"Oy! Brat! Wake up, we're here!"

A swift kick to her abdomen awoke the child as she clutched her stomach. She hacked and coughed while slowly standing on her hands and knees.

The gaurd rolled his eyes then pointed to the coat and boots Nereus had taken off, "put those back on, brat. The Fire Lord isn't going to see you half naked."

Nereus growled, "I'm not naked..."

The gaurd took a step forward, "either way, put your clothes back on or else."

Nereus glared at the man then grumbled and sat back down to put her boots back on, the man tapped his foot in impatience while he waited. Nereus grinned inwardly and tried to take as long as she could. Finally another man came stomping into the room and glared at the gaurd.

"What is taking so long? I send you to fetch a child and it takes you thirty minutes to do so!"

The gaurd growled, "that brat wanted to get dressed and she is taking all the time in the world to do so!"

"But you told me to get dressed!" She said cluelessly, she smirked inwardly once more when the man turned and glared at the gaurd again, the guard was practically fuming hot steam out of his ears.

"Need I remind you that we are on a tight schedule and she can get dressed on the way?"

The gaurd stuttered before he growled and walked off. When both men weren't looking the child stuck her tongue out at the man. She then acted clueless again when the second man glared at her.

"Well? Hurry up and put your shoes on!"

(OO)

As she followed the men she looked around the city they were currently walking in. All the houses were red and white and much bigger then the huts of the Water Tribe. It was extremely hot here as well, she almost regretted putting her coat back on yet it was worth it when the men were becoming aggitated. She watched as people advoided the Soldiers and minded their business, yet she saw a few glances of curiosity from a few of them.

Then she was face to face with a giant of a building. It's majesty and intimidate appearance made the child swallow heavily. She felt uneasy walking into the thing for she was sure that its weight would probably fall on her, yet the gaurds and Raiders persisted and she had no say in the matter.

Suddenly she felt fire, a powerful one, it was getting stronger the more she was led to the Fire Lord. She started shaking slightly when the heat was becoming unbearable.

A wall of fire greeted her when she and her captors entered the room, they all kneel before it and one taps her on the shoulder to do the same. She was quick to do so. Suddenly a voice boom from the wall of fire.

"What have you brought me this time, Yon Rha?"

Nereus looked up and saw her captor stand and place a fist in his open palm and bow again. He then grabbed her chain and yanked her forward.

She grunted as she stumbled forward and fell to her knees.

"Fire Lord Azulon, I have brought you the bender of the Southern Water Tribe. However I am afraid your informants were incorrect about what this one can control."

A moment past by and the longer the silence grew the more uneasy Nereus became.

"Oh? And what is it she can bend?" Came the voice.

Yon Rha briefly glanced at a commrad and nodded, the soldier nodded in return before getting up and grabbing the chain hooked to the collar around Nereus's neck, he then pulled her away and stood back. Yon Rha stood in front of the child in his current place then spoke.

"She can firebend."

With that, he performed a kata and a flame shot out from his hands. Nereus's eyes widen in horror before she brought her hands up and punched the air and her own flame, small yet quick, shot out and blasted into the attacking fireball. Both quickly burn out and the room once again is in control of the Fire Lord's fire.

The room once again fell to silence, Yon Rha stood straight again then motioned the soldier to bring Nereus back.

"I see... unshackle her."

Yon Rha was about to protest yet quickly clamped his mouth shut, he then turned and nodded again for the Soldier to do as he was told.

Once the iron collar was off of her neck, Nereus rubbed her raw neck and winced. She looked around frantically for a possible chance to run, yet something told her not too. Not yet.

"You may leave now, Yon Rha."

Yon Rha blinked in confusion before bowing once more and then motioned his troops to leave with him.

Once the heavy doors slam shut the fire started to part, Nereus at first jumped then she had readied herself for anything.

She saw an old man walk down the stairs from his throne and stood tall, the fire that had parted had mended back together once its master walked through. He then raised a hand and bended a forefinger toward him.

"Come now, I will not bite." He says with little humor.

Nereus swallowed queitly before egding closer to the man. That seemed to humor him as he allowed a small smirk across his lips.

"What is your name, fireling?" He asked once she was close enough.

"N-Nereus..."

Fire Lord Azulon nodded before kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder, he then looked straight into her eyes and lingered there for a moment. Nereus felt her skin crawl, the old man was staring at her as if he was looking for something. Apperantly whatever it was he had found for he nodded again.

