Kidah's POV

A loud lowing wakes me on a sunny day. I sit up, but my head pounds. "Whoa, there, take it easy, Doc," Toph says next to me. "Guys, she's up."

I take a look around and see that we are flying on Appa. We had made it out. Katara has Aang in her lap, steering. Sokka stares at me from across the bison's back. "Katara told us about Zuko," he says calmly.

I bring my knees to my chest, letting my head fall between them in shame. "I'm sorry…" All of the emotions I held back from my escape flood me. Tears begin to stream down my face. Toph places a hand on my shoulder. "I should have told all of you… I thought he had changed. I thought I could stop him." My hand traveled to my throat, trying not to think about my vision. I look up to meet his disappointed gaze. "I had seen another side to him that you guys never did. He had a heart at one point in time. I just don't know where it went."

"You were with him in Ba Sing Se before you found us, weren't you?"

Toph speaks up on my behalf, "Sokka, why don't you give her a break for a minute?"

I place a hand on her arm, "No, Toph, its okay. You all deserve the truth." I take a deep breath. "I traveled with Zuko and Iroh for a little over a week before arriving in Ba Sing Se." Saying his name left a sharp pain in my chest. "With his uncle's wounds, he needed multiple healing sessions… We got to know one another, and I thought we were friends."

Sokka's hands raise and form air quotes, "'friends'?"

I look away to the water's horizon, "we became close. He showed me kindness, Sokka."

"And then, he betrayed you. What did you think was going to happen, Kidah? Ride off into the sunset with the guy who's been trying to kill us."

My head snaps up in anger, but my voice betrays me as it breaks, "you weren't there! I didn't know what was going to happen. Shit, Sokka, I didn't even know if I was going to be able to find you all!"

Sokka inhales fiercely, but Toph silences him with a hand. "All of this sucked, alright? Let's leave it at that and focus on getting Aang to safety at Chameleon Bay."

He nods and looks away. I know Katara heard everything, but she never turned around. Humiliation and guilt fill me as I lay back down on Appa's soft fur. Yue, what have I done? My crown sits heavy on my head.

We found Katara and Sokka's father Hakoda in Chameleon Bay. The bay had been overrun with Fire Nation ships soon after our arrival. Instead of fighting our way out, we captured a ship and made it our disguise. Aang was going to be okay, he just needed a while to recover. He hadn't woken up yet. It'd been a few days since we started our travels.

I spent most of my time in war meetings with Hakoda and Sokka. When I wasn't with them, I sat out on the bow. I let the sun warm my skin and watched the wave crash into the metal siding. I tried to understand Zuko's decisions. Was it me becoming a princess that made him choose something so terrible? The way he looked at me with disbelief. As if I wasn't good enough…

"Kidah, we should talk." Katara had come and sat next to me. I didn't even notice. I nod my head, but refuse to look at her. She sighs. "Sokka told me what you said the other day… I understand thinking someone could be different. I'm sorry you're feeling this way." She puts her head on my shoulder and a tear falls down my cheek. "You have to understand that its for the best, Kidah. You're lucky he betrayed you. It would have happened sooner or later. At least you got out alive."

A sob wrecks my body, and Katara wraps her arms around me. "I keep trying to forget… I-I keep trying to push everything down and make it go away… But, it doesn't, Katara. It hurts so much."

She squeezes me gently. "I'm so sorry, Kidah… I'm here for you." I let myself fall into her embrace, and I continue to cry. My little lock box of emotion burst open, but Katara let me release it all. She held me until the sobs subsided.

"I'm sorry too, Katara… Thank you." We sat there and watched the sunset together. I was still in pain, but it hurt just a little less now.

Toph never brought up anything to do with my relationship with Zuko. It was so refreshing to be around her. I never felt judged or uncomfortable. She had her own view of the world, and it didn't matter who I had or hadn't developed feelings for. She was just happy to have me back. She would often sit with me at the head of the ship, telling each other ridiculous stories from our childhoods. Toph had an interesting childhood to say the least. It was always nice to laugh.

Sokka avoided me when he could. But because it was my men that were going to be the main force behind our attack on the Day of Black Sun, he had to talk to me during war councils. He really did not like that. Since the Earth Kingdom had been taken, we were truly left to our own devices.

