Yoona giggled as she hid by the huge acacia trees. Her pretty, almond-shaped eyes gleamed with mischief as she laughed with a wide open mouth like a crocodile. She was that sneaky air-bender kid who always caused a lot of trouble wherever she went. The air monks shake their heads often in disapproval whenever they see her. An air-bender of sixteen years old shouldn’t be as immature and quirky as her. She liked being a mischievous rebel though. “Free to glide with the wind whenever and wherever I please” was her motto. Like a windflower, she bloomed out in the wild without a care. To her, that was the definition of air bending.

Then the lone, skinny air bender giggled some more as she took a huge bite from the piece of barbecued chicken she stole from a meat shop in a small Fire Nation town. As expected, the sweet, spicy Fire Nation flavor satisfied her craving for delicious meat. Nothing could be better than this.

            “Those close-minded, vegetarian baldheads from the Western Air Temple will never understand how great this stuff is!” she mumbled to herself, referring to the chicken leg. Then with her big mouth she devoured the last of it and threw the bone out, accidentally hitting a random passerby in the streets. “Oops, sorry,” she mumbled again and laughed silently with wide open. The passerby did not see her though, for she was high up in the thick foliage of the tree.

            After eating, she took her wooden staff and with a push of a button, it transformed into a hand glider. Then she jumped up high into the air and glided away with the wind.

***

            “Dear Fany and Sunny,

First of all, I’d like to say that I miss you both so much! I’d also like to say, sorry, Fany; I didn’t get anything pink out of this place for your Pink Items Collection. All they have are blue items, and more blue items. I want to say sorry to Sunny too, because I might totally wipe her out the next time we have a duel! Haha! Don’t think for a second that I’ve slacked at all when it comes to fire bending!

Anyway, I’ve been trying to communicate with my past lives. Apparently, the Avatar can do that, but I have no idea how to accomplish such a feat. I guess I still have lots to learn. Sica helped me in discovering how, but nothing we do really works. I get dreams of Avatar Leeteuk sometimes. He’s the Earth Avatar before me. Whenever I dream of him, it’s either I don’t remember much from it, or he just slips away before I can ask him anything. Ugh, how can a person who is basically me be so hard to talk to? It’s frustrating. Maybe I’m still such a rookie Avatar that I haven’t reached that level yet. I would really like to talk to him though. Don’t you both think that would be a fantastic experience?

I also have this strange feeling that my dreams about the eruption could be a warning of something. Sadly, I have no idea what they are warning me about. I still believe that they could mean something though. Besides, recurring dreams don’t just happen for no reason, right? Either they’re really a warning or I’m just going insane. This I know for sure though: I am over that night of the eruption. I accept that it happened. Although I still feel bad every time I remember the bloody image of my dead mother, I finally accepted that she is gone. However, as I stare at that piece of paper that my brother left for me—you know, the one that says “don’t look for me”—I still feel that strange drive of investigating his irrational behavior. I know I have bigger priorities as Avatar in training now, but if I can find out later why he’s avoiding me—even if it takes years—I will surely do.

By the way, Sica and I have been training in water bending a lot. I’m not the same loser that you met two years ago. I feel stronger, but somehow, ironically, still weak and vulnerable on the inside. I beat Sica so many times already; although I was being really unfair by incorporating fire bending with water bending. With water bending alone, I guess I could still use some work.

Soon, I will be boarding a ship to the Fire Nation. No, I haven’t mastered water bending completely, but I’m pretty good at it. I guess I just miss you both so much that I jumped into the ride immediately when I found out that the ship was heading to the Fire Nation. It’s been many long months since I last saw your kind, happy, eye-smiling faces. Wait for me. I will visit sometime soon. Anticipate it. Love you guys!

From your fellow Fire Nation Princess,

Taengoo”

            Taeyeon rolled up the parchment and placed it in the cylinder vessel on her messenger hawk’s back. After caressing the fowl’s maroon feathers ever so gently, she whispered, “Tell them to wait for me, okay Ginger? And give them both a peck too.” With that being said, she set the bird free, gliding with the north wind out to the boundless skies to deliver his faithful task.

