A/N: A variety of scenes spanning several weeks.

The next day, when Zuko got up Iroh was still asleep. He picked up one of his old shirts to work outside, and as he went to put it on, he realized that the tear on the sleeve was fixed. He left the tent, and when he looked over at Chiara's tent, it was empty. Looking around he did not see her, so he quietly walked down towards the river. He noticed her from a distance at the water's edge washing clothes, so he approached her, and kneeling down beside her, he kissed her cheek.

"You're always busy working," he said.

"There's always work to be done."

After washing everything, she stood up and laid one of the pieces of clothing over a branch and just as she was about to pull the water from it by waterbending, she hesitated. She was so used to hiding her ability from Zuko, she had to remind herself that he was now aware of it. She proceeded to dry the clothes as he watched her.

"I guess that would've been useful when we were stranded on the raft," he said as he remembered her coming out of the water freezing.

"I was so tempted."

He thought about how difficult it must have been for her knowing she could have dried herself off quickly, but refused to do so in his presence. When she finished drying the clothes, he carried them for her as they went back to camp. As they walked, Chiara collected firewood, and after putting the clothes away at the camp, she returned to the river with a bucket. Zuko stayed with her. He watched her as she would bend water looking for a fish. His mind was flooded with so many questions, he could not keep them organized.

"When we were on the raft, how were able to stay under the water so long?" he asked.

"I bent the water around me so I had an air bubble."

"Did you do that during the storm too?"

"I did, but it was more difficult with the waves moving so strongly. It was harder to control. Mostly I tried to keep Tedo and myself above water."

He remembered his uncle telling him that even she could not fight a storm.

"I can't believe I never knew," he said. "You hid it so well."

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "What do you think you would've done if you had known?"

He thought about it. "I...I don't know," he answered. He wondered if he would have thought less of her or even exploited her ability during the three years on the ship. "You and Uncle were right, though. Having a waterbender around would've been useful."

She smiled and continued working.

"It's good that you kept it secret," he said. "If anyone had found out while you were living in the Fire Nation, they would've put you in prison a long time ago...or worse."

She pulled up a fish placing it in the bucket which he carried for her back to camp as she collected more firewood. When she started arranging the wood in the fire pit, Zuko took over for her.

"Having firebenders around is really useful too," she said, delicately moving strands of hair from out of his eyes.

He smiled at her, and his golden eyes sparkled making her heart beat a little faster. She began preparing their breakfast, and soon Iroh was drawn to the smell of the cooking fish, and he came out of his tent.

"Something smells delicious," he said as he stretched his arms in the morning sunlight.

She handed him a plate with a large piece of fish, and after serving him, she served a portion to Zuko.

"This is wonderful, Chiara," said Iroh as he ate.

"I know you're probably still sick of seafood, but I thought it would save on some of our supplies," she said.

She was now pouring their tea and handed each of them a cup. Zuko slowly ate as he watched her.

"Chiara, sit and eat," he said.

"I will as soon as I feed my men."

Eventually, she sat down with the smallest bit of remains from the fish and started eating.

"Did you feed the animals, Zuko?" asked Iroh.

"Not yet," he answered.

"I did it this morning," said Chiara to their surprise.

"You were very busy, Chiara," said Iroh.

They continued eating.

"What shall we do for lunch?" he asked.

"Breakfast isn't even finished and already you think of lunch," she smiled.

"Zuko, you should go hunting and bring back something big for dinner," said Iroh.

Zuko stood up and held out his plate to Chiara with some fish still on it. "Here, eat this."

"But you need to eat," she said.

"So do you."

"I have some here."

"And now you have more," he insisted.

"But..."

"You don't eat enough, Chiara."

"I'll take it," started Iroh.

"You've had enough," said Zuko. "She can eat this. You're still looking thin from the prison." He dumped his on her plate and then walked off into the woods.

"He's feeling guilty," said Iroh.

Zuko walked through the woods thinking about Chiara worried that she was going to overwork herself taking care of them. The first time they were in exile in the Earth Kingdom, she had done most of the work providing for them while he had stubbornly refused to learn what she offered to teach him. He needed to make sure that did not happen this time.

After keeping busy around the camp, Chiara disappeared into the woods after lunch. When several hours had gone by and she was still gone, Zuko walked down to the river to check on her, but not finding her, he returned to camp.

"Have you seen Chiara?" he asked.

