Four weeks after meeting the Mori Clan and Azula was still alive.

She had not been abducted.

Her throat had not been slit while she lay in bed.

The Chen's house had not been set aflame or vandalized.

Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred to her or anyone else at the charity home.

All in all, the criminal leader's deadline passed and nothing occurred to make her reconsider his vile proposition. It had all been empty threats and bluster, as she suspected, and her life at the charity home went on as normal…

"I still can't believe he asked me out!" Meilin said excitedly as she organized her long, black hair in the mirror.

It was late afternoon and golden sunlight poured through the window of their shared bedroom. Meilin stood in front of the vanity while Azula stood to the side, watching the foreign-born teen and careful to keep her eyes away from the mirror. Everyone else was downstairs performing their pre-dinner chores.

Okay, I can believe it," Meilin continued to chatter. "But I think it's just amazing! I've never felt this way before..." She parted her long bangs in two and connected them to the stem of her braid in a manner more reminiscent of a Fire Nation style, done so at the request of native-born roommate.

While Azula couldn't physically help the Earth Kingdom teen with her hair due to her lame left hand, she had told the others Meilin needed her assistance. In truth, she just wanted an excuse to get out of her chores and share in her new friend's joy.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Meilin asked with delight.

Azula inhaled deeply, "No," she replied with a sigh, feeling a slight wave of disappointment. "But I have been kissed."

"Oh?" Meilin's eyes widened.

"It wasn't much. In fact, I'd prefer it didn't happen." Her kiss with the muscular teenage boy on Ember Island ended horribly. She'd rather just restart the count at zero.

"I hope Hao kisses me tonight." Meilin's round cheeks rose high with a wide, excited grin as she added the finishing touches to her hair. "But if he doesn't, I'll kiss him." She smothered her grin to a mere joyous smile. "I think he's going to ask me to marry him."

Azula raised a curious, puzzled eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"In a few years when he's ready, I mean," she clarified.

Azula's face relaxed but her curiosity remained. "Is that what you want?"

"Oh yes," Meilin replied emphatically. "I can't think of anything better that could happen to me. Do you want to get married someday?"

Immediately, the concept of an attractive boy gazing into her eyes and smiling flashed across her mind, but it was fleeting, and her womanly ability to produce royal heirs took somber precedence over her personal feelings. Of course not. I'm not going to produce a bunch of bastards who won't be my heirs, and who Zuko could just steal from me and corrupt for his purposes. Oh my god. Would Zuko FORCE me to have children and take them from me?!

A shiver crawled through her spine at the evil notion but her face soon relaxed as she remembered where she was. She shrugged. "Meh. Not really."

"Oh, well," Meilin said pleasantly. "There's probably a lot more neat things you can do with your life anyway. I hope I get married and have kids. I'd finally belong nowhere else but here…"

At last, Meilin stopped fiddling with her hair. She lowered her arms to her sides and stood straight, inspecting herself in the mirror. A moment later, she turned to her native-born friend. "What do you think?"

Azula studied the older teenager's clothed form until her eyes came to a rest on her caramel brown face. Once more, Meilin's green eyes stood out from a background of maroon, red, and pink. Notably, no part of her face was painted or powdered. Apparently, those luxuries were too expensive for these people.

Azula first smiled softly at her well-dressed friend, then… She smiled proudly. "You appear as a special envoy from the Colonial City of Ba Sing Se," she spoke as if she were announcing such a person. "Should the circumstances have been different, that is," she added pointedly.

Meilin chuckled. "Thanks," she said with an awkward grin. "I guess that's a compliment."

"Don't worry," Azula assured. "It is."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Later that evening, Azula joined Katsumi in the kitchen for the after-dinner clean up. The young woman stood in front of the metal wash basin cleaning the pots, bowls and utensils while Azula stood an arm's length beside her eldest roommate drying the dishes she was handed.

Dinner had concluded some time ago and the sky outside the window was transforming into a deep blue. Hao and Meilin were still out on the town, probably just getting to the restaurant. It would be dark when they returned but there was more than enough activity in the city after nightfall for one to feel safe. It was only after the nighttime activity subsided that people felt a heightened need to be careful. They would be back well before then, however.

"Katsumi," Azula requested the young woman's attention in a smooth, conversational tone.

"Yes?" The young woman replied without taking her eyes off the basin.

