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“Wow, Suki! I hadn’t even realized that you’d left last night!” one of them, Sokka, had exclaimed. Throughout your journey on Suki's rowboat, you hadn't spoken, and you remained silent as Suki began chatting with Sokka.

“Hello, I’m Katara.” Looking up, you saw the waterbending girl from Commander Zhao’s ship smiling at you. You nodded politely, confused as to why you were here and why she wanted to speak to you.

“Come inside with me, it’s freezing out here.” You followed Katara into a small hut and in front of a lit fireplace.

“So, (Y/n), you’re probably confused as to why I wanted to talk with you.” I also want to know how you know my name and why you stole me, you thought bitterly to yourself.

“My brother, Sokka and I, we’re both from the Southern Water Tribe,” Southern Water Tribe? “We believe that you're also from our home, and we just wanted to know how you came to be under Zuko’s… care.” You were slightly hesitant as to how you should respond.

On the one hand, she could be using you to get to Prince Zuko, you knew that she was with the Avatar. But, on the other, she seemed genuinely concerned, despite you only having met her once.

“Why?” you asked instead, and Katara hesitated before responding.

“We just wanted to talk to you about what happened to you after you disappeared. Maybe, we can even take you back home.” Home The word seemed strange to you.

Going home? Going back to the South Pole? Going back to your family? Katara clearly saw your conflicting emotions and quickly tried to re-track the conversation.

“So, what happened to you after you were kidnapped all those years ago?” she asked. Ironically, this was much easier to answer.

“I was sold as a servant and trained for most of last year.” Katara looked confused.

“Trained?” You supposed that you didn’t look the most athletic.

“I was taught how to do household chores, proper servant etiquette, and works of the like to prepare me for sellers.” Katara’s facial expression changed to one of borderline terror.

“Did they ever… hurt you?” Your ankles felt a phantom sting at the familiar memory of.

“Yes." You chose not to elaborate. This, however, seemed to set off Katara further,

“I-I’m so sorry. We couldn’t protect you when you were you taken and now we can’t even protect you from-” She stopped herself mid-sentence. You didn’t pressure her for a response, as you had a feeling that you knew who she was going to mention.

“It’s fine.” Katara was clearly not accepting that answer, but decided to ask a different question.

“If I may, you said that you were sold, so... Did Zuko-uh… b-buy you?” The juxtaposition of Katara's discomfort and your visible brightening at the reminder of the young prince was vast. You nodded eagerly before replying,

“Yes, it was one of the best days of my life! From the beginning, he treated me with such patience and kindness. He would always help me whenever I needed, even though I never deserved it. He’s the greatest master anyone could ever hope for.” It made you smile as you spoke about your wonderful master. Katara, on the other hand, looked at you in bewilderment.

“Wait, I will be going back to him, right? I don’t want to be without him for too long.” Katara blinked for a second before she shook her head and said,

“I-I’m sure he’ll find you," Katara scoffed lightheartedly, "You should’ve seen him when Zhao took you. He’s always angry but when he asked for our help that day, he was practically radiating steam.” Your chest selfishly fluttered with joy at the sudden news about your Prince.

“I’m happy that I can be of service to him.” Katara laughed a bit, which confused you, but that didn't seem to be too out of the ordinary at this point.

“I also wanted to ask you one more thing: Are you a bender, by any chance?”

“A bender? No, my parents always told me that there was no possible way for me to be a bender,” you replied, but Katara looked at you skeptically.

“Come with me.” She gave you a warmer outfit and led you outside to the edge of the island. There was nothing but lake as far as you could see.

“Wow, it’s beautiful. The water is so calm.” Katara nodded.

“Remember, what I’m about to do is for your own good.” Before you could reply, Katara shouted,

“Now!” Suddenly, children of all ages poked their heads out of the snow and began to pelt you with snowballs.

“Ow! H-Hey! Could you please-" The children easily ignored you, and you could hear laughter behind the hailing... Well, hail.

"These are mostly ice!” you shouted, and you suddenly grew irritated at all of it. You normally would be able to put up with things like this, but combined with the lack of sleep and the fact that you had been kidnapped, you only got angrier.

“STOP!” You threw your arms out to the side in frustration.

“(Y/n), look!” Katara pointed behind you, seemingly stopping the snowballs. You turned and saw the previously calm lake in a violent condition: there were monstrous waves reaching nearly thirty or forty feet high. Then they began to settle down. Almost as quickly as they’d arrived.

But you didn't care.

“What was that for!?” you demanded, furious nonetheless. Katara excitedly placed her hands on your shoulders and replied,

“I’m sorry, but I just had to see it for myself! You’re a waterbender! And a powerful one at that!” You roughly shook her off, completely confused.

“What? That makes no sense! So what if the water just happened to get violent? It’s nature, it’s weird! Besides, I was tested when I was trained to see if I was a bender.”

“How so?” Katara asked, clearly not believing you from the enthusiasm evident in her voice.

