Zuko shot a tongue of fire at a tree and I flinched.

"Don't act like I'm going to hurt you!" he screamed at me, which I found puzzling. "I'm—" and his voice quieted. "I'm not going to hurt you, Yue."

I was confused. Very confused. He was my captor, he was cruel, he was constantly angry, he hurt my only friends, hurt my tribe, and now he was going on about how he would not hurt me. At the very least, I did not believe him.

"I am your prisoner. You intend to turn me over to the Fire Lord," I said plainly, keeping my tone as sweet and polite as possible while I said something I considered to be cold.

"Yes!" he shouted. "I know that!"

He ran his hand through his hair and groaned.

"We are lost, aren't we?" I said.

"YES!" he screamed. The birds vacated the highest branches. I watched them pass overhead in awe. We rarely ever had such creatures at the North Pole. Irately, he demanded, "Why do you have to look at everything like it's the first time you've seen it?"

"It is," I replied and he just shook his head. "This world is very amazing—"

"We are lost in the woods with the Fire Nation hunting us and so you can't act like you're all awe-inspired by everything around you, okay? So, stop it!"

"I will stop it," I agreed, unwilling to argue with him.

"Good," he snapped, although clearly still irate for some reason.

I wondered if he ever was not angry.

We wandered for hours and hours. The sun sank in the background and I tried to just breathe and accept my fate. I knew I could not survive without the man trying to conquer nature in the most foolish of ways.

I truly began to understand how he made the poor decision of getting himself stuck in a snowstorm with the Avatar.

After a thousand years, he halted and I stumbled to a stop.

"We should make camp for the night," gruffly ordered Zuko. I nodded and gave the small, ambiguous, feminine smile I always was taught. He bought it and looked vaguely reassured.

"How can I help?" I softly inquired, studying him intently. He squirmed slightly under my piercing blue gaze.

"Just sit down and don't move. I'll take care of it," Zuko ordered.

Due to his anger issues, I decided to just listen. I also did not know how to set up a camp in this climate. Then again, I did not think he had much experience in that either.

He gathered large leaves and sticks as I watched and sipped water. He removed his shirt as he worked and his muscles glistened with sweat. Finally, he formed a shelter from what he gathered. It looked like a nest for a small animal, like the ones the polar fox-bears burrowed into at the North Pole. Something odd inside of me that I did not understand looked forward to sharing such a small space with him.

Zuko hung his shirt up in the branches and I grasped at my own clothes. I did not want to lose them tonight, but he paid me no mind.

The Fire Nation Prince was chiseled and toned, a brilliant body he hid beneath the ragged clothes we were forced to wear. He looked like an ice sculpture of a legendary hero. Looking at him made my heart flutter in my chest and my cheeks become hot.

He began to gather wood, hauling the heaviest pieces I could see. I licked my lips and looked away while he stacked them into a fire. Breathing in the bitter early spring air, I observed his talent at setting up a camp. He kept glancing at me as he tore branches from trees. I watched, head cocked to the side, while he wiped the sweat from his brow in an exaggerated fashion. It became evident quite quickly that he was trying to impress me while he set up our makeshift camp.

"Where did you learn to do this?" I curiously inquired as he lit the fire with one gesture of his hand. He gave it another blast of flame for no reason; I suppose he merely felt like bending.

"Fire Nation soldiers all learn it as part of their extensive training. They taught me during my exile," stated Zuko and I nodded. "You know, exile wasn't the worst thing that happened to me. It made me powerful, and it gave me opportunity to collect the most valuable prisoners of war in history. I will have my crown again in a short while."

"Are—are you talking about me?" I said softly, glancing both ways for no reason.

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes and making a grunting noise in the back of his throat. I just nodded at him, flashing an ambiguous and feminine smile that I was taught to perform in uncomfortable situations. "And I am strong enough to take you and the Avatar to my father. I mean, you're good bait for the Avatar and you're a good prisoner for my father to keep. We still need to bring down the Northern Tribe after Zhao failed so shamefully."

