Chapter Six

New and Old Friends

Zuko

Quietly groaning I let myself fall onto my bed.

It was very small and short. When I was lying on it with my legs stretched and my head on the headend, my feet would dangle off the edge. And since it was so small, I once had fallen on the floor, while tossing because of a nightmare.

I wasn't used to small beds like this. What person could possibly sleep curled up like an embryo not moving for the whole night? Because that's the only person who could sleep in there without any problems. Even sleeping on the ground while travelling had been more comfortable.

So my feet dangled off the edge in that moment, while I was groaning slightly into my pillow. I didn't even know why I was so… so… yeah, I didn't even know what I was.

Sighing I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. After I grew tired of that, I pressed my palms against my temples and sighed again.

Dragons, that had been something. Something I had never done before and it had been okay.

More than okay, actually.

Jin had been pretty nice and real fun. I had enjoyed myself and I couldn't remember the last time when I had felt so relaxed. I didn't need to fear that Azula could show up, or that I wouldn't catch the Avatar or that my father would never accept me.

Jin's personality and presence had made it so easy to forget about all these things.

But she hadn't known me. She couldn't ever know me and I didn't want to lie to someone who could be part of my life. If I really was Lee, a simple refugee, maybe then I could have kissed Jin back. Maybe then we would still be at that place and maybe she would show me where she lived. Then we would kiss again and I would go home. Ant she'd be at the tea shop tomorrow again.

But that was not me, that would never be me.

I was not at peace with this life, nor the fact that I needed to hide my identity. My identity had given me many privileges and special treatment. I had could demand everything from Fire Nation citizens, even as a banished prince I still had the power over certain military ranks.

If I didn't overcome these facts I couldn't try to make myself friends or a future here.

After a while I got up to wash my face and brush my teeth, since Uncle needed to think that I would be in bed soon.

I undressed myself to my undergarments and put my black clothes on.

Uncle's footsteps sounded louder behind my door and I quickly darted under my blanket to hide my clothes.

Uncle knocked at the wooden frame, but I knew that he would enter, whether or not I would allow him to.

"Zuko, is everything alright?" Uncle asked and sounded worried.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. "Yes, I'm fine, Uncle. I'm just tired."

"Well, then you should probably sleep, nephew."

Now I couldn't contain myself anymore. My head snapped towards him. "That's what I was trying to do!"

Uncle raised one eyebrow and hummed thoughtfully. "Well, then maybe that's exactly what you should do. Good night, nephew."

"Good night, Uncle." My eyes narrowed at his retreating back and I got the impression that he knew exactly that I didn't want to sleep.

Sighing, I rolled onto my side and laid my hands under my cheek.

I played with the thought of staying here and getting a good night's sleep, but something about Jin's expression earlier made me get up and sneak out of the apartment. I ran back to the fire light fountain, but before I could make it there I spotted Jin on a small and dark street. She was probably going back home.

I crouched down on the flat roof I had been walking on and bent over the edge to see her better.

But it was hopeless, with no light there was no way to know how she looked. I really hoped that she wasn't sad or angry, because I had just left her at that fountain.

Nevertheless I followed her silently, watching her as she walked through the streets.

The lower ring was dangerous, especially at night and for a young girl, so I was glad that I had found her. I also was a bit ashamed that it had taken me so long to leave our apartment.

I was walking on the roofs on the left side of the street and Jin turned right. From my position I could see into the small alley and frowned, when I saw two men with knives. Quickly I jumped down the roof and crossed the street to help her, but…

First, the men darted out of the shadows, knives pointing at Jin.

She didn't even flinch and only put one hand onto her hip. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Uh…" one of them said, but both quickly retreated. "We, uh…"

"We didn't know it was you," the other one said in a pleading voice and put his hands up to show the lack of weapons.

"Please don't hurt us!"

I frowned and moved back into the shadows.

These two looked genuinely frightened and I was totally bewildered.

Jin lifted one hand and it looked as if she was tapping her chin. "Normally, I wouldn't. But I'm not in such a good mood, so I guess you're having bad luck."

She quickly moved into an earthbending stance and liquefied the ground under the men, and they sank into it immediately.

My eyes widened, while I was watching them and I tried to bring this frightening bender together with the friendly girl with the big appetite.

It was strange to see that those men obviously knew her and even were afraid of her. Well, she seemed to be a good bender and maybe criminals to each other about people who were too dangerous for robbing them.

Part of me admired that about Jin, but another one was still only confused.

When Jin didn't stop the men started screaming and begging and I rushed forward to help them, when their upper bodies began to sink, too.

But Jin hardened the floor again and turned around. She'd probably heard me.

Her eyes widened a bit, while she was looking me up and down. "Huh, afraid of showing your face?"

I blinked, feeling stunned, but I became angry rather quickly, since she has assumed that I was afraid of something.

Frowning, I pointed towards the two still shaking men.

Jin crossed her arms under her breasts and because there was movement I looked there automatically and noticed that her breasts were big. Like melonoranges, and I didn't understand how I had not noticed that before. I had never seen such big breasts before and I felt embarrassed and angry at myself that I even had noticed them. They were not important!

She rolled her eyes and inspected her fingernails. "The next earthbender who passes by will release them, so don't worry your spirit head about it."

I frowned and was slightly reminded by her demeanour of Azula, which didn't just confuse me, but also made me sick. I had kissed this girl! That had been my first kiss!

My eyebrows contracted, I looked to the side and considered what and if I should do something.

But Jin was right and I didn't need to linger here. I had seen that she was perfectly fine all by herself.

So I shrugged and backed away.

Jin rolled her eyes again. "It was also nice meeting you, Blueface." Then she turned around and walked away.

Sighing, I did the same thing. I wasn't in any need for any more action tonight, so I simply returned to our apartment.

Kilara

"I'm so happy for you, dear. Going to Ba Sing Se, wow! It's such a magnificent city and way larger than anything you have ever seen! The walls are marvellous and believe me, you will see the most strange and crazy things there!" Aunt was blabbering, while she sat in on a chair and watched how two servants and I were packing my stuff.

The servant girls took care of my clothes, shoes and make-up, while I was packing my books, scrolls and quills.

"I'm really looking forward to it, aunt," I said and bound a ribbon around my favourite bending scroll. Uncle had given it to me a few weeks ago, after the one he had wanted to give me for my birthday had been stolen from the owners, before he had even had the chance to buy it.

