Chapter Ten here, I'm uploading this at school because I'm going away soon and want this story finished before I do go, then it's right back in with Book 3. I just had a horrible thought the other day "What if Anala is or is turning into a Mary Sue?" I was in class when the thought struck me and I had to most horrified expression, I hope no one noticed. Nobody has said anything about her being one so I'm going to assume that either no one has noticed/cared or she is not one. I hope it's the fact that she is not a Mary Sue. Anyway, which my deep concerns and horrifying thoughts aside, onto chapter ten where new struggles will occur... or will they? :D Suspense…

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She left her hair long. If it was short, it ran the risk of looking more like Mayu's style. Anala rolled her eyes at the annoyance of it all. She'd rather just shave it off completely. She'd look different then; possibly even have the ability to pose as a boy. But her chest reminded her that the idea was impossible.

She'd been feeling more like a corpse walking over the weeks that followed the death of Meili and the change in her life. She was grateful that Fritz had ignored the fact she was a different person than she was a year ago and simply did things as he would usually do them, ignoring her darkening mood.

Anala would wake some nights, sweating and crying from terrible dreams she had, usually involving Meili or Loesan or the earthbenders who attacked them. Fritz was right by her side during all this. He held her close and assured her everything was okay and there was nothing to be afraid of. By the morning, she prayed he wouldn't mention it and to her disbelief and admiration, he didn't. He kept it to himself and simply asked her normal, everyday questions.

"You have to eat Anala," he said, pushing the bowl of rice to her. "You'll starve."

"Yeah, cause that hasn't happened," she muttered darkly, taking the bowl carefully into her hands.

"What?" he asked concerned.

"It's amazing how well you are treated in prison," she said sarcastically. "I was locked up for nearly a year Fritz. I celebrated my fourteenth birthday in that cell alone. The food there isn't exactly top-of-the-line." She shoved some rice into her mouth and pulled a face at him. "I got really skinny," she concluded after she gulped the rice down and proceeded to inhale the rest of it. She was starving.

Fritz looked away angrily. She looked at him confused and reached over. "I can't believe she did that to you."

She paused for a moment, figuring he was talking about Kai. He didn't mention her much, only referring to her as "she" or "her" or even "it" in some cases. "You didn't exactly come back either," Anala said softly, regretting it as Fritz stood up quickly and suddenly.

"Don't you dare say that!" he shouted, she flinched at the level of his voice. "I came back the moment I found out she'd left you there, but you were gone!" He paced in front of her, running his hands through his hair. "Do you even realise how long I've looked for you? I gave her the necklace back, threw it at her actually, and came to find you! I've been looking for you for ages." He stopped pacing and turned away from her, leaning against a tree with his back to her. "I never stopped looking..." Anala remained seated and just looked at her hands, beginning to pick at her nails.

"I thought I'd lost you forever and then I saw you... running through the trees. I called out but you didn't hear me, so I followed you. You're lucky I did." She said nothing; she didn't even look at him. "Come on, there is a town just up here we should check out. I know a couple of people there who'll give us some supplies." Anala followed him silently. She felt sad that Fritz had gone looking for her while Kai never made an attempt to go with him. She pinched her nose and sighed, it was all so confusing to her. She wasn't sure what to believe in.

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The town sat right on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the sea. It was a spectacular view though Anala wasn't in much of a mood to appreciate it. It was a quite peaceful town; it hadn't taken long for Fritz to find two people who were his aunt and uncle. They let them bathe and get into some new clothes, never once question Anala or asking just who she was. They greeted her with open arms but Anala could sense they were suspicious of her. She would be too if she was in their position. Though she knew they kept quiet for Fritz.

Their home was located right near the cliff, allowing Anala to get a good look at the view from the window in the kitchen. Fritz talked and talked with his aunt and uncle, who were conversing with him just as eagerly. It was at that point did Anala realise exactly how little she knew about Fritz and his life. She felt ashamed that she'd never bothered to ask him any questions. Once the two aging people had left the room to find some new trinkets to show Fritz, she turned to him. "Where are your parents?" she asked turning her head to the side slightly in curiosity.

Fritz shuffled where he sat and gulped. "They died, a long time ago."

"How?"

"We were attacked. Our village. In the night, a Fire Nation ship landed on our shores..." Anala got a feeling she wasn't going to like the rest of the story but didn't stop him, though the wheels in her mind continued turning. "Four years ago. We'd been labelled as traitors. I never actually told you, but my mother was actually a firebender while my father was an earthbender. I had a sister who inherited the firebending while I got the earthbending.

"They attacked us on orders. We didn't stand a chance. They set the buildings on fire, people screamed..."

...The smell of smoke filled their nostrils and the sound of screams assaulted their ears. The light of a fire could be seen and ash filled the air and covered the ground...

