Blazing Crystal (Revised Version)

Chapter 1: Frozen in Ice

This is the revised version of my story "Blazing Crystal." The writing has been cleaned up and some details have been added throughout the chapters. I will post new chapters on this version and the old, but I wanted to give my wattpad readers access to the revised version.

~Faith

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

Chapter 1: Frozen in Ice

From the oldest of times, many have said that water and fire don't work together. Water is fire's enemy and fire is water's downfall. Two opposites that cannot coexist. Enemies.

My sister and brother always agreed that fire was the most evil thing in the world. Even while sitting by our poorly made campfire in the snow outside of our family tent, the flames would be glared at through the night despite the warmth they had to offer.

When I was younger, I agreed with my family and the people of my tribe. Fire was dangerous. Fire would only cause harm.

In other words, the Water Tribe and Fire Nation would always be enemies for all eternity. Opposites would never be able to live in harmony. Of course, there was no reason to argue against this. The ones who firebend had destroyed my once strong tribe and left us in remnants. The waterbenders of our tribe had been slaughtered or imprisoned over the hundred year war. My mom was dead... my father was away fighting in the Earth Kingdom... and I had a scar that would forever mark me as a victim to the enemy.

There was a time when I despised fire as much as my people and family...

However, one cold day, my spite towards the harsh element and those who controlled it changed forever...

I could recall the very day my life changed. The day a young airbender appeared... the day my destiny was sealed...

And it all started with an old mirror that once belonged to my mother.

Looking at my reflection in the small wooden handheld mirror, the faded glass did little to hide the image before me. I placed the faded blue wooden comb down on the low table inside our tiny tent that we called home, and stared at the image before me in dismay. I was sitting cross-legged at the table, trying to avoid the bitter cold world and constant stares outside for as long as I could. I pressed my hand gently on the discolored flesh of my tan neck. A scar stretched from the tip of my collar bone up to the space below my right cheekbone, the color of it a faded pink. With the tan skin around the discolored and tight flesh, the scar was hard to miss. Staring at my face, I wondered just how much more beautiful I would've been if the blemish was not there. My sister always assured me that my beauty was not affected by the scar and many young warriors from the tribe had definitely noted my beauty over the years to our father.

However, to me, the scar was a horrible reminder of my past, and my failure to protect the mother I loved.

I was burned when I was nine... I tried to suppress the memories as much as I could. In the months after, my father had tried to request a healer from the Northern Water Tribe to come see if they could repair the damage, but a few weeks after his request we earned a message that our allies up North were not willing to spare their own due to the war. I was now fifteen, and while the burn had healed over time, the scar remained to always remind me of the darkest day of my past. And to remind me that we truly had no allies...

An image of the terrifying man with a flame suddenly shot through my mind involuntarily.

"Mommy! No! Mommy!" My child-like voice cried.

The middle-aged man with black hair, dark red armor, and cruel gold eyes snarled. "Step aside!"

"No!"