"Not since earlier this afternoon," answered Iroh. "She wasn't at the river?"

"No. You don't think she...she...left, do you?" asked Zuko worriedly as he thought about their talk the day before.

"It's only been a few hours. I don't think she would just go without...without at least leaving a note," he said as he thought about the note she left him at the Siege at the North Pole.

"Maybe she didn't want us to follow her." Zuko was pacing back and forth. "If she left it's your fault, Uncle, for bringing up my destiny."

Iroh thought it might be a possibility.

"I found her crying yesterday because she's worried that I chose her over being Fire Lord," said Zuko. "She also feels like it's her fault that you were almost executed."

Now Iroh felt really worried about her, but he remained calm so as not to upset Zuko anymore than he already was.

"She doesn't need to be out on her own," said Zuko, still pacing.

"Prince Zuko, Chiara is capable of surviving on her own, better than us even..."

"That's not the point! Somebody could attack her," he said as images of the men in the marketplace village, the pirates, and the Rough Rhinos flashed through his mind.

Just as the sun was disappearing, Chiara still had not returned, and Zuko was getting ready to go look for her again. But before he had a chance to do so, she entered the camp carrying a bow and arrows.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

Before she could answer, he had wrapped himself around her and she could hardly breathe.

"You've been gone all day."

"I was upstream carving wood," she exhaled.

He released her. "Why were you so far away from camp?"

"I was looking for the right wood."

"You can't travel alone that far. It's too dangerous. We don't know who's out there looking for us."

"It really wasn't that far, and I found berry bushes," she said opening the bag she had been carrying.

Iroh immediately walked over to her to look in the bag, his eyes wide when he saw the plump red fruit, and he reached in and took a handful.

"These are quite sweet. It's a perfect dessert."

"I also found some spices and some lavender," she said.

"Oh, it will make a good tea."

"I'll get water...," she started as she picked up a bucket.

"I'll get it," said Zuko taking the bucket from her.

He walked off towards the river while Chiara knelt down near Iroh and pulled out the lavender.

"He was worried about you," said Iroh softly after Zuko disappeared. "We both were."

"I guess I lost track of time," she said.

"I understand. But he was worried that you left us."

"Really?"

"Very worried. He said you blame yourself for...for everything."

Tears came to her eyes. "You should've left me in my village," she said softly.

He was stunned by her words.

"Don't blame yourself for others' decisions, Chiara. I chose to do what I thought was right. I will never regret that decision. And do not think you're to blame for Zuko's predicament. The Fire Lord believes that he killed the Avatar..."

"What?" she interrupted. "But it wasn't Prince Zuko, was it?"

"No. It was Azula, but she told Ozai it was Zuko who killed him. Imagine how Ozai will feel when he finds out the Avatar is alive. It's best that Prince Zuko is not in the Fire Nation when that happens."

"But what about his destiny?"

"The Avatar will need to defeat the Fire Lord, and it will be Prince Zuko's responsibility to take the throne and rule the Fire Nation."

"He can never be Fire Lord as long as I'm his wife." She looked down.

"That is something we will have to leave to the future," he said.

He placed his arm around her and held her close.

When Zuko returned with the water, Chiara made lavender tea, and long after Iroh went to bed, she and Zuko sat in the clearing looking up at the stars.

"I'm sorry I worried you earlier," she said.

"I don't want anything to happen to you, Chiara," he said. "You're my destiny. The only future I want is one with you in it."

She was touched by his words, so she placed her hand on his, but he pulled his hand away and wrapped his arms around her.

"We've been together for so long, I can't imagine my life without you."

She relaxed against his warm body never wanting to leave his embrace, and it was not until they were nearly falling asleep that they reluctantly parted and went to their own tents.

The next morning Chiara got up and went down to the river to get water for the animals before starting other chores. When she arrived back at the camp, Zuko was already feeding them.

"I'll get this," he said taking the bucket from her. "You can catch breakfast."

She turned to go back to the river.

"Catch something big," he called to her.

It took her a little longer to find a larger fish, but she managed to catch one twice as big as the day before. After gutting and filleting it at the river, she returned to find Iroh working on the campfire.

"Would you mind sharpening this?" she asked Zuko handing her knife to him.