"That was the last of your shoes, miss," Weilin told me, while Shizue closed the trunk.

I smiled at them. "Thank you," I said and put the last of my scrolls into the other trunk.

"So, then that's it!" I exclaimed happily and stemmed my hands on my hips, letting out a relieved sigh.

"It will be so lonely without you here," aunt Chunhua said with a sad smile.

I approached her and took her hands into mine. "I know uncle is busy, but soon you will have a rosy little thing that will cry all day and demand all your attention. Then it won't be lonely at all."

Aunt Chunhua chuckled and laid a hand on her stomach. "You're right. I can't wait to see her or him. I'm so excited!"

"You're going to be a great mother," I told her and hoped that I sounded reassuring.

Weilin and Shizue carried together one trunk and Nanuk came to my room to help me with the other one. "Man, it was about time that you finished packing. Dad and I were waiting now for far too long! And what the hell did you put in here? Rocks?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop complaining and watch your step!" I warned, as we approached the steps.

"Yes, madam!" he exclaimed and looked half over his shoulder to see where he was going.

Outside two servants, men the age of our father, took the trunk from us and lifted it onto the carriage. I spun around quickly to run into my room again.

I needed to see my room again for one last time, before leaving it forever. I had only lived in here for a little more than four months, but I still had come to like it and call it "my" room. But I didn't feel sad at all, while I was looking around to see if I had forgotten anything.

Finding nothing, I smiled to myself and closed the door, after I had stepped out.

Outside dad and Nanuk were saying goodbye to aunt Chunhua and uncle Aiguo. I swallowed and jogged the last feet to reach them faster.

"Kira, what on earth have you been doing?" uncle scolded me, looking angry and worried.

"Just looking, if I forgot something," I said with a raised eyebrow.

Uncle Aiguo sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face.

Aunt Chunhua distracted me with the most motherly hug I had ever got since mum's death.

I wrapped my arms around her and pressed my cheek to her chest, smiling and inhaling her flowery scent again. I'd probably just see her again on the harvest festival and that was five months from now.

"Take care, okay? And stay how you are. You'll show them what a smart girl you are," she whispered into my ear and I smiled.

"Thank you. And remember. You're going to be a great mum," I whispered back and she hugged me more tightly, before letting go.

When I turned to uncle Aiguo he looked slightly uncomfortable and I frowned. Was he not okay with me studying? Well, if this was the case, he just had to swallow it!

Uncle sighed and a small smile appeared on his face. It was small, but his eyes were smiling, too. "I knew we didn't have the best start and I'm sorry that I couldn't understand you sooner. But I hope you know that I still love you. If you're going to marry a good man or if you're going to study. I really want you to be happy and to have a good life," he said sincerely and I felt deeply touched.

I had to fight the tears again, as I simply hugged him tightly around the middle. Well, I was too small to hug him in any other way.

After a few seconds uncle returned my hug and squeezed my upper arms a bit.

"That means a lot to me. Thank you." I pulled back and looked into his face. "And sorry for being such a pain to you. I didn't do anything to improve our situation, but I love you, too."

Uncle Aiguo's smile widened a bit and his hands moved to my shoulders, which he squeezed, too. "Thanks. That means a lot to me, too."

I smiled again and then turned away to walk over to dad and Nanuk. I took a deep breath and smiled at them reassuringly.

"So… are we going?" I asked.

Nanuk's face lit up in a grin. "Finally. I thought your goodbyes would take all eternity."

I quickly hit him on the arm.

"Ouch!" he snarled, his eyes narrowed at me.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that hard!"

"Of course it wasn't, since my 'ouch' was an exclamation of surprise and not of pain. And you cannot say that I'm a baby or be sarcastic!" Nanuk grinned at his own words and poked his tongue out at me.

I rolled my eyes again. "I was actually going to say that you delay our depart with your baby skin!"

"Hey, I just said nothing about babies!"

Dad looked a bit confused and looked at uncle Aiguo, who shrugged.

"You raised them. They were only here for five months."

Dad's lips curved into a smile and he chuckled at his brother's words a bit. "Yeah, you're right." Then he laid his arms around Nanuk and me and smiled at us. "And we're going to spend the next months together!"

"Then let's get moving!" Nanuk said and balled his hands to fists in excitement.

We were grinning at each other and off to race to the carriage. Nanuk got in there first, because he was taller than me with longer legs, and I crossed my arms and pretended to pout to make him feel better.

Dad followed shortly after and he knocked onto the roof, which was the sign for the coachman to depart.

Uncle and aunt were standing arm in arm and waving at us. Nanuk and I leaned our upper bodies out of the window and waved back.

"We'll miss you!"

"We love you!"

"Until next time!"

"Kids, sit, before you fall out of the window!" dad scolded us in an amused voice.

Nanuk and I grinned sheepishly at him, but then I turned around, because I still wanted to look out of the window.

I always got sick in coaches and needed to look down at the earth, so that it wouldn't be so bad.

Now I wasn't feeling sick yet, so I grinned to myself, while I kept repeating it in my head that I was going to Ba Sing Se! I would study and I still couldn't believe it!

I just had found the courage to bring the subject up, to even think about it as a real possibility, because of the journey I had made. Because of meeting Prince Zuko I had noticed that there was more what could be done by one single person.

Thank you, Zuko, I thought and was wondering if I would ever see him again to say it to him personally.

/

The route to Ba Sing Se was long and definitely unpleasant.

First, the landscape reminded me of when I had rode through it on Onyx, but after a week it wasn't only arid, it was nearly desertic and I knew that we would cross the Si Wong Desert soon. The "soon" was apparently the next day.

Dad had travelled a few times already through the desert and he had made a few acquaintances. He wouldn't say friends, but he knew some trustworthy sandbenders.

I have no idea how much dad payed them, but it was certainly a lot for them, since they were really eager to accompany us through the desert.

I knew the Si Wong desert was huge and that people would need months to cross it, if they were on foot, but to make it in two and a half days on these gliders was extremely impressive.

Our coach, Onyx and Nanuk's ostrich horse Topaz had been carried on a sandglider, too and both would accompany us to Ba Sing Se.

