So sorry that this is so late everyone! I got distracted with an overly time-consuming yet amazing British TV show (namely Doctor Who) and have finally finished up watching all of the Matt Smith episodes. So, I'm back and ready to roll!

This update's review goal is 7, for a total of 21. But, if we surpass 10 reviews, so 24 total, before noonon Sunday morning, then I'll throw in a special treat; an update before Monday. Yep, an update two weeks ahead of schedule. I mean, I've had the next chapter done forever since I'm so excited for it to be posted, but with very small incentive I'll post it early. So, keep that in mind and be sure to contribute!

I also began this chapter with a brief recap-like thingie, so it picks up from Quin's point of view a few minutes before the last chapter ended.

Oh, and for all you Americans out there, have a happy Thanksgiving! Don't eat yourselves into a coma, though.

I now present Chapter 4 – Escapes and Explanations


Quin sighed in her sleep, a small smile still playing across her lips. She liked nothing better than a good dream, even when she knew that it was only an illusion. The castle she was exploring was large, as her mind kept inventing more hallways past every door. Her dream-self found, though, that a perfectly controlled dream wasn't that fun. She couldn't think of anything entertaining to do.

Might as well wake up, she thought with a sigh.

Her eyes flickered open slightly as the dream evaporated. Light green, dancing flames played in front of her face. Though they took up the majority of her sight, through their flickering visage she could see the side of Zuko's face. He was wincing in his sleep, she noticed as she raised her head slightly, and the sudden urge to comfort her sleeping companion swept over her. Resisting, she closed her eyes, attempting to go back to sleep.

"Choose," she heard the soft murmur over the crackling flames. "Now… o…or…ne…ver…"

"Zuko?" She asked softly while looking up, wondering if he was awake as well. He didn't respond, though the wincing continued, and she laid her head back down on her sleeping mat. Half of her wondered what he was dreaming about, what could make someone who she thought was so strong look so… vulnerable. Quin couldn't help but study his face, as it looked so incredibly different without the presence of anger or annoyance. His scar stood out when he wasn't glaring at anything unfortunate enough to cross his path, and it looked so much more out of place with his angular face not curled into a scowl.

I wonder how he got that, she thought to herself, her eyes moving over the marred, pink flesh. Old Fon Rue said something about him getting it from his father, didn't he? How horrible. I wonder what he did to his dad to make him so angry.

If Grandmother is any example, it might have just been existing.

The crack of a twig from right behind her broke her out of her reverie. Though she could barely hear it above Iroh's snoring and the loud fire, the small sound was still enough to make her start.

"Harv?" she asked, turning. Instead of the familiar brown eyes of her ostrich-horse, she saw two pairs of golden eyes glaring down at her. Before she could let out a shriek, a firm hand was planted over her mouth and another three were on tugging on her arms and pulling her upright. The position they held her arms in make it impossible for her to bend. As she struggled silently against the men dragging her into the forest, she got an idea. Not knowing what else to do, she bit down on the hand covering her mouth. The man yanked his hand away quickly, swearing as he shook it in the air.

"Zuko!" she yelled, knowing she only had a few seconds. She only had enough time for the one word before a hand returned to her mouth, but this time it was the other man. He was wearing thick gloves, rendering a secondary attack impossible.

"Come on, little lady," the man with the gloves growled, shoving her roughly into the woods. "If you play nice, we will too."

Quin glanced back at the camp, her eyes locking with Zuko's before she disappeared from sight.


Zuko looked at the spot they disappeared for a second in complete shock before he jumped up and shook Iroh's shoulder.

"Uncle!" he said sharply, but the man only rolled over in his sleep. Zuko quickly decided to follow the men without the aid of the older firebender, and raced off into the woods after them. He knew the general direction that they had headed in and raced off that way, his mind on full alert. He wasn't quite sure why he was so focused on finding her – after all, she was just an Earth Kingdom peasant with a talent she barely controlled, much less understood – but there was some inert drive demanding her safe return.

And anyways, he was never one to think things through before he did them.

Zuko glanced around the forest, unsure of which direction he should go in, or what he would be facing when he found her. A few drunken men? A platoon of Earth Kingdom soldiers? An army? He saw a slight light shining through the trees and moved toward it carefully, his arms up in a ready stance. Whatever it was, he wasn't about to back down from a fight.


Iroh awoke with a start. Something was wrong and he could feel it. Orange flames spiraled in the fireplace, and he looked at them curiously. Orange…

"Quin?" he asked, sitting up. He suddenly realized that neither Quin nor Zuko were present. The old man sighed, looking at their messy sleeping bags and the multitude of footprints in the slightly frosty grass, all of them eventually leading into the forest. He let out half of a chuckle; he had no idea that Zuko had grown fond of Quin so quickly.

Youth is wasted on the young, he thought with a smile, thinking about how he and his late wife, Shia, had been the same way growing up. Well, not exactly the same; Iroh had to admit that he was never even close to as turbulent as Zuko. His wife had been quite similar to Quin, however. They were vibrant, supportive, and quite impressive benders, though they didn't know it. Quin was slightly mellower, though. Shia had always been dragging Iroh into a crazy adventure, from the day they met in the royal ballrooms to the day that Lu Ten was born.

