A crowd of well-wishers waved and cheered on the dock as the ship slowly headed towards the open sea, the flag of the Fire Nation waving proudly on its mast in the brisk wind. Iroh could no longer make out individual faces, but he knew that his father and mother were still watching the vessel that was taking him away on his quest. If he squinted, he could just see the glitter of the golden headpieces his parents wore. He fixed his gaze on that sight until the ship had moved too far out into the water and the coastline had disappeared in the distance.

Jia, who had been standing quietly and primly beside him all this time, finally let out a little cough. "So, how long do you intend to stand there looking like a lost little boy?" she asked, but her tone had none of its usual tartness. Her eyes, too, were uncommonly kind when Iroh faced her at last.

"I've never been apart from them like this before," he confessed in a low, embarrassed voice. He wasn't even sure why he was telling her about it, but he just needed to say what he was presently thinking out loud. "What if—," he took a deep breath, "what if I never see them again?" Though the thought had occurred to him numerous times while he was preparing to depart on this voyage, it had never possessed the terror it did now.

She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but failing to do so. Awkwardly, Jia tried to give him a comforting pat on the shoulder. Iroh was startled by this gesture of friendliness and fell back a few steps to look at her quizzically. She coughed, embarrassed now as well, then she scowled. "Oh, for the love of the Spirits, I was just trying to be nice!" she exclaimed, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "And the Captain is looking at us!" She shot him a look full of sly warning.

Iroh instinctively turned and, yes, the Captain was indeed looking at them. The old soldier was standing a good distance away from Iroh and Jia, clearly waiting for the two of them to finish their moment and acknowledge his presence. As far as everyone outside of the Royal Family and Lord Hanashi knew, the Prince and his fiancee were in love, so the two young people had agreed to keep up the pretense onboard the ship. Iroh only hoped it wouldn't be too taxing and that they would reach their destination of Yu Dao soon, for he knew Jia had other plans once they arrived at the colony. But that was a matter that would be confronted in the future. For now, he had to deal with the Captain. "Yes, Captain?" he said, beckoning the man to step forward.

"Your Highness." Captain Jeong-gyun gave him a short bow. "I and my men welcome you with pride onboard the Baozhai, the finest and the fastest ship in the entire Fire Nation navy. We are honored to join you on your quest."

Iroh nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Captain. I am very pleased to be here with the Fire Nation's most skilled sailors and hunters. And please allow me to compliment the Baozhai for being the most impressive ship I have ever seen." He didn't need to see her face, but he just knew Jia was doubtlessly rolling her eyes at his show of charm. Well, it certainly was not his fault if he had been raised to be polite.

"Thank you for those kind words, my Prince." The Captain then turned to Jia and bowed again. Iroh noted with a bit of annoyance that Jeong-gyun dipped lower when bowing to her than the man did when bowing to him. "Lady Jia," the Captain said, "in all my days serving the Fire Nation, I have never been entrusted with the safety of a more precious cargo. Welcome to the Baozhai and, please, do tell me what I can do to make your voyage more comfortable."

She smiled at the man demurely. "I am quite content with my present accommodations, but I thank you for your kind offer, Captain," Jia murmured. This time, it was Iroh who rolled his eyes. She certainly knew how to portray a shy young maiden very convincingly.

There was a sudden commotion on deck, some sailors cursed then mumbled apologies when they thought Lady Jia may have heard them, and the Captain's first mate, a hulk of a man by the name of Sud, appeared and dropped something that resembled a wriggling bundle of laundry before them. Captain Jeong-gyun was instantly outraged. "What do you think you are doing? This lack of discipline is appalling!"

Sud's face and voice were completely emotionless when he said, "We have a stowaway, Captain."

"A stowaway?" The Captain had turned very red now, mortified at what the Prince may think of this scandalous breach of security. "Who dared to stow away on my ship?" Angrily, he pulled at the sack that Sud had used to capture the intruder, and he gasped when a small face with a wild mass of hair was revealed. A sheepish grin that was missing one tooth in the center greeted him.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Jeong Jeong!" the Captain gaped at his son, too stunned at the moment to think of anything to say.

Meanwhile, the young boy proceeded to stand up, took note of Iroh and Jia, and immediately dropped to his knees before them. "Please, please, Your Highness and my Lady," the boy said." Please let me go on this quest with you. I would so love to see a dragon. I will do anything you wish, just please let me see a dragon. Please!"

