A Soul of the Sea: Katara's Song
Disclaimer: Please note hat I do not own Avatar, but this story is mine :)
Chapter One: A Place Called Home
If you have no home, then where is your heart?
The morning was as all mornings started in the village. The sun was just beginning to peak its' head up over the ice, turning the world a glowing white. Women tended the stove, preparing breakfast for their families. Men sharpened the stone heads of their spears for the hunt that day, while children put on their parkas and mittens to keep warm in the frigid South Pole air.
"Daddy! Daddy!" a young girl yelled. Strands of her dark brown blew loose from their braids, whipping across her face. Her blue eyes were as big as marbles, marveling at the horrible phenomenon that was falling around her, encasing her home.
"What is it Katara?" asked her father, coming outside from the hut. His eyes were the same blue as his daughter's, filled with wisdom and warmth. He stood agape next to his daughter, mortified.
"The snow! Something is wrong with the snow!" Katara exclaimed as she ran to her father's side. Black ash fell from the sky like wings that had been torn off of a butterfly, delicate and mesmerizing, but terrible all the same. Smelling smoke, the man cursed under his breath. He picked up his daughter and ran back inside to his wife and young son.
"Kya, get the children and stay inside. No matter what happens, do not leave this hut." He said, setting Katara down next to her brother, Sokka.
"Hakoda, what's going on?" Kya asked, her eyes brimming with concern. Hakoda kissed his wife on her forehead and replied,
"Fire Nation. Southern raiders, I think." Then there was moment of silence. Kya stiffened and looked down. Her hand flew up to the charm that she always wore around her neck, and she rubbed it between her fingers. It made a wonderful worry stone.
"Chief Hakoda, I've gathered the warriors. They're outside waiting for you." One of the village men said, entering the igloo. The man looked down at Katara, then back up at Hakoda and Kya. A look of understanding past between the three of them.
"Hakoda, what about Katara?" She whispered.
"Keep her hidden." Hakoda said back, his voice hushed. "If they ask, just deny it." He turned and looked at his precious daughter. The thought of anything happening to her made his blood boil. The Southern Raiders would go to any length to fallow orders, even if that meant murdering a six year old girl. He was suddenly felt a tug at his sleeve
"Here Dad," said a little voice. It was his son, Sokka, handing him his spear, "Can I come with you? I've been practicing, and I want to protect the tribe too."
Hakoda kneeled down to his son's level. "Sokka, I know you're a good fighter, and one day you'll be the best warrior in the tribe, but right now I need you to stay here and protect your mother and sister. You're the man of the house until I get back."
"Okay dad. I promise to protect them." said the boy, a little disappointed. Hakoda took the spear, said goodbye to his family one more time and ran out to join the other men.
The next few minutes felt like days. Katara, Sokka, and their mother sat in the far corner of the igloo, silent and unmoving. Kya held her children close as screams and wailings painted a picture of the bloodshed that was happening outside. Katara huddle against her mother and started to cry.
"Shh, shh, don't cry little one." Her mother cooed, "Here…" Katara looked up as she watched her mother take off her necklace. She placed it into Katara's little brown hands and said, "It helps if you rub the stone between your fingers. It makes the worries seem smaller." Her mother smiled down at Katara, but it was a sad smile, one without hope. Katara nodded and rubbed the stone, it helped a little.
Suddenly, a man entered their home. His eyes were the color of hot embers, full of anger and hatred. They struck fear into Katara's core, and she began to shake. "Where is the water-bender?" He asked. Katara's mother stood up and calmly said,
"There are no more water-benders in the Southern Tribe anymore. I'm sorry, but your trip is fruitless."
"Don't play dumb with me! You're hiding one here and I know it!" The man barked at her mother like an angry dog. Katara let out a small cry. The man turned his gaze to Katara. Kya stiffened and went over to her children.
"Is this why you're here, to scare my children, and make them fear for their lives? What kind of a man are you?" She nearly spat at him. He only smiled, as if amused by their fear.
"It's her, isn't it?" He started toward Katara, but then Sokka made a running charge at the man. He began to kick and punch him, but there is only so much an eight year old boy can do.
"Don't you lay hand on my sister!" The boy yelled, tears leaving tracks in the war paint he had put on earlier. The man looked down at the boy as if he were nothing more than an insect that needed to be squished. He kicked Sokka with so much force, that he flew and hit the ice wall, crumpling to the ground, unmoving.
"Sokka!" Kya screamed. She started toward her son, by the man grabbed her by her hair. She screamed from pain and frustration.
"Hand over the girl." He said between his teeth.
"No!" Kya yelled, wriggling in the man's grip. He chuckled and wrenched Katara from her mother's arms. Kya cried out and fell to the floor. "It's not her…" she whispered, "It's me. I'm the water-bender." The man smiled and picked Kya up by her neck, tossing Katara to the floor.
"See?" He said, his face inches away from her mother's, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Kya looked away from the man as he laughed.
"Mommy!" Katara yelled, stumbling toward her mother who was now being dragged off.
"I'll be fine Katara." Her mother said with tears in her eyes, "Mommy will be alright." And then she was gone. The man took Kya outside with him, and shouted,
"I have the bender! Watch as I rid the world of the last water-bender of the Southern Tribe!" Then there was silence. The only sound was the Antarctic wind blowing across the ice, a howling, terrible sound. Minutes ticked by and Katara wandered into the cold and began to cry at the site of her beloved village. Women wailed over lost loves. Children cried for their mothers. Igloos were destroyed beyond repair. No one stopped her as she made her way to the village center.
"Mommy?" She asked, into the destruction, "Mommy, where are you?" No answer. Katara then came up to a circle of Fire Nation solders. They were gathered around a body, her mother's body. "Get away from her!" She screamed, running into the men. She wriggled her away through them and made her way to the body. "Mommy, wake up!" Katara pleaded to the corpse. "Please Mommy! Sokka needs you! I need you!" It did nothing. Her mother was long gone. Katara flung herself onto her mother, clutching to the cold body, trying to force her warmth into her. Hot tears burned down her brown cheeks, stinging her skin. The soldiers didn't do anything, they just stood there. Then a man walked up to her. It was the same man that took her mother away from her.
"Now, now, if it isn't that little water bug from earlier?" He kneeled down to where Katara lay crying over her mother. He took her by the hood of her parka and lifted her up. Katara went limp, she was tired and empty, and she had no will to fight the man. "I think I'll take you along with me, as little trophy from my victory in the South Pole." He handed her to one of the soldiers, "Put her with the others. Let's see if these barbarians are good for anything. Who knows? They might make good servants." The man smiled and walked onto a large metal ship.
Katara was boarded on another ship with a few other people from her village. She noticed that they were the most skilled workers and crafters in the tribe. Why was she being taken along with them? What sis they want from her? They were silent as the stood in line, and silent as they made their way to the bottom deck. As she was taken down below, Katara took one last look at the Antarctic sky. "Where are you Avatar?" she asked the nothingness, "Why didn't you save us?" Just then, the engines roared to life and the ship groaned as they pulled away from the tiny village. They were taking her to the place that had taken everything away from her, her new home, the Fire Nation.
Okay, this was the FIRST chapter of my FIRST fanfiction EVER (so please be kind) I hope you all enjoyed the story so far, and there are more chapters to come you like :) Please review, because I LOVE hearing from my readers 3 It might seem slow right now, but never fear, there is Zutara to come :)