Prologue
This chapter has been updated. I combined the two prologues so now the previews chapter 2 is in here
Hey! This has been in my mind for a while. Can you guys give me your opinion on this: Story, character, whatever you can come up with. Oh and I really don't like doing disclaimers, I mean come on who on earth would write a fanfiction if they did own it?! Nobody, that's who!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender. Now that's the last time I'll say it so don't expect it on the next chapters.
I balanced two trays filled with food on my left hand and walked through the diner. I placed food on tables 2, 4 and 5, in front of the customers who ordered them. It was easy for me now to balance several trays of food on my hands and still walk fast enough so that the customers won't have to wait for too long. Of course I practiced to be able to balance those trays in my hands, I'm not just some lucky kid who can magically be able to do things, it took me some time and whole lot of broken plates to be able to do that. I don't even believe in luck, good or bad. It's either hard work or hardly working.
My name's Ariella. I work at a small diner with my mom in the Fire Nation. That's right I'm Fire Nation, well half anyway. I'm also from the Earth Kingdom but well get to that later. My mom owns a diner and I started working with her since I was 5 years old, I'm 9 now. Working in this diner is our way of living. Basically we're broke and its the only way for us to get money for food and shelter. We don't get that many customers. The diner would be half full at best, but the customers we did have always came back.
If your wondering what I look like then I'll tell you that I look just like any poor Fire Nation girl. Yeah poor, I already told you we're broke. I have pale skin, gold eyes and jet black hair. See? Exactly the appearance you'd expect from someone in the Fire Nation. I'm wearing a dark red tunic with faded gold coloured trimming and belt around my waist, black pants and black boots. My hair is put up in a messy bun with some hair sticking out of it, I have bangs covering my forehead with two longer strands on either side, framing my face. The bun is held up by a hair stick. It was made of gold and on top of it was a flower. Five jade green gems are shaped like petals are embedded on the petals and one forest green gem is embedded in the middle of the petals. The size of the flower is a out a third of The bun. It's put in a way so that the flower is resting on the top right of the bun with the golden hair stick sticking out on the opposite side.
The hair stick is the only expensive thing I have but I wouldn't dare sell it, I won't even let anyone touch it. It's the most valuable thing I have and the only thing that reminds me that I'm Earth Kingdom. So back to the topic of how I'm both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. My father is Earth Kingdom and my mother is Fire Nation.
They met in a small Earth Kingdom village, fell in love and had me. We lived there until I was about a year old and my father had to go back to his home village, Omashu. He was a soldier and he was needed there. My mother decided that she too would go back to her home village. They decided that my mother would be the one to take care of me since I looked more Fire Nation. My father have me my hair stick before they went their separate ways. So in a way it also reminds me of my dad even though I can't remember him. Then my mother got a diner and I've lived in the Fire Nation since.
Everything I've learned is from my mother. And I mean everything. I never went to school and since we lived in the poor side of the village the laws weren't as enforced. My mom told me what was really going on in the war and how everyone in the Fire Nation was being lied to. For most of my mothers life she believed that lie, that the war is for the Fire Nation to spread its greatness. That is until she met my father, then her whole view of the world changed.
My mother isn't a firebender and my dad is an earthbender. I'm also an earthbender. I found out I was when I was 4, it was a good thing that my mother was the only one to see me and she told me that I must never let anyone see me earthbend. So whenever I have free time I go out into the forest near the village where I knew nobody would see me and practiced my earthbending.
After the sun has set me and my mom closed down and are both cleaning the diner before we leave. Then the door opened and I looked up from the table I was cleaning to see three Fire Nation soldiers walk in.
"I'm sorry, sir. We're closed." My mother said politely.
"We're not customers. We were sent here to get rid of traitors."
My mother's eyes widened "Ariella, run! Get out of here!" Mom blocked them off.
