Cause Some Trouble, Chapter 16
CAUSE SOME TROUBLE
CHAPTER 16-- WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING
The cart ride went by uneventfully, and soon they arrived at Liu's farm. His wife came out of the main house to greet them. Like her husband, she wore ragged and faded clothing. She had frizzy silver hair, half of which she wore pulled up in a topknot. A warm, welcoming smile graced her wrinkled face as she said hello to them.
They also met two of the remaining farmhands: Chinh, who was tall, muscular, and light-skinned; and Xuan, who was short, slender, and dark-skinned. When Kuei grasped Xuan's forearm in greeting, though, he could feel the strength in the shorter man's grip. Both men were dark-haired.
The farm was quite large. In addition to the main house, there was a separate house for the farmhands. Next to that was a small bathhouse with three rooms, each containing its own tub and water-pump. There were two storehouses for the harvested crops, and Kuei could immediately see the damage that had been done. Most of the farmhand house had burned as well, and there were only two extra rooms.
As Chinh showed them around, Kuei realized that this was the first time he'd seen a real farm. It was much neater and more organized than he'd imagined. He'd read plenty of stories involving farms, in his hours spent in the Royal Library-usually, the farm was where the brave hero or heroine came from. Said character would always leave the farm to go off on some marvelous adventure. More than a few stories had ended up with the character defeating the villain and becoming King or Queen of the realm. It occurred to Kuei that he was doing it in the opposite order. He smiled at the thought.
"So, who's sleeping where?" Zafirah asked as they entered the farmhand house.
"I could share with Zafi if you want your own room, Kuei," Basam added. "We're used to it." Kuei thought back to the cramped basement underneath the weapons shop.
"Or Zafirah could have her own room, and you and I could share," Kuei suggested, turning to Basam. It would have been inappropriate, unfortunately, to suggest sharing a room with Zafirah.
"I gotta admit, that's a tempting offer," Zafirah said with a smirk. "My very own room!"
Basam shrugged. "I don't mind much where I sleep, really. I'll share with Kuei, then," he said. Chinh led them to two doors near the end of the hall, about three rooms apart from each other.
"These're yours," he said in his gruff voice. Kuei thanked him and the younger man just nodded once before leaving.
"Chatty fellow," Zafirah commented sardonically once the farmhand was out of sight. Basam chuckled and then waved to the two doors.
"Right or left?" he asked Zafirah.
"I don't know-right, I guess," she said. The three friends then went off to get settled into their rooms. Basam slid open the door of the left-hand room and the two men entered. It was a small, sparsely decorated space. There was one futon bed along the back wall, with blankets and sheets neatly folded at its bottom. Kuei made a note to ask about getting a second one. There was a small, wooden table next to the bed, most likely as a place to set a lamp. A rickety, wooden dresser sat against the wall on the left; a tall wardrobe stood next to it. A faded, frayed wall hanging on the right added a splash of muted color to the room. There was a window above the futon bed, its shutters closed.
Basam set his pack down and smiled. "It's kind of a nice place, don't you think?" he asked, glancing at Kuei. "Well, probably not nearly as nice as what you're used to and all, but still…"
"It's a very cozy room," Kuei agreed. "A room doesn't have to be lavishly furnished to qualify as a nice place."
"Well said," Basam agreed. They didn't have much to unpack. Their blankets got folded up and put in the bottom drawer of the dresser. They each had two extra changes of clothing, courtesy of the supply stores at the fortress, which went into the dresser or were hung up in the wardrobe. They placed the rest of their various belongings on the dresser top. With that done, the two of them went outside to unpack the supplies in Bosco's saddlebags. Zafirah had apparently had the same idea, because she was already there.
"I like the rooms," she commented. "Very comfy."
"Indeed," Kuei agreed. "Now, what are we going to do with these supplies?"
"Well, we won't need the food while we're here. And most of it'll just spoil, anyway. Let's give it to Mrs. Liu," Basam suggested.
"Good idea," Zafirah agreed. "I'll go and do that. You two store those tents somewhere." Basam took the tents back to his and Kuei's room while Zafirah gathered up the food and took it to the main house. Kuei went with her to ask about that futon bed.
After dinner that night, Mr. Liu took the three of them aside to explain the details of their work schedule. "You'll be getting up early each morning, and working till sunset. Once a week, you'll have a day and a half off of work. That time will be yours to do as you please. Is that acceptable to you?" They had agreed, and then they'd gone off to bed.
It was only just past sunrise the next morning when a knock at the door woke Zafirah up. She groaned and buried her face against the worn pillow, but the knocking kept going. She dragged herself up off the futon and stomped over to the door. She slid it open and saw Xuan standing in the hall.
"Sorry about the wake-up call," he said with a slight wince. "Rules are rules though." Ah, yes, now she remembered.
"Don't worry 'bout it," she mumbled, pushing loose locks of hair out of her face. Xuan left her to get dressed. She rubbed a layer of ointment onto the rash before pulling her tunic on. The stuff was working fast-the rash was nearly gone already. Kuei and Basam were just leaving their room as she stepped out into the hall. She felt a flash of jealousy at her brother, getting to share a room with Kuei. That's a dumb thing to be jealous about, she told herself. Didn't stop her wishing it was her, though.
"Mornin'," she called to them. Basam yawned and waved sleepily.
"Good morning, Zafirah. Did you sleep well?" Kuei asked. She raised her eyebrows at him. She felt like an utter mess, still sleepy and with her clothes all rumpled; he looked bright-eyed and well rested, and his clothes were all neat and tidy, if a little too big. (And even though they were too big, she thought, he still managed to look handsome in them.)
"How are you so awake this early?" she asked.
"I, um, I really don't know?" he offered, gesturing vaguely. His face went a little red. It was ridiculously endearing.
"If you figure it out, let me know," she said dryly. Then she remembered that he'd asked a question. "Oh, uh, I slept fine. Thanks." Now it was her turn to blush a little. "How about you?"
"Quite well, thank you." He smiled, drawing her gaze down to his lips once again. She quickly looked back up his eyes, those startlingly green eyes… but that just made her even more red faced. She and Kuei both jumped a little when Basam clapped them both on their shoulders and smirked.
"Let's not keep our hosts waiting," he said cheerfully. Oh, right-breakfast, Zafirah reminded herself. The three of them left the farmhand house and made their way to the main house.
