I do not own the Vampire Diaries or Avatar: the Last Airbender.


the girl who wanted to fight

"In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending."
— Pakku to Katara (The Waterbending Master)

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"Do you think that one looks like a village?"

"No, it looks like that iceberg we passed a few minutes ago."

"What if that one was a village too?"

Elena's grip on Ari's reins slackened in her chilled hands as the bison circumnavigated another chunk of ice and a huge structure came into view. Her mouth dropped open in pleasant surprise and her eyes widened. In front of her looked to be a city constructed entirely of ice and snow that stood tall and proud on a flat expanse of cold tundra.

"I don't think the Northern Watertribe is anything like your home," Elena interrupted the brothers' bickering. "Just a thought."

"And how would you . . ." Damon trailed off as he poked his head over the leather saddle. "Tui and La . . . well, what do you know? Mom was holding out on us when she talked about where she was born."

"No kidding," Stefan muttered.

"It's beautiful." Elena was in awe. The Northern Watertribe was beautiful from what she was able to see, and they weren't even inside the walls yet. It looked like a giant castle, and from the distance it appeared pristine and perfect, like a magical winter palace from ancient fairy tales her friends would whisper about in the dead of night. She looked back at her friends' faces and saw a tidal wave of emotions that she was sure neither intended her to witness; unadulterated joy shone in Damon's eyes, utter glee as seeing his mother's homeland, mixed with jealousy and awe. In Stefan's she saw contentment, a sort of satisfaction of being home and a bit of wistfulness shone in those bright green eyes . . .

Abruptly, Elena was shaken from her thoughts as the water turned choppy and Ari began to make disconcerted noises. The water turned to ice that incased the bison's six legs and caused her to roar in fear, while Elena and the brothers' searched for the source that had caused the panic.

"Stefan, cut it out," Damon hissed.

"It's not me," Stefan assured him breathlessly. "Look!" Elena and Damon turned their heads in unison to see what Stefan was pointing at; a fleet of wooden Watertribe boats slunk out from behind the icebergs, waterbenders standing on their decks with their hands held high.

"Wait!" Elena jumped up and shoved her hair away from her forehead. "We're not Fire Nation! I'm the Avatar and these are my friends."

One of the men of the boats inclined his head to the others and immediately the ice that held Ari captive melted. He stepped forward and serenely said, "We have been awaiting your presence, Avatar Elena."

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Connor rolled his lips and stared straight ahead, trying to make himself believe that the people who were looking at him were not staring at his scar, but rather taken in by his aura of power. It wasn't really that much of a fantasy anyway, as he found that people were often predisposed to two different emotions when they saw his scar; sympathy or fear. Given his nasty scowl, clenched and steaming fists, they were more likely to be afraid of him. Of course, there were those rare few that knew the real story of how he got that particular burn – he'd had it spread that it had been an assassination attempt while he was sleeping – that made sure that he knew that they knew. Hopefully, the crew of men he was interested in dealing with that afternoon before he set sail for the North Pole only knew the fabrication he'd tried to sell.

"Gentlemen." Connor cleared his throat, which sounded like gravel grinding together.

The pirates' heads slowly rose up from their bent position around a map on a chest. One, clearly the captain, stepped forward with a sneer on his face. "What can we do for you, mister?" His eyes went automatically to the scar, as everyone's did when he met them. "I'm afraid the only thing that'll heal that burn is a trip to the spirit world." He chuckled with his lips pulled back over his teeth, revealing nasty grime and golden caps.

Connor lit a fire in his hands and brought it close to the captain's nose. "Not another word about the scar or I'll take my business," he rattled his bag of gold in his hand, "elsewhere."

The captain's eyebrows rose and his crew leaned forward, intrigued. "Go on," The captain said greedily. He licked his lips.

"I hear you had a run in with Prince Niklaus a few days ago," Connor started and smirked when he saw all of the disgruntled looks and angry scowls.

"What about it?" The captain grunted.