Captain Jeong-gyun now looked like he wanted to throw himself overboard in embarrassment, but Iroh was merely amused by the young boy's daring. "Stand up, little fellow," he told the boy and surveyed his thin frame carefully. "How old are you?"

"I'm twelve," Jeong Jeong replied, rubbing his nose thoughtfully for a second, then he stiffened and let out a loud sneeze. Iroh quickly jumped back to avoid being caught by the sudden flames while Jia, who could no longer contain herself, laughed at how comical he appeared. Jeong Jeong was immediately apologetic. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Highness. I didn't mean to do that. My nose was just really itchy."

The Captain quickly resolved to salvage the situation before his son could do anything more to offend the Prince. "Sud, take my son to my cabin," he ordered and then prepared himseld to beg for Iroh's forgiveness. But the Prince did not look like he had been offended at all. Instead, he was laughing.

"Please, Captain," he gestured for Sud to refrain from touching Jeong Jeong, "do not punish the boy. I understand that he's only being very enthusiastic." Iroh looked down at young Jeong Jeong with a smile. "I would love it if I could show you a dragon's head once we finish our quest. You have my promise on that."

"Oh," the boy's face fell, "but I meant I wanted to see a live dragon. I want to see one fly high above the clouds!"

"Ah, well…" Iroh wasn't quite sure how he should respond to that but, thankfully, Jia stepped in and spared him from having to shatter the boy's illusions about the true purpose of their journey.

"I'm sure Prince Iroh will certainly try his best to help you meet a live dragon," she told the boy with a smile, who immediately turned bright red. Iroh scowled. How on earth did she manage to do that? She just had to smile at people and they crumbled at her feet.

The Captain had composed himself somewhat by this time and he laid a firm hand on Jeong Jeong's shoulders and pulled him backwards. "Again, I apologize for my son's impertinence, Prince Iroh, Lady Jia. I promise he will stay out of your way during the voyage. And, as soon as we arrive in Yu Dao, I will place him on the first ship back to the Fire Nation."

"B–but Dad!" Jeong Jeong tried to protest. However, his father would have none of it. Before he could speak another word, the Captain nodded at Sud, who understood the look and immediately carried a squalling Jeong Jeong below deck.

Iroh frowned. "I meant what I said earlier, Captain." The tone he used would have been instantly recognizable to any Palace servant. It was the same one the Prince always adopted whenever he was displeased and he was about to order someone to be disciplined. "I do not wish for you to punish the boy. Yes, he should not have stowed away, but he meant no harm to anyone."

Captain Jeong-gyun flushed, but he bowed his head. "Yes, of course. As you wish, my Prince."

"Good," Iroh nodded curtly. "Now will there be anything else, Captain?"

"No, Prince Iroh," the older man replied somewhat stiffly. "But I do hope that you and Lady Jia would be able to join me for dinner later."

"We would be very happy to," Jia responded before Iroh could say anything. "And I would especially be pleased if Jeong Jeong could join us. I hope you won't leave him confined to your cabin throughout our entire voyage, Captain. A growing boy needs fresh air. And, as he is a firebender, perhaps he could even join me as I practice my forms."

"Of course, my Lady. As you wish." Bowing one last time, Captain Jeong-gyun went off to attend to his other duties onboard the ship.

As soon as the Captain was gone, Jia turned to Iroh. "You didn't have to scowl so fiercely at the man."

He just shrugged off her scolding tone. "I didn't like the thought that he might punish his son because he thought the boy had embarrassed him in our presence. Children should not be accountable for actions that they do with the best intentions."

Her mouth curved into a tiny little smirk at the sanctimonious note in his voice. "All right. As you say. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going into my cabin to rest for a while. Let me know when it's time for dinner."

"I'm not your servant," he reminded her haughtily.

"You're not indeed," she agreed. "But you're supposed to be my extremely devoted fiancé who's so madly and desperately in love with me that you couldn't bear the idea of us spending a year apart. Don't forget that we have to keep up appearances, my Prince."

With a wink and a laugh, Jia left Iroh alone.

oOo

Note: Finally got to finish this after a crazy few weeks. Doesn't really do anything much except to insert a young Jeong Jeong into the story because it's my headcanon that he and Iroh were good friends. But I promise that things will start to pick up from this point now that most of the initial set-up is out of the way.