Azula was running her towel across a ceramic plate. "What do you think of Fire Lord Zuko?"

Katsumi shrugged. "I don't really know much about him. He's just statues and pictures to me."

"Oh come on." Azula didn't buy it. "Meilin talks about him all the time and she's not even from here. You must at least know what she does."

"Yeah," Katsumi agreed quietly. "I guess…"

"So what are your thoughts?"

The young woman's brow wrinkled. "I guess he portrays himself as a nice person. His statue is definitely a lot different than the previous Fire Lords'. I don't really know. All I know is what he's done and what's been said about him."

"And what has been said about him?"

The young woman sighed. "I guess not everything gets around the country," she commented idly, seemingly to herself. She took a deep breath and explained. "There have been a lot of Imperial postings about him, I mean, a lot. There was even a play made about him, paid for by the Crown. That's where Meilin gets a lot of her information; that play. According to it, Fire Lord Zuko was wrongfully banished by his father and was only allowed to return if he captured the Avatar. Most people already knew that but Meilin didn't. His travels across the world taught him that everything he believed about the war was wrong and that the war brought shame to the Fire Nation. He made a lot of mistakes along the way, but he eventually vowed to undue the damage he believed the Fire Nation had done to the world, so he joined forces with the Avatar to defeat his father and sister so he could inherit the throne and bring an end to the war."

"And foreign agents," Azula added.

"Uh, what?" Katsumi was puzzled.

"Foreign agents," the former princess, and victim of the current Fire Lord, repeated matter-of-factly. "He also worked with foreign agents, correct? From the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom?" She tried to kindle the young woman's memory.

Katsumi blinked. "Oh. Yeah. I guess so."

"Do you agree with that?"

"With what?"

"With what you said the Fire Lord thinks about us, that the Fire Nation is wrong and shameful, that the war and colonies should have been undone and that it was acceptable for a banished, traitor-prince to work with foreign agents to take over the country?"

The native-born woman fell silent and her brow lowered in thought. "I don't know," she said at length. "I mean, I guess it makes sense. War is supposed to be pretty awful, apparently. I mean, I wouldn't mind if everyone was nicer to each other. I certainly wouldn't want my home invaded…"

"But we spent more than a hundred years building those colonies," Azula countered in a mild, courteous tone. "We even captured the Earth Kingdom's greatest city, something that had never been done in history."

She felt a spark of pride at her personal accomplishment. She had sat upon the Earth King's throne. Not even Zuzu had the guts to do so. Now she knew why: he was sympathetic to their cause. "… I understand Meilin's enthusiasm for Zuz—" She caught herself. "… For Fire Lord Zuko's softness." She strained at the sickeningly diplomatic word. 'Traitorous' or 'spiteful' or 'foolish' conveyed his actions more properly but those might have come off too strong. Neither could she suggest the current Fire Lord might be illegitimate as there was no way that mere 'Yuki' could possibly know such a thing. "… Why aren't you infuriated by what he's done?"

"Well, how about you, Yuki?" Katsumi turned the tables. "What do you think? You seem to care about this a lot more than I do."

Azula hesitated. Don't reveal anything close to your true feelings! She took a deep breath. "I'm not sure. I'm just… Repeating what I've heard others say. That's why I'm asking you."

Katsumi gave another sigh. "To be honest, I don't really care. I have my own life and problems to worry about. I mean, I never received anything from the colonies and I never met any colonials until the Fire Lord forced them back to the homeland, and now that I have a friend who's actually from the Earth Kingdom?" She shrugged. "What difference does it make? I don't see how the war was making my life any better."

"But it was making people's lives better," the former princess stated certainly. "Right? All those colonials who've lost their homes? The coal mine that Doctor Izumi's husband is employed by? And all the other people here who seem angry and feel like things aren't the way they should be? Think about the food shortages, and the vandalism of the statue, and Meilin getting attacked despite, technically, being a citizen. It's all related, isn't it?"