"Kira, Nanuk. Tomorrow we'll reach Halfmoon Bay and…"

"Isn't that the place from which all the refugees go to Ba Sing Se?" Nanuk interrupted him, while he was eying his food suspiciously.

"Er, yes, it is. But it is also the only place for anyone to go to Ba Sing Se", dad explained and I frowned.

"Why? What about traders or theatre groups? Why can't they go into the city?" I wanted to know took some noodles between my chopsticks.

"If there were another, more open place for people to get into Ba Sing Se, the Fire Nation would use it immediately," dad said. "Besides, Ba Sing SE doesn't need traders or theatre groups. Everything they need for their living is cultivated in the outer ring. It is vast with different sections of fields, grassland and forests. And Ba Sing Se holds a spectrum of the best and most talented theatres and other performances of the arts in the world."

I raised my eyebrows sceptically. "Better than the Volcanacts?" The Volcanacts were a theatre group we had seen in Fire Fountain City in December last year. They had performed a tragic love story with great choreographies of dance, fight and fast gripping songs. The play had also had funny moments for the audience to laugh and I couldn't ever imagine a play to be better than that.

Dad twisted his mouth. "No, not quite. But they dance and sing, too. Not in the plays, but there are extra dance troupes or choirs, if you want to see dancing or hear singing there."
Nanuk raised an eyebrow in an unimpressed manner.

"So, Ba Sing Se shuts itself down and only allows refugees in?"

Dad sighed. "You could say it like that. What I'm about to tell you now is something extremely important, that no one knows of, who does not live in Ba Sing Se. Not even your uncle knows it."

Within a second Nanuk and I sat up straight and leaned eagerly forward.

Dad looked at us with a worried expression. "It is not something good. I've told you before that Ba Sing Se is not what it seems. That it is dangerous there." He sighed heavily and stared into the flames of our campfire. "You see, around three hundred years ago, there were high insecurities in the city. The conqueror Chin was on his way to rule the whole Earth Kingdom, but the Earth King was unmovable. Chin wasn't strong enough yet to attack Ba Sing Se, but he threatened the king and promised all sorts of things to the people. They started to believe him and became envious of the people under his regime. The Earth King and his advisors were the only ones who saw through that farce. Chin was nothing more than a megalomaniac and greedy man. But the people of Ba Sing Se rose against the Earth King and wanted to give up everything that made Ba Sing Se what it is to join Chin. He promised to take the walls down, so that the poorer could also move freely through the upper rings, which is not really a bad thing, if you ask me. Even then, Ba Sing Se had its prob…"

"Dad!" Nanuk interrupted him again. "I'm not in the mood for a history lesson. Why don't you get to the point?"

Dad looked a bit irritated that Nanuk was not that fascinated by history as he and I were, but he nodded. "Well, okay. Avatar Kyoshi helped the Earth King at the end to regain control over Ba Sing Se, together with several soldiers or ministers of the Earth King. She then stopped Chin from taking her home and separated Kyoshi Island from the continent, but she also founded an organisation to protect the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. The people should always know their heritage and be thankful for it, so that they would not ever again want to join another regime and revolt this hard against the king. The cultural authority of Ba Sing Se still exists and they are called the Dai Li." Dad's face turned grim and serene and that was surely enough to make Nanuk and me listen carefully. "They wear long black robes with the symbol of the Earth Kingdom on their chest and round pointing hats made of metal. Be always careful when you are around them. Don't you ever mention the war, the refugees, the Avatar or anything that has to do with the Fire Nation. Not only, when you see them, because they are masters of disguise."

Nanuk and I looked at each other, feeling puzzled.

The light of the flames danced on dad's skin and threw dark shadows on his face.

Despite the fact that we weren't in the desert anymore, the nights were still frosty and I snuggled deeper into my bedroll.

"The Dai Li agents are excellent fighters, if they want to catch you, they will. They spy on almost anyone in the upper ring to gather as much information of the people as they can. They control everything, even the university and any gathering of people. Be it a pai sho club or a choir. They don't want the people to speak about the war, because it would cause disturbances and panic, if the people knew what is going on out here. So it is extremely…"

"What? Do you mean that the people of Ba Sing Se don't even know that there's a war?" I exclaimed, feeling horrified and more disgusted than ever.

Dad sighed and looked down. "Yes. Most people in the middle or upper ring have no idea. The refugees arrive in the lower ring, so of course they know, but they still don't talk about it. They are mostly traumatised or just want to forget the war and start a new life, so it is not difficult to keep the refugees under control. The point is, whatever you do, whatever you see, don't you ever talk about the war. Never. Not even when you think we're alone. I don't want to hear a word about it, is that clear?"

"But dad, that's horrible. These people…"

"Nanuk, don't!" dad snarled and my eyes widened.

"But Nanuk's right! They cannot just sit there without knowing and waiting for the Fire Nation to attack. Because that's what is going to happen. They won't stop, before they've got Ba Sing Se, but the people are not prepared and…"

"Kira, stop! Shut your mouth, both of you!" Dad's voice had a hard and cold tone that I had only ever heard once, before our mother had died. One of dad's friends had accidentally spilled wine over old scrolls he had just bought. They hadn't been expensive, but dad always said that people often didn't understand the value of the most common items, even if it is different from all the others which look like it.

Dad ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, it's just… There's nothing you can do. It is as it is and we have to live with it. The Dai Li is dangerous and I'm afraid you might do something which will get you into trouble. I don't want anything to happen to you, but I won't be able to protect you from the Dai Li. You've got to choose. Either you'll accept the conditions of living in Ba Sing Se or you'll return to your uncle."

My eyes widened in horror and I quickly looked at Nanuk who was looking at me, too. He did look unsettled and confused and enraged at the same time.

So Ba Sing Se was one of those places which needed some change, too. Maybe not now, but maybe in ten years (if it wouldn't be under the Fire Nation's control by then) I could try to change something. Slowly, gradually and with another identity.

Dad had been right. It was not perfect and I would not simply accept the circumstances there. But I also couldn't just do something rash. I didn't know the Dai Li, but dad clearly did, so I would just do as he had said. Then I would get to know the Dai Li better, I would observe them, maybe even become part of them and then slowly change them and change the life of the people in Ba Sing Se, prepare them for war.

Okay, I know, I sound pretty arrogant to think that I could start something like that all by myself, but I was smart. I would find allies, I would protect myself and my family by not giving my identity away and if I planned enough, if I planned it slowly, then I was sure that something could change. I just needed patience.

