They decided to settle near a small river village in the Western Earth Kingdom. After setting up straw mats and letting the tired ostrich-horse they had taken from Song's family rest, Iroh took his straw hat off and asked for spare change from passersby.

"Spare coins for weary travelers?" He put out his hat at a merchant who doled out two copper coins. Iroh thanked the man with a bow of his head.

"This is humiliating!" Zuko growled, keeping his head low out of shame, letting his own hat cover his face. "We're royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want!"

"They will, if you ask nicely." His uncle pointed out and he resumed his work. "Spare change for a hungry old man?"

The woman smiled, "Aw... Here you go..." She set a silver piece into the hat.

"The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile." Iroh, tested out his charms once again. Back in the day, he was quite notorious among the women of the Fire Nation. Daughters of noblemen and entertainers alike fight to be in his company. The woman giggled as she walked away, charmed by the man's line.

"How about some entertainment in exchange for a gold piece?" A man approached them swaggering and pulled out a lone, shiny golden coin.

Zuko looked up at the man with a scowl. "We're not performers."

"Not professional anyway!" Iroh quickly corrected his nephew and stood up.

It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se!

But the girls in the city,

They look so pretty!

"Come on, we're talking a gold piece here! Let's see some action!" The man complained and pulled out his dual broadswords. "Dance!" He started swiping the swords at Iroh's feet, but was taken aback by his agility in avoiding them.

And they kiss so sweet,

That you really have to meet,

The girls from Ba Sing Se!

The thug laughed maniacally. "Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner! Here you go!" He tossed the gold piece into Iroh's hat and walked away.

"Such a kind man..." Iroh mused, smiling at his spoils.

But his nephew looked at the retreating man's back with anger and frustration. He had dealt him, a prince of the Fire Nation, and his uncle, a former general and the Dragon of the West, such humiliation. In his mind, he started to plot sweet revenge.

That night, he left Uncle Iroh, telling him that he wanted to look around the village. He donned on his only change of clothes, a dark green tunic and matching trousers. Last he had worn this, he had saved the Avatar from the clutches of Commander Zhao. And from the bottom of his travelling pack, he pulled out the blue spirit mask that Chiyo had given him the night of the Fire Lily Festival.

His mind suddenly conjured the image of her, smiling at the sky as it lit up with fireworks, her amber eyes shining bright with happiness. She truly was beautiful in that candid moment of their escape; and he fell for her, harder than any young man could have fallen for a young girl. It was the only thing of Chiyo's he had taken with him upon his banishment three years ago. That, and memories of her singing in the harbor.

If you know my longing heart,

Please, come back to me.

Zuko shook his head to clear his thoughts. Tonight, his target was the thug who dare humiliate them in the town. He carefully slid on the mask and tied it behind his head. He started his hunt.

It was a quiet evening and Zuko eventually spotted the thug walking in an alleyway. 'How convenient.' He thought and he followed him on the rooftops stealthily.

The man felt that he was being followed so he brandished his dual broadswords. "Who's there?"

As he turned, Zuko attacked, seizing the man's hand and making him drop the swords. He then threw him back unto a pile of crates that tumbled upon impact.

He looked up to see who would dare ambush him in the middle of the night and what he saw terrified him. It was the fabled blue spirit! And in his hands, he held the broadswords with obvious years of expertise and mastery.

The next morning, he happened upon two merchants who were taking their basket of sweet breads to the market. He jumped down from the rooftops and sliced through the staff the man used to carry the baskets.

The man and woman shook in fear for their life, the blue spirit is known to be a savage killer throughout the Earth Kingdom. His fables are passed around from town to town, the story, getting wilder each time. They were surprised though when the blue spirit only took the baskets as well as the jug the woman was carrying on her head, then ran away. They stared at the direction he had gone, dumbfounded, but mostly grateful they were still alive.

Once Zuko was within the confines of the forest, he hid the mask inside the base of a hollow tree and made his way back to the cave where he and his uncle had made camp.

He tossed the baskets in front of his uncle and sat down in front of the roaring fire. "Where did you get these?" His uncle queried, looking at the basket of food in confusion.

"What does it matter where they came from?"

Zuko did it another time, this time, he had spied a rich merchant coming home after a successful trade. He jumped above the moving carriage, knocked out the soldier who drove it and punched through the roof. The merchant readily handed over the chest of coins, fearing for his life. As soon as Zuko had it, he disappeared just as fast as he came.

