Chapter One:

Rana's Beginning

"The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story." -Ursula K. LeGuin

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

This world is large with countless lives living their days on it. What is one story amongst so many? Perhaps not much. There are many who are much stronger, beautiful, and all together worthier than I. My mother used to tell me stories about such great people within epic tales, such as the Avatar or our own Fire Lord. Naturally my own story cannot hope to compare, but it is still my story to tell. It began sixteen years after the second passing of Sozin's Comet, officially the sixteenth year into Fire Lord Zuko's reign…

My home is located on one of the smaller, insignificant islands in the Fire Nation. It is one of those with a few villages, a splendid countryside, and several different summer estates belonging to varied noble families. It is an island with rolling green hills and rocky cliffs on most of the island with a few alcoves. There are small patches of forests nestled in the hills with several different rivers of no particular importance. My home is one that has belonged to my family for generations. It is the original home of our ancestor long ago who had it constructed when he was granted the title of nobility. That is beyond memory.

It was always the home to the family until my own great-great grandfather was granted another countryside manor by Fire Lord Sozin himself. When my great-great grandfather passed on, his eldest surviving son, my grandfather, inherited this worthy estate. It was the younger son who inherited the new estate. So it has continued to this day with my mother having inherited our home as the only survivor out of three siblings. It is her cousin and his children who dwell on the other entitled land that belongs to our family.

My family is not of an important noble lineage with great power. We are of the simpler kind whom passes our days quietly in the background of the Fire Nation politics. We do not even own a home in the Capital! Most nobles do of course, the only other two families that have estates here only come in the summer, if at all. If only my father had done things of more note in his military career, that is, before the war ended. Fire Lord Zuko ended the war officially coincidently right around the same time as my brother and I were born. My father was not the kind for politics, not even locally, so we have thrived in our family estate quietly for all these years. Father is a younger son from some noble family only recently granted the title within the last several generations. I have always theorized that there must have been a falling out between them for he does not speak of them nor is there any contact from them.

Family is important in Fire Nation culture. There is my family, meaning my father, mother, and my brothers. I have only three cousins in my generation, courtesy of my mother's only two cousins. During the war, many of our family members died from what I have heard. My mother does not like to talk about the hundred-year war. It ended right when I was born and I have never left the island our home is on. The war's scars and the hard-earned peace for the last sixteen years do not touch me.

I am content with my life. My older brother Koun, two years senior to myself, has been attending one of the elite academies for nobility since he was twelve. It is an honor for him to attend such a school. My parents have high hopes for him. Twins are supposed to be a common occurrence in our family for two of my cousins are twins. My brother Ryda and I are twins, though we have absolutely nothing in common. Ryda inherited our father's looks and our parent's firebending. Koun is already becoming the dashing firebender and Ryda shows some promise as well. My parents are firebenders, but not of any prodigy skill.

I am not a firebender, but that has not ever bothered me. In several years, my parents will arrange a suitable marriage for me. My mother has raised me as any proper Fire Nation lady should be. I will have my own house to run hopefully and a family. That is what I want. There are schools that Fire Nation nobility can attend that do not include commoners, but I did not ever attend one. Ryda argued his way into attending one, instead of the private tutoring that is usual in our family. There is only one on our island that is open to the other classes as well, or those who can afford it that is. I would rather be pushed in front of a stampeding Komodo-Rhinoceros than go to such a place! It has always been my family and I. I am not used to large crowds of people and have no desire to be in such a place.

Today was a day that was like any other for me. I spent my morning studying with the tutor my parents hired. He is one of those old teachers who speaks in way that would put one to sleep. My consolation was that was for my own good. My mother is usually busy with household duties and if not, is usually out in her own private garden. As for my father, he will attend to several local villages to hear their hum-drum affairs and problems. I do not know if he actually has to do anything there, perhaps it is because he has no other way to spend his days. There are farms around our estate, maybe he has something to do with local exports and trade? Either way I do not care, it does not concern me and nobility should not do the tasks that belong to the working class.

