AN: Thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows everyone! This chapter took a while to write and I hope you like it!

D: I only own my OC

Zuko's warship left the harbor maybe an hour or two before noon. The crew went about their jobs, and Zuko disappeared. Probably to his room, Lily figured. And Lily felt out of place. She wasn't a member of the crew, nor did she know any of them. She didn't have anything to do nor did she know what to do with herself with all this free time. She was starving, but she didn't feel it was her place to ask for food. She was also exhausted. At least twenty-four hours had passed, she guess more though, since she had last rested.

General Iroh must have been thinking the same exact thing though because he called her over to him and showed her to the kitchen below deck.

"You look famished." He said as he spooned some stew into a bowl for her. "Starving." She agreed, her stomach growled loudly in confirmation. The generals' stomach made the same sound making Iroh laugh as he poured the steamy, lumpy liquid into his own bowl.

Then they both pulled out the wooden chairs that surrounded the small wooden table the chef used as a prep area.

"May I ask you a question, General?" Lily asked after eating a spoonful of stew. A delicious spicy stew. She hasn't had anything spicy in forever.

"Please, call me Iroh or Uncle Iroh. Whatever you wish."

"Errr… okay."

"And yes, ask away."

"Why did you ask me to join you?" She asked curiously.

"Oh…uh, for selfish reasons really." He seemed hesitant to explain that.

"Care to elaborate?" She prodded.

"You know how my nephew is-"

"Arrogant, selfish, rude and sometimes mean?"

"Exactly! He needs someone who will tell him when he's being too…hotheaded."

"You seem well grounded, couldn't you do that?"

"He doesn't listen to me." He said frustrated. Iroh and Lily had finished their soup.

"What makes you think he will listen to me?" She asked, placing the spoon in the bowl.

"He has already, haven't you seen it?"

"No?" He seemed like the type of prince who didn't listen to anyone.

"Unlike the crew, and the rest of the fire nation for that matter, you let him know when he's being…well-"

"Arrogant, selfish, rude and sometimes mean?" She repeated and began playing with the flames from the candles that lit the room.

"Yes, exactly. You have the backbone to stand up to his tantrums."

"If you think so." Lily sighed.

"I know so." He said confidently. But she wasn't convinced.

"Allow me to show you to your room. I am sure you must be tired." After they finished washing their bowls, Iroh led Lily towards her new quarters.

Unbeknownst to Lily and Iroh, Zuko had heard almost all of their conversation. The prince was going to get something to eat for himself when he had heard two voices already in the kitchens. Zuko was about to enter anyways but he heard his uncle mention his name and he decided to listen instead.

What his uncle said didn't really surprise him. But his temper flared and his fists clenched when the girl called him selfish, rude and something else. She didn't know what he's been through, why he has to capture the avatar. She didn't know anything.

Zuko heard the clinking and clattering of the dishes being washed and put away and took that as a signal they were done then quickly walked back up to the main deck to avoid being caught.

The general walked back up a flight of stairs to show Lily where the living quarters were. He pointed at the end of the hall where his room was and toward the middle where Zuko's was. Hers was diagonal from the princes. Iroh pushed the door open to reveal Lily's new home.

The room itself was decently sized and darkly lit. Iroh flicked small flames from his fingers towards the candles to light them. A small, twin sized bed rested against one wall. On either side were nightstands, and along the opposite wall was a dresser. Not much, but more than she was used to.

The general had left, telling her she should get some rest. Lily tested out the bed by falling into the mattress and shoving her face into the pillow. Way comfier than a lumpy earth floor as a bed, she thought before quickly fell asleep. Her face still mashed into the pillow.

Her nap was disrupted what seemed like five minutes later. In reality it had been an hour later. Years ago, she would have been able to sleep through it, but now she was a light sleeper. There was shouting on the main deck; something it seemed like she would be getting accustomed too in the next few days.

Lily meandered her way down the hall and up the steps until she was blinded by the brightness of the sun. She shaded her eyes to see what was causing the ruckus.

Prince Zuko was at the front of the ship looking through a telescope. His uncle was standing behind him with his arms across his chest.

"Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, this is the most foolish." Iroh didn't like the idea of sailing into fire nation waters, for some reason. But the prince ignored his uncle.

"There they are. Helmsman, full steam ahead." Zuko then called for the catapult to be brought on deck. As the crew loaded it, they began pouring this awful smelling liquid onto it.

"Really prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"

"On my mark, fire!" The catapult released the giant rock, sending it spinning towards the avatar. Narrowly missing him.

"Uh oh." That's when they saw it.

"A blockade."

