Lilibeth Ambershard was running away from home, and this time, she meant it.
The moment she felt she could get away with it, her family guards unaware, and her caretakers not yet out of bed, she pulled on her travelling gear, dug up the bag she had buried in the rose garden, and then, with a brief stomp of her sandalled feet, she opened a temporary gap in the Manor's walls, just long enough for her to slip through and close it before a patrol rounded the corner on their circuit of the property.
With her back against the cold stone wall that protected the family manor, and her heart pounding in her chest, the young Earthbender waited for a cry of alarm, or any sign at all that her escape had been detected, but, after half a minute, none came.
Relief washed over Lilibeth in a wave as she reshouldered her heavy travelling bag, and just like that, she was on her way, not giving even the slightest glimpse backwards towards the opulent prison that had been her home for so many years, a thin smile of relief widening on her features until, out of earshot of any who might have been listening, she threw her well-toned arms into the air and let out a whoop of pure exhilaration and victory.
The bender's expression slipped into a beaming grin as she leapt fearlessly down the stony hillside of her family's property, bending a slab of stone from the earth with a grunt of effort, to ride down the steep hill like a surfboard, eyes blazing with excitement, and wind whipping through her short black hair, as the town of Guojia Canglong was revealed beneath her, and beyond it, the world proper.
Lilibeth couldn't restrain herself from throwing her arms wide and letting out a laugh of pure and growing excitement at the view before her, the most beautiful sight she thought she had ever seen: The sun rising over the world beyond the walls of Ambershard Manor.
This time, she would see a sight like this every morning. She'd never go back to that awful place up on the hill, even if it meant being on the run for the rest of her life. It'd give her a chance to see a lot more places like this, at least.
That thought comforted the young earthbender, as the hill began to flatten, and she leapt into the air, the board of stone sinking back into the earth without a trace as she hit the ground rolling, not even caring as the wind was knocked out of her lungs, and she came to a rolling stop on a patch of dew-covered grass, staring upwards at the morning sky while she panted for breath, and the grass soaked her clothes against her back.
Today was the start of the rest of her life, and it was finally time to start living it.