I hope that you enjoy this depiction of Zhao's life after the Northern Water Tribe. As requested, you might want to read Being A Concubine To Master before you read this. You will be able to find that story, and the sequel (which follows the storyline) called Betrayal. Please enjoy.

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Koori dived, never thinking, after her master. The current pulled her under and she could see his eyes becoming dull. She felt the tiny bubbled of air that floated to the surface and she screamed for him, exhausting her own lungs.

His eyes opened fully when he saw her floating beside him. The Ocean Spirit swiped, hitting her and cutting open her cheek. It batted at her and finally, the full figure appeared.

"Koori, your meaning for life is much deeper than this," he said.

Koori was facing the man. His long black hair encircled her and drew her into his body. The ornaments in his hair glinted against the waves. Koori's lungs were empty and the spirit shook his head.

When Koori woke from her unconsciousness, she looked around. The glassy blue walls that made a beautifully carved circle enveloped her. She heard his breathing. The groaning, short breaths of her master.

The tears came quickly. What had she just done? Had she violated the wishes of a spirit?

Her heart started to beat loudly and she leaned against the frozen walls. She put her hand over Zhao's mouth, just to be sure it was still warm and she gave a nervous laugh when she felt the heat. She pulled him closer and listened to the voices outside.

"We are unable to locate their leader, but the Avatar believes that we will see him no longer," she heard. Koori nodded her head. You will no longer see him, she thought

She heard a small groan and then she felt a hand grasp her chin.

"Koori," he whispered.

"Master," she whispered. "Please be quiet, they are still on the hunt for some firebenders."

He quieted and leaned against the frozen wall beside her. "If it is a fight they want…" her started, but then he looked at her face. It was badly bruised and bloody. Her eyes met his own and she shook her head.

"No more fighting, Master. We must find a way to escape without being noticed."

He looked around and crouched in the small tunnel. He started to firebend and Koori wanted to scream. His firebending was melting the tunnel and Koori grabbed his arm. He immediately stopped and Koori stuck her head out of the tunnel. Below them was a steep drop into the ocean surrounding the kingdom.

"Master," Koori whispered. He was listening intently to her. "If we throw large amounts of fire into the cave, the water that bursts out can be our cover."

"What are we going to do after we reach our water grave below?" he asked.

Koori continued to search. "There is a kayak that Prince Zuko used when he went into the Water Tribe. If we can find that, then we will be able to get out of here."

"You knew about that filthy piece of scum being alive?" he asked.

Koori stared at Zhao, knowing that it was not the time to tell him all of the misdeeds that she had done. She turned toward the darkness of the cave. "Are you ready?" she asked. He looked at her like he was going to rip her apart, but nodded. "On my count," she whispered. Zhao got into a stance, and Koori followed. "One." Zhao's breathing stopped. "Two." Koori sucked air into the pit of her stomach. "Three!" Both let out a powerful attack, which busted through the top of the pipe and brought water flooding into where they were standing.

"It wasn't enough," Zhao whispered. He heard the footsteps of the people above them and looked at Koori. He had never seen her look so frightened. She looked at him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He looked at her with a tinge of compassion. She pushed him to the side of the tunnel and let out a powerful lightening attack. The water broke through the cracks and Zhao was taken out of the tunnel and into the dark blue ocean below. Koori followed him and hit the water with a delicate dive. She popped back through the surface, but was unable to swim. She caught a piece of ice and started to drift far away from the Northern Water Tribe. She wanted to shout, but knew that she would be found out.

She tried to wait for Zhao to return to the surface, but she could not find him. She crawled onto the top of the ice drift and kept looking. The sun was slowly slipping behind the large city and she lost hope. She bowed her head and cupped her hands. A small prayer came from her weather-torn lips and she opened her eyes. Small hazel slits were staring at her.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Zhao whispered. Koori looked at him and noticed that he was in the kayak that Zuko had been in. She smiled and her lips started to bleed. "Are you coming?"

