Daughter of the Moon - Book Two: Earth

Chapter 16.1: The Talk

- Elara -

I knew crap was about to go down the day I saw my two older brothers arriving at my apartment completely unannounced, wearing the same, hardened look of cold-blooded murder.

Business had been quite slow in the tea shop, so our boss had asked Zuko and I take the rest of the day off to relax (or rather, so he wouldn't have to pay us, that cheapskate). Of course, I was fairly excited to finally get some alone time with Zuko again, but he insisted that he had an errand to run before he could come home. And that's how I found myself completely alone in our small apartment to tend to absolutely nothing—that is, until Hang and Mayar came knocking at my door.

I welcomed the boys into my home, but I quickly found their behavior oddly suspicious. They had insisted that they had come only to see where their adorable little sister had been living, but the snake-like way in which they hissed questions about Lee made me think otherwise. I knew that the moment Zuko stepped through that front door, my brothers were going to grill him (and they hadn't even been told that we were dating yet). There was no way poor Zuko could see it coming (let alone survive the encounter).

And at the exact moment that front door cracked open,, I knew we were screwed (or at least, Zuko was screwed). I guess he wasn't aware that we had guests just then, so he went on behaving as if no one was around (which was a huge mistake, especially considering how it was my brothers who were in attendance).

"Elara!" he cheered as he marched over to me, pulling me in for a kiss as soon as I was in reach. "I missed you."

"But you were only gone for ten minutes," I pointed out awkwardly as I tried to draw attention to the guests in the room.

"And it was ten minutes too long," he plowed on, completely unaware that we weren't alone. "However, I figured you would rather have this be a surprise."

He stepped back as my attention was drawn to the small flower pot he was holding gingerly in his hands. "A Moon Flower," I muttered in surprise as he handed the blossom to me.

"I remember you telling me that your tribe used to be covered in these, so when I saw it at the market across the street, I knew I had to get it for you, even if it did cost an arm and a leg," Zuko explained. "I thought it might remind you of home."

"Lee, this is very sweet. Thank you," I said, putting an extra emphasis his alias name, much to his confusion. However, his questions were quickly answered when he heard an uncomfortable cough echoing from the other side of the room.

Zuko immediately put on his game face as we turned towards the source of the sound, the boy beginning to sweat the moment he saw the way that my brothers were practically fuming (no thanks to the hopeless romantic over there). Hang spoke up first, addressing us through gritted teeth.

"Elara, would you mind introducing us to this boy here?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," I answered timidly as I felt my ears growing warm. "Lee, these are my brothers, Hang and Mayar. Hang, Mayar, this is Lee."

"So this is the Lee you've been telling us about?" Mayar jumped in with a cold a bite to his words.

"Yep!" I answered quickly as I made an attempt to shove Zuko out the door. "And I'm sure he would just love to stick around and chat, but I'm afraid he has some...errands to run."

"Hold on Elara," Hang ordered, and I froze on the spot (Zuko was dead for sure). "I think Lee can spare a few minutes while we have a talk."

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," I mumbled, my words fluttering onto deaf ears.

"Come on, Lars, it's not like we're gonna kill him, or anything," Mayar protested as he threw an arm over my shoulder (although that wicked gleam in his eye definitely told another story). "We just want to talk with our sister's...what is he, your boyfriend?"

My heart leapt into my throat at the term Mayar had used to describe Zuko. We hadn't used the words boyfriend-girlfriend yet, but I really liked it. I really really liked it. Zuko was my boyfriend! And I was his girlfriend! (Now, that was crazy to think about). After all this time, it had finally happened. Who would've known?

After snapping out of my bashful epitome, I finally answered Mayar's question (much to Zuko's excitement). "I mean, yeah, but—"

"Then he's practically part of the family!" Mayar cut me off as the tension in the air thickened.

I watched fearfully as Hang sat himself down at our table, glaring at Zuko as he spoke to him. "Lee, have a seat."

Zuko went to join my family, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He must have sensed my distress because he quickly turned to reassure me.

"It's okay, Elara. This was bound to happen eventually," Zuko said, which did nothing to calm my nerves. "Besides, your brother said he wasn't going to kill me."

That's what you think, I thought to myself as Zuko gently placed a kiss on my head before walking over to the table. I then followed Zuko as he sat down across from Hang and Mayar (although, Mayar had elected to stay standing to pace in the background for some reason). I placed myself next to my boyfriend (holy Spirits) to offer emotional support, but I was quickly met with three uncomfortable stares.

"What?" I asked, completely oblivious to the fact that I was not invited to this meeting.

"I hate to be the one to break this to you," Mayar pointed out, "But this is a private conversation for men only. No girls allowed."

"You've got to be joking," I murmured, and the fact that no one was laughing made me nervous.

"Trust me, Elara. This is no joking matter," Hang cut in. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind stepping out for a minute."

I looked at each boy dejectedly only to have my disappointment received with the same stupid look on all the boys faces. They didn't want me here—not even Zuko—and that hurt a little bit (although, if they were going to be talking about me, perhaps it would be better to be somewhere else).

"Fine, I'll leave," I huffed as I began to walk out the front door. "But when I come back, I expect to see Lee in once piece!"

The boys all mumbled words of agreement, and I watched as Zuko's calm expression crumpled at the realization that he might not live to see another day. And as I stomped down the stairs back into the tea shop, I prayed to the Moon Spirit herself that my brothers would go easy on Zuko.

But then again, they were my brothers...

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A/N: So, what do you think they boys are going to talk about? Do you think Zuko's going to survive? Do you think Elara's brothers are going to like Zuko...I mean Lee? 😂😂😂 But seriously, what do y'all think is going to happen?

This chapter was created because of the many requests from my wonderful readers like you, so I actually want you to have some input! I already have a general idea of how I want this to go, but if you're dying to see these boys talk about or do something specific, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Furthermore, if you guys have other ideas of what should happen in this story in general, let me know! I love hearing your theories and gathering ideas for future chapters. I do have the entire series pretty much planned out by this point, but I may be convinced to add more stuff if you guys are convincing 😂😂😂

I'll see y'all later with the next part!!!

Published: 02 December 2020

P.S. IT'S THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!!!! WHO'S PUMPED?!?!?!?!