Book 1: Water : Prologue

I just want to say, thank you to everyone who's reading and/or reviewing this. I know there are waaaaay better stories out there, so thank you so much. I love you all! :)

Last part of the prologue now. I hope you like it.

Free hugs for all of you!

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Prologue: Part 6

Music night. A night Iroh and many of the crewmen loved and Zuko barely tolerated. Rhian sat next to the disgruntled prince, loving every note. She'd always loved music. Back at the orphanage, it'd always seemed like an escape. She could listen to the tunes rise and fall, the lyrics would sooth her and tell her a story. Take her away from the place where no one even saw her. She loved to sing, and had always wanted to play an instrument, but she'd never had the money for one.

Closing her eyes, she let the sounds wash over her.

"It's just music, you know." Zuko said, nudging her side.

"It's beautiful." She smiled. He stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"You look happy."

Happy. Wasn't that a hell of a concept. Rhian blinked, thinking about it. "I am." She said, her voice tinged with wonder.

"You sound surprised."

"It's just, I can't remember the last time I was happy."

Zuko turned away. "I can."

Standing up briskly, he walked away from her.

oO0.0Oo

"Really?" Rhian said, awestruck. "It's for me?"

"Yes, really." Iroh said, putting the instrument in her hands. It was wooden with a stretched, pear shaped body and a long neck. Five silk strings reached down the surface of the wood, reminding her of a guitar or a lute. "It's called a Pipa. Zuko mentioned you enjoyed the music the other night, so I thought we could add the instrument to our lessons, and you could take part in music night. Maybe play us some songs from your home."

Rhian didn't know what to say, simply staring at the pipa in wonder. No one had ever given her anything like this. Suddenly, she threw her arms around the older man. "Thank you, Iroh. Thank you so much."

Iroh just patted her on the back, caught off guard. "You're welcome, Rhian."

oOoOoOoOo

It turned out she was no natural talent at the pipa, but she worked and worked at it. She went almost nowhere without it, finding every moment she could to practice and get better. Always practicing. It drove Zuko mad and a few times he'd tried to burn it, but whenever he attacked her precious instrument Rhian would launch herself at him in a vicious attack to protect it. Eventually, Zuko got the message that the pipa was off limits. If he so much as touched a string, she would have his blood. So he limited himself to snarling at it whenever he saw it instead.

As well as history, music and the general knowledge of the land she had come to, Rhian found she had to learn to fight.

"The world is at war." Iroh said. "To not learn to fight would be foolish indeed. Even the girl's schools in the Fire Nation teach their charges to fight from a young age."

So Rhian learned, not that she didn't want to learn in the first place. Iroh was a great teacher. Patient at times, when he had to be, but tough and unyielding at others. She learned both the theory behind the forms and putting them to practice. Like the pipa, she practiced and practiced until she got it right, every time.

One day, without knocking, she walked into Zuko's quarters and nearly lost her head. Literally, she just managed to duck in time. Zuko's dual swords whistled over her head, slicing through a lock of her hair that just wasn't fast enough. Looking down at the lost lock, she thanked the spirits for the difficult training Iroh had been putting her through. Her new reflexes ruled.

"Rhian!" Zuko yelled. "What the hell are you doing!? Knock first! I almost killed you!"

But Rhian wasn't paying attention. She was staring at the dual swords in Zuko's hands and glancing to the spare set by the wall. Grinning, she turned to him. "Could you teach me?"

oOoOoOoOo

And that was how she spent her days. Practicing, always practicing. She might not be a bender, but she was determined to carve her own place in this world. As Zuko hunted for the Avatar and learned firebending, Rhian mastered the ever-present pipa and fought against imaginary enemies, or the crewmen when Iroh thought she was ready for an actual challenge. Over the years, the crewmen stopped being a challenge for her, but still she practiced. Zuko taught her to use the Dual Swords. They weren't weapons usually taught by the Fire Nation, and Iroh had no experience in them. But as she got better, so did Zuko, having gained an actual opponent to train with. They both mastered them over time, though she never did manage to really beat him. He was just better at them, she guessed.

Deep inside, she always felt something coming. Something she needed to be ready for. But she didn't know what. So she just trained.

Everyday, when Zuko practiced his firebending, Rhian practiced moving things with her mind. Making shields, and barriers, and floating things around. She never tried anything like lifting the ship again, she wasn't that stupid, though as she got stronger, better, a part of her hoped she actually could. One day. That was the goal she would work towards.

oO0.0Oo

Time went by, their abilities got stronger, and they grew closer. As close as Zuko would allow anyway. She could honestly say, without reservation, that Zuko was her best friend. He was her only friend, but still, she loved him like family. Still, there was always this space around him he wouldn't let anyone in, no matter what. But when he threw up his walls she couldn't breach, she would turn to Iroh, who had truly become like a father to her. And she loved him so much.

Over two years had gone by since the day they'd pulled Rhian out of the sea. Like any other day, the ship drifted through the ice peaks of the South Pole and they were sitting on the deck, Iroh playing a game with some tiles. He'd tried to teach her a few times but Rhian just didn't get it, so she was levitating things over her head in complicated patterns and strumming her pipa while Zuko stared out at the horizon. In the distance a, bright beam of blue light shot into the sky.

"Finally." Zuko said, eyes narrowing dangerously.

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