After breakfast, Liu put them right to work on construction. He led them to one of the crop storage sheds, which was just about falling down. A couple of the farmhands were already there, up in the scaffolding that surrounded the blackened structure. Zafirah saw them hacking away the remains of burnt wooden beams, making way for the repairs.
Basam turned to Kuei. "Okay, I'll show you what to do," he said. Of the three of them, Basam had done the most carpentry, thanks to his time on the sand glider construction team. Kuei nodded and awkwardly followed Basam up into the scaffolding. Zafirah climbed up next to them. Kuei's feet slipped a time or two, making Zafirah wince and hold her breath. But to his credit, he didn't fall.
Once they were situated in the scaffolding, they got their tools and set to work. Looking around, Zafirah saw that the beams to be cut away were all marked with white chalk. She picked up a saw and grabbed hold of the nearest beam. The metal blade cut easily through the burnt wood, which was rough and crumbly under her hand. It took only a couple minutes to cut away the beam, which she dropped down onto the pile at the bottom of the scaffolding.
It was easy work and it got boring quickly. Zafirah let her mind wander a bit-not too much, of course, as she didn't want to cut off anything important. But there was a matter weighing on her and it tugged at her thoughts.
Back on the beach, it'd seemed like a done deal. She'd made up her mind and all. And then the nerves had set in. Sure, it was easy enough to say that being with Kuei would make her happy and to decide it was worth the risk to tell him, but actually doing something about it… I never had this stupid problem with any other guys, she thought grumpily. It was embarrassing to admit-which was why she never would-but she was afraid of messing up, somehow. I wanna get this right. Okay, Zafirah, calm down. What I need is a plan…
A few minutes later, she looked over at Kuei and saw him rubbing his shoulder. "Getting tired already?" she called over teasingly.
He quickly went to work again. "No, no, I was just stretching," he lied, sawing away busily. She smirked and shook her head.
They worked till the early afternoon, when one of the farmhands yelled to them that it was lunchtime. As they clambered down the scaffolding and headed off to lunch, Zafirah's eyes went right to Kuei. It would've been hard not to look, really. She could see a thin sheen of sweat on his face and his arms, gleaming in the sun. And she could see it on his neck and collarbones, too, as the neckline of his wraparound tunic had sagged open a little. Plus, his tunic was sticking to his slender torso. It was definitely a good look for him, she decided. Luckily, it was sunny and hot that day, so she had an excuse to be red in the face.
After lunch, Kuei and his friends were assigned a different task-this time, Liu sent them to another storage shed that was already being rebuilt. Now Kuei had another new trick to learn: wielding a hammer and nails. As with the sawing before, his arm started to ache quickly. He winced as he pounded another nail into a plank. Basam stopped him with a hand on his upper arm, shaking his head.
"You don't have to put so much force into it, y'know?" he said. "Just tap the nail, easy-like. You're not trying to kill the thing," he added good-naturedly. Kuei smiled wearily, wiped his forehead on his arm, and tried it again. He'd left his glasses in his room, for which he was glad, as they certainly wouldn't have stayed on with all this sweat.
"Is this very different from building sand gliders?" Kuei asked Basam after a few minutes.
"Sort of," Basam replied. "This wood's a lot better than most of what we had, though."
"Really?" Kuei hadn't really considered that certain types of wood would be better than others.
"Yeah. Our tribe could never afford the high quality lumber, so we had to make do with the dregs of whatever the traders had left over," Basam explained.
"Ah," Kuei murmured. He decided that, if he ever got his throne back, he'd see what he could do about establishing some better trade routes in that part of the Earth Kingdom.
After a short while, he found himself glancing over at Zafirah to see how she was faring. There was a glimmer of sweat on her forehead and neck. She wore a sleeveless green shirt and pants in place of her usual Sandbender garb, and he could see the sweat on her arms as well. It had never really occurred to him that sweat could be attractive before. He watched her hammering away industriously, a look of intense concentration on her face. It wasn't until Basam nudged him that he realized he'd forgotten about his own task. He blushed and got back to work.
The sun set and their work ended for the day. The farmhands all trampled back to the main house for dinner. Kuei felt as though he were dragging his limbs through thick mud as he walked. He was completely exhausted from the day's efforts.
Perhaps I'll skip dinner and go right to bed, he thought. But his stomach protested that idea, so he forced himself to the table. Once the meal was over, most of the farmhands went outside to sit and drink rice wine around a campfire.
"Hey, new guys, wanna join us?" called one of the farmhands. Kuei couldn't remember his name. He considered it, then decided against it.
"No, thank you. But I do appreciate the offer," Kuei said with a thin smile. The farmhand shrugged.
"How 'bout you two?" he said to the twins.
Zafirah shrugged. "Sure, I'll stay and have a drink. Just one, though."
"Count me in, too," Basam said. The Sandbender man was more accustomed to such hard work, so he didn't seem nearly as tired as Kuei or Zafirah did. Kuei envied the other man's strength.
Instead, Kuei decided that a bath was in order. He stopped by his room to grab a towel from his belongings, and then headed off to the farmhands' bathhouse. It was a round structure with six small bathing rooms arranged around it. There was a water pump in the middle, with pipes that ran into each bathing room. According to the other farmhands, each bathing stall had its own small water boiler. The pipes ran the water through the boiler and then into the bathing basin by way of a hand pump. All he had to do was light the boiler in the stall and then pump in as much water as he needed.
He picked a stall and walked in, sliding the door shut behind him. Lighting the boiler was easy enough, but the farmhands had told him that it would take a few minutes to heat up. While he waited, he reached up and took his hair down, untangling it with his fingers. His hair was much shorter now than it had been in Ba Sing Se. In the capitol, it was the style for noblemen to wear their hair in a long queue. However, before leaving the Avatar's group at Chameleon Bay, Sokka had suggested cutting his hair. It would help him blend in better, the boy had said. Kuei had agreed and let the teenager cut his hair to slightly below shoulder length. (The boy had seemed to enjoy the cutting a little too much, saying, "Take that, hair!") Ever since then, he'd been wearing his hair in a topknot.
He waited another minute or two before he started pumping water into the basin. The mechanism was much easier to operate than he'd expected, and soon he had a basin full of delightfully warm water.
Zafirah sat with the farmhands for a few minutes, sipping her cup of rice wine. Once it was empty, she stood up and left to go and take a bath.
