Nobody's Hero

Chapter One: Mikoo

Urleni, my second brother, had nicknamed me spotted giraffe girl because my neck was so long, in grade school. We couldn't have been more different.

One invader noticed.

"Harlan?" He whispered, almost under his breath.

"Her name is Mikoo. She is our sister," Urjiah spat at the man. "She's fire nation just like us."

The invader couldn't shake off the resemblance to whoever he knew in the past, but they left us alone anyway. Two days later, a letter addressed to me was delivered to my brothers. It read:

You may believe you are Fire Nation. You are not. You are the daughter of Harlan Terrigan. I know your face. You are from the Earth Nation. Avatar Kyoshi's illegitimate son. We will find proof. You will be killed. Fire Nation Lives.

"I have to find out who I am before they do. They're implying that I'm related to Avatar Kyoshi. First off, that's impossible, the Avatar never had children. Second, why would it matter? I'm Fire Nation now. I don't remember my parents," I said. "Even before, when I was a Nomad—I didn't know my parents."

He knew this already.

"I'm going to protect you," Urjiah said pulling the letter out of his pocket. "I know people who can tell us more about this. They have ties."

"To the people that broke into our house?" I asked, shocked that my brother would know such people. She wanted to ask more questions, but she heard the sound of clanging instruments fill the Red Market. Drums and other brass instruments filled her ears as the Fire Nation citizens lurched into cheers and victory cries for Firelord Zuko.

It had been two years since Sozin's Comet. Tonight the people would celebrate and Firelord Zuko would walk the streets of his people. In theory, it was a great idea, but with all the revolutionaries, I worried that something bad would happen to the first good Firelord we had in a long time.

I took a deep breath, "let's find your friends."

We walked into the heart of the Red Market. Nobody recognized us, our home was on the outskirts of the nation, the Eastern Market was closer, and it had been years since we visited the capital. There'd been no reason too. My brothers were farmers. It was a simple, perfect life. It had been good. Now it felt like we'd never go back to the farming life we knew. I couldn't explain it.

People tried to shove firecrackers in our faces, but we pushed on and ignored their celebrations. Sure, it was good the war was over, but I felt like a new war was stirring inside of me. I grabbed Urjiah's arm as the crowd got thicker. We were heading towards a building with a massive paper dragon dangling off the roof and windows that were taller than I'd ever be. It was a shop, not a cart, and as we pushed through the door I had an unsettling feeling that it wasn't a mercantile like the outside promoted.

The doorbell rang when we entered. The store was full of assorted items, cooking, cleaning, and tools. A balding man, clearly fire nation, sitting at a thin table looked over his glasses at us but didn't speak. He didn't seem to be enjoying the revelries. Urjiah spoke first.

"We're here to inquire about the Great Dragon."

This got the man's attention. He said, "The Great Dragon is a mystery."

Urjiah smiled, "not to those who know its name."

The man grinned, clearly excited by this turn of events. My mouth dropped at my brother's bold expression. What was he doing? I knew he was brave but I didn't know he was into shady business.

"I am Shami. How can I assist you?"

"I need information," Urjiah said placing the letter and a few coins on the man's table. "Rebels claim my sister is a descendant of Avatar Kyoshi. Do you recognize this handwriting or claims?"

The man adjusted his glasses and read the letter twice over. He pocketed the money then faced Urjiah and I.

"There is a story—a rumor—about Avatar Kyoshi. In her final years, she revealed an illegitimate son that she hid from those who would do him harm. His name is unknown, but it is said that before he was murdered by loyal followers of Avatar Roku, he mastered Earth Bending and produced a child. No one knows their identities."

"Great," I muttered. "We know exactly what we knew before."

"That's impossible," Urjiah said counting on his fingers. "The timeline doesn't add up. Kyoshi was over 200 years ago..."

The man interrupted his thoughts, "It is said that if the child seeks out the current Avatar, they will be able to speak with Avatar Kyoshi and learn her story."

A small gasp escaped me.

"Find the Avatar," Urjiah said. "We just have to find the Avatar."

I threw up my hands, "nobody knows where he is! He's off fighting some rebellion!"

Urjiah thought for a moment, thanked the man, then pulled me outside. Under the yelling of the crowd, he whispered in my ear, "Firelord Zuko knows where he is. He has to know. We find him tonight and we'll find the Avatar."

Something changed in the wind and I shuddered.

"There," we heard to our left.

Urjiah grabbed my arm. The man from the mercantile shop had three men behind him, mercenaries, and they were pointing at us. I assumed the men were Firebenders but I didn't have to think the entire frightening situation through.

"That's who asked about the defendant of the Avatar!" The shop owner grinned wickedly.

"Run!" Urjiah screamed at me.

I turned to run and instead smacked into another man and together we fell to the ground, our arms entwining and locking as we hit the ground. I couldn't move, but based on his clothes one thing became clear to me.

The man I had downed was Water Tribe.