DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just want an air date for season two of Legend of Korra!


Lan Chi sat down on her bed and looked around her at the dozens of trunks and boxes. They were stacked neatly in piles, lining her walls and crowding the floor.

"I'm doing it." She said to her luggage. "I'm really doing it." She was not only going off to be married, she was going off to save her family, and to betray her country.

She sighed. How could she do it? How could she send hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers, or perhaps, even more, to their deaths? She had no illusions that no one would come to harm by the secrets she turned over to the Earth Kingdom. She knew that, by agreeing to bring intelligence to General Fong, she was bringing the Fire Nation closer and closer to defeat. How could she do it?

How could she not? The Fire Nation would lose. It was clear to her. When Ba Sing Se entered the war, the Fire Nation would lose. And when the Fire Nation lost, Iroh and Zuko would most probably be arrested. Indeed, the only way that they would avoid arrest would be to go on the run, and she knew that they would not do that. They would never run from anyone. But, if she could

re clemency, she could save them.

And she would. She would save them, or die trying.

But she hoped it wouldn't come to that. She hoped to gather all the information that she had promised the general and take it to him, and emerge alive – with two letters of pardon in her possession.

One copy of the letter of pardon for her uncle Fai was in General Fong's possession, and the other in Changda's; the maid had promised Lan Chi that she would keep it safe and produce it should circumstances ever demand it.

Lan trusted her implicitly – she had trusted Changda with her life, and she now trusted her with Fai's.

As if conjured, Changda appeared in the doorway. "My lady, Lady Ming Yi asked me to tell you that your cousin's ship has been sighted entering the harbor. It should be docked within two hours."

Lan paled. Zuko was here. After more than two long, difficult years, he was finally here – she was finally going to see him.

She felt slightly sick to her stomach, and put her hand to her abdomen. "I – I can't believe it."

Changda smiled. "Are you excited, my lady?"

Lan looked at her. "Scared."

Changda looked surprised. "Scared? Why are you scared? This is what you've dreamed of!"

Lan nodded. "I know. I know. It's foolish – I know. It's just that –" she looked down at her hands, "it's been two years since I saw him. Everything has changed. He's spent two years traveling the world. He's seen so much."

"And so have you."

"Yes, I suppose. We're not the same people that we – were. And now I'm marrying – someone else."

Changda sat down beside her, although, just a few months before, she would not have thought to take such liberties with her employer. "But why must you, my lady? Why don't you just run off with the prince?"

Lan gave her a smile full of regret. "You don't run off with a prince of the realm – at least not this prince. Besides, where would we run?"

"Couldn't you stay on his ship and travel with him?"

She sighed heavily. "Not if the Fire Lord has any say. And he does."

"I don't understand."

"He – the Fire Lord – hates me."

"But why? Why does he hate you? Surely you're mistaken." Changda could not understand such a thing. Lady Lan Chi was always so kind to her!

"No. I'm not mistaken – definitely not mistaken. He's as good as said it to me. He once told me he would rather see me dead than married to Zuko."

"But I don't understand! Your aunt's family is one of the best in the Fire Nation. At least that's what my mam told me when I applied for this job."

"Yes, well, it's not that side of the family that he objects to. It's my mother's."

"Because she was Water Tribe?"

"Yes. I think he also resents my uncle Iroh, and he thought, if I married Zuko, that Iroh would have too much influence."

"So he decided that you shouldn't be allowed to marry the prince at all."

"And found me another husband. What better way to prevent me from marrying Zuko's than to marry me to someone else?"

"And you could not object?"

"He's the Fire Lord. His word is law."

"I'm so sorry, my lady. But, still, you needn't marry that old man. You could still run away on your own."

"I know that I could, but, now, I need him."

"What? Why?"

