Not to my surprise, Zuko was out of bed by the time I got up. To my complete surprise, Mai was sitting in the room when I woke up. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. Then I screamed and covered up because the blankets had fallen away from me.
“Man, you’re noisy.” Mai said.
“Well, excuse me for screaming at someone being in my bedroom who is not a servant.” I said.
Mai began to say something, but I held up my hand. I brushed my hair out of my face and tied it back. I grabbed some clothes and changed in the bathroom.
“Before you say anything, I know why you are here. Zuko has already tried to talk about you, but I know everything. I know he still cares about you a lot. Maybe a little more than he cares about me. And that’s why I’m moving on. I’m going to be a ranger. I have a pet eel-hound living in a cave not too far from here. He visits me everyday. I don’t know where I’ll end up. Obviously I’ll leave Zuko a letter, but I can’t do this to him. You two obviously belong together.” I said and sat down at my desk.
“Wow that was incredibly easy for something that’s not.” Mai said.
“I have a way at knowing people without really knowing them. It’s really easy for me to read someone from just one look at them. And if I stick around long enough, I get to know them better than them selves.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Yes, but I do have a favor. Go see Zuko in the courtyard. He’s probably there. Keep him from returning to this room for at least 15 minutes. That should give me plenty of time. I already have everything packed. I did it last night when Zuko was asleep.”
“Again, I’m impressed.”
“Well, get your impressed butt to the courtyard.”
Mai sighed and walked out in silence. I rubbed my forehead and then straightened out a new scroll. This was going to be hard.
My dearest Zuko,
You know my heart beats for you, but I know you are conflicted. I could tell last night that you stilled care for Mai more than you were trying to let on. I love you more than anything and that’s why I am willing to let you go. I know you would be happier with Mai. Be with her. Let me go. It’s the best thing for you. I’ll be fine, but don’t look for me. I have no set destination. Good luck with finding your way.
Love,
Your Water Lily
Tears ran from my cheek and dotted the scroll with tear stains. I rolled it up and folded it. I laid it on Zuko’s pillow and wiped my tears away. I heard Zuko coming down the hall and jumped out the window. I ran for the courtyard and grabbed the stuff I had hid there. I ran for the entrance and almost made it, but Zuko caught me by the arm and spun me around.
“You were going to leave like this?” He shouted.
He grabbed me by both arms and shook me.
“After everything, you were going to leave like this?!?” He shouted.
I said nothing. Tears ran down my face and I tried to hide it, but Zuko could tell.
“Why?” He whispered.
“I explained everything in the letter. You can’t hide that you care for Mai. And I know this care runs deep. Maybe a little deeper then your care for me. Please don’t do this. You have a meeting with you father tonight. You have time to heal everything with Mai before then.” I said.
Zuko let go of me. He kissed me deeply one last time and then began to walk back to the palace.
“You will always hold a place in my heart.” Zuko said over his shoulder.
“And you will always have a place in my heart. The biggest place.” I said and then turned.
***
It was half a day’s journey to the cave where my eel-hound was waiting. He greeted me by pouncing on me and licking me until I was covered head to toe in saliva.
“I guess I deserve that.” I said.
Helos, my eel-hound, barked.
“I take it your in agreement.” I said.
Helos barked again.
“Want to wonder around the world with no destination?” I asked.
Helos tilted his head.
“Fine, you can choose the location.” I said.
Helos barked and leaned down to have me climb up. I climbed onto his back and strapped my bags to the sides of his saddle. I grabbed the reins and sighed.
“Let’s go.” I said.
Helos took off like a rocket on drugs. We were already more than half way to Ba Sing Se by the time Helos began to slow down. We got closer and closer to Ba Sing Se as the minutes passed by. But instead of running into Ba Sing Se, Helos began to start running around in the forest.
“Helos! Where are you going?” I asked.
I tried to make him turn around, but he just whined.
“Helos! Slow down! You’re gonna hit a tree!” I said.