He looked pleased by the failure, but I knew it was not out of any love for my people.

"Oh." I did not know what else to say. Of course, I knew I needed a way to escape being taken to Fire Lord Ozai. I also knew that Aang was my friend and I could not bear to let him be captured too. But he had the powerful Katara and Sokka to take care of him. I was alone in the world.

Prince Zuko suddenly handed me food he had gathered. "These are sugar berries. They're sweet."

I smiled at him and accepted the red fruit. Slowly, I raised it to my lips, praying that they were not poison, and I instantly tasted the rush of sugar in my mouth. It made my eyelashes flutter from the happy sensation.

"They are wonderful," I said breathlessly and he just nodded with a shrug of his muscular shoulders, a quick cavalier motion that I knew meant more than he wanted it to mean.

"They're probably the last sweet thing I'm ever going to taste now that I'm on the run. At least until I get you back to the Fire Nation and hand you over to my father," said Zuko.

We then settled around the campfire, across from each other, the flames obscuring some of our features but illuminating others.

"Prince Zuko," I said as I warmed my hands over the fire, "I have noticed something."

"What?" he demanded.

"That you seem to think your life is much worse than everyone else's."

The fire flared and I barely recoiled in time to avoid a bad burn. I stared at him, puzzled. It seemed like a fairly innocent statement. Did he not know?

"Because it is!" was his livid response.

"Oh," I whispered, hanging my head and averting my eyes.

Zuko angrily stood. "I'm going to grab a few branches for later in the night. It's cold."

I nodded. I knew that first hand after sleeping in the woods so recently.

As he got up and walked towards the tree, I saw him trip over the rocks and I wanted to leap to my feet but instead I hid and cowered as he collided with the rocks, scraping himself and crumbling his body. Slowly, I got up and moved towards the boy who suddenly laid in a pool of blood.

"What—what happened?" I stammered softly, trying to remain calm. I was a princess and needed to stay composed even in situations like this.

Zuko groaned and did not saw a word. I saw the blood all over his face and his bare chest. Slowly, I took his arm and tried to help him to his feet, but I was not strong enough.

He finally pushed himself to his feet and swayed on them as he sat near the fire. I saw the scream hidden behind his pursed lips and my heart began to pound in my chest.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, eyes wide.

"Y—I think so," he grunted, but I knew that was not true. I already saw the bruising on his ivory skin, and the blood did not help. It spurted from his arm, which was a bad sign.

"How?" I whispered, shivering from both the cold and the terror.

"I—I just got tired," he spat, furrowing his brow, lip twisted into an angry snarl. "Maybe if you helped I wouldn't have been too exhausted to walk straight. Or if you hadn't been so rude I wouldn't be preoccupied with angry thoughts!"

I blushed, at a loss for words. He snarled through his teeth like an injured animal. I was afraid; I did not know what to do.

"Aren't your people healers?" he shouted and I recoiled. "Your people are healers!"

"I am not a waterbender," I said under my breath. "Only our waterbenders can heal."

He howled like a scared wolf. I wanted to run away, but I had nowhere to go. Whether I liked it or not, I was staying with Prince Zuko.

"YOU ARE USELESS!" he screamed in my face and I forced myself to stay calm.

I showed none of my anger; I was a princess, after all. I merely nodded and avoided eye contact. That seemed to make him twice as livid; I never knew with this boy.

"Should I get you help?" I whispered nervously, eyeing his wounds in utter horror.

"No," he growled, snapping and snarling. "I'm not letting you run away. I'd rather die like a hunted fox-deer than end up empty-handed!"

"I don't want to run away; I want to save you," I whispered, trying to make clear my loyalty without seeming not genuine. Maybe I was not. Maybe I was just being polite or maybe it came from my upbringing but I did not like seeing him hurt.

Zuko spat and I cringed. I shivered and shook, but not from the cold nighttime air. He glowered at me until I stood and took a few steps back.