Lan looked around furtively. She had told Changda little regarding her arrangements with General Fong; the less the maid knew, the better for all involved. "I need – something that he has." Information, she thought. "And the only way to get it is – to marry him. And so marry him I shall." It was a small price to pay to save Zuko and Iroh. Besides, once she got all the information that she could sell to Fong, she could run away and lose herself in the Earth Kingdom. Granted, she would probably never see Zuko or Iroh again, but their lives were worth it.

"My lady, I don't like this plan at all."

Lan smiled genuinely this time. "You should, Changda. It will take you back to your home, and to your family. And give you and Li a strong start together."

Changda blushed. "It is all thanks to you, my lady. We could never repay you for your kindness."

"Changda, I don't want repayment. My reward is knowing that you are happy. And don't forget that you took me to," her voice dropped, "General Fong."

"I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, my lady."

"Oh, it was definitely a good thing, believe me."

Just then, Ming came into the room, and Changda jumped to her feet.

Ming gave Changda an odd look, then smiled at her niece. "I see Changda told you that their boat has come into port."

"Ship, Aunt Ming."

Ming waved an airy hand. "What's the difference? Ship or boat, I hate the cursed things!"

Lan stood. "I thought you had defeated seasickness."

"I still have the memory of it."

"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing that you aren't accompanying me."

"No, not at all. I would suffer a thousand hours of nausea for you."

Lan gave Ming a swift hug. "Thank you, Aunt Ming."

Ming kissed her on the cheek. "You're welcome, dear. You know, there's still time for me to pack and go with you."

Lan shook her head, although she was smiling. "No, thank you. You stay here, with Uncle Fai."

"That old bore! Did you know he's hiring a new secretary?! He says I am not qualified! Can you believe it? Me, not qualified to jot down some boring old laws."

"You'd be bored going with Uncle Fai on progress by yourself. You'd have no one to talk to while he's working."

"As if I ever had you to talk with while he was working! You were always working, too!"

"I know." She turned to Changda. "I suppose we should start having my trunks brought down."

"Yes, my lady." Changda bowed and scurried off to get the footmen to carry all of Lan's things.

"And I suppose you should get into your traveling clothes." Ming smiled.

Lan sighed. "I suppose. Do I really have to wear the bian fang?" Women engaged to be married were, according to Fire Nation tradition, required to wear their hair up around a bian fang, a hair cross piece. The hair was wrapped around the bian fang, and the bian fang was then twisted on the top of the woman's head. Although she had worn bian fangs before, never for more than a few hours, and the traditional bian fang was very uncomfortable, and, because of this, Ming declared that Lan Chi had to wear it only in public.

"You're going out; you must wear it in public. You know that."

"Yes. Another delightful Fire Nation tradition."

"No single man should see you without it."

"Single men like Zuko, I suppose."

"Exactly."

Lan sighed. "Fine. I'll put the blasted thing on. But if you think that I shall wear it every day on the way to Tao Xing..." she pointed at her aunt.

"I know that you shan't. It's good enough if you wear it here. Should any of those terrible town gossips see you before you leave, they can report to whomever they tattle to that you were dressed appropriately."

"As if I care what those old puma-cats say about me."

"Right now, you should. You want no scandal attached to your name before your marriage."

"And after my marriage? I can attract as much scandal as I like?"

"In my experience, once you give your husband his male heir, you'll have quite a bit more freedom."

"From personal experience? Really? Is that how it is with you and Uncle Fai?"

Ming sputtered for a moment. "B – but – no! Of course not! When I say personal experience, I mean that I have seen it happen – personally! In other marriages! Not my own – of course!"

Lan gave Ming a suspicious look. "If you say so."

"I do." Ming bristled. "Now, we need to get you ready, and I also have to make certain that the luncheon will be ready when they come."

"Aunt Ming, I don't think it's necessary to put on a big show."

"A big show? Lan Chi Sun, it is not everyday that I entertain two princes of the Fire Nation in my home. Besides, it's not a big show. It's a small show. Really."