“When I was first sold, I was exposed to all four elements to see if I was able to control them. But, when I was forced into the water..." you huffed at retelling this memory, "I was so scared and I sunk to the bottom of the water like a stone.” you whispered the last part in embarrassment.

“Listen, bending has a strong tie with your emotions. For some, more than others. For those people, they have to control their element with every desire they have for it. Like this, I want you to visualize an orb of water in front of you. Think of every emotion that you want it to perceive.” Katara then closed her eyes and pulled out a thick goblet of water from the lake and held it in front of herself. After opening her eyes she nodded back to you,

"See?"

You were still skeptical, but after seeing Katara's excitement, you tried anyways. You inhaled and allowed the tranquility of the silence overwhelm you. You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to continue in the state of meditation.

“Haha! Look at that!” You opened your eyes, to see a ball of water floating before you. You shrieked and the water spiked up, before you threw it back into the lake out of panic.

“You’re a waterbender!” Katara shouted,

“I’m a waterbender!” you repeated.

“She’s a waterbender!?” The two of you turned to see Sokka in... makeup?

“Um, I haven’t known him for that long, but is this normal? I-I won’t judge! Or-Or anything.” Katara burst out laughing.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how happy this makes me! I’m not the only waterbender in the South Pole!” She jumped a little bit and hugged you. She was a bit taller than you, but still held you with an iron grip.

“So, is she like on our side now?” Sokka asked. Katara looked up at you expectantly, but you replied,

“I’m still Prince Zuko’s. I can’t simply leave him; he owns me.” Katara’s grin dropped almost immediately.

“But-But, you need to learn how to harness and control your ability. I could help you and you wouldn’t have to be a servant anymore!” Katara said, desperately trying to change your mind. But you shook your head,

“I’m sorry, but my life is in Prince Zuko and his happiness.” Katara grew increasingly frantic the more that you spoke,

“But you could be free of that!” You pondered the thought, for a second. It wasn't as if you'd never imagined it: living without rules, duties or,

“Prince Zuko. I’m sorry, Katara. I really am. But, I truly believe that my happiness is in Prince Zuko. He’s the one person I trust in this world, and I’m content keeping it that way.” Katara sighed, knowing that you weren’t going to change your mind.

“Alright. At least spend the night, here. I’m sure you’re tired from your journey here, and that there’s a lot to take in.” You nodded in thanks and followed the group to their homes, already having gotten over the shock of being a bender.

Description
“Wow, Suki! I hadn’t even realized that you’d left last night!” one of them, Sokka, had exclaimed. Throughout your journey on Suki's rowboat, you hadn't spoken, and you remained silent as Suki began chatting with Sokka.

“Hello, I’m Katara.” Looking up, you saw the waterbending girl from Commander Zhao’s ship smiling at you. You nodded politely, confused as to why you were here and why she wanted to speak to you.

“Come inside with me, it’s freezing out here.” You followed Katara into a small hut and in front of a lit fireplace.

“So, (Y/n), you’re probably confused as to why I wanted to talk with you.” I also want to know how you know my name and why you stole me, you thought bitterly to yourself.

“My brother, Sokka and I, we’re both from the Southern Water Tribe,” Southern Water Tribe? “We believe that you're also from our home, and we just wanted to know how you came to be under Zuko’s… care.” You were slightly hesitant as to how you should respond.

On the one hand, she could be using you to get to Prince Zuko, you knew that she was with the Avatar. But, on the other, she seemed genuinely concerned, despite you only having met her once.

“Why?” you asked instead, and Katara hesitated before responding.

“We just wanted to talk to you about what happened to you after you disappeared. Maybe, we can even take you back home.” Home The word seemed strange to you.

Going home? Going back to the South Pole? Going back to your family? Katara clearly saw your conflicting emotions and quickly tried to re-track the conversation.

“So, what happened to you after you were kidnapped all those years ago?” she asked. Ironically, this was much easier to answer.

“I was sold as a servant and trained for most of last year.” Katara looked confused.

“Trained?” You supposed that you didn’t look the most athletic.

“I was taught how to do household chores, proper servant etiquette, and works of the like to prepare me for sellers.” Katara’s facial expression changed to one of borderline terror.

“Did they ever… hurt you?” Your ankles felt a phantom sting at the familiar memory of.

“Yes." You chose not to elaborate. This, however, seemed to set off Katara further,

“I-I’m so sorry. We couldn’t protect you when you were you taken and now we can’t even protect you from-” She stopped herself mid-sentence. You didn’t pressure her for a response, as you had a feeling that you knew who she was going to mention.

“It’s fine.” Katara was clearly not accepting that answer, but decided to ask a different question.

