❃ The journey ❃
A few years later, the now fifteen year old Keya was out in the woods again. This time, however, no soothing hot springs were involved. No, the young teen was out collecting firewood for her family. A rather boring job, but a great way to escape the house!
Since the passing of her father five years ago, some drastic changes had occurred in Keya's life. Those bad men who had ended her father's life had now also conquered her village. The Fire Nation soldiers that she had always heard scary stories about as a child were now roaming the streets and demanding unfair taxes from poor widows. Yulin village was no longer free from the war.
In order to keep their family safe and fed, Hun had started working in the nearby mines while Lei got a job in town selling fruit. Their mother... well, she did what she could. Most days she stayed in bed and tried to teach the eleven year old Kanak to read maps and play Pai Sho. Other than that, she just slept or tried to do some cleaning at home. It had been that way ever since their father had passed. No one knew what was wrong with the poor woman, since she didn't have any physical ailments. But that was life, so all they could do was work with what they could. Besides, teaching Kanak anything at all was probably difficult enough. The boy wasn't exactly the studying type. He usually just hung around and studied his maps or practiced his 'fighting skills' in the vegetable garden (Lei should have never taught him how to use a sword). Thankfully, he was off helping Lei in town today.
As for Keya, she did what she could around the house. Collecting firewood, working in the garden, doing laundry, and cooking for the boys. She was fine with it, since it was a job that needed to be done by someone. However, sometimes Keya would stay out collecting firewood a bit longer than necessary just so that she could get some peace and quiet... like she was doing now!
"Ah..." Sighed Keya as she looked at the branches that she had collected in an old, worn rucksack. The bag couldn't hold as much as it used to, but the family could no longer afford to buy a new one. And so, Keya had to go out to the woods daily to collect enough wood for that night.
A nearby bullfrog croaked, as if sensing the girl's reluctance to go home. Keya turned her head to talk to it. "This should be enough for tonight, right? If I don't go home now, mother will complain that I've been out for too long." The bullfrog said nothing, but Keya felt like it agreed with her.
"I know," She said as she gathered the rucksack and heaved it on her small frame, "I don't want to go, either. But you know how it is. Dinner won't prepare itself and mother wasn't up for the task today, so I have to do it." Keya and the bullfrog stared at each other for a moment, the former looking as if she was expecting some sort of answer from the friendly amphibian. It croaked once more and then jumped away, leaving its friend alone.
"Yeah, I should get going, too."
Keya grunted under the weight of her rucksack and slowly started walking down the road back home. Her back ached from the long day of work and her calloused hands were dirty from the garden work she had done earlier. She'd been up since sunrise today, so she was sure that sleep would take her as soon as her head hit her sleeping mat tonight.
Slowly, Keya started humming to herself. The soft tune distracted her from thoughts of work still left to do. Around her, the trees swayed gently and the birds sang with her. The sounds of her feet hitting the rough earth provided a rhythmic thump thump thump. Keya focused on her breathing as she hummed, clearing her mind and simply feeling the forest's presence around her.
The peaceful scene around her faded when the old cabin came into view. Its once bright green exterior had faded with time. A few tiles were missing, others were crooked or cracked. The front porch was starting to rot and had not been cleaned in some time. What was once a happy family home had changed into a deteriorated shack.
Keya stood still for a moment, basking in the late afternoon sun. Her humming stopped as she was suddenly reminded of the heavy weight on her back. "C'mon, it's time to cook." She mumbled to herself, making sure to take her time walking over to her porch.
When she finally arrived, she dropped the rucksack on the floor and bent down to gather the sticks. She grabbed the bag and shook it in order to let the wood fall out. When one particularly stubborn branch didn't fall out, Keya reached inside to grab it out herself.
"Ouch!" She pulled back her finger with a yelp and quickly stuck it in her mouth to stop the bleeding. "Stupid branch!" She grumbled and pulled it out (more carefully this time). She gathered the rest of the firewood and carried it inside her home. The branch that had scratched her was still outside on the porch.
As she walked out again to bring the discarded rucksack inside, she saw her assailant laying on the floor beside it. Keya looked at it with pity and sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, mister branch. I was just tired and took it all out on you..." She walked back inside with both the branch and the sack. "Don't worry. I'll make good firewood out of you yet." She spoke calmly.
