A/N: Dude. I take forever to update. I spend too much time on drabbles and Zutara one-shots. Sorry…

Okay. I'll stop rambling now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.


The Engagement Necklace


The Captain stared at the young woman lying in the canoe. She was adorned in blue tribal clothing characteristic of the Water Nation. Well, that would make sense—after all, he was near the North Pole. Apparently she could Waterbend as well, for he'd seen her propel her canoe forward through the water in a vain effort to escape.

She was just a young girl, younger than he would've expected, and she was all alone. He had some of his crew search her bags to find some food, spare clothing, and an empty book that looked to be a journal along with a spare quill. The Captain ordered for the Firebenders to bring her back to the ship, and to burn the canoe. He wouldn't need the canoe, and if it were found floating out on the ocean, things might get suspicious.

Once on the deck of the ship, the Captain noticed the burst of color along the eastern horizon: the sunrise. The Water Nation would be more vulnerable during the day rather than the night.

"Tell the helmsman to set a course full speed to the North Pole," instructed the Captain. He continued staring out at the ocean, pondering its great lengths and depths, how it was so immense, when another Firebender cautiously approached him.

"Sir?" asked the Firebender.

The Captain sighed in annoyance and discontentment. But such was the life of a commanding officer, as he'd learned over the six months or so he'd been leading his small fleet. "Yes?"

The Firebender saluted him and then spoke. "What should we do with the intruder, sir?"

"Put her in one of the empty quarters and lock the door," the Captain said without much interest. The girl was unconscious now, and useless. He could have one of the Firebenders interrogate her later. "And when she wakes, speak with her about why she came on my ship," he added hotly.

"Yes sir," responded the Firebender, drawing away from the Captain.

The Captain rubbed his face. He was tired. And he had a bit of time before his fleet reached the North Pole—

So he went to his quarters and slept.


When Kana awoke, she was in a dimly-lit room with cold metal walls. She was lying on a small, narrow cot, and her back was rather sore, as well as her head.

Groaning, the girl sat up. Her eyes flicked from the floor to the ceiling to the door. As if a reflex, she jolted for the door and strained to pull it open. But it wouldn't. Frowning, she tried again. When that didn't work, Kana slammed the door, only to regret the action as she'd hurt her hand in the process.

She collapsed back down on the cot, scared. I must be on a Fire Nation ship. They must've captured me, she realized. This thought did nothing to comfort her, but rather made her ashamed of herself. Had she really thought she would've been able to get away? She was a foolish young girl, nothing more.

Kana didn't look up when the door opened and a man dressed in Fire Nation armor stepped into the room. She heard him close the door behind him, but that didn't matter to her. If she didn't see her interrogator, then maybe she wouldn't be as scared as if she had seen him.

"The Captain of this fleet, Prince Iroh, has ordered for you to be interrogated on the grounds that you are suspected of a treasonous, harmful act to Fire Nation people and property. You will answer every question I ask you. You do not have any rights now. You are a fugitive and you will be treated as such."

Kana glanced up at the Firebender, for she couldn't help herself. He was wearing his helmet, so she couldn't see his face. This only made it more frightening than it already was.

Her acute eyes also noticed that the Firebender was reading what he had said aloud from a scroll. But still, his words unnerved her.

"A scribe will be brought to observe and record everything that happens. You will pay no heed to the scribe, but rather only answer to me," continued the Firebender in a commanding drone.

The Firebender rolled up the scroll and stuck it in his belt. He opened the door and a young man about Kana's age dragged in a chair and desk as well as a plain scroll, quill, ink, and a cup of tea. The Firebender helped the scribe set up his desk, and then he turned to Kana.

Kana still peered past her interrogator at the scribe. He was about her age, had the traditional brown hair of the Fire Nation—but he also had golden eyes that Kana somehow knew from somewhere, as if she had seen them before. She gave a shudder as she noticed the menacing glare from her interrogator, and she sat back against the wall.

"First," started the Firebender, "state your name and nation."

Kana was unsure of what to tell them. She told them the truth because she saw no harm in them knowing her name and what was already so painstakingly obvious: she was from the Water Tribe.

"Kana of the Water Tribe," she responded automatically. This wasn't so bad. She'd be fine.

She heard the slash of quill against scroll as the scribe wrote out her name and nation in elegant characters. It was truly the work of a master scribe; Kana herself had taken months to write a character properly, and she noticed how her characters were barbaric compared to the scribe's.

"Why were you out alone in the ocean near our ship?" questioned the Firebender.

Kana cursed under her breath. They suspected that she'd been sent to stop their fleet from attacking the Northern City. Well, as long as the Firebenders thought they didn't have the element of surprise, then Kana wasn't going to give it to them.

"To stop your fleet," she said simply. And then, for instilling a bit of fear into the Firebenders, she added, "There are more of us, you know. We're all around, ready to finish off your commanding officer at any moment. We will attack without notice. And then you'll be sorry you're holding me here."

