❃ New Life ❃
Grey eyes opened slowly. Two slender arms reached out with a sleepy stretch. A big yawn followed as the young body woke up and got out of bed. Soft footfalls echoed throughout the metal room, a room fit for a proper Fire Nation soldier. Red banners hung around with proudly displayed Fire Nation emblems and symbols. The fire theme continued through the many candles that lit up the space. It was a necessary detail, for there were no windows that could let in natural light.
The young teen walked over to a cabinet where she took out her uniform. Tan fingers worked their way through the complex armour and fixed the right details in the right spot. She was careful to not agitate the wound on her stomach. The burn had been healed for the most part and would probably not scar, but that didn't mean that it didn't still hurt.
Keya tied the last piece of red armour around her waist securely. It had been weeks since the young woman had even touched anything related to her country of birth; this was her new life.
Once ready for her patrol, Keya slipped into her maroon boots and stepped out into the lower deck hallway. The heavy, metal door creaked and slammed as it twisted on its hinges. Someone needed to oil up this ship.
Keya yawned and casually started walking down the hallway. Despite the lack of presence of anyone else around, she wore her Fire Nation military helmet as she knew she had to. Just in case anyone unexpected were to come aboard, at least her identity would remain neutral and as authentically 'Fire Nation-esque' as possible.
Suddenly, a full force of wind blew through the long, metal halls. Keya steadied herself quickly and got into a defensive stance as she had been training to do. Her sharp eyes quickly located the source of the disturbance. To her surprise, she was met with a rather unlikely sight.
A shirtless boy with black hair, dark grey eyes, and bright blue arrow tattoos leaned against the metal walls of the ship. His breath was laboured and his right hand held onto his wooden staff tightly. Had it not been for the fact that she had felt his offensive gust of power herself, she would have thought him to be a hallucination. His skin looked paper-thin and the bags underneath his eyes did nothing to hide his weakened energy. Clearly, he was a bit confused about the situation he was in (then again, who could blame him- he had been out for weeks). Stupidly, Keya forgot that she was dressed in a Fire Nation uniform.
"Avatar Aang," she spoke formally, "let me help you back to your room--"
"Aah!" His prepubescent voice echoed through the metal hall as he sent another attack her way. He had clearly not recognised her as an ally- ouch.
This time, the attack made Keya lose her balance completely. The young woman grunted when her back slammed against the metal wall, then slid down to the floor. Her side ached as the freshly healed skin was pulled roughly by the sudden movement. By the time that she had regained her strength (and her wits), the Avatar had already vanished. She quickly stood up and chased after him to inform the others.
However, by the time she reached the upper deck, the situation had already revealed itself to the other members of the ship's crew. Katara's slender arms were wrapped around the Avatar's unconscious body. It seemed that the boy had tired himself out before he could do anything serious. Then again, Keya figured that waking up on a ship with all his friends dressed in Fire Nation apparel could have also shocked him.
"How... how is he?" Her voice stumbled.
"Aang's just tired." Katara answered and raised her head. "I'm sure he'll wake up soon..."
Katara's brows frowned when she took in the elder teen's presence. It was no secret that Keya fell a bit outside the group. The 'Gaang' (as they so humbly referred to themselves) were wary of her due to her past association with the Prince-who-shall-not-be-named. It was fair, but Keya had hoped that her obvious loyalty to the Avatar's cause would have cut her some slack. She gave Katara a shy smile to appear more friendly. However, her awkward interaction had been for naught. Katara hadn't frowned at her out of rudeness, but out of concern.
"Keya... you're bleeding again."
Oh.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. Just take care of the Avatar." The words left her lips before she could stop them.
The instinct to not be a bother to these people was strong in Keya, but Katara would not allow it. The younger teen sighed and handed the Avatar's unconscious body over to her brother. "Bring him back to his chambers, Sokka. I'll be there soon."
With that said, she turned back to Keya. "And you're coming with me, young lady."
The Earth Kingdom girl raised a brow at her Water Tribe sister. Did Katara always take on this motherly role? She had noticed Katara exhibiting this kind of behaviour ever since they met up in the catacombs. Considering the fact that nobody looked surprised at the way that Katara behaved, Keya presumed that this was a common occurrence. She followed Katara below deck as the girl led her to her chambers to check on her old wound.
