Chapter 7 – Rewriting the past

So sorry this took a while to come out, I've been pretty busy with school lately and now that school's online I seem to somehow be getting more work than normal. But this is just a chapter to explain everything.

This is also the most mature chapter thus far in the story and I'm not sure if there's going to be anything worse than this in the story yet.

-Six years ago-

"Go find your dad, sweetie. I'll handle this."

Kya's voice was firm and adamant, determined to protect her daughter Katara at whatever cost. The eight year old girl was standing by the doorway, body trembling, as her feet were frozen in shock at the sight of the firebender towering over her mother. Her hands were held together tightly, and her normally sparkling and sweet eyes were filled with dread.

But thankfully she understood. She ran through the fur curtains covering the doorframe and out into the battlefield outside, in a desperate search for her father. Kya could hear her yells from inside the walls of her igloo of "Father! Dad! There's a strange man in our house!"

Satisfied that her daughter was no longer in harm's way, she turned around once more to face the firebender. He was an aging man, the first wrinkles of old age showing at the corners of his face, yet his size still outclassed Kya. He may have been older, but he was surely stockier and more musclier.

"Now tell me, who is it? Who's the waterbender?" he spat at Kya, causing Kya to recoil slightly at his tone.

"There are no waterbenders here!" Kya hissed back. "The Fire Nation took them all away a long time ago!"

"You're lying. My source says there's one waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe. We're not leaving until we find the waterbender!"

That made Kya on edge. A source? There couldn't be! There weren't any more traders that came to the South Pole anymore and there was no one in the tribe that could have done such a treacherous act. Or at least, she thought, I hadn't thought anyone would do that. But that wasn't important. What was important was figuring out how to save her daughter.

"If I do, do you promise…" she trailed off, closing her eyes and prepared herself for the worst. She was faced with an extremely difficult decision. Her daughter, Katara, was the waterbender these Fire Nation troops were so badly looking for, and she knew full well what would happen to her daughter were she caught. She would probably be sent to a prison, where the other waterbenders were kept, and she wouldn't last a minute. She was an eight year old girl, hardly capable of catching a fish let alone learning to survive in an environment such as a prison. She could simply not risk getting caught. Yet if Kya took her place, it would surely only delay the inevitable. Katara would be caught someday and it was only a matter of time before she would surely be whisked away.

But that day wouldn't be today. Kya needed to make sure of that.

"…do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?" she finished, opening her eyes to see Yon Rha nod in response. "It's me. Take me as your prisoner."

The man's eyes flared nefariously, and he smiled cruelly as he spoke. "I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today," he slurred, curling his hands into tight fists and summoning fireballs in each hand.

For the first time, Kya became fearful. She was willing to sacrifice her freedom for her daughter, and she had presumed herself to be just as volunteering to lay down her life. Yet that mentality dissipated quickly and her eyes, once filled with bravery and courage in the face of the firebender, were now full of fear and regret. But she was a survivor. She wouldn't die today. Not here.

The firebender brought his fist back, flaming tendrils dancing out of the minute gaps within his clenched fingers. He prepared himself for the finishing move, setting his target for the pathetic woman who had become paralysed on the ground in front of him. But before he could kill her, burn her, rid the world of this useless woman, she spoke. Out of turn, mind you.

"Then don't take me as a prisoner!" she pleaded holding her hands up in front of her face. The soldier hesitated, but still kept his flaming fist poised to strike. Peering out from her fingers, Kya saw that the man had paused. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself.

"Don't take me as a prisoner… take me as a concubine." It was desperate, it was pathetic, it was everything Kya normally wasn't, but she had been driven to extreme measures.

After a moment, the firebender's lips turned upwards in a cruel smile and his eyes narrowed, now seeing the tribal woman in a new regard.

He hated to admit it, but he was a lonely man. Nearing his fifties, he had still not found a partner and had begun to grow lonely. He spent what little of his wage he had left after tax and catering for his mother on ugly prostitutes in a nearby town. He had never been able to feel satisfied with his life. But now, with this woman practically throwing herself at him for her own survival, he could see the potential. Yes, he could see now that she was actually quite attractive. She would make a fine concubine.

