a/n: hi all!!! the photo above is what i imagine princess naia looking like.
i just wanted to say thank you and i hope you enjoy the story :) please vote and comment! i love to read them <3
-E.S.
☽
PRINCESS NAIA OF THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE did not know much about the war going on outside of the icy walls of her kingdom. In fact, she was sheltered for her entire fifteen, almost sixteen years of existence. Tucked away in a bedroom in the palace, only able to overlook the city while sitting on the window sill. In fact, she's never left the Northern Water Tribe. She often felt like a bird in a cage, captive for so long that it forgot how to take flight. But for now, all she had to worry about in her life was her birthday.
"Is something on your mind?"
Naia looked to the soft voice of her twin sister, Yue. Her eyes were full of concern for the younger twin. Yue always loved to hold that over Naia, as she was approximately a minute and a half older than her. However, Naia couldn't argue with her. Yue was more gracious and mature than Naia was. Her parents often viewed Yue as the perfect daughter.
Although they were twins, Yue and Naia couldn't look any more different. Yue's hair was the color of fresh snow. She looked more like their mother, with soft eyes and a round face. Naia, on the other hand, had dark chocolate colored brown hair and took after their Father. The only trait they shared was their blue eyes. The two were starkly different, both in looks and personality, but they balanced each other out.
Naia nodded her head and looked away from her sister. She dryly laughed. "Everything. Everything is on my mind."
The twins walked with their arms interlocked, across their favorite bridge. They stopped in the middle of it, leaning over the edge and looking out towards the rest of the city. Naia couldn't deny that the Northern Water Tribe was beautiful, with the ocean view on all sides and the architecture. However, she did not have much to compare it to. It was all she's ever known.
"It's not possible to have everything on your mind," Yue pointed out. "Naia, you can tell me anything."
"I know," Naia said sheepishly. Yue and Naia hardly kept secrets from each other. They were practically attached at the hip since they could walk. Naia lightly sighed. "I feel like everything is changing so fast and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
Yue nodded sympathetically. "I understand how you feel."
Tomorrow was their sixteenth birthday. When the awoke that next morning, they would be considered women in their tribe. This was a big milestone in their culture, as they would soon find out who they were going to marry. Unlike Yue, Naia was beside herself. Yue usually did not question the customs and traditions of the water tribe, which made her a better fit to be the succeeding ruler. Naia, on the other hand, was rough around the edges and shared her opinion much more freely than her parents preferred.
"Father still has not decided on who you will be marrying yet?" Yue asked.
Naia shook her head. "I'm sure he's searching for someone who will actually agree to it," She joked.
"Oh hush," Yue shook her head. "Any man would be unbelievably lucky to have you as a wife."
Naia hated the word wife at this moment. The way her tribe defined the word wife made it a sound like prison. A wife was silent, obedient, seen but not heard. However, Naia begrudgingly smiled. Yue always knew what to say to make her feel better. Her sister was so gentle, it made Naia believe that there was still good in this world. "I've never pictured myself being a wife. I don't think I would be very good at it. I'm plain and brash. I'm not nurturing or gentle. I'm exactly what a wife isn't."
"Naia, please," Yue pleaded. "You know that isn't true!"
Naia sighed. Yue would never understand. She was so perfect without even trying. Yue had every boy fawning over her due to her beautiful looks and charm. Naia was much more intimidating and too assertive for any boy's liking. She knew that she can't hold and resentment towards her twin, but it was difficult not to. "Father needs to find someone first. That's half the battle."
"Who do you want Father to pick?" Yue asked, her eyebrows raised.
Naia shrugged. "Nobody, I guess."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon," Yue comforted her. "I trust Father's judgement. He wouldn't pick someone for you who he thought you wouldn't like."
"I don't," Naia deadpanned. "He picked Hahn to be your husband. That says enough. I would much rather be able to make the decision on my own."
"Hahn isn't so bad you know," Yue tried to reason with her. "He's very handsome. And strong."
"He's also an idiot," Naia grumbled. "And you accepted his proposal."
Yue'a fingers grazed her betrothal necklace, a slight frown forming on her face. She thought for a second before saying, "Naia, we've been over this. It's my duty."
