Unfinished

Ch. 1: Harbor Town

Xiaohai Village is a small harbor town located in the Earth Kingdom. It was known only for three things: salt, fish, and vacations. The town’s docks made up most of its size but there were also several residential homes. The town housed about 300 people, most of which worked in the harbor. There were several warehouses, stores, hotels, and even a hot spring resort. The town was a quiet one considering there was a war going on. The village was the perfect place to be if you didn't like being around too many people. It was outlined in sea water as well as a large forest.

Ren, a 5 foot tall female with raven black hair, slowly made her way through the market of Xiaohai. She kept her head low with her purple eyes (considered a mutation to most, a family trait to herself) on the ground in front of her, just as she always did. She had gotten used to the countless stares of the villagers, they would stare for a short time and then return to their lives. When she had first moved here it had bothered her. Back then she was mute. She didn't speak to anyone, instead she did only what she had to. She remained in her house most of the time. That was how she liked to live, alone. It didn't take long for her to cross through the market, after all it was small compared to Ba Sing Se and other huge cities. She looked up for merely a second, just to make sure nothing had changed around the street near the docks.

She adjusted the basket she was carrying, just a little. It was a little heavier today than it had been the week before. Money wasn't something Ren had much of, in fact there wasn't much a 16 year old girl could do in a village like this, but Ren made items for a local shop that attracted tourists. This past week there had been many purchases of her wares, so Ren was able to buy more. She turned the corner towards her house and froze.

An angry voice barked from behind her, questioning some of the villagers about someone. She turned and looked to see what was going on but she immediately regretted it. There standing merely a block away from her stood a young male wearing black armor with a rusty brown shirt underneath. She couldn't make out much else about him. She was sure she knew the young man who seemed extremely hostile, he sounded just like Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. She didn't wait to find out if he was or not. She quickly hurried away, deciding to take the long way home. She was practically running through the alleyway when she heard someone shout, “Stop!”

She immediately stopped. She hadn't been able to hear the footsteps behind her over the pounding of her own heart. She prayed it was just one of her neighbors who had told her to stop. She held her breath as she turned towards the voice. She lifted her head only enough to see who called to her. She felt her heart drop into her stomach. She was unable to move. Standing before her was the young man. His hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail and seemed even as black as her own. She would recognize him anywhere, even if he didn't have a scar around his left eye. Prince Zuko had followed her. She suddenly felt very foolish, she shouldn't have ran. She had made herself look suspicious.

Prince Zuko along with two men dressed in Fire Nation Military attire stood a mere 10 feet in front of her. She wanted to run away and hide but she knew that the Banished Prince would send his men after her. She wouldn't be able to get away. She took a deep breath trying to calm the storm brewing within her mind and forced herself to keep her eyes from looking up into Prince Zuko’s. She could hear Prince Zuko’s footsteps as he closed the gap between them, making it even more difficult not to look at him. He was only three feet in front of her when he finally spoke. “Have you seen this boy,” Zuko asked quickly while raising up a piece of paper.

Ren didn’t bother looking up, she never paid attention to anyone. She already knew she didn't know where the boy would be found no matter who he was or what he looked like. She considered speaking but quickly decided not to; being mute had made people leave her company much quicker in the past. She shook her head hoping that would be answer enough. She realized how wrong she was when Prince Zuko stepped closer and practically shoved the picture in her face shouting, “You didn't even look! Answer me!”

Ren suddenly was fighting tears which required her to take a weary deep breath to keep them inside. She had saw how rude Prince Zuko was being to the other villagers, but she had never imagined it towards her, not until now. She quickly turned away and shook her head again. She truly had not seen the strange looking boy with an arrow on his head, just as she had already known. Prince Zuko let out a huff of air and quickly walked away. She could hear him say something to his men, but she couldn't tell what was being said. Ren took a deep breath and hurried home, nearly dropping her basket several times along the way.

