I'm sorry for taking so damn long with this update, there's just been a lot of thing holding this story back, a particularly nasty block in inspiration, for one. So, I'm giving you all a chapter that I hope will make up in length and content for being gone for so long. I do thank all of you for the enthusiasm, though. Some days it's a bit annoying (like too much of any good thing can be), but some days, it really does help to get the creative juices flowing again.

Smiling, I reopen the letter that came by way of the White Lotus yesterday. They've taken quite an interest in guaranteeing the safety of my mail. And that is something that I am perfectly okay with, because they happen to make for some of the most efficient and trustworthy messengers I have ever seen. Though it is likely because some of the most recent pieces of correspondence deal with a lot of political maneuvering that should be kept rather secret, since there are pockets of resistance out there causing a lot of trouble for Zuko.

And some of the letters in question are a mix between politics and social messages. Like the one currently in my lap.

Dear Ciara,

Once again, thank you for putting your support into this project. You have no idea how much it means to me to have you backing me on this. And I understand your concerns about putting the colonials from the large cities into the smaller villages of the islands, and the problems that they would have in adapting so suddenly. So I've decided to send you the small villages, so that you can expand and grow as needed, without too much extra strain.

I really wish that you could have been at the meeting with the Earth King, but I understand how busy you've been with making the repairs and expansions needed to the villages. Aang and the others also kicked up a bit of a fuss when you didn't show, but they promised that they would pay you a visit when the first ships docked. I would come as well, but I'm worried that if I did, I'd stay for months and never leave.

I smirk at the letter in my hands. So Zuko thinks I would distract him… Well, I certainly can't say that he's wrong. We have a rather bad habit of doing that to each other. Besides, we have to focus on putting the world back together for now, social visits can wait for later.

This letter should beat the ships there by a day or two, but we tried to time it as closely as we could to the suggestions you gave us. You should have plenty of people there willing to work the fields the next few weeks to bring in the harvest. And while I'm still not sure how you've managed to grow so much using volcanic ash, I'm sure that you'll see an even greater increase in the yields next season, with more farmers to help.

The letter goes on, telling me about the laws he's working on having passed, the ones he's still having rescinded, little pockets of resistance and treason that he's still trying to root out, and the almost alarming number of walks he seems to take around the palace grounds in order to clear his head. Seriously, Zuko needs to get out of that palace more. He's going to suffocate in that place.

Still, it's good to hear about how he's doing. I always make sure to put copious details about what I'm up to in my letters. It helps me get things out of my mind and onto paper so that I can actually consider them properly. Writing to Zuko is especially good for that, because he understands, at least somewhat, what it's like to be free, but still kind of chained down by responsibility.

But someone has to do it, so why not us?

I smile at the end of the letter and roll it back up. Love you too, Zuko. Then, I put it up into the cubbies with the dozen or so other letters that Zuko has sent me. And when this little fiasco is over, I'm dragging you away for a vacation, even if I have to do it with you kicking and screaming, and hurling fireballs all over the place.

Passing letters back and forth has been all well and good, and I even converted the cubbies in my bedroom just for them. But it's still a little sad to not be able to see my friends every day. Then again, at least I have a break from all of the fights that I end up having to break up. Honestly, they're always finding something to argue over, usually courtesy of Sokka's constant need to be right about everything.

It's been a few months since I came home, but already, I'm getting an insufferable case of wanderlust. Perhaps it's because I spent so long traveling, or it might just be in my nature. In that case, it's only to be expected. Either way, staying in this palace for so long with just my books, plans, and meetings has gotten frustrating and tiresome quickly.

But, it's not as though I can just up and leave. I'm expecting the first few ships of colonials to be docking soon in the harbor. As agreed, some of the ships will be offloading their passengers here, while others will be going on to the mainland, or to various other islands, depending on the needs and wants of the new arrivals.

Thanks to Pakku, Bumi, Iroh, and Piandao, I've been able to keep up to date with everything that's going on in the Earth Kingdom, as well as the Water Tribes. It hasn't been all that long since the war ended, but the people are recovering quickly. The people of the Earth Kingdom have been particularly tenacious in that regard, stubbornly holding on to everything, despite a century of invasion and occupation. I admire them greatly for that.

Still, I have a harbor that is about to get a fair bit of traffic, so it would be best for me to get down there and oversee things to make sure that it all goes smoothly. After all, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

The walk down from the palace is a calm one, and even from here, I can hear some of the noises from the beach, as well as from the harbor. Thankfully, those ships that I hear are cargo ships, rather than the war ships that have been passing through here for the last century.

When I reach the beach, I can feel eyes on me. I'm not dressed formally, since I was never really one for wearing dresses anyway, but everyone who sees me knows who I am. It's a little unsettling sometimes, but I'm slowly getting used it all of the attention.

Some of it…I could definitely do without, though. One of the young men on the island, Chan, I think his name is, shoots me a rather suggestive look, that I suppose is meant to come off as charming. Obviously, he's not aware of what Zuko would do to him if he saw the kinds of looks he shot me. And I get the feeling that it's got nothing to do with who I am, and more to do with the winged tiara nestled in my hair. That's what it comes down to with the rich and the nobility. They always want a way to upgrade their status just a little more.