"I saw the caterers."

"Well, Cook needed the help."

Lan looked at her for a long time, and, finally, exasperated, smiled fondly at her aunt. "Whatever you say, Aunt Ming."

Ming smiled back, sadly, and grasped her niece's hand. "I am going to miss you so much."

"I know. Me, too. But Uncle Fai is right. You can come visit whenever you like." It felt wrong to lie to her aunt; she knew that, once she had procured the intelligence that General Fong had requested, she would leave Tao Xing, whether she had a husband or not. By that time, the Fire Nation would probably be defeated, and the Fire Lord would have no say over her life at all, so she would have no reason to stay with a man she did not love.

"I know." Ming gave her a wise look. "Now let's call Changda and get you dressed."


Iroh knocked on the door of Zuko's cabin.

"Enter." He heard the prince's voice, and he turned the wheel and poked his head into the room.

Zuko was at his wash basin, shirtless, peering into a mirror on his wall. There was shaving soap on his face, and he held a straight razor.

"Zuko, we'll be pulling into port within the hour."

Zuko spared him a quick glance in the mirror. "So?"

"I wanted to give you another opportunity to come with me to fetch Lan Chi."

"Not interested. I'm going to the garrison. Is that it?"

Iroh rocked back and forth on his feet. "Welllllll," he drew the word out, " I wanted to talk to you before I left."

"What about?"

"About Lan Chi, of course."

Zuko flung foam into the basin off the razor. "What about her?"

"I know that you were in love with her –"

"It was a childish crush. I told you that already."

" – And she was in love with you."

"It was a crush on her part, as well, I'm certain. And, besides, two years is too long to sustain a crush, Uncle."

"It was far beyond a crush. You wanted to marry her."

"I was barely fourteen. I was too young to make that decision. It was foolish. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No. I wanted to say that I think that you'll find Lan much changed."

He pulled his upper lip down over his teeth to make a smooth surface. "Really? What could have possibly changed? She's grown taller? She has longer hair?"

"Well, yes, there is that, of course."

More foam hit the water of the basin. "Then what is it?"

He sighed. "She's was – very upset when we left her behind – when I sent her to her aunt's. She had already been left behind when I went to Ba Sing Se, and then she was sent to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, and she changed there. You know that. She became more cautious, more withdrawn. I'm afraid that might have happened again."

"You mean that she might have grown up?" Zuko swept the unruined side of his face with the razor.

"Growing up doesn't always mean you become harder, Zuko."

Zuko gave him a withering look in the mirror.

Iroh sighed again. "Maybe it does. In any case, I am hoping that I will be able to draw her out of her shell – again. And it would help me, Zuko, if you could be – nice to her."

Zuko turned and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Are you saying that I can't be nice?"

"I'm not saying that you can't be nice."

"You're saying I'm not usually nice."

"Yes."

"I'm nice!" Zuko yelled, hands in fists.

Iroh gave him a jaundiced look.

"I am!" Zuko protested. "I am nice!"

"Prince Zuko, you're yelling."

"You're saying that I'm not nice!"

"Temper, Zuko. Remember the last time we were in port – at the market? You called that merchant a filthy swindler."

"He was trying to overcharge us!"

"And that beggar? You said he was a lazy, shiftless goldbricker."

"He was begging!"

"He had no legs and was blind, Zuko. What else do you think he is qualified for?"

Smoke came from Zuko's twitching fingers. He turned back to the mirror. "Fine. I'll be nice to your precious niece." He growled.

"Thank you, Nephew." Iroh smiled innocently.

"Hmph." Zuko carefully shaved the area beneath his scar. The foam hit the water in the basin with a splat and small bubbles drifted up.

"How are you going to be nice, Zuko?" Iroh asked expectantly.

Zuko whirled to face his uncle again. "You're treating me like a child!"

"No. I am just trying to understand your definition of nice."

He turned away. "I won't call her names."