"Technically we are still in earth kingdom waters, turn around now and they cannot arrest you." The prince's uncle reasoned with his nephew.

Surely the avatar would not fly through the blockade, there was a very small chance they would make it passed unscathed.

"He's not turning around."

"Please prince Zuko, if the fire nation captures you, there is nothing I can do."

"I'm sorry uncle. Run the blockade."

Suddenly, the ships creating the blockade released their own catapults. The projectiles nearly hit the avatars flying bison, one of them did hit the back of their own ship.

"Prince Zuko, the engines are damaged, we need to stop and make repairs." The engineer shouted from the rear of the ship.

"Do not stop this ship." Zuko ordered.

Lily glided over next to the prince to get a closer look at the upcoming ships.

Uh oh….That ship. Surely it wasn't that ship. Lily quickly rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. But when she reopened them and saw her father's ship ahead she felt sick to her stomach.

"Prince Zuko you have to turn around."

"We are not turning around." He said without looking away from his spyglass.

"Zuko, please." She begged. The plea in her voice caught his attention and he finally looked away from the sky to look at the petrified girl next to him. Gone was the strong, fierce girl he thought he knew.

"Turn around." She pleaded with him.

"I can't."

"Zuko we are on a collision course." Iroh shouted.

"We can make it."

Lily began pacing rather quickly. Her anxiety was increasing with the decreasing distance between her and her father.

What could he do? Her father was on a completely different ship. But what if he stopped them? He could take her back to his ship if he really wanted to. Flashes of being locked in a room, or worse a cell, clouded her vision.

Or maybe her fears were pointless. Maybe her father actually missed her and would welcome her back. Not that she would go back. He was just so unpredictable. And that's what made him terrifying.

She could see him. Not his face or anything yet. Just his silhouette. She couldn't tell if he was looking at her or even saw her yet. Lily shifted uneasily, the two ships directly ahead of them had stopped moving. They were letting us pass.

Lily looked back toward her father, she could finally make out his face. He looked different…older. His hair was starting to gray and the lines on his face were a little deeper. But he still looked like her father. He was standing with his hands folded behind his back, this was probably his favorite stance from what she could remember.

He was looking at Zuko as though he was trying to read his thoughts, trying to figure out his plan. But Zuko kind of made it up as he went along.

Then Zhao saw her. Multiple emotions flickered in his eyes. Confusion, recognition, relief, and finally anger. His brow furrowed and his fists clenched. He was pissed. And that's all that she saw because the ships quickly passed him.

"What was that?" Zuko asked Lily.

What was what?" She said innocently.

"Why was Zhao giving you such a weird look?" Well. She could either lie or just tell him outright. She wondered how he would react.

"He's my dad."

"…Commander Zhao is you father?" He sounded shocked.

"I think I just said that."

"Lieutenant, arrest her." Wait, what?"

"Why are you arresting me?" She asked incredulously. Two of the crew had grabbed her arms. But Zuko didn't answer her. She knew she should have lied. The truth always gets her in trouble. She was grumbling to herself as she was led down some stairs and into a small cell. After the two crewmembers had walked away, she let out a fire blast of frustration. For once, couldn't her life be easy?

Shouting from the deck above her caught her attention. Zuko and Iroh were fighting about something, she couldn't hear what.

"What's he up to uncle? Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"

"Because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize your both after. The avatar."

"If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke. Then that's exactly what I'll let him do." Iroh could see the plan hatching in his nephews' eyes.

The prince called for one of the smaller boats to be put into the water and he climbed in when it was ready.

"Uncle keep heading north, Zhao will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover." Iroh wasn't so sure this plane would work. His expression showed his discomfort.

Meanwhile, Lily was busing letting off some steam in her cell. She was tired and very cranky. And she was pretending that the empty water bucket on the floor outside her cell was Zuko's head. She had sent so many fireballs at it that the metal had crusted and turned black. Stupid Zuko. Stupid dad. Stupid ship. Stupid stupid stupid. Every time she said stupid, another blast of flame exploded from her hand. Thankfully the ship was made of metal or it would have probably burned down by now. She tired herself out after a while, and she unceremoniously plopped down on the small bench with a thud.

Lily let out a hot sigh. She had already tried getting out. But whatever metal material that the bars were made of must have been reinforced or something because she couldn't get it hot enough to manipulate and break out. She was trapped, again. The past few days felt like that was all she was doing. And she hated it. She hadn't felt this way since she was living on her father's ship.

She let her head fall back against the bars and sighed. She was beyond tired, maybe a nap would do her good. It's not like there was anything else to do.

Back on the main deck, Iroh had greatly slowed the speed of the ship. He couldn't tell if Zhao had followed him or if Zhao had someone spotted the prince through the smoke and figured out their little plan to deceive him.

