a thin stream of sand followed his fingertips.
He formed the sand into a ball, staring at it in wonder. He had sand! He pulled the leather totem pouch from his pocket and tugged it open with his teeth, and then carefully Bended the precious grains into it. He went to his three other pockets next and found even more sand! It went into the pouch as well. He went over every inch of himself, pulling sand from his hair and the crevices of his arm and leg wrappings. He Bended out every grain he could find embedded in his shirt and pants. When he was done, he clutched the pouch to his chest happily.
This wasn’t just a connection to his element: he had a weapon now. A small one, but it could still be useful. And he would keep it carefully guarded until the day of the eclipse. He rubbed the sides of the totem through the pouch, inwardly reciting the prayer inscribed on it, thanking the Spirits for watching over him and praying they’d watch over his sister as well.
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Four weeks until the Day of Black Sun…
The shrill sound of a whistle roused Kuei and Zafirah from their sleep the next morning. He was disoriented at first, until he remembered Daiyu telling him that the camp had a daily wake-up call. He glanced over at Zafirah as he slid out of his sleeping bag, but she kept her eyes averted. He looked away as well. The night before had been painfully uncomfortable for both of them. Or at least, he could only assume that it had been as uncomfortable for Zafirah as it had been for himself. They hadn’t spoken a single word to each other since arriving in the rebel camp. She’d shot him a few miserable glances, but mostly she kept to herself.
After telling his story to Daiyu, she’d taken him to see Quan. The scar-faced rebel leader had listened with avid interest as Kuei told him of the battle in the desert; and he’d all but jumped for joy when Kuei repeated his information about the eclipse.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for!” he’d crowed triumphantly. “For weeks we’ve been holding out for the perfect opportunity to attack that base, and now we have it!” Then he’d told Kuei to leave, as he had planning to do. Kuei remembered that Quan was going to call a meeting at noon to bring the rest of the rebels in on the plan.
Zafirah maintained her silence as they rolled up their sleeping bags and left the tent.
As Kuei ducked out into the brisk morning air, for just a second, he looked around for Bosco. Then he remembered where the bear was and his chest tightened. He missed his old friend terribly. Then something occurred to him-Hideki had been planning on presenting Bosco to the Fire Lord as spoils of war along with Kuei. But now that Kuei had escaped, would he still follow that plan? What would become of Bosco now? Kuei trudged off to the assembly tent in the middle of the rebel camp, misery settling like an iron weight in his stomach.
The cook’s hut was next to the assembly tent. Kuei joined the line of people waiting to go in and get their breakfast. He wasn’t especially hungry, but he knew he needed to eat something. He got his portion of food-rice and steamed vegetables-and left the hut. He glanced around for a place to sit. Finally he settled into a spot just outside. A few people sitting nearby glanced over at him, but none of them spoke to him.
As he ate, he looked around at the people surrounding him. They seemed to wear clothes from all three nations-he saw flashes of blue and red amid the usual Earth Kingdom greens and browns. He wondered if there were any Fire Nation citizens among their numbers, or if the clothing had been scavenged. He didn’t see anyone wearing the dark clothing of the day before. They must save that clothing for important missions, Kuei told himself. And as for the people themselves, they seemed to range from teenagers to grey-haired adults.
A young man walked up to Kuei as he was finishing his breakfast. He looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, with light brown hair pulled up into the typical topknot of Earth Kingdom men.
“Are you Kuei?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kuei said. The young man nodded.
“I’m Shen. You’re with me on dish duty after mealtime,” he replied. Kuei nodded and stood up, following Shen to the back of the cook hut. They were four other people already there, washing stacks of bowls from breakfast. Kuei and Shen joined them, dunking the bowls in a basin of water and then scrubbing them clean with rags. With that done, Shen sent Kuei off to his next task: laundry.
Soon enough, it was midday and time for the meeting. Kuei made his way to the assembly tent and stood near the back. A glimpse of tan caught his eye, and he looked up to see Zafirah standing two rows in front of him. He wanted so badly to approach her and try to talk to her. It had only been a day, and already the rift between them was becoming unbearable. Perhaps he could, after the meeting…
“All right, listen up, everyone!” Quan called out. Silence settled over the tent as its occupants turned their attention towards the rebel leader, standing on a crate at the front of the cramped space. “Okay. As you all know, we rescued two prisoners from Fire Nation custody yesterday. Well, one of them came forward with some information that will be very good for us… and very bad for our enemies! In about four weeks, there’s gonna be a solar eclipse. And while it lasts, the Firebenders will be all out of firepower. It won’t last long, but it’ll give us the opening we need to take down Hideki and free the prisoners in the jail! They have a lot of good people locked up in there-a lot of our people. That jail was built by our military to hold criminals, and now it’s being used to imprison Earth Kingdom citizens who’ve done nothing more than make a stand for their freedom and their rights. Some of ‘em aren’t even renegades like us. Some of ‘em were just trying to survive. And now they’re locked away.”
There were a few mutters of agreement from the rebels, but for the most part they remained silent, waiting for their leader to go on.
Quan nodded once before continuing. “The base is our priority. Once we have it, we can free our prisoners. And I’ve got an idea for how we’re going to do it…”
The meeting ended, and Daiyu was waiting at the entrance of the tent as Kuei filed out with the others.
“Quan would like to have a word with you,” she told him, gesturing back towards the front of the tent. He walked back over to where the rebel leader stood. Zafirah joined them a moment later, her arms wound around her torso and a deep frown on her face.
“Okay, how much combat experience do the two of you have?” he asked. “I need to figure out where I’m going to put you.”
“I have some basic hand-to-hand combat knowledge,” Kuei offered, “And I know how to wield a club.”
“Sort of,” Zafirah muttered. Kuei shot a sideways glance at her, surprised and a little hurt.
“And what about you, hm? You’re a Sandbender, right?” Quan prompted. Zafirah nodded. “Well, there won’t be a whole lot of sand in this fight. I’m going to hand you over to Daiyu, she’ll show you some real Earthbending.” Zafirah bristled at his choice of words, but said nothing. “You know anything else?”
“I can use a dagger,” she said.
