I don't own Avatar: The Last Air Bender sadly. I only own Markaia and Sam, or any other characters that seem out of place... Read and Review please! Beta'd by F1nal Front1er.
Sam was softly cradling me while stroking my hair, and my body continued to shake and quiver. I felt confused, alone, betrayed, and very angry. Nothing was said among the three of us; Aang allowed us to have some privacy. I heard a door open and close, and then a quiet conversation outside.
My eyes felt puffy and swollen but I still pulled away to look at Sam. "Why?" I managed to croak quietly. Sam reached into her robes and pulled out a cloth and handed it to me. I took the cloth politely and dabbed my tear tracks with it.
"There are a lot of different answers to that. Which one do you want to hear first?" Sam smiled lightly.
"Well, firstly I want to know why you keep coming back for me," I paused trying to decide my next wording. I clutched the soft cloth in my hands. "Even when I was so rude to you, and even after I ran away from you when you were trying to help me."
"That's what friends are for, Markaia. You have to understand that even though we had a bad start, you're a good person on the inside; I know it." She pulled me into a hug.
"Now, I want to know why you guys didn't bother to tell me that Azula wasn't dead." My voice cracked as I said her name. The memory of the murder crept back into my mind slowly. The sound of a door opening and then closing echoed throughout the house.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we got bored of sitting outside." Sokka said flatly as he plopped himself onto a small cushion beside Markaia. Katara and Aang sat beside him but not as rudely. I watched Sam shoot him a glare.
"We didn't know she wasn't dead. She seemed to be dead before we left. It was pretty bad looking." Sam turned her eyes back to me. Nodding, I handed her the cloth I was holding.
"You mean she is alive?" Katara interrupted. Her eyes were wide in shock and wonder, and I nodded. Sokka's eyes became serious.
"Well then, we need to kill her! She will only get in the way of things between Aang and the Fire Lord! It's bad enough dealing with her brother!" Sokka put his fist down on his knee. Aang held a hand up.
"Let Markaia finish." Sam nodded at Aang and then looked at me. I swallowed thickly before breathing in.
"Azula was alive when I got here. She had killed my mother after you guys had fought her, and she knew that I was going to return home too." My eyes stared into the floor as I remembered everything that had happened today. "So, I went to see her. I knew exactly where she was going to be because I've known her for so long. You know, by growing up with her and everything, you get to know a person. She was out in the gardens where she and I used to train for her Father's army, and I approached her. It was obvious that you guys had taken a toll on her from the last fight, but she was still strong."
"You didn't kill her, did you?" Sam asked curiously. "Not that we would mind. I'm just wondering." I nodded.
"I did kill her and the guards saw. That's why I was running from them. They saw everything that I had done. No doubt if you guys didn't come and save me, I would be dead too. They are probably telling the Fire Lord right now and are out searching for me."
"Well, why are we just sitting here like idiots!?" Sokka shouted. My head shot up and I glared at him. Katara elbowed him in the ribs, and Sam shook her head.
"Keep it down, Sokka." Aang spat. He then turned his attention to me. "But he is right. We can't just sit here if they are coming after you. We need to get out of here." Aang stood up and dusted his robes off. "Come on, Sokka and Katara. We need to get Appa ready. Sam, help Markaia get ready. We are setting out in ten minutes."
"Alright." Sam smiled lightly before standing up. I stood up and watched the others leave Sam and I behind. "Let's get your stuff."
I quickly ran to my room; the sun was setting and causing the window in my room to cast an orangey-red glow onto my bed. Sam stood in the doorway as I grabbed my small bag off of my tiny bed. "You have a small room." I laughed lightly.
"Yeah, I know, but I haven't been home in a while. Even when I was home, I ignored my mom because I didn't feel like I belonged here." Sam was quiet, and I assumed it was the end of the conversation.
I then proceeded to go to Mother and Father's room. The light was streaming through the windows, and Sam stood in the doorway once more as I looked into the room. Glancing over at the dresser, I saw Mother's perfume bottle and the locket. BANG BANG BANG.
