Darshi stood at the stern of the ship watching the tiny dot of her homeland disappear on the horizon. The ribbon was tight against her neck, reminding her of the bargain she made with the Fire Prince. Somehow that red swath of fabric felt more binding than the earth that had been chained to her wrists.

“How did you think of such battle plans?”

Prince Seokjin of the Fire Nation stood just behind her. She could feel his eyes on her, watching every move she made. He hadn’t shackled her like she thought he would, letting her wander the deck as she took in her new life. Her childhood dream of leaving the Southern Water Tribe was coming true. She wondered if the Darshi of the past would still be excited despite the heavy costs.

“We had to adapt,” she said finally. “The only resource we had at our disposal was snow. You had the man power, the weapons and food and everything else.”

“Who taught you how to overwhelm an opponent like that?”

If it were any other situation she would have laughed. As it was, all she could give was a bitter smile. “Three children were trying to get their mother’s attention at once. The poor woman would look at one only for the other two to tug at her before she could give an answer. In the end she gave up, yelling at them to let her be. That was how the idea came to me.”

“So no one taught you to think like that?”

Darshi shook her head in disagreement, turning around. It upset her just to look at him. The Fire Nation Prince was a monster. He should look like one. Clawed fingers and sharpened teeth; brows that made large, veering lines against his forehead and crackled skin. Instead, one of the most handsome men she had ever met stood before her. He was confident and strong, attractive and cunning. It wasn’t fair for someone like him to have it all. The world should create balance somehow.

“You are wrong, Seokjin of the Fire Nation. It was you that taught me. You, and your people.”

If she didn’t learn her tribe would have died. She had to do something different that would surprise them. The Fire Nation had been fighting them for decades. To make any difference they had to change. The elders taught her that much.

“Prince Seokjin,” he corrected. “You will address me as such.”

“Alright,” she agreed. "Prince Seokjin."

“How did you make all those blasts come out the ice?”

“Water benders.” His brows furrowed, and she elaborated. “They all made it explode, not me. When I called out they knew to release a ball of ice beneath me.”

His brows rose in something akin to admiration and she turned her head. The waves lapped at the ship, but it wasn’t the same sound as home. The noise was hollow, impure in comparison.

“You’ll be getting a master water bender to study under.”

Darshi’s eyes widened, her attention back upon him. “Why?”

“I want you to be at your greatest potential.”

She had a feeling he wanted to use her much like he had the earth benders in that farce of a battle they’d just partaken in. The Southern Water Tribe had been so overwhelmed there wasn’t much of a fight on their end. “Water benders cannot help me.”

“They don’t have that choice anymore. It doesn’t matter that you’re a female. You will be getting training,” he asserted.

“You’re better off giving me scrolls.”

There weren’t many water bending scrolls in the village. Most of them had been lost once the palace fell. She’d misplaced the last two they had when they moved their tents down below. They weren’t exactly high on her priority list when the decimation of her people was imminent.

“They will teach you, and they will hold their tongue when they do so.”

She could tell Seokjin was a man that was used to getting what he wanted. It was not so surprising. He was prince of the Fire Nation, one of the most powerful countries in the world. He could probably command his soldiers to search for sand in the middle of the icy Water Tribes and find it. This man was responsible for the hardships her people had faced for the past two years. Every death, every war. All the times they went home hungry. 

Seokjin was studying her face when he began to smirk. “It is perfectly fine for you to hate me. I’m sure old Yoongi wishes for me to turn into dust every time he sees me.” The aforementioned earth bender averted his eyes, finding the floor appealing. “That doesn’t matter. As long as you do as I say you can think what you want.”

“And what exactly is it that you want from me?” she probed.

She couldn’t help the question. She had to know. All she could think about was Jimin’s mother, the shadows in her eyes whenever she looked at her son despite her love for him.

“However I deem fit.”

“Does that mean….” She paused, unsure how to voice this. She had to be prepared. “Will you be using me for nightly activities?”

