They were on board one of the largest warships in the Fire Nation's Royal Navy. Princess Azula was perched on her royal palanquin, looking over the crew as they hustled to get everything prepared. They will be docking soon on the West Coast of the Earth Kingdom. Chiyo stood behind Princess Azula, looking out at the vast blue seas.

The crew lined up and bowed low to the Fire Nation Princess as she stepped out of the palanquin. "My brother and my uncle have disgraced the Fire Lord and brought shame on all of us." She walked across the deck, addressing each soldier with a glare that could cut through metal. "You may have mixed feelings about attacking members of the royal family, I understand. But I assure you...If you hesitate, I will not hesitate to bring you down." Seeing as how they seemed to get the message, she dismissed them.

"Princess, I'm afraid the tides will not allow us to bring the ship into port before nightfall..." The captain of the ship approached and bowed before the princess.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but I do not know much about the tides. Can you explain something to me?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Do the tides command this ship?" She looked over at the horizon, watching the waves rise and fall in the distance. In her thoughts, it looked like the new captain of the warship was undermining her authority. And she will not have it.

The captain hesitantly answered the princess. "I'm afraid I don't understand—"

"You said the tides would not allow us to bring the ship in. Do the tides command this ship?"

The captain was silent and this frustrated the princess even more. "Chiyo! Come down here and explain to the captain why he should not be afraid of the tides."

The young woman sighed and stood up from beside Lo and Li who were idly chatting about the young men of the crew. She made her way down the deck to where the captain and Azula stood. She turned to the captain with apologetic eyes. "Umm... what Princess Azula means to say is that you shouldn't be afraid of the tides who will instantly kill you. You should be afraid of her who is still mulling it over."

The captain's eyes widened in understanding and he bowed. "I-I'll pull us in." And like a wolf-bat from hell, he ran to find the helmsman.

Azula laughed and faced Chiyo. "That ought to teach him, right, Chiyo?"

"You can try to be a bit more friendly, Princess Azula." She leaned against the ship, staring up at the vast blue sky that mirrored the sea. One of the perks she had earned over the years with Azula is that she can be as blunt she wanted.

"What's the use of being friendly when all you have to do is have them fear you and they'll obey?" With her signature smirk, she turned to the apprentice entertainer. "Remember Chiyo, it's better to be feared than loved."

Afternoon came and Azula commanded Chiyo to spar with her, much to the latter's frustration. She will be fighting a firebending master with what? Fans? Aluminum swords? Nonetheless, she humored the princess's request and made her way down to the deck. Lo and Li, Azula's firebending instructors watched over them, keeping their trained eyes focused on the princess.

She harnessed the power of lightning in her fingertips, she let them glide through the air, the left hand, then the right, and with a burst of power, she directed lightning towards Chiyo's feet.

Chiyo, with the well-known lightness of her feet, spun out of the way, the lightning missing her by a few inches.

The twins looked over at Azula's form and commented. "Almost perfect."

"One hair out of place."

Azula glared at the single lock of hair that dare fall loose from her top knot. "Almost isn't good enough!"

As if to add to her rage, Chiyo laughed and approached the princess, taking a pin from the numerous that were embedded into her own, she pinned, the princess's hair into place. "Shall we try again?"

The next day came and by afternoon, they had finally reached the village resort, yet Azula was still in her royal robes and armor. This puzzled Chiyo, and made her wonder, was relaxation really what she was after here? She followed Lo and Li's lead by wearing bathing suits and sitting on the deck to soak up some sun.

The sight of the old twins in their bathing suits will forever be etched into her memory.

At the temporary distraction, Azula slipped off the ship and followed the trail up the resort.

"Look at these magnificent shells!" A tanned Uncle Iroh marveled at the spoils he found at the beach. "I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come!"

"We don't need any more useless things!" Zuko scolded his uncle. His temper had only gotten worse throughout the years, but he was not much far from the boy that left the harbor, banished from his nation years ago. "You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now!"