Helos and I knew better. He was the best eel-hound in the world. He wasn’t going to hit a tree. Even if he lost concentration for a minute. Helos whined once more and took a sharp turn and ended up in an almost closed off valley. Luckily there was a fresh spring river running through it although it was small and wouldn’t fit a person in it.
I jumped down from Helos and sealed off the rest of the valley with ice. Helos went over to the little river and drank from it. I made sure that the river could still run openly into the valley, but no living man could fit through the small hole. I cooked some soup for me and Helos although Helos preferred running around the valley and catching bugs.
I ate my soup and kept the campfire going for awhile. It was well passed sundown and I was beginning to yawn. Helos had curled around the fire and I curled up against him. I yawned one last time and then fell asleep.
***
I woke up and stretched. Helos did the same thing and then began to run around the small valley. I let down the ice wall and Helos took off. I laughed and cleaned up camp making sure to put out the embers in the fire pit. I grabbed my bag and followed after Helos. I walked for a little while until I heard a screech. I knew that sound well. It was Helos’s cry when he was hurt or surprised.
I ran and made it just in time. A few renegades had Helos tied up and were dragging him off. I drew the water out of some trees around me and made a water whip. I attacked the renegades and managed to defeat them. I untied Helos and climbed onto his back. I tied my bag quickly to his saddle and then we were off. After a few hours, I began to relax. I thought that we had lost the renegades and had Helos slow down a little. I turned east to go deeper into the woods. Helos whined and tried to turn around, but it was too late. Ropes tied around trees made Helos fall. He stumbled and slammed onto the ground. I tumbled off and hit my head on a tree. I rubbed the spot and then got up. Helos had a wound on his front leg.
“Damn it!” I screamed and drew water from the trees and grass.
I got ready to attack and faced out towards the trees. Helos whined and tried to get up.
“Helos! Your leg is injured! You need to stay put!” I said.
Helos whined and tried to huddle behind me. It didn’t work because Helos was at least two times my size. More renegades began to appear and I fought them off. Then something unexpected happened. I was joined by more benders. They helped me fight off the renegades and then sealed off the area we were in.
I examined each one of them. There were five of them. Three boys and two girls. Each on was a different bender. The obvious leader who was barking orders was a boy. He was my age, 17 at the most. His black hair hung into his face and almost covered his green eyes. He was strong and well muscled.
The other boy was blonde and had sparkling blue eyes. 16 at the most. He was also well muscled and was clearly second in command. The last boy was at least 15. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. The first girl was 16. She had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. The last girl was 15 and looked a lot like the brown haired boy.
I was over by Helos’s leg. He was licking it and I had my first-aid kit with me. I wrapped it up good and managed to get Helos to stop licking the bandage. Once that was over, he put his head over my shoulder and held it against my body. I pat his nose trying to get him to relax, but he was too tense. He even growled when the leader came up to me.
“Helos! Heel!” I shouted.
He whined, but then stayed quite.
“It’s hard to train an eel-hound, but they are the quickest way to travel. The fastest animal, being able to run and swim faster than any other animal in the world. How did you train him?” he asked.
“I found him abandoned in the forest on day. He was close to death and I knew his mother had abandoned him. I looked into his eyes and carried him home. I nursed him back to health and ever since then he’s been loyal to me and he does what I say…..Most of the time.” I replied.
“Wow. That’s an interesting story.”
“Yes, it is and if you think you are going to get me to come back with you to your little hide out, your wrong. I’m not interested in camping out with you guys. I have to keep moving.”
“No offense, but you aren’t going anywhere with an eel-hound who can’t run.”
I glared at the boy and slide out from Helos’s head. I turned to Helos and pointed a stern finger at him.
“This is your entire fault! I told you to pick a place to go and you run into the forest! I could really kill you for this!” I said.
Helos whined and put his head down slightly.
“…You meant to come here for a reason.” I said slowly.
Helos nodded his head slightly and whined. I turned around and saw the leader of the gang that had just saved me. I turned back to Helos fuming.
“No way!” I screamed.
