"Did you hear? The Avatar is here! He arrived in our tribe this morning with two of our kin from the South!" Yue's voice shattered the pleasant silence of their shared bedroom. Sora let the water she was bending drop to the floor and turned to her twin sister. They had different hair colors, Yue's white and Sora's dark brown, but other than that were identical. "They'll be with us during our birthday celebration!"
"I forgot that was today," Sora said dryly.
"How could you forget?" Yue asked, her bottom lip sticking out in a small pout.
Sora let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe I just wanted to forget," she corrected herself.
Yue stepped closer to her sister and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know you are upset about the engagements, but it is an honor to do this for our father."
Sora knew she was right. They were princesses of the Northern Water Tribe, and had the duty to marry men that their father had chosen – men that would make good leaders. "How much time until the celebration?" she asked wearily.
"We have time. Let me put your hair up for you," Yue offered, moving to the icy vanity to pick up her brush. Sora glanced at the mirror from where she was and sighed, maneuvering to the stool in front of it so Yue could do her hair in a traditional style, complete with various loops, braids, and beads.
"I wonder if they have such silly customs in the South," Sora commented. She sat with her ankles crossed, back street, and hands folded in her lap as she had been taught to do since childhood.
"You could ask the girl that came with the Avatar," Yue suggested. "Her name is Katara. She looks about our age."
Sora raised her eyebrows. "And she traveled with the Avatar?"
"Yes, her and her brother," Yue answered.
"Imagine what father would do if one of us left on an adventure," Sora mused. She carelessly flicked the water that she had dropped on the floor back to her fingertips. Most of it had frozen and become part of the building, but what hadn't she quickly warmed with her bending so she could comfortably fiddle with it.
"You shouldn't say such things," Yue scolded gently. "Father would be devastated."
"I wouldn't actually leave," Sora scowled, weaving the water around her arm like a bracelet. "But it's still amazing to think of two kids our age going on a trip across the world with the Avatar of all people."
Yue began to separate sections of hair to put into loops. "I'm just so happy that the Avatar is alive and well. He can stop the Fire Nation."
Sora rolled her eyes. "The Fire Nation has never been able to touch us. They're too pussy to handle being this far North."
"Sora!" Yue scolded her again.
"No one heard me, Yue. This is our bedroom," the waterbender pointed out. She brought the water to her fingertips and froze it into spikes that almost looked like claws.
"We'll be married soon," the white-haired woman responded softly. "Your husband will not be pleased if you talk like that in the bedroom that you'll share."
Sora smirked; the notion that her future husband would find her vulgar amused her. "Then I guess we'll just have to have separate bedrooms."
Yue's frown deepened. "I doubt he will allow that."
Sora grabbed Yue's hand to pause her handy-work. "You know that our husbands can't tell us what to do, right? If we're not comfortable kissing them, sleeping in the same room as them, or talking to them, we don't have to."
"We still need to make children," the more practical princess responded.
Sora snorted. "Then they better not be arseholes."
"Sora!"
"And, if your husband tries to make you do anything you don't want to, you tell your waterbending sister and she'll kick his sorry arse all the way to our sister tribe!" Sora finished the declaration by flinging the spikes into the wall, embedding them deeply.
Yue flinched and resumed her work on her twin's hair. "You're not supposed to use your waterbending to fight," she said quietly. They had this conversation before, many times over. Sora had discovered she was a waterbender when she was only a toddler. She always loved to use it to her advantage, whether it was in a snowball fight, or when she froze a boy for picking on her friend when they were children.
But, the Northern Water Tribe had customs, and she was punished for using her bending in such a way. She went to the healers' huts as a child and learned how to use her bending for "women's work." Fortunately, she befriended a boy named Ugalik, another waterbender. Ugalik learned from the masters with the other boys and then would practice with her in secret. She, of course, added her own flairs. The fingertip spikes was her favorite move.
"I know, I know, Yue. It would be shameful if someone found out that the princess liked fighting. I can't help it. I was born to waterbend. And healing barely uses any water," Sora grumbled. "No matter how many times you tell me not to, I'm still going to do it."
Yue sighed. "I know. I just worry about you." She finished Sora's hair loops and took a step back.
Sora grinned and stood to face her sister. "Don't worry about me. It's my job to worry about you."