"I have a proposition for you that will get rid of the Fire Prince for good." Connor slammed down the bag of gold onto the chest, creasing the map and the pirates' eyes lit up. Connor's grin was smug. "Just set . . . your . . . price."

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Ari was housed in a warm barn filled with lots of hay and polar dogs, among other furry animals, where she was happy to stay to eat and nap. Stefan and Damon's blue parkas were useful once more now they were in colder climates again, and their new guide was kind enough to give Elena some boots and winter clothes of her own before he took them in a canoe through the city. The inside was just as beautiful as the out; ice windows sparkled in multi-floored snow homes, bridges arched gracefully over the water streets that were filled with handcrafted canoes to navigate the city, and people were bustling about on the snowy side-walks.

Their guide took them through a very short tour and then to the Chief of the Northern Watertribe.

"Chief Donovan, we present to you the avatar." Their guide motioned for the trio to bow low, so they took their cue. "Chief Donovan, this Avatar Elena of the Southern Air Temple, and Damon and Stefan of our sister tribe in the south. They have come so that the avatar may learn the ancient art of waterbending."

Elena shared a giddy smile with Stefan before shifting her gaze toward the chief, a large man with a strong jaw and straw colored hair. At his right was a teenage girl a little older them with dark hair and dark eyes, looking a little strung out, and on his left was another young man around Elena's age. He looked almost like a carbon copy of his father, with his bright blue eyes so common in the Watertribes. His hair, however, was a solid white, very unusual for a teenager to have. He had the same serenity and kindness about his face as his father did. He caught her looking and his lips formed a shy, endearing smile. Elena's grin grew wider.

"Avatar Elena." Chief Donovan's voice brought her attention back to him. "I invite you to a feast thrown in your honor, before you are settled into your temporary living quarters here in the palace. Tomorrow, you will begin your training with Master John." He motioned toward a bald man with thin blond eyebrows and a carefully placed blank mask.

"He looks pissy," Damon grumbled quietly on Elena's left. She half-heartedly glared, but even Stefan cracked a smile. Truly, Master John looked as if something foul had wandered close to him and he had to suffer its stench.

"You will meet me in the courtyard at sunrise, Avatar Elena, if you want to learn anything from me," John said, his voice devoid of any emotion besides contempt. "Do not expect any special treatment because of your destiny."

She tasted something foul in the back of her throat. "Of course, Sifu." Elena bowed again.

The Chief nodded and suddenly their guide was ushering them out and toward a lavish spread on an extended table that seemed to stretch for miles. Elena and her friends were given seats of honor, their guide whispered, as they would be sitting next to the prince and princess and across the Chief and Master John. Elena's eyes widened as people joined the table and excessive amounts of food practically flooded the serving dishes.

"I am honored to have the Avatar and her companions at my table this day," Chief Donovan announced grandly, "and for her to begin her training in waterbending so that she may bring balance back to the world." He raised his glass and then the people dug into their meals.

Elena picked through the meats to find vegetarian friendly foods. "What's this?" She asked under her breath.

"Sea prunes," Stefan replied and served himself some. "They're good," He assured her. Elena reached for a utensil to get some when she saw a woman in a royally styled winter gown approach the chief. Her walk was almost a stagger and her appearance sent titters all over the table.

"Dear," Chief Donovan greeted tensely.

"That's his wife?" Damon muttered. "She looks like she's two shades to the wind, if you know what I mean."

"Damon," Stefan warned.

"Just saying." Damon smirked. Chief Donovan's wife was helped into her seat next to him. She leant forward and kind of listed to the side as she gazed through narrowed eyes at Elena.

"I've never seen you before." It was almost an accusation.

"Kelly, this is Avatar Elena. She's come to learn to master waterbending," The chief explained and he placed a hand on her elbow. "Would you like dinner, dear? Or would you rather return to your rooms?"

Kelly wrenched her arm out of his grip and sneered. "That's right, get rid of me so you can avoid any more scandals, Chief Donovan. I am perfectly fine right where I am; otherwise I wouldn't have come at all." She sniffed and turned her head. The chief pressed his lips together, but otherwise acted as if nothing had occurred. Elena exchanged glances with Stefan and Damon.