The scribe coughed lightly, scribbling characters down as fast as he could. Kana couldn't read what he wrote, for he shielded the scroll from her eyesight. Kana's interrogator glanced quickly at the scribe. The scribe coughed again, and the interrogator turned back to Kana.

"How did you know the fleet was coming to your—" The Firebender looked as if he was struggling to find the right word. At last, he continued: "settlement?"

Kana stared him down angrily. She knew the Firebender thought her people rather barbaric, but in fact she knew that the Fire Nation were the barbarians.

"My city," she stated quietly, putting extra emphasis on 'city,' "has known of your plan to come to conquer us for a while. We will not be stopped. We have strong walls to defend our people, and we surround you simply because you are in our element. You will not take the Northern City, but it shall be the other way around."

Kana waited for a reaction from the Firebender. She was disappointed when he asked her, "You mean that you plan to attack Hi-Bing?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, that Fire Nation settlement?" she hissed, knowing fully that she had just called one of the most advanced, splendorous cities in the world something far worse. "It will easily fall to the ground when our forces attack from the Earth Nation. Even the—" Kana paused. No. She couldn't say that. It was just too far-fetched—

"The what?" inquired the Firebender, now showing a little interest.

—and yet again. It would instill great fear in any Fire Nation soldier's heart.

"Even the Avatar will be helping us."

The Firebender backed against the wall, showing great surprise. The scribe choked on his tea, resulting in another one of his coughing fits. Kana watched, amazed, as the two men stared back at her. They were afraid of her.

"The Avatar is alive?" the scribe asked meekly.

Kana smiled maliciously. This was going much better than she had expected. "Yes, and he will lead his people against you as well."

The truth was, that the Air people hadn't been seen since their demise at the start of the war. But rumors circulated around that there were still some of the Air Nomads left, hiding in the Water and Earth Nations or wandering around the world. Kana realized how much this came to her as an advantage, and she decided that she would use it as such.

"Yes," she said, standing up, smirking as the Firebender and the scribe backed against the wall, "the Avatar is alive."


The Captain slammed the door of the prisoner's quarters shut and locked it. He turned to his accomplice, a Firebender, with tools, scroll, and desk in hand. "I want this cell guarded both day and night. Maximum security. You of all people know how important this is, Yagos."

"Yes, sir," saluted the Firebender, Yagos. "Shall I put away your desk and equipment?"

"Yes, do that," ordered the Captain. He handed Yagos the desk, ink, and quill, but kept the scroll of notes he'd taken during the interrogation for himself.

"Prince Iroh?" asked Yagos quietly as the Captain turned to leave.

The Captain stopped short. "Please do not call me 'Prince Iroh,' Lieutenant Yagos. 'Sir' or 'Captain' will be fine."

"Of course, sir."

The Captain, Iroh, glanced at Yagos. "What were you going to ask?"

"Oh," mumbled Yagos, shifting the desk in his arms. "Well, sir, do you really think the Avatar is alive? Sir?"

Iroh turned his head away from Yagos, rubbing his chin in thought. "I don't know, Lieutenant. I really don't know."

And with that being said, still clenching the scroll of such horrifying information, Iroh strode down the hallway and out of sight of the Lieutenant.


She found him sitting on the ramparts of the city walls, looking out at the ocean. He had a surreal look on his face, as if he weren't there, but rather a Spirit of some kind. Yogota felt her heart droop every so slightly, knowing that she had impartially caused Paku all this misery.

"Paku?" she called as she approached him, waiting for a response. He remained silent. "Paku," she said again, "have you found anything?"

Paku turned his head away, miserable. "Some of the other Waterbenders have been out searching for her since this morning. They have found nothing."

"And what of you, have you been looking?" she asked, more to keep talking to him than to actually learn the answer of the question. Although. She did need to know the answer to the question, for if he'd given up on looking for Kana, then he would be open to love again.

Paku gestured to the ocean. The waves in it distorted a semblance of the color-splashed sunset above its watery depths. "I am still looking for her, but I see nothing."

Yogota eyed him lovingly. A surge of confidence rang through her, and she spoke clearly and evenly. "It takes a while to see the truth."

He jolted around, eyes frenzied and wild. "What did you mean by that?" he hissed. Yogota shook her head and refused to speak. "What did you mean by that?" he bellowed once again.

Yogota saw pain and betrayal in his eyes, but she didn't answer him. There were more important things than her petty desires. There were things that lasted even longer than love. Friendship was one of them.

"Speak, you insolent woman!" ordered Paku.

Yogota shook her head. Nothing he did to her would reveal the truth about Kana. She would not give in.

Paku roared in frustration and lunged at Yogota.

Yogota closed her eyes, bracing herself. She would keep Kana's secret. Friendship was even stronger than love, and she knew this to be true.