"A strong name, Nereus. As you know I am Azulon."

Nereus nodded meekly while fumbling with her hands.

Azulon stood back up and began walking around the child.

Nereus had kept her eyes on him the entire time, this appeared to amuse him as well when he chuckled.

"How did you get to the Water Tribe, fireling?"

Nereus gulped at the nickname he apparently dubbed her as, "I-I was born there..."

"Hmm... were there others like you?"

"No." She shook her head.

He paused for a second then continued to walk around her, "you are a bit on the thin side, fireling. Do you care for a meal?"

Nereus glanced at him strangely before her resolve faded and she nodded timidly.

Azulon nodded once more, "then follow me."

(OO)

"Princess Ursa." Azulon started, currently Nereus had been following the old man, he had promised her a decent meal yet for the moment he wanted to introduce her to someone.

A black-haired woman was reading from a book when Azulon called her name. She closed the book and rose to her feet, she then bowed.

"Yes, Fire Lord?"

Azulon looked around the garden for a certain someone then frowned, "I would like you to meet someone," he started before motioning the child forward.

Nereus meekly did as she was told then looked around the garden. It was so colorful, she had to blink a couple of times just for her eyes to get used to the place. However it was beautiful.

Ursa raised an eyebrow as she glanced back at the old man.

"This is Nereus. She will be a gift for Azula. Yet I will need to speak to my son about her place."

"A gift?" Ursa said appalled.

Nereus was confused upon what that supposedly meant however she said nothing and glared at the grass beneath her.

"Yes. A gift. She needs to be rewarded for doing so great in her training after all." He said as matter as fact.

Ursa then glared, "I assume she is the only one to be rewarded?"

"Naturally, now where is my son?"

"Teaching Azula."

Azulon nodded with a smirk, "of course. Do you mind doing me a favor and see to it that this child has a decent meal?"

As Ursa was about to speak the old Fire Lord was already walking off. Ursa sighed heavily before glancing at Nereus, who was a little uneasy around being near this woman. Oh who was she kidding, she felt uneasy about everything so far.

Ursa smiled tenderly before bending down and speaking softly, "hello, Nereus. I am Ursa. I hope in the near future we can be friends."

Nereus blinked in confusion but before she could reply the woman stood and held out her hand.

"Lets get you to that meal, shall we?"

(OO)

"Ozai. A word." Azulon commanded.

Ozai glared at his father before standing straight and sighing heavily, his young daughter did the same.

"Rest, I will be back." He told her before walking to Azulon. He then bowed.

Azula walked over to a seat in the training area and watched her father walk away. She blinked in curiosity.

"Is something wrong, Father?"

Azulon shook his head, "nothing like that, I merely need to speak to you about a situation."

Ozai nodded before motioned Azulon to walk first. The old man proceeded to walk out of the training gardens and whispered.

"I have a gift for Azula. A young firebender from the Southern Water Tribe."

"Water Tribe? How in the spirits were they there?" Ozai asked with mild humor, it was ironic in his mind.

"That will remain to be seen. However I sensed something great in her. And do you know what it was?"

Ozai could only shake his head.

"Loyalty. A strong sense of one at that. Yet the mind is still naïve and innocent. Something I am sure you would like as a pet for your prodigy."

Ozai grimaced, "She does not need one, Father, especially a pet that is from the Water Tribe."

"Listen to me, boy." Azulon sternly ordered, Ozai practically bit his tongue then bowed his head.

Azulon glared for a moment longer before starting to walk again, "an innocent and naïve mind is easy to manipulate. And loyalty is a powerful thing. If one does not have love or fear then a soldier can easily turn against its commander. Yet have one who does and add loyalty to it, that soldier is capable of doing anything for their commander."

Ozai glanced at his father before thinking it over, someone like that was rare to come by, but how were they going to turn her, at this late age as well.

"Show her kindness, show her acceptance. I am sure the Water Tribe did not accept her. Do that and she will give you her trust." Azulon spoke as if he had heard Ozai's inner dilemma.

The second Prince practically wanted to publicly embarrass his father then to treat a Water Tribe peasant, firebender or not, like an equal.

Azulon glared, "Do not speak a word of it to anyone, including your wife." And with that the old man walked off.

As the old man left something devious popped into the second Prince's mind.

"If she follows Azula, she follows you."

Ozai then scoffed, like he would tell his wife anything.

(OO)

"Did those men scare you, young one?" Ursa asked before taking a sip from her cup.

