❃ The Tale of Keya ❃
Soft chirps and bustling city life filtered through the open window of the small apartment. The rustling of fabric was followed by a deep sigh. Someone had just woken up from a long night of frequently interrupted slumber. Keya opened her eyes with some trouble, the remains of sleeping dust were still working hard to keep her eyelids glued together. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head with a long yawn.
Last night had been tough for the young woman. Zuko had made sure to wake her up every couple of hours to ask her silly questions, like 'what's the name of this city' and 'how many fingers am I holding up'. According to Iroh, it was meant to test whether or not her concussion had gotten any worse. Considering the fact that she had managed to answer them all, both men had deemed it safe enough for her to stay home alone for the day. It was Zuko who had even suggested staying home with her, but the girl had refused. She was just mildly concussed, nothing that couldn't be fixed by some tea and rest (the latter of which he had already meddled with). Still, the two men had been final in their command for her to leave the work up to them for now.
Secretly, a part of her rejoiced at the idea of sleeping in and drinking tea all day. She could even try to read something without the embarrassment of having to do it with a well-educated Prince nearby! But then again, she had never not needed to do something. Back home, the consistency of tending to the vegetable garden and taking care of her mother always left her with a long list of chores that needed to be done. Then, when she left for the big city, survival and travel had preoccupied her mind. Now, she didn't have to do anything...
It was freeing and constraining at the same time. What did people do when they didn't have to do anything? What was there to think about when one had no chores to keep in mind? Keya quickly found that her mind had enough things to think of, to her great dismay.
Worries, it seemed, filled her mind when survival and chores didn't.
Great, she sighed and decided to get dressed, now I'm going to drive myself crazy all day instead of working. She couldn't even prepare dinner for tonight! Iroh had already prepared their evening meal this morning before he left. All that was left to do was to heat it up. Apparently, the old man had guessed that she would try and do as much housework as she could while they were gone. And it wasn't as if she could fill her day by cleaning or doing the laundry. All of them barely had any clothes to begin with and for the most part of their day they were off working, so the house remained tidy.
Keya got up and walked over to the small dresser in the corner of the sleeping area. On top of it rested a small houseplant. Iroh liked to take care of the greenery surrounding their home, so Keya never meddled with it. From what she could tell, though, the man had done a good job with its up-keeping. He seemed to genuinely enjoy his life here. It made her happy. Perhaps they could remain close friends for a long time, even when her family arrived.
Speaking of which, her letter had surely been delivered to them by now. It had been a while since she had sent it, she was certain that she could expect a response any day now.
After getting dressed, the girl shuffled over to the kitchen and living room area. Her stomach grumbled and growled as she thought over different breakfast options. It was new to her, having the option to eat one thing or the other. Breakfast was always a meal that she skipped back home, most often due to a lack of food. Usually she'd try to fill herself up with some tea and fruit, although it rarely ever filled her up for long. Now, she walked over to the pantry and looked inside to see what she could eat. Fruit, eggs, bread, and even leftovers from yesterday! Leftovers! In this economy?
"Ba Sing Se really is the dream..." Keya sighed happily as she prepared a plate of food to eat. Her body had been really thankful for the extra provisions. She had finally started growing some of the curves that most teenage girls supposedly had. Besides that, she also finally had enough food to grow some strong limbs, instead of the frail arms and legs that she had worked with for the past couple of years. And although years of malnutrition had left her rather short in stature, Keya was optimistic that even that situation could improve, if only a little bit.
She looked -and felt- a lot healthier.
For the first time in years, she was gaining strength and winning the fight against hunger. Despite the confrontation with the Fire Nation soldiers back home being one of the most traumatic experiences of her life, she felt grateful that something positive had come out of it. Who would have thought that her fate could change so quickly in such a short amount of time? A couple of months ago, she was worrying about this winter. Now, she was worrying about what time her family would arrive in the city that she had found refuge in. Things were finally looking up.
As Keya walked over to the small table in the corner of the room to eat her breakfast, she saw a small note on the kitchen counter. She picked it up and brought it with her, choosing to read it as she ate. The note was written with very neat handwriting, she wasn't too surprised to find out who had written it.
'Practice these while we're gone:
Breathe in through your nose & count to four,
Hold your breath & count to seven,
Breathe out through your mouth & count to eight.
Repeat.
- Zuko'
A soft smile graced the girl's lips as she read the sweet note. Zuko had indeed promised to help her with her breathing back when she almost choked in front of him. How sweet. She studied the instructions and finished her food. Then, she tucked the note in her pocket and cleaned the dishes. Her head only hurt a little bit now, save for the bruise on the spot where she had slammed against the floor when Jet attacked. Other than that, she felt a lot better already. She was sure that she could get back to work tomorrow.
In the meantime, she needed to fill her day with something to do. Iroh had kindly left a pot of tea for her to drink. From what she could tell, he had filled it with strange herbs -most likely those that could help her heal. She made a mental note to thank him for his kindness when he returned.
