A. N. Well, here it is. After such a long wait and a whole lot of writing/re-reading/comparing/scrapping on my part, I present to you the fifth chapter of A Princess's Legacy. I'm doing my best here, and even though it could be a lot better, hopefully it's at least satisfactory. I apologize for the shortness.

Disclaimer: Um, hello? Obsessed Zutarian here! Obviously, I don't own Avatar.

A Princess's Legacy

Chapter Five

How Good Am I?

A servant knocked on my door. "Princess?" he called through the wood. "It's nearly time for dinner. We will wait for you." Before I could respond with a coherent thought, the sound of his heavy boots was almost too far away to hear.

We will wait for you, he had said. Ugh. I was so sick of being treated like I was so many times better than everyone. The girls at school had taken years to express their hatred of me, fearing that I would tattle. But each tentative insult sent my way to test the waters had been ignored, left to burn through my skin, and soon it was open season on the waterbending princess.

Opening the almost obnoxiously decorated wardrobe, I looked through my clothes. I'd packed only one other Fire Nation ensemble, having aways preferred blue when traveling to the South. Sweeping my parkas to the side, I extracted what I was looking for.

It was almost black in color, so dark was the red. A thick but lightweight black belt, a treasured gift from Aunt Toph, was cinched around the waist. Brighter leggings and a pair of gold bangles were contained in a small cloth sack closed with a drawstring.

I sighed, though, whenever I inspected it. This outfit was Fire Nation. And I wasn't all Fire Nation. I laid the dress on my bed, staring at it with sad eyes. Then, an idea struck me. Yanking my favorite Water Tribe garments off the rack, I sifted through the pockets in my lightest parka. There!

Two heavy blue beads with the sign of Yin and Yang, Tui and La, Ran and Shao, were in my hand. I was grinning uncontrollably. As I pulled the "up" portion of my hair out of its topknot I felt a bit uneasy about donning the beads. The hairpiece was a symbol of my royal status.

But the beads represented my namesake and the Water Tribes. Breathing deeply as if I was about to bend, I started braiding.

The dining hall was enormous. About fifty people were seated on wooden benches, licking their lips and staring at the meal the cooks had prepared. The food that had grown cold while they waited for me. They all stood when I entered the room, almost in unison. Despite the pep talk I'd given myself before leaving the room, I felt myself blushing and staring at the practical flats I'd worn. Urging myself to walk forward, I zeroed in on the single empty seat—at the head of the table. I gulped. Great. Fifty men (well, there were a few females scattered here and there, but it was mostly guys) staring at me—and the foreign beads in my hair—for at least an hour.

The captain was sitting to my right, ogling my hair as if it was alive. On my left sat his second-in-command, who was, thankfully, not of the opposite sex. She was looking into my eyes, her expression thoughtful, the hint of a triumphant grin twitching in the corner of her mouth. I cleared my throat and shakily introduced myself.

"Um, hi," I said, trying not to mumble, "I'm Yue."

She laughed exuberantly. "Well, of course I know who you are, your highness," she replied, still chortling. "Welcome aboard. I'm Jiang Lin." I nodded and shook her hand, her firm grip overwhelming me for a moment.

"It's nice to meet you."

Jiang Lin's laughter, which had faded into soft chuckles, erupted again. "I could say the same," she joked, taking a swig from her glass. When she was drinking, I took a more critical look at the officer. She looked about in her late twenties, with black hair like my father's. Her skin was even darker than mine, turned golden brown by the sun. She had an open face and otherwise plain features, but eyes that sparkled like stars. She was beautiful in a natural sort of way. More than one man was staring in her direction.

"Say," she asked, gesturing at my braids, "those wouldn't be Water Tribe beads, now?"

I stiffened for a second, and then relaxed again. Her question wasn't judgmental or grudging, it was simply curious.

"Mm-hmm."

"Awfully pretty, those." She gazed at the blue stone with admiration.

"My mother gave them to me. She said the first Yue wore a pair just like them."

Jiang Lin seemed enchanted, but I wasn't quite sure why. I mean, they were only beads. "Fascinating. May I...?"

Untying the black ribbon on my left braid, I worked with my thick hair until I could slip off the ornament. It was wider than my thumb, and just as long. I held out my hand, palm up, offering it to her. She snapped it up instantly.

"So well-crafted," she murmured, turning it over in her hand. After a full minute, she handed it back.

"That's a beauty you've got there, princess. I hope this isn't too prying—but why are you wearing those, and not your hairpiece? This is a Fire Nation ship, after all." Her voice sounded mechanical, like it was something she was repeating.

"Well, I'm not all Fire Nation, am I?" It was a confusing mix of cultures—to be on a ship called the Waterbender that was run by Fire Nation men and women, journeying to the South Pole with the cargo of a waterbending Fire Nation princess.

"Of course not, m'lady." The lieutenant looked like she wanted to say more, but she kept her mouth shut and let me talk.

"Yes, I'm the princess of the Fire Nation, but my mother isn't, and I'm a waterbender. Not to mention the fact that I won't even take the throne, that's for my brother. And I am in traditional—" I stared at the Earth Kingdom inspired belt and corrected myself "—or at least acceptable Fire Nation clothing. So why can't I show my other heritage in this way?"

Jiang Lin was beaming triumphantly. She whipped her head around to glare at someone behind her, squinting, with a challenge apparent in her eyes. I didn't get it. What was going on?

"I think," she said sneakily after turning back to me, "that you can show it in another way." She saw my surprised look and leaned in to clarify.

"Princess," she said, grinning from ear to ear, "exactly how good of a waterbender are you?"

I was standing on an iceberg, which was barely large enough for me to balance on.

"Agh!" I cried. My feet were bare. The ice felt rough and razor-sharp, not to mention unbearably cold.

The waves came harder and faster. I gasped when the water sloshed over the ice. It burned...why? It was melting the edges of my iceberg.

Searching for something that made sense, my eyes landed on a white dot far away. What had my mom told me? Follow the moon.

A freezing wind came up. It blew my hair around.

Agni, my hair was white!

The following day there was much to do. First, Jiang Lin had to get her band together.

"It's all girls," she said, "except for one. But he's definitely not a man at heart. Now you just need to focus on practicing, princess, and we'll be fine."

So I practiced, trying to forget my disturbing dream. Down in the galley there were barrels and barrels and more barrels full of water, more than I'd had access to in school. And when it rained that afternoon and the deck was deserted, I didn't even need that.

After a few last-minute adjustments, we were ready.

"Hello, all! This is your captain speaking. This evening we will be dining on...cook's choice? Ahem, yes. Cook's choice. So, uh, prepare to be surprised. After dinner we will have music night, as promised. So far we have three ensembles and two solos on the agenda. Dinner will commence in two hours."

I opened my wardrobe and shoved my Fire Nation clothes to the side, out of sight. Tonight, I wouldn't need them.

A. N. Yes, I know. A cliffie. And it's pretty obvious what she's going to happen?

I'm so, so, so sorry for the shortness. I tried to put in more, but it just didn't seem right. I'll post the next chapter ASAP, I'm working on it right now! And sorry about the filler. Fillerfillerfiller, is that all I can write?

Anyway, I promise that you'll see the South Pole within the next...let's say...three chapters? Okay, the next chapter will probably be music night, and by the end of the next chapter they'll reach the South Pole, if it all goes well and I don't dawdle too much.