Hi guys! This is my first Avatar story, so any feedback you have is appreciated! Thank you and enjoy. :)

DISCLAIMER FOR THE ENTIRE STORY: All characters, dialogue, scenes, settings, and storylines that you recognize from the series Avatar: The Last Airbender do not belong to me and are the intellectual property of Viacom, Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko. Any original content and characters are mine.

"I'll take three mangoes, two papayas, and a bottle of lychee juice please," I said, glancing over the other delicacies available in the bustling Omashu market.

"Good choice," the shopkeeper smiled. "Can I interest you in one of these necklaces as well?" he asked, holding up a chain with a glowing green rock pendant. "It's made of genomite," he explained as I watched with wide green eyes. "Makes for an excellent snack."

"I'll take two," I decided, handing over a few more gold pieces. "One for my grandfather as well."

"Ah, yes, King Bumi does love creeping crystal," the shopkeeper said. "Thank you, Princess. Have a wonderful day!"

"You as well, Liu!" I waved as I walked through the streets of my kingdom, enjoying the pleasantly busy atmosphere of the city. I was thankful for the ability to be able to roam without encountering trouble; even as the granddaughter of the king, most people payed me no mind. Granted, dressed in a simple tunic and pants, I was a lot less noticeable than when I donned my palace gown.

Glancing around, I took in the sights and sounds: shopkeepers haggling with customers, children screaming with delight as they ran around the square while their mothers stood and gossiped nearby, the delivery system carts whizzing down their tracks - Omashu was truly a peaceful kingdom, a wonderful place for a girl to grow up.

So why did I feel so trapped?

Sighing, I sat down on the edge of a delivery cart intersection. I pulled out a mango and bit into it, enjoying the juicy sweet flavor as I gazed across my city. What I wanted more than anything else was to travel the world, but I knew my grandfather would never allow it. After both my parents were killed in the Fire Nation war, Bumi had grown deeply protective of me, his only granddaughter.

As I was mulling over my thoughts, a loud scream captured my attention. Looking up, I gasped and jumped out of the way just as a cart full of people sped through the intersection, knocking over a few other carts, skidded down a roof and landed in one of the passages.

Leaping to my feet, I stared at the cart. I could see three people, two dressed in blue and the third with an insane amount of white hair on his head. Intruders! Thinking quickly, I leapt into one of the carts they had knocked over and used my earthbending to propel myself into the chute behind them.

They were quite a ways ahead of me, but I used my bending to get within range. I stood on the cart like a surfboard, weaving through the tunnels so I didn't lose them. The boy in blue turned around and looked at me. I narrowed my eyes back at him and he turned to the front.

"We've got company!" he warned. The other two turned to stare at me as well.

"Aang, do something! Use your airbendng!" girl cried. I blinked, almost missing the turn. Airbending? Had I heard right? As far as I knew, the Air Nomads had been wiped out ages ago.

"Yeah, good idea!" the voice that came from the big haired man was much too high to belong to an adult. "That'll make us go even faster!" Before my eyes, the cart shot forward as dust was propelled backwards. Coughing, I narrowed my eyes further and shot myself forward as to not lose them.

I chased them through the city, hot on their trail as they whizzed around corners, up hills and sometimes veered off track. As they reached another intersection, they shot off course as the bender there stared in awe.

"Princess! What are you doing?" he cried as I stopped my cart and took off after them by foot.

"Chasing intruders! Call the guards!" I ordered, and the bender ran off, looking terrified. I cut across the roofs, sliding down and leaping over chimneys. To my amazement again, I saw the big haired one swipe through the air to create a softer landing... as they tumbled into a cabbage stand, the cart shattering.

"My cabbages!" the cabbage merchant wailed. "You'll pay for this!" he pointed to them in anger. I ran up, panting slightly and pointed at them.

"You're all under arrest!" I cried.

"Says who?" questioned the boy cheekily and the girl, who looked to be his sister, elbowed him. I glared.

"Says the Princess of Omashu," I replied stonily. The boy gulped and hung his head appropriately. "Take them to the king!" I turned my back on them and marched off, smiling slightly. Yup, I was definitely the king's granddaughter.

"A feast?" I cried, staring at my grandfather incredulously. "They broke into the city, damaged the delivery system and destroyed a cart of cabbages, and you want to throw them a feast?"

