The Jaded Princess - A Sokka Love Story

Chapter Thirty-Four

The rain was like daggers against Orzala's skin as they flew. The downpour had started minutes after the girls had taken flight, and the storm had become so thick they could hardly see. The princess turned back toward the sea, squinting slightly to see Sokka's boat amongst the waves. A frown pulled her lips downward.

"There!" Katara's shout captured her attention and the raven-haired girl spun around to see a cave. "I think I see Aang!"

"Well, stop talking about it and go check!" Orzala called back, raising her voice to be louder than the thunder. As Appa landed by the cave, the princess hopped off, not bothering to wait for Katara. She slipped slightly against the wet rock but didn't let that stop her. 

Orzala peered into the cave, releasing a sigh of relief as her gaze locked onto the small figure of Aang. "Aang!" She rushed forward, falling to her knees and hugging the boy from behind. He didn't turn around, gripping her hands as she wrapped them around his torso.

"I'm sorry for running away." His voice was so small that Orzala almost didn't hear it, and she tightened her grip against him.

"It's ok. That fisherman was way out of line." The princess nodded against Aang's back, agreeing with Katara. The airbender only heaved a sigh.

"What do you mean?" He looked back at the girls over his shoulder before shaking his head.

"I don't want to talk about it." Katara frowned, walking around and kneeling in front of him. A worried glance was exchanged between her and Orzala, and she set a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It has to do with your dream, doesn't it? Talk to us." The boy's gray eyes lifted to meet hers, a pout coming to his face.

"Well, it's kind of a long story." They were interrupted as Appa let out a low growl, using his sopping wet nose to bump Aang on the head. Orzala shrieked when the bison's wet fur brushed her shoulder, quickly hopping up and out of the way as Katara and Aang laughed.

"Yeah, let's see how you like it when a cold, wet bison nuzzles you. I'm gonna try and start a fire." She shook herself, attempting to rid herself of the water that clung to her clothes, but it was no use. Orzala studied the cave, straining her eyes against the darkness as she picked up twigs and began to build a fire.

The small flame lit up the cave, but only dimly, and her friends hurried to sit down beside it to  gather some warmth. After a moment, Aang began to speak.

"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the avatar. I was playing with some of the other kids outside the south wall. I was trying to to teach them how to do the air scooter. Gyatso and the elders came to get me, telling me they needed to speak with me. At first, I didn't believe them- I didn't want to. But then they showed me my favorite toys from when I was little. They said that out of a thousand toys, I had chosen the avatar relics. I had just thought they were cool, but apparently I chose them because they were familiar.

They told me that I wasn't supposed to know until I was sixteen, but they felt a war coming, and I needed to start my training right away. They said they needed me." Aang's head fell, and Orzala shot Katara a sad look. Neither of them went to comfort him, fearing they would only make it worse.

"So you were upset that you were the avatar? Why wouldn't you be excited about it?" Katara asked, and Aang hugged his knees, looking away from them once more.

"Well, I didn't know how to feel about it. All I knew was that after I found out, everything began changing. None of the other kids would play with me, and training was getting longer and harder every day. The only good thing about it was that Gyatso was still my guardian, so he was able to limit my training.