Roselynn's POV

(I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you)- Evanescence

I knew I supposed to be 'sleeping on it', but it's hard to get anything worked out when you're asleep. So I lied on my back and stared at the stars.

Firebenders? Wouldn't that mean there has to be benders for air, water, and earth to even it out and keep everything in balance?

That's when I noticed something: I couldn't recognize any of the constellations. It was weird, considering I spent almost every night mapping constellation in secret. Where could I be where I couldn't recognize ANY of the constellations I could draw and name by heart alone?

Don't you remember us, Roselynn? A voice in my subconscious said. Don't you rememmmbeeeer us? Don't leeeeeave us…

I had an irresistible urge to giggle, and when trying to stifle it, only subdued it to sharp outbursts of air through my nose. Then my body refused to let me try to stifle them any longer, and I let loose the bout. Sokka, Katara, and Aang woke up just in time to see me change my giggles into a normal and hearty laughter. They got concerned just in time to see my laughter brink on hysterical. Sokka had me in his arms trying to comfort me by the time my laughing was hysterical to the point where I wanted to scream.

I wanted to scream. That was all I wanted: to scream. That wish only put the hysterical in my hysterical laughter. Sokka was behind me, sitting down on Appa with me, and was hugging my knees to my chest and trying to shush me as I just continued my hysterical laughter.

That's when I got an idea to stop it. I focused on feeling Sokka's heartbeat against my back, and started to feel my own heartbeat quicken. I pushed away that emotion and the barrage of images that came with it and immediately calmed down.

Aang, in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood, decided to avoid an awkward silence all together with a single stupid and naïve question: "What's so funny?"

Bad mistake.

I turned my head into Sokka's chest, and finally got my wish.

I screamed.

Metaru's POV

(Shame on you if you fool me once; shame on me if you fool me twice)

"Shapebending…" Zuko mumbled.

I readjusted my loose tunic to cover my legs down to half-calf like they were supposed to, and pulled the sleeves of the tunic down to my elbows. I leaned forward slightly to keep myself in a seated position. Zuko gave me an uncomfortably slow scan up and down my body once. When he got to my face, he must have seen me blush, because he smirked.

"I don't know whether I should be flattered because you're blushing, or if I should ignore you because you're a peasant," Zuko said.

If he had kept it at the flattered part, I probably (to my shame, of course) would have admitted to a TINY crush on him. But that part about me being a peasant was infuriating.

Stupid, arrogant, selfish, egotistic prince.

But you can't deny how very handsome he is.

No one asked you!

I gave him a glance of pure hate before crossing my arms and turning my back to him.

"Whatever you want to believe, of course, Zuko-heika. (A/N: heika is a Japanese suffix meaning your majesty)

"What's that supposed to mean, peasant?" Zuko spat.

"Nothing," I replied. "And I have a name, or have you already forgotten it?"

I think Zuko was seriously prepared to hit me, but Iroh came in.

"I left the food at the deck, we should eat there, it is a beautiful day," he suggested.

Zuko and I left wordlessly to the deck. When we got there, three dishes, three mats, and two cups of jasmine tea.

"I take it Zuko doesn't like tea," I said, sitting on one of the mats with the cup of tea placed in front of it.

"He is not very fond of it," Iroh explained, sitting at the other mat with tea placed in front of it.

Zuko took the last seat and I was the first to eat anything. I was obviously hungrier than anyone else, but I also had the most manners and ate the slowest. Iroh and I sipped our tea politely, and the whole meal was finished without a single word.

"Whose ship is this, it's nice," I said in hopes of starting a conversation before someone decided to bring up anything about me.

"Well, Zuko is the captain…" Iroh told me.

I gave him a glance that said you've-got-to-be-kidding-me, but he continued as if he had not seen it.

"He keeps the men in pristine form and takes good care of the ship," Iroh continued.

That sixteen-year-old brat is actually doing something slightly impressive.

"So where are you from?" Iroh asked.

CRAP! I can't tell them that

"I don't remember. I must have gotten hit harder than I thought," I lied.

"That is too bad, well when you remember, we'll take you there."

Yeah, I really want to go back to that nightmarish dump of a slum city.