"Good."

"And I will greet her nicely when she comes onboard." He spat.

"And you'll welcome her to the ship and be gracious, like the good host that you are."

"Yes."

"And you shan't yell at her."

"I'm not an ogre, Uncle."

"Of course you're not."

Zuko wiped his face with a thin towel. "So go and get her, and leave me alone."

"Anxious to see her again, are you?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. There was no way that he would ever admit to Iroh just how anxious he was. "Uncle, I told you before, and I shall tell you again, one last time, that I truly could not care less about Lan Chi. I'm not in love with her anymore. I have a mission to accomplish, and that is all that I care about." He stood staring at his uncle, clutching the towel tightly. "And now, with that in mind, I am going to get dressed and visit the garrison. Perhaps they have word of the Avatar."


For Lan Chi to have said that she not anxious would have been a fabrication, and, so, she was glad that no one asked her. She had already lied so much that another lie made little difference, but it was so patently obvious that she was nervous that to have denied it would have marked her as a liar.

As Changda helped her to change and arranged the bian fang into Lan Chi's hair, Lan stared at her reflection in her vanity mirror. This would be the last time that she sat at this vanity, the last time that she would have Changda to assist her, the last time she could call this room her own.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go along with you to Tao Xing, my lady?" Changda asked, setting pins into her mistress's hair. "I mean, I could go along." She continued swiftly. "Just a few bags to pack. It would only take me an hour or so."

Lan looked at her maid's reflection. "An d what about your family? You wouldn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

Changda's shoulders slumped. "It would be all right, my lady. You need me."

Lan Chi stood and took Changda's upper arms in her hands. "Your family needs you more. I'll be fine. Really. Besides, how can Li ask you to marry him if you're not here?"

Changda's eyes started to fill with tears. "Oh, my lady." She impulsively threw her arms around Lan, who returned the embrace.

"I am going to miss you so much, Changda. You've been the the only real friend that I have ever had."

"Oh, my lady, I'm sorry! That is so sad!"

Lan laughed. "I never thought that I needed friends until I met you."

Changda stepped back and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "And I never thought that I would have a Fire Nation noblewoman as a friend."

"It was destiny that we meet, I think."

"So do I."

"I never really thought about there being people in the Earth Kingdom. I know that it sounds odd, but we were always just taught about the Earth Kingdom as a whole, not as people, with families."

"I understand. I always thought that everyone from the Fire Nation was warmongers and, well, evil."

"We're not."

"I know that now."

"I'm so grateful to have known you, to have lived here. I've learned so much."

"Me, too."

"When are you leaving for home?"

"End of the week, I think. Li is going to drive me there." Changda blushed.

"Time for him to meet your parents?"

"I think so."

Lan thought it might be a good idea to reinforce Changda's story regarding Lan Chi's plans, should anyone ever ask. "You know that, if, anyone ever comes to see you about me, just deny everything. We never knew each other well, and you have no idea where I went."

"That part will be true."

"And you have no idea about anything I've done. Just stay strong."

"I will. No one will come, though. The war will be over soon."

"I hope so."

"And perhaps you will be able to come see me."

Lan wondered if that would ever happen. "Yes. Yes, I will."


Lan Chi waited anxiously in the front room, pacing in front of the window there and peering outside every minute or so, looking for the sight of a strange carriage that would indicate that Iroh and Zuko had arrived.

"Really, Lan Chi. You're going to wear a path in that rug." Ming lifted her eyes only briefly from her embroidery. "Why don't you sit down and do some needlework? It will calm you."

Lan shook her hands nervously, and continued pacing. "Calm me? Nothing will calm me. He's here in Lao Hai, Aunt Ming."

"Can I assume that you are not talking about Iroh?" She turned her attention back to her work.

Lan stopped and looked at her in confusion. "What? Oh, yes, Uncle Iroh, too."

"You know that you can't have him." Ming looked slyly at her niece.

