Cathra

I look out my window across the dark compound as he opens the door to his group's cabin. For a brief moment, the light from inside his cabin portrays him as a dark silhouette. I hungrily look at his muscled torso while I can before Aelius closes the door to his cabin. I sigh under by breath, careful not to awaken my bunkmates. I didn't tell any of them that I snuck out to see Aelius. I don't know any of them well, and I was never big on trust anyways. I wasn't planning to use it in our fight, but I had a knife hidden inside my training bra in case anyone tried to seriously attack me. I wonder if the knife would have helped me at all in the sparring. Probably not.

I touch the center of my chest. That last ball of energy…

It had been invigorating. It was like having a small inferno inside of me for a few seconds, filling me with warmth and power. I felt it course through me, and for a couple of moments I had felt like I could do anything. I was terrified when my body had suddenly collapsed. I was scared when I realized that I couldn't handle that power inside of me; to think that Aelius can use that power at any time he wants awes me.

Standing across from him on that beach awhile ago, I could tell that he was different. He wasn't a brute like the other guys his age that I've met. I've met plenty of brutes and have fallen for some of them. In the end, they all ended up breaking every promise they made me. To the chagrin of my father, I've had boyfriends from every nation. Well, except an Energybender boyfriend, but they don't count. They're too scattered to be considered a Nation.

Maybe that would change. Maybe Aelius would be the new leader of his people. With his silver eyes and his amazing voice, he could persuade armies to follow him. It's not a deep voice that commands respect, it's a soft elegant voice that draws your attention and you listen and understand every word and every meaning. A voice like his. His voice certainly got my attention.

I wrench myself away from the window. I can spend all day tomorrow daydreaming. I look at a lonely clock on the wall, and realize that I've already spent the first twenty minutes of the day daydreaming. I moan under my breath, careful not to wake my fellow cabin-mates up. I would only get about six hours of sleep if I were to pass out on my bed right now.

It's too bad that going to sleep, for me, has always been a few-hour long process. My mind races at night. My father always told me that it was because the fires of my head were unstoppable. Smart man, my father.

I lay on my uncomfortable mattress. The springs poke my back in the most uncomfortable places, almost as if the bed is designed to hurt me. It's nothing like what I'm used to back home. Back home, my bed would be about the size of three of the summer camp beds put together, it would be filled with soft feathers, and my blankets would be made out of only the finest wool. Here I'm lucky that my blanket isn't so threadbare it's transparent.

One would think that the who's who of the world could give the Republic City Harmony Camp enough money to purchase better materials. I know my family pays an extraordinary amount of money to send me to this camp. My father told me, before I came here, that this camp would straighten me out and show me how the other half of the world lived. Maybe the other half of the world lived like this a thousand years ago, father, but now the other half lives in brick and metal houses with electricity and clean water.

I pull my rough blanket over my body when I get into bed. It's a faint orange, almost faded. I look at the blanket of the girl who sleeps across from me. Hers is green. She's an Earthbender, and I think she's somehow related to one of the Bei Fong merchant families. I don't really care who she is as long as she isn't an Airbender or Waterbender.

I roll back and forth in my bed, fighting for some comfort. It doesn't work. I sigh. All those years of lessons and training about how to be strong and resist pain, and I'm brought down by a simple mattress and the cold night. Some Firebender I turned out to be.

Not that I'm a bad Firebender. My mother told me that I was burping fireballs by the age of three. My father popped me into the best Firebending academies the Fire Nation could provide, and I spent most of my childhood growing up among the children of the most powerful families in the Fire Nation. I learned how to manipulate heat next to someone claiming to be descended from Fire Lord Zuko, and learned how to read and write from a man who said he was related to Avatar Roku in one way or another. It was probably all a bunch of pig-cow droppings, but to them it meant something.

Tonight I fall asleep dreaming of being back home in my bed. The cool breeze blows into my dream, ruffling my imaginary silk curtains. I look around my room, which is over a thousand miles away, and remind myself that I'll be back there in a few weeks. Back to my home sweet home.

I groan and move down the breakfast line. I slowly grab a few rice balls, fumbling with the second one. I don't typically wake up until one or two in the afternoon back home. Waking up at seven in the morning is like locking me in a meat freezer. It drains all the life and energy out of me, and I can barely move. I pray that the rice balls will give me energy. I grab a handful of cow-chicken sausages in the hope that they will give me life.

