Firebenders draw their powers from the sun. The scorching heat is the source of their power, so the hotter the environment, the better they thrive. But after five long days on a weakened ostrich-horse with no food and barely enough water, Zuko started cursing the scorching source of his bending. The sun was beating down mercilessly on him as he tried to continue his journey throughout the wasteland of the Earth Kingdom. As soon as he had left the wooded area where he, Uncle and Elyrie had stayed, the environment changed as quickly as one could imagine.

Cursing himself for not paying more attention to where he was going, he realised that the wasteland was about to go on for a long time. The capital of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se, was located in the midst of a desert, but until then were there only small patches of mountain areas and small villages where there was nothing to get.

He thought he had known hunger before, but it was nothing compared to the empty and corrosive feeling he was experiencing right now. His stomach growled out at certain points and it simply hurt, that is how hungry he was. His senses started betraying him as well, because with every turn he thought he smelled, saw or even felt food near. The slightest breeze of wind seemed to carry the smell of roasted meat. Zuko inhaled the smell before halting the ostrich-horse. Squinting his eyes, he saw a fire in the distance.

Blinking, he tried to make the image disappear. Shutting his eyes tightly, he tried to ban the smell from his nostrils. He exhaled through his nose and inhaled again, but the delicious smell didn't disappear.

Giving the animal a nudge, he steered it in the direction of the mirage. At the side of the road, he saw a man roasting a piece of meat on a crackling fire, which drifted the smell in his direction.

At the sight of food so close, his stomach growled with a vengeance. Narrowing his eyes and placing his hand on his swords, he quickly estimated his opponent. The man seemed no fighter and he was unarmed. Despite Zuko's weakened state, it should be no problem to take the food from the man. If he didn't fight back, no one should have to be harmed.

The man walked with a piece to someone who sat behind the only tree for the shadow. The long hair and dress betrayed that it was a woman. Neither of them had spotted him yet, so this was an easy victory.

Just as Zuko wanted to jump off his ostrich-horse, he halted when the man knelt down in front of the woman. He handed her the food as she smiled at him gratefully. He smiled back and lovingly caressed her swollen belly. The woman was pregnant. And by the looks of it, the baby was to be due very soon.

Immediately, Zuko released his grip on his swords. They were fugitives as well, he realised at that moment as his gaze went over their meagre possessions. No one in their right mind would be travelling in her condition if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Don't you think the Fire Nation took enough from them? Elyrie's voice kept ringing in his ear. Turning his head away from the familial picture, he urged his animal to keep moving forward to prevent himself from being tempted any longer. "Great," he murmured as he went on, "Now my conscience sounds like her."

Most of the time, the nagging voice in the back of his head sounded like his Uncle. It sometimes even gave him proverbs, although he never understood them even when his own mind was making them up. And now, he had another voice to keep it company and criticize every thought that came into his head.

That is your curse. You are required to love me even when I vex you. Elyrie's laugh sounded in his ear before he shook his head. I am losing my mind, he thought to himself. The hunger and thirst, combined with the heat, made his vision blurry and he felt completely exhausted.

After walking for a few more miles, a small and rather poor-looking village appeared at the side of the road. The houses were small and poorly constructed: the wood was rotting on the roofs, as well as on the walls. He had hoped for something more, but this was the best under the circumstance and he dismounted his ostrich-horse by the nearest store. Across the store, Zuko saw four men playing some sort of game with dices. He didn't pay much attention to the dirty looks they shot at him as he walked to the counter.

"Could I get some water, a bag of feed and something hot to eat?" he asked, his voice raspy from the thirst. He held out his hand to show the merchant the two last copper coins. Uncle had given him half the money they had left so he wouldn't be completely without resources.

"Not enough here for a hot meal." The owner looked at him with pained eyes. If he could, he would have given the young man a sufficient meal but there was simply not enough food left. "I can get you two bags of feed?" he offered as he motioned to the ostrich-horse, "And you can tap the water by the pump in the square if you wish."

Zuko looked down, feeling the disappointment in his chest when he heard that there was no food here to sell. At least I can drink, he mused as he nodded to store owner. When the man disappeared to get the bags of feed, Zuko saw two children hiding behind the store counter.

One of them giggled and threw an egg to the gambling men. Even though Zuko didn't turn around, the indignant cry from one of the men indicated that the egg had hit its target. The children ran off as soon as they'd seen that their throw had been successful.