She was partially asking, partially stating what she suspected was the case: that Zuko wasn't as widely accepted as her one and a half year long stay in the asylum had implied. She knew taxes and resources were procured from the colonies but those were just numbers and abstract notions to her. She had no understanding of the present state of the Imperial Government and military, and whether or not it was being managed properly or to the country's detriment. The Imperial Government, after all, didn't exist just because it could, rather it was a necessary instrument in managing a country as large and as powerful as the Fire Nation, or so she had been told…

She also knew the citizenry—especially the nobility—was supposed to be loyal and obedient to the Fire Lord but the current Fire Lord was no mere successor to her father, nor was her Agni Kai with Zuko a mere battle for the crown; Zuko was a conspirator with the Fire Nation's enemies and he had worked with foreign agents to take power. He was a traitor at worst and a seditious agent at best. Both deserved to be opposed and the reaction of the citizenry in the square seemed to suggest others felt the same way… But not everyone.

"Yeah," Katsumi agreed quietly. "I'd say it's related."

"So do you think Zuko is right for the Fire Nation? Or, do you think Heaven might have a different plan?"

"Yuki…" Katsumi chuckled and smiled awkwardly. "We can't talk about the Fire Lord like that. Come on, you know better."

"Sure we can!" Azula replied brightly. "There's no one here who cares."

Katsumi chewed her lower lip. "Well, he did apparently win a duel for the crown, and the Fire Sages accepted him. He's the Fire Lord regardless."

"But I'm asking you about what he's doing, who he is, what he represents. Certainly you have an opinion about that."

"Well… Yes… I do. I don't like the food shortages, of course. I don't like that parts of Taizao are becoming overcrowded and getting worse… I don't like that so many from the factories and shipyards and coal mines have lost their livelihoods, and how all the soldiers have come home and don't have a way of supporting themselves… I don't like that the colonials have been forced from their homes… I don't like that a lot of people feel angry and mistreated..." She trailed off and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed. "But if what is said about the war is true, then maybe this is what the Fire Nation deserves."

"If what is true?"

"What we were doing to the world. All the pillaging and destruction. That we were going to use the Sozin's Comet to burn down the Eastern Earth Kingdom."

Azula blinked and her stomach turned uneasy. She heard an unsettling change in the young woman's tone. "Um… Excuse me?"

"I mean, can you believe it?" Katsumi stopped cleaning and turned to meet her younger roommate's eyes. "We were just going to burn it all down! What good would any of that have done?!" She turned back to the was basin. "All those people…"

"Well, I'm sure they had a good reason for it."

Katsumi appeared absolutely baffled. "Like what?"

"Slash-and-burn, I imagine."

"Slash-and-what?"

"Slash-and-burn," she repeated proudly, as if she were a teacher about to change a student's world. "It's a long established form of Fire Nation agriculture. A grown-up, forested region is cut down and allowed to dry, after which it is burned, leaving behind a fertile layer of ashy soil from which new plants can grow. Once this field is depleted of all nutrients, it is left to grow up again and the cycle is repeated."

Katsumi's face was clouded for a moment as she seemed to consider it. Then, her jaw dropped. "But they're people!"

"Not Fire Nation people," the former princess specified. "Whoever replaces them would be believers in Fire Nation culture and their society modeled after ours. It would be a better Eastern Earth Kingdom, like the new growth rising from the burned field."

Or so I thought was the plan, until father ordained himself Phoenix King…

Kat's mouth hung open in speechless shock. She didn't respond at all.

Azula knew that look from the young woman. She scowled. "I don't get it! What's the problem?!"

Katsumi turned her head to gaze at her younger roommate with a mixture of disgust and confusion, but when she spoke she took a gentle tone. "It doesn't bother you thinking about all those people and their homes getting destroyed?"

"Why would it?! They're not Fire Nation!"

"What if Meilin was caught up in it?"

"What if she was?"

Katsumi peered at her quizzically. "You wouldn't feel differently?"

Azula's brow lowered in thought. "Well, if she had perished then I wouldn't have known her, so no, I suppose I wouldn't."

"I mean, knowing her now," the young woman clarified. "And knowing that you have a friend from the Eastern Earth Kingdom, aren't you glad she wasn't killed?"

Azula regarded the black-haired native puzzledly. "But she wouldn't have been killed. She was in an occupied city at the time. It wasn't targeted."

"Yes, but what if she was?" The young woman pressed harder. "I'm asking you to think about if she was."

Azula's brow lowered again.

Katsumi shot her a dull look. "Your answer should be, 'why yes, Katsumi, that would be horrible. I'd have hoped Meilin wasn't killed.'"

Azula cringed in bafflement. "Why?"

