III.

I flew for about five days, stopping here and there to give Destiny short breaks and camping out during the nights. When I finally arrived at the Northen Water Tribe, I put my large robe on and combed my hair out. I wanted to look nice before seeing the Avatar again. Plus, if anyone saw me, my messy hair would be a disgrace to the Fire Nation monarchs. I'd heard it from my mother so many times.

Destiny and I flew right up to the Avatar's home. I tied her up next to a river that she could drink from and went inside. I heard her roar at Appa, and then I heard Appa roar back. I could tell that they missed each other, too. I looked around. I immediately saw Avatar Aang. I walked over to him and bowed.

"Prince Oroh? What brings you here?" he asked me as he bowed back. His eyes brightened and his smile widened.

"I'm on a special mission and, with your permission, I'd like to take Kya along," I responded bluntly.

He looked at me for a moment. He asked, "Where is your father?"

"Back at the palace. These letters are from him," I said, passing him the letters from my dad, "This journey, I plan to take alone."

"Alone with Kya?"

"Yeah," I agreed, realizing my mistake, "not alone then."

"Would you like to spend a few days here first? When was the last time you spent a week with us?"

"Yes, thank you. But I can only stay a few days. Then, I must leave and carry on my journey."

"Glad to have you," he told me, pulling me into an large embrace. Our fathers have been best friends for a very long time. He led me into the small house and carried in my bag. He took me to the room next to Kya's. "Here's where you'll be staying, Oroh."

"Thank you," I said, "Excuse me, Avatar Aang, but where is Kya or Katara?"

"They're out at the market. They should be home very soon," he informed me, "Why don't you get situated until they return."

"Thank you." I put my bag on the bed and took off my heavy robe. I took out a scroll and started a letter to my mother.

My Family,

I have arrived safely in the Northern Water Tribe. Avatar Aang says hello and that he misses you, Dad. I have told him all about my plan and journey. I'll ask Kya about it when she gets home. I miss you all.

Love,

Prince Oroh

I rolled it up and put it on a messenger hawk. It should reach them in a few days. I layed down on the bed and rested my head for a while.

About ten minutes later, I heard the front door swing open and Kya's friendly voice start talking. I hopped off the bed and walked over to the front door. I didn't see Kya, but I did see a huge stack of baskets with legs.

"Would you like some help?" I asked, taking a few of the baskets off her hands. Her gray eyes brightened with her smile when she saw me.

We put the baskets on the table and she gave me a big hug. I hugged her back. She had definitely grown since the last time I'd seen her. I did too, which kept me still about a foot taller. Her black hair had gotten longer and she seemed thinner. There was still no arrow on her forehead, so she must not have mastered airbending yet.

"How'd you get here?" she asked me, still hugging.

I broke off the hug. I told her, "I flew on Destiny."

"By yourself?" she asked me, tilting her head slightly. She had the greatest smile. I also noticed that she was done with that "awkward phase" that she had been going through the last time I had seen her. Her teeth had all grown in and her skin had cleared up a bit.

"Yeah. Which is actually why I'm here," I started. I turned to Katara and Avatar Aang, "May I please speak to Kya alone in her room?"

Kya seemed confused, but she turned to her parents as well. Katara nodded and I followed Kya to her room. She sat down on her bed and leaned up against the wall. I sat on the chair near the bed.

I looked around the room. It was so different from the last time I'd seen it. The last time I had been here was at least two years ago. Usually, everyone comes to my house, for it is the biggest and in the middle of everyone else's houses. I had come here during the summer to help them move into their new house. Then, it wasn't furnished at all. Now it had skins dyed blue to cover the walls. There were drawings everywhere that Kya must have drawn and a small desk that she must do her schoolwork on. There were a few pictures of the two of us that had been painted during that summer. There were a few pictures of us with Koda and Dente, some with just Koda, and two with her and Tera. There was also a painting of her with her parents. She had some small gifts that I had bought her when I was little and we visited. My parents had insisted that I buy her some firenation things as a gift. They told me it was polite and kind. She had a small firenation doll that stood on her dresser and a few firenation robes that looked pretty worn laying on a chair. I couldn't find the necklace I had bought her when I was only ten.

