Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

26

❃ 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?