“If I may, you said that you were sold, so... Did Zuko-uh… b-buy you?” The juxtaposition of Katara's discomfort and your visible brightening at the reminder of the young prince was vast. You nodded eagerly before replying,

“Yes, it was one of the best days of my life! From the beginning, he treated me with such patience and kindness. He would always help me whenever I needed, even though I never deserved it. He’s the greatest master anyone could ever hope for.” It made you smile as you spoke about your wonderful master. Katara, on the other hand, looked at you in bewilderment.

“Wait, I will be going back to him, right? I don’t want to be without him for too long.” Katara blinked for a second before she shook her head and said,

“I-I’m sure he’ll find you," Katara scoffed lightheartedly, "You should’ve seen him when Zhao took you. He’s always angry but when he asked for our help that day, he was practically radiating steam.” Your chest selfishly fluttered with joy at the sudden news about your Prince.

“I’m happy that I can be of service to him.” Katara laughed a bit, which confused you, but that didn't seem to be too out of the ordinary at this point.

“I also wanted to ask you one more thing: Are you a bender, by any chance?”

“A bender? No, my parents always told me that there was no possible way for me to be a bender,” you replied, but Katara looked at you skeptically.

“Come with me.” She gave you a warmer outfit and led you outside to the edge of the island. There was nothing but lake as far as you could see.

“Wow, it’s beautiful. The water is so calm.” Katara nodded.

“Remember, what I’m about to do is for your own good.” Before you could reply, Katara shouted,

“Now!” Suddenly, children of all ages poked their heads out of the snow and began to pelt you with snowballs.

“Ow! H-Hey! Could you please-" The children easily ignored you, and you could hear laughter behind the hailing... Well, hail.

"These are mostly ice!” you shouted, and you suddenly grew irritated at all of it. You normally would be able to put up with things like this, but combined with the lack of sleep and the fact that you had been kidnapped, you only got angrier.

“STOP!” You threw your arms out to the side in frustration.

“(Y/n), look!” Katara pointed behind you, seemingly stopping the snowballs. You turned and saw the previously calm lake in a violent condition: there were monstrous waves reaching nearly thirty or forty feet high. Then they began to settle down. Almost as quickly as they’d arrived.

But you didn't care.

“What was that for!?” you demanded, furious nonetheless. Katara excitedly placed her hands on your shoulders and replied,

“I’m sorry, but I just had to see it for myself! You’re a waterbender! And a powerful one at that!” You roughly shook her off, completely confused.

“What? That makes no sense! So what if the water just happened to get violent? It’s nature, it’s weird! Besides, I was tested when I was trained to see if I was a bender.”

“How so?” Katara asked, clearly not believing you from the enthusiasm evident in her voice.

“When I was first sold, I was exposed to all four elements to see if I was able to control them. But, when I was forced into the water..." you huffed at retelling this memory, "I was so scared and I sunk to the bottom of the water like a stone.” you whispered the last part in embarrassment.

“Listen, bending has a strong tie with your emotions. For some, more than others. For those people, they have to control their element with every desire they have for it. Like this, I want you to visualize an orb of water in front of you. Think of every emotion that you want it to perceive.” Katara then closed her eyes and pulled out a thick goblet of water from the lake and held it in front of herself. After opening her eyes she nodded back to you,

"See?"

You were still skeptical, but after seeing Katara's excitement, you tried anyways. You inhaled and allowed the tranquility of the silence overwhelm you. You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to continue in the state of meditation.

“Haha! Look at that!” You opened your eyes, to see a ball of water floating before you. You shrieked and the water spiked up, before you threw it back into the lake out of panic.

“You’re a waterbender!” Katara shouted,

“I’m a waterbender!” you repeated.

“She’s a waterbender!?” The two of you turned to see Sokka in... makeup?

“Um, I haven’t known him for that long, but is this normal? I-I won’t judge! Or-Or anything.” Katara burst out laughing.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how happy this makes me! I’m not the only waterbender in the South Pole!” She jumped a little bit and hugged you. She was a bit taller than you, but still held you with an iron grip.

“So, is she like on our side now?” Sokka asked. Katara looked up at you expectantly, but you replied,

“I’m still Prince Zuko’s. I can’t simply leave him; he owns me.” Katara’s grin dropped almost immediately.

“But-But, you need to learn how to harness and control your ability. I could help you and you wouldn’t have to be a servant anymore!” Katara said, desperately trying to change your mind. But you shook your head,

“I’m sorry, but my life is in Prince Zuko and his happiness.” Katara grew increasingly frantic the more that you spoke,

“But you could be free of that!” You pondered the thought, for a second. It wasn't as if you'd never imagined it: living without rules, duties or,

“Prince Zuko. I’m sorry, Katara. I really am. But, I truly believe that my happiness is in Prince Zuko. He’s the one person I trust in this world, and I’m content keeping it that way.” Katara sighed, knowing that you weren’t going to change your mind.

“Alright. At least spend the night, here. I’m sure you’re tired from your journey here, and that there’s a lot to take in.” You nodded in thanks and followed the group to their homes, already having gotten over the shock of being a bender.