꧁ chapter two ꧂
the prince of the fire nation

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"NICE TRY, PUPIL Sangok. A couple more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge" Master Pakku said sarcastically as he unfroze the ice surrounding Sangok.

Meiluna chuckled under her breath as Sangok returned to his spot in defeat.

"Princess Meiluna," Pakku looked to the girl who sat to the side, "Why don't you go next?"

Meiluna looked at him in shock. It wasn't as though she were a terrible bender. In fact, it was the opposite. She could move with perfect refinement and precision. Almost too textbook and predictable. But her greatest weakness was the force with which she attacked with.

Meiluna had always first and foremost been a healer. Hurting others was not something she ever intended on doing.

While Pakku's students had viewed waterbending as a means of survival and fighting, Meiluna relied heavily on disarming and slowing down her opponent. She viewed it as an art form, her movements free of aggression.

And Pakku thought this would be her downfall.

Meiluna reluctantly stood up in front of Katara.

"Go easy on me?" Meiluna asked with an innocent smile.

Katara shook her head with a laugh before she instantly sent a stream of water straight towards Meiluna. She easily moved out of the way, staying light on her feet.

Katara brought back the water she shot, splitting it into two separate streams, aiming for either side of Meiluna. The Princess extended her arms out, freezing the water before it could reach her. Katara took this opportunity to create multiple icicles to send her way. Meiluna noticed quickly and raised her arms to create a shield of ice to protect herself.

As the ice shattered from the impact of Katara's attack, Meiluna bent down, placing a hand to the ground, sending crystals of ice to grow around Katara's feet, slowly moving all the way up to trap her entire body. Meiluna let out a sigh of relief as she thought the fight was finally over, but Katara managed to burst out of the ice, using a water whip to capture Meiluna.

"Meiluna, you are a worthy opponent" Master Pakku praised as Katara released the Princess.

Meiluna smiled brightly.

He turned to face Katara,

"You've advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained"

Katara looked up happily at her teacher.

"You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything," Master Pakku continued as he turned to look at Aang who appeared to lay on the ground, playing with Momo.

"Raw talent alone isn't enough," He scoffed irritably,

"Pupil Aang!"

"Yes, Master Pakku?" Aang looked up innocently.

"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with pets, you must have already mastered waterbending" Pakku said sarcastically.

"I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out!" Aang said excitedly as he jumped up.

He quickly spun around, bending the snow around him to create a snowman out of himself that Momo proceeded to knock over. Meiluna laughed as Pakku shook his head in disappointment while Katara rolled her eyes.

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Meiluna stepped out of her bathroom after taking a shower and getting dressed to meet with her father. As she went to leave her room, she spotted her sister leaving her own room with a sad look in her eyes.

"Yue?" Meiluna asked, slowly approaching her sister.

Yue turned away to avoid her empathetic gaze.

"Yue, what's wrong?" Meiluna placed a hand on her sister's shoulder as she came to stand beside her.

"I told Sokka about the engagement" Yue whispered shamefully.

Meiluna was stunned, she had no idea what to say.

"I ran away, I couldn't be with him knowing I have to marry Hahn" Yue continued, a shaky breath escaping her lips.

Meiluna wrapped her arms around her sister. No words were exchanged between the two, but they knew, they would always be there for each other no matter what.

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"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts. Now as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" Chief Arnook announced inside the Royal Palace, where Yue and Meiluna sat behind him.

"I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission" He continued, looking out into the crowd of soldiers.

"Count me in" Sokka replied, rising from his seat.

Meiluna felt Yue tense next to her. She squeezed her hand in reassurance, conveying the silent message,

Everything will be okay.

"Sokka," Katara spoke out, worried for her brother.

"Be warned, many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task" Chief Arnook instructed.

Several men stood up and walked forward to receive their mark.

As Sokka received his, he turned to look at Yue, the two shared a momentary glance before Sokka continued to walk away. Yue turned back to face ahead before closing her eyes and letting silent tears escape.

Meiluna held her sister close as she stared at Sokka's retreating figure.

In Meiluna's opinion, if there was one person in the world who deserved true happiness, it was Yue. She deserved the world and more. It only broke her heart to see her sister in a situation like this.

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"They've stopped firing" Yue spoke, breaking the silence.

Meiluna and Katara stood with her, looking out at the horizon when Meiluna saw something flying towards them, squinting her eyes slightly to get a better look.

"Aang!" Katara called out as he landed on the ground out of breath.

The three girls went to approach him.

