𝑾𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑺 || 𝑨𝒂𝒏𝒈 (𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 1)

Siege of the North*

No more than two weeks had gone by since their arrival at the North Pole. Jade didn't think she would ever be totally used to the cold, but she was getting used to wearing her soft fur coat everywhere she went. Additionally, she was slowly getting used to the fact that she had royal blood in her veins. Being called Lady Jade by everyone was still very strange, but she felt pretty cool wearing the royal emblem in her hair. Yue gave it to her a few days ago; attached to a purple hair band was the light blue wavy symbol of the tribe's royal family.

She was part of that family. It took her a few days, but she was finally comfortable with that fact. She'd even begun spending more time with Yue and her Chief Arnook -- otherwise known as her aunt and her grandfather. She felt closer to them already. And she felt more connected to the Northern Water Tribe, too. The people here were different from those in Omashu, but she found that she liked that. Everyone was so welcoming to her; she felt like she could call this place home.

That said, there were still some things that hadn't changed. No matter how much she tried, Jade still couldn't find that connection to her mother. No matter how much time she spent in her mother's old room, and no matter how many visits she paid to the Spirit Oasis, she just couldn't feel it. It nagged at her; it shouldn't be so hard to feel connected to her own mother. But it just was. Nimeda remained a stranger to her. And maybe she always would.

"Agh!"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Jade glanced over her shoulder. Katara had just taken out her sparring opponent by trapping him high up on the ground in some ice. Jade wasn't surprised; Katara learned the fastest out of all of them. She was easily the best student there, and not a single one of them could say otherwise. She had all the makings of a great waterbending master -- and Jade was proud to say so.

At first, Pakku's lessons were pretty brutal. In the beginning, he told Jade he wouldn't go easy on her just because of who she was. Jade put on a brave face and told him she wouldn't have it any other way.

But after that first day, she was sorer than she'd ever been.

Now, almost two weeks later, she was glad she put in all that effort and all those hours of training. Seven year old Jade couldn't even imagine what thirteen year old Jade is capable of now. It took her a while to get used to the forms, and the precise techniques weren't easy either. Jade's lack of coordination and grace didn't work well in her favor, but that just gave her more reason to work so hard.

And it definitely paid off.

At first, the other students were able to take her down pretty easily. But as the days went by, she got better and better. Now, she actually enjoyed sparring. Winning gave her a sense of satisfaction she wasn't too familiar with, but she couldn't pretend she didn't like it. Especially when Master Pakku would give her a smile and a nod of approval.

Knowing she was one of his favorite students wasn't a bad feeling, either. He didn't say it out loud, but Aang pointed out how obvious it was a couple of times. Either way, if being one of Master Pakku's favorites meant that Jade was good, she wasn't going to complain.

Even if that meant becoming more competitive.

"You're gonna regret looking away!"

Turning back, Jade found a fast jet of water heading toward her. She dodged narrowly before redirecting it with one fluid movement of her arms. The stream went up above their heads before shooting straight down at her sparring partner. But instead of hitting him, the stream split in two and passed by him on both sides.

Tulok, her opponent, seemed confused. Then, before he could react, the streams extended to form two long tentacles that wrapped around his ankles. He yelped when they picked him up off the ground so he hung upside down. Jade froze the tentacles so they could stand on their own. And Tulok could do nothing but hang there, flailing his arms above the ground.