            The moment Ren was inside her home with the door shut she sank to the dirt floor. She finally let out the tears she had been forcing to remain inside her eyes. She couldn't help but start to sob. She sobbed so hard that she had to gasp for air. The tears that poured from her face soaked the forest green fabric of her kimono. She reached up and pulled the small yellow ribbon that had held her hair up in a ponytail, letting her straight raven locks flow down quickly, cloaking her face. Even in her own company, she would hide her tears.

            By the time Ren was able to silence her sobs the sun had set and she was alone in the dark. She wiped her eyes on the yellow part of her kimono sleeve and sniffled. “Let it go, Ren,” she whispered to herself over and over as she stood and brushed the dirt off her kimono. She felt around her home for her starter stones. She could not locate them. She sniffled once again and took a deep breath. She wasn't hungry or anything anyway. She carefully felt her way towards her floor pallet. It was made of straw and a few furs she had been given by her father after one of his hunts.

            She laid upon the pallet and pulled the second of the furs over her body. It was too small to cover her completely and the draft that seeped through the slats in the walls was chilling. She pulled the fur over her shoulders. She took a deep breath and blew warm air into her hands, attempting to warm herself well enough. “Things sure have changed,” she quietly told herself as she tried to fall asleep. She didn't realize just how heartbroken she still was. Now that pain would haunt her dreams.

            Ren awoke abruptly sometime just after sunrise. She was freezing but her body was covered in sweat. She wiped it away and shivered. Her dream had been so real. She had dreamed about the evening her parents were murdered. She still couldn't get that image from her mind. With every blink she saw her parents’ faces. It had been nearly 2 years but she still could barely cope.

            Ren took a deep breath and moved to the fireplace. She was starting to warm up and the sweating seemed to end as she struck her starter stones together. The fire caught quickly and she was warmed instantly. She knelt at the fire, watching it dance. “I should hate you, fear you. You've robbed me of so much,” she told the fire, “but I cannot.” She sighed and began heating water for tea and food. She planned to bathe after that.

            Ren stood and returned to the basket that still lay on the floor near the door. She leaned down to pick it up but froze. As she had went down she thought she had saw someone standing near her home. She carefully made her way to the side of the window and peeked out. Fire Nation soldiers were leaning against one of the stone houses near her hut. She told herself she was imagining it, but they were staring towards her house. She felt a rush of panic rush through her whole being, even her soul quivered.

            “What could you brutes want,” She asked out loud. She quickly fixed the curtains so that they would allow no view. She was sure the men would have seen them move and sighed. Either way she would be in trouble but at least this way they might not see her nude. She felt her cheeks begin to turn red, possibly to the color other fair skinned females applied makeup for. Just the idea of them seeing her nude was flustering. The only thing that would be worse is if it were one of her neighbors or, worse still, Prince Zuko himself.

            Ren hurried through her meal after that. She didn't know how long she would have until they would leave or barge in. She could not stand the smell of herself. Her mother had spoiled her as a child. Ren was never dirty for more than a few minutes before she would take hot baths with jasmine petals in it. Oh how she missed that. She ran her fingers through her long hair and sighed. Her mother would also braid her hair into elaborate styles. Ren had nearly forgotten how much she missed her mother. She fought a sniffle and began to prepare a sponge bath for herself.

            Once Ren was cleaned she felt much better. There had been no interruptions and, as best she could tell, the curtains had kept peeping toms out. She hated the outfit she now wore. The pants were the color of dry dirt and her top was nearly sleeveless. She felt so exposed in it. Ren slipped her shoes on and sighed. She knew she would need to go and get the materials she had forgot the day before but it meant stepping outside, into plain view of everyone.

            The last things Ren did before finally forcing herself out the door was put out her fireplace and braid her hair into two pigtails that hung over her shoulders and came just past her waist. She wondered if she should cut her hair. She quickly dismissed the idea. She loved her long hair.