***

            Sica anxiously paced back and forth in her cold palace. Taeyeon and Seohyun were leaving tomorrow on a ship with Kyuhyun. There has to be a way to stop them. She cannot allow this long respite from the Avatar’s training. The Avatar still has not fully mastered the martial art. Besides, deep down, Sica knew no other purpose but to stay by the Avatar’s side and teach her water bending. In her entire life, she just stayed back and slept all day, but now she has a purpose—to train and help the Avatar. She can’t just let Taeyeon go away without her. If she cannot make Taeyeon stay, she should at least find a way to go with her so they can continue training. However, her father probably won’t allow that too easily—will he?

            Running out of ideas, she marched to find her brother, the Crown Prince. If anyone should be coming up with ways to stop this ship from setting sail, it should be him, right? His lover, Seohyun, will be leaving without him. Of course he should be the right person to talk to about this.

             After marching through more icy halls, she barged into the Crown Prince’s room. Without a doubt, he was surprised to see her, for she never really bothers to visit him in his room, unless she has some sort of secret agenda or got mad at him or something. Prince Yonghwa put down his guitar on his bed and stood up.

            Sica shot him a glare and asked, “So what’s your plan?”

            Yonghwa blinked twice and stared back at his sister blankly. “What plan?”

            “Oh, you know! To have Seohyun and Taeyeon stay!” Sica finally burst. Her voice ringed in his ears.

            Yonghwa calmly sat back on his bed and held his guitar over his thigh. He ran his fingers down and up its maple neck and admired the pearl inlays on the fret board. Then he nonchalantly replied, “Nothing.”

            “What do you mean nothing? Gosh, Seohyun is leaving for who knows how long—probably forever—and you’re just sitting here all apathetic about it?” Sica said with her piercing cold voice.

            “I told her to go,” he looked down as he replied, not daring to meet her sister’s cold gaze. He could feel it just by her presence. This is why she was dubbed as the Ice Princess anyway. He wasn’t ashamed of his decision though. He knew letting Seohyun go was the right thing to do. He cannot hold Seohyun back from her set plans and dreams just for the sake of his own selfishness. Besides, confession of his feelings was enough.

            Unexpectedly, Sica softened like melted ice. Then she sat beside her brother and asked, “Why? Didn’t you finally confess to her?”

            “I did.”

            Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Without hesitating, Secretary Park Yoochun entered and announced after loudly clearing his throat, “Prince Yonghwa, the King is asking for you. Please meet him at the throne room immediately.”

            At the throne room, Yonghwa hesitantly bowed to his father with Sica and Secretary Park Yoochun behind him. The King just gave him the usual warm smile.

            “So, I heard that Kyuhyun, the famous traveller, is leaving tomorrow,” the King began.

            Yonghwa stood up on his feet and impolitely answered back, “So what?”

            “Why don’t you go with Seohyun to the Earth Kingdom to meet her parents? As a man, you have to ask them for her hand in marriage. Take this chance.”

            Before Yonghwa could oppose, Sica stepped forward and said, “And I’m going to go with him. You know, for protection.” Her actual intentions were for the Avatar, but this opportunity just fell like a blessing from the heavens at just the right moment. All she has to do was catch it as it descends from the sky. Thanks heavens!

            “Sure, sure! When it comes to travels, the more, the merrier! Take Krystal with you too so that your mother and I can have some time alone. Just make sure that the proposal for marriage goes smoothly,” agreed the light-hearted King. To Sica, it was a dream come true, while Yonghwa was just too confused to react. Then the King summoned Secretary Yoochun and said to him, “You should go with them too. I trust that you will take good care of them like you always do. Besides, you are a great sailor and water bender. If storms happen along the way, it will be safe with you around.”