She, on the other hand, despised herself. She had just offered herself to an ugly, pathetic man for the sake of her survival. She hated everything about that and in that moment, regretted picking sexual servitude over a fiery death. She hated that now, for as long as her life would exist, she would live without the comfort of her family.

The firebender strutted over to Kya, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up to her feet, all the while devilishly eyeing her up and down. "We'd best be moving," he purred, "our little raid should be over soon." His eyes suddenly locked still, staring at her neckline. "Take that off. No Water Tribe jewellery in the Fire Nation."

Kya sighed. Why the necklace? The last thing she would have to remember Hakoda by? Was this the final cost of her survival? She reached round and loosened the strap from around her neck, lifting it up and over her head.

She knelt back down and placed it on the floor in the middle of the room, hoping Hakoda would see it and know what had happened. Vaguely, she hoped that this would help him one day find her.

No sooner had she placed the necklace on the ground was she yanked back on her feet. With his free hand, the firebender blasted a massive hole in the back of the igloo, opening up a new entrance leading directly to the back wall of the tribe, unguarded and unwatched ass everyone else was fighting off the invaders. The firebender ran, with Kya half-dragged alongside him to the wall.

With another hefty blast, the back wall cracked open, leaving a steaming hole leading to the frozen wasteland beyond. "Can't have it looking like a waterbender escaped, can we?", the firebender sneered with his twisted grin. He stepped through the exit with Kya dawdling in tow, keeping her eyes and head down so as to mask her tears.

They walked around the perimeter of the wall, keeping careful so as to not get spotted by any Water Tribe warriors still defending it. From outside Kya could hear the muffled sounds of yells and the clanging of weapons, making her blood curdle. She could only imagine what was happening inside. She knew how brutal these raids could be. After all, her friend Kirima had been taken in one just like this. Blood had stained the snow for weeks afterwards.

Finally, they had made it to the hulking frame of the Fire Nation battleship. Its port entrance had been lowered completely down to reveal a polished steel ramp leading into the underbelly of the ship. The entrance was flanked by two guards wielding long spears, who snapped to attention once Kya's captor came into view.

"Pack it up," he snarled at the two. "We're done here. We've found what we were looking for. Let's not spend any more time in this shithole." The two nodded and marched inside the ship, leaving Kya and the firebender alone on the ramp. Turning to face Kya, he spoke. "Get a good look of this dump, because it's the last you'll ever see of it." He laughed, and Kya turned around to face the now-decimated Southern Water Tribe.

Igloos lay crumpled and collapsed on the ground. Sealskin rugs and tents were all aflame, with old women viciously waving at them to try and douse the fires. Old women were tending to young warriors' wounds, while a growing mound of unmoving bodies lay to their side. Presumably all dead. Children were huddled in the back of the tribe, whimpering and clinging onto one another for dear life. Among those kids she could see her son, Sokka, standing valiantly in front of the herd of young children. He held his little boomerang aloft and was doing his best to defend those little kids. So much like his father, she thought. I'm going to miss you so much my little warrior. I love you.

She looked around further and could see Hakoda and Katara running desperately through the masses back towards their home. Her heart tore at her chest, realising she never got a proper chance to say goodbye to any of them. She prayed that the necklace Hakoda once gave her would be solace enough. Hakoda, Katara, I'm so sorry. I gave myself up so weakly and I never even got to say goodbye. I love you both so much.

The blare of a horn resounded throughout the scene, and the Fire Nation soldiers on the ground all perked their heads towards the ship. The firebender noticed this too, and yanked Kya further inside. She could see all the Fire Nation soldiers start to run back towards the ship, met with no resistance from the Water Tribe warriors who were exhausted from the day's battle. They left behind bloody footprints in the snow, sending a chill up Kya's spine.

Once the last man arrived aboard, the main entrance to the hull of the ship began to creak closed as the navy boat pulled away from the icy shore. Kya was granted one last desperate glimpse of her homeland before it was rudely shut off by a clunk, causing the hull to descend into complete darkness.

Oil lamps slowly lit up, one by one, providing an eerie glow to display to harsh interior. Racks of weapons and machinery were piled up against the walls, and brutish Fire Nation soldiers were streaming into narrow halls to dormitories and to the deck. Soon, the only two that were left were Kya and her captor, who held an evil glint in his eye.

