A/N at the end!

Chapter 32 – The reveal

Milah was running, and running, and running until the smoke that had filled her nostrils had left them behind completely and all that remained was utter darkness, the moonlight concealed by the thick canopy of the forest, and silence except for their harsh panting. It was Amim that was still holding her upright during their flee, tugging her along at a reduced speed so she wouldn't trip over her own feet, which became more difficult with each step they took.

Her father's face flashed before her eyes again, tugging at the strings of her heart begging her to turn around, to finish the fight that the enemy had once again provoked. An angry swirl had been steadily accumulating in her stomach because of the war, because of the hateful people participating in it and supporting the offspring of the Fire Lord that had started it.

The father of her unborn child, the man she had loved so dearly, so greatly and irrevocably, that she had looked past all that. That she had looked past the fact that no matter what had been said and done between them, he hadn't changed at all. He had still gone back, to him, to the man that had arranged the attack on her and her kin.

Had he known? Had he known that his father was after her?

If he had, then she wasn't sure how she could ever continue living, not while her heart still ached with the need to see him just one more time, to look him in the eye, see what dwelled there and find closure at last. To maybe get the chance to ask just once, 'why?'. Why had he left? Why return to the Nation that hurt so many people over nothing at all?

''Wait!'' she gasped and slid to a stop after running for what felt like hours. ''Just- wait.'' Her legs trembled with the exercise and fear and leaned forward with her hands on her knees, gasping for air.

''Are you okay?'' Amim breathed to her, leaning against a nearby tree, clutching his side with his hand. She had forgotten about his wound.

''I should ask you that,'' she answered silently, finally regaining some composure. ''I'm okay. But I just-'' she panted again, holding her finger up to signal she wasn't yet done speaking, just waiting for more air to fill up her hurting lungs. ''I just needed to… stop. I can't anymore. No more running. We're far enough.''

Silence met them before footsteps sounded in their way. They glanced at one another, taking up a tired fighting stance and immediately regretting the choice for taking a moment of breath when Marok and Taruq skidded to a stop in front of them.

''You scared the hell out of me,'' Amim exclaimed as a greeting and slumped against the tree again.

''Sorry,'' Taruq apologised and walked up to the Waterbender who had lowered herself to the ground with her eyes closed. ''Are you hurt?''

She shook her head and returned the question, to which she got another headshake. ''You reckon we're safe here for the remainder of the night?''

Marok nodded. ''Let's set up camp here. We'll leave at dawn.''

Cold gnawed at her feet and hands once he said that although she had known about it already. Without Zuko-

Her heart ached again and to distract herself from the intrusive thoughts, she asked, ''I suppose we don't have tents?''

''No,'' Amim answered her, having regained full composure and sat himself down next to her. She could feel his eyes upon her. ''We can't risk it to make a fire. I'm sorry.''

She blew warm air into her hands. ''It's fine. I'll manage.''

Three pairs of eyes now looked at her. The air was filled with pity.

''Your father is okay. We stayed long enough to watch them overpowering the Firebenders, although I reckon the fight is still going on. Many of them fled, though, when they noticed you weren't there. They're scattered throughout these woods now, so we'll have to be careful,'' Taruq told them, sitting down as well opposite them. Marok took a seat beside him.

Her chest lightened up, her spirit lifted and a large breath escaped her mouth. ''I'm glad.''

She turned over to her side, trying to find a comfortable position to contain her bodily warmth in her clothing. The forest seemed quiet, with no bugs that chirped in the night, although she could imagine that was due to the frigid air. A ruffle of clothes and then someone crouched in front of her.

''Do you want me to… hold you?'' the whispery voice of Amim filled her ears. She looked him in the eyes, illuminated by moonlight. A faint blush coated his cheeks. ''I only suggest it because it's cold. I can imagine it to be bad for… for the baby if it's very cold. For you as well, of course. I don't mean anything by it, though-''

''Amim,'' she whispered back, cutting off his rambling, taking his hand in hers, her stomach churning when it wasn't scorching hot as Zuko's had always been. ''I'd like that.''

He sighed and laid down beside her, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her head under his chin, her hands pressed against his chest to hopefully find some warmth.