These was certainly a big plan for a fifteen year-old girl, but it was, at least, something more material than just studying and trying to get into an important political position.

This plan had more substance.

My mind was racing with images and ideas, but I tried to push them all to the side, since they wouldn't make sense, because I'd never seen the Dai Li agents myself.

I nodded firmly at Nanuk, who nodded back with a grim expression on his face.

"We'll accept it. We won't say anything about the Fire Nation or the war and we won't cause any problems," Nanuk and I said in unison and looked at each other, feeling surprised. Our mouths spread simultaneously into grins and we chuckled a bit.

Dad seemed a bit more relaxed, too, because he smiled again and nodded. "Good. I wouldn't want to send you back, but I don't want to lose you in the city either."

"You won't, dad," I said reassuringly.

"Yeah, we promise," confirmed Nanuk.

I nodded, but didn't say it out loud, since I knew that with the plans in my head I might not be able to keep such a promise.

/

Around noon on the next day we made it to the secret entrance of Halfmoon Bay, which was guarded by earthbenders who hid themselves inside of rocks. They saw us through thin slits in the rock and asked us immediately who we were and what we wanted.

They even lied and said they were patrolling, but one of them recognised dad's name from a list of clear people they apparently had.

They opened a cave in the hill and I thought, it would expand itself to a tunnel, but instead of enlarging the cave, the soldiers bent the earth, so that we were travelling in the cave downwards.

Nanuk pointed out to me, that it wasn't only due to their bending, but that there were some mechanisms which held the cave intact and that their obviously was an empty well under us. I could see that he wanted to say that it was just like a lift, but with bending, but fortunately he kept his mouth shut.

We had seen a lift only once and that had been in Fire Fountain City backstage of the Volcanacts. They had used it to make people come on scene from underneath it and one of the workers there had explained to us that some lifts were even made for eight people, but these mostly existed in military constructions. Strongholds, factories or warships.

I just rolled my eyes and held onto my brother who stood firmly on the ground. I really didn't like this way of travelling.

"Isn't this marvellous, kids? We're not even yet in Ba Sing Se, but you already saw some modern technology!" Dad beamed and looked around in the sparsely lighted cave.

Modern technology? Riiiight.

"It totally is, dad!" I exclaimed with a big grin on my face and tried to look as that would really impress me.

Right after that, we stopped and the soldiers opened a wall.

It was light outside, so I needed some time to get adjusted to it, but I still followed dad, Nanuk, Onyx and Topaz outside.

The hall or the cave, since it really was one, was huge!

There were around fifteen small boxes, in which a person sat and from where the people here got their tickets. The queues waiting in front of those were long and the people all looked miserable. There were small children, even babies, but none of them played. They all stood next to their families, eyes cast down, looking too thin and too serious.

I quickly walked over to Onyx and took his reins, so that he wouldn't get nervous by all these people.

I looked around again and saw that there were also groups of people standing and even sitting between the queues, eating or talking or just looking somewhere, without really seeing.

Dad let us to the left side of the cave to wait in the last queue, as a woman's desperate crying caught my attention.

"But I'm telling you, our house burnt to the ground and out passports were in there!"

"No passports, no tickets!" the woman in the box replied in a harsh tone.

I frowned and tugged at dad's sleeve. "Do we need passports for the ferry?"

Dad nodded. "Don't worry. I've got yours with me. And even Onyx and Topaz have one, though I'll need to pay for them extra."

I bit on my lower lip. "But dad, not everyone here has got a passport. In those small villages the Fire Nation likes to attack, the people from there, they don't even have passports at all, do they?"

Dad's expression became grim and he shook his head. "No, they don't. Come on," he urged and followed the shorter queue closer to the box.

I turned around to look at the woman again, but she was gone. I frowned in confusion and disappointment. I had already been thinking about helping them somehow, but now they… Did they just give up? Well, but what other choice did they have?

I let my gaze wander over the place and I felt sick to my stomach. Many of those people didn't have passports, I realised and curled my hands into fists.

The war had already driven all those people from their homes! They were desperate to be in a safe place, to have their family in a safe place, but they couldn't arrive there, because they didn't have a stupid piece of paper.

Nanuk grabbed my arm and pulled me with him towards dad. My brother was looking at me with a knowing look and I cast my eyes down.

All this suffering and grief in here made me want to cry and shout at the world, why it was so cruel. Why had it let this happen? I knew that the spirits were mostly uninterested in human happenings, but still…

The Avatar had been gone, but was he really the only person who could do something? Why hadn't someone else tried to do something? To fight the Fire Nation and to make the life of all people better and more just?

I took a deep breath to calm myself, since I knew that no one would be able to answer those questions for me. There was nothing I could do now, but maybe later… I could open a bureau for false passports to help those refugees.

I grasped Nanuk's hand and squeezed it. He squeezed it back and I felt a bit more in control of my emotions. I still needed to blink a few times to hold back tears.

"Hey! No!"

Nanuk and I turned around to see what was going on. It seemed to be at the end of the queue next to us.

"No! Thief! Please, help!"

Nanuk and I just looked at each other, his expression painfully determined and he already darted forward.

I was right behind him and took a grip on the opening of my water flask.

When we were close enough, we could see saw enraged and desperate man with a beard shaking his fist. A woman held his arm to hold him back.

"Help! Someone help us!"

"Where did he go?" Nanuk shouted at the man, who pointed at a point through the crowd.

"This way!"

It wasn't that easy to run through this crowd, since I also didn't want to hurt, endanger or anger anyone.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! Could you please move to the side? Coming through! Chasing a chief, sorry!"

"There he is!" Nanuk called out to me and I narrowed my eyes, trying to make a running person out of the crowd.

He made it to the rock wall and bent a platform out of it, that pushed him up to the ceiling.

"Oh no, you don't!" Nanuk roared, jumped his foot down and raised his arm in a fast powerful movement. An earth column shot out of the ground, growing faster than the thief's platform rising and crashing it at the end.

The man tried to hold onto the column, but Nanuk let it crumble and moved it into the ground again, so that the man was falling down from around thirty feet.