Lan's eager face crumpled, and Ming felt guilty. "I know. Believe me, I know. I have known that for a very long time. But I have a chance to see him, Aunt Ming, and be with him before I have to – go."

"What will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are your plans?"

"I – I don't understand." Lan's blood froze - could Ming know her plans?

"Your plans about Zuko."

Lan relaxed. "I – I don't have any plans."

Ming sighed. "You don't have to marry the man that the Fire Lord has chosen for you."

"Really? I don't? What should I do? Send Ozai a messenger hawk with a "thanks, but no thanks" message attached to its leg?"

"I shall write and tell him, of course." She concentrated on her stitch.

"Write the Fire Lord and tell him that I refuse to marry the man to whom he has betrothed me? He should take that well!"

"Oh, what do I care?" Ming shrugged. "We have enough money to survive should Fai lose his job."

"You may say that, and it may be true, but I think that Uncle Fai would like to keep his position. Besides, the Fire Nation needs an honest judge like Fai."

She looked at her handiwork critically. "And the Fire Nation needs a queen like you."

Lan gave a bark of laughter. "Queen?! Aunt Ming, I think that your wits have gone begging! I will never marry Zuko, and I will never be queen." She turned to look out the window again. "I never even wanted to be queen. I – I just wanted Zuko." She was silent, remembering. "Ozai told me that he would rather see me dead, and I do not doubt his word."

"So you're just going to marry an old man?"

"He's younger than you." Lan looked at her pointedly.

"Come, don't try to deflect me by insulting my age! He's twice your age." Lan turned away, and Ming continued. "We have not talked much of it, and now may be our last chance."

"Not talked much about it! It's all that we've talked about."

"But not in a heartfelt way. We will support you, you know, should you make the reasonable decision to refuse him."

"But I am not going to, Aunt Ming. I've told you."

Ming threw down her embroidery hoop. "Don't sacrifice yourself on our altar! I know that Fai would rather beg in the streets than force you to marry a man you don't love!"

"It is lucky for him then, and you, that I am doing this of my free will."

Ming stood angrily. "You are a stubborn, stubborn young woman!"

"And you are a stubborn, stubborn old woman!"

Ming threw up her hands with a small shriek. "Spirits preserve us from martyrs!"

Lan looked at her for a long moment. "It's my life," she said quietly, "please allow me the opportunity to do what I must."

Ming returned her look measuredly. "Fine, then. You will marry an old man, alone, and live, alone, separate from all you hold dear. Is that what you want?"

Lan nodded. "Yes. It is. Please understand."

Ming lifted her hands in supplication. "But I don't."

"Then please just accept it."

They stared at one another for a very long time, then Ming nodded, finally. "I respect you and your decision, even though I don't agree with it. So, I will let you go, even though I loathe the idea, with my fervent prayers and best wishes for your long, happy life."

"Thank you, Aunt Ming. You don't know how much that means to me. You – you have been more of a mother to me than anyone – more than my own mother or Aunt Su Hsing, spirits rest their souls. And your approval means more to me than anything."

"You will always have it. As well as a place to belong, should you ever need it."

Lan nodded stiffly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ming was no less stiff.

Lan closed the distance between them, and threw herself into her aunt's arms. "I love you, Aunt Ming. And I am going to miss you more than you will ever know."

Ming buried her face in Lan's shoulder. "I love you, too, my dearest girl. You saved my life. You know that, don't you?"

"I suppose we saved each other, then."

"I suppose that we did." She set Lan back from her. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"You can come visit."

Ming looked at her wisely. "I think we both know that I won't."

Lan looked into her eyes, and realized that her aunt knew. Perhaps she did not know all that Lan had done, or all that Lan was going to do, but Ming knew, perhaps through guesswork, that Lan was not going to stay in Tao Xing.

Lan nodded slowly. "We'll see each other again. I know that we will."

