Risho of the Black Snow (ATLA Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Rock On

        The ride home was near-silent. Even worse: Azar wouldn't quit glaring at her. She had no idea she'd offended him that much. How was this different than any other one of their fights? Why couldn't he just get over her brashness like usually did? She'd already apologized, hadn't she?

But her mother, Xue Lo, seemed just about as glum as the two of them were. Her normally bright face was grave. It was like someone had died. Had Risho missed a memo?

Not wanting to watch either of them any longer, Risho looked down at her shimmering skirt and listened to the ostrich-horse's footsteps slow as they approached her house. The boat-ride to the island hadn't been much better. Risho was glad to be home.

She swung open the carriage door and jumped out, not caring if her mother and friend came with her. Dae met her at the door.

"Congratulations, Risho, the cake's inside, as promised." Cake. Risho had really lost her appetite after that last cookie. All she wanted to do now was go to bed...and wake up wherever the White Lotus had chosen this time.

Anything. Anything but this.

"Thanks. I'm very tired, though, it might have to wait until morning. A delightfully healthy breakfast, I know, but-"

The old housekeeper looked disappointed for a moment or two, but his face lit up with a bright smile as soon as Azar came into view. "Ah, but you'll have some of my cake, won't you, Az?"

"I'm going to bed," he said as he brushed past him.

"Miss Xue-"

"It's been a long day."

"It's nine o'clock." The old man seemed awfully confused and disappointed. He had as much of an idea what was wrong as Risho did, herself! Sure, she hadn't burned Yoko. There were no consequences. She'd already apologized to Azar. And Xue Lo? What was her problem? She had no reason to be mad at her. Mad...or disappointed.

"Azar, you can have Risho's bed. She'll sleep on the couch."

She'd barely finished speaking when Azar slammed and locked the door behind him.

...

           It was just a little past midnight when Risho awoke to the creaking of a door. It was not the front one, like she'd expected. Moonlight didn't peak in through the door. Risho didn't hear Gou wiping his feet on the welcome mat like she always expected he did. She'd never been awake when he came for her before.

Instead, Risho heard her bedroom window open. Her bedroom window- where Azar was sound asleep. Where he'd locked the door.

She grimaced, knowing that she'd have to play this smart. She'd purposely went to bed with her shoes on...and now she thoroughly regretted it. The heels clicked against the wooden floor. Her mother was a light sleeper...but she could do this. She'd done it before, hadn't she?

On the tips of her toes, Risho made her way to her- no. Azar's door. She had to be very, very careful. Very careful. She flattened herself against the door. "Gou!" she hissed. "GOU!" No answer. Risho's palms started to sweat. "GOU!" She clapped her hand against her mouth. Too loud. Too loud! She was silent for two beats, but she'd already failed.

"Risho, sweetie, what's wrong?" called her mother's voice. It sounded far away. She still had a chance.

Risho coughed dramatically, throwing in a spitty gag near the end. "EW! I said EW! I think I'm sick. EW!"

"Do you need-"

"I'll be fine!" She fake puked-again. "I'm locked in already!" She soft-padded to the bathroom door, not knowing how she was supposed to play this...but she had to think pretty quick. Risho shut herself in the bathroom and barricaded the door with everything she could find. She threw herself out the window.

She landed face-first in a flower-bed, tasting soil. She cursed Azar, Kiron Gi, Gou, Xue Lo- and anyone else who had played a part in spoiling the day for her. She pushed herself to her feet and ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards her room. She put her face up against the glass.

Gou had his back to her. And he was trying to coax a sleeping Azar into jumping into his arms. Flaming fireflakes. This was bad.

"GOU!" she yell-whispered again. He didn't hear her. Risho whipped out her fire-bending, waving the blaze back and forth like a fan. Blue. Orange. Blue. Orange. "GOU!"

The fat man stiffened.

"GOU!"

He turned, his eyes widening when he noticed that she was not, in fact, the body in the bed. Risho put a finger over her lip. Gou nodded and gestured for Risho to back up. She danced away on the tips of her toes, accidentally hitting her head on the weeping willow in the back yard. She gave Gou the 'ok'.

He took extra care to be quiet as he earthbent a door out of her wall*. He closed the wall when he was done and placed the blindfold around Risho's eyes. She was not an initiate, and therefore was not trusted with the White Lotus's secrets. Sometimes it made her feel like she was just another tile in their Pai Sho board.

...

           Another cave. She wound up in another stupid cave.  Risho was really, really sick of caves. It was so damp, and moist...not prime conditions for firebending. "Good evening-" She refused to go through this whole song and dance again.

"Teach me," she interjected from atop one of Lonon's rock-chairs, "I want to learn how to lightning-bend."

"Ri-"

"If you do, in fact, want me to succeed- you need to provide me with all the tools I need to both impress them- and beat them. Lightning-bend. I know you can do it, Amim."

The balding firebender frowned. "We do not think it wise to put your body under such strain so soon after-"

"I won. I'm an apprentice. How much more time do you think we have?"

Lonon pursed her lips. "And that is exactly why we've brought you here." The earthbender explained that Risho's performance at her Agni Kai meant more than she would ever know. The Firelord had already been watching her. Now...now things were going to get a whole lot harder. Her loyalties were in doubt. She was in trouble.

"But...the Fire Lady told me that Azulon pulled strings to make me win?" Risho said, confused. If the Firelord wanted to get rid of her...wouldn't he have done it already?

"Your pros, at this point in time, outweigh your cons, child. You must keep it that way." Choruk. Ever since he'd attacked her on the Ember Island Beach, his voice alone made Risho shiver.

"So, what do you want me to do?" This was always the point of their meetings when things got complicated.

"Know that your every move is being watched. You are about to be tested, Risho. We don't know how, but-"

"Fall seven times, stand up eight."

"Yes, what Gou said. Our plan for you, Risho, it must go through."

"Sure, now will you teach me to bend lightning?"

Amim shook his head- but he was smiling, so Risho took that as a good sign. She followed the firebender to the back of the cave, and thus began her first lightning-bending lesson.  

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Fun fact: the paragraph with the *? I made a HUGE mistake there. A COLOSSAL mistake. I wasn't focusing while I was writing, and accidentally wrote that Gou earthbent his arm off instead of the wall. OOPS!

Anyways, I'm real excited about a chapter coming up soon. ( HINT: Look at the tags :O ) We're coming up to the chapter that made me want to write this story in the first place!

(This is one of two chapters being published on 17/02/05)

PS: Do you like the new cover?