As she walked away, one of the farmhands piped up. "Want some company?" he leered. That earned him a rude gesture from Zafirah and a smack upside the head from Basam. She heard the rest of the farmhands having a good laugh at the guy as she headed towards the farmhand house.
There was a slight bounce in her step, despite how bone-weary she was. The prospect of another hot bath had put her in a good mood. First the bath at the fortress, and now we get an entire bathhouse to use… I'm likely to get spoiled if this keeps up, she thought cheerily. After a quick stop by her room, she headed to the bathhouse. She picked a stall at random, yawning widely as she walked over to it and slid open the door.
What she hadn't counted on was the possibility that the stall wouldn't be empty. And it wasn't even remotely empty. She froze in the doorway, her towel falling out of her hand.
Kuei was standing there, next to a basin of steaming water, in all his almost-naked glory. He was wearing just his underwear and his fingers were on the drawstring holding them up on his narrow hips. He froze too, gaping at her in red-faced shock.
She tried not to stare, she really did. For a moment, though, she just couldn't pull her eyes away. Spirits, but he had a gorgeous body. He was all long lines and sharp angles and lean muscle-and still very pale, though it looked like all these weeks in the sun were starting to change that. The smoothness of his skin was only interrupted by the thin, stitched-up line of the cut on his torso, the one from the battle.
His hair was down, she realized, hanging loose around his face. It looked soft, and she really wanted to run her fingers through it. It was a good length for that kind of thing. He had long, long legs and thin arms, but he didn't look gangly at all. Instead, he looked delicious.
After what felt like forever, she managed to tear her eyes away from him. She grabbed her towel off the ground and backed away. "S-sorry, wrong room!" she squeaked, her face burning. And with that, she spun on her heel and raced out of the room.
She picked another bath stall, this one across the circle from Kuei's. One of the stalls next to his was empty; she knew because the door was open a little (and she blamed her tiredness for not seeing that before). But she walked past it. She didn't trust herself not to do something stupidly impulsive, sitting naked in a bath basin knowing Kuei was doing the same thing on the other side of a thin wall.
Zafirah still felt flustered when she got back to her room after her bath. She was trying not to think about what she would've seen if she'd barged into that stall a moment later, but it wasn't easy. Part of her wished she had; but the rest of her worried that Kuei might have keeled over from embarrassment. That settles it, she thought, I need a plan to make him mine.
And then an absurd thought popped into her head: I just saw the Earth King in his underwear. She giggled at the thought, and then she guffawed, and then she couldn't stop laughing. She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks.
When the hilarity faded away, she was left once again with the sheer ridiculousness of her whole situation. The nerves came back again, and so did that gnawing edge of doubt. For all the certainty she'd had on the beach… well, she really didn't have any certainty at all. Every time she felt like she'd made up her mind, the doubts would come back again.
She sighed and sank down onto her futon. There was no denying it-she really, really wanted to be with Kuei. But by all rights, he didn't belong in her world and she didn't belong in his. In fact, by all rights, they never should have even met. It was just a strange twist of destiny that had brought their lives together that day in the Misty Palms Oasis.
It wasn't that she was unhappy about it; no, despite all the confusion she was feeling, she wouldn't have traded their time together for anything in the world. (Although she could have done without that argument and the weeks of mutual cold-shouldering that had followed it.) It was just… how in the world was she going to do this? How could she tell him what she felt?
She stood up and paced restlessly over to her dresser. Her prayer talisman sat on the dresser top; she picked it up and slid it out of its pouch. She ran her fingers over the red-brown stone, feeling its worn etchings under her fingertips. She thought about all the desert spirits that those inscriptions stood for and sighed again.
She scowled at the stone, wondering if some Spirit was having fun with this. "Very funny," she muttered.
The days seemed to fly by under their steady schedule of labor. The work got easier and easier with each attempt, Kuei noticed. Soon enough, his right arm stopped aching as badly when he wielded a saw or swung a hammer. The three of them got along quite well with the farmhands, who were all good company. Bosco seemed to be enjoying himself as well; he got daily meals of fresh meat, and Mrs. Liu was always happy to give him a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ear.
On that particular night, almost a week after their arrival, Kuei and the others were eating dinner at the main house. It was a warm, balmy summer night, and Kuei could hear crickets chirping outside the dining room's open windows.
As they finished their meal, everyone brought their dishes in to the kitchen. Dish-washing was something of a communal event on the farm, with everyone scrubbing and drying at a long, metal basin. The other farmhands left the kitchen as they finished their share of the dishes; eventually, only Kuei, Basam, and Zafirah were left. Mr. Liu sat at a small table in the corner of the kitchen, sipping a cup of ginseng tea.
Basam finished his last dish and nudged Zafirah. "Hey, you think you could show me some of that meditation stuff later? The stuff Daiyu taught you?"
"Sure," Zafirah agreed. "Just as soon as I finish this." She jerked her head in the direction of the dishes in front of her.
"I could finish cleaning those for you," Kuei offered.
"Really? You don't mind?" she asked.
"Not at all," he assured her.
Zafirah flashed one of her bright, lovely smiles at him. "Thanks, Kuei! That's real nice of you." She wiped her hands dry on her pants legs and then tugged her brother's sleeve. "Okay, let's go start that meditation." The two Sandbenders strode out of the kitchen. Zafirah reached up and gave his left ear an affectionate flick as she passed by. Kuei chuckled and watched them go, and he'd nearly forgotten about his dishes until Liu spoke up.
"You're a lucky man, traveling with such good friends," he said.
"Oh, um, thank you," Kuei said. He quickly got back to scrubbing his dishes. Once the last one was clean, he dried it and set it aside.
"Would you like some tea?" Liu asked.
"Yes, please. Thank you." Kuei sat down across from Liu and accepted a steaming cup of the aromatic tea. They sat in silence for a moment.
"She's a remarkable girl," the old man commented. Kuei jumped slightly and glanced at him. Liu gave a gravelly chuckle and sipped his tea. "Zafirah, I mean. She's quite a girl."
"Yes, she is," Kuei agreed, smiling softly. "Now, if only I weren't such a coward," he added in an undertone.
Liu chuckled again. "Ah, yes, I remember what it was like at your age. Love seemed so complicated." He leaned back in his chair and tapped his thick fingertips against his chin. "You know, there's a lovely botanical garden in town. I've heard it's especially beautiful at this time of the year. If I were a young man with a pretty lady-friend, I might think it a nice place to go for a walk."