“Good.” Then Quan turned to Kuei. “Shen will teach you some more hand-to-hand combat techniques. You can go now-Daiyu will tell you where to go.”
As they exited the tent, Kuei turned towards Zafirah. “Why did you say that?” he asked.
“Well it’s true, isn’t it?” she retorted. “You weren’t very good with that thing. Aren’t kings supposed to know how to fight?”
“It’s, um… the Earth King doesn’t traditionally take part in battles,” Kuei said quietly.
“That explains a lot,” she sneered. She picked up her pace, walking ahead of him and leaving him to stare at her in shock.
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The rock sat in the middle of the rebel camp’s dirt training ring. The top of it was just about level with Zafirah’s chin. She stared at it, her arms crossed over her chest. Daiyu stood a ways behind her, fists planted on hips.
“Do you know what neutral jing is?” the rebel asked.
“Can’t say that I do,” Zafirah replied flatly.
“It’s a way of directing your energy, and it relates to tactics in combat. Positive jing relates to the attack, and negative jing to the retreat. Neutral jing involves waiting for the opportune moment to strike,” Daiyu explained.
“Okay, but how does that help me move a rock?” asked Zafirah.
“It’ll help you fight with rocks,” Daiyu said, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. “I’d say that’s pretty important. Now, get in that stance I showed you.” Zafirah slid her feet apart and bent her knees, bringing her fists up to waist level. “Now, do you know anything about chi?”
“Nope, sorry,” Zafirah said dryly.
“Chi is energy that flows through the body. It gathers at seven points in the body, called chakras. Four of them are related to the elements, and therefore, to Bending. The Earth chakra is located at the bottom of the spine. That’s where the power for Earthbending comes from. Try to feel the energy flowing through you, focus on drawing it from that point.”
“How d’you know all this, anyway?” Zafirah asked, shutting her eyes to concentrate on her energy.
“My father was a scholar on the history of the Bending forms. He had all kinds of scrolls lying around. Are you feeling the energy flow?” Daiyu apparently wasn’t going to let her stray off-topic.
“I’m trying.” Zafirah gritted her teeth, doing her best to reach inside herself and feel this mysterious chi thing.
“Well, you’re never going to get anywhere forcing it like that,” the rebel said. Zafirah’s eyes snapped open, and she turned to glare at the older woman. “Try to strike the boulder. Maybe you’ll feel it more easily in motion.”
Zafirah eyed the rock, then drew in a deep breath, squared her shoulders, drew back her fists and-“OW!” She reeled back from the rock, shaking her throbbing hands and grimacing. There was a little bit of blood smeared on her knuckles. Daiyu jogged over and gently took hold of her hands, examining them.
“Nothing’s broken,” she pronounced after a moment. “Try again. Use the flat of your palms this time.” Zafirah huffed out an annoyed breath and retook her stance. She pulled her hands back again, palms facing the rock. She thrust them forward against the stone and immediately went flying backwards across the dirt ring. She skidded to a halt at Daiyu’s feet, the impact having knocked the wind out of her. The rebel grabbed her under the arms and pulled her to her feet. “Try it again.”
And she did. She launched herself at the rock again, and again she was hurled back. Zafirah let out a low growl of frustration and darted sideways, charging at the rock from a new angle. It didn’t work any better than the last one, though. Her fists thumped uselessly against the rock, bloodying her knuckles even more. This time her frustration came out in an infuriated cry. She lunged over and over again, until she slumped against the boulder, panting and drained of energy.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Daiyu said softly.
“No! I have to get this right,” Zafirah said harshly.
“You’re wearing yourself out, girl. It’s obvious you’re not in the right mind for this today. We can try again tomorrow.”
“I have to do this,” Zafirah insisted through a clenched jaw. “Stupid thing, why won’t it move?! Why doesn’t it work?” She drew back and flung herself against it once more. Daiyu grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back, but Zafirah thrashed against her grip. “Get your hands off me! I have to make this work! You don’t get it-I’m useless out here without my Bending! The Fire Nation captured us-they took my brother from me-I can’t be useless anymore!” She felt tears of anger well up in her eyes as she thrashed again. Daiyu wrapped her arms around Zafirah’s torso, pinning her arms against her sides. Zafirah struggled for a moment and then went slack in the stronger woman’s grip, realizing she wasn’t getting away.
“Let’s go,” Daiyu said sternly. “It’s time to wash up and get those hands bandaged.” She let Daiyu take her away from the training ring. For the second time in two days, she felt a crushing sense of helplessness overwhelm her.
/////////
Kuei’s own training session had gone about as well as could be expected. Shen had a very direct manner, but he was a patient teacher despite his brusque style of instruction. Still, he ached all over and he was sure he had some bruises forming.
After the session was over, the two of them had gone to wash off at a small pond just outside the camp. The pond, at the edge of the valley, lay beneath a thin plume of a waterfall that spilled down the mountainside above. A stream came out from the pond and wound its way off through the trees. Shen had explained that bathers usually came here in groups separated by gender. Although there were a few people in the camp who didn’t feel entirely comfortable bathing in those groups, for one reason or another, and so often came by themselves or with each other.
By the time they returned to the camp, it was time for dinner. As Kuei exited the cook hut with a bowl of rice and roast duck, he heard Daiyu calling to him.
“Hey, over here!” she said, waving to him. He waved back and walked over, but he stopped a couple of feet away when he saw Zafirah sitting next to the rebel. She glanced up and nodded stiffly to him. He nodded in return and sat down, trying to ignore the stab of disappointment he felt at her reaction. Daiyu glanced back and forth between them and cleared her throat. “So, how was your training today? Was Shen a good teacher?” she asked.
“It was fine, thank you. And yes, he was an excellent teacher. How was the Earthbending training?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zafirah grumbled.
“All right, fair enough,” Kuei replied. The three of them ate in uncomfortable silence for a while. Occasionally, Daiyu would break it with small talk, but the conversations never seemed to last long. As they were finishing their meal, Daiyu spoke up again.
“You look worried, Kuei. What’s bothering you?” she asked. He glanced anxiously at Zafirah, and then decided to go with the one topic that seemed relatively safe.