"Go to sleep," ordered Zuko, stumbling to the den he built and lying down inside. I followed him and curled up. There was not much space, but we made do.

"I will try to sleep," I whispered, knowing it would be an unpleasant night for both of us.

He groaned more than once as I shivered and tried to sleep, pressed against his warm body in the makeshift shelter. I felt his chest shudder upon occasion and it made my heart skip a beat every single time.

Finally, I fell asleep, pressed against him and nestled in our den.

x

In the bitter morning, I woke in a cold sweat, trying to breathe. Slowly, I gazed up at the sky through the shelter ceiling. Turning to my left, I saw Prince Zuko shivering, his wounds even worse this morning. I had to help him; there was no other choice.

"Zuko," I whispered, gently nudging him. "Zuko."

He woke with his teeth bared. "What?"

"Prince Zuko, I need to go to town; I need to get you help; you're badly wounded," I anxiously said, tenderly touching his shoulder and blinking twice. He gritted his teeth and sighed and groaned and finally made up his mind.

He studied himself and seemed to come to the proper conclusion.

Angrily, he asked, "Can you do that? I don't think you can do that. This is a bad idea. You're not—you're completely useless!"

Softly and smoothly, I replied, "Please trust me. I can get you help in town; I promise."

Zuko sighed and winced. It was clear he loathed what needed to happen, and I suppose I understood why. He needed me as a prisoner and feared he would lose that advantage. Yet, I knew he would not, since I refused to let him die in the woods like an animal.

I would return with help for him if it was the last thing I did.

Helplessly, he asked, "You're coming back, right?"

I nodded, because I meant it. I doubted I would make it far without his help. This wilderness was not hospitable to me, a girl from the land of snow and ice.

Slowly, I rose from Zuko's side and started walking in the direction I thought to be right. Hopefully I remembered the path back to the last town we were in. As I walked, I eventually noticed strange, reptilian footprints sunken into the copious mud. They seemed fresh. My skin broke out in goosebumps; I hoped such a monster was not stalking me.

On my way, I stopped several times from exhaustion and ducked under trees to hide from the sweltering sun. Memories of Prince Zuko's injuries kept me going when I wanted to stay in the shade.

Finally, I reached the town. I started walking around, frantically looking for someone—anyone—to help me, but a bustling village had become a ghost town within a few days.

How could this be?

"Princess!" chirped a high, girlish voice. "Princess, there's somebody loose!"

I froze up, panicked.

Suddenly, I saw Zuko's sister emerge from nothingness. My heart pounded and plummeted into my sick stomach. Fear burned my insides.

"And you must be…?" purred the Fire Princess. Her voice was hypnotic, beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

"Yue," I said on reflex. Maybe I should have lied. I did not know.

"Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe. My, my, you are a long way from home," purred Azula, slowly advancing on me. I thought I might die of fright.

"Please don't—don't do anything to me. Zuko is badly hurt and we need to get him help," I implored, keeping my tone calm, sweet, polite and regal. It must work on her. Zuko was her brother and she ought to care enough to help me help him.

Azula cackled. She seemed entertained by my pain and I felt a rush of anger that I cooled and beat back. It was not becoming of a princess to experience rage.

"You will not find help here," said Azula, smirking at me. "I conquered this quaint little village for my father. It thought it could be free. How adorable."

I glanced between her two scary friends. They were slowly advancing on me, one tiny step at a time. My stomach did numerous backflips.

"Your brother is injured. Do you want him to die?" I said, offering an ambiguous, feminine smile. That should work, right?

Offhandedly, Princess Azula said, "Honestly, I wouldn't care if he did. Ty Lee!"

A fist collided lightly on four parts of my body. Breathlessly, I hit the ground. Crunch.

Princess Azula loomed over me, smug as could be.

"I forgot to say—how rude of me—I am pleased to meet you," the princess purred.

She smirked.