His cry sounded so frightened, and I quickly bent the water from my flask to catch him, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. Without looking back, I summoned some water from the bay, let it quickly over the heads of the people and brought my arms down again to catch the man. But his fall was too fast and he just splashed through the water. My hold of the water mixed with the water in his body, when he fell through it and I grasped that last chance I had to save him. I narrowed my eyes, feeling his blood and forced my mind to grab it. At the same time I bent the water under him again and made sure that I would catch him this time.

I let him down slowly and panted, once he was on the floor.

Nanuk was already next to him.

He grabbed his collar and pressed his knee to the man's chest. "Give back what you've stolen!" he growled and the man's eyes widened in fear.

I moved closer to them, but was instantly shoved out of the way by a bunch of soldiers who surrounded Nanuk and the thief.

"Get up!" one of them shouted.

Nanuk got up immediately and held his hands up, palms turned to the front.

The thief did the same thing and the soldiers moved into fighting stances.

I quickly wormed my way through the tall muscular men and came to stand in front of my brother. "He just wanted to help!" I explained. "This man," I pointed at the thief, "stole something from a family over there at the end of a queue. We tried to stop him," I said loudly and clearly to make sure that everyone understood me.

But I became nervous and swallowed, when I noticed how many people were now looking at us. Almost everyone had turned around to see what had happened and with the water and the rocks still lying on the ground I felt very self-conscious.

The bearded man who had been stolen from was making his way to us. "Please! Let me through! I'm the victim here!"

A soldier, a young girl, how I noticed stepped forward. "What was stolen from you?" she asked.

I felt stunned that a girl who looked to be my age, was serving in the army. That was unusual, since girls weren't allowed in the army at all. A few centuries ago they had been allowed, but only at the age of eighteen, and this girl was clearly not eighteen. She was too small for that.

The bearded man looked confused at the authority she held and blinked. "Erm… excuse me, miss, but I think one of these older and more experienced man should maybe solve this here."

The girl narrowed her eyes and walked to the man, until she was right in his space, toe to toe.

She held her head high and didn't even touch him. Her voice was frightening enough. "Listen here. I am the one in charge and if you don't like that, then leave."

"But… but our passports," the man said irritated and took a step back.

"So your passports were stolen? I'm afraid that you cannot cross the lake without them," she said and folded her arms. The other soldiers who surrounded us were only paying attention to the thief, as if they were used to this girl being the boss.

The man blinked and looked around, as if he hoped that a tall muscular man would appear to put that small girl in her place. When he noticed that she was indeed the one in charge he sighed and bowed with his hand over his fist.

"Please, I am sorry. My family and I just want our passports back."

A satisfied smirk covered the girl's face and she turned around to look at some soldiers next to us. "Search them," she said.

"Hey!" I protested and tried to wiggle out of the soldiers' grip.

"We're not the thieves!" Nanuk shouted and tried to break out of the grip of two soldiers while another was searching them.

The girl looked unimpressed and walked towards us. "I don't have to believe you. I'll believe the evidence and if you're not guilty, you have nothing to fear."

Nanuk huffed and growled low in his throat.

I rolled my eyes and was relieved that it was a girl who also seemed to look my age was searching me. Then I noticed that there were actually quite a few young girls here in soldier uniforms.

I was released, when she was done and a young man found the passports and a purse in the thief's pockets.

The girl in charge walked over there, took the passports and purse and walked back to the bearded man. "Are these your things?" she asked.

The man nodded. "Yes, they are."

"Aren't you going to say 'thank you'?" she asked with a tone, which was slightly amused and slightly threatening.

My, she totally belonged into this position! She held her authority so well and everything she did had the right mix of "I-can-kick-your-ass-every-time" and "I-am-a-good-person-and-will-do-the-right-thing". She was marvellous!

The man frowned and looked at Nanuk and me. "But they stopped the thief! Not you or your soldiers!"

The girl didn't show any open reaction to this, she only turned around to look at Nanuk and me. We were released, as if she had given a secret sign.

"You're right. These two stopped the thief, so we should all thank them. They did our job, when we didn't manage to do it. It is thanks to you that his family," she made a vague hand gesture towards the bearded man, "can find peace behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."

Nanuk and I looked at each other and on both our faces appeared two grins.

The girl inclined her head and the bearded man even bowed deeper than before to the girl. "Thank you very much. I don't know what we would have done, if our passports had been lost forever."

Nanuk and I inclined or heads and looked around.

Some of the soldiers murmured something and I thought I heard them say "Avatar".

"Erm, we… actually, we should probably go back to our father. He's probably already worried," Nanuk said with a brilliant smile and walked to the side. "Oh, and you're welcome by the way. It was not a big deal."

I smiled, too and followed after my brother, but the girl in charge stepped in our way.

"Let me escort you," she said sweetly and I felt really uncomfortable.

Oh man, she was frightening.

"Uh, sure," I said, feeling unsure.

Nanuk shrugged and we kept walking.

"We're in the last queue at the end of the cave," I told the girl.

"We are taking two ostrich horses with us, that's why we'll take the animal ferry," Nanuk explained and the girl twisted her mouth.

"Alright. And you're only with your father? Did your mother die in a raid?" she asked, but didn't sound really compassionate, only curious and somehow suspicious.

I frowned at her, while Nanuk nodded and answered. "Yes. She was visiting some friends on Kyoshi last fall, when the raid occurred."

The girl's mouth opened slightly and she frowned. " Which month?"

"December, the first," Nanuk answered and the girl nodded.

"I'm sorry for your loss and my constant questions. It becomes part of one with this job," she said and smiled apologetically. She looked even prettier, when she did so and her blue eyes shone brightly. I wondered whether she was from the Northern Water Tribe.

"Why were you asking for the month?" I wanted to know, while we walked around a family sitting on the floor.

"Well, there were two raids last fall on Kyoshi and no one died in the first one, so I was just checking if you were saying the truth," she answered a bit sheepishly.

Nanuk and I looked at each other and I knew what he was thinking. Why couldn't mum have been on the island while the first raid had occurred? But two raids within a season were strange, especially for an island which had not been involved in the war.

"What happened?" I asked the girl.

"The Avatar appeared on our shore and soon after him the Fire prince, too. He burnt our village down to make Aang come out, which he did. They fought a bit, but in the end Aang and his friends escaped on the flying bison and the Fire Prince followed them. No one was killed during the burning and although they fought determinedly, no one even got a small burn. Must have been very lousy firebenders," the girl said a bit arrogantly. Two days later

I frowned and was thinking about Prince Zuko. He had burnt down their village? Had he even cared, if people were in the houses or if he accidentally burnt someone?

