Safe & Sound | Book 1

15: Lies

Art: Painting by Cesar Biojo

"A powerful bender, huh?"

Katara nodded profusely. "That's what Aunt Wu said. What do you think she meant?"

We had recently stopped in the coast to rest for the night. Katara had taken me aside for the supposed purpose of collecting clean water but she clearly had anterior intentions considering that she hadn't stopped talking about Aunt Wu's predictions since we'd left the boys.

"Well, I think it means exactly how it sounds, according to her you'll marry a powerful bender. Is there something wrong with that?"

Her expression became subdued and she shook her head. "No, it just seems like a strange thing to say."

I raised a brow at her. Metaling in my siblings' love lives was one of the last things I wanted to do but I could see the question she was trying to ask without actually asking it. "Well, we do know one powerful bender. A very powerful bender in fact."

Katara straighter a little, readjusting herself. "Yes, we do."

I sighed and cupped her shoulder. "Just because a fortune teller says so doesn't mean it's for sure going to happen, you can choose your own fate. Whether you want it or not, it's up to you." I left her side and began to walk back to the camp with one of the waterskins. "At least that's what I've been telling myself," I muttered below my breath.

"What was that?" Katara chirped, trailing after me.

I shook my head. "Nothing, nothing."

We started back to the camp we'd left the boys to begin setting up. However, when we arrived, instead of pitching tents, Aang and Sokka were searching through some bushes.

"Did someone lose something?" asked Katara.

"No, we found something!" Aang said with an air of excitement that made it seem like they were playing a game.

I looked to Sokka for a better explanation but found him nealing in the dirt. He held up a broken arrow. It looked familiar. Sokka rubbed his thumb over the sooty arrowhead. "It's burned."

"Let me see that," I urged.

He handed it over and left to look for more. Upon closer examination, I realized that I recognized the handy work of the arrow. It had been a bit scratched up from a fight but I could still distinguish the pale purple crescent painted into the side.

"Bane," I gasped.

Sokka said something as he started moving down the hill but I stayed where I was, frozen.

My past flashed across my eyes. I remembered the day the men had to leave. The day that I not only had to say goodbye to my fellow warriors and my father but also my best friend.