Samara stood in front of a stone gate. She had decided to walk towards the place Elrond had told her about and decide what to do on the way. But now that she was there, she still doubted. It was one hour before the company was set to leave Rivendel so she had to decide soon. She gazed through the gate and saw stairs going down. Her feet decided for her and before she knew it, she was already halfway.

She walked further down and the mountain walls towered above her. Beautiful waterfalls ended in a lake that she could now see. There was a similar gate at the end of the stairs that led to a round square. Samara stopped. Doubt took over again. Did she really want to do this? But then she saw him. Lord Elrond stood with his back towards her, his gaze fixed on the lake beneath him and without a single worry, Samara walked towards him.

As she passed the gate she felt a slight resistance, some sort of vibration. Elrond turned around and smiled.

"I had hoped to see you here." He said.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Samara asked.

She looked around properly. The round square had a balcony that overlooked the waterfalls that ended just a few meters beneath them into a lake. Trees covered the square from sight with the only entrance and exit being the stairs. A table with two chairs stood on the side.

"Pick a seat." Elrond said. "There is much to discuss.

Samara choose the chair closest to the stairs and sat down. Elrond sat down as well. The woman shifted in her seat and couldn't bring herself to look the elf in the eyes, thus settling her gaze onto the table.

"You have to know that you are in no way obligated to stay." Elrond started. "Whenever you wish to leave, you can leave." "Do you understand?"

Samara felt the eyes of Elrond burn on her so she looked up and felt her heart flutter instantly. The dark, warm eyes were very inviting.

"Yes my lord."

Lord Elrond shifted somewhat but it was hardly noticable.

"Elrond, please."

"Samara."

"A beautiful name." Elrond said. "Your parents found a name that suits you."

"So how can you help me?" Samara asked quickly.

Elrond straightened his back. "Yes, well I was assigned a very long time ago to guide the Avatar on his or hers journey to become one with the elements and lastly Raava." "Raava is the spirit of light." "But first I can help you to develop your bending skills, making you a master in all four elements."

"You know how to teach me?" Samara asked

"I have learned the skills from the very best, when our world still was full of benders." "I cannot bend myself, but I know how to teach you."

Samara gazed towards the waterfalls. Knowing how to control the elements would be great, she wouldn't have to be afraid to accidentaly injure anyone anymore.

"I am not sure if I am ready to merge with Raava." She said.

"You are not." Elrond said calm. "We can start practicing bending and you can make that decision later."

"But it will take years, decades even to learn all that."

"That is the beauty of this place." Elrond said as he gestured around himself. "Time stands almost still here."

Samara looked at him in confusion and Elrond laughed. Her stomach made a backflip at the wonderful sound. She felt her cheeks grew red and prayed that the elvenlord would not notice.

"You will see when we get back."

"I want to get in control." Samara said. "I've...hurt too many people around me."

There was a hidden pain in her voice. Elrond frowned.

"I need to understand your path up until now." He said softly. "Can you tell me at what age you first discovered your bending abilities?"

Samara's face fell as she relived memories long ago. The light of flames deep in the night in front of her eyes, burning wood fresh in her nose and screams deep in her ears.

"About ten years old I guess." She almost whispered.

"Can you tell me what has happened that caused you such pain?" Elrond asked.

She stood up abruptly, the chair nearly falling over.

"I cannot." She said as she turned and headed towards the stairs.

"Please…" Elrond said and Samara stopped.

"You can leave now and never return again, but know that there is nothing you can tell me that will make me cast you aside." "I will be here for you, not only as your teacher but hopefully as a friend also." You can trust me."

Samara turned towards him again, tears shining in her eyes. "You do not know what I have done." "You'll think of me as a monster."

"Than tell me and I will be the judge of that." Elrond said still calm as he slightly gestured towards the chair.

Samara sat back down and looked towards the table.

"I was a bit older now that I think about it." She began with a shaking voice. "Twelve or thirteen…"

Elrond made a gesture as if he was about to take her hand in his own but decided against it.

"There was a group of small children playing at the creek near our village." She continued. "Nothing was wrong, it was a beautifull spring day." "But suddenly a boy began to scream, a snake had slithered in between the children and attacked." "It missed the boy just nearly and I, being the only older person there, jumped inbetween." "I did not mean to…but suddenly the snake was on fire."

She gazed up for a second to see Elronds reaction, but he was also staring at the table, listening intently.

"The children all screamed and ran away, back to the village." "I followed after I kicked the snake into the water." "I didn't know what had happened, I wanted to grab the snake but instead it went on fire."

The panic of the past was clear in her voice and it made Elronds heart ache.

"The children went to their parents obviously, at first they didn't pay a lot of attention to the stories, calling it all a wild imagination, until…"

Samara swallowed. Elrond stood up and walked to the other side of the square. Samara sighed, knowing that she had scared him away already. He returned with two glasses of water in his hand. As she accepted her glass, their fingers brushed for a second.

"Thank you my lord." She said. "Elrond…" She added seeing his eyes change for a moment.

He smiled and gestured for her to carry on. "When you are ready." He added kindly.

She took a few gulps and carried on.

"When all the children said that the fire came from my hands, that's when the energy shifted." "Suddenly I was grabbed by two men and all the children were pulled away from me."

Tears started to form again.

"I heard some people scream that I was cursed." "Heard them say the word Avatar a few times but I did not know what that meant." "I didn't understand a thing." "Even my own parents stared at me in total fear…"

This time Elronds hand did not hesitate, but took Samara's hand in his own and squeezed slightly.

"That must have been horrible." He said softly.

"That is not even the worst part." Samara said with a sarcastic smile. "They did not know what to do with me so they decided to lock me up in my own room." "I have never been so frightened before." "Like an animal trapped in a cage…" "After a few hours, strange men came in and wanted to take me away." "And that's when I panicked and the flames appeared." "The whole house burned down in a few minutes." "The fire spread and…"

Her voice stopped and Samara's green eyes found Elrond's brown ones. She wanted to see his reaction, the horror and disgust that surely would appear.

"No one of the village survived."

No horror, no disgust, but something else. Pity? Or could it be compassion?

"It was like the fire had a mind of its own, I tried to stop it."

Elrond nodded.

"I really did!" Samara said louder as she pulled her hand away. "I tried to kill it and tried to bend water and threw water with my hands but.."

Tears now fell down her cheeks.

"I really am a monster." She said as she let her face fall in her hands.

Suddenly she felt two strong hands on her shoulders.

"You wish to hear what I think?"

The voice was steady and brought Samara out of her emotion. She nodded.

"You were in an impossible situation." Elrond said. "They made you lose control over something you did not even know what it was." "This was not your fault but the fault of the men that treated you…wrongly."

"So you do not think of me as a monster?" Samara asked.

The pleading tone made Elronds heart almost break.

"I do not, not at all." "We have all done things that we wouldn't do normally, but sometimes the circumstanses force our hand."

His gaze fell on the ground for a moment.

"I believe this is enough for today, if you wish to continue that is?"

"I will have to leave the company." Samara said as she stood up.

As she turned around she noticed that Elrond was standing quite close to her. The elf immediately took a few steps back.

"For now, yes."

"But learning to control my bending will help defeat the dragon."

"That is also true."

Samara nodded.

"I will see you at lunch then?" She asked.

"Yes you will."