"Hello, brother... Uncle..." Azula smiled from where she was seated at the far corner of the room.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko frowned at their unwanted visitor.

"In my country, we exchange a pleasant 'hello' before asking questions." She picked up a shell, twirling it between her long-nailed fingers. "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?"

"Don't call me that!"

Uncle Iroh held Zuko's arm to remind him to reign in his temper. "To what do we owe this honor?"

"Must be a family trait... Both of you so quick to get to the point." She crushed the shell in her hands, smirking all the while at her brother's anger. "I've come with a message from home. Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him, treacherous plots... Family are the only ones you can really trust." She can tell by the look in Zuko's eyes that he was tired of his banishment, his exile out of his nation, of his family. And she knew just the right words to pull him in. "Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home."

Azula calmed her expression to show sincerity. 'Poor fool.' She laughed inwardly. "Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful... I just gave you great news..."

"I'm sure your brother simply needs—"

"DON'T INTERRUPT, Uncle!" She snapped at the old man and approached her older brother. "I still haven't heard a 'thank you'. I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way—"

"Father regrets?" Zuko looked out the window to assemble his thoughts. His father... The man who had put this unsightly scar on his face... The man who had banished him, not to return unless he has the Avatar... regrets his banishment and wants him to come home. Is this the moment he had always been secretly waiting for? "He wants me back?"

"I can see you need time to take this in. I'll call on you tomorrow. Good evening..." She marched across the room and stopped at the door. "Oh, and one more thing... Chiyo says she misses you, and she's looking forward to your return." With a smirk, she left the hut and went back to the ship.

That night, Chiyo could not sleep at all so she went out of her quarters and explored the deck of the ship. From the distance, she saw Azula talking to the captain. Their back was towards her so they could not see her approach.

"My uncle and brother will surely turn up here tomorrow. Once they get on the ramp, seize them and lock them up in their cells." Azula commanded the captain who bowed his head in affirmation.

Chiyo heard it all. Zuko and Uncle Iroh were on this island! And Azula's mission was to capture them! Azula had turned around and saw Chiyo. "She heard the plan! Seize her!"

The apprentice didn't have a chance to retaliate as one of the professional guards had jabbed a crucial vein in her neck, paralyzing her and making her lose consciousness.

"Lock her up in her quarters. And make sure she doesn't interfere with tomorrow's plans!"

Zuko and Uncle Iroh made their way down the village resort the next morning, and to the harbor where the large warship was docked. Soldiers lined the pathway, bowing their heads in welcome of the Prince and the former General. Azula stood at the top of the ramp, smiling at them. "Brother, Uncle, welcome!" She bowed at them, and it was reciprocated. "I'm so glad you decided to come."

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?"

"Set our course for home, Captain." Azula said with a relaxed expression and a light smile.

"Home..." It had been a long time since he had been home. Three years at sea, chasing the Avatar, chasing his honor. And finally, he was allowed to return home.

It wasn't until they had taken a few steps that the captain gave his orders. "You heard the princess, raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners home!" Azula glared at the captain who had just realized his mistake, "Y-your highness, I—"

The guards closed in on Iroh and Zuko. Despite his old age, Iroh was still agile, easily fending off the guards who came to attack him and his nephew.

Zuko threw the captain overboard and faced Azula, rage etched into his features. "You lied to me!"

"Like I've never done that before." Azula turned around, signalling her personal guards to attack the prince.

Chiyo woke up to the sound of the commotion from up above the deck. She tied her robe tight against her slender frame and got up to find out the source. As she turned the handle, she realized that Azula had locked her in. She knew she would try and interfere. She thought of Uncle Iroh, she thought of Zuko... Looking around her room, she looked for ways to get out of her quarters. There wasn't a single window to climb out of. And the walls were pure concrete.

