Yeah, did I say I wanted to get a lot of this story done before the movie came out? That's funny. What was I thinking? I'm headed to the lake for the holiday weekend and wanted to get this posted before we leave. It seems a little dark and moody to me. Eh, must be because they're right in the middle of winter. Ch. 11 will pick up with springtime, and ch. 12 summer, which will also contain the one-year anniversary of the war's end. That's the plan anyway. We'll see what happens. Anyways. Enjoy the holiday (those of you in the States) and enjoy the chapter. And go see The Last Airbender! I'm totally going next week after we get back from vacation. I can't wait! It looks so awesome. ^_^ On with Ch. 10!

Chapter 10 – Frailty

Beneath a cloak of pitch darkness, a small vessel carrying a vengeful nemesis slowly drew nearer to the western shore of the Earth Kingdom and the city of Nanzhao. Aboard, General Bujing stood stiffly at attention, his eyes focused on his prize and a terrible scowl upon his face. He wore a maroon cloak over his Fire Nation armor, which billowed in the winter wind and concealed his identity from any prying eyes that may be secretly observing their approach. Ever wary, he scanned the coast analytically for any sign of the Avatar or Earth Kingdom soldiers. The city seemed peaceful, with only a few torches burning along the many piers that dotted the shoreline. In the distance to the north, a brighter fire burned in the lanthorn of an earthen lighthouse, alerting approaching ships to the unforgiving rocky shore.

Their procession to this point had gone undetected, and the General was silently grateful for the absence of the moon's light this night. The less trouble his company had infiltrating Nanzhao, the easier it would be to slip in and assume a position of power overnight without revolt from the citizens. Bujing slightly growled at the thought of Fire Nation citizens wanting to become free of Fire Nation rule and live governed by the Earth King's laws. It was disgusting. To think, people who shared his own heritage would turn their back on their homeland to submissively blend into Earth Kingdom culture. Then again, his homeland was in the same danger of losing the prominence their forefathers had worked so diligently to create. How foolish the Prince was to believe he was a proper representative of their culture. Bujing would never recognize such a weak individual as his Fire Lord. The underground resistance was growing in number, mostly among the working class of Fire Nation citizens who had made their living supplying the military with weapons, vehicles and armor. With the war over, there was currently no work to be found, and the people were stewing in their anger while going hungry and being unable to provide for their families.

With the current turmoil in the Fire Nation, Bujing knew it would be an effortless undertaking to convince many more disgruntled citizens that Zuko was not a strong leader, but rather an incapable fool who needed the assistance a female waterbender to even secure the throne. Additionally, with the Princess's rumored weakened mental capacity, it may also be effortless to convince the people that she was no capable ruler either, leaving the throne vacant once the Prince was dealt with. With the fall of the royal family even he could assume the throne, and this thought made him grin fiendishly. 'Fire Lord Bujing' did have a nice ring to it.

When their boat reached a concealed jetty of rocks just south of the city's main port, Bujing disembarked and walked confidently toward the wall surrounding the small city. In the days of Azulon, this area had been known as the Hu Xin provinces, but had been disbanded when Earth Kingdom citizens had been driven south of Xian and Gar Sai. Azulon's army had taken control of every town immediately north and south of the Pohuai Stronghold, their fertile, newfound territory bordered by Chameleon Bay to the east and mountains to the north and south. The Fire Nation had held control of it ever since, and Bujing did not intend to see this land returned so easily to the Earth King. Emboldened by the Avatar's victory, the Earth King's army was attempting to push Fire Nation governors out of Fire Nation territory to replace them with new governors of Earth Kingdom decent. This would never do, and Bujing intended to snuff out anyone who challenged his authority.

Approaching the gate leading into Nanzhao, Bujing spotted two Earth Kingdom guards standing watch. They were both young, new recruits no doubt, and Bujing grinned. He walked swiftly toward them, and the two guards looked at each other confusedly. In the time it took for them to make eye contact with one another and begin to again focus their attention on him, Bujing was between them, his fists punching out to either side, branding a deadly, fiery strike into the temple of each of the young men. They fell dead at his feet, and Bujing removed his cloak and dropped it carelessly on top of their bodies. He continued through the city, he and his company catching the Earth Kingdom soldiers by surprise and laying waste to them all with ease. Within an hour, Nanzhao had been liberated, and his scouts reported no additional soldiers within the city's perimeter.