            Yonghwa sulked behind them, not knowing what to do with his life anymore. Anyway, we’ll see how this love goes…

***

            “Taeng!” Sica squealed like an excited dolphin as she ran straight into Seohyun’s house to tell them all about the news. For the first time, when she and her siblings entered the living room, the place was a mess. Seohyun and Taeyeon were packing their luggage. Clothes and assorted items and trinkets were sprawled all over the floor.

            “Guess what?” Sica began, ignoring all the scattered things on the floor. “We’re boarding Kyuhyun’s boat with you! Yonghwa and Krystal and I are all coming for an adventure!”

            Sica explained everything about the King’s decision. Taeyeon and Seohyun couldn’t believe what they were hearing. After a while, they all celebrated. Seohyun started crying tears of joy. She and her Prince won’t be apart after all.

            Later, they all said goodbye to their friends one by one. First, Sergeant Keroro was left in the Spirit Oasis under the Royal Jung Family’s care. Then Seohyun bid her dear friend Suho goodbye. He had always been there for her whenever she was lonely and always had great insight on which books to read. As a gift, he gave the travellers new maps and offered Taeyeon the water bending scrolls, other bending pamphlets, and Avatar-related books for her training. When Suho said all his heart-felt feelings about missing Seohyun, Yonghwa just felt like punching him, but he restrained himself. Afterwards, Suho and Seohyun gave each other an extra-long hug that made Yonghwa want to murder him. That’s the Crown Prince’s jealousy at its best.

            Yonghwa also bid his band mates goodbye. They won’t be playing music together for a while, but he promised to come back. Jonghyun, Jungshin, and Minhyuk were the only friends he had that never really respected him as a Prince—in fact they treated him like another street rascal—and he definitely enjoyed being with them. Krystal also bid Minhyuk goodbye. She really admired him and his charm. She knew she will miss him when they finally go away. Before they leave to say goodbye to more people, Minhyuk sang Krystal the song titled “Star” that he wrote for her again. That was when Seohyun recognized the same song…but pretended not to care.

            After going around saying goodbye to more people, including some of the Jungs’ royal cousins, their last stop was the clinic. Zhang Yixing got a little bit teary eyed at the thought of Seohyun leaving. He did his best to smile and show off his adorable dimples to let her know how glad he was that Seohyun finally gets to see her parents again. He always believed in the union of families.

            Shim Changmin, the lone fire bender at the North Pole, also came out to see what Yixing was being so emotional about. “Seohyun, are you finally leaving?” he asked.

            “Yes, and Avatar Taeyeon and the Jungs are coming with me. I feel so blessed and happy, but I’ll miss working in the clinic with you and Lay!”

            For a split second, there was a strange glint in the fire bender’s eye. Nobody found it strange or even took notice of it though. Then he turned to Yonghwa who was standing behind Seohyun and said, “Oh really?” He sounded almost too fascinated by this. “The Crown Prince and the Princesses are all leaving, even the Avatar?”

***

            The next day, Taeyeon couldn’t hide her growing excitement. The thought of seeing Sunny’s and Fany’s faces again filled her with so much glee that she felt as though she was about to burst like fireworks in the wide open sky. The whole time that she spent in the North Pole, she held the coat that Fany gave her close to her heart, hoping to feel Fany’s warm hug through it. Every time she snapped her fingers to light up a flame, she remembered all those long training sessions with Sunny. She can finally see them again. Her growing anticipation just cannot be bottled up anymore.

            Upon arriving at the docks with Seohyun and the Jungs, they noticed that Kyuhyun and Changmin were already there. Then, Kyuhyun raised his voice.

            “What?! That wasn’t…,” Kyuhyun exclaimed and then lowered his voice again. He seemed to be bothered by something.

            “It’s okay. Just trust me. We can handle this,” Changmin replied. Then he handed Kyuhyun the parcel that Taeyeon and the rest assumed to be sent to the Fire Nation.

            When Kyuhyun and Changmin noticed that the passengers already arrived for their voyage, Kyuhyun went back to his friendly old self. “You guys ready for the journey?”

