A/N: Thank you so much, IDontUsuallyReveiw-ButWhenIDo and Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for leaving reviews last time!


Chapter Three

"You know, ceremony or not, we are connected. You can't hide from me!"

"That doesn't mean I can't try!" a voice in the distance called back angrily.

Lian lied on her back away from the fire, her arms crossed behind her head and her eyes directed at the stars. She studied them with intensity, as if they could hold answers to some of her questions. The echoes of voices at the back of her head only raised more of those. The Avatar. Why did it sound so… important? She understood what an Avatar was, but what she felt back there was too strong and too strange for her to explain. An almost physical pull.

"I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned!"

Even recalling it made her whole body clench as the pulling sensation overcame her senses. And that feeling of dread, like what she was doing at the moment was wrong and that she should be somewhere right now, somewhere else and with someone else.

"There is hope."

Oh yes, she did feel that hope. Hope that whatever she'd done wrong, she could make right again. Somehow.

"The Avatar has returned!"

"I don't WANT to be the Avatar!"

Lian rolled over and stood up quietly. She threw a glance at the camp; the ostrich horse was curled up near the fire and Iroh was happily snoring away, covered by a warm blanket Song's mother had given them, but Zuko was nowhere in sight. She looked around, trying to locate him, but apparently he wandered off somewhere. So she decided to take a stroll herself. Something was not right. She felt restless and sore, as if she hadn't moved in a long while. Which is not true, since she'd been traveling with the two men for a couple days now. She walked downhill until she reached the river, then turned to walk with the stream, the noise calming her.

She discovered that she loved water. She loved being near it, she loved drinking it, she loved taking baths, and there was no better way to wake up and get ready for the day like splashing some water on her face. Sometimes, she would sit near a river or pond and spent long moments of their breaks just cupping the water in her hands and slowly releasing it. Lian walked alongside the rushing river and looked down at her distorted reflection. Her hand reached up and she saw herself rub the pale kite shape on her forehead. She didn't remember where it was from. She didn't remember much and that was making her more and more irritated.

And sometimes, when she felt exceptionally irritated, Iroh's makeshift tea cups he was drinking from at the moment exploded.

The necklace gleamed on the unstable surface of the water and she raised her hand to her neck, tracing the small silver links that made the necklace and looked down at the pendant. It was important, she knew, but could not tell why. It was to be never taken off, at any cost. She knew that, she was sure, but when she tried to recall who had told her that or why, she was met with emptiness. Her hand fell to her side and the pendant gleamed again. Something else shone as well, in the corner of her eye.

Lian's head whipped to her left, where she thought she saw something odd. She waited a few seconds and there it was – fire. She gasped. The forest looked as if it was on fire. With the idea to run back and warn Iroh evaporating from her mind, she ran towards the place she saw the flame bursting against the night sky.

Lian reached a spot where the trees gave way to a small, rocky clearing right next to the river. In the center of that clearing was Zuko. He stood in a strange position, with his hands outstretched, then did a series of elegant dance-like movements and then… Lian could not believe it.

Bright orange flames shot out of his hand.

"Firebender!" she heard a scream. A second later she realized it was her own scream, and another second later Zuko was facing her, fire escaping his open palm and heading right towards her. Lian closed her eyes and raised her arms to cover her face.

Psssh…

When the hot wave of fire failed to make contact with her body, she tentatively cracked one eye open, but at the sight before her both of her eyes became wide open.

There was a wall of water right in front of her.

As soon as she saw it, however, it wavered and fell down with a splash. She looked down and noticed that there was a trail of water coming from the river that was right behind her and connecting to the puddle that was a wall just moments earlier. When she turned back to look at Zuko, he was back in his firebending position, alert.

"I knew it!" he yelled at her. "I knew that you were a Waterbender from the start! How you stare at the river like a freak and how uncle's tea exploded in his face! It was you!"

