𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 | prince zuko

⁰¹

CHAPTER ONE

     FREEDOM IS SOMETHING WE ALL WANT. Everyone wants to be free from the shackles of war and destruction. No matter the risk, people are willing to fight for their freedom, even if it kills them. No one should be locked behind iron bars simply because they don't agree with a certain system.

The city of Ba Sing Se used to be free. Refugees who traveled for months would finally have a form of freedom when they entered the Impenetrable City. True, they struggled for a bit, but it was better than living out in the wild in an unknown forest. Ba Sing Se provided them with a home. The city was home to different people of different cultures, ethnicities, and religions. Despite the city being segregated by different classes, people were still happy and content. Some ran shops while others worked in factories to provide for their children or spouses. Nonetheless, people were happy.

That was until the Fire Nation took control. After that, freedom became nothing more than a distant memory.

For the past six years, Ba Sing Se has been in the Fire Nation's grasp; no one had their own freedom. Alongside the Dai Li, Fire Nation soldiers marched through the streets of the massive Earth Kingdom capital. The citizens avoided them at all costs; any misstep could get you thrown into prison or worse. The Fire Nation was unstoppable and very powerful. After eradicating the Air Nomads ― and kick-starting the Hundred Year War ― they moved their armies toward the Northern Water Tribe once they had the right technology and military size, taking control after a very long battle. The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu was not spared in the conquest, Ba Sing Se being conquered last.

In this world, people are blessed with extraordinary abilities known as bending. There were waterbenders, firebenders, and earthbenders. These amazing gifts were the everyday norm, though not everyone was a bender. These benders provided aid in specific jobs and helped with daily tasks. In Ba Sing Se, however, bending was illegal. If anyone was caught bending, they would be detained and arrested on the spot with no questions asked. The only bending art that was tolerable and accepted in the once Impenetrable City was firebending which was seen as superior. It was incredibly cruel and wrong. Yet, no one stood up against the Fire Nation soldiers or the Dai Li; they simply allowed the strict rules to stay.

That's how it has been for the past six years. Change was far from everyone's minds; people were too afraid to stand up and do something. But those who do fight for change are called vigilantes. There are many vigilante groups all around the world. Groups consisted of numerous members, some being benders or non-benders. They believed that the Fire Nation should be eradicated and the people of the world should be free. They all had the same goal in mind.

Vigilante groups were very common in Ba Sing Se. They typically worked in the shadows, but most have been caught and thrown into prison. There was one girl who was not a part of a vigilante group. Regardless of this, she was determined to free Ba Sing Se from the horrors of the Fire Nation.

And she was not going to stop until her goal was complete.

. . .

     A young woman rolled over in her bed, staring out the window as orange, brown, and yellow leaves fell from the tree outside. A warm breeze blew into the room, the sheer curtains fluttering gently and a wind chime playing gentle music as the wind danced outside. There was quiet chattering as people walked to their jobs or to the nearby university to further their education. The young woman sat up, sighing and yawning as she slowly woke from her comfortable slumber. She cracked her back and groaned before falling back down onto the thin mattress; it was going to be a long day.

"Yan, are you awake? I've prepared you some tea." an older woman's voice said from outside the room. At the sound of her mother's voice, the young woman was quick to sit up. She combed her fingers through her black hair to move it out of her eyes, moving out from under the thin blanket, not bothering to fold it.