The tea still released steam when she poured it in a cup. Its wonderful scent bounced and danced with the soft breeze that filtered through the open windows, spreading out through the small room and calming down its inhabitant. Keya sat down in a lotus position and decided to follow Zuko's instructions for her. His breathing exercises were most likely meant for firebending techniques, so she wasn't sure if they would work well with her airbending. Then again, Iroh had always said that wisdom from different places was better than just sticking to the traditional teachings... although, she didn't know the traditional airbender teachings either. Firebending breathing style it is, then!
Keya's grey irises disappeared beneath her brown eyelids as she started meditating. Breathe in and count to four. She inhaled for four long seconds and moved on to the next step. Hold your breath for seven seconds. She did so and tried to clear some of the endless thoughts that plagued her mind. Breathe out for eight seconds. Her lips parted in a small 'o'-shape as she pushed the air from her lungs. Repeat.
It took her a good amount of time, but with every round of the breathing exercises, Keya felt her mind clear up and her heart rate go down. She felt relaxed. Somehow, Zuko's technique really helped her feel more in touch with her element. The more she breathed intentionally like this, the more she felt the air around her. It was as if every particle that touched her skin suddenly energised her in a strange way. She was suddenly conscious of its presence as it brushed against her skin or travelled through her body. Her lungs felt fuller, her body felt lighter. She felt warm and comfortable.
The airbender didn't know how long she had been meditating for, when a messenger hawk squawked and alerted her of its presence. One eyelid lifted slowly and observed the feathery intruder. It was perched on the open window, a letter was attached to its back. As soon as she realised what it was, the girl got up and ran over to the creature.
"Oh my! Did you bring me some good news, friend?" She gasped enthusiastically. The hawk simply squawked again and leaned forward, so that she could receive the message from its holder.
Keya grabbed the letter and was about to read it, when she noticed that the messenger hawk hadn't left yet. She looked at it and thought deeply for a second.
"Oh!" She smiled. "You travelled all this way. Would you like a snack?"
The messenger hawk squawked and flapped its wings. Yes, please!
"Alright, then. Wait here for a second—"
She walked over to the pantry and grabbed a couple of nuts. She walked back over to the hawk and offered her snack to it. The hawk observed the nuts for a brief moment, before pecking the biggest one out of her hand and flying off. Keya gazed at its soaring shape with a fond sparkle in her eyes. She always loved animals...
"Now! Back to the big news," she looked down at the letter, sat back down, and unrolled it, "please tell me that you guys are coming soon."
She took a sip of Iroh's tea and observed the letter. The letter in question was surely from her brothers. She recognised the writing style easily, for she had only one brother who put an effort into the way that he wrote. Lei's tidy handwriting filled up the parchment with congratulations and important news.
'Sister,
You cannot fathom the excitement here at home now that we know that you've arrived at your destination safely. Thank you for keeping track of the route you took on Kanak's map. We'll use the updates to guide us to Ba Sing Se.'
Keya couldn't help herself; the girl jumped up and down from excitement. Her brothers were going to Ba Sing Se! Soon, she would finally be able to see them again after a long time. Hopefully, their combined skills and the notes that she had added to Kanak's map would help them shorten their journey. Her heart thudded in her chest as she continued to read.
'Sadly, not all of us will make the trip. Mother has been taken away by the Fire Nation. They claimed her as some kind of revenge against your actions (She told us what happened - we don't blame you). According to a source at Hun's work, she's been taken to one of the most guarded prisons in the Fire Nation. We're still working on finding out which prison it is. As soon as we know, we'll leave Kanak with you and get her back. For now, we're coming your way. Don't do anything stupid before we get there.
Love from your favourite brothers,
Lei, HUN xx & kanak :p'
Their comfortingly familiar signatures did little to calm her saddened heart. Her mother had been taken away to some awful Fire Nation prison and it was all her fault. What if her mother didn't survive? How would she be able to live with herself?
She sighed and folded the letter. Her legs folded over one another as she tried to get back into a proper lotus position. She knew that her own thoughts would drive her crazy if she didn't try to clear her mind soon. The only thing left for her to do was meditate as she waited for Iroh and Zuko to come back from their work. Breathe in... four seconds passed, hold it... seven seconds passed, breathe out... eight seconds passed.
Lonesome tears slid down her cheeks. Her mind would not let go of the guilt that had risen up with the news regarding her mother. She tried to breathe some more as she cleared her thoughts. One technique that the young Earth Kingdom girl liked to use was to think of something nice instead of something sad. Usually, the nice topic would be her family. However, since that exact family was the reason behind her mood, she decided to try something else. Keya steered her mind away from her mother and imagined her sad thoughts to be like baby turtle ducks. She had seen them once, in a pond nearby Chin Village. Their cute eyes and their fuzzy bodies had remained impactful in her memories since the moment her young eyes had spotted them years ago. With time, her sad thoughts drifted off peacefully. All her mind was focused on was the image of turtle ducks playing in the water.
