The Scribe

by LizBee

Sand got everywhere, here on the edge of the Si Wong desert. Brushes were encrusted; ink became gritty. Yisun paid the local innkeeper ten copper pieces to set up her table in a corner of his bar, but even indoors the sand seemed to follow them.

"I hate coming here," said Yu Ling.

"These people depend on us," said Yisun. "And they pay good money."

Yu Ling wrinkled her nose, but she sat quiet and still, practicing her calligraphy while Yisun plied her trade.

Truth be told, there was little enough money coming from these desert-side towns. Soon she would have to weigh up the benefits of the business against the cost of making the journey. She took a copper piece from an elderly woman who dictated to her a letter to the local warlord, begging to be exempted from taxes. She was too old to work, her land was dying, her sons had gone to the war, her daughter had gone away. She had nothing and no one, and she could not afford to pay the tax collectors when they came.

Her request would be ignored, Yisun knew. She had written these letters before, and the letters that followed, and the ones after that. And the tax collectors would come, eventually, and there would be no record of the correspondence, and the last remnant of hope would die.

Yu Ling was right, Yisun thought. They would stop coming here.

The widow left, clutching her scroll.

There was a certain magic in formal calligraphy, Yisun's teacher had told her, in another life long ago. The shape of a perfectly formed character could arrest the attention as surely as a firebender's power.

Yisun no longer believed her teacher's words, but she could never forget them.

After that, there were no more customers. Yu Ling abandoned her calligraphy and turned her attention to the Fire Nation wanted posters that papered an entire wall of the inn, sounding out the names of the banished Fire Nation princes until Yisun, unable to listen any longer, called her back.

They were interrupted by a commotion outside.

"Sandbenders!" cried Yu Ling, putting her book aside. She ran to the door, but it opened before she reached it.

Sha-Mo was not a large man, but he always struck Yisun as being too big for any mere building to contain. He cast his eyes around the room and started towards her. Trailing after him was a group of teenagers. Behind them, eyes gleaming with excitement at the unexpected invasion, came Yu Ling.

"Yisun," he said, stopping before her table and bowing. "I don't need your words today, but I wondered if I might entrust you with a task?" He gestured to one of the children, drawing him forward.

"This," he said, "is the Avatar."

Yisun rose to her feet, aware of the shabbiness of her clothes and surroundings. She moved to stand before her little desk and bowed, bowed until her head touched the floor.

"I'm honoured," she said.

He offered her his hand as she rose, and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Sha-Mo says he trusts you," he said. "We don't need much, only a guide to lead us to the next town."

A girl, slightly older, added, "Our maps and supplies were stolen when-"

She was silenced by a look from the Avatar.

"I can show you the way," said Yisun. "But there are bandits along the way. If you need to rest after your journey through the desert-"

"We can go now," said the Avatar.

There were four of them in all, the Avatar and his three companions. The older girl was a waterbender. Her brother was a warrior, or so he said, although to Yisun's eyes, he seemed little more than a child. But when she asked, he said he was fifteen, the age she'd been when she was married, and no one then had thought her too young for an adult's responsibilities.

The third was an earthbender girl who snorted when Yisun told Yu Ling to protect her face from the sun.

"My parents tried to make me a nice, pale lady," she said. "I grew up in a big, fancy house, and they still failed."

"Yu Ling is five," Yisun pointed out.

"Well, she sounds older," said Toph.

"She's very advanced," said Yisun, squeezing Yu Ling's hand. Yu Ling's answering smile seemed as bright as a flash of sunshine.

They were setting a brisk pace through the bare, windy hills. Yu Ling was riding on the back of the tigermule, intermittently accompanied by the Avatar's lemur.

"Sha-Mo said you're a scribe," said Katara.

"A wandering scribe, yes," said Yisun. "I've walked these hills more times than I can count."

"One day we'll go to Ba Sing Se," said Yu Ling.

"When she's older, and ready for school."

They walked in silence for a time. Yisun found Yu Ling's book in a saddlebag and helped her sound out the words. Sokka threw his boomerang, and smiled every time it landed in his hand. Toph smoothed the potholes in the ancient road.

The Avatar walked ahead of them all, his hands curled into fists, his face raised to the sky.

The sun was in the west when Toph stopped in her tracks.