The next thing I knew my mom was on fire. She yelled in pain and I just stood there watching the soldiers burn my mother. The flames were so intense that her skin was bleeding. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. My whole body was frozen. After the soldiers were sure that she was dead they stopped their fire bending and looked at me. That got me out of my internal shock and I was able to dodge their attacks. One of the soldiers managed to hit my right soldier and another one hit my left waist.
The soldiers were blocking the door so I jumped out the window and ran as fast as I could to the forest, ignoring the pain of my burns as best as I can. I knew my way around the forest so I quickly ran to a cliff that was only a foot taller than me. I made a wall that surrounded myself, though I made sure it look natural so it would look like the wall was a part of the cliff.
I woke up to see nothing. It was so dark. I ignored the throbbing pain i felt and put my hand in front of me and felt a bumpy wall and it felt like its made of dirt. No, it's made of earth. Then I remembered everything that happened the day before. I stomped my foot and stretched my arm in front of me with my hands clenched as if I was going to punch something to make the earth wall to move and crash into the trees. I hissed in pain caused by the movement.
Everything came crashing down on me and I couldn't help but cry. I tried to wiped the tears but they just kept on flowing on my cheeks and I let tiny sobs escape my lips. I'm burned. My mother is gone. I don't have a home anymore, there's no way they'd let me stay there and live. I don't get it. We were so careful. My mom already came up with backup stories to tell anyone who ever asked about my dad, or my hair stick even though its unlikely. Everyone else thinks that my dad was in the army from the colonies but died and my mom decided to come back soon after. As for my hair stick, my dad got it from an Earth Kingdom noble and have it to my mom who gave it to me. So how on earth did they find out? Unless... Oh no! Someone must have seen me practicing earthbending. I haven't been careful enough. It's my fault we're caught. My fault that...
More tears flowed out of my eyes at that thought. My sobs became more uncontrollable. Once I was able to contain myself, my feet started moving. I didn't care about the pain from my burns. My mind set on only one thing. I'm going to Omashu. I'm going to find my father.
I walked through a forest in the Earth Kingdom looking for food. It's been about 3 months since I left the village I grew up in. I snuck into a Fire Nation ship and here I am now. My burns don't hurt anymore but I'm pretty sure it's infected. Though I tried to prevent it by washing it in the stream or river I found in the forest.
Suddenly the ground shook with 'boom' sound. I quickly went over to where the sound came from. I saw a boy about the same age as me practicing earthbending with a man that I guess is his father.
The boy either didn't see me there or thought I was a threat because a boulder half my size was suddenly going towards me. My reflex immediately kicked in. Most people would have dodged it but me being an earthbender has a tendency of making me face things head on. What I did do is punch the boulder when it got too close to me and made it break in half.
I put my fist down and looked up to see the boy standing there. His eyes are wide and his mouth agape. He pointed an accusing finger at me and said "That Fire Nation girl just punched the boulder and broke it in half!"
"Hi!" I said waving and smiling. Ignoring what he just said. Now I know that he just tried to crush me with a boulder and I didn't want to fight him.
He took a defensive stance. My smile fell and my waving hand froze. Looks like its gonna be hard for me to convince him that I'm not his enemy. My Fire Nation clothes isn't really helping my situation either. He's obviously a better earthbender than me so I can't fight him.
"Haru, she's just a little girl." The boy's, Haru's, dad told him. Thank you, Haru's dad.
"Dad, didn't you see what she just did." Haru said, quite hysterically. Why's he so freaked out. I'm sure he can do it, he's an earthbender. Oh, I get it. He doesn't know I'm an earthbender. He must have thought I used brute strength, which I don't really have. I guess I have to explain myself before he throws more boulders at me.
"I was able to do that because I'm an earthbender. Just like you." I sent half of the boulder he just threw at me onto a wall at the side "See."
They both gave me bewildered looks. I honestly didn't expect any less from them. After they got over the fact that I'm an earthbender, Haru's dad introduced himself as Taro and i introduced myself to them. Taro then invited me to join them for supper and also offered to treat my infected burns. Actually he told me his wife could do it. My tunic got holes from the fire and my burns can be seen through them.