Kuei sat forward in his own chair as he caught Liu's meaning and the idea blossomed in his mind. Tomorrow was their half-day of work. They would have the entire afternoon and evening to themselves. And after that, they'd have a full day off. His heart beat a little faster as he thought about it. He could ask Zafirah to go to the garden with him… at sunset, perhaps. They could find a nice spot to sit and talk, and then he could tell her…
"Yes," Kuei agreed thoughtfully. "Yes, I think you're right." His mouth curled up in a wide smile. He drained the rest of his teacup and stood. "Thank you, Mr. Liu." Kuei bowed quickly to the old man and then rushed out of the main house. As he hurried back to the farmhand house, he saw Zafirah and Basam sitting in meditation by the front door. Bosco sat next to them, looking confused. Kuei walked past them; he'd wait until they were done.
He went back to his shared room and lay down on his futon. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this restless. First he folded his hands on his stomach, tapping the fingers of one against the back of the other. Then he sat up and leaned back against the wall. His left foot started tapping against the futon. Finally, Basam came back to their room, nodding a greeting to Kuei. He nodded back, stilling his tapping foot so as not to betray his nervousness. He waited another minute or two, and then got up and excused himself.
He walked up the hall, his heart in his throat, and knocked on Zafirah's door. There was a pause, followed by the scuff of footsteps, and then the door slid open. Zafirah peered out at him, looking sleepy.
"Hey, Kuei. What's up?" Zafirah asked, puzzled.
"I, um... Mr. Liu says there's a garden in town," he blurted.
Zafirah arched an eyebrow at him. "Good for them," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching. Kuei blushed, cursing his lack of tact.
"Well, um, what I meant to say is that there's a botanical garden in town, and Mr. Liu says that it's a very nice place. He, uh, he says that there are some lovely flowers at this time of the year. I was thinking that perhaps we could go there tomorrow, after we're dismissed from work." He forced the words out in a rush, before he could lose his nerve.
Zafirah grinned. "Sure, that sounds like fun. Have you asked Basam yet if he wants to go?"
Kuei's face reddened even more. "A-actually, I… I thought… that maybe we could go together. You and… and I."
Her eyes widened at that. "What, y-you mean, just the two of us?" she asked. And then she actually blushed! He could clearly see the redness rising to her tan cheeks in the dim light of the hallway.
"Yes, just the two of us," he agreed, his confidence bolstered by that blush. "I thought it might be nice to spend an evening together."
"Uh… yeah," she agreed softly. "Yeah, that'd be… yeah. Sure. Definitely." She reached up and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
"So, tomorrow then?" he ventured.
"Yeah," she repeated, smiling.
"Good! Goodnight, Zafirah," he said happily.
"Night," she replied faintly. She still had that smile on her face as she slid the door shut. Once it was closed, Kuei let out a relieved breath. And then the full impact of what he'd just done hit him and he leaned against the wall behind him. He'd just set up the most perfectly opportune moment to tell Zafirah how he truly felt about her.
The question is… can I go through with it? he thought to himself.
True to his word, Liu let them off work at noon the next day. The farmhands all scattered away, chattering happily as they went off to enjoy the start of their free time. Zafirah walked back to the farmhouse with Basam next to her.
"So what're you up to now?" Basam asked as they sauntered back. "Feel like going over some Earthbending stuff?"
"Sure, but just for a couple of hours," she agreed.
"Why's that?" Basam asked.
Zafirah's face started to heat up. "Uh, actually, Kuei asked me if I wanted to go walk around town with him. Says there's a nice garden or something they've got. Pretty flowers or some such. He asked me last night."
Basam's eyebrows went up and a grin spread slowly across his face. Zafirah scowled and jabbed a finger at him. "Don't! Not a word outta you," she grumbled warningly, blushing even more. Basam pressed his lips together and held up his hands, but he was still smirking. She rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his upper arm. "Okay, let's stick to some simple forms for now. I don't think Liu would much appreciate us tearing up the ground around here."
They found a nice, open space behind the farmhand house and stood facing each other. Zafirah put her fists on her hips and began. "Okay, so, first of all, you got your basic stances. This one, Daiyu called a horse stance." She planted her feet apart and bent her knees, with her fists raised. Basam copied her. "Okay, and this is the motion you'd use to move a single rock." She shifted her feet and thrust her fists forward. And again, Basam followed along.
"Is that it?" he asked as he did the motion a few more times.
"Well, kind of. Remember how I told you to feel the flow of your chi last night, when we were meditating?"
"Yeah?"
"Try to feel it flowing down your arms now, and out from your hands. Like a stream or something."
Basam took a deep breath in and out and did the movement again, his brow furrowed in concentration. After a few tries, he relaxed his stance. "I got nothin'," he muttered.
"It was hard for me at first, too," Zafirah said. "Just try it a few more times, okay? Really reach into yourself and feel your chi flowing. You wanna channel it from that chakra-I told you about that remember?-and make it go from there to your arms, and then out through your fists."
Her brother nodded and kept at it. Eventually, he grinned. "I felt it that time!" he exclaimed.
"Good! Now let's try another stance…"
At two hours before sunset, Zafirah headed off to take a quick bath. And then came the real challenge: deciding what to wear. She stood by the dresser in her room for what felt like hours, agonizing over her choices.
"Well, this is new," she muttered. She'd never had to worry about choosing clothes back home, mainly due to lack of options. But now she had choices! She had her Sandbender clothes and the two sets of clothing taken from the fortress: a sleeveless green tunic with a brown belt and knee-length brown pants; and a long-sleeved brown tunic with a green belt and long green pants. The sleeveless tunic was badly in need of a washing and it was far too hot for the long-sleeved tunic. Eventually she settled on a mix of things; she took the long, tan, short-sleeved tunic from her desert garb, the green pants, and the green belt. She put on her arm wraps like usual, but only a couple layers of them.
"Not bad," she muttered as she looked down at herself. Then she left her room and headed outside, trying to tell herself that she wasn't nervous. It didn't work. She was all a-flutter over this, like some silly little girl. This is my chance, she told herself. I just have to be brave enough to take it.
Playlist:
1) A Year Without Rain by Selena Gomez-Zafi’s inner thoughts in this chapter. Yes, I like a Selena Gomez song. I care not! My friend candlehat on deviantART suggested it to me, pointing out that it works really well for Zafi and Kuei, and she was right!