Roselynn's POV

(A mermaid offered three men one wish granted each. The first one wished for double his intelligence, and started reciting Shakespeare. The second one wished for triple his intelligence, and started reciting Einstein's equations. The third one wished for quadruple his intelligence, and when the mermaid warned him he might not like the outcome, he ignored it. When his wish was granted, he turned into a woman)

Appa had landed as the group was in need of something other than apples and a few strips of jerky to eat. We walked into a heavily wooded area and were met with a wild boar. He faced Sokka and lowered his head, digging one foot into the ground. I was unexpectedly concerned for Sokka's safety.

After all, wasn't he the one who comforted me last night?

Lucky for Roselynn, no one had mentioned her spell since the incident, but the laughter hung heavily in the air and was dissipating very slowly. I gave the boar a flash of my eyes, and it became especially interested in a certain rock.

Sokka didn't say anything.

Prideful fool.

He took out his boomerang and aimed it for the boar.

"Sokka! I'm vegetarian!" Aang shouted. (And seemingly not for the first time)

"Well I'm not!" Sokka shouted back.

He poised his boomerang behind his head, and I snatched it out of his hand.

"I'm not vegetarian, but I think you should respect other peoples' principles," I said in Aang's defense.

"Hey! Give that back!" Sokka warned.

"Catch me if you can!" I challenged playfully.

I slipped off my pink boots and held them in one hand while the other held his boomerang. I ran away laughing while he gave chase saying things such as 'Hey! Give that back!' or things such as 'you little (fill in the blank :))'.

I got all the way to the clearing where Appa was before I couldn't take it anymore and collapsed in a pile of giggles onto Appa.

"I've got you now!" he shouted, racing for me.

Appa yelled at him and Sokka backed up. I waved the boomerang tauntingly over my head and stuck my tongue out at him.

"I'll just have to go back and get that boar with something else," Sokka said. (Not too bright is he).

"Huh? I set that thing free when it was safe," I informed him.

"What?"

Katara and Aang came into the clearing, panting.

"I think I underestimated your athletic skills Roselynn. You outran everyone!" Aang cheered.

Metaru's POV

(Never make a teenaged girl angry)

Iroh brought our dishes and such off of the deck, leaving me and Zuko alone.

"You're a very infuriating person," I informed Zuko casually.

I think I caught him off-guard, because he gave me a look that said you-have-no-right-to-say-that-you-little-peasant-girl.

"Look who's talking!" he shouted.

"Quick-tempered, now aren't we?" I said, again very causally.

"It was so much more pleasant being with you when you were unconscious."

That brought quite a few unwelcome images to me, but I shrugged them away.

"Well maybe I should render myself unconscious. After all, you're wish is my command, Zuko-heika," I suggested sarcastically.

"I'll do it for you!" Zuko shouted, jumping up and posing for a fight.

I got up with poise and held my hands behind my back. He tried landing a punch on me, but I quickly dodged it.

"Oh, so close," I said sarcastically.

He tried kicking me with a flame attached this time, but once again, I dodged it.

"Tsk, too quick for you I guess," I sighed.

He shot a massive barrage of flames at me, but I dodged them all.

"No one person takes down Metaru, leader of the Metangles!" I shouted.

Crap! I did NOT just say that!

I froze after realizing I had said that, and Zuko took the opportunity to swing me around, grab my wrists and pin me on my back.

"You really do remember," he said.

"Don't tell!" I shouted in desperation.

"Apologize then," he smirked.

"What?"

"I'm waiting peasant."

"Fine, I'm sorry."

"OK, I won't tell anyone."

"Let me go, now."

"That was never part of the deal."

Thirty minutes later, it got dark out, and I took the opportunity. Even though Zuko was still pinning me down, I feigned sleep.

"What! She just fell asleep!" Zuko shouted to himself in disbelief.

It took every ounce of my willpower not to screw up my face and laugh at his stupidity. He sighed and scooped me up, holding me close to him. Instead of blushing, which is what I thought was going to happen, I felt safe for the first time in a long time.

Stupid slums. No place to raise children, no place to live. A place for looking over your shoulder every five minutes, a place where animals laughed at our barbarism.

Zuko walked me into a room and set me on a surprisingly comfortable bed. He walked out and before closing the door said, "I know you can't hear me, but I'm sorry."

But I could hear him.