Chapter III

The next morning, Kalin was the first to wake up. The sun was just beginning to rise, giving the sky an orange tint to it. Taking a deep breath of the fresh, spring air, he walked over to the nearby freshwater creek to fill the extra canteen his new companions had given him when they set up camp for the night.

He could just see his reflection in the clear water, and lingered to observe it, as he had not seen his reflection in weeks. His face was bruised from the short, impromptu beating administered to him during his jailbreak from the day before, and he had not touched a razor in months, which was indicated by the dark stubble on his chin, cheeks, and upper lip. His dreadlocks were longer than he remembered as well, though this he did not mind so much, and the constant time spent indoors had turned his skin fairly pale. His amber-colored eyes had a serene, almost weary look to them, which was a stark contrast to the piercing, wrathful look they contained when he was in prison.

When Kalin had finished getting water and returned to the small camp, he noticed that Sokka and Katara had both just woken up, and were already starting to load Appa's saddle for another long day of travelling.

"Need help?" Kalin asked as he came up.

"No thanks," Sokka replied. "We've got it." He grabbed a dark red apple from a basket of food and tossed it to Kalin, who caught it and took a large bite.

"So where are we going?" Kalin asked between bites.

"Nowhere in particular yet," Katara replied. "We're just looking for a place where Aang can start to learn earthbending. Preferably, somewhere Fire Nation soldiers won't be able to find us."

"Wish I knew such a place," Kalin said. "Unfortunately, the Fire Nation's just about everywhere these days. The only place in the Earth Kingdom that I know they haven't controlled at some point is Ba Sing Se, and that's basically its own country."

"Will they allow earthbending training there?" Katara inquired curiously.

"Nope. They've got a bunch of stupid regulations you have to follow. For example, you need a license to be an earthbending instructor. And getting a license takes a couple years of teacher training."

"How do you know all that?" Sokka questioned.

"I lived in Ba Sing Se for several years. It was in the Lower Ring, which makes it even worse. Trust me; you want nothing to do with Ba Sing Se."

Katara took note of the bitter look in his eyes, but did not press the issue any further. Whatever had happened in Ba Sing Se, he clearly did not wish to talk about it. Not yet, at least.

Sokka jumped down from Appa's saddle and handed Kalin a razor. "Here. You really need this." He then paused. "And we probably need to get you different clothes, too. You'll be noticed in that prison uniform."

Kalin looked down at the grubby attire he was wearing. "You're right. Maybe there's a village nearby where we can barter for some."

"We'll keep an eye out for one," Sokka assured him. "But don't go crazy. We only have so much money to spend." He then looked up and down at Kalin, taking note of his height. "Then again, we'll probably have a hard time just finding something that'll fit."

"Good point." Kalin looked over at Aang and Toph, both of whom were still asleep. "Hey, should I wake those two up so that we can get going? Or can we afford to take our time?"

"Nah, go ahead," Sokka replied with a shrug. "The less time we spend in one place, the harder it will be for the Fire Nation to find us."

Kalin nodded, then turned around and walked over to Aang, nudging him in the shoulder. "We've gotta get going before the Fire Nation can find us."

Aang groaned and rubbed his eyes with his fists, but got up nonetheless. He then woke up Toph, and they helped Kalin pack Appa's saddle. Once Appa's saddle was all packed and Kalin had gotten rid of the stubble on his face, they departed, blissfully unaware that they were being watched.

The hot, mid-morning sun beat down on Zuko and his stolen ostrich horse, which dutifully carried him across the parched and cracked earth. The prince's stomach rumbled furiously, as he had not eaten all day, and to make matters worse, his canteen had run dry. But not heat, nor thirst, nor hunger could burden him as much as his own thoughts.

I should have never left them. He thought to himself as he rode along. What was I thinking taking off like that? I guess I just wanted some time to myself to think, but now I'm not so sure that was the best idea.

