CHAPTER ONE
▬ A Girl Unloved

━━━━

THERE WAS NEVER LOVE IN THE HOUSEHOLD, that was all she could remember. Being brought into the world without an ounce of love in her veins, because she wasn't the byproduct of love, no, she was the product of her mother's fear and her father's obsession. Love had ended for her mother Yanmei long before her birth, love ended when the monster slew her husband right in front of her, coating her front with his blood and leaving the terrible taste of iron in her mouth when she parted her lips to scream. He stared at her like a predator who had finally removed the last obstacle in his way, and now his prey was finally his. She wasn't conceived out of love, for how could her mother possibly love a man like him? Her mother never loved him, she was his obsession, his unfilled desire that remained dormant because he had her in the palm of his hand. And out of selfish wants, not even out of one-sided love, he made her settle with something she couldn't dare get rid of: a daughter she never wanted.

But if her own mother couldn't even love her, who else could? Lian tried to find love in places elsewhere, but who could love the daughter of a general who had slaughtered innocent people, the daughter of a monster. He was a proud man, a righteous man who believed his victims were trophies to prove his strength and loyalty to a Nation that has fallen so far that little hope exists. Her half-brother couldn't help but look at her like she was a monster like she was nothing more than the daughter of the man who killed his father and left him feeling so alone in the world without a father and a mother who became the shell of a woman she once was. In the village her father had conquered no one dared to speak about against them, no one dared to speak badly about the girl with light eyes and curiosity glinting so brightly in them. But that doesn't mean they weren't scared, that they weren't thinking about the possibility that she could be like them, a monster, a killer.

 Blood was no stranger to Lian, but a mere familiar constant figure to remind her how red her life is. To remind her that she was more fire than earth and that she was made to be strong, that the hands that forged her were calloused and burned and that she was far from a gentle being. And no matter how much she tries to forget, evidence of the monster is still there because whilst she is a reflection of her beautiful mother, she has the Devil's eyes; the same dead, expressionless eyes that lie even without words uttered. 

Perhaps that's why her mother refuses to look her in the eyes, why she's never held her in her arms as she does with Lian's brother, why she calls her by her name and never 'daughter,' almost as if the word has scorned her in unimaginable ways. And she can't just help but think that perhaps it is her eyes that make her mother despise her.

Maybe the one thing Lian has wanted more than anything else was to be in her mother's arms. Just once. And even with a single hug, she promises she would not be selfish and ask for more, she'll settle with the single fleeting embrace. Because a single hug could've prevented the void she'd feel for the rest of her life, solving the "not knowing" of what it's like to be in her arms and wondering what it is like to have a mother. She heard the rumors, how right after her mother had given birth to her she didn't hold Lian even if she was crying, desperate for her mother's arms to calm her. All Yanmei could see was the proof that her husband was killed, that a monster occupied her safe haven, and that her body was no longer hers.

Fate was cruel, after all, how could a monster deserve such love?

She was four when her mother was murdered right in front of her. Throat slashed with the sharp end of a sword, her mother's hands desperately trying to stop the bleeding, and the blood coating the front of the pretty dress her father had gifted to her from his homeland, and the bitter iron taste that forever stained her mouth. And young Lian couldn't understand what was going on, why the man she was always told to refer to as her uncle, had used his sword and hurt her mother. Why he was smiling as her grandmother fell to the ground, crying for her dying daughter, and why Shen was fighting against the grip of the other soldiers' to prevent him from stealing one last hug from Yanmei.

All Lian could do was stare at her mother's crumpled body on the ground, hands gripping the gifted doll as tightly as possible to prevent them from shaking, and lips quivering, not sure why her mother was bleeding and why her hands were so, so red.

My hands are dirty, they're dirty, she thought to herself repeatedly. I need to wash my hands. Mommy's going to be mad if my hands are dirty, mommy won't hug me if I'm dirty. I need to wash my hands, I NEED TO WASH MY HANDS —

"Lian?" the sickly sweet voice of her 'uncle' spoke. Dressed in red armor, a color so familiar to her, and a smile so bright she would've thought it was her birthday, Commander Long crouched down to match her height. The sword that was once in his hand now laid next to her mother's body. With a dirty hand, he placed it on her shoulder. "I think mommy's going to go to bed, Lian. Why don't you give her a kiss goodnight?"

