Chapter 1

As they flew over the endless blue ocean, Lin sighed and slumped against Appa's saddle in total boredom. Her mother had done the same thing multiple times throughout their trip. Katara had glared at her from the front of the bison where she was seated next to the Avatar who was holding the reins. However, since Toph was blind, Katara's scowl of contempt went unnoticed.

So many people occupied the saddle space, it was a wonder that the old bison could carry this heavy a load. Lin glanced around and all of the faces had that look of exhaustion that came with being in the air for so long. Next to her sat her oldest and closest friend, Tenzin. It was not easy for Lin to make new friends because of her tendency to be brash and crude when talking with people, especially strangers. It was her way of defending herself. Her abrasive nature unfortunately prevented her from branching out. Only people who had known her all her life, who knew this about her could understand and accept her. Tenzin was always that person.

His sister and brother sat on Tenzin's other side. Even though Kya and Bumi could hardly keep still when they had taken off, by now they were just as exhausted as the rest of the party.

Her mother sat across from her, occasionally clutching Sokka's arm. The water tribe councilman had been in the city for a long weekend and would be meeting his wife and children when they landed on the Ember Island.

If they ever got there! Lin was starting to wonder when her vacation would officially start. At eleven years old, Lin was already facing difficulty in school, particularly with certain kids who could only be classified as bullies. Her mother's position as chief, her mother's blindness, her lack of a second parent, her one friend at school, were all subject to exploitation. In addition, Lin had begun metalbending training. That is, training to become a metalbender. Toph had felt that Lin had had enough understanding of the earth to try to sense metal. However, so far, her efforts had yielded no success. Toph had tried to keep Lin from getting discouraged, but she was never good at pep talks.

Lin was desperately looking forward to this vacation on Ember Island. She needed the distraction and the relaxation. "Katara, are we there yet?"

"Good question," Bumi said. The Avatar's eldest son flung himself over the edge of the saddle and gazed out at the miles of water below, as if expecting to finally see some land.

"Not yet, dear," Katara called back. "We did just cross over into Fire Nation waters though."

"Oh, seriously?" Sokka asked. "We just crossed into the Fire Nation? Aang, can't you make Appa fly any faster?"

"Well, I could, Sokka," Aang relpied. "But you'd all fall off his saddle." Some of the children on board laughed at this.

"Keep it this speed, Twinkle Toes," Toph said. "I don't think these kids back here would like my vomit all over them." Lin chuckled. She knew her mother loathed flying, anything that took her off the earth for a long period of time.

Lin looked over at the earthbender. She seemed in good spirits, but Lin knew better. She had been having a rough time at the police station because of that criminal's escape. Some nasty bloodbender had been stirring up trouble for years, and four years ago her Uncle Aang had taken away his bending and her mother had arrested him and sent him to prison.

Lin would never forget that day. She starred off into the clear blue sky as she recalled the events of that day.

She and Tenzin had been playing on Air Temple Island in the courtyard when they noticed Appa flying quickly across the bay. When he landed near the temple, Tenzin and Lin raced over. Even though they were only eight and seven years old respectively, they knew something was wrong.

This criminal, Yakone, was supposed to be on trial that day. Lin later learned that he bloodbent the entire courtroom and had nearly escaped. But on that day, all she knew was that her mother was unconscious and being carried in to the temple to Katara to be healed along with many others, including Sokka.

She had wanted to rush her mother's side. Aang had held her back. Tears started to fall from her young eyes as Aang tried to explain what happened. Lin wasn't really listening. She was just incessantly begging for him to tell her that her mother was okay. When, Aang could not give her an answer, she became terrified, more so than she had ever been in her life. She tried desperately to run around him to get to her, but Aang wouldn't let her go.

"Lin, I'm sorry, but your mom needs to be alone with the healers right now. Once she's resting, you can see her okay?"

She sniffed as she continued to sob but nodded her head in understanding. Lin would have to be patient, which she was never really good at.

"Tenzin, will you stay with Lin until I come back out to get you?" Aang looked at his son knowing that he could count on him. Tenzin had always been obedient and had miles more patience than Lin.

When Tenzin silently nodded, Aang said, "That's my boy. Thank you… See, Lin? Tenzin will stay with you until you can see your mom. I'll be back. Stay right here." He turned and headed toward where the injured were being lead inside.

Lin let the final tears journey down her cheeks. She stood there rooted to the spot, trying to breathe and understand what was going on. Without saying a word, Tenzin put an arm around Lin's small shoulders. Lin remembers his gentle and caring touch that did little to lift her spirits. Without warning she sank to the ground and dropped her head, hiding her swollen eyes.

Lin cannot remember feeling so helpless, sitting there while her mom was recovering from an awful attack. Her friend silently sat down next to her on the hard ground. Tenzin did not offer any soothing words, nor clichéd phrases of hope, because he knew Lin would reject them. He slowly moved to grab her hand. Lin let him take it, not looking up at all. He simply sat there holding her hand, for that was all he could do. After a while, Lin squeezed her fingers around his. She held on tight, not wanting to let go of the surprisingly good feeling it gave her.

As Lin wandered out of her memory, she realized why they were all taking this vacation together. Each year, they all take this trip to Ember Island and spent a few weeks just in each other's company. The Fire Lord welcomes them into his house and they talk, catch up, and reconnect. Only, Lin now believes that they don't really reconnect.

They don't have to. These people in this saddle are bonded together and will always be connected. Her mother and her old friends ended a war together, and that's something you don't forget. Even now, years after the war ended, they still face a lot and endure hard times together. That connection can't be severed. So, they plan each year to take time out of everybody'd busy schedules and take their family to Ember Island to remember and celebrate old times and old friends.

Looking out at the horizon, at the distant blue sky, Lin yearns even more to reach their destination. After a year of dealing with Yakone's escape, and the resulting chaos in the city's triads, Lin knows that Team Avatar needs and deserved this vacation.

To be continued…