Chai Chamomile lived with her adoptive grandparents as long as she could remember in one of the oldest Fire Nation colonies, a port-town. Earl and Pepper Chamomile were some of the first colonists to move in. Since then, they ran a bath, bed, and tea establishment. For the Chamomiles it was a peaceful life until the prince came. It was widely known that Prince Zuko had been banished for dishonoring his father, the Fire Lord, although details were vague. It was also commonly known that the prince was searching for the missing Avatar in an attempt to capture him and restore his honor. The prince and his uncle, General Iroh, had come into port after yet another unsuccessful lead. In the market Chai was purchasing fruit when she heard the news.

"I was there when they came in," said a fisherman, "You should see the prince's face! A large scar engulfs his left eye!"

"Do you suppose the Fire Lord did that after…you know?" asked a saleswoman.

"Nah," chimed a farmer, "I heard it came from a practice accident."

Then the crowd went deadly silent. Chai turned to see an old man accompanying a boy matching the rourmerd scar. The boy had a deadly aura about him and looked at the people around the area with a scowl. Everybody seemed to be avoiding looking directly at him, probably in fear of what assumptions he may come to. Unfortunately, Chai didn't seem to realize their concerns in time.

Their eyes met for half a second before Chai jerked her head the opposite direction. She felt her heart quicken and a shortness of breath. Sweat began surfacing from her skin. A moment later, Chai heard a voice behind her question, "Was there something on my face?" When she didn't answer the prince yelled, "I ASKED IF THERE WAS SOMETHING ON MY FACE!" He made her face him and grabbed the scruff of her blouse, "GO ON SPIT IT OUT. SEE IF I CARE!"

"Prince Zuko, please keep your wits about you," said the old man.

"Uncle, don't expect me to overlook the judgement of this peasant. For that she deserves to learn a lesson…" He balled his free hand into a slight fist and a blade of fire appeared. Chai felt her mind go blank and moved, twisting the prince's arm that held her blouse off and jabbing several exposed nerves, just as her grandfather had taught her.

The prince fell in a thud to the ground. It was when her grandparents came running into the market with a bystander that the color drained from her face. What had she done?

Not long after, Chia was in her room. The general and prince were downstairs talking to her grandparents. There was little doubt in her mind that they were discussing what her punishment ought to be. Although she was threatened, she still technically was the first to attack. Plus he was royal and did royals even care about others' opinions?

A knock sounded on the door and was opened, "Chai, your grandfather and I need to talk to you." Granny Pepper and Grandpapi Earl entered her room.

"I'm going to jail, aren't I?" asked Chai, casting her gaze downward.

"No, no dear. It'll be ok."

"Of course you're not exactly getting off either," said Grandpapi, "The general managed to get the prince to agree on having you pay your dues by serving them during their quest."

"They want me to serve them tea?" asked Chai, perplexed.

"Not exactly…"

"Then what? No…" Chai's face reddened as she jumped to an extreme conclusion.

"No! Not that either, although you better keep your guard up on the sea… No, they want you to work as a gaurd against unfriendly benders."

"I-I suppose that's not too bad… But how long am I to be away?"

"That is for the prince to decide. Perhaps as long as it takes him to reach his goal. Tonight, the prince and general will be staying here. Tomorrow you all will depart for sea. I'll need you to prepare the guest room and bath for them."

Chai quickly set up the bathhouse and spare bedroom. While the general and prince were bathing, she went into the kitchen where Granny was brewing tea. The aroma filled her nostrils and the name came from her lips, "Chai, Granny?"

"Oh," said Granny, "I would have thought you returned to bed, my child."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. This might be my last one here…"

"Don't say that!"

"But no one's ever seen the Avatar! What if the prince decides I'm to travel with his crew until the very moment of his success, but that never comes? What if I die before then in combat or of old age? I won't be able to live as I want, I probably won't ever get married..."

"I don't know dear. But you must never lose hope. You know your stubborn grandfather and I are always with you in heart, right?"