This afternoon, I sat in my favorite courtyard. The red brick's were warm from the sun's touch and the stone bench underneath me was pleasant to sit upon. A tall tree sat near me, the only one in the courtyard, with pale green leaves. The tree had already blossomed its pink flowers weeks ago. One lone fountain stood in front of the tree with the sound of tranquilizing water. The bench I sat on was position slightly in front of the fountain towards the right of the tree. The courtyard is enclosed by four covered walkways supported by red painted pillars. Doorways line the wall they connect to, leading to the inside of my ancestral home.

I scowled as I held the stringed instrument called an erhu in my lap. My mother had given it to me as a present. It had meant something important to her for it had belonged to her mother. I had not known my grandmother. She had died only months before I and my brother were born. Perhaps my grandmother had been skilled on it, but I was having extreme difficulty in learning the wretched instrument. My tutor had no idea how to play, thus I was left to my own devices. "Can't you play that somewhere else?" My brother's familiar voice demanded. I looked up to see him walking into the courtyard with his hands dramatically put over his ears. He still had on the stiff grey and black uniform of his school; it resembled the military outfits of our nation, and was lined with the traditional red. Ryda's face demanded attention with his dark amber eyes. They were almost a shade of brown, but they were magnetic against his pale skin and the wider shape of the eyes we had both inherited. Ryda was good looking enough I suppose, but I did not pay attention to that sort of thing for my brother.

"You don't own this courtyard!" I snapped in return. Ryda sighed as if he were talking to the dumbest person he knew. His hands had settled to his side and one naturally brushed the stray wisps of black hair that escaped from his top-knot. He had the curse of father's curls which I had found ways to mock him with.

"I might one day," He commented dryly.

"You're not the oldest, curly," I replied with relish at the hated nickname. "Koun is and then I, you're the baby, simply put."

"That did not stop mom from inheriting," Ryda responded in a smug tone. My jaw dropped open. She had had a brother and sister once, but the sister had died in childhood and the brother later on as a man serving in the war.

"So…that was all a long time ago, who cares?" I said with a careless shrug. Honestly, what did it matter at all?

"If you really think about it, our cousin should be inheriting. His dad was born before mom was," Ryda continued on, ignoring my words. "I suppose he can't inherit because of being the son of an Earth Kingdom peasant."

"Ryda!" I gasped, looking around to see if any of our parents were around. "You shouldn't say that."

Ryda rolled his eyes visibly. "It wasn't anything bad, just the truth." We had met our cousin several times over the years and he is likeable enough, for an Earthbender that is. Our long-dead uncle had married an Earth Kingdom peasant during the war. Old family history. Our cousin, Hé, lived with his mother in the Earth Kingdom. Why was Ryda even caring to talk about this? What did it matter? I do not get my brother; it is as if he was born being the opposite of me in every possible way. Our older brother Koun I did not know anymore. He had been gone for years now with only the occasional visits. "But unfortunately for me, the war is not around anymore to get rid of my competition for me," Ryda said with a half-attempted laugh. "Funny, right?"

"You have a weird way of thinking," I said shortly. He was getting on my nerves. "I can't believe I'm related to you."

"Blood is thicker than water," Ryda returned with a carefree smile. He was in the mood to ignore and started to jaunt away from the courtyard. "You should appreciate me more."

I kept down an unlady like urge to snort at that. A familiar shape hovered in the background. Soran. He was a long-time servant of my family and the man who had watched over my brother and I as children. Soran's hazel eyes watched me critically as he moved to sit by me on the bench. His face, beautiful in a strong sort of way, was beginning to show the signs of later middle-age. Soran is like family to me. "Don't fuss about your brother," Soran said quietly. "He's at that age."

"What age?" I asked, while fiddling with the bamboo bow string in my left hand. Soran understood the two of us like no one else did and had always been our mediator as children. I looked back at his face when I heard him chuckle.

"You'll understand soon enough," He answered with a caring smile. Soran stood and patted me on the shoulder as he left the courtyard without another word. I was left for another hour in painful solitude as I attempted to play an impossible instrument. My mother soon came to show with her wide golden eyes and soft smile. She was a beautiful woman with tall, graceful features and curves. Her ebony hair pillowed around her slender shoulders except for a small portion which was pulled up into a messy form of a top-knot. She wore the comfortable loose robes she preferred for informal, house wear. I knew I looked nothing like her.