Helos put his head on the ground and covered his face with his claws.
“You brought me here for this!?! After everything I told you? Helos! I could honestly kill you and cook you into stew!” I screamed.
I gathered the water from the trees and grass around me and began attacking the forest that was in the sealed off area. I ripped my way through the trees until me anger was drained. I brushed my hair out of my face and dusted off my dress. I walked back over to Helos and hugged his snout.
“You’re a jerk.” I said.
Helos barked and licked me from toe to head. I shook myself and then gathered the leftover water from the ground. I dumped it over myself and rinsed off the saliva sitting there. I bended the water that was now drenching my body. I held it up to Helos and he opened his mouth. I dropped the water in his mouth and then headed over to the line of the new gang. Blonde boy, brunette boy, brunette girl, dirty blonde girl. The leader was a few feet in front of the line.
“Is the venting over?” he asked.
“Yes, sorry I lost control. It’s been a very long and stressful three days.” I said.
“Do you want to tell the story?”
“It would take hours.”
“Maybe later.”
“So who are you and what kind of benders are you?”
“We are a kind of renegade group, but we don’t attack everyone we see.”
“Alright. Now your bending types and your info.”
“I’m Tyro. This is Lu Ten, Sifu, Taang, and Ursa. Sifu and Taang are twins.”
“Do I have to repeat myself? And my name is Lily.”
“Gang! Get in formation!”
Tyro joined the line and they spread out.
“Fire!” Tyro shouted.
“Water!” Lu Ten shouted.
“Earth!” The twins shouted together.
“Fire!” Ursa shouted.
They breathed in deep and then almost seemed to dance with each other except they were preparing to bend. Each one of them in turns bended his/her element. I clapped when it was over.
“Well, at least I’ll even up the field.” I said.
The twins tilted their heads sideways.
“There were two fire benders, two earth benders, and now there are two water benders. Get it now?” I asked.
“Oh!” they said together and shrugged.
“How are we going to get Helos to your camp, where ever it is?” I asked.
“It’s not too far from here. If Helos can make on three legs for a little while, he should be fine.” Tyro said.
I walked over to Helos and petted his snout. He looked at me and whined.
“Can you do it?” I asked.
Helos stood and wobbled for a minute before steadying himself.
“I think he’ll make it.” I said to Tyro.
“Alright gang, move out!” Tyro said.
The barrier went down and we began to walk to their “hide out”. It was more like a base of operations and that’s were the group lived. We only had to walk half a mile before we arrived at the base. It was a structured tree house. There were houses built into the largest trees and rope bridges connecting them. The only way up was by a rope dangling against a tree.
“Where are we going to put Helos?” I asked.
“The twins will build him a cave in the side of this tree and then seal it off, but allowing him to breathe too.” Tyro answered.
As he said this, the twins went over to the side of the biggest tree and earth bended a cave into the side of it. It was completely sealed off except for the entrance. Helos crawled into the big cave and laid down inside of it. When he was inside, the twins sealed it off but there were tiny cracks along the sides to allow air in.
“There’s a barrier set up around our little home. No one can come in unless we allow them in.” Tyro explained.
“That’s neat. So can I get a tour and then a room because I would really like some alone time if you don’t mind.” I said.
“No problem.”
Tyro took me around the base and explained each room and what everyone was doing here. It was mostly because their cities were being invaded by the fire nation and they didn’t agree with the views of the fire lord.
“So then why are you here?” I asked.
“My sister and mother got taken by the fire nation. They were accused of treason and sentenced to death. They had been innocent of all crimes. I had no where to go. I began to wander from village to village and eventually I found Ursa. She was on the street because her parents had kicked her out for saying that the fire lord was murdering the nations. Then I found Lu Ten the same way except that he was in the earth kingdom hiding from the fire nation. Then I found the twins. They were being arrested for stealing and we saved them. Ursa distracted the officers while Lu Ten and I got the twins out of the city.” Tyro said.
“Wow. At least you guys have each other.”
