Chapter One

Blood is Thicker

You may think you know a story. A story of this world. A story of me. A story of him. You may think that, yes. And you are right. But this? This is not that story. I am not that girl. Nor is he that boy. In that world, the prince was banished. In that world, the Avatar was awakened. In that world, the Fire Lord was defeated. This is not that world. In other words…AU.

I had not seen my father in two years. He had left to fight the Fire Nation with the other warriors of the Southern Water Tribe. I still believed that one day he would return to my brother, Sokka, and me.

I had not seen my mother in longer. But I knew she would never come back to us. Because she was dead. The Fire Nation had killed her.

The Fire Nation had taken both my parents away from me. But still, they were just a fading memory in my mind, proven only by the absence of my loved ones and an old navy ship on our village's coast.

They were not a part of my life, not truly. I was safe at my home. No one would ever come here again. Of that I was sure.

I kept on being sure until I saw the black soot falling with the white snow.

I didn't realize what was going on at first. It had been so long since that last raid that my mind couldn't find a reason for the unfamiliar sight. Or maybe I just could not accept it, so every part of me, even my memory, was rejecting it.

Only when I noticed the dark shape on the horizon did I remember.

I had been out collecting sea prunes, but I dropped my basket then and broke into a run. I had not gone far, so I reached the village quickly.

Gran Gran's tent was close. I went there first.

"Gran Gran!" I said as I pulled back the flap of tiger seal skin.

But it was empty. Without pause, I turned and headed for the great wall of ice and packed snow. That was where everyone would gather. That was where she would be. And Sokka.

I saw him first. He was standing on the wall, looking out towards the direction of the fog-hidden ship. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he would have painted it with the whites and grays of our tribe's warriors. His right hand gripped a club.

I kept running until I came to the other villagers.

"Gran Gran!" I shouted when I saw her. The old woman, my father's mother, turned. "Gran Gran, what's going on, why—?"

"Katara." She grasped my shoulder. "You must not show them your bending. They will kill you. You must not—"

I could feel the tears in my eyes. "What's happening?" I could not understand it. Why would they come now, after all this time?

"I don't know," she said. "But promise me; promise you will not let them see."

"But what if I could help Sokka, help beat them?"

"Katara, nothing can help us now. Promise. Promise me."

I looked at her for a long moment. "What are we going to do?" I asked.

"We are going to do what they tell us. We are going to obey. And we are going to survive. Promise me!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I promise."

Gran Gran nodded at me.

And then the ship appeared. It loomed over the wall. The first thing we saw was its bow, a wicked spike that stuck up straight from it. Sokka was right before it. The bow opened and the spike fell forward.

It split the wall.

The spike landed on the snowy ground, forming a bridge for the soldiers to invade our home. Sokka slid back on the broken pieces of the wall until he came to a stop at the very tip of the bow. I wanted to yell at him to get away from there. He couldn't do it. He couldn't take out all the Fire Nation troops by himself. But I knew he would never come, even if I called for him. He would try to protect us even if it cost him his life.

Fire Nation troops began to walk down the bridge. Sokka did not wait for them to come to him. He dashed forward, screaming a battle cry, raising his club.

Two soldiers. He got through two soldiers before they captured him. There were too many for him. I'd already known.

They kept walking, dragging my brother along with them, until they were right before us. There were around twenty in all. There were thirty of us, but we were mostly old women and young children, none of us trained, all of us weaponless.

The man in front looked at us all, taking his time, and a smirk curled its way onto his lips.

"Pathetic," he said. "This is the Southern Water Tribe?"

My spine shook with rage. No, this was not the Southern Water Tribe! This was what the Southern Water Tribe had become! Because of them. Most of us were out fighting him and his kind! But I held my tongue.

"Well," he said. "At least some of you might be worth something."

"We'll never bow to you!" Sokka yelled from behind him. The soldier holding him hit him around the head, and he fell to the ground.

"Sokka!" I ran forward.

"Katara, stop!" Gran Gran called from behind me. I ignored her.

But the smirking man grabbed my hand and held me fast, even as I struggled against him.

"Yes," he said, pulling me close to him and looking at my face. "Some of you might be worth something."

I spat in his eye.

I didn't even see the blow coming, but the force of his slap sent me reeling to the side. He kept his hold on my wrist and lifted me up.

"Or maybe I should just kill you now and be done with."

I met his eyes and glared back into them. But I said nothing.

He laughed.

"You might be wondering why we're here. I'll tell you now: your wait is over! The Hundred Year War is through with and won. You are now subjects of the Fire Nation and Phoenix King Ozai."

No one spoke. I couldn't move.

