Note: I wont be able to update on Thursday, which in case anyone hasn't notice I update just about every Tuesday and Thursday, because my sisters are receiving awards. Half of me is happy for them but I'm dreading it considering the fact that it will be the first time my mom and dad have been in the same room since the divorce!!! Well, anyways on with the story, and does anyone know when the third season of Avatar comes on?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Avatar: the Last Airbender characters or the story line.

Chapter Nine

"What?" Caine's voice was calm, but also filled with wrath.

"You heard me," Laia informed him, noticing the piercing look from Jade, she said to him, "Now Jade don't look at me like that."

Jade shook his small head, then stuck his tongue out at her afterwards he buried his face in Zuko's shirt, as most often small children do.

"JADE!" Laia exclaimed, "Now stop that."

"You can't have it, pick something else," Zuko, informed her rising to his feet while holding Jade, "That necklace, seems to be very important to her."

"I will not," Laia remained adamant, "You may think on it if you wish, but she hasn't much time."

Reaching over, Caine took the necklace from the Katara's neck, and threw it at Laia, who caught it in mid-air.

"What are you doing?" Zuko hissed, he always hated an automaton; I guess, he thought bitterly, I could always steal it back.

Just as Caine said something to him about shutting his mouth, a female voice boomed inside his mind: You will not steal it back.

Startled he nearly dropped Jade who squealed in surprise, who said that?

"I did," Laia announced out loud, "Now I will heal her, if there are no other plans of cheating me out of my payment?"

This question was directed at Zuko, who swallowed some air and nodded. Holding her small petite hands over Katara's heart, her eyes became serious. The air all around Katara and herself began to glow a pale white; the prince was transfixed, never seeing something so strange, and yet, in its strangeness, beautiful. The sky outside was turning scarlet from the sun dipping behind the trees as if shouting that dusk was here and night soon after. Laia screamed as the ebony circle on Katara's neck allowed black lightening bolts to be emitted sending the healer across the room into the shelves behind her, busting several of the bottles.

Zuko allowed Jade to slide down him to the ground, just as his feet hit the floor; he was beside Laia gently nudging her arm; Caine, whose voice seemed steady as if nothing had happened, asked, "What just happened?"

Helping Laia to her feet, Zuko felt his exhaustion vanishing.

"Jade," she laughed grateful of the help now that her energy had been used almost all the way up, "I'm fine."

When she was seated on the wooden chest, he had noticed earlier she said, "The curse is to strong for me to break but I managed to stop it from spreading for now."

"For now?"

"Caine," Laia said, "Take her out of here I haven't the strength to heal her; I will try in the morning."

Without argument Caine took Katara in his arms and began to walk out the hut, when Zuko tried to follow Laia said, "No, you stay."

Turning back to the healer, whose lap Jade occupied now, he demanded, "Why do I have to stay?"

"I see your fate my lost prince," she paused, trying to find the right words, "And it can go of two ways."

"What are you talking about?" he felt his stomach turning into knots afraid of what she might tell him.

"I know you know what I am talking about; your uncle has tried several times to warn you. Yes, I know of him, and of your father, of everything else. I must warn you Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation that your search is futile."

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said through clenched teeth, "You don't know anything!"

"Hush and listen," she stopped him, "You can't regain something that you never had, but it is your choice. If your wish is to give your father the avatar, then if it is right, do it, but if you're at conflict with yourself, which I sense you are, then don't."

"I'm not at conflict with myself!" he yelled at her, "I know who I am and what I want!"

"Do you?" she asked as Jade slipped off her lap and onto the floor, "Then if you know who you are and what you want why did you save the female water bender, Katara?

The child waddle across the room to Zuko beckoning for the fire bender to pick him up; Zuko yelled, "She is merely bait so I can catch the Avatar!"

Laia's voice remained calm, "No, you and I know better than that don't we?"

He said nothing to this ignoring the child's whimpers and stomping feet.

"You saved her because of guilt, but this is not why I asked you stay back from following Caine."

"Then why did you?"

Laia stood up now picking up the now sobbing Jade, rocking him back and forth, she said, "To warn you that the spirit of this island will come for you in one night for your head in the day you are safe but from dusk to dawn your life is in most peril."

"Why are you helping me?" he couldn't help but be suspicious of her now.

"Because I have faith in you as so many others do, and I know you will chose the right way and not the wrong."

"How can you be sure?"

She smiled at him and said, "I'm physic, I know a lot, and by the way you are going to meet someone very important soon so listen to what she has to tell you."

Jade was now asleep in her arms.

"Who will I meet?"

"I can't tell you that, now I must rest, so if you please…"

Zuko understood her hint for him to leave and did so his mind racing with questions; I know who I am, he reassured himself, and I know what has to be done. I don't feel guilty do I? No…no I have nothing to feel guilt over.

He walked down the street, which was now empty due to the fact that it was night; he saw Caine entering a small hut caring food. By the time he reached the hut he could hear laughter coming from inside. He heard Katara's voice say, "You remember the time you and Sokka ate all the ice berries and got stomach aches?"

She must have not noticed her necklace is gone, he thought as he heard Caine reply, "Yeah, and Gran Gran had to feed us sage and rosemary with lavender to stop us from throwing up."

Katara laughed, "Yeah, Mom was still alive then."

"Kara, why do you insist on being around that stupid fire bender?"

Not wanting to hear her response, Zuko walked into the woods; she's better off without me.

We agree, the trees intruded in his thoughts, you belong with us.

"Maybe so," he said in defeat. What was the point in fighting them when they're probably right?

"Zuko!" a voice snapped sounding as if all around him; at first he thought he had imagined it but then it said, "Don't ever think such thoughts!"

She and he sat on the bank of the royal pond in the palace's courtyard feeding the tiny turtle ducks.

"Wanna see how Azula feeds turtle ducks?" he had asked her as he threw the bread in the pond hitting one of the baby ducklings…

He stopped, flames encircled his body, and for an instance he thought it was her; when the voice didn't come again he continued to walk, the flames still around him. A few minutes later the voice came again, "Young man!"

"Zuko!" she exclaimed in surprise, "Why would you do that?"

He was unable to reply…

Tears of anger nearly fell down his cheeks, but he held them back, he had enough of this island and its trees, "Whose there?"

The mother duck attacked his foot; he howled in pain kicking it off of him, he inquired in shock, "Why did she do that?"

She pulled him into a hug, and replied, "Because that's what mothers do…"

In the distance stood a figure that at first seemed unfamiliar but as he came closer to it; he realized it was a female. Slowing his pace, he was able to conclude that the woman was wearing fire nation cloths, and that her long flowing hair seemed so familiar he instantly became angered, "Who are you?"

She woke him up in the middle of the night her face worried and yet still warm full of love and affection.

"Zuko wake up, honey wake up…"

The woman turned her head so that he could see her face.

"Mom…? What's going on…?"

"Promise me that you'll always remember who you are…"

She smiled at him tears in her amber eyes.

"What? Why?"

"Promise!" she shook him urgently…

"Zuko, darling it's me."

He nodded his head obediently, and fell back to sleep as she left the room…

"Mother?" tears fell from his eyes in shock, sorrow, grief, and happiness.