"Hey!" came the loud voice from behind Zuko, "You throwing eggs at us, stranger?" The man spoke in a threatening manner.

"No." Zuko replied stoically without turning around.

"You see who did throw it?" the man insisted.

"No." Zuko said again as he turned around to face the man. He wasn't going to tell those men that it had been two kids. He examined the four men standing in front of him. They all wore the same green-coloured armour and carried different weapons: a spear, a sword and the largest man wielded two hammers. By the looks of it, these men were Earth Kingdom soldiers. And based on the egg-throwing incident, they didn't seem popular around these parts. Zuko could see why: they looked like straight up thugs with their arrogant attitudes. He had seen their kind before: when you gave small men like them power, it goes to their heads like a strong drink.

"Is that your favourite word? No?" one of the soldiers asked him. Zuko bit his lip to not reply with 'no' again, since it would only further provoke them.

"Egg had to come from somewhere." The largest man with the hammers insisted. He was probably the leader, based on the fact that the rest stood behind him.

"Maybe a chicken flew over." Zuko shrugged and turned around again, hoping that the owner would hurry up with the bags of feed. He wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. Besides, he was too tired and too hungry to fight them.

The store owner returned with his bags but before Zuko could even reach for them, the largest soldier took them.

"Thanks for your contribution," he said with a sadistic smile, "The army appreciates your support." He threw the bags to his fellow soldiers and turned back around to Zuko. "You better leave town," he added in a threating voice as he patted his hammer in a menacing way, "Penalty for staying is a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger. Trust me." With one last disdainful look on Zuko, the men turned around and left.

"Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation," the store owner said in a bitter voice, "But they're just a bunch of thugs."

The mention of the Fire Nation made Zuko's chest constrict, so without saying another word he walked toward his ostrich-horse. Just as he was about to re-mount it, a little figure popped up from behind the animal.

"Thanks for not ratting me out!" a voice said. Zuko blinked in confusion as a pair of big eyes in the skinny face of a child looked at him with awe. Zuko was too tired to reply. Besides, his friendly gesture had cost him his last two coins and he still had nothing to feed himself or his tired ostrich-horse.

"I'll take you to my house and feed your ostrich-horse for you! Come on, I owe you." The boy pulled the reins of the animal with him and Zuko was too surprised to protest. And maybe too relieved as well by the promise of food.

Just outside of the small town was the farm, which apparently belonged to the boys' parents. The sounds of oinking cow-pigs and sheep-hogs welcomed them as they walked past their enclosers.

"No one can ever sneak up on us." The boy grinned as the oinks grew louder.

"No kidding." Zuko answered with a hint of a smile at the lively sounds of the animals. The boy pulled the ostrich-horse with him to a small barn and left Zuko alone to exchange an awkward glance with a rooster-swine.

Zuko looked around the small farm. Located on the plains, it was surrounded by dried grass patches. However, it wasn't as dry and dusty as the rest of the land he had seen on his way here. The farm consisted of an old but well-kept farmhouse, a small pig pen, a thatched barn and in the distance could Zuko see a sunflower field. With both the livestock and their own vegetable garden, these people were able to feed themselves.

"You a friend of Lee's?" a voice asked him and brought him out of his musings. In front of him stood a man with a sunburned face. Zuko estimated that he was around forty years old and was most likely the boy's father.

The boy, Lee apparently, came back running out of the barn. He grabbed his father's arm in excitement as he pointed to Zuko. "This guy just stood up to the soldiers!" he exclaimed while jumping up and down, "By the end, he practically had them running away!"

Just when Zuko was about to protest about the overexcitement, a woman came forward to join her husband and son. She was wiping her hands on a rag as she smiled at Zuko.

"Does this guys have a name?" she asked kindly when she looked at the stranger with an inquisitive look.

"I'm, eh." Zuko stuttered. The boy's name was Lee and it would be suspicious to say it was his name as well. He tried to think of another name – he refused to call himself Mushi – but the father saw his discomfort.

"He doesn't have to say it if he doesn't want to, Sela." The father answered for Zuko, "Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms." Zuko didn't miss the bitterness in his voice and he wondered how much problems those soldiers had already caused in this small town.

"The real soldiers are off fighting the war," Shela said to Zuko, "like Lee's big brother Sensu." She paused for a moment as she looked at Zuko's famished form. "Supper will be ready soon, would you like to stay?"