"At this very moment, our troops are spreading throughout the whole world, occupying even the impregnable Ba Sing Se! But, I'm sorry to say, none of us wants to live here, in this ghastly place, and help rebuild. Thankfully, there are only a few of you here. So the Phoenix King, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, has decided that we are to bring you back to the Fire Nation Capital with us. Well," he chuckled. "Those of you who will be useful, anyway. But don't worry. The life of a slave isn't so hard, I've heard. As long as you remain obedient.

"Men," he said to the soldiers behind him. "Kill the old and the babes. We need able bodies, not weaklings."

"No!" I screamed, but the troops were already marching forward. "No! What are you doing? Stop! Stop it!" I was struggling and kicking. The man gripped me around the waist in a tight hug, holding my arms down.

Some of us tried to run. None escaped.

They killed all those above sixty and under four.

Gran Gran didn't try to get away. She stood tall and proud as they approached her. I was still shrieking and crying and writhing, but I could not help her. They cut her down with their cursed fire. And I didn't save her.

Only after he let me watch them kill me friends did their leader drag me into their ship.

The journey to the Fire Nation Capital was long and hard. They gave us little food and no bedding and forced us to stay below decks, where the swaying of the sea made many of us lose what meals they did provide us with. We cleaned as best we could, but soon filth overran the place. But the worst of it was the knowledge of what lay before us and the memory of what came behind. Our families were dead. And we were to be slaves to their killers for the rest of our lives. We barely spoke the whole trip.

And, too soon, the time came. The soldiers marched us off the ship and into the horrible heat of the Fire Nation Capital.

We stood on the auction block, looking down at the fashionable faces of those who were to be our owners. They were all so white, so pale. I was next to Sokka. Our hands were bound, but our shoulders at least were touching. It was the only way to say goodbye left to us.

I watched as men bought my friends. Sokka went before me.

"And here is a fine young man of the Southern Water Tribe, skilled and strong and healthy! Can I start the bidding at fifty silver pieces?"

A man in the crowd raised his hand.

"Fifty! We've got a call for fifty; can I get sixty? Sixty gold pieces for this sturdy lad!"

This time a woman near the back waved at the auctioneer.

"Sixty! Sixty, can I get seventy? Seventy? Come now, my good citizens, look at this well-built boy!"

The first man raised his hand again.

"Seventy silver pieces. Anyone for eighty? Eighty pieces? Look at this man! The last warrior of the Southern Water Tribe! No? No? Going once. Going twice. Sold, to the man in the front."

I couldn't cry anymore. I'd spent all my tears on the way here. Sokka's eyes met mine as they led him away. We had the same eyes, he and I. A bright blue, like our mother's. Like our father's. Blue was common in the Water Nation. I saw not a hint of it as I looked out into the crowd.

Then he was gone. And it was my turn. The auctioneer motioned for me to come forward, and I obeyed. I'd had enough of defiance on the ship. They had whipped us all into submission. It was better to do what they wanted. Resistance would help no one.

They'd put me in a new dress, dyed with blacks and deep reds, and given my face a bit of paint to highlight my features. It frightened me, what they were trying to do. I thought of what kind of man might buy a young girl looking like this and shuddered.

"Look at this exotic beauty!" the auctioneer called, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Loveliest girl of the Southern Water Tribe! Take notice of her voluptuous red lips and big blue eyes!"

I stiffened. He was using my eyes as a bargaining chip. My heritage was just a selling point to them. But I said nothing.

"Let's start the bidding at one gold piece!"

A hand went up almost as soon as the words left his mouth.

"One, to the big man on the left. Can I get two?"

Another hand.

I clenched my fists and stared straight ahead as my price rose, until at last the auctioneer said, "Sold, to the man in the middle!"

Only then did I look. My new owner was a man neither old nor young, with long black hair caught up in a knot at the top of his head. His gray eyes were sunken deep and clouded, and uneven stubble coated his chin and cheeks.

The guards around me took my arms and led me to him. When we reached him, they unbound me. I tried not to look at the man, but I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

He paid the guards the agreed upon price of ten gold pieces and put a hand on my arm. I followed him away from the crowd. His hands were sweaty on my skin.

And then I found my tears again. They rolled down my face as I tried to keep myself from sobbing.

I had never wanted to hurt anyone in my life, not truly. I sometimes flicked my brother's forehead or hit his arm, but never before had I wanted to cause actual pain.

The Fire Nation had taken everything from me. My mother. My father. My grandmother. My brother. My friends. My home. Everything.

And I swore that I would hurt them for this.

I swore it to myself and to my family.

The Fire Nation would pay.