❃ New Beginnings ❃
Not long thereafter, their transportation to the lower ring of Ba Sing Se arrived. The lower ring was apparently where all the refugees were sent off to. As soon as they would arrive there, they'd have to look for work and accommodation by themselves. Keya hoped that the three of them could have a place to stay before nightfall. She really didn't want to sleep out in the open in a strange city...
"Last call for Ba Sing Se!" One of the employees yelled out. The large monorail was getting ready for a long journey to the city's center. Of course Iroh, Zuko, and Keya (they really needed a group name) were only taking the train to the first stop along with all the other refugees.
"That's us! C'mon you two, let's go!" Keya quickly grabbed her rucksack and got ready to leave. The rest of the trio also stood up and grabbed their stuff.
The girl happily showed their tickets to the conductor and stepped inside of one of the compartments. Iroh and Zuko followed her, the former with a content smile beneath his beard and the latter with a tired scowl covering his face. Keya sat in the middle this time with Iroh on her right side and Zuko on her left side. Their bags were placed in a designated rack above their heads. Their seats faced the opposite windows of the monorail train across its length, making them face the open windows where a beautiful view would surely greet them once the vehicle left its station. Everything was decorated with varying shades of green details and Earth Kingdom insignias in the same fashion as the areas that they had seen so far in Ba Sing Se. Small crystals were hung from the ceiling as a source of light. Keya wondered where they got them. Perhaps it would make a nice souvenir for her mother...
"I can't wait to see what this 'lower ring' place looks like. Do you think that it follows the same theme as the rest of this city?" She wondered out loud as she glanced around, hoping that Jet wouldn't join them anytime soon.
"I don't care what it looks like." Zuko responded grumpily. "All I want is some peace and quiet, somewhere where we won't get bothered." His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed across his broad chest. He was tired from waiting all day, the boy just wanted some peace and quiet.
As if on cue, a young couple walked over to their bench. A small, new born baby cried out from its mother's arms, disturbing the fragile silence in the compartment. Keya heard Zuko let out a deep and dissatisfied sigh next to her. A man joined the mother from behind with their suitcases. He held his partner lovingly and gestured to the seat next to Iroh.
"Excuse me, sir. Do you mind if my wife and I sit here?" He asked politely. The train jolted for a moment. Then, it slowly started moving with increasing speed. They were finally off to the lower ring.
Zuko sighed again. Clearly, he wouldn't be getting his desired 'peace and quiet' any time soon. However, his uncle seemed much more excited to sit next to a crying baby during their long trip.
"Of course, feel free to sit where you'd like." Iroh patted the seat beside him, where the lady chose to sit. The old man leaned over to the couple and their child.
"What a handsome baby." Iroh tickled the child. Both of the parents looked at their child with sparkling eyes, a sure sign of affection and devotion- one that only a parent could understand the depth of. Their looks of admiration brought a memory back to Keya.
Lin was seated on her porch with a tiny bundle in her arms. Her only daughter, Keya, was playing in the sand before her. It had only been a few months since her husband, Kallik, had left to fight in the war. None of that worried the little child however, as she played happily in the midday sun.
Keya's chubby fingers were digging for treasures in the sand. It didn't take long for her to find something worthy to show off to her dear 'mama'. The almost-three-year-old grabbed the small rock that she had found with her two tiny hands and stood up carefully.
"Mama! Mama!" Her tiny feet wobbled over to the other woman. The girl wanted to show her gift as soon as possible!
"What is it, my love?" The tired woman smiled gently at her daughter and adjusted her newly born son in one arm, so that she could keep her other arm free.
Keya climbed up the porch as quickly as her short, stubby legs would allow her. Once she reached her mother, the girl held up both her hands, proudly offering the small pebble that she had found.
"Oh! Thank you, love. Is that for me?" She asked and used her free hand to take the gift from her daughter's hold. To her surprise, Keya shook her head 'no'.
"For the baby!" The little girl exclaimed with a big smile.
A look suddenly overcame Lin. It was the same look that the strange mother in the train held for her child. A look of love and devotion so pure that it could be found nowhere else. A love only understood by a parent, or by those who had once been one.
Lin accepted the pebble and showed it to her newborn son, that same look still gracing her beautiful features. "Look, Kanak, a gift from your sister."
It was one of Keya's first memories, one that she held very dear to her heart. She remembered how the pebble had always rested atop of her younger brother's dresser (or rather, his personal shelf on the family's shared dresser). The thought of her family reminded her to write them a letter as soon as possible, so that they could head over to the safe city as well. Keya's thoughts were interrupted by Iroh and the woman next to him, both fawning over the small babe.