He changed back into his earth-toned clothes and took off the mask. He stared at it for a long time and carefully placed it in his satchel. Once in town, he used up most of the coins and bought a lot of things for him and his uncle. Food, wares, clothes, anything he deemed they could use. The prince brought it back to the cave and waited for his uncle.

"Looks like you did some serious shopping... But where did you get the money?" he mused as he inspected the golden tea set in front of him.

"Do you like your new teapot?"

His uncle sighed. "To be honest with you, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes from a porcelain pot, or a tin cup." He stood up and approached his nephew. "I know we've had some difficult times lately. We've had to struggle just to get by. But it's nothing to be ashamed of! There is a simple honor in poverty."

Zuko looked away. "There is no honor for me without the Avatar."

"Zuko... Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not so sure it would solve our problems, not now."

The prince stood up to leave. "Then there is no hope at all..."

Uncle Iroh grabbed his nephew. "No, Zuko! You must never give in to despair! Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength."

He ducked out and took a long walk in the forest to contemplate the situation that they have reached. It was twilight when he returned.

"I thought a lot about what you said," he started.

"You did?" His uncle turned, happy that his nephew had seen the wisdom he wished to impart. "Good, good."

"It's made me realize something." He looked down at the ground and clenched his fists. "We no longer have anything to gain by travelling together. I need to find my own way."

Iroh bowed his head in defeat as Zuko picked up his supplies and set off to journey on his own. "Wait!" he called his nephew, with the ostrich-horse in tow, and handed the reins to him.

Without another word or so much as a farewell, the prince got on the ostrich horse and sped off.

She could feel a lot of things.

She felt the fine grains of sand beneath her.

She felt the waves gently crashing on her feet and legs.

She felt the heat of the sun beating down on her skin.

She felt pain in her head and on her body as if she had been hit by a herd of komodo-rhinos.

She felt something poking her cheek repeatedly.

"Is she alive? She doesn't look like she's breathing..." The voice of a young boy mused as he continued the assault on her cheek.

"She's so pretty..."

With all the energy she could muster, she opened her eyes, surprising the two children who had seen her washed up on the shore. They screamed when they saw her alive and the young boy turned to run away.

"Wait!" The little girl knelt down beside the woman on the shore. "Are you okay, lady?"

The woman could only blink in response. Her throat was sore from thirst and too much saltwater from the seas.

"Hachi, go get my brother! We need to help her!"

"But look at her eyes, Yona!" The young boy, who was named Hachi, reprimanded the girl. "They're red! She's either a monster, or someone from the Fire Nation. Which is pretty much the same if you ask me!"

"Or maybe it's because she just has red eyes, you dumb-dumb!" Yona retorted and stuck out her tongue. "Just go get Kai fast!"

The young boy groaned, but ran to fetch the young girl's brother. She felt her small hands sweep away the sand and the matted hair from her face. "What are you doing out here in the beach?" Her green eyes gazed curiously at the woman's face. "Do you have a name?" The woman's face scrunched up as if in pain and she passed out.

A few moments later, the young boy arrived with who seemed to be Yona's brother. "What do you have there, Yona?"

"Hachi and I were playing on the beach and we found her here!" Yona stepped away from the woman so her brother could have a good look at her.

The woman was drenched head to toe. Her long dark hair was matted with blood and tangled with sand, her pale skin, littered with a few scratches. Her clothes comprising of a thick white kimono, with red and gold lining, don't seem to come from any nearby Earth Kingdom colony. She looked ghastly thin. She must have spent at least a day out on the sea before getting washed up in their shores.

Carefully, Kai picked her up in his arms easily and took her back into their house. Kai's mother, Aila helped set down the young woman. She changed her clothing into a simple green tunic and bottoms, letting her rest on the spare bed they kept for visitors.

The young woman woke up after a day's rest. She opened her tired eyes and winced at the throbbing pain at the back of her head. "Oh thank goodness child, you are awake!" A woman cautiously approached her and helped her sit up. "I made some soup. You look like you haven't eaten in days! Yona! Go get a bowl of soup for our guest!"

She looked around at the foreign surroundings, wondering how she had gotten there, or why she was there in the first place.

The young girl who had found her on the shore returned with a bowl of hot soup. Her mouth watered instantly and she thanked both women with a bow before digging in, not minding the burning sensation on her tongue and throat.

"So... What is your name, stranger?" The mother smiled kindly at the young woman.

She stopped spooning the soup into her mouth and set the bowl down. She racked her brain for the answer but nothing popped up. Her face showed a very panicked expression, her mind screaming one thought repeatedly, over and over.

'Who was I?'