The Queen in the South

The Departure

"Amara! Wait up!" Flint called after me.

Tears were running down my eyes as I ran through the woods, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"No! I screamed. "Please stay away from me! Don't come any closer."

"Amara! Come on!" He continued but I didn't stop even for a minute.

All I knew is that I had messed up big time and there was no way I would be able to fix this. My legs were pretty short for a ten year old and I knew I wasn't in the least bit faster than Flint whose legs were not only way longer at only eleven but also way more athletic.

"Amara, come on let's just - ow!"

I immediately stopped in my tracks and spun around to see Flint shielding his face.

"What happened?" I gasped.

He was now rubbing his forehead which had a red spot on it. "The stupid branch smacked me in the face."

I bit my lip and went towards him. He had now sat down on the ground.

I cringed at the sight of the mark the left branch had made.

"I'm sorry. It looks like it hurts."

"It does!" Flint whined. He pointed at me in an accusatory manner. "This is all your fault you know! Throwing a tantrum and running this far, making me chase you down all the while! Do you know how much trouble we will get in with our mothers. Your mother especially."

I looked back from where we had come from and surely I didn't even recognise how far out of town we had come. Mama was going to kill me.

I plopped down next to Flint and buried my face in my hands and started sobbing.

"Umm... are you crying?" Flint asked, nervously scratching the back of his head.

I looked at the young boy I called my neighbour and gave him a 'what do you think?' Look.

He placed his hand on my shoulder, looking uncomfortable.

"Come on, don't cry. I was only kidding when I said it was all your fault. I guess it might have maybe been partly my fault."

I wiped my tears with the back of my sleeve and sniffles.

"But it is my fault!" I cried. "I-I firebended in front of you."

Flint furrowed his brows. "So? You can firebend. I can too. Look." A flame came out of his hand at the moment but it didn't reassure me in the least.

"Mama and Papa say I shouldn't fire bend. Ever. They say if people know I can firebend, the bad people will come and take me away."

Flint frowned and looked at the ground. "That doesn't sound right. I'm a fire bender and no one has ever tried to take me away."

"My mama and papa are not liars!" I yelled defiantly. A small flame flew out of my palm and landed on the grass in between Flint and I.

I yelped and jumped back.

Flint got up and quickly stomped out the flame.

"Geesh! You really need to learn to control your bending!" He yelled.

"No! I'm not supposed to bend at all!"

None of this would have happened if I had just gone straight home after school instead of going out to play with Flint and his friends. I'm just glad his friends didn't see me firebend. But what if they did?

I tried my hardest to breathe. To remember what Mama told me. Close my eyes and count to ten, all the while taking deep breaths.

One.