Chapter 25

Yue

Jan Li and I made our way to the center of the teeming town where the train station stood, large and proud.

I was in love.

Small stands selling all kinds of things lined the streets. Some food carts with steaming plates of meat and dumplings had my mouth watering. Other stands with strange fruits and vegetables caught my eye. We passed other stands showcasing jewelry and trinkets, which I didn't really care about but still piqued my curiosity.

Jan Li didn't seem to appreciate any of it.

She marched ahead, weaving through the shoppers without a second glance at any of the mystery items. I tried to keep up with her, stumbling over people and mumbling apologies left and right.

People were staring at me as I struggled along the busy road, and a quick glance down reminded me that, not only was I clumsy, but I was also still dressed in all black. With the coins weighing down my shoes and my pack, I figured it would be a wise idea to pick up some Earth Kingdom clothes sometime soon.

I was just about to voice this idea to Jan Li when I looked up and realized she had completely left me behind.

"Jan Li?" I called, straining on tiptoe to try and spot her silky black hair. She was nowhere to be found. "JAN LI?" I tried again. No luck.

"Of course…" I grumbled, fighting my way through the crowd until I spotted a large crate beside one of the fruit stands. I made my way over to it and tested the sturdiness with a hand, then hauled myself on top of it, ignoring the vendor's cry of objection.

I stared over the crowd, frantically searching for signs of my companion. "JAN LI YOU GET BACK HERE OR I SWEAR ON THE SPIRITS I WILL—"

"Kairo, what on earth are you doing?"

At the sound of my real name, I stumbled backward. My arms swung wildly as I teetered off the edge of the crate and tumbled in a heap on the ground, landing hard on my backside. I sucked in a breath at the pain.

A familiar giggle sounded from above me. "Well that was graceful."

I gaped up at the voice, squinting against the sun.

"Yue?" I whispered in disbelief.

She laughed again and hauled me up with a slender, tanned hand.

"Never thought I'd run into you here, cousin!" said the young woman brightly. She was taller than I remembered, towering at least a head over me and grinning brightly. Her skin was dark and her eyes a brilliant blue, like her father's, but her smile and dark hair that glinted red in the sunlight was all her mother's. She wore a dark blue, sleeveless water-tribe tunic over white leggings, a twist on the traditional outfits of the Northern Water Tribe where she grew up. Like her mother, Yue was too much of a free-spirited traveler to stay there for too long, though, so the last I heard, she was working with her father in the old Fire Nation Colonies. Which meant…

"Is Uncle Sokka here?" I asked her in alarm as I brushed off my clothes.

She tilted her head, the feathered earring dangling from her right ear brushing her bare shoulder. "No, he's in Republic City working out some trade stuff. I took the week off with some friends to travel the Earth Kingdom! So what are you doing here?"

I was saved from having to answer by the approach of another familiar face.

"Kairo! It's been forever, what's up? How's Izumi?" Tyro, an Earth Kingdom boy who was Izumi and Yue's age jogged up to meet us. I vaguely remember him from when we were growing up and his father, Haru, came over every so often with his family.

"He's good, you know, as usual," I mumbled.

"Probably solving all the world's problems all on his own, eh?" he said with a wink.

I smiled weakly. "You know Izumi…"

Yue laughed. "Poor guy needs to lighten up. Life's no fun without a little rule-breaking every now and then, am I right?" she high-fived Tyro. "Remember how we used to drive him crazy with all our pranks and crazy adventures?"

She must have been talking to Tyro, because I was always too young to play with the big kids. I stood there, a little uncomfortable, as they reminisced.

"Anyway," she said after they finished laughing, "where's the family?" she peered over my head, looking for them. "Did everyone come down with you?"

Now I was really uncomfortable.

And it only got worse.

"There you are, Ira. I got us both tickets for the next train to the New Republic Station. Try not to get lost next—" Jan Li stopped abruptly as she took in the two people standing in front of me. Cold dread filled my soul as I realized what was about to happen here, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it.

"Ira?" Tyro asked in confusion, eyebrows furrowed. He looked at me and frowned. "Is that a new nickname, Kairo?"

"Kairo?" Jan Li demanded, face setting into a furious glower.

"Don't tell me you changed your name, Kairo," Tyro went on, setting a hand on my shoulder, "I think it's a pretty name, and I know how proud the Fire Lord and Lady were of coming up with it. My dad talks about it all the time and how he wished there was a way to combine his father's name with anything else to make it sound that good when they were coming up with mine."

"Thank you, Tyro. That's helpful," I mumbled, not meeting Jan Li's eyes.

It didn't matter. She pulled herself up to her fullest height and stared down at me in cold fury. "You… are… the… Fire… Princess… Kairo…" she spat out between gritted teeth.

I shuffled my feet in the dirt. Tyro's hand fell away from my arm awkwardly.

Yue frowned, looking between me and Jan Li with dawning comprehension.

"Well," she said coolly, "it seems you have been doing some rule-breaking of your own, little cousin."