The next chapter will be up within the day, but it'll be short kind of like this chapter.
"The day we have feared for so long has arrived," Chief Arnook announced before his people. "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts!" The room filled with conflicted emotions, each person refusing to look at one another. Probably fearing they would cause a scene. I turned to Yue, wondering how our Princess was dealing with the news. She looked sad and helpless. Knowing her, she had fear for her people and their safety. She was just like any stereotypical kind hearted princess that was loved by her people. Before I met her I found her character rather dull, but after meeting her she wasn't so bad. She was still the same person but I guess it was just my view that had changed. She wasn't a character to me anymore, she was someone real. "Now as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" Arnook shouted, his voice echoing. Once he finished his prayer to the spirits he lowered his arms and looked at his people. "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission." Almost immediately Sokka shot up from his seat.
"Count me in!" he said and ignored his sister's protest.
"Be warned, many of you will not return" Arnook said with a grim face. "Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task." The men silently formed a line to receive the mark trying to ignore the quiet cries of their families. Yue and Pakku got up from their seats and stepped down to the level Arnook was. I stayed and watched from afar. I couldn't recall difficultly watching this scene when I was home. Were there this many distressed faces? I wasn't too surprised to see Sokka to be the second one to receive a mark. I would have felt the pride of a friend if it weren't for the drama behind the scene. For the longest time they didn't dare look at one another but when they finally did it was like they were trying to read the other's heart. When they broke their stare I saw Yue silently crying to herself. Seeing her cry made me wonder if she cried often before she met Sokka. I quickly walked over to her and stood beside her, positioned enough so that no one could see her face. I didn't speak or even glance at her, knowing that if I paid any attention to her she would break down.
Having Yue cry behind me made me realize how limited our time left together was. With the Fire Nation coming out way meant that I would need to help Aang in battle. I had always known this day would come and had prepared for the goodbye. Why was it that I felt so uneasy? I felt fear, fear of failure, and that of a guilty conscious. The fact that Yue would become a sacrifice to save the world was something I could never protect her from. I felt like I'd betrayed her by selling her out despite having become her friend. I regret accepting the chief's offer. If I had rejected it maybe then I wouldn't have become so attached. Then I wouldn't have to regret forming a bond with Yue.
((Brianna's P.O.V))
"I'm sorry Chief, I can't keep watching Princess. You're going to have to find someone else" Rebecca told Arnook.
"I understand, you're duty is to the Avatar" he said in a rather sad voice. "Rest assured, I will find someone to guard my daughter. He then took a step back and bowed, "I leave the fate of my people to you."
"No pressure," Rebecca said in a sarcastic tone. To my surprise the chief and Rebecca exchanged smiles and shook one another's hand.
"It's going to be weird not seeing you around here," he whispered. I was rather shocked I hadn't realized how fond he was of Rebecca. "Yue's really going to miss you. She thinks of you as a sister." Rebecca forced on a smile.
"Tell the princess that I'm honored that" And with that Arnook left. I frowned, I didn't like how close my best friend was getting to Yue. It had taken me so long to form a friendship with her, and them a matter of days maybe a few weeks.
"That's not fair," I whined and pulled at Rebecca's sleeve. "You're supposed to be my sister, and my mommy's adopted Asian daughter!" I waved my arms around at a high speed. "Since when did you and Yue get so close?" I then noticed the look on Rebecca's face. She was forcing herself to put on a stone face but she looked like she was going to burst into tears. Small tears dropped from her eyelashes to the ground as she slid to the ground. I placed a hand on her back but she just slapped it away. I always forgot that she never liked to be comforted. She always told me that it made her feel weak. A rather stupid reason if you asked me. Everyone cries at one point in their life. Why was it such a bad thing? I was just about to try and comfort her again, but she suddenly straightened herself up. She slapped her cheeks and wiped her tears.
"No sense in crying" she whispered to herself and stood up. "I'm gonna make a difference. I don't know how or what I'll change, but I'm going to make sure this battle isn't the same one we watched on the TV screen."
"Yeah," I shouted agreeing with her. "It'll be cooler! Cause we'll be in it!" To my surprise Rebecca nodded her head and smiled.
"You got that right," she said showing confidence. "Let's kick ass!"
