Koza didn't move, she didn't speak, and she didn't breathe. All she could do was stare with blank unease. Fulay waited with a patient expression, cautiously waiting for any kind of reaction. Besides Koza, Huvanni felt as still as a statue. It was a stalemate that felt like it lasted for a thousand moments before Koza found her voice.

"Not… not my mother? Is that some kind of sick joke?" Koza spat, pushing her trembling voice to instead respond with anger.

"I wish it was." Fulay responded shortly, her eyes heavy. Koza wanted to throw up.

"What are you talking about? If you're not my mother then… Who are you? Who is my mother? Father, Ojin who are-?" She stammered, her forced anger unable to hold its ground against her fear.

"Shio Kan is your father, that much is true," Fulay took a deep inhale. "It's not all an entire lie. But I'm afraid the entire explanation is… quite the story."

"We have time." Koza said definitively, gritting her teeth. "You don't get to just drop something like that and walk away. I want to hear everything. Tell me exactly what you're talking about." Fulay closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them once more.

"If you insist, Koza… Well, I married Shio Kan as soon as I turned sixteen. He had just started working for the Fire Lord, and had met me through interactions with my parents- who were both very wealthy. When he showed up at our doorstep and asked my father for my hand, we all agreed it was a perfect match. My family would get political power, his family would get access to all of our wealth, and I… Well, I fell as soon as I saw him. He was so charming when he was young- tall, strong, and enough ambition to shoot for the moon. I couldn't believe he would choose me over every other girl in the Fire Nation. Deep down, I knew he didn't love me. I knew he saw me as nothing more than a means to an end, a way to get what he wanted in life. But I ignored the truth that was right in front of me because… because I loved him. I was very naive.

"He treated me well enough, I suppose. During the few times he was home, anyway. Shio was never a cruel man, but he wasn't a loving husband by any means. He treated me exactly as he saw me: A way to increase his status. Not as a wife or a partner, but as a tool. I tried my best to win him over, to make him love me in the way that I loved him. I was the perfect wife for the first five years we were married, but nothing ever changed. But when I found out I was pregnant with Ojin, I was overjoyed. I thought that, with a child around, all of our problems would finally go away. That once our son was born, something inside him would suddenly click and he'd realize that he truly did love me. But… once again, I was wrong.

"While I grew our son in my body, Shio became distant and cold. He would make these- these awful faces every time I entered a room, like just the sheer sight of me was disgusting. He would always comment about how tired I looked, how my body was absolutely repulsive. For nine months, I felt like a complete and utter failure of a spouse. Like nothing I could do would ever be good enough for him. But what could I do about it? I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him. Despite his cruelty, I still loved him. And I would stand by him like a good wife would. I would stand by him even when he lost his temper and burned a hole in our curtains. I would stand by him when he wouldn't come home for a month straight. And I would stand by him even when he came home with wrinkled clothes and messy hair."

Koza felt her breath get caught in her throat. She had always had her suspicions of her parents simultaneously having affairs, but she never thought it would actually be acknowledged. Fulay seemed to catch on to Koza's expression and nodded grimly.

"I became aware of his cheating about a month after Ojin was born. He was such a good father to Ojin, he really was. He loved his son more than anything in this world, and he treated him as such. His attitude towards me changed after I gave birth… a bit, but not by much. He still had his outbursts and his bad days, and he still never had that spark of affection towards me. Things seemed to be slowly getting better, but… everyday he came home late, I knew. I knew that every crease on his suit, with every scratch on his back, he was giving himself to another. Showing some random woman the affection that I couldn't give him. I knew, and he knew that I knew. But we never talked about it. It became just as normal as anything else in our lives: The sky is blue, I have to pick up groceries today, my husband's sleeping with another woman. And I had somehow convinced myself that it was completely normal. That he was simply stressed at work and didn't want to bother me, so he was just having a small fling. That it didn't mean anything to him. That I was truly the only one Shio Kan loved in this world.

"Well… I suppose the affair had gotten further than even he had intended it to go. That… that bastard told me the day after my birthday. Ojin had recently turned two, and Shio asked me to go on a walk after dinner. He had never done that before, I thought he was finally trying to be an affectionate husband. I should've known better. I should've expected it from him. We walked in silence for quite some time, before he stopped. Fulay, I can't keep this from you for any longer. There's this woman named Kiora, he said. I've been seeing her for some time now. Kiora, I thought, so the bitch has a name! I sincerely apologize for being unfaithful to you, my love. She means nothing to me, I assure you. You are my wife, and the only woman I've ever loved. But… But what, Shio? But she has informed me that she is expecting my child.

"That… Spirits, that was my breaking point. I let loose everything I had on him, screaming and calling him every name under the sun until I was hoarse. How could he do this to me? How could he do this to Ojin? Dishonoring his family name by having a child out of wedlock! He looked so.. so broken at my words. I've never seen that man look as utterly shattered as he did that day. It was a mistake, he told me, please forgive me, my love. I promise you she means nothing. It was all a mistake."