Yue smiled sheepishly. "Shall we greet our guests?"
"We shall." They linked arms and walked together to the great hall.
The princesses waited just outside the great hall at a back entrance that opened to the head table, Yue with a genuine smile and Sora with a forced one. "My daughters," a familiar voice greeted them, filled with kindness and love.
"Father," Yue greeted him first, kissing his cheek before Sora stepped up to do the same.
"Happy birthday," the Water Tribe Chief said fondly. "I have something for each of you." He pulled two small boxes out of his sleeve. The twins each bowed respectfully before taking their individual gifts. "Open then," their father encouraged.
They smiled softly at each other before lifting the lids at the same time. Each had a bracelet made of a simple white gold band with a charm hanging off of it. The charm was a delicate stone with the moon and stars carved into it. "For Yue and Sora," their father said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "My moon and sky."
"Thank you, Father," Sora said quietly, sliding the bracelet onto her wrist.
"Yes, thank you," Yue added.
"Let's go feast," Arnook said affectionately, leading his daughters into the great hall.
"Greetings my kin!" he called out to the crowded room. Sora and Yue trailed behind him. "Today we celebrate the coming of the Avatar and our brother and sister from the Southern Water Tribe." The room applauded, some people shouted. The princesses calmly kept their arms tucked in their sleeves. Sora's fingers fiddled with her new bracelet. Arnook continued his speech. "Today is also the day that my daughters, Sora and Yue, are of marrying age." He swept his arm to the side to present them.
The two girls stepped forward in unison. Yue smiled at her kin before she spoke. "Thank you, Father. Together, let us celebrate the return of the Avatar and the return of hope!"
The great hall erupted in more applause. The noble family found their seats signaling the feast to begin. Various cooks came out and placed steaming food on the tables. Sora and Yue were seated next to their guests from the south and politely waited until their guests helped themselves.
"Sooooo," the Avatar began. "Does any of this not have meat?" he asked raising his eyebrows and looking around the table. The man from the Southern Tribe ignored him and reached across him for the bowl of steamed pork dumplings.
"The noodles," Sora answered. "Some of them are meat free. You're a vegetarian?" The Avatar was wearing the clothes of Air Nomads and had an airbender's tattoos.
"Yeah, the monks are all vegetarians," he answered, taking the bowl of noodles he saw and filling his plate.
"So," the southern man said. "You're the princesses. You know, I'm kind of a prince myself where I come from."
The southern woman snorted. "Prince of what?" she teased. Sora ducked her head to hide an amused smirk.
"Of things!" the southern man retorted.
Yue laughed softly at his reaction. "A prince, huh? Prince…?" she trailed off looking for his name.
"Sokka," he answered, leaning an elbow on the table and flashing a suave smile.
"It's nice to meet you Sokka," Yue answered, bending her torso into a weird form of a sitting bow. "I'm Yue and this is my sister, Sora."
"I'm Aang," the Avatar waved over Sokka shoulder.
"I'm Katara," the southern woman said. "It's nice to meet you."
Sora glanced over both of the Southern Tribe folk. "Are you… siblings?" she asked nosily as she ladled some fish stew into her bowl.
"Unfortunately," Katara answered her as she warily glanced at Sokka shove giant bites of food into his mouth.
He glared at her and said something incoherent with his mouth full. Yue softly giggled again, but Sora was interested in the Katara.
"Forgive my bluntness, but are you a waterbender?" she asked, her eyes focused on the younger girl.
Katara's eyes brightened and a smiled flashed across her face. "I am!" she said, clearly proud of the fact.
Sora leaned forward so she could see her better. "What did you learn there? Did you…" she stopped short when she saw Katara's face instantly fall.
"That's why we came here," she answered. "There are no masters in the south. I am the last waterbender left of the Southern Water Tribe. Aang and I are both going to master waterbending."
Sora blinked slowly. What could she say? That Katara might as well back her bags now. Should she offer to teach her in secret as Ugalik had done with her?
"And now a demonstration from master Pakku's disciples," Arnook disrupted Sora's thoughts. Everyone grew silent as young boys began to create great waves and controlled, floating streams of water, twisting them around each other like some sort of dance. Sora fought the urge to stand up and show off her own skills; she could bend just as well if not better than these boys!