"Excellent work, men," Bujing complimented. "This may turn out to be easier than I thought." He set his sights on the city's governmental center, where the new governor was likely still asleep in the adjoining residence, and smirked. "One last pest to remove, and control of this city will be officially granted to its rightful governor." He ordered some of his men to blast away the door of the residence with firebending, and he entered the home flanked by half a dozen fire nation soldiers, quickly moving to stand menacingly over the scared-stiff governor, who was indeed still in his bed.

"Change of plans," Bujing stated with almost a hint of laughter in his voice. "You have been ordered to step down." The Earth Kingdom man sat up and demanded an explanation.

"By whom? This town is no longer under Fire Nation rule! You will be arrested for trespassing!" The stout man leapt from his bed and bolted for the window where he screamed for assistance.

"Guards! Guards!"

Bujing finally let his chuckle escape.

"Pathetic. Men, you know what to do." He waved his hand nonchalantly and exited the room, closing the door so as not to be bothered by the man's desperate screams.

-o—o—o—o—o—

Mid-winter snow fell upon Aang and Toph in a small farming town due south of Omashu. Because of their southern location, the snow was slushy and wet, making earthbending difficult and making Toph irritable.

"I'm tired of this road already," she complained to Aang as they pressed on toward the town's outskirts. "Why on Earth would anyone destroy a road anyway? That's so stupid!"

In spite of her ill demeanor, Aang chuckled. "It's not so bad, Toph," he consoled. "We're nearly done, and Katara promised to have lunch ready when we get back."

"She promised to have your lunch ready," Toph grumbled, throwing her arms back with extra fervor to emphasize her frustration. The ground in front of them responded harshly, throwing wet snow and mud into both their faces. Aang scowled and wiped the slush from his face.

"I'm pretty sure she meant for everyone." Aang imitated her last move and soaked Toph with the frigid mud.

"Aang, I swear, you do not want to match wits with me today." She stomped her foot, clearing the gunk from her clothes.

"You're right. I don't," he answered tartly, cleaning the mud from his own clothes. "I'd rather get this road done and spend the rest of the day in front of a fire." He went back to his work and could practically hear her next words before they were spoken.

"What do you have to complain about? At least you're wearing shoes!" she said, holding up her reddened toes for Aang to inspect.

"My shoes are wet, Toph. I'm no better off than you are."

"What kind of Earth Kingdom village has no earth benders anyway? It's so ironic it's hilarious." She forced some earth forth, clearing several yards away at once.

"Toph, please," Aang pleaded as he bended the last of the mud out of the way, joining the newly repaired road with the existing one outside of town.

"Ugh, thank the Spirits," she huffed. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned loudly. "I don't even know why I agreed to help you today. You're the Avatar, you could have done this on your own in like five minutes."

"'Cuz you're my friend," Aang said, uncharacteristically punching Toph in the arm. She immediately punched him back, almost knocking him over. He laughed, causing Toph to smirk. "I don't want to summon the Avatar State unless I have to, Toph."

"Whatever," Toph said as she forcefully opened the door of the small house they were sharing. Sokka and Suki quickly pushed away from each other on one of the beds and Sokka began whistling conspicuously. Aang eyed them with an incredulous raise of an eyebrow and then scanned the room.

"Where's Katara?" he asked.

"Um, where's lunch?" Toph demanded.

"She went with this woman about an hour ago," Suki explained. "The lady said her husband needed a healer and Katara said she'd be back soon."

"Um, where's lunch?" Toph repeated.

"What woman?" Aang asked. "Why didn't one of you go with her?"

"I offered," Sokka said, "but she insisted she would be right back."

Aang frowned. Toph grumbled.

"Lunch is in the steamers on the stove top, Toph," Suki chuckled. Sokka went over to the stove, grabbing the bamboo baskets and bringing them back to the table. Toph snatched the top off the first one and deeply inhaled the aroma of pork dumplings.

"Thank you, Katara!" She sat down and began filling her bowl.

"She made vegetable dumplings for you, Aang," Suki said as she joined Toph and Sokka at the table.

"What woman?" Aang repeated. "Did you recognize her?"

"Katara's fine," Sokka ensured. "She can take care of herself."

Aang sat by the fire and began removing his soggy boots and socks.

"Did you get the road done?" Suki asked.

"Yup," Toph said with a mouthful. "We should be done here, right Sokka?"