Ming nodded, as well, a sad smile on her face. "I can't believe how much you've grown since you came here."

"A lot has happened."

"Both good and bad." She was thinking of Lan's traumatic experience with Zhao.

"Yes." Lan, too, thought of that. "But I survived it all."

"Yes. You did. I would even say that you thrived."

Lan smiled. "Take care of Jiaonen for me."

Ming was taken aback. "Your ostrich horse? I thought that you were taking her with you. I've had the stablehands prepare her for travel."

Lan shook her head sadly. "No. I don't think I should take her with me right right now. I doubt that I'll have time to ride her for the first year. I'll send for her when I'm - set."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I would hate to transport her all that way just to ignore her and leave her in the stables." And, since Lan had little intention of staying in Tao Xing, she wanted to leave the horse with her aunt. "Will you ride her for me?"

"If you'd like."

"I would."

"Then I will. Oh, look, there's a carriage outside! I suppose that's them now."

Lan whirled to look out the window. There was indeed a carriage at the gate.

She turned to her aunt and touched her hair self-consciously. "How do I look?"

"Very grown-up and very beautiful."

Lan smiled. "Flatterer. I guess I'm ready. I'll go greet them."

As she hurried to the front door, she wondered how she would greet them. Should she be quiet and demure, in keeping with the role she had set herself to play onboard? Would cool courtesy towards Zuko be believable – or doable, when all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and cover his face with kisses? Should she greet him as she would a stranger? He was a stranger now – that much was true. Both Iroh and Zuko were strangers to her.

Would he remember what they had been to each other? Of course he'll remember; he has a scar, not amnesia, she thought. But how did he remember her? With fondness? Or with embarrassed chagrin?

When she saw Iroh alight from the carriage, all thoughts of remaining distant evaporated. She broke into a run and threw herself into his arms.

He squeezed her tightly for a long time. "My little duck," he used the nickname that Lu Ten had given her so many years before, "I've missed you."

She buried her face in his robe, drawing in his familiar scent, then lifted her face to his. "I've missed you, too, Uncle. So much."

She was pleased to see that he looked much the same as he had the last time she had seen him – gray-haired, wrinkled – a bit rounder perhaps, but otherwise little changed.

"Let me look at you." He held her at arm's length. "You've become a lovely woman. So lovely."

She blushed. "You're required to say that. You're my uncle."

"Not at all. It's true. I've never told Azula that." He shivered. "Not at all," he repeated.

"Thank you, then." She looked past him. "Where's Zuko?"

A strange look passed over Iroh's face. "Ah, well, he's at the local garrison. Searching for the Avatar."

"Oh." Lan's heart fell. "Well, that's fine. Of course. When will he be joining us?"

"He won't be. He'll meet us at the ship."

Lan's face registered disappointment. "Oh. Oh, I see. Well, Aunt Ming has a nice lunch planned for us, so I guess that will mean more for us." She turned back to the house, slipping her arm through his and drawing him along with her.

"Is Fai here, as well?" Iroh asked, patting her hand.

"Yes. He's looking forward to seeing you."

"I feel the same. It has been too long since I have seen them both."

Lan squeezed Iroh's hand. "She looks quite a bit like Aunt Su Hsing."

A sad smile crossed Iroh's face. "There always was a strong resemblance between them."

They were both quiet for a long moment, remembering Iroh's wife.

A footman, standing at attention at the door, opened it for them, and they passed into the cool darkness of the house.

Ming Yi was standing when they entered the sitting room, and came forward to give Iroh a long hug. "Iroh. How wonderful it is to see you."

"Ming Yi, you look stunning."

Ming Yi bowed prettily. "Thank you, Iroh, although I think, perhaps, that you are being kind. You look well, yourself."

"Bah. I am an old man. An old man in need of tea." He sniffed the air. "Ah, ginseng. You remembered that it was my favorite."