"N-no, I…" Lian stuttered. Every time a piece of her past clicked in, she felt lost and confused, because it was always too sudden and too little. It was so… exhausting. "Listen, I don't waterbend. I don't think I -"

"You don't think?" he repeated, dropping his stance and walking up to her, his fists clenched. "How can you say anything like that? You can't even remember who you are,"

That made her snap.

"Well, at least I know who you are," she shouted back, tired of her memory loss, tired of the travel, tired of his attitude, tired of lies. "You liar! And to think I actually felt sorry for you! I thought you lost your parents in the war or something! What a poor boy, travels with his uncle, has this scar on his face when he got burnt," she spat.

Neither of them noticed the storm clouds gathering above their heads as they continued to shout at each other.

"You dare pity me?!" Zuko bellowed as the first drops of rain fell on their heads, "I am Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai! Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne! You're a pathetic peasant, who struggled to even remember her own name!"

If he had anything more to say, Lian did not wait to hear. Her fist connected with his scarred cheek and the force of the punch combined with the element of surprise sent him flying backwards. His back hit a tree, knocking the wind out of him, but also steadying him on his feet. For a moment, he just stood there, leaning against the tree, eyes wide, but the hot fury that spread through his body like wildfire pushed the initial shock away. Without thinking, he sent a fireball right at her, but it evaporated as the raindrops created a shield in front of her.

If he wasn't so blinded by his anger, he'd notice that she had not moved an inch to make the shield appear. But all he was seeing was red. The girl unnerved him from the very beginning by the thick, mysterious aura and unclear motives, but as time passed, his unease only grew stronger. She acted so nice and innocent, so in awe of the world, and his uncle clearly grew to like her as a companion, and she had no idea about the war, and she had no idea who he was. Every time she remembered something, he grew more and more nervous and questions piled up. And she had too much nerve for someone in her position. She dared punching him, for Agni's sake!

Zuko continued his firebending, sending blasts of fire at Lian, who skillfully dodged every single one of them and continued to come closer to him. When she landed right before his face, he threw a fire punch at her, but she ducked, going into a crouch, and made a low roundhouse kick aimed at his ankles, making him fall. He landed on his right arm, which sent a shock of pain through his body, but also helped him level with her and send a powerful ball of fire right at her face. She raised her hand to cover her face and a thin water shield appeared. It caught the fireball in time, but the impact sent Lian skidding across the rocky clearing, the heat wave making her eyes sting. She got up, and there was Zuko, sending a small rain of fire right at her. She managed to side step and twirl away from most of them, the rest being caught by an umbrella-shaped water shield above her head that appeared every time the flame came too close for her to dodge. She danced around the prince as he sent more and more fire her way. The circle she was doing tightened with every step and she was, once again, right in front of him. Zuko was ready. His fist caught fire and he sent a punch she had no chance of avoiding.

But she didn't. Instead, she caught his fist in her an inch in front of her face and instantly, two things happened almost simultaneously; Zuko's flaming fist was painfully extinguished, but as the fire died out under her fingers, the curtain of anger fell and Zuko looked Lian in the eye.

It was like looking at the ocean during a storm. Dark, clouded and very, very cold.

He took notice of her other hand which curled into a fist and instinct kicked in. Zuko's cheek took another punch and Lian had her breath taken away as his fist collided with her stomach. Both teens fell to their knees in front of each other, holding their hurting and sore body parts. The rain began to die down slowly, the downpour turning into a light drizzle and the darkest clouds passing.

It wasn't until the rain stopped completely that Lian spoke.

"I will not tell your uncle what I've learnt tonight," she said quietly, facing the ground, her wet hair shadowing the upper half of her face. "Not yet."

"Don't expect me to do the same," Zuko barked back, but he doubted he would tell uncle Iroh anything. Someday, perhaps, but not until he figured it out first.

"Well then," she looked up with a mischievous glint in her eyes (which, Zuko failed to fully register, were more green than blue again), smirking, "Will you admit to losing to a girl?"