"That's what I said," Bumi replied cheerily. "Now get ready, we want to look our best!" Grumbling, I stalked off to my room. I really did not understand my grandfather sometimes.

Thirty minutes later, I sat alongside my grandfather and across from the three guests, dressed in my palace gown. The youngest boy had now lost his head of hair, and on his forehead there was a blue arrow tattoo. Wasn't that an Air Nomad tattoo? And I had seen the boy airbend, or at least I thought I had. Could it be...?

"So, tell me, young, bald one," Bumi asked, pointing at Aang and sitting back down after shoving a drumstick in the older boy's mouth. "Where are you from?"

"I'm... Kangaroo Island," he replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Kangaroo Island, huh?" Bumi repeated, grinning manically. "I hear that place is really... hopping!" There was a beat of silence as they all stared at him and I resisted to the urge to slam my head onto the table. Then, the oldest boy started laughing somewhat uncomfortably.

"Well, all these good jokes are making me tired," Bumi yawned falsely. I stared at him suspiciously. What was he up to? "I guess it's time to hit the hay." He made to get up, but at the last second whirled around and threw a chicken drumstick right at the boy with the tattoo.

He gasped and leaned back in his chair, catching it within a small vortex of swirling air. My jaw dropped. I hadn't been imagining things; he really could airbend!

"There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender," Bumi declared, standing up. "The Avatar!" My eyes widened further. The Avatar...wow! I thought he had been gone for a hundred years. But clearly, here he was, although he didn't look a hundred years old... more like twelve.

"Okay, you caught me!" the Avatar said sheepishly, holding his hands up. "I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out, no firebenders here. So good work everyone, love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your spears." He smiled cheerily as he walked backwards with his arms around his two friends' shoulders. "We'll see you next time!"

The guards blocked them from behind. "You can't keep us here!" the girl said. "Let us leave!"

"Lettuce leaf?" Bumi asked, crunching on one. I sighed.

"We're in serious trouble, the older boy whispered. "This guy is nuts." I had to agree with him there.

"Tomorrow, the Avatar will face three deadly challenges," Bumi declared. "But for now, the guards with show you to your chamber."

I excused myself as Bumi began arguing with one of his guards about which chamber to send them to. Walking along the corridors, I thought to myself, if he's the Avatar, surely he's traveled all over the world to learn the four types of bending. What I would give to be able to do the same. I decided it couldn't hurt to go talk to them, maybe ask what it was like to travel.

I found the newly refurbished chamber that was once bad and stripped down the wall, entering and then closing it behind me in case they were trying to escape. I blinked once, taking in the scene. The oldest boy was lying on his bed, and the girl was watching the Avatar try to shove his pet lemur into one of the air vents.

"Um... what are you doing?"

Their reactions were quite amusing. The Avatar let out a yell and fell backwards off his chair, the older boy leapt off his bed and started brandishing a boomerang at me and the girl jumped into a fighting stance.

"Whoa, whoa," I held up my hands to show I meant no harm. "I just wanted to talk to you guys. I'm not going to attack you or anything. I'm Kioni."

"I'm Aang!" the Avatar replied, quite cheerily, considering he was technically my prisoner. "And this is Katara and Sokka." He gestured to the two siblings who were still looking at me distrustfully.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled slightly and sat down on one of the beds. "So, you're the Avatar... that means you must have traveled all over the world."

"Don't talk to her!" Sokka interrupted as Aang opened his mouth. "She's clearly trying to get information from us!" He pointed at me dramatically. "You can't fool me, I know you're in cahoots with the king! I'll never talk, earth witch!"

I glanced at Katara, who was staring at her brother warily. "Is he always like this?" I questioned, and she nodded somewhat resignedly. "I swear, I don't want anything from you. I've never been outside of Omashu. Please, tell me, what is it like to travel? It must be amazing."

I saw Aang glance at Katara out of the corner of my eye, and she gave him a shrug. "It's great," he replied, turning back to me. "We travel on Appa, my flying sky bison. We haven't really been anywhere yet, but we're heading to the Northern Water Tribe so Katara and I can master waterbending."

"That sounds incredible," Suddenly, I had a wild idea. "You need to learn earthbending too, right? Maybe... maybe I could come with you and teach you? After you master waterbending, of course."