Ming's brows rose. "My goodness, you may be old, but your sense of smell has certainly not deteriorated." She looked beyond Iroh. "Is Prince Zuko not coming in?"

Iroh colored. "Ah, well, um, as I explained to – Lan, he has gone to the garrison – to inquire about the Avatar. He'll meet us at the ship later."

"Oh, I see. Pity." She was disappointed. She would have liked to have seen the boy who had captured Lan's heart.

A maid came in at that moment, bearing a tray with tea, and Iroh rubbed his hands in delight, while Lan and Ming exchanged glances. Some things never changed.

"Please, sit." Ming indicated a thick cushion at a low table, and Iroh settled himself there.

Ming turned to Lan as she poured the tea. "Lan, dear, could you please fetch Fai while Iroh and I have a nice chat?"

Lan was not fooled. "I suppose you want to chat about me."

"Presumptuous," Ming said, although she said it with affection. "It's family business."

Lan gave a snort. "And I'm the family." She leaned down to give her aunt and uncle a brief kiss. "I shall be back quite soon, so chat quickly." With that, she was gone.

Iroh took a sip from his cup as she left. "How is Fai?"

"Very well. Busy with the assizes, as usual. Very busy."

Iroh sipped his tea. "Work is never done. This is good tea."

Ming Yi smiled. "I blended it for you."

"Thank you."

There was a brief silence, then Iroh launched into the subject that they both wanted to discuss. "She has changed so much." Iroh looked down into his cup pensively. "No longer a child."

"No." Ming agreed. "She isn't. And it hasn't been easy. And I doubt that it will become easier."

"What do you think of this betrothal?" Iroh was cautious; he did not know his sister-in-law's mind.

"What do I think?! Need you ask?"

"You are opposed?"

"Opposed?! Yes, I should think so!"

"Is it because of her fiancé's age?"

"Among other things. I promised her that she could marry when and whom she liked, and your brother has made a liar of me." Ming bristled.

"My brother has done quite a bit for which he must answer."

"And to whom shall he answer?"

"Point taken." Iroh acknowledged.

"Hmm." Ming looked at him with great consideration. "And what do you think of this marriage?"

"I would say that it is a good match."

Ming nearly dropped her cup. "A good match?"

"Yes, for a woman fifteen years older than Lan Chi. For my niece, it is unacceptable."

"Well, we do agree, then."

"It appears so."

"What shall we do?"

"That depends on several factors. How does Lan Chi feel?"

"How does she feel? When she found out, she was angry – livid, actually; shocked, despondent."

"Despondent?"

Ming drew in a deep breath. "There was an – incident. While we were in the capital. Thank you for the use of your home, by the way. It was quite convenient, and, I must say that I enjoyed seeing Hua again."

"She is well, I take it?"

"Yes, quite. Although I am sure you know that."

Iroh's smile was conspiratorial. "Indeed, I do. Now, tell me about this incident."

Ming sighed. "A nightmare of some sort. One night, Hua found Lan sobbing in the courtyard in the middle of a downpour. Said she had seen Zuko. I thought that she had lost her mind."

Iroh shook his head sorrowfully. "She still loves Zuko."

"I would say so, yes. But that was not all that happened."

"No?"

"Once she got back to Lao Hai, she ran away. Was gone well over a week. We were beside ourselves with worry, as you can imagine."

"She's run away before, but never for so long. How did you get her back?"

"She came back on her own. She said that she had done some thinking, and that she had decided that the best thing for everyone involved was for her to go through with this marriage."

Iroh looked skeptical. "That doesn't sound like her – giving in so easily. She was always stubborn."

"I know. But she seems to have accepted it."

"Is she up to something?"

Ming raised the teacup to her lips. "I can't imagine what. If she had wanted to run away from the wedding, she could have been far away from here by now. Perhaps it is because you – and Zuko – are here."

"Perhaps. But she always let her heart rule her head."