His words echoed in her mind, drowning out the cries of her grandmother and half-brother. Nodding numbly, Lian handed him her doll as she sank to her knees to meet her mother's eyes. Yanmei, covering the cut on her throat, blinked away her tears as she tries to ignore her mother's hysteria and her son's desperation. Her mother's shallow gasps, desperate attempts for breaths of fresh air, went unnoticed as Lian placed her small lips on her mother's forehead, the young girl scared that she would make her mom dirty if they lingered any longer.

And for a brief moment, one that she'll remember forever, Yanmei looked up and into her eyes. Whether it was the last bit of love she wanted to release into the world or resentment for her daughter, she stared at Lian intensely, trying to convey a message no toddler her age could decipher easily. But all Lian could think about, even at such a young age, was that she didn't have her mother's eyes.

"Say goodnight, Lian," Commander Long encouraged as he rose to his feet. "Mommy's going to go to bed now."

"Goodnight mommy," said softly by Lian as she was handed her doll by another soldier. One of the female soldiers took her hands, ready to take the young daughter of their general to the other house before they could clean up the aftermath, to cleanse the floor of red. "I love you, mommy."

"Li . . . an," gasped Yanmei. The soldiers and Commander Long didn't give her the pleasure of finishing her words before they whisked the young daughter away, the only signs of gentleness shown when they softly turned Lian's cheek away when she looked over her shoulder to stare at her mom and her shattered family.

There was this tightening in her chest with each step away from her mother's family home, this unsettling feeling that left her heart aching like no other. It reminded her of the time when her father had first left for 'work,' how Lian was hysterical at the idea of her father leaving her with the idea that it was forever. Because she didn't realize that he was a monster in sheep's clothing, that he was a cold-blooded and selfish individual. It was the feeling of missing someone who was supposed to return, someone who promised forever even in a way without words.

Looking up at the woman to her left, Lian hesitated, "Is mommy going to be okay?"

And the soldier's heart dropped to her stomach knowing very well that today was the day Lian's innocence was shattered. For she was a mother herself and she was well aware of the type of upbringing Lian has: an absent and manipulative father, a cold and catatonic mother, and a brother who blames his sister for her father's actions. She couldn't betray her Nation no matter how much she disagrees with their methods, but she knew there was nothing she could do to save the neglected daughter.

"Your mother's going to bed, Lian," she tried to say as firmly as she can, but even then she couldn't hide the shaking of her tone of voice and trying not to get too emotional with the realization that Yanmei is dead, that the Fire Lord she had served is so cruel and offed a mother of two children even after her own husband has been taken away. "She's sleeping."

"Okay. Will you stay with me until daddy comes back home?" Commander Long couldn't help but think that the plan was finally falling back into place, that the disruption of Eizo's impulsiveness will be gone after today. And there is an ounce of guilt in his shriveled heart, but not for Yanmei. No, but for the girl that is starting to lose a step in her skip, her innocence and weakness slowly shedding and giving her a new skin more durable than the ones the pathetic Earth Kingdom citizens try to shroud her. But she is not them, no, she is of the Fire Nation, and she was strong the minute she was born. 

There is a chance for her, he thinks to himself. A chance for her to be strong.

"You should go to bed too, Lian," he said to her, his hand curled around her small shoulder. And she looks up at him, eyes almost as golden as her father's, almost as strong and powerful like Eizo's. But then he sees it, specks of greyish green dirt in them, a reminder that she is not entirely like them. That within her there are still traces of the cowardice woman that Eizo had fallen in love with, the weak woman from a village of the Earth Kingdom.

He almost hesitates.

Almost.

━━━━

      SHE WASN'T A HERO AND SHE NEVER CLAIMS TO BE, despite the fact that she managed to allow herself to join the likeliness of a fifteen-year-old boy and his friends who are meant to save them all from this stupid war. According to most people, Lian doesn't play well with others, or more specifically the male species. And sure, she could make it easy and blame her inability to get work well with others due to childhood trauma and her nomadic lifestyle, never staying in a place longer than needed before moving to the next. But it was no secret that she didn't trust many, that she'd rather play with others than allow herself to fall victim to such cruelty. However, that didn't mean she wasn't loyal to the gang, no, if anything she was loyal to a fault, too blinded with the idea that she needed to protect them all, even if it's just with her quiver of arrows and worn-out bow. And sure, there were many of her methods they didn't necessarily agree with her, but they couldn't disagree with the fact that she gets the job done, no matter how many people she may hurt along the way.