From inside the home, a small door creaked open. "Who're you talking to, Keya?" A weak voice called. Keya jumped and turned around.
"No one, mother." Keya walked over to the older woman and helped her get back in bed. Lin complained to her daughter, mentioning that Hun and Lei were eating with them tonight. "I need to make them dinner." She croaked as Keya covered her with a blanket.
"I know, I know. Now, go back to sleep and don't worry about your sons. I'll make dinner." Hun and Lei always ate home if they could help it. It frightened Keya to hear that her mother didn't seem to remember that. She slept so much that she often missed out on dinner. Lin didn't talk to her oldest sons more than once a week these days (if they were lucky). Her condition had been deteriorating ever since the Fire Nation took over their town. It was a sad thing to witness.
"Alright..." Mumbled the tired woman. She was already half asleep by then.
Keya went back to the kitchen and started humming again as she started making dinner. The branch that had scratched her earlier was the first one to fuel the fire for the broth she was making. Said broth didn't include a lot, besides some homegrown vegetables.
These days, all they could afford was whatever their own garden had to offer. Other than that, Lei would sometimes come home with leftover or partially rotten food from his boss's stall. Anything else, like meat or cheese, was too expensive to buy more than a couple of times a year. They used to get eggs from their pig-chickens as well, but sadly their last stock was confiscated by Fire Nation soldiers as a tax payment a few months ago. All of the money that her brothers made went to the Fire Nation in the form of taxes these days.
How the family would survive this winter with only their vegetable garden as a food source, the siblings hadn't figured out yet. Keya was needed at home to tale care of their mother and grow the vegetables, so Kanak would probably have to get a job in the mines like his brother. Despite the danger of the job, the only other option would be starvation. Not that vegetable broth every day provided much nutrition... She could see the effect it had on both herself and her family. None of them would last much longer the way things were going.
For now, all Keya could do was focus on making her broth. Making a broth with limited ingredients was tough, but it was nothing that the young girl couldn't handle! Her humming continued as a delicious smell started filling the tiny kitchen. The fire crackled on steadily as the broth started simmering. Keya stirred the pot for a moment and waved her hand in the fumes, bringing the aroma up to her nose.
"Hmm..." She squinted her eyes and scrunched her nose in focus. "This should do." She poked the fire and let the broth simmer some more. It would be ready right on time for dinner. If they were careful, they could eat from this broth for a couple of days. As a matter of fact, they kind of had to. Their other crops weren't due to be harvested for another week or two.
Just as Keya was getting ready to set up the table, the sounds of clashing armour and heavy footsteps reached her ears. The girl jumped in fright. "What are those guys doing here? They're not due for another month..." She mumbled. She ran over to her mother and woke her up.
"Mom, wake up! The Fire Nation soldiers are here!" She whimpered like a frightened child. Keya tugged on her mother's shirt, but the woman was slow to open her eyes. Lin looked around disorientedly and sat up.
A loud banging suddenly sounded at the door. "They're here! The Fire Nation!" Keya cried to her sleepy mother.
"Open up, Earth Nation citizens! By order of the Firelord!" The threatening voice of a stern Fire Nation soldier ordered from outside. Keya couldn't wait for her mother to wake up any further. She quickly ran back to the kitchen and opened the front door slowly. Her short frame cowered behind the door.
"H-hello?" She stammered. Three tall men stood on the porch. Each of them wore a full set of Fire Nation armour. Two of them held a spear. The middle soldier was the one who had yelled and banged on her door. He looked down at Keya with a sneer. His lack of weaponry indicated that he was a firebender.
"Taxes have just been raised. By order of Fire Lord Ozai, we demand a tax increase of ten copper pieces. If the tax cannot be paid in money, other payment shall have to suffice." The man looked behind Keya with hungry eyes. The broth she had been making was visible from his point of view. He didn't care whether or not the poor family would starve.
"I'll go check on your payment, sir." Keya spoke quietly. The soldiers nodded at her, their eyes trailing her figure as she turned back inside. Keya quickly ran over to their savings, but she feared the worst. The last tax payment had cost them nearly everything.
Outside, the soldiers laughed among themselves. "If my wife looked like that, I'd never leave home again." One said.
Another soldier joined in. "If your wife looked like that, I would never leave your home either, Shin." The remarks sent chills up Keya's spine. Were they talking about her?