He took it from her, and after disappearing in the tent, he returned with a whetstone and his swords, and he went to work. He was watching Chiara as she gently boiled the water for the tea, and once she prepared it, she started frying the fish over the fire. He kept looking over at her as she concentrated on her work, and distracted by her, he cut his hand.

"Ow."

She looked over at him and saw blood.

"Keep an eye on this," she said to Iroh of the frying fish.

She picked up the bucket of water and kneeling down by Zuko she took his hand.

"Do you want to close your eyes?" she asked him.

He laughed. "No."

She took some water and began healing his wound. He was mesmerized by the glowing water as it surrounded his injury, and the pain was immediately replaced with a tingling feeling. A minute later he was astonished to see that the cut was gone.

"That's incredible."

"This is why we are meant to be united and not constantly at war with one another," said Iroh. "We all have gifts and abilities to share with each other."

"You could've healed this before it scarred?" he asked her softly as he touched his scar.

She tenderly caressed his face. "Does it matter now?"

"No," he said sadly, "I guess it doesn't."

She stood up and then bent over him, and after lifting his chin, she lovingly kissed him on the lips. "No, it doesn't," she said. She softly ran her fingers over the scar. "I told you before that this is a symbol of your honor, and it represents the love you have for your people." She ran her fingers through his hair.

Iroh looked over at them, and he was impressed by Chiara's words as well as the effect she had on Zuko whose heart melted at what she had said. As she straightened up, he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him and kissed her. Iroh softly laughed, and though he worried about Zuko's destiny, it warmed his heart to see them together.

After finishing their morning chores, Zuko and Chiara sparred with swords. It was a lengthy battle that seemed to go on forever as neither could defeat the other. Both were beginning feel exhausted and were starting to breathe a bit heavier, but Zuko was determined to beat her this time, and neither would give up.

As it neared lunchtime, Iroh's stomach started growling.

"You know, I think you both performed quite skillfully," he said. "You should take a break, eat some lunch."

"I've almost defeated her, Uncle," said Zuko. "She's getting tired."

"As are you," she said to him blocking a particularly aggressive move.

"Good," said Iroh. "Since you are both tired, it's time to call a draw and eat."

They continued battling.

"Now," demanded Iroh.

Zuko blocked her swing and forced her sword against the tree.

"You know he's just trying to keep me from beating you this time," he said.

"Yeah, it can't possibly be that he's hungry."

He smirked at her before releasing her sword which she held out to him.

"Do you mind sharpening this?"

He took it from her, and she went to prepare lunch.

When they finished eating, she cleaned up before picking up her bow.

"I'm going out for a bit," she said. "But I promise I'll be back early," she added so as not to worry Iroh or upset Zuko.

When Chiara returned to the camp, she was carrying their future dinner having gutted and skinned it down by the river.

Iroh's eyes grew wide. "Oh, Chiara, that looks...delicious."

She pulled her knife out and began cutting small pieces which she set aside to make jerky, and the rest she prepared over the fire. When she finished, she stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Zuko.

"To the river to clean up."

She left the camp.

"She has become quite proficient living out in the wild," said Iroh. "We could be on the run indefinitely. What would we do without her?"

Zuko wondered the same thing.

That evening after dinner, Chiara gathered all the bones and placed them in a pot over the fire to make broth, and then collecting the dishes, she stood up to carry them down to the river to clean them, but Zuko took them from her.

"You can stay here and relax," she said.

"I thought we could go swimming."

"Sounds like fun," she smiled.

At the river, she began cleaning the dishes while Zuko watched her.

"I want to learn how to skin animals," he said.

"Okay. Next time I catch something..."

"I'm going hunting next."

"Practice with that bow first before going out," she said. "I had some trouble making it, so it feels a little awkward."

She placed their clean dishes on the grass.

"Race you to the other side," he said before running into the water ahead of her.

She was laughing as she followed him in. Half way across, she created a current that pulled him back.

"That's cheating," he said.

She was casually swimming by him as he was stuck in the middle of the river. "And getting a head start isn't?"

"Not when you always beat me at swimming."

"You always beat me at running."

"So...are you just going to leave me here?" he asked.

"Just until I make it to the other side," she smiled.

As soon as she could stand on the riverbed, she stopped waterbending and he was free to move, so he swam towards her where she was now sitting on the riverbank. Walking out of the water, he dropped down next to her and leaned towards her.

"One of these days, I'm going to make you pay for that when we're sparring," he threatened before kissing her.