"You sound exquisite, Rana," She beamed at me with a kiss on the cheek. I looked at her expectantly. She usually did not disturb me for another several hours. "Your father and I need to talk to you." I rose to my feet and tucked my erhu beneath my arm and followed my mother out of the courtyard.

After putting the erhu away in my room, I went to the family dining room. Father and mother sat by each other on the soft, red cushions. The low table, made out of aged red wood, was painted with the insignia of our nation. The dining room is made of dark red wood floors and similar wooden walls. Banners cover two opposing walls of scenic landscapes and two open archways with decorated beams on the other sides of the room. They sat on the head of the table and I sat near to the right of my father on an adjoined corner.

Father's dark amber eyes were unreadable, but his scar on his face seemed pulled tighter as if he were grimacing. I did not take much notice of it. Mother was acting the same as her constant cheerful self. I sat down on the silken cushion serenely. Maybe they had decided to start looking for a husband for me? It was a little earlier than I had expected…

"Rana, have you ever wondered why you're not a firebender?" My father questioned me suddenly. My father was more to the point than my mother ever was, but in a kind way.

"No," I said with a smile, "There are many children born into firebending families who cannot firebend." My mother looked at my father with a facial expression I could not place. It was her eyes that startled me, something in them…

My eyes were drawn to her clutched fist which held a scroll tightly. I could see the tops letters peeking out past her palm, which read "To my sister Narimi, daughter of the…." The rest was hidden by her clenching hand. Sister? My mother had no sister. "Rana, there is a reason you're not a firebender," My mother began softly and slowly. Her beautiful face was anxious. "You must try to understand…my grandmother was a waterbender. One of her two daughters, my aunt, inherited her bending. My sister…she did also."

Huh?

I stared at my mother in shock and part-revulsion. The blood of Water Tribe peasant flowed in my veins? I was descended from a peasant? An inner voice cackled within me, "It explains everything…why you cannot bend…and why you don't even resemble your parents. You're a throwback to your peasant grandmother!" "No!" I yelled, slamming my hands down on the table furiously. The hubris voice within me disappeared. My mother looked at me with grieving shock and my father's face was surprised at my display. I did not act like this. I am the obedient and good child.

"I'm sorry for keeping this hidden from you," My mother continued with an apologetic tone. "Even your father did not know for the longest time." I shook my head, refusing to take this in. I have not ever waterbended a day in my life! This could ruin my chances for a good marriage! "I thought that if you did not know, it would not matter," Mother added sincerely.

"The point is that you're a waterbender," My father interrupted at last, "And a bender must learn their art."

"I cannot waterbend!" I shouted, standing to my feet. "Have I ever done it? NO!" I had not ever been in a rage as the one I was in now. I had only ever had small skirmishes with my brother, nothing more. Denial and anger surged through me as I stood taller than my sitting parents, feeling at last that I towered over them with my short stature.

"Look," My father said calmly, as if I were not yelling at him. I looked down at the table to where he pointed. There had been two cups filled with wine for themselves. One of the cups was split in half. The red wine started to seep across the table, resembling a pool of blood. I sat back down without another word. "Your mother's sister did not die in childhood. She went to live in the Northern Water Tribe. Your mother has received a letter from her." He looked over at my mother who gave him a precarious smile.

"I have not heard from her…since…her story is a long one, but she found me again when I was pregnant with you and your brother," My mother paused with a far-away look in her eyes. "She is going to send her youngest child here. Your cousin apparently is a firebender."

"What your mother means to say," My father continued with an unreadable expression. "Is that she has inspired us to do the same. You will be going to live with your aunt and her family in the Northern Water Tribe to learn your bending."

The other cup on the table splintered as the wine within froze and expanded.

A/N: This is actually a sequel to another OC story of mine called Some Distant Day. This story is about the daughter of the main character from that story and her niece. This series will be written in a way that doesn't require the first series to be read in order to understand it. This series will involve characters from the show and even more in later chapters. (hint!) There are two main characters for this story: Rana, and her cousin who will be met in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review.