            “Yes, Captain! Is everything alright?” Taeyeon asked, noting Kyuhyun’s earlier outburst.

            “Yeah. As you can see, I already have Changmin’s letters to be sent to his family in the Fire Nation!” Kyuhyun held the parcel up for them all to see. “Now all that’s left is for the passengers to board the ship.”

And so the group boarded the ship. The passengers include: Avatar Taeyeon, Seohyun, Prince Yonghwa, Princess Sica, Princess Krystal, and Secretary Yoochun. After all anchors were lifted and sails were rolled down, Captain Kyuhyun steered the sailboat out of the North Pole docks, and out into the open blue sea. With the help of the cold arctic wind, the blue sails dragged the ship toward the horizon, until all icebergs disappeared into the hazy fog behind them.

            A few hours into the cold, serene waters of the north, everyone dispersed to their own businesses, entertaining themselves in their own ways. The curious twelve-year-old Krystal bothered Kyuhyun all day, asking him the science of buoyancy, ocean mapping, constellation mapping, and just about any question that pops up in her little head. How does the ship float? How do you know where you’re going? What if there’s a storm? Do sharks eat boats? Do you just throw up in the ocean when you get seasick? What happens when there’s not enough wind to sail? Do you catch fish and eat them when you run out of food stock? The annoying questions went on and on…

            Meanwhile, Taeyeon and Sica were conversing in the cabin under the deck. So Taeyeon finally said, “I can’t believe your father just let you go like this.”

            “Well, funny story you see,” Sica chuckled with her high-pitched nasal noises. “Apparently, it was all Secretary Yoochun’s doing. He suggested to Father that Prince Yonghwa should ask Seohyun’s parents for her hand in marriage, which, by the way, wasn’t part of Yonghwa’s plan at all. Of course, since Seohyun’s parents are in the Earth Kingdom, there’s no other way of doing that but sailing here with Kyuhyun Oppa. At first, Yonghwa objected Secretary Yoochun’s plan, but eventually gave in. Who knows? Yonghwa and Seohyun might actually fall so much more deeply in love with each other during the trip that they might finally agree to be engaged. If only they weren’t so stubborn of their feelings for each other, this wouldn’t be too complicated.”

            “Okay, okay, I get Yonghwa’s reasons, but what about you and Krystal?”

            “I’m in for your training. I’m sure you won’t find any good water bending instructors out in the Fire Nation,” Sica smiled.

            “And Krystal?”

            “Oh, you know, she just has to tag along.” Sica rolled her eyes.

            On the quarterdeck at the rear end of the ship, Seohyun stared out into the placid ocean. Yonghwa stood doing the same thing a few feet away from her, both not daring to break the silence between each other. Their confessions to each other drew a separating line between them, yet connecting them together with indefinite ties. Neither understood this growing feeling that kept their hearts beating wildly at each other’s presence. With the corner of his eye, Yonghwa admired Seohyun’s side profile. Her adorable puffy cheeks turned rosy under the cold wind; her breath turned to mist with every exhale.

            Finally, Seohyun turned to the silent Prince and said, “I’m glad you’re coming with me. I’m sure my parents would like to see you too.”

            “I hope so,” he awkwardly replied.

            “As for the marriage, I still need some time to think about it,” Seohyun continued.

            “Me too. Don’t worry; we don’t have to rush things. We’re just teenagers after all. We can always be close friends for now if you’re more comfortable with that. I can continue singing cheesy songs for you. Luckily, I have my guitar packed too.”

***

            The Western Air Temple, known for its exquisite architecture of rock-carved temples on the under-side of a cliff at the northern mountainous area of the Fire Nation, housed half of the female Air Nomad population in the world. Sets of spires seemingly built upside-down under the cliff hung magnificently over the foggy canyon. Because winds from kilometers below the canyon continuously blow toward the temples, the air benders’ abilities are greatly enhanced, making them feel quite at ease in the unique environment. The atmosphere was tranquil for easier and extensive meditation also. To the female monks, this was home. To Yoona, however, it was a lot more like prison.