Soon enough, Keya was completely absorbed in her meditative state. It had always come naturally to her, although Zuko's breathing exercises definitely seemed to be helping. Baby turtle ducks... nature's gift to humankind.
The sound of keys jangling against the doorknob raised the girl's consciousness back from deep within her mind. The turtle ducks swam off happily as her mind cleared up. Keya lifted a single eyelid when the wooden door was opened.
Iroh's old man sigh filled the silent apartment. His soft humming followed right after, indicating that the man was in a good mood. He looked up and noticed Keya's position on the floor. The old General heated up their dinner as he spoke to his young friend.
"How are you feeling? Did the tea help?"
"Hmm." Keya nodded. "I feel much better. Thank you for your help."
"I did it with love." Iroh said and waited until the food had heated up, before serving two portions- one for Keya and one for himself. He brought their plates over to her and sat down at the low table in the corner of the room. Keya smelled the food and opened her eyes, moving to sit with him at the dinner table. Seeing only two plates, the girl gave her old friend a questioning look. He noticed and smiled mischievously.
"My nephew has a date tonight. He will be home later this evening."
"Oh..." Keya swallowed her first bite roughly. "How nice..."
The two of them continued to eat their meal peacefully. Their soft chewing was sometimes interrupted with friendly conversations and good advice (although, that mainly came from Iroh himself). Keya told Iroh of her brothers' letter, how they had let her know that they would be arriving soon. She left out the part about her mother. For some reason, she just didn't have the mental energy at that moment to open up about it. The wound was still too fresh. Nonetheless, Iroh's mere presence was calming enough to brighten her mood. Besides that, her long meditation session had also helped.
After they had finished their dinner, Keya offered to wash the dishes. She could tell that Iroh was worried about his nephew. This was his first ever date with another girl, after all. It was the kind of social interaction that the banished teen had not been able to experience due to his strict, rigorous upbringing. Iroh busied himself with trimming the potted plants that hung from the window's ledge. It gave him the perfect vantage point out on the street, so that he could see Zuko as soon as he turned the corner.
Soon enough, the door behind them was opened. In strolled a tired, grumpy Zuko. Keya noted that his outfit was different from the one that he usually wore. Remnants of some kind of gel were still trying their best to keep his messy hair flat to his scalp. Keya smirked at the sight.
"How was your night, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked.
Zuko walked over to their shared sleeping room and slammed the door behind him with more force than necessary. Iroh's bushy brows pulled together. Had it not gone well?
To the surprise of both Iroh and Keya, Zuko opened the door slightly and peaked his face through. Keya's smirk dropped when she noticed the blush on his face.
"It was nice." Was all he said, before closing the sliding door again (with less force this time).
Keya stood up without thinking and walked over to their sleeping area. Iroh's amber eyes sparkled curiously as he saw her follow after his nephew. She gently closed the door behind her. Zuko was splayed out on his futon with his hands folded beneath his head like a pillow. When he heard her enter, he lifted his head and gazed at her. Keya found that she didn't know what to say to her friend. Why had she followed him?
"Uh-uhm... thanks for the note?" She stammered.
"What? Oh, yeah- no problem..."
The two teenagers stared at one another. Keya swallowed. For some reason, she felt very uncomfortable.
"Alright. Well, I'm going to sleep." Keya decided. She felt too embarrassed to stay awake any longer. Besides, healing her mild concussion and dealing with her siblings' news had taken its toll on her energy levels. She avoided eye contact with the boy in front of her as she got her sleeping clothes and walked over to the washroom nearby to get ready for bed. Her flustered state confused the Prince. Had he done something wrong?
Just before his friend could completely disappear behind the washroom's sliding door, Zuko stretched out his hand and spoke.
"Wait- Just so we're clear," he swallowed thickly, "uncle made me go. I'm not planning on going on a date with her again."
Keya turned around and nodded. Her messy hair framed her face. The pale ray of moonlight that filtered through the window lit up her eyes and gave her an angelic appearance. Her eyes were kind and genuine. She reminded the young Prince of the pond in the royal garden back home, clear and tranquil. The sight of her before him was intoxicating, and he drank in every part of it.
"I'm glad that you had fun." She said with a soft smile.
Zuko's breath hitched as he took her in, once again reminded of his growing affection and admiration for the beautiful woman. It was only after she had left to get ready for the night that he found himself able to relax back into his futon. The image of his friend played on his mind repeatedly. It was driving him mad, so he tried to focus on going to sleep. Still, the image was so strong that he was almost certain that she would haunt him, even in his dreams.
Unbeknownst to anyone but herself and the spirits she held dear, Keya stood on the other side of the thin wall in the same predicament as the Prince. Her hand rested above her chest, where her heart leapt quickly. Her cheeks were warm and she felt slightly out of breath. Oh no, she realised.
There was no way back now.
❃
A/N: Fun fact; the breathing technique that Zuko taught Keya was taught to him by Iroh, who in turn taught it to himself by studying airbending (through scrolls ofc, not irl).