Disclaimer: I do not own Atla or LoK, everything belongs to their respected owners. This story and new characters are mine. Enjoy!
Chapter One: Ren's Journey
The waves of the newly built Yue bay lap against the sides of the large barge I have taken to travel here. I admire the name as I think of it. What could have brought this name to mind for the founder's? Was this worth it for them? Was it worth the journey for me? Worth the sea-sickness and unfortunate lack of sleep? I hoped so. The monument of Avatar Aang is still being built as we pass it and I can see the Air Acolyte Temple just beyond the statue on a small and secluded island. In awe, I lean over the side of the boat and close my eyes against the breeze. Sea salt. I have dreamt of this day for 3 long, anxious years. If there was ever any doubt that I might not make it here, I left it back home with my family on that sad, little patch of Earth Kingdom dirt my family strived to keep healthy and useful. Any product of that farm had no interest of mine. I despised the farm and I despised my mother's silly name she had christened me with: Margren. I shortened it to 'Ren' as I thought it suited me better and sounded far less outlandish. My mother never agreed to that and always preferred to call me by the name I was christened with. As if I was not already strange enough with my foreign blonde hair and green eyes, the name only added to the oddity that was me and I loathed the relative attention to it.
Could I really be the only blonde earthbender in a small village of the same type? I was. They all had an image of who young Margren was: The farmer's daughter, a chubby little sun-haired girl (though I was not chubby), a prize to be won as a woman, and a child with nothing to gain from life but her family's farm. I refuted that fact and argued constantly. Why should I succumb to my parents wishes when it was their dream to have agriculture pouring out of every orifice? I saw no fit reason to continue their legacy. Thankfully, my younger brother was born and all those hopes and dreams my parents had for me flew out the window. Thank the spirits. After his birth, I was left to my own devices. I practiced and perfected my earthbending, which my brother was born without, and continued my studies. I strived for knowledge so that I could become an asset rather than a product.
Around my 19th birthday, I heard the news. A city was to be built under the watchful eye of our Avatar, Aang, and his friends; Toph Beifong, Sokka, Katara, and Fire Lord Zuko. Surely, this was the news of the century. Construction was already under way by my 20th birthday and I had begun to save up for a boat ticket by working in various places. I once held four jobs that earned me half my ticket money. My future was in Republic City and no one was to stop me, not even the marriage proposals that came pouring in from every crevice of our little village. Young men and older men lined up at our door just to catch a glimpse of me. Some were so bold as to even strike a proposal in the middle of my shopping.
If it was not so funny, I might have been angry, and I declined them all. Kindly, of course. Why start something one cannot finish when all that is in my vision is the smooth sailing to Republic City when I turned 22? It was to be my birthday present to myself. I figured that with all of my work related experience, I might find one measly paying job to get myself started.
Those two years since I was 20 have long passed and I stepped on the barge just a week ago without looking back. My parents said their goodbyes at the farm and did not follow me, as I wished, and I have not looked back since. To look back would be to regret and feel sorrowful for what I had given up, which was nothing more than a few offers of marriage and a small farm that I did not want nor care to have. The road from here on out would be tricky to travel and I expected there to be obstacles, but such a place as Republic City must have so many opportunities that I would not fall short, right?
As the boat docked, I gathered my few belongings and joined the crowd of new comers. For a few moments of my own, I stood paralyzed by amazement. The people bustled along, dressed far different from myself, the buildings dared to touch the sky, and I felt incredibly small. Propelled forward by the passenger's behind me, I fell into step and began my search for a place to stay. A place where I could call my own. A place where I would finally be known as Ren, a farm girl no more.