I make it to the end of the line with a good-sized meal on my plate. I walk out of the kitchen and look around the crowded cafeteria. The walls of the place are covered with multicolored banners that are supposed to represent harmony and teamwork and other cute things that no one believes in anymore. The entire camp is designed to make us all work together and "learn that we're all human." It doesn't work.

I look around the large cafeteria and find the table that has the most Fire Nation kids sitting at it. I see a few Earthbenders eating with them, along with one Waterbender I've seen at our table before. Some of the Firebenders deal well with members of other Nations; I'm not one of those Firebenders. I can barely stand my Nation's alliance with the Earth Kingdom. Time was when we almost conquered the entire world, and we did it with the fires in our hearts and the strength in our bones. The Fire Nation has grown weak in the past two hundred years. Everyone knows it. It's why the Water and Air Nations banded together to try to get rid of us.

I slowly bring my plate of food over to the predominantly-Firebender table. I sit close to the end near a group of Firebenders I've talked to a few times. They're talking about something with a lot of emotion, and it takes me a few seconds before I realize the topic.

"I'm telling you Kaza, if we just hit them at the Western Air Temple, we'd have immediate access to the Northern Water Nation."

Kaza, a tall brown haired boy a few years younger than me, rolls his eyes. "We already have immediate access." He says in between bites of sausage. "The Earth Kingdom takes up the entire middle of the world, in case you haven't noticed."

The other boy doesn't give up. "But the less we have to rely on our rocky relationship-"

A girl to the boy's left giggles. "Oh, Tian, the second the Earth Kingdom turns on us we'll just have another go at them like we did during the First War…"

They all laugh. After a few seconds, I do too. They don't look at me like I'm crazy, so that must be a good sign. I decide to throw my two coins into the conversation.

"All we need is a big metal koala sheep and we can just eat our way through the walls of Ba Sing Se. Second time is the charm, right?" I sheepishly grin. Everyone that hears me laughs. I give a breath of relief inside my head.

Then I take in a quick breath when I meet eyes with the person who just entered the dining hall. He's tall, has a body structure that's lithe yet still very well muscled, and has light grey eyes that look unnatural contrasted with his light brown hair. He's holding a plate of food that looks almost empty compared to mine. I've heard stories about how Energybenders suck all the energy out of food they eat. I'm not sure if that's just a myth or fact, and I'm not going to ask Aelius that any time soon.

Aelius meets my eyes for a moment, and I force myself into giving him a small smile. I remember a trick one of my friends back home taught me, and flick my hair back behind my ear and look away. Back home its so much easier to get guys to pay attention to me. They all know who I am. Here, it doesn't matter who anyone is. Heritage means nothing in Republic City, because here they're trying to break every single barrier that divides the Four Nations from each other.

I look back to where Aelius was standing. He's not there anymore. I scan the room, but find no sign of him. He was wearing a pair of white shorts and a white shirt, which would certainly stand out amidst all the blues, greens, yellows, and reds that everyone else is wearing. The only other Energybender at the summer camp is a blind girl that always wears grey clothing. How she manages to wear the same color everyday, I'll never know. Maybe it's all she owns.

I look down at my plate of food. I've made a considerable dent in my plié of sausages. I stab another one with my fork and bring it to my mouth.

"Hey, Fire Girl." A voice says behind my back. I don't turn around, and just continue eating my sausage. It's just someone trying to cause trouble. Hopefully they aren't talking to me.

"Hey, Smokey." The voice says again. It seems to be getting louder and louder. Oh, please don't be me, I silently beg. I don't want to get into a fight this early in the morning. My body isn't awake yet.

"Hot bitch, I'm talking to you!" The voice yells, and I feel a strong hand grab my shoulder and spin me around. My legs hit the legs of the girl to my left, and I wince as my shins collide with her armored legs. Who in the blazes wears armor to breakfast? Once I look my tormentor in the face, I realize I probably should start following her lead.

His name is Jeta. I've heard the other Firebenders talk about him. He's a hot-headed Waterbender, and he is probably the tallest person at the entire summer camp. He never wears shirts with sleeves so he can show off his vast array of muscles twenty-four hours a day. I've seen him get into fights with some of the Earthbenders and Firebenders. He broke someone's leg a few days ago. The camp administrators did nothing, because no one could ever prove that it was Jeta.

