I have been working on this story for nearly two years now. I feel it is finally time I have some feedback and try to see if anyone takes interest to the story. It follows my own original character and her interactions with characters from the Avatar-verse. Please leave your much appreciated comments! I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer! I only own my original characters in the story. I do not own any of the characters from the show! Please don't sue me...

Chapter One:
Free Spirit

The forest set ablaze. Trees falling on the thundering ground. Houses filled with families, burning and being crushed by massive trees. Screaming. Screams of children, screams of adults. Screams of families being torn apart, being slaughtered like animals. The burning bodies fell to the ground, limp and no longer fighting to put out the flames engulfing them. They were at peace; they were the lucky ones. Oh how I envied them. Why couldn't I have died with my family, gone onto the next life. Maybe I would be lucky enough to be born into a peasant family in the Fire Nation. I wouldn't have sleepless nights, merely waiting for death to come to my village. We would be protected. I could sleep peacefully. Oh peaceful sleep…not filled with nightmarish horrors. I welcome you, sweet, blissful death…..

"Get up the lot of ya! Get up I said!" a soldier violently beat on the cell's bars with his "correction" stick; at least, that's he liked to call it. He sure did favor his toy. He often enjoyed reminding us who was in charge. Of course, how could we forget? The cells were small, slightly big enough to sleep five comfortably. Would have been more enjoyable had we not been packed in, twenty to a cell. I learned to sleep sitting upright, as did most of the older girls in my cell, allowing the younger ones to lie down, hoping they may grasp a sliver or restful sleep. Sadly, none of us ever got any decent sleep. We lived on a slave ship, and all of us were slaves, waiting to be sold to others in the fire nation. Maybe we would work on a navy ship or for a merchant in the Fire Nation. Either way, our fate was already decided. Slave trade was common amongst the fire nation, especially with children who were captured from destroyed villages. They were easier to control than adults; weaker than them. The fact that they only fed us enough to stay alive kept us weak. Of course, you would just think you could refuse to eat; to die of starvation. I tried, but the soldiers are watching. They don't want any of their precious cargo wasting away. I tried to starve myself soon after I came onto this ship. Intentionally or unintentionally, I don't recall. I just remember after a few days they began to force down my rations until I did it myself. Oh how I want to die, to be with my family and my village. Only a few children and teenagers were spared from the flames and the brutal murder. But we were not lucky, we were having to face a fate worse than death; having to serve these men. They made me sick. I feel ill just thinking about what these men do every day. How do they sleep and eat knowing they are killing innocent children, tearing apart families, destroying lives? I suppose it's natural to them. The Fire Nation has been bloodthirsty and hungering for power for as long as anyone can recall.

The guards threw in a couple loaves of stale bread. They hit the metal floor with a CLANG; they sounded extra stale today. I was hoping to be lucky enough for some two day old bread, but I suppose this will do. The guard slid in a pitcher of water and walked on to the next cell to distribute rations to the others. I picked up the loaves and began to tear them apart, distributing them as evenly as possible, sparing the young ones with a little extra. It wasn't much, but it would suffice, not having to do much work around here today. They didn't like to wear us down too much on days when potential buyers would come on board. The past six months or so I have been on board, I have still managed to not be sold of like a piece of meat. I try to make myself seem uncontrollable, somewhat of a free spirit. No one's dared to try and take me on as one of their servants. I'm a little of what they call, "a free spirit".

The cell door slid open; a guard told us to go up to the deck and to stand in line. We marched up the steps and formed a line on the deck. There was a large navy ship anchored right next to ours. Probably just coming to buy a few new girl servants and young men to shovel coal. I suppose it couldn't be that bad working on one of those ships. Probably get a decent amount of food in exchange for cooking, cleaning, polishing armor, washing clothes, and an array of other duties. I suppose it could be worse, but nothing could ever be as good as sweet, sweet freedom. At least getting out of the musty cell and receiving a few precious moments of fresh air was pleasurable.

"You have quite a selection here Mr. Lao. Some strong men, fine for strenuous manual labor." The strange, bearded man said, grasping one of the boy's arms who stood in line in front of us. The poor boy flinched, probably expecting something a little meaner than a grasp to feel his strength. The man walked up and down the line which the boys stood in, pulling three of the strongest young men out of the line and instructed his soldiers to lead them back to his ship. Lao sent the young men back to their cell, which left only us. Wonder who would be taken away next...