'The pins!' She hurried to her dresser and scrambled for the pins from yesterday. With the skill Shang had thought her last year, she inserted the pin into the lock and twisted it around, trying to find the latch. After a long minute, she finally heard the click and the door swung free. She wasted no time and ran to the deck.

She opened the doors that led to the deck and found Azula holding Zuko's hand in a tight lock, her other hand tingling with the electricity she planned to shock her brother with.

Chiyo did the only thing she could think of at that moment.

She ran, grabbed Azula's arm with both hands and forcefully redirected her aim to the sky. The lightning missed Zuko, who fell back onto the lower deck. The shock lightly singed the flesh of her palms, nothing a few ointments will be able to treat later on.

Azula growled at her interference, pushing Chiyo to the floor. Once again, she harnessed the power of electricity in her hands.

Zuko looked up at the deck, a bit disoriented from the fall. Once his vision cleared, he saw a woman on the floor, scrambling away from Azula who is about to strike her with lightning. "NO!"

Before Azula could release the lightning, Uncle Iroh had managed to grab her fingertips, letting the lightning flow through his body as he redirected it to the mountainside. The powerful impact created a landslide of rocks that carved the mountainside. Uncle Iroh twisted Azula's arm and kicked her with enough force to throw her overboard the ship and into the sea.

Iroh went back down and grabbed his nephew's arm, pulling him up on his feet. "Uncle, the woman!" The prince looked back at the woman who saved him. Her long dark curls tamed into thick waves that flowed past her shoulders and down her back. Her amber eyes that shone with familiarity, eyes he had wanted to see for so long.

Chiyo stood at the top deck, looking at Zuko. He had changed a lot. His boyhood features had disappeared. The dark scar on the left side of his face stood out, prominent against his pale skin, his golden eyes looked up at her with the same pleading eyes, as before. "Chiyo!"

She wanted to go to them. She had longed for this moment for years. She was about to take a step forward when she heard the back-up guards from below deck finally emerge. She ran to the front and took down the first guard. "Go! I will hold them off!"

"No! I am not leaving without you!"

More guards came through and Chiyo continued blocking them from reaching the prince and his uncle. "Run, you idiots!" She growled as she kicked a soldier in the gut, and jabbed her fingers into two other's necks. "I'll hold off Azula. I can handle her. RUN!" She looked to Uncle Iroh, hoping he would understand.

And he did. Much like before, he took Zuko's arm and they ran away from the ship, across the harbor. "NO! Chiyo!" Zuko called out, trying to break free from his uncle's grasp.

Chiyo looked back at Zuko, after three years, she thought she could forget him. Three years, she thought were enough to set aside the feelings that bubbled forth now.

A soldier had caught her arms and forced her to kneel.

Azula had now gotten back up at the ship, drenched in sea water, smoke literally coming off her as the water evaporated off her. Chiyo raised her head, relieved to see that Zuko and Uncle Iroh were gone. "Princess Azula, I—"

She was cut off with a sharp slap on the cheek. She felt blood trickle down, Azula's long nails had grazed her flawless cheek. It was now marred with three streaks of bright red. "Why did you have to interfere?! I had them right where I wanted them!"

"B-because it is not right, Princess Azula!" Chiyo had to think fast.

"What do you mean 'not right'?! I had them literally in my grasp! If it weren't for that stupid captain and your interference, we would've been on the way home with our prisoners!" She raised her hand again to slap her.

Chiyo closed her eyes, and let out her excuse in a hurried breath. "W-wouldn't it be much more fun to hunt them when they are running away, scared?"

Azula stopped her hand, just before it made contact with Chiyo's other cheek. It is true. Knowing that fear coursed through the prey's blood, makes hunting them down all the more sweeter.

The princess signaled the guards to release Chiyo. "You're lucky I like you and your sharp wit. Now, help me change out of these wet clothes."

"Of course, Princess Azula." With a short bow, she followed the princess below deck and into her quarters.