Katsumi's jaw fell again. "Why? Because it's… Because it's bad! It's terrible! It's wrong. It's killing people and making them suffer."

"Pfft!" Azula scoffed. "Lots of things are bad. Lots of people get killed or suffer. That doesn't mean none of it serves a greater purpose or isn't ever necessary."

"What greater purpose could burning down the Earth Kingdom possibly serve?"

"Rebuilding it in the image of the Fire Nation, of course," Azula stated certainly.

The young woman seemed to consider that. "… Okay," she agreed at length. "But why?" She asked again.

"To make the world a wiser, fairer, more prosperous place, like it is here."

And because that's what father wanted. It's what the Fire Lord wanted…

"Would it really though?"

Azula's head tilted and she eyed the raven-haired native puzzledly. Katsumi obliged.

"Think about it. Is that really making things better over there? No, it's just destroying it and replacing it with something else. It's not even trying to fix things."

The former princess tried to parse the young woman's meaning. "I… Don't understand."

"Don't get me wrong, I love where I live. I love Taizao and everything we have here, and from what Meilin has told me, I wouldn't want to live where she's from. A lot of it seems… Backwards, but I don't want them destroyed. I just want them better."

Azula peered at the young woman in vague confusion. "But that's what the war was for. Zuko ended it."

"Maybe that's what it was supposed to be for but you don't have to destroy the rest of the world to achieve it."

She continued to gaze at the young woman, speechless and confused.

"Look, here's an example," Katsumi began. "Take Meilin. She's from those backwards places. Just living here with us has been enough to change her mind about the Fire Nation. She doesn't even want to go back to the Earth Kingdom, all because she's been treated well and has experienced first hand how great we have it here. She didn't have to be invaded or forced to feel this way."

"Well of course she would feel this way," Azula replied. "Anybody with half a brain would prefer to live in the Fire Nation than in some war torn land."

"Mmm," Katsumi hummed doubtfully "No. It's more than that. She really likes it here. I mean, she even likes you."

"Of course she likes me. She likes everybody."

"No, she really likes you, Yuki. She talks about it. In fact, I think she sees you as a sort of body guard for herself."

Curiosity and amusement welled in her at once. "Wait," she said with playful suspicion and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smile. "Really?" She chuckled as she connected the dots. "Oh, so that's why she's been more bold as of late," she spoke with humor and pride.

Katsumi stopped scrubbing and turned her head up in thought. "Yeah…" She appeared to realize the same, her own face spreading with a grin. "I guess you're right."

Azula gave a huff of quiet laughter and shook her head in affectionate disbelief. Oh, Meilin. You're much more fiery than you let on. I wish you were an earthbender… Or a firebender. She felt truly esteemed.

"But yes, Yuki," Katsumi spoke abruptly, changing her tone. "Meilin likes you. Just think about how wild that is. She's been hurt by firebenders and seen her home invaded by the Fire Nation and yet she's friends with a firebender right here in the Fire Nation. She didn't have to be forced. She just had to live here with us, and all you had to be was yourself."

The former princess' face relaxed in a peaceful smile as her cheeks warmed. But I'm not myself, or maybe… I'm a version of myself, at least. She continued to dry the bowl that Katsumi handed her.

"So I guess that explains how I feel," Katsumi resumed her explanation, focusing back down at the wash basin. "I'd rather people—like Meilin—be friends with us and want to be like the Fire Nation because they want to. Not because they were forced or threatened with destruction." She took a deep breath and sighed. "And I think that's what Fire Lord Zuko believes too. That just feels more like what my life has been about; being nice to people and working with them, not invading or destroying their homes."

"That seems a rather reasonable, if not soft, way of looking at things," Azula spoke thoughtfully.

"Heh." Katsumi chuckled. "I guess I have to look at things more 'softly'. Unlike you, I can't just make problems go away with my fists and flames."

Azula's lips curved in a tight-lipped smirk. The young woman's remark wasn't critical or biting, but appreciative of her and her abilities. "I have another question," she began peacefully. "Should Fire Lord Zuko prove incompetent, or weak, or ineffectual, would you support his replacement?"

Katsumi's brows knitted. "With who?"

"With the princess of course."

Katsumi frowned. "I don't think that's possible."

