Princess of the Fire Nation

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

All she felt was pain as her eyes fluttered open.

Looking around the brightly lit room, Lian was surprised to see it was actually pleasant. The bed she laid in was large and fluffy and the room itself was large and clean. It didn't remind her of a hospital, more like a bedroom in the home of a wealthy nobleman.

Besides her bed, in a chair near the door was a sleeping Kai.

Trying to sit up, Lian felt pain across her chest making her moan in pain.

The Yu Yan archer, having heard her pain, immediately sat up and rushed over to her.

"Lay back down," urged Kai, gently pushing her back down. "You need to rest."

"What happened? Where am I?" asks a confused Lian before her eyes widen in realisation, remembering what should have been her last moments.

She remembered meeting her cousins and then her uncle. She remembered the smug look on her Uncle's face as he condemned her to death. She remembered crying for her father as her was dragged the arena. She remembered trembling in fear as she waited for her death. She remembered the pain and then nothing.

"How am I alive?" she gasps trying to sit back up but the pain forces her back down.

Before Kai can answer, a familiar looking man enters the room. Dressed as a Fire Nation noble, Lian immediately recognised who the man was.

"Master Piandao?" she asks, confused. It had been some time since she had seen the swordmaster. Last time she had seen his was years ago when she travelled with her cousin to his castle so that Zuko could learn from the best.

He hadn't changed much since there last encounter. His skin, tanned from his work in the sun was blemish free and his signature dark goatee was evident on his face. The only difference now was few wrinkles below his eyes – although they didn't make him look worse, instead they made him look wise and commanding.

Piandao bows as he enters the room, smiling at seeing how Lian was finally awake.

"Princess, it's good to see you awake" says Piandao kindly.

"I'm not a Princess anymore" corrects Lian. "In fact, I shouldn't even be alive right now."

Her confusion was evident from her voice. She should be dead. She shouldn't be sitting in a nice room, well.

"How am I alive?" she repeats, desperate for an answer.

Knowing Kai was going to stay quiet, Master Piandao sighs before explaining what happened.

"After the arrest of yourself and your father in Ba-Sing-Se, we knew we had to keep an eye on the situation..." begins Piandao but is cut off by Lian.

"We?"

"Some old friends of your father" says Piandao vaguely before continuing. "We had information to suggest your Uncle planned to execute you and once he sent for a Yu Yan archer, we knew we had to act."

"My father received work from the Palace and I volunteered to travel to the Capital" says Kai, continuing the story as Lian sat, taking it all in. "Master Piandao intercepted me before I reached the Palace and he knew about my past friendship with Lu Ten somehow. Together we came up with a plan to save you."

Lian was gobsmacked while listening to the story. She didn't know how to respond so instead stayed silent and let Kai continue.

"My job was simply, all I had to do was shoot an arrow into your heart. The plan was for me to shoot you above your heart, avoiding organs and major arteries so your death was believable" continues Kai, looking away guilty. "I didn't expect you to bleed so much. I thought I had lost you."