They ran for what seemed like forever, their lungs burned and their feet ached. Zuko and Uncle Iroh decided that they had put enough distance between them and Azula, and stopped by a river bank.

"I think we are safe here." Uncle Iroh, knelt by the river, his breath coming off in heaves.

Zuko looked at the rushing water of the river. His exile had not come to an end, now they were worse off than when they had started.

They were fugitives now.

He took out the pearl dagger his uncle had given him and contemplated whether it was the right thing to do. He closed his eyes, holding his top knot with the other hand, and cut it all off. Zuko held the ponytail in his hands. This had been his ray of hope, his way of telling himself that someday, he will make it back to his nation, with his pride and honor. But now, his own father had ordered his imprisonment.

He handed the dagger off to his uncle who did the same. And with the thoughts of ever returning to the Fire Nation, they let go of their hair, letting it get washed down by the river.

Chiyo followed Azula as they searched the nearby cities in the West Coast of the Earth Kingdom. She had commissioned a sketch artist to make some flyers that contained the faces of Zuko and Uncle Iroh, branding them as traitors to the Fire Nation. A hefty price was put on their heads, dead or alive. Azula had also expressed that anyone who harbors them will face the wrath of the Fire Lord.

They walked in a procession, Azula riding the palanquin, the royal guards at her side, Chiyo up front. To the side, a group of casually dressed nomads with flower wreaths and instruments sang as they walked. Chiyo was quite fond of singing nomads. They are carefree and fun, like their songs about the places they've been to and things they've explored.

One of them, a tall lanky man with shaggy hair and a flower wreath around his neck tried to catch her attention. "Hey, hey, hey! Come sing with me and my wife, pretty lady!"

Azula growled. "We don't have time for fools, Chiyo!"

The apprentice looked apologetic. "Sorry..."

The royal procession passed, but not before she heard the man sing.

Don't fall in love

With the travelling girl

She'll leave you broke and

Brokenhearted

Iroh stared at the beautiful flower that was in front of him. By now, they were decked in some earth-toned clothes and pants, as well as proper boots that they had 'borrowed' from a residence they had passed.

"I didn't find anything to eat! I can't live like this!" Prince Zuko emerged from a bush after he failed to find any edible fruit in the forest. "I wasn't meant to be a fugitive. This is impossible!" He approached his preoccupied uncle. "Uncle, what are you doing?"

"You're looking at the rare white dragon bush!" Uncle Iroh gestured to the lone white and red flower on the ground. "Its leaves make a tea so delicious, it's heartbreaking! That...or it's the white jade bush which is poisonous..."

"We need food, not tea..." He said exasperatedly. "I'm going fishing." The prince trudged off to the nearby river and look around for a stick he could carve into a spear.

While sharpening the spear, the thoughts he tried to suppress in the back of his mind surfaced once again. She was there on the ship. She had saved him from his own sister. 'But the foolish girl sacrificed herself instead of coming along with us, with me...' He angrily chucked at the wood until it was sharp enough. He entered the water and started his futile hunt.

"Zuko...remember that plant I thought might be tea?"

The prince stopped in his tracks. "You didn't..."

"I did... and it wasn't..." Iroh faced his nephew, revealing his face marred with red, vein-like rashes. "When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing. But look what I found!" He pulled out the stick he was using to scratch his back. On the other end was a clump of bright pink berries. "These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant! That... or maka'ole berries that cause blindness..."

Zuko snatched the branch in frustration and tossed it away. "We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need to get help!"

"But where are we going to go? We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation!" Iroh explained, all the while scratching his legs, his knees, his arms...

The prince pondered the situation. His uncle was right. "If the Earth Kingdom discovers us, they'll have us killed."

"But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula." Iroh countered.

Both uncle and nephew looked at each other, exchanged an understanding glance and nodded.

"Earth Kingdom it is."

Days of searching the nearby cities for the fugitives were fruitless. They had made camp for the night at a dock. Azula sat as usual in her palanquin, with Lo and Li at her sides.

"When tracking your brother and uncle, travelling with the royal procession may no longer be an option."

"May no longer be wise if you hope to keep the element of surprise."

The princess considered the words of her advisers. "You're right. The royal procession is dead weight. If I want to catch my prey, I must be agile, nimble. I need a small, elite team... Chiyo?"

"Yes, Princess Azula?" Chiyo bowed her head.

"I think it's time we visit some old friends."

