A Kindred Spirit [Reader x Zuko]

Chapter Three

A Kindred Spirit

Chapter Three

You lingered in the throne room as Azula got up to leave. By the way that her two companions followed behind her you got the distinct impression that it was for something important. However, you weren't sure that you'd be welcome with that group. It was surprising how warm you felt upon hearing Azula say that you were welcome back into anything much less into a whole nation. Sure you knew that the fire nation was at war with everyone else but they hadn't been the ones that locked you up. They might be trying to conquer the world but who said that was a bad thing?

Your hesitation meant that another one of the servants got your attention. She had blood on a very wet apron and she kept looking around nervously. You looked around as well to see if there was any sort of dangerous looking man or threat going on. There was nothing that you could see, by now all the Dai Li agents had cleared out along with the fact that Azula and her posse were gone. The only one in the room was you but that barely made any sense. It wasn't just fear she was portraying; it was almost a sense of reverence. Like you were someone who should be respected and feared all at the same time. That was not a sensation you were used to. And for that switch to have happened so fast? Your mind couldn't keep up.

"Your mother is having troubles delivering her child," the lady dressed in faded green robes said.

The blood and water all over her clothes made sense now. Your breath caught in your throat; you hadn't even known she'd gone into labor. Without another word you followed behind what you presumed was a midwife. She led you to a small wing of the palace that didn't seem as ornate as the main part, however it also looked like it would have been comfortable enough. Inside your mother lay weakly on the bed with blood and sweat practically everywhere. You moved to her side without hesitation to try and get a feel for what was happening. Even in her weakened state she turned over to look at you and that recognition made you choke on a sob despite the smile.

"Water," you called out softly before realizing that no one understood what you were talking about. "I need lots and lots of water. Please. And get Long Feng."

The midwife hurried out of the room which left you along with your mom. You grabbed the closest rag that you could and started wiping at the brow, pushing her hair away from her face. She grasped your hand, the appendage slippery from all of the exertion that had gone on before you got there.

"You look so beautiful," your mother says in a weak, pained voice.

You smiled at her, moving the rag aside and helped her sit up. The only thing laying down was good for while giving birth was resting between the contractions. You might not have helped too many times but you knew enough about the human body from all your mother's teaching to realize that lying down was the worst possible position to give birth from. The human hips and muscular structure weren't formed to give birth that way naturally. It would be better if she stood up. It would be even better if the midwife and Long Feng returned.

She nearly broke your hand when the next contraction hit. You tried not to let the pain show as your mother weakly fell back into the bled with blood leaking out of her body.

Nothing about this situation was good. You did what little you could to try and help her but you felt like a small child at that moment. Without access to more water you couldn't do very much. You were using what little you could find to try and make sure she wasn't tearing too much down below. It didn't feel like enough and your mother was only getting weaker.

Contraction after contraction passed in a relatively short time. You felt like crying and screaming but you knew that there was no time for that. Your mother needed you focused and on task. That didn't stop you from breathing in a nearly panicked way, nor did it stop from your breath intakes to sound a little like sobs. You helped your mom sit up and stand up to move around as often as you dared but nothing seemed to help. The child, your half sibling, seemed to refuse to want to come out.