      For a while, they were a family. Sure, maybe they were the ragtag team of heroes others liked to brand them as, but Lian would like to think that they're her family. After all, her 'dad' killed her actual family and her brother and grandmother most likely hate her guts. But if there's anything she knows about her short life is that family is just as short and nothing lasts forever. Even the ones you think will stay with you forever, they'll leave or you will, depending on who is more scared about the idea of forever and decides to look for the next best thing.

      So to hear that her grandmother is in Ba Sing Se, that she spent the last thirteen years searching for Lian, was something she realized she never wanted. Because then the old woman will see just how much of a monster she has become, how she became the demon-child others had expected her to be. And part of her wants to proudly show off to the old bat, that she isn't scared of her and that she was every bit of horror they had anticipated her to be. But she knows that perhaps her own family members are the ones she fears the most and even though there is nothing terrifying about a short and wrinkled woman whose go-to-method of defense is her cane, it was her eyes that made her flinch, the same eyes that reminded her so much of her dead mother.

      And as much as she likes to pretend that she is the tough one out of the group — though perhaps not in the same manner as Toph whose fists hold more fury — her eyes and her words and her gaze were what branded her as a warrior. Skin scarred with cuts and sword wounds shows proof of her maturing rate, eyes hardened and almost empty to display the ruthless acts she has witnessed. 

      But all of that was to hide the fact that she was a scared girl with no real family of her own, a family that pushed her away because they were terrified to witness the growth of a monster, to see her eyes turn bleak and empty and full of hatred and rage like her father.

      With shaking hands, Lian tried to control herself as her eyes scanned over the characters written on the scroll addressed to her. The archer could hear the excitement in her friends' voices, Toph's lips almost splitting from how hard she was smiling at the thought of her mother finally accepting her for who she is, Aang — though slightly nervous — looked relieved at the idea of someone able to help him control the Avatar State that may be the key to win the war, and the Water Tribe siblings anxious as they read the intelligence report that may show signs of their father and their tribe's whereabouts.

      She tried to focus on anything other than her own scroll, the fact that her grandmother is alive — she thought that the negativity would've out the Old Bat by now — and wants to see her. It wasn't to say that Huiling was a terrible woman, no, on the contrary, she was a wonderful woman, an incredibly strong Earthbender for a woman her age and more importantly, her mother's mother. But all Lian could think about was the idea that she was going to be branded as a monster, that Huiling had found her just to remind her that it was her father that had broken the family, that she was ready to throw her to the wolves to the Earth Kingdom for being the daughter of a Fire Nation General, not the courageous heroine that had been traveling with the Avatar and his friends.

      ". . . you don't want us to separate, do you?" The older girl didn't even glance over her shoulder as the voice was recognizable. Lian sat on the balcony that offered a picturesque view of the night sky of Ba Sing Se, legs dangling over the edge dangerously.

      "Aang if you're going to become the image of the Big Tough Avatar, you're going to need all the sleep you can get so you can grow a few inches," Lian muttered as she closed her eyes, soaking in the warm breeze of the big city. "Go to bed, I know you're tired."

      "You should go to bed too," he told her matter-of-factly before taking a seat next to Lian with a soft smile on his face. Aang forced his yawn away, not wanting to prove Lian right about his tiredness. "You're going to meet with your Gran soon, isn't that exciting? You haven't seen her in years, right?"

      "Not really. She found me and now the Old Bat wants to play house over a cup of tea. Not exactly exciting," she replied almost bitterly, but subtlely enough that the younger boy next to her didn't even notice. And even with the beautiful view in front of her, all she could think about was the elegant scroll addressed to her with the green wax seal of a tigerbear, the official seal for the Ansui family. "I still can't believe you're going to go to the Eastern Air Temple to meet this Guru, who you don't even know, and could be a lunatic that can sell you off to the Fire Nation. You're too soft if I'm being honest and you're kinda dense."

      The Avatar waves off her cold words as he was so used to the older girl's bluntness and seeing it as her own odd way of protecting him. At least it was far better than the beginning of their friendship when he couldn't decipher whether or not she hated his guts or cared for him. "I'll be okay, don't forget, I'm the Avatar! And plus, if they found the scroll around Appa's horn. Appa must've trusted him to let him get close enough."

