A/N: Sorry I took so long to update! This chapter introduces a few new characters—not just canon, but some OCs as well. Forgive me, please. I didn't mean to, but they were necessary. :hides from angry mob:

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.


The Engagement Necklace


Yogota gritted her teeth, crossing her arms over her face in reflexive self-defense. She waited for the impact to come, but it never did. Lowering her arms, she saw Paku lying on the ground a bit away from her, covered in water. But—how…?

Paku glowered at Yogota with a look of sheer anger and slight awe. "You woman—where did you learn that? You know that Waterbending is forbidden for you!"

Yogota's eyes flitted around, trying to find a way to escape from this awful predicament. She had Waterbended, right in front of Paku. Women were not allowed to bend, except to heal. It was simply a fact of life. And here she was, bending water to knock Paku away from her. What had started as a perfect opportunity was becoming a grave ordeal that Yogota was unable to handle.

There had to be a way to run where Paku would not see her run off. There just had to be a way.

But Paku stood, and was sprinting at her with a great streak of water to his side. He was coming to her, and there was nothing she could do but rely on her instincts. Fight or flight. She chose on the former, and summoned a thin whisk of water at her side. Bending it gracefully as she had seen Paku and the other Waterbenders do, she twisted to the side and lunged forward, knocking the charging Paku onto his back once again.

Paku, undaunted, spluttered and shook the water off him. Using the snow to boost him up, he formed a great ball of ice and aimed it straight at the Yogota. Yogota ducked, but the ice ball still found its target. It hit her head with a terrible blinding pain; it was all Yogota could do to run without direction as far as she could away from Paku before she blacked out.


Paku hissed in anger. Yogota had gotten away. He had trusted her. But Yogota had helped Kana escape; Paku just now realized this, and it broke his heart all the more that Kana had betrayed him, abandoned him. Silently, he vowed to himself that he would never love again, no matter what. Kana was gone; this he understood. Paku would get over the anguish and grief soon enough. But first, he allowed himself to have a few feelings of spite and vengefulness. And so, he blamed Yogota. This was all her fault. And above all, she had Waterbended. Shameful, shameful.

He dashed madly after the stumbling Yogota, determined to have his revenge. When he went back to the city, he would say that Yogota had gone crazy at the loss of her friend and attacked him with Waterbending, and that he had done all he could to calm her. Even if it was untrue, the tale would seem plausible; after all, women weren't allowed to Waterbend and Yogota had.

The young Waterbender watched as Yogota stumbled and fell. She remained immobile, lying on the ground, passed out. Honor chided Paku, telling him he couldn't fight someone who was unable to defend herself. But Paku did not care. He formed another ice ball and slammed it into the back of her head, uncaring as the blood gushed out of her new wound.

Shameful, shameful, echoed the voice. You evil, evil thing, screamed his conscience.

Shameful, shameful. At least bring her back to the city; maybe then, Tui and La will redeem you.

Without hesitation, Paku picked Yogota and hauled her onto his back, making towards the city where reality would come crashing around his shoulders in the form of scorn and jeers of the other Waterbenders.


Kana could not help but smile devilishly at her victory. The interrogator and the scribe had hurried out of her quarters as fast as they could, and locked her in here alone. Again. But she did not mind being alone. It was better than being in the company of Firebenders, in any case.

She had told them that the Airbender Avatar had returned, that he was hiding in the Earth Nation with Water Tribe forces—that was all fake. And yet, she had concocted the story so brilliantly and played it out excellently. Now the Firebenders feared her, and maybe they would let her go. And then she would order them to go back to the Fire Nation or the others would attack, and they'd leave, scurrying away in fear of the psuedo-Avatar hiding in the Earth Nation who could attack Hi-Bing at any second.

But after she sent the ships away, where would she go? There was always the option of returning home, but that Kana refused to do. She was an outcast now; she had made herself one. Kana liked her original idea of becoming the Woman of No Nation. She decided that she would steal a lifeboat from the Firebenders and row to the Earth Nation where she could help establish a place to resist the Fire Nation. And then, after a very long time, maybe her fantasy about the Avatar ready to attack Hi-Bing would come true.

It was all a very long shot, but Kana thought she could pull it off. After all, she had the Avatar on her side now.

Or at least that is what the Fire Nation believed.