Sam and I both ducked at the sound as it reverberated throughout the house. I watched Sam look down the hall. Aang came in through the back door quickly. "Hurry guys! The Fire Nation are here!" I ran to the dresser and grabbed Mother's perfume and the locket before following Sam and Aang out the door to the large hairy creature.
I watched Sam jump onto the animal. Behind me, I heard the sound of the front door breaking. "Grab my hand!" Sam ordered. I nodded and held Sam's hand as she hauled me up onto the back of the monster.
"Don't let them get away!"
I laid down, clutching the animal's fur tightly as we flew quickly into the air. Aang was shouting directions to the beast, and Katara and Sokka were shouting to Sam. "Sam, get me my water!" I heard Katara order. I didn't dare look up though.
My stomach churned at the feeling of us turning and going faster in the air. "Appa!" The monster below me howled in pain and we began to descend as I looked up. Sam was giving Katara the water container, and then she opened it for her. I watched as Katara bended the water.
"What happened Sam!?" I shouted. I couldn't hear myself think. My heart was pounding, and the rushing of air was a lot louder than I thought it would be. Sam looked down at me.
"Appa was hit with a fireball! Katara is trying to put out his fur." Sam then looked away as she went by Aang. She began to pet Appa's head.
"Don't just sit there, you idiot! Use your fire!" Sokka kicked my leg. I looked over to him and shot him a glare. My hands began to burn again as I sat up. Sokka's face became slightly paler as he hid behind Katara. I smirked as I stood up fully. The wind was whipping my hair in front of my face but I didn't care.
"Stand aside, Katara." My hands were clenched into fists, and I had a hard time focusing on Katara, who was in front of me. She turned to look at me, still moving her hands to keep the water in the air. "Move." My voice was more like a shout than the whisper I thought it was.
"Do it, Katara." Sam agreed. Katara nodded and put the water back into her container before moving out of the way, pulling Sokka along with her. I stepped over to the back, looking over the pile of bags and supplies they kept.
The warm feeling in my palms grew to a burning sensation. I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling in my hands. I then opened my eyes and looked down; in the distance I could see the Fire Nation Army getting their boats ready as we passed the docks.
"Aang, how close can Appa get to the water?" I shouted.
"He can fly right above the water. The plus side of that is that if we fly above the water, it would cool off the burn on Appa's foot." I nodded.
"Well, we will need to get close to the water if I'm going to shoot the Army." There was a silence before I felt a change in the altitude. Looking down, I saw we were getting closer to the water.
"They are coming closer..." Sokka whispered to Katara. "I don't see why Sam even thought of getting us into this..." There was a shuffle behind me before I head Sokka whimpering in pain.
I trained my eyes away from the deep blue water that was now below us, and I saw the silver ships coming closer. The steam came out of the smokestacks like endless grey clouds. I squinted at the approaching ships. In my limited vision I saw the front of the boats crowded with soldiers. "Aang, this may sound a little crazy but can you slow Appa down a little?"
"What?! She's insane!" I heard Sokka shout. "She's going to get us killed!"
"I agree with Sokka. I don't think that is a good idea, Markaia..." Katara agreed.
"I think we should trust Markaia," Sam said seriously. I nodded.
"Just trust me on this, you guys." My eyes remained on the ships behind us.
"Why should we trust you?!" Sokka pushed me forward, and I almost fell off of Appa. Regaining my balance, I turned around, my hands balled up into fists. "You're a good-for-nothing Fire Nation. You were probably working with Azula to kill Aang! If it weren't for Sam, I would have killed you myself!" He shouted in my face as he pushed me again.
"Sokka!" Sam reached forward and grabbed his shoulder to pull him back. "Don't talk to Markaia like that. She's changed!" He pushed her hand off his shoulder.
"You don't know that!" He argued, eyeing me with venom in his tone. I cringed slightly, the hurt welling back into my mind. "Aang don't listen to her! Fly up for God's sake before she kills us. Better yet, push her off of Appa. Let her suffer for whatever she's done! Why should we take the blame for something like this?!"
"Sokka, you are being very irrational..." Katara stepped forward. "I agree that we shouldn't trust her so easily, but to throw her off of Appa?" Sokka shook his head.
"Stay out of this, Katara."
I turned around and focused back on the ocean. The ships were still a little distant, but they were catching up.