11. Princess Yue

…

“I’m back,” Lee yelled, stepping inside the house.

He heard the sound of approaching footsteps before Mona walked out of the kitchen to greet him with a small, carefree smile.

“Did you have fun?” she asked, stepping closer as she wiped her wet hands on her apron. She must have been washing dishes.

“Yes, it was. I had two seal-otter buns. They were quite tasty, just a tiny bit worse than the food you make.”

“Oh, really?” Mona chuckled.

“Yup,” Lee nodded, walking closer.

Mona lowered her gaze to the things in his hands. “What are you carrying?”

“Some candies that I bought,” Lee said, before presenting the frozen blue lotus flower he had hidden inside the leather bag. “…and this is for you.”

Mona blinked, standing still. “For me?” She accepted the ice crystal, confusion clear on her face.

“Yes,” Lee nodded, grinning softly. “Thank you for always taking care of me,” he said with a sincere heart.

“I know it isn’t worth a lot or anything. I hope you wouldn’t mind.”

Her eyes widened. She glanced a couple of times between him and the frozen flower in her hands before kneeling to match his height. She scooped him into a tight hug.

“You silly little thing,” she muttered, kissing the back of his head. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for the gift.”

…

Lee stood in the middle of the frozen backyard of Pakku’s house, his eyes closed.

Mona was busy in the kitchen, making a special dish for dinner to thank him for the flower. Pakku hadn’t returned to the house yet.

Whenever he experimented with the dense energy, he did so in his room, away from prying eyes. Sadly, he had a premonition that it might not be safe to perform the current experiment inside his room. Performing waterbending experiments inside a mansion made of ice was a recipe for disaster.

Lee focused, feeling the disciplined flow of chi and the chaotic flow of the dense energy present within him. He already knew one thing: circulating the dense energy reinforced his body past mortal limits.

The current experiment was to find what would happen if he were to mix a little bit of the dense energy with chi before performing waterbending.

He grabbed a tiny tendril of the unruly warmth before pushing it into the chi currently moving toward his water chakra.

Both energies were compatible. He knew that from the very beginning. While he was healing from his injuries, Lady Tokka mentioned to him the miraculous nature of his body’s reaction to her healing arts.

The moment he discovered the dense energy, Lee knew it was the true culprit responsible for his unusual healing capabilities.

The tiny tendril easily dissolved into the chi. Lee smiled and guided the chi inside his water chakra and immediately felt the change.

Before, his chakra used to glow like the moon in his mental vision, but currently it flared brightly like the sun. Without delay, he pushed the chi out of the chakra and nudged it outside while performing a waterbending kata.

In the morning, he was barely able to manipulate a small blob of water. Now, a perfect sphere as big as himself in diameter rose from the ground without putting even a tiny bit of strain on him.

Lee hastily returned the water sphere to the ground and turned it back into ice, afraid that someone might see the feat. He couldn’t let others learn about his true capabilities until he was powerful enough to protect himself.

He wasn’t naïve enough to think that the Fire Nation didn’t have spies inside the tribe. He must at least become an advanced waterbender, if not a master, before revealing his true capabilities.

…

A few days later.

Once the training session was over, instead of returning home as usual, Lee followed behind Pakku as they walked deeper into the noble district.

Today was the day he was going to meet Princess Yue at the palace. He couldn’t help but feel a bit tense about the situation. Just like Pakku, she was one of the side characters in the show. Some might say that her role was even more prominent than his because of her unique relationship with the primordial spirit of the moon.

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Most of the Northern Tribe only knew her as being blessed by the spirits, as the chief hid the whole truth from the common populace, but Lee knew the entire truth because of his otherworldly memories.

She wasn’t just blessed by the spirits. The moon spirit had shared some of its life force with her—the only reason she was still alive after being born stillborn.

“I know you’re a sensible child, but I still need to remind you,” Pakku said in a stern tone. “I don’t expect you to gain her interest. In fact, it’s quite likely she won’t like you, just like the other children she’s been introduced to before you. So don’t do anything foolish that could be seen as an insult. This is merely a formality. There’s no need to offend anyone.”

“I understand,” Lee nodded, taking his words to heart.

Soon, they reached the palace and entered, guided by one of the waterbenders stationed as a guard outside the palace.

The interior of the palace was breathtaking to say the least. Every wall was polished to perfection, carrying a deep blue glow to itself under the sunlight. Lee walked a step behind Pakku, his curious gaze constantly moving from one place to the next.

The guard led them to a talking duo of servants in one of the inner corridors. Both women bowed to Pakku once they recognised him. The guard informed the women about the reason for their visit before returning to his post.

They were soon led into a spacious chamber deep inside the palace, where a small family of three were patiently waiting for them.

Pakku immediately bowed to the man, and Lee followed his example a moment later.

“So this is the child you’ve recently adopted, Master Pakku,” The man muttered with a smile, motioning them to relax.

Chief Arnook was currently a man in his early forties. Even while sitting, he carried a charismatic grace that easily made him the centre of attention inside the room. Beside him sat his wife, the daughter of the previous chieftain, whom he married to become the current chief.

Lee’s gaze finally settled on the small child currently sitting in her mother’s lap. Princess Yue stared at him with a curious look in her eyes, her head tilted slightly to the right as if she was trying to solve some puzzle. She was sucking one of her thumbs.

“What is your name, Child?” the lady asked softly, a motherly smile on her lips.