A few days passed, and Azula had spent the nights sleeping in the den because Katara was not talking to her yet. She had to sleep in a corner because otherwise the draft from the door would make her freeze to death. Azula sat up from her blanket and puffed some fire at her hands. She was dressed in her winter gear, but tonight was exceptionally cold.

She was so wrapped up in staying warm that she did not notice anything else around her, so she jumped in surprise when a gentle voice asked, "You're that cold?"

Looking up, she saw Katara and her eyes lit up. It was like meeting an angel after spending your life in a dark basement. Katara had draped the thick fur comforter around her and she did not look cold in the slightest. Shivering violently, Azula lied, "N-N-No, o-of course n-not. I-I'm f-f-fine."

"Stop trying to act tough," Katara ordered and then opened the comforter. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

"R-R-Really?" Azula asked, shocked.

Nodding her head, Katara said, "Yes, it looks like you've learned your lesson.

After saying that, she surrounded Azula in the blanket. Smiling, Azula felt intoxicated after Katara's scent filled her nostrils. Azula stood up and cuddled up to the other girl and the two walked upstairs together.

"Zuko wants you to come back home immediately, Azula," Sokka announced suddenly, holding up a letter from across the table. Azula spit out some of the rice she was eating in surprise. She snatched the letter and began to read it. Sokka sat there, his face covered in rice. "Nice," he muttered to himself.

Dear Loving Sister,

Tell me, what was the one thing I asked you to do? Do you remember? Let me remind you: to keep a LOW PROFILE! Dueling people in the street and causing property damage is NOT keeping a low profile. I have diplomats over here from the Water Tribe demanding an explanation. Right now, consider yourself lucky that you're not in prison. If it hadn't been for me, you would be.

I'm going to ask nicely once: will you please come now before you cause me more trouble?

Sincerely,

YOUR Fire Lord, Zuko

Holding at an arm's length with one hand, her eyes half-lidded, she threw the letter over her shoulder and said, "Well, isn't that cute."

Katara shot her a glare and then picked up the letter and pointed at it. "I told you he would be angry, didn't I?" She turned the letter around and read it over again and sighed.

Azula touched the waterbender's arm gingerly and said, "But I don't want to go back home by myself. I'll be lonely without you."

Looking at the princess, Katara smiled and replied, "Yeah, I know you will be." She looked over at the rest of her family and began, "I think I should—"

"Yes, you should go back with your fiancée, dear," Gran Gran said with a smile.

Sokka smiled at her and nodded. "We understand."

"Good ridd—ack!" Suki exclaimed as Sokka jabbed her in the ribs. "I mean, it was nice having you both here," She corrected herself.

"That letter did not come by hawk, it came by ship. There's a Fire Nation ship waiting for you in the harbor." Sokka informed. "He must want you back as soon as possible."

The princess stared at him in disbelief and stood up, yelling, "Are you telling me he sent a Fire Nation Navy ship here?"

"Yep," Sokka answered simply.

Katara also looked confused as she asked, "Why would he do that? The whole reason we came on a charter was to avoid making a huge scene like that."

"He probably feels like you've done far worse damage already and just wants you out of here that much faster." Sokka theorized.

"Do you really think that's the case?" Azula asked Katara, who shrugged. Looking back at Sokka, she said, "At any rate, he's angry at me. That much is for sure."

It only took them a few minutes to pack their things, but Katara took a few minutes looking around. She was not sure when she would be back, so she wanted to solidify the events in this room in her memory. The laughter, the tears, the fear, the love, the passion… It seemed funny to her that they had only been there two weeks. It felt like they had been here much longer. Taking one last look back, she walked over to Azula, who was waiting for her by the doorway and they walked out together.

Azula, Katara, Gran Gran, Sokka, and Suki made their way down the streets to find the harbor. Master Pakku had gone to give a waterbending lesson, so no one was surprised not to see him there. He took his job too seriously to skip out on a class. Chief Hakoda was there, though. He was chatting with the Fire Nation soldiers from the ship.

Noticing them approaching, Hakoda looked at them, a smile on his face. He pointed at the soldier and said, "Azula, you're not going to believe what this guy was telling me!"

Katara looked at her father dully. She swore that he could get along with anyone.

Curiously, Azula walked over and asked, "What is it?" She looked at the soldier, who suddenly snapped into attention. His mask plate on, but Azula could smell his fear.

"This guy," Hakoda started, pointing at the soldier once again, "said that Fire Lord Zuko was so angry that he burned five of the letters before he could finally manage to send one to them to deliver. Isn't that hilarious?"

Katara laughed awkwardly. Crap, he was a lot angrier than even she thought.

"Oh, man!" Hakoda wiped some tears from his eyes. "I wish I could have seen his face."