He had been on his own for several weeks now, filling up his water where he could and eating whatever food he could get a hold of, all while traveling in no specific direction, with no specific destination in mind. He often found himself wondering about how his uncle Iroh and Ky were holding up, or if any Fire Nation soldiers had captured them yet, but always found himself pushing the thoughts away. No, if they had gotten caught, then they deserved it.

But then again, the other part of him knew he was just as guilty in his father and his sister's eyes as they were. To know they were now split up with no method of contact was becoming slightly nerve wracking for the dishonored prince, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

It was only natural, he supposed. Iroh was the closest thing to a father he had ever had, and although he was still looking to win back his real father's approval, he couldn't deny the kindness to which Iroh had shown him.

And then there was Ky. The female firebender had come along into Zuko's life when he was still young, and, despite not being a part of the royal family, was allowed to spend time with both the prince and the princess because of her connections with Iroh. Although he never quite understood her odd fear of everyone but Iroh, she eventually warmed up to him and became one of Zuko's closest friends.

Those two were the only ones who had cared anything about him over the past three years. And how had he thanked them? He spat in both their faces and left, simply because he saw no further need for them. What kind of a friend was he?

He stopped at a stream so the ostrich horse could have a drink of water. As the animal drank, Zuko re-filled his canteen, which was mostly empty by now, and took an old painting from the bag which held his few belongings. It was a painting of himself at age thirteen, still with the high ponytail and without the scar that marred the area around his left eye. Beside him was a girl around his age, with elaborately styled black hair and dressed in black and maroon robes. She was smiling ever so slightly, which Zuko remembered she very rarely did.

Zuko sighed. "I miss you, Mai." He gave himself a moment to stare vacantly over the horizon, longing to be back at the Fire Nation, before remounting the ostrich horse and continuing on his way. He really had no idea where he was going, but he figured he'd show up somewhere eventually. From there, he'd just have to figure out what he was going to do, now that he was an outcast. He could always go back to his original plan to try and hunt down the Avatar, in hopes that his father would take him back in good graces, but on the other hand, he now had the option of turning over a new leaf and starting a new life among the many villages and towns scattered throughout the land. He could get a good job, maybe meet a nice girl, and raise a family under another name.

No. Zuko shook his head. That life didn't sound pleasing to him. Right now, more than anything, he wanted to make things right and return to the life he had always imagined he'd have. To give up on a search that had taken him three years would be to admit that he had wasted three years of his life. More importantly, to give up would bring him much dishonor.

With his head a jumble with all these thoughts and more, Zuko continued to ride until he realized his stead was starting to get tired. As much as he didn't want to stop so soon, he knew that the ostrich horse was his only reasonable method of transportation, and resting for a few hours was better than going it on foot. He was a much easier target and Azula, or whoever it was pursuing him, would quickly catch up. With a reluctant sigh, the firebender began to search for some place out of the sun that they could take a break.

That's when a strange sight caught his eye. Squinting to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, Zuko realized that there was what appeared to be a broken down town further ahead. After a moment of verifying that it indeed wasn't an illusion, he lightly slapped the reins on the ostrich horse, causing it to break into a jog in that direction.

The tired ostrich horse jogged to the nearest building and no further. Zuko dismounted again and tied a rope from one of the wooden posts to the ostrich horse's leg.

"You're the only way I can get anywhere, so I can't let you run away," he explained, not expecting any response.

He walked into the derelict, wooden building and saw that its interior was very poorly lit. He quickly conjured a small flame with his fingertips to light his way as he explored. The building had most likely been an inn at one point; as evidenced by the large room on the first floor that was filled with old tables, some chairs, and even a bar, behind which was a collection of rather strong beverages. Upstairs, there were several doors which led to identical bedrooms. He could tell by the smell of all of them that nobody had been up here in quite a long time, likely years. The furniture was coated in inches of dust, and he stumbled across several spiders which had staked out their territory in dark corners. It was hardly an ideal place to stay, but it was certainly more appealing than sleeping under the stars in arid terrain. Sighing to himself, he picked out one of the relatively cleaner rooms, lay down on the small bed, and drifted off to sleep.