He swung her around quickly and pressed his dirty, greasy lips onto Kya's. Her eyes widened with shock and dismay as his hands quickly scoured her body and his tongue forced its way into Kya's mouth, making her consciously repress the urge to vomit. His hands felt coarse and gangly, nothing like Hakoda's strong yet gentle grasp.

The man pulled away abruptly, and grinned at her evilly. He began marching through the corridors, tightly holding Kya's wrist and leading her through the labyrinth of metal. All around her she could hear the sounds of men laughing and grunting, presumably admiring the spoils of their most recent conquest. She felt miserable. This was life now. The rest of her days, spent carrying out this disgusting little man's darkest desires. She shuddered.

The two approached a heavy metal door at the end of a hallway, adorned with a small, crimson raven insignia. The man opened the door and beckoned Kya inwards with his free hand, causing Kya to gulp. She knew this display of choice was merely a façade; she had no other choice than to enter the room. She stepped gingerly into the room, and flinched as the man roughly slapped her rear as she passed him by. The room was lit with wax candles and was more well-decorated than the rest of the ship she had seen thus far, with traditional tapestries hanging against the walls and a window displaying a view of the Southern Ocean. The ice of her homeland was already far away in the distance.

From behind her, she heard the door slam shut. Swivelling around, she gasped at the sight of the man approaching her, unfastening his belt. "It's about time we got ourselves acquainted," he slurred, pulling down his pants. Kya clenched her eyes shut.

"The name's Yon Rha. You and me are going to have such fun together."

Three years had passed, and Kya felt cheated. She hadn't had the slightest bit of fun.

Those three years had been the worst of her life. Trapped in the confines of Yon Rha's property, she was forced into a life of sexual servitude and wasn't permitted to exit the grounds. Her needs were always forfeit to his, and she had been violently abused and raped countless times.

But she had to suck it up. She couldn't fight back. Not if she wanted to risk exposing that she wasn't in fact a waterbender, in which case she would surely be killed on the spot for betraying Yon Rha. If that were to happen, she knew full well that Yon Rha would only go sailing right back to the Southern Water Tribe and kill every last one of them until he stumbled across her precious Katara. And by the spirits she was never going to let that happen.

But she just couldn't bear it there anymore. She couldn't go on living like a servant and surviving on meagre food and water rations. She had to find some way out of here and escape this blasted house, even if she would never be able to return home for risk of endangering the tribe.

Fortunately, the other servants had warmed up to Kya's situation. Yon Rha and his mother also lived with two elderly servants stolen from Earth Kingdom villages, who pitied Kya for wasting her prime years in this hole. Gui, a groundkeeper who had been taken after failures to pay the unfair taxes the colonialists had set on his village, had shown Kya a secret passage through a flower bush away from the main entrance. While the maid, Tao, pack Kya a bag full of supplies, clothes, maps and money for her escape.

She planned to travel to the Earth Kingdom and live in a recluse village, somewhere the Fire Nation couldn't touch her. She had considered moving to one of the abandoned air temples, but she had decided that she wouldn't be able to be self-sufficient and grow her own food at such high altitudes. But otherwise, she just wanted to wait this war out, if it ever ended at all, and then go back home. Hopefully Hakoda was waiting for her and hadn't replaced her. Hopefully Katara and Sokka were both still safe.

Kya could worry about that later right now, because currently she only had the luxury of whether or not she had been found missing yet or not. It would only be a matter of time until Yon Rha wanted satisfaction, and she needed to be long gone by the time that happened The weather was extremely stormy luckily, so the heavy rain helped to mask the sound and imprints of her footsteps.

She reached the edge of the property after a minute of gathering her things and muttering a quick goodbye and thank you to Gui and Tao, and squeezed her way through the rose flower bush Gui showed her. The hole was only a small gap between the muddy ground and the bush, only about 40 centimetres high. Kya had to get down on her chest and crawl through, pushing her bag through first.

Once she was on the other side, she stopped to collect her breath. She was really doing this. She was actually going to escape that sick, demented man!

In pure instinct, she raised her arms above her head and started laughing, letting the rain streak down her skin and wash away residue dirt left by her escape. Of course, she couldn't stay like this for long, she should get moving. But this was just such a sweet moment, it would be rude to not savour it.

