A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the cliffhanger last time! It was evil…anyway; I've been revising bits in the past chapters to make things a little less confuzzling. Oh, and confuzzling is my new word, and it means to be confused. Anyway, hopefully I'll answer a lot of questions in this chapter about Leiya's past. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender. I want to though…
Appa descended swiftly onto the smooth ground. Leiya's eyes watered as she stared at the charred earth. The ground was dead. There were charred remains of the hospital's rock base, and not much else. It had been burned years ago, Leiya could tell. She also knew who did it, too. And it wasn't Fire Lord Ozai.
Leiya ran over to the burnt skeleton of her home. She pursed her lips to hold back tears. A good lightbender never cried. Anger flared in her eyes. She was terrified of being alone. Of being trapped in the world with too many responsibilities, in the shadows of the world with no light. Storm clouds accumulated over the seas. Leiya moved her anger into the sky. Storm clouds moved over the small group.
"Leiya, calm down!" Sokka cried.
"Leiya, I lost a lot in this war too!" Katara shouted over the noise of the oncoming storm. "I lost my mother in a firenation raid! All I had left was a necklace from her, and now that's gone, too! My father left to fight the Firenation, I haven't seen him since!"
"I lost my home, too!" Aang added. "The Firenation destroyed the Air temple, and killed all the people."
Leiya knew it was unwise to let her anger into her bending as she had done for years. She was too old to escape that way. She bit her lip, and let a tear escape her golden eyes. The storms that had evolved on the seas of the globe dissipated. The storm on their island slowly dissipated to reveal a fiery sunset.
Leiya looked at her friends, no longer bothering to hide the pain in her eyes. She trudged over to a black stump of an unfortunate tree. She tugged on the metal below the surface and uncovered the box. She walked back to her friends, her face showing only the smallest tint of anger.
The group silently walked over to Appa to leave. The others assumed Leiya had gotten what she had come for. The group took off. Leiya was looking back, but caught herself. She could only look forward now.
On Prince Zuko's ship, Jasmine looked out to the small storm, which seemed to plague a large metal ship nearby. She hissed to herself "Admiral Zhao." She had seen him for a while out there, and she was sure Zuko had, too. Zhao was going to check the hospital, since the Avatar had been sighted near there. He would probably try to attack the hospital if they didn't comply. He would get a surprise about crosswind hospitals. And then if jasmine saw him again, he would get a surprise from her.
Jas decided to change her thoughts to something less about upcoming battles. Jasmine snickered about the thought of the most honorable of firebenders stalking a twelve year old. However, Admiral Zhao didn't fit into her definition of 'honorable'.
The storm over the sea soon dissipated. She knew for sure now that it was her sister's handiwork. She needed to find Leiya and prove her point. Her shadows were filled with despair. Leiya was always favored for her cheer and spirit, and her honor. Jasmine was very jealous, and would avenge her emotion.
She walked onto the deck and approached Zuko. He wasn't used to seeing her willingly on deck.
"I think it best if we split up to find the Avatar. I can take a small boat, say the one that you just received new." Jasmine offered.
'She certainly doesn't waste time getting to the point.' Zuko thought. "Fine." He said. He would be glad for the shadowy girl to leave for a while. He also noticed the smooth tone in Jasmine's voice. She only used this when she wanted something. Had he ever really heard her true self? Probably not, for he couldn't see through shadows.
Back on Appa, Leiya broke the silence of the group.
"Do you know who destroyed your home?" Aang inquired, seeing Leiya's sadness over her sister.
"Yes. Commander- well, now Admiral- Zhao. He has the authority. Along with another girl firebender who was my rival. But it wasn't her, I know it was him." The others saw the anger flare within the peaceful girl.
"Everything will be fine Leiya. Aang will help fix everything. This war will end and the world will start a new." Katara said.
"Katara's right, and you need to make a cure for the disease." Sokka said. "Even if you are a firebender's daughter…"
"Sokka!" Katara snapped.
"Don't worry Leiya, we'll be back at the hospital soon."
The group walked in the doors of the hospital to be greeted by Aurora. "I ran into your sister- Leiya what happened?" She asked, seeing the look behind Leiya's eyes. Leiya explained what had happened to her home.
Aurora nodded in understanding. "Aang, you need to head north. Prince Zuko was here looking for you. We were able to peacefully lie our way out. However, I ran into Jasmine. She said that Commander Zhao was coming to the hospital. Leiya, you should stay the night and sleep. Aang, you Katara and Sokka should get moving. It will be dangerous to let him get so close."
"Alright. I'm staying here until I find at least half of what I need to find the cure." Leiya decided.
"What! You can't-" Sokka started.
"I'll catch up with you in two weeks. Here." Leiya handed Katara a golden glass drop, which fit neatly in her palm. "Keep that, it will help me find you. I promise I will write to you and meet up with you in exactly two weeks at the North Pole. I'll write to you about any changes." Leiya looked had her reluctant friends. "This is something I need to do. Paths split and merge. From everything there is always some good. There is always a little light in a storm." Leiya said the proverb with a smile in a cheery tone, as she always did when she spoke from her heart and mind.
"Take care Leiya." Katara said.
"Yeah, don't tire yourself out too much." Sokka added.
"See you soon!" Aang said with a smile. Leiya watched her friends leave. "See you soon." Leiya said to herself.
The air was warm in Zuko's room where he sat meditating.
"Zuko?" He looked up to see Jasmine. Her voice was quiet, soft and smooth. "We're ahead of schedule. I'm leaving now. I will return soon. Thank you for your help." She said with a reluctant honesty. In the shadow of the light she seemed like a normal fourteen year old, and not the moody girl that was angry at the world. "I should return in two to three weeks."
"Fine. Bye." Zuko said shortly. Jasmine left without a word. She really did NOT like Zuko, but she would be polite if need be. She looked up at the sky, and out to the horizon. Zhao's ship was gone. For once, she hoped that her sister would be okay when faced with Commander Zhao. She, herself, was angry almost all the time. Leiya's anger was like lightning. Dangerous, bright flashes of her anger were rare, and when Leiya lost control, it was EXTREMLY difficult for her to regain control of her bending. Jas wanted to help, but she couldn't until she had proved herself to the world, especially herself.
At the hospital Leiya concentrated on her bits of paper, and her mother's notebook. Leiya would face any challenge and defeat it. Even if it killed her.
A/N Sorry this was long, and not really chock-full of action. But the next chappy will have more action and maybe a little bit of a start of romance. Tee-hee! Well, there was Leiya's past. Please review. Please. Thanks!