"I can't." Zuko said, even though his empty stomach protested, "I should be moving on." In truth, he didn't want to take advantage of these kind people. He tried to do it to Song, but Elyrie had called him out for his intention to steal from them. Voice of conscience, Zuko mused as he remembered her persistence. He knew she had been right, but it had been so hard to care at that time. He had felt as if the bottom was knocked out of his existence and he kept falling deeper and deeper. He didn't care about other people's feelings.

But after travelling alone, he slowly started to realise how lucky he had been to travel with the constant company of his Uncle. He had taken him for granted during those long years on the ship. He had always been there, so it had been hard to finally be alone for the first time.

As for Elyrie, he missed her smiles. He missed that she could make him smile, even when he didn't want to. However, as soon as she told him off about his desperation he had wanted to shut her out. He wanted to get away from his Uncle's protection and from Elyrie's optimism. And only now did he fully realise how much he had taken for granted.

No use to dwell on it now, but he could learn from it. He didn't want to take food from people who had already lost so much in the war.

"Gansu could use some help on the barn." Shela said as she shot her husband a knowing look. "Why don't you two work for a while and then we eat?" She saw that this young man didn't want to take something without doing anything for it, which she respected. However, her motherly instincts felt the need to feed this hungry young man, probably no older than her own son who was fighting at the front. One way or another, she would give him some kind of nourishment.

And luckily, this time the young man did accept the offer.

That evening at the table, Zuko ate in silence as he listened to the conversations of Lee and his parents. They didn't bother him with invasive questions or tried to figure out where he came from. Instead, they kept filling his plate and talked about such simple things as feeding the cow-pigs and wielding the vegetables. Lee told his parents about the egg- incident and while his mother gently scolded him, his father smiled and agreed with his young son.

Zuko didn't feel the need to participate in the conversation, but he did listen. Involuntarily, his attention went to Gansu as he watched the man interact with his family. The small gestures, such as the loving gaze to his wife or the patting on the head of his son, seemed almost foreign to Zuko. Gansu listened to their questions and answered them as best he could, without ever sounding patronizing. As for Zuko himself, he was grateful that the man had forbidden Lee to continue asking him personal questions.

After dinner, Zuko accepted their offer to sleep in the barn since it wasn't safe to travel the roads alone at night. As he let himself rest in the hey, he thought about his own family and the way they had talked to each other. It hadn't been anything like this. At least not since his mother had left.

"That's what moms are like." Ursa said as she put her arm around her young son, "If you mess with their babies…," and she playfully bit behind Zuko's ear.

The memory of his mother always reminded him of when they had been a happy family. Of the relaxed sphere in the Royal Palace, of her loving advice and support.

His father and Azula he remembered differently.

Zuko shivered despite the heat of the flames. His grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, was seated behind the wall of flames while listening to his son's requests. Azula sat next to Zuko along with Ursa and Ozai.

"You'll never catch up." His sister whispered to him after she had displayed her talents as a firebending prodigy.

He tried to replicate his sister's movements, but he failed miserably.

"Enough!" the booming voice of Azulon, still strong despite his advancing age, "Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pomp? Just tell me what you want."

He had been send away, accused of wasting the time of his own grandfather. He turned on his side in the hey as he tried to repress the flow of memories that filled his head.

The creaking sound of the door surprised him as he lay still in the hey. Soft footsteps approached him, but Zuko's trained ears immediately registered that it was only Lee. Without moving, he heard the boy picking up the dual swords and sneaked them outside.

Zuko repressed a smile at the boy's eagerness as he stood up from the pile of hey and followed him outside. He wasn't mad at Lee, because he understood the curiousness of the little boy. He had been one himself, a long time ago.

He had done the same thing to Lu Ten for that matter. His cousin hadn't been a bender, but he was very proficient with his swords. He even studied under Master Piandao to become a master swordsman. Despite being a bender himself, Zuko had practically begged to be allowed to train with the Master as well. His father had been opposed to the idea, but his mother and Iroh had persuaded him to allow his son to learn as much as possible.

"You are holding them wrong." Zuko said calmly as Lee fell backwards in his surprise. He had been awkwardly poking the wooden beam in the middle of the sunflower field with the swords but it had little effect.

With a guilty look on his face, Lee returned to swords to Zuko. He took them, but instead of scolding the boy he showed him the essence of the two swords.

