Chapter 1

"Why does this always happen to me?" I asked myself, running, as I was late for yet ANOTHER dinner. This was the third time this week! My father was surely going to murder me this time, or punish me by forcing me to help out at the teashop…yawn.

As I bursted through the front door, I found my father tapping his foot with his arms crossed.

Oh crap, I should have ran faster.

"Hey… dad…." I started. But he just stood there glaring at me with angry, hazel eyes. The eyes my mother had once loved.

You see, my mother had been killed by fire nation troops three years ago. She knew nothing about the whereabouts of the Avatar, but they suspected she was lying… they were wrong. As a thirteen-year old girl I had watched my mum be burned to ashes right in front of my eyes. And let me tell you, it's not a pleasant experience.

Obviously, her death terribly affected my father. He still ran the house as if she was still here. Laundry is still to be done on Tuesdays and Fridays, the llama-monkeys still have to be fed at 12:30 daily, and the strictest one: dinner at 5:30 on the dot. My most recent blunder.

"Uhm… sorry again." I apologized for the umpteenth time.

" 'Sorry' is all you can say to me?"

"Well, I suppose I COULD say more, but I'd rather not get into any more trouble than I already am…"

"Smart." He replied, "You know the rules: dinner at 5:30. Why do you constantly disobey my rules?"

"You mean MUM's rules?" I asked harshly.

He flinched, and I swore I saw his eye twitch. "Your mother…"

"…Is not here anymore. I get it. But you act as if she still is! Time this, do that. You're even like her in the fact that you don't want me water bending! Just because she didn't like it, doesn't mean you don't have to! It's so stupid. If I have a talent and a power, I should at least have the right to use it, no?"

He was quiet. I thought I gave him a sufficient amount of time before I walked out of the house and to the city square water fountain.

The Ba-Sing-Sai water fountain was my favourite place to get away from people and corrupted ideas altogether. It was usually quiet and beautiful at night, with the unlit candles surrounding the cool, clear water that filled it. But tonight, it had a warm, glowing feel. I realized this was due to every candle being lit, even the ones that floated in place in the water. I was in awe how beautiful the fountain looked, but I was also a bit freaked out: was I not alone?

I wasn't entirely comfortable with the fact that I may not have been alone. So I left for home, rather dealing with my cranky father.

When I arrived home (not exactly that far away) my father was nowhere to be found. I knew that I had been a bit harsh, so I didn't COMPLETELY blame him, but he needed a reality check. So, shrugging it off, I went to my room. I practiced my water bending in secret as always, until I heard a knock at my door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me." My father answered.

I flung the water back into the pitcher I always kept handy for practicing, "Come in."

He sat down on my bed and sighed.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I wanted to come and tell you that you're right. I mean, I knew it all along; I just never wanted to admit it. You standing up to me really put everything into perspective." He admitted.

"Wow…"

"Yes. I wanted to let you know also that I do approve to shirking the rules once in a while, like the laundry, but not feeding the llama-monkeys. Just feed them once a day is all, not at exactly 12:30," he winked and smiled, "but I do have one question for you."

"Shoot." I thought I was off the hook.

"I was wondering why you aren't like other teenage girls. Like, you WANT to practice your bending. And you don't really care if others know about it and being judged. Even if they DID know about it you wouldn't care. Of course, I won't allow it (ph yeah, did I mention that? My dad thinks it'll disrupt society or something for a female water bender in a society of earth…). I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all, it's just well… different than all the other teenagers I know.

"I'm not other teenage girls now am I?" I answered.

He laughed "No, you most certainly are not."