They all three looked at each other again. "Um, not to seem rude or anything, but your dad kind of imprisoned us," Sokka reminded me.

"Grandfather," I corrected him. "And I wouldn't worry about that. My granddad might be crazy, but he's not evil or anything. I doubt he'd actually want to kill the Avatar."

"Either way, Aang should still be prepared," Katara said, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder. "We should really all get some rest." I hung my head, my heart sinking. It was worth a shot.

"Unless you want to help us and bust us out!" Sokka cried, looking at me hopefully.

"Yeah, afraid I can't do that," I said, getting up to leave. "Night guys. Good luck tomorrow, Aang."

"Bye Princess Kioni," he replied. "I like her," I heard him say to Katara as I closed the earth up behind me. I walked back to my room dejectedly. It looked like I would be stuck in Omashu for the rest of my life. I was so caught up in my disappointment that I didn't notice King Bumi watching me from around the corner.

The next day, after Aang had completed the three challenges (the lunchbox key, finding my granddad's pet goat-rabbit Flopsy, and fighting him - all easy challenges really, I'd completed them through my earthbending training), Aang discovered that he'd actually been close friends with Bumi a hundred years ago. Who knew?

Watching the Avatar fight my grandfather was amazing. Bumi is incredible, possibly the greatest earthbender of all time, but still Aang was able to evade and eventually get the better of him. I guess he's not the Avatar for nothing. I'm glad I have my grandfather to teach me earthbending - he's taught me everything I know.

"Aang, you have a difficult task ahead," Bumi told him. "The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius."

Aang smiled and bowed. "And looks like you're in good hands," Bumi continued, smiling at Sokka and Katara. "You'll need your firneds to help defeat the Fire Nation. And you'll need Momo too!" he added as the lemur perched on Aang's shoulder.

"Grandfather," I spoke up, and Bumi turned to me. "You know how I have always longed to travel the world. I know you worry because of what happened to my parents, but you have trained me well in earthbending. I can defend myself and fight well. The Avatar will need an earthbending teacher. If it's all right with you and Aang, I would love nothing more than to travel with them." I bowed my head, waiting for his response, my heart pounding.

"Umm, no," he replied finally, in that same quirky voice he always used. My head snapped up, looking at him pleadingly.

"But, grandfather-"

"You have your duties in Omashu," he said. "Who else is going to feed Flopsy?" He laughed and snorted, but I didn't find it funny at all.

"This isn't fair!" I stomped my foot, my eyes blazing.

"Kioni, listen-"

"No!" I shouted, blinking back tears. "I've been stuck here my whole life. I want a chance to see the world! How am I supposed to learn anything within these walls? How am I supposed to help win this war and avenge my parents?" Without looking at him, I turned and ran out of the palace.

Bumi made to follow his granddaughter, but Aang stepped in front of him. "With all due respect, your Highness, I think she needs some time to sort this out on her own."

"Do you think I should have let her go?" Bumi asked, looking much sadder and less like the crazy mad genius Aang knew.

"I know it's scary letting your children go," Katara spoke up. "But I spent my whole life in my village in the Southern Water Tribe before I met Aang. There's so much more to the world than what you see."

"Kioni is pretty good at earthbending," Sokka added. "At least, she was when she was chasing us down the delivery chutes."

"I think everyone deserves to have a chance to see the world," Aang said finally, looking up at his old friend. "There's so much to learn, and I would personally love to have Kioni be my earthbending teacher."

Bumi considered the three for a second. "Oh, very well, I'll talk to her!" he snorted. "You children and your resilient ways!"

At that moment, one of the guards burst in, looking panicked. "Your highness!" he cried, falling to his feet. "Firebenders; just outside the city! Two of them - an old man and a teenager with a scar!"

"Zuko!" gasped Katara. Aang's face hardened.

"He attacked the guards on the outer wall," the guard continued. "Princess Kioni was there, your majesty, I came as fast as I could-"

The guard stopped speaking as Bumi stood suddenly and ran out of the palace, followed closely by Aang, Sokka and Katara.

I balanced along the perimeter of the outer wall, doing flips and cartwheels as I walked. One of my favorite things to do was sit on the edge of the wall and gaze out onto the world beyond. I wondered what would happen if I simply jumped down and started running. I wondered how far I would make it before Bumi realized and sent guards after me.