The demonstration continued for quite some time. Everyone but Sora watched with delight while the young waterbender forced a fake smile on her face, jealousy burning deep inside her. It was completed near the end of the meal. Most of the people had pushed their plates away and a few took the opportunity to move around and mingle with each other.
Sora stood up and nodded to her sister and their guests. "I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day. I will see you all again soon."
Aang and Katara waved to her. Sokka seemed focused on her sister even as she stood up to give Sora a goodnight hug. "I'll be back soon," she promised.
Sora nodded and turned on her heel to leave out the back door hearing Sokka's voice behind her say, "So I'll be in town for awhile. Would you like to maybe do… an… activity together?"
She rolled her eyes to herself and glanced back at her grinning sister, trying to somehow magically remind her that she shouldn't be getting Sokka's hopes up because there was no way that Father would let him be her husband. The palace's halls were quiet, but she liked when they were like this. She went to the parties out of accord and custom and put on pretty smiles and gave gracious greetings, but that was Yue's thing. Still, her sister was her best friend. She had a few other tribesmen that she enjoyed that were her age, mostly Ugalik and her other friend Amaruq, but both of them were new recruits and required to serve guard duty for their army during festivals. She couldn't exactly ask her father to make sure they attended her birthday celebration now that she was to be married.
Sora pondered over the engagements for a moment. Her father no doubt already had some considerations in mind. She wondered if she could somehow hint Ugalik to him. He was a waterbender and a dedicated warrior. Even Amaruq was smart and undeniably handsome.
What she really wanted was to the delay any sort of marriage until she decided on a husband for herself. She knew that it was unlikely that she would fall in love with a great warrior, but the tribe could at least give her a chance! After all, it wasn't like your womb would dry up if you weren't married and pregnant by the time seventeen rolled around.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Sora entered her bedroom and collapsed on the layer of pelts that served as her bed. She groaned as a decorative shell dug into her scalp and sat up to yank her hair out of the elaborate style Yue had worked so hard to create, tossing the shells and ties on the vanity with malice. She glanced at the moon before crawling into her bed and falling into a restless sleep.
Sora found herself awake long before her sister. Yue was snoring softly on her pelts, curled into a ball. The sun had not fully risen in the sky yet, but that meant very little this far north. In the summer, the sun barely set. In fact, it didn't for three whole days. In the winter it was the opposite. Now, in early spring, the sun was just beginning to return to them and would be up for a few hours in the midday.
Sora stood up and prepared herself for the day, including a parka that was white compared to the usual purple. She glanced at her sleeping sister before slowly sliding out of their bedroom. Yue had returned late last night. Sora had heard the princess open their round, wooden door and collapse on her pelts despite how quiet she had tried to be. Sora had a suspicion her twin had spent much of the time talking to Sokka.
The waterbender had become very good at making sure no one followed her as she walked through the palace, including the servants. The last thing she wanted was an escort to boat her around the city. Slipping out of the palace, Sora pulled the hood of her parka up and tied it so the wind couldn't blow it back down. The ice paths and buildings had not changed since long before she was born, maintained by the benders of their tribe. Occasionally, someone might add another layer to their home if two families were joined in marriage or if someone had a child, but they were never torn down and started from scratch. Same with the water way streets, the bay where the fishers went, and the people – all flowing steady together in a familiar ocean that Sora called home. She could maneuver through the streets with stealth and grace, her feet remembering every slick spot and stone.
She went to the place she went almost every morning: a hidden perch looking down on Master Pakku's students. The color of her parka helped keep her hidden. She bended the snow so it hid her from view but left her eyes exposed to watch. She couldn't learn as much this way as she did with her sessions with Ugalik, but she was going to take every opportunity she could to learn, even if it was against the law.
Aang and Katara approached the group quickly, not wanting to miss Pakku's deadline of 6:30am. Sora bit her lip subconsciously as a pit grew in her stomach. She had gotten distracted last night and never told Katara about the rules of the north.
"There has seemed to be a misunderstanding," Pakku began. "You didn't tell me that your friend was a girl." Sora gritted her teeth together.
"Is… that a problem?" Aang asked, clearly confused.
