All right. I'm back, with a new and improved version. Look for updates much more often, and as always, thank you for reading! Oh, and just a quick note. The story begins six years before the series starts, and in time will merge with the main storyline. As always, reviews are appreciated. I'm eager to see what you think of the new changes!

The Seven Years' Sorrow:

Chapter 1:

"Do you think it could be true?" he asked as he undressed down to his underwear.

"No," I said simply, quietly, while he laid down on the table before me. Partially to soothe him, but mostly because I couldn't bring myself to imagine it being so. "Think about it," I said calmly, trying to remain as rational as I sounded. "If our brothers and sisters in the South were really so bad off, don't you think we would have heard something by now?"

"That's just it," Taruk replied. "What if they've been desolate for years, and this is the first we're hearing of it?" I frowned. My friend had a point. We hadn't heard any news of our sister tribe for a long time. This could be their final, desperate call for help. My whole face fell then. "I'm so sorry, Yarah. I did not mean to upset you," he said gently.

"Don't be. It's better than hiding it from me, which is what my mother is probably doing," I said honestly. It was his turn to frown then, and I simply smiled in return. "Relax," I commanded softly. He obeyed, loosening his body. I leaned over him, putting my hand over his face and closing his eyes.

I slipped into my own world then, going back to my most basic self as I got lost in the art of healing, letting the water guide my hands. It was a bad accident. Taruk—a close friend and one of the few able-bodied men left in the North—had crashed his boat into an iceberg, causing an avalanche. Several of his ribs were crushed, and his arm was broken. It would take a lot of time to fix him, but that's why he came to me. Everyone says I'm the best healer in the world.

I did what I could for Taruk, which mostly consisted of setting his bones into place and advancing the natural healing process, which in itself took hours. He was grateful for my help, and I was glad to give it to him. Taruk had been my friend since we were children. We would do anything for each other. Once I was done, I bid him good day and returned home, thoroughly exhausted from my work.

When I opened the door, my mother was standing there, waiting for me expectantly. "Where have you been?!" she screamed at me.

I sighed heavily. "I told you, Mother, I went to the healing huts to visit Taruk. I told you yesterday and this morning that I was going."

"No you didn't!" I was worried sick about you!" she yelled.

I closed my eyes so that she couldn't see me rolling them. Ever since my father died six years ago, my mother had been increasingly forgetful, forlorn, and forceful. To say that she had become absolutely domineering would have been a severe understatement. I get where she was coming from—she didn't want to lose me the way she lost her husband—but it was getting ridiculous. I was twenty-two years old, and I wasn't going off to war any time soon. "If you were really so worried," I said calmly "you would have gone looking for me instead of LYING IN BED ALL DAY LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO!"

There. I said it. When my mother wasn't trying to control my every move, she was lying in bed, staring off into space, imagining a world where my father was still alive. Which meant that I quickly had to grow up at sixteen. I guess a part me has always been bitter about her abandoning me. I understand that she was grieving, but so was I. I'd lost my father, and I needed my mother more than anything. And she left me to sort through my feelings alone.

Before I knew what happened, my mother had flown across the room at me, tackling me to the floor and slapping me so hard I saw stars. "How dare you say that?! I'm… I'm sick!"

"You're not sick YOU ARE A LAZY, GOODFORNOTHING BUM! I do EVERYTHING around here, do you hear me?! Everything! I cook; I clean; I do the laundry; I make the money that buys the food and medicine you so desperately need—"There was quite a bit of acid in my voice as I said that. My mother was addicted to sleeping syrup. It was like she just wanted to sleep the rest of her life away.

She slapped me again, even harder than the first time. "You take that back right now! I am your mother and you will show me the respect I deserve!"

"I'll respect you as my mother WHEN YOU START ACTING LIKE ONE AGAIN!" It was at that moment that I close to end it. I brought up my arm, bringing quite a bit of snow with me which sent her crashing into the wall. I closed my fist then, turning the water into ice. "Don't you ever touch me again," I said softly, darkly.

My feet carried me away from the house, and I ran into the palace without realizing it. I ran through the halls, meandering this way and that, running into the great hall where I knew my uncle was. Arnook rushed to me, grabbing me into his arms. "Yarah! Yarah, what's wrong?"

"W-w-we were fighting," I managed to say through my tears. "It's the worst it's ever been! She slapped me. She hit me, and I waterbended at her," I confessed quietly. "I didn't—I didn't mean to do it, but I had to get her off of me," I sobbed.

"It's all right, Yarah," he said calmly. "Everything is going to be all right now." He hugged me tightly then, taking me to his rooms to calm down. "I wish I could stay with you, but I have to go now. I'm making an important announcement in the Hall," he said.