"Keep in mind, these are dual swords." Zuko said as he placed the two blades against each other, "Two halves of a single weapon." He repeated the lessons of Master Piandao when he had instructed him to use the dual swords. At first, he had been hesitant about using two halves instead of one powerful sword. Master Piandao had explained to him that the division of power doesn't mean that it weakens your skill but increases it.

"Don't think of them as separate, because they're not." He started swinging around the swords to demonstrate his skill. "They're just two different parts of the same whole."

He handed back the swords to Lee, who tried it again. A little more careful and a little less awkward, he followed Zuko's instructions. Zuko nodded with a smile as Lee started to swing the swords in the proper way. His agility made him jump around the flower field like a little feather.

"I think you'd really like my brother Sensu," Lee said when they walked back to the farm, "He used to show me stuff like this all the time." Zuko only smiled as he returned to the barn.

The next morning, Zuko mounted his ostrich-horse to continue his journey. Gansu, Shela and Lee all came to see him off. For some reason, it made him actually happy that the family would take the trouble to see him off while he was no more than a mere stranger.

Shela reached up and offered Zuko a small package. "Here," She said in a motherly voice, "This ought to get you through a few meals."

Just when Zuko wanted to take the food and thank the family for their hospitality, they saw a cloud of dust forming in the distance. Without much effort, Zuko recognized the soldiers from the village.

"What do you think they want?" Gansu asked as he clenched his jaw.

"Trouble." Zuko answered with a dark look on his face.

"What do you want, Gow?" Gansy asked when the soldiers stopped in front of them.

"Just though someone ought to tell you that your son's battalion got captured." Gow answered with a sly smile as he turned to his fellow soldiers, "You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group op Earth Kingdom prisoners?"

"Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms and put 'em on the front line unarmed, the way I heard it." a skinny soldier answered cruelly. Zuko felt as if he was punched in his stomach. He wanted to say that the men were liars and bullies, but he knew all to well that it was indeed one of the tactics the Fire Nation used for prisoners.

The soldier spat on the ground as he added: "Then they just watched."

"You watch your mouth!" Gansu shouted angrily at the soldier.

Gow's face darkened and he rode a little more toward Gansu, but Zuko swiftly moved his ostrich-horse between them. He glared at the large soldier without saying a word.

"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" Gow shrugged after a few seconds. They rode off with a cloud of dust behind them.

Gansu and Shela didn't even bother to look at them as they rode off. "I'm going to the front," Gansu said, "I'm going to find Sensu and bring him back." Zuko watched the pair walking away, heartbroken by the news. Lee looked at the ground as his eyes were rimmed with tears.

In an impulse, Zuko reached into his satchel and took out the dagger his Uncle had gifted him many years before. It had belonged to an Earth Kingdom General, so it would only be fitting to give it back to the Earth Kingdom. "Here," Zuko said as he gave the dagger to Lee, "I want you to have this. Read the inscription."

"Made in the Earth Kingdom." Lee read. Zuko sighed. "The other one."

"Never give up without a fight." Lee read with a faint smile. Zuko smiled to himself as he rode off.

For some reason, Zuko didn't feel like traveling further. When the sun was at his highest, he laid down in the grass and stared at the blue sky.

"Dad's going to kill you!" Azula taunted him, "Really, he is!"

Elyrie looked at Zuko with alarmed eyes, but Zuko scoffed at his sister. Azula had pushed open the door and stood in the opening, leaning relaxed against the doorframe. Zuko was sitting on his bed while Elyrie had nestled herself in the large chair against the wall. With the open door, she was just out of sight of Azula.

"Haha." Zuko said in an annoyed voice, "Nice try, Azula!"

"Fine, don't believe me," Azula answered casually, "But I heard everything. Grandfather said that Dad's punishment should fit his crime." The fourteen year old Princess lowered her voice to imitate the Fire Lord. "You must know the pain of losing a first-born son, by sacrificing your own!"

"Liar!' Zuko yelled at her.

Elyrie kept quiet as she saw Azula approach her brother. She moved with the stealth of a predator, waiting to pounce on her prey. Elyrie wondered whether she should be here for this, but Zuko had asked her to come after the audience with the Fire Lord to talk to her about the death of Lu Ten. She too was saddened by the news. She knew Zuko had looked up to his older cousin, almost like an older brother. Azula, on the other hand, seemed not terribly shaken by the news.

