Everlasting || An ATLA Fanfiction

Prologue:

"We shouldn't be doing this," Zhi giggled.

"Relax," the soldier assured her. "No battle, no fight, no one can separate us now." He smiled and kissed her bare collarbone. It was dark, and there was so much tension between the two. Zhi's friends always told her to be a little more spontaneous, she guessed this was it. A fire nation soilder, what would she tell them? It all went by fast, the kisses, the high, and then the calm after the storm.

"You never told me your name," Zhi said to the soldier as he returned to his ordinary clothing.

"Lu Ten." He smiled at her. Lu Ten used his finger to raise her chin, kissing her, not knowing it would be the last time. "I hope to see you again."

——— 🌊 ——— 🪨 ——— 🔥 ——— 💨 ———

Zhi didn't meet Lu Ten again. She tried writing to him, but never got a letter back. She had thought about him, hoping he was thinking of her too.

Zhi had started to get ill, and was nauseous all the time. The sickness calmed down, and she realized she was blessed with a child. I have to write to Lu Ten now, she thought to herself.

So she wrote, she wrote about how they will raise their child after the war, and what names she is fond of. Nineteen was a little young to be with a child, but they would get through it together, right?

She received a letter after a week, ecstatic about the reply. She didn't get the letter she hoped for.

"Dear Zhi Chou,

I regret to inform you that your lover, Lu Ten, has passes away in battle. You must refrain from contacting the Fire Nation army, for it would only bring harm to your family. I am sorry for your loss, although we share it. Best wishes to you and your future child.

From Lu Ten's father,
General Iroh of the Fire Nation"

Her sobs filled the room that night, tears threatening to form an ocean on her floor. She ended up telling her family that the father was an Earth Kingdom soldier. What would they say if they knew the truth? She could not cope with any more pain than what she already had.

——— 🌊 ——— 🪨 ——— 🔥 ——— 💨 ———

A few months later, Zhi was convinced her baby girl was a reincarnation of her lover, and named her Homura. Flame, after the man her set her body on fire, then left her heart to burn.