Author's Note : Another chapter. This one has quite a few flash backs in it. Not sure how I did with it, but hopefully I did okay. Enjoy. Read and review, please.

Disclaimer : I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor any of it's characters. Those belong to Mike & Bryan as well as Viacom, Nick, etc. I can only lay claim to the stories I write and the characters I create of my own volition - like Kaida.

Fire in the Skies

-- Behind the Scar --

"I am tired of chasing that Avatar of his and following orders of a spoiled prince!" Lieutenant Jee's voice reached Kaida's ears before she and Iroh walked into the small room where everyone was eating. However, it wasn't much people in there yet. Just the Lieutenant Zuko had completely screwed over earlier and a few others. "Who does Prince Zuko think he is?" He stated, at this point, Kaida sighed and followed Iroh inside. She was tired of dealing with the confrontations that "spoiled prince" of hers created with the ship and various other people along their way.

"You really want to know, Lieutenant Jee?" She asked, looking at him at where he sat around a pit fire and a bubbling pot of food. Everyone around the pit fire stood, paying respect to the near-princess and the retired general that accompanied her.

"Lady Kaida! General Iroh! We -" The man defended, worry stretching across his older face.

"It's fine." Iroh cut in, before he could have a chance to apologize. "May we join you?" He asked, though Kaida looked stiffly over at Iroh, wariness in her eyes. She didn't know if they should, considering what they had walked in on hearing.

"Of course, sir!" Replied Jee, making Kaida sigh inwardly and receive a nudge in the ribs from the old man beside her. A glare was exchanged between them as they moved to go sit around the pit fire.

"I know it may be hard, but try to understand, Lieutenant Jee, that Prince Zuko is a -" It was Kaida who was cut off this time by Iroh, holding his hand up.

"Manners, Lady Kaida." He stated before turning back to the men. Kaida caught them holding back snickers behind their hands as she reached for a bowl of rice, a slight glare in her eyes. "Now. As Kaida was saying." Iroh continued, happy that Kaida was not going to be a problem now that she had food. "My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through a lot."

Kaida turned her gaze towards the fire, trying to zone out all that was being said around her. She didn't want to relive the terrible moment when her Zuko was completely screwed over for life. She sighed, only looking at the fire made her envision everything all over again.

"Zuko, you can't come. The only reason I was invited was because I'm old enough."

"But I'm not much younger than you are, Kaida!" They sat together in Kaida's room, it was smaller than that of everyone else who lived in the palace. Though the young girl didn't mind. She didn't need a large amount of space to be happy. Zuko sat on her bed while Kaida sat on the ground, legs crossed and bending forward over her legs to stretch slightly.

"You're thirteen, Zuko."

"Yeah, and you're only fourteen! What's the big difference between us when we're only a year apart?"

"Iroh said it was because I was more mature. I could handle it better without opening my mouth." She stated, coming up from the stretch, to sit with her back straight and green eyes staring at the prince on the corner of her bed.

"I'm mature, too! Besides, you hate war!" He objected, making his best friend roll her eyes.

"Right. Tell that to anyone and I'm sure they'll think so too. You can't defend your maturity, Zuko. It's more of a…right of passage, I suppose. And yes, I do hate war. But what's so wrong with going to a war meeting? Iroh says it'll be good for me."

"But it's a war meeting!"

"I know." She shrugged. "Come on, I'm going to be late. Would you like to accompany me there?"

"Yeah…I guess…" He stated, a rejected tone in his voice. Kaida smiled as she spun up to a standing position, moving to hug her friend. She was so unaware that Zuko was about to make the worst mistake possible of his life.

"I couldn't believe that Prince Zuko was asking me if he could join. At the time, I thought nothing of it. Lady Kaida was going, so why couldn't he? I understood where he was coming from." Iroh continued, making Kaida sigh and return her attention to everything else. The men around them looked on in interest, bowls of half-eaten food growing cold in their hands. Then again…she wasn't exactly getting a move on with the eating, either. Smirking, she took another bite before going back to listening to the story while recalling it in her head through the flames in front of her.

"Prince Zuko, what is wrong?" Iroh's voice sounded behind them as Kaida watched the entrance to the war chamber, nervous and quiet.

"Can't I go to the war meeting with you and Kaida? She's a girl and she doesn't even care about the war!" The prince protested, bringing Kaida's attention to him when he said her name.