Milah didn't know what time she fell asleep that night or how long she had listened to Amim's breaths evening out, counting them until they had lulled her into a dreamless slumber. His heartbeat echoed in her chest like a steady rhythm keeping her upright during the turmoil in her mind.

The birds chirping woke her up before registering that that same rhythm had disappeared, feeling strangely empty but all the while relieved. She turned around to face the three men discussing something in hushed voices.

''Good morning,'' Taruq greeted her, having been the first one to notice her awakening. A large yawn escaped her. ''Or not.''

She chuckled, stretching her arms above her head before settling a hand comfortable on her abdomen. ''I slept surprisingly well last night, so yes, good morning.'' It wasn't a lie.

''We were just discussing what our next move should be,'' the man continued, handing her a piece of some animal one of them had hunted down and killed. Her stomach churned again, but she ate it anyway.

''We should continue as soon as possible. These woods are crawling with Fire Nation soldiers and are no doubt on the hunt. It wouldn't be wise to return to the village. For all we know, we could walk into a trap on our way there,'' Marok stated seriously, as usual. Where he was the stern, thoughtful and – often – quiet one of the duo, Taruq was the opposite, always making jokes and trying to lighten up the mood.

All of them nodded at his words, to which they swiftly prepared for their long journey ahead, into the thicket of the forest.

Zuko put down the scroll he'd been reading about his great-grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin. A hidden message inside a note which had been readable once he had thrown it into a candle – by chance – had told him to look for the secret history of the Fire Nation in the Dragonbone Catacombs. The note had stated that to understand his destiny, he'd have to learn of Sozin's demise. And Zuko had learned a great deal; how Sozin had been best friends with Avatar Roku and why Sozin had started the war. But none stated anything in particular of Sozin's death.

None of it could help him in knowing what was right. What he should do, and how he could continue living, knowing what he'd left behind and could never recover.

He was just so confused.

Ever since he had come back from the Ember Island trip, he'd been going through every little moment in his head from the time he'd made the decision to follow his sister instead of defending the Avatar. Every move he made, every mistake and failure, they all swarmed inside his mind, mocking him for the pathetic man he was.

Fortunately, he now knew where the anger had come from all this time; himself. All this time, he'd been angry at himself for not learning, for not knowing what he should do, which choice was right and which was wrong.

Zuko made his way to the prison with lead in his shoes and a hurting stomach. His fingers trembled when he opened the door to his uncle's cell and he had to swallow away the bile that threatened to make an appearance.

''You sent this, didn't you? I found the secret history, which by the way should be renamed history most people already know! The note said that I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end,'' Zuko angrily spoke to Iroh who raised his head to look at his nephew from behind the bars of his cell.

The old man's heart squeezed when he saw the Prince's state. He sported dishevelled hair and purple bags under his bloodshot eyes and he was thinner than he used to be. Zuko was wasting away, and he didn't even notice, Iroh concluded.

''No. He wasn't,'' Iroh answered softly.

''What are you talking about?'' Zuko asked with confusion.

''You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku.''

Zuko's eyes widened and he stopped breathing for a second.

His… his great-grandfather was-

''Why are you telling me this?'' Zuko asked in shock, not able to process what had just been saying. All he knew, all he believed to be true… it was all a lie. It was all-

''Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself.'' Zuko sat down, his legs almost giving out when hearing this revelation. ''Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. But, there is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.''

Balance. How could his uncle speak about balance when Zuko did not even know what that word meant? Did not even know how balance felt and how he'd ever repay for all the sins he'd committed. For all the sins he let people commit.

Iroh removed a brick from the wall, took out a little bundle and walked over to his nephew while unwrapping the long-lost royal crown, that once belonged to Fire Lord Sozin before he passed it to Avatar Roku, slowly. ''This is a royal artefact. It's supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince.''

Zuko stood before taking it. ''Uncle, I…'' He looked up to Iroh and found himself on the verge of tears, his anger and confusion reaching their crescendo.

''It's going to be okay, Zuko. You're going to be okay.''

Zuko wasn't sure if he could believe that, no matter how much he wanted to.

For two weeks, Milah and her friends kept walking north, keeping the sea, seen through the density of the woods, on their left hand. The terrain was uneven, rocks sliding from underneath their feet more than once, and dangerous enough that they had tied themselves around the middle with an improvised piece of robe made out of all sorts of natural materials – just in case.