I stare into Jeta's cold blue eyes. He looks at me like I'm a cornered animal, which I certainly feel like. None of the Firebenders will help me, I know for certain. They're all too afraid of Jeta. He has plenty of water around him to bend; all of the tables in the cafeteria have huge jugs of water for drinking. I, on the other hand, have yet to awaken the fire inside me. I remind myself that I really need to start working on a better sleep schedule, if I make it home.

Jeta seems to be getting impatient with me. I don't know why. "Someone told me that they saw you last night sneaking out. What were you doing, Hotty?" He sneers at me. Instead of waiting for an answer, he continues. "I bet you were sending a dossier on every Water and Airbender here back home, huh?"

I swallow. "Just out getting some fresh air, Jeta. Nothing suspicious." I laugh nervously.

Jeta sneers again, this time showing yellow teeth. "Fresh air? What, you saying that us Waterbenders stink?" Jeta leans forward. I smell his breath, and it smells like rotten fish. "Are you saying I stink, Smokey?"

I consider all the possible retorts inside my head. I decide on the safest one. "Not at all, Jeta. I think you smell nice."

Next thing I know, Jeta's massive hand is around my neck, and my head is slammed against my stone plate. Thankfully, my sausage pile cushions the impact. I hear a few shouts from other tables in the cafeteria. Whether they are from enemies or allies, I can't tell. All that I can focus on, really, is the stars swimming before my eyes and Jeta's massive hand around my neck.

He squeezes, beginning to choke me. "My dad told me that I had to kill at least one Firebender before I got home. Looks like I'll be getting something special- for killing Princess Cathra herself." Jeta smiles, and the world begins to get hazy.

A few seconds pass, and they feel like eternity. I'm certain that I'm going to die. No one has the courage to stand up to Jeta. He's a monster. A behemoth of pure hatred for the Fire and Earth Nations. No one could even stop him, he's so huge and powerful.

"Let her go, Jeta."

I struggle to look for the source of the voice, but my head won't turn. Maybe I'm dead, and I'm just imagining things. I try again to breath, but my throat isn't letting me. I do see Jeta turn his head though, and look at the source of the voice.

"Suck one, Aelius. This Firesquirter don't owe you anything." Jeta says. I feel his hand get tighter on my throat. Aelius! I want to tell him to run as fast as he can, because he will get annihilated by the demon that is Jeta. I don't want him dying for me. Aelius has a destiny, I can tell. He's going to be important.

"Let the girl go, Jeta, or I'll make you." Aelius says. I hear a sharp note in his voice. It sounds like the prelude to a roar. Jeta turns to look at me, and sneers. He lets go, and I take a few giant breaths of air. Oh, sweet release. I don't move though, because I feel like if I move the hand that was on my neck will reappear.

Jeta leaves my field of vision, and all I can see now is the white cafeteria ceiling. But I hear Jeta's voice. "Bring it, light boy. Let's see what your light show can do against the power of the ocean."

A silence sweeps over the cafeteria, as everyone suddenly waits for whatever will happen next. I slowly turn my head, and I see Aelius standing there facing off against Jeta. Aelius's grey eyes meet mine, and I silently pray that he makes Jeta pay for being the monster that he is. Aelius blinks.

And then he looks at Jeta. "Have it your way."

Before Jeta can even adopt a fighting stance, Aelius sends him flying across the cafeteria with a energy-imbued side kick to the chest. A few cheers and shouts arise from across the cafeteria, and everyone rushes to get out of the way of the fight. My table soon becomes deserted, with the exception of me. I remain where I am, like a doll on a shelf. I'm still trying to recover my breath.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jeta gesture and summon a few streams of drinking water from the jugs that he's passing in flight. He must use them to soften his impact, because I don't hear any loud noise that would indicate he hit a wall. I do, however, hear a rush of water, and I see a long tendril of clear water shoot towards Aelius. I follow it with my eyes, and Aelius merely pivots on one foot to let the tendril go past him.

Aelius uses the pivot as an opening for an energy slash, and I see the pure white crescent of energy soar away from his body towards Jeta. I try to get up and look at Jeta, but my head doesn't feel like moving yet.