Azula turned around the bedframe while she continued to taunt her brother. "I'm only telling you for your own good," she said in a sweet voice, "I know! Maybe you can find a nice Earth Kingdom family to adopt you."

"Go away, Azula." Zuko snarled at his sister as he turned back to Elyrie. "Don't listen to her." He said to the blue eyed girl, whose eyes were focussed on Azula's face now.

Azula's face faltered slightly when she saw that Zuko wasn't alone as she had expected. The look on the face of the other girl was unmistakable: she believed what Azula told her brother. Azula narrowed her amber eyes to her as she tried to make out her reaction on this.

"My father would never do that to me." Zuko said to Elyrie, although she wasn't completely sure he tried to convince her or himself.

"Your father would never do what to you?' a soft voice asked, "What is going on here?" Ursa walked into the room with a stern look on her face.

"I don't know!" Azula said in an innocent voice but her eyes quickly went to Elyrie's face. Ursa followed her daughter's look and saw that Elyrie's eyes were widened in shock. The little girl said nothing as she quickly looked away from the piercing gaze of the Fire Nation Princess, but Ursa knew her well enough to see that something had shocked her.

"It's time for a talk." Ursa said firmly while she grabbed Azula's arm. On her way out, Azula shot Elyrie an angry look for getting her into trouble but Elyrie didn't even see it. Instead, she focused her gaze on Zuko.

"Azula always lies." He only said, not to her but to himself, "Azula always lies."

"Azula always lies." Zuko mumbled to himself.

"Mama?" the eight year old girl asked as she lowered her spoon, "Can I ask something about the Fire Lord?"

Thyra looked at her daughter, who had spoken to her in her native tongue. She smiled when she heard the unmistakable accent of the Water Tribe royal family. Most citizens swallowed the vowels, but her daughter's speech was impeccable and she articulating every syllable. Her blue eyes, so much like her own, looked at her with a curious look.

"Darling," she said gently, "Papa is here as well. It wouldn't be fair to leave him out of the conversation, now would it?"

The girl quickly shook her head, her curls dancing around as she did it. "Why doesn't the Fire Lord like Zuko?" she asked, switching to the Common Tongue with ease.

Jian understood some Water Tribe Tongue, so he wasn't surprised by her question. Elyrie saw that her parents exchanged a quick look. "Why would you ask that?" Jian asked as he looked at his only daughter.

"Well," she said with the courage of an eight year old, "When I was there, Zuko asked the Fire Lord if he could show him his firebending exercises, but he walked away without an answer and Zuko looked very sad about it."

"Lily, the Fire Lord is a busy man." Her father said while glancing at his wife.

"You are a busy man," his daughter pointed out, "But you talk with me."

Jian pressed his lips together to prevent himself from smiling. He was actually impressed by his daughters perceptiveness. Nevertheless, it was a dangerous subject to discuss the Fire Lord's private affairs. It wasn't odd that Elyrie noticed these things with all the time she spend at the Palace with Zuko and Princess Ursa, but she needed to be careful. Especially since she didn't have any restrictions in asking these questions. She could have asked the Fire Lord himself -just because she was curious – without any idea of the inappropriateness.

"I don't think he dislikes Zuko," Thyra slowly said as she tapped her slender fingers on the wooden table, "But he isn't the kind of father who spends a lot of time with his children.

"Then what kind of father is he?" Elyrie asked

She never got her answer. At least not from her parents, that is. Elyrie sighed as she sat down against the trunk of a tree. The shadow was welcome after a long day of walking through the scorching sun. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she closed her eyes for a moment as she thought about all the things she could discuss with her parents. She could ask everything she wanted, but she had to promise that she did not tell others. What is said within these walls, needs to stay within these walls. Her father had repeated the sentence multiple times whenever they were discussing something not entirely appropriate for the social circles they moved in.

Everything could be discussed and her parents always answered her questions. But the most pressing question was one she would never get an answer to.

"Uncle," Elyrie began as she took her cup from his hands, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dear." Uncle answered as he poured his own tea and took a sip.

"Why do you think my parents never told me the truth about my heritage?" The question had been going through her head a couple of weeks since she had learned the truth. She knew it was mostly to protect her mother and her, as well as her father. But had they been planning to keep the secret forever? "I mean, if they wanted me to know they would have told me before they died?"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Iroh answered pensively, "Your mother was taken by the influenza in a couple of weeks. You were very young back then and you maybe didn't understand the gravity of the situation yet. However, your father might have planned to tell you if he hadn't so suddenly been taken as well."