Yoona was born, raised, and trained in these temples all her life. Although taught the basic Air Nomad principles about life and detachment from temporal and insignificant matters, she always had other views from the rest of her kind. During play fights, she was a little too offensive in air bending, even broke a whole tree with her sheer force, and sent a friend on crutches. All were taught to be especially careful on duels and fights—only attacking if necessary, and only avoiding and evading to minimize casualty—but she became too bored with those tactics. Most Air Nomads were also vegetarian, for they value all life. Yoona, however, will just eat anything that she wants regardless of what it contained or where it came from. Because of that, her weak stomach often suffers from diarrhea. To the rebellious girl, freedom meant doing whatever she wanted, and because of that, she also got into a lot of trouble—mostly caused by her own audacity.

“Yoona!” the head female monk from the Western Air Temple slammed her fists on the huge council table. The sharp bang echoed across the open temples. “Your behavior is highly unacceptable!”

            Yoona just nonchalantly turned her face away from the incoming storm of rebuke that was about to be poured out on her. Before her sat the elders committee; all seated modestly behind the huge redwood council table. Half of the high monks’ heads were shaved clean of hair, and each one had faintly tattooed blue arrows on their forehead, indicating that they were highly respected air bending masters.

The head monk just became even more furious at her apathetic display. “First, you refuse to have your head shaved and tattooed even after you have clearly shown a masterful display of air bending abilities reasoning that it wasn’t ‘very attractive,’ then you play silly pranks on strangers, and now you go about the Fire Nation stealing street food made out of the flesh of animals! You know very well that all life is sacred…” the head monk went on.

Yoona, however, did not even bat an eye. “It’s called meat and it’s great if you tried,” Yoona silently muttered. She was looking down on her nails—not appearing to care about this conversation at all.

            Finally, the head monk whipped up a gust of air to grab the young rebel’s attention. “Why don’t you ever listen to your elders?! Although you are a very gifted prodigy in air bending, you clearly lack manners! You have been such a disgrace, a petulant brat, an animosity to the—”

            “You want to know why I don’t listen?!” Yoona abruptly stood from her seat before the council of elders. “It’s because you never listen to me either!” Then Yoona leaped off out of the open council temple and yelled, “I’m leaving if you don’t want me then! I don’t need any of you! Anywhere is better than these boring old temples anyway!”

            Frustrated Yoona had a cranky expression on her face the whole time—her eyebrows bent straight down, and her teeth gritted. She looked much like a seven-year-old boy embittered because of a broken toy. After grabbing her belongings, which weren’t all that much, she jerked open her hand glider and flew toward the air bison dens. If anyone can comfort her, it would be her best friend, Yoongsan.

            Yoongsan wasn’t just any ordinary friend; he was a partner for life, a travel companion, and a loyal protector. With a gigantic furry body, six thick legs as limbs, two pointed horns and a tail that can whip up strong gusts for flight, no, he wasn’t human; he was a sky bison—also called a flying bison or an air bison by some people. Young air nomads were gifted with one sky bison at a young age. Yoongsan, in particular, was a sky bison that Yoona received from the Eastern Air Temple as a child. Ever since then, they had become inseparable.

            In the cave-like dens full of hay, Yoongsan lay peacefully in his sleep. Yoona’s gentle touch woke the giant beast from its slumber; the gentle creature recognized its beloved master.

            “Wake up, buddy,” Yoona smiled, dispelling the frustration from earlier as she affectionately ran her fingers through the bison’s thick, white, head fur. Her hands stopped over in the middle of the huge, brown, arrow-shaped pattern on his fur. Now she was directly in front of his face—just in the right position to be by its huge tongue as a sign of affection. “Yoongsan, you want to go to the Fire Nation again, right? Let’s go!”

