The sky was a pitch black, not one star in sight. As the only sound being heard was crickets in the palace garden, it was soon accompanied by soft footsteps.

It was Yue. She was sneaking quietly through the garden, wearing a long dark cloak to disguise her with the night. She had waited patiently in her room for an hour before she had made sure Toph and Katara had retired, and then snuck out. She was going to do it. She was going to leave.

Suddenly, she felt a hand reach out onto her shoulder and nearly screamed. Had the guards found her?

"Yue! Relax, it's only us!" Yue recognized Katara's voice and spun around in anger.

"Katara! Toph!" she hissed back. "What are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping!"

"I was going to bed, but your father wanted me to make sure you were alright. You know, of what happened today..." Katara said. "So when I went to your room and you weren't there...well, I got kind of worried. So me and Toph went to find you without alerting anybody."

"And now that we have seen where you got off to, can I back to bed now?" Toph yawned, sleepily rubbing her eyes. "I'm really tired."

Yue frowned. She didn't have time for this. She needed to get going; it would daylight any minute now.

"Look you two; I'm sorry I gave you a fright. But I meant to tell you beforehand." she said.

"Tell us what?"

Yue hesitated, glanced around to make sure none of the guards were nearby, and then looked back to her friends to drop the secret. "I'm leaving."

"What?" Both Katara and Toph's jaws dropped open in shock.

"Keep it quiet!" Yue shushed her friends. "Do you want us all to get caught out here?"

"Sorry." Katara apologized. "But Yue, you can't leave! Your father is worried enough about you and this would just complicate things."

"Sugar queen's got a point." agreed Toph.

"But I can't stay here." Yue looked away. "I don't want to stay here. I don't want to have my life lived for me. I want to see what it's like out there."

Toph and Katara remained silent for a few moments. This was beginning to frighten Yue. Any moment they might turn around and alert the guards. Then she might get in trouble with her father again. That was the last thing she wanted after their discussion that day.

Finally, after about five minutes, Katara broke the silence.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes." Yue said with a firm nod.

Katara sighed and looked at her feet. "Then don't let us stand in your way." she said. "If you feel this is what is best for you."

"Yeah, go out and see the world. And if you come back, tell us what it was like, because I want to know every detail from the weather to the dirt." Toph said with a grin, also at the same time muffling another yawn.

"Ok Toph, I will." Yue said with a laugh. Turning away from her friends, she quietly trekked the garden grounds until reaching her favorite climbing tree she had use to play on as a child. Putting one hand in front of the other, Yue climbed up the tree and across a thick branch that reached the top of the palace wall. As she placed both feet on the solid stone, she took one last look at her friends and gave them a reassuring smile.

"Goodbye." she whispered.

"Good luck out there!" Katara and Toph both waved as Yue disappeared over the wall. Both girls released heavy sighs, and turned to go back to their chambers.

As quickly as it had become night, the sky once again made a change of colors as it blossomed into a beautiful shade of blue. The sun shone brightly down upon the busy market place as the notorious thief was work again.

Sokka and Momo sat atop an awning over a melon stand, waiting for the perfect time to snatch their breakfast. Peeking beneath the awning, Sokka could still see the man at the vendor was still busy calling out to potential customers. Perfect.

"Now Momo, go!" He looked back up and gave the big eyed lemur a nod.

Momo chattered and crawled over the edge and glanced at the proprietor before snatching up a small melon from the huge pile.

"Melons! Get them now! Fresh and ripe!" The stall owner called out to passerby's. Momo ran out in front of the big man, holding the melon high above his head and chattering.

"Why you naughty lemur! Get your paws of my melon!" The man tried to snatch his prized fruit but Momo hissed and held it back.

"Why, you, you little thief!" The man snatched the melon from Momo and tried to shoo him away, unaware that behind him that the real crime was taking place. Sokka dipped upside down from the awning and picked up a melon as quick as he went back up.

The proprietor finally succeeded in shooing Momo away and placed the melon back atop the stack, not even noticing that one had strangely gone missing.

Momo flew back to the top of the awning and joined Sokka, who broke the melon into two halves and gave the other half to his accomplice.

"Nice work Momo!" he congratulated the lemur.

As the two feasted on the juicy melon, not too far away was Yue. She was still wearing her disguise as a commoner as she continued down the street. She was amazed at all she was seeing. So many vendors full of spices, jewelry, all sorts of things!

"Pretty lady buy a pot! No finer pot in brass or silver!" One shopkeeper called out to her as she passed, holding out a decorated pot. Yue smiled and politely shook her head and walked on pass another stand where a man was selling dates.

"Sugar dates! Sugar dates and figs!" he called out. Yue's mouth watered as she passed and she reached into her money pouch for some coins, but found nothing but cloth to meet her fingers. Had she left all her money back at the palace? Oh well, it didn't matter. She wasn't really planning on buying anything.

She then passed a stall full of jewelry, where once again another shopkeeper tried to sell her something.

"Would you like to buy a necklace? Pretty necklace for a pretty lady!" he said with a wink. Although flattered by the man's compliment, Yue continued forward just in time to be greeted by a fish...well, to be logical, it was just another vendor.

"Fresh fish! We cut 'em, you buy 'em!" The man continued to hold out the stinky fish out to the princess as if he expected her to take it.

"No thank you." Yue shook her head and backed away from the stall, not before bumping into someone attempting a swallow-the-flame trick.