She softly giggled at his playful threat.

A week later, Chiara was down by the river washing clothes. As she was hanging them on a low branch to dry them out, Zuko stealthily came up behind her, grabbed her, and put a knife to her throat.

"You aren't paying attention to your surroundings," he said. "And I just killed you."

He released her.

"Then next time I should attack as soon as I hear you?" she asked.

He playfully glared at her before pulling out a sword and holding it out to her. She took it, and they began sparring, but this time he attacked her with fire. She was not expecting it, but she skillfully parried it. She smirked at him as she figured it was his revenge for her water stunt the previous week. As he continued throwing in fire attacks, she continued defending herself only with the sword.

"Why aren't you waterbending?" he asked. "That's why I chose this place."

She felt uncomfortable with the idea. "I don't think I should."

"Why not?" he asked as they continued sparring.

"What if someone sees us?"

"No one's around."

He attacked her again with fire; she avoided it, but she did not retaliate.

"You won't even practice against me?"

She hesitated.

"You need to fight back," he demanded.

He threw another fire blast in her direction, and using the river, she pulled up a wall of ice to block it. She continued fighting only defensively by throwing up more ice walls to protect herself or using water to block various attacks. They sparred for a long time, and he was impressed with her ability. He hoped she would fight offensively, but he did not push her to do so yet. Again they ended in a draw.

They walked back to camp together where she put away the clean clothes and then proceeded to fix tea for Iroh while Zuko went out hunting.

The next afternoon after finishing her morning chores, Chiara returned to the river. Zuko decided to go down to the river to see what she was doing, but he immediately became worried when he did not see her. Looking around, he finally noticed her on the other side.

"What are you doing?" he called.

She turned around. "Picking berries. Do you want to help?"

He walked into the water and then started swimming across. When he reached the shore, he stepped out and she pulled the water from his clothes so he was dry.

"That's really convenient," he said as he joined her at the berry bush. "It's definitely good having a waterbender around."

She smiled as she continued picking berries, and he started helping her.

"Oh, look," she said. "Mint." She knelt down and began pulling the mint plants. "It smells so good." She handed him some leaves and he breathed in their strong scent. "The General will love this."

He laughed to himself loving how thoughtful she was of his uncle and relieved that her discovery of various herbs kept him from experimenting with potentially poisonous plants. After foraging, they swam back to the other shore, and when they walked out of the river she pulled the water from their clothes and they returned to camp.

After lunch they went to the shore to practice sparring. As he attacked her with fire, she would defend herself with water, and after a long, exhausting battle, she raised a tidal wave of water that she brought down on him. As he stood before her looking a bit stunned, his hand empty of the flame he had been holding, she could not help laughing as he was drenched. Finding himself enjoying her smile and her laughter, he started laughing too.

"Okay, you win," he said.

She waved her hand and pulled the water off him.

As the days went by, they continued their daily chores. Zuko regularly did the hunting as he had already been proficient in archery, and Chiara had shown him how to dress his kill, a skill which he refused to learn before but now desired to do himself. Afterwards, she and Iroh would often cook it. Zuko would help Chiara by doing her more strenuous chores with her or for her. They enjoyed sparring whenever they could, and in the afternoons after working they would sometimes swim together.

One evening as Iroh was singing, Chiara joined in singing with him. As Zuko listened to them, he was thinking about how much more he enjoyed this time with his uncle and Chiara over the responsibilities of being Crown Prince. Despite being a fugitive, exiled again from the Fire Nation, he could not remember feeling so at home anywhere since he was a child.

One day Chiara was down at the river drying clothes after washing them. Zuko would often sneak up on her at different times in order to keep her prepared for an attack as well as to entertain himself. As she was working, he stealthily approached her from behind. He went to take a step closer to her, but he found himself stuck to the ground. Chiara still had her back to him diligently drying the clothes, but when he looked down, he found that his feet were covered in ice freezing him in place. He went to send a stream of fire in her direction, but she immediately turned around and drew the ice up higher.

"I thought I was a bit stealthier," he said.

She smiled as she thawed the ice, and then they sparred for a while before returning to camp.

After a few weeks at the camp, Chiara was walking through the woods heading towards the river when five men approached her.

"Look at you," said one of the men. "Do you live around here?"

She did not answer him.

"Can't you speak?" asked another.

"I'm passing through," she said softly.