"She may not care, but she has matured beyond her years. You, nephew, are too young. Lady Kaida will understand the matters of what is going on with the war far better than you will."

"But if I am to rule this country one day, don't you think I should come along to learn as much as I can?" A sigh escaped Iroh's lips quietly as he was won over by his nephew.

"Fine. You may come. But you must not speak. The war chamber is not a place to offend people. And these old men can be quite sensitive."

"Thank you, Uncle!" The prince bowed and Iroh placed a hand on both of the young teenagers' shoulders and guided them through to the war chamber.

"They were going to use a brand new division as a distraction to a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion. While the new division was getting slaughtered, a stronger division would come around from the rear and defeat them that way." Iroh continued, making Kaida look away from the flames and over at him, waiting for more of what she already knew.

"Zuko broke his promise to me and spoke. He protested this plan and, although he was right, it was not his place to speak out against the one who proposed this plan. There were consequences beyond anyone's control."

"He said that they were betraying soldiers that were completely loyal to our country and loved and defended us." Kaida stated, speaking for the first time since she had sat down. She sighed and took another bite of her food, noticing it had gone cold in her memories. She didn't really mind, nor could she help the memories from distracting her when that's all that was being talked about around her.

"I'm glad you're here. I thought you had left already. I wanted to walk you there." Kaida stated, a sad look across her features as she looked down at the boy she was so fond of. He hugged her and she bent down to hug him back, a tear escaping her eyes before she stood and wiped it away. The two continued to walk along in silence, slowing as they grew closer and closer to the arena. Kaida chewed on her lower lip as they reached the entrance. Iroh was there, waiting for them. Zuko went ahead, entering the Agni Kai arena. Iroh and Kaida followed quietly, nervous and scared for what would become of their prince. They found their seats in the first row with frowns upon their faces next to a grinning Zhao and an anticipated Azula. The pair watched quietly as the prince begged and pleaded with his father for mercy. They all knew what his fate was to be, however.

"I won't fight you." Zuko cried out. Kaida's eyes held tears in them, waiting to spill over as she lost the only one that was really keeping her at the palace. The only one she cared about anymore. A chill ran up and down her spine as Ozai laughed whole heartedly, no mercy was going to come from the man.

"You need to learn respect, Prince Zuko! And pain and suffering shall be your teacher!" He shouted, sending a blast of flame at his son.

A scream resonated itself inside Kaida's mind as she looked away from the fire, eyes held tightly shut. "I turned away." Was all Iroh said, mimicking Kaida and his words by looking away from the flames and the other men around the fire pit. There was silence as Kaida held back her tears, hands moving to place hair in front of her face. She didn't want these men to see her cry. The only people she had cried in front of were her mother, Ursa, Zuko, and Iroh. Those were the only four she could trust with it and be assured that they would not think her weak or too sensitive.

"I…I always thought that Prince Zuko was a training accident." Lieutenant Jee was the one to break the silence. Kaida shook her head sadly, turning her head to look down at the floor and her feet, tears falling quietly through closed eyes.

"There was no accident." She stated, voice shaking.

"After the duel, Fire Lord Ozai said that, by refusing to fight, Zuko was weak and shameful. As a result, he was banished and sent on a quest to retrieve the Avatar." Iroh cut in, turning to look back at the men before him, pretending to ignore the fact that Kaida was crying beside him. "If he returns with the Avatar, he may, once again, receive his honor."

"That's why he's so obsessed then, isn't it?" Kaida gave a brief nod at the Lieutenant's question. "Capturing the Avatar is Prince Zuko's only chance for things returning to normal."

"Things will never return to normal. But the Avatar gives my nephew hope. And that is what is truly important." Iroh stated with a nod. He looked over at Kaida and frowned. "Perhaps we should leave. It is late." Kaida nodded and stood, allowing the bowl that had been sitting in her lap to fall to the floor. She didn't care. She was thankful for Iroh's escape route out of this. He even faked a yawn for her. She walked silently out of the room while Iroh bid everyone good bye.

There was a crack of lighting and a sound of something hitting the ship. Kaida jumped as the ship started to rock, cursing slightly as everyone came from out of the room she had just left and ran past her. Wiping away tears from her face, Iroh joined her and led her down to the deck of the ship. Zuko was there, he had gotten there not long before everyone else had.

A large wave knocked the ship off balance again, drenching those on deck with sea water. Zuko turned to his uncle and opened his mouth to speak before another wave hit the ship. "Where were we hit?"