"They fought back, they all did. Both the earthbenders and firebenders in out village..."

...Anala peaked a look and was horrified to see that the villagers that were fighting back were also firebenders, only a few were earth benders...

"My parents and sister perished, I managed to get away..." Fritz continued, ignoring the fact that Anala's eyes were bulged and she was panting heavily as the memories assaulted her, one after the other. She could hear the screams in her head, the ones that she had nightmares about. The blood-curdling screams that made her cringe in shame and fear. The smells attacked her, she remembered the smell of burning flesh and she remembered the villagers helplessly fighting back. "... and that's why – hey, are you ok?"

"I need some air," she cried desperately and bolted from the house. She ran to the cliff edge and held onto the railings, panting. She could have done something that night, she could have helped. She couldn't stop herself for being partly responsible for what happened to his parents. She was there, she witnessed them being attacked. She ran her hand through her long, dark hair and stared out to sea. What she wouldn't give to be a fish.

"-not telling you again-" the harsh whisper caught her ears and she ventured around the corner to see where the noise was coming from. She quickly hid as she saw a very familiar face threatening another man she'd never seen before.

There stood Fox-Rat Man, glaring down at a poor man who was smaller than he was. She had never seen him look so murderous before. Suddenly he grabbed the smaller man's throat tightly. "I said bring me that jewel, I need it, the world needs it, the Fire Nation needs it..." Anala's eyes widened as she listened. Was he still rattling on about the stupid Jade Jewel? Why hadn't Kai given it to him yet? Was it because she couldn't find him or was he avoiding her?

"I know sir! I've been trying, but the girl-"

"The girl is useless in this. She has done what she had to do. Quite frankly, she's pissed me off. Those pirates would have easily given me that Jade Jewel for the money but this girl and her little friends had to go and mess everything up." The man choked as Fox-Rat Man tightened his grip. "I almost had her the other day before Lanzo's buffoon of a son had attacked the town with his damn soldiers." Her breath hitched at the mention of Lanzo and Loesan.

"Sir, be reasonable, that wasn't exactly my fault," the man squeaked.

"It is because you failed. It was very simple and so easy. She's on the move, here, when she comes, I want you to get that Jewel by all means necessary. The Fire Lord himself is counting on us to deliver him the precious artifact. The future of the world depends on it." Fox-Rat Man pushed the smaller guy to the ground. "Make it happen."

"Yes, sir!" the small one scrambled to his feet and scurried off while Fox-Rat Man seemed to vanish into the shadows.

Anala came out of her hiding spot from around the corner and looked around to see if there was any evidence she could use or something to tell her exactly why this Jade Jewel was so important, especially to find out the reason for the Fire Nation's involvement and why the Fire Lord had demanded it be found.

She was disappointed as she looked around; she looked under crates, wagons, wood and stones but found nothing. She sighed after leaning down to look under a wagon to find nothing. She almost gave up when the sound of fluttering paper met her ears and she glanced over to the source.

A small piece of folded paper was fluttering in the wind on the cliff edge. Anala leaped and caught the piece of paper just as it was about to fly over the edge and into the ocean far, far below.

Upon first site the piece of paper looked like nothing important, just an old note someone had folded and thrown away. The Fire Nation Insignia that was in the corner of the page gave a very different story. She wondered whether it was of any importance or whether it was from someone just telling Fox-Rat to get his act together and not give reasons.

She carefully unfolded the piece of paper and scanned the page. The ink was smudged and it was ripped in places, cutting off sentences s Anala barely had a chance to read it all but she could make it up and it still made sense, at least to her.

As she read her eyes grew wider and wider before her hands started shaking. "Holy shit..." she breathed, looking at the piece of paper in horror. I must find Kai before he does. She folded the piece of paper and shoved it into her dress before taking off at full speed to Fritz's family's home. She burst through the door and looked at him. "We have to go, now."

"But you just got here," his aunt said, shocked.

"I know, and I'm sorry but this is urgent," she said looking at Fritz who looked confused. "Trust me, I'll explain later." Fritz sighed and turned to his family.

"Do you mind if we borrow a couple of ostrich horses?"

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"This is so weird!" Anala exclaimed as she bounced around on the black ostrich horse, holding onto Fritz who was riding confidently. "I miss Lee."

"So why are we going to find her again? I don't understand why we'd go looking for her to save her," he asked, keeping his eyes straight ahead as they rode along the cliff edge, ignoring the huge drop below them. "And how do you know she'd be along here? How do you know she wouldn't be in the forest?"

"I know Kai, she'd rather be out in the open near water. Scenery like this. And I'm not finding her to save her, we need to find her to save the Jewel," determination had taken over her. Everything in her past seemed to disappear immediately.

"Why though?"

"To save the world."