Two weeks passed, and Aang woke up. Chaos ensued in his confused state, but we kept him under control. Eventually, we docked at a small city on the other side of the Earth Kingdom. I sat at the bow like I usually did at this time of day. I prayed to Yue every day, hoping that the hole Zuko left in my soul would get smaller. Nothing had happened yet. I pulled my Fire Nation cloak closer to my head to cover my crown. I liked to pretend that if I couldn't see anyone, then they couldn't see me either.

"Princess Kidah, we're going to go get some food in town. Are you coming?" Sokka's tone startles me. He continued to treat me like a bad child who had failed a test in school.

"Sokka, come here." When he doesn't, I turn and stare fiercely. He finally sighs dramatically and sits beside me. "Its been weeks. You've got to get past all of this. My title, what happened with-," I didn't dare say Zuko's name. "You were my friend before, why can't you now?"

His sight stays on the water before us. "We were all so worried about you, Kidah. And then, to find out that you had been safe all along was such a relief…" Our blue eyes finally meet. "After Ba Sing Se, I felt like you had betrayed us."

I put my hand on his arm, "I never betrayed you… I never told him anything. My plan was always to come back to all of you. I never stopped protecting Aang." I put my head on his shoulder. "Will you ever be able to forgive me?"

He breathes deeply against me. "I'll work on it." We sit there for a while as the sun starts to set. It was my favorite time of day. "So, are you going to come with us into town?"

"No, I'm okay."

"I know that I haven't treated you well lately, but you need to get off this ship. All you've done for weeks is sit here or go to war meetings."

"I know, just not tonight." He gives me a pat on the thigh before leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I talk to Yue until I fall asleep against the railing. Katara's screams wake me in the dark. I jump to my feet and run towards the source. The sound of my feet hitting the metal ship echoes off the water. I find her in Aang's room, fallen to her knees.

"Aang's gone!" She wails. Sokka and Toph come running behind her.

"Let's go find him." I fall to her side and take her hand, wiping a tear from her cheek.

We find Aang on a small Fire Nation island. He had been so upset about the world thinking he was dead, but was starting to understand the advantages in battle. We loaded him up and started towards the island, where we would meet Hakoda and the others. I had left a letter for my troops with Hakoda informing them of my whereabouts. He promised to get them to the rendezvous point in one piece.

Aang and Katara gave us cover as Appa flew, and we found a cave to set up camp. We dismount quietly and make our way inside.

"Well, this is it. This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave after cave...after cave...after cave…" Sokka announces looking more disheartened with every word.

Katara puts a hand on her hip, "Sokka, we don't need to become cave people. What we need is some new clothes."

"Yeah," Aang agrees, "blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."

Toph rubs her stomach, "Plus...they have real food out there. Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers?" She punches the cave wall and several hoppers hop out. Momo catches one and begins chowing down. I try not to gag.

I walk up and pat Sokka on the back, "Looks like you guys got out voted, sport... Let's get some new clothes!"

We keep our heads down as we wander towards a nearby city. We find a laundry with several pieces of clothing hanging in a field. Red, maroon, gold and orange flow in the wind. We hide behind some rocks to observe our newest mission.

Aang looks side to side nervously, "I don't know about this. These clothes belong to somebody."

I'm about to try and reassure him, when Katara cuts me off. "I call the silk robe!" She leaps from the rocks, runs to her prize and snatches it from the line.

Aang smiles at me, "But if it's essential to our survival...then I call the suit!"

We all run up and down the rows of fabric, grabbing what catches our eye. I end up with a cropped dark maroon top with a golden floral pattern and matching high waisted, loose pants. I walk out of the woods to meet with the others and see everyone's new outfits.

Sokka looks me over for a moment, before pointing to my head. "Kidah, you're crown…"

My hands raise to touch the crystal headpiece. I close my eyes and remove it slowly. Bringing it out in front of me, I look at it hopelessly. "Sorry, Yue… Apologize to Legara for me," I mumble to myself. The moonflowers catch the light and sparkle.

The memory of Zuko placing the white flower behind my ear flares to the front of my mind. I push it down and squash it back in my inner box. I place the crown gingerly in a small pack and tie it to my waist.

Aang comes and loops his arm in mine, a broad smile across his face. "I used to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago. So, everyone just follow my lead and stay cool. Or as they say in the Fire Nation - 'Stay flamin'!" A laugh eases my soul as we walk towards the nearby city.