"Should be," he said, popping a dumpling into his mouth and swallowing it whole. "The barns and equipment sheds were done yesterday, and now that the road is done, these people should be good to go for their spring crops."

"That's good news," Aang said, a little unenthusiastically. "Two towns down, about a hundred to go."

"Easy with the optimism there buddy," Toph said before taking another bite. Aang sighed as the front door of the one-room house opened and Katara entered, shaking snow from her wet parka.

"There she is Aang," Toph teased. "In one piece." Aang furrowed his brow.

"Hey guys," Katara greeted as she hung her parka on a coat hook. "I saw the road was done. You did a great job!"

"Thanks," Toph said, again with a mouthful. Katara joined Aang by the fire.

"Hey," she said softly, nudging him with her shoulder. "You look upset. What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired," Aang replied, looking at the wooden floor and resting his arms upon his knees.

"That's not all," Katara said knowingly, looking right at him. Aang was a little surprised, and then again he wasn't, at how well she knew him.

She pressed further. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not now," Aang said quietly. Katara nodded.

"Okay, then. You hungry?" She stood and walked to the table, filled two bowls with vegetable dumplings and sat back down beside Aang. She handed a bowl and chop sticks to him and he accepted them graciously, smiling slightly. She kissed his cheek and picked a dumpling from her bowl.

"What happened with that man?" Aang inquired. "Is he okay?"

"Just bitten a little by the cold. He'll be fine." She picked up another dumpling raising it to her lips, and Aang watched her with a warm smile.

"You're so amazing," he said softly. Katara lowered her sticks and eyed him analytically.

"Thank you, but what's with the mood swings?" she chortled.

"I don't know," Aang said, scratching the back of his neck. "Must be the weather."

"Right," Katara said doubtfully. "Did Toph give you a hard time?"

"No," Aang said shaking his head and smirking. "I guess I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed."

"Overwhelmed?" Katara repeated.

"There's so much work to be done…" Aang clarified, "…and when we meet with these people, I get the sense that they expect everything to be completely better right away, and there's so much pressure and so many issues in so many places..." He ran his hand over his head and sighed, and Katara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"There's only so much we can do," she encouraged. "We can help with the major problems keeping their affairs from running smoothly. But, after that, they're on their own." She turned toward him slightly. "Don't let people make you feel like you're responsible for what happened to their homes. You're here now to help, and that's what's most important. If they can't respect that, then they can look for help elsewhere."

"She's right, Aang," Sokka chimed in. "Don't let it bother you. We'll do what we can while we can. We're sticking to our schedule, which includes a spring break, by the way," he said as he grabbed another helping of dumplings.

"That's something to look forward to," Katara said with a smile.

"Yeah," Sokka continued. "We should be near that huge waterfall where you and Katara first practiced waterbending. That should be fun."

"I guess so," Aang said, looking a little hopeful.

"It's just for this next year," Katara reminded him.

"Barring any major setbacks," Sokka said.

"Thanks guys," Aang said with a true smile.

"We wouldn't let you face this mess all by yourself," Katara smiled. "Never alone," she promised in a whisper.

"Never alone," Aang reiterated quietly, beaming his trademark half-smile.

"Ugh, cut it out," Toph said. "You're gonna make me barf up my lunch."

Sokka threw some cabbage from a dumpling at her, which stuck to the middle of her forehead. The group shared a hearty laugh, and instantly the air in the room felt much lighter.

-o—o—o—o—o—

The air was stagnant, hot and seeping through to her core. There was no significant amount of light, only the constant feel of steel shackles and rough tweed against her skin. This was a miserable hell, and Spirits damn Zuko for putting her here. Sweat ran in rivulets down her body. Her hair was oily and hung loose around her shoulders. She felt disgusting. And to make matters worse, the moisture on her skin was making it more pliable, causing her restraints to cut into the flesh of her ankles and wrists. The salt in her sweat was burning the open wounds and nearly breaking her focus.

She wanted to lie down, or just to sit down. She was bound in a standing position with her arms stretched out on either side to steel pillars in the center of the cell. The only relief for her quivering legs was to sink to her knees and rest for a few minutes. T`his fully stretched her arms out above her head, putting a lot of stress on her wrists and painfully scoring her skin. She wanted to scream out, and curse everyone within earshot, but her discipline, and her pride, wouldn't let her show weakness.