Their destination: the rendezvous point that had been stated multiple times during the many meetings she had attended with her father. Hidden on one of the many islands of the Fire Nation was a small bay, far enough from civilisation to be considered 'safe'. But for them to get there… they had to hurry.

Luckily, the population of 'edible' animals was high, meaning they didn't have to worry about sleeping on an empty stomach. A river was nearby at all times, although they didn't dare venture near it in case the Fire Nation soldiers were still trailing them. All three had been trained to cover their tracks, thankfully, or Milah could've signed her death note for sure.

Every night, Milah curled up against Amim for warmth, since the weather didn't get any better, which worked well during the day, but was a negative side when the sun had left their heads. The man didn't seem to mind it, but Milah was scared to give him false hope. She didn't dare think about his proposal all those weeks ago, not when she had much more concerning things to worry about. Like the fact that she was three months pregnant, and the Day of Black Sun was only a month away.

Or the fact that she had found out that Marok and Taruq weren't just 'best friends'. It had happened a few days ago, when she had woken up in the middle of the night, needing to pee so badly that she barely made it a few meters before she pulled down her pants and relieved herself. She had heard some movements further into the forest, and decided to inspect the groans and sounds – ones that had sent her cheeks burning red – she heard. What she'd seen had surprised her so much that she had almost tripped over her own feet, her eyes so wide they almost popped out of her head.

She should've known. Everyone should've known. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Sharing a tent, Taruq being the only one Marok smiled at, the way Taruq's eyes lit up every time Marok appeared…

But it didn't matter. Their relationship was their own, and she hadn't asked a thing about it. Had only returned to their little make-shift camp, over-analysing everything she'd seen and connecting all the dots. If they wanted to share it, they would do so when they were ready. Water Tribe culture was… traditional, so to say. In the Earth Kingdom, she knew, it was much more common to have had multiple relationships during one's life than it was done in the Tribe – no matter what gender one chose to be with. But unfortunately, their culture wasn't so accepting. Even the Fire Nation was better, seeing there it didn't matter who married who, only that once married, it couldn't be undone. It was for life. That much was the same for the Tribe as well; matrimony couldn't be broken.

Pain filled her heart once more.

They reached a port in the evening, concealed by darkness, making it easy for them to manoeuvre through the various little houses, trying to find an inn or something of some kind to spend the night in.

''I was thinking,'' Milah started to whisper once they had situated themselves in the darkness of a little alley. ''It wouldn't be wise to parade around with our Water Tribe clothes. We're in the Fire Nation colonies right now, which undoubtedly means that this town's crawling with soldiers.''

Marok nodded with a knowing look in his eyes. ''I was just thinking about that. A few blocks back I saw a laundry. We could find something appropriate there.''

The Waterbender balked. ''But that would be stealing-''

''Milah,'' Marok interrupted her with a more gentle voice than usual. ''We're at war. That means that sometimes we have to do things that are normally seen as… unethical.''

She thought about that and considered it wouldn't be the first time she would steal something. After all, she'd let Zuko steal the ostrich horse from Song and her mother that one time. And she'd done plenty of 'unethical' things after that, including marrying her Tribe's number one enemy.

''Okay, fine,'' she answered eventually and they set out to the laundry.

Milah found a common Earth Kingdom styled dress that she could wrap around her body, concealing her bodily state from any prying eyes. The men had each found their own set of green and brown shirts and pants, dressed as common Earth Kingdom citizens. Once they were all dressed, they walked to the forest and dug a hole for their old clothes, not wanting anyone to find them as it would give away their location to their hunters. No doubt they would come snooping through this town soon enough.

Together, they walked to the nearest inn and paid for rooms with the little money that Taruq always carried in one of his pockets. And with that, they only had some money left to buy passage to the Fire Nation with a ferry.

After they ate their dinner, they walked up to their shared four-person bedroom with two doubles and prepared to get a good night's sleep before their journey tomorrow to enemy territory.

Milah was tracing her stomach with her hand while thinking about potential baby names when she fell asleep peacefully, dreaming of golden eyes and warm, calloused hands.

