It's been days since the prison ship. In the days that have passed, we had gone to a small village in the middle of the forest. A spirit had been terrorizing them and even stole away me and Sokka. It was strange being in the spirit world, but for reasons unknown, I wasn't afraid. Long story short, Aang needed to go to Crescent Island to speak with Avatar Roku. that's where we were going now.
Aang was pushing Appa hard and we were speeding through the air. At first, Aang didn't want us to go, but we persuaded him. I sat in the saddle, looking over the edge at the ocean. The whole group was tense and it didn't help when Sokka pointed at a Fire Nation ship close behind.
I leaned further,"Whose that?!"
Sokka watched next to me,"The Fire Nation prince! He's been following us since the beginning."
That's when a fireball came our way and my eyes widened," Fireball!"
Aang yelled back,"I'm on it!"
We dodged the fireball, but it's stink lingered,"We have to get out of Zuko's range!" Katara shouted.
Sokka looked ahead of us,"We have more problems."
"Blockade," I stated gravely.
A line of Fire Nation ships blocked the nation's territory in two continuous rows. They would shoot us down as soon as they saw us. I had to think quickly. I leant over and pulled up a thick stream of ocean water. I had to help block the oncoming hell storm. The fire rained around us and I froze as many as I could and knocked them off course while Appa dodged . I sliced through one that almost hit us and the halves fell behind harmlessly. We flew up higher and the dodging became more chaotic, so much so that Sokka was launched from the saddle.
My eyes widened,"Sokka!"
Appa dove down and I threw a stream of water that grabbed his wrist. Katara and I pulled him in with us and he cried in appreciation. We finally flew through the blockade after Aang obliterated a large fireball. We were all relieved, but sad to say that was the only action we saw the rest of the trip.
"There it is!" Aang exclaimed,"The island Roku's dragon showed me!"
Appa flew down to the well-named island and we hid him behind a rock ridge. I rubbed Appa's nose and he growled in delight.
"You did it buddy," the young avatar praised,"Nice flying."
Appa rolled over and groaned,"Aw, you must be tired."
Sokka was stretching ridiculously,"No, I'm good, refreshed, and ready to fight some fire-benders."
I blocked the siblings out and began walking up the temple stairs. We were inside he temple after awhile and were surprised to find it empty.
"Where is everyone?" Katara whispered.
"They must've abandoned it-" Aand was cut off.
"Shh, I hear something," Sokka warned us, but when we turned, we saw 5 sages dressed red. They didn't seem too friendly.
"We are the Fire Sages, guardians of the Temple of the Avatar," one of them told us.
Aang perked up,"Great! I'm the avatar!"
The leader glared,"We know."
That's when he shot fire at us. Aang told us to run while he handled them, and that's what we did. We met up with Aang and accidently ran into another sage. We reached a dead-end and there was no way out, but I was contemplating jumping from the small window behind us.
"Wait!" The sage pleaded,"I'm a friend."
Sokka growled,"Fire-benders are not our friends."
When the safe bowed before Aang, I was thoroughly shocked,"You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."
"How?"
The sage moved a lantern to reveal a hole he fire-bended into. A secret door opened and we decided to trust him as we ran down the corridor. It was dark and spooky and I wasn't a fan. The sage told us about history of the temple an dhow he and the other sages knew Aang would come. He also explained why the sages had turned on him. He even told us what to do. When we arrived to the outer-sanctuary room, Shyu, the sage who helped us, gasped.
I spoke up,"What's wrong?"
"The sanctuary doors, they're locked."
"Can't you open them with fire-bending?" Katara asked.
Shyu frowned,"It takes all 5 sages to open the door, or a fully realized avatar. It takes 5 simultaneous blasts."
Sokka was in deep thought,"5 fire blasts, huh? I think I can help you out."
Before anyone could blink, Sokka had gotten to work on 5 bags of gunpowder. He explained how they would imitate a fire-bender's power. We placed them where they belonged and then stood back to wait.
"Get ready to run, Aang,"I whispered to the boy.
He smiled nervously,"Got it."
The blasts detonated and we covered our faces. Aang rushed out, but the doors were locked and closed. Aang was so upset, he kept throwing gusts of air at the door.
Katara had to grab his arms,"Stop. There's nothing you can do."
The avatar's face dropped,"I'm sorry for bringing you all here for nothing."
I smiled sadly before rubbing his shoulder,"We wanted to come."
The water-tribe warrior was inspecting his trick,"I don't get it. It was just as strong as any fire-bending blast."