Azula's stomach growled, and she knew they would bring her lunch soon, releasing her from her bindings for half an hour and bringing sweet relief to her aching muscles. Wild animals were kept like this, not royalty. What a disgrace she must look like, grimy and unkempt. She felt she had the appearance of nasty, unclean peasant folk that she wouldn't dare fraternize with given the choice. It made it so she couldn't stand to be in her own skin. She was trying hard not to break, but with every trickle of sweat that ran its course from her neck all the way to her ankles, the more intense her emotions became.

Six weeks she had been here. Six weeks of darkness and heat, stench and loathing. The sweat running over her body and the constant sound of water dripping elsewhere about the room was like some kind of sick water torture. They wouldn't break her. She refused to let them. That's exactly what Zuko wanted, for her to be broken and weak and come crawling back home begging for forgiveness. Damn that. She would die here before that happened. He was surely enjoying all the perks of royal life; being waited on hand and foot, eating superb food and drinking fine wine, leisurely bathing in the large, royal tubs and screwing his harlot betrothed on their father's bed. Disgusting. Zuko deserved none of it. He had joined forces with the enemy and was rewarded for it. The Avatar and his friends were free to roam about the world and undo all of the work her forefathers had put in. They should be in dungeon cells, all of them, fighting with rats for food and space. A rat squeaked from a corner of the room and Azula laughed out loud at the mockery.

"So you agree," she asked the unseen animal. "I was beginning to wonder if the whole world had gone mad." She sank to her knees and grimaced as her quadriceps convulsed while relaxing from exhaustion and malnourishment. She heard a scurrying across the floor and her eyes widened.

"Don't come near me, you filth!" She could feel the rat sniffing about her feet but was too weak to stand back up and kick it away. "Get away from me!" She tried moving her feet but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Just then, she felt the rat's long incisors sink into the flesh of her big toe and she screamed a shrill scream that reverberated off the walls of her cell. Adrenaline kicked in and she stood, kicking her foot and sending the rat flying across the room and into the wall in front of her.

"Bastard! You bastard!" She began to cry and fell on her knees again just as the door to her cell opened and her personal guard stepped through. The rat scampered from the room through the open door squeaking his own curses. The guard looked at Azula and laughed.

"Making friends with your cell mates, I see." The large, burly man continued to laugh as he set Azula's food tray down on the floor.

"Shut up, you degenerate," she looked up at him through her tears and the guard laughed again.

"Come on now, Princess," he chuckled darkly. "Why the tears? Are we not treating you well?"

"Release me so I can have my lunch," she said, turning her head away from the man and silently cursing her weakness.

"I might do that if you do something for me first," he said while tracing a finger from her neck down to her left breast, cupping it with his rough, calloused hand. Azula yelled out and backed away from him as best as she could.

"Don't you dare touch me! I'll have you killed you swine!"

The guard stepped back looking about the room and put his hands out to his side for emphasis. "By whom, Princess? You have no allies, and no one here is going to listen to you. Look around you. You're all alone and no one cares." The man walked toward the cell door and turned to her just before he walked out. "Don't worry about me touching you, though. I've been with whores who have better hygiene than you." He laughed again as he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Azula scowled deeply as tears continued to flow over her dirty cheeks. Outside the room, she heard the guard begin to crank the mechanisms that slackened her chains, allowing her to collapse to the floor and rest her tired back. She lied on her side and pulled her knees to her chest, stretching out the muscles of her back and sobbing quietly.

"Enjoy your lunch. You've already wasted five minutes," the guard said through the small window in the door.

She ignored the comment and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees so she could crawl over to her tray. Her arms trembled beneath her weight as she dragged herself to the north wall of her cell. She slumped against the wall, lifted the tray into her lap and tried to identify what they'd given her to eat. The dish contained a few strips of cured mystery meat, a bowl of sticky white rice, half of an orange and a cup of water—well, what had been a cup of water before that ogre of a guard spilled half of it. Azula took an attempt at a deep, calming breath. If only the guard would forget to tighten her chains just this once. She would shoot him so full of flames his ancestors would smolder. Her mouth formed a crooked smile at the thought, but it quickly faded. She doubted she could even muster enough energy to form her signature blue flames.

She picked up her orange and sucked the juice from its pulp. It was so sweet. Its taste reminded her of happier times; when her mother would bring fresh oranges that had been harvested from the orchards of neighboring Fire Nation islands, slice them into wedges and serve them alongside their lunch. At once she was reminded of picnics next to the turtle-duck pond, weekend trips to Ember Island, annual festivals that their mother would take them to even though their father had advised against it. A flooding of pleasant memories burst forth, and she cringed.