Yoongi flinched, looking as if he were paying attention to the conversation for the first time. He was staring at Seokjin, waiting with baited breath for an answer.

The prince had jerked as if startled, frowning at her. “By the flames, why would I do that?”

Darshi shrugged. “The Fire Nation seem to like other people’s women.”

“I assure you I have no interest in you regarding that aspect. No one else would dare touch you either, not when you’re mine.” His face was set in distaste, as if the very idea of them coupling unsettled his stomach.

At least that was one thing she would be able to keep to herself.

“Am I to live on the deck?”

“No, you are my slave. You and Yoongi shall share the room adjoined to mine.”

That was news for the earth bender, who was now looking at her as if she had spilled hot tea all over him.

She held her wrists out, sticking them together with a frown. “Why have you not shackled me like the rest?”

He grinned, a gloating thing filled with self-pleasure. “You are here of your own free will. You are a slave because you want to be, much like Yoongi here. You, Adarshini of the Southern Water Tribe, will always listen to me because you know the moment you stop your people will die.” He pondered this, rubbing his chin. “Perhaps you two will be able to bond over the experience. Both of you give ownership of yourselves for the lives of another.”

Yoongi discreetly rolled his eyes, and Darshi took that to mean it would be the last thing he did.

A young fire bender clumped up to them, a teen boy with the caramel eyes of the Fire Nation. He went chest to chest with the Prince, Seokjin pulling his neck back awkwardly to see him better. The younger did not back away though.

Silly boys and their shows of dominance. She wondered who would dare do such a thing to the Prince of the Fire Nation.

“Seokjin! Where is my Chimchim?” he shouted, glaring at him.

Seokjin calmly wiped at the spittle that had flown on his face, griping the boys shoulder and pushing him back. No, of course Prince Seokjin would not be the one stepping away. He’d make the other person do it. The boy didn’t appear to notice, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Could you be anymore loutish in behavior,” Seokjin reprimanded, showing glimpses of irritation in the sharpness of his moves.

“It’s not fair! You say I can’t talk to the solider’s, then you let me talk to the prisoners but then take them away too! Where is he? Did you kill him? Seokjin, I swear on the flames-“

Seokjin interrupted him before he could finish his rant. “Your ‘Chimchim’, as you so eloquently put, has been freed thanks to this woman here.”

Darshi stopped gaping long enough to nod her head in acknowledgement. Seokjin watched her unamused.

“I know that you all are a bunch of barbarians in the South, so I shall start your training now. Whenever you see a noble you bow and do not meet their gaze. This here is Prince Taehyung.” The last part came out reluctant, as if he were loath to admit it. Darshi bowed, ignoring the quip about her people. The village had said worse things about her before.

It all made sense why Prince Seokjin didn’t smite the boy on contact. It seemed even he felt some type of emotion for his family. Or maybe it was a social thing she didn’t understand. She didn’t get why she had to bow to nobles and not look at them. How was she supposed to know who was a noble anyways?

The boys mouth rounded, lashes fluttering as he took her in. “You freed Jimin?”

Darshi stared at the ground. Perhaps that was why Yoongi was always doing the same. “A deal was made. He was part of that deal.”

“And you are?”

“Darshi.” When Prince Seokjin’s nose twitched she hurried out, “Adarshini. My name is Adarshini.”

“Ohhhh! The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe! I’ve heard so much about you! Do you know how much of an annoyance you were to my brother? Every time I passed his room I heard him muttering about you. Well if Chimmy is free that’s okay, I guess. I just-“

Seokjin cleared his throat, unamused by his little brother. Taehyung paused, taking his brother in before grabbing both Yoongi and Darshi by the hand and racing off.

“Well see you later brother! I’m off to have fun with your slaves!”

She managed to see Seokjin face palm before the door was closed and they were covered in a weak light that glowed yellowish-red. Darshi stared at Yoongi