Ren stepped outside her door and shut it behind her, just as she had always done. She could hear the soldiers move a little but she didn't dare look. She wanted them to think she hadn't seen them. She looked down to the ground and made her way towards the market. She would be heading to the trinket shop today. She could feel the soldiers tailing her but she kept her pace the same. She wanted them to leave her alone. Inside, her heart was racing and her body yearned to run away but on the outside she did her best to seem as she always was, un-bothered and unaware.

Ren was at the small shop in no time. She gently opened the door to the shop and went inside. She had an arrangement with the shop owners, they provided her with clay and she made items for their shop. An elderly woman named Tien-Hou was sitting behind the shop’s counter. She had thinning gray hair that Ren never saw out of a bun. When Ren first saw her, her first thought had been ‘In her youth, she must have been lovely.’ Ren still found her brown eyes beautiful. They sparkled with happiness and weren't dimmed by experience. Ren hoped in her old age she would be similar to this woman.

“Hello dear,” The woman told her. Ren bowed in respect to her, as she had always done. “Oh dear,” The woman replied the same way she always did, with words and a smile on her face, “There is no need for such formalities. How are you doing?”

Ren forced a smile and told her, “I am fine, thank you. I came to pick up the supplies.” The woman said nothing else but nodded. She disappeared behind the curtain. It had become routine that little else would be said. Ren looked around the shop. She loved the things that cluttered the shop. Small clay figures of animals, necklaces with brilliant colors, charms for nearly everything, and everything else that attracted tourists. This morning the shop was deserted, it wouldn't become busy for at least another hour.

Ren scanned the shelves behind the long counter and smiled to herself when she saw the few bear and tiger statues that remained from the three dozen she had made the week before. She didn't know why they were with the most important treasures of the shop, but it made her happy to see. Ren felt special for that. She would make some beads and crane figures this week. She couldn't wait. She never signed them, so no one would ever know it was her that made them, but Ren was perfectly happy knowing that they were being bought and enjoyed.

The woman came back carrying a box of the supplies Ren would need. Ren took it from her and told her, “Thank you. I’ll be back with half the cranes and beads in a few days. See you then.” She wasted no time to leave Tien-Hou alone. She didn't socialize well with people now, she couldn't help but practically run from others.

When Ren stepped out the door she saw that the two men were still near. She clinched her jaw to keep a sigh inside. She turned towards her home and began walking. It wasn't long until she could hear the footsteps of the men following her. She would leave them alone for today, if they still were around the next morning then she would approach them. Right now Ren didn't want to, she wasn't comfortable with the idea. She walked home quickly because of how heavy the box was. She just wanted to get home and put it down.

It didn't take Ren long to reach the comfort of her pitiful home. She had lived in it for more than a year and was slowly making improvements to it. She was happy to have it and felt lucky. Someday she would have it fixed completely and maybe even expand it. If she ever got married (which was not likely, that would mean being around people) she knew she would probably need to leave it, but for now the one room hut was her home sweet home. Ren placed the box on the crate she used for a table and opened it up. It contained mostly clay but some wood. She pulled the clay from the box and put it aside. It had been packed to be kept moist and soft so she needed to do nothing more to it.

Ren smiled faintly when she looked back into the box. Her tools were there and looked a lot sharper than they had been when she dropped them off. Ren relied on the old couple for everything she needed to make money. They had offered to take her into their home when Ren was just 14. She had wound up in the harbor partially frozen, starving, and ill. No one knew what happened to her or how she ended up at sea and Ren intended to keep it that way. Tien-Hou’s husband Liaw, went out of his way to make sure Ren had what she needed despite how stubborn she was when it came to help.

Eventually they had worked out the deal where Ren would make things for the couple’s shop with their materials and she would receive part of the profit. It was a very small part and she knew that back then it had annoyed the couple but now it seemed to be ‘just how things are’. Ren removed her blades and wires then pulled out the wood. It was a lighter wood, she didn't know enough about trees to know what kind it was, but it would be a nice change from the dark brown wood she had worked with for months.