"Someone's coming," she said. "Lots of them."

"Fire Nation?" Sokka asked.

"No."

"Bandits," said Yisun.

They appeared on the steep hills that overlooked the road, leaping down to surround them.

"Money, jewellery, weapons," said the leader, his voice muffled by the fabric that covered his mouth. "And the tigermule."

Tora growled and took a step back. Yu Ling, on her back, looked around wildly.

"No," said the Avatar. His voice was flat. "You don't want to do this. You don't want the consequences."

The leader laughed.

"Take the kids, too," he told his men. "They'll fetch a few-"

A cocoon of rock rose up around him.

"Nice try," said Toph.

After that, it was chaos.

Yisun's hands shook as they closed around Tora's bridle. It was growing difficult to see in the dust raised by the fight. Impossible to see a path that would lead Yu Ling and the tigermule to safety. Impossible to believe that safety still existed.

Something knocked into her, throwing her to the ground. Sokka. He rolled off her, swearing and apologising at the same time. Yisun climbed to her feet.

"Yu Ling?" she shouted. The bridle had been ripped from her hands by the fall. She couldn't see at all. It was impossible to follow the sound of Yu Ling's answering cry.

"Enough!" she heard the Avatar shout, and with a breath, the dust cleared.

Yu Ling and the tigermule were gone.

"That way!" Sokka shouted, following the footprints. They left the road, veering off up a hill into the scrubby bushland. The Avatar flew ahead on his glider.

The raiders' camp was barely worth the name, just a few worn tents half-concealed by tall rocks. Toph stamped her foot, and the makeshift walls collapsed. The Avatar landed on a pile of rubble.

"I told you," he said. "Now. Let her go."

"Aang-" said Katara, taking a step toward him. A bandit raised his crossbow, but a net of ice shattered it before he could take aim.

"Mommy," Yu Lin was shouting, "Mommy!"

"I'm coming," said Yisun. Anger was racing through her, filling her with strength.

A few strides brought her into the centre of the camp. She raised her hands, assumed a fighting stance and willed her flames to life.

For a few seconds, the tents burned blue.

"Come with me," she said, reaching for Yu Ling.

Her daughter flinched, throwing up her hands to protect herself from the stranger her mother had become.

"I'm sorry," said Yisun. "I'll explain everything, but you have to come with me now."

Yu Ling's hands tightened into fists. Then, with a cry of surprise, she opened them, staring at the flames in her palms.

"Come," Yisun ordered, pulling her from the tigermule. For a second, Yu Ling struggled. Flame singed Yisun's hair, but Yu Ling's fire was still weak.

"Breathe slowly," she said, pressing Yu Ling against her. She wanted to hum the old folk song that her mother had taught her, the one about the breath of dragons, but the words escaped her.

Tora. She had forgotten Tora. But the tigermule shied away, at her approach, yellow eyes wide.

"I've got it," called Katara, taking the bridle. "Go! Now!"

Yisun didn't look back.

They ran for a long time, Yu Ling riding on Yisun's shoulders when her legs grew too tired to carry her. She didn't speak. Around her, Yisun could hear Katara's footsteps and Tora's lope, Sokka's breathing, Toph's heavy tread, while from overhead came the whisper of the Avatar's glider.

At last, they reached a clearing by a pool with custard apple trees growing by the water's edge. Toph erected stone walls around them and threw herself to the ground.

"No more," she said.

The Avatar landed by the water and began to wash soot off his hands. When he was clean, he stood up and turned to Yisun.

"You should light a fire," he said.

They ate in near silence, and Yu Ling fell asleep almost before she had swallowed her last bite, curled up against Tora's side. The tigermule purred and nuzzled Yisun's back, the earlier shock forgotten.

"So," said Sokka at last, "you're a firebender."

"I am."

"Long way from home," said Toph.

"I don't have a home."

Katara said, "You must have had a home once. A family." Her gaze flicked to Yu Ling. "A husband?"

"Long ago." Yisun held her hands out before her and concentrated on her breathing. Strange, how she had almost grown accustomed to a life without firebending. She cupped her palms, nurturing the flame that grew there. "I had a home. A husband. A life of great privilege."

"What happened?"

"My father-in-law died."

"Oh," said Katara, plainly entertaining ugly visions. "I'm sorry."

