Heavenly Pursuit (Princess Yue)

Prologue

Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe had never pictured the world to end up like this. Hate seemed to be the leading emotion throughout the world, not just in the Fire Nation. For her whole life, she had been taught that the Fire Nation was a bad group of people because they hated everyone and thought themselves to be better than the other nations. Yet her tribe was ready to annihilate the Fire Nation soldiers because hate filled their hearts.

Hate was one of the most known emotions known to man. It was easier to understand than love. Love was such a difficult emotion to emulate like hate was. Many people focused on anger and who wronged who than love and goodness. It was much easier to hate than to love. Hate harbored in people's hearts, using its claws to block off love from entering. Once a person learned to hate, there was no going back.

Yue didn't understand why people would fill their lives with hate, though. Wasn't it exhausting focusing on everything wrong with people than trying to find the goodness in them? She had been raised seeing the goodness in others. Maybe that made her naïve. Maybe that made her courageous. If anything, it made her different than everyone else.

"It's too late," Katara said, anguish evident in her voice. Yue looked up at the girl who had quickly become her best friend. She hadn't thought that hope would be burned away from her; Katara always seemed to look on the bright side of things. But not tonight. "It's dead."

The dead Moon Spirit fish hung limp in the dark water. It pulled at Yue's heartstrings, seeing the dead fish there. For every moment of her short life, she had been connected to that small fish. It had given her life when she was a dying baby. Every part of her life had been leading up to this moment. Deep in her soul, she knew that it was her turn to give back to it. It gave her life, so she would give it back. A life for a life was only fair.

"You have been touched by the Moon Spirit," the old man that had remained with them after the Moon Spirit fish died said. He was gazing at Yue with eyes filled with wonder. In the darkness, she could see light shining in his eyes. "Some of its life is in you!"

Yue looked up at the sky. The moon was as dark as the hate that filled the hearts of these people. Yet her heart was filled with the light of the love she had for everyone in this world. "Yes, you're right," she said, her eyes flicking toward the pool of water. Her gaze landed on the limp fish; her soul yearned to join with it once more. "It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back."

She got up and walked to the pond's edge. The water lapped against the tips of her shoes, like it knew who she was. Yes, it did know who she was. Its other half -- the Moon Spirit -- resided in her body. Its soul mixed with hers, making up who she was and who she was going to be. She took a deep breath as she fixed her sights on the dead fish. Somehow, Death didn't terrify her like she thought it would. 

"No!" Sokka yelled behind her. He grasped her hand, pulling her back toward him. She stood her ground, though, closing her eyes tightly to keep the tears from spreading down her cheeks. She hadn't planned on falling in love; she also hadn't planned on dying at sixteen, either. "You don't have to do that!"

Yue looked down. A single tear rolled down her cheek, sending tiny ripples across the water. Her image in the blue was fractured because of the ripples. It resembled her life. The ripples were the people that she cared about: her parents and Katara and Sokka. Yet her image was who she needed to be, and no matter how cracked it became, she wouldn't back away from her destiny. All her life had been leading up to this moment in time, and she was ready to fulfill it.

"It's my duty, Sokka," Yue said. Her strong voice carried across the pond of water and echoed around them.

"I won't let you!" Sokka pleaded. His grip on her hand tightened for just a second. In that second, she almost backed out of her decision. Almost. "Your father told me to protect you!"