Katara
When I was young, my parents saw my raw talent for water bending. They saw that I had the power, but I lacked the knowledge. They spent days holed up in the war room. My mother, my father, Bato, and my grandmother. Occasionally, they would take Sokka in as well.
I was never asked to join.
I felt as though my family did not see me as an important part of our family, of our tribe. I could not have been more wrong. After what felt like eons, they allowed me in. I remember walking into the room. I looked at my family.
They look scared… I thought to myself. I was scared. I took a deep breath and looked at my feet. I was ten years old when this happened, yet I knew it was important. Part of me believed that the Fire Nation would be attacking us soon and that was why we were here.
My father was the first to speak.
"Katara." he paused and took a deep breath. I raised my head to look at him and saw that he was holding back tears. "We need a protector. We have spent days in this room trying to figure out how to allow you to strengthen your skills so that one day, should the need come, you can protect us."
I looked at him, confusion clear on my face. I realized they were waiting for me. Waiting for me to be jumping with joy or having my face fall with fear. However, the confusion in my eyes was not leaving.
"I don't understand," I responded to him, and I shook my head.
"Darling, your grandmother has a friend. She was taken by the Fire Nation as a teenager, but we have recently discovered that she escaped long ago," My mother stood up and walked towards me as she spoke. She knelt down in front of me before she continued. "We had considered sending you to the North to learn more, but we know that their ways would not allow you to grow, as they see women as only being capable of healing. You, my daughter, are a fighter. You are so much more than what the North would see you as."
My grandmother stood up and walked to me next. She took my hand in hers and gave me a soft, warm smile. Her eyes showed the fight she was feeling inside, but the rest of her showed that she was content with the decision she was about to tell me was made. "Dear Katara, my best friend, Hama, was one of the best waterbending fighters there was. You and her are the last waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe. I will be accompanying you to a small town in the Fire Nation where she has been hiding. She will teach you everything you need to know."
Sokka hid his face from me as my mother and grandmother went back to their seats. My whole life was crashing. Everything I knew would be left behind. I didn't know what to do. It was all too much for a ten year old to hear and then have a good reaction to. My family wanted me to leave. They wanted me gone. Although their reasons may be moral, I felt as though they did not want me.
"Brave One. Be strong." Bato reminded me of my future. I would lead the South alongside my brother, The Wise. Bato and my father stood. They guided Sokka to stand next to me. I felt his fingers close around mine, but he would still not look at me.
My father, The Wise, stood in front of Sokka. Bato, The Brave, stood in front of me. I watched as they dipped their fingers in paint. My father put his fingers to Sokka's forehead and he drew something. He drew a horizontal, concave arc with a dot below. I recognized it as The Mark of the Wise. Bato put his fingers to my forehead and drew a crescent moon.
The Mark of the Brave.
XXXXX
9 years later…
"Hama." I walked into the kitchen of our small home.
"Yes, Katara?" Hama responded to me with a motherly tone. She turned from her dinner preparations and looked at me.
"I need to go home. It has been nine years to the day, Hama. The Fire Nation is not waiting. Fire Lord Ozai is getting more and more sinister by the day. He is going to hurt my family. I cannot stand idly by and let him do this when I was sent here to learn to protect them. You have taught me all there is to know. I have become a master waterbender, healer, and even bloodbender. I need to return. It is time."
I stood still in the doorway as I awaited her response.
"Unfortunately, darling, I cannot allow it. Yes, you are wise beyond your years, and you have the strength of a hundred men or more, but you will not be returning yet," Hama spoke with clear intent. I opened my mouth to respond, but she held up her hand before she continued. "You have a job to fulfill. Nine years ago, when you were brought to me, a scroll from your parents was brought as well. I was instructed to not let you read it until you learned all you could from me, and then not even until you told me you were ready to leave."
Hama walked to her room and I followed close behind. She opened a small door behind a picture frame and took out the single scroll that sat in the opening. She handed me the scroll and nodded at me. I nodded back to her before I walked into my room and sat down at my desk. I opened the scroll and read what was written.
Katara.
We do not know when you will read this scroll. We do not know how your relationship with Hama is. We will not know if you trust her enough to believe her words, so I am writing the job to you so that you may believe it easier.
It will be hard. It will challenge you. Yet there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed.
You will have lived under the Fire Nation for some time once you read this, and you will have become accustomed to their ways of life, which will allow you to complete this job easier than any other. Your mother, grandmother, Bato, even Sokka, and I believe you will be the one to end this war. Without an Avatar, we can only rely on those we trust. We trust you, Brave One, and we love you.
Your job is to go to the Fire Nation capital. Earn your way to the center ring. End this war by any means necessary. Our people are scared and we are hungry. We must do what is necessary for survival.
You, Katara, are our only hope.
Your father.
As I read the letter from home that was written so many years ago, I feel tears streaming down my face. I wipe them away and take a deep breath. I stand up and start to pack my belongings. Once I am ready, I walk to Hama who has gone back to preparing for dinner.
"I'm ready."
XXXXX
Zuko
Agni Kai.
The most honorable fight one can have.
"I can't do it, Uncle" I stared at my Uncle with fear in my eyes.
I remember the day my father questioned my honor. The day he questioned if I was fit to lead. I remember how small I was. Only twelve years old. Nine years ago to the day. My uncle's face, though, is what I remember most.
"Zuko, my boy, you are better than he is. Your spirit is strong, while his is weak. You are here to represent the good of our great nation, while he represents the bad. Win or lose, my nephew, you are the best thing that could happen to this nation"
I remember the look he gave me. Soft, caring, loving, full of hope and belief. The look I always wished for from my father.
I lost.
I was burned.
I had no honor, yet my father, somehow, thought I would learn to be a great ruler like him. I told myself that day that I would be a great ruler.
But I would never be like him.