The next morning, Azula and Chiyo, along with a few guards as security detail, traveled to a circus that happened to be passing a nearby Earth Kingdom colony. They went past the cages containing large, bizarre beasts and opulent tents containing oddities of every shape and size, looking for someone.

Finally they found her, upside down, balancing on her fingertips, wearing a bright pink jester's uniform. "Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?"

"Azula! Chiyo!" Ty Lee's expression perked up upon seeing old friends she hadn't seen in years. She spun out of her balancing practice and bowed to the princess before rushing and enveloping them both in a tight hug. "It is so good to see the two of you!"

Chiyo smiled. "I can see you have gotten so much better than me in balancing, Lady Ty Lee."

"Oh, don't patronize me! I still get shaky every now and then." She giggled.

"Please, don't let us interrupt your... whatever it is you were doing. So tell me, what is the daughter of a nobleman doing here? Certainly our parents didn't send us to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls to end up in..." Azula looked around to emphasize her point. "places like this... I have a proposition for you." She smiled. "I'm hunting a traitor. You remember my old, fuddy-duddy uncle, don't you?"

"Oh yeah! He was so funny!"

"I would be honored if you would join me on my mission."

"Oh...I...uh..." Ty Lee hesitated, looking away from the Princess. "I would love to, but the truth is, I'm really happy here! I mean, my aura has never been pinker!" She raised her hands, as if to show Azula her aura.

"I'll take your word for it." Azula sighed, acting disappointed. "Well, I wouldn't want you to give up the life you love just to please me."

Ty Lee smiled at her friend's understanding. "Thank you, Azula."

"Come on, Chiyo." Azula and Chiyo turned to leave. "Of course, before we leave, we are going to catch your show."

The acrobat gasped, her eyes widening. She knew it, she had it coming. It was always the same since they were kids, whatever Azula wants, Azula gets. One way or another. "Uh...yeah, sure...of course..."

Azula was given the best seat of the house in the performance tent. The ringmaster stepped forward and bowed to the princess and the audience. "We're deeply honored to have the Fire Lord's daughter, Princess Azula, and the famous apprentice entertainer, Chiyo, at our humble circus! Please tell us if there is anything we can do to make the show more enjoyable."

'They are making it so easy for Azula.' Chiyo thought to herself as she stood behind the princess, genuinely worried for her friend, Ty Lee. Ever since they were kids, Azula was known to be very persuasive. And that talent had only gone better over time.

"I will." Azula smirked knowingly, readying herself for a night of entertainment.

After a few circus regular acts, it was time for Ty Lee's balancing act. There she was, thirty feet up in the air, balancing on an upside down table that hung dangerously on a thin wire. She shifted her whole weight from one hand to another and the crowd cheered at the acrobat's grace.

"Incredible..." the princess drawled. "Do you think she'll fall?"

"Of course not!" The ringmaster beamed proudly.

"Then wouldn't it make it more interesting if you remove the net?"

The ringmaster was suddenly stuttering in cold sweat. "T-the thing is...uh...the performers—"

"You're right...you're right... that's been done before..." Azula was silent for a few seconds before she turned to Chiyo. "Chiyo, set the net on fire."

Unable to say 'no' to the determined princess, Chiyo went down to the ring, eyeing Ty Lee with worried eyes, which she reciprocated. She grabbed a nearby torch and set the safety net on fire.

Ty Lee was sweating uncontrollably, both from the heat of the fire, and from Azula's obvious manipulations. The unease caused her to falter a bit, the once perfect balance, began shaking.

"Brilliant! Just brilliant!" Azula grinned and turned again to the ringmaster who was now clenching his fist so hard his knuckles turned white. "Ooh! What kind of dangerous animals do you have?"

"We-well... Our circus boasts the most exotic assortment—"

"Release them all!" The princess laughed with so much glee.

At the order of the princess, all of the circus animals were released back into the ring, making Ty Lee falter more and more.

"Focus...focus..." Chiyo mouthed to her friend. She only had to survive a few more agonizing seconds before her act was over. "Just a bit more..."

After the show, Azula and Chiyo entered Ty Lee's tent, bearing black lava daisies as a gift. "What an exquisite performance! I can't wait to see how you'll top yourself tomorrow."

'Azula really won't give up, won't she?' Chiyo sighed and looked at Ty Lee who had a very calm expression on her face... too calm.

"I'm sorry, Azula, but unfortunately, there won't be a show tomorrow."