"Losing? What are you taking about?" Zuko huffed, "You had no chance."

Her smirk turned into a genuine smile and soon after that, Lian started laughing. She threw her head back and laughed, as if she'd waited a long time to do that. Zuko stared at her, thinking she'd finally lost it completely, when she toppled back and fell on her back, still laughing like a crazy person. She calmed down after a short while and opened her eyes. The clouds almost passed and some bright stars shone above their heads.

"I've always wanted to try this," she breathed out contently.

The ache in her body disappeared.


True to her words, Lian had not said a word to Iroh about her discovery, and was only a little surprised to notice Zuko had done the same. A day after their 'incident', the three reached a bigger town and decided to stock up and earn some money. Iroh and Zuko sat down on a pile of straw in the shade, the ostrich horse resting behind them, and Lian took every water pouch they had to fill them up in the river that ran through the village.

"Spare coins for weary travelers?" Iroh spoke as a man walked past them. The man threw some change into Iroh's hat and walked away without a glance in their direction.

"This is humiliating!" Zuko growled, his arms crossed and face hidden by the straw hat, "We're royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want."

"They will," his uncle said with a smile, "If you ask nicely." He spotted a pretty young woman and showed her his hat, "Spare change for a hungry old man?" he asked in a weak voice.

"Aww," the woman reached out to her sleeve and took out a coin. "Here you go," she dropped it into his hat.

"The coin is appreciated," Iroh said, throwing the woman a sidelong grin, "But not as much as your smile!"

The woman giggled at that and walked away. Zuko slapped his forehead.

"Which reminds me," Iroh continued as the woman disappeared, "Are you ready to tell me where did you run off to with Lian the night before?"

"What?" Zuko exclaimed loudly, making some people look their way. "I did not 'run off' with her!" he continued in a hiss, "I went to train and she… I don't know where she was," he looked away from his uncle.

Iroh raised his eyebrows at that, but did not comment. A man stopped in front of them and he readied his hat to ask for change, when the stranger spoke first.

"How about some entertainment in exchange for..." he whipped out a gold coin and smiled down at them cruelly, "a gold piece?"

"We're not performers," Zuko snapped.

"Not professional, anyway," Iroh added and moved to stand up, singing. "It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se, but the girls in the city they look so prett-ay!"

"Come on, we're talking a gold piece here!" the man said displeased, and took out a sword. "Let's see some action!"

Zuko's eyes narrow in anger. His hands were crossed and hidden in his sleeves, but they were tingling to let out some flames on the man. He briefly considered it.

"Please, spare my uncle, kind sir," Lian's voice rang from behind the man. She jogged towards them with a worried expression. Zuko managed to catch her warning glance, but she quickly averted her eyes to look at the man.

"Hello there, young lady," the man grinned wolfishly at her. "Would you like to dance?"

"Sir, please, we're all tired from our long journey," she began, but the man cut her off by pointing the sword in her face, the tip an inch away from her nose. Zuko tensed and noticed his uncle straighten his back ever so slightly.

"Do you want that gold piece or not?" the man asked with a taunting smile.

And that was when things went a little strange. Something in Lian's face shifted and she lost the soft, almost begging expression. Her eyes never left the man's face and when she moved, it was swift and quick. She knocked the sword away with the back of her right hand and her left palm made contact with the man's chest.

"Don't you have some business to attend to elsewhere?" her voice dropped to almost a whisper.

The man's cruel expression faltered and he blinked. "I… have. That's right. I need to be somewhere," he made a move to sidestep Lian, but she pressed her hand to his chest, stopping him.

"And the gold piece?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, the gold piece…" the man threw it on the ground in front of Iroh, who watched the exchange closely and with curiosity. Zuko's eyes, which never left Lian from the very beginning, narrowed.

Her dark expression shifted into a smile as she dropped her hand. "Thank you very much, kind sir!"