"Sure it is!" She replied splendidly. "She's a firebender and highly accomplished leader. I'm sure she has what it takes to lead the Fire Nation, not to mention, she'd be the Fire Nation's first woman as Fire Lord. I think that would be quite exciting, don't you agree?"

"I don't know," Katsumi continued to hem and haw for some strange reason. "She and her brother are supposedly mortal enemies. I just don't see her being an alternative to him, or someone who would continue his legacy. I don't know her or her brother personally, of course, but she seemed pretty supportive of the war."

"What if she did, though?"

"Did what?"

"Kept the Fire Nation out of the world but managed this new state of affairs better than her brother; figured out how to end the food shortages and settle the people's anger. Would you think well of her then?"

"I don't think she would, though."

"Why?" Azula tilted her head and spoke with honest dismay. "She captured Ba Sing Se and led the defense of the Capital during the Day of Black Sun. That must mean she's brave and smart… And competent…" She felt an uneasy knot turn in the pit of her stomach. How could Katsumi not see those things about Princess Azula? Zuko never achieved anything close to that!

"You really don't know a whole lot, do you?" Katsumi said wistfully. The young woman breathed another sigh. "Don't take this the wrong way, Yuki, but the princess is in an insane asylum right now. It's… Pretty widely known," she spoke delicately. "She banished everybody at the palace and the Fire Sages even deemed her unfit to rule."

Azula's lips quirked down. The knot twisted tighter. "Oh."

"The second problem is… She was the one who suggested burning down the Eastern Earth Kingdom. It was her plan."

A cold wind blew through her core. "Oh…" She said again as her mind scrambled for an answer. I need to come up with an answer for the insane asylum and Fire Sages bit! I… I just don't have one yet! But for the other… The Sozin's Comet plan…

She took a deep breath and reoriented herself. "Well, why does that last part disqualify her?"

"It's not that it disqualifies her, it's just… I know I don't like everything Fire Lord Zuko is doing but… I also don't want us to keep destroying the world. If it takes having a Fire Lord like Zuko, who at least seems like a good person with good intentions, even if he's not maybe… Well… The best leader, to stop us from destroying the world, then I'd rather have him in charge than someone who believes killing millions is good and honorable. It just feels… Right, I guess. I don't know. That's just how I feel. I don't really know what it takes to rule the Fire Nation, just that the current Fire Lord is Fire Lord," she stressed the term, noting correctly the Crown's supremacy. "I do know I'm not alone with these feelings. A lot people feel this way…"

Azula's body tensed and her jaw set. "You don't think the princess is… Good and honorable?" She said stiffly, trying with all her might to remain cordial and smooth.

"I don't know. I just think that if you can believe in such an awful thing, that it must say something bad about you, something that isn't… Good."

Azula didn't ask anything more. She fell silent and returned to drying the dishes that she was handed without so much as glancing at, or turning her body, toward the young native woman.

Who does she think she is?! What gives her, or anyone else, the right to judge me?! I've been responsible for more than they can imagine! I've risked my life to follow the Fire Lord's orders! That alone makes me 'good' and 'honorable'! My purpose in life is to defend and rule this nation at my own peril. At my own peril! Theirs is to carry out their lives in the peace and comfort that the Crown and Imperial Government provide! What gives them the right to despise me?! To think I'm not worthy?! What other SLANDER has Fire Lord 'Traitor' been spreading about me?!

Her heart began to pound and a vein pulsed in her forehead. She closed her eyes and took multiple deep breaths to cool the magma flowing within her.

So I know Katsumi won't defend me if she finds out who I am. I guess I can't fault her for that. She appears to be a loyal citizen even if Zuko isn't worth being loyal to.

She has no power; she can only do what she is told. I need to work on this… I need to get these people to feel more pride and reverence toward Princess Azula. What she just expressed to me is none of that, not even close. First, I need to find out more about what's going on in the country and what everyone knows, or THINKS they know about me, the REAL me. I'll talk to Meilin next, when she returns…

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Night had fallen and Azula was on the roof with Kat and Chiyo.

"They should have been back by now!" Katsumi spoke to herself in increasing worry. "Where are they?"

It was several hours after sunset and a layer of clouds blocked the moon. The street lamps were burning and cast orange rings around their poles but not much further. Other than the burning lamps and a few roaming cats, the streets were quiet and dark, and Meilin and Hao had not returned. The three of them had been on the roof for over two hours keeping a look out for their missing housemates.

