Chapter Three. So I have written up to eight chapters and realised that I've changed the name of the nurse halfway through because I'm a genius like that. I seriously gave myself an upper-cut. So onto chapter three, I thought I'd be generous and upload another one :) I do not own Avatar, only Anala and the other characters you don't recognise from the series that are in this story :)

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She sat in the tub with her back against the edge so that the nurse didn't see the ugly scar on her back while trying to cover her breasts from the woman's view. True, they were both female and chances were that the nurse had seen everything over a hundred times but Anala was a very private person, she liked keeping things to herself which meant she defiantly liked to keep her most private things to herself.

The nurse practically had to tear her clothes off and throw her in the tub of warm water. Anala had threatened to drown herself if the nurse came near her and reminded the woman she was old enough to take care of herself and that she didn't need the nurse to bathe her when she was quite capable herself. She managed the clean most of the dirt off of herself before the nurse had returned, snatched the brush from her hand and done the rest. She was given new clothes to wear. Red clothes. She eyed them as the nurse had given them to her. She hated the colour.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, touching her neck where Zuko's necklace once hung. She felt sad that it wasn't there, she felt as though everything that had kept her close to her family had been torn away. She didn't have her boomerang and she didn't have her necklace, the two things she managed to save before her exile. "Come on dear, time for you to meet the General," the nurse whispered, coming behind her and fixing the red dress.

She was lead out of the tent and towards the large one. The nurse smiled and went in, coming out again shortly after. She was ushered into the tent where the man from the previous night sat in a large chair. He studied her as she was pushed in. "Thank you Ming, you may go." The nurse quickly nodded, eyes downcast and scurried away. Anala felt dread wash over her as he rose from his seat and stalked towards her, circling her as if she were a meal. "I hear your name is Kaina," he said, his voice was deep, every word he spoke sounded as though he was an animal trying to talk but growls got in the way of speech.

Unsure on how to react to him, she simply nodded and kept her eyes down on her feet, terrified to meet his gaze. He cupped her chin roughly and made her look into his face. He didn't look angry though, he just chuckled. "Just because Ming keeps her gaze to the ground doesn't mean you must. My name is General Lanzo, and you've met one of my sons Lamon." He wandered back to his desk. "He's also told me you're from one of the colonies. Would you happen to be a survivor of the one that was attacked by the earthbenders?"

"Yes I am," she replied simply. To say she wasn't would cause complications. If she told him she was from anywhere else, he might contact them and ask.

"The one that occurred four years ago?" he asked, sceptical, raising an eyebrow. Uh oh.

"Well, I got away before they could catch me. I've been on the run ever since." She was practically treading on extremely thin ice. One wrong step or too much pressure would cause it to break and she wouldn't stand a chance.

"And making a name for yourself apparently," he motioned for her to come closer to his desk. She obliged instantly and he slid the poster of "Mayu" towards her. "This is you correct?"

"Yes, I changed my name, just in case the people of the Earth Kingdom were aware I was a firebender," she said, choosing her words carefully and praying they were the right ones.

"And you were in prison for stealing and avoiding the law, am I correct?" She nodded simply, trying to remember the story in case she had to explain it to anyone else. "Can you firebend?"

"I can but I left before I could master the basics," she said. Technically she wasn't lying. She had indeed been forced from her home before she could even master the basics. She'd give anything to be able to learn, she hoped he'd teach her. He had to have been a master firebender. "Would you like to learn?" he asked. Her heart leapt from her chest and she nodded furiously. "I might have a teacher for you."

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She dodged the men in the camp as she followed the General as he weaved through the men and tents towards his destination. The soldiers moved away from him upon sight and it came apparent that these men feared him; whether respect came from that she didn't know.

They only stopped their journey when a boy similar looking to Lamon stepped in front of the General with his arms crossed and a huge smirk on his face "Good morning father!" the boy cried happily.

The General grumbled and pushed his son out of the way. "How many times have I told you to call me General Lanzo, Loesan? I know you are my son and I'm not ashamed of that but don't forget you serve under me, as my soldier not my son." Loesan wasn't affected by the words and bounded to his father's side, chest puffed out. Anala noticed the way he walked; it was in the same way his father walked. It looked as though Loesan wanted to be his father. What a daddy's boy, she snickered inside her head. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Nope, we already went to that Earth Kingdom village today and burnt it to the ground. Mission accomplished General Lanzo," Loesan mocked, giving him a salute. The General frowned more and ignored his son. He motioned for Anala to hurry and take her place at his side. "Kaina, this is my eldest son Loesan. Loesan this is Kaina, a survivor of an attack on a colony four years ago. I would hope that if she needs help getting to know her way around or the people within this camp that you would be more than happy to oblige."

