Prologue

Cleaning the house inner yards was the hardest, most tedious thing Liang Mei could think of. Watering the plants would have to be done fast and firstly, since throwing the water would splash some mud on the narrow rocky paths between them, then the sun that came from the open ceiling would dry it and make it harder to mop. The girl was making sure that every rock was shimmering clean when her attention was called by Yun, one of the servants working with her, anouncing that their master demanded her prescence in the drawing room.

As she walked to said room trying not to step on the already clean tiles, the girl looked at the flowers and bushes that surronded her that her now deceased mistress, Nuan, would have loved to see bloom that spring. The young teen kept walking out of the room under a threshold, pass her masters chamber and to her right. There she found her master sitting in front of a guest, whose back was the only thing Liang Mei could see.

"Come child" Said Litenuant Jee with a warm smile. "I want you to meet an old friend and fellow warrior" The young black haired girl step forward, until she reached her masters side."His name" Continued the middle aged man "is General Iroh."

The visitor, who she noticed was an old man with a beard, laughed "Please, stop calling me that, I stopped being a General a long time ago" Liang Mei found herself smiling, his laugh had filled the room with contagious glee. She took a deep bow in front of the man "It's an honor to meet you, Sir." He mirrored her action before Jee interrupted.

"Bring us some tea, girl, and make yourserlf look decent, please."

Just then the girl noticed how out of place she was, being all day cleaning and cooking she was sweaty and her long hair had fallen loose from the tight ponytail she had combed it that morning. As she walk to the kitchen to brew the herbs, she was trying to remember the last time they had been visited by such important guest... or by anyone in that matter. Since Mistress Nuan had gotten ill, Lieutenant Jee decided to close the house doors from guests and parties. And later on, when she passed to better life, he fired most of the servants, leaving only Yun and Liang Mei to do the house chores.

"What do you think he's doing here?" Asked Yun entering the kitchen."I mean, it's not every day that a royal comes visit."

"A royal? But Master said he was a General..."

"Yes, General Iroh, former crowned Prince of the Fire Nation, doesn't ring a bell?" She leaned on the door way, smirking.

"Oh no," Liang Mei whispered under her breath, taking the teapot away from the fire. "Can you pour the water for me? The Jasmine flowers already are in the cups" She clean her hands on her appron and, without waiting for an answer, she quickly paced towards their room at the back of the house.

She entered her bedroom panting but didnt give herself time to catch her breath and moved to her cupboard. Taking off her apron and her clothes, she stood in her underwear robes looking for something more appropiate to have tea with a royal member. When she finished clothing, she took a look at the small mirror on the wall that she and Yun shared and liked what she saw, a girl in her early teens wearing a long dark red robe decorated with golden silk on its ends, that was closed around her waste. She pulled from the ribborn that tied her hair and brushed her dark locks in half a ponytail and let the rest to fall freely behind her back.

Once finished she walked towards the kitchen, where Yun gave her the trail with the tea filled cups. "Thank you" She let out as she lead her way as quickly as her balance allowed her to the room where the two man kept chatting.

"He is still healing, but the doctor can't tell if he'll be ever be able to see through his left eye again..." The conversation was interrupted when she walk in the room.

"Here's your tea, Your Highness." She said leaving the trail on the table before walking a couple steps back looking down.

"No, please, I left all those titles long ago... Please call me Iroh." He gave her a welcoming smile. She look back at him an nooded respectfully "As you wish, sir...Iroh."

"Come Liang Mei, sit with us. General Iroh is here to ask for my help and I'd like your advice on the subject." He gestured for her to sit next to him. Doing as told, she wondered what was so important that brought a General to ask for help but yet so dismissive to ask a girl for advice. "You see child," started Iroh taking a sip of his tea, "I have a ship that needs commandment and a crew. Litenuant Jee used to served for me on the battlefield, and I would like someone who I can easily trust as Captian of said ship, someone as Jee." The girl listened intently to the old man's words taking small sips of her hot Jasmine tea.