Jeta must dodge or block it somehow, because immediately following the crescent's departure from my field of vision (which is still a little hazy) a dozen icicles shoot towards Aelius. I watch in silent awe as Aelius throws up just enough energy shields to shatter the icicles moments before they impale him. He moves with such a speed its like he can teleport his hands.

I hear a much louder roar of water, and two clear tentacles of the stuff shoot again towards Aelius. I hear Jeta yell something about how he's not even sweating yet, and I see Aelius's mouth form into a small grin. Aelius leans backwards to let the tentacles go over him, and kicks in the direction the water tentacles came from with both of his glowing feet. Two lights speed out, and for a moment the water that makes up the tentacles wavers. Then the tentacles deform and harmlessly soak the floor of the cafeteria.

I use a hand to grab the now-empty chair next to me where the armored girl had sat. I use it as a handhold as I pull myself up. I look around the cafeteria, and realize that people made a cordon, more or less, of tables to hide behind. I guess no one knew that Jeta would end up doing, so even his own Waterbender and Airbender friends felt like they had to protect themselves. I look over at Jeta.

I laugh. Jeta is trapped in a pile of chairs, and I see a little bit of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. I look over at Aelius, who is standing with both of his hands in front of his body. He's not even wet.

I begin to walk towards Aelius, who still doesn't bring his fists down. He doesn't look at me, only past me at Jeta. I start to open my mouth to thank him, but a prickle runs down my spine. Out of the corner of my eye, I see little ripples in the water that covers the floor. Is it an earthquake?

I hear a roar from behind me, and I turn around just in time to see Jeta throw all the chairs off him in an explosion of water. Two of the chairs come towards me, and I cover my head. Oh, if only I could Firebend this early in the morning! Then my life wouldn't be as bad as it is right now.

Aelius saves me, and somehow manages to slap away the chairs with the back of his glowing hands. I uncover my head in time to see Aelius fall on the ground, pulled down by water that Jeta had grabbed his ankles with. Aelius gives a soft cry of surprise, but manages to break free mid-fall. He closes his eyes when he's only an inch away from falling on his back, and suddenly a purple orb of light forms under him and stops his fall.

But Jeta is already in the air, yelling at the top of his lungs and holding a icicle that looks as sharp as a sword and more deadly. The ice twinkles with malicious delight. Aelius brings both of his legs up, and kicks towards Jeta. I see two grey spheres shoot out from his feet and hit Jeta square in the chest.

Tendrils of energy course through Jeta's skin. For a second, even his eyes glow with all the energy in him. Once they stop however, his eyes are unfocused. He hits the floor with a thud, and I swear it causes an earthquake of a small magnitude.

I gingerly walk up to Jeta and prod him with my shoe. "Is he…" I begin to ask Aelius.

"No." Aelius says softly. He comes over to stand above Jeta. "But he'll be unconscious for a few hours." Aelius's body is completely neutral, and his facial expression betrays nothing of what he might be feeling about knocking out the biggest bully in the entire summer camp. But I see a glimpse of something in his grey eyes. It seems like…

He's afraid of something.

The words come into my head before I even recognize what they mean, but I immediately know I'm right. It takes me a few moments before I realize what the real reason is for the cordon around the fight zone: nobody knew what Aelius would do. I recall what Aelius said on the beach last night. "As much as I wanted, before the people chased me out of town. You hit the nail on the head. We're feared."

It dawns on me that it's not just the Four Nations that would fear Aelius. He's afraid of himself, too.

I touch Aelius on the arm, softly. He turns his head to look at me, and for a moment his eyes look like ivory pools of water. But then they resume their light grey color. "Thank you, Aelius. You saved my life."

Aelius smiles softly. "You never told me you were a Princess. Does that mean I get a reward?"

I groan inside my head. I thought more people knew! My father told me he sent a message to the summer camp administrators telling them to tell everyone that I was the heir Princess to the Fire Throne. I guess he lied. It wouldn't be the first time.

I rack my brain for witty comebacks, and one slips out of my mouth before I can review it. "You can have a room in the Capitol City Palace." I groan inside my head. Stupid me!

Aelius just laughs, and grabs a sausage off of a plate. I'm not sure if it's my plate or not, but I don't really mind. "Lucky me. Always wanted to visit the Fire Nation. Is breakfast always this exciting for you there, too?"