Sokka could not help himself, he joined in. He made a motion of a paper bursting in flames in his hands. Throwing his fists to his sides, he made an impression of Zuko, "Argh! Why does this keep happening?" He zips over farther to his left and put on an emotionless voice as he did Mai, "Don't worry about it, Zuko. It happens to every firebender now and then."

Sokka and his father made eye contact and then started laughing together.

Putting her arms behind her back, trying to appear as dignified as possible, she asked the soldier, "Are we ready to cast off already?"

The soldier snapped back into attention. Obviously he had been distracted by the odd behavior of the two Water Tribe men. He called out his reply, "Ah, yes, ma'am! The Fire Lord's orders were clear: come here, pick you up, and leave as soon as possible. We came with enough supplies for a round trip."

"Good," The princess said, pleased, and then waved her hand. "You're dismissed. I'll be on board shortly."

The two guards clapped their ankles together and bowed before leaving. Azula caught a bit of a candid conversation as they walked away.

"I thought we weren't supposed to leave her alone."

"Hey, if you want to piss her off by not following her orders, you go ahead."

She smirked at their backs and then walked back to the others. Katara was giving her farewells to her family. Azula frowned. She wanted Katara to have the ability to see her family whenever she wanted, but due to the trouble she caused her, it would be quite a long time before the Fire Lord would allow her to return. Sighing, she realized that the next time Katara came home, it would be without her. She would just have to deal with that.

After Katara moved on to her grandmother, Hakoda and Sokka walked over to Azula. Hakoda looked down at her seriously. Pointing down at her, the chief said, "Now, you take care of my little girl. I'm watching you!"

As he said the last sentence, he took to fingers and moved them between his eyes and down at her. Azula gave him a weird look and then looked at Sokka, but he was mimicking his father. She sighed. What was up with these two? Despite that, she bowed before Hakoda and said, "Of course, Chief, sir."

As she was standing up straight again, she found herself being pulled into the man's arms. "None of that 'chief' stuff. You can call me Dad!"

Looking up at him, she was blushing with embarrassment. The soldiers and sailors on the ship must have thought this man had a death wish. "Yes, D-D… Father." She was not quite comfortable calling the man "Dad" just yet.

"Close enough," Hakoda said, shrugging.

Just as that awkward moment was wrapping up, Katara was saying her final tearful farewell to her grandmother. She ran to Azula's side and they walked down the dock, Katara waving behind her.

"I'm not good with the whole…emotional thing," Azula said, once again.

Katara giggled at her in response.

"The chief wants me to think of him as my father from now on," The princess explained, blushing again.

Nodding, Katara replied, "Well, isn't that natural? You're becoming part of my family just as much as I'm becoming part of yours."

Azula frowned at that last thought and quickly said, "Sorry about that."

The two boarded the ship. As soon as the plank had been raised, the ship began to back out of the harbor. The waterbenders got to work opening the large gate and they passed through. When they got out on the ocean, the door that led inside slammed open. A grumpy-looking man with thinning grey hair and a top knot marched out. Judging from the style of his armor, Azula guessed that he was an admiral.

He glared down at her and barked, "This is my ship, not yours. I don't care if you're the princess. As of right now, you're my prisoner! You eat when I say, sleep when I say, and work when I say! No questions, no complaining! You got that?"

Katara, looking quite surprised, asked, "Prisoner? What do you mean?"

"She's a dishonored princess, she deserves to be treated as one," The admiral explained.

"Alright! I'll do everything you say," Azula announced cheerfully. She turned and took a few paces away from him, her arms confidently behind her back. The admiral gave a dark smirk. "If you can beat me at Agni Kai!"

Immediately, the officer became visibly pale. He furrowed his brows and demanded, "Why should I give you the honor of such a thing? You're on my ship! You do as I say!"

Without warning, she rounded on her heal and pointed at the admiral and exclaimed, "Zap!"

The admiral closed his eyes, looking like fear had overcome him. the various soldiers standing around the area immediately dived to the ground, covering their heads. Azula gave a giggle and gave a little shrug.

"My, my… Sorry, but it looks like I'm the biggest fish in this pond," Azula said, walking back to the admiral, who was still frozen with fear. "Here's the deal: you leave me alone and I'll leave you alone. Got it?"

Hesitantly, he gave a nod, and then carefully watched as the princess and the waterbender entered the ship. They found their way to appropriate chambers and walked inside. Azula collapsed on the bed and said, "Sorry you had to see that, but I had to establish a pecking order or he would have made our lives hell."

Katara shook her head and said, "No, I understand. I was actually proud of you."

Looking up at her in surprise, she asked, "Proud? Why?"

"Well," Katara began as she walked over and sat next to the princess, "if it had been the old you, you would have hit him with lightning for sure. I know you would have, but you didn't."

"Yeah," Azula agreed, "in the old days, I would have shot him without a second thought. I would have thought he deserved to die for trying to rule over his princess. Now, I just wanted him to leave me alone."

Smiling, Katara gave the princess and kiss. The two laid on the bed and cuddled.