Avatar:Folk tale of an earthbender{Book One:Earth}

Chapter 2:Table Manners

It was dinner time. All of them were sat at the dinner table. They rarely ate together as a family, as her father was often busy, and Anzu often spent her time training. It was quiet. Awkward. Desperate to break the silence, Fusa spoke up. "So..Anzu...I saw you training today.." She said gingerly. "Yes! I'm trying to improve!" Anzu responded. Anzu was an amazing firebender. Everyone around her thought she was a prodigy. People often thought that she was the older sister, much to Kaori's dismay. Her father seemed to favour Anzu over her aswell, which didn't help at all, he often called her "the future firelord" which hurt Kaori deeply.

"Maika told me more about mother today" Kaori said, her mouth full. Her stepmother laughed, a wicked, empty sound. "Making friends with the maid now, are we? What exactly has she been saying about me?" She said. Kaori furrowed her brow. "My mother. Not you, Fusa." Fusa's wicked smile dropped, she looked at Kaori's father, and then back at Kaori. "Don't call your mother by her first name." Her father snapped, barely batting an eyelash at her.

"She's not my real mother anyway.." Kaori said under her breath. The room was quiet for a few moments, as Anzu, Fusa, and Kaori's father looked at her. "Don't you disrespect me! I've raised you as my own and treated you with care!" Fusa said, her eyes fixated on Kaori. Kaori stared back at her. "You're not my real mother." She said, her expression cold and unfeeling. "Hanna is." She said."Don't you dare mention her name!" Her father, let out a long sigh. "I told you to stop talking to that maid! She's a terrible influence!! I should have her fired!" He said, after a moments.

"Don't you dare! Maika is the only good person to set foot in this palace!" There was an undeniable air of tension in the room, everything was silent until her father banged his fist down on the table. "Go to your room, young lady!" He snarled. "Alright. Fire Lord Atsuo." She said sharply, walking away quietly. Though she didn't show it, she really was on the verge of tears, and Anzu was all too aware. She couldn't help but feel bad. "Honestly..I raise that child as my own with care...and she treats me like that...she should.." Fusa's voice trailed off as Kaori ran to her room.

She slammed the door on her bedroom. She was furious, tears streaming down her cheeks. This wasn't the first time she'd had a fight with her parents. It happened often, usually, Maika woukd console her, but, she couldn't face her after all that. "I've really messed it up now. Maika's gonna hate me!" She said, sobbing like a child into her bed. She felt pathetic. She'd never thought of herself as a crybaby, and she scoffed at others when she'd seen them cry. She'd refused to let others see her emotions. But now, she was falling apart, and all she wanted was to be held. It was at that moment that she felt it, a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked around, but to no avail. She was alone.

"I'd be content with life, if only I'd be able to bend...maybe then father would really pay attention to me..oh...but what I'd give just to spend one day...as a normal, title free, normal girl."

A knock could be heard on the door, she wiped her eyes and sat up. "Come in" She said, trying her hardest to stay composed. It was Anzu. "Hiya" She said, with her usual bubbly smile. "I've been meaning to come speak to you." She said, sitting on the bed next to her. "Well? Spit it out"

Kaori often acted cold toward Anzu, the main reason being that she was jealous of her. Jealous of the affection that her father gave her, jealous of the fact that she had naturally black hair, and most of all, jealous that she could firebend. She pointed towards Kaori's mirror and grabbed a brush. "I'll brush your hair for you" She said, Anzu felt resented by Kaori, so she often offered to do things for her. Kaori scoffed. "Is that it? Well..I guess my hair does need brushing." She said, sitting on the stool in front of her. The room was silent for a few moments until Anzu spoke up. "I've always thought that your natural hair was so pretty..it's really a shame that you dye it.." She said, her fingertips nothing but tender as she was stroking the top of Kaori's head, since her natural hair had begun to show at her roots. There was an undeniable air of tension in the room. Anzu spoke up. "I..I'm sorry for not trying to stand up for you." She muttered. Kaori raised an eyebrow. "Sorry? Well...it's more my fault than anyone else's...I should've known father would've gotten angry.."

They both sighed in unison, if one were to really pay attention, they'd find that the two were a lot more similar than it seemed. Both longed for the other's approval, neither were completely content with their life up until now, and both wanted a loving mother. Fusa wasn't a terrible mother, but she was hopeless when it came to raising children. She doted on Anzu, and called her a prodigy, all the while forcing her try and do better, and pushing her way out of her comfort zone.

The room was silent. "I really do care and worry about you, Kaori." Anzu said, desperate to break the ice. "I care about you too.." Kaori muttered. "Uhm..I'd really better get to sleep. She said, as Anzu left. "Goodnight. Love you. Sleep well" She said as she left. "Night. You too." Kaori responded. The room was pitch black, and nothing could be heard. Kaori felt a sudden feeling of remorse wash over her. She'd resented Anzu for so long, was she really at fault?

After hours of tossing and turning, Kaori finally fell asleep.

Her eyes opened. It was almost pitch black. As her eyes came to focus she realized that she was in a dark, dank, forest like area. It was silent, all she could hear were her own breaths. She rose to her feet, as she looked around, she saw a figure in the distance. She squinted, and walked closer. It was a boy. He looked to be around her age with tawny beige skin, and brown hair, along with dark green eyes, almost familiar. She stared at him for a few moments, trying to make out who he was. And suddenly the boy looked back at her.

She fell backwards, waking up in a cold sweat. And suddenly, she was back in her dark, cold, bedroom. She looked around frantically, still in a daze as she tried to piece together what happened. "What kind of dream was that.." she muttered.