      "I don't know if being overly positive is part of being the Avatar, but just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, okay?" Lian told him, no hidden underlying message in the tone of her voice. She picks at the loose granite from the balcony edge, not caring that it ruined her nails or that she was damaging the architecture. "This whole separating thing . . . it's stupid."

      Even though she often laughed at Aang's cheesy sentiments, she couldn't bring herself to even mock his words because she shared the same fears as he did. Having a family was never her strongest suit, staying with people for long periods of time was never a habit she liked to practice, always preferring to stay one step ahead and traveling on her own. She never cared much for people, didn't bother to think twice about the people she'd travel with and leave and act as if they never existed. But the idea of forgetting about her friends, leaving them, it wasn't an idea she was comfortable with even thinking about. She'd miss Sokka's terrible jokes that make her want to throw herself off of Appa, she'd miss Aang's sickening positivity and his goal of making her smile at least once a day — he's never gotten past the record of two days straight —, she'd miss Toph's toughness and finally having a worthy spar partner who wasn't afraid of hurting her, and she'd miss Katara, a girl who was far too mature for her young age and never hesitated to hold her hand through the darkest of times even if she was too embarrassed to ask for help.

      Perhaps she had grown more attached than she had expected.

      Her words don't go unnoticed by Aang whose lips twitched into an even bigger smile at the thought of Lian missing them. It was no secret that she was quite brute, harsher than the others, but he knows it's because she means well. Though Aang is willing to admit that Lian did scare him at first, that her tough and intimidating front made him nervous. But then he realizes that she has her moments. 

      For instance, she'd sleep near Aang's sleeping bag after those nights of scary stories knowing that he'd fidget because of his inability to fall asleep. She'd always be the one to offer the first watch of the night knowing that new areas often unsettled the others. Lian, who would die for each and every one of them, even if it's a violent end she'll see it as a beautiful one. The same Lian who nearly left a Fire Nation soldier black and blue from her punches all because he hurt Sokka during one of their escapes from a village. It took Katara to physically restrain Lian with water in order to get her to stop. The younger girl said nothing as she healed her torn and bloodied knuckles, tried to simmer her anger and fear that Lian would be so reckless.

      Yet it was her recklessness that made her so lethal and strong.

      "We'll be back together soon," he assures, his head craning to catch a glimpse of her face. "Katara will still be in the city with you so if meeting your grandmother doesn't work out, you could help her plan with the Earth King for the invasion."

      For a moment, Lian felt like a terrible friend for not disclosing the truth to the others. And many secrets have been spilled, trust has been built on the foundation of wanting a better world, to end the war. But she was a monster, the daughter of a Fire Nation general whose own method of ending this bloodied war was similar to the way her father handled his problems: take down those who deserve it. And she was a girl who was unwanted the minute she was born, a burden on her mother and her family, and a demon by others.

      She didn't want their pity, she didn't want to see their sorry eyes whenever they looked at her. Lian didn't want Aang and Sokka to be on the edge when they're around her because of her hatred towards men, doesn't want to push them more than she already has, doesn't want Toph to feel like it is her duty to protect her because she was incapable of protecting herself at one point, and doesn't want her closest friend, Katara, to feel as though she needs to fulfill the motherly roles her own mother had abandoned.

      "I think . . . I think you should go see your grandmother," Aang starts hesitantly, waiting for her reaction. Of course, she didn't. She simply turned her head and stared at him quizzically, silently asking for him to elaborate. He averted her gaze and scratched his neck, "If all goes well, the war will be over. And . . . I guess we have to move on. Katara and Sokka might return home with their Dad, Toph . . . maybe she'll be able to work things out with her parents if her meeting with her mom goes well. And you can go back home to your village, start over, no more running away."

      "And you?" She surprised him with her question. The archer arched her eyebrows, almost as if he didn't expect her to remember about him in this post-war scenario he had created. "Don't look at me like that. Tell me, what does the Big Strong Avatar have in mind after this is all over?"

      "I haven't really thought about it . . . I don't know. I don't exactly have a home to return to."

      Her eyes softened at his words, momentarily forgetting that he wasn't just the Avatar, but that he was also a kid. Sure, maybe not too much younger from here, but a kid nonetheless. He may be 114, but mentally and physically, he's still just an awkward 14 years old with too much responsibility on his shoulder. And whilst she is also just a teenager, a girl who had to grow too fast because she became a ruin of war, she wasn't expecting it to end well for her. She wasn't a good person, not like Aang, she was selfish and only thought about herself, others became a second thought, never a first.