"Thank you for your kind words, sir." The mother said humbly to the retired General. Her partner squeezed her shoulders lovingly as they gazed at the baby.
Keya's pale eyes held a forlorn look in them as she thought of her family once more. All the travelling she had done, both alone and with the Fire Nation duo, had been worth it after today. The relief of it all made her sleepy. Hopefully, she would be reunited with her own family soon...
"What are you thinking about?" Zuko's raspy voice tickled her ear as he whispered. Keya turned her head away from the young couple and instead stared at the view opposite of her seat. It was a gorgeous sight, filled with farmlands and tiny houses. Keya sighed.
"Nothing... just thinking of my family, is all." The moving monorail train was rather soothing. Even the baby beside them had stopped her crying by now, probably fast asleep in its mother's arms. Keya felt her eyelids get heavy.
"Is your, ehm, family also headed this way?" Zuko asked carefully, knowing how touchy the subject was. He had finally managed to get along with someone his age and the teen wasn't too keen on messing it up anytime soon.
"I'm going to write to them soon, once we've settled a bit. They'll come if they can." She yawned softly. Yawning was thankfully not influenced by her airbending (unlike sneezing); she could do it without worrying.
"They will, I'm certain." Zuko stated. If someone like Keya could make it, surely her family would have no trouble. Unless they were as naive and trusting of strangers as she was... Although, then again, even she had made it in the end. There was hope for her family as well.
"Hmm... I hope so too..." Keya's eyes drooped and her voice slurred as sleep slowly curled its powerful claws around her consciousness.
With that said, their brief conversation ended. Zuko now sulked in silence and looked out over the view. He wasn't happy with their new life, even though his two companions seemed awfully content in their positions. Keya's joy was understandable, Zuko thought. The girl had never been anything more than a poor Earth Kingdom peasant. Therefore, being a refugee wasn't too far removed from how she already lived her life. And his uncle? The man was as strange and uncaring for his title as anyone could be ever since his son Lu Ten had passed away on the battlefield. Zuko was surprised how calm his uncle had seemed so far, with Ba Sing Se being the site where his downfall had taken place. Still, he was certain that his uncle could live a happy life anywhere in the world, as long as he could drink tea while he was there.
But for Zuko, this was a completely different situation. He was not like his two companions. Zuko was a Prince, even in his banishment. He was well-trained and strong. He had travelled far and wide, learning more about war tactics, tracking enemies, and naval skills than anyone his age. It was precisely for that reason that his new fake identity as 'Lee the refugee' was humiliating for the Fire Nation Prince. He grumbled and scowled as he thought about it. There was nothing to smile about in this situation.
Suddenly, the disgruntled Prince felt a small weight land on his shoulder. He tensed and looked for the source. A knocked-out Keya was snoring softly from her spot on the bench. Her head was resting on his broad shoulder peacefully, similar to the way she had done when they were at the Misty Palms Oasis. Zuko wanted to yell and shove her off of him for a moment, but the boy hesitated.
She looked so relaxed. It was like she had no care in the world as she slept against him. Zuko stared at her. He had no idea what to do now, he was completely caught off guard. From the corner of his eye, he noticed his uncle giving him a suggestive smirk. He scowled at the old man and shook his head. That geezer was always thinking strange thoughts, there was nothing weird about this!
"Let her sleep, Zuko. She's had a long day." Iroh whispered softly to him in order to not disturb the resting girl.
Zuko rolled his eyes and nodded. He settled into his seat and crossed his arms across his chest comfortably (although the scowl remained on his face). He stayed in that position for the rest of the long ride as he thought more about what they were going to do once they arrived in the lower ring.
The rest of that ride ended up being a couple of hours long. Who knew that a city could be that big! Zuko made sure to wake the sleeping girl on his shoulder up with a friendly tap- just kidding. The teenager had simply gotten up, leaving his Earth Kingdom friend to slam her head against the bench.
"Wh- what's going on? Are we there yet?" Keya's sleepy voice mumbled as she was torn from her precious sleep roughly. Zuko looked at her and held back a smirk at the sight of a small trail of drool that coated her cheek.
"We're here. Hurry up or we'll leave you behind." He said.
Keya just rolled her eyes and stretched. She grabbed her rucksack and followed Zuko and Iroh to the station's exit. As the three of them walked down a long flight of broad stairs, Zuko suddenly mumbled something to Keya. It was so soft that she didn't understand what he'd said.
"What?" A single eyebrow rose on her face. The boy in question just pointed his index finger at his chin, indicating the exact location where the drool was on her own chin. However, to Keya, it looked like he was posing.