"Hello, Avatar Elena. I'm Matt."

Elena turned her head to looked at the speaker; the Watertribe Prince. She smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, Matt. Call me Elena." He returned the smile.

"I'm Stefan," the waterbender introduced, "and this is my brother, Damon."

Matt nodded. "It's very brave what you're doing, you know, traveling with the Avatar to help save the world." His eyes darted to meet Elena's. "It sounds like an awfully big adventure."

For some reason, Elena felt blood rush to her cheeks, painting them pink. On her other side, Damon made retching noises.

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Connor, satisfied, boarded his boat.

"Sir!"

Connor turned to him. "Yes Sergeant?"

"The Fire Lord authorized the invasion fleet. They're inbound."

"Very good, Sergeant. Tell the helmsman to set sail; we've got a fleet to meet." They'd be in the waters of the Northern Watertribe within the week. When the Watertribe was destroyed and waterbenders no more, he'd have the avatar and then he'd have everything he'd ever wanted waiting for him in the Fire Nation.

But first, he had a stop to make.

The Fire Princes' ship was easy to locate, considering it was the only banished vessel on the seas and everyone knew about their seemingly endless quest to capture the avatar. With official documentation directly from the Fire Lord in his hands, Connor boarded the princes' ship and barked out orders. Quickly, the crew began to pack up and vacate the premises.

"What is the meaning of this?" Prince Elijah strode across the deck, voice level and face emotionless. If Connor hadn't noticed the steam coming from his hands, he would have said that the eldest prince was entirely unaffected.

"The Fire Lord has issued orders for every able-bodied navy man to join the fleet that will be overtaking the Northern Watertribe in a week's time," Connor answered smoothly. He met Elijah's unwavering gaze. "You are welcome to come with me as my honored guest, Prince Elijah. I would like to have your expertise on this mission." Beneath my very close eye, went unsaid.

"What the bloody hell is this nonsense?"

"Ah, that would be Prince Niklaus," Connor drawled, "throwing his temper tantrum."

"Elijah?! What is this?" Klaus roared again. Then his eyes caught Connor's. "You!" He sprinted toward them on the deck. "What have you done? These are my men!"

"Not anymore," Connor said smugly. "Now they're my men, bound to help me invade the North Pole to capture the avatar and bring her to your father."

"You wretched bastard!" Klaus shouted and leaped for Connor, only stopped by Elijah's strong arms. "I'll give you a matching scar; I'll ruin your face the rest of the way!" He struggled but Elijah refused to release him.

"I believe it's time for you to leave," Elijah said briskly.

"Of course." Connor mockingly bowed and once all of the princes' crew was aboard his own ship, he stepped across the plank to join them. "Best of luck to you both, Prince Elijah, Prince Niklaus." He turned away and smiled victoriously.

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"I'm so excited!"

"So you've been chanting all night and morning," Stefan teased Elena.

"Yeah, give it a rest, Elena," Damon said. "We know you're happy to get play with magic water." He gave Stefan the side-eye while addressing Elena. "At least you're actually going to be learning how to fight."

"Healing is useful and we have no idea how long we'll be in the North Pole, Damon," Stefan snapped. Elena and he had heard Damon's merciless mocking about Stefan's choice for days. "If I learn healing and Elena learns battle techniques, we can teach other while we search for an Earthbending Master."

"Blah, blah, blah." Damon rolled his eyes. "All I hear is that you're too afraid to fight with the professionals."

"Guys, chill out," Elena interrupted. They both looked at her. "No pun intended," She sighed. "Here we are." She spread her arms to indicate the snowy courtyard where Master John was supposed to meet her. "So unless you intend to cheer me on, take your bickering somewhere else."

"Good luck," Stefan said warmly. "You're going to do great."

"You too." She grinned and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Elena pointed to Damon. "Don't get into any trouble."