It was silent for a while. The two teenagers walked through the metal hallways, each lost in their own thoughts and too awkward to speak much. That was, before Keya coughed softly.
"You know I'm older than you, right?" She asked carefully.
Katara frowned and looked at her senior. "Yes, I'm aware. What's this about?"
Keya sighed and pondered the best words to use. "I just mean... you're not responsible for me, that's all."
Katara stopped and put her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't know if you've realised this, but you're hurt and I'm the one who's about to heal you... again."
"Yes, I know- and thanks for that," Keya hurriedly added, "but you're still not responsible for me. I'm older than you, so... ugh," she grumbled to herself, "why is this so difficult? All I'm trying to say is that you don't have to take responsibility for my well-being. I know what it's like to have to take on a caring role when you're young, so I just want to let you know that, y'know, you can also lean on me or ask me for help if you want. Since I'm older..."
Keya rubbed her neck awkwardly (a trait she begrudgingly realised she'd picked up from Zuko) and let her eyes wander across the metal interior as they pleased. Katara was silent for a moment. Never before had someone emphasised so strongly that she could lean on them. She had taken on the motherly role for others for so long it no longer felt anything other than natural.
"...Thank you..." The words were barely more than a whisper, but they were filled with serendipitous gratitude nonetheless.
Keya smiled softly and gave the girl a pat on the back. "No problem, Katara. Now," she grimaced and clutched her stomach with a painful laugh, "please show me the way to the bandages."
"Keya!" Katara gasped and immediately started fussing over the older girl again. "How did this even happen again? I told you not to try to train anymore and-"
"Hey! I wasn't training this time! It was your boyfriend who slammed me against the wall." The airbender defended herself against her companion's accusations quickly.
Katara's cheeks darkened with embarrassment. "He's not my- my boyfriend!"
Keya ignored her Water Tribe junior's protests as they walked into her room for her healing session. "Although, come to think of it... perhaps I should try out that move..."
Katara rolled her eyes and sighed with amused desperation. "You're hopeless. I don't know how Mister Iroh and Prince Zuko put up with all your training."
Keya swallowed thickly.
"Right..." The familiar sensation of grief crept back up her chest. Keya's bright grey eyes stung with sadness as she was reminded of her old companions. The bitter sting of betrayal was not far behind.
Noticing the shift in atmosphere, Katara cursed herself and hurriedly tried to correct her mistake. "Oh, I'm so sorry- Keya, I- I didn't mean to—"
"—It's alright." Keya smiled sadly. "As a matter of fact, it was Zuko himself who trained the most. I-I mainly tried to keep my bending a secret, until... y'know. But I was different then; I was a coward. No more! Now that the cat-owl's out of the bag, I want to make up for the years of training that I missed out on."
Keya ended her small ramble with a focused frown on her face. Her eyes held a fire that reminded Katara of the time that Aang had lost Appa. There was a darkness behind those grey irises that made her extremely uncomfortable. For a good moment she felt relieved that the young woman before her was on their side. Admittedly, she even felt slightly satisfied that Keya's anger confirmed her own perceived view on the Fire Nation and its royalty. See?! Zuko was a bad guy! She had been right all along!
"It's good that you want to train, Keya. Perhaps you and Aang can even train together in the future! But first, both of you need to rest up and take it easy. There's no point in getting your revenge against Zuko when you're still injured."
Katara's answer was met with a scoff. "Do you think that I want to take revenge against Zuko for his betrayal?" Keya's tone turned cold and harsh. "Do you think that this is what would make me want to take revenge against the Fire Nation?" A small breeze picked up around the airbender.
Katara flinched. Keya noticed and sighed. She calmed herself down with the same breathing exercise that he had taught her and the breeze died back down. She continued.
"When I was young, the Fire Nation took my father's life. After that, the Fire Nation raided my village and forced unreasonable taxes on my family and I for years. The day I snapped and took revenge was also the day I killed two men." She paused for a second to calm her own heart after her confession. "That was the day that the Fire Nation decided to take my mother to prison for my crimes... my crimes, Katara."
"But don't you want to get her back? What about your brothers? Hun and Lei told us yesterday that they were planning on finding her location and freeing her from her prison. Would you not help them?"
