Okay, I thought this story was going in a completely wrong direction so I decided to rewrite it. Sorry about any typo's I might make, it's kind of late right now.

Oh, and Pyro means fire, so I feminized it. Pyra is the younger sister of Zuko and older sister of Azula.

This starts during The Fortuneteller episode.

I don't remember if the head of Zuko's ship is a Captain, so I'm sorry if it's something else.

Pyra's POV

"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm, but if we keep heading northeast…"

I was listening to Zuko and the Captain plan the next move to capture the Avatar. I think my brother has become really obsessed with capturing the twelve-year-old that it's almost unhealthy. I was jarred out of my thoughts when a much larger ship pulled up next to ours.

"What do they want?" Zuko growled, always the angry person.

"Perhaps a sporting game of Pi Sho," my Uncle Iroh responded and pushed a game piece across the board. The opponent made a face as Uncle pulled the pieces toward him and tried to convince them to play another game. I smiled and laughed under my breath. I decided that I got my sense of humor from my uncle.

The captain of the other ship came onto ours and demanded Zuko give him information about the Avatar, that he was a prime importance.

"I have no information," Zuko replied. Okay, sometimes I admire my brother's perseverance.

I slowly stood up from where I was slouched against a wall, unnoticed by everyone except Uncle, who caught my move and gestured to me to stay still. I scowled but knew it would be futile for me to say anything. While Zuko still could go back to being a Prince, I was stuck as just Pyra.

I was pulled into a memory and more or less ignored stayed where I was.

Flashback

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as the maid straightened my clothes. The pure anger roiled within me and I felt like I was about to explode from it if I said anything.

"You're ready, Princess," at the maid's indication, I walked out the door to my quarters and down the hall, making my way to the throne room. It was on the other side of the palace so I had time to think.

The bad news: I would have to pass the healing chambers to get to where I was going. It was where Zuko was right now. Zuko was my older brother and I'd looked up to him my whole life. We'd helped each other through the harder paces of bending and explored together. Zuko was my role model and now he was in the infirmary. He was in the infirmary because of our father.

My hand wound into a fist at the very thought of it.

It was during the war meeting. Zuko was just past fourteen and Uncle Iroh allowed him into his first meeting.

According to my uncle, Zuko had spoken out against the general's plan and it was an act of complete disrespect. My brother was challenged to an Agni Kai with our father as his opponent. It was how Zuko got that nasty burn on his face and the source of all my pent up anger from the years.

My life seemed to have fallen apart after my mother left. Grandfather Azulon became anger at my father for requesting that he revoke Iroh of his birthright, that Ozai would feel the pain of losing a first-born son. You guessed it, the first-born son was Zuko. Ozai had been charged with killing his own son.

I'd gone to my mother then, about to tell her what was happening, when I saw the hidden turmoil written all over her face, I was only nine but I knew what I saw.

"Go to your room Pyra." She'd told me. "I have a plan. Don't do anything rash to anger the Fire Lord any further."

I opened my mouth then to say that I wouldn't do anything rash, but she silence me.

"Pyra," she whispered, kneeling down to come to my level. "Don't deny it. Your temper is large. It always has been, but I need you to keep your head from now own. I want you to watch out for your brother from now on."

"Why does it sound like you won't be here?" I asked in a whisper.

She hugged me and whispered, "Never forget who you are Pyra. You're my daughter. You're Avatar Roku's great-granddaughter and I want you to remember that nothing is ever truly lost. Promise me you won't forget."

"Mom…"

"Promise me!" she commanded in a whisper. I looked straight into Mom's golden eyes that we both shared and I said.

"I promise, but you don't want me to tell anyone do you?"

She shook her head. "No Pyra. I need you to stay silent." She hugged me again, and, pulling a dark cloak around her, went toward the throne room.

I never saw her again.

I took a deep breath and entered the same throne room that my mother had disappeared into four years ago.

I walked forward and knelt in front of the throne, waiting for Fire Lord Ozai to recognize my presence.

And after a few minutes, he did.

"Why are you here my daughter?"

"Just a simple question father," I replied, still kneeling. "Do you think that the best way to destroy your enemy is to be able to predict what they'll do next, and being able to cancel the move before it ever happens, leaving them with no options?"

He didn't say anything for a minute. "Tell me more," he finally said.

I took a deep breath again. "Well, father, if you sent me with Zuko I would be able to study the rebellions, perhaps, and we would better be able to anticipate their next moves, maybe even how'll they'll react in a battle, so we can better destroy them."