Kya was brought back to her senses by a clapping coming from a nearby tree. She tentatively turned around and slowly brought her hands back down as she saw a hooded figure emerge from the shadows behind the trunk. He continued to clap, and four more figures appeared from the shadow and flanked him. Kya's heart fluttered with horror.

"Y-Yon Rha? This isn't what it looks like, I swear!" she pleaded, staring up into the face of the clapping man. Two silhouettes removed their hoods to reveal the skull-shaped helmets of the Fire Nation army, and fell into a defensive stance.

Yon Rha chuckled. "Kya, Kya, Kya. I always thought you'd be better than this. Yet trying to escape? This is unbecoming of you."

"But how? How did you know I was going to escape? The only other people who knew were…" Kya trailed off, realising what had happened. At this, the two remaining hidden faces removed their hoods to reveal Yon Rha's two housekeepers, each looking down at Kya with equal parts contempt and disgust.

"What? You thought Gui and Tso would betray me after so many years of service? Og course they told me what you intended to do. They're loyal to me, which is more than I can say for you. I just can't believe you actually went ahead with it. I thought we had something special. But I clearly can't trust you again after this, and I don't want someone who doesn't trust me"

Kya sank to her knees, her head hung. This was how she was to die. "Be done with it then," she groaned, resigned.

Yon Rha smirked. His hand stretched outward and his palm lit alight, a large flame dancing over the coarse skin. "You know how I normally deal with these situations but frankly, you don't deserve it." He snuffed out his fire and grabbed Kya's face with his hand, yoinking her awkwardly onto her feet until their faces were a mere inch apart. He suddenly looked furious and his eyes, usually dormant ever since his resignation from the Southern Raiders, burned with a newfound intensity Kya had never seen before.

"No, death is too good for you," he continued, growling. "I want you to rot, I want you to spend the rest of your life withering away in jail, regretting the day you took my gracious hospitality for granted. And when you die a sad, pathetic death, I want you to remember my face and who put you there."

"I hate you!" she snarled through gritted teeth, returning Yon Rha's intense stare right back at him. Spirits, she wanted to kill this man. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

"Well, now that I see all love is lost." He released his vice grip on Kya's face and turned around so she was facing his back. "Soldiers! Arrest this whore! She is an enemy of the Fire Nation and a treacherous waterbender. I want you to transport her immediately so she can rot with her other grotesquely inferior bender comrades."

The two men standing either side of Yon Rha stepped forward and hoisted Kya up by her arms. They began todrag her through the mud, but Kya kept fighting. She was twisting and turning, screaming at Yon Rha, desperately doing anything to avoid imprisonment.

That was, until, the brutal fist of one of the guards came crashing down onto her head, making her collapse limply to the ground. Then all was black.

"Get your hands off me!" Kya exclaimed, as she was dragged through the filthy halls of the gaol. Hands on either side groped metal bars and eyes that may have been familiar to Kya, had she cared to look, watched on curiously as she was pulled towards a cell. She continued to kick about, fruitlessly resisting her imprisonment, until she fell silent from a kick in the ribs.

The prison was an elaborate maze of cells, each room surrounded by several feet of concrete. There was no plumbing whatsoever visible on the walls or on the ceilings, which was meant to render the waterbenders helpless. Yet, Kya noticed, several of the benders were kept in cages suspended over a large hole

She was escorted to a cell with another guard stationed in front, who was ready to open the door. He undid the lock and Kya was thrown inside, followed by the sound of the door slamming shut. Trying to regain her bearings, Kya stumbled up against a wall, trying to get to her feet. The room was as close to barren, the only things occupying its space was a metal table bolted to the ground, two mats situated on the floor, and a person sitting cross-legged on the mat furthest from Kya, looking at her uncertainly.

Wait. Another person. Kya swivelled her head immediately and took in the person's appearance as they slowly stood up, equally as dumbfounded in the other's appearance. It was crazy how much she looked like Kya's old friend. The same long black hair, the same brown skin, the same unusually light blue eyes, much brighter than anyone else's from the tribe. In fact…

"…Kirima?"