            After a replying with a low grunt, the sky bison gladly received his companion who jumped high onto his soft, furry head. Off they flew past the clouds, screaming freedom in their hearts.

            High up in the air, as they were flying off to a Fire Nation town, they encountered something that fascinated the curious air bender. It was non-other than a messenger hawk, judging by the cylinder case attached on its back. Without giving it any second thought, Yoona jumped off of her bison’s head and caught the flying little maroon fowl with her two bare hands. That bird could possibly be carrying some top secret letter or a love letter of some sort. Whatever it was carrying, she definitely wanted to have the entertainment of reading about it. Besides, messenger hawks are quite amazing creatures. It would be great if she had one of these as pets, wouldn’t it? Before crashing on the hard ground, Yoongsan immediately caught the falling Yoona on his soft cushiony back in midair. The messenger hawk was also caught in her hands.

            “Ha! Let’s see what kind of letter this bird holds!” Yoona wrapped the bird with a huge handkerchief around its wings to prevent it from escaping. Then she took the cylinder case and took out the letter.

            “Dear Fany and Sunny, First of all, I’d like to say that I miss you both so much…,” Yoona read out loud. “Who the heck is Fany and Sunny?” she wondered. Then she continued reading, “…Anyway, I’ve been trying to communicate with my past lives. Apparently, the Avatar can do that, but I have no idea how to accomplish such a feat.”

            Yoona’s eyes twinkled. “Whoa! The Avatar, huh? So this letter is written by the Avatar herself!”  

***

            Weeks passed and the temperatures grew warmer as they approached the Fire Nation waters. Taeyeon, Sica, and Krystal played with water and often even complained during the long days of nothing but ocean in all directions. Krystal bothered Kyuhyun some more with questions, and Sica forced Taeyeon practice water bending by accelerating the speed of the ship’s movement. When they were hungry from some meat, they caught fresh fish with their water bending. Taeyeon cooked them all up with her fire. Those were just some of the few things that they did during their long weeks of travel.

            Meanwhile, the two lovers seemed to be in their own world. Yonghwa and Seohyun enjoyed each other’s company while everyone else complained out of boredom. They wrote songs together, sang together, ate together, and sometimes even fall asleep in the same cabin together. The Secretary can’t help but be amused. The couple just makes him smile for no reason.

            During storms, Secretary Park Yoochun proved to be a great captain. He commanded the entire team flawlessly. With the help of the water benders Kyuhyun, Sica, Seohyun, and the Avatar, he skillfully stirred the ship out to safety every time. Kyuhyun really admired him. All that he learned about sailing came from Secretary Yoochun. The master still has not lost his touch.

            After a long arduous journey through the relentless seas, they finally docked at the Fire Nation’s northern pier where Kyuhyun was to deliver Changmin’s parcel. The capital was still a long journey by land down south since they did not enter through the capital route. The plan was to leave Taeyeon and Sica to travel together to the capital while the rest on the ship will be heading off to the Earth Kingdom. For now, they take a few days off of sea to replenish some essential supplies such as food and other commodities at the pier markets.

            “Now all I have to do is deliver the important parcel,” Kyuhyun mumbled to himself as they all walked together in in the busy port market. “I probably still remember his face…”

            “Where is Shim Changmin’s family’s house anyway?” Sica asked curiously.

            Kyuhyun was a bit taken aback. He didn’t expect anyone to hear him talking to himself. Although unnoticeable to the group, he was a little embarrassed by guilt of some sort. “Uh, not far probably…,” he awkwardly replied. “I just need to meet someone and hand the letters to him.”

            Taeyeon, Seohyun, Sica, and Krystal window-shopped as they walked with Kyuhyun, Secretary Park, and Yonghwa in the large, busy market place. There were all sorts of colorful trinkets and accessories on stalls. Some sold fruits or vegetables, some sold aromatic perfumes, some sold medicine, and some sold mouth-watering street food. Many customers haggled for bargains, and the calls for sale echoed everywhere.