Azula kept her eyes on her apportioned end of the street, feeling a touch of boredom and irritation with the task. More than anything, she remained confused as to why they were even up here; if Meilin and Hao were truly missing, this wasn't going to find them.

"I don't understand what you two think happened," Azula spoke sharply, frustrated by theirs and everyone else's insistence that something 'bad' must have happened when all they were doing was standing on the roof. "I've been out after dark before and they're on a date. Aren't dates supposed to last a while?"

"Not like this," Katsumi answered grimly.

"They were supposed to be back hours ago," Chiyo broke in. "They wouldn't have stayed this long! Everywhere they could have gone is closed by now!"

Azula's brow lowered and her eyes narrowed but she maintained her watch. Sleepiness tugged at her eyelids. It was late. Perhaps there was truth to their concerns... "So, what do you think happened? Don't say 'something bad'. I want specifics."

"I don't know," Katsumi answered, the young woman's eyes remaining on the street. "Robbed? Attacked? I don't even want to think about any of that right now. I just want them to return."

Azula's jaw fell in bewildering, incredulous amazement. "Do you honestly believe they have been attacked?"

Katsumi gave a shivering sigh. "Yes."

"Ha!" Azula let out an incredulous huff. "By what, dogs?" She found the notion ridiculous and it was more evidence they were all over-reacting… Until a darker possibility loomed.

Not long ago, she had ventured through a forest laden with spirits and dark creatures. How close did that forest come to this city?

"You're not suggesting spirits did this?" She asked seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous," Katsumi scolded. "I'm talking about people."

Azula cringed puzzledly. "People? Who would do such a thing?! This is the Fire Nation! This place isn't a place full of brigands and thieves!"

"Keep your voice down!" Katsumi shushed. "And there are lots of bad people in this city. You already met some of them."

Azula's temper cooled and her face transformed into a sober frown. "You don't think...?"

"I don't know. This has never happened before. I don't even want to think about something like that. I just want them safe and home."

A knot began to turn in Azula's belly.

"But what if you're not there, Yuki?" Mr. Chen spoke to her. "What if they attack the wards, or the other helpers, or my family and you're not there to protect them? Then what?"

Azula inhaled a calming deep breath and released it just as slow. "Then we need to go looking for them," she replied stoically.

"We can't!" Chiyo whispered. "It's too dark! What if we get attacked? We wouldn't even know where to look!"

"You would have me," Azula replied.

Katsumi shook her head. Even in the low light the young woman's shadow was visible. "We're staying here. That's what Mr. and Mrs. Chen told us. And I agree with Chiyo."

Azula remained standing with her two housemates for some time, watching the street and contemplating what the two Taizao natives had told her about the city.

Meilin and Hao… Attacked… By those same goons? Them getting attacked Instead of me?

It didn't make sense. There's no way she could be confused with that green-eyed Earth Kingdomer, and going through anyone other than her was nothing short of petty and ineffective. Well, at least for these circumstances.

Threatening loved ones and taking hostages was a totally acceptable, and useful, way of dealing with enemies and unruly subjects. Even the Imperial Government required the families of the nobility to live in the Capital as a form of collateral against rebellions and disloyalty. Perhaps Meilin and Hao had been taken hostage, as a form of collateral against her…

But this was completely different! These were criminals who were trying to get her on their side, willingly! She was their target, not Meilin and Hao! She couldn't imagine something so grotesque and barbaric occurring here, in this model piece of Fire Nation society! Only the Crown could do these things. Only she could!

Herself being attacked on the other hand… Yes, she could understand that given the ongoing relationship she had with those criminals. That would be more reasonable, but not whatever it was Katsumi and Chiyo were thinking. Their imaginations must have been getting the better of them and standing up here wasn't proving them wrong.

Without asking permission from the six years-older Katsumi, she left her two compatriots to their fretful gazing and returned to the house's interior, and made her way down the stairs to the first floor in search of the home's actual leaders.

She entered the living room and found Mr. and Mrs. Chen sitting with the other workers along with the Chen's adult son and his wife. All the wards had been put to bed and everyone else was quiet but their faces were written in various states of concern.

Mr. Chen turned his head to look up at her as she arrived. He was seated on a sofa. "Anything?" He asked with wide eyes and hopeful optimism. The other charity home dwellers turned their attention to her.