Iroh looked at the footprints in the frost again. They were clearly fresh, but there was something strange about them. With his slightly blurry, sleepy vision, though. he couldn't quite tell what. Rubbing his eyes with his hands, he cleared his sight and looked at them again. Though at first he didn't think much of the odd amount, the difference in size suddenly became clear. There were two sets of footprints from the forest into the clearing, both of them in men's shoes. Their return prints were different, though; they were walking much farther apart and there was an occasional impression in between their two sets. The footprints that were clearly Zuko's looked like they were sprinting; only pausing once by the older man's side. Whatever it was the two teenagers were doing, it was fairly unlikely that it was a normal romantic teenage romp.

Iroh stood up and stretched with a yawn. One – or both – of his pupils was in trouble, and he wasn't about to stand for that.


"Here she is, Colonel," one of the men said as the thrust Quin into the center of a camp. They had tied her arms together as well as a piece of cloth around her mouth, making it impossible for her to bend or talk. Not that she could hope to win a bending match anyway; five men surrounded her, each in armor that resembled the Fire Nation military uniforms. They were likely highly trained professionals, while she had less than an hour total of practice with an ex-general. She was outmatched, in more ways than one.

"Good work," a man with large metallic bracelets said with a nod. "Did she give you any trouble?"

"A bit, Colonel," the man who she had bitten replied with a look of potent irritation at her. "Nothing unmanageable."

"Put her over by the fire, and then come inside to discuss our next move," the Colonel said, pointing to a roaring fire before he and three other men walked into a large tent.

How can I explain why the fire turns green? She asked herself as she was moved towards the flames. She felt the heat of the fire and saw its base begin to get a greenish hue. The man didn't seem to notice, however, and lifted up her arms, bound behind her back, to the point of extreme discomfort before letting go and turning away, just before the rest of the fire turned jade. She looked back to see what he had done and saw a tall metal stake, at least four feet high, in between her tied arms.

Oh, she though with a sigh. It makes it so I can't run off while they're gone.

The Earth Kingdom girl looked back in the direction her camp was in with a sigh, folding up her legs so she could sit down. The men had taken a winding route through the forest, likely throwing Zuko and Iroh off of her trail.

That is, if they were even looking.

She sighed, leaning back against the thick metal pole. She knew that to some degree, Zuko thought of her as an inconvenience. Probably to a very high degree. After all, she knew that she had kind-of just waltzed into his life with no warning or apology. Then again, he didn't necessarily hate her. Back at the farm, he had come back for her. But she hadn't intruded on his life yet, on the other hand.

Why can't anything be simple, she wondered to herself with a shake of her head before she heard the small rustle of someone moving through the woods. Turning her head, she saw the disgruntled figure of Zuko, his face bathed in green light.

"What is it with you and getting tied to poles?" he asked quietly, and she could hear the slight annoyance in his voice as he approached. So he had come looking for her after all. She knew that it had sort of meaning, but couldn't think of what it was.

"It wasn't my fault this time," she insisted in a whisper, remembering the last time she was in a fairly similar situation.

Zuko only snorted in reply, and Quin saw him suppress a yawn with the back of his hand. Funny; she hadn't ever thought of the prince as the type to yawn, even occasionally. He crouched down beside the sitting girl, drawing the thin blade he had given to her just a week before. He slashed through the ropes binding her arms around the stake quickly and she stood up uneasily.

"I know that this is going to be hard for you, but try not to trip," he said quietly as he began walking back towards the forest. Quin hurried to match his long stride, disappearing into the woods just as the Rough Riders exited the tent. The five men looked at the empty post for a second before Colonel Mongke turned to his companions, an angry fire lighting his eyes.

"Find. Her. Now," he commanded, his voice frozen with rage. His soldiers all gave some sign of consent before scattering in opposite directions, running into the woods.


Quin ducked and weaved through the branches and around the undergrowth, attempting to duplicate Zuko's movements, being as silent and graceful as the prince. Perhaps formal training was what made him so agile, she thought to herself as she barely avoided falling over a stray root.

The forest was silent, much to her chagrin, making it easy for her to hear the rush of her breath as she moved, the soft, repetitive thud of Zuko's feet hitting the ground, and even the crack of a twig a few yards away.

Wait…!

She put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, causing him to turn. She put a finger to her lips before pointing in the direction that the noise had come from. Though they couldn't see what had created the sound, a soft light shone through the trees. The prince began moving forward towards the light, his arms lifted into a ready position. Quin followed cautiously, not knowing what they would find and fearing the worst. As they drew nearer, however, they noticed that a rotund stomach protruded from the silhouette, accompanied by a long beard.

"Uncle," Zuko said, and she noticed the tiniest hint of relief in his voice as he walked forward. Quin sighed, letting her anxiety evaporate. It was just her Sifu.