There was truth in those words, but it made it even more frustrating for her. "So, they might have told me one day but it was something that by coincidence never happened?"

"Maybe," Iroh answered while he lowered his cup, "And maybe, if you are patient, the answer will one day come to you in an unexpected way. Just have faith."

"You know," she answered while twisting her ring around her finger, "Patience is something that might solve a lot of issues, but for now I would very much like the answers."

He knew she referred to Zuko among those issues. It was true: the past week they had been tracking him throug the deserted wasteland. She didn't complain and kept up with him, but he saw the strain it had on her. Her skin was sunburned due to the excessive sunlight and her fair skin wasn't prepared for it. She had lost weight as well, no doubt due to the long walks and less than satisfactory food. Her singing had provided them with enough money to eat, but they couldn't afford to spend it lavishly. They had been tracking Zuko throughout this wasteland, but kept their distance. He understood why she felt frustrated: they had literally nothing else to do except to wait.

"I am going to the village for some more water." Elyrie said while grabbing the waterskin with her and placing her cap on to prevent her skin from more excessive sunlight. "Bring some fruit as well!" Iroh called after her, "I miss the taste of healthy food!"

Elyrie grinned as she walked out of the shaded tree area to the dusty main road which led to the nearest village. As she walked down the hill, the heat of the setting sun scorched the wasteland. The damaged road signs indicated that the area was a poor one, but almost every poor village had at least a water pump so it didn't discourage her. At the foot of the hill was a small village with weathered houses, which indeed indicated that this wasn't a particularly wealthy place.

She immediately saw a friendly face when she walked into town. An older woman with her grey hair in a bun was sweeping in front of her house. The dust of the hot day had settled on the rough planks, which obviously ached her hands to clean it. Nevertheless, she looked up and smiled kindly when Elyrie approached her.

"Good afternoon," Elyrie greeted the older woman in a polite tone as she took off her cap, "Can I perhaps fill my waterskin here?"

"Yes, of course." The woman answered with a smile as she pointed in the direction behind Elyrie, "The pump is-," but she was interrupted before she could finish her sentence. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw someone standing behind Elyrie. Elyrie noticed that her grip on the broom tightened and she turned around to see what scared the woman.

"Another stranger." A large man said to her as she turned around. It didn't sound like a question, so Elyrie didn't answer. Besides, she didn't want any trouble so she just lowered her eyes. Tapping his hammers menacingly while looking at her, it seemed as if the man was inspecting her. "We see a lot of your kind lately." he continued as Elyrie avoided to look at him.

"I'm only passing through." She answered briefly as she showed the waterskin she wanted to fill.

"We don't want to keep seeing strangers taking our resources. We need those to fight the Fire Nation." he said to her in an arrogant tone.

I'm sure you do, Elyrie thought. She had been around soldiers enough to see which one's were fighting and which one's showed off their new status to oppress other people. This man was definitely the latter, with his obvious display of his armour and weapons.

"Sir!" A soldier dressed in a similar uniform peered his head around the house, "You better come see this! He's back." The large man cursed under his breath and immediately walked off without so much as a second glance in Elyrie's direction.

"Who's back?" Elyrie asked the older woman, but she had already dropped her broom and started hobbling towards the square. Elyrie couldn't help but follow.

In the middle of the town was a square on which the main road into town ended. Elyrie had chosen for a side road to avoid arriving where all eyes were on her. But as she walked to the side of the main road, she saw a large tower, build from crooked pieces of wood. The water pump stood next to it, but that wasn't what drew Elyrie's attention. She saw a small boy, probably no older than eight years old, tied to the tower. His small body was almost entirely covered up in the thick ropes and he was put on display as a criminal.

"Why is he tied up?" she asked in disbelief when she looked at the child, surrounded by Earth Kingdom soldiers. "He stood up against those ruffians." The older woman whispered back, "They captured him to use him in the army."

"But he is just a kid!" Elyrie whispered as she placed her hand over her mouth. She had seen boys no older than sixteen training to become soldiers, but this was something that was incomprehensible. "Those barbarians don't care about that." Another man said to Elyrie while leaning on his walking stick, "They'd do anything to make our lives miserable."