An icy feeling spread in my stomach and I felt suddenly really sick.

I had done so much to help him, I had risked my family's rejection to help him, to warn him, and what had he done?

A small part of me wanted to become angry at the prince, but another part of me, which was on the prince's side, told me that he had told me that he didn't deserve my help and kindness. That meant that he had known that he wasn't a good person, that he had done bad things.

I took a deep breath and tried to listen to the girl's further explanations.

I could still think about Prince Zuko later.

"Well, an then two days later, a middle-aged man with broad sideburns appeared with a warship even bigger than the prince's and two smaller vessels. He demanded to know where the Avatar and the prince had gone. No one told him and… then he just randomly shot fire at the crowd. Several were injured and two had to die. He ordered his soldiers to barricade every house's entrance from the outside and told them to set them on fire, if we didn't tell him."

Nanuk, the girl and I stopped walking and she looked at us with wide eyes.

"We didn't want to tell him, because the Avatar saved us from the prince, but this officer set the houses on fire, until our chief broke and told him. The man, I think Sokka said his name was Admiral Zhao, simply left and we had to break through the barricades all by ourselves."

My hands curled to fists and I felt tears burning behind my eyes.

That monster! It was exactly as I had imagined it! A cruel, probably laughing man was responsible for mum's death! Urrgghh, I would search the world for him and then I would make him pay! I would show him how much we had suffered, because mum had died! Admiral Zhao would…

Wait a minute.

I frowned and swallowed to be able to speak. "Admiral Zhao is dead," I said.

Nanuk and the girl turned towards me, both looking bewildered. "What? How do you know?" Nanuk asked.

"Don't you remember the wanted posters?" I asked, but didn't wait for an answer and turned to the girl once more. "Prince Zuko and Prince Iroh committed treason against the Fire Nation during the Siege of the Northern water Tribe. There are Fire Nation soldiers looking all over for them. They came to our uncle's house and searched it. But they also said, that Prince Zuko killed Admiral Zhao."

The girl's eyes widened and her mouth formed an o.

Nanuk frowned and curled his hands into fists. "Great. The Fire Nation Prince killed our mother's murderer. How nice of him," he said sarcastically and looked off to the side.

I frowned and looked at him worriedly.

But when he didn't say anything else I addressed the girl again. "So you were there? You're from Kyoshi?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, I'm actually the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. My name is Suki."

I frowned at her name and then my eyes widened in excitement. "Suki, oh moon! I cannot believe it!"

Nanuk frowned. "What? Does her name mean something special?"

"No, you dumbhead. Have you forgotten that we used to live on Kyoshi?"

Nanuk blushed a bit, and I could tell that he really hadn't thought about it.

"We were born on Kyoshi and lived there, until we were five years old. And we had neighbours who had a daughter our age named Suki," I explained with a grin.

Suki's eyes widened a bit and she looked from one of us to the other. "You… you are Kadona's children? The twins? Kira and Nanuk?"

Nanuk and I nodded.

Suki's expression became sad. "Kadona was visiting us, my family, when the raid occurred."

My eyebrows contracted and I was biting on my lower lip. "Well, anyway, it is great to see you again."

"You, too. You both look so good! Did you become rich or what?" she said smiling and I was glad that we could simply continue with the conversation without having to talk about mum.

Nanuk shook his head. "Nah, we just lived with our uncle, who is rich. Now we're going to Ba Sing se with our dad, since he is teaching there at the university."

"Oh, and what are you going to do there?" Suki asked curiously.

"Nanuk will intern with an architecture bureau and I will go to a school to pass the exam for the university," I told her, feeling a bit proud of us.

"Yeah, maybe we should continue walking. Dad's going to be worried," Nanuk said and we made it to him within a minute.

"I know that your mother always talked about where you were living and it always sounded like the best places on earth to me," Suki said. "An island gets boring pretty fast."

I nodded. "That's how our parents always felt anywhere. They were unable to settle down, that's why we kept moving."

"Nanuk! Kira!" dad shouted when he spotted us, as we were making our way to him. He was now the next in line.

"You have to be here, when we're getting our tickets! How did you just get to the end of the queue again?" he asked, looking confused.

Nanuk and I were looking at each other. That was such a classic dad.

Thinking about some artefact or long gong civilisation so much, that he didn't notice that his own children had gone off chasing after a thief.

"We saw Suki walking by," I quickly said. "Nanuk recognised her. She was living next to us, when we were living on Kyoshi."

Dad blinked at the girl in the soldier uniform, who looked confused, but simply bowed in greeting. "It is nice to see you again, Mr. Huang."

"Oh yes, of course," dad quickly said and bowed back. "My wife has visited you last year."

Suki looked down at her hands. "Yes. She was always really nice and she almost only talked about you three. My apologies for your loss."

Dad smiled a bit, still looking sad. "Thank you, Suki. Would you be so kind to give your parents my thanks that they had cared for my wife so well?"

Suki flinched a bit and looked startled, and I was frowning at dad.

"Kadona had always talked about how friendly they were and that she had felt like being part of the family with you," dad explained further and Suki relaxed visibly.

Dad had totally not noticed our discomfort.

"You can chat later, mister! Other people want their tickets, too. Now passports!" the woman behind the counter snapped at dad, who flinched slightly and turned around to look at her.

"My apologies," he said and showed her our passports.

"Ooohhh, are you part of that family Huang?" the woman asked, looking amazed.

"Uh, well, I guess. If you're talking about my brother with the grain fields, that is," dad said and rubbed his neck.

"Haaahh, yes, I was talking about Aiguo Huang. Well, here are your tickets." She handed the passports and tickets back to dad.

He gave her our animals' passports. "We need tickets for these two, too."

The woman frowned at our ostrich horses and I could see in her face that she hated animals.

I immediately decided that I didn't like her.

While dad was getting information about the rules of animal transport, Suki poked me in my back to get my attention. Apparently, she had done the same thing to Nanuk, since he turned around, too.

"It was great to see you guys again, but I have to go back to work or even more thieves will get away without any of us noticing," she said with a smile.