Thankfully, her mother finally emerged from the other room. She spotted Keya taking out their savings. No more context needed to be given. "Tax raise?" Lin asked sadly. Keya just nodded.
"How much? Do we have enough?" The mother watched her daughter freeze for a moment. Keya turned around, tears were already welling up in her eyes. "No." She whimpered.
"Hurry up, will ya! We haven't got all day!" One of the soldiers yelled from the porch.
Lin reached for the few copper coins that Keya had taken out of their savings box and walked over to the soldiers. "Ah," The one soldier called 'Shin' commented, "That's where that girl got it from! You her mama?"
Lin said nothing and gave them the coins. "This is all we have to give. You've already taken the rest." The soldiers counted out the money and busted out in laughter.
"You only have six copper coins? Man, this is sad." They laughed at the little amount of money in her hand and waited for the two women to get the rest of the payment. After nothing happened, the man called Shin cornered the poor widow. Keya immediately stood up straight in alarm. Shin leaned forward intimidatingly, before calmly stating:
"This isn't enough."
The widow kept her ground, however. She didn't flinch as she growled back. "Make it enough. We have nothing left to give you." Keya quickly realised that the men were not going to leave without their payment, whatever that would have to be. The young teen wished that her brothers were home, she didn't feel safe.
"I should burn you where you stand, woman." Shin hissed. "But there is something you can do to pay me." He grinned, letting his eyes trail over Keya. "How old was she again?" He joked.
Neither of the women thought he was funny, though. As a matter of fact, Lin felt her maternal instincts shiver and tremble at the thought of letting anything like that happen to her daughter. Before she even realised it, she had already stomped on the man's foot as hard as she could.
Keya gasped and hid behind her mother, who spread out her frail arms protectively. "You are not going to touch my daughter! You vile monster!" Lin exclaimed fiercely. Her melancholic state seemed almost completely gone. It had momentarily been replaced by pure, maternal rage.
Her actions had clearly insulted the burly men. The two soldiers in the back raised their spears threateningly and Shin himself activated scorching flames around his fists. Fear grew in the poor widow's eyes. Her daughter cowered behind her.
"Y'know, you dirt people really don't know how to take a joke. Did you really think that an honourable Fire Nation soldier would defile himself with the likes of your mudling? We were only going to take your broth, you wench. But your act of aggression cannot and will not go unpunished!"
Suddenly, Lin was forced down by a bright flame. She laid on the floor helplessly with a large scorch mark on her shirt. The widow groaned softly. Keya gasped in horror at the sight before her. Shin's large fist was still sizzling as he pulled it back from the woman. She was barely conscious.
The man smirked in satisfaction and glanced down at Keya. "Don't ever mess with a soldier's honour if you know what's good for you, little girl. Learn from your mama. Hand over the broth."
Just as he finished speaking, the man stepped over her mother's limp body to go over and get it himself. His towering frame approached the young teen without hesitation. She whimpered in fear. Don't let him get any closer! Help!
Just then, something snapped within Keya.
The traumatised girl let out a horrified scream and attacked her mother's assailant. Without thinking, Keya pushed the man off of her porch with her eyes screwed shut. Never before had the Earth Kingdom girl shown violence to any living creature. She felt nothing but rage.
Shin's eyes went to the back of his head in pain as he choked. It felt like the air had literally been pushed out of his body as he fell to the sandy ground behind the porch. Keya kept holding his face between her hands as she landed on top of him. His choking got worse as her hands became white from the strain. The other two men wasted no time in stopping her.
Keya felt like she was suffocating as the other two men tackled her off of their fallen teammate. The girl's limbs flailed about, pushing the men off of her with more strength than she had thought she possessed. It felt powerful.
From the porch, Lin groaned and tried to get back up. She barely noticed Keya and the soldiers as she tried to gather herself. The sounds of struggle continued around her as Keya tried to fight off two grown Fire Nation soldiers at once. She looked (and felt) like a feral animal. Her eyes glinted dangerously as a soldier stood up in front of her.
"Stop it! At once!" He demanded and tried to grab her.
Keya screamed and pushed him away with an unknown force. She had never felt like this before. The man let out a painful cry. His face turned red and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He spluttered and choked some more as he fell down. It was unclear to Keya whether or not he was still alive.