"She does tends to act without thinking sometimes."

"Yes. Her choices have not always been sound ones."

"Sounds like someone else we know."

Iroh shrugged his shoulders. "It is a part of being young, I suppose."

"I don't recall what I was like at that age. It was too long ago."

"Impulsive. Passionate. Invincible."

"Are we talking about me, Iroh, or you?"

Iroh chuckled. "All of us."

"I am grateful that you're available to escort her. She desperately needs this time with you."

"Is it a mistake giving her time with Zuko, as well?"

"A mistake? I don't think so." Not for Ming's plans.

Iroh gave Ming an amused look. "What have you up your sleeve?"

Ming made a show of peering into her sleeve. She looked at Iroh and smiled innocently. "Nothing at all."

"They cannot make a match of it." He warned.

"Not right now, they can't."

"But you think, in the future?"

Ming sighed. "Iroh, I have lived with Lan Chi for over two years, and she has never, during that entire time, shown me, in any way, that she has fallen out of love with Zuko – more's the pity. Her life would be quite a bit simpler if she loved someone a bit less – royal." She sighed again.

"The men in my family are not exactly ideal husband material."

"Present company excluded."

Iroh gave a low laugh. "I don't know if Su Hsing would have agreed with you."

"Oh, Iroh, you were a wonderful husband to my sister and a wonderful father to Lu Ten." She asserted.

"Thank you. I just wish I had been as good a father to Lan Chi. She deserved so much more."

Ming shook her head sadly. "You did what you thought best. I will not second guess you."

"I should have done things differently, Ming. I should have prevented Zuko from fighting that agni kai. Had I been strong, had I called my brother out, she and Zuko might, even now, be preparing for their own wedding. Instead, I am sending her off to marry a man old enough to be her father."

Ming looked at him, her face sad. "You can still help her."

"Yes? How?"

"Perhaps," Ming said, giving voice to her fears, "more than anything else, your role will be to help her accept that she and Zuko were not meant to be. After all, a marriage arranged by the Fire Lord cannot be undone, as you know."

Iroh drained his cup. "Yes, I know." His voice was grim.

Ming shrugged. "Well, still, it is good that you and Zuko are to escort her."

"Oh, yes?"

"I was actually leery of carrying her dowry myself. But I think that a warship might actually up to the task."

"10,000 gold pieces is indeed quite a fortune."

"And most of hers, I understand."

Iroh smiled secretively. "Not exactly."

Ming raised a brow. "Well, good. I hate to see my niece beggared by your brother."

"She isn't. I won't say, though, that it isn't quite a large chunk of her inheritance."

"Really? I would have said that it was all of it." She looked shrewdly at Iroh. "Come now, Iroh, I happen to know that my brother was not as wealthy as you would have us think."

"Nevertheless, the money is hers. Its source is unimportant."

"You're very generous, Iroh."

"My dear Ming, it is not generosity. Lan Chi and Zuko are my only heirs now. And I do not intend for her to ever be without funds of her own."

Just then, Lan and Fai came into the room, Lan's arm through her uncle's.

"Ah, Iroh. How wonderful to see you again." Fai bowed as Iroh scrambled to his feet. They clasped hands affectionately.

"The same to you." Iroh glanced affectionately at Lan Chi. "I want to thank you for taking such good care of Lan Chi for me."

"It was our pleasure."

Ming smiled at the three of them. "Shall we go into lunch?"


Author's Notes: Well, here we are, at the brink of Lan's reunion with Zuko! I had intended to have them meet in this chapter, but it ended up being 12,000+ words, and I decided it made more sense to split it into two chapters. But they REALLY will be reunited next chapter, and sparks will fly immediately!

Lan will also have to get to work on the plans that she has set into motion - plans that would not exactly meet with approval from Zuko. I promise you, that will be VERY interesting!

Please review so I can get to the top of the review heap in the Avatar fanfics! Thank you all so much!