"I don't know!" Lieutenant Jee shouted over the roaring of the thunder and the sea.

"Look!" Iroh stated, pointing up at the bridge tower. There was a man dangling off the railing, fear rippled across his face as he swayed between the brink of falling and staying put.

"The helmsman!" Kaida and Zuko both shouted over the roaring of the waves. Another bolt of lighting struck the water not far from the boat. Zuko and Lieutenant Jee, along with other soldiers, began climbing the ladder to reach the man in distress. As he fell, Zuko grabbed the man's hand, Lieutenant Jee helping him back onto the safety of the ladder before they all climbed down.

Iroh had just finished redirecting a bolt of lighting when the prince and other men joined he and Kaida. There was a familiar bellowing sound from above that was not thunder. They all looked up, seeing the Avatar's flying bison flying over head. "The Avatar…" Zuko stated, though underneath the roars of everything else going on around them, it sounded as if he was whispering.

"What do you want to do, sir?" Came the voice of Lieutenant Jee behind them. They all turned towards the man, wondering what the sudden change of heart was towards the prince. However Kaida had a brief idea of what may have been the cause of it.

Zuko was the last to turn to the man he had previously confronted, his face held consideration and slight confusion as he thought about the possibilities of what to do. "Let him go. We have to get to safety." He stated, turning away from the Avatar quietly. Iroh grinned at him and Kaida smiled softly, watching him quietly.

"To the eye of the storm, then." Iroh stated, still grinning at the change his nephew had just made. The crew scattered, getting to their places in order to redirect the ship to the safety of the eye.

--

It didn't take long for them to get to the safety from the storm that the eye held. The wind died down nearly as soon as they entered the lone tower of light through the dark fortress that was created by the storm. The rain had lightened up as well, now just drizzling. Kaida stood, leaning forward against the railing of the ship, staring down at the sea below her. Zuko and Iroh stood back on the deck, Zuko watching Kaida while Iroh watched the sky above.

"Uncle?" Zuko stated, causing the old man to look at his nephew. "I'm sorry…" Iroh smiled softly, placing a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Your apology is accepted, Prince Zuko. But it is not I who you should be apologizing to." He stated, nodding over at Kaida. Zuko sighed and nodded, biting down on his lower lip as he watched her quietly.

"You're right…" He stated before advancing towards the girl he had angered so many other times before. Thoughts of why they always fought snaked their way through his mind - no matter how hard he tried to hold them back. Kaida stay put when Zuko stood next to her, only moving to look away from him and off towards the direction that the ship was headed. "Kaida…I'm…"

"You're what, Zuko? Sorry? I'm sure you are." She stated, her voice was cold and had a scolding edge to it. It reminded him of when he would get in trouble with his mother. He didn't understand the anger she had just forced onto him and it caused his level of calm to fall a little.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He stated, it was as though she was accusing him of something that he didn't do. Then again, he didn't exactly know why she was so upset with him.

Shaking her head, Kaida looked back down into the water before she replied. "Zuko, you have no idea how much you hurt me today, do you? That stupid fight. Your stupid words. Your stupid, idiot self that comes up with ideas that could potentially get us all killed." It was then that she turned to look at him, her eyes were still slightly red and puffy from having cried earlier and her hair moved stiffly along with her movements, still dripping water. "You scare me so badly sometimes, it isn't even funny. I don't know whether or not to yell at you right now or thank the spirits that you're still alive." She waited for Zuko to say something, but he remained silent. He was clearly not getting it. Sighing, she shook her head again and stood up straight, watching him quietly. "Look. If you want me to forgive you, then stop putting yourself in situations that can get you hurt worse than you already are. I don't want that threat of losing you again. I almost had once. Three years ago. And then again, when you fought Zhao. And earlier today. I am asking you. Pleading you to stop."

There was silence between them for a moment before he stepped closer to her. "I'll stop, for you. But you know how I am, Kaida…I -"

"Promise me, Zuko." She stated, receiving a sigh in response.

"I can't make any promise I can't keep. But I will try my hardest." He stated. She averted her eyes away from his, thinking about his promise. Or lack there of.

"Fine. I forgive you." She finally stated after a short reluctant silence. She looked back at him and smiled softly, moving to wrap her arms around him. He did the same and held her close.

"I'm sorry, Kaida."