"Oh. Yeah," Nanuk said grinning.

Suki gave each of us a hug and waved at us, before she turned around and made her way back through the crowd.

Zuko

When I woke up the next day I found it still very hard to believe that Jin had been so cool and azulaish in front of these would-be-robbers. While I was practising martial arts a bit, I wondered if I would see her again. And if I even wanted to see her again.

After an hour had passed I walked outside to wash myself. Our apartment had a sort of bathroom, but with modern technologies, such as pipes for water to take s shower, the Earth Kingdom still seemed to have its struggles.

After I got dressed, I walked out into the living room and run a hand through my hair.

Uncle was already busy in the kitchen, making breakfast.

I was really glad to see that he had only made a few rice balls, steamed vegetables and fish. Better than his rice porridge.

Sighing, I remembered Kilara's porridge with the chunks of moon peach ant he slightly hot flavour.

"Good morning, nephew!" uncle said smiling and put my plate on the table in front of me.

I looked up at him and nodded. "Morning," I murmured and sat down on the cushion.

A little morning light shone through the window behind uncle and cast his face in shadows. He hummed a song, which sounded familiar and I frowned, while I was staring at the food.

Hm hm m-hm. Mh-hm hm-hm. Mh-hm hm hm hm-hm-hm, hm-hm-hm hm-hm.

I looked up quickly, as I recognised the song. Leaves from the Vine. I couldn't remember the whole lyrics, but I knew that it started like that. It had been Lu Ten's favourite song. He has sang it and hummed it very often, sometimes so often that I had become so annoyed with it that I had yelled at him to stop. Lu Ten had only laughed and sung something else.

Thinking of my cousin, I remembered that his birthday had been two days ago. I bit down on my lower lip and felt guilty that I hadn't remembered it before. I could have made something to celebrate his life. I'm sure it would have made Uncle happy, although he would have probably hugged me.

I ate my breakfast in silence, not daring to look Uncle who didn't seemed to notice my discomfort. Probably because I never talked, when I was eating.

"So, nephew. Do you plan seeing Jin again?" he asked with his chopsticks pointing in my direction and winked. He really winked.

I grimaced and backed away, because of that question. Not because of Jin herself, but I couldn't stand such personal questions. "Uncle! Would you stop it?"

He chuckled to himself and I got up quickly, groaning and putting on my shoes in front of the door.

"I'll open the shop today. You can come later," I said, walked outside and slammed the door behind me.

I ran down the stairs and stomped down the street.

"Nephew!" I heard him and flinched, but turned around slowly.

He was standing at the window. "I'll bring you lunch later then!" he shouted so that every living being with a functioning ear in the whole street could hear it.

Blood heated up my face, as I nodded and walked away as fast and stiffly as possible.

I walked a few houses further than the tea shop was and knocked at Pao's door.

After a few seconds he opened it and beamed, as if this day would be the best day ever. But when he saw me his smile became smaller. "Lee! What a surprise! So you're opening the shop then?"

I nodded and stared at him, waiting.

"Well, here's the key," he said, handing it to me. "I'll be there in an hour."

I nodded again and walked back to the shop.

There wasn't much to do in the morning, other than writing signs with special types of tea or which teas were on offer. We always cleaned the shop in the evening, so after writing the signs, hanging them outside and watering the plants there wasn't much to do for me.

After I glanced around a bit and didn't see anyone or anything suspicious, I moved into the middle of the room and practised a kata without actual firebending.

I went through it quickly, but without any sloppy movements. Almost at the end, and only standing on one foot, I lost my balance when the door suddenly opened. It was certainly too early for Pao to arrive, I thought, while falling on the floor.

I landed on my back, my head pointing towards the door, so that I saw the intruder upside down.

"Hey! Are you okay? Sorry I startled you!" Jin said and bent down to look at me.

I blinked and saw that she was smiling. I quickly got up and brushed off my clothes, before running a hand through my hair. "It's okay, really. I just didn't think that someone would come here this early."

Jin smiled and shrugged. "I've got to go to work early today, so I thought I'd see if you were here before."

Part of me was actually glad that she wanted to see me again.

"Were you just practising? I saw you standing on one foot!" she said, pointing at me almost accusingly.

"What?" Shocked, I tried to look innocent, but my voice sounded way too high.

"For the circus. You know, since it has been some time since you last practised."

"Uh yeah, I was practising," I confirmed and didn't even lie.

Jin was wearing two braids again and was tugging at one. "Uh, Lee, listen. I wanted to apologise for what happened last night. I clearly didn't read you well and I'm sorry if I caused you any discomfort yesterday." She looked down at her feet and I wondered how she could be so normal now, when I had seen her acting very azulaish last night.

My eyes still widened at her apology and I shook my head. "No, you really don't have to apologise. It was nice last night and I actually did enjoy myself. So, thank you for that. But I… I told you it is complicated, and until I don't solve these problems, I cannot really…" I let my head hang down and pinched the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breath. "I cannot move on," I said and lifted my head, looking into her big eyes again. "In many different ways."

Jin's eyes narrowed a bit in a sad and soft expression on her face. "Alright. Just tell me if you need anything," she said, took my left hand in her right and pressed a quick kiss on my right cheek.

I blinked, too stunned to draw back.

She smiled at me and let my hand go. "Take care, Lee. I'm going to come by a few times to see how you're doing. And let me now, if you're ready to move on." With one last smile she turned around and left the shop.

I was still standing on the same spot, looking at the door, as if she had just left. Frowning, I realised that my heart was beating fast. With a low growl in my throat I made my way back to the kitchen and prepared to boil some water.

I was glad somehow that Jin had showed up and that I had given her a better explanation than just "It's complicated", but I wasn't sure that if I would ever be able to move on it would be with her.

My thoughts drifted to another girl I had met and how nice it had been to talk to her more openly. I frowned at the water in the tea pot in front of me, until it began to boil.

Kilara

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nanuk asked me, looking slightly worried.

I grimaced a bit, since I really wasn't feeling comfortable with this. The way the secretary had looked at me on the day of my registration still haunted my thoughts. He had clearly not been used to girls wanting to pass the exam for the UMDB, the University Maturity Degree of Ba Sing Se.

But I still wanted this. I would show these boys and men that girls were just as smart as them.

So I nodded. "Yes. I'm nervous, Nanuk," I confessed. "But I still want this."