“I’m worried about my animal companion, Bosco,” he said. “I raised him from a cub. I’m not sure how he’ll fare in the hands of the Fire Nation, I just hope that Hideki-“
A disgusted snort from Zafirah interrupted him. She slammed her empty bowl against the ground. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” she growled. “My brother is gone-we don’t even know if he’s alive or dead-and you’re worrying about a stupid bear? Unbelievable!” She stood up and stormed off towards the edge of the camp. Daiyu looked at Kuei and raised an eyebrow.
“This is your problem, Your Highness. I’d go and deal with it if I were you,” she said. Kuei sighed, knowing she was right, and went after the Sandbender.
“Zafirah, I don’t think you’re being very fair,” Kuei said as he caught up to her. She whirled around to face him.
“Yeah? You’ve been lying to me for the past month-why should I care what you think?” she demanded.
“Well, we were quite good friends before-“ Kuei started.
“Exactly, before you lied to us and before your stupid little quest got me and my brother captured by the Fire Nation! And speaking of that, how do we know the Fire Nation didn’t follow you to the Oasis that first night, huh? Maybe it was you they were after, and when they didn’t find you, they settled for enslaving my tribe instead!” She jabbed an accusatory finger at him. She snorted again and cast a scrutinizing eye over him. “Look at you-some king you are. You let the enemy take over the capitol, and you can’t even fight! You don’t act like a king, and you sure don’t look like one. I thought kings were supposed to be all strong and imposing-you’re just scrawny,” she sneered.
Kuei gaped at her, sputtering incoherently as a spike of anger rose within him. “All right, that’s enough! Stop this, please! You know as well as I do that the Fire Nation came there specifically to attack the tribe. You heard that commander’s speech-the Fire Lord wanted all of the Earth Kingdom under his control, including the desert. This isn’t helping anything, and your comments are really just uncalled for!”
Zafirah laughed sharply and gave a mocking bow. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, your Royal Highness! What, are you gonna order me to stop? Go on, I know you want to!”
“N-no, I don’t want to order you to do anything! I don’t even have the power to do that anymore! Ever since I first met you and your brother, I have always seen the three of us as being on equal footing!” he insisted.
“Oh, that’s one more thing,” she said, her tone suddenly going flat. “I’d stop using phrases like ‘the three of us’ if I were you. There is no ‘three of us’ anymore, okay? There’s just me and my brother, and then there’s you.” She shook her head contemptuously. “I don’t care how much time you spent in the desert, playing at being one of us-“
It was then that Kuei’s frayed nerves and growing anger reached their boiling point. “I never wanted to be one of you!” Kuei shouted. “Do you think I asked for any of this? Do you think I wanted to be sent into exile? I was perfectly content in Ba Sing Se. I had everything I needed there! I never wanted to be cast out here into the middle of nowhere!” Zafirah’s head snapped back as though he’d struck her. Her brown eyes went wide, burning with anger.
“The middle of nowhere, huh?” she repeated icily. “So that’s how you see it? I knew it.” And with that, she spun on her heel and retreated back towards the camp. He watched her go. He felt as though he were rooted to the spot. His heart sank, knowing that they had both crossed the line. He suddenly felt more alone than he ever had before.
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I’m going to be honest and admit that this was a very difficult chapter to write. I’m not a big fan of angst. (No offense to any angst writers reading this-it’s nothing personal.) I am a huge fan of happy stories. So this chapter was tough to get through. And it didn’t help that I took a break halfway through to work on some prize fics for a DeviantART contest; that sort of threw me off my groove a little. But I have put my all into it, as I always do, and think the end result was worth it.
CAUSE SOME TROUBLE
CHAPTER 11-- BREAKDOWN
For a long moment, Zafirah felt numb. Then the stillness shattered and she spun around, racing back to the ostrich horses. Her heart was hammering against her ribcage like it was about to burst. She got to the nearest animal, her fingers closing around its reins before the scarred man came to his senses.
“Grab her!” he shouted. She felt hands lock around her upper arms. She didn’t see who had her. She could hardly even see the ostrich-horse in front of her. All she saw were images of her brother-wasting away in a Fire Nation jail all alone, or run through with a soldier’s spear in the mad dash through the forest, or burned to a crisp-
“Let me go! Let me go!” she screamed, thrashing against the iron-like grips holding her back. Zafirah saw a foot from the corner of her eye and stomped viciously on it. The hand on her left arm loosened and she tore free of it, feeling her right shoulder wrench as she pulled away from the other one. She made it all of two steps before she was caught again. It took three men to keep her still.
“There’s nothing we can do,” said the scarred man from somewhere behind her. “We can’t risk going back there. Not now.”
“Then I’ll go by myself, coward!” Zafirah snarled.
“I can’t let you do that. We need the ostrich horse,” he said.
“You don’t get it, I have to go back!” Tears were filling her eyes now, leaving hot trails as they spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t leave him there! He’s my brother, he’s all I have left!” she choked out.
A familiar voice cut reached her ears. “Zafirah…” She jerked her head up and saw Kuei edging towards her.
“You stay out of this,” she snapped. He drew back as if she’d burned him. She struggled to break loose again, but the fight had gone out of her. She sagged against the hands holding her in place as she broke down and wept. The three guys let go of her, knowing she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Do something about her, please,” she heard the scar-faced man say. His voice sounded distant, somehow, as if he were standing behind a wall.
“I don’t think she wants me to-“ Kuei began.
“Well, that’s too bad for you, but you’re going to have to do it anyway. I don’t have time to babysit a hysterical woman. Daiyu will show you where to go.” She heard Kuei sigh, and then the sound of dirt crunching underfoot as he walked over to her. He gingerly reached out to place a hand on her arm, but she twisted out of his reach. She wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, as if she could squeeze the pain out of herself. Zafirah vaguely heard a female voice telling her and Kuei to come along; she followed Kuei and the unknown woman into the cave beside the path, her head down, barely able to see through the tears.
