Disclaimer: I do not own any recognisable property of Avatar: The Last Airbender, including the characters, dialogues, and places. It is the intellectual property of Viacom, Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko. I only own my original characters and the storyline.

THORNS AND ROSES

An Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfiction

Full summary: Alya is the Avatar, who'd been lost in a storm a hundred years ago. Now she is back, and she has a great responsibility thrust upon her. Alya is the only hope for the world—she has to save the world from the clutches of the fire nation and restore the balance between the nations. However, she is untrained and unexperienced—completely unprepared to face the fire lord. Will Alya be able to master being the Avatar and save the world in time? [Zuko/OC - Fem!Avatar]

Prologue

"You are the Avatar, Alya. You must master the four elements and eventually, put an end to this war. You have a great responsibility on your shoulders and you must face your destiny." The Chief Monk's words rang in Alya's ears, poisoning her mind with fear and panic.

I'm the Avatar?! No… no! How can it be possible? And if it is true, why did they keep the information from me for all these years? For Spirit's sake, I'm only a kid! How am I supposed to stop a war?!

She leaned down, her neatly pinned hair falling into her face. She held her head in her hands, trying desperately to make sense of what had occurred in the past few hours as her thoughts ran helter-skelter.

And then there was the story they told me about my parents… She could remember the monks' condemning words about them. There was so much hatred as the Chief Monk informed Alya about her parents that her heart had shattered right there, in the middle of the assembly hall. She didn't know what to believe anymore. Her whole life felt like a lie.

A tear slipped down her cheek. It was too much, all of this. The storm raging outside was nothing compared to the one swirling in her mind.

You must face your destiny.

It's a destiny I never asked for.

So I will not face it. Not yet.

She listened to the voices whispering in her head for a little while longer. The monks had told her that she would be headed to the Eastern Air Temple the next day. She wouldn't return to the Southern Air Temple, to Aang and Gyatso until her training as the new Avatar was done. She'd agreed to it—because she had no other choice. And yet… how could she live with herself, away from her only family and with the ghosts of her pasts plaguing her mind?

The answer was simple. She couldn't. Not right now.

Suddenly, she knew what she had to do.

She wiped her tears, grabbed her staff and paced around her room, packing a few things she thought she might need on her journey (her escapade, a small part of her mind whispered) in a rucksack before she stopped at the dresser, her eyes on a finely made jade bracelet illuminated by the frequent bursts of lightning. That was the only frivolity that the monks had allowed her.

They'd told her that it belonged to her mother.

The monks had told Alya that her mother was a brave, good woman when they had given her the bracelet as a child. But they'd lied, hadn't they? Because what they said today was a completely different story.

Thunder boomed outside her window, lightning cracking the sky into fragments. The sudden light illuminated the green of the jade as Alya stared at it with pained eyes. Her hand quivered over it before Alya sighed, picked the trinket up and fastened it around her right hand.

She would find out the truth about her family.

She had to.

But she couldn't do that with the responsibility of the Avatar hanging over her head.

She would come back to fulfill her duty as the Avatar… but not now. Not now. Not until she found out what happened that made her family become traitors to their culture and be catalysts for starting the new war. What made her father and mother loyal to the Fire Lord after abandoning their children to the monks.

Alya let out a deep calming breath before getting up and making her way towards the door. A scroll of parchment was clutched in her hand, a hurriedly written note for Monk Gyatso—he would understand her motives, hopefully. She had written that she would come back in a year and do as the Monks wished. She'd also requested Gyatso to watch over Aang, her little brother. She knew he was deeply affected by the revelations about their family, but she couldn't bring him along on her mission and endanger his life.

"Going somewhere, Alya?" A familiar, boyish voice asked as she made her way down the hallway with silent steps, and Alya flinched. Speak of the devil…

"Aang. Yes, I'm leaving for the South Pole. The Chief told us that was our father's birthplace. Perhaps I can get some answers there." Her little brother was someone she loved more than anyone else in the world, the only family she'd ever had besides Gyatso. She wanted him to accompany her on her mission, but a more protective instinct within her stopped her from asking him to do so.

"So… you're leaving?" Alya nodded and Aang's face fell. "But Alya… what about the-the whole Avatar thing? Won't the monks be mad that you left, especially after all those things they told us today? You were supposed to leave for the Eastern Air Temple tomorrow!"

"Shh, don't speak so loudly," she warned her brother. It was the dead of night and everyone was asleep, but she wouldn't risk waking anyone up. "Yes, Aang, I know that being the Avatar is a big deal and I probably shouldn't be doing this. But, I have to get answers, brother. I need to. About our-our parents." Alya refrained from mentioning the war, mindful of the fact that the monks had chosen not to inform the younger ones about it. All she had told Aang was that their parents had a complicated history and had committed some serious crimes after leaving their children for the monks to raise. She put a hand on Aang's shoulder, smiling affectionately at him. "I'll be back, I promise. I'll be away for a year, at most. If I don't return… well… there'll be a new Avatar soon enough, anyway." Aang's eyes widened in alarm at her statement. Alya pressed a kiss to Aang's forehead. "I love you, Aang."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up. Are you leaving me behind? Nope, nope, not happening. I'm coming with you." Aang crossed his arms indignantly, staring defiantly into the azure blue eyes of his sister. "Just give me a minute to grab my things and I'll be here."

"Aang, no, it'll be too dangerous." Alya protested, grabbing the boy by his elbow to stop him from going back into his room. "Don't be so reckless. I told you I'll be back, there's no need to put your life in danger."

"No, Alya. They were my parents, too. I want answers, too. I want to know why they left us. I'm an Airbender, so I can defend myself. You can't protect me forever, Alya. I'm coming. And that's final."

Alya blinked. She'd never seen her brother so… determined and stubborn. She kept quiet for a moment, contemplating the situation before nodding her head in acquiescence. It would be better to bring Aang, anyway. He'd be a great support, both emotionally and in the terms of defense. He'd mastered Airbending at the age of twelve, after all.

"Fine, grab your things, make it quick. I'll be waiting with Appa near your window. And don't make noises. If Giru finds out, he'll rat us out in seconds."

Aang nodded and scurried into his room as Alya set off towards the sky bison stables, thinking furiously.

She only hoped that she'd made the right decision.

12.08.18

Hi! Some of you might've seen this on another account here on FFN, but I had to deactivate it due to some personal reasons. I'll upload the story in its entirety here on this account now. Please tell me what you think of it! Don't forget to check my profile for my schedule for updates!

~ noelle