MAYA [Book 1 - Water]

Chapter 53 - Burning Curse

-Maya's Point of View-

Lin Yee walked deeper into the forest without saying anything.

"Where are we going?" I asked but he didn't answer. The deeper we ventured into the forest, the quieter it gets.

I was about to ask him once more where we were headed until I noticed from a distance a small and humble hut resting in the middle of nowhere.

"We're here," he declared as he stopped in his tracks.

"Lin Yee? Why are you back so soon? Is something wrong?"

An old woman emerged from the small hut carrying a basket of freshly picked herbs.

"Who is that young girl with you?" she asked. He held her hand as he introduced her to me

"This is Mirei, my wife. The spirit stone belongs to her."

"You're a Fintan soldier..." I continued filled with astonishment in my eyes.

Lin Yee looked at his wife who was currently confused, "Mirei, this is Maya. She's also a Fintan," he explained.

I took out the emblem from my pocket and showed it to her. To my surprise, she looked worried and disappointed rather than happy.

"There's so much I want to know about the Fintans—I don't even know where to begin asking!" I exclaimed.

"I'll be leaving her in your care. I am needed elsewhere," Lin Yee said to her. He then gave me one last glance before hurrying into the forest.

"Maya, is it? Come inside. I'll brew you some tea," Mirei invited. I followed quietly behind her, sat in front of the small wooden stump that served as their dining table.

Soon enough she placed a cup of hot tea in front of me and initiated the conversation.

"Tell me child, what is it that you want to know?"

I fixed my composure and said, "On the way here, I met another one of our kind who acquired the white flame of the Phoenix. He told me that his grandfather wished for him to bring justice to the mistaken legacy of our people."

"Do you perhaps have an idea what it could mean?" I asked.

"It is indeed very vague, but I do remember my mother saying the same thing as such. She had always hoped to avenge our people," she answered.

"She had always wanted it to be me."

A moment of pause echoed within the four walls of the small abode. The atmosphere had gone heavy and gloomy.

She held out the white fire emblem on her hand and said, "This thing you call emblem, is a spirit stone. It is made out of the white Phoenix's ashes.

"Mother said that according to legends, it was Fenghuang's way of connecting herself to her chosen few," she continued.

She grasped the stone and placed it on the table. "This spirit stone belonged to my mother."

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-Aang's Point of View-

After a few rounds of arguing by the river, Jeong-Jeong finally decided to take our training to a different setting. I was estatic to know that our next location was atop a small hill. Finally, he will teach me 'real firebending' with 'real' fire!

"Are we coming up here so I don't burn anything with my fire blasts?" I asked.

"No fire yet!" he exclaimed back.