      She clasps her hand over his shoulder, forcing him to look at her, but even that action was hesitant and unsure. Her touch shocked him. The most he's ever received from her was a handshake. It was no secret that Lian hated the touch of men and boys. She would never allow Sokka or Aang to touch her, whether it's a hug or even holding her hand. But you would never see the same treatment towards Toph or Katara, Lian would help them in a heartbeat whereas she still tended to hesitate when it came to the boys. Katara said it might be because of past trauma, Aang didn't want to intrude, so he never forced her to shake his hand or hug him unless she initiated it.

      "I don't plan on going back to the village," Lian told him truthfully and when he opened his mouth to protest, she beat him to the chase, "Hasn't been my home since I was a baby, Aang. The Fire Nation probably burned it down already and even so, I don't plan on going back there. Just a bunch of farms and fields. That isn't the kind of life I think I want anymore."

      "But . . . your grandmother — "

      "Isn't family. Not the way you guys are," she interrupted him. The archer suddenly realized her action and placed her hand back on her lap, but the crooked smile on her face still remained. Lian chuckled as she nudged her shoulders with Aang, "Tell you what, if this invasion plan works out and I don't die, we'll go penguin sledding or something. I do need a new home after this."

      Aang beamed a smile.

      Lian yawned as tiredness finally took over. She stretched her arms above her head, cracking her hands and rubbing her sore shoulders from their antics earlier in the day. Not to mention how her fingers were still cramped and aching from the arrows she had notched and had made her callouses worse. "I'm gonna go to bed now, don't stay up too late, okay? It'll be embarrassing if this Guru kicks your ass because you're tired."

      "I will," Aang promises as Lian swung her legs back onto the ground and made her way back in the direction of the room she shared with the other girls. "Goodnight, Lian!"

      "Night, kid," she said over her shoulder. But before she entered the palace, Lian stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder. "You know, if you're going to save the world and all, you might as well tell her that you like her. Maybe you should face this before you face the Avatar State."

      Aang's cheeks blushed at her words.

━━━━

      THERE WAS A TIME WHEN GOODBYES were something of a constant for Lian. She was the type to leave without a word, sometimes in the middle of the night when everyone is deep in sleep and are too tired to stir at the sound of her packing her bags or footsteps leaving. But in her own mind, she doesn't think she owes it to them to bid farewell knowing that humans are selfish human beings who believe that staying together is what makes them strong. However, Lian knows that she is at her strongest when she is by herself, fighting for herself without worrying over others and their actions. But she was never used to something like this, formal goodbyes that involved hugs and teary-eyed speeches about how they were going to miss one another. Katara was petting Appa's fur as if she was never going to fly the wooly mammoth for a long time, Sokka and Toph seemed engaged in a conversation where the former was warning the latter to be careful with the blind bender scoffing at his concern, and then there was Aang who looked longingly at the braided waterbender with gentleness in his eyes.

      Fear laid in her heart, but only for a short while. Lian allowed herself to think that these people in front of her were her new family, that they weren't going to leave her and the only way they would ever be separated was if she left on her own accord. They were her new family, her temporary family for the time being until it comes to the point where she grows too attached, then she leaves before that attachment ever breaks her.

      "You know, you should probably lighten up," Sokka spoke up. He walked towards her with a small on his face and that glint of mischief she'll probably miss. "I heard if you keep frowning you're going to get wrinkles. No offense or anything."

      "Whatever will I do if people stop fawning over my looks? That's my only good quality!"

      "Hey! You can't be the sarcastic one, I am! You're the moody archer girl!"

      His eyes soften when he saw her up close. Though there was a time when his heart felt some affection for her — could you blame him — a time when he was drawn by how brooding she was, how she was so ruthless and fierce and brave. Something he so desperately wanted to be. But then the realization sank that he couldn't fix her, that he couldn't help what was broken within her. And maybe it wasn't infatuation or lust he felt, but a surge of want for friendship. 

      "I'm going to miss you," he told her sincerely.

      Lian smirks before she crosses her arms across her chest. "Didn't I tell you that you weren't my type? Better to just let go and forget, Sokka. I'm hard to tie down."

      "Can't you take anything seriously?" exasperated Sokka, but he did little to hide his smile. "You . . . you should take care. I know things aren't great with your family, but I really think you should hear what your Gran has to say. Who knows how long it'll be until everything goes back to normal."