A look of realization passed Katara's face,"Sokka, you're a genius!"
Aang looked at her,"But his plan didn't even work."
Sokka laughedm"It's ok, Aang, let her dream."
I followed her logic,"You're right! Sokka's plan didn't work, but the sages don't know that!"
Katara looked smug as we high-fived.
___________________________
We were all hiding behind the dragon columns, me up one since I could climb with my bare toes. The other sages rushed in.
"Where is he?!"
Shyu lied,"He got in!"
"How did he get in?"
"I don't know, but look at these scorch marks. He has to be in the sanctuary," Shyu insisted.
The head sage saw a shadow from underneath the door,"He's in there! Open the doors immediately!"
Katara's plan played out and soon the doors were opened. Momo was exposed and the head sage realized they'd bee tricked, but it was too late. Sokka and Katara got to work on restraining two of the sages while Momo got another. Shyu was handling the leader while I jumped form the column, landing on the fifth sage. I bended water over his neck, wrists, and waist to act as strong body restraints.
"Aang! Let's go!" I called to him,"Aang?"
A teenager, strong by the looks of it, was holding Aang's arms as he appeared,"The avatar's coming with me."
That's when the sages escaped from our holds. My huy ended up melting the thick ice and came at me. I got into my fighting stance and blocked his attack. I hit his wrists solidly with the sides of my hands, cutting off the oncoming fire. I then slipped behind him and jabbed him in the neck. He was down. None seemed to notice me, so I used that to my advantage. I approached Aang, but when he turned and saw me, he mouthed directions and I nodded to show I'd heard and was ready. He maneuvered himself our of the teenager's grip and threw him down a set of stairs. Ouch! Aang then proceeded rapidly toward the closing sanctuary doors. The head sage got into position to shoot at him, and that was my cue. I sped to him, and since he was distracted by Aang, he didn't see me coming. With all my momentum, I slammed my ice-covered palm into the middle of his chest and sent him flying into the another sage. Aang and I shared a small smile as he slipped inside.
I used my water bending to throw the two sages away from the doors and stood there protecting it like Aang had asked me. A bright white light bled through the door and blinded everyone who was facing the door. Anytime a sage came close or tried to attack, I whipped him with water or jabbed a nerve. The teenager, who I assumed was this Prince Zuko the group talked about, gathered with the four remaining sages and shot fire at the door. I pulled up the water and barely blocked it.
"Move, peasant!" Zuko screamed at me, fury in his one good eye.
I snarled,"I'm royalty. Speak what you know, idiot."
He seemed shocked for a split second, they all shot again and I ducked. The door still didn't open and i breathed a sigh of relief. Zuko wasn't too happy though. He stalked toward me with the intent to intimidate and hurt.
He spoke through clenched teeth,"Do you know what you did, you peasant?"
That's it. Before he could react, his back was against the door and my blade was at his neck,"I will tell you this once more, speak what you know, Prince."
Zuko couldn't move due to the shackles of marble on his ankles and wrists.
I heard one of the sages gasp,"That's no peasant! Don't you see the crests on her weapon and armor? Her features! She must be the princess of Omashu! Princess Argent, the Beast of the East."
The Prince's eyes widened,"How can you use two elements?"
"How indeed?" A new voice asked from beside me.
A hideous man and a handful of soldiers were behind him. The way he came in made me think he rehearsed it. I glared at him before stepping away from the prince. This man posed more of a threat then some hot-headed royal. The head sage bowed to him and called him Commander Zhao.
"So, this is the famous Beast of the East, the Princess of Omashu," the man, Zhao mused,"A little white-haired girl."
I didn't take my eyes from him as I released Zuko from his restraints, and the prince began to yell at the man,"You're too late. The avaar is inside and the door is sealed."
So my thoughts were right. These two men weren't friends at all.
"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out," the man with outrageous side-burns said.
He focused on Zuko, who was now being held by a soldier. I was confused. Wasn't he their prince? They couldn't treat him like that. He was royalty, fire-bender or not.
I spoke up,"You can't restrain him like that. He's a prince."
Zhao laughed in my face,"Him? A prince? Maybe once, but he was stripped of his title and banished. Didn't you know, girl?"
My intense gaze narrowed,"That's 'princess' to you! And it doesn't matter if his title was stripped, his blood is royal."
"Argent! What are you doing?" Katara yelled.
"Yeah, he's bad. He's Fire Nation," Sokka elaborated.
I locked eyes with Zuko,"That may be, but he still doesn't deserve it."
__________________________________________________________
Thank you for being so patient!!