“And now we have you. Like you said, you even out the playing field.”
“I’m not going to stay though. I’m a ranger. I’m going to travel this nation hoping for the war to end.”
“And what are you going to do for food?”
“I’m a water bender. I can easily catch fish and make stew. Plus, there are plenty of wild plants and animals to hunt.”
“I still think you should stay with us. At least for a week.”
“By then Helos should be healed.”
“If you don’t like it here, then you can leave and we won’t bother you again.”
“Sounds agreeable. Now, since we are at my hut, I would like some time to think.”
“Alright, lunch is soon.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I’ll come get you when dinner is ready then.”
“See you then.”
Tyro starred at me for a second before exiting my hut. Once the door was shut and I heard Tyro walking down the stairs, I collapsed onto my knees. I buried my head into my hands and cried until I passed out on the floor.
I heard footsteps coming towards my hut when I eventually resurfaced from my sleep. I moaned and curled into a ball. I didn’t want to face the world and all its horrors. Just then, someone entered my hut.
“Hey, are you okay?” Tyro asked.
“No! I’ve had my heart ripped out and it is entirely my fault!” I said.
Tyro came over and sat down next to me. He grabbed my hand and stroked it trying to comfort me.
“What happened?” He asked.
I told Tyro everything, from beginning to end. He sat there silently, listening and absorbing everything. By the time I was done telling my story, I was sitting up with tears running down my face. Tyro wiped them away until I was done crying.
“That was a very brave and selfless thing you did. You loved him so much that you were willing to give him up for his own happiness.” Tyro said.
“Not without self injury. I feel like I’ve lost myself completely. I told Helos everything and I told him to take me to somewhere where I can heal. And he took me to you and your gang.” I said.
“Then let us fix it.”
Tyro stood up and pulled me to my feet. He led me to a huge bonfire where everyone was eating and dancing. Tyro handed me a plate of food. I ate in silence. After I was done eating, Tyro pulled me to my feet and began to dance with me.
“I can’t dance!” I exclaimed.
“Everyone can dance!” Tyro replied and spun me around in a circle around the fire.
I laughed and threw my head back. Tyro continued to dance with me until we ended up doing the tango.
“How did this happen?” I asked.
“I have no idea.” Tyro replied.
After a few minutes of spinning and twirling, Tyro dipped me. We starred into each others eyes for a moment before we were interrupted by the twins’ chant of “kiss her”. Tyro set me on my feet and we both stepped away awkwardly. The twins laughed and then began to dance around the fire.
I stayed and watched for awhile before stretching and going to visit Helos. I had to drag Sifu with me to have him open the cave. After he opened up the cave, he left to go dance with his sister and Ursa who was now being dragged into the ring by Taang. I walked up to Helos and scratched his nose.
“Hey buddy.” I said.
Helos licked my cheek and I wiped it off. I hugged his nose and then went over to his side. I petted him before sitting down and leaning into his side. He laid his head down so that it was covering most of my body. I cried for a little while before falling asleep against Helos’ side.
I woke up early in the morning and crawled out from Helos’ head. He stayed asleep of course. I stretched and yawned. I rubbed my eyes quickly before looking around. I bet I could find a nice river or pond that I could practice in. I started to venture deep into the woods, but I remained inside the barrier. I eventually found a nice big pond that almost looked heated. I stepped into the pond and it was.
I stripped down to my underwear and began to practice my bending. I didn’t realize how long I had been out there until the sun was beating down against my skin. I wiped my sweat off and then continued to practice. I made my water whip and played around with that before turning it to ice. It was still flexible and I was able to cut most of the trees around me. I didn’t notice Tyro until it was too late. I slashed out and the tip if my ice whip made a cut along his cheek. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt. I dropped my whip and it returned to water.
“Oh my god! I am so sorry!” I said as I ran over to him.
“Ouch! Remind me not to mess with you.” Tyro said.
I giggled and then grabbed his face in my hands. I examined his cut.
“It isn’t too bad but it does look like you are going to have a scar. I’m sorry.” I said.