2) See You Tomorrow [How To Train Your Dragon]-Chapter theme.
CHAPTER 16-- WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING
The cart ride went by uneventfully, and soon they arrived at Liu's farm. His wife came out of the main house to greet them. Like her husband, she wore ragged and faded clothing. She had frizzy silver hair, half of which she wore pulled up in a topknot. A warm, welcoming smile graced her wrinkled face as she said hello to them.
They also met two of the remaining farmhands: Chinh, who was tall, muscular, and light-skinned; and Xuan, who was short, slender, and dark-skinned. When Kuei grasped Xuan's forearm in greeting, though, he could feel the strength in the shorter man's grip. Both men were dark-haired.
The farm was quite large. In addition to the main house, there was a separate house for the farmhands. Next to that was a small bathhouse with three rooms, each containing its own tub and water-pump. There were two storehouses for the harvested crops, and Kuei could immediately see the damage that had been done. Most of the farmhand house had burned as well, and there were only two extra rooms.
As Chinh showed them around, Kuei realized that this was the first time he'd seen a real farm. It was much neater and more organized than he'd imagined. He'd read plenty of stories involving farms, in his hours spent in the Royal Library-usually, the farm was where the brave hero or heroine came from. Said character would always leave the farm to go off on some marvelous adventure. More than a few stories had ended up with the character defeating the villain and becoming King or Queen of the realm. It occurred to Kuei that he was doing it in the opposite order. He smiled at the thought.
"So, who's sleeping where?" Zafirah asked as they entered the farmhand house.
"I could share with Zafi if you want your own room, Kuei," Basam added. "We're used to it." Kuei thought back to the cramped basement underneath the weapons shop.
"Or Zafirah could have her own room, and you and I could share," Kuei suggested, turning to Basam. It would have been inappropriate, unfortunately, to suggest sharing a room with Zafirah.
"I gotta admit, that's a tempting offer," Zafirah said with a smirk. "My very own room!"
Basam shrugged. "I don't mind much where I sleep, really. I'll share with Kuei, then," he said. Chinh led them to two doors near the end of the hall, about three rooms apart from each other.
"These're yours," he said in his gruff voice. Kuei thanked him and the younger man just nodded once before leaving.
"Chatty fellow," Zafirah commented sardonically once the farmhand was out of sight. Basam chuckled and then waved to the two doors.
"Right or left?" he asked Zafirah.
"I don't know-right, I guess," she said. The three friends then went off to get settled into their rooms. Basam slid open the door of the left-hand room and the two men entered. It was a small, sparsely decorated space. There was one futon bed along the back wall, with blankets and sheets neatly folded at its bottom. Kuei made a note to ask about getting a second one. There was a small, wooden table next to the bed, most likely as a place to set a lamp. A rickety, wooden dresser sat against the wall on the left; a tall wardrobe stood next to it. A faded, frayed wall hanging on the right added a splash of muted color to the room. There was a window above the futon bed, its shutters closed.
Basam set his pack down and smiled. "It's kind of a nice place, don't you think?" he asked, glancing at Kuei. "Well, probably not nearly as nice as what you're used to and all, but still…"
"It's a very cozy room," Kuei agreed. "A room doesn't have to be lavishly furnished to qualify as a nice place."
"Well said," Basam agreed. They didn't have much to unpack. Their blankets got folded up and put in the bottom drawer of the dresser. They each had two extra changes of clothing, courtesy of the supply stores at the fortress, which went into the dresser or were hung up in the wardrobe. They placed the rest of their various belongings on the dresser top. With that done, the two of them went outside to unpack the supplies in Bosco's saddlebags. Zafirah had apparently had the same idea, because she was already there.
"I like the rooms," she commented. "Very comfy."
"Indeed," Kuei agreed. "Now, what are we going to do with these supplies?"
"Well, we won't need the food while we're here. And most of it'll just spoil, anyway. Let's give it to Mrs. Liu," Basam suggested.
"Good idea," Zafirah agreed. "I'll go and do that. You two store those tents somewhere." Basam took the tents back to his and Kuei's room while Zafirah gathered up the food and took it to the main house. Kuei went with her to ask about that futon bed.
After dinner that night, Mr. Liu took the three of them aside to explain the details of their work schedule. "You'll be getting up early each morning, and working till sunset. Once a week, you'll have a day and a half off of work. That time will be yours to do as you please. Is that acceptable to you?" They had agreed, and then they'd gone off to bed.
It was only just past sunrise the next morning when a knock at the door woke Zafirah up. She groaned and buried her face against the worn pillow, but the knocking kept going. She dragged herself up off the futon and stomped over to the door. She slid it open and saw Xuan standing in the hall.
"Sorry about the wake-up call," he said with a slight wince. "Rules are rules though." Ah, yes, now she remembered.
"Don't worry 'bout it," she mumbled, pushing loose locks of hair out of her face. Xuan left her to get dressed. She rubbed a layer of ointment onto the rash before pulling her tunic on. The stuff was working fast-the rash was nearly gone already. Kuei and Basam were just leaving their room as she stepped out into the hall. She felt a flash of jealousy at her brother, getting to share a room with Kuei. That's a dumb thing to be jealous about, she told herself. Didn't stop her wishing it was her, though.
"Mornin'," she called to them. Basam yawned and waved sleepily.
"Good morning, Zafirah. Did you sleep well?" Kuei asked. She raised her eyebrows at him. She felt like an utter mess, still sleepy and with her clothes all rumpled; he looked bright-eyed and well rested, and his clothes were all neat and tidy, if a little too big. (And even though they were too big, she thought, he still managed to look handsome in them.)
"How are you so awake this early?" she asked.
"I, um, I really don't know?" he offered, gesturing vaguely. His face went a little red. It was ridiculously endearing.
"If you figure it out, let me know," she said dryly. Then she remembered that he'd asked a question. "Oh, uh, I slept fine. Thanks." Now it was her turn to blush a little. "How about you?"
"Quite well, thank you." He smiled, drawing her gaze down to his lips once again. She quickly looked back up his eyes, those startlingly green eyes… but that just made her even more red faced. She and Kuei both jumped a little when Basam clapped them both on their shoulders and smirked.
"Let's not keep our hosts waiting," he said cheerfully. Oh, right-breakfast, Zafirah reminded herself. The three of them left the farmhand house and made their way to the main house.
