❂
There once was an ancient and powerful tribe, admired by many. They were the only benders beside the avatar who were capable of mastering more than one element.
Usually, the ones born with the ability to bend, mastered two different elements, but once every tenth year or so, a female child, with the ability to bend all four elements would be born.
Many meant that these children were cursed and that their mere existence defied the natural balance in the world. Others worshipped the children as much as they did the avatar,
The children born with these abilities were weak, and rarely survived past the age of two. Thus supporting the curse theory. But the children who did survive, and managed to master their powers were called; elementals.
The tribe in which these children were born was located remotely and impenetrably, hidden away from the rest of the world. At least that was the case until the war broke out, and the fire nation attacked.
The fire lord killed his way through the tribe until he realised, that the elementals he was looking for, all had sacrificed themselves in spite, so that their powers couldn't be harvested. All but one who'd stayed to fight and protect her home.
The fire lord captured this woman and doomed her to a life of pain and suffering. A life where she was treated like an object, until a girl was birthed, a girl which could be used to carry on where her mother left off.
The mothers of the girls would be kept locked up and isolated with their child until the child would either show signs of being an elemental, or it had its first blood. When this happened, the children would be taken away and the mothers would either be killed or left to rot in a cell as they were no longer needed.
This cycle was continued for nearly a hundred years, and the fire lord began to believe that his plan would never work, until one night a couple of days after the royal family had been blessed with a baby boy, a descendant of the original elemental gave birth to a girl.
Rumour has it, that the babe was silent when it came out, that it did not cry nor coo. It's skin was pale and it's heart only beat faintly, but in its eyes, the midwives saw blazing fires, roaring storms and raging seas.
The baby girl was placed with it's mother while the midwives went to notify the fire lord, and the mother saw the power hidden within her newborn as well and gave her the name Rea, meaning Hope.
That night, the mother slept in a comfortable bed and got real, good food for the first time since she'd been born. The child wasn't immediately taken from her arms, but comfortably placed in a crib in her room where she could tend to it's every need.
When the child passed the age of two and it was evident that it would survive, it was a day of celebration in the fire nation. When she turned four, she began her training, and when she turned six, her mother was executed in front of her by the fire lord.
From that day on, Rea was cared for by the fire lord's youngest son, Ozai, and daughter in law, Ursa.
Though she was treated like it, for the first couple of years, Rea knew that she wasn't a part of their family.
She would be hidden away at festivities and train when the royal kids were playing.
Rea never once forgot who she really was, and when the old fire lord died and his son Ozai took over, Rea was ensured that she never would forget.
Rea was a slave just like her mom, grandma and all of the other descendants had been. She would never forget how the fire nation had wronged her, and she swore to someday take her revenge.
❂
"Focus child. Remember your breathing. It is the key to bending all the elements." Iroh spoke calmly as he watched Rea do the new steps he'd taught her. "My apologies master Iroh." She answered bowing deeply.
"Don't apologise, breathe." He repeated doing a small demonstration of a deep breath as he spoke the last word.
Rea closed her eyes behind the blindfold and took a shaky breath before she did the steps again, failing as she tripped over her own feet. "You're not focused, something is bothering you." Her master concluded as he approached her and took off her blindfold.
"Sorry master Iroh, I will do better." Rea looked at her feet ashamed. She held herself to a standard far higher than what anyone else expected her to. Even the fire-lord's expectations of her didn't exceed the expectations she had of herself.
"You are one of the most skilled fire-benders the nation have ever seen, even exceeding our dear prodigy princess Azula. It is only natural for you to find water bending hard. Now stop apologising and breathe." Her teacher Iroh instructed calmly. He was known as The Dragon of the West and his fire-bending and war strategies placed him amongst some of the best fire-bending warriors of his time.
Rea had always admired and respected him for that.
"As you wish master Iroh." She stated as she took the blindfold from him and tied it again before she began water-bending.
"Try and see if you can feel the water, become one with it, move with it, Rea." Iroh instructed her to the best of his ability. Since he wasn't a water-bender himself, he found it quite difficult. But he'd taught her the basics of air bending as well, so it couldn't be impossible.
"Uncle!" Iroh turned around surprised at his nephew's outburst. "Zuko." He greeted back relaxed. The young crown prince stopped in his tracks as he watched Rea by the bow of the boat doing her dance, the water floating around her, gently and lazily following her hand movements.
"Rea, training is over for today, could you be persuaded to go make me some tea in the kitchen? You're so good at it." At the sound of her name, the water fell to deck with a splash making the guards chuckle as Rea squealed in alarm as it touched her. "You will never learn to water-bend if you fear even a small puddle. You act as if the drops are going to burn you."
"And out of everyone, you should understand the reason why better than anyone else on this godforsaken ship!" Rea yelled, flames burning fiercely from her fingertips.
"You're letting your fear get the better of you." Iroh spoke calmly as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The fire quickly extinguished after that making the guards let out the breath they'd been holding.
Rea sighed embarrassed before she b-lined for the door to her chambers. "No, stay. I want to spar with someone less incompetent than the guards." Zuko said grabbing her hand as she passed him. "It would be my honour." The sarcasm lacing her words didn't go by the crown prince unnoticed. He didn't take it personally like he did so many other things though. Rea had always been a close friend to Zuko, despite the obvious strain that was put on their relationship by his father, the fire-lord, and Zuko's allegiance to the fire-nation and the throne.
"Very well." Iroh sighed, already knowing where this was headed.
Zuko pulled Rea to the middle of the deck before he bowed and went into a fighting stance. Rea returned the bow before she took a couple of steps back and got into a fighting stance as well.
Zuko was as always the first to attack. Rea simply blocked his punches and kicks until he left himself exposed enough that she could get in an easy attack, but even then she pulled her punches.
"Don't pull your punches!" Zuko hissed angrily making Rea huff amused at his short fuse. But even after his outburst she kept being on the defence, making it look like a complicated dance to anyone watching from the outside. Zuko would approach and attack and she would avoid or deflect.
Even when Zuko began fire-bending, Rea only bended in defence, making the crown prince's frustration and anger grow as his orange flames blended with her blue ones.
"Rea." Iroh scolded concerned as he watched his nephew's attacks at her grow stronger and more out of control as his anger and frustration did the same. And yet Rea put only the minimal effort into fighting back, sticking to blocking and deflecting his attempts to hurt her.
After continuing their captivating dance for a while Zuko finally won as he kicked her feet out from under her and got her pinned to the deck by sitting on her stomach and holding a knife to her throat.
"You're too gentle for your own good." Zuko stated with a small smile as he looked down at her. He was well aware that she let him win as was she and everyone else who'd watched them.
"Maybe I just prefer it when you're on top?" Rea replied making him roll his eyes at her attempt to make him uncomfortable. "I will banish you for your foul mouth once we've caught the Avatar, and my father invites us back to the royal palace." He threatened as he retreated his knife from her throat.
"Bold of you to assume I'll be welcomed back by the fire-nation as well."
A cough from Iroh made the two teenagers look away from each other and over at him bored. "Focus you two. Training is not playing. You are making the guards uncomfortable." He stated. Zuko quickly got up, politely offering Rea a hand as he noticed how the guards were all looking away from them and awkwardly kept their eyes anywhere else.
"Stop pulling your punches Rea, he won't learn anything if you let him win." Iroh said pouring himself a cup of tea.
"Apologies master Iroh."
Zuko huffed at her words, "You're never polite when you address me." He stated annoyed, making Rea smile amused. "I'll be polite once you prove yourself to be worthy of it."
"Hn."
❂