"What lovely young ladies you have here. How old is this one here?" the strange man put his hand on one of the girls in line. She looked about my age and she didn't say much. Not many of us did though, so who knows if she had always been that way. She may have been one of the most outgoing girls back home. She was pretty, and she probably would have looked even better if we had been given a decent place to bathe. Her curly, black locks fell slightly beneath her shoulders and her green eyes reminded me of beautiful jade They looked so pure, so full of life, despite our current stature.

"She's 13, sir. Quiet, she is, but a hard worker." Lao pulled the girl from the line. Her face showed no emotion, almost like she didn't care.

"Fine girl, please escort her to the ship." The man motioned the girl over to one of the soldiers standing on deck, who was quick to obey orders.

"And how about you, how old are you little one?" The man seemed to be acting kind towards the young girl he was talking to, kneeling down to talk to her. The young girl he was talking to was named Aurora, the girl who was brought onto the ship about three weeks ago with her older sister. Her older sister was sold to a merchant soon after they were brought onto the ship. Aurora was stricken with sorrow and she cried herself to sleep each night for the next two weeks. She had stopped recently though, no more tears left to spill over something that is out of control. It saddens me that she will most likely never see her sister again, but then again, none of us will most likely see our families again.

"I-i-i-'m e-e-egh-t, sir." She was trembling and he voice was shaking, she looked as though she was about to cry, her bright blue eyes were glassy.

"How charming, take her back as well." He patted her blonde head and she walked over to the soldier. I don't understand why he would want a girl so young… I suppose her small fingers would come in handy for polishing the soldiers' armor, but for her to be that young and sold off as a slave is just awful. The man walked up the line, becoming closer and closer to the place I stood. I had a bad feeling about this man. He didn't seem to be as nice as he was pretending to be. I silently prayed in my head, hoping he would not approach me.

"My, my, aren't you a pretty thing?" Damn. He was standing right in front of me. I kept my head down, not wanting to look him directly in the eye. I felt his fingers touching my dark brown hair. I moved my head away; his touch made me sick.

"And how old is she?" Mr. Lao looked at him cautiously.

"She is 13 as well, Captain. But I must warn you, she can be a little… difficult." The man slid his fingers under my chin, bringing my head upward so he could get a good look at me. My dark brown eyes were filled with hatred as I looked at him. I showed no fear, only fight. I doubt he could even read it.

"Oh but she is darling. Just look at her face." He ran his hand over my left cheek. I was done behaving myself. Before he could say anything to his soldier, I spat directly into his face. I could tell immediately after I did that, he was done playing nice too. He backhanded me with such great force I was thrown onto the ground. My mind was a bit blurry, but I remember hearing a few gasps from the other girls, and I believe one small scream. I then remember being dragged to my feet by a guard. Then, much to my disbelief, they began taking me towards the other ship.

"I'll take her, too. It's nothing I can't handle. I like a challenge. Here is you money Mr. Lao. Could you tell me what that girl's name is?" The man tossed Lao a bag of gold pieces. Mr. Lao looked in the bag, and then at the man.

"Her name is Mai. Good luck with her, Captain Zhao. And thank you for your business." I saw the girls head back down to their cell as I was taken across to the new boat I was supposed to call home. It felt much more like a prison to me, but I suppose I had better get used to it. I began to regret the move I had made, but it was slightly too late to take it back. I suppose I should start behaving myself, but where is the fun in that?

I was taken below deck and down to one of the rooms down there. It was a step up from the cell we were sharing with all those girls. Three beds were placed against the walls of the room, along with a wardrobe, which I suppose was filled with fire nation servant clothes. I was thankfully to not have to continue wearing these filthy rags we were provided. There was a door that led into a tiny bathroom, with a bathtub. Oh how I could not wait to clean myself up in a real tub instead of using old water to wash up in the cell. Aurora and the other girl were already in there. I suppose they were still trying to adjust. Perhaps this wasn't going to be as horrible as I presumed.

"The captain is expecting you to report to the kitchen in one hour to cook dinner for the ship. There will be a cook there to supervise you and assist, also to make sure you don't do anything stupid. It is deck level, first door on your right. Do not be late." The soldier turned and left the room, closing the door behind them. I walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, examining the new clothes that were hanging up. I pulled out a decent outfit, dark red and black. It looked pretty nice for being a servant outfit. I suppose they want us to look nice too, since we are the only three girls on this ship. The men on here must be pretty tired of only seeing other men.

