Chapter 5

Fire Nation Warship

Zuko sat at the table, staring into the dancing flames of the candle. He had a blank expression on his face. The flame bended into two separate figures, taking the forms of himself and Ellen. Zuko watched with a scowl as the figures moved together and danced, tiny Zuko twirled Ellen and brought her in to kiss her. Zuko stood up suddenly, the two tiny figures disappearing just as quickly. He stomped out the door and leaned on the rail of the ship, looking down into the crashing waves.

He saw Ellen, sitting on a dock, with her feet in the water. He sat down behind her and put his arms around her big stomach. He rested his chin on her shoulder and a smile spread across her face.

Zuko chucked an empty box into the water. He was furious. She had left him and went with the Avatar, he just knew it.

He scowled, 'I'll find the Avatar. And when I find the Avatar, I'll bring her back. Whether she likes it or not.'

He turned quickly to spot his uncle had appeared on deck. "Uncle, has there been any sign of the Avatar or Ellen?"

Uncle Iroh shook his head sadly, "We've found nothing." Iroh took a step back, afraid Zuko might explode. Zuko only gave a frustrated sigh and turned back to the water below.

Somewhere out there… Heading toward the North Pole

"Where are we going?" asked Ellen kindly.

"We're taking you back to the North Pole." Aang told her. Ellen frowned but said nothing.

"Is something wrong?" asked Katara, with a concerned look on her face.

"No, but I appreciate your concern," Ellen said with a warm smile.

The next couple of hours were silent one. Occasionally Ellen would glance at one of the others and would then look back down at the water. Katara sat with her legs drawn up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Sokka laid flat on his back with his hands folded on his stomach, sound asleep. Aang would mutter something to either Appa or to Momo the lemur, who was curled up in his lap.

Ellen scooted towards Aang, "So, what's it like to be the Avatar?"

"It's alright. It's pretty cool to be able to bend more then one element, but I would rather be a normal person."

"I would love to be able to bend more than one element. But it's not possible for an average bender to learn more than one element, is it?"

Aang pondered for a moment, "I really don't know… I don't think so. I've never met one. But I guess it could be possible." Ellen smiled.

Fire Nation Warship

Iroh stood quietly and watched his nephew as he trained. Iroh was so distracted by Zuko's training he didn't notice the large messenger bird sitting next to him. The bird nudged him and made Iroh jump. He looked down at the bird, noticing that it had a message. He took it and unrolled it. He frowned and walked toward the deck of the ship. Zuko stopped in mid-kick when he saw his uncle approaching.

"It's from your father. He wants to know why you haven't showed up at the Capital." Iroh informed him.

Zuko scowled, "Tell him… The wedding is off. I'm not going to force anyone to marry me. If I get married, it's going to be because I want to, not because my father wants me to."

Zuko walked toward the door leading to the interior of the ship. He yanked the door open and disappeared. Iroh turned and sat down at a small table. He picked up his cup of tea and sipped it. A small smile played across Iroh's lips.