Elyrie's heart went out to the little kid, but when she expected to see fear in the child's eyes, she saw hope. "See!" she heard the little boy shout, "I told you he'd come!"

Elyrie followed the gaze of the soldiers to a lonely figure standing next to an ostrich-horse. He took of his straw hat and walked confidently towards the four men. The sun behind him made Elyrie's eyes squint as she tried to make out the figure. But before she could even recognise his face, she heard the familiar baritone voice.

"Let the kid go."

Gow laughed when Zuko approached him. "Who do you think you are?" he sneered at him, "Telling us what to do?"

"It doesn't matter who I am." Zuko replied impassively as he seized up the men in front of him, "But I know who you are. You're not soldiers; you're bullies. Freeloaders, abusing your power. Mostly over women and kids." To his satisfaction, he saw Gow's jaw clench at the insult. "You don't want Lee in your army – you're sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war."

Gow narrowed his eyes as the stranger kept insulting him, but he wasn't that stupid to fight him just like that. That's were his men were for. "Are you gonna let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" he asked the soldier next to him.

The soldier nodded and ran forward with his spear in his hand. Elyrie's eyes followed the man as he ran toward Zuko, who had placed his hand on his sword. Just as the soldier was close enough to attack him, Zuko bended forward and punched the man in the stomach without even fully unsheathing his swords.

In a smooth motion, he re-sheathed his swords as he straightened his back. The soldier fell backwards with a cry. As soon as he was able to get up, he ran away while panting heavily in fear. So much for bravery, Elyrie thought as she saw the man running out of sight as fast as his legs could carry him.

She focused again on Zuko as the second soldier prepared his attack. Running faster than his first soldier, he held his spear higher as he approached Zuko. Without even blinking, Zuko punched the spear upward to move it out of the way and grabbed onto the man's forehead. Pushing him down with little effort, he shoved the man to the ground. He didn't punch or attack him in any other way, but the man followed the example of his predecessor.

With two of his soldiers gone, Gow felt his face heat up in anger. He roughly pushed the last one forward to silence this stranger for ever. The third man charged toward Zuko with his spear as well. For a moment, Zuko stood motionless as the man came closer. Waiting until the spear was close enough, he kicked the spear right in the middle. It snapped like a twig when the spearhead, along with the other half of the weapon, went flying in the other direction. This time, the soldier didn't even wait to see how Zuko would shove him to the ground and ran off like the two men before him.

Pathetic, Zuko thought with disdain. Like all bullies, these men were just cowards. As he raised his chin, his eyes locked with those of Gow.

With the last of his cronies gone, Gow had no other choice but to fight the man himself. He drew his dual hammers, with Zuko following his example as he drew his broadswords.

"Give him a left!" the man next to Elyrie cheered, "A left!"

"It's not a fistfight." The older woman said to him.

"He's got a left sword, don't he?" the man answered as he pointed to Zuko's swords.

Elyrie felt a smile tugging at the ends of her lips, but it quickly disappeared when the soldier threw three large rocks at Zuko. This was no honourable way of fighting: The soldier used weapons and bending against a man who only wielded weapons. She knew, the only one here, that it could become a fair fight if Zuko used his own bending. And that was exactly what he couldn't do.

"Look out!" the man shouted at the same time Elyrie yelled: "Behind you!"

She saw what Uncle had meant when he talked about the offensive strategy of firebending. Zuko was a master swordsman, but he was forced in the defence. He had no time to become offensive in his attacks, which was something he was used to. Instead, he was avoiding the rocks being thrown at him as best as he could. The third one hit him hard in the stomach an he stumbled backwards. Gow saw his defence falter and continued shooting rocks at Zuko. Elyrie dug her nails into her cheeks as she saw Zuko having more and more trouble keeping up and deflecting the attacks.

A loud gasp escaped her lips when Gow aimed a rockalanche at Zuko. The impact of the attack made her cringe as she saw Zuko being thrown back on the hard ground.

Zuko landed straight on his back and the impact knocked the air out of his lungs. Completely dazed for a moment, he was unable to stand back up.

Zuko, please, my love, listen to me, his mother's voice whispered in his ear, Everything I've done, I've done to protect you. Remember this, Zuko: no matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.

"Get up!" Elyrie whispered. She was sure he didn't hear her, but she instantly saw his eyes snap open and with a loud cry, he pushed himself up. Swinging his swords around, the heat of flames touched Elyrie's skin. She shielded her eyes against the bright light of the flames which now surrounded Zuko.