Nereus nodded her head lightly while poking at her food in curiosity, wondering what it possibly was. In truth the food was in a small pale ball. She poked it with a stick until she heard Ursa chuckle.

"I take it you've never had a dumpling, have you?"

Nereus looked up and blinked in confusion.

"A what?"

Ursa picked up a pair of chopsticks and grabbed one off the child's plate, she then cut it in half for Nereus to see the inside.

"A dumpling, usually they are made by flour dough and the ingredients are stuffed inside. Try it, you might like it."

The young child glared at the supposed meal again and speared one, she noted the small noise Ursa made from the action, however she didn't understand why and just popped the dumpling in her mouth.

A couple of chews later resulted in Nereus desperately trying to find water. While she liked the new flavors the unbearable heat made it impossible to swallow or even breathe.

Ursa smiled embarrassingly while handing the child a cup, "I didn't think it was that spicy."

Nereus coughed before pushing the plate away, "i-it was good," she stopped momentarily to cough again, "b-but it burned my mouth..."

Ursa nodded before taking the plate and placing it at the end of the table for a servant to take, "where exactly are you from?"

Before Nereus could answer a boy a bit older than her walked into the room, by the looks of things he was looking for Ursa.

"There you are, sweetie." Ursa smiled before motioning the boy to come over.

The boy smiled, "I went back to the garden but the guard said you were here." He said as he walked to the table.

"Ah I'm sorry, Zuko. I had to get this little one a meal, we were going to come back."

Nereus blinked in confusion while watching Ursa and supposedly her son talk, she grabbed her cup again and took a sip.

"Zuko I'd like you to meet Nereus, apparently she is to live with us."

Nereus choked on her drink and gagged and coughed, Ursa quickly glanced at her and blinked in confusion before taking the cup from Nereus's hands and placing it down.

'L-live here? But aren't you going to take me to jail?" Not that she didn't like the idea of not going to jail.

Ursa gasped lightly, "jail? Spirits no, child. Fire Lord Azulon made it clear that you have a job here."

"What job?" Nereus asked a bit timidly, fearing the answer.

Zuko leaned over the table and popped one of the dumplings in his mouth and chewed, "you're Azula's new pet." He said with a bit of disdain.

Ursa glanced at her son briefly before sighing and rubbing her hands.

"What's a pet got to do with it?"

Zuko stared at her in confusion before shaking his head and pointing at the girl in front of him, "well you're the pet. You know, the 'roll over' and 'play dead' type."

Nereus growled, "but I'm not an animal!"

Ursa held her hand up to calm the girl down, Zuko rolled his eyes before grabbing another dumpling.

"Sweetie, this is a better position to be in at your age. While I do not agree with it I think its best for your safety."

Nereus glowered at the woman before her resolve started to fade, while she wasn't going to like being someone else's pet, Ursa was right. She bet that there were kids younger than her in worst positions, and from what she heard from the Southern Water Tribe the children never survived.

She sighed heavily before nodding in defeat. Ursa smiled sadly before getting up from her seat, "you must be hot in those clothes, how about before we meet my husband and daughter we get you dressed in something cooler?"

Nereus could only nod, her mood was in a very dark place and she had lost her voice along the way. Zuko decided to follow them since he didn't want to hear Azula brag about getting a pet. He smirked however, she expected an animal, oh was she going to be surprised.

(OO)

Nereus scratched at her new outfit in discomfort, it felt so light and thin that she didn't like the freedom it allowed.

She wore simple loose trousers, a shirt with no sleeve and a thin pair of boots. The coat and earlier outfit she had worn was being washed, as she had worn the thing the entire trip.

Ursa and Zuko were currently leading her to her new Master, both tried to warn her of Azula's personality and what was best to avoid her temper. Apparently just keeping quiet would suffice.

Ursa walked through a pair of door to the outside, with Zuko and Nereus close behind. Grunting and yells could be heard in front of Nereus however she was too afraid of the power she also sensed.

While one was powerful on its own, the partner it danced with made it weak in comparison. Nereus trembled the closer she got to the owner of such flame, she wondered what warrior she would have to serve and what personality she wielded. A pretty nasty one by what Ursa and Zuko described.

"Ah I see you finally decided to bring her." Came a man's voice. Nereus gulped silently, for some reason she didn't like the tone.

Ursa's gentle smile turned into that of a fake, "The Fire Lord wanted her to have a proper meal before introducing her."

