Fire Heart

Chapter 21

I've trained with Rin for the past week and a half. I've mostly gotten everything down. But we had to stop because bending began to be painful for me. Uncle told me that you shouldn't bend when you're pregnant because when you bend, it moves every part of your body. So bending might hurt the baby. How am I going to learn Air Bending at this rate!? I know Air Bending is the calmest element other than Water. So I might be able to learn from Aang at some point. But right now, Uncle, Rin, and I are traveling more towards Ba Sing Se. There have been no signs of Zuko yet. But I won't give up hope on him returning. Uncle snaps me into reality as he stops and starts making a campfire. I sit down and Rin tries to get my back to stop hurting. Uncle starts some tea and I sigh. We've been running low on food.

"How do you feel?" Rin asks.

"Tired." I reply. She smiles.

"Get some rest then." Rin says.

"I can't." I reply. She frowns and sits beside me.

"He'll be back." Rin reassures me, knowing I miss Zuko.

"When?" I ask.

"He will find his way back to you, Ivy. He always does." Uncle tells me. I cross my arms and stare at the fire. A twig snaps and I get into a fire Bending position. But Rin makes me sit back down before getting into position to protect me. A young Earth Kingdom girl walks into view. She looks to be about Aang's age. I look at her eyes and see them to be a very pale blue. That's when I realize she's blind.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" I ask gently. She relaxes slightly.

"Trying to figure things out. My friends are driving me crazy. They want me to help and expect me to do things. But I'm tired of being told what to do. That's why I ran away from home to go with them." She says.

"Why don't you come sit down and have a cup of tea." I say. She walks over and sits beside me.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Toph. I can tell that you know I'm blind. But I can still see you. I use Earth Bending to see everything." She replies.

"Well, Toph. I'm Ivy. And blindness doesn't mean weakness. If anything, being blind can give you an advantage. People won't see you as a threat and when you attack, they won't be ready." I say as Uncle pours us some tea.

"Ivy...one of my friends mentioned that name before. He said he has a sister who's older and younger at the same time. But I never understood what he meant by that." Toph says. My eyes widen.

"You're friends with Aang?" I ask in shock.

"You know him!?" Toph exclaims.

"Yeah! He's my brother. He's 96 years older than me. But I'm 16 now while he's 12." I tell her.

"Well, I still don't know how to deal with them." Toph says.

"No one can make your destiny, Toph. Only you can shape it. My husband doesn't know that either." I say.

"Your husband?" Toph asks in shock.

"Mhmm. Zuko. He's a bit lost at the moment. But he always gets back on the right track. And I know you'll do the same." I tell her.

"So, I should go back to Aang, Katara, and Sokka." Toph says. I smile.

"If you think your destiny leads you that way, then yes." I reply.

"Thank you, Ivy. Aang's right, you are wiser beyond your years. I'm sure your husband appreciates your opinion." Toph says before standing up.

"Sometimes. Most of the time he's stubborn." I say with a big smile. Toph laughs.

"Thanks again. I hope to see you again sometime." Toph says.

"I hope so too, Toph." I reply. She leaves and Uncle smiles at me.

"I guess we have something in common! We both give good advice!" Uncle exclaims. Rin and I laugh. I hear an explosion and my eyes widen.

"We should go see what that was." I say. Rin nods in agreement while Uncle just stands up. We hurry towards where we heard the loud noise. I gasp in shock when I see Aang fighting Azula and Zuko. Katara and Sokka run into the scene. Uncle, Rin and I join in and help corner Azula.

"Well well well. Enemies and traitors all working together. How nice. Ivy, you seem to have gained a bit of weight." Azula says, noticing my small baby bump. I glare at her.

"Azula, you either surrender, or you fight." I snap. She sighs in exasperation. Then her right hand gets stuck to the wall behind her by a bit of rock. I look around to see Toph. Uncle glances at Toph. Azula Lightning Bends and looks at all of us before shooting it at Uncle. Zuko and I let out cries of horror when Uncle hits the ground. We all unleash a bit of bend at Azula. But when we stop, she disappears. Every part of my body hurts from bending. Rin and Zuko hurry to Uncle's side. I collapse and Katara catches me.

"Are you okay?" Katara asks. I nod.

"Yeah. Just feel a little weak. That's all." I reply. Katara looks at Uncle.

"I can heal him if you want." Katara says.

"I think Zuko would prefer if I did it. But thank you, Katara. Get yourselves far away from here." I tell her. She nods and hurries off with Sokka, Aang, and Toph. Although Toph hesitates and looks at me and Uncle before hurrying after the others. I make my way over to Uncle and pull out my Water satchel.

"Uncle told you not to bend." Rin reminds me.

"I don't care. I have to heal him." I reply. I bend out the water and put it on the spot that got hit by lightning. It glows blue and then the water goes away. His wound isn't too bad now. I grit my teeth in order to keep myself from groaning in pain. Zuko looks at me worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asks.

"I'm fine." I reply sharply. I shouldn't be harsh with him. He was just trying to figure things out. But I have a right to be angry. He left when I needed his support the most. And now he needs mine. I have a choice. Forgive him out loud and comfort him....or forgive him mentally and try to avoid him.