"Really?"

Ty Lee hung up her ornate headdress for good. "The universe is giving me strong hints that it's time for a career change..." She turned to face the princess. "I want to join you on your mission." Azula smiled wickedly.

Whatever she wants, she will always get. One way, but preferably the other.

The next day, they traveled to Omashu to get Mai. Her father was appointed governor of the newly conquered city and their whole family had moved there.

"Please tell me you're here to kill me." Mai bowed to the princess with a smile.

"It's great to see you, Mai." Azula was already convinced Mai was going to join her in the mission. Anything with the promise of excitement will surely pique her interest.

Mai turned to Ty Lee, a bit surprised. "I thought you ran off to join the circus? You said it was your calling..."

"Well, Azula called a little louder." Ty Lee grinned, trying to hide the fact that she was the latest victim of Azula's persuasive ways.

"And Chiyo..." Mai drawled as she took two steps towards the entertainer. "What are you doing here?"

Indeed, Mai was still hostile towards her. Zuko used to spend a lot of his time with the apprentice, and Mai saw him less and less every time she visited, much to her annoyance. Chiyo bowed. "Lady Mai, it's great to see you too. Princess Azula brought me here, but I intend to go back soon. I received a messenger hawk from Lady Suiren. She says it's high time for me to come home and resume my work..."

Azula suddenly frowned at this new information. "Why wasn't I informed of that?"

"It came in just a while ago. One of the soldiers gave it to me." Chiyo handed a scroll to Azula. "Even the Fire Lord has requested me back in time for the Festival of Agni."

The princess read all the contents of the letter, satisfied that Chiyo was telling the truth. "Very well, I shall have a dozen men on board with you on a ship back to the Fire Nation. I'll stay behind." She turned to Mai and Ty Lee. "I still have my mission, and I need you both."

Azula parted ways with Chiyo and the latter was escorted back to the royal warship. From there, the crew packed her belongings and she bid her farewell to Lo and Li. They commissioned a vessel from the port and they set their course back to the Fire Nation.

They spent days out on the sea. Chiyo enjoyed this part of the vacation more as she got to finally relax. Even the crew could say the same. Occasionally, they were given the delight of watching the young apprentice practice on the deck, or play a game of pai sho with her.

It was an unusually clear day, not a cloud in sight, but Chiyo felt something ominous in the air. "How far are we from the docks of the capital?"

"About two days more of travel, my lady." The captain answered. "We're still in Earth Kingdom territory."

"Oh." She nodded and thanked the captain. She made her way below deck to catch up on sleep, the light rocking of the ship lulling her into slumber.

"Men, get to your stations! Pull down the sails!" The captain's barked orders woke Chiyo, then suddenly, the ship was jolted to the right, sending her tumbling off her bunk and onto the floor.

She got up, hastily slipped on her sandals and ran to the deck. "Captain! What's going on?!" She shouted over the pouring rain and the loud crashing of the waves.

"A storm, my lady! A big one! Get below deck, your safety is our priority!" Just as he finished talking, a huge wave crashed over the deck, sweeping two men and sending them overboard, the sea claiming them.

"Head into the eye of the storm, captain!" Chiyo shielded her eyes from the sudden gust of wind and rain. The sky was dark, almost black with thick clouds, pouring sheets of rain down on the ship.

"Yes, my lady!" The captain gave out the orders again.

It all happened so fast, a bigger wave washed over the deck, and swept the soldier who was tying up the sails. He was swept from his position but he managed to hold on to the railing. And due to the relentless pouring rain, his hand was slipping fast. "HELP!"

There was no one else to help him. Everyone else was busy with their tasks of keeping the ship afloat among the crashing waves. Taking a deep breath, she ran to the soldier who was dangling by a hand on the railing. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and hoisted him back up to the deck. "M-my lady! Thank you—"

The soldier didn't get to finish his sentence as another wave descended on them, this time the force sent Chiyo who was already standing next to the railing, overboard and into the raging, black sea.

Even as she tried to swim back to the ship, the current was too strong and the waves only set her back further each time. Eventually, her arms and legs grew tired of fighting the current and a huge wave took her under.

"Is this it? Is this how I am destined to go?" She closed her eyes as she run out of breath and the darkness took her.

"At least I got to see him one last time before I die."

Author's Notes

And that is how the story ends...

BAZINGA!

Just kidding, please don't kill me.

-TheGreatestConWoman-