Naia rolled her eyes. Yue and Naia got into a big argument a week ago about Yue accepting Hahn's proposal. Naia was furious at her sister for accepting a proposal to such an arrogant fool. Yue was angry at Naia for not respecting her decision. They didn't speak for a whole day, which killed Naia on the inside. There hasn't been a day in their whole life where they spent it apart from each other, let alone not speaking to each other. They made up and vowed never to do it again.
"As long as he treats you right, I won't fight it," Naia said. "But if he even looks at you wrong, I will hurt him. Badly."
Yue laughed lightly at her sister's comment. "I know I always have you to protect me."
Yue was right. Naia tended to be confrontational, especially with people who have hurt her family members or closest friends. She eventually mellowed out, due to the constant disapproval from her parents, but there was still some of that fire hidden deep within her. As much as her father didn't want to admit it, Naia took after him in many ways, such as being stubborn, resilient, and clever. Yue was a lot like their mother, who kind hearted, agreeable, and calm.
"Princess Yue, Princess Naia," A voice said from behind them. "Your father wants you back at the palace."
Naia exchanged looks with Yue. They were only out on a walk for about fifteen minutes. Naia hated a lot of things about being a princess, one of them being that she could never spend too much time on her own without having someone come and look for her. It was a blessing and a curse. There were often times Naia wanted to spend some time alone to think, but she almost never could.
On their way back, a familiar figure approached them. "Hey, Naia. Hi Yue."
"Hi," The twins greeted back.
It was Naia's childhood friend, Koa. He greeted them with a smile on his face. Koa was one of the few people Naia got along with. He never seemed to make her feel bad for being herself, so she considered him her closest friend, after Yue of course. The people of the Northern Water Trive would never act differently toward Naia to her face, but she could sense their judgmental stares when her back was turned. The servant that the two princesses were following turned around when he realized they had stopped. He gave Koa a slight frown.
"What's with him?" Koa asked, looking towards the servant and back to the girls.
"We are being escorted back to the palace because we were out for too long" Naia mocked. "The usual."
Koa chuckled at her joke. The three looked back at the servant, who stood there with his arms crossed firmly over his chest. "I suppose you could walk us part of the way back," Yue suggested.
"Sure," Koa agreed almost instantaneously. The three started to walk back, with Koa on Naia's left and Yue on her right. "When can I give you your birthday present, then?"
Naia laughed, looking up at Koa. He was tall, with dark eyes and soft medium length hair that he wore in a braid. "You do know my birthday is tomorrow, right?"
"I know you," Koa said. "You'll be so busy tomorrow and you won't be able to talk for more than a minute. It happens every year."
Naia smiled and shook her head. Koa was absolutely right. "I guess you can give it to me tonight, then," She said, her voice hushed. If her father knew she would sneak out of the palace to meet a boy, he would never let her out again.
"What time?" He asked, mimicking her voice level.
"I'll come find you when the time is right," Naia said. By then, they had reached the palace. "Bye Koa!" The two girls bid him farewell.
As Koa said a quick goodbye and turned around, Yue gave her sister an excited look. Naia rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what was coming next. "Yue, not now," Naia pleaded. "Wait until we go to one of our bedrooms and close the door."
Yue smiled a ridiculous smile. "Sure."
After walking up a large spiral staircase, they reached Naia's bedroom. Although Yue's room was slightly larger than Naia's, Naia had the better view. From her window sill, she could see the large courtyard, along with the large gates of ice that surrounded the city and would often watch the sun dip beneath the horizon.
Before Yue could open her mouth, Naia sighed as she took of her large parka. "No, Yue. I do not want to marry Koa."
Yue groaned, shedding her parka as well and placing it on a hook behind Naia's bedroom door. "But why? I think he likes you."
"Impossible!" Naia rolled her eyes, sitting on the edge her large bed. "Koa is like an older brother to me. Besides, he has every other girl in the tribe who likes him."
"So you admit," Yue prodded with a smirk. "You think he's attractive."
"Anyone with eyes knows that," Naia pointed out. "I said Hahn is attractive. Doesn't mean I like him."
"You're sneaking out tonight to see Koa," Yue pointed out. "And you don't like him like that?"
"I'm sneaking out because father would never allow me to see him alone at night," Naia responded. "You know how our birthdays usually go. I won't be able to spend a lot of time with him tomorrow."
Yue shrugged. "I'm just trying to get you to think about the future. You should really consider who you want to marry, because it will be decided very soon."