Sighing, I let the rock I was bouncing fall, abandoning my dreams of escape. It would pain my grandfather to see me leave, and I loved Bumi, as crazy as he was.

For the second time this week, a commotion broke me out of my thoughts. I looked down towards the source of the noise. There, at the entrance to the city, stood a tall, young man with jet-black hair tied in ponytail and an older man, both dressed in black and red.

I tensed immediately, recognizing the clothing. Fire Nation.

My suspicions were confirmed as the young man shot an arc of fire at one of the guards, knocking him backwards. "I know the Avatar is here!" he yelled. "Where are you keeping him?"

"That is none of your concern! Leave now!" one of the guards shouted back. Startled, I recognized the voice of one of my friends, Miko. The firebender let out a roar and shot flames at Miko.

Before I knew what I was doing, I summoned a wall of stone to protect Miko. Both the guards and the firebenders looked around, confused, as I quickly slid down the wall on a stone, landing nimbly on my feet.

"Leave now, and we won't hurt you," I said, glaring directly at the young man and unconsciously noting what a stunning amber color his eyes were. Focus, Kioni!

After looking surprised for a moment, he let out an cruel, sarcastic laugh. "And I suppose you're going to make me?" he sneered. "Peasant girl!"

"How dare you speak to the earth princess that way!" Miko growled.

"Princess?" the old man spoke up. "Surely, you are Kioni, granddaughter of the great earth King Bumi."

I straightened, surprised. "How do you know my name?" I asked suspiciously.

"Who cares what her name is, Uncle!" the young man raged. He turned and pointed at me again. "You may be a princess, but I am Zuko, crown prince of the Fire Nation, and I demand you open the gates and bring me the Avatar at once!"

I laughed, mimicking Zuko's snicker from earlier. "Or what?" I said. "I've heard of you, 'Prince' Zuko. You're not even a real prince; you were banished! Not even the Fire Nation wants you!"

Zuko's golden eyes blazed with fury and he shot an flaming jet at me, which I easily blocked with a wall of stone. Zuko continued to throw punches of fire and I countered by summoning stone blockades or thrusting stones to cut the flames in half.

"That all you got?" I taunted. "No wonder you were banished!" I could tell his style easily; he used fancy moves and complicated tricks that had little real power behind them.

Letting out a scream of anger, Zuko spun around and leapt into the air, kicking and spewing fire everywhere, knocking down Miko and the other two guards. However, I catapulted myself upwards on a pillar of rock and landed behind Zuko, thrusting my arms outward to create a spire that rammed into the firebender and caused him to go sprawling forward.

Zuko's skills were sharp however; instead of falling he somersaulted into a standing position. Whirling around, he shot two quick blasts at me. I used my earthbending to block them, but Zuko sent a whip of fire towards my feet. I let out a yelp as the fire tripped me up, dropping my rock and tumbling forward. Zuko smirked victoriously, readied his stance and expelled a large blast of fire.

"KIONI!"

I rolled out of the way as a gust of air knocked Zuko's fire blast out of the way. Looking up, I saw Aang flying overhead on his glider. He dropped to the ground in front of me and glared at Zuko, his staff in a defensive position.

"The Avatar and an earth princess," Zuko's golden eyes glittered maliciously. "Today is a lucky day."

"Not for you," Aang replied. He spun his staff in the air, creating a large gust of wind that knocked Zuko backwards several feet. Zuko yelled and leapt to his feet, doing a series of complicated twists and kicks that sprayed fire in random directions.

Aang blew the flames away with his staff. Having got my breath back, I dropped down in a crouch, concentrating hard. When Zuko leapt into the air, I thrust my hands forward, causing the ground below him to become quicksand, a trick I learned from my grandfather. Unknowing, Zuko landed hard and promptly sunk several inches into the quicksand.

Startled, the prince looked around and instinctively did the worst possible thing - he struggled. After several seconds of futile squirming, he found himself chest deep in the quicksand.

"Prince Zuko!" his uncle cried, stepping forward. I stamped my foot once and promptly encased him in rock from his feet to his shoulders.

"The banished Fire Nation prince and the brother of the Fire Lord," I smirked, mimicking Zuko. "Today is a lucky day."

