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Kiss of Fire	By : Spleef Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 75165 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Kiss of Fire
Chapter Twenty-One - Affliction
o0o0o0o
Katara
That night, we maintained silence. My husband held me as he slept, but he did not say anything. I still didn’t know what to say. I felt useless for not being able to come up with something. Part of me wanted to get in his face, but I sensed that it was not the best thing to do now. I tried to talk to him, but he constantly seemed as if he was in a trance, like he was meditating.
The next day, Hana came to me, looking very concerned. She told me that Kuzon had taken ill, and she had heard it from the servants. I knew she would not tell me if it was just gossip, so I went to the Prince’s room right away.
Kuzon lay in his bed, a blush on his cheeks. I approached the bed, ignoring the nurse’s glare. I stroked the Prince’s hair, and he whimpered softly as he opened his eyes, looking up at me. He was burning up, and he kicked the blanket away. The nurse got up, grouchily telling him that the blanket was for his own good, but he gave out a whine.
“I’m so hot…” he whimpered, kicking the blanket when she tried to put it back on him. I remembered being sick with fever and how at times I had felt so hot that I wanted to take all of my clothes off. I did not try to put the blanket back on him, knowing that he would want it back on soon. I pulled it so it was within his reach for when he needed it, and I sat at his side, stroking his brow.
“Tell me what’s wrong.” I whispered. He looked up at me, reaching towards me weakly.
“It hurts. I’m so hot and it hurts…”
“Where does it hurt?”
“All over.”
“Would you like some water?” I asked and he nodded. Instead of asking his nurse or a servant to get it, I went to the washroom and pumped some water from the basin. I helped him drink it, and gently wiped his chin when some of it dribbled out. He lay his head back on the pillow, whimpering quietly as he looked up at me. My heart broke for him. He must be so scared. I remember being sick myself when I was not much older than him, and feeling afraid of what was happening to me, since I knew that people died from being ill. My father had been so worried and I saw it in his eyes, and he was so afraid he would lose me as he had lost my mother.
I gently rubbed his chest. My father had done that, placing his large hand over my small chest and it had soothed me.
“How did Kuzon get sick?” I asked Mara. She glared at me as if it was my fault, and I was taken aback. I had been civil to her, at least up to the point where I had slapped her. I had been polite to her, and she had always been stiff and cold to me, being rude at a few points.
“He wanted to go outside, and was very insistent to do so. You spoil him.” she replied sourly.
“I do not spoil him! Children need time to play.” I shot back. I never pulled Kuzon out of his lessons, kept him up late, or overfed him treats or bought him many toys like some nobles did to their children. He was a polite and delightful boy, and he had never been rude to me or acted spoiled.
“He refused to come back when I told him to go to bed, and ran off the path, into the orchard. It rained, and it took a while to find him. When the guards finally found his hiding spot, he was cold and soaking wet.” she continued as if I had not spoken, her tone accusing. It was on the tip of my tongue to say something scathing, but I decided to hold it for later, out of the Prince’s earshot.
o0o0o0o
Kuzon
I was so hot. Everything was hot and it hurt all over. I was so cold before. I had felt the rain fall on me. I had never been in the rain before and it was cold but I did not care. I didn’t want Nurse to find me so I remained out there in the wet and cold. I shivered and shivered and when the guard found me I could not even move.
Nurse was so mad! She had funny red blotches on her cheeks and her lips were twisted. She stripped my clothes off and put me in a warm bath but I was still cold. She put me in warm pajamas and lit the fireplace in my room and put lots of blankets on me. I was still cold and when I woke up I was hot and shivering. I wasn’t hungry but Nurse made me eat hot broth and then the doctor came to see me.
I liked Sylid. He was always nice to me and when he examined me he was kind and didn't treat me like a little boy, like Nurse did. He didn’t look at me all angry like it was my fault like Nurse did when I woke up feeling all hot. She had looked at me and then felt my forehead with her hand and then said ‘I knew it!’ Sylid just asked me questions about how I felt and then gave me some medicine to drink. It was yucky tasting but then he gave me a piece of firecandy.
