A/N: Every chapter hereafter will be named after a song. That chapter will contain a song with changed lyrics to fit the story. You do not have to look up the song and listen to the tune, but I think that for most songs, it will be a better reading experience afterwards. Thank you for choosing Linn's story and enjoy the ride!
Linn shouldn't have loved him. She was Air Nomad, he was Fire Nation - she knew it was beyond anything that had happened before. But still she met with him in secret. There was something about him, fierce and hot and angry... and unbelievably drawing. For months, she spent nights in his arms, safe and sound. But that all changed as her belly began growing and two tiny lives grew within...
"Quick, the baby's coming! I guess fourteen hours of labor was enough for him, right?" The nursemaid joked as nuns bustled around in a frenzy. "Watch it, watch it, careful with those! And you, come over here! I need help!" She shouted out orders as Linn panted.
An hour later, two babies were cleaned up and wrapped in blankets, each nestled in a midwife's arms. The boy had cried and then fallen asleep quickly after persistent rocking, but the girl hadn't made a sound. She stared uncannily at the woman holding her, almost unblinking. Her vivid green eyes unnerved the midwife, but she rocked the child anyway.
Now that the commotion had settled down, the temple room was a lot less crowded. But still the occasional nun came through. One such woman knocked over some piled pans and other assorted kitchen implements, and the girl threw a fit. She struggled and cried, and suddenly sneezed - and without warning, the midwife's sleeve caught fire.
Immediately women burst into action, and the fire was quickly extinguished. But many stared in horror at the now-calm child, aghast because she was, in their eyes, a monster or devil. The nuns chattered for a few minutes, and finally agreed: the child could not stay. So in utmost secrecy, she was spirited away by three nuns into the forest, left there so that she might at least become a part of the circle of life. But still one nun felt guilty.
"Are we to simply leave the child here? With no name?" the nun inquired tentatively. "Then, at least, she can be remembered..." But the other nuns sneered at her.
"Fine, then. Let her be known as Linn, in honor of her mother who brought such an abomination into this world." And so the girl, now Linn, looked at them and smiled for the first time. Then she was left on the ground, and not once during the journey home did they hear her cry.
"Fang, I know you say I have to hide here, but what good will it do? No one will find me!" Linn plopped herself down on the ground, and sighed. Fang's lithe dragon body curved as she reached out and touched her, and visions flashed through her mind: Fire Nation soldiers, leaping flames, and limp bodies. Linn sighed again and tucked her knees in to her chest. "I haven't seen the world for twelve years! Twelve years! I think I'm ready, but still you hold me back." Fang curled up and tucked her head in. Linn groaned.
"Oh, don't get mad. I'm just being bratty. You raised me for those twelve years; I should be grateful." But then Linn hung her head. "Yet all I feel is confined. I should be grateful, but I only feel like I'm in a cage and need to break free." Fang nodded, and Linn raised her head as she felt Fang's conscious touch hers gently - It's your age. Everyone feels that way. Linn smiled at the thought, but then let her head fall once more and grunted in frustration.
"Ugh! How will I ever show Aang the things he needs to know? He's all the way in the Southern Air Temple, and I'm here in the forest near the Eastern." Her tone became quiet. "Do you think he misses me? Or even remembers me?" For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then a flash of pain struck her and the world burst into flames.
Somewhere, far away, a boy sank into the ocean, enveloped in an iceberg...