Ignoring them, I move on to the harbor, where I sit down on the edge of the docks, my legs hanging over the side, and my toes skimming the water, watching the horizon for any sign of ships. You would think that I was a child awaiting a birthday present. But no, I just want to see what kind of people Zuko is sending to the islands for me to meet and live with.

I watch the horizon for a while, enjoying the sea breeze on my skin. I realize that most noble and royal girls would prefer not to let the ocean spray touch their clothes, their hair, their skin, but I don't care in the least. I love the feeling of being outdoors, and I already have scars marring my skin, a little beating from the elements isn't going to do me any real damage.

As the sun begins to set in the sky, I finally spot dark shapes against the horizon. Boats. They have to be the boats of colonials that Zuko sent back from the Earth Kingdom.

And then, in the sky, is a particularly familiar shape. A smile blossoms across my face as I leap to my feet and wave a hand in the air. "Aang!"

The shape in the sky comes closer, revealing exactly who I thought it was. Appa. And right on his head, Aang is perched with a big grin on his face. And from the looks of the other shapes, he's far from alone.

The giant flying bison swoops down from the sky, landing solidly on the beach as I run towards them. And Katara is one of the first out of the saddle and sprinting towards me.

Long brown hair slides through my fingers as Katara and I wrap each other up in a hug. "Damn,I missed you guys so much."

"And we missed you too." She pulls back, smiling. "But on our way here, we saw what you did with this place. It's amazing. That village, where I pretended to be the Painted Lady, I saw the expansions that you commissioned, and all of the new fishing nets that they had."

My cheeks flush slightly as I smile back. "Yeah, well, I thought that one of the first things to do was to get the food market up and rolling again, so it was just a logical step."

"Hey, what about my hug?" I look over Katara's shoulder to see Sokka standing there expectantly. So I roll my eyes and let go of his sister, wrapping him up in the next hug. "Ah…much better."

I snicker lightly. "Jeez, don't let Suki hear you say that. Or Zuko. He might not take it too well."

"Right…" Sokka gingerly extricates himself. "Don't piss off the Fire Lord by demanding intimate hugs from his girlfriend, got it."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Aang strides up next, and it's rather astonishing how tall he's getting. "Hello, your Highness."

At that, I roll my eyes. "Right, since when do you call me that?"

He smirks mischievously. "Since never." He reaches out to give me a hug as well. "It's so weird not having you flying around with us on Appa anymore. But I know that the people here need you more than we do."

I sigh and return the hug. "I know…though it doesn't stop me from wishing that I could just disappear from the palace for a couple of months and go traveling the world with you guys again. I'm getting a serious case of wanderlust." When we break apart, I look back out to the water. "So, you all escorted the first ship here?"

Aang nods. "We thought that it would be a good idea to help get a smooth transition."

"Plus, it meant that all of you could come and pay me a visit for the first time in over a month, right?" I'm perfectly aware that we're all very busy trying to clean up the world, but I do wish sometimes that they would all come to visit more frequently. "So where's Toph?" I would have thought that our resident earthbender would have jumped at the chance to come to a volcanic island paradise.

Aang chuckles. "Well, from what I've heard, she'd gone and started up her own bending academy, teaching earthbending."

"Toph is teaching?" I raise an eyebrow at the notion. "That's not something I expected her to do. I guess teaching you must have knocked a few cogs loose or something. I thought she didn't like having to teach people."

"Well, I guess some things change." Aang looks out at the approaching boat. "These colonists are from around where Haru lives, but it's just the civilians, not the guards."

"Good, the last thing I need to deal with is guards getting smart with me." I remember the little incident with blowing up that mining rig. It wasn't pretty.

And that's when Appa decides that it's a great idea to lick me right up the side and cover me almost head to toe in slobber. My clothes are drenched, but thankfully, my hair braided over my opposite shoulder is still perfectly dry, along with the gold headpiece. I'm sure that Appa would hate to try and eat that.

Shaking my head, I pat the big old bison on the head. "Hello Appa, I missed you too. And thank you for the reminder, I will take a bath as soon as I get home."

That sends the other three into fits of laughter, and Momo jumps onto my head, settling himself between the wings of my tiara.

Thankfully, before any other hilarious incidents are able to occur, the ship makes its way into the port to dock. And the scramble on board ends when the stairs descend, and what looks like the captain of the ship makes his way down the stairs and onto the docks. I catch his eye and nod. "Looks like it's show time."

Aang nods, and he walks by my side as I head back to the docks, eyeing the people looking over the side. "They've had a long trip to get here…"

"I know." I step onto the docks and approach the captain. "Welcome to Ember Island. I presume that you are the captain of this ship?"

The elderly man nods, frowning at me. "I was told that I would be meeting the princess here. Where is she?"

I raise an eyebrow slightly, before a wry smile crosses my face. "You're looking at her. I am Ciara."