            “Oh, look everyone!” Taeyeon pointed to a particular stall. “They’re selling spicy rice cakes! They’re really good. You should all try some while we’re here in the Fire Nation.”

            “Yeah, I am getting hungry,” Seohyun agreed. “Let’s all eat!”

            Kyuhyun did not want to delay his delivery of the letter, but he just pretended to be okay with it and went along. Everyone else seemed to be excited about trying local Fire Nation food.

            Taeyeon gladly walked up to the stall selling spicy rice cakes. The vendor had his back turned away from them so he did not notice them immediately.

            “Sir, we’d like seven servings of spicy rice cakes please!” Taeyeon said to the man.

            “Yup, sure,” said the man coolly as he turned around.

            When the vendor finally faced Taeyeon, both of them were instantaneously shocked. Taeyeon’s jaw dropped down in disbelief. “J-jae-joong Oppa?”

            For a few seconds, Jaejoong stood pale and frozen at the sight of his sister standing before him. Then his eyes wandered to the cold-looking Water Tribe girl, then to the sweet-faced Water Tribe girl, and then over to Kyuhyun behind them, who was looking as shocked and pale as Taeyeon. His eyes lingered on Kyuhyun for a few more seconds. Oh no, this looks bad, Jaejoong thought. Without losing another second, Jaejoong dashed out of there without a word.

            “Wait!” Taeyeon exclaimed and ran after her brother, who was running straight to the mountains. The rest of her companions had no idea what was happening; all had confused expressions on their faces.

              “Taeng! Where are you going?!” Sica frantically ran after her them too. The rest followed close behind.

              The chase extended up into the forested mountains. Jaejoong ran as fast as he could, but Taeyeon did not want to lose his trail. Even with her short legs, she sprinted through the forest in hopes of catching up to him. Towering twenty-foot sequoias and short thorny bushes formed a maze on the gradually sloped mountain, making the chase more difficult. The thick foliage covered them from the light of the sun’s rays, dimming the view and making it difficult to see. After more turns in the divergent forest pathways, she stopped to catch her breath and Jaejoong was nowhere to be found again. Sica and the others also lost track of Taeyeon.

......(Please pretend Jaejoong is running in this gif.).....

              “Taeyeon!” Sica and the others called out in the eerily quiet forest. There was no answer.

              “Maybe we should split up and look for her,” Sica suggested.

              “No,” Kyuhyun shook his head. “If we split up, we’ll all get lost. You should all go back to the ship. I’ll look for her.”

              “I’m not going back without Taeyeon,” Sica said firmly.

              “Neither am I,” Seohyun stepped up.

              “Ladies, no offense, but none of you know anything about tracking. You’ll only hold me down,” Kyuhyun bluntly scoffed. It was evident that he was getting more and more frustrated by all that was happening. “I know this place. I’ve been here before. Besides, what will happen to me when the Water Tribe Chief finds out that I took you to these dangerous woods? Please be reasonable.”

              “But—,” Sica tried to reason. Krystal just silently listened to them argue.

              “No, he’s right,” Yonghwa said with a voice filled with authority.

              Sica, Seohyun and Krystal turned to the Water Tribe Crown Prince.

              “Let’s go,” Yonghwa said as he grabbed Seohyun and Krystal and forcefully dragged them along with him. He looked furious. The girls couldn’t possibly refuse.

              Although hesitant, all three girls obeyed to Yonghwa. After all, he was the Crown Prince—a person of higher authority than them. Secretary read Yonghwa’s clues and followed without hesitation. After walking past the port markets, they all headed into the inner cabin where they can privately talk in seclusion.

              Finally, Yonghwa spoke his mind. “There’s something off about Kyuhyun.”

              “What do you mean ‘something is off’?” Seohyun argued. She doesn’t like it when Yonghwa is being hostile about her good friend.

              “I’m not sure, but I don’t trust him,” Yonghwa muttered.

              “Whatever! He better bring Taeyeon back or I’m going to personally feed him to the kraken!”