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Basam woke up to a roaring headache and a dull pain in his abdomen. He groaned and opened his eyes. At first, all he saw was disorienting darkness. His eyes adjusted slowly and details started to emerge: metal plating under his head, icy cold against his cheek; metal bars in front of him; a glowing crystal set into a holder on the wall beyond the bars. He heard a tiny squeaking sound somewhere close by.
The memories came back then. He remembered the long walk from the base to the Fire Nation prison, the attack, and-
“Zafi!” he gasped. He pushed himself up on his elbows, then winced in pain and fell back onto the floor. Where was his sister? Had she gotten away in the forest? And where was Kuei? What had happened to him? He shut his eyes, taking stock of the situation. At the very least, he knew he must be in the Fire Nation prison.
Basam had fallen behind in the forest after tripping on a tree root. The Fire Nation soldiers had caught up to him and he’d fought them, or tried to, anyway. Was he hurt? He reached up and felt the back of his head, where the pain was the worst. His fingers found a bump there, the hair around it matted and sticky with drying blood. And then there was his stomach; had he been cut, or stabbed? He carefully ran his hand over his abdomen to find out. His shirt was dry and undamaged, but the area underneath it was sore. So he was bruised, but there was no blood and no broken ribs. And speaking of his shirt, he noticed that they’d left him with his own clothes. No doubt they’d searched him for weapons, though.
He sat up again, nice and slow this time, grimacing in pain. Once he was up, he shuffled on his knees over to the door of the cell. It was like the one back at the base, but the bars were thicker. He grabbed ahold of them and peered out into the dimly lit hallway. Like the other prison, this one had one row of cells lining one side of the long room, only there were a lot more of them.
“You’re awake,” said a raspy voice. He looked up at the cell to the right of his and saw a figure emerging from the gloom within. Thin, worn-looking hands curled around the bars between their cells as a face came into view-a woman, maybe in her fifties. It was hard to tell, though. “I saw them bring you in here,” she continued.
“Did they bring anyone else in? A brown-haired woman around my age, or a thin, pale man?” Basam asked. Worry twisted in his stomach. Please, Spirits, let them be okay…
“No, as far as I know you’re the only new prisoner they’ve had today,” she said.
Basam heaved a sigh of relief, then winced again as his bruised abdomen throbbed. “Thank the Spirits, they’re still free,” he breathed. But then a horrible thought struck him-what if that wasn’t the reason they weren’t here with him? What if they hadn’t gotten away? The thought chilled his blood but he pushed it out. I can’t let myself think that way! There’s nothing to say that anything bad’s happened to them, he thought desperately. “I’m Basam,” he told the woman, forcing his voice to stay level.
“My name is Linh,” the woman said. She studied him for a moment. “Are you from the desert, young man?”
“Yeah,” he said, watching her for a reaction, but she just nodded.
“There’s no sand for you to Bend here, I’m afraid,” Linh said. “The guards keep the floors washed, so that bits of dirt won’t accumulate. There are many Earthbenders here, you know.”
“Are you one of them?” Basam asked. Linh smiled faintly.
“No,” she said. The guards came by with bowls of food then, and Basam was surprised to see that it wasn’t the same gruel they’d gotten at the base. It was rice with some kind of meat in it. Basam’s stomach growled as he eyed the bowl warily.
He wanted to refuse it; he’d wanted to refuse the gruel back at the base, too. He didn’t want anything from the Fire Nation. It wasn’t like he was afraid of going hungry-he was a Sandbender, and Sandbenders knew how to deal with hunger. But they also knew how to scrounge and save every little scrap of food, no matter how meager. And as evil as the Fire Nation was, he couldn’t bring himself to waste food. He picked up the bowl and ate it all.
//////////////////
Daiyu was a short, stocky woman with a keen eye and an air of confidence that put Kuei at ease. She greeted him with a nod and cast a sympathetic look at Zafirah.
“C’mon, I’ll get the two of you settled,” she told them. Without any further words, she led the two of them away. Or rather, she led Kuei, while Zafirah stumbled along behind him. She seemed to have retreated into herself, weeping quietly as they walked along. Kuei’s chest constricted in sorrow as he glanced back at her. If the situation had been bad before, it was ten times worse now. Basam was gone, his status unknown, and Zafirah was broken by his loss. And Kuei couldn’t help but feel as though the whole thing were somehow his own fault.
He forced himself not to dwell on the pain, and instead busied himself with observing the crowd they’d fallen in with. The dark-clad group was filing into the cave behind the three of them. Some members of the group were in the cave already, undoubtedly having come in while he and Zafirah were still outside on the mountain path. Some led the ostrich-horses along, while others gathered crates and sacks that lined the left-hand side of the cavern. Kuei guessed that they were supplies.
Moving with the rest of the group, the three of them passed through the cave and exited into a tunnel through a rough-hewn doorway at the back. No one spoke as they walked down the tunnel. The only sounds that penetrated the dark space were the grunting of ostrich-horses and the faint shuffling of boots and bare feet against stone. His own breathing sounded excessively loud in his ears.
The tunnel opened up into bright sunlight. Kuei blinked in surprise, taking in the sight before him. The tunnel brought them out into the bottom of a deep valley, heavily forested and swarming with activity. He saw tents set up everywhere, people doing laundry or cooking, others sparring or just sitting and talking. Steep mountains surrounded the valley on all sides; looking over his shoulder, Kuei saw a high peak extending up above the cliff where the tunnel emerged. He instinctively looked over at Zafirah for her reaction, but she didn’t even appear to notice any of it. Her gaze was turned inward, her face twisted in pain, still consumed in a private world of her own grief.
Daiyu spoke suddenly, making him jump. “That tunnel’s the only easy way into this valley,” she said with a hint of pride in her voice. The rest of the group was emerging from the tunnel behind them now, walking around the three of them and making their way into the camp.
“Where are we, exactly?” Kuei asked wearily.
“Safe from the Fire Nation,” Daiyu said. “I’ll tell you more later. For now, let’s get you and your friend set up here.” She guided them through the bustling camp and eventually came to an empty tent. She walked up to it and pulled the flap back, but Kuei hesitated. How was it that they just so happened to have an empty tent there?
“You were expecting us, weren’t you?” he asked. Daiyu nodded.
