Today was the day. I had heard from my sneaking around the nearby Fire Nation outpost that the lovely banished prince Zuko and his ship were to be traveling down South on his trip to find the Avatar. They would be stopping at a nearby port town for a bit to refuel the ship and the soldiers themselves. This was my chance to join the war. I had decided to travel to the port town ahead of time and sneak onboard the ship and dress like a Fire Nation soldier. When, if Zuko ever found the Avatar, I would set him, or her free, and help them save the world. This was my master plan. And it sucked, because I had no clue as to what I'd do while the prince was searching for the Avatar. Anyway, I was growing restless in my village with nothing to do but practice earthbending moves I'd known since I was six years old. I decided that my retarded plan was better than sitting around waiting for another random Fire Nation raid. I packed some food and my mother's knife and said goodbye to my village. Actually, that's what I'd liked to have done. What I actually did was pack some food and my mother's knife, write a note to my father, kiss him lightly on the cheek while he was sleeping, and make my run to the next town in the dead of night. I…didn't want him to see me leave. I don't think I would have had the strength to leave if I had waited to tell him goodbye properly.

I waited for the ship to arrive on top of the roof of a small inn that had a perfect view of the harbor. That way, I would know when the ship docked. When it finally did, I watched almost all of the soldiers get off and go into the town for their small break. I saw the prince's uncle get off as well, but I didn't see the prince himself. Some of the soldiers had the brilliant idea to go into some bar for a few drinks. To my glee, one of them got too drunk, and stumbled into an alley, where I tailed him and hit him upside the head with the hilt of my mother's knife. He was out like a light. I took his uniform and tied him to a pole with his belt. I checked to make sure no one was nearby and put the uniform on when I was sure no one was around. I strolled casually to the ship and went aboard. The rest of the soldiers came back soon afterward; I fit right in. We left when morning hit. The voyage down south was pretty uneventful, except once when I was chosen to help the prince practice his firebending. Damn. He was good. I was lucky to escape the encounter without any burns. I had a couple bruises from where he had hit and kicked me, but I was okay with that. Any trip to the infirmary would have me exposed in a second.

We were sailing closer and closer to the Southern Water tribe, and I wondered if we would stop there to look for the Avatar. Prince Zuko was practicing firebending on the deck when a bright beam of light went up into the sky in the distance. I felt myself grow weak for as long as the light was visible. Zuko stopped in his tracks and I saw his eyes go wide.

"Uncle!" He turned around abruptly and ran into me head on. I couldn't get enough strength to move out of the way in time. My helmet fell off in the collision and I thought I stopped breathing for a minute.

"Get out of the w- hey, wait a minute…you-" I didn't waste another second. I got up from where I had landed on the floor and tried to run.

"Stop!" I ignored him and kept going.

"I said stop!" He tackled me to the floor with a growl. I started to squirm. He pinned my arms behind my back and pulled me to my feet.

"You're an Earth Kingdom girl, why are you here? And why did you impersonate one of my men?" he roared in my face. I flinched.

"Zuko, what hap- oh. Who is this young lady?" I tried to wrench myself out of the prince's grip as the man came closer.

"I saw that light, Prince Zuko. Do you know what that means?"

"Uncle, this girl is from the Earth Kingdom! She impersonated one of my men!"

"Hmm…she is a feisty one…"

"What are you doing on my ship?" I bit my bottom lip for a second or two, and then I turned my head to face him.

"I was waiting for you to find the Avatar. When you found him, I was going to set him free and help him end the war." He glared at me for a bit and then laughed at me. I returned his glare and kept glaring at him until his uncle noticed my eyes.

"Zuko, look at her eyes. They have the mark of the spirits. See how they are mismatched?" The prince shrugged off what his uncle said and used the arm not holding my arms behind my back to point at the spot where we had seen the light.

"Uncle, the Avatar must be close by! We have to keep going on to the Southern Water tribe!"

"Prince Zuko, this girl can help us find the Avatar. She is spiritually connected to all of the Avatars." The prince listened to this and turned me around to fully face him. He looked me in the eye and I couldn't help but stare at his scar. Suddenly, I wanted to touch it; to feel it; to see if it matched my own, smaller scar that I received when my mother had been taken. Then, he started shaking me.

"I asked you a question! Answer me! What is your name?"

"I-I, my name is Tomi! I haven't been touched by the spirits," I lied horribly, "my eyes are just weird! I'm not going to help you do anything!" He stopped shaking me and threw me backwards, away from him.

"Take her away until we get to the Southern Water tribe, or I'm going to hurt her." As two guards led me away, I kicked my fallen (stolen) helmet at him, clonking him in the back of the head.

"You couldn't hurt me if the Avatar himself gave you the power!" I said boldly, quite uncharacteristic of me. He turned and gave me an "I'm going to kill you if you don't shut up" look. I was quiet and let the guards take me to the brig without any more trouble on my part.

*** Her name is pronounced Toe Me, by the way. :D ***