.・゜ BALANCE, THE ETERNAL DANCE

i. THE BETROTHAL

THE BETROTHAL

"sit up straight, dear, no man wants to marry a lady with bad posture."

"remember to smile! no, no, that's too much smiling!"

"cut your hair? are you crazy!? men love women with long hair, don't ask me that question ever again."

"well, you have to learn how to properly cook sea prunes if you're going to be a wife someday!"

"yun, you are a LADY. you must be graceful, elegant, and silent. no man wants to marry an unruly woman."

"healing is for women, fighting is for men.
remember your place, yun."

these words were so common to yun, it was all her mother said to her as the months led up to her sixteenth birthday. within the northern water tribe, at sixteen years old, a girl's marriage is to be arranged and her suitor is to gift her a betrothal necklace to show that he intends to marry her and claim her as his territory. how romantic.

yun & her cousin, princess yue, grew up within the icy confines of the royal palace and were taught to conform to the tribe's societal norms; yue was more than accepting of her role due to her royal status, but yun was more troublesome to fully comply. as any other child would, she would ask why? she would ask why she couldn't be a warrior like her father, why couldn't she learn the same waterbending as the boys in the tribe, why she couldn't voice her opinions. for these reasons, she & her tutor battled constantly, her parents often being dragged into the mix to explain the rules of the tribe:

"this is our way of life, dear, these are the rules set in place to allow us all to work together in harmony. perhaps you are too young to understand, but
remember your place, yun."

the young girl didn't want to believe that that was her destiny, that her name would be forgotten and replaced by some stupid title like "so-and-so's wife."

as the years progressed, yun's young mind finally began to slowly mold into what her parents expected her to be—a compliant daughter who valued the ways and traditions of the tribe. she learned how to use her waterbending to heal and became proficient in the art by the time she was twelve, she learned how to be a proper lady, she learned not to involve herself in political affairs, she learned how to become more spiritual by connecting herself with the moon and ocean spirits, and she also learned how to cook and clean for the day she would have a husband. she was everything her parents wanted her to be.

the day yun turned sixteen, the life she had been preparing for presented itself to her—and she absolutely DESPISED it. a warrior boy by the name of kalriq of the northern water tribe wished to have an audience with the chief, the chief's general (his twin brother; yun's father, rakur), the royal palace healer (yun's mother, helaya), and lady yun. kalriq, a tan-skinned boy dressed in traditional warrior attire (minus the face paint and wolf helmet), with light brown hair sectioned off to create a traditional warrior's wolf tail with the sides shaved, intense blue eyes that held no hint of emotion, and with a toned physique had presented himself to ask for yun to be his betrothed. he came bearing gifts for her parents—a shield for her father, a ring with a fine arctic crystal for her mother, and a betrothal necklace . . . for yun. it was a beautiful dark blue choker with a light blue stone attached; the stone was hand-carved to resemble a lotus flower and etched within the middle of the lotus was the water tribe insignia. kalriq made his way towards yun, to wrap the necklace around her neck and seal the deal, when she suddenly spoke up.

"no."

the court consisting of her parents, uncle, and her suitor fell silent. her mother's eyes were so wide, yun believed they would pop out of her head; her father and uncle joined each other in burying their faces within their palms in embarrassment. oh no, they must be thinking, here we go again. kalriq was stunned and not sure what to do, except to voice his confusion.

"what?" he asked, holding the betrothal necklace within his gloved hands.

"i said, no. i refuse to be betrothed." yun spoke strongly while remaining poise, her features elegant and sharp beneath the arctic sun's rays that seeped through the palace windows. with a quick bow, she turned to leave the chief's throne room, but not before saying, "i apologize for the time you have wasted here, kalriq. it's nothing personal. i truly do believe that any girl within our tribe would be eager to be your betrothed."

she pulled on the handles of the massive dark blue doors and exited the throne room, her mother hastily trailing behind her to try to talk some sense into her daughter; once catching up to her, her mother's cool hand latched onto her wrist, tugging her back to speak face-to-face.

"i can't believe you've done this, yun. your whole life, your father and i have been preparing you for this moment, to be betrothed to a nice boy who is asking for your hand in marriage. he is there, in that throne room, ready to sweep you off of your feet! why are you refusing? i know you were troublesome as a child, but i never thought your childish behavior would follow you into your adolescence. did we not raise you well enough to make you see that this is our way of life, that this is how we continue receiving honor?" her mother ranted, making constant hand gestures during her speech to emphasize her frustration with yun, as if it would make any difference in how she felt. with a defeated sigh, her mother shook her head and looked towards the ceiling, saying softly, "where did i go wrong?"

and with that, her mother released her hold on yun's wrist and smoothed out her dress before turning back towards the throne room, most likely to apologize to kalriq for her daughter's behavior. unknowingly to yun, her cousin yue had overheard the conversation; the white-haired princess walked over to her cousin, who now stood near the castle's balcony to gaze at the vast city below, and brought her in for a warm embrace. if there was one thing yue was especially good at, it would be knowing how to comfort someone. the princess once too had her doubts at first about how her nation worked, but as daughter of the chief, she knew that she had to prioritize tradition over anything else—and those were the exact same words she told yun. there was no escaping tradition, unless you were willing to lose your family's honor as well as your own. yun hated it, but yue was right—tradition came before anything else. as long as that rule was in place, there was nothing she could do; she had to conform. yue held yun's hand as she guided her back to the throne room doors that stood ajar; yun dismissed herself from her cousin with a short nod and with a deep breath, she pushed one of the doors open and walked back to where kalriq stood, much to her parents' and uncle's surprise.

"i apologize for my behavior earlier. i have thought about your offer again, and i have changed my mind—i accept," she said as she bowed before him, keeping her eyes to the floor as she awaited his response, "if you'll still have me."

he remained silent, causing the anxiety in the room's atmosphere to rise until he finally broke the silence, "i accept your apology, lady yun. i will accept you as my betrothed."

yun's once bright, crystal blue eyes now remained dull in color yet she managed to feign a genuine-looking smile; he stepped towards her and presented her the necklace once again, which directed yun to turn around to face her family as kalriq placed it around her neck. her mother was quietly crying tears of joy and her father was as satisfied with the outcome as her uncle was, meaning they were giving each other congratulatory hugs. the necklace had been successfully clasped around her neck—as beautiful as it was, it was now her prison; it marked her as territory, to not to be disturbed or touched. is this what her life meant?

remember your place, yun.