“We have our spies in Hideki’s ranks,” she explained. “I’ll go and fetch some food for the both of you. Wait for me here.” She turned and threaded her way through the crowded camp. Kuei ducked into the tent, Zafirah following behind him. The tent had been set up for three people, Kuei noticed with a pang of sadness. There were three sleeping bags piled up in one corner. Zafirah took one of them and laid it out along the back wall, then settled down onto it and curled up like a wounded cat.
“Zafirah,” he started, his voice quiet. He had to at least try to reach out to her. Despite everything that had happened since the night before, he couldn’t stand the thought of her suffering in silence by herself.
“Just leave me alone, please,” she murmured. She curled further in upon herself, her body quivering.
He turned and left the tent, suddenly feeling as though he were intruding upon a very personal moment. He too felt the pain of Basam’s disappearance, as he considered the Sandbender to be his friend, but he knew it just wasn’t the same as what Zafirah was going through.
Daiyu was waiting for him outside the tent, with a covered pot, some bowls, and a tea kettle sitting over a cooking fire. “Where’s the girl?” she asked.
“I think she’d like some rest,” Kuei said quietly. Daiyu nodded and set the pot down, lifting the lid. The smell of roast duck wafted out. He sat down next to her and accepted the bowl and chopsticks she handed to him.
“As you’ve probably guessed by now,” she began as she spooned rice and roast duck into the bowl, “We are rebels fighting against the Fire Nation invaders. Some of us are ex-soldiers from the Earth Kingdom army; some, like me, were just ordinary citizens who got swept up in the war. I’m Daiyu, as you know. The man with the scar is our leader. His name is Quan. We’re part of a larger resistance movement within the Kingdom. Our group in particular has existed in one form or another for decades, but we just came to this valley six months ago. As I said, we have our spies among Hideki’s soldiers, and that’s how we knew to expect the convoy. And as for you… well, as I said, we have our ways of gaining information. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”
Kuei winced. “Please don’t call me that. Technically it isn’t even my title anymore. Since you have your spies, you should also know that I’m in exile. I’ve been stripped of my crown.” And I’m surprised that you call it an honor. Ba Sing Se belongs to the Fire Nation because of me, he added inwardly.
“If you insist,” Daiyu said as she ladled a portion of food into a second bowl. “And what about her?” She nodded back towards the tent. “And the brother she spoke of back at the road?”
“Their names are Zafirah and Basam. They’re Sandbenders, I met them at the Misty Palms Oasis.” Kuei noticed that Daiyu frowned a little at the mention of the siblings’ origins, but if she had anything to say on the subject, she kept it to herself-a decision for which Kuei was very grateful. He lifted his chopsticks and ate a slice of duck. It was delicious, and certainly a nice change of pace from the dried meat the Sandbender tribes had. Daiyu stood and ducked inside the tent with the second bowl in hand. Kuei heard her say something to Zafirah in a hushed voice, and then she returned without the bowl.
“And now, the biggest question: what in the Spirit World were the three of you doing hanging around an occupied military base?” she asked as she sat down again.
“Well, in our defense, we thought it was still under Earth Kingdom control. We had some important information to give to the general; we thought it could help in the war effort,” Kuei said unhappily. He looked up at Daiyu, his mind working quickly. “Perhaps it still can,” he murmured. “In less than a month’s time, there will be a solar eclipse. The sun will be blocked for a span of about eight minutes, and during that time, all Firebenders will be completely defenseless. With the sun’s light blocked by the moon, their Firebending will stop working.”
Daiyu sat back, her eyes wide, and let out a slow breath. “I’ll be damned,” she whispered. She shot to her feet. “Come with me. We need to relay this information to Quan right away!”
“But what about Zafirah? Should we bring her?” Kuei asked, looking back at the tent.
“Let her rest, she’ll be fine. Now come on!”
/////////////////////
It was sunset, or at least Basam thought it might be. The only window nearby was a narrow slit in the wall across the hallway, and keeping track of time was already getting tough. Basam had never been this confined before. And he’d never been so cut off from his element. Even in the cramped basement that had been his family’s home, there’d still been walls of earth surrounding him. And even out in the woods, he’d still been in the open wilderness. But here, everything was metal. And just like Linh said, the floors were spotlessly clean. He felt the absence of his element like a physical loss. He’d had a feeling like this out in the forest, when he and Zafirah had discovered that their Sandbending didn’t work, but this was so much worse. It was like waking up to find someone had lopped off one of his ears. He felt off-balance.
More time went by, though he wasn’t sure how much. He passed the time walking the perimeter of his cell, stopping whenever the ache from his bruises got to be too much. And all the while, he wondered where his sister and friend were. He and Zafirah had never been apart. Losing her hurt even worse than losing his element.
Night fell and it was starting to get cold in there. It had been chilly before, but not like this. Basam sat down against the back of the cell, hugged his arms around himself and shivered. He wasn’t as used to cold as he was to hunger. Nights in the desert got cold sometimes, especially in winter, but he usually had blankets to help with that.
A tiny glow from the cell next to his got his attention. He looked up and his jaw dropped at what he saw. He could just make out the shape of Linh, sitting huddled against the back of her cell. She held her cupped hands up by her face, and nestled within her palms was a little ball of fire. Its light reflected off the faint smile curling the corners of her mouth. Basam scooted over to the door of his cell, staring through the bars.
“You’re a Firebender,” he breathed. He hadn’t even realized he’d spoken aloud until Linh glanced up at him. Her smile grew a little.
“Yes,” she said simply. “Does that bother you?”
“N-no,” Basam said quickly, embarrassed. “It’s just that, heh… this is the closest I’ve been to a Firebender that wasn’t trying to roast me alive.” He watched the tiny fireball flicker and dance in Linh’s hands. It was sort of pretty, actually.
“I suspect most Earth Kingdom subjects would say the same, unfortunately,” Linh said, sadness in her voice.
“What’re you in here for?” he asked.
“Disobeying orders,” she told him, frowing a bit. “I used to be a soldier. My garrison was stationed in an occupied Earth Kingdom village. But the more time I spent around the people of the village, the more I started to question whether we’d done the right thing in taking over their home. And the more I wondered about that, the more I started to doubt the war. One day, a higher-ranking officer told me to brand a boy who’d been caught stealing food. He couldn’t have been any older than twelve or thirteen. The officer said I was to make an example of the child, to deter other thieves. I refused.”
