Avatar: The Red Dragon

Bonus chapter: Friendship

Saki woke up slowly, taking the time to stretch her body in her big bed before getting up. It had been a few days since Nanami left. Today, she was going to hang out with Miya and Hiroki. They agreed to meet at the park near the Fire Sages' Temple – the one where Nanami had a fight with her dad.

Her room was really spacious, overly decorated with expensive furniture – not to her liking though. Actually, the whole place was huge, and excessive. They had many more bedrooms than needed, with an army of servants, living in a separate aisle of the house.

Saki was the only daughter of Magistrate Dao and his wife Ying. Her parents were both born in influential noble families, and were raised in a traditional aristocratic way, having to marry someone from a noble rank. Of course, the same path was waiting for Saki, but the young lady didn't really share her parents' ideals.

All of her life, she had many servants attending her every need. Dao and Ying had been giving the best education to their child, employing the most competent teachers of the Fire Nation. They wanted her to be perfect in order to marry a good man in the future, maybe even the young Prince Iroh himself.

Her parents were strict with her, always telling her to behave when they had society receptions, inviting the most powerful families of the Fire Nation to their huge mansion. All nobles were the same; their only goal was to gain more popularity, and marry their children to the best possible match.

Saki never had the freedom to choose things in her life. Everything was already decided for her. Her clothes were picked by her mother, and her speech was dictated by her father. Perfect appearance, matching a perfect personality. All fake though. She never had the heart to tell her mother that the extravagant outfits she bought were ugly, and that she hated them. The only time she could be her true self was at school, with Nanami, Miya and Hiroki.

Saki was told, since a young age, to only hang out with kids of the same rank as her. However, on her first day at the Royal Fire Academy, as she was a shy girl, she sat at a table alone, waiting for the headmaster's speech, and Miya was the first person to talk to her. It was really nice talking to such a cheerful girl she thought that day. Shortly after, Nanami came, and the three girls had become inseparable since then. They were her first real friends, not just kids that stayed with her because of her father's status.

Hiroki was just the same as Nanami and Miya. He was nice to her, even if he didn't talk that much – she wasn't very talkative either. He always walked her home when they went back together, on the days Nanami was waiting for her brother. She became quite close to him, and was probably the closest to him among the three girls. Nanami and Miya always teased him, so they quarrelled a lot – it was never serious though.

Once out of bed, Saki dressed quickly, picking a random outfit in her wardrobe, and rushed out. She exited through the large gate of her family's estate, and headed towards the school to pick Miya up.

❁

The sun had just risen over the horizon, but a young girl was already exercising in front of the Royal Fire Academy dorms. Miya was stretching her body in the empty backyard, warming up before her daily morning jogging. She would usually run for thirty minutes, but she had added firebending practice in anticipation of the upcoming midterm exams.

After working out for about an hour, Miya returned to the dorms, took a quick shower, and headed to the dining room where breakfast was served. She sat at a table with her roommate and other students.