"Had my husband known I was pregnant, things might have been different. But not, I think, better. I went into the world with nothing. Now I have a life." She smiled a little. "Nothing like the one I'd expected, but I've come to like it." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Yu Ling's never known anything different. I wish-" So many things. So many wishes and prayers left at shrines throughout the Earth Kingdom. "It would be better if she weren't a firebender. I hope she forgives me."

"She will," said Katara. "When she understands."

"I'll have to teach her."

"Don't," said the Avatar.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Fire is dangerous. It has a mind of its own, and it kills. Would you risk that? In the middle of the Earth Kingdom?"

"You're a firebender. Avatar."

"I know," he said, his stony mask collapsing just a little. "But that doesn't mean I need to learn firebending. I mean-"

"I know a little something about Avatar lore," Yisun snapped. "Probably more than most people in the Fire Nation. You cannot pick and choose your elements. You can't maintain balance with only three." She stood up, advancing towards him, her anger rising. "Avatar Roku was my grandfather," she said, and as the words left her mouth, she felt the walls of her disguise crumble. Her voice shook as she added, "you dishonour him with your poor judgment. You dishonour yourself."

No one here recognised the significance of her ancestry. No one jumped up to name and accuse her. No one knew whose mother she was.

She was shaking.

"Yisun," said Katara, touching her arm.

"That's not my name," she snapped, pulling away. "I'm going to sleep. We'll finish our journey tomorrow."

She woke up with a mouth that tasted of fur, and a hungry tigermule looking expectantly down at her. Apparently hunger outweighed the memory of unexpected fire. With a sigh, she sat up and loosened Tora's bridle, letting her graze freely. Yu Ling had shifted in the night, curling into a ball. She was still sleeping, a little furrow in her forehead. It was a look that Yisun had seen before, on other faces. She smoothed it away with her finger.

It was early, and still cool. The others were sleeping a little way away. Except for the Avatar, who was kneeling by the remnants of the campfire. He bowed as she approached.

"I owe you an apology," he said.

"Accepted." She sat by the fire, drawing it to life. The Avatar created an air funnel that sucked some ripe custard apples from the trees.

"In the desert, raiders took my sky bison. He's the last one left alive, and he's my best friend. Katara wants me to open up and talk, but all I feel is anger. And when I get angry - I can't risk that. I can't."

"Then you're not ready to learn firebending."

"I'm not?"

He looked almost relieved.

"Anger fuels fire. Some say it's the source of fire, but my mother said that was a dangerous error. She was taught by her father."

"What was she like?"

"Very gentle. A formidable firebender. Her sense of humour could be cruel." Yisun brooded. "I admired her greatly. She died when I was twelve. Even before she got sick, my father had begun to find her background a political embarrassment. She was never spoken of after she died."

"I'm sorry."

"When you're ready to learn," she said, "I'd be honoured to teach you."

The others were beginning to stir. The Avatar looked over at them, then leaned forward.

"What's your real name?" he asked.

She hesitated a moment, then whispered, "My name is Ursa."

For a second, she was afraid that he would somehow recognise it, but all he said was, "That's pretty. Unusual."

"In a few months, we'll have to go to Ba Sing Se," said Yisun. "Yu Ling needs a proper education, not a life on the road. Find us there."

The Avatar bowed.

They must have been almost the last refugees to arrive in Ba Sing Se. Three days after the boat landed, Yisun woke to the sound of wailing, and the tramp of soldiers' feet on the roads.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"The city has fallen," said her landlady, watching from the window. "The Dai Li betrayed us to the Fire Nation. They say the king has fled." She peered at Yu Ling, hovering on the bottom step. "You keep that child under control," she warned. "Last thing we need now is a kid saying the wrong thing."

A Fire Nation soldier was putting up a poster. From the window, she could see Ozai's seal.

"What are you doing?" demanded the landlady, but Yisun was already out the door, Yu Ling trailing after her.

Yisun read the proclamation without comprehension.

"I don't know all those words," said Yu Ling.

"It says," said Yisun slowly, "that Princess Azula of the Fire Nation has taken control of the city. And her brother, Prince Zuko, has killed the Avatar."

The street was getting crowded, soldiers and citizens and chaos.

She led her daughter inside and locked the door behind them.

end