Chapter One
It was a fine summer's day on the small Fire Nation Isle: the everyday hustle and bustle of the somewhat naïve villagers continued as if no war was waging just a few miles away from them. In fact, only one young girl felt the impact of the devastating battles going on around them. Her name was Kora, a fifteen year old girl whose father had been drafted into the Fire Nation army just a few years ago. Since then she had been on her own; her mother had died when she was very young. Besides the extra jobs she had to work, Kora's life seemed to carry on without hindrance: she did an excellent job of covering the loneliness she felt inside despite the kindness of most of the islanders.
One of her main jobs was at the tiny restaurant on the isle. Today had been a particularly slow day, and Kora found herself staring off across the ocean more than usual. There she was now, half finished wiping off a table and staring out across the blue waters, her golden blonde curls shimmering slightly in the reflected sunlight. Suddenly, a slight tug on her long ponytail brought her back to reality. She reluctantly turned her purple eyes from the ocean and turned towards her employer, who was smiling slightly at her inability to pay attention for more than five minutes.
"I'm sorry Hiroshi, I spaced out again..." Kora said, laughing nervously and shifting uneasily. He simply laughed with her. She was thankful to have such a kind boss.
"No need to apologize Kora, I can see why you would need to find something more interesting than serving nobody," he said casually, motioning towards the empty tables scattered around the restaurant, "Besides, you're done for the day. Let's see here, I do believe its pay day today..."
Hiroshi stroked his graying beard for a moment, contemplating Kora's wages for the week. She waited patiently as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some coins. After he counted out his rather generous salary, Kora bowed slightly.
"Thank you Hiroshi. I'll see you tomorrow!"
Once she had left the small building, Kora headed back towards her tiny home near the water's edge. She smiled again as the coins in her hand glimmered in the fading sunlight. Hiroshi had been almost like a grandfather to her ever since her father had left, and she would be eternally grateful for his kindness.
Kora fingered the pendant around her neck absent-mindedly. It was a tiny, intricate rose on a chain, given to her by her father. It was really the only thing she had left of him, and she didn't even know if he was still alive or not.
After changing out of her work clothes into a far more comfortable red kimono, Kora headed towards her favorite spot on the entire isle: a clearing in the thick forest behind her house that opened into a small bay. As she walked, she remembered the many times her father had taken her to their 'secret spot' when she was little. He would practice his elaborate fire-bending techniques, just for her to watch in awe. But then he had left for the war...
A loud noise and the distant sound of voices brought Kora back to the present. The noise sounded like some sort of large animal, something she had never heard before. As she rounded the corner, she was met with a strange sight: a large furry animal lay on the edge of the clearing with a giant saddle on its back. A boy and a girl in what seemed to be water tribe clothing were packing up all sorts of supplies and tossing them onto the great saddled animal. Sokka, Katara, and Appa, to be exact, didn't seem to notice her presence.
Kora stepped backwards slightly. What were two water nation people doing on a fire nation isle, not to mention what in the world was this large furry animal? In her confusion, Kora stepped on a branch and it snapped. Sokka and Katara immediately looked in her direction.
"Hey! You! What are you doing lurking around here?" yelled Sokka as he fumbled around his bags, trying to locate his dagger. Katara had just opened her canteen of water when Kora heard someone else behind her. She turned around to find a boy of no more than twelve years, blue tattoos of arrows on his bald head and his hands: the marks of an air bender. Kora staggered backwards into a tree and looked around at the strangers, trying to comprehend the magnitude of the situation. The Avatar, the one that the Fire Lord was searching for so relentlessly, right in front of her.
"Quick, stop her Aang! She's fire nation!" yelled Sokka again as he ran up to Kora and Aang, his dagger in hand.
"Calm down Sokka! She looks harmless to me..." said Aang with a grin, which surprised Kora even more. The image of the Avatar had always been portrayed to her as stern and powerful, not some little child.
"Fine Aang, but if we end up burned to a crisp, then I'm blaming you." said Sokka with a slight 'humph.' Kora shook her head.
"Please, I'm not a fire-bender..."
Sokka and Katara seemed to relax a bit and Aang grinned again.
"See, I told you Sokka! She's harmless."
"Then what's she doing around here?" said Katara, speaking up for the first time. Kora sighed slightly and straightened up.
"Maybe I should be asking you guys the same question? What are you doing here on fire nation territory?" she said, looking back at Aang. "It could be very dangerous for all of you..."
"I think we can all manage without your concern," said Sokka warily, "Besides, since when do your people care about the welfare of the Avatar?"