At this, the other girl's eyes widened even further. "Kya?" she enquired, edging further towards Kya, hands stretching out towards her face. All of a sudden, Kirima jumped towards her and flung her arms around her neck, excaliming, "Kya! I can't believe it's really you!"

Kya laughed, a genuine smile forming on her face for what felt like the first time since she left the Southern Water Tribe. She wrapped her arms around Kirima and returned the embrace, holding her old friend close. Kya let out a heavy sigh through her nose, and sunk her forehead into the nook of Kirima's neck. "Oh, Kirima, I've missed you so much. I was worried I was never going to see you again," she confessed, eliciting a small laugh from Kirima.

After a minute of sobbing and laughing the two women broke apart, tears in each of their eyes and enormous grins on their faces. Kya took the opportunity to see how her friend had been coping with life in prison, and the results were unfortunately as expected. Kirima's hair was fraying and her skin, once a rich tone, was paler. Her appendages were skinnier and her face had clearly aged, with more wrinkles showing on her forehead and eye sockets. But her light-blue eyes still remained untouched, still containing the mirth of her youth, and her smile had not changed.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Kirima finally said, now properly realising the gravity of the scenario. "They've only been imprisoning waterbenders and I didn't think that you were… can you waterbend now?"

Kya grimaced. She turned her head to face the cell door where a guard presumably stood outside and spoke in a loud, over-exaggerated tone. "Yes, I am in fact a waterbender now, Kirima! It is such a shame that I was caught and placed here in this prison!"

Turning back to Kirima, who wore a puzzled expression, Kya placed a hand to her lips. "I'm still not a waterbender," she whispered into Kirima's ear. "But the Southern Raiders were going to take the last one, so I gave myself up instead and pretended to be one. And right now, everyone from the Fire Nation thinks I still am one, so I don't want to know what will happen if they find out I'm not."

Kirima was dismayed, but made sure to conceal her verbal exclamations. "But I thought I was the last waterbender from the South after Hama! Why did they attack again?"

Kya sighed. "My daughter, Katara, is a waterbender. I gave myself up six years ago so that she could survive."

Kirima's hands went up to her mouth. "Oh, spirits. Kya, I'm so sorry. You're so brave for protecting her like that."

Kya nodded, raising a hand to brush away a stray tear. "it was hard to have to leave my family like that, but that was the only way. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if something were to have happened to Katara or Sokka that day."

"They must've put an informant in the tribe or something. There weren't any raids for ages and then all of a sudden, they came for Katara. There's no other explanation. No one from outside of the tribe has ever seen her bend, no traders, nothing. She's only done it a handful of times anyhow."

Kirima nodded. "That makes sense. But wait, if you say that was three years ago, why did it take you so long to get here?"

Kya looked away. "I was… indebted to someone for a while. I'd rather not talk about it right now, if you don't mind. Once I've recovered, maybe."

"Of course, Kya. You must've had a rough time since I last saw you. I don't want to make it any worse. But there is a silver lining, though. All of the other people from the tribe that are here are going to be so happy to see you again!"

Kya flashed a fake smile, retreating onto her bed and curling her knees up to her chest. Right now, more than anything, she wanted to be back home with her family. She knew that seeing all of the tribe members would do nothing but trigger memories of the people she left behind. But such was life. She had to keep looking forward and hoping for the best if she ever wanted to see Hakoda, Katara or Sokka ever again.

"Yeah, I've missed everybody," she replied, unsure herself who she was really talking about.

A brief silence ensued. "Hey, Kya?"

"Yeah?"

"… How's Bato doing?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask."

Notes:

By no way do I view this as any form of redemption for Yon Rha. He is imo the most twisted character within the series, and I haven't used the decision to reverse his murder of Kya to paint him in a good light. In fact, I hope I've made him seem worse.

Also, I've decided to change the setting and size of Yon Rha's house. We see in the show that it's nothing more than a simple house but I doubt that the leader of the Southern Raiders, an elite division of the Fire Navy, wouldn't be living in higher standards.

Also, on a completely unrelated note to A:TLA, how good was that SU Future finale? I absolutely love that show so much too, and I'm so annoyed that that's probably going to be the end of the franchise! But I see so many avenues for doing a fic after the ending (no spoilers for those who haven't watched) I'm going to start brainstorming ideas.