Azula walked onto the porch of Ashayna's deserted house, fuming. After frying one Dai Li members hand, she was given wide space and alone time to think about the past ten minutes. Ashayna had gotten away. Azula took a deep breath. It should not bother her that much. She needed to gain self-control again…

But then again…Ashayna was the only person who could get under Azula's skin and make her lose her self-control. The wretched girl had been able to make Azula self conscience since they were both little girls growing up in the palace. And now, after two years of not hearing anything about her existence, Ashayna was back.

And with Zuko!

Azula shuddered at the thought. No, she had to find Ashayna and give her what she deserved. But the girl had gotten away! With an injury AND after falling off the roof. The figures did not add up. There was no way she could have gotten away…

Her foot crunched on a soft material on the floor. Azula lifted her foot and found a piece of parchment wrapped up. She recognized it to be the one Ashayna had been holding when she first saw Azula. The princess eagerly ripped off the seal and started to read:

Dearest Zuko,

I need to go. I have been called by the Avatar spirit to help join the cause….

Azula finished the letter, smiling wickedly. She called over a Dai Li member, who approached her cautiously. "Take this and give it to the best hand writing impersonator in the city. We have some changes to make to the letter before it goes to its rightful addressee."

The prattle of the bumpy road lulled Ashayna slowly into consciousness. Her eyes cracked open but quickly shut them in repulse to the bright light of sunlight. She groaned, feeling as if she had been run over by a hoard of Ostrich-horses.

"Don't move. You may hurt something else," she heard a deep voice.

Ashayna stopped, heart racing. The last thing she remembered was running away from Azula…and falling…and getting picked up. She had no idea who this mystery person was, where she was, or where she was going. Things did not look good.

"When you first fell," continued the voice, "I thought you had broken your back. It was a relief to know that you are probably just bruised. Your ankle is sprained. I'm sorry I can't wrap it up. I didn't think anything like this would happen when the avatar spirit called me to come help you."

Ashayna's eyes snapped open. Ignoring the blaring light and the pounding headache, she searched for the source of the voice. She found him, with a hood up, in the shadows of a large coach, pulled by three ostrich-horses. The only part of him she could see was the outline of a face and small pale hands holding onto the reigns of the animals. "Avatar spirit?! You're the "push" that Avatar Roku told me about whose supposed to help me find the Avatar?" she spluttered.

The figure shrugged. "That's me. You have a problem with it?"

Ashayna groaned again as she sat up. The coach was fairly well padded with comfortable seats and a roof to block the weather. "No, I was just shocked. You don't seem much older than me. What's your name?"

The boy slid off his hood and shook his shaggy dark hair. His face was gaunt, yet handsome. His eyes a startling blue. Ashayna's memory gave her a little shock. She had seen him sometime before. "My name is Samuel," he said.

Ashayna decided to be friendly. "Samuel. So formal. What about Sam the man, Sammy boy…just…Sammy?" His eyes lit up at the last option.

"You can call me Sammy," he said with a nod and a slight smile.

Ashayna bent over to start inspecting her sprained ankle. She winced as she touched it. She had done a pretty job, walking would be painful for a while, if not for life, if she didn't have it healed properly. "So tell me, Sammy, how did Avatar Roku speak to you and tell you how to find me?"

The boy looked out at the trees as he spoke. He gripped the reigns a little tighter. "I was just sleeping about a week ago when the spirit visited me in my dream, saying that there was a higher purpose in life for me than being a soldier boy. He said I had to help a girl get to the Avatar and that somehow it was a special job for me. He showed me how to find you. When I woke, I had a bag full of money by my bed. I deserted the army and came to find you."

The young girl shook her head. "You're a deserter? Won't you be caught? There is a high penalty for deserting the army. We are in earth nation territory. The army is sure to find you."

Sam's blue eyes caught hers. "I'm from the fire nation. Brigade 54, Calvary."

Ashayna eyes opened wide. "Fire nation. You're like me…"

The boy smiled. "Yeah. Two fire nation kids, off to help the Avatar."

They both chuckled at the irony. "Why are you doing it?" she asked

"The same reason you are, because I'm tired of the war and I want peace again."

Both rode in silence for a while before the dusk lit sun shone in their eyes. The two teens tried to cover the blinding sun by facing each other, instead of the sunlight.

"So, Miss…"

"Shay," Ashayna said quickly, not wanting to give her birth name away.

"Miss Shay. Do you recognize any part of this path? The Avatar only gave me the directions half of the way to the Avatar, so I'm relying on you for the rest of the directions."

Ashayna nodded. The place looked vaguely familiar, she recognized the landscape from her vision dream with Avatar Roku. "I'll let you know when I find what I am looking for."

Sam nodded and rested his head against the padded seats. Ashayna watched as he drifted to sleep. He looked a lot younger when he slept. His dark brown hair swept across his face and Ashayna felt that momentary recognition again. He gave a small snore and shuffled over.

She shook her head and chuckled softly; she noted sarcastically, "Some body guard."

(THANKS to all that are leaving me comments and favoring me! It's my first fic EVER so thanks for your support)