“Wow, I-that’s… That’s quite a story,” Basam said, stunned. “I mean, no offense, but you don’t really hear about Fire Nation soldiers abandoning the cause that often.”
“No,” Linh agreed. “The army suppresses news about dissention and deserters as much as they can. It’s better that they present a totally unified front to their enemies.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Basam murmured.
“And what about you? What brought you here?”
“I was aiding and abetting a known fugitive,” Basam said. He wrinkled his nose as he repeated Captain Hideki’s words. “Of course, I didn’t know he was a fugitive at the time. He, uh…” Basam paused, wondering how much he should tell her. He figured it couldn’t do much harm to tell her the truth, even if someone else overheard them. “See, my sister found this guy in the cantina back home, at the Misty Palms Oasis. He didn’t look like anything special, really, but I guess she just felt like helping him out…”
He told her the whole story, keeping his voice to a whisper the entire time just to be safe. While he talked, anxiousness tugged at his gut. Where was Zafirah now? Was she okay? When he’d finished, Linh sat deep in thought.
“A solar eclipse,” she murmured. “There are legends in my homeland regarding the last solar eclipse… but the Fire Lord likes to keep that information suppressed as well, of course. Still, the people refer to it in whispers as the darkest day in our history.”
Eventually, Linh drifted off to sleep. Basam laid down on the cold floor, but all he could do was stare at the metal ceiling. Then he remembered something and reached for one of the pockets in his pants. It was his prayer stone-the last time he’d used it was during the sandstorm in the desert, after leaving the Oasis. His father had carved it for him out of a piece of stone from Si Wong Rock itself. It was a tradition among Sandbenders for fathers to carve them for their children. They were generally carved with symbols for good luck or prosperity, or with prayers to the Spirits. He knew Zafirah still carried hers, even if she never used it.
For a terrible moment, he thought that the guards had found it while searching him for hidden weapons, but then his fingers brushed against the smooth leather pouch. He let out a relieved breath. But then he felt something else against his fingers, too, something rough. It felt like… sand! He sat upright and looked around to make sure no one was watching. His heart pounded with hope. When you lived in the desert, it was just a fact of life that everything you owned was going to be full of sand-your hair, your food, and especially your clothes. Sand got in everywhere, and that went double for pockets! He flicked his wrist and drew his hand from his pocket, and a thin stream of sand followed his fingertips.
He formed the sand into a ball, staring at it in wonder. He had sand! He pulled the leather totem pouch from his pocket and tugged it open with his teeth, and then carefully Bended the precious grains into it. He went to his three other pockets next and found even more sand! It went into the pouch as well. He went over every inch of himself, pulling sand from his hair and the crevices of his arm and leg wrappings. He Bended out every grain he could find embedded in his shirt and pants. When he was done, he clutched the pouch to his chest happily.
This wasn’t just a connection to his element: he had a weapon now. A small one, but it could still be useful. And he would keep it carefully guarded until the day of the eclipse. He rubbed the sides of the totem through the pouch, inwardly reciting the prayer inscribed on it, thanking the Spirits for watching over him and praying they’d watch over his sister as well.
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Four weeks until the Day of Black Sun…
The shrill sound of a whistle roused Kuei and Zafirah from their sleep the next morning. He was disoriented at first, until he remembered Daiyu telling him that the camp had a daily wake-up call. He glanced over at Zafirah as he slid out of his sleeping bag, but she kept her eyes averted. He looked away as well. The night before had been painfully uncomfortable for both of them. Or at least, he could only assume that it had been as uncomfortable for Zafirah as it had been for himself. They hadn’t spoken a single word to each other since arriving in the rebel camp. She’d shot him a few miserable glances, but mostly she kept to herself.
After telling his story to Daiyu, she’d taken him to see Quan. The scar-faced rebel leader had listened with avid interest as Kuei told him of the battle in the desert; and he’d all but jumped for joy when Kuei repeated his information about the eclipse.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for!” he’d crowed triumphantly. “For weeks we’ve been holding out for the perfect opportunity to attack that base, and now we have it!” Then he’d told Kuei to leave, as he had planning to do. Kuei remembered that Quan was going to call a meeting at noon to bring the rest of the rebels in on the plan.
Zafirah maintained her silence as they rolled up their sleeping bags and left the tent.
As Kuei ducked out into the brisk morning air, for just a second, he looked around for Bosco. Then he remembered where the bear was and his chest tightened. He missed his old friend terribly. Then something occurred to him-Hideki had been planning on presenting Bosco to the Fire Lord as spoils of war along with Kuei. But now that Kuei had escaped, would he still follow that plan? What would become of Bosco now? Kuei trudged off to the assembly tent in the middle of the rebel camp, misery settling like an iron weight in his stomach.
The cook’s hut was next to the assembly tent. Kuei joined the line of people waiting to go in and get their breakfast. He wasn’t especially hungry, but he knew he needed to eat something. He got his portion of food-rice and steamed vegetables-and left the hut. He glanced around for a place to sit. Finally he settled into a spot just outside. A few people sitting nearby glanced over at him, but none of them spoke to him.
As he ate, he looked around at the people surrounding him. They seemed to wear clothes from all three nations-he saw flashes of blue and red amid the usual Earth Kingdom greens and browns. He wondered if there were any Fire Nation citizens among their numbers, or if the clothing had been scavenged. He didn’t see anyone wearing the dark clothing of the day before. They must save that clothing for important missions, Kuei told himself. And as for the people themselves, they seemed to range from teenagers to grey-haired adults.
A young man walked up to Kuei as he was finishing his breakfast. He looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, with light brown hair pulled up into the typical topknot of Earth Kingdom men.
“Are you Kuei?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kuei said. The young man nodded.
“I’m Shen. You’re with me on dish duty after mealtime,” he replied. Kuei nodded and stood up, following Shen to the back of the cook hut. They were four other people already there, washing stacks of bowls from breakfast. Kuei and Shen joined them, dunking the bowls in a basin of water and then scrubbing them clean with rags. With that done, Shen sent Kuei off to his next task: laundry.