"Oh! Excuse me." she apologized as the poor man began choking. She reached out to pat the man's back but before she even touched him, the man coughed out a ball of fire, startling Yue and causing her hood to fall back.

It had just happened as Sokka was upon the awning munching on his slice of melon, that his eyes had been wandering about the marketplace but had frozen when he saw the man choking up flames. He chuckled to himself. But his laughter was quickly stifled as he caught sight of the girl standing next to the fire-breathing man. She was...beautiful. He couldn't help but notice that. Her skin was the same mocha color as his, so he only assumed she was from the Water Tribe as well. And her hair...he had never seen anything so white and long!

"I'm really...very sorry." Yue apologized once more to the man as she slowly walked away from him.

Sokka continued to stare at the girl as she put her hood up. Yes, she was very pretty. He had to find some way to talk to her.

Unaware she was being watched by a nearby villager, Yue continued down the stone pathway until she came upon a stand of fruit and noticed a small boy on his tip-toes trying to get a big shiny apple. She couldn't help but feel pity for the child. He must be an orphan, she thought.

"Aw, you must be hungry." she said looking down him. The boy looked at Yue sadly with pleading eyes. Without hesitation, Yue plucked the apple from the big assortment of fruits and handed it to him. "Here you go."

The lad's eyes sparkled as he took the apple in his own hands and he gave a grateful glance at Yue, but his smile vanished suddenly and took off running, leaving the apple behind. At first, Yue didn't understand why until a large shadow came up behind her as she turned to leave.

"You'd better be able to pay for that." A deep voice growled. It was the shopkeeper.

"Pay?" Yue squeaked in a tiny voice.

The huge man grabbed the frightened girl by the arm and led her back to the fruit cart in a huff. Yue struggled to free herself from the man's chain-like grip but to no avail.

"No one steals from my cart!" the man bellowed angrily.

"I'm sorry sir but I have no money." Yue managed to say with a hint of shakiness in her voice. "I—"

"Thief!" The man tightened his grip on Yue as she tried to get away again.

Sokka, who had been watching the whole scenario take place from the awning, quickly realized that this girl was in trouble and this was his chance to impress her and be a hero! Quickly, he shoved his half-eaten melon slice aside and crawled down from his spot.

"Please, if you let me go to the palace, I can ask the chief for some money." begged Yue in desperation to the shopkeeper.

But the man ignored her completely. He pinned her arm down on a barrel. "Do you know what the penalty is for stealing?" he growled as took out a sword.

Yue gasped. It was now she realized what this man intended to do: He was going to chop her hand off! Oh what severe punishment he would get if her father found out. But her father didn't even know she was gone. Yue searched her mind for means of escaping with the man, but she was too scared to try anything.

"No please!" she pleaded as the man lowered the sword, but was abruptly stopped as Sokka's hand appeared and grabbed the man's arm.

"Oh thank you kind sir." said Sokka as he slipped the sword out of the man's hand and dropped it to ground. "I'm so glad you found her!" He shook the man's hand in pretend gratitude and turned to an astonished Yue. "I've been looking all over for you!" he scolded the girl as he pushed her away from the stand.

"What are you doing?" Yue whispered to him as the two walked off.

"Just play along." replied Sokka quietly but stopped walking as the cartkeeper's hand grabbed his shoulder.

"You...uh, know this girl?" asked the man in disbelief.

Sokka glanced at Yue for a moment, and back to the man. "Sadly yes, she is my sister." he lied, wrapping an arm around the burly man as if they were friends sharing a secret. "She's uh... too well in the head."

Yue gasped and frowned at the impudence of this boy. Yes, she was grateful for him saving her life, but he didn't need to go calling her crazy!

"She said she knew the Water Tribe chief!" The man growled as he pushed Sokka off him and spun the boy around to look him in the eye.

Sokka chuckled and broke free the vendor's grasp. "She thinks the lemur is the sultan!" he said motioning to Momo, who was sneakily trying to pick-pocket someone's purse but stopped halfway in shock as he thought he had been caught.

Yue glanced at the lemur and flashed a mischievous grin as she was struck with an idea. Falling to her knees, she bowed down in front of Momo. "Oh wise chief, how may I serve you?" she asked the stunned lemur. Momo tipped his head and stared at the girl.

"Tragic isn't it?" Sokka slipped an apple out from the man's cart and tossed it to him. "But, no harm done." He walked over to Yue and helped her up from the ground. "Now come along dear sister, let's go see the doctor."

"Oh hello doctor, how are you?" asked Yue as she stopped in front of an ostrich camel.

"No, no, no not that doctor." Sokka pushed Yue away and turned to call for Momo. "Come on chief!"

Momo glanced at Sokka and started to scamper after him, not before leaving a trail of stolen fruit along with him.

"Hey! Why you little thief!" An angry voice shouted from somewhere amongst a crowd.

"Uh-oh." Sokka scooped the lemur up onto his shoulder and he and Yue took off running down the street as the shopkeeper had gotten out his sword again and was chasing them.

"What are we going to do?" panted Yue as she tried to keep up with Sokka.

"Don't worry, I've done this lots of times." reassured Sokka. "But I know what to do! Just follow me and I'll take you somewhere safe."

The princess didn't know whether or not she could trust this boy. After all, she had just met him and who knew what he was capable of? Well, he was capable of manipulation, she knew that much. And what choice did she have? Go with this stranger or risk getting her hand chopped off again?