"Ugh! What the hell is wrong with me?" Azula dropped the orange peel onto her tray. "Mother never loved me the way she loved Zuko. She did all of those things for him." Her eyes flooded with tears and she didn't understand why. She closed them and let the water spill over her cheeks and into her food. Annoyed by her sudden emotional outburst, she quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and began spooning rice into her mouth with her fingers, determined to fill her body with sustenance, not grief.

"You know that isn't true, Azula," chimed an eerily familiar voice from the darkest corner of her cell. Her mother's voice sent chills down her spine.

"I always loved you, as much as I did your brother. The two of you were my life."

"Then why did you leave me?" Azula shouted at the phantom voice. She caught herself before another comment was made and put her hands over her ears. "No, no, no, no, no…" she chanted over and over, shaking her head and trying to rid her conscience of Mother's voice. After several moments passed, she slowly removed her hands from her ears, a keen sense of relief washing over her when she found the cell silent once again. She quickly ate the rest of her food and lay down on her back in the floor, enjoying the last few minutes of rest before she heard the guard moving toward her cell again, no doubt to retract the chains and return her to her previous position. She wouldn't get her chance to roast him today. What a pity. It would have to wait until another day.

-o—o—o—o—o—

"Lord Zuko," a quiet voice called from the antechamber of the throne room. Zuko looked up to find Lum, a member of the Royal Guard knelt beneath the threshold, his eyes downcast.

"I'd like to request an audience with you, Sir, if you can spare the time."

"Of course, Lum. Please come in," Zuko motioned for the man to enter.

Lum stood and walked toward the dais, not meeting the Fire Lord's eyes, and took a seat before him.

"I'm afraid I've put myself in a very precarious situation, Lord Zuko."

"What kind of situation?" Zuko furrowed his brow in confusion.

The guard sighed and swallowed hard. "I've been an informant for the Resistance for the past few months. I've been updating them on intelligence that has been gathered by our reconnaissance teams-"

Zuko's eyes widened and he stood, shouting with ferocity, "What?"

"I didn't have a choice!" Lum cried, bowing on his hands and knees before Zuko. "They threatened my family! They threatened our lives!"

Zuko's eyes flashed with panic. If the Resistance had an informant in his handpicked security team, their influence was far greater than he had estimated. Instantly he thought back on the recent meetings he'd held with his generals that the Royal Guard were present in. Everything that had been discussed in those meetings he now had to regard as leaked. This meant the Resistance would have the upper hand if they decided to attack. All the reconnaissance missions and information his teams had gathered was to no avail. All of their plans to counter any attacks would be ineffective because the Resistance would be aware of all of their tactics before they were ever put into action. His life, and Mai's, could be in serious danger at this point. And Lum…

"I'll send a royal escort for your family," Zuko told Lum at length. "I will provide your family with living quarters within the palace so their safety can be assured."

Lum rose and looked Zuko in the eye, tears pooling and threatening to fall. "I cannot express my regret, Lord Zuko, or my appreciation for your generosity."

"I have a few questions for you, however," Zuko said, sitting back down upon his cushion and folding his legs.

"Yes sir?"

"Are there any others?"

"No sir. Not that I'm aware."

"Where did the exchange of information take place?"

"In their underground headquarters, on the western edge of the Palace City."

Zuko paused thoughtfully. "Your meetings always take place there?"

Lum nodded a positive response. "Yes, sir."

"How many people do you meet with?"

"Just one person, and it's a different person every time. I don't know them, I just pass them my notes and they send me away."

"So you don't know who the head of their operations is?"

"No sir, I'm afraid I don't."

"What made you come to me? How do I know I can trust what you're telling me is the truth?"

"Because I can't handle this anymore. I'm afraid for the safety of my family. I don't want to undermine you, Lord Zuko. I respect what you're trying to do for our people and I don't want to sabotage that." Lum cleared his throat. "I have a request, if I may."

Zuko nodded, "I'll do what I can."

"Please don't remove me from your guard, Sir. If they suspect something has changed, that I've betrayed them, they will kill me."