Soon enough, it was midday and time for the meeting. Kuei made his way to the assembly tent and stood near the back. A glimpse of tan caught his eye, and he looked up to see Zafirah standing two rows in front of him. He wanted so badly to approach her and try to talk to her. It had only been a day, and already the rift between them was becoming unbearable. Perhaps he could, after the meeting…
“All right, listen up, everyone!” Quan called out. Silence settled over the tent as its occupants turned their attention towards the rebel leader, standing on a crate at the front of the cramped space. “Okay. As you all know, we rescued two prisoners from Fire Nation custody yesterday. Well, one of them came forward with some information that will be very good for us… and very bad for our enemies! In about four weeks, there’s gonna be a solar eclipse. And while it lasts, the Firebenders will be all out of firepower. It won’t last long, but it’ll give us the opening we need to take down Hideki and free the prisoners in the jail! They have a lot of good people locked up in there-a lot of our people. That jail was built by our military to hold criminals, and now it’s being used to imprison Earth Kingdom citizens who’ve done nothing more than make a stand for their freedom and their rights. Some of ‘em aren’t even renegades like us. Some of ‘em were just trying to survive. And now they’re locked away.”
There were a few mutters of agreement from the rebels, but for the most part they remained silent, waiting for their leader to go on.
Quan nodded once before continuing. “The base is our priority. Once we have it, we can free our prisoners. And I’ve got an idea for how we’re going to do it…”
The meeting ended, and Daiyu was waiting at the entrance of the tent as Kuei filed out with the others.
“Quan would like to have a word with you,” she told him, gesturing back towards the front of the tent. He walked back over to where the rebel leader stood. Zafirah joined them a moment later, her arms wound around her torso and a deep frown on her face.
“Okay, how much combat experience do the two of you have?” he asked. “I need to figure out where I’m going to put you.”
“I have some basic hand-to-hand combat knowledge,” Kuei offered, “And I know how to wield a club.”
“Sort of,” Zafirah muttered. Kuei shot a sideways glance at her, surprised and a little hurt.
“And what about you, hm? You’re a Sandbender, right?” Quan prompted. Zafirah nodded. “Well, there won’t be a whole lot of sand in this fight. I’m going to hand you over to Daiyu, she’ll show you some real Earthbending.” Zafirah bristled at his choice of words, but said nothing. “You know anything else?”
“I can use a dagger,” she said.
“Good.” Then Quan turned to Kuei. “Shen will teach you some more hand-to-hand combat techniques. You can go now-Daiyu will tell you where to go.”
As they exited the tent, Kuei turned towards Zafirah. “Why did you say that?” he asked.
“Well it’s true, isn’t it?” she retorted. “You weren’t very good with that thing. Aren’t kings supposed to know how to fight?”
“It’s, um… the Earth King doesn’t traditionally take part in battles,” Kuei said quietly.
“That explains a lot,” she sneered. She picked up her pace, walking ahead of him and leaving him to stare at her in shock.
//////
The rock sat in the middle of the rebel camp’s dirt training ring. The top of it was just about level with Zafirah’s chin. She stared at it, her arms crossed over her chest. Daiyu stood a ways behind her, fists planted on hips.
“Do you know what neutral jing is?” the rebel asked.
“Can’t say that I do,” Zafirah replied flatly.
“It’s a way of directing your energy, and it relates to tactics in combat. Positive jing relates to the attack, and negative jing to the retreat. Neutral jing involves waiting for the opportune moment to strike,” Daiyu explained.
“Okay, but how does that help me move a rock?” asked Zafirah.
“It’ll help you fight with rocks,” Daiyu said, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. “I’d say that’s pretty important. Now, get in that stance I showed you.” Zafirah slid her feet apart and bent her knees, bringing her fists up to waist level. “Now, do you know anything about chi?”
“Nope, sorry,” Zafirah said dryly.
“Chi is energy that flows through the body. It gathers at seven points in the body, called chakras. Four of them are related to the elements, and therefore, to Bending. The Earth chakra is located at the bottom of the spine. That’s where the power for Earthbending comes from. Try to feel the energy flowing through you, focus on drawing it from that point.”
“How d’you know all this, anyway?” Zafirah asked, shutting her eyes to concentrate on her energy.
“My father was a scholar on the history of the Bending forms. He had all kinds of scrolls lying around. Are you feeling the energy flow?” Daiyu apparently wasn’t going to let her stray off-topic.
“I’m trying.” Zafirah gritted her teeth, doing her best to reach inside herself and feel this mysterious chi thing.
“Well, you’re never going to get anywhere forcing it like that,” the rebel said. Zafirah’s eyes snapped open, and she turned to glare at the older woman. “Try to strike the boulder. Maybe you’ll feel it more easily in motion.”
Zafirah eyed the rock, then drew in a deep breath, squared her shoulders, drew back her fists and-“OW!” She reeled back from the rock, shaking her throbbing hands and grimacing. There was a little bit of blood smeared on her knuckles. Daiyu jogged over and gently took hold of her hands, examining them.
“Nothing’s broken,” she pronounced after a moment. “Try again. Use the flat of your palms this time.” Zafirah huffed out an annoyed breath and retook her stance. She pulled her hands back again, palms facing the rock. She thrust them forward against the stone and immediately went flying backwards across the dirt ring. She skidded to a halt at Daiyu’s feet, the impact having knocked the wind out of her. The rebel grabbed her under the arms and pulled her to her feet. “Try it again.”
And she did. She launched herself at the rock again, and again she was hurled back. Zafirah let out a low growl of frustration and darted sideways, charging at the rock from a new angle. It didn’t work any better than the last one, though. Her fists thumped uselessly against the rock, bloodying her knuckles even more. This time her frustration came out in an infuriated cry. She lunged over and over again, until she slumped against the boulder, panting and drained of energy.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Daiyu said softly.
“No! I have to get this right,” Zafirah said harshly.
“You’re wearing yourself out, girl. It’s obvious you’re not in the right mind for this today. We can try again tomorrow.”