My brother grasped my hand and squeezed it tightly. "You can do this. Kira, you're incredibly smart and you're gonna kick their butts."

Dad looked at us with a confused look.

Nanuk smiled innocently at him. "Not literally."

I chuckled and was thankful for his words.

Dad came to stand on my other side. "You know which is the right room, Kira?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Second floor, west wing, room 204," I rattled off, having learned it by heart, since I had read the letter for at least twenty times.

"And you don't want us to come with you?" Nanuk asked again.

I swallowed and pressed my bag tighter to my chest, looking up at the building. Since I would only take a course to get my UMDB I didn't go into the building of the university today. Only after a year I could pass the exam and go to the university.

The UMDB course was to be attended in the school district of the middle ring. It was composed of several different buildings which all were schools for children in different age groups or with different interests. The school district was actually next to the university, but since the university didn't have any high buildings, I couldn't see it yet.

This school building looked like most of the houses here did. The walls were white and the roof had a dark green colour. The door was simply made of wood without any embellishments or carvings.

"Yes, I'm sure." I glanced around to have a better look at all the other people who would go in that building. "Uh, you can go now," I said and braced myself to climb the stairs up to the door.

But Nanuk didn't let go off my hand and dad not off my shoulder.

I narrowed my eyes at them. "I have to go now or I'll be late."

They pulled me into a hug which would have been nice, but being the only girl in my course was terrible enough. I didn't need my father and brother to embarrass me on my first day.

"Let go off me," I growled and freed myself. I still glared at them, but held my chin up high, trying to look unmoved and dignified. "Don't come back, when I'm finished for today. I know the way to the house. And Nanuk, good luck with the internship."

With that I turned around and climbed the stairs determinedly. I had acted tough just now, but the urge to turn around and look at them was strong, and I wanted to hear them saying again that everything was going to be fine.

But I had to go through this alone and if I couldn't even climb the stairs without them, how could I believe to make it through the class?

I walked through the big massive doors which were open, fortunately. The floor of the hall behind was covered in white and different shades of brown tiles, forming large triangles in the middle of the room which were forming one quarter. I was really surprised to see that the hall was round and the walls were covered with paint, showing simple patterns or detailed scenes of the history of Ba Sing Se. The roof showed one big Earth Kingdom insignia.

I would have turned around myself just to stare, but I only had five minutes left, so I was quickly looking for signage to room 204. I went upstairs onto the second floor and looked around for other signs showing me where the room was.

At the end of a hall a few people had gathered, some were talking, others just stood there, but most of them were silently reading in books or scrolls.

I figured they were standing in front of room 204 and probably waiting for the teacher. Taking a deep breath I cautiously made my way towards them.

I was relieved that I had chosen to put on some make-up today, because I wanted to look older. I didn't feel disguised with it, only a bit safer.

When I moved closer, I noticed that there were not any other girls or people younger than me. Oh moon! There were only boys and men, all looking between sixteen and twenty-five years old.

One of them noticed me and nudged his conversation partner into his ribs. It was just as with dominos. One fell and all fell. One looked at me and all looked at me.

I didn't stop and walked closer, until I was standing right in front of them.

They were nine and some were blinking, others stared at me with an open mouth.

A particularly tall and lean boy who was wearing glasses scoffed amusedly and shook his head. "Are you lost or something, girl?"

I put every inch of willpower into my facial expression, so that I would not look scared, but cool and determined. My eyes moved to him and I narrowed them slightly to help my face not to screw this act up. "No, I'm not. Are you?"

He frowned in confusion and irritation and opened his mouth. "No, of course not. But this here is the class for the University Maturity Degree of Ba Sing Se. Surely, you are not registered for such?"

I tried not to notice the others who were still gaping at me. "As a matter of fact, I am," I said coolly and folded my arms. "Why are you all standing here? Is the door locked?"

They all nodded, as if no one dared to speak.

My tough act was tiring, but I wasn't here to make any friends. I certainly would love to make friends, but first they needed to understand that I was not some doll who wanted to marry the best looking and richest guy she knew, but that I meant business.

So I sighed. "Alright," I said and leaned against the wall.

When they didn't stop staring, I narrowed my eyes at them again. "What? Do I have tooth paste in the corner of my mouth?"

They all shook their heads and looked at each other questioningly.

Wow.

How does one get a bunch of students to be quiet? Put a girl in their mid.

A boy with light brown hair and greyish green eyes stepped forward. His hands were folded in front of him, but he fidgeted a little. "Uh, it's just that, and I think I'm speaking for all of us, that we've never seen a girl leaning against a wall."

I blinked at him and my mind went totally blank when all of them nodded.

And then I really couldn't help myself and laughed. It was a hysterical "are-you-kidding-me"-laugh that stopped the moment I noticed a person walking towards us.

A man in simple green robes with a grey beard and a long grey braid and a stern expression was approaching us in a fast pace. Hid hands were behind his back and he was eying us somehow arrogantly.

"My name is Professor Chiu," he said and didn't stop while talking.

The boys all cleared his way to the door, and he kept talking while he was opening it.

"This class will prepare you for the UMDB exam, which will be held in spring next year." The door was open and he walked into the classroom, all of us following him.

I was looking around, noticed that the windows were on the north side which meant a lot of sun during summer and no sun during winter. The boys started to get seated and I was looking for a table in the front row next to the window.

"Until then you should all be able to express yourself in scientific language. You will be able to interpret, analyse and find a conclusion about everything. This course here is for social sciences."

I arrived at my table at the same time as the tall boy from earlier. He frowned at me, and I noticed that he was too stubborn to let me have the table. But I would not be defeated already on my first day. So I put my hand on the plate let my bag fall on top of it.

He grimaced angrily at me, but I just smiled. "Thank you. It is nice of you letting me have this table."

Now everyone was looking at us and he glanced around. Then he swallowed and murmured "You're welcome", before turning around to find himself another place.

Ah, a small victory.

"You'll need everything from this course, once you are a registered student of the university. The social sciences are one of the broadest fields and certainly complex as they are. If you want to pass the exam, you have to remember this. Open your mind and let all the possibilities in. Do not just concentrate on history or politics, think about sociology and geography and demography!"

I quickly pulled all my writing material out of my bag and put it on my desk, ready to take notes.