Kyoshi was brilliant. Warm beaches, a village located in the cool shade of the overgrown trees and a beautiful group of women warriors. She had missed the trees. Caldera was built into the pit of a volcano and lacked any natural vegetation. The cool mist that surfaced here reminded her of the waterfalls in Shu Jing, fanning across the face with a light kiss.

"I missed this," Anna says to Aiko. She closes her eyes, turning her face towards the sky.

"What? The sun?" Aiko mutters.

"The moist air," Anna answers. The air is a little more humid but, there was a breeze in the air bringing with it the soft scent of flowers.

"Please don't ever mention that word again."

"What air? Or moist?"

"Moi-st," Aiko stretches the word out, teeth scrapping her tongue, "the whores used to say-"

"I really don't need to know what they said."

"Oh, come on. They had the best stories and knew everything about everyone. Apparently General Lee was cheating on both his wife and girlfriend with Mei and Mei told his girlfriend when she came in demanding answers that he was married and now, he doesn't have a wife or a girlfriend."

"He worked with my father."

"I know, I mean who would have guessed the old man could still get it up," Aiko laughs, the sound light and breezy.

"I want to stay," Aiko says, looking at between the village and Anna. Anna freezes, the spider fingers of a chill crawling up her spine.

It is near impossible to ignore the sudden urge that overtakes her. Why should she fight? She could stay here with Aiko, live a life of peace for however long it lasts. Her gut twirls and churns, heart pressed against her mouth. Once, just one god-damn time, she wants to be happy and carefree and forgetful.

She can't do that, though.

She can't turn away from a fight. Anna had never been able to look away when there was she saw something wrong.

"Aiko…"

"I know," she responds. The sight of her lower lip trembling has Anna's eyes watering. Before she realizes what she's doing, Anna closes the space between the two of them, chin resting in the crook of Aiko's neck. She breathes in deeply, the scent of lemon oil, salt and the slight stench of fish water. Aiko squeezes her so tight it hurts.

"You stay safe," Anna says, pressing her hands against Aiko's face. Her eyes are wide and not so heavy that they don't gleam with a hint of mischief. Anna wonders if she's brave enough to close the gap between the two of them.

But, she doesn't. She can't stay, as easy as it would be to ignore the rest of the world for this small moment of peace.


Once Anna has settled into the idea of traveling alone, she gets ready to leave. They've lingered too long and though Aiko blends in easily, Anna's been raised in a palace and it shows.

She's never done that before and a slight thrill fills her at the thought of all the trouble she'd get into.

"Here," Anna says fishing through her bag for a second sack. It's smaller and made of a thick red velvet. The coins inside rub against the solid gold jewelry as Anna hands it to Aiko. Her hand is steady, wrapping Aiko's trembling fingers around the sack.

"Anna, don't. I don't need it."

"It's yours. Do what you want with it. Toss it aside or spend it all in a night. Just don't expect me to leave you here without some means of safety. The necklace in it is charmed. If you ever need me, whisper and I'll come."

"Safety? I'll be fine. It's you that needs to stay safe." Aiko's eyes water and she lets out a watery laugh. Anna shifts hesitantly, her fingers intertwining with Aiko's loose hand. She squeezes tightly.

"I'm going to find out what my father knew," she says at last. The mention of her father has her chest squeezing uncomfortable. She wants the stone back, if only to see him one last time. The memory of him kneeling before her, knowing it was the last time she would see him, leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

"I know but, don't die. I mean it, Anna. Swear to me you won't," Aiko says.

"You're being dramatic," Anna responds, rolling her eyes.

"Don't deflect. Friendship works both ways you know. It can't just be me owing you all the time."

"You don't owe me anything, Aiko," she says sincerely. She raises their joined hands to her mouth, placing a soft kiss on the back of Aiko's hand.

They hug one last time, tightly enough to leave bruises.

Anna walks away, back towards the docks where a ship waits to take her to the Earth Nation.


The first town she comes across is full of dust. It gets into her lungs and throat, coating her mouth with the thick, grainy substance. The heat makes the air waves, buildings distort. Her cheeks tighten under the heavy, glare of sunlight. It is a poor town.

She is immediately out of place in the light, tightly woven cotton dress. Despite the cheapness of the fabric, it is well-made and more expensive than anything these people can afford. She feels a surge of shame rise, reddening her cheeks.

There is a child running without shoes to a woman spinning brightly covered fabric on an old loom. There must be farm land nearby, to grow the dyes need for the fabric. A river, as well.

Anna hesitates, watching the woman's thin, hands twist the spools of fabric. She's old. Her skin is a leathery, brown aged by the sun. Anna doubts the woman had ever seen a parasol in her life.

"What are you looking at?" the child asks her, drawing her attention from the old woman's hands. Anna looks down, wide-eyed and startled.

"What happened to your face?" he asks again, pointing toward his own eye. Anna raises a hand to her face, feeling the smooth skin around her left eye. The scar had followed her to this life. A thin, silvery pattern wrapping around the curve of her eye that looks like a lightning strike against her face.

"I had an accident when I was a child." Even her voice is strange in her ears. The accent too smooth and polished to make sense in the desert where words were like gold. The old woman looks up at the sound of Anna's voice.

"Ace-ac-ce-den-t, you got hurt?"

"Yes."

"Were you fighting? Grandma says only thugs fight."

"Leave her alone," the old woman says, her voice cracking like dry wood in a fire. She turns to Anna then, movement slow, "where are you from? Colonies?"

"Yes. I'm traveling toward Ba Sing Se."

"You get lost, or something?"

"No, I thought I would take the long way."

"What? So, another one of those fire-bastards can ruin your pretty face again?"

"I'm looking for something. My fath-"

"Everyone's lost something, girl. We don't go looking across the continent for it."

"Have you? Lost someone, I mean."

"Sit down," she orders, eyes softening slightly. Her warm brown eyes trace the line of Anna's scar once again. "We don't like strangers around here. Rich strangers, even less. Don't ask people questions like that until you know them."

It is Anna's first lesson in the Earth Nation. Keep her head down. Don't ask questions.

There is a sense of shame that grows in her. All that time in the capital had turned her soft. She had forgotten what it was like to want.

Even worse, a part of her had forgotten about her old life with the Dursley.

What had happened to the shy, quiet waif she had been? The girl that had grown bitter with each passing year but, knew when to keep her mouth shut.

Anna had forgotten that people didn't just give freely.


A/N: I'm thinking about going back and editing the earlier chapters, making some story changes just to clear up things people were confused about. Let me know what you think about this chapter and what you might want to see in the future.