Darshi twirled her finger against the grit on the floor, pushing her damp, muddied hair out of her face. She hadn’t taken a bath in days, and the only light in here came from luminescent plants that grew in the dark. All the food composed of half rotten meals or gruel. Most of the time she didn’t bother to eat.

She twisted away from the design, leaning against the wall. She hoped war on the outer wall was going well. She hadn’t received any news since being thrown in here, and no one bothered to tell her anything. They’d rather spit at her and kick her food across the floor to smear with whatever was already on it than speak with her. Darshi had given up. She would never be able to make up for the sins she had done. Her whole life could be dedicated to it and that would still not be enough.

The Northern Water Tribe was one-fourth of what they had once been.

She was responsible for three-fourths of their population’s death. She’d given up thousands for a few dozen people. Even her brother was disgusted just by seeing her face. He hadn’t visited her since being jailed.

She hoped her mistakes would not follow him.

She would hate to know what she had done would affect him because they shared the same blood. Darshi and Jungkook had always been different. If one of them made a choice the other was likely to pick the opposite. Jungkook was a good boy, and would one day be a good man. She was only sad she would not be able to see it when that happens. If the laws were anything like they in the South she would pay for her crimes with her life.

Something clanged against the door, and she assumed another meal time had passed. She sat pressed in a corner ignoring them.

“Is Adarshini of the Southern Water Tribe in here?”

Darshi shifted, frowning as she strained to identify the voice. Who it was, she had no clue.

“Yes.” Her voice cracked with disuse and she cleared .

“Oh, yes?” he continued, sounding as if he didn’t expect that. “I’ve been searching for you, Darshi of the Southern Water Tribe. Life must be difficult for you now, yes?”

Darshi didn’t answer, lowering her chin against her chest and wrapping her arms around herself to help stave off the cold. She figured they were here to gloat.

“I understand your struggle. In my youth I made a similar decision, except it did not have as many lives at stake. If you manage to survive this their ghosts will follow you for the rest of your life.”

They already did. She could hear them sometimes, the screams as the wall fell. The way the wind whistled in her ears and the cries of children. She heard them when she was awake and when she was asleep. There was no running from them.

“If I may ask, why did you do it?”

Darshi swallowed a few times. “If I didn’t my last remaining family member and the rest of my tribe would have been killed.”

He made a sound of comprehension, the door creaking on his hinges. She could only assume he was leaning against it.

“It’s hard not to be selfish when it comes to family. There weren’t many Southern Water Benders left. I’m sure you were all close and regarded them as such.”

Darshi stared at nothing, eyes unfocused as she recalled what made her do it. “I convinced myself that the Northern Water Tribe cared nothing about us and were all too willing to let us die. They refused to answer our pleas, after all. There were Northern slaves on those Fire Nation ships that made the same decision I did. Even though I made the same choice as them I failed to realize it was still not the same thing. My power… it is more than any should have. More than I think I can hold responsibly. I ignored that fact, not truly understanding what I was capable of and took down the wall. I thought I would not survive, but the Prince made sure I did.”

“The Crown Prince?”

She hummed her answer.

"Did you ever think you have that amount of power for a reason? The world is horribly unbalanced. Perhaps this was the spirit world meddling in the only way they could."

"If that is true they chose wrong." Anyone would have been a better choice than her. She was the worst type of monster. Everyone expected the Fire Lord to do something evil. They didn't expect that out her.

“Would it be rude to ask what made you change your mind about doing the same to the Earth Kingdom?”

“The fact that I am an air bender.” She realized this now, accepted it with all her being.

The man chuckled underneath his breath. “Ah, yes. Air benders. They’re very pragmatic about their decisions! They would not think twice about sentencing their longest, dearest friend. Although they would most likely grieve them for the rest of their life.”

Darshi sat up, attention peaked. From that alone she had to assume he was older. He sounded as if he knew air benders himself, meaning he had to be at the least older than sixty.

“Air benders could keep friends?”

Everything she read pointed to them not valuing their personal relationships and refusing physical possessions for the sake of the world.

“Of course they could! By the stones, I was once friends with one! A kind boy, if I ever met one. I miss him greatly.”

Earth bender, she surmised, at the least a citizen of the Earth Kingdom. He was using jargon from that kingdom.

“Are you sure?” she asked, unsure whether to trust him. She inched closer to the door in order to hear him better. This close she could feel a buzz of power in the air marking him as a powerful bender.

“My dear, air benders were some of the best people of the world. They held no grudges, and never let the small, inconsequential things in life bother them. They made for great confidants and were very trustworthy. They have a bad reputation now for their values, but this generation never knew them like I did. Just because they made decisions that were not always favorable for them and their friends did not mean they didn’t care.”

The metal of the door groaned as he got comfortable. “The air bender I once knew had to sentence one of his progeny for an unforgivable wrong he’d done,” he pressed on. “The boy had not realized that was his father, but he did. For three days after the trial he closed himself in his room and mourned. Air benders feel just as much as others. They only look at the world from a different perspective. They do not treasure money nor items. What they care about is good conversations with friends and the world as a whole. Air benders are lovers at heart. They make the decisions they do because they love, not for lack of it.”

Darshi exhaled, closing her eyes and squeezing her hand against her chest. This conversation had given her more than all the scrolls from Prince Seokjin and the stories her mother told her put altogether. She always thought to be an air bender meant to be unfeeling, but it was the exact opposite. It was about loving everyone, even if she never met them.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know if I deserve this, but thank you.”

“No problem, my dear. It’s not about whether a person deserves it or not. I was glad I could b