"Helping my brothers to free our mother from prison is different than taking revenge on those soldiers who took her there. Despite my anger, I..." Keya kept the tears back with all her might as she thought back to Iroh and Zuko.
Both had started off wrong, but Iroh had proven himself to be one of the most honourable men she'd ever met. And Zuko, even being as bad as he was; she knew that there had been something good in him at some point of his life. It had been the nasty influence of his country's misguided morals that had corrupted him in the first place. It had turned him into a miserable, angry teen instead of the loving young man she had hoped him to be.
"I've seen what anger does to a person. I know that using violence is not the way to achieving the inner peace and justice that revenge so falsely promises."
With that said, it seemed that she had given her new friend (if she could even call her that at this point) something to think about. And think she did! The two girls sat in silence while Katara waited for Keya to take off her armour.
After having peeled back the final layer, the Earth Kingdom girl was left in her underclothing. Her exposed stomach revealed the split skin of the scar tissue left behind by Azula's attack. Although weeks had already passed, the previously tan skin was still raw and pink. Thankfully, the pain had mostly ceased to exist. All that was left for the wound to do was heal and let the scar fade with time. However, that didn't mean that she could agitate it! Due to its sensitive nature, Keya's skin could not be stretched far without splitting and bleeding again. It was a troublesome process that had taken more healing sessions than necessary (mainly due to the airbender's stubborn insistence on training despite being told not to).
Katara 'tsk'ed and shook her head as she bent some water over it. Keya rested her cool eyes on the metal ceiling and quietly let the waterbender do her thing. They stayed in this position for a couple of minutes before either of them dared to speak up again. It was Katara who broke the silence with a hesitant apology.
"I'm sorry for bringing up your family." Her tone was curt and quick, as if she had not meant to say the words out loud. Still, her wounded companion had heard them.
Keya's eyes drifted to Katara's blue ones. She assessed the sincerity behind them. After a second, she nodded with a soft smile. "You're fourteen, Katara. Sometimes you'll make mistakes. I forgive you."
"If it makes you feel any better," Katara's slender brown fingers went up to her necklace, "my mother's life was taken by the Fire Nation. I guess my desire to save her at the time was projected onto you just now. Sorry if it made me overstep my bounds."
Keya hummed and pondered her words. In the meantime she slid her regular shirt back on. She left her armour in the corner; she didn't want to agitate her wound even more just after a fresh healing session. After she was properly dressed again, she turned to Katara.
Keya put both her hands on Katara's supportively, before leaning forward and giving her a hug. Katara was surprised by the girl's actions, but she didn't pull away. Keya spoke softly through her hug. "Thank you for telling me, but don't let it happen again. Just because I don't condone violence doesn't mean that I can always control my anger."
Katara gulped at the older girl's stern voice. "Yes ma'am."
Her serious reaction tickled something in Keya. Katara's comically large eyes being filled with childish fear reminded her of Kanak whenever he got seriously scolded by their mother. The rush of fond memories brightened her mood instantly. For the first time since the events in Ba Sing Se, a genuine laugh bubbled up from her belly, to her throat, and out of her mouth.
"Oh dear," she laughed, "I don't suppose that you've often found yourself on the receiving end of a scolding?"
Katara's shoulders relaxed and a childish light sparkled in her eyes. "I don't suppose I have, no."
The two girls busted out in a fit of laughter after a beat of silence. Keya grasped her side to keep her wound in check, but the action only fueled both their laughter even more.
The pleasant mood was interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door. Keya wiped away a small tear from the corner of her eye and raised her voice. "Come in."
The metal door creaked in its hinges as Sokka pushed it open. His heart warmed at the sight of his little sister getting along with the new addition to their crew, but his mind was preoccupied with more important news.
"Aang is awake."
❃
A/N: writing this chapter took forever, simply because I didn't know what path I wanted to take Keya's character arc on. How would she react to Zuko's betrayal? How dark would she become? I think that without Iroh's influence she would have fallen into a much darker version of herself. However, that hasn't happened. She still has many good people around her to keep her (somewhat) in check. Still, the scar of betrayal runs deep and has yet to heal. You'll have to keep reading to find out just how Keya's character has grown/will grow after the drastic events that have taken place in her life.
Thanks for sticking around! Leave your comments below so I can read your ideas and opinions on this story <3
Next chapter is well on its way & includes a small insight into Zuko's pov!! ;)