He looks me up and down, his eyes lingering on my very informal clothing. "I…see. Do you have a representative I could speak to regarding relocation of the colonists on the ship?"

Doing my best not to be offended, I take a quick breath and continue to look him in the eye. "I was planning on having the first few batches of colonists take up residence on the other side of the island, where there is good agricultural land supplied by both ocean sediment and volcanic ash. I have already had several dozen buildings constructed, and there is raw material enough to put the people to work immediately building whatever else they need."

The captain blinks in surprise. "I…I see. Your advisors must be quite skilled to have put together such a plan."

"Well, I do have skilled advisors, but they were not the ones who put together the plan. I was." I will not let this man underestimate me.

Aang nearly laughs beside me. "She's a lot smarter than you think she is. She's got plans for every single one of the islands, and then some. The last time I saw them, they almost filled up a whole room. And the number's probably only grown in the last month."

Then, I look up to the people on the ship. "You can disembark now. There is room for all of you, I promise." I made sure that there was enough room in those few dozen buildings to house about three hundred people. About three small colonies' worth of Fire Nation citizens.

The people look rather skittish, but slowly, they start to come down the stairs and file out onto the docks. And as I usher them forwards, they start to make their way out onto the beach.

Imove from the docks to the beach, leading them away from the ship and onto relatively solid ground. "Alright, I've arranged for transportation in balloons to the village site that is still under construction. Once there, the craftsmen among you should find plenty of work to be done, the fishermen should find satisfactory access to the water to bring in the first catch, and the farmers should find the fields already tilled and ready for planting."

The people mutter among themselves, looking warily at the balloons further down the beach. But I put this plan together myself, which means that there is absolutely nothing for any of them to be afraid of. The balloons are fueled and ready, and will be piloted by a few rather talented members of the White Lotus.

Thankfully, Sokka decides to hurry this along a little. "Alright, everybody who wants to see their new home, come with me!" And he heads off towards the balloons, tugging along a couple of members of the crowd.

At the sight of their people being led away, others follow suit, filing towards the balloons. Some look apprehensive, others look rather excited as they start skipping across the sand and towards their ride to their new home.

A few of the crowd actually approach me, bowing and offering thanks, whereas most just glance at me, smiling or nodding to convey thanks. Honestly, it's going far more painlessly than I expected.

It takes the better part of a half hour to get all of the colonists and their belongings from the ship to the large balloons, but somehow, through some coordination between me, Sokka, Katara, and Aang, we manage it, and the first of the balloons takes off towards the western coast of the island.

Once the second, third, fourth, and fifth balloons are in the air, the four of us watch as they rise up over the beach, heading over the small mountains dotted with trees. I sigh in relief at the sight. "Well, that went a lot better than I expected it would."

"Yeah, but at least now, we have an idea about how to do this, right?" Aang looks to me happily. "We might actually be able to pull off this Harmony Restoration Movement."

The Harmony Restoration Movement…a plan made to remove the Fire Nation colonies from the Earth Kingdom and restore harmony to the four nations. I nod in agreement. "I just hope that the rest of it goes this smoothly."

Sokka yells at us from over on Appa. "Hey, are you two coming or what!? We need a vacation, and there's a palace just waiting for us up on the mountain!"

Laughing, I turn towards the idiot genius on Appa's back. "And since when was it decided that you all were crashing at my place?"

"Since we left the Earth Kingdom!" I should have known. Of course Sokka would use this escort trip as a way to come and visit me for a few days. Or a couple of weeks. Hey, they might even stay the better part of a month.

Well, I do need to get home and take a bath anyway. "Alright, let's go!" I race across the sand, leaping up Appa's side and climbing into the saddle as Aang takes his place on Appa's head. "Yip yip!"

Appa takes off, already making his way towards the palace. He must be looking forward to this vacation as much as the others.

A couple of hours later, with my wet hair pulled up in a towel to dry, I pull out a quill and a piece of parchment. For a few moments, I stare at the blank page, not entirely certain where to begin. Then, the words just come pouring out as I smile with a sense of dry humor.

Dear Zuko,

The first batch of colonists arrived today. The captain was a bit shocked to see that I was, well, me. Though I blame the fact that he expected to see a prim and proper princess in formal robes, more than anything else. But honestly, those robes are difficult to move in, and completely inappropriate for being worn on a beach.

I sent the colonists to the western coast right away, where they should have everything they need to turn the shell of a village that has been constructed for them into something amazing and alive. I've given them their tools, now, they need to make something of it for themselves. Best to foster that Independence now rather than later.

Aang, Sokka, and Katara will be staying here for a week and a half. They might even still be here by the time you get this letter. Maybe you should come by and visit as well, it's been a while since we've all seen each other, after all. And I really do miss seeing you…

I smile at the words, then brush the end of the quill against my lips thoughtfully. "Now…what else shall I write…?" There is so much more room on the page, and so many thoughts that I have yet to commit to paper.

What do I say this time…and what should I say next time?