Avatar: Adventures of Ayumi

Chapter One

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The sound of birds is what awakens me. Yawning, I stretch and roll out of bed. Heading to the closet, I grab some clothes and change. After, I head to get some food. "Perks of being part of the So-ma House, you get good food." I mutter to myself.
Entering the dining area, I go to make myself some food, when I hear my name being called. "Ayumi," my father calls me. Rushing over, I stop in front of him, head bowed low in respect. "Yes, father?" I question meekly.

My father, Chen So-ma, the Head of the So-ma family, stands with a letter in his hand. "I have good news. The Shen family has agreed to a marriage between you and their eldest son, Li." he says. My whole body freezes. Marriage?! To someone I don't know? What!? Oh, no this can NOT be happening! No way, no way, NO. WAY.

As all of this is running through my mind, I am just barely able to say "yes father." Father motions with his hand, telling me to go back to whatever I was doing. Dazed, I head back to the table and drop into a chair. Marriage. The word runs through my mind on repeat. And then, everything else that comes with it swarms in. No, I can't be married off! And to a stranger no less. I'm only 15! And then an unexpected thought pops up. I can run away. Escape. Be free.

This thought continues to run through my mind. But I can't just pack something and leave. I need money to travel. So, I begin to come up with a plan. Normally, I would never even entertain the idea of stealing from anyone, let alone my own family. But I can't stand the thought of being married off to a total stranger. So, thinking carefully, I plan out who to get the money from, when is the best time to take it, and when to leave. As I'm planning everything out in my mind, I'm outwardly going about the day as usual. I meet with my tutor, Mei-Lee, for my schoolwork, have lunch, finish the schoolwork after lunch, and then meet with my trainer, Amara, to practice my bending.

Amara and I have been trying to create a new skill. Called the blooming lotus. Essentially, I will be standing in the center of the flower, while the "petals and leaves" protect me. I hope to eventually be able to shoot out small, sharp shards of rock as well. I've gotten about halfway so far, progress wise. Amara notices that it's getting dark outside. She calls off training so we can go inside.

Entering the house, I head to my room and shower before dinner. Once out, I grab my blue dress and shoes to match. I always have to be in a dress while I'm not training. Really not fair. But, as I'm heading to the dining room, I sneak over to my parents room and check to see where the safe is. Thankfully, it's in the same spot I remember it being. I decide that the best time to get into it is after dinner and before my parents head to sleep.

Coming into the room, I walk over to my chair and sit properly, as I was taught. My father makes his plate of food first as head of house, then everyone else is allowed. Returning to my seat, I join in small talk going around, as is expected. Finishing a while later, I excuse myself for the night. Given permission to do so, I carefully make my way to my parents room.

Knowing that if I do this then I have only one chance, I open the safe and take as much as I can. Finding a spare scrap of paper, I write a note, apologizing for stealing, but explaining that I can't go through with the marriage. Leaving the note where the money was, I quickly close the safe and rush to my bedroom. Once inside, I shut and lock the door. Grabbing a small suitcase, I pack as much of my clothes as I can. A good portion of the clothes are my most expensive dresses. The high quality will fetch a good price. I also make sure to pack my training clothes. They'll be the main thing I wear.

Leaving the room as it is, I open the shutters to my window and climb out. I'm thankful that the house is only one level, not multiple. Escape would be much harder that way. Under the cover of full darkness, I leave. Being careful not to run and make noise, I sneak off. Taking the main path is dangerous, I could be easily seen and taken back, so I take a back way most people don't know about.

Halfway down the path, I release the breath I was holding. I continue down until it is almost light. I eventually come across the village. I find my way to a market stall and pay for some bread and meat. Asking around, I am told of someone willing to sell me an ostrich horse. Bartering for the animal, I pay what is agreed upon and saddle up. Swinging up into the saddle, I ride off. I stay mostly in the forest, off the path, but keeping it in sight so I don't get lost. After several hours ride, I find a clearing nearby to take a break. Swinging down from the saddle, I lead the ostrich horse over to a gently babbling stream to get a drink. I grab a bit of bread and cheese to snack on and a water skin to drink from. I sit down by the stream. A slight breeze blowing off the stream is very helpful in cooling us down. After resting a bit, I hop back onto the ostrich horse to continue the journey.

Before long, I make my way completely out of town. I arrive at a crossroads. "Do I journey to Gaoling, where there may be people who know me by my family? Or should I make my way to Omashu?" Hearing the sound of an approaching cart, I turn toward Omashu. The bigger population will give me a better chance to blend in. As we journey down the trail, I hear the sound of multiple steps from behind me. Spurring the animal faster, I try to get further ahead. I'm sure that my family has noticed by now that I've run away, and that those could be them behind me, trying to take me back.

As the light starts to darken, I make way for a semi hidden path that I noticed down the road a bit from where I am currently at. I am thankful for having escaped home when I did, especially having escaped the people that my parents have sent out. Moving further inward, i eventually stop in a semi open clearing. Moving carefully, I get down, and find a tree with a low hanging branch to tie the reins to the ostrich horse, making sure there is ample room for the animal to lay down and rest.

Listening intently, I find a shallow stream. I gather a large bowl and a bucket that I purchased in the market. Make my way back to the stream to gather water for myself and my mount. I place the bucket in front of the animal, and move a bit of a ways away to build myself a campfire. After a few mistakes, I successfully get a fire going. I place the bowl of water above the flame to start a stew. I pull out a bit of the vegetables I bought at a passing vendor. Chop them up, stick them into the water. Looking around, I try to find a type of meat that I can add to it. Thankfully, I am able to find a chicken wandering around nearby.

I manage to grab it by luck, and bring it over to my campfire. Rooting around one-handed, I find the big knife that I had bought with the other few cooking stuff. Feeling a little sad about what I'm going to do next, I behead the animal, to clean out the body. I take it to the stream to rise out the blood. Making my way back to the campfire, I cut the meat into more manageable pieces, store what I can, and use a small amount left for my food. I put the pieces on a stick, and set that over the fire to cook. Remembering how the staff cooked food, I carefully cut into the chicken to see if it's cooked well enough. Deciding that it is, I slide the meat off the stick and add them to the bowl. As the food continues to cook, I look for a possible grain to add as well. I find some wild brown rice growing in patches near the stream.