A/N hey, tell me if there's anything wrong with it (Spelling or grammar or if the story just isn't there) ... i'm kinda new at this :) thanks.

The maid rushed through to where the Fire Governor sat, drinking his tea. Something bad was happening, the prince was ill, out of control... something very bad was happening.

"Your Majesty," the maid bowed.

"Yes?" the man replied softly.

"The Prince... he's ill... something very very bad. He's spewing fire, his room is singed... something awful is happening! He's burning up, and then going ice cold-" the fire Governor stood and fled to the Prince's room, the maid following closely. Once he got there, he could hear the fire coming from the prince. He could hear the burning and the flames crackling against what ever he'd set on fire. The Fire Governor slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.

On the bed, the Prince lay, sobbing quietly. His arms curled into his chest, as he rolled onto his side and curled up as tightly as he could.

"Uncle.." he mumbled, suddenly shivering. "It... Its hurts, Uncle." he mumbled, shivering violently.

The prince leaned over the side of the bed as fire spewed from his mouth, pooling around on the floor, the flames licking up the side of the bed. The Fire Governor extinguished them quickly, not wanting his nephew to burn.

"All will be well, Nephew." the Fire Governor left the room, turning to the maid. "Send word to the Southern Water Tribe, ask for Princess Katara."

"What should I tell her, Your Majesty?" the Maid asked, looking up at Iroh.

"Tell her Prince Zuko is in grave danger."

Katara threw a snow ball at Sokka, who openly gaped at her. Katara laughed madly, falling to the snow as she clutched her stomach. The young warrior looked back at his sister, shocked.

"You look like a blow fish!" Katara laughed madly.

"I do not!" Sokka grabbed a handful of snow and threw it back at her. "I'm a brave warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, not a blow fish!" Hakoda raised an eyebrow at his children... although, they were no longer children. Sokka and Katara had both seen eighteen winters, and both had blossomed through out the war. Sokka had turned into an amazing warrior, much like Hakoda himself, and Katara had become one of the best healers the tribe had seen.

Hakoda was leaning against the door frame to their own hut when a messenger approached him.

"Chief Hakoda, this has just arrived for Princess Katara." the messenger handed over a scroll, tied with red ribbon. Hakoda frowned as he looked at it.

"Katara! Sokka! Come here, please." he called to his children, walking down the steps of their large ice hut. Katara and Sokka ran to him, wondering what was going on.

"Yes, Dad?" Katara frowned, noticing the scroll in his hand. It had a red ribbon... why would the fire nation be sending them a message?

"This has come for you." Hakoda handed the message over to Katara, who took it from him hesitantly. She pulled the ribbon off, keeping it in her hand as she unrolled the message and read each word carefully.

Princess Katara,

I hope you are well, and your tribe is doing well.

Unfortunately, this is not a social letter. I ask for you aid in a matter most grave. Prince Zuko is very ill, which may prove to be fatal. As you are one of the best healers in this world, we ask for your aid to help our prince.

Respectfully,

Fire Governor Iroh.

"Katara?" her father's voice pierced through her shocked state. "What's wrong?"

"Zuko... the Prince of the Fire Nation.. he's dying.." Katara mumbled. "Fire Governor Iroh has asked that I go and help him. As a healer."

"Zuko is dying?" Sokka asked. "Dad, we have to help!" Hakoda sighed, knowing his children would just run and do it any way if he said no.

"You leave tonight. Go and pack your things." Sokka and Katara ran through the 'palace' to their separate rooms. Katara found a large enough bag and started to just throw things in there that she might need. She packed some of the clothes she'd been given since her most recent growth. She'd grown in almost every direction. She'd gotten a lot taller than her thirteen year old self, and her bust and hips had grown, making her a very curvy eighteen year old, even with her winter coat on. Her hair was longer and thicker, her skin had stayed the same dark colour. She'd become quite a beauty, every one had told her constantly. She had people from all of the nations asking for her hand in marriage. Her and Aang had never really lasted, he'd decided that they'd taken a friendship and forced it into something else by his doing, so had asked if they could just be friends. Katara was relieved when he'd asked, she knew that they could just be friends. Aang came down to visit often, with Appa and Momo, mainly to go penguin sledding. Katara and Aang had become closer since they stopped dating, both glad to relieve some of the pressure.