"What is it?" I asked. I quickly wiped my eyes and nose on my sleeves in what was probably the most unladylike manner possible.

"If you're sure you're all right, you can come along to hear," he said, offering me his hand. I took it and walked with him to the Great Hall, where I saw that almost everyone had gathered here. I noticed my mother was absent, and with good reason. That ice wasn't going to melt any time soon. At least I could get a few minutes away from her nagging. I frowned at the thought. When had my mother and I become enemies?

I willed my mind to quiet when my uncle took his place in front of the crowd and started to speak. "Brothers and sisters of the Water Tribe, it is with a heavy heart that I gather you here today. I've just received news that we've lost another battalion to the Fire Nation. Karuluk's—" He was immediately cut off my several cries and wails from a few of the women in the room. No doubt their husbands and sons were on Karuluk's ship. "His ship, as well as he and his men, are gone," he said solemnly. "They died bravely, as the heroes we all knew them to be… But this is the last straw," he said darkly.

Just when I thought he was about to announce some kind of all-out assault on the Fire Nation, he did the unthinkable. "Because of this as well as our other losses, I am withdrawing all troops from the front lines and back to the North Pole. Effective immediately. From now on, we will pursue a policy of neutrality and non-aggression." The room became overrun with cheers of joy, but my jaw dropped, and my heart sank. How could he do this? How could he just give up now, after everything we've lost?

Arnook quickly retired to his chambers as the news actually started to sink in. Our husbands, fathers, and sons were coming home. Except mine wasn't. I lost my father to his war, and now my uncle was spitting in my face by abandoning our mission.

I immediately followed him back to his rooms. "What is the meaning of this?" I started in on him. "How could you possibly abandon the war after all of this?! After everything we've lost?! Did my father's death mean NOTHING to you?!" I screamed.

"My brother-in-law's death is part of what influenced my decision," he said simply, solemnly.

"How dare you—"

"I didn't want another family to go through what you went through when Tarnok died," he quietly countered. "And I need the men here, for a much more important mission."

"What is it?" I asked, closing the door. I had a feeling that whatever he was about to tell me would be confidential until he felt the tribe was ready to hear it. He gestured me to a chair, where he sat next to me.

"I'm bringing the troops back," he said, "because in a few weeks I'm going to send half of our strongest benders to the South," he continued. "I just got word today that our sister tribe is in absolutely horrible, dire straits. They have fewer than five benders, and a population of under 100. All of the men have gone to fight in the war, and no one has heard anything from those fighters since they day they left." I gasped and put a hand to my mouth. "If we don't help them, I'm afraid our sister tribe will go extinct." I had heard the rumors; Taruk had mentioned it to me this morning, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined it was anything so awful.

I shook my head and tried to stop the tears from running down my face. It was a futile effort, of course. I let my head fall into my hands and began to sob violently as my hatred for the Fire Nation grew by leaps and bounds. They had wiped out the Airbenders, killed my father, and were on the verge of exterminating my sister tribe. This was absolutely too much.

As I thought about his plan, a sudden question lodged into my head. "Will you be sending any healers to the South?" I asked innocently. If he was sending benders, surely the healers would follow. Or should.

He smiled at that. "Yes, Yarah, I'm sending about a quarter of our healers as well. It will be strictly voluntary—as is the bending—but yours was the first name on my list," he answered. "I think it will be good for you and your mother to spend some time apart.

I smiled. That was exactly what I was thinking. "Good," I said quietly. "I would be honored to go," I said.

"Then it's settled," he said, "I won't be making the announcement for a while. I want the troops to get back first, since they'll make up the majority of the travelling party anyway."

"But you will give them some time with their families, though, right?"

"Yes. In fact, I was even thinking of letting some of the families travel along with the benders, to try to start the repopulation process." I hadn't thought of that. With fewer than 100 people, and all of the men gone, the Southern Tribe could die out simply from natural causes. They need families down there if they are to start rebuilding.

"That's a good idea," I said softly. "I have to go now," I continued, rising from my seat. "I have to see to my mother."

Arnook stopped me then, putting his arms around me and bringing me close to him. "Don't let her get to you," he murmured into my hair.

"I'll try," I said to his chest. I left quietly then, stealing away into the night. When I got home, my mother was right where I left her. Stuck in ice, trying to get down. I put out my hand, and brought it back toward myself in a fist. The ice melted into water then, and she fell to the floor. "I'm sorry," I murmured before going into my room without giving her a chance to respond.

I fell into bed then, too tired to bathe or even change clothes, exhausted from the day. The soldiers were coming home, only to be re-uprooted and sent all the way across the world. And I was going with them. The thought that I could be away from my mother for even a short period of time comforted me as I fell asleep.