"In the Northern Water Tribe, women are not allowed to fight. They learn how to heal from Yugoda," Pakku explained with a scowl.
"That's not fair!" Katara shouted, stepping forward stubbornly. "I want to fight!"
"I can see that," Pakku huffed. "But our tribe has rules, customs."
Aang stood next to his friend defensively. "If you won't teach Katara, then I won't learn from you!"
"Ooooh," Pakku began sarcastically, "well then have fun teaching yourself waterbending."
Katara's expression changed. "No! Aang didn't mean that." She then turned and said some things to the Avatar that were too soft for Sora to hear from her perch before leaving with her shoulders slumped.
Sora couldn't focus on the rest of the lesson. Eventually, she found that she wasn't even sitting in a position where she could see them, but was instead facing the opposite way with her knees to her chest in deep thought. She was angry, furious even. The Fire Nation, the most ruthless country in the world, had no stupid sexist regulations. And yet here she was, in the untouchable land of the north, unable to do anything except weave, sew, and pop out babies.
Sora wanted to groan… or chuck a snowball at Pakku's head. But she couldn't because she was a princess.
She needed to take a walk to let off steam, letting her hood drop down. The rest of the city began waking up and people were riding the water streets on their canoes. You children were playing in the snow while the older ones walked to the schoolhouse to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and the history of the tribe. She passed some men who were getting their sleighs ready to go on a hunting trip inland. Another group of women were chatting to each other as they sewed shell beads onto some blue cloth, discussing the best way to remove fish blood out of clothes. The people recognized her and dipped their heads respectfully as she approached and she did the same back. A few greeted her vocally, but most were used to their princess walking through the streets.
Sora walked by the hut that Yugoda taught healing. "Now, burns are harder to heal than minor cuts, but still fairly simple." The princess paused and peeked in. Katara was there, sticking out like a sore thumb due to her age. Most of the girls learned healing at the age of six or seven, a year before they went to the schoolhouse.
Sora lifted the leather flap that served as a door and tried to enter quietly, all eyes turned to her however. She folded her hands together and bowed. "May I join you Mast Yugoda?"
"Of course Princess!" Yugoda said eagerly. "It's been quite awhile since you've mastered the techniques, but you are always welcome here."
Sora smiled and sat next to Katara on the pelt, focusing on Yugoda's words. It was a repeat of things that she had already learned, yes, but she needed the peace of the healing class.
The class continued for a few hours, the young girls all practicing their bending on the manikin. Sora sat back and watched with her face calm and her back straight. The rage was slowly leaving her, the princess mask she wore becoming easier to maintain. When the lesson came to a close, everyone stood and bowed to each other. The little girls shuffled out of the door, some calling a "Goodbye Master" or "Goodbye Princess" over their shoulders.
"Thank you for the lesson," Katara said to Yugoda when they were the last ones left in the village.
"You're very welcome," the old master said. "And congratulations!"
"Huh?" Katara asked, confused as to what she was being congratulated for.
"Your betrothal necklace," Yugoda explained. Sora's eyes shot to the other waterbender's neck and sure enough a dark purple cloth band with a carved stone hung from it.
Katara's, fingers came up to lightly brush over it. "Oh, no, I think I'm a little young for that. This was my grandmother's. She gave it to my mother and then my mother passed it to me."
"It must be very special to you," Sora said, fiddling with the bracelet her father had given her around her wrist.
Yugoda squinted. "I recognize that carving," she said, stepping close to Katara. "Yes! I don't know what I didn't see it earlier. You're a spitting image of Kanna!"
Katara recoiled, her expression twisting to one of shock. "How do you know my grandmother's name?" she demanded.
"Your grandmother was from the Northern Tribe," Yugoda explained. "She was a very dear friend of mine."
Sora glanced from Yugoda to Katara. She wasn't sure she should be here for this personal story, but she wanted a chance to speak with Katara privately.
"My grandmother was from the north?" the young woman sounded beyond confused.
"Yes! She was arranged to be married to a young man. He carved that necklace for her, but right after the engagement was announced, she left. I never got to say goodbye or ask her why."
Katara blinked her wide, blue eyes. Sora stood there, stunned to say the least.
"If she was engaged, then why would she leave?" Katara asked, bewildered.