The man nodded distractedly and passed her in a hurry. Iroh took the gold coin and looked up at the girl.

"Such a kind man," he said lightly. He looked at the girl and said in a neutral voice, "Thank you for the interesting display of female charm, dear."

Zuko studied Lian's face, but couldn't find anything beside that damn smile that never seemed to leave her lips. His uncle showed no suspicion, but the tone of his voice let Zuko know that he'd been paying very close attention as well.


Since then, the food had been getting better and better in quality whenever Zuko went to look for it. Iroh immediately knew why that was and how was it happening, but did not comment on it. It was hard to disapprove of Zuko's methods, when the food he'd brought was so delicious and nourishing.

Of course, he hadn't earned it in any legal way. It started with him stealing a mask of a Blue Spirit and after that came the swords from the man that tried to humiliate his uncle and threatened Lian. Then came the good food and money, and they didn't need to beg for any on the streets. Iroh decided to set up camp in a small cave created by a few giant stones. He said that once their bodies fully recover, the journey would be more bearable. And, to Lian's delight, there was a body of water that was too small to be called a lake, but big enough to take a proper swim. Needless to say, that immediately became her favorite spot. She took the opportunity to wash her usual blue uniform and change into Earth Kingdom-style clothes she'd picked up in the last village – a comfortable set of a green sleeveless shirt and brown pants, with a dark green piece of material that was tied to her waist like a belt.

There was a small waterfall that brought water into the pond, and the very sight of it stirred something in Lian's memories. There was something vaguely familiar about the sight, something that made her instantly feel relaxed and at home. One day, after an exceptionally long swim, she decided to check the waterfall out and went on a small trip upstream.

Lian didn't make more than a few steps, when she heard rustling. She turned in that direction and saw a figure dressed in black creeping through the bushes, carrying a chest under their arm. As quietly as she could, she came closer. The figure stopped and it took off a mask she couldn't see from her angle, but she would recognize the scarred cheek anywhere. Lian was about to back off as quietly as she approached, wanting to leave him alone, when he flipped the mask so that she could see the front.

It was a Blue Spirit mask.


Zuko could not help but notice that something was wrong with Lian. She was acting like a different person. Whenever he looked at her, he caught her staring back hard, her arms crossed, a frown on her face. Whenever he tried to pass some food in her direction, she turned her head. She didn't even touch the grilled fish and sweetbread he knew were her favorites. All she did was accept tea from his uncle, but when Zuko presented him with a gold tea set, she refused that as well.

"Is everything alright, Lian?" Iroh asked, concerned by the girls' unusual gloomy behavior.

"Yes, thank you," she replied, glaring at Zuko. "I'm just feeling a little sick."

He returned the gesture, but did not say a word. Lian got up from her spot in the corner of the camp and walked towards the exit. "I'm going for a swim," she threw over her shoulder before disappearing.

His uncle eyed her retreating form before sighing and sitting down in front of the fire. "Looks like you did some serious shopping," he began. "But where did you get the money?"

"Do you like your new teapot?" Zuko asked, avoiding the question.

"To be honest with you, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes in a porcelain pot or a tin cup." Iroh got up, walked over to his nephew and knelt beside him. "I know we've had some difficult times lately. We've had to struggle just to get by," he put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "But it's nothing to be ashamed of! There is a simple honor in poverty," he said strongly.

"There's no honor for me without the Avatar." The prince said quietly.

"Zuko…" his uncle sighed, "Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not so sure it would solve our problems. Not now."

Zuko looked away angrily, "Then there is no hope at all."

He was about to leave, but his uncle grabbed his robes. "No, Zuko!" he said loudly, pulling the boy back. "You must never give in to despair! Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself! That is the meaning of inner strength!"

Zuko looked at his uncle in silence, then got up to leave. He exited the cave and did not notice Lian, who was standing near the entrance, half concealed by one of the bigger rocks. Her eyes were glued to his back, clear like the ocean before a storm – stormy blue and pupil-less.