"Nevertheless, it's a sad but true statement that I am growing old. And being in command of an entire ship and its crew would be stressing. That is why I'm asking for a mediator in my judgment, thus your thoughts on the matter." Both men stared at the girl for an answer.

Putting her cup down, she speaked out, "How long would this ship be away?"

"We don't know, it could be years." She nooded, lost on her thought. She learnt from the very beginning not to ask to many questions about one's superiors choices.

After some minutes in which she thought of Jee's later months -spent in the house, walking around the garden and sometimes only coming out of his room to eat- her position on this discussion, a servant whom was almost like an adopted child by a caring couple, that was now being asked, indirectly, by her foster father if he should move on after his wife's death; the girl spoke.

"I believe that in your current state, you should take this..." Jee gave her a questioning glance "You have locked yourself away from the world in grief, we all miss Mistress Nuan, but somentime letting go of the past it's the best choice for oneself, being back in the sea would give you a fresh start." She gave him a sympatethic look.

After a moment of silence the Litenuant spoke "It seems that I'll have to sleep this throught..." Iroh nooded in understandment. "Then I should get going, please notify me in terms of a week, and in case the answer is afirmative, you desire to choose your own crew?"

"Yes, I would prefer it that way." Both man stood up and walked towars de door, Liang Mei following close.

"Thanks for having me, Jee," He then turned to the girls direction, bowing "It was an honor meeting you, your tea was delicious."

"Thank you, Iroh" She responded.

Four days after that day, Yun was called to her master office, Liang Mei later found out that the older teen was dismissed of her duties and sent to another high ranking soldier's house. The next day, she found herself walking towards the office, fearing to share the same fate as her friend.

"Come in" She heard from the other side of the door. She walked into the room and decided to stay standing near the door. The man sighted, "come sit here child..." He said pointing the sit infront of him.

The tension in the room was palpable. He didn't want to send her away, she had being with them three years, and not once she had dissapointed him or his wife. He could remember Nuan instructing the girl new dance moves that she could use during her perfomance at their parties. The girl sat on one of the coushions and he poured tea on her cup as he would do every weekend that he didnt expend away from home, telling her the weirdest stories from the Earth Kingdom. She took the cup and sip from it as the man began to speak. "As you would have guessed by now, I've decided to follow your advice on General Iroh's proposal, it is not healthy for me to stay in this house, Nuan would have hated to see me like this..."

Liang Mei didn't dare to look at him, she knew that if they locked eyes she would break down crying. She didn't want to go through the same adapting to a new home proscess, the terrifing idea of new masters that probably wouldn't be so kind to her. She was so deep into her mind that she didn't heard what the man was saying.

"Liang Mei? Are you listening?" The man tried to call her attention when he noticed that her head was low and she was fidgeting with her robe.

"Please don't send me away!" The girl looked up, eyes filled with tears. "Please..." She begged "It's hard to find masters that won't mistreat earth nation servants..." She was curt short by Jee.

"Child, I'm not dismissing you," Big hazel eyes met wise brown eyes in surprise "I'm asking you to come with me." The biggest smile was in Liang Mei's face. "Of course the ship would be filled with men, you would be the only woman and the quest wont have an end... but we can arrange you a cabin for your own and well, will see about that last one... but if you prefer that than to be here then..."

"Yes!" The raven haired almost jumped from her sit in excitement. "Thank you!"

"Very well then, we are leaving on three days, early morning, I want packed your more comfortable clothing, leave behind the fancy robes and have ready some fruits, you'll want to eat light the first days at sea." The girl nooded enthusiastically.

The Litenuant smiled as she leaved the room almost skipping.

-Well there it is the prologue, this story is already finished. I wrote the original six years ago (I can't believe it's being this long) and now, deleting old files on my computer I found this and decided to give it a shot. I'm of course fixing it because it had many errors, it still has but it's way better than the last one. Well, expect the next chapter for about Monday. This won't follow the story chapter throw chapter, I find that tedious so you'll se.