Iroh hastened to his room and, before slamming the door shut, ordered a servant nearby not to let anyone disturb him. He needed time to think and time to rest. The servant did not question him.

Now sitting on the floor in front of a table with four unlit candles on it, Iroh unrolled the scroll and read over his notes again. The prisoner was named Kana, and she was from the Water Tribe; there were more Waterbenders around, ready to kill him at any second; the Water and Earth Nation along with what remained of the Air Nation were going to attack Hi-Bing soon, led by the Avatar…

All the news, it was most distressing for the young Captain. He did not like it one bit. Iroh suspected that maybe the prisoner had been lying about it—but how could someone lie about something so great as the return of the Avatar? And truly, the prisoner had seemed rather genuine about the whole ordeal. Her confident trust in her people had scared him; the prisoner had been certain she would be rescued.

The Avatar! The Avatar had returned. It was all too much.

Fumbling around, Iroh finally found a blank scroll, a pot of ink, and a quill. He scratched out a quick note and rolled it up, tying it with a deep red ribbon. The Captain opened the door to his quarters and prompted the servant standing guard outside to send a messenger hawk to Hi-Bing.

"It is very important news. Be certain that no one reads it," Iroh ordered quietly. The servant nodded and strode off down the hallway. "Quickly!" shouted Iroh. The servant broke into a run. Iroh shut the door to his quarters again and settled quietly on the floor, igniting the candles with a single thought. They flickered as he breathed in and out, practicing a ritual of meditation that would not help him save his nation from the Avatar.


Yogota awoke to a soft light filtering in from the windows. She was on a cot in the Atlanti Room; a healer attended a wounded soldier a few cots farther down from her. The healer told the weak soldier to get some rest, and turned around to find Yogota sitting up. Hurrying over to Yogota, the healer smiled.

"Oh, Iyaka thought for sure you were gone, but no, what did I say? I said, Iyaka, she will live! She is a healer and her body will mend itself with my help! You may think her corrupt and odd because of what happened, but she will get better, Iyaka, because I am here to help her!" chattered the healer.

"What?" asked Yogota, dazed. What had happened? She remembered keeping a terrible secret from someone she loved—whoever had she loved, for she could not recall—and had finally told him what happened only to have him set his wrath on her. What was the secret she had kept? Who was the one she loved? Yogota remembered neither of these things; she only knew that she had no family and that she was a healer who worked in the Healers' Structure.

The healer giggled, smiling. "My name is Yumi and I am nineteen, three years older than you! Do you remember me? I helped you tend that poor soldier after the Fire Nation attack, do you not remember?"

Yogota rubbed her head, unsure. "Where is Kana?" she asked.

A dark look crossed Yumi's face. "One day, she was lying in a cot in the Oceania room, and the next day, she's gone. Her betrothed, Paku, was the one who found you hurt and brought you here so that you could be healed. He is a very kind man, but his soul is so broken now that Kana is gone."

"Gone? How could she just be gone? Oh, now I truly have no family!" wailed Yogota.

Yumi patted Yogota's arm. "There, there, Yogota! I am sure she is alright. I have heard that—" Yumi looked around, as if to make that no one was within earshot, "—that Kana ran away. Ha, fancy that! A young noblewoman who has her life made for her, running away?"

Yogota rubbed her head again. This Yumi girl sure was gossipy. And yet—Yumi was the only family Yogota had now.

"Yumi?" Yogota asked.

"Yes, dear Yogota?"

"Will you be my family now that I have no one else?"

Yumi looked Yogota with a serious look. "Will I be your family now, Yogota?" She mused over the question for a bit, and then a smile came to her face. "Yes, I think I will."


Soaring over the dark ocean, the bird glided through the air towards the city in the west. The city reflected the sunset like a mirror; it was a breathtaking sight, but that did not concern the bird. The only thing that mattered was the small, rolled-up scroll bound to its leg by a dark red ribbon.

The hawk dove down to the city, heading straight to its center where the tallest building stood. It flew over the walls of the structure, through a lush orchard, past a sparring ring, through gardens full of blooming red and orange and yellow flowers. The hawk hovered near an open window and fluttered inside, pushed in by a light breeze. A young boy of about twelve years of age spotted the hawk, and jogged over to it to receive the note.