Ren quickly organized her materials then went and lit the fire in her fireplace. Ren watched and tended the fire for a while, lost in her own thoughts. She thought about many things, the main thing being the men standing outside her home. She was so annoyed. She just wanted to be left alone. What right did Prince Zuko have? His father is the very man who sent his commander, Zhao, after her family and ruined her life. Ren could take it no more, her anger was getting the better of her.

Before she knew what she was doing, Ren was out of her home and marching up to the two men. She placed her hands on her hips and looked them men directly in their eyes. She wasn't trying to hide her eyes, not in her state of anger. She glared at the men and told them, “I need to concentrate on my work. You Fire Nation lackeys can go back to your Banished Prince and tell him to leave me alone. I’ve done nothing to anyone. I don’t know where the avatar, the milkmaid, or the castle clowns are. I don’t pay attention to anyone, I talk to no one. Leave me alone.”

The two men looked at each other and then laughed. Ren’s heart dropped and her anger increased. She knew she had a soft voice but it wasn't like she was incapable of sounding harsh. Maybe she was. She wanted to just knock the men’s heads together. The problem with that would be that their helmets would get in the way and prevent enough damage to knock them out.

One man stepped forward, away from the other. Ren could see his brown eyes perfectly in the afternoon sun. He looked like nearly every other Fire Nation soldier. He crossed his arms and returned Ren’s glare before asking, “And what’s the pretty little girl going to do about it if we don’t?” Before Ren could even answer the two of them were laughing again.

Rage bubbled inside her and she was fighting to keep her calm. The other man, who looked mostly similar to the first except for being older and having a beard, walked behind her as if examining her. “How old do you think she is, Yun,” he asked his comrade. Ren cringed. She knew where this was going.

“I’d say old enough,” The man with brown eyes said with a sickening grin. He grabbed Ren by the wrist and pulled her towards him. She flinched and took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm within her mind and push the vomit that threatened to escape back into her stomach. She prayed that someone nearby would see and come save her.

The older man started to close the gap between Ren and the other soldier. Ren took the chance to kick the man in the gut as hard as she could. Her foot made contact and he cringed but grabbed her foot anyway. The armor the two wore would make escaping very hard. Ren looked around for assistance but no one was really paying attention and they were all out of shouting distance. She wished she had just stayed in her house. The two men spoke to one another but at this point Ren’s anger tuned them out. She had to get away from these monsters.

Without thinking Ren grabbed the young man’s face and burned his flesh with a small blast of fire. The man let her go and stepped back holding his face, screaming in agony. Ren turned her attention to the older man who had her foot. He was standing there looking dumbfounded. He clearly had no idea what just happened. Ren took the opportunity to punch towards the man, sending another blast of fire towards him.

The man released Ren’s foot just in time to block the attack. “You’re a firebender,” He shouted at her in shock. Suddenly Ren’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She could sure people would hear that. They would be staring. Sure enough she could see them whispering, definitely about her. She wanted to slay the man right then and there but she was no killer.

As Ren was in her thoughts and the older of the men stood there stunned, the first man grabbed her. “Let me go,” She shouted. The man did not release her even as she wiggled to be freed. She didn’t want to firebend anymore but she was getting even more desperate. She kicked her feet up from off the ground and pushed the fire from her soul towards the second man. The force was enough to knock the first man backwards. He released Ren and she ran towards her home. She quickly grabbed the few possessions she had of her parents before she kicked the rear wall down.  She took off running towards the nearby forest.

Ren felt like crying as she ran from the town. She could hear the soldiers chasing after her but she had so much adrenaline that they couldn't catch up. Ren didn't stop running until the sun had started to set. She fell to the ground and placed her hands over her face. She then sobbed. Everything she had worked so hard to do, gone. Once again she had no home. Once again she was completely alone.  Now the whole world would know who she is, or at least that she’s a firebender. She knew she would be welcomed nowhere. Her life was over.