The man hummed before stopping mid kata and stood straight. Nereus peeked in front of Ursa to find her supposed Master.

All she found was a man and a little girl about her age. She blinked in confusion.

She was the one with such flame? No that couldn't be right, she was just a kid like herself! Maybe it was the man's.

However the little girl had caught a glimpse of her, Nereus flinched and hid back behind Ursa, she then glared at the ground in worry. That girl's stare... it was intense. It was as if the little girl saw right through her and instantly deemed her insignificant.

Suddenly she felt more eyes on her.

"So... this is to be Azula's pet? A weakling?"

Ursa quickly defended, "The Fire Lord chose her out of many suitors. She may calm down once she is here for a while."

"Hmm..." came the man's response as he petted his goatee.

"Well then, step forward, pet." He then commanded.

Nereus quickly did as she was told and walked in front of Ursa and Zuko. The man then waved at Ursa and Zuko to leave. Suddenly Nereus began to panic, she didn't want to be alone with these two!

She glanced back at Ursa who gave a small sad smile then proceeded to walk away with her son close behind. Nereus inhaled deeply before daring to look at the man again.

Said man then grabbed her chin and looked deep into her eyes, much like the old man did earlier. However he didn't show any sign of content in whatever he was looking for. He then let go and stood tall again.

"You are a firebender, correct?" He stated more than asked.

Nereus's eyes trailed off to the little girl still staring at her, only this time that intense stare was that of curiosity.

"Y-yes sir..." she replied meekly.

The man nodded before turning, "go and demonstrate your skill."

Nereus balked, what skill? She barely knew how to even control her flame! Panic began to seep in as she stammered, that was her first mistake.

A swift hand landed on her cheek and threw her off balance. The pain that followed was quickly numbed.

"I see you are hesitant on following out orders, we will fix that." The man sneered, he then pointed to the training area and commanded her to show her skill.

Nereus was quick to scramble onto her feet and run to the spot he had pointed at. The man sat down with his arms crossed then nodded for her to start, "Azula will be sparring with you."

Nereus gulped involuntary as she got into a stance that looked like she was boxing. She glanced at the man sitting and saw his scowl of disapproval, was this not a good stance?

"Begin."

Nereus was blown back by a swift kick to her stomach, she gagged before frantically looking for the source of the attack.

Her eyes widen when Azula went for another kick, only instead of it landing a blow, azure fire blasted out, Nereus paled in horror.

She had never seen azure fire before, she also couldn't deny that the immense power didn't come from the child in front of her. Her whole being trembled as she whirled her arms around, a technique she had made to start her fire. Within the motion a flame sparked then flowed toward the blue flame flying toward her.

Her own fire was weak as the enemy's flame blasted right through it. Once it hit, it hit hard, sending the Southern Firebender flying again.

However now that she knew she was expected to hold down her own, Nereus jumped back into action, she copycat the kick and sent her own flame back. Azula dodged with fluent motion and landed a swift punch to Nereus's face. Nereus growled out before forgoing her flame current and spinning into a kick, once again the other child dodged and countered with a kick of her own.

Pain and rage began to fill Nereus's being as she tried to land many blows at her supposed master. However Azula smirked and dodged each and every one of them.

Then Nereus saw a pattern. Go for her shoulder and she'll go for your legs, go for her legs and she'll go do the same. Go for her midsection and she bent fire to counter.

Her best chance was to lead her into a false attack, Nereus began bending her flame toward Azula's legs, Azula fell for it and went into a kata, Nereus then took her chance and changed the direction her flame current was going and it hit her square in the back. It sent the child to the ground, however Azula was now fuming and jumped back unto her feet to kick Nereus again. Nereus blocked yet instead of it going for her chest, Azula's foot went for her face.

Already numbed by the man's slap, the only thing Nereus felt was the pressure and the sudden pop in her jaw.

Nereus was flown onto her back, the wind knocked out of her, as she tried to get up a small foot was placed on her throat to keep her stationary.

Suddenly the man stood and snapped his fingers, Azula quickly glanced at her father before glaring back down at Nereus and taking her foot off of Nereus.

The Southern child coughed before rolling onto her side and hugging her midsection, now that the fight and adrenaline was over, the throbbing pain was started to come.

"I now see what my father saw in you. However you are still a peasant and will be treated as such by me." The man said before turning to his daughter.

"I trust you will train her well?"

Azula nodded before glaring at the girl on the ground, her breathing hard and shallow.

"Yes, father." She said with a somewhat evil smirk.