After breakfast, Liu put them right to work on construction. He led them to one of the crop storage sheds, which was just about falling down. A couple of the farmhands were already there, up in the scaffolding that surrounded the blackened structure. Zafirah saw them hacking away the remains of burnt wooden beams, making way for the repairs.
Basam turned to Kuei. "Okay, I'll show you what to do," he said. Of the three of them, Basam had done the most carpentry, thanks to his time on the sand glider construction team. Kuei nodded and awkwardly followed Basam up into the scaffolding. Zafirah climbed up next to them. Kuei's feet slipped a time or two, making Zafirah wince and hold her breath. But to his credit, he didn't fall.
Once they were situated in the scaffolding, they got their tools and set to work. Looking around, Zafirah saw that the beams to be cut away were all marked with white chalk. She picked up a saw and grabbed hold of the nearest beam. The metal blade cut easily through the burnt wood, which was rough and crumbly under her hand. It took only a couple minutes to cut away the beam, which she dropped down onto the pile at the bottom of the scaffolding.
It was easy work and it got boring quickly. Zafirah let her mind wander a bit-not too much, of course, as she didn't want to cut off anything important. But there was a matter weighing on her and it tugged at her thoughts.
Back on the beach, it'd seemed like a done deal. She'd made up her mind and all. And then the nerves had set in. Sure, it was easy enough to say that being with Kuei would make her happy and to decide it was worth the risk to tell him, but actually doing something about it… I never had this stupid problem with any other guys, she thought grumpily. It was embarrassing to admit-which was why she never would-but she was afraid of messing up, somehow. I wanna get this right. Okay, Zafirah, calm down. What I need is a plan…
A few minutes later, she looked over at Kuei and saw him rubbing his shoulder. "Getting tired already?" she called over teasingly.
He quickly went to work again. "No, no, I was just stretching," he lied, sawing away busily. She smirked and shook her head.
They worked till the early afternoon, when one of the farmhands yelled to them that it was lunchtime. As they clambered down the scaffolding and headed off to lunch, Zafirah's eyes went right to Kuei. It would've been hard not to look, really. She could see a thin sheen of sweat on his face and his arms, gleaming in the sun. And she could see it on his neck and collarbones, too, as the neckline of his wraparound tunic had sagged open a little. Plus, his tunic was sticking to his slender torso. It was definitely a good look for him, she decided. Luckily, it was sunny and hot that day, so she had an excuse to be red in the face.
After lunch, Kuei and his friends were assigned a different task-this time, Liu sent them to another storage shed that was already being rebuilt. Now Kuei had another new trick to learn: wielding a hammer and nails. As with the sawing before, his arm started to ache quickly. He winced as he pounded another nail into a plank. Basam stopped him with a hand on his upper arm, shaking his head.
"You don't have to put so much force into it, y'know?" he said. "Just tap the nail, easy-like. You're not trying to kill the thing," he added good-naturedly. Kuei smiled wearily, wiped his forehead on his arm, and tried it again. He'd left his glasses in his room, for which he was glad, as they certainly wouldn't have stayed on with all this sweat.
"Is this very different from building sand gliders?" Kuei asked Basam after a few minutes.
"Sort of," Basam replied. "This wood's a lot better than most of what we had, though."
"Really?" Kuei hadn't really considered that certain types of wood would be better than others.
"Yeah. Our tribe could never afford the high quality lumber, so we had to make do with the dregs of whatever the traders had left over," Basam explained.
"Ah," Kuei murmured. He decided that, if he ever got his throne back, he'd see what he could do about establishing some better trade routes in that part of the Earth Kingdom.
After a short while, he found himself glancing over at Zafirah to see how she was faring. There was a glimmer of sweat on her forehead and neck. She wore a sleeveless green shirt and pants in place of her usual Sandbender garb, and he could see the sweat on her arms as well. It had never really occurred to him that sweat could be attractive before. He watched her hammering away industriously, a look of intense concentration on her face. It wasn't until Basam nudged him that he realized he'd forgotten about his own task. He blushed and got back to work.
The sun set and their work ended for the day. The farmhands all trampled back to the main house for dinner. Kuei felt as though he were dragging his limbs through thick mud as he walked. He was completely exhausted from the day's efforts.
Perhaps I'll skip dinner and go right to bed, he thought. But his stomach protested that idea, so he forced himself to the table. Once the meal was over, most of the farmhands went outside to sit and drink rice wine around a campfire.
"Hey, new guys, wanna join us?" called one of the farmhands. Kuei couldn't remember his name. He considered it, then decided against it.
"No, thank you. But I do appreciate the offer," Kuei said with a thin smile. The farmhand shrugged.
"How 'bout you two?" he said to the twins.
Zafirah shrugged. "Sure, I'll stay and have a drink. Just one, though."
"Count me in, too," Basam said. The Sandbender man was more accustomed to such hard work, so he didn't seem nearly as tired as Kuei or Zafirah did. Kuei envied the other man's strength.
Instead, Kuei decided that a bath was in order. He stopped by his room to grab a towel from his belongings, and then headed off to the farmhands' bathhouse. It was a round structure with six small bathing rooms arranged around it. There was a water pump in the middle, with pipes that ran into each bathing room. According to the other farmhands, each bathing stall had its own small water boiler. The pipes ran the water through the boiler and then into the bathing basin by way of a hand pump. All he had to do was light the boiler in the stall and then pump in as much water as he needed.
He picked a stall and walked in, sliding the door shut behind him. Lighting the boiler was easy enough, but the farmhands had told him that it would take a few minutes to heat up. While he waited, he reached up and took his hair down, untangling it with his fingers. His hair was much shorter now than it had been in Ba Sing Se. In the capitol, it was the style for noblemen to wear their hair in a long queue. However, before leaving the Avatar's group at Chameleon Bay, Sokka had suggested cutting his hair. It would help him blend in better, the boy had said. Kuei had agreed and let the teenager cut his hair to slightly below shoulder length. (The boy had seemed to enjoy the cutting a little too much, saying, "Take that, hair!") Ever since then, he'd been wearing his hair in a topknot.
He waited another minute or two before he started pumping water into the basin. The mechanism was much easier to operate than he'd expected, and soon he had a basin full of delightfully warm water.
Zafirah sat with the farmhands for a few minutes, sipping her cup of rice wine. Once it was empty, she stood up and left to go and take a bath.
As she walked away, one of the farmhands piped up. "Want some company?" he leered. That earned him a rude gesture from Zafirah and a smack upside the head from Basam. She heard the rest of the farmhands having a good laugh at the guy as she headed towards the farmhand house.