"Don't I get a kiss?" Damon demanded and Elena laughingly shoved them both out of the courtyard. The brothers fell into step as they looked for the healing hut, where a Master Meredith was supposed to be teaching a class.

"What are you going to do all day?" Stefan asked.

"Go find that princess and dot, dot, dot," Damon replied with a rogue smile. Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Be careful," He warned. "You don't want to start anything."

"Afraid I'll cause a little political unrest?"

"Or that you'll break someone's heart," Stefan told him.

"I'm not going to break anyone's heart."

"Or your heart, Damon; we won't be here long."

Damon put a hand to his chest. "Aw, I'm flattered you care; really, Stefan, sweet, Saint Stefan." They walked for a few more minutes, looking at the people passing and occasionally asking for directions, which garnered them some strange looks. "Looks like this is it," Damon announced when they reached the corner they'd been directed to. When they took a peek inside, Damon quirked a brow. "Or maybe not."

Inside was a young adult woman sitting on a fur rug that was situated on a piece of hard packed snow. Around her like a moat was water and around that was a circle of little girls. The woman looked up and rolled her eyes when she saw them.

"Master John's class is that way," She pointed out the door. "And do tell your friends that the next time they intend to prank me, I'll tell John." When the boys looked confused, she added, "They'll know what I'm talking about."

"Master Meredith," Stefan corrected, "I'm not looking for Master John's class; I'm looking for this one. I intend to learn to heal."

Master Meredith blinked rapidly. "Oh. Well. Come in then. And your friend?"

"Just dropping my baby brother off," Damon said. "Have fun," He whispered and then he snickered underneath his breath. He slapped Stefan on the back and disappeared out of the door.

"Well, come join our circle then . . ." Meredith said gently. "What's your name?"

"I'm Stefan."

"Well, Stefan, welcome to the class. The girls will be a little ahead of you, as they've been doing this for a couple of weeks, but I'm sure you'll catch up quickly."

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Somewhere, the Fire Lord was laughing at him, Klaus was convinced. His father. He was alone on one tiny ship in a bay with no crew, no cook, nothing except for an older brother who had to grow tired of it all eventually. Why wouldn't he? Their parents certainly were done with him and his other siblings never wrote, never did anything to convince him they cared. It was really only a matter of time before Elijah decided he was done wasting his time on him.

"Niklaus, would you like to go out to town?" Speak of the devil. Klaus turned his head to see Elijah standing at the edge of the deck, looking at him imploringly. "We could get your mind off of all of this for a while."

"You go," Klaus sneered. "I'm going to stay on the ship and burn all of the affects the crew left behind. By the time they realize they'd left some precious portrait of their dear mum, it'll already be a pile of ash."

"Klaus . . ." Elijah gave him one of his patented I'm disappointed in you looks. Klaus valiantly ignored him. "Please. I won't do you any good to sit here and wallow."

"I won't be wallowing." Klaus sharply turned on his heel and stomped below deck. He shouted back, "I'm just going to let off some steam!" He heard his brother sigh wearily and lower down the gangplank so he could go into the city port. Then Klaus' gate slowed and he entered his room, slamming the thick door. He lit the meditation candles on his low table and sank to the floor. Blue eyes slid shut and Klaus folded his legs together, resting his palms on his knees. He began to work on steadying his breathing.

Fire is in the breath.

Breathe in

He hated Connor with every fiber of his very being and wished that he'd taken something else besides Connor's perfect complexion.

Breathe out

He wished Elijah would get it over with and abandon him already. The suspense was killing him.

Breathe in

If only the Fire Lord could have just waited a bit longer. Klaus knew that he could get the avatar in time.

Breathe out

"'Lijah, 'Lijah, look!" Klaus beamed up at his older brother, incidentally showing off the gap where he'd just lost his two front teeth. "I can firebend!"

Elijah turned away from his political lessons with his private tutor in the library to look at six-year old Klaus. "Of course you can firebend, Nik; you're a Fire Prince." But he smiled while he said it, so as to make sure Klaus didn't think he was being criticized.