"A pretty thing like you on your own?" one of them asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"So you haven't seen a couple of men from the Fire Nation traveling with a young woman, probably about your age?" asked one.

She shook her head.

"You do know there's a price on your heads," said the first. "Maybe if you tell us where they are, we can hide you and split their bounties."

She shook her head again. "I can't help you."

She turned to leave, but one of them blocked her.

"I think it's her."

"If it is, she's a waterbender."

"You'll be coming with us," said one as he grabbed her arm.

She tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong, so she kicked him causing him to release her. But another grabbed hold of her and smacked her. She began fighting off all five of them, and one of them hit her so hard she fell to the ground. Jumping up, she tried to run off, but she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her back, and then another hand grabbed her other wrist.

"We know you're with them! Where are they?!" yelled one standing in front of her.

She refused to speak, so he backhanded her and then took the diadem from her head. She kicked him away from her as hard as she could before kicking one of the men restraining her arm. When she felt her free hand, she reached down to the forest floor and grabbed a small branch which she swung at one of the men coming towards her again, and then she hit the one still holding her other wrist. As another lunged at her, she ducked down as she pulled out her knife and stabbed him in the leg. Suddenly, Zuko, in a rage, was running towards them with his swords drawn. Frightened by the look in his eyes, the one Chiara stabbed limped away as quick as he could following another who also looked terrified. Two others that remained suffered sword injuries that left a blood trail as they escaped, and the only one remaining was the one with the diadem whom Zuko detained pinning him to a tree with his swords to his throat.

"One of two things is going to hit the ground first," he said deeply. "That chain or your head."

The guy was shaking and immediately dropped the diadem. As soon as Zuko stepped back, the man took off, and Zuko bent down and picked it up before running over to Chiara.

"Chiara..." He tenderly touched her face.

"I'll be okay," she said softly.

He put his arm around her back and they quickly went back to the camp.

"What happened?" asked Iroh seeing the blood on her face.

"She was attacked by some men."

He walked her over to Iroh who wiped away some of the blood. Zuko disappeared, returning with some ointment which Iroh took to tend to her injuries.

"They were after us," said Zuko having overheard what they asked her.

"We need to move on."

"You stay with her; I'll start packing."

Zuko got up and went to bring the animals closer so he could start packing their equipment. When Iroh finished treating her wounds, she stood up to help them.

"No," said Zuko. "You stay there."

"We'll take care of everything," said Iroh.

Zuko finished packing up with Iroh's help, and then Iroh looked around.

"Too bad we don't have an earthbender to help cover our tracks."

Zuko walked over to Chiara where she had been sitting, and he knelt down in front of her. He placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted her head. Taking the damp cloth Iroh had used to clean her blood, he tenderly wiped more away as the wound was still bleeding. He caressed her face under the bruise feeling bad about her attack but also feeling angry at the men responsible. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him as tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh, Chiara," he said tenderly as he held her.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she said softly.

He caressed her head. When she released him, he pulled out her diadem and tenderly placed it around her neck.

"Thank you," she said.

He helped her to her feet and then onto the ostrich horse before climbing on behind her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'll be fine," she said softly.

"Here, lean back against me," he said as he pulled her back and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Rest your head on my shoulder and sleep. I've got you."

She leaned back against him and closed her eyes as they rode off.

They rode on into the night, and it was early in the morning when they stopped to water the animals at a river. Chiara felt recharged as she sat in the water under the bright moonlit sky.

"Are you hungry?" Zuko asked her as he sat down next to her and held out a piece of jerky.

"No thank you."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"I wish you could heal your injuries."

"They'll heal in time. Faster in the full moon."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I'm actually feeling stronger already."

"I know what you mean. I feel stronger in the sunlight."

They were silently lost in their own thoughts for a minute.

"I think those men saw us bending," she said.

"Why do you think that?"

"One of them said I was a waterbender, but I wasn't bending this morning."

"Maybe they saw you another time."

"Maybe."

"But we'll be more careful. And next time, take your sword wherever you go."

They continued talking for a while until Iroh decided it was time to go. As they stood up, Chiara waved her hand and the water fell from their clothes. Zuko helped her onto the ostrich horse, and then he climbed on behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist holding her close causing her heart to beat faster. She tenderly placed her hand on his arm as he held her not knowing that her tender touch caused his own heart to beat faster as well.