Competition: Pro Bending Circuit, Season 4 Round 1

Task: Someone tries something for the first time. Highlight how their lives will change if they accomplish this thing. Or how there life is different from before they started this new thing.

Additional Prompts: (dialogue) "I'm nervous, but excited," (character) Yue, and (quote) "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (modified)

Word Count: 1330

Main Characters: Yue

Summary: Yue is preparing for her first official duty as heir to the Water Tribe Chiefdom. But all she wants to do is go out and play. Adulting is hard.

Yue sat on the cushioned stool in front of her vanity. She frowned at herself in the mirror. Something didnt' look quite right, and it wasn't just the scowl plastered across her face. At this moment, she didn't resemble the regal daughter of a head of state. Her clothes and accessories would help her fit the part, but only after she was fully dressed. In her current state, simple bath robes wrapped loosely around her petite frame and her hair tied into a no-nonsense bun, nothing at all about her seemed royal. She shifted her weight from one side to the other and pulled her shoulders back. That helped...a bit. However, not enough to bring a smile to her lips. She needed that smile for the soon-to-arrive dignitaries of the Earth Kingdom. Yue found it odd that the relationship between two great countries rested on something as trivial as a few sparkling teeth between red lips.

"Is something wrong Princess Yue?" Her chamber maid approached the vanity from the bathroom.

"No, Tula." Yue flashed a smiled. She'd found it, but it wasn't sincere. She gulped, fearful her maid wouldn't buy her lie and added, "nothing at all."

Tula returned Yue's fake smile with a knowing one. "As you say, Princess."

Tula tugged at the tie in Yue's hair gently until it loosened. Then, with one swift motion, she removed it. Yue's white hair fell in a cascade around her face and down her shoulders and back. Tula didn't miss a beat and began running the ivory brush through her princess' maine.

A sigh of relief escaped Yue's lungs. She hadn't even realized that she'd even been holding her breath. Her shoulders drooped down from where she'd been holding them tightly in an attempt to look more regal. She didn't know how her mother and father were able to maintain a constant air of grace and power. It was exhausting!

Laughter poured into the room through several window that lined Yue's bedroom wall. Yue turned her head toward the sound so sharply that the brush Tula was using was stripped from her maid's hand, and was left entwined within Yue's mangled locks.

"Ouch!" Yue yelped in pain and instinctively reached for the foreign object in her hair. She fumbled with the brush, trying to release it from her twisted mass of hair.

Tula came around the the side of the stool the princess was sitting upon. She knelt down, took her ward's shaky hands, and placed them calmly onto Yue's lap. It took only a moment for her dexterous fingers to pull the brush free. She returned to her duties silently.

The quietness that passed between them was in direct contrast to the hubbub outside the palace. And, although the children's high pitched voices were the only ones that carried far enough to reach Yue's ears, she knew - without a shadow of a doubt - that throngs of people of all ages were gathering outside the palace walls. After so many years of isolation, the arrival of Earth Kingdom diplomats was the most anticipated event of the year.

Yue looked down at her hands and bit her lip. She'd much rather be outside with the other children, free and at ease. Sadly, from this day forward her station wouldn't allow her the luxury of being a child. She was an adult now. It was time for her to uphold her duties to the Water Tribe. Still, despite all the good things that her privileged life allowed, she couldn't shake the feeling that her childhood was being stolen. And it crushed her spirit.

"I wish I could be out there with them…" Yue looked longingly at the windows. It was something she shouldn't have said. But, she couldn't stop the upwelling of emotions. Tula had been her maid since she was in diapers. She would understand.

Tula sighed. "I know, Princess." She wanted to say more, to lift Yue's spirit. But, nothing she could say would change the responsibilities of her ward as princess of the nation. "But, you don't have to bear this burden alone. If there's any-" Loud, clanking boots echoed down the hallway outside Yue's room and cut Tula off before she could finish her thought. She looked toward the circular doorway expectantly.

Yue's mother glided into her daughter's bedroom flanked by a full security detail of Water Tribe soldiers.

Tula stopped her brushing and turned toward the new arrival, bowing deeply. "My Lady."

Yue's mother gave her a nod. "Continue."

"Yes, My Lady." Tula, satisfied with the state of Yue's hair, bowed once more and walked into Yue's closet. However, leaving the two women alone was undoubtedly her plan all along.

Yue didn't even bother trying to use a fake smile on her mother. She's done that and failed too many times to believe it would work now. "Hello, Mother."

Yue's mother raised an eyebrow to her daugher. "Dear, what's the matter? You look as if someone just killed your polarbear dog." Amusement resonated from each syllable.

Yue's lower lip protruded in a pout and her shoulders fell even lower.

Sheila laughed lightly and placed an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Are you nervous?"

"Yes. Very much so." Yue averted her eyes. "I'm nervous, but excited, too." She hopped that saying the words would help trick her mind into believe she truly felt that way.

"There's nothing at all to be nervous about." Yue's mother pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "The Earth Kingdom ambassadors will love you. I know it!"

Yue mumbled into the crook of her mother's neck with a whiner tone of voice than she'd intended. "It just seems like such a big step...Last night, all I could think about is what story you would tell me at bedtime. And today?" She squeezed her mother more tightly. "Suddenly, I'm expected to host foreign dignitaries? It's too much!" Yue felt the coolness of the tears slowly to streaming down her face.

"Darling. It's not such a big step. Look at it more like several small steps one after another. It's one small step for you, but one giant leap for the Water Tribe. We need this alliance. Now is your time to shine. I trust you." She kneeled down in front of her daughter and gripped Yue's shoulders tightly. Sheila looked Yue directly in the eyes. "More importantly, I believe in you." She kissed Yue on the forehead.

Tula reappeared with her arms full of clothing and accessories for Yue. Sheila stood up and took a few steps back so she could do her work. It took several minutes to get Yue into her royal garbs. Yue fidgeted uncomfortably under her mother's gaze.

Yue looked in the mirror once she was fully dressed. She didn't recognize the person looking back at her from the mirror anymore. It dawned on her, she really was an adult now. That fact didn't necessarily make her happy, but it increased her confidence in her ability to do what she had to do. She was bigger than just herself now. It was her duty to represent the Water Tribe well as its heir to the chiefdom. She took a deep breath and smiled into the mirror. Finally, it felt natural.

"Ready?" Yue could hear the smile on her mother's face.

Yue turned to her mother and nodded.

"The people await." Sheila extended an arm toward the door. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Yue pulled her shoulders back and strode confidently past her mother.

Yue lead the way out of her room and through the corridors towards the Palace gates where the ambassadors were waiting for her arrival.

Baby steps, she reminded herself. One small step at a time, just like her mother told her. It wasn't the fastest path to reach her goal, but it was the surest way.

Each small step she took would be towards the future for her entire tribe. She'd make sure it was a bright one.