A/N: hello! i hope you enjoy my fic. it's my first, so be kind! now, onto the story...
Chapter One
Ty Lee was bouncing off the walls. Literally. She would run from one end of the throne room to another, taking a few short steps up the wall before flipping back to land perfectly on the ground, her hazel eyes glittering with amusement. Mai watched her with a bored expression, throwing knives up into the air and ignoring the squeals the circus girl emitted when she deftly caught them.
Zuko nearly groaned at the spectacle, his scar emphasizing his fierce scowl. He didn't want to say it, but he missed his Uncle Iroh. While Azula had imprisoned the old general in the dungeons of the Dai Li, Iroh had refused to speak with Zuko, even when the young man came to speak with him. Instead, he had simply stared at his nephew, regret and disappointment in his eyes. Zuko had stopped going down to visit him. He couldn't stand the look in Iroh's eyes. His Uncle had been more of a father to him than his own father. He hated seeing disappointment in those familiar eyes.
The prince glanced towards his sister. Azula looked just about as disgusted with the acrobat's antics as he was. For a moment, Zuko wondered why his sister was friends with Ty Lee. He could see how Azula would stay with Mai, but Ty Lee? The girl was a clown. And all together too nice to be involved in Azula's little mercenary group. Or so he thought. You could never really know about people until you talked to them. And he hadn't spoken to Ty Lee for a while.
Azula sighed. Ty Lee was bored, no doubt. Did anything happen in Ba Sing Se? Apparently her little acrobat friend felt the same. What to do about her…She had an idea. She had a mission for her friend. But…the princess thought a moment. Ty Lee was a fairly unpredictable sort but quite loyal. She would go about her mission, if in a round-about manner. Now who to send with the girl? Not Mai. Azula needed her. Hmm…
Azula gave an evil smile. This was the perfect opportunity to test Zuko's new loyalty. She would send her beloved brother to capture the Avatar and his friends. That would be his test. If he returned with only a friend or two, then he would have passed. But if he went AWOL…well, it wasn't as if their father would take him back anyway. No harm done.
Another smirk graced her cruel features. She also had no doubt that her uncle would turn up mysteriously "missing." In fact, she herself was planning the old man's escape. Iroh was useless to her, as was her brother. She would kill them…if only she wasn't related to them. Though assassinations happened quite frequently in Fire Nation families, Azula was a princess. Her father would not be pleased should his brother and banished son suddenly turned up dead, especially when they were under her watch.
That was why she would allow Iroh to escape. After all, Iroh was a very powerful bender. No one but Azula herself would be able to stop him from escaping if he really wanted to…and she had better things to do than baby-sit an old man.
"Zuko…"
Oh no, Zuko thought wretchedly. What now? He really wished she wouldn't talk to him. It was bad enough that she forced him to sit next to her. And what was the deal about her being his leader? Wasn't he the eldest?
Zuko sighed. The truth was, he was nearly sick with guilt. He didn't know why he had done what he did. He knew Azula didn't care one whit about him. But…there was still the hope that his father would take him back. His father would love him again.
"What?" he asked, his voice a bit surly.
Another smirk threatened to rise but Azula pushed it back. "There is something I wish you to do," she told him, catching Ty Lee's eye. The young acrobat stopped what she was doing and moved closer. "I want you to help Ty Lee find the Avatar."
What!? The Avatar? Again? What do I have to do to prove myself? he thought desperately. Though his thoughts were in a whirl, Zuko merely nodded. "All right."
Azula graced her older brother with a faint smile. "Good. You leave tomorrow." Zuko nodded and turned to leave but she stopped him. "Oh, and Zuko. If you fail in capturing the Avatar, one of his friends will do." Azula scowled at the thought of the waterbending peasant and her bending skills. That…plebian was the reason why she hadn't managed to capture the Avatar herself. "That Water Tribe girl, preferably."
Again Zuko nodded and he gave Azula a stiff bow before stalking from the room. This time, Azula didn't stop him. She knew he wouldn't fail her. He thought himself so close to gaining back their father's love. Ha, Azula thought, he doesn't understand that he never had it.
"Katara…I'm tired."
The girl looked up, blue eyes filled with concern. "I know, Aang," she replied, "but we have to keep moving. You know that Azula and the Dai Li are hunting us; we have to keep moving."
"I know," Katara, the airbender said. "I know. But Appa's tired, too. He can't carry us if he's tired."
"Aang's right, Katara. Appa's no use if he's too tired to carry us."
Katara turned to her brother and sighed. "All right; we'll land. But I still don't like it." She looked down at the ground and tried to find a good spot to rest. It was hard, though, when they were so high up.
"There!"
Aang, Sokka, and Katara all looked over to where Toph was pointing before they remembered she was blind. Sokka glared uselessly at the earthbender while Aang gave a weak laugh.
"What was that about?" Sokka cried, clutching his head.
"That's what it'll sound like when Katara finds--"
"There! There's a cave over there."
Aang urged Appa towards the cave Katara pointed out, looking worriedly towards the direction of Ba Sing Se. They had flown for nearly two days straight, through the night as well, to get away, but Aang had the feeling that they weren't nearly far enough.
"Katara…"
The waterbender's head whipped up and she looked around at her friends but no one seemed to have spoken. Of course, she hadn't thought that they did. That voice was familiar, but it definitely did not belong to one of her friends. Katara stilled for a moment, trying to turn her thoughts from a certain firebender when Momo jumped into her lap, startling her.
"Are you all right?" Aang asked her, his normal sunny attitude firmly back in place.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Just tired, that's all."
"See?" said Sokka, folding his arms across his chest. "You need sleep too. Girls are just more vulnerable. I, however, am not sleepy at all."
At his asinine comment, Katara simply shook her head. "Not sleepy?" she asked, trying to hide her disturbance. "Then how come you keep nodding off every five seconds?
Sokka moved back, a look of denial plastered onto his tan face. "What do you mean? I'm a warrior and warriors don't get so tired easily, especially not this warrior." He ended his tirade with a jab at his chest, nearly knocking himself over.
"Yes," drawled Toph who had felt Sokka nearly fall into her, "such the strong and invincible warrior, aren't you?"
He sniffed and turned away. "All this talk of being tired is making me tired. Besides, I haven't slept since we left Ba Sing Se."
Katara laughed. "Oh, so that wasn't you I heard snoring away last night. And this morning. And for that half hour this afternoon. And--"
"All right!" Sokka practically screamed, his face reddening. "I get it! Shouldn't we be concentrating on watching the road?"
As much as she wished she could yell at Sokka for changing the conversation, Katara knew he was right. Heaving a sigh, she examined the ground around the cave as Appa landed. It didn't seem as if there had been anyone in the area for quite some time. And the cave was rather remote. Still…
"Katara…" She shook her head. She didn't know she liked this, but they had no choice. Everyone needed to rest. Even Aang was hard-pressed to keep up his seemingly overabundant well of energy. She yawned and looked to the west. There, the sun was setting in a fiery blaze of glory. Suddenly, Katara shuddered. The Fire Nation. She could never, ever forget it. Or the memories it had left her with.
"Katara…"
A/N: All right. How did I do? not too bad, I hope. Okay. So, if you've decided to read my lovely little story, could you please grace me with some reviews? that would be totally awesome...please?