***

              “Jaejoong Oppa!” Taeyeon called out. There was no answer. Looking around, she saw nothing but trees, bushes, and fallen leaves. Everything was quiet except for the rustling of the leaves with the wind.

              For hours, Taeyeon wandered out in the maze-like forest. An ominous feeling crept over her in the growing dusk. Where is everyone? She asked herself over and over again. Soon, everything was masked in eerie shadows as the light dimmed. Here she found herself alone again. However, she was not frightened. At times like this, she always kept her peace. Maybe because she had been so jaded by the darkness, she had grown familiar with it.

              But then…

              With a strong unexpected thud on her head, her vision went dark. She could feel her body slowly falling to unconsciousness down the dusty earth…

***

              “Cool, I have the Avatar’s autograph!” Yoona exclaimed with a giggle. “I will brag to my friends about this, no doubt! They won’t believe that I have access to the Avatar’s thoughts and feelings through this letter!”

              As Yoona was celebrating on her own, Ginger the messenger hawk suddenly broke free of the handkerchief wrapped around his body. He soared off into the forest, away from Yoona and Yoongsan.

              “Hey Yoongbird, come back!” Yoona called out and immediately flew on her hand glider after him. Oh, and yes, she renamed the bird after herself. “Don’t fly into that forest! It’s too dark in there!”

              Ginger eventually dove down into the thick forest canopy with Yoona after him. She quickly whipped up a wind to soften her landing on the dusty Fire Nation earth. There, she saw ginger perched on an unconscious girl’s head.

              “Oh dear,” Yoona gasped. “Who is this?” she wondered as she inspected the unconscious girl lying face-down on the ground. Then she flipped the girl over so she can see her face. The girl had a Fire Nation royal headpiece attached on the bun of her light-brown hair. She was quite small and her face looked very innocent as she lay unconsciously before Yoona.

              Although Yoona was as skinny as a stick, she was very strong. She carried the unconscious girl in her arms like she was light as a feather and jumped twenty-feet high up onto the tree branches. Using her sky bison whistle, she called Yoongsan over and flew away from the forest with the giant beast, Taeyeon, and Ginger.

***

              “To whom it may concern:

            It is my greatest honor to announce that an opening—in fact, a great opportunity—has befallen us here at the North Pole. The Crown Prince, and his two siblings, including that loyal Secretary serving under the Water Tribe King, have all left the city to travel far into the Earth Kingdom, leaving the high seat unoccupied and the position of the Royal Family vulnerable. The Avatar, also reported to have been training under the royal princess, joined them and has exited the North Pole.

            We are still terribly sorry for not succeeding in killing the Crown Prince the first time around months ago during the coronation of the new Earth King. If you allow us, this time, we shall surely succeed in killing the King, also known as the Chief, at everyone’s absence. Please trust our abilities.

            Prince Xiumin and the rest of us are ready to take this opportunity to strike. With your commanding hand, we shall proceed accordingly as planned. Additional troops may be required to carry out the plans. For the time being we shall wait for you initial response.

Shim Changmin”

              “Brilliant. The heavens have blessed us. They better not mess it up this time around instead of using polar bear dogs to do the job. They should directly handle it themselves and not leave it to beasts,” said a man with a low husky voice. “Kyuhyun, can you keep the royalties busy for the next few months while we plot our plans?”

              “Yes, my lord,” Kyuhyun replied with a bow in reverence.

              “What about this Avatar?” the mysterious man asked.

              Kyuhyun hesitated for a moment. Then he recalled the earlier chase scene in the forest. Something was wrong—terribly wrong. The Avatar chased that man with the cold, piercing eyes and long fringe… Is it possible that the Avatar and that man knew each other? How are they related exactly?

              “I have dealt with her, my lord,” he replied vaguely. “She is very naïve. She won’t be much of a problem for now.”

              “Then we must act as soon as possible before she gets any stronger,” the leader commanded.

              “Yes, my lord.”

Happy Birthday YoonAgator! :') <3