The Little Waterbender (unedited)

The Curse

The Sorceress knew the boy would come eventually. But whether or not the rumors were true of the horrors he had committed. Since the day this town accepted her, she swore to never judge people by rumors.

However, she knew this boy was rotten to the bone the second she laid eyes on him. He wasn't slouched, he stood tall. But his face was badly scarred on the left side of his face. He didn't seem ashamed, if anything, he was proud.

He looked up and down the street for a sign of anyone coming, and deciding he wasn't being watched, became someone completely different. As though shrugging on a different skin.

He turned from an arrogant 12-year-old, to a lost and afraid child who didn't understand why he had nothing while others had more. It was an incredible act. And if she hadn't seen it for herself, might not have believed it. He had done this before.

She looked down at her hands, wondering if she should make this thing happen. Wondering if it wasn't all a ploy to lure her out of hiding, as the king had so longed to do.

Looking out the window again, she noticed the boy kneeling in the tall grass across the street, his back to her as though in pain or crying.

"Eh boy!" An older gentleman appeared across the street. His name was Chang. An older fellow who did not tolerate children well. "Get off my dadgum lawn I tell ya!"

"But sir please!" The boy put on a good act. Maybe he had left? And been replaced with a boy who-

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a quick yelp as Chang pulled the boy up by his arm.

"You ain't going to steal from nobody anymore, son," as Chang turned the boy towards her house, she saw the small melon in the boy's hands. Why? If he is a prince, why is he stealing?

"Please, sir," the boy seemed to be pleading with him, almost pathetically. "My family. I need this food! We're almost out!"

Lost in thought yet again, the Sorceress began to wonder if it was true. Is the royal family in debt? It had happened once before, years ago. Of course, the public wasn't notified.

It was years ago, the boy's father was a child at the time. Ozai would come to this same village, in near the same condition, to steal from her garden specifically. She didn't mind at first, not knowing who he was nor paying attention to his transformation. Once she discovered he was the prince of the fire nation, she became angry and came at him. He gave the same story and she forced him to prove it, using her magic to make him tell the truth. He was the only one who knew her.

A scream jerked her out of her thoughts and she saw the young boy laughing with Chang's arm in his grip. Smoke rose from where his hand was and all at once, the Sorceress became angry. So, the rumors were true. But the family was not in danger. Or the boy wouldn't have dared.

She pulled a cloak over her shoulders and a hood over her face. As the door creaked open and the handle jingled, the boy's head shot around to look at this new intruder. His act had fallen, he stood tall and proud, ready to defend himself.

"I command you to halt and kneel before your prince!" She stopped. This boy had such authority, such... power. She wanted to kneel before him.

So she did just that. She knelt at his feet, sneering to the ground as a plan formed in her mind. 

"How dare you approach me!" The smell of burning flesh reached her nostrils and Chang fell to the ground beside her, clutching his arm. "You believe I am some child misbehaving. But you are wrong. I am your prince! Future Firelord!"

Shifting quickly, the Sorceress turned to an old hag, eyes bagging, wrinkles appearing on her young face. If she wanted this plan to work, she would have to find a way.

"Please, young man," her voice shook as though in fear, but it was really in anger. "You musn't get worked up over old folks such as ourselves. We just miss the old ways."

"My grandfather was a sentimental old fool," as he turned the woman towards him, he swore her hands became leathery and older than they originally felt. "And he only cared about things that were small and trifle. My father knows the true meaning of ruling."

She bent her head, praying this wouldn't work. Reaching down, she pulled a rose from the old man's bush, adding a lifeline of hope to the petal's and entwining it with an escape for the boy.

"Then, my dear boy, take one of my flowers instead." She lifted her old, frail eyes to meet is powerful, young ones. "Chang has been a loyal member of this community for years, he didn't realize who you were. Please. I promise you this will make up for the wrong doing's.

The burn on the boy's face dug into her very soul. She didn't want to do this. And she wouldn't if only he-

"No," he sneered. "Why would I want an old flower like that one? I could get a million of them in the market!"

The old woman bowed her head again, nodding to Chang to leave. "Let him leave, sire. This is between me and you."

As Chang made his way down the street, the boy watched carefully. Once he was out of earshot, the prince leaned down to the woman's ear. 

"I'm going to make the last seconds of your life a living hell."

With that, he gripped her around the throat roughly. Though he didn't squeeze hard, she slowly began to feel the heat. Almost until it was unbearable. She knew what he was doing, and knew he was in the right mind to do it.

"I am sorry," she whispered.

With that, she forced the boy's arm away from her and stood up straight.

"I did hope the rumors weren't true."

The boy didn't seem fazed at all. If anything, he stood taller. "I order you to kneel!"

"And I order you to stand down!" The Sorceresses cloak came off and it seemed as though the boy finally realized who he was up against.

"Wait! Please!" The prince fell to the ground, clasping his hands in front of him. "I didn't mean it! Honest, I didn't! I just wanted to scare you and that man! My father says terror is the answer and I can't disobey him!"

"You couldn't disobey him..." She couldn't believe her ears. "Did your father ask you to terrorize his people? Did your father ask you to steal?" She paused. "I am sorry, young man but... what else am I to do?"

"Have mercy, ma'am. Please. I'll do anything!"

"I have already tried to talk you out of it." Sighing, she raised her hands towards the boy. "A beast to your people, a danger to your people... So now, that you shall be. On this day, my boy you will become that of what we have seen. One deserving of scorn and shunning. From here forth, you are no longer a man. Until you learn that, you will be shamed."

From across the lake, at the royal palace, a scream could be heard before all fell to silence.