Fulay stopped and took a breath, her entire body shaking. Under the pale moonlight, she finally looked her age. No fake smiles, no overacting- before Koza was a woman who looked so incredibly hurt.

"I ignored him for three entire months," Fulay continued. "Three entire months of acting like he didn't even exist. I wouldn't even let him come near Ojin during that time, I was so angry. That poor boy was so confused at why he couldn't see his Dad, but I couldn't explain to him why. Shio was completely distraught during that time; he tried everything he could to prove his remorse. Bought me jewelry, sent me love letters from work- he actually showed me real affection for the first time in almost eight years. And you know what I did after those three months? I forgave him. I took him back and forgave his mistakes. Because what else could I have done? Even after knowing of his deception, I still loved him.

"Once we had made up, we had to eventually discuss what was to be done with his bastard child. Kiora, he had told me, resided in Hiramina- a town close to the Capital City. She had no living relatives and lived in extreme poverty, and wasn't confident she'd be able to properly raise their child…. If there is one good thing I can say about Shio Kan, it is that he cares for his children like no other. I knew the idea of his child living so far away, growing up without knowing where they'd get their next meal was eating him up inside. So… I suggested that we let the child live with us. Let them stay in our house and allow Kiora to visit as much as she wanted under the condition that Ojin and I never saw her. But I made it absolutely clear, I said that I absolutely would never, never act as a mother towards their child. I had one son and one son alone, and under no conditions would I ever act as any parental figure. Shio accepted these terms.

"I only ever saw Kiora once. I had gone to the Hiramina medical center with Shio when she went into labor. He was supporting her by bedside and I happened to see her just in passing. She was beautiful, I'll admit; I could understand why Shio had taken a liking to her. And she was so young, too- couldn't have been older than twenty-three. But I had never seen a person look so… so afraid before. Such raw, complete terror as the doctors rushed around the room. My own delivery was terrifying, but I hadn't felt nearly the same amount of fear that that girl was going through. It was… unnerving, to say the least.

It took fifteen hours until Shio's child was born. A daughter, the doctors said, a perfect, healthy little girl. I didn't look at her; I couldn't bring myself to. Though, the joy of the baby arriving safely was short-lived. Kiora died mere minutes after giving birth- the doctor's said the stress had just been too much for her body to take. And… When I heard the news, I'm ashamed to admit I had felt a sick sense of victory. That's your repentance for tearing my family apart. But now we all had a problem to deal with: Shio's daughter was now without a mother. His little play-thing was gone from this world, but his mistakes had taken physical form. Oh, he begged me on hands and knees. Fulay my love, we must raise her as our own. Please, she never has to know about Kiora or my poor choices. Ojin would love a younger sister, I'm sure. Surely you couldn't bring yourself to just abandon an innocent child? He always knew exactly what to say to get me to do what he wanted. He was right, as much as I despised the thought of living with the constant reminder of my husband's infidelity, I couldn't bring myself to leave that girl in Hiramina. So, we brought her home.

"I think Shio expected me to grow attached, like some kind of maternal instinct would kick in and I would accept the girl as my own. Well, I did everything within my power to make sure that didn't happen. As much as Shio Kan manipulated and bested me through our marriage, I would not let him win this battle. I had one child, and one alone. I know, deep down I knew that it wasn't that poor girl's fault; she had no say in being born in the way that she did. She didn't deserve to be treated so coldly by the woman she thought was her mother, and yet I couldn't bring myself to ever show her kindness. Looking at her face, seeing the perfect combination of my husband and Kiora staring back at me… It was absolutely torture.

"Things were never the same when Shio brought his daughter home. I couldn't look him in the eye for months after that, and he had given up on begging for forgiveness. But now I was finally starting to fight back against him. He'd shout, I'd shout. He'd insult me, I'd insult him right back. I think Shio had finally realized the extent of what he had done to his family, and took out his shame and guilt on me. Things were so horrible during that time, I-I cried nearly every morning. ...And as shameful as it is… If I didn't have Ojin to care for, I think I would've ended my life then and there." She took another deep, shaky breath before continuing. "Around the time the girl was a few months old, I think Shio finally decided he needed to make amends with me. Because completely out of the blue, he just… stopped caring for his daughter. He went from dotting on his daughter to ignoring her completely. Treating her like she wasn't even there no matter how much she cried and sought for him. Looking back now, I think it's disgusting how quickly he was able to eliminate his love for his own daughter just to appease his wife. But at the time… I was relieved. I felt that Shio had finally chosen me over Kiora. That, at last, he saw this child as much of an intruder as I did.