There was a slight bounce in her step, despite how bone-weary she was. The prospect of another hot bath had put her in a good mood. First the bath at the fortress, and now we get an entire bathhouse to use… I'm likely to get spoiled if this keeps up, she thought cheerily. After a quick stop by her room, she headed to the bathhouse. She picked a stall at random, yawning widely as she walked over to it and slid open the door.
What she hadn't counted on was the possibility that the stall wouldn't be empty. And it wasn't even remotely empty. She froze in the doorway, her towel falling out of her hand.
Kuei was standing there, next to a basin of steaming water, in all his almost-naked glory. He was wearing just his underwear and his fingers were on the drawstring holding them up on his narrow hips. He froze too, gaping at her in red-faced shock.
She tried not to stare, she really did. For a moment, though, she just couldn't pull her eyes away. Spirits, but he had a gorgeous body. He was all long lines and sharp angles and lean muscle-and still very pale, though it looked like all these weeks in the sun were starting to change that. The smoothness of his skin was only interrupted by the thin, stitched-up line of the cut on his torso, the one from the battle.
His hair was down, she realized, hanging loose around his face. It looked soft, and she really wanted to run her fingers through it. It was a good length for that kind of thing. He had long, long legs and thin arms, but he didn't look gangly at all. Instead, he looked delicious.
After what felt like forever, she managed to tear her eyes away from him. She grabbed her towel off the ground and backed away. "S-sorry, wrong room!" she squeaked, her face burning. And with that, she spun on her heel and raced out of the room.
She picked another bath stall, this one across the circle from Kuei's. One of the stalls next to his was empty; she knew because the door was open a little (and she blamed her tiredness for not seeing that before). But she walked past it. She didn't trust herself not to do something stupidly impulsive, sitting naked in a bath basin knowing Kuei was doing the same thing on the other side of a thin wall.
Zafirah still felt flustered when she got back to her room after her bath. She was trying not to think about what she would've seen if she'd barged into that stall a moment later, but it wasn't easy. Part of her wished she had; but the rest of her worried that Kuei might have keeled over from embarrassment. That settles it, she thought, I need a plan to make him mine.
And then an absurd thought popped into her head: I just saw the Earth King in his underwear. She giggled at the thought, and then she guffawed, and then she couldn't stop laughing. She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks.
When the hilarity faded away, she was left once again with the sheer ridiculousness of her whole situation. The nerves came back again, and so did that gnawing edge of doubt. For all the certainty she'd had on the beach… well, she really didn't have any certainty at all. Every time she felt like she'd made up her mind, the doubts would come back again.
She sighed and sank down onto her futon. There was no denying it-she really, really wanted to be with Kuei. But by all rights, he didn't belong in her world and she didn't belong in his. In fact, by all rights, they never should have even met. It was just a strange twist of destiny that had brought their lives together that day in the Misty Palms Oasis.
It wasn't that she was unhappy about it; no, despite all the confusion she was feeling, she wouldn't have traded their time together for anything in the world. (Although she could have done without that argument and the weeks of mutual cold-shouldering that had followed it.) It was just… how in the world was she going to do this? How could she tell him what she felt?
She stood up and paced restlessly over to her dresser. Her prayer talisman sat on the dresser top; she picked it up and slid it out of its pouch. She ran her fingers over the red-brown stone, feeling its worn etchings under her fingertips. She thought about all the desert spirits that those inscriptions stood for and sighed again.
She scowled at the stone, wondering if some Spirit was having fun with this. "Very funny," she muttered.
The days seemed to fly by under their steady schedule of labor. The work got easier and easier with each attempt, Kuei noticed. Soon enough, his right arm stopped aching as badly when he wielded a saw or swung a hammer. The three of them got along quite well with the farmhands, who were all good company. Bosco seemed to be enjoying himself as well; he got daily meals of fresh meat, and Mrs. Liu was always happy to give him a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ear.
On that particular night, almost a week after their arrival, Kuei and the others were eating dinner at the main house. It was a warm, balmy summer night, and Kuei could hear crickets chirping outside the dining room's open windows.
As they finished their meal, everyone brought their dishes in to the kitchen. Dish-washing was something of a communal event on the farm, with everyone scrubbing and drying at a long, metal basin. The other farmhands left the kitchen as they finished their share of the dishes; eventually, only Kuei, Basam, and Zafirah were left. Mr. Liu sat at a small table in the corner of the kitchen, sipping a cup of ginseng tea.
Basam finished his last dish and nudged Zafirah. "Hey, you think you could show me some of that meditation stuff later? The stuff Daiyu taught you?"
"Sure," Zafirah agreed. "Just as soon as I finish this." She jerked her head in the direction of the dishes in front of her.
"I could finish cleaning those for you," Kuei offered.
"Really? You don't mind?" she asked.
"Not at all," he assured her.
Zafirah flashed one of her bright, lovely smiles at him. "Thanks, Kuei! That's real nice of you." She wiped her hands dry on her pants legs and then tugged her brother's sleeve. "Okay, let's go start that meditation." The two Sandbenders strode out of the kitchen. Zafirah reached up and gave his left ear an affectionate flick as she passed by. Kuei chuckled and watched them go, and he'd nearly forgotten about his dishes until Liu spoke up.
"You're a lucky man, traveling with such good friends," he said.
"Oh, um, thank you," Kuei said. He quickly got back to scrubbing his dishes. Once the last one was clean, he dried it and set it aside.
"Would you like some tea?" Liu asked.
"Yes, please. Thank you." Kuei sat down across from Liu and accepted a steaming cup of the aromatic tea. They sat in silence for a moment.
"She's a remarkable girl," the old man commented. Kuei jumped slightly and glanced at him. Liu gave a gravelly chuckle and sipped his tea. "Zafirah, I mean. She's quite a girl."
"Yes, she is," Kuei agreed, smiling softly. "Now, if only I weren't such a coward," he added in an undertone.
Liu chuckled again. "Ah, yes, I remember what it was like at your age. Love seemed so complicated." He leaned back in his chair and tapped his thick fingertips against his chin. "You know, there's a lovely botanical garden in town. I've heard it's especially beautiful at this time of the year. If I were a young man with a pretty lady-friend, I might think it a nice place to go for a walk."
