- Xue Yi Song -
The sound of a shattering teacup permeated the quiet air . . . soon enough it was followed by a woman shouting, “You idiot klutz!” and after that, there was a heavy thud against the ground, the sound of a person hitting the floor. So, it had happened again. She had stumbled whilst serving her Mistress her morning tea, and managed to let the cup tip off her tray, and shatter against the wooden floor below. Her lack of grace had bested her once more, and it’d gotten her hurt again, like it always did. This was something she’d grown used to in the last couple of years, failing to meet the expectations of her Mistress and Master, and always being hit or punished for them. For breaking the teacup, her Mistress had seen fit to kick her into the wall with as much force as she could muster up with her aging body.
The other servant girls only looked on as Xue suffered their Mistress’ anger; they had grown a thick skin to these sights, having endured such treatment themselves. There was no compassion, or empathy for the clumsy girl’s accidents in them, none at all. They were used to seeing her mess up, and cause problems, after all, in the two years since Iseul had brought the girl into his home as a trophy of his win against Qiu Yi Song, Xue had done little more than make more messes than she helped resolve. The Fire Nation girl screwed things up a lot as far as everyone in the home was concerned. . . .
“Damn it, she got tea everywhere.” Xue could hear her Mistress seethe from the heap she laid in against the wall. “Enju, get to cleaning that up, before it sets into the wood. Now!”
“Yes Mistress.” The monotonous voice of a young woman answered, and then there was the sound of footsteps leaving the room, Xue knew to where they were headed. To gather up cleaning supplies to sop up the spilt tea.
In this period, she had not at all moved herself. No. Xue remained where she had landed after her Mistress had kicked her, lying upon her side with her small back up against the wall, not making a single noise or uttering a sound of discomfort. Showing any signs of distress would only make all of this worse; it would let the Mistress know that she was in pain, that she was capable of such sensations . . . it was easier if she just remained quiet, no matter how much she hurt. It was better that no one knew, it kept them from knowing what she really thought, it kept them all from understanding her.
Who truly needs to be understood when living in conditions such as these? Xue asked herself as footsteps approached her, and halted right before her limp form. She knew, Xue knew that it was the Mistress who now loomed over her; she didn’t have to cast her amber eyes up to see the woman’s silhouette blocking out the sunlight to know.
“Well,” she began, annoyance lacing her voice, “Aren’t you going to get the hell up you lazy wench?” At hearing the woman’s words, Xue’s small body twitched just a bit, but her lips remained shut.
There was a huff, before the shouting came. “GET UP! Get up now and go to the market! I don’t want to see your face in this house for the rest of the day!” Those words were all it took for Xue to ascend to her feet in a but a moment, and to dart out of the room with her eyes cast downward, successfully avoiding the searing glare her Mistress held for her, and the gazes of her fellow servant girls. With her hands holding up the front layers of her skirts, she was out of the house in moments and off the premises in less than a minute. Quickly enough she was darting through the streets of Omashu, heading to a place that served as something of a sanctuary for her.
Even though her shoes kept on pinching her toes as she ran, Xue kept at it, keeping her eyes cast down to the ground, hiding her face from anyone and everyone. Even in a city as large as Omashu . . . her face was known, as was her name due to whom she had been married. It was just easier if she kept on ahead without really looking around her, because, it kept people from trying to assault her and from throwing things at her for being of the Fire Nation. She knew the way there without getting a clear vantage of her surroundings, she went there often enough to know without having to ever look.
However, even if Xue did know the way to her destination without requiring sight, that didn’t mean her pathway was a clear one. Not at all. With her eyes transfixed upon the stone walkways at her feet, the girl would fail to notice a person right in her way until it was too late, not until she’d managed to ram her small self right into them, lose her balance and begin falling right over without making a single noise.