"Prince Elijah." The tutor rapped his wooden cane onto the table, startling the brothers into looking at him. "We need to focus on your lessons." The balding man gave Klaus a significant look and sneered. "You, Prince Niklaus, need to be with your own tutors. As I understand from your father, you're behind in your history."

"I'm done for today," Elijah announced, "and I'll keep Nik with me so he won't be a bother." He set down set down his work and hopped up, taking Klaus' hand in his own. "Let's go to the garden so you can show me your fire." Klaus' curly shoulder-length hair bounced around his face as he excitedly skipped beside his brother. They left the tutor behind them, spluttering indignantly at the table about how he would be reporting this incident to the Fire Lady.

When they arrived at the turtle-duck pond in their garden, it was to the sight of one of the royal nannies chasing after their newest brother Kol, who'd managed to strip out of his cloth diaper. Their mother, pregnant again, would most likely be in her chambers, napping.

"'Lijah, look!" Klaus shouted and Elijah turned his attention from the nanny and Kol to Klaus. The little boy had produced a small flame in his palms and was cradling it to his chest as if it were a baby. "I can feel its heartbeat," he whispered and smiled.

Elijah opened his mouth to reply – "Squawk!"

"Squawk!" A lizard-parrot of all things was flapping in the door of his room and it made Klaus furrowed his brows. That bird was familiar –

Fire exploded around him, engulfing his body and mind, yanking him mercilessly away from a simpler time and launching him into a flaming inferno and relentless pain. Then, he was spared of being conscious.

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After a few hours of one-on-one tutelage from Master John, in which Elena's mind was expanded beyond belief in the knowledge of the ancient art of waterbending, a group of teenage boys arrived to the courtyard. Panting with exertion, she tried to ignore them as she executed a perfect water whip that caught Master John's wrist. Then she pulled down and made the master fall before making bars of ice rise to cage him into place. There were titters of surprise behind her.

"Well done," Master John said and she flattened her hands to make the ice melt the whip drop.

Flushing, Elena pushed the escaping pieces of hair back behind her ears. She bowed. "Thank you, Master John."

He rose to his feet, while eyeing her critically. "The others in the class will now be joining us," John raised his voice, "and the rest of the day will be much more rigorous to account for lost time." There were a series of quiet moans, but otherwise no verbal protests loud enough for their master to hear. A few boys brushed passed her a little roughly as they made to get into lines though, shooting scowls to make it perfectly clear that they were blaming her for their extra work.

As Master John began to teach them something far more complicated than the water whip, another student hissed at Elena. Her dark eyes darted to the left to look at him. The student made a crude gesture and whispered, "Go back to the healing hut; girls don't belong here." Startled, Elena turned away from him without making a sound and paid extra attention to John.

As they were practicing a move that was deeply involved – creating octopus-like water arms that would obey commands like any other limb – another boy made his way to Elena's side. She attempted to ignore him, intent on mastering the move.

"Hey," the boy said. "I'm Josh. You must be the avatar."

"What gave me away?" Elena asked distractedly.

"You're the only girl," Josh said simply.

"Why is that?" She managed to get four of the water limbs working, flowing around her body and snapping out like her water whip.

"Um, because girls aren't allowed to learn how to fight. Didn't your Watertribe friends tell you?" Josh sounded bemused.

Finally, Elena looked up and found a boy older than her wearing his dark brown hair in a warrior's wolf tail. "What? No, that can't be right. Stefan and Damon never mentioned it."

"Maybe they forget to tell you." Josh sounded doubtful.

Elena rolled her lips. "Stefan's the last waterbender in the south, boy or girl. Their village is pretty small and I'm certain that if there were any female benders, they'd be utilizing their skills for more than just healing. I think it's just a sexist north thing."

"Stop dawdling and keep practicing!" Master John shouted. "Or else you'll both be kicked out!" Elena immediately went back to focusing.

"Sexist?" Josh repeated.

"Yeah, you know, denying one sex the right to do something purely because they're that particular sex," Elena clarified, "which is clearly what's going on here."