Kora sighed again and brushed a stray lock of golden hair out of her eyes as she recalled the statement the fire nation soldiers had made a few years earlier. If ever the Avatar was spotted, he was to be turned in immediately. If the citizen failed to comply, well that was up to the Fire Lord to decide. But no, she could never turn in the very person who was trying to stop who had taken her father away. She would do anything, even help the Avatar, just to spite the Fire Lord.
"Look, I'm not like all of the others. I won't turn you in, I promise. If I can help you, I will."
Sokka eyed her carefully, as if inspecting her. He still seemed quite wary of her: and she couldn't blame him.
"No, I don't think we need your help. We were just leaving, anyway." said Sokka, giving Kora one last criticizing look then turning to pack up the rest of the supplies. Katara gave her an exasperated smile.
"I'm sorry; my brother can be a bit paranoid sometimes. I'm Katara, it's nice to meet you." she said, shaking Kora's hand.
"I'm Aang! Pleased to meet you!" he said enthusiastically.
"I'm Kora, and I'm very pleased to meet all of you..." she said, looking in Sokka's direction. All she received back was another 'humph.'
"Come on you guys, we have to get going." shouted Sokka over his shoulder. Aang and Katara nodded reluctantly and climbed up onto the huge animal.
"Goodbye and good luck on your journey." said Kora, waving slightly. Aang and Katara waved back, and they were about to take off when Katara told them to stop.
"Wait! Where's MoMo?"
Before anyone could answer her question, a speeding ball of fur whisked around the trees and into the clearing. The flying lemur, as it turned out to be, circled Aang's head a few times, then settled on his shoulder while trying vainly to extinguish a tiny flame on the tip of its tail. In one fluid motion, Katara put out the fire with the water from her canteen.
"MoMo, what happened?" said Aang frantically. Mo Mo answered by jumping up and down, squeaking, and pointing in the direction that Kora had come from. But it was too late: a blast of fire and a few shouts signaled the arrival of Fire Nation soldiers. Kora grabbed Sokka's arm as he was getting out his dagger.
"What?"
"Just go! Don't fight them. Just go." she said, trying to do all she could to help them. Maybe if they left, the soldiers would be preoccupied with the 'traitor' and not pursue them.
The three of them just stared at her, but after much motioning towards Appa and the nearing voices of the soldiers, they hopped onto the flying bison. Katara was about to say something when Kora waved them off. Aang watched her worriedly, but took off just as the soldiers rounded the corner. Relieved, Kora turned around to face a very intimidating soldier towering above her. She shivered slightly and backed into a tree.
"Take her." he said simply. In a matter of seconds, she was bound and tossed over the shoulder of one of the soldiers. The last thing she remembered after a cloth was placed over her mouth was thinking that she had done it: she had helped the Avatar.
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Prince Zuko sat quietly at the large desk in his room, studying what seemed to be a map of the possible courses of the Avatar. It was almost nightfall now, and Zuko had not left his room for the entire day: leaving his crew completely clueless as to where they were to go. Suddenly, a knock on his door brought him out of his feverish map studying.
"Come in..." he grumbled, rather irritated. The door opened to reveal Uncle Iroh with an agitated look on his face.
"Yes Uncle...?"
"Zuko, are you planning on spending your entire life in here? You have a crew to direct, and you haven't come out of here all day. You haven't even eaten!"
Zuko sighed and glared back down at his map.
"Stop ordering me around Uncle. I'm not a child." said Zuko angrily. Iroh rolled his eyes at his nephew's stubbornness. He could tell he was getting nowhere.
"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll leave you to your work..." he said, glancing disdainfully at the map. "At least tell me if we're stopping at the island you mentioned yesterday or not."
"That's fine. We need more supplies, anyway. Once we get there, tell the crew to stock up. We'll be docking there for the night." said Zuko, without looking up from his map. Iroh simply nodded and left the room.
"He needs a girl..." said Iroh absent-mindedly once he had shut the door behind him. He had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the thought of Zuko in love as he walked down the hallway.
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Later that night, one of the crew members boarded the ship and approached Iroh. After a few minutes of hushed conversation, they bowed slightly to each other and Iroh set off briskly toward Zuko's room.
Zuko grumbled quietly as another knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. But this time Uncle Iroh didn't wait for an answer to enter. Once he had shut the door behind him, he turned to face Zuko's puzzled look.
"A crew member has just brought me some interesting information, Zuko. I thought you should hear it right away." said Iroh as Zuko settled back in his chair to listen. "Supposedly there has been a rumor going around the island that a traitor is being held on an isle not far from here."
"So? My father can deal with traitors." said Zuko matter-of-factly. Iroh shook his head excitedly.
"I don't know much about the prisoner, but I know why they were arrested: for associating with the Avatar and helping him." said Iroh. Zuko stood up, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
"I think we'll be changing our plans for tomorrow. I'm sure whatever this prisoner has to say will be a lot more valuable to us."