Kuei sat forward in his own chair as he caught Liu's meaning and the idea blossomed in his mind. Tomorrow was their half-day of work. They would have the entire afternoon and evening to themselves. And after that, they'd have a full day off. His heart beat a little faster as he thought about it. He could ask Zafirah to go to the garden with him… at sunset, perhaps. They could find a nice spot to sit and talk, and then he could tell her…
"Yes," Kuei agreed thoughtfully. "Yes, I think you're right." His mouth curled up in a wide smile. He drained the rest of his teacup and stood. "Thank you, Mr. Liu." Kuei bowed quickly to the old man and then rushed out of the main house. As he hurried back to the farmhand house, he saw Zafirah and Basam sitting in meditation by the front door. Bosco sat next to them, looking confused. Kuei walked past them; he'd wait until they were done.
He went back to his shared room and lay down on his futon. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this restless. First he folded his hands on his stomach, tapping the fingers of one against the back of the other. Then he sat up and leaned back against the wall. His left foot started tapping against the futon. Finally, Basam came back to their room, nodding a greeting to Kuei. He nodded back, stilling his tapping foot so as not to betray his nervousness. He waited another minute or two, and then got up and excused himself.
He walked up the hall, his heart in his throat, and knocked on Zafirah's door. There was a pause, followed by the scuff of footsteps, and then the door slid open. Zafirah peered out at him, looking sleepy.
"Hey, Kuei. What's up?" Zafirah asked, puzzled.
"I, um... Mr. Liu says there's a garden in town," he blurted.
Zafirah arched an eyebrow at him. "Good for them," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching. Kuei blushed, cursing his lack of tact.
"Well, um, what I meant to say is that there's a botanical garden in town, and Mr. Liu says that it's a very nice place. He, uh, he says that there are some lovely flowers at this time of the year. I was thinking that perhaps we could go there tomorrow, after we're dismissed from work." He forced the words out in a rush, before he could lose his nerve.
Zafirah grinned. "Sure, that sounds like fun. Have you asked Basam yet if he wants to go?"
Kuei's face reddened even more. "A-actually, I… I thought… that maybe we could go together. You and… and I."
Her eyes widened at that. "What, y-you mean, just the two of us?" she asked. And then she actually blushed! He could clearly see the redness rising to her tan cheeks in the dim light of the hallway.
"Yes, just the two of us," he agreed, his confidence bolstered by that blush. "I thought it might be nice to spend an evening together."
"Uh… yeah," she agreed softly. "Yeah, that'd be… yeah. Sure. Definitely." She reached up and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
"So, tomorrow then?" he ventured.
"Yeah," she repeated, smiling.
"Good! Goodnight, Zafirah," he said happily.
"Night," she replied faintly. She still had that smile on her face as she slid the door shut. Once it was closed, Kuei let out a relieved breath. And then the full impact of what he'd just done hit him and he leaned against the wall behind him. He'd just set up the most perfectly opportune moment to tell Zafirah how he truly felt about her.
The question is… can I go through with it? he thought to himself.
True to his word, Liu let them off work at noon the next day. The farmhands all scattered away, chattering happily as they went off to enjoy the start of their free time. Zafirah walked back to the farmhouse with Basam next to her.
"So what're you up to now?" Basam asked as they sauntered back. "Feel like going over some Earthbending stuff?"
"Sure, but just for a couple of hours," she agreed.
"Why's that?" Basam asked.
Zafirah's face started to heat up. "Uh, actually, Kuei asked me if I wanted to go walk around town with him. Says there's a nice garden or something they've got. Pretty flowers or some such. He asked me last night."
Basam's eyebrows went up and a grin spread slowly across his face. Zafirah scowled and jabbed a finger at him. "Don't! Not a word outta you," she grumbled warningly, blushing even more. Basam pressed his lips together and held up his hands, but he was still smirking. She rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his upper arm. "Okay, let's stick to some simple forms for now. I don't think Liu would much appreciate us tearing up the ground around here."
They found a nice, open space behind the farmhand house and stood facing each other. Zafirah put her fists on her hips and began. "Okay, so, first of all, you got your basic stances. This one, Daiyu called a horse stance." She planted her feet apart and bent her knees, with her fists raised. Basam copied her. "Okay, and this is the motion you'd use to move a single rock." She shifted her feet and thrust her fists forward. And again, Basam followed along.
"Is that it?" he asked as he did the motion a few more times.
"Well, kind of. Remember how I told you to feel the flow of your chi last night, when we were meditating?"
"Yeah?"
"Try to feel it flowing down your arms now, and out from your hands. Like a stream or something."
Basam took a deep breath in and out and did the movement again, his brow furrowed in concentration. After a few tries, he relaxed his stance. "I got nothin'," he muttered.
"It was hard for me at first, too," Zafirah said. "Just try it a few more times, okay? Really reach into yourself and feel your chi flowing. You wanna channel it from that chakra-I told you about that remember?-and make it go from there to your arms, and then out through your fists."
Her brother nodded and kept at it. Eventually, he grinned. "I felt it that time!" he exclaimed.
"Good! Now let's try another stance…"
At two hours before sunset, Zafirah headed off to take a quick bath. And then came the real challenge: deciding what to wear. She stood by the dresser in her room for what felt like hours, agonizing over her choices.
"Well, this is new," she muttered. She'd never had to worry about choosing clothes back home, mainly due to lack of options. But now she had choices! She had her Sandbender clothes and the two sets of clothing taken from the fortress: a sleeveless green tunic with a brown belt and knee-length brown pants; and a long-sleeved brown tunic with a green belt and long green pants. The sleeveless tunic was badly in need of a washing and it was far too hot for the long-sleeved tunic. Eventually she settled on a mix of things; she took the long, tan, short-sleeved tunic from her desert garb, the green pants, and the green belt. She put on her arm wraps like usual, but only a couple layers of them.
"Not bad," she muttered as she looked down at herself. Then she left her room and headed outside, trying to tell herself that she wasn't nervous. It didn't work. She was all a-flutter over this, like some silly little girl. This is my chance, she told herself. I just have to be brave enough to take it.
Playlist:
1) A Year Without Rain by Selena Gomez-Zafi’s inner thoughts in this chapter. Yes, I like a Selena Gomez song. I care not! My friend candlehat on deviantART suggested it to me, pointing out that it works really well for Zafi and Kuei, and she was right!
2) See You Tomorrow [How To Train Your Dragon]-Chapter theme.