Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Trust me.

DARKNESS CREPT UP ON ME … as usual…

--

Every day is monotonous and bleak. I wake up somnolent and go to sleep on a clammy, bitter floor exhausted. Every waking moment is drawn excruciatingly slow until the dusk I can see any release. Even my dreams are laced with toil. Constant laboring is my life. The sun is cruel and searing on my scarred back and the darkness of the night clouds my vision, making it difficult to work. I find it difficult to remember a time when I used to enjoy the night and all its mystery. I could barely evoke when the cool night air sent thrills instead of shudders down my back, or the heartening warmth of the sun on my pale skin.

No, I do not completely remember these times; they were so long ago. I still find it hard to envision the small Earth Kingdom village I spent such a small part of my young life in. I could only see blurs of images, sensations, and sounds. The people, their faces blurred their names unknown to me, and my family, even worse, forgotten. All of these places, faces, and things are left behind and only oddments of the emotions remain deep inside of me. Only when I am alone, I like to take them out and try to remember, but when the sun rises and it is time to work again, I tuck my memories away and harden myself.

The one memory that never goes away is the worse. The day I was taken from my home.

It is all a blur – much like everything else – of flames and shouting and tears. Yes, flames; fire was my enemy… The screams must have been my parents. The fire, the soldier, had seized my small frame and took me away. Tears clouded my vision, making my parents' horrified faces and later limp bodies blurry and distorted…

--

I was eight years old.

--

Ever since for nine more years, I have been taken here, on this miserable, metallic black hell the Fire soldiers like to call a ship.

--

My name is Lin…and I am a slave for the Fire Nation.

--

(AN: Well, that was short. I suppose I have this thing for prologues. I just feel its necessary. Don't worry. this isn't one of those OC/OC fics. our Freedom Fighter will turn up soon.)