“I have to do this,” Zafirah insisted through a clenched jaw. “Stupid thing, why won’t it move?! Why doesn’t it work?” She drew back and flung herself against it once more. Daiyu grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back, but Zafirah thrashed against her grip. “Get your hands off me! I have to make this work! You don’t get it-I’m useless out here without my Bending! The Fire Nation captured us-they took my brother from me-I can’t be useless anymore!” She felt tears of anger well up in her eyes as she thrashed again. Daiyu wrapped her arms around Zafirah’s torso, pinning her arms against her sides. Zafirah struggled for a moment and then went slack in the stronger woman’s grip, realizing she wasn’t getting away.
“Let’s go,” Daiyu said sternly. “It’s time to wash up and get those hands bandaged.” She let Daiyu take her away from the training ring. For the second time in two days, she felt a crushing sense of helplessness overwhelm her.
/////////
Kuei’s own training session had gone about as well as could be expected. Shen had a very direct manner, but he was a patient teacher despite his brusque style of instruction. Still, he ached all over and he was sure he had some bruises forming.
After the session was over, the two of them had gone to wash off at a small pond just outside the camp. The pond, at the edge of the valley, lay beneath a thin plume of a waterfall that spilled down the mountainside above. A stream came out from the pond and wound its way off through the trees. Shen had explained that bathers usually came here in groups separated by gender. Although there were a few people in the camp who didn’t feel entirely comfortable bathing in those groups, for one reason or another, and so often came by themselves or with each other.
By the time they returned to the camp, it was time for dinner. As Kuei exited the cook hut with a bowl of rice and roast duck, he heard Daiyu calling to him.
“Hey, over here!” she said, waving to him. He waved back and walked over, but he stopped a couple of feet away when he saw Zafirah sitting next to the rebel. She glanced up and nodded stiffly to him. He nodded in return and sat down, trying to ignore the stab of disappointment he felt at her reaction. Daiyu glanced back and forth between them and cleared her throat. “So, how was your training today? Was Shen a good teacher?” she asked.
“It was fine, thank you. And yes, he was an excellent teacher. How was the Earthbending training?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zafirah grumbled.
“All right, fair enough,” Kuei replied. The three of them ate in uncomfortable silence for a while. Occasionally, Daiyu would break it with small talk, but the conversations never seemed to last long. As they were finishing their meal, Daiyu spoke up again.
“You look worried, Kuei. What’s bothering you?” she asked. He glanced anxiously at Zafirah, and then decided to go with the one topic that seemed relatively safe.
“I’m worried about my animal companion, Bosco,” he said. “I raised him from a cub. I’m not sure how he’ll fare in the hands of the Fire Nation, I just hope that Hideki-“
A disgusted snort from Zafirah interrupted him. She slammed her empty bowl against the ground. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” she growled. “My brother is gone-we don’t even know if he’s alive or dead-and you’re worrying about a stupid bear? Unbelievable!” She stood up and stormed off towards the edge of the camp. Daiyu looked at Kuei and raised an eyebrow.
“This is your problem, Your Highness. I’d go and deal with it if I were you,” she said. Kuei sighed, knowing she was right, and went after the Sandbender.
“Zafirah, I don’t think you’re being very fair,” Kuei said as he caught up to her. She whirled around to face him.
“Yeah? You’ve been lying to me for the past month-why should I care what you think?” she demanded.
“Well, we were quite good friends before-“ Kuei started.
“Exactly, before you lied to us and before your stupid little quest got me and my brother captured by the Fire Nation! And speaking of that, how do we know the Fire Nation didn’t follow you to the Oasis that first night, huh? Maybe it was you they were after, and when they didn’t find you, they settled for enslaving my tribe instead!” She jabbed an accusatory finger at him. She snorted again and cast a scrutinizing eye over him. “Look at you-some king you are. You let the enemy take over the capitol, and you can’t even fight! You don’t act like a king, and you sure don’t look like one. I thought kings were supposed to be all strong and imposing-you’re just scrawny,” she sneered.
Kuei gaped at her, sputtering incoherently as a spike of anger rose within him. “All right, that’s enough! Stop this, please! You know as well as I do that the Fire Nation came there specifically to attack the tribe. You heard that commander’s speech-the Fire Lord wanted all of the Earth Kingdom under his control, including the desert. This isn’t helping anything, and your comments are really just uncalled for!”
Zafirah laughed sharply and gave a mocking bow. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, your Royal Highness! What, are you gonna order me to stop? Go on, I know you want to!”
“N-no, I don’t want to order you to do anything! I don’t even have the power to do that anymore! Ever since I first met you and your brother, I have always seen the three of us as being on equal footing!” he insisted.
“Oh, that’s one more thing,” she said, her tone suddenly going flat. “I’d stop using phrases like ‘the three of us’ if I were you. There is no ‘three of us’ anymore, okay? There’s just me and my brother, and then there’s you.” She shook her head contemptuously. “I don’t care how much time you spent in the desert, playing at being one of us-“
It was then that Kuei’s frayed nerves and growing anger reached their boiling point. “I never wanted to be one of you!” Kuei shouted. “Do you think I asked for any of this? Do you think I wanted to be sent into exile? I was perfectly content in Ba Sing Se. I had everything I needed there! I never wanted to be cast out here into the middle of nowhere!” Zafirah’s head snapped back as though he’d struck her. Her brown eyes went wide, burning with anger.
“The middle of nowhere, huh?” she repeated icily. “So that’s how you see it? I knew it.” And with that, she spun on her heel and retreated back towards the camp. He watched her go. He felt as though he were rooted to the spot. His heart sank, knowing that they had both crossed the line. He suddenly felt more alone than he ever had before.
/////////////////
I’m going to be honest and admit that this was a very difficult chapter to write. I’m not a big fan of angst. (No offense to any angst writers reading this-it’s nothing personal.) I am a huge fan of happy stories. So this chapter was tough to get through. And it didn’t help that I took a break halfway through to work on some prize fics for a DeviantART contest; that sort of threw me off my groove a little. But I have put my all into it, as I always do, and think the end result was worth it.