He ushered her to the tip of the kayak to sit on and she maneuvered herself off of the block of ice. She sat on the front of the kayak and Zhao covered her with the cape he had been wearing before his battle with Zuko. The edges were burnt, but the fabric was warm and would give Koori an added boost of warmth. Her back leaned against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He held the oar in both of his hands once she was seated and paddled off into the dark ocean.

Koori had fallen asleep in the safety of Zhao's arms. She woke up immediately when she felt a nudge against her leg. Her eyes followed the trail of ripples in the water. What had been nipping at her? She waiting for a while and saw that Zhao had fallen asleep in her shoulder. The oar was across Koori's knees and she grasped them. She started to paddle. The more that they paddled, the sooner they would be out of the ocean.

"You were not supposed to save him," the water whispered. "Do not anger the spirits."

Koori shook her head. "I angered nobody."

She continued to paddle and soon Zhao woke up. He watched her for a while and smiled when she grew tired. He grabbed the oar from her frozen fingers, startling her. Her face turned toward his and he placed the oar on her lap. He brushed his warm fingers through her hair and the ice melted. Koori managed a pale-faced smile and Zhao grinned.

"We have a large ocean to traverse," he said. Koori nodded. "Perhaps some conversation would keep the trip alive." Koori nodded again and Zhao cleared his dry throat. "Where did you learn to bend lightening?" he asked.

Koori stared into the dark water and thought carefully. "General Iroh taught me how to redirect lightening and how to make a spark. That was the first time that I actually developed a lightening bolt."

"What about Zuko?" he asked.

"I was the one that saved his life," Koori answered. She looked into his eyes and he threw her into the ocean. She gasped when she hit the icy water and he frowned. She had never learned how to swim, so she started to kick her feet as much as possible. Zhao's hand entered the water and he grabbed her collar. He pulled her head up and she shivered. She grabbed onto the side of the kayak and he grabbed her hands.

"Why?" he asked.

Koori was still shivering and could barely talk. "Ma…master," she whispered. Zhao watched her lips turn blue. "I…h-had toooo."

Zhao pulled her up onto the kayak with some difficulty. She sat on the front of the kayak, facing Zhao and rubbed some of the moist blood off of her face. "Explain before I leave you here," he said with a threatening tone.

Koori started to get warmer as her body began to firebend again. "I have no explanation for my actions," Koori said.

Zhao dropped her into the ocean once more and Koori kicked herself to the surface. She got angry fast and fired a large wave of fire through the kayak. The end fell off and filled with water. Zhao sank into the ocean and he fired a ball toward her direction. Koori ducked under the surface and opened her eyes. She watched Zhao swim toward her.

He brought her up to the surface. "You are a bigger idiot than I initially perceived!" he shouted, dragging her into the dark of the ocean.

Koori kicked him in the stomach. "No more, Master!" she shouted.

"No more?" he shouted back, splashing her with a wave.

Koori nodded as her lips shivered violently. "You are no longer going to be a respected leader in the Fire Nation. You have no more control over me!" Koori screamed out. She watched Zhao's facial expression and dipped her head into the water. She was struggling in the water and Zhao knew that he had never taught her how to swim.

He watched her struggle with a gleam in his eye at first and then he realized that she was the holder of his heir and he grasped her arm. He drug her to the surface and she gasped for air. He waited and then looked around the vast ocean while she coughed for air.

Koori looked around and found another chunk of ice. She pointed toward it and Zhao swam. She had her hands clasped around his shoulders and he pushed her onto the chunk. Once she was on top of the block, she reached down for him. He ignored her hand and pushed himself up. He ignored her while she planted her feet into the ice and lit up her hand into a beautiful glowing red. She then put as much energy as she could into her hands and leaned down toward the water. The block of ice started to move in the opposite direction she was firebending.

Zhao watched her and it took two days to get to the Earth Kingdom shores.

Please review. I would like to know if I should continue this depiction. Please give me hints on who I should introduce as well. :)