Zuko had been right.
They did, at least initially, think him an idiot for suggesting that they go on holiday and hide out from the Firelord in the Firelord's own holiday home, but once he had pointed out that nobody had set foot there in years (The Royal Family didn't want to and nobody else was allowed within a mile of the place) and that it was possibly the last place anyone would think to look for them, they relented.
Aang had thus steered Appa towards this house, and a place called Ember Island.
They found the house in a terrible state. Zuko had not been lying about nobody having been there in years. The plus side, of course, was that their approach was completely unseen.
"Right everyone!" Sokka led the way in jumping off Appa. "While we're here, I want no mention of the war! We're here to relax, not stress over what may or may not happen in the future."
"And is Aang still allowed to train under this system?" Katara asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Yes, he is," Sokka replied magnanimously.
"Well then," Katara turned to Aang. "You heard my brother! Let's see your waterbending forms!"
"But we only just got here!" Aang whined. "Can't we relax for a bit and then train?"
"We can train, and then relax for a bit."
"Fine. The things I do for you." Aang and Katara got off Appa and made their way off towards the shore.
"Shall we go and watch?" Sokka extended his hand to Suki, who took it as she jumped down. Together they strolled off towards the beach, Sokka explaining in great detail his plans to build a sand sculpture of her likeness.
"Aang's not the only one who needs to train," said Toph as she began to follow them.
That just left Mai, Zuko and Ty Lee on Appa's back.
Zuko began to climb down from the saddle, and the other two followed. As they walked towards the beach, Sokka called out to them.
"Are you going to come swimming at some point?"
The three Fire Nationals looked at each other, and then back at Sokka.
"We don't have our swimming costumes."
"Really?"
"We betrayed our country to come and join you in the middle of a global war. Surely you can understand that swimming was not high on the agenda?"
"What did I say about mentioning the war?" Sokka replied. "But you raise a good point. Surely you can get some."
"Perhaps we can."
They sat down, and watched Aang and Katara sparring in the surf. Aang flew towards Katara riding a massive wave, which Katara parted effortlessly, it passing either side of her. As the water passed her, she took some of it to create water arms that she used to lash out at Aang, but he dodged out of the way. As this display of waterbending prowess unfolded in front of them, Ty Lee leaned over to Sokka.
"Are they... you know... a couple?"
Sokka erupted into raucous laughter, causing both Aang and Katara to momentarily pause and look at him. After motioning to them that he was fine, Sokka composed himself, while Mai whispered to Ty Lee that she couldn't just ask if people were in relationships.
"What? No, they are not."
"They aren't?" Even Mai was looking confused now.
"Why? Did you not know?"
"It really looked like it. The way they interact, it seemed certain that they were."
"Well they aren't." Sokka looked at the two of them again. "At least, not yet."
He stood up suddenly. "I'm going to build a sculpture!"
Aang stood in the surf, and bowed to Katara.
"Thank you, Sifu, for the lesson."
Katara smiled and returned the bow.
"But it's over now, and so I can finally enjoy myself!"
And with that, Aang made his way a little further out and dove underwater. Katara laughed and followed him. Aang then burst out of the water right in front of her, splashing her in the process.
"Oh that's it," Katara threatened jokingly. "Come here!"
Aang tried to escape, but the ocean was Katara's domain. The water swirled around him, preventing him from swimming away and forcing him to the surface, where Katara proceeded to splash an enormous wave over his head.
Aang could have stopped this at any point, but it was funny and so he let it happen. He came back onto the surface, laughing, and splashed Katara in retaliation. However, as he looked back onto the beach, he saw that something was wrong- and he didn't mean Sokka's hideous sand sculpture.
"Wait, where did Zuko go?"
Zuko walked through what amounted to the ruins of the house. Many of his happiest memories had been made here, with his family; vivid flashes of light and laughter from years past travelled through his head.
Even father hadn't been so bad then. But that was a long time ago.
He stopped in one of the rooms, a painting having caught his eye. A family of four stared back at him, formal and unmoving; parents with a young son and an even younger daughter.
It was his family. He had seen portraits of Ozai many times before, but his attention was more drawn to the children in the image. Young Zuko was as yet unscarred, and stared at him with happiness and optimism. So too did Young Azula, who in the image looked like any toddler; it saddened Zuko to imagine what the girl in the picture would one day become.
"Zuko?"
He turned to find Mai standing in the doorway.
"We should leave. They will be wondering where we are."
"I know. It's just... hard being back here after so long, and with everything that has happened since-"
"I know that tone. That's the tone that means Prince Zuko is about to give a long speech about how hard his life is. We already know all that stuff, but look! We are on holiday! We have each other, and friends, proper friends who aren't just trying to use us, and are wondering where we have got to. Come on!"
As she held out her hand and he took it, Zuko realized that she was right. Of course, there was still a war to end but perhaps he wasn't so unfortunate any more. The two of them left to return to the beach.
Author's Note: After a few more serious chapters, here is a relatively light-hearted instalment. We're not far away now, but I do have one question: Would you like me to write an Ember Island Players Chapter? Do you need a recap or not? If not I'll just say they went to a play about themselves and hated it and move on.