Allowing the hawk to perch on his armor-covered arm, the boy untied the scroll from the bird's foot and unrolled the scroll, reading the quick, scrawled characters. All of a sudden, the boy's demeanor changed from a boyish happiness to a look of grave severity.

"Father!" yelled the boy, darting through the halls of the building, the red hawk flapping after him. The boy shouted once again for his father; he continued running through the halls. He noticed a servant and spoke harshly to the young woman.

"Servant!" barked the boy, "Have you seen my father?"

The woman trembled and fell to her knees, bowing deeply to the boy. "My Lord, I did not realize it was you. Forgive my discourtesy, your highness!" she exclaimed.

"I have no time for formalities! Answer me!" snapped the child.

"Your highness, I have only seen your honored mother's brother, Lord Kanz, about in the gardens. Your greatly honored father, his majesty Lord Kontun, I have not had the honor of laying my eyes upon."

The child frowned. "I have most urgent news for my father! I must see him immediately!" he screeched. "Go find someone who knows where he is, you worthless woman."

"Yes, Lord," she answered humbly, turning to dash away. The boy frowned. He knew the servant would not be returning to him any time soon. He growled in frustration.

Deciding to ask whether Kanz knew where his father was, the child raced to the gardens where he found Kanz with a woman a few years older than him who he did not recognize.

"Kanz!" spat the boy. Kanz looked up from the woman's face to the child's, his own face contorting with anger. "And you, geisha! Get out of my home before I have you executed!" howled the child.

Kanz stared hatefully at the child as the woman scuttled away. "Boy, do you know what you just cost me? Geisha are expensive, fool! I ought to burn you right here for your insolence."

The child folded his arms, undaunted and hateful. "You will not speak to me that way, Kanz. I expect to be treated with the utmost respect. But that is not why I am here. Have you seen my father about?"

Kanz sneered at the child. "If I have seen him, I am not telling you anything, foolish boy." Kanz spat at the child's feet.

The child kicked his foot out, and a large blast of fire erupted from it, knocking over Kanz. Running over to Kanz, the boy took an offensive stance. "You will tell me where my father is, Kanz. I will not suffer any disloyalty from you, I hope."

Kanz flared his nostrils in disgust. "You disgusting child, he is with Maia at the royal port. Leave me to peace!"

Smirking, the child responded. "That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, go do whatever it is you do, and do not bring a geisha here again. You know very well they were forbidden from the palace after what happened with my father, before he married my mother."

"Yes, I remember perfectly well. He had that little bastard brother of yours, Iroh."

The child leaned in to Kanz's face, whispering harshly, "Iroh is a fool. He is not part of the royal family, nor is he my brother. He is gone from Hi-Bing for a reason, you know."

And with that, Prince Ozai stormed out of the gardens and ran to the royal port.


"Father! Father!" yelled Ozai, rushing to his father and mother, who were sitting together in a balcony that overlooked the port. "I have news, father, and it is not good!"

Ozai stopped short as soon as he reached his father and mother, and held out the scroll to his father. His father read the scrawled message, eyes narrowing.

"Dearest husband, what is the news that this message brings?" asked Ozai's mother, Maia, to the Fire Lord.

"It is Iroh," he said quietly.

Maia's face turned to one of disgust. "I thought he was gone from Hi-Bing for good?" she hissed.

The Fire Lord shook his head. "No; no, it is not about Iroh. It is just, Iroh has found that—that—"

"What has he found?" screeched Maia.

"He has found that the Avatar is alive."

It took a moment for Maia to realize what the true implications of that statement were.


A/N: Again, I am so sorry for the abundance of OC's in this story. I think there's… Well, there's Iyaka the Head Waterbender-Healer of the Healers' Structure, Yumi the healer (Yogota's healer), Lieutenant Yagos, Fire Lord Kontun, Fire Lady Maia, Lord Kanz (Maia's brother), and that servant that Ozai was all mean to… And the hawk, if you want to count it as well. So yeah. I own all of them.

Oh, by the way, a geisha is a Japanese woman who is very gifted at dancing/singing/reading poetry/playing music and stuff, it's not just a common prostitute… Anyone see the movie Memoirs of a Geisha? Awesome movie. It's very good.

Okay, I'll stop advertising Memoirs of a Geisha now... Mindless praise is accepted, constructive criticism is appreciated, and flames are used to cook seal-blubber jerkey for Paku.