"I-I'm just going to miss you guys. You're all I know…"

"And you are our precious child no matter what," Granny poured the tea into two cups, "I need to go and get these to our guests…"

"Let me, Granny," said Chai taking the tray, "I might as well attempt to start paying them back now."

Chai started heading towards the bath house when she saw the General on his way out. She did a quick bow and said, "Finished so soon General Iroh?"

The general sighed and said, "There is no need to be nervous or formal, young lady. We may be traveling for a long while before the prince ceases his search. You can call me Iroh."

"I…don't know, sir. Isn't that a little too formal. After all you are an elder…"

"Then how about Uncle Iroh?"

"U-uncle Iroh?"

"That's it. Oh, I heard we would be getting tea with our bath," said Uncle Iroh picking up a cup off the tray, "Mmm, chai. A tea to put the heart at ease. The prince definatly needs to drink more of this!" The general took a sip and continued, "Your name was Chai, yes? Named after the tea?"

"Yes. Grandpapi and Granny said they once compared their names to tea and found they were both consumers of the drinks. They thought it would be funny to have named their children after teas, but since they didn't have any of their own, I was given the legacy."

"Adopted, eh? It's good to see war orphans can find a home here. I'll be off now My nephew is still in the bath house. I will advise you to tread carefully. He has a lot of... triggers…" Then he continued heading to the main house.

Chai knocked on the door and from inside a voice said, "I told you, Uncle, I can bathe myself perfectly fine."

"It's me. Chai Chamomile. The person who chi blocked you," she said as she slid open the door. The prince was chest deep in the cloudy water. From where she was standing, Chai saw only his right half.

"You do know this is the male side of the bath right? Or are you here to peep?"

Chai's face went red and then she said, "I'm just here to bring tea for your information! I've done this, like a million times! Now here you go and good night," she placed the cup next to him and turned to head for the door when she stepped on the hem of her kimono and fell into the water.

The prince started laughing. Chai felt like blowing up, but when she turned to face him, she didn't see the same arrogant, hot head she met in the market. There was a sort of softness there. He seemed to realize he dropped his persona for a moment because he quickly returned to a hardened expression. "Serves you right," he said quietly, "Now leave me before make you wish you never saw that."

Before thinking, Chai grabbed a bucket from the side and splashed the prince with some water. He scowled as she cracked. "Maybe that will cool you down, Your Royal Hot Head," she said as she climbed out the pool, "I'm warning you, I'm going to see that side of you again. Oh, and yes there is something on your face, but...you lose nothing to it." And she left the bath house, drenched.

The next day, Chai was up early. She rummaged her drawers for the outfit she normally wore when her grandfather taught her combative techniques. He had once been an expert in most combat working in the army.

Everybody was already in the kitchens of the shop when she entered. When she saw the prince, she remembered what she said the previous night. Mark my words, Prince, she thought to herself, I will see you like that again.

Chai bowed in a respectful way more to the general than to the prince, but maybe it would help him to get over the chai blocking and bucket splash faster if she at least acted respectful. After all, his attitude still bugged her, even if he was royalty. "I am ready to pay for my insolence, Your Highness, and I hope to restore my honor by helping to restore yours."

The prince just grunted, looking off to the side and the general said, "We will be happy to have a young lady with your talents on our side and look forward to the presence of a beautiful young lady on the ship. Seriously, days out on sea with only men can be tiring...Just so you know."

"I will mentally prepare for that...thank you for the heads up Gen- I mean, Uncle Iroh," Chai turned to her grandparents and went in for a hug. "I'll miss you," she said, "I'll make sure to write as often as possible."

"We would love to hear all about your adventures, dear," said Grandma Pepper, "Remember to have some fun on it."

"And if you run into the Avatar," said Grandpa Earl, "Make sure to go easy on him, or her."

"Do you really think I could match a master of all four elements?"

"You have your grandmother and my combined skills and he, or she, is old by now, after all. I have complete confidence my granddaughter can match him." Chai smiled at that thought. A girl like her winning out against the Avatar…

And so this tea-serving, chi blocker, left the port-town she grew up in with the hot-headed prince and the kind uncle-general on a mission to capture the Avatar.