Keya's hands shook as she turned to face the last man. At the sight of his two fallen comrades, the third soldier put his hands up and dropped his spear. He backed up slowly. As soon as he saw that Keya wasn't going to make him choke like the others, he turned around and took off.
"You watch yourself, you demon! The Fire Nation will return with full force!" The soldier exclaimed as he ran away.
With her last enemy gone, all the energy drained from her exhausted body. Keya sobbed and fell to her knees. What had just happened? All she could do was cry. At the sight of the two men splayed out behind her, the girl promptly emptied her stomach on the sandy ground. She was still dry heaving when she called out to her mother.
"Mom!" She cried desperately. "Mommy!"
Keya felt like she was frozen, but the sight of her mother getting back up made her sob more in relief. Her mother stood up shakily, leaning one hand on the doorframe. Lin suddenly spotted someone coming their way and yelled out.
"Hun! Lei!"
The two brothers ran over to their mother and sister, both taking in the damage done to the Fire Nation soldiers. "What happened?!" Asked Lei. He helped his mother stand and assessed the damage. Lin would probably not walk on her own for a while.
At the same time, Hun helped his little sister stand back up. He took note of her tired eyes and the horrified look they portrayed.
"Are you okay to stand by yourself, Keya?" He asked her with a small hug. "They won't hurt you anymore. Your big brother is here." Hun whispered comfortingly over and over. Keya just cried into his brown tunic.
Meanwhile, Kanak arrived at the scene. His mother beckoned him over and told him to pack Keya's stuff. All of Lin's sons looked up at their mother with confusion.
"What's going on, mom?" Asked Kanak. He took a sideways glance at his older sister. She didn't look too good.
"Keya needs to... she needs to leave. Now!" Gasped their mother from the porch. "More soldiers will come back soon... I'll explain later."
Hun and Lei both looked up with shock. "What? Please tell us what's going on! Keya can't just leave." They pleaded. Keya was the only sibling who wasn't shocked by her mother's demand. She had heard the soldier's threat loud and clear.
"She's right, guys. I need to leave." Her brothers looked at her with sorrow. Keya continued, "Those soldiers... I did it. I- I hurt them. I can't stay here. Something is wrong with me and I need to leave before they come back for revenge. Mother can explain the rest later, but I must leave." Her lips trembled as she sobbed. Kanak nodded hesitantly and went inside to gather some supplies.
Together with some food and a sleeping roll, Keya's few possessions were packed into a small rucksack. It was the same bag that she'd used earlier that day to gather firewood. Everything was happening so quickly. Once again, her life felt like it had flipped upside down.
Once everything was ready, Lin stood outside with her three remaining children. Keya stood in front of them. All five of them were trying to hold back tears during her hasty departure. The unconscious soldiers were still on the ground behind them.
"We will see eachother again, Keya." Hun hugged his little sister tightly. Once he let her go, she was immediately caught in a hug again from Lei and Kanak. Kanak gave her a map with a few old notes marked on it.
"If you need to flee somewhere," he said, "Ba Sing Se is probably your best bet. It's the safest city in the world." Keya studied the map for a moment.
"I've never travelled that far in my life." She whispered, mostly to herself. Her brothers still heard her, though.
"Then this will be your first time." Little Kanak smiled, but Keya could see him trying to hold back his tears. The boy was growing up much faster than he had to. She realised that he would probably take over her tasks once she was gone.
Lei also gave her something. It was an old Earth Kingdom dagger, one often used by Earth Kingdom soldiers. It looked very familiar.
"This was dad's. Keep yourself safe and make sure you never have to use it." He attached the dagger to her belt, underneath her small, brown cloak.
Finally, her mother looked at her. "I don't know what happened today, Keya. What you did to those men was a mystery. But, please, don't stray from your path and head straight to Ba Sing Se. Once you're there, send us a letter. If destiny allows it we will be able to meet you there in good time." Her mother's words made Keya hopeful.
"Then I'll try my best and get to Ba Sing Se as soon as possible. I'll miss you guys." She smiled, but tears were gathered in her eyes. Her mother (with the help of her sons) hugged her and bid her a final goodbye.
"Go, Keya. We'll miss you too, my love."
And with that, Keya set off into the woods with nothing but the few items on her back. Behind her stood her family, her entire world. Ahead of her lay the journey of a lifetime.
❃
A/N: First official chapter. What do you think?