“What were you doing?” He asked.
“I was practicing my bending.”
“So why did you attack me?”
“I didn’t see you! I didn’t hear you! I didn’t know you were there!”
“Alright, calm down. I’ll live.”
I bended some water over to where we were and cleaned out his cut. He continued to stare at me as I cleaned out his wound.
“There. At least that should keep it from being infected for now.” I said.
Tyro starred at my face and said nothing.
“Don’t even think about it.” I said and waved a finger at him.
I sat back and sighed. Tyro finally looked me over and turned bright red before getting a nose bleed.
“Tyro!” I shouted and grabbed his head before it hit the ground.
He mumbled something while I tried to stop his nose bleed. I laid his head against my lap and titled it back so that he was looking at me.
“You’re a pervert.” I said.
“How so?” He asked.
“You were probably thinking about nasty things when you saw that I was only dressed in my underwear. So therefore you are a pervert.”
“If I said yes, would you hit me?”
“Yes.”
“Then no.”
I slapped his chest anyways.
“Ouch! Why sis did you do that?” He asked.
“Because I knew that you were lying. So what were you doing out here?” I asked.
“This is where we usually come to bathe. That’s what I was going to do until I saw you practicing.”
“So why did you stop when you saw me.”
“Because you looked beautiful in the sunlight and you took my breath away.”
“Now you are just being cheesy.”
“I mean it.”
“Sure.”
I looked down at him and noticed that he was wearing boxers. Then I noticed the towel that was limp on the ground.
“I’ll let you go take your bath.” I said and slide out from under his head.
“What about my nose bleed?” He asked.
“It should have stopped unless you are looking at my ass while I walk away giving yourself another one.” I said.
I heard him whisper a curse as he got his second nose bleed. I laughed and then gathered my clothes and ran away. I grabbed my bags from Helos’ saddle when I was walking back. I hadn’t bothered to get dressed so when I walked up to Lu Ten, who was eating breakfast, he almost choked. After he was done coughing he looked up at me.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“Tyro is out at the pond. He’s got a nose bleed and he has a cut on his face. I figured I should let someone know.” I said.
“I’ll go check on him in a little while.”
“Alright. See you later.”
I walked away and heard Lu Ten sigh. I walked into my hut and shut the door. I grabbed a towel that had been given to me and then wrapped it around myself. I headed back out towards the pond. Tyro was still there. I raised the water to surround him, but not touch him and then froze it.
“Hey!” I heard him exclaim.
“Well, I’m not going to have you watch me clean up after getting your blood on my hands and then practicing all morning.” I said.
I raised the water around me until it was up to my neck, then I froze it. I turned around and dropped the ice around Tyro. I knew that the ice was fogged and that it would shade my body. I raised the water to make an ice dome around my wall so that I was extra protected from Tyro’s eyes.
“Shit!” I heard him exclaim.
I laughed because I knew he had another nose bleed. I washed myself off and sat in the waster for a little while to relax. It was refreshing. I heard Lu Ten come and drag Tyro back to camp. I giggled and then relaxed again. I rinsed myself one more time before dropping the ice dome. I kept the ice wall up and it moved with me to retrieve my clothes. I disbanded the water that clung to me before I got dressed. Then I melted the ice wall and walked over to the largest tree that was closest to the pond. I walked around it and stopped when I was a foot away. I turned around and saw Lu Ten and Tyro standing there.
“Wow. You two are the biggest perverts in the history of the world. Thank god I kept the ice wall up, but I imagine that you two will think about my wet naked body and get nose bleeds in…5..4…3..2…1.” I said.
As I finished counting down, both of the boys’ faces grew red and blood spurted out of their noses. I laughed and began to walk away.
“You two are on your own this time!” I said.
“But this is my first nose bleed over you!” Lu Ten said.
“Then you are out of luck because I don’t want your blood all over my clean body. See you guys at camp.”
