𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 [ᴢᴜᴋᴏ]

one

It was still dead silent when Jasmine woke up but she didn't mind. The girl liked being up when it was dark and everyone was fast asleep; it gave her a sense of peace and time to think without being interrupted.

This time, she thought about how she could possibly avoid her grandmother. It wouldn't be an easy task as the village in the southern water tribe was small.

Always voicing out her opinion without any filter got her into trouble most of the time, just like this time. Her grandmother was a strict woman, especially when it came to tradition. Jasmine couldn't and wouldn't agree and go along with some of them as she found them ridiculous. She still tried her best to respect them; especially since she was the youngest child of the tribe's Chief, Hakoda. Having a higher rank was an additional reason to act accordingly. But only she seemed to have trouble with that as her two siblings were fine with everything.

However, Jasmine found she was right for once. This time, the tradition went too far, even if it was the one her twin sister, Katara, was excited about the most. In Jasmine's opinion her twin must have lost her mind.

Tomorrow would be the twins' 16th birthday. The celebration would be huge, as girls, after they have turned 16, undergo sort of a three year long training which prepares them for their marriage at age 19. The girls take care of most of the chores and other tasks which are typical for a housewife. The other women in the tribe are more or less not allowed to help or do anything when the girl in question is there. Then after these preparation years, the girl would have to marry a man of her tribe.

Jasmine didn't want to marry someone she didn't love and spend the rest of her life as a housewife. The girl hadn't even seen the outside world and hadn't met other people yet. She wanted to see and experience the culture and life in the other countries before settling down with the one she loves. She knew that travelling the world was practically impossible due to the war which didn't seem to end any time soon.

That's exactly why she spoke up against her grandmother, saying that she didn't want to be part of the birthday celebration and training. There weren't any men or boys left in her village. Everyone went away to fight in the war, leaving only the fragile elderly, little children, and the women behind. Her father, as the Chief, went with them as well. With that, her two siblings and grandmother were the only family left in the village as her mother had passed away when she was six years old.

Jasmine always wondered if things would have gone differently if her mother was still alive. The girl had always been different from the rest of her family and even though her grandmother treated the three siblings the same, she could see in her eyes that she looked at her youngest grandchild differently.

The youngest tried to be unbothered by the different look in her grandmother's eyes. However she couldn't help but think that it was Katara who had been the favourite child of the three, and of course her older brother Sokka as well since he was the first son.

Jasmine partially blamed it on her different looks which were the first thing to differ her from the rest. Unlike the typical water tribe look which consisted of blue eyes, olive skin and brown hair, she had dark, almost black eyes, pale skin and pitch black shirt hair and freckles covered her nose and cheeks. In her opinion she looked like a Fire Nation citizen and she was sure the other thought so as well. However no one would dare to say that out loud.

Something that made her stand out as well was her big mouth. The girl couldn't simply shut up or sugar-coat everything she said. Katara was an openly kind and caring person, almost motherly-like, and often scolded the youngest, about not keeping her mouth shut. The advice that it's better to stay silent sometimes was nothing for her as she simply liked to say what's on her mind. Thus she got into trouble often.