The dinner was easier to get through than any evening Zuko had experienced so far. There was the large buffer of the Water Tribe, so he didn't have to interact directly with his family, or Zuri. While the food was being served, the guests started to segregate and his own party followed suit. Seated among the other women, Zuko watched as Ursa spoke politely to her seatmates. Iroh was engaged exclusively with Arnook and Lu Ten was attempting to pull Yue out of her shell.

Zuri, given the choice to sit with either the men or the women, chose to sit with the women. Specifically, next to Katara. Zuko sat with Sokka and curiously watched him.

"What do you think of Yue?" Zuko asked. Sokka looked at him, surprised by the question, and then they both looked up at Yue.

"In what way? This is my first time ever seeing her you know." Sokka replied dryly.

"Well, what's your impression of her?" Zuko asked.

"She terrifies me." Sokka then turned in his seat to look back at Zuko. "Why? Who is she in your world?"

Zuko shrank at the question, glancing around. No one seemed particularly interested in their conversation.

"She, well. You. Uhm." Zuko started but couldn't find the thread to his thoughts.

"Me and the princess? Like, that princess?" Sokka balked and Zuko rushed to quiet him.

"No, not quite. She was different and," Zuko looked back at Yue who was ignoring everyone and focusing on her plate. "It didn't work out."

"Great, so not something we need to worry about this time around." Sokka muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't sound like I'm supposed to seduce the princess or something to help us find the Avatar."

Zuko looked down at his own plate, at the pile of crab meat and various unidentified vegetation.

"No, I suppose you're right." He said.

"You know Zuko, it would be a lot easier to be your friend if you stopped expecting me to be him." Sokka remarked. Startled, Zuko raised his head and looked over.

"Huh?"

"I'm a different person you know. Like, sure, I've gone through a lot of the same things but even twins are different people."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I've been treating everyone like that. It's just, really difficult." Zuko admitted.

"Do you think the other you is handling it any better?"

"The other," Zuko paused. "Oh no."

He could feel the blood drain from his face. This had been an empty vessel, unlike what he now knew about Azula. That meant this Zuko's spirit was somewhere else. Most likely, in his own body.

"I have to get back." Zuko whispered, letting his knife fall onto his plate.

"Sure, but come on now, we still need your help." Sokka said urgently, touching Zuko's arm.

"I have to go." Zuko said in a rush, pushing himself up from the low table. Just as Sokka called out for him, he darted away from the dining hall, feeling burning bile work its way up his throat.

For the burning fever his sudden sickness brought on, the coolness of the ice palace escaped him. The walls were immense; all one solid block of ice that was so clear, the light reflected eternally within made it opaque. It was hard and wet in a way that fire obviously was not, yet when Zuko placed his hand against the surface, it burned just the same.

He darted into the palace itself, the main hub of the city's apex. It was mostly deserted, as the residents were all at the dinner. The sounds of grit against ice or dragging things told him others moved about in the frozen halls; servants still at their work.

Turning a corner and finding the hallway empty, Zuko pressed his back against the wall and slid down. As he sat, he rested his head against the wall, waiting for the damp chill to enter his body and calm the fever.

This wasn't a fever dream, though this body was doing its best to reject it. To reject didn't belong here, and it wasn't a supernatural destiny that brought him. The call of his beloved uncle, the bonds of his mother's blood, and the lack of an anchor in his own life had ripped him from one world and through the spiritual veil.

Had this Zuko been cast out? What force had decided to eject the rightful version and where had he gone?

Zuko tried to imagine what the other Zuko would have awoken to. In a bed, no longer on a freezing ship. He would be home and having obtained the goal that this world was scrabbling to achieve for him. But his mother would be gone. His beloved sister would be insane. His father more murderous than the one left behind. Lu Ten would be dead and Iroh would be his only solace.

Something had happened, because Aang was looking for him. They had found the imposter, or he had willingly exposed himself. That Zuko was in a much safer place to do so.

They wouldn't know how to get him back.

It was obvious that Zuko had only the faintest grasp on this body. Aang's calling had been enough to pull both Azula and himself into the Spirit World.

Zuko furrowed his brow in frustrated thought. It was also possible that the other Zuko knew more about the rites and rituals of his uncle and that was why his sister had come and not Zuko's.

"Was the meal not to your liking, highness?" A cool woman's voice asked. Zuko scrambled to his feet, taking a step back from the pair that confronted him.

Yue looked menacing and her guard, a woman with a strange symbol embroidered on the left breast of her parka, stood just behind her.

"It was not the food, your highness. Your hospitality has been a welcome relief from my travelling." Zuko said as he hurried into a bow.

"Are you ill then?" Yue asked. "We have the best healers in the world."

"A small fever only, princess. I think I'm just overwhelmed." Zuko said.

"I didn't realize the prince had such a delicate constitution." Yue replied. Zuko frowned but felt his face flush in embarrassment.

"I've not seen someone soul bound to a spirit before. My own interactions with them have been less than pleasant." Zuko said. Yue looked, for only a brief moment, shocked by his admission.

"You have conferred with spirits?" She questioned.

"Not of my own volition, your highness." Zuko said and Yue scoffed with a smile.

"They often do as they please." She said and then softened. "If you are unwell, we can see you treated."

"Thank you princess, but no. I will be fine. My constitution is normally a bit stronger, but I think the ice is a bit daunting." Zuko said.

"Fire doesn't catch well here." Yue said darkly. "Though it tries."

"Fire has its uses."

Yue regarded him coolly and Zuko watched her face. Her blue eyes were so dark, they were almost black. They matched her hair, which was more like ink than the sable other water tribals had. The combination was unnatural.

"What use will your fire have here, Prince Zuko?" She inquired. Zuko shivered under her stare and she noted it with a small smile.

"I'm sure my uncle has a plan." He said. Yue's smile disappeared, drawing the rest of her face down into an unpleasant stare.

"The girl you arrived with. I'm told she is a Waterbender." Yue said, taking in a breath and setting her shoulders more squarely.

"Katara, yes. She's had some training." Zuko answered.

"But not her brother."

"He is not a Bender, your highness."

"Interesting. Well, I hope you return to the dinner," Yue said and began to turn away. "We want you to enjoy your stay."

"Are you not returning, princess?" Zuko questioned.

"No." Yue kept her back to him, but her face came into view like the waxing crescent moon. The curve of her cheek was of burnished bronze, becoming a metal facsimile of the moon that hung in the black sky of her hair.

"I have a wedding to prepare for." She said softly. As she started to walk away, Zuko panicked and stepped forward.

"Princess." He called out and Yue stopped. Her guard turned, looking just as menacing as Yue had at the beginning.

"Would you meet with me? At some time?" He asked, his voice halting.

"For what purpose, Prince Zuko?" Yue asked. It was odd to address her back, but Zuko relaxed himself and ignored the guard.

"For friendship." He said. Yue said nothing, but started to walk away. The guard looked at him, examining him, and then followed her mistress. Zuko stood in the hallway of ice, still feeling sick. Still, the fever inside of him subsided, and Zuko returned to the dining hall.

He would need all the help he could get.