I remember my first encounter with the Fire Nation. It was my best friend Well's birthday. All he wanted was to go penguin sledding and so my mother was packing provisions for the day trip. As we walked out of my igloo all smiles and laughter the sky started to snow black.
I remember holding my palm up to catch this new black snowflake. Snowflakes had always been white! As I studied it I felt my mother push me behind her. Finally, my attention broke away from this different snowflake and I heard the distant screams.
The Fire Nation had come for a water bender I later found out. My mother and I were the only water benders I knew of in our tribe. Quickly she bent down to my level and she stared at me so intensely I wanted to cry.
"Clarke." She said as she caressed my face. "You and Wells must go."
"Go?" I cried. Mother had never let me and Wells go anywhere alone! We weren't old enough.
She gave me a watery smile "Just for a few days, then you both can come back."
"What about you?"
That's when she pulled me in for one last desperate hug. "Your father is on his way home. Clarke, I need you to promise me something."
I nodded. I would have promised my mother anything. "There will come a time when your resolve will be tested, do not let the actions of one sow hatred in your heart."
At that age, I didn't understand what that meant I was too young and naive, but her words echoed in my head years later.
My mother wiped a tear away from my cheek "Do you understand Clarke?"
"Yes," I mumbled. I understood something bad was happening if she would send Wells and me out by ourselves.
She kissed me on the forehead and then took one last look at my face "May we meet again."
With that, she looked to Wells and said "Go, take care of each other."
Fear wasn't an emotion I was used to. My whole life I was surrounded by people who loved me and I loved them back. My days were filled with snowball fights and practicing water bending. Yet fear had made itself known that day and burrowed its way into my heart with no signs of leaving.
The banished Prince was everything you expected him to be. He stood strong with his muscular frame and his brown eyes looked black when he fired at us. His hair was no longer pulled up into an uncomfortable knot, his curls were now unleashed. That must be some form of irony to know your enemy so well you notice his hairstyle change. Then again, I always thought half of his attitude derived from his uncomfortable hairstyle.
Bellamy Blake was something of an enigma. He was the first Fire Nation I had met since the attack on my tribe. After Wells and I returned home we found the tribe in tatters. My mother was gone—killed for hiding the last water bender. My father and his men came home not long after that, and then left soon after to fight the Fire Nation. For three years Wells and I stayed there and helped rebuild and slowly our wounds started to heal.
Until one day when we were out fishing, I noticed something glowing in the water. Imagine our surprise when we found a bald boy no older than twelve encircled in ice. After that day, my life changed forever. Avatar. That was a word whispered among campfires as a prayer. People said the Avatar would save us all and I intended to help.
The Avatar had a name, Finn. It was such a surreal moment when this boy from ice gave Wells and I a toothy grin. When we told him what year it was he became sad but soon enough he bounced back and ranted on how he would fix everything. Being fifteen I looked at him and saw a child, but the way he spoke sparked something in me that had been gone for a long while. Hope.
I came back to the moment when my body took over and I leaped back so the fire whip wouldn't hit me. I glared at Bellamy as he advanced with a smirk.
"Distractions get you killed." He shouted as he stalked closer.
Fear. I should fear this man and yet I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me. Distract him. That was my job while Wells and Finn boarded his ship and 'borrowed' water bending scrolls.
With a flick of my wrist, I sent a whip at water directed at his gut that made him pause in his advance. "Scared of getting wet Bellamy?" I called out.
His answering wolfish grin had me running. I took off running through the woods and only stopped behind a tree to catch my breath. The crunching of leaves could be heard coming and up and I smirked to myself. When I heard him come close enough I whirled out from behind the tree and with a smooth arc had ice daggers blazing towards him.
I caught him off guard, that's the only reason I could pin him to the tree with the ice daggers. Every other time I've tried this move his fire always melted them before they could make contact. Just for safety, I froze his hand and feet to the trunk. Even with his bending, I would have a few minutes before he could burn through that.
He struggled for a few moments and then consenting to defeat he clenched his jaw and met my glare.
"Comfortable?" I asked as I leaned back on the tree across from him.
From gritted teeth, he replied, "No, how about you let me out, Princess?"
I stood up straight at the nickname. My fists bunched at my sides without my consent. For a year now he and I had fought multiple times. Sometimes without bending, others with our barbs but that nickname always caused me to act irrationally. It was our sixth encounter when he first tried it out. His thick head of his had put the puzzle together. A young water bender from the southern water tribe traveling with the Avatar. The water bender who was supposed to be in her late thirties and deceased. The first time he uttered the word I had gone still now it caused flames to build up inside me.
I stalked closer to him "You would think a banished Prince wouldn't just give titles away."
His jaw clenched again and I smirked in victory. Bellamy had his demons too, ones I couldn't bring myself to care about.
As fast as the anger rose it went away when I heard the whistle on the wind. Bellamy's brow rose and I gave him one last look before I stalked off.
"Wait!" he yelled, "What was the point of this?"
I smirked over my shoulder memorizing the image of him pinned to the tree. I laughed as I shook my head and started running.
I patted Appa as I walked into our camp for the night. Wells and Finn were huddled around the fire, the latter one rotating sticks of meat on the fire. They both looked up as I sat across from them happily taking in the warmth of the fire. Before I could ask Finn gave me a toothy smile and waved around a scroll. I stared at it and beamed. "Any trouble getting it?" I asked as Finn passed me the scroll.
Wells boasted "Nothing we strong men couldn't handle."
I rolled my eyes and sent a small whip of water to his head. "Owe! Clarke water backhanding is so not fair! We talked about this."
"Sorry." I quipped hiding my smile.
The boys starting bickering over when using bending was fair while I unrolled the scroll. My eyes glossed overtaking in the new stances. My mother had taught me all she could before she died but even then, it was nothing this advanced. These moves were incredible. If I could master these and taught Finn this would help in our battle against the Fire Lord.
Finn asked quietly "Was it worth is Clarke?"
I looked up from the scroll with a huge grin "It was worth it."
Months passed as I grew more impatient. How was I supposed to teach the Avatar if I couldn't even get the stances correct? After the third week, Finn stopped asking if I was ready to teach him. When I first looked at the stances I knew it would be challenging but this? This was impossible!
In a bout of frustration, the water in the river rose around me and froze into small ice snowflakes. I paused looking at them, just like the ones from home. Missing home came and passed many times so far, this year but now I ached for it. I just wanted to wake up and teach the little kids something new and take them penguin sledding. Instead, I was somewhere on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom in a river down to my underclothes on the brink of tears. I was failing.
When Finn emerged from that ice cube I vowed to help the Avatar to restore peace. While I wish I could say the idea wholly appealed to me because it was the right thing to do, a small part of my mind whispered how I could avenge my mother's death. Almost a year and a half later I was no closer to that goal. Finn had already learned the basics of water bending and he was counting on me to continue his training.
A month ago, he mentioned that maybe he should start his earth bending training—just until I mastered these new moves. I knew what he was doing. Finn was too nice to mention how I was failing, but the three of us knew I was. If I didn't master them soon we would have to search for another water bender.
Deep in my melancholy thoughts, I hadn't heard the crunching of leaves, and how the woods had gone quiet until it was too late. The last thing I remembered before my eyes closed was the small ice snowflakes falling around me as everything went black.