"Sorry I'm so late; I packed up camp in case we needed to make a clean getaway," the old man explained, pointing to the two fully loaded ostrich-horses behind him. Zuko nodded and mounted his ostrich-horse, Iroh instead getting atop Harvey. Quin, without thinking about what she was doing, got behind Zuko, wrapping her arms loosely around his waist as they all raced forward.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that she realized what she was doing, how close she was to the scarred bender. A slight bit of color rose to her cheeks as recognized that her arms were encircling royalty – and not just any royalty, enemy royalty. The crowned Prince of the Fire Nation. It seemed so horribly wrong, if she looked at it from her saner side. Of course, an only slightly less powerful part of her wanted nothing more than to hold him a slight bit tighter.

Quin barely refrained from shaking her head to rid herself of her thoughts, reminding herself horribly of a girl from her village who was attracted to anything that breathed, including Sensu. A grimace on her face, the Earth Kingdom girl loosened her grip on the prince. She wasn't about to become a flirt and start throwing herself at every person she met.

But then again, Zuko definitely wasn't just anyone.


The benders had been riding for a few hours before Iroh decided it was high time to rest. The ostrich-horse that was carrying him clearly needed a break as well; the older man had to admit that he wasn't the lightest load to carry for hours, not to mention the pots and pans and sleeping mats also adding to the weight.

"We've put some ground between us," he said as he slowed and dismounted. "Let's stop for the rest of the night."

"Okay," Quin said thankfully as Zuko pulled the reigns and stopped the beast beside Harvey and the Dragon of the West. She had nearly fallen asleep twice and wasn't particularly eager to fall asleep with her arms around Zuko in the hope that by avoiding the issue she could avoid yet another awkward hour or two.

The moon was still high in the sky as Quin laid out her sleeping bag and curled up inside, soaking in the warmth of a fire that Iroh breathed into a hastily constructed pit. Zuko seemed to be asleep before he hit the ground, his eyes relaxed and shut almost immediately. She didn't feel as tired though. Now that she actually had a place to rest, the need to sleep seemed to disappear like her breath in the cold night.

"Sifu Iroh," she said, looking at the older bender, who was in the process of finding the most comfortable position atop the dirt in his thin sleeping bag. "May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," he replied sleepily.

"If it's not impolite of me to ask, how did Prince Zuko get that scar?" she asked. Iroh sighed. He had known it would only be a matter of time before she asked. Everyone did, after a while. And so, though he truly wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, Iroh recounted the story to her. The general saw her expression shift from curious to awed to appalled to horrified as he continued speaking, recounting the fateful events of what was supposed to be naught but an average war meeting. After he was finished, Quin didn't speak; she couldn't bring her mouth to form words. Her mind, though bright for the little schooling that she received, wasn't able to comprehend why the Fire Lord could mar and banish his own son and still sleep at night. Though she knew virtually nothing about politics, there didn't seem to be any fault in speaking out of turn. In her family, everyone spoke out of turn, even her strict grandmother.

"That's horrible," she managed after a few more seconds of silence. Iroh nodded, his eyes drooping with tiredness.

"It was. Zuko has been questing to regain his honor and capture the Avatar ever since."

"The Avatar is alive?" she asked, surprised.

"For a few months, actually," he said, the darkness of sleep beginning to overtake him.

"Huh. I guess my village really is a year behind the rest of the world," she snorted. The old man had already fallen asleep, though, and his snores had begun. Quin placed her head on the ground, her eyes flickering over to Zuko. Sympathy crashed over her in a wave. She wanted to be able to do something for the scarred boy, even though she knew he wouldn't want her empathy. It would make him feel weak, she decided with a small smile, thinking of his obvious pride. No, she would keep her compassion quiet, but it didn't change that she felt it deep in her heart.

Sighing, Quin shifted and looked into the emerald flames. She could feel the warmth of the fire in her bones. It was so alive, so playful. She couldn't imagine it being used to do anything like what had it had done to Zuko, despite the fact a war was being raged with it. That was so sad, sick, even twisted.

"Anything I can do to help," she whispered to the sleeping boy, her mind caught halfway between sleep and waking. "Just say so."

Her vision faded to black, the last thing she saw being the pink scar across the left side of the Prince's face.


Wow. I meant to get so much more done in that chapter. I guess I'll have to add some more to the next one. Not incredebly proud of the turn-out as far as the ending goes, but I think that I'll eventually get to the point where I adore what I'm writing.

So, you all remember: 7 reviews is the goal, and since we've made goal pretty much every week so far, it doesn't seem that unrealistic because of the amount of people that have expressed their support for the story(Looking at you, favoriters). Bu, as a special beginning-of-holiday-spirit treat, if I get 10 total reviews on this chapter by noon on Sunday, I'll throw in an extra chapter by that evening.

Also, to give you even more incentive to review, I almost always check out my reviewers profiles and stories, often reviewing them, so it's a two way street.

Happy Holidays, and tune in next time for Chapter 5 ~The Lotus's Leftovers, in which Iroh devises a plot and plays a few games of Pai Sho.