I left them standing there with their mouths open. When I got back to camp, I threw my dirty laundry in my room and then grabbed something to eat. Ursa was eating too. When I was finished, I bended some water in the air and cleaned my plate and put it back. I went and sat by the small fire. Ursa came over and sat relatively close to me.
“Have you seen Lu Ten? He was supposed to be waiting here for me so we could practice fighting.” She said.
I laughed and then looked at her.
“I imagine that he should stumble into camp soon with Tyro and that they will both have streaks of blood on their faces.” I said.
“What happened?” She asked.
“Let’s just say that they can’t handle a naked body even when it’s surrounded by shaded ice.”
Her cheeks burned and I saw her getting mad.
“Let me guess, Lu Ten is your boyfriend and you are going to kick his ass for this?” I asked.
“You can count on that.” She said.
“Sweet. Have fun.”
Ursa stormed off in the direction of the pond. I sighed and then got up to go play with Helos. His leg was much better and looked like it was going to be completely healed up in a couple of days.
For the rest of the day, I did chores and rearranged my hut and decorated it with the items I had obtained from my village. My mother’s necklace was still tied around my neck. It was the one thing I had that reminded me of her. I haven’t seen her since the day I was captured. I only stopped to eat lunch. Then I went back and I re-did Helos’ bandage. He licked my face and began to loosely walk on all four of his legs. He would heal quickly. Towards the end of the day, I went for a walk in the woods.
At one point I heard footsteps behind me, I climbed into the tree that was closest to me and waited on a branch that was obscured by more branches and leaves. I peeked out and saw Tyro looking around. I laughed and Tyro whipped around.
“Hoping for a second viewing?” I asked.
“Are you ever going to let me live that down?” He asked.
“Nope.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“So why are you following me?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Some things.”
“Well, you have to find me first.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Tyro began scanning the trees. He looked up in the branches and then began to climb the tree opposite of mine. I laughed and then began to climb further up my tree. When I found a branch leading to the tree next to my tree, I climbed it and jumped over to the next tree. I continued doing that until I was back at camp. I laughed and walked towards the bonfire. I ate and then Sifu dragged me into a dance. I laughed as he spun me around and then Tyro caught me and began to dance with me.
“You found me.” I said.
“After I figured out that you weren’t in the woods.” He said.
“Did you get something to eat?”
“Yes, before I grabbed you.”
“So what do you want to talk about?”
“Listen, I know you have been through a rough time and I know you are still trying to get over your ex-boyfriend, but I would like to help you with that. As more than a friend.”
“Please, don’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not ready yet. Just give me some time.”
“How long?”
“Well how long does it take to heal a broke heart?”
“As long as that person needs.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
He spun me around and I walked off and sat on a bench. Tyro came over and sat next to me. I had my hand on the log beside me and he laid his hand on top of mine. I didn’t mind too much. His hand was warm on top of mine and we sat there for a long time. Then I got up to go to my hut.
“I’ll walk you home.” He said.
“Okay.” I replied.
He walked me home and stopped outside of my door.
“Thank you.” I said.
“For what?” He asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
I kissed him on the cheek and then walked inside my hut. I walked in a few feet and then paused. I hadn’t heard footsteps descending my stair case. I waited a few minutes before sighing. Then my door slammed open. I spun around and saw Tyro standing there.
“Tyro?” I asked.
Tyro rushed over to me and grabbed my face in his hands. He kissed me deeply before releasing me and taking a deep breath.
“I need you to know that I was serious.” He said.
“I knew you were serious.” I said.
“Then why didn’t you respond?”
“Because I wasn’t sure how to.”
“Well, that’s all I needed to do. Goodnight.”
He was almost at my door when I grabbed his sleeve and looked down at the floor.
“Would you like to stay the night?” I asked.
Tyro shut my door and scooped me up into his arms. He kissed me deeply and then laid me down on my bed. We made out for a long time before I shoved him off of me and cuddled into his side.
“Not tonight. Maybe some time in the future.” I said.
“I agree.” Tyro said.
We kissed one last time before we fell asleep in each other arms.