"We had to hire Uvi after that, seeing as neither one of us wanted to care for her. I know, I know how wrong it was to do that. To treat an innocent life so terribly for something out of her control. But I couldn't bring myself to be the one to raise her, I just couldn't do it. Uvi thought that Shio and I had two children and we just never corrected her. How could we? If word got out about Shio's affair, about Kiora and their daughter… We'd be ostracized out of our home. So, I pretended that she was my daughter. As much as it hurt me, I did it for my family and to keep Ojin from knowing the truth. I know Uvi secretly for not caring for her, for only showing affection towards Ojin, but I couldn't tell her the truth. To anyone who wasn't me or my husband, she was mine, and there was nothing I could say to dispute it. And once again, Shio had won."

Koza wasn't even sure that she had breathed during the entire story. She realized that she had been clenching her fists so tightly that her palms were dotted with droplets of blood from where her fingernails had dug into the skin. Fulay had apparently walked closer to the two girls sometime during the story, as she was now barely meters apart from them. Her entire body was quivering and her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Koza… I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry for everything that you had to go through. For sixteen years I treated you as only the mistakes of your father. I had no right to do that. I was scared and angry, and I took it all out on the one person who I knew wouldn't fight back. You didn't deserve that." Fulay's voice was shaking in a way Koza had never heard before. From the woman who Koza only ever knew as a liar, this amount of sincerity from the woman was making her stomach churn.

A long, long period of silence followed as both Fulay and Huvanni looked to Koza, waiting for her to respond. It took the Fire Bender several minutes to get her thoughts in order, processing the entire story word-for-word. The life that she had known, the person that she knew herself to be… it was all based on a lie. And it was all because of Shio Kan.

"So my real mother is dead?" Koza decided this to be her first question. Fulay nodded her head. Koza paused again, trying to keep her breaths steady. "And… you're not my mother. You and I aren't related. And Ojin is only my… my half-brother?"

"Yes." Fulay merely whispered.

"...Who else knows about this?" Koza's voice did not sound like her own.

"Only Shio and I. I guess you two do, too," Fulay said, biting her lip. "But nobody else. Shio was very careful about making sure of that."

"So, Ojin doesn't even know about this?" Fulay shook her head. "Then why… if he didn't know about any of this, then why does he-?"

"I'm not entirely sure on that one, but I assure you I had nothing to do with that. My guess is that he simply picked it up from us… Children tend to imitate behaviors from their parents." Fulay said, though the notion seemed to unnerve her.

"I… see. It all makes sense now." Koza breathed.

"... Koza, I've wanted to tell you the truth for so long, but I… Shio wouldn't let me." Fulay said. She paused momentarily. "But… Now that the truth is out, maybe we can all start over? Koza, I know you think this is what you want with your life. To run off and leave everything behind, but please think this over. You're both still young, you have so much ahead of you. I lost any ounce of youth and innocence when I married Shio. I don't want to see you two throw everything away because… because of my mistakes."

"You're wrong." Koza was a bit surprised at how firm her voice sounded, but continued. "We're not doing this because of you. We're doing this because this is the life we want to live. There's nothing for me in Ki Lo. No future, no family. My future is with Huvanni and the only way I can make that a reality is if I take my life into my own hands. I need to do what's right for me. And if that means leaving everything I've known behind and making a leap of faith… Then so be it." Koza felt Huvanni squeeze her hand. Fulay looked completely crushed.

"...If you truly have your mind made up, I won't try to stop you," she mumbled. "I don't think I even have the authority to. I can't even imagine the pain I put you through. To think that the person you believed to be your mother despised your presence… It's despicable."

"I don't blame you," Koza said rather quietly. "Not completely, anyway. You were put in a position in a life that no person should ever have to be in. You were deceived and manipulated by him. We all were."

"Does that mean you accept my apology?" Fulay looked hopeful. Koza hesitated.

"No. Not right now. It's just… it's just too much to get through. I don't blame you for not treating me as your own, however I do blame you for allowing me to grow up in those conditions. You said it yourself, I had no say in being born. I shouldn't have been blamed for my Father's crimes." She said evenly. Fulay's face fell.

"Yes… I understand…"

"Though… Maybe someday, in a distant future, I can forgive you." Koza said. Fulay looked up again, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"Thank you, Koza… May the Spirits shine fortune on you as long as you live. Good luck." She said shakily, her fingers reaching out towards the girls. It seemed that she wanted to reach out and hug Koza, but couldn't bring herself to.

"Goodbye, Fulay…" Huvanni spoke for the first time, looking towards Koza as she did so. "I'm sorry for what you've been through." Koza found herself taking her hand back from Huvanni, and turned around to face their path ahead of her. Facing the future, and turning her back to the past.

"Word of advice: You don't have to put yourself through this for honor's sake," Koza said coolly without looking back. "And Fulay? Promise me something: Make sure Father sees that letter, and tell Ojin exactly what you told me tonight. Then, you both leave this damn city and leave that sorry man to rot where he stands."