"Are you trying to act cute? What's going on?" She asked him with a confused frown. Zuko blushed at her response and scowled. He crossed his arms and turned away from her, before speaking again.
"You've still got some drool on your chin." He grumbled. "So no, I was not being cute."
Keya felt her cheeks go warm and quickly wiped the remaining drool off of her face. "Oh." She stammered. "Thanks..."
A short while later, they reached a forum of some kind. The lower ring was exactly what one could expect of a segregated area filled with poor refugees. Everywhere they looked, paupers and beggars roamed the dirty streets. Groups of underfed children with unbrushed hair and muddy feet played in the streets with ragged balls and busted toys. The corner of Keya's full lips tugged upwards when she saw the big smiles on the childrens' faces. The sight reminded her of her brothers (as everything always did), it warmed her heart.
Iroh noticed a market up ahead and turned to the two teenagers under his care. "Alright." He said, his hands clasped in front of him happily.
"I will take care of our lodging and see if there's any work around for us to do. Keya, you can scour the market and see if there's anything there worth cooking up for dinner." He handed her some copper coins from the depth of his wide sleeve. Keya took his money and tried to calculate what she could buy with it. A pig-chicken breast? No, too much... Or maybe some vegetable stock? Hmmm...
"And what about me?" Zuko asked with his arms crossed. Iroh's fingers cupped his chin and stroked his beard thoughtfully as he brain-stormed for a task to give to his nephew.
"Aha!" His eyes lit up. "You can help Keya with the groceries. A lady shouldn't have to carry all the produce by herself." He chuckled and patted his nephew on the shoulder. "Good luck you two! I'll meet you at the market soon!"
With that, the old man was off. Zuko sighed grumpily and held the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "C'mon." He grumbled. "Let's get this over with."
The duo made their way over to the nearby market to get their supplies for dinner. The market itself was much larger than Keya was used to. In fact, it was larger than any market that the poor peasant girl had ever visited - although, the only markets that she had visited were the one in her hometown and the one in Chin village, nearby her hometown.
This market had everything; food, furniture, clothing, and more! Yes, they were definitely in the big city! The place was busy and chaotic, filled with newly arrived refugees looking for provisions to survive their first night in Ba Sing Se. Fortune tellers beckoned drunk locals and desperate refugees with promises of good luck. Vegetable sellers yelled out their cheap deals loudly, hoping to get rid of their rotten stock. Stalls with exotic animals and strange herbs spread odd smells and sounds across the market.
They quickly made their way across the different food stalls, making sure to get enough for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast as well. Zuko followed Keya with his arms full of produce while she haggled with different vendors for fair prices. In the end, it didn't take them too long to gather what they needed. Now, all they could do was walk around boredly and look around to see if there was anything interesting that they could do for free. A single stall in the corner of the market piqued Keya's interest.
An old man with tan, wrinkled skin sat behind a wall of different jewels and trinkets from all over the world. He even had a few Northern Water Tribe necklaces hanging graciously at the front. Keya's silver eyes sparkled as she spotted a particularly beautiful piece of jewellery presented on a traditional Water Tribe cloth. The necklace was made up of a dark, silvery blue strip of cloth, short enough to hang around someone's neck like a choker. In the centre of the cloth, a pale moonstone glistened in the late morning sun. It was a gorgeous sight, one that had captured the girl's attention long enough for her companion to notice. The boy followed her line of sight and scoffed.
"We're not here to shop for fancy jewellery. We have no money to spend on frivolous things."
Just as Zuko had spoken against wasting their money, Iroh suddenly re-appeared with an expensive looking vase. The vase was filled with beautifully arranged orange flowers. Zuko looked down at him with an intimidating scowl, demanding that the man explain himself. Did he not know that they were poor now?!
"I just want our new place to look nice, in case someone brings home a lady friend." Iroh suggested with a nudge in Zuko's side. He then turned to Keya. "... or a gentleman friend."
Keya giggled and felt her cheeks heat up. She didn't have a lot of dating experience (as a matter of fact, she had none), but that didn't mean that she couldn't try and see! Zuko, on the other hand, didn't look so happy with the prospect of settling down or living a regular teenage life.
"This city is a prison. I don't want to make a life here." Zuko's nose scrunched and his posture slouched as he spoke. Keya surely didn't know anyone who possessed the amount of angst that the banished Fire Nation Prince currently did. Also, he had clearly never been to prison before.
"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not!" Iroh spoke wisely. "Now, come on! I found us some new jobs and we start this afternoon."
❃
A/N: What group name should Keya, Iroh and Zuko have?
Also, my bad for the long hiatus... student life is hectic and busy. I have the next 10+ chapters lined up for weekly publishing. Thanks for your patience <3