Once Katara had packed, she lifted a chest out from under her bed and placed it on her bed. Opening the lid, Katara took out her water pouch, and her only pair of trousers. She pulled the trousers on under her tunic, swapping her great winter coat for a simple cloak instead. She picked up her bag and water pouch, swinging the bag onto her shoulder, and walking out through the palace to where the sleeping rolls should be. She couldn't find them.

"Sokka?" she called. "Have you seen my..." she stopped once she reached the front room. Sokka was rolling up her sleeping roll for her, and his was already packed.

"I've persuaded dad to let us leave early, he says we leave in an hour. Aang's here too." Sokka hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and headed out into the snowy lands they called home. Katara followed him, picking up her sleeping roll as she went.

Out side, the snow from their earlier snow fight had settled down, and Aang was surrounded by a flood of small children. There had been a boom in children since the end of the war four years ago, every one understood why.

"Aang!" Katara smiled, running to hug her best friend.

"Katara! Hey!" he grinned and hugged her back. "You ready to go?"

"What do you mean?" Katara frowned, confused.

"Yeah, Aang? What do you mean?" Sokka asked. "I mean, it's not like not we're glad to see you and fuzz ball over here," Appa groaned at him. "Hey." Sokka nodded in his direction. "But what do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm taking you to the fire nation. I delivered the message to Chief Hakoda." Aang told them. "Zuko really is ill. It's really weird. One day he was fine, we were practising fire bending all day. I went off to Fire Governor Iroh's quarters to discuss something with him before I went to bed. The next day, there was heat coming from his room, and he was spewing fire! From his mouth, and now his nose!"

"What?!" Katara's eyes widened.

"Yep." Aang made a hover ball and sat on it. "YangChen has no idea-"

"Who's YangChen?" Sokka asked, climbing up Appa. Aang blushed a deep red and Katara 'aw'ed.

"She's really nice... and she's an Air Nomad." Aang told them, taking Katara's pack from her.

"I thought they died out?" Katara let Aang help her up Appa, finding Momo sitting in the saddle.

"Her family was travelling around the Earth kingdom when the Air Nomads were attacked. They survived, blended in, and when she was born, she could Air Bend."

"Oh, wow! When do we get to meet her?" Katara asked as Aang climbed onto Appa's head. He reached back and rubbed the back of his neck. Even at sixteen, his childish habits still got the better of him.

"What would you say if I said you can't? Yip Yip!" he called out to Appa, who took off. Katara stopped their conversation to wave to her father, who waved back. Once the village was out of sight, Katara turned back to glare at Aang.

"What do you mean, 'we can't'?" Katara demanded.

"Well... she's gone to the Earth Kingdom while you're both here."
"Why?!"

"I told her to, just in case she gets hurt by Zuko. He tried to attack me this morning. Iroh wrote the message yesterday to be sent to you."

"Naw, Aang!" Katara threw her arms around his shoulders, smiling madly. "You're in love!" Aang got his lop sided, goofy grin.

"Yeah, she's great."

"And yet you don't want us to meet her?" Sokka asked.

"It's not that I don't want you all to meet, it's just... I don't want her getting hurt."

"Naw..." Katara smiled again. Aang rolled his eyes.

"Can you say anything else other than that?" he chuckled.

"Yeah," Katara leaned away. "How long has this been going on with Zuko? And what other symptoms are there?"

"He says it hurts, he was crying when Iroh wrote the letter for you."

"Crying?" Sokka looked doubtful. "I didn't think that fire boy knew how to cry?"

"Well, he's not stopped since this started. He's either crying, sleeping, or spitting fire. His temperature will rise to the point where he should be dead, even for a fire bender, and then drops to the same temperature as a water bender from the north." Aang told them.

"How long will it take to get there?" Sokka asked, worried for his friend.

"We'll get there by tonight, hopefully."