And then Mama came. I had been praying to Agni that she would. I was afraid that the Fire Lord would take her away from me forever. He had not said anything to me and I had not been punished. I wondered if I was still his heir. Maybe he was going to cast me out. I was thinking a lot of bad and scary thoughts. Maybe it was the fever that made it happen. I felt a cool cloth on my forehead. Mama was pressing it to me. I wanted to stay with her. I wanted to sleep in her bed, and have her and Hana take care of me, not Nurse. Mama looked so worried as she looked down at me. I whimpered and reached for her.
o0o0o0o
Zuko
I knew that my son was sick. I ordered Sylid to do whatever he had to do to restore my son to good health. I still had not spoken to him, and I had no idea what to say, especially after knowing that he thought I didn't care for him.
I had tea for my wife and myself before I retired to bed, and waited for her to come. I was not long in waiting, and she approached me hesitantly before I motioned for her to sit down.
“Kuzon is sick.” she said before she sipped her tea.
“I know.” I replied simply.
“Aren’t you going to see him?”
“What can I do for him?” I asked gruffly, staring into the fire as I sipped my tea.
“You could encourage him. Give him a kind word or two.”
“He has Sylid to take care of him. There’s nothing I can do.”
o0o0o0o
Katara
I decided to stop trying with Zuko, and concentrated on Kuzon. For the next couple of days, I spent as much time with him as I could. When he was lucid enough, we would play Pai Sho. When he was feeling especially bad, I would sing to him and hold him. I told him stories, and brought books for us to read together. I did everything in my power to make him feel good as he battled his fever. I encouraged him to take his medicine, and I would press cool cloths to his forehead, back or chest. With my Waterbending, I would chill the rags, so they stayed cool a lot longer, and gave him more relief that way. Yet, he seemed to show no improvement. Despite the care that Sylid, the servants, or I would give him, his fever did not break. My anxiety only grew. I offered Sylid the Water Tribe remedies I knew, and we tried that as well, to no avail.
I found myself unable to sleep. I felt Kuzon’s pain as if it was my own, and I had to hold back tears when he cried for me, his voice small and filled with distress. How could I forget the way his little hands reached for me when I came to him? I would hold him close to comfort him, not caring if I too got sick, though that never happened.
After six days, he was as he had been for the last week, with no improvement. At times, he was delirious, and would cry out from nightmares. I had him moved to my apartment so he would be closer, and Hinode and my other servants would keep an eye on him when I or Sylid was unable to be there for him. Of course, Mara – I usually thought of her as simply ‘Kuzon’s nurse’, was very displeased about the whole matter, and would butt heads with Hana or Hinode over what was to be done for the Prince. But I knew it soothed Kuzon to be in my bedchamber with its soothing blue colors. He looked so small in my big bed.
The Fire Lord said nothing about what I did. He did not bar me from having Kuzon moved, nor did he complain about me leaving his bed early to check on the Prince. For that, I was thankful.
On the seventh day, Kuzon still had not changed. I sat on the edge of the bed as he twisted around, crying in his delirium. His nurse had been attempting to feed him medicine, but at this time, Kuzon could have choked on it, since he wasn’t lucid. I was angry with her for making a difficult situation for everyone and had no doubt that she was going to complain to Zuko about how supposedly unfairly she had been treated, if she had not already.
I glared at her, pushing the medicine away. She glared right back at me.
“If he dies, it will be your fault.” she scowled. The medicine had done nothing for his fever, and the only thing that worked was medicine to help him sleep.
“If he chokes on that, it will be your fault.” I shot back. Hana stood behind the nurse, and I saw her smile a little at me.
“Kuzon.” I said softly, leaning over, stroking his hair. His forehead was rather hot. He whimpered at the sound of my voice.
“You poor baby.” I whispered, stroking his cheek as he opened his eyes and looked at me blearily.
“Tell me what’s wrong.” I whispered. Sylid should be here shortly, and his presence reassured me. I knew he was trying his best to help the Prince and it frustrated him that none of his remedies seemed to be working. I squeezed his small hand.
“Tell me what's wrong.”
“Hot... hurts...” he moaned. I stroked his forehead with a cool cloth that Hana had just brought to me. I heard a man clear his throat, and immediately recognized it.
