A/N: There are a lot of similarities between my stiry and ATLA season one. Please reveiw, I need critics!

Disclaimer:I don't own Avatar. I'm not that good

Chapter 1: A Thief and a Prince

Kalaya was walking through the marketplace of a port town, trying to avoid the fire nation soldiers. She didn't want any trouble, and several groups of soldiers had already given her suggestive and dirty looks. Suddenly a commotion broke out and she saw a group of soldiers chasing a man clad in black. She hurried down a few lanes to get ahead and see what was going on. As the man passed, she noticed he wore a blue demon mask. He glanced at her as he passed, but continued running, turning a corner.

"Thief, stop him!" one of the soldiers yelled. She didn't know what the masked man had done, but he had done it against the fire nation and that was enough for her. She leaned against a pile of crates as if she had tripped and pushed them into the soldiers' path. The crates toppled just as the soldiers were in front of them, and three of them were taken down by the crates. The other two stopped short behind their fallen friends.

"Hey, girl, stop!" one of them said as Kalaya turned and disappeared into one of the shops. She waited, turning her head away from the door as the soldiers passed.

"You'd better be on your way," the shop owner said, noticing her discomfort as the soldiers passed. Kalaya looked at him, he was a large fatherly figure, and had a soft look on his face as if he laughed often. "They'll keep looking for you, so it'll be best if you move on."

"Thank you," she said, "I will."

"Just be careful, girl, some of these men are honorable, but most aren't."

Kalaya bowed in respect to the owner, and made her way out and to the docks as the sun started setting. She was almost to her canoe when a group of four soldiers showed up between her and her boat.

"You're under arrest," the largest one said, coming towards her. She looked around, and knew there was no way out. The water was twenty feet away, and docks were full of fire nation ships.

"I'm innocent," she said as the soldiers approached her. "Please, it was an accident."

"Sorry girl, but we need to take you in," the leader replied, with a smug look on his face. Kalaya was about to run when another voice came from behind her.

"What did this girl do, colonel?"

Kalaya looked to the owner of the voice and was surprised. It was a young man only a little older and taller than herself. He was in fire nation armor, but had an almost shaven head with a topknot of brown hair. His eyes were gold, but looked at the soldier as if they were steel. His face was clean shaven, and was only marred by a burn mark covering the right side of his face, from across his nose, encircling his eye and almost to his ear. He was flanked by two older men, both in armor, one middle aged, with black hair in regular fire nation style, and another, older man with gray hair.

"Sir, she helped a thief escape some of our men today, injuring three of them. I was ordered to take her in for questioning."

"I'm innocent, it was an accident," Kalaya interjected. The young man held up his hand to stop any further arguments.

"I'll question her myself. Captain," he said to the middle aged man flanking him, "Please escort the girl to the spare room on my ship. I'll be there in a moment. Colonel, Commander Suzo will understand, and it would be a shame if the girl was injured in any way if she were innocent."

The colonel bowed his head, and took his men away. The captain and older man approached Kalaya and gently took her arms, guiding her to the closest ship.

"This is a mistake, I'm innocent," she said, struggling.

"Calm down, girl," the elder said, "Prince Kozu will not harm you. He is doing this more for your protection that the need to question you."

"I can take care of myself," Kalaya said, being stubborn.

"I'm sure you can," he said, laughing, "but don't throw away help that's offered."

Kalaya pouted her lip out, but didn't resist being guided to the ship and into the spare room. She was surprised at how nice it was. She had guessed it would be more like a dungeon cell, but this room seemed more like a suite. It had a bed, tapestries on the wall, a small table with two chairs bolted down to the ground and even a small window looking out to the ocean.

There was a door on the left side of the room. She was about to investigate it when the main door opened and the young man entered. He shut the door behind him and set down a tray on the table. Kalaya glanced at it and noticed a bowl of rice and pot of tea, along with two cups. The two assessed each other for a minute, Kalaya with her arms folded.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, angry at this boy for being nice. He was fire nation, why would he be nice to a girl from the water tribe.

He smiled, and poured the tea, offered her a glass, which she refused, and sat on the bed, sipping the tea.

"I'm innocent, why am I here?" she asked, growing even angrier.

"I heard you pushed some crates on top of a group of soldiers, injuring three of them, keeping them from catching a notorious thief."

"I tripped, that 'thief' startled me when he ran in front of me. I tripped and landed on those crates, and accidentally knocked them over."

"You also ran from the soldiers who wanted to question you, and were resisting arrest just now."

"I didn't like the looks they were giving me." She shuddered, remembering the look the colonel had given her. "I didn't want to get hurt."

"The commander also thinks you may be a spy. Not too many members of the water tribe come to the mainland these days, and most who do are spies."

Kalaya put her hands on her hips. "So now I'm a spy? I am NOT a spy! Why would I be? How could anyone ever think that?"

The man got up, getting angry as well. "How dare you yell at me? Do you know who I am? I am Prince Kozu and I am asking the questions here!"

"Forgive me, o mighty prince," Kalaya said, bending in a mock bow, "but I was brought here by your men for a fake crime and now you're insinuating that I'm a spy? I am NOT a spy!"

"You're the one the soldiers are after