Loesan looked Anala up and down, frowning slightly. "If your Excellency demands it," he muttered to his father. Leosan gave her a dirty look before leaving his father to go yell at some poor soldier nearby. General Lanzo scoffed. "I knew that'd get rid of him. Don't mind my son. He tends to be a bit…"

"Harsh?" Anala blurted out without thinking first. Her eyes widened and she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. General Lanzo simply laughed.

"Harsh indeed! He takes after his grandfather really. I'd like to think that I was never really a nasty person," he looked pointedly over to where Loesan proceed to throw a large knife at a soldier who yelped and dodged at the last moment. But not before the knife got a chance to slice his arm slightly and draw blood.

The two of them stopped in front one of the smaller tents. He reached out and brought the tent flap back before stepping inside, Anala following closely behind. She glanced around the tent, taking in the red and the Fire Nation symbol that hung proudly from every side. Candles were lit everywhere, the flames were growing large then reduced in size after a moment. The room was warm, cosy and smelled of smoke. She heard the soft breathing of a person inhaling and exhaling, mediating most likely.

"Yes General," the smooth female voice asked after a few moments.

"Good morning Meili. I'd like you to meet someone," he said politely, so polite in fact, that it worried Anala slightly. He brought her from behind his back where she came face to face with a woman whose black hair was greying and whose face was becoming wrinkled but still looked elegant and beautiful. "This is Kaina."

The woman's golden eyes studied Anala for a very long time; something crossing her face quickly before vanishing just as quickly as it appeared, making Anala confused about what it was she saw. "She needs a teacher." The General seemed to want to get away and back to his duties. Meili was silent a moment longer before she nodded to the General.

"I would be more than happy for Kaina to become my student," Meili smiled, showing off her pearly white teeth. The General nodded before he pushed Anala towards the woman and quickly made his way to the exit. Meili sat back in her spot and patted the space beside her. "Come sit and mediate with me." Anala hesitantly took her seat beside the woman and sat awkwardly, glancing at the candles in a confused manner. "Never meditated before have you?" Anala shook her head, instead of getting annoyed, the woman laughed. "It's alright child. All you have to do is sit straight and concentrate on the flames. Just breathe in and out. Firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles; consider this your first lesson."

Anala did as she was told. She straightened her posture and concentrated on the fire around her. She felt its warmth and breathed in and out slowly. "You're doing well," Meili told her. "Just keep inhaling and exhaling." Anala didn't see the point in all this but she continued to do as she was told and challenged herself just a little to make the flames go bigger every time she breathed. "So, tell me something about yourself and I shall tell you something about myself."

"I'm fourteen," Anala said.

Meili laughed joyfully. "I'm fifty-eight," she said, still chuckling.

Anala's eyebrows narrowed. What is she playing at? Anala wondered. "My village was destroyed four years ago."

"I know."

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at the older woman. "How do you know that?"

"Lamon overheard you and Lanzo speaking, he proceeded to tell me. He tells me everything," Meili said cheerfully, as if she was simply discussing the whether and how much it amused her. Anala, however, wasn't amused.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your position in this camp?" Anala questioned, her eyes trained on the woman who didn't open her eyes at all and continued to breathe in and out calmly.

"I am … I suppose you could say I'm Lanzo's adviser," she explained, Anala was about to ask something else but the woman interrupted, whether on purpose or not, she did not know. "I was involved in the Siege of Ba Sing Se; I was alongside The Dragon of the West during this time."

Anala froze at the mention of her father. It made her heart ache hearing about him but to keep up appearances, she supposed it was better to continue talking instead of changing the subject. She'd practically walked right into that one. "You knew General Iroh?"

"Indeed I did, he was one of my closet and dearest friends. After he surrendered though, he returned to the Fire Nation but I was needed elsewhere." Surrendered? Her father surrendered?

"What do you mean he surrendered?" Anala asked, trying to make it look as if she was unaware of the Ba Sing Se situation. She'd imagine that if she had been from the colonies, she'd be unaware of most activities that happened, especially when her village had apparently been crushed during that time though she was never from the colony. Nobody around the camp needed to know her true identity though.

"You didn't know? His son was killed in the war. He was so devastated after that. He couldn't carry on. And when he found out he'd lost his daughter as well …" the woman trailed off, and opened her eyes for the first time, tears welled up. Anala's heart tore to pieces. "I'm ashamed I was not there for him." Anala didn't say anything, just say and looked away, wiping the single tear that escaped from her eye. "But life goes on," she said sadly.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Anala mumbled, looking away from the woman as her thoughts consumed her.