Josh looked confused. "But that's the way it's always been, forever."

"So, what? You think that only men are allowed to fight? What about earthbenders or firebenders?" Elena demanded. She could feel her temper rising and anger throbbing in her veins. Aggressively, she forced the water to do her bidding and it sloshed and writhed beneath her hands. All eight limbs popped up beneath her control and her water octopus was complete.

Josh blinked, surprised at her adequacy and her words. "I guess I never really thought about it. I kind of assumed all cultures were like ours, including the Fire Nation; they may be savages, but to put their women in the army? That's crazy."

Elena's face contorted and feeling her rage, one of her octopus' limbs shot out and wrapped around Josh's ankle, slinging him upside down. Immediately realizing what she'd done, Elena paled and released the water, making Josh drop to the ground. He moaned.

"Do it next time of your own violation, and I'll congratulate you," Master John drawled. "Get up, Josh, and get back to work. Keep working on your control, Avatar Elena." He turned his back and instantly Elena received several dirty looks from her other classmates. She glared right back and raised her hands, wiggling her fingers.

You're next, she mouthed to the closest one and he turned back to John, frightened. Despite feeling a tad guilty, Elena had to fight a smirk.

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"Did you guys know that girls aren't allowed to learn how to fight here?" Elena turned over and winced, thinking about the poor animal that had given up its hide to be her bed. Sitting on another piece of furniture in her room was Stefan and Damon – they each had their own room in the palace, in the same long, endless hall.

"Really?" Stefan asked. His brows bunched together.

"I'm not surprised," Damon drawled, drawing the attention of Stefan and Elena. He ticked off his fingers. "Stef, your class was filled with girls, that Master John seemed like a dick, and there wasn't a single female waterbender doing those fancy tricks on the day of our arrival. All the men did the hunting and stuff back home when they were still around and before Stefan and I were old enough to participate. Our cultural is patriarchal, Elena. It's just how it is."

Stefan and Elena blinked at him. "That was . . . very insightful of you, Damon," Stefan said, surprised.

Damon smirked. "And you know, girls are kind of prissy and really can't handle that much violence, you know, avatars aside."

Stefan jumped off the couch before Elena could get to Damon to avoid the fire.

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The first thing Elijah saw when he got back to the docks was burning debris.

"Niklaus . . ." His breath was taken away from him. "Klaus!" He sprinted forward, eyes glued to the fiery wreckage, searching for any signs of life. "Klaus!" Elijah waded into the water and then when he got deep enough, held his breath and dove into the depths. He kept his eyes wide open and momentarily wished that flames weren't dowsed by water.

Elijah had to go up to the surface and gasp for air several minutes later, slapping his arms around the water. "Niklaus! Answer me!" He shook his wet hair away from his eyes and spotted something red floating in the water. Elijah cursed and dove for the patch of color. His muscles burned and his eyes stung from the salt of the ocean and his own tears. His hands grappled for the figure clad in red and turned over the body.

Klaus.

"Nik, Nik, it's me," Elijah began to babble as Klaus remained still and silent. "Brother, please . . ." Hooking an arm around his middle, Elijah made the swim back to land, where he dragged Klaus' body onto the docks. "Prince Niklaus, I command that you breathe," He muttered angrily and began to pound his brother's chest to restart his heart. Burns and scratches littered Klaus' body, and combined with his pale face, made him look dead.

"Damn it, Niklaus if you don't wake up," Elijah started and suddenly Klaus jerked up and vomited water into his lap, choking and spluttering.

"You'll what?" Klaus croaked. "Drown me?"

Elijah barked laughter desperately and squeezed his brother to his chest. "Don't you ever do that again."

"The lizard-parrot," Klaus said suddenly. "It was in my room."

Elijah felt anger rising in his gut. "The pirates did this?"

"Or someone put them up to it," Klaus muttered.

"Connor," The brothers said in sync and glanced at each other with glowering faces.

"Brother," Elijah said, "I have just had an idea . . ."

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tbc.