Ch. 2: Getting By

            Ren spent a few months traveling throughout the Earth Kingdom, trying to find safety and a fresh start. She had been sure that Prince Zuko’s soldiers would have told him about her. Word hadn't seemed to spread very far, that was good for her. She wondered why that was. It was possible that the soldiers were ashamed to have lost her in the manner they did. She sat on the cold sand staring at the fire in front of her. It warmed her body and soul. She had spent the past months trying to decide who she was. She still wasn’t sure. She did know one thing, she was not a heartless monster like other firebenders. She wasn’t better than the other nationalities. If anything, she was worse, much worse.

            Ren laid her furs out next to the fire and laid on one, under the other. It was a cold night but the stars lit the night sky so beautifully. Ren stared up at them for a while, wondering just how long she would live like this and wondering who else was staring up at the stars tonight. She knew most people didn't bother, but it gave her comfort knowing she wasn't the only one looking. Someone, somewhere surely had his or her eyes to the skies as well.

            She questioned if she should remain within the Earth Kingdom. She thought about going to the Northern Water Tribe, but they didn't seem to welcome non-benders all that well. There was no way she would allow them to know she’s a firebender. The Northern Water Tribe would be out of her reach even if they would accept her, she had no way to get there. It was far too cold for her there anyway.

            A sigh escaped her before she realized what happened. She still tried to hide all emotions, even though she was alone. The longer Ren was alone, the less she liked it. She sometimes felt like she wouldn't know how to express herself ever. She tried to be above emotions, not because she was heartless, but because emotion could get you killed. Emotion was what had killed her parents. She would not allow the same fate to fall on her.

            Ren suddenly felt awful. She did not blame her parents for being against Fire Lord Ozai; he was a horrible, power-hungry man. They knew that things weren't right. Ren wished she knew what it was that had made her father decide to betray the Fire Lord, but it was probably safer that she didn't know. That knowledge was why Commander Zhao attacked her father’s ship. The word going around was that an enemy ship attacked and sunk her father’s ship. That was a lie, it had been the Fire Nation.

            Ren hated most of them. She couldn't stand them, she wanted to watch them all burn in their own corruption, but thoughts like that would taint her soul. She would be no better than them if she allowed that to happen. Ren didn't want that, she truly just wanted to live in peace without fear. As Ren closed her eyes she said a silent prayer begging for that to happen.

            The following morning Ren woke on the sand a few inches from the fur she had been laying on originally. She hated how much she rolled sometimes. She wondered if she would do better sleeping near someone she trusted. She never fell out of bed when she had her parents around. Ren pushed herself up and wiped the sand from her hands onto her pants. She was growing tired of these clothes as well. She felt like no matter how much she washed them (and herself) they were stained with the smell of fire and the day her world crashed before her.

            The solitude of her situation made her miss people. She decided that if she ever got to live around people she wouldn't ignore them. She would talk to everyone. Ren laughed at that idea. She couldn't picture herself speaking to anyone. She wasn't even sure her voice still worked. Ren quickly packed up camp and began walking the same direction she had been walking for the past three weeks. She knew the desert had to end sometime, she just didn't know when.

            It only took Ren eight days to reach water. She didn't know what to do once she reached it. She could see land across from it, possibly land near Ba Sing Se but she couldn't figure out how she would get there. She had heard rumors of a place called “Serpent’s Pass” but had been warned to keep away from it. She had no map or any idea which side of Serpent’s Pass she was even on so it didn't matter. She considered trying to swim across the water but knew that the current would be far too strong. Ren needed to find some way across, she had decided to try living in Ba Sing Se.

            Ren made camp right there beside the water’s edge. She kept back far enough that she and her few supplies would remain dry but close enough that she could easily spot a boat if one happened to pass by. She didn't know how long it would take but she just had to get to Ba Sing Se. Ren was just thankful she had planned her water well enough that she stayed hydrated enough to make it this far. Things surely had to start looking up.