Aurora laid curled up on the bed, she was sniffling and she looked so scared; so weak. I looked away, trying to focus more on finding something to wear. Pulling one of the outfits that looked about my size from the closet, I walked into the bathroom, eagerly awaiting that bath. Oh how great it would feel to be clean. I turned faucet and the hot water began pouring into the tub. I slipped into the water, the burning hotness felt wonderful on my skin. After taking a cleansing bath, I stepped out of the tub, wringing my hair out. The water was murky, but I felt somewhat refreshed, almost like I had just washed my worries down the drain….

Almost.

I braid my hair back, nice and tight to keep it from falling in my face. Then, after putting on my new clothes, I left the bathroom and headed out to the kitchen. Wouldn't hurt to go and get an early start. Maybe I could get a few good bites of food myself. Oh how I longed for some fresh fruit, fresh bread, fresh meat… My stomach growled in a lowly sense. Our food supply is far from what one would call "sufficient" but it's not like we could just wander off in search of our own food. One boy was caught stealing from the kitchen on the slave ship. We never saw him again. I suppose it was to make an example, and it worked.

I pushed open the metal door which lead into what I believed was the kitchen. I was thankful to be right. A man stood at the counter, cutting something that looked like a form of pepper, although not one I was familiar with. He looked up, his amber eyes looked old and tired. His brown hair was pulled back into the traditional topknot, his hair dusted with gray. He wore armor of the fire nation, must be one of the soldiers put on kitchen duty, and I was in charge of helping him serve the crew and other soldiers. This man looked somewhat kind, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Ah, so your one of the new servants the Captain has purchased. It will be nice having someone to help me with all this cooking." He smiled, and it looked sincere. I was somewhat amazed in this man's politeness, so to return his politeness, I gave a small bow.

"What are we making this evening?" I walked towards the man, examining the strange looking peppers that were sliced on the cutting block.

"The captain's favorite; fire pepper chili. Grab a knife and help me cut these peppers."

After a few hours in the kitchen, seasoning and cooking the chili to perfection, it was dinnertime. The crew awaited in the dining hall while the nice man, who later introduced himself as Jeong, and I served the dinner to the hungry men. I had also made a couple loaves of bread to go along with the steaming hot chili. And, to my amazement, I was allowed to take what was leftover back to our room to share with Aurora and the other girl.

"You go ahead back to your room and get some rest. I know it's been a long day for you. I'll clean up what is left in the kitchen." I thanked him over and over as I took that rest of the chili and a loaf of fresh bread back down to our room. As soon as I opened the door, I saw their eyes light up as they saw the pot I was carrying, along with the bread. They both looked exhausted as we sat down to eat what seemed like almost a delicacy to us. We hadn't had anything but bread for such a long time. It felt amazing to actually be full. They told me about the chores in which they were both doing today. The girl who was around my age, who I found out was named Rose, was in charge of cleaning the ship, and Aurora was on laundry duty. Poor thing's fingers were still wrinkled from scrubbing clothes for so long. But I could tell she was extremely grateful for the food.

That night, for the first time in a long time, we went to bed with food in our stomachs. We actually had beds to sleep in. They weren't the most comfortable, but it sure did beat sleeping on the cold, metal floors. We all climbed into our beds soon after eating, as we were all exhausted. As I laid in my bed, in the dark, metal room. I could hear soft crying, coming from Aurora. I felt bad for her, imagining how terrible it would be to be this young and being torn away from your family. She reminded me a lot of the little girl I looked after a lot in my own village. A man named Jeru who lived near us woke one night to find an orphaned baby which lay in a woven basket in front of his house. Jeru was only 18 and lived alone, and to much of the village's surprise, he kept the little girl and raised her like his own daughter. I often helped watch her, because I had always wanted a little sister, but only had two older brothers, both who were serving in the war. When Lela, Jeru's daughter, was five, Jeru had been recruited to go fight in the war, like my two brothers and many other young men in the village. My family took Lela in and promised to watch out for her. Lela was killed when she was seven years old, along with most of my village. A soldier figured her too young to be able to be put into the slave trade, and slit her throat, right in front of me. I still remember her scream. I'm sorry, Lela. I tried so hard to save you.

I tried…

I then took it upon myself to watch out for Aurora. I refused to let something bad like that happen to her too. She's so young, I need to watch out for her. I called for her to come over, asked if she would like to sleep in my bed, if that would make her feel safer. She nodded, whipping away her tears as she climbed in with me, cuddling up against my chest. She had stopped crying, and I could tell she was soon asleep. I whispered quietly.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you…I promise."

If you would like to read another chapter of this story, please let me hear about it in the comments section!