"I can't do it," Aang panted as he placed his head in his hands, "I can't do it"

"What happened?" Katara asked.

"I must've taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. I can't fight them all" Aang said dejectedly.

"But, you have to. You're the Avatar" Yue pleaded, worry clouding her eyes.

"I'm just one kid" Aang replied solemnly before he buried his face in his arms again.

Meiluna looked at the boy with pity. She couldn't imagine what is was like to essentially have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves" Meiluna started to explain.

"I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night" Katara realised.

"Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon. Our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance" Yue continued, sharing a soft smile with her sister.

"The Spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!" Aang brightened as he sat up.

"How can you do that?" Yue questioned.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World, Aang can talk to them" Katara explained hopefully.

"Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle" Yue exclaimed, facing Aang.

"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy, amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang spoke, erratically waving his arms around.

Meiluna raised an eyebrow at the Avatar, while Yue and Katara gave him an odd look.

"Or wisdom. That's good too" Aang backtracked.

"The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?" Katara pondered aloud.

A moment passed before Yue and Meiluna shared a knowing look.

"I have an idea, come with us" Meiluna gestured for Aang and Katara to follow her and Yue towards the Royal Palace where both girls led them to a small, round, wooden door.

"So, is this the way to the Spirit World?" Aang questioned approaching the door.

Yue and Meiluna laughed lightly.

"No, you'll have to get there on your own. But we can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole" Yue explained as Meiluna pushed open the door.

Aang gasped in amazement looking around at the oasis before him where a waterfall flowed directly behind.

"I never thought I'd miss grass this much" Aang spoke excitedly, rolling around on the ground.

"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" Katara asked, approaching the oasis.

"It's the center of all the spiritual energy in our land" Meiluna explained, smiling at how happy Aang and Katara were.

"You're right, Meiluna. I can feel something, it's so tranquil" Aang agreed observantly before sitting down and crossing his legs.

"Why is he sitting like that?" Yue questioned Katara.

"He's meditating, trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all his concentration" Katara explained.

"Is there any way we can help?" Meiluna tried leaning closer to whisper to Katara.

"How about some quiet? Come on guys, I can hear every word you're saying!" Aang called out angrily.

"Sorry" Meiluna apologised sheepishly as she noticed Aang's tattoos light up.

"Is he okay?" Yue asked, feeling concerned.

"He's crossing into the Spirit World. He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to physical world" Katara clarified.

Meiluna stood near the pond, playing with a little ball of water she bended to hover over her fingertips as they waited patiently for Aang.

"Maybe we should get some help" Yue said, still looking a bit worried.

"No, he's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him" Katara answered with an assuring smile.

"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" A voice spoke sarcastically.

Meiluna whipped around and saw a boy she didn't recognise with a scar over his left eye.

And the most outrageous ponytail she had ever seen in her life, but she didn't think that was too important to mention in this life or death situation.

Meiluna dropped the water in her hands immediately.

"Who's your little waterbender friend?" He asked menacingly as he kicked his leg up and sent a fire blast towards Katara.

She instantly put up a shield of water to protect herself and extinguish the flames.

"That's Princess to you" Meiluna smiled sweetly before sending a large blast of ice straight towards his arms, freezing his hands to the ground.

"Go! I can handle him" Katara nodded to Meiluna reassuringly.

She took this chance to grab Yue's hand, running out of the oasis to get to safety. She knew she needed to protect her sister at all costs.

The Fire Nation boy looked over in shock before composing himself and then sent a flurry of fire at Meiluna.

She quickly pushed Yue out of the way, raising her hands to create a wall of ice to extinguish the flames. She used the water nearby to create icicles the way she had seen Katara do before, forcing them towards the boy, pinning him back to the wall behind him.

While he was disarmed, Yue and Meiluna managed to make their escape, leaving Katara to defend Aang.

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"Aang!"

"What happened? Where's Zuko?" Sokka asked as he approached him with Meiluna and Yue by his side.

Meiluna had heard about the Fire Nation's royal family. She just couldn't believe that a boy, practically her own age, was involved in the war like this. She truly felt sorry for him and his sister who were forced into their way of living.

"Katara, are you okay?" Meiluna rushed over to the girl, who, in that moment, was not looking her best.

"I'm fine" Katara gave her a weak smile.

Meiluna nodded as she held out a hand to help her up.

"He took Aang, he took him right out from under me" Katara explained looking very dismayed.

Sokka looked over the edge of the pond before asking,

"Where did they go?"

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