A Match of Ice and Fire

Chapter 26: Kaya

I come round to the scent of jasmine and cherry blossom and immedately drift off agian; the sense of someone carrying me, soft silk agianst my face, a husky voice in the darkness. Zuko.

I jump awake. Stiff, swore, and painfully embarassed. Zuko must've carried me to Bed after my afternoon cry-athong.  Just to remove any hope i hadn't dreamed his voice, i find Zuko's robe draped over me like a blanket. I groan into the pillow. Could he tell? I'd tried to be so quiet, but my cheeks where so sore. Zuko would've had to have seen the tear stains. How utterly pathetic. I couldn't have keep it together for one lously day? Admittely, i'd been sick and exhausted, but that didn't change the fact i'd exposed myself as a wreak in front one of the Firelord, the tyrant i need to marry no matter how much i despise the union. I suspose it was evitabl  Firelord Zuko would find out how broken i am eventually. Still part of me wanted to be strong in front of him.  Powerful like Zuko. Unbreakable. Who was i kidding? First time we'd met, i'd collasped half-concious in his arms and nearly frozen to death. 

Regardless, i was done with feeling sorry for myself. I could hate myself all i wanted. But the pity party stopped right now. Despite it being the middle of the night, i forced myself to rise. Igorning my screaming mucsles, I crawled to the washroom. Someone had run a bath for me. Another sickening act of Kindness. The bath water had long since gone cold but i striped off and lower myself into the tub away, embrancing the cold soaking into my leg muscles. Healing myself, i lit the water up and circulated a current round my body for a few minutes waiting for stiffness in my joints from yesterday's Angi Kai to become managable. I'd let myself float there longer than i needed to, enjoying the soothing polished feel of the brass tub at my back and the rich scents of jasmine and cherryblossom perfumes, which someone must have infused the water with. I got out after that realisation. Their were red silk bed robes laid out on the side for me, but i avoided them like a plague. Instead rumaging through the ridiculous big walk-in wardrobe to find my combat clothes. Someone had left a whole roasted turtle duck out on the side for me which i nibbled on. But just like the perfumes in the bath tub and the entire ridicolous walk-in wardrobe, it made me uncomfortable. The food was delicous and perfectly seasoned, however the more i ate, the sicker i felt. All this luxury, fine dinning,  designer clothes, was built on blood money.  On the wealth of the empire that forced my parents into slavery for the last 3 years of their lives before letting them burn with thousands of others who all laboured to make the fire nation rich... 

I needed to let of some steam. Heading up on deck before i could set fire to the walk-in wardrobe. I ran through my waterbending moves. Leting the crashing of waves and swirl of whirl pools drown out the storm still raging in my mind. 'Traitor.'  I know it was petuant,  I could wake up the whole crew with my little bending tantrum, but it felt good to splash around. Under the sliver light of the full moon, i let my power surge through my veins as i hurled a mini tsuimani up over side of the ship.  I could already feel my energy ebbing away from me. However, i didn't want to face going back down stairs tonight, so i kept pushing. I was use to training hard into the early hours of the morning, seeing as my tribes ridiculous customs 'forbade' me from waterbending with pakku and his academy for male jerks. I had to teach myself. During my time in slavery, and later stranded in the earth kingdom,  waterbending in secret at night was the only home comfort I had. There's something endless empowering about waterbending under a full moon. I form and ice spear and hurl it. Sending it sailing a hundred metres through the air before cutting it back down into  icey deeps with a safistifying slicing sound...

"You fight like a Firebender."

Forming three more Ice spears, i whirl and snarl into the shadows, "I dare you to say that agian..."

Councilor Iroh steps out with his hands raised. I scowl and melt the spears. Probably best not to impale the Firelords uncle, still... "you shouldn't sneak up on me like that." I say rolling my shoulders at the rising ache there. Now that I've paused bending, I can already feel then siezing up agian. I should have spent longer in the Bath. I swallow and inhale deeply. I'm embrassingly out of breath.