I really hoped Ozai was buying this lie. In truth, I was keeping my promise to Mom to watch out for my older brother.

"What makes you think that the Earth Kingdom would tell anything to a Fire Nation Princess, Pyra?"

"Nothing, but a lowly servant, sent to the market to buy supplies? I could pose as a servant and none of the Earth Kingdom fools would really know the difference. It would just take the right… persuasions."

He thought for a minute, leaving me there on the floor. In that short time, millions of possibilities rushed through my head. None of them were any good.

Finally he rose and walked toward me. When he was in front of me, he told me to rise and face him. I did, keeping the straight face of a hardened warrior.

"Are you saying you wish to accompany your disrespectful brother as a lowly servant girl, and not a young woman of your dignity?"

"I would accompany my brother and report back to you of anything I can gather of the Earth Kingdom. The servant would be a disguise I would use to gather said information."

"You think you would be more useful there? Instead of here, learning to be a proper princess and second-in-line to the most powerful throne in the world."

"In a way, yes, I do. I could always continue my studies on my return home."

"You are aware that servants do not have the gift of bending fire?"

"Yes Father, but as I said, it would be a disguise."

"Yes, it would be. But this is proof that you will follow that disgraceful son of mine anywhere."

My eyes flew open and before I could protest, I went stiff with shock. I felt colder than ever, the hot Fire Nation blood had lost its heat. What the heck?!

"What… what are you doing?" I stammered.

"Pyra, Pyra, Pyra, don't you know that Fire Benders can as much put out a fire as they can start it?"

I gasped and backed up a step.

"What did you do to me?!" I screamed.

"You will accompany your disgraceful brother on his futile quest to capture the Avatar. As of now, you no longer bear the title of Princess and are revoked of any chance of regaining it. You are no daughter of mine."

When I finally returned to reality, the other captain and his ship had left and the only ones left in the room were the sailor at the wheel, me, and my Uncle, who was sitting beside me.

He gently placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me. It was only then that I realized I'd been crying through the memory, the memory of losing my bending.

"Memories?" he asked. I nodded my head as the only answer.

Without saying anything, I stood and walked out of the room leaving my Uncle staring at my back.

I eventually found myself on the deck of the ship, watching a frustrated Zuko practice bending.

I walked over to him.

"Zuko, are you angry at the world again?"

He nodded without stopping his angry fire blasts.

"Would you mind helping me with my swords?" I asked.

He looked at me, exhaled, and nodded again. I unsheathed the swords from the hilt on my back and brandished them in a fighting stance.

Ever since I'd lost my bending, Zuko had been teaching me how to use broad swords. I was pretty good, but I still needed a lot of practice."

I slashed the swords at imaginary opponents while my brother watched me. After half an hour of him not saying anything, I looked at him.

"Can we do some real combat?" I asked. He shook his head.

"You barely use your swords anymore."

He shrugged. "I need to focus on Fire Bending."

I studied him for a second, not saying anything. "You're really good with your swords Zuko. I bet you could fight with just them if you had to."

He nodded. "Perhaps I could."

I didn't know I'd planted a seed.

Being the caring sister that I am, I sheathed my swords and started back toward my room on the tiny ship.

Zuko stopped me when he grabbed my shoulder.

"I'll lose my country if Zhao gets to the Avatar before I do." I nodded.

Then he surprised me with a question.

"Why do you have to look and act so much like Mom?"

I didn't think I acted like Mom that much, but I knew I looked like her.

"Someone has to make sure you don't get into too much trouble." I said. "Mom did a pretty good job of it."

I turned to my brother and hugged him quickly.

"Thanks for saying that." I whispered, and turned and walked away so he couldn't see the tears coming out of my eyes.

Okay, that's the first chapter and I will clear a few things up with a quick timeline, with the years of Pyra as the years.

A few minutes – Pyra is born, the second child of Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa. 1 year younger than her older brother, Zuko.

1 year, three months – Azula is born, third child of Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa. She is 1 year younger than her sister, Pyra, and two years younger than her older brother, Zuko.

1 year, ten months. Summer solstice: Princess Pyra Fire Bends for the first time, a large burst of flame during a formal dinner.

9 years, two months – Princess Ursa disappears, leaving Pyra to look after Zuko.

9 years, three months – Firelord Ozai is crowned, and Pyra gains the title, Princess.

13 years, seven months – Princess Pyra requests to go with her brother into exile, and has her bending taken from her.

15 years, 2 months – the story begins.