The Lady Xia

two: A Little Kid

"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. 

"War is hell." 

William Tecumseh Sherman

My father's first wife, Mariko, died because of the war. She and my father volunteered to live in one of the colonies, but the Earth Kingdom citizens who lived there did not like having someone from the Fire Nation as their governor. There was a coup, Mariko died protecting her children from the chaos. 

From my oldest brother, Hideki has told me, Mariko died while trying to escape. The most tragic part was that she didn't die from some angry earthbender who didn't care about innocent lives, she was killed by a blast of lightning from a careless firebender. 

"Zuko," I said as he paced on top of the ship. 

"What?" He asked annoyed. 

"Please, be careful," I said. 

"I'll be fine," Zuko said as his annoyance faded. 

"Just remember," I told him. "The people in that village, they're innocent. Most of the men are probably gone, leaving only the elderly and children. Don't hurt them. They're just trying to survive this war."

"No promises," Zuko said and I glared at him.

"Excuse me?!" I demanded. 

"If they are hiding the avatar, then I will make them give him up," Zuko said.

I took a calming breath, "I'm going with you."

"Why?" Zuko asked.

I looked where we were heading, and I saw a small village. "To make sure you don't accidentally kill someone."  

~*~

As soon as we lowered the deck, I knew that Zuko was going to do something stupid. There were only women and children standing in front of us, with the exception of a guy who looked to be about our age standing in front with war paint on. I walked down next to Zuko as the people of the village looked on with fear. 

Zuko definitely looked intimidating. I suppose I did as well. I didn't like the strange bun that I had to wear for formal occasions, so I prefer to keep my hair in a crown braid. I had a bow and a select number of arrows across my back. I didn't have much armor on though, I didn't particularly care to fight the avatar. 

There was a shout, and the only warrior they had ran up to fight us. Zuko took a step forward and kicked the guy off of the walkway and into the snow. I shook my head sadly as the villgers gasped. I picked up the weapon the man used and tossed it where the attacker landed, his legs were still flailing in the snow. 

Zuko stepped forward and looked around at the villagers. There were little kids hiding behind their mothers, but there were no babies at all in the village. The men of the village must have been gone for a number of years, or else there would be a few babies. The cloak I was wearing billowed in the breeze as Zuko glared at the villagers, "where are you hiding him?"

They did not answer, probably because the avatar was no longer here. The villagers would not have been happy with him setting of a Fire Navy ship. When Zuko didn't hear a response, he grabbed the nearest elderly person. I frowned as I Zuko held onto her hood,"he'd be about this age? Master of all elements?"

He quickly let her go and then sent a wave of fire over the villagers heads, "I know you're hiding him!" 

"That is enough," I hissed as I walked up behind Zuko and grabbed his arm. "They don't know where the avatar is."