Avatar The Last Airbender: The Sins of the Past [Katara x OC]

Chapter 0-1: The Soldiers

My dad died a few years ago, when I was 4. My older sister Rina was 10, so she remembers more of what happened. There was a huge volcano that erupted on our home island, and our father wasn't able to stop it, even though he was the Avatar. Mom was able to get us to safety, and now we're living in Kirachi Village, a small village in the Fire Nation where most citizens are against the Fire Lord. We've been living here for a few years, and I'm now 8, and Rina is 14.

My mother's greatest fear is that the Fire Nation will harm us for being Roku's children and being against the Fire Lord, so we don't leave the village often. My mother's fears weren't unfounded. We wake up to a strong smell of smoke all through the house and the sound of screaming. We run outside to see what happened, and we see many Fire Nation Soldiers setting fire to all of the houses, screaming being heard from fleeing citizens.

Our house erupts in flames, and I suddenly remember, "Cyril!" I run into the house to find him and see some beams falling from the ceiling around me. I know it's silly, but my necklace and Cyril are the only things I have left of my father. Cyril is a handmade turtle-duck plushie he gave me a few months before he died. I finally find Cyril on my bed, and I grab him, only for a beam to hit my back, settling over my left arm and knocking me to the floor. The beam was on fire, and I was in a lot of pain. I started screaming for my mom, but the fire was too loud for her to hear me.

I can only lay there in my pain, unable to move and hoping that my mother and sister were able to escape. I hear some footsteps rushing towards me and feel someone picking me up and bringing me out of the house, but the pain soon becomes too much, and I pass out. Once I wake up, I find myself in a healer hut, but not the one in my village. It seems like whoever saved me brought me to a healer to help my arm.

The healer sees that I'm awake, and she lays me back down, saying, "Your injuries are too extensive. You have to rest."

I ask, "What happened? Who brought me here?"

The healer responds, "A soldier brought you here. He's waiting in the next room. He refused to leave without making sure you were alright. That fire did quite a number on your arm and back." My eyes widened at the thought that a scary Fire Nation soldier brought me here, but that must mean that he didn't want me to die.

But then, why was he helping burn down our houses if he didn't want anyone to get hurt? After seeing that I was awake, she left the room to tell the soldier that I was okay and brought him into the room I was in. He was still wearing his armor but had his helmet at his side.

He said, "I apologize for what we did to your village. No one was supposed to get hurt. When I heard your screams, I knew I had to save you."

I smile a little, then ask, "Where's my turtle-duck plushie? Did you bring him with you?"

The soldier responds, "He was buried so far in your arms I couldn't take him from you if I tried. He just fell from the bed." I look to the floor and try to bend down to pick him up with my right arm, but the healer lays me back down. She grabs Cyril and hands him to me. I try to hug him, but notice that my left arm won't move.

I say to the healer, "Why won't my arm move?"

The healer looks really worried, and she says, "You should he able to move it. That's not good." She pokes my arm, but I can't feel it. She asks, "Can you feel anything?" I shake my head no, and she starts rushing around, grabbing various medical supplies. She pushes the soldier out of the room and says, "I'm sorry, but it looks like I must remove your arm. If you can't move it or feel anything, it's less than useless."

I'm scared. She takes a needle filled with a clear liquid and injects it into my left arm. I start feeling really tired and fall asleep. When I woke up again, it's the next day, and I fell really groggy. I look over to my left, but only see a short stump covered in bandages where my arm should be. I start freaking out, and the healer uses one hand to my chest to lay me back down.

She says, "I'm sorry about your arm, but that paralysis could have eventually spread to the rest of your body if I didn't remove it. You should still be able to bend if you are a bender. Why dont you test that?" I move my right hand slightly above me, and a small flame is produced from my hand. She nods and allows the soldier back into the room. He sees my stump and frowns, a look of pity and guilt on his face.

He says, "This is all my fault. If I had heard you sooner, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

I say, "If you hadn't saved me, I probably would have died like my father. Thank you for saving me." He smiles slightly, but still looks really guilty.

He finally says, "I should be returning to my post. If I'm gone for too long, I'll be suspected of treason. I just hope you'll be able to find somewhere safe." He leaves, and the healer leaves the room to attend to other patients.

After a few weeks, the healer allows me to leave, but gave me a bag with Cyril and some extra bandages so that I can change them if I need to. I thank her, and leave to find somewhere safe. I try to make my way out of the Fire Nation, so I stow away on a Fire Navy ship that's on its way to the Earth Kingdom. It takes a few days, but I'm finally away from the Fire Nation.

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