After Haru's mom treated my infected burns and bandaged it, she gave me a tunic dress to replace my destroyed Fire Nation tunic. It is Earth Kingdom green and the trimmings are a lighter shade of green. The sleeves went up to my elbows and are slightly too wide for my upper arm. The tunic dress ends at my ankles and have slits at the sides so that my movement won't be restricted. I'm still wearing my black pants and boots.
I sat at their dining table on Haru's right. When I saw the food in front of me. It took all my will power not to scarf it down, I was so hungry, and eat it slowly.
Haru turned to me and asked "Ariella, I don't understand. Your Fire Nation. How can you be an earthbender?"
"My dad's an earthbender." I told him, not even looking up from my already food-less plate.
"Why were you in the forest. Aren't you too young to be traveling alone?" Taro asked.
"I'm going to Omashu to find my father. I don't really remember him but he's the only family I have left." then I took my hair stick out of my really loose bun, my usually pin straight hair was wavy from the bun and it fell to my mid back. And I showed it to Haru and his family. "Right now, this is all I have to remind me of him."
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright. Can you tell me which way Omashu is though?" I asked while I put my hair back into a bun and held it up with my hair stick.
"I can take you there."
I shook my head "No. You need to take care of your family. I just need directions to get to Omashu."
After Taro told me which way Omashu is he offered for me to sleep in their barn and he didn't really take no for an answer. Now it's morning and its time to say good bye to the nice family.
"Good bye and thanks for everything."
"Good bye." I heard them say and I was on my way to Omashu and this time I know where I'm going.
It took me a few weeks but I finally got there, the City of Omashu. It's bigger than I thought it would be and I didn't really expect it to be on a mountain. The only way in is through a narrow path of earth.
I walked through the path but was stopped by one of the guards. "What's your business for coming to Omashu?"
I opened mouth to answer his question but the other guard spoke before I could utter a word "She's a little girl, what business?"
"I'm here to find my father." I answered them, not really in the mood to see how this is going to end. "His name is Akio. Do you know him?"
They gave me a look of, concern? I'm not really sure but it left their faces before I could figure out what it was. They turned and talked to each other and I couldn't hear what they were saying so I just waited until they were finished. It didn't take them very long and the one who asked for my business in Omashu signaled for me to follow him. He took me to a really big building. It looked like someone lives here and it took some time but I realized that the guard took me to a palace. We stopped in a room and I saw a really old guy dressed in a fancy green robe. He must be a king.
The guard told the king about why I'm here. I still don't understand why I'm here in his palace, or the king's throne room for that matter. The king signaled for the guard to leave but he just stood by the door of the throne room.
"What's your name, little one?"
"Ariella." I said, ignoring the 'little' comment.
"Well if you didn't know, your father is a general."
"Oh, so he's fighting in the war? Do you know when he'll be back?"
The king gave me a sympathetic look. And it all sunk in.
"N-no! He can't be! I just lost my mom, he can't be d-dead!" I stuttered "Who will take care of me?!"
"Well I would." The king said cheerily, as if I didn't just been told my that my dad's dead. "Let's throw a feast!"
"A feast? And did you just say you're going to take care of me?" I asked incredulously. What's wrong with this king?
"That's what I said."
"Why?"
"You look hungry."
"I mean why would you take care of me?"
"Your father is my cousin's nephew."
"So your my grandfather?"
"Sure lets go with that. Your also my closest living relative."
Okay. I have the feeling the feast is for more than just my hunger and because he just likes to randomly throw feasts. If the daughter of his cousin's nephew is his closest living relative then he must be pretty lonely even though he doesn't act like it and so he threw a feast because he's really happy. Or he's just crazy and likes feasts. I can't really tell. Probably both.
And so we had our feast. Well the king, my grandfather, and I did, the guards were just standing there.