The general looked back at the gray smoke still rolling out of the engines while stroking his beard. At this speed, Zhao surly would have caught up to them by now. The retired fire nation leader glanced back towards the direction where Zuko was heading and could barely make out his small boat out of the waves.

"Lieutenant." Iroh called.

"Yes sir?"

"Follow the prince's boat." Iroh was concerned that his nephew would be caught by Zhao, and wanted to be there to prevent that from happening.

"Yes sir."

"And pick up the speed if you can."

"I'm sorry sir, this is fast as we can go. We are running on the backup engines." The general sighed. There was nothing more he could do. His thoughts wandered to the teenage girl who was below deck in a cell. Then he too wandered down the stairs to check on her.

She was sleeping. Her dark brown hair cascaded down hiding her face. Zuko had assumed the worse when he found out that commander Zhao was the girl's father, and imprisoned her. Iroh let his nephew know that he did not agree with that decision before he left.

Iroh himself was shocked at the discovery. This girl became more interesting by the minute. He didn't even know Zhao was married, let alone had a daughter.

Next to the cell, Iroh noticed a mop bucket that looked like someone used it for target practice. Someone had a temper tantrum, something that his nephew would do.

General Iroh walked back to the main deck and left Lily to get some sleep. She needed it.

Once he was on the main deck, Iroh spotted a ship, Zhaos ship, floating just off Shore of Crescent Island. Avatar Roku's temple was built at the highest point of the small piece of land. The new avatar must need to speak to his past life, Iroh thought.

The ship sailed closer to the island, everyone must have been in the temple because the island itself was empty.

"General, should we drop anchor and-" Lieutenant Lee was cut off when the island shook and rumbled.

"No, I think we should be ready to depart as soon as my nephew returns." The general wanted to get out of the fire nation waters as quickly as possible.

"Yes sir." At that, Zuko came bolting out of the temple doors and ran for his boat, pushed it back into the water from the sand and directed it towards his ship.

"What happened nephew? Are you alright?" Iroh asked the teenager once he was safely on board.

"I'm fine," He snapped. "Get us out of here."

"Gladly. Lieutenant, make a course for the nearest harbor outside of the fire nation. We can make repairs there." Lee left to do as commanded.

"Is the girl still in her cell?"

"Yes, but-"

"Good, keep her there until I saw otherwise."

"But prince Zuko, don't you think-"

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed." Zuko walked away, moodily. General Iroh sighed.

The next morning Lily woke up feeling refreshed. But she was still in the cell, alone. And also stiff, she stood up and stretched her muscles. Then she growled. Memories of the previous day flooded her mind and made her anger rise exponentially. She wanted out. Now.

Lily inhaled then used fire from her palms to surround herself with flames. She spun the fire around her in a sphere faster and faster, then sent it flying in all direction with a loud bang that shook the ship.

Her little stunt was meant for the noise, nothing was damaged. And she knew it had worked when she heard shouts, doors slamming and footsteps running to investigate the deafening noise that she had created.

"What in the hell was that?" She heard Zuko exclaim. Lee, Iroh, Zuko and the engineer came stampeding down the stairs. Zuko looked like he had just woken up. Actually, it looked like they were all still half asleep.

The floor, ceiling, everything within the reach of the blast had darkened in color.

"What was that?" The engineer asked, looking around for the source of the explosion. None of them say anything that could have caused it. Only an unharmed teenage girl standing in a cell with her hands on her hips, glaring at them.

"You did that?" Zuko asked, surprised.

"Did what?" She played innocent.

"Make that explosion?"

"Maybe."

Lee and the engineer left when they concluded that no one and nothing was harmed and the ship was fine. Iroh stayed, fascinated to see what would happen next. And also to stop them if they started yelling at each other again.

"Are you going to let me out or what?"

"No."

"I didn't do anything." She argued.

"You're Zhao's daughter, you could be here to spy on us."

"You really are crazy." He turned around to go back to bed.

"Zuko wait!"

"Why?"

"I haven't seen my father in two years." She confessed. He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around. "I ran away when I was fourteen." She could see his tensed up shoulders drop, then he turned around.

Zuko walked back towards the cell and looked directly into her eyes and asked, "How do I know you aren't lying?" His eyes tightened suspiciously.

"You don't. But if you let me out, I'll tell you everything."

Zuko folded his arms over his chest, thinking. His golden eyes never left her own. "Fine." He grabbed the keys from the hook to unlock her cell door. Before he turned the key he glanced back at the girl, judging if he was making the right choice by letting her out.

He turned the key.

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