Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Viacom.

A/N: Flashback.

The Last Earthbender

85. Falling

"Hi, Princess Yue! I made you something." The son of the visiting Southern War-Chief extended his hand proudly.

Princess Yue smiled, and looked down. It was a crude driftwood carving of a… gopher bear?

"Actually, it's a fish," he corrected. "See, it has a fin."

Yue giggled. "That's so sweet."

The southern boy, Sokka, grinned widely, then looked away shyly. "So, uh, uh… you've got a really nice city."

Yue nodded. "I suppose so. I've never left it."

"Really?" Sokka looked surprised. "But you're the Princess! Haven't you seen the rest of your tribe?"

Yue brushed a lock of ivory hair behind her ear self-consciously. "No. My father thinks that it's unsafe outside of the city."

"Unsafe?" Sokka frowned.

"It's what he says," replied Yue. "And I can't leave without his permission."

Sokka inhaled, then put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said. The Princess blushed, and Sokka leaned in. "I want to show you something."

"Are you sure about this?" Yue looked uneasy as the two of them picked their way up the face of the glacier. "I'm not allowed out here on my own, especially not this early…"

"You're not on your own! You've got me!" Sokka flashed a grin through the predawn light. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll protect you. I promise."

Reaching the top, Sokka offered his hand to Yue, pulling her up the last step. Then, he pointed. "Okay, now look."

The sun was rising over the ocean, painting the sky scarlet. The sea glittered with flecks of light. The city of the Northern Water Tribe was flush with soft pinks, like it was carved out of something far more vibrant than ice.

"I saw this spot while our boats were pulling in," explained Sokka. "It looked like it was really high up, and might be the first spot to get light in the morning, so…" he trailed off, seeing the look in Yue's eyes.

"It's beautiful, Sokka. Thank you." The Princess smiled. "But you know what?"

Sokka tilted his head. "What?"

"I think that spot is even higher."

Then, Yue took off, laughing, hitching up her robes as she ran across the flat glacier top. She was headed for a small hill, her boots sinking into the fresh, unmarked snow.

"Hey! Come back!" Sokka ran after her, stepping awkwardly into Yue's footprints. As they drew near to the top of the hill, Yue slowed, letting Sokka catch up. She turned and looked at him, face glowing in the blood-gold dawn. Sokka was struck speechless by how beautiful she was.

Yue sat, and Sokka sat next to her, looking out over the city. "It's sad," said Yue, after a moment. "I can see everywhere I've ever been, from right here." She sighed. "Your life sounds so…" She paused. "Exciting."

"Oh, well…" Sokka looked flustered. "It's… eventful."

But once again, Yue's expression had fallen. "Our city must seem… dull."

"Dull? Huh? No, no it's not dull!" Sokka crouched down next to the Princess, his expression earnest. "Your city is beautiful! It's… it's gorgeous! All the- the canals and the little boat thingies!"

Yue smiled. "Gondolas."

"Yeah! The gondolas are great… and the company isn't bad either."

Yue blushed at that, and bit her lip.

"Hey," said Sokka, and then, all in one breath: "How about you come with me?"

Yue startled. "What?"

"How about you come with me? I mean, not necessarily all the way to the South Pole, if you don't want to, but my dad and I are going to be touring the Northern Annex, and-"

"Oh, Sokka, That's so kind of you. But I really can't leave. My father's the chief, he'd never allow…"

"I'm a chief's son!" protested Sokka. "I'm a Prince!"

"It's kind of you," repeated Yue, and turned her body away.

Sokka bit his tongue. He was losing her! He had to do something…

"You're so beautiful," he said.

Yue's eyes went wide, and for a moment Sokka feared that he'd done something wrong. But then she pressed her lips to his, and for a few moments he was lost in bliss.

"Oh," said Sokka, when they parted. "Wow."

But Yue, to his immense confusion, had tears in her eyes.

"Yue! What's wrong? Am… am I that bad a kisser?"

Yue laughed, but the tears began trickling down her cheeks.

"Oh no. You're not… engaged or anything, are you?"

"No!" Yue choked, and shook her head. "I'm not…"

She turned away, and looked out at the horizon, where the sun was now entirely free of the sea.

Hesitantly, Sokka put his arm around her shoulders. "Yue…"

"I'm going to die."

When Yue spoke, her words were so disconnected, so alien, that Sokka wasn't sure he was hearing her right. He almost laughed, at the sheer absurdity of it.

"You're a what?"

"I'm going to die."

"You're… no you're not!"

Yue lifted a hand, and put it on Sokka's cheek. "I am."

Then she told him. About how she was born half-dead. About how the Moon Spirit had saved her, had blessed her, marked her, touched her. "Sokka, I've been chosen," she said. "The High Shamans… they know I have to become a sacrifice. I have to…" She paused. "I have to become the moon."

"But that's not…" Sokka trailed off. That wasn't how they did it in the Southern Tribe. But this wasn't the South. He put his hand over hers and squeezed it. "That can't be right. They're wrong."

"It's my fate." There was a tone of finality in her voice, like a blade falling.

"They're wrong." The chief's son was looking right at her, his expression desperate.

Yue shook her head sadly. "It's what the Shamans say."

For a moment, Sokka said nothing. He first looked conflicted, then determined. And he kissed her again.

Yue jerked back in surprise. "Sokka-! We… we can't do this. I'm going to die."

"When?" asked the southerner, leaning forward intently.

"I don't know… A few years, a few months…"

"Then we have time." He looked into her eyes, and squeezed her hand so hard it hurt. "Let's make the most of it."

"You don't care?" Yue was fifteen. All the young men in the Northern Water Tribe should have been courting her. No one did. Who would want to marry a girl with this fate?

"No, I don't."

Sokka's voice was earnest and low, and it was likely at that moment that Yue fell.