"So…?" she asked me.

I realized that I had zoned out for at least five minutes looking around the room. I looked back at her.

"I'm taking a journey around the Earth Kingdom, and I would like you to accompany me," I told her, leaving out the key details that may change her opinion of coming.

"Why?"

I sighed. I figured leaving out details would be out of the picture. "I'm on a very special mission sent by myself. I'm going to find my grandmother."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"And you want me to come?" she asked, shocked by it for some reason.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because."

She shrugged. "Okay."

"So you'll come?" I asked. I hoped that she couldn't see how excited I got.

"Sure. But I have to ask my parents first," she said as she smiled at me and stood up.

I stood up as well. I followed her out of the room. She went to go help Katara put some of the food away. I asked Katara where Avatar Aang went. She told me that he was outside clearing off the pathway to the house.

I walked outside, then remembered that I had taken my warmer robe off. I went back into the house and put it back on. I ran back out while Kya laughed at me.

I found Avatar Aang moving the snow off the pathway and forming it into a fence around the house. When he was left with an extra pile of snow, I melted it and he bent the water into the canal.

"Good teamwork," Avatar Aang chuckled.

"I asked Kya about it. She says that she'd like to come along if it's alright with you," I was straight to the point.

"She has my permission. When I was your age I was roaming the world all the time. Its about time Kya sees the world."

I was so relieved by his answer. I thanked him, "Thank you, Avatar Aang. Thank you." I bowed to him and went back into the house.

When I went back in, Katara and Kya were done putting the food away and Katara was cooking and Kya was setting the table. I chuckled as she tossed the forks in the air and airbended them to their proper spots. I grabbed the cloths and set them at each seat.

During dinner, I talked nearly non-stop about what was going on in the Fire Nation. Katara gave her permission after much arguing, but said that we had to wait until the day after tomorrow. When dinner was over, I cleared off the table and went with Kya into her room so that we could catch up a little more.

"So how's your girlfriend, Oroh?" she asked me.

"Gin Shi? We broke up about a half a year ago," I answered quietly.

"Oh."

"Yeah. How's Zuni?"

"She's good. She's grown so much."

"That's good."

"Maybe after the trip, I'll take you there. She misses you a lot."

"That'd be nice."

After about ten minutes of catching up, we decided to go to sleep. I said goodnight to her and went into my room. I laid down and went to sleep.

The next morning, I ate breakfast with Kya, Katara, and Avatar Aang. Afterwards, Avatar Aang and I went to the Water Tribe palace to talk with the Water Tribe Chief. He had seen the dragon and requested my presence.

We talked until dusk about international happenings. We also chatted about my journey. He gave me some advice and told me that he had heard rumors of an Earth Kingdom island where the people still held grudges against the Fire Nation. He gave me some things to give to my father when I returned home. When I went home that night, I sat with Kya and talked with her again. We prepared ourselves for our jouney tomorrow.

The next morning, Katara packed us some extra food and we said our goodbyes to Avatar Aang and Katara.

"Be safe, Kya," Katara whispered as we got onto the dragon. She had tears in her eyes. Kya jumped off and gave her parents a big hug.

"I will, Mom," Kya whispered back.

"Don't do anything stupid," Aang added, chuckling slightly.

Kya nodded. She added, "I love you."

"I love you too," Katara told her.

"Love you," Aang said, kissing her cheek.

She let go and hopped on Destiny's back. She waved as the dragon took off. When we couldn't see them anymore, she joined me at the front. I noticed the tears in her eyes. I put my arm around her and used my thumb from my other hand to wipe away her tears. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I've never left home without them," she whispered to me.

"We'll be back soon, don't worry. We'll find her in no time."