The force of the attack knocked Gow backwards. He hit his head as he landed on the hard floor in a cloud of dust, which filled his lungs. "Who-," Gow coughed, "Who are you?" He was now reduces to a small, quivering man as he backed away in fear.

"My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne" Elyrie heard his baritone voice answer.

"The Prince of the Fire Nation?" People murmured to themselves as they involuntarily backed away from Zuko after his revelation. Elyrie bit her lip when she saw Zuko's eyes go over the crowd. Afraid he would recognize her, she quickly pulled her cap over her eyes and stepped behind the man with the walking stick.

"Liar!" shouted the man suddenly at Zuko. Elyrie was startled by his loud response and backed away as the man continued his rant. "I've heard of you! You're not a Prince, you're an outcast!" Waving with his stick in Zuko's direction as if he was an annoying fly, he yelled to the crowd. "His own father burned and disowned him!"

How did he know? Elyrie thought in shock. Almost no one was aware of the true cause of Zuko's absence, not even Fire Nation citizens. Especially Fire Nation citizens, she mused as she remembered the propaganda about the Crown Prince travelling the world. No further explanation was given and the people who had attended the Agni Kai understood that there was not to be spoken about what had happened.

For a few seconds, Elyrie was completely rendered speechless, unable to move or defend him as more citizens started to throw insults at Zuko. For the first time, she truly understood prejudices and hostility in the war-torn country. The suspicious looks people in the Water Tribe had given her had been hurtful enough, but to be completely shunned like Zuko was at this moment was a hundred times worse. She felt tears pricking behind her eyes as she saw Zuko squatting down in front of the boy he had just saved, but he and his mother rebuffed his gesture.

"Serves him just right." The older man said next to Elyrie as she saw Zuko walk away.

"How dare you" she suddenly snapped at the older man as his words brought her out of her trance, "He just did what no one in this village had the courage to do. He defended the boy and this is how you repay him?" Her voice was like a knife as she stepped forward. "Shame on all of you." She turned to all the other citizens who gaped at her. Some had the decency to look ashamed, but most of them scoffed at her.

She wanted to walk to Zuko, but she felt a soft hand on her wrist holding her back. She wanted to shove it away in her anger, but she looked right into Uncle's kind face. The look in his eyes told her that he had seen the whole fight, as well as the reveal.

"But-," she began, motioning to Zuko who mounted his ostrich-horse. Uncle simply shook his head without letting go of her. "He needs to be alone right now."

"But he is hurting! We can't just let him ride off?" she asked in disbelief as she felt Uncle's grip on her wrist tighten.

"If we approach him now, he will not be able to bear it." Uncle calmly answered, "He doesn't want to be pitied so he would only push you away."

Don't pity me! She remembered that was what he had said to her during their last conversation. Her heart went out to him as he rode out of town by himself. The citizens gave him cold stares as he rode by without anyone saying so much as a word. Elyrie only averted her gaze when she saw Zuko riding out of the town.

She let Uncle guide her back to their camp, but on their way they walked past the young boy and his mother. A small crowd had gathered around them and Uncle squeezed her hand, but she couldn't help herself.

"You must be grateful that he saved your son" Elyrie said in a regal tone as she stopped in her tracks. The mother looked at her in surprise and opened her mouth to retort, but Elyrie simply lifted her hand. "No need." she said calmly, surprised by how even her voice sounded, "I understand that prejudices are more important than actions."

The mother closed her mouth again and looked somewhat shameful. The boy had hidden himself behind her and said nothing. "I hate him" he suddenly shouted with anger in his eyes as he looked at her. Elyrie only nodded at him. "Make sure you remember that the next time he is not here to save you."

Iroh said nothing as he tugged on her arm to take her back, but he felt torn inside. It was painful to see how deep people could be hurt by the war. So deeply hurt that they would reject a man based on the place he was born, as they had done to Zuko. He had hoped that his nephew would receive the praise and gratitude he deserved, but the road ahead of him was never that smooth.

He squeezed Elyrie's hand again to reassure her, but he saw in her eyes the same pain he felt. Not for themselves, but for the young man they both loved. The man who showed who he really was and got shunned as a result of it.

Destiny is a funny thing, he mused to himself as the sky darkened above him and the first stars started to appear, but I hope that it one day will be Zuko's friend.