Aang laughed as Zuko growled and blew flames from his mouth, which I easily dodged. "We make a good team!" he said.

I smiled at the young Avatar. "Yeah, I guess we do." I glanced behind me as the gates opened and Bumi, Sokka and Katara came running up to us.

"Are you all right!" Katara cried, rushing towards Aang. She sent a hateful glare towards Zuko.

"I'm fine," Aang smiled. "Kioni and I took down Zuko easily." The prince let out a low growl.

"Ah, King Bumi," Zuko's uncle said in his deep voice. "It has been a while."

"Indeed it has, General Iroh," Bumi cackled. "It seems my granddaughter has captured you."

"She's a fighter, that one," Iroh agreed.

"Well, I guess I have to imprison you now." Bumi mused, looking untroubled. "Guards!" Bumi released the two Fire Nation men from their earth prisons only for them to be chained by the guards and led into the city. Zuko glared at me as he passed, but I met his gaze stonily.

"Kioni," Bumi called and I stiffened. "Kioni, please, I would like to talk to you." Catching Aang's encouraging smile, I sighed and followed my grandfather, away from the others.

"You will be pleased to know I have reconsidered your proposition and have decided you should be able to see the world," Bumi said. I looked up at him, hardly daring to believe my ears.

"However, you will not be traveling with the Avatar and his friends." I furrowed my brow, thoroughly confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I am going to let General Iroh and his nephew go," Bumi started, and I opened my mouth to protest. "Listen to me, Kioni. Iroh is an old friend of mine, we are part of the Order of the White Lotus, an ancient secret society that transcends the four nations." I had heard of the Order of the White Lotus, but what did that have to do with me?

"My destiny is not to imprison these two," Bumi continued. "But I need someone close to me to keep an eye on that Prince Zuko. I am not sure yet how his path will end, and until then, I have a very important job to ask of you."

"What is it, grandfather?" I asked, starting to worry.

"I need you to get yourself captured by Prince Zuko so you can keep an eye on him from within. I need you to inform me if something drastic happens so that I may protect our city if I need to. General Iroh will make sure nothing bad happens to you, but Zuko cannot know anything of this. And neither can the Avatar or his friends."

I stared at my grandfather in shock. Get myself captured by Zuko? Have to deal with him for spirits knows how long? Then I realized what my grandfather was entrusting me with. The safety of our city, the chance to travel the world, and the chance to bring down the Fire Nation from within.

"I'll do it," I replied. Bumi smiled hugely and enveloped me in a hug.

"I have great faith in you, princess Kioni," he said proudly. "I know you will make me, your parents, and Omashu proud."

I smiled back up at him. "So, what's the plan?"

Late that night, I lay flat on the outer wall, waiting and watching for the two Fire Nation men to arrive. Bumi had filled Iroh in and "accidentally" left grappling hooks and a loose stone in their prison chamber. Aang and his friends had already left, but if the stories I'd heard about Zuko tracking them were true, I'd probably end up seeing them again.

Soon enough, I saw the two running towards the wall. They hooked their grappling hooks over the end and began to hoist themselves up. Iroh was much stronger than he looked, I noted, but then again, so was my grandfather. Once they were over the outer wall, I stood.

"Stop!" I cried, using a stone to lower myself down the wall again. I ran to catch up with them. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Leave us alone," Zuko commanded, glaring at me. "Otherwise we will be forced to take you prisoner."

"I'd sooner die than let you escape!" I replied dramatically, readying my stance to fight.

"Uncle, the chains!" Iroh handed his nephew the chains quietly, watching me. I tried half-heartedly to shoot rocks at Zuko, but he dodged them easily.

"Not so good when you can't see, huh?" he smirked, darting around me. I gritted my teeth. Don't let him bait you. Remember the mission. Truth was, I was excellent even in the dark, but I was supposed to get myself captured, so I feigned clumsiness. As soon as I tripped myself, Zuko ran foward and chained my wrists behind my back.

"Now walk!" he commanded, and I obeyed silently. As we marched down the path, I glanced back once more at the huge walls of Omashu, my hometown, the only place I had ever known.

I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing it for a long time.

Okay, that chapter was a bit longer since it was the introductions and all, setting up the story, etc. The other chapters probably won't be that long.

Next up: Imprisoned.