"I don't want to marry Koa. I think we would be a horrible match," Naia sighed, burying her head in one of her many soft pillows that laid atop her bed. "Please, don't remind me."
Naia rolled over and Yue laid next to her. The two girls stared at the ceiling. "Not everything in our lives will change," Yue tried to comfort her. "You'll always have me."
Naia smiled softly and turned her head to face her sister. "You'll always have me, too."
☽
Later that evening, Naia snuck out of her bedroom. Instead of going down the long hallway, she went out of the window. It was about a couple hours after she said goodnight to her parents. Although it was about an hour until midnight, Naia had always struggled with insomnia so she rarely felt tired at this time.
She pensively walked in the direction of Koa's home. Most teenagers would be excited for their birthday, but Naia's stomach was in knots. It was only a matter of time that her father decided who her husband would be. The transition from girlhood to womanhood was something she didn't entirely agree with.
Naia hated most of the traditions in her tribe. As much as she tried to fight them, her father was the chief. Everyone in the tribe would listen to his word over hers. She never shared these feelings with her parents, because she knew they would never understand. Naia found herself sharing almost nothing with her parents. Being a princess came with rules and expectations. Naia felt like she was not ready for marriage. She desired to travel the world and gain more knowledge on life outside of the Northern Water Tribe before she settled down and got married. She knew whoever was her husband would never allow her to leave.
Naia reached Koa's house and saw that the light in his bedroom was on. She looked through the small window and Koa was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and shivered from the cool night breeze. Naia turned her back towards the window and decided to wait.
In her boredom, she used the very limited amount of water bending she knew to toss a ball of water back and forth between her hands. Naia's parents knew she had the natural ability to bend water since she was born. However, her father did not allow her to learn how to fight and use her water bending to protect herself. Instead, she was relegated to learning how to heal. She even had to beg to learn how to do that, as most royals didn't use their water bending abilities.
Naia was naturally good at water bending, so it did not take her very long to master healing. There had been many nights where she stayed up late, wishing that she could do something more with this talent of hers. But alas, she was a princess, which made it all the more improper for her to learn how to fight. Whenever she used her bending, she felt exhilarated. She felt most happy when she could push and pull the water, mimicking the tide of the ocean. However, she had no opportunities to explore it.
"Hey."
Naia was so lost in her thoughts that she dropped the water on her shoes and jumped backwards. Luckily, her think fur lined boots were waterproof so the water beaded and slid right off of them. It was only Koa, who laughed at her expression.
"You scared me," Naia said sheepishly.
Koa chuckled one more time. "Do you want to take a walk?"
Naia nodded. "Sure," Koa turned around and waited for her to be by his side to start walking.
"You are always playing around with water," Koa pointed out.
"I know," Naia agreed. "I mostly do it when my parents aren't around. I'm only supposed to heal. Apparently it's lucky that I even know how to do that."
"Remember that time you healed that huge gash on my shoulder?" Koa asked.
"How could I forget?" Naia laughed. "We were ten and you were so worried about your mother finding out and punishing you for playing too rough."
"She never did find out. You're good at it," Koa said. "What's wrong with being good at healing?"
Naia shrugged. "I want to be good at fighting. Master Pakku and my father are close. There's no way I could find anyone to teach me. I may be a princess, but people fear my father more."
"You wouldn't need to know how to fight with all of the guards that protect you at all times," Koa joked. "Besides, why would you want to fight? You could get hurt."
"Is it so wrong that I want to do things for myself?" Naia asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "I have everyone always try to think and do everything for me. When will I be allowed to think for myself?"
"No. It's what makes you Naia," Koa answered. He stopped when they were far enough away from the house. "Here," He said, placing a small wrapped gift on the palm of her hand.
Naia furrowed her brows as she tugged on the paper, revealing a small figurine in the shape of a bird taking flight.
"Do you like it?" Koa asked nervously. "I had to bribe the glass makers with seal jerky to have them—"
Naia cut off Koa with a hug. He instantly stopped talking and hugged back, his hands wrapping around her waist. She pulled away and looked at it again. "I love it, Koa. Thank you so much."
In many ways Naia did want to be like a bird. She envied how they could simply spread their wings as fly away as they wished. But as a princess, her wings were bound together with rope and she was flightless. She believed if she ever had the opportunity to fly, she would have forgotten how to at that point. She would be stuck. Stuck to live her life under the suffocating customs of her tribe's rules and customs.