“Well, Sylid is here to help you, so listen to him okay? I will be back. I love you.” I stated in what I hoped was a reassuring tone. He nodded once and I sighed softly, wishing I could stay. But I had duties to do, and I would do them as quickly as I could so I could return to his side.
I rose from my bed, giving Kuzon’s hand one last squeeze before I went to the doorway. I held back a gasp of surprise when I saw my husband standing just outside. Had he watched the exchange between the Prince and myself? Or what I had said to the nurse?
He said nothing to me whatsoever. I could not read his eyes or his face. He was fully dressed in full regalia, and I bowed to him.
“My lord, Kuzon is very sick. This is not a mere illness. He’s in pain, real pain.”
“I know that. Sylid will heal him.”
“Yes, he is a good doctor. But I cannot help but worry. This is… different.” I stated. My mother had become ill then died. I was terrified of the same thing happening to Kuzon. “I am sure Kuzon would appreciate if you went in there and encouraged him.”
“What encouragement? He needs medicine and therapy, not words.”
“He is a sick child. I'm trying to help him feel better. Just… a few kind words from you would mean the world to him.”
He said nothing, but I saw an indefinable glimmer in his eyes.
“Come. Let Sylid do his work.” he stated. I looked over my shoulder one last time, seeing Sylid administer some medicine to the Prince in a careful and patient manner.
I spent the day in Court with Zuko, and he was as silent as ever. I could not stop thinking about Kuzon. Why couldn’t anything be done to help him? Sylid had tried all the medicines he knew and even had tried to whip up new ones, and he had been more than eager to accept my knowledge of Water Tribe medicine, even writing it down in his book so he could augment his own teachings with it.
When the day was over, I took Zuko’s hand, looking up at him pleadingly. He had not said much to me over the last week about anything.
“My lord… talk to me. Please. Are we always going to be like this?” I pleaded, falling to my knees.
“What do you want?” he asked quietly.
“For… for things to go back to the way they were. Before all this ugliness started.” I stated. He let out a slow breath as he looked down at me before pulling me back to my feet.
“You will always be my cherished wife. You will be as you always were, and so will I.” was all he said.
“But you’ve barely spoken to me. I… I don’t know what to do or say to you.” I pleaded, fighting back tears.
“There is nothing to be said, and nothing to discuss.” he stated simply. I flinched a little.
“You are not going to punish Kuzon or me?” I asked. I had been waiting too long for the other proverbial shoe to drop.
“No. Nor am I going to try to separate the two of you.”
“Then please talk to me.”
“There is nothing to discuss.”
o0o0o0o
Zuko
I hated seeing her afraid of me. The punishment that I had handed before to my son had never gone into effect, and I did not plan to enforce it, or keep her away from my son. I had seen all too clearly the error in keeping them apart.
My son was sick, and there was the real possibility that he could die. To lose yet another that I cared for… I didn’t know how I could handle it. I visited him every day. I stood in the doorway and watched as he was tended to. It hurt to see him in such distress. I saw the loving attention that my wife gave him as she sought to comfort him in his need. My mother had done the same when I had once fallen ill, though my fever had not lasted as long as this. But her care had not been any less than my wife’s. I remember Mother holding my hand, pressing cool cloths to my forehead, feeding me soup and coaxing me to take medicine, and reading stories to me.
Father had never visited me. I knew that he had not even come to check on me, as I had made sure to check on my son. I had no idea what to say to him, to comfort him. I thought of things I might say to him and they all… felt inadequate after knowing that he thought I hated him. I wished I had someone to guide me. How nice it would be to have Mother and Uncle and Cousin all here, living with me. We could all have lived together happily.
But the hard reality was, all I had was my wife and son, and a grandsire that I never had the chance to know well. My mother’s father was worthy of my respect, but he was like me – aloof, distant, a taciturn person hardened by his life, not open and friendly like Uncle. I knew that I would never have the same relationship with him as I had with my uncle, and it was something I accepted.
My wife lay in my bed, nestled in my arms. Even if I did not speak with her, I still needed her. It was strange to find myself at a loss for words and feeling helpless for it. I dozed and fell asleep, glad to get away from the churning of my thoughts.
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Kiss of Fire