The Sea of Ice (Sun and Moon Book 2)

Chapter 11 - Blame

             “Ba Sing Se?” Lia tilts her head at me, questioning. I nod at her, smiling. “Why?” Her eyes are tired still, but curious nonetheless. Lia’s traveled quite a bit for a child of her age. From the Patola Mountains, where she was born, to the North Pole. Then to Ba Sing Se the first time, on the way to the South Pole.

            She’s only three--well, almost four. But she sees so much. I insisted we leave Ba Sing Se immediately. As soon as I returned from my run, I was on Appa and repeating, over and over, that I wanted to leave, I wanted to go, I just wanted to LEAVE. And we left. I’m sure Lia remembers, and it’s probably the reason for her confusion now. Obviously, I don’t care for Ba Sing Se.

            But… I’m tired of running. I’m the strongest waterbender in the world, and Lia is quickly surpassing me. What can Zuko, what can anyone, do to us? It’s not Uncle’s fault that Zuko is a traitor--though the old man could have said something to me. He knew who I was as well. I’m sure though that Zuko convinced him not to tell me the truth--so again, it’s all Zuko’s fault. And I won’t blame Uncle for that.

            Lia will love Uncle, and he will love her. Besides that, the Jasmine Dragon is the only place I can ever remember really feeling at home.

            So to Ba Sing Se we’ll go.

            After a while, Lia takes over pushing our boat, giving my arms a rest from the constant motion of bending.

            The sun rises steadily as she propels our little boat forward, warming us. Already the water itself is warming, the southern currents carrying us away from the ice of the pole. In another five days, maybe less, we’ll reach the edge of the Earth Kingdom’s southern isles. They’re mostly uninhabited, and we’ll be able to camp on land after that, instead of sleeping in the boat.

            I know, too, that the farther away from the pole we go, the faster my ice boat will melt. Even now, it takes concentration to keep it whole and afloat. I’ll have to find us an actual boat--a canoe or a skiff, even a raft.

            But for now, I’m content to be pushing away from the mess at the South Pole. The sun is still low in the sky, but the rumbling of my stomach tells me it’s time for a rest. And the look on Lia’s face, as well as the sluggish motion of her arms, tells me she needs one as well.

            “Let’s take a break.” I smile softly at Lia as she drops wearily to the seat across from me, slumping over.

            “Tired already? It hasn’t even been an hour.” She groans in response and I brush her hair off her forehead.

            I wonder what she thinks of all this. How she feels. I worry that it’s too much for her, but I couldn’t leave her behind. Shaking my head to clear it of the worry, I dig around in the pack I brought. Dried seal-jerky and de-salted sea water isn’t much of a meal, but it will keep us from starving.

            “Want me to take over again?” Lia looks up at me, her dark blue eyes suddenly thoughtful. Then, she smiles.

            “No, I got it.” But she doesn’t stand or begin moving her arms. Instead she crosses her legs and closes her eyes, folding her hands neatly in her lap. I raise an eyebrow at her, wondering how this will move the boat.

            “Are you going t-” That’s when the boat lurches.

            I grip the sides tightly, wondering if some beast is going to rise from the depths to torment us--but none does. Instead, the little ice boat begins moving forward again, choppily at first and then more smoothly. I glance over the side to see the water moving, pushing us along as if a waterbender is pulling it.

            But I’m not, and Lia is… I look at Lia, really look at her. She sits comfortably across from me. Her shoulders are relaxed and she seems perfectly at ease--except for the way her mouth is turned down at the corners, and her brows are knit in concentration. As we move faster, her brilliant blue eyes open in to mine, and a smile of pure triumph lights up her face.

            And it hits me, all at once, what my three year old daughter is doing.

            She’s bending with her mind.

            I’d seen her do this before, but only to boil water or freeze it. Never to move the water, never… I can hardly wrap my mind around it. It shouldn’t be possible. But she’s doing it. After a moment, I lean back and stare up at the sun as it inches its way across the sky. I should be analyzing this, should be trying to figure it out. But maybe…

            Maybe I don’t want to know why my daughter is so strong.

            And maybe I’m afraid of the answers I’d find.

            So I sit and I watch the sky and the water slide by, and I keep my hands firmly on the sides of the boat, so that the ice doesn’t melt.

And we keep going, for a long, long time.

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You're welcome. I slaved over this despite its length, and I'm not sure how good it is. *sighs* I'll try and write more, but I'm serious when I say I have zero motivation/inspiration for this story right now. I'll work on that, I promise.

-Eon