Avatar: The Legend Reborn - Book 1: Hope

Chapter 5: Secret Of The Avatar Cycle

Book 1: Hope
Chapter 5: Secret Of The Avatar Cycle

Jiansu

It had been two weeks since they had arrived in the Fire Nation. Yasmin had been training Akira in Firebending, and attempting to teach Jiansu, although he still had not managed to create a single spark. He watched as his sister and the Firelord sparred in the arena. Akira jumped and threw a ball of fire at Yasmin, who rolled and came up with a kick, knocking Akira to the ground. Who knew Yasmin had those kinds of moves? Sure, she was the Firelord, but Jiansu wouldn't have guessed she had been trained well under her particular circumstances. He was wrong. The leader of the Fire Nation was a true prodigy. She was beautiful too, but he tried to ignore that. Yasmin and Akira did the Dancing Dragon and bowed to each other.

"Very good Akira. I believe you are ready to meet Druk." Yasmin said.

"Who's Druk?" Akira wondered.

"The greatest Firebender in the world. He's an old friend of my family." Yasmin said.

"Oh. Why do I need to meet him?"

"He will decide if you have mastered Firebending or not. And for you Jiansu, perhaps he can help you with this block you're having."

"Sounds good to me." Jiansu said.

"Very well. Tomorrow morning, we will hike to Sunset Cave, in the mountains west of the city."
Yasmin said.

They returned to the palace and went to their rooms. Jiansu relaxed on his bed, which he couldn't believe he had ever lived without. It was so soft, fit for royalty. The other bed in the room was unoccupied. Gyatso had returned to the Western Air Temple to train his students, but had promised to come visit when he could.

There was a knock at the door. Yasmin poked her head in. "Hey, care if I join you?"

"Not at all. It is your palace." Jiansu replied.

"Yeah, but I don't like throwing my weight around." She sat next to him on the bed.

"That's very kind of you."

"Yeah well, you are the Avatar." She fixed those golden eyes on him. They cut into him like a knife.

Jiansu had a problem. He didn't know it before, but now he knew: he had a crush on the Firelord. He was sixteen years old and had never even talked to a girl his age (besides Kinlei at the Western Air Temple), but he liked Yasmin. He knew she didn't feel the same. Besides, his responsibility was to all four nations. If he showed favor towards the leader of the Fire Nation, why should the other nations trust him? Being the Avatar was depressing, and Jiansu had only just begun.

Yasmin cleared her throat. Jiansu realized he was staring. "Umm, sorry. I zoned out."

"What were you thinking about?" She asked.

"Just... Avatar stuff. Firebending. I still can't get it."

"I understand your frustration. Sometimes we try so hard to accomplish our goals, only to fail over and over again. But we have to get back up and try again. If we don't, we'll never get it."

"I know. Thank you, Yasmin."

She smiled. "Of course. And thank you for not calling me your majesty."

Jiansu laughed. "Yeah, no problem. I've been getting to know you a lot better over the past few weeks, so it felt less forced. It was more natural."

"Yeah, natural." Yasmin repeated.

"Is there something you need?" Jiansu asked.

Yasmin frowned. "Actually I was just coming to talk to you about what we're doing tomorrow. Do you want me to leave?"