      "Sokka — "

      "No listen," he cuts her off. She looks at him stunned. "I'm serious. I just . . . I don't want you to regret what you didn't do, you know? And I think out of everyone here, you deserve to be happy too. Go see her, it wouldn't hurt if you do. And if something goes wrong, then so be it. She doesn't deserve to get to know you."

      "You don't know my grandmother then," Lian bites back. She turns around, jaw clenching as she tries to calm the ticking anger in her hands that just wanted to punch something at the mention of her grandmother.

      "I don't. But I know you," Sokka points out. He notices her hands now drawn into fists, her bow close to snapping if it wasn't so sturdy. "And I know that you're a good person, no matter how much you try to convince us otherwise. And if that's the case, then I want you to know that you're doing a terrible job at being bad. You're too nice for it."

      She stares at him in astonishment. Was he stupid to think of her so highly? He must be if he thinks she's capable of being a good person. Lian was selfish, reckless, and way out of her mind. Good, is not one of those words used to describe her. But she doesn't say anything back, she lets Sokka and the others think she is the perfect brave warrior they assumed she was, not knowing she was just a selfish bastard who only wields her weapon in hopes that she's one monster away from the one she's truly after.

      Her hands rested in front of her as she watched the Earth King wish Aang and Sokka safe travels. And then it was time for their own goodbyes. Even Toph had her own sentiments as she wistfully says her own, eyes almost glossy. It wasn't long until Katara, Aang, and Toph engulfed in a group hug, then they ended up dragging Sokka along as well who had his reservations. But then their eyes glanced at Lian who stared at them, almost as if they were crazy for acting so sentimental. Lian says nothing as she joins their group hug, tries not to think too much about the fact that Aang's hand was on her shoulders and that her left side was against Sokka's. All she could think about was that her family, the one she never wanted, were separating.

      It wasn't long until Appa, Aang, and Sokka became a speck in the sky, starting their own separate journey leaving the rest of them behind. Her right hand clenched her bow tightly, trying to ignore the loose splinters that dug into the palm of her hand or how her quiver felt oddly heavier than usual. They had their own journeys, their own missions that they needed to finish before they could even think about the invasion.

      "Where are you going?" was all she could hear as she walked up the stairs towards the palace, ready to find the entrance and leave. Lian didn't even bother to look back at Katara, not wanting her to see the anger and frustration that threatened to simmer over the facade she had created for the last few days, "I'm going out. Don't wait up tonight!"

      Katara tries to not think too much over her words, even if she and Toph know very well what that had meant. Lian had a bad way of coping with her emotions, but they never dared try to speak out on it. Who were they to critique how she handles her frustration? They may not know much about her or her past, but they know that she felt immense pain and fear and that she likes to take it out on men. And though she'd never turn those feelings against Aang and Sokka, it only meant that someone else faces the brunt of her anger.

      "She's going to break some hearts tonight, isn't she?" Toph finds herself asking Katara.

      "Yeah," Katara answers quietly. "I think she's hurting again."

━━━━

A/N;

AFTER FUCKING FOREVER I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! Okay quick backstory that no one asked for, but I was close to finishing chapter one originally but then I didn't like it and ended up rewriting the end and yeah so that's why it took me forever.

Kinda rushed the ending, but I'm more satisfied with this.

(TW)

To clear up the air, yes, Lian is a product of rape. In no means am I trying to romanticize it, not at all. But I wanted to be real about war, there's the knowledge that the Fire Nation pillaged and attacked villages for their own gain and there were probably some who thought they were better than others. Not to say that every Fire Nation soldier was bad, there were clips in the show about how some were goofy or really had no choice but to partake in the war or thought that what they were doing was for the good.

I know that this idea may be looked down upon or triggering, but I want to remind you that this story does have dark moments. Please stop reading if you are uncomfortable with it, I understand.

Lian's hatred towards men is mainly directed at her father. There are instances where she's not comfortable around men or boys like Sokka and Aang and for good reason. Which is why Katara and Toph are more her go-to's than the boys.

(END of TW)

Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. As I'm writing this author's note it's almost 3 in the morning and I have to be up for my lecture in about 8 hours lol I hate myself, but I love this book so there's that!

Much Love Guys.

( written: february 17, 2020 )
( published: february 20, 2020 )