14. Guard

…

“Hic… Mama… I’m scared,” Lee said, holding back tears.

She turned her face toward him, quickly hid the worry present on her face, and gave him a gentle smile as she continued to pull him toward their home.

“No need to worry, my sunshine,” she cooed, her hand tightening its hold on his palm slightly. “Everything will be fine.”

Lee nodded, despite having a hard time believing in her words. All around them, flakes of black snow fell from the sky. He noticed all the men of their small village rushing in one direction, their hands holding weapons tightly.

They reached their igloo, and she quickly ushered him inside. She led him to the back, pushed aside the ice cabinet used to store frozen meat, and opened the door to the hidden crawlspace beneath the floor.

A rush of fish smell escaped from the hollow space carved into the packed ice. It was barely large enough for a child to curl into.

She knelt beside him, her hands caressing his head and forehead with extreme tenderness. “Listen to me, Lee,” she whispered, brushing his hair back. “You have to stay very quiet. No matter what you hear. Not a sound, you understand?”

His lips quivered. He didn’t like this one bit. “Mama… what about you?”

She leaned forward to kiss his forehead before smiling warmly at him. “I’ll be fine, my sunshine. Trust me. Just do as I say.”

Despite being unwilling, he gave her a nod after staring into her loving eyes for a few moments. He would do as she says for now.

She quickly removed the frozen fish carcasses before putting on a furred blanket upon the icy surface. She then helped him climb down, tucking the blanket around him to keep him warm. Her touch lingered upon his skin as if she were unwilling to part.

“Close your eyes if you get scared,” she murmured before she closed the hatch.

In the darkness, Lee felt her moving the ice cabinet again to hide the crawlspace. Then her footsteps faded away.

Lee pulled the furry blanket tighter around himself, his small body curling instinctively as if that could make him disappear. Anxiety clawed at his heart as he remained silent and still as per his mother’s wishes.

Even when he heard cries, shouts and sobbing from above, he remained hidden, biting his lips tight to keep himself from crying as tears fell from his eyes.

What wrong had they done? Why were those men in metal clothes hurting everyone? Would Mama and Papa be fine? What about Sister Nana? Or Uncle Kuro? Didn’t the last cry of pain sound awfully familiar?

He wished he knew answers to the unending questions assaulting his frightened mind. Lee squeezed his eyes shut. “Mama…” he whispered, so quietly it barely existed. “…Please be safe.”

An unknown amount of time passed before he finally heard muffled sounds of movement from above.

Then, a shattering sound travelled to his ears, similar to that one time he accidentally broke one of the earthen pots. Loud laughter followed right after.
He flinched, biting down on his sleeve to keep from crying out. His mother’s words repeated in his head. No matter what you hear.

More noises followed, slowly growing louder.

Lee squeezed his eyes shut once more.

A crash came from above, powerful enough to make the packed ice tremble.

Lee stopped breathing, worried that it might be heard by whoever was walking inside his home and destroying things.

Then, he watched with horror as a man opened the hatch and stared at him as if he had just caught a really large fish.

Lee shrank back, pressing himself deeper into his hiding place, his body turning rigid with fear.

“Well now,” the unfamiliar man, wearing red metal clothes, murmured with a creepy grin. “What do we have here?”

He grabbed Lee and pulled him out in a single, forceful movement.

“Let go! Let me go!” Lee begged, his voice growing louder with each word he uttered.

The man’s face twisted with irritation before he slapped him sharply enough to spill blood from his lips. “Be quiet, brat,” he hissed, lifting his hand again to make his point clearer about what would happen if he didn’t.

Lee nodded between sobs as he was dragged outside before more unfamiliar men in red and black clothes.

“Found him hiding in one of the ice huts,” the man said, letting go of him before kicking him in the stomach.

Lee curled his body, clutching his stomach as he lay on the icy surface, surrounded by cruel men who eyed him hungrily. His eyes glanced around frantically, hoping to see someone rushing to his rescue. Only the corpses of his loved ones greeted his gaze.

He stilled. A static filled his ears, the men’s voices going distant and thin as his eyes fell upon the bleeding figure of his mother. Above him, the people who stole his mother from him forever laughed as he cried in grief.

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“Mama…” he whispered, his voice barely there.

A boot nudged his side, rolling him onto his back. His chest tightened, his breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps. Then, pain tore through his body as the men started to hurt him for their enjoyment.

.

.

.

Lee sat up with a gasp, his breath uneven. Sweat clung to his body. It took him a few moments to calm his breath. He sighed, wiping his forehead.

‘It was just a dream,’ he told himself, feeling his heart beating loudly inside his chest.

He lay down once more and tried to sleep. Sleep did not come as he expected. Each time he closed his eyes, the scene from the nightmare flickered behind his eyes, ruining his mood. Not the first time he had had this particular nightmare. It was something of a recurring event.

He turned onto his side, pulling the fur blanket tighter around himself as if a change of posture could help him sleep again.

Minutes passed in silence, though they felt like hours. Sleep didn’t come.

Lee let out a frustrated groan and stared into nothing in particular.

“Fine,” he said to no one. “I’ll train for a bit instead.”

…

“Why are your eyes so red?” Pakku asked as soon as Lee took his seat at the low table.

“Couldn’t sleep well,” Lee said, grabbing his bowl of fish stew.

Pakku frowned. “That nightmare again?”

Lee nodded, sighing frustratedly.

“You’re having it a lot recently. Nightmares like that can be a sign of an unbalanced spirit or a traumatised mind,” Pakku remarked, picking up his own bowl, his tone thoughtful. “Letting such a problem linger isn’t good for you. Maybe it’s about time I start teaching you spiritual branch waterbending techniques.”

Lee paused mid-bite, his grip tightening slightly around the bowl. “Spiritual techniques?” he asked, a hint of curiosity and hope creeping into his voice.

Pakku nodded, blowing lightly over his stew before taking a sip. “Waterbending has three branches: Healing, Spiritual, and Martial. Among the three, the spiritual branch requires the greatest talent and control. Not everyone can study it, thus making it the rarest among the three branches.

“Based on your current progress, I feel you’re ready to begin learning it. More importantly, it’ll help you solve whatever troubles are causing these recurring nightmares.”

“When can we begin?” Lee immediately asked.

“We can begin from tomorrow,” Pakku said.

Some time passed in silence before Pakku spoke again.

“Before I forget,” he said, “let me tell you, Chief Arnook pulled me aside after the meeting yesterday to inform me of something.”

“What?”