"I never knew" Yugoda said quietly. "She was a wonderful woman. I'm glad she found happiness in the South." The older woman bowed and left the room, leaving Katara in a state of shock and Sora awkward.
"The South must be wonderful," the princess offered.
Katara whirled around to look at her. "What?" she sounded as if she had forgotten that Sora was still there. "Oh, well, I guess. I just, there are no water benders left. All I've ever wanted to do was learn how to fight. I didn't know the north had these rules… I mean no offense, Princess."
Sora held up a graceful hand. "It's fine. Our customs are awful. Pakku is a horrible man. I… I was shot down by him as well."
Katara raised her eyebrows. "You're a waterbender?" she asked.
"Yes. I was blessed with the ability, but I lived in a place that does not want me to harness it," the princess took a few steps forward so she could whisper to Katara. "But I didn't let that stop me. I learned, in secret, from a close friend. And I can teach you. I can even show the Avatar some of my own personal moves."
Katara's eyes lit up at the prospect. "When?" she whispered back, "Where?"
"Tonight. Meet me outside the weapon room at half after midnight."
"Princess Sora?" Aang's young voice called through the empty hallway causing her head to snap in his direction. She brought her finger to her lips to silence him and waved her hand forward to show them the way. She peered cautiously around each corner, grateful that her companions walked with light steps.
Sora opened a side door out of the palace and shuffled them out, her eyes warily darting around to ensure their secrecy. "This way," she said. "It's a bit of a walk, but it'll keep anyone from finding us."
"Are you taking us to where you practice?" Katara whispered back.
Sora nodded once before breaking into a jog, Katara and Aang at her heals. Her place of practice was a hollowed out valley near the shore of the tribe. It used to be used as a place for fishermen to dock their boats, but a storm had maneuvered the landscape and left many high rocks to render it unusable. Sora slid down the hill to the bottom of it, Katara doing the same and Aang using his airbending the jump down gracefully.
"Now," the Rebel Princess began. "What can you guys do so far?"
"I can do the water whip!" Katara stated proudly. She got into position and pulled some of the water out the ocean to show the most advanced technique she new. Sora kept her hands folded in her sleeves as she watched the younger girl shift her weight through the stance.
She nodded in approval. "That was really good."
Aang scrunched up his face as he thought about the best way to show his waterbending skills. His eyes lit up as he seemingly made his decision and spun around quickly, gathering a mass of snow around him to create a snow man.
Sora raised her eyebrows. "Right… well, let me begin by saying that humans are over sixty percent water. Our blood, muscles, and tissue are all filled with water. It flows through us. If we can learn how our own body flows, which is personal, no two people flow the same way, then we can use that to become a stronger bender."
The princess paused and brought some water to her hand, letting it snake around her arm and then her chest and belly and finally her legs individually. "The water is flowing with my heart… with my blood. It flows at my pace, giving me better control of it. Even when it's frozen," she swiped her arms in front of her to collect the water and bring it to her fingertips in frozen spikes, "it is still flowing."
She threw her spikes towards a long forgotten fishing crate in the hallow. "I invented that one," the princess murmured. "I call it ice stilettos, and they're pretty easy to get the hang of. The hardest part is redirecting them after you've thrown them."
Katara and Aang were both looking at her with wide eager eyes. "Why don't you guys go ahead and try?" she suggested.
Her students grinned at each other before pulling some water out the ocean. They were slower than her as they brought the water to their fingers and froze the element, but neither of them were poor. They had a natural talent for waterbending. "Instead of throwing them, try to unfreeze them and find your flow. Once you've found it, re-freeze them. Try it a few times until your flow becomes second nature to you," Sora instructed, folding her hands back into her sleeves.
The two students followed Sora's guidance, following the same movements that she had done earlier, their teacher smiling proudly. She loved doing this, sharing her love and knowledge of her art.
Without warning, the flowing water that surrounded Katara and Aang flew into the air. Sora whipped her hands out of her sleeves and turned around sharply. Her fingers reflexively gathered the nearest water and snow she could find into her ice stilettos and took a stance to fire them at whoever had manipulated Katara's and Aang's lesson.
There couldn't have been worse people at the top of the hill. Pakku and a few of his students were there, Ugalik included. He was wearing a deep frown and his eyes were full of shame.