"That was never my intention," Zuko stated. "We're going to allow you to keep funneling information to them. It's just going to be what we want them to know. If they think they have our every move plotted we'll be in perfect position to destabilize their efforts. This way, we can get your family under royal protection and you don't have to fear for your own safety."

"Thank you, Lord Zuko. I won't fail you. I give you my word."

"I should be thanking you, Lum. I think you may have just given us the key to undoing what my sister and the Old Generals have set in motion."

Lum bowed once more before his Fire Lord and exited the room.

Zuko put his elbow on his knee and rested his head in his hand, covering his eyes and sighing in frustration. He missed Uncle. He could really use his advice right now, not to mention his military expertise. This was getting ugly. People's lives were being threatened and disarray seemed to be setting in amongst his people. He wanted to be a good leader for them, to help build a nation that would be prosperous and peaceful. His policies seemed to be so well received in the beginning, and now progress was being hindered by propaganda, unrest and fear among the citizens of the Fire Nation. He always knew the transition would be difficult, but he never expected to be met with such a strong opposing current. There were so many policies and laws that needed to be rewritten, so many prejudices that needed to be erased, misinformation that needed to be corrected and wrongs that needed to be righted. He wondered if he was strong enough to take it all on.

With a weighted spirit, Zuko rose and began making his way to his bedchambers, feeling overwhelmed and suddenly very tired. It seemed the entire palace was asleep already; the long corridors bearing a heavy silence, and each chamber seeming more like an echoing cavern. It was strange, the emptiness he felt. It was something he hadn't felt for a while now, not since before joining with Aang and his friends in the summer. His life had held purpose and direction. So many positive changes had taken place since then. There was so much to look forward to. There still was, but the knowledge of an impending uprising among his people was like a dark, rain-heavy cloud hanging over him, soaking him to the bone and chilling his soul. He wasn't sure if he had the answers, nor was he sure that he could find the strength to see it through.

He pushed open the heavy door to his bedchamber, removing the weighty royal robes and dropping them to the floor. He felt lighter with each article of clothing he removed. Feeling much more comfortable in his red drawstring pants, he stretched his arms above his head, realigning his vertebrae and taking a deep refreshing breath. Then, through the door leading to his terrace, he saw his inspiration, standing there in a red satin robe, her hair down and gently dancing in the wind. Her smile was warm and understanding, and she welcomed him with open arms. He held Mai close to him, breathing her in and releasing the stresses of the day into her embrace. She was worth all the pressure of rebuilding their nation. If he didn't do it for anyone else, it would be for her. He wanted their homeland to be safe and peaceful for her, and perhaps someday, for their children, and he knew he would work diligently to make that vision a reality. She was his source of serenity and strength, and so long as he had her support and love, he knew he would always find the drive to keep pushing forward, no matter how rocky the road ahead would become.

-o—o—o—o—o—

A woman of forty-something stared at the blank parchment lying on the table before her. The lamplight flickered across it, shadows dancing upon its surface and having somewhat of a hypnotic effect. The message she intended to write was an important one. It was to be delivered to the Avatar upon his arrival in her small coastal village. It was rumored that he and his group would arrive within the next few weeks, giving her plenty of time to get her message just right. She had to be sure to make it sound believable, for her claim would most likely sound preposterous and completely untrue. However, she'd heard of the Avatar's trusting nature and how compassionate he was, so she was somewhat confident that he would come to her right away once he received her message and realized it's importance.

Her hand trembled as she took the quill between her fingers, shakily dipping it into the ink well and dabbing the excess onto the blotting paper. She took a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts and began to carefully choose her words. Within a matter of minutes, the ink filled the paper; spilling her secret to a boy she'd never met. She could only hope what she'd heard of him was true, and that he would keep her secret until the time was right and they could act on what she'd shared with him.

She rolled the parchment once the ink was dry and secured the scroll with a dab of wax. She placed it in a wooden trunk that sat at the foot of her bed, covering it with old documents and what remnants she had of her old life. She lifted a trinket from the box, a flat circular piece of clay with a tiny handprint in the middle. She ran her fingers over the imprint and smiled softly. The time for grieving had come and gone, now it was time to be hopeful. With the blessing of the Spirits, her life would change once again, and once again it would do so in dramatic fashion.

I forgot to mention before, General Bujing, according to Avatar Wiki, is the General who suggested sacrificing the 41st division in the episode 'Zuko Alone'. He's a pretty rowdy guy. We'll be seeing more of him. Continues in Ch. 11, Rebirth.