𝐒𝐔𝐍&𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 ━━━ ✧ ⋆ （ avatar the last airbender ）

━━━━━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄. the arrival

A gentle breeze swept over the ocean as the sun began to dip in the sky, marking its final journey of the day with hues of orange and casting its generous rays onto the blue banner of a lonesome ship traversing the waters. A small girl stood at the hull of the ship with a forlorn expression on her youthful features, dressed in a blue dress far too thick for the warmth of the territory. A silver crown adorned by a rare blue gem held the upper half of dark hair that faded into the color of moonlight, with two strands braided at the framing of her face and adorned with blue pearls.

She gazed out over the water, her stomach sinking the closer the ship got to land. It felt as though the weight of the world rested on her shoulders━━just and in a way, it did. Her people were starving, and she was their only hope to survive the coming winter. If she failed, everyone she knew and loved would suffer greatly.

"Princess, you will get heatstroke if you stay out here in that dress. It was not made for the weather this far south."

Xing Hua did not turn to the voice that addressed her, but looked down at her clothing with a frown. "This dress is the last thing that I have of home." She looked up at her sworn guard, Garrick, blue eyes showcasing her fears for all to see. "I'd like to keep it on as long as possible before I am forced to wear their colors."

Garrick sighed, kneeling down to his charge's height and resting a firm hand on her shoulder. "You are a Princess of the Northern Water Tribe, the heir to your father's kingdom. They will never be able to take that from you, no matter how hard they'll no doubt try."

"I'm... scared," she admitted, her eyes returning towards the horizon, the peak of a volcano looming over them.

"You have every right to be," he told her. "But you will not be alone."

"I am a Princess, and the Ocean Spirit's vessel. I should not be afraid of duty." It was said more to herself, but Garrick thought it best he answered.

"Princess and La's Chosen you may be, but you are still just a child. Human. It's a normal thing, to be afraid. A good thing. It means you have a soul." He poked the center of her sternum to emphasize the point, causing her to smile.

Xing Hua's eyebrows fell towards the center of her face in thought, her lips pursed into a pout. Several fires━━lanterns━━were lit in the distance, casting shadows on the road leading up to their destination. If she performed her duty well, this would be her home one day. And yet, as she took in the strange structures, felt the uncomfortable and unfamiliar warmth on her skin, she couldn't picture herself ever being happy here. Not even content.

Not while these people were the root of all suffering in the world.

She turned towards her protector once more, a quizzical look on her face. "What are you afraid of, Garrick?"

The man had stood up again in the brief silence that had followed, his hand flicking across the handle of his sheathed sword. Only the greatest warriors of the Northern Water Tribe received weaponry carved from the rare fangs of the sabretooth-lynx.

At her question, a dramatized haunted expression appeared on his bronze-toned face, his eyes darting back and forth as though waiting for his fear to sneak up on him. "Turtle ducks." When she giggled, Garrick gave her an offended look. "I'm serious! Aggressive little creatures, snap at any limb that gets too close. Ran across a flock of them when my unit was stationed in the Earth Kingdom and nearly lost a pinky to one. They are far more ferocious than you'd think."

The further into his rant he got, the louder the little Princess began to laugh. Several other crewmates roaming around the ship began smiling at the sound of her happiness, as was Garrick. While mostly exaggerated, the story was told with the intention of distracting Xing Hua, of making her happy for the short time before they arrived at shore.