Nine Years Ago, Ember Island
Maeve
Shrieks of laughter pierced the air as two raven haired girls began tumbling down the hill. Their father and mother were very important nobles in the Fire Nation court, so they didn't get moments like this very often. But when they did, they made a big deal out of it, and often a mess. They had worn there least fancy dresses, and had left their shoes at their house, much to the mothers conflicted feelings.
A portly woman in her late thirties came trudging up the crest of the hill with a small bag over one shoulder. She was red faced and panting from trying to keep up with the sisters.
"Girls!" She shouted, trying to get their attention. It didn't work. "GIRLS!" The sisters looked up, revealing a pair of exactly similar faces. "It's getting dark! We had better be getting back to your parents house now." The sisters, twins, sighed and began climbing back up the hill.
"Isn't there suppose to be a party or something going on tonight? No one will miss us if we stay out longer." One of them pleaded.
"Yes, there is a party tonight. But yes, you will be missed. You are required to make an appearance and be on your best behavior." The woman, obviously there nanny, turned and began marching back, so she didn't see the girls share a glance and an eye roll.
When they got there, servants were rushing about making last minute preparations. Table cloths were being laid out, fresh flowers were being placed in vases, things were being last minute dusted and swept. It was all such a crazy process that totally flew over the twin's sisters heads. Neither of them saw any reason to make such a big deal out of anything. If the guests were there parent's friends like they claimed to be, they didn't need to impress them.
The nanny led them to their shared room and immediately set to work. Each was given a quick wash in the basin, a beautiful red silk dress with gold stitching on the hem, a thorough hair comb, a hair style that pulled the top layer of their hair into a neat bun and the rest of their hair down, and a pair of elegant red slippers. When the nanny leaned back to inspect her work, she thought something was missing. They looked like the beautiful, rich fire nation girls they were, but something was wrong. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers and brought out a small box from a table behind her. She pulled out two hair combs she placed behind each girl's bun. They were silver, with red rubies and gold stones in a fiery pattern that was different on each comb.
By the time the nanny was finished, they were already late and the first guests were starting to come up the walk way. The nanny ushered them out to the main room where they were intercepted by their mother and father. Their father simply nodded agreeably, while their mother fussed over 'her perfect little angles' for as long as she could before the guests arrived.
However, in the middle of dinner, when both girls were thinking that the party couldn't get more boring, several things happened. First, the wooden door to the house was broken into bits. Second, several men in black clothes ran in, and a line of daggers appeared just above the sisters parents heads. The adults screamed, the few kids there back up in confusion, and another line of daggers appeared on each wall. The sisters shared a shocked glance.
Third, a man ran in with a torch. It would have been easy to extinguish it with all the fire benders in the room, but water had moved from the many glasses of it to freeze itself over the limbs of the adults, no discrimination between fire bender and non-bender, man and woman. Of the twelve children that were there, all had backed up into the shadows. Now they were all huddled in one corner, clutching each other. There were the eight daughters of nobleman Tyrochi, the twin sisters, and the two sons of nobleman Komm. The men sneered at them and brought them forward. The adults shouted, one of the woman screamed, two started crying. Tears were streaming down the children's faces, and the eldest, who was only ten, was trying to calm them down and keep the men from hurting any of them at the same time. One man knocked down a girl who was one of the daughters of Tyrochi, who was no older than the twin sisters, and she fell to the floor, unconscious. One of her elder sisters screamed and burnt the man's legs and hands with her minimal fire bending, forcing him to fall over in pain.
Then, the man with the torch dropped it. Flames flew up the wall, and most of the man laughed and left. However, unknown to everyone else, one man stayed behind. He hid in the shadows and watched as one of the sons of Komm, who was a learning fire bender, ran around and melted the ice. The flames were beyond extinguishing now that it covered the walls and ceiling. Everyone gathered each other up and began to run out the door. In the midst of all the commotion, the unconscious girl was picked up, but the twin sisters were separated. One made it out, but the other was one of the last. In fact, she was the last one out. But just as she was crossing the threshold, someone grabbed her collar. It was the man who had been burnt. She tried to break free, but his grip was like iron.
"If I go down, someone is going with me." He growled. "Why not a twin?" She sobbed, still trying to break free, but to no avail. He gripped her tighter and flung her across the room. She screamed as she hit the floor, and the ceiling groaned in response. But what really surprised her was the fact that her hand caught fire, and it flickered harmlessly across her palm. She was a fire bender. The man advanced on her, not noticing the fire in her palm, and raised his hand. She reached up and placed her burning hand on his leg, causing him to scream. When he fell onto his knees and glared at her like he wanted to kill her, she didn't take any chances. She put her hand over his face, torching his skin. He screamed again, and he fell to the floor. She wasn't about to see if he was alive or not. Before she could move, a piece of burning timber about half a foot long and only a couple inches wide fell and landed on her hip bone. The pain forced her to scream, loudly. She managed to shake off the timber, but the skin was raw and black.
Seeing the front door in flames, she whirled around and ran towards the back door. Most of the house was on fire, but the parts that weren't were filled with smoke. She coughed, her petite body shaking with the force of it, and looked around. The smoke made it hard to see, and her vision was getting blurry, so she had no idea where she was. The placed her hand on the stinging wound, but it only made it sting more. Her body shook again, but this time with an almost silent sob. The ceiling groaned, a warning that it was about to collapse, and she forced herself to set off again. This time, she managed to find the back door and escape. She fumbled with the garden gate latch, and when she finally got it she started running towards the village. She heard shouting from the house, some from the man and some from the adults around it. Suddenly, one shout rang out. It was her sister, calling for her. She stopped and whirled around.
"No screams!" A ruff voice said. Her sister screamed once, a terrible sound, and it died away. Instantly the girl knew her sister was dead. She sobbed again, and continued running towards the village. She was running on the same path they had used this morning, but now it was only her. There were no laughs, no shrieks, and no twin sister to accompany her.
When she got to the village, she was crying full out now, her shoulders shaking and her heart beating in a weird three beat rhythm. There was no one in sight, which was good. If they saw a little girl dressed in a burnt silk dress and a jeweled comb in her almost perfect hair running and sobbing. They might have been nice, and taken her in, but right then all the girl was thinking was that they also might take advantage of her.
Later, she almost wishes someone had been there and seen her. Or at least, someone else.
She never got a good look at his face; all she knew was that he was male. He came up behind her, and, feeling his presence, she whipped around. In the dark she could only see his big masculine figure, but before she could look closer, something blunt whacked her on the side of the head. The last thing she saw was the ground rushing up to her before everything went black.