"No," she replied flatly and folded her arms across her chest. "I came down to find out when we're going searching for them."

"Tomorrow," Mr. Chen said with certainty. "When there's daylight."

Her eyes bulged at the patriarch. "Tomorrow?! But you all seem to think something horrible has happened now! If they're lost or injured out there then we should go looking for them!"

"They wouldn't be lost, Yuki."

"So they're hurt somewhere. Where could that be… The beach? The waterfront? They fell and broke their legs and the tide has them trapped?"

Mr. Chen frowned. "They explicitly said they weren't going anywhere other than the restaurant. They wouldn't have gone to the beach or the waterfront. It's too far."

"So they could be at a hospital, or a physician's home."

"They could be but I don't think so. Somebody would've told us by now."

She did not immediately reply. "… Okay." She decided to follow his logic. "What do you think happened? Chiyo and Katsumi's imaginations are leading them to believe they were attacked… By criminals."

"I would agree with them, unfortunately," Mr. Chen replied sadly and breathed a dejected sigh.

She stared at him in mingled bewilderment and disbelief. "What… Who… So just random thieves?"

Mr. Chen met her eyes. "I think you know who," he answered quietly.

The fire in her belly died. A chilling dread crawled down her spine and the knot in her gut twisted solid. While she stood in the doorway of the living room, silently taking in the old man's words, Jing buried her face in her hands while Mrs. Chen's face was wrung in misery. Rong leaned forward in his seat and hung his own head while the Chen's son and his wife both appeared sick with dread. Mr. Chen's eyes fell away from hers. Nobody said a word.

Azula's face hardened into an icy mask. "Why?" She whispered to the old man.

Mr. Chen took a deep breath and returned his haunted eyes to hers. "I think you know why."

Just then, heavy, rapid footsteps pounded down the stairs. Seconds later, Kat and Chiyo flew around the corner.

"Someone's coming!" Katsumi alerted. "I think it's Meilin!"

The two young women zoomed through the living room and disappeared into the corridor that led to the front door.

Gasps of surprise and words of relief emanated from all around but Rong merely looked puzzled.

"What about Hao?" He asked the group.

Azula shared an equally puzzled, equally cautious look with Mr. Chen before she too broke away from the living room and hurried after her two compatriots to see if, indeed, Meilin had returned and if Hao was with her.

When she rounded the corner of the hallway, she gasped and skidded to a halt. Katsumi and Chiyo were gathered in the entryway, the front door open and Meilin standing between them.

Azula's jaw fell.

Meilin's eyelids were swollen, bruised and partially closed. Her cheeks were raised and inflamed and her lips, nose and chin were cut and scabbed with dried blood. Her clothes were torn and burned to rags while her hair was a mess and fell only as far as her shoulders, as if her braid had been severed and removed, and when she walked… She staggered.

Meilin stepped over the door's threshold but her legs wobbled and gave way.

She tripped.

Chiyo and Katsumi rushed forward and caught her before she could fall. They helped her inside and shut and locked the door. Cradled in their arms, Meilin tried to stand but she wavered. Katsumi and Chiyo were there to support her.

"Oh my god!" Katsumi wailed as she held her wounded friend. "Meilin, what happened?!"

Meilin's feeble strength returned and she managed to stand upright with the help of her two friends. She said nothing. She just stared off into space, through her bloodied, swollen eyelids, past her firebending friend at the end of the hallway, at nothing.

"Meilin, where's Hao?" Katsumi asked urgently, trying to find her friend's green eyes behind the purple bruising.

Meilin's lower lip started to tremble. She didn't answer.

"Meilin!" Katsumi said forcefully as tears welled in her eyes. "Where's Hao?!"

Meilin shut her swollen lids completely and her head bowed low. Her body shook with tiny sobs. Tears splashed against the floor.

Azula gazed in silence from her place at the end of the hall when the others rounded the corner and realized the horror for themselves. When Meilin was helped out of the entryway and guided further into the house, her movements were gingerly and measured, as if her legs were sore.

Azula's eyes flicked down.

What remained of Meilin's dress, the portion that would have otherwise covered her waist, hips and legs, was either shredded or burned away completely, exposing the brown skin of her legs… And the dark streaks dried blood running down her inner thighs…

Azula's stomach turned.