Chapter 1: When the Fire Nation Attacked
"Sifu Hiuoko, is this right?" the little girl asked, attempting to perform the water whip.
"You're so close, Kibou. Just move your hands a bit farther up," I told her, showing her with my hands.
"I did it, Sifu Hiuoko. Look!" the young girl shouted, pointing her head at the translucent whip of water floating in front of her.
"Perfect, Kibou. Okay, that's enough for today class. We'll reconvene here tomorrow, at 8:00 sharp. Don't be late!" I told my class.
Packing up my things, I headed back to my house just outside the canal locks. A load of cargo was coming in, and the guards were questioning the captain of the Earth Kingdom ship. Ever since the damned Fire Nation attacked here, we've been trying to rebuild this place. The Earth Kingdom has generously been sending shipments of food, wood, and other items we need. The waterbenders remaining here that did not go off to help rebuild our sister nation, the Southern Water Tribe, have been reconstructing and repairing the outer walls where the fire balls hit.
I still remember the day the Fire Nation attacked us. The Avatar and his friend had been training under Master Pakku, trying to learn waterbending. His friend was quite adept at the art, while the Avatar didn't take it as seriously. Their other friend, a handsome boy, had been seeing my friend, Yue, who died in the siege. I was never told how she died; all I know is that she died with great honor and saved us all. When the Fire Nation first attacked, I begged Chief Arnook to let me help defend our city. However, he looked at me with disdain, saying that it was my job as a woman to protect the children and other citizens. So, I did what I could, bringing lost children back to their parents, and making sure everyone remained inside. Even though I was a master waterbender, I couldn't fight the Fire Nation, the savage brutal Fire Nation, because I am a woman.
But the most dreadful and frightening part of that day was when I lost the power to waterbend. I had been running around the city, attacking rogue firebenders, when the sky went black. A faint red aura overtook the sky, and the house I was repairing suddenly fell apart. Two Fire Nation soldiers saw me at my moment of weakness and tried to kill me. But they didn't know. No one in all of the Northern Water Tribe knows about my secret weapons. Those two Fire Nation soldiers didn't know what hit them until they saw their own blood soil the crisp white snow. And then, all of a sudden, I saw a fantastic beast rise from the canals. I could've sworn I saw Yue ascending to the moon and the Avatar inside that majestic beast, but I couldn't be sure. In an instant, the Fire Nation ships were drowned and driven back and the sky was glistening again.
The next day, our city bade the Avatar and friends farewell. His male friend looked like the whole world collapsed on top of him, and Master Pakku gave the Avatar and his female companion some waterbending scrolls. And with that, they took off. Master Pakku decided to round up some healers and other waterbenders to go give aid to the South Pole. Once the benders had left, it was time to start repairing the city. Apparently, Chief Arnook forgot his sexist prejudices and gave me a task. After seeing how brutal the Fire Nation was, he decided that the girls of our city would need to learn how to defend themselves, and I was made their teacher.
Chief Arnook said that he would advertise this to the girls and that he would assemble a class within a week. I was relieved, because I wasn't emotionally stable at the moment. Just when I think I could escape the Fire Nation, they somehow manage to find me. I lived for fourteen years in the Fire Nation; hell, I was born into the Fire Nation. But that doesn't matter, because I feel no affection whatsoever towards them. I hate everything about them, which is maybe why I brutally killed those two soldiers. But after what the Fire Nation did to me, after what they did to my mother, I feel absolutely no regret.