The morning after, Milah was woken up by Amim shaking her gently, telling her they had secured a place in a merchant's boat but that he was leaving early, so they would have to hurry.

At nightfall, they arrived at a little port in the Fire Nation. They had to carefully disembark the vessel, assuring no one would see them since it would raise suspicion if there were four Earth Kingdom citizens suddenly in the Nation. They had no business here when it was obvious they didn't possess any trade.

Luckily, they were able to do the little trick again when they raided a laundry spot on the outskirts of town. Unluckily, however, that Fire Nation style was very different to Earth Kingdom style. The hot climate in the Fire Nation often made it uncomfortable to wear large dresses – especially for the commoners that had to work day in and day out – that would conceal her state, so she was doomed to wear a cropped shirt paired with a high-waisted pant skirt that reached below her knees, all in red, of course. She tied half of her hair in a bun on top of her head with a little red ribbon, reckoning it would have to do for now.

''Is this concealing enough?'' she asked Amim once she had put the shirt over her head. He turned towards her, eyeing her up and down. The three men once again wore simple attires worn by any commoner in the Fire Nation. Amim had picked out the most ordinary clothes for them so they wouldn't stand out.

''You're fine. You're not showing that much anyway so don't worry. Besides, if anyone asks we'll tell them I'm the father. Does that sound right for you?''

Even Marok and Taruq stopped whispering to each other once they heard those words.

''I mean, only if you're okay with that. We don't have to-'' Amim started rambling again and Milah's heart broke a little.

''Amim, it's fine. It's for the best anyway, to pretend we're… together. Only I… I don't have a ring. At least, not from you. I do have-'' she choked up, her hand reaching up to the little pendant now left on display for all eyes to see. Her hands grazed the intricate chain, the familiar cut of the ruby and finally, the ring. Her ring. ''I have… Zuko's ring. But I don't think… I don't think I can wear that. What if… what if someone recognises it?'' It wasn't the real reason why she didn't want to wear it, but she wasn't sure she could admit that out loud.

Amim nodded with a grave expression. ''I understand. It's probably safer if you concealed the… ring you got from him. However, I still have my… my mother's ring, if it pleases you. It doesn't have to mean anything. It's just… Fire Nation custom to wear a ring and if you don't then people will wonder and then our cover could be blown, and-''

She cut him off again, knowing he wouldn't stop rambling because of his nervousness if she didn't. ''I'd gladly wear your mother's ring, but… won't she mind? I mean, it's meant for your wife, which I'm… not.'' She almost whispered the last part, not looking into his eyes in fear of what she might find.

He stepped closer to her and took her hand gently, sliding the ring he had apparently taken out of his pocket onto her left ring finger. ''It's fine, Milah. She won't mind if it'll keep you safe.''

She looked up into his dark eyes and almost cried at the sincerity. ''Thank you, Amim. You're a true friend.''

His smile faltered slightly before he handed her the leather pouch he had for his mother's ring. ''For Zuko's ring.'' And with that, he walked back to the other two men.

Milah took a breath. A second one, and a third, and only then unclasped the necklace for the first time since Zuko had put it on her and looked at the ring. If self-torture was real, then that was what she was doing at that moment. The gold of the ring shone even in the darkness of the night.

She pocketed the ring and necklace inside the small leather pouch, not wanting to bring up the memories it carried and slid it into one of her trousers' pockets. After, she rose her eyes to the three men watching her do so and found solace in their proud gazes.

With them, she'd be alright.

Milah was sure of it.

A/N: can you believe that we're nearly there? That we're nearly at the part where they finally REUNITE! I freaking can't WAIT to write about that. But enough about that… I'm sorry I've been pretty much absent. You know, the usual talk about me being busy with my Master's degree and stuff (which is all very much true haha). But oh well, I will continue to write tonight and hopefully deliver ASAP. Maybe one chapter left, who knows, before the big reunion. Can't fucking wait you guys. Hope you're all doing well!

PS. Thank you ukitakeitalialover041757 for reviewing; they always make my day :)

PPS. I got a message that you all need to turn on your email notifications because, apparently, has turned it off. Every 90 days you have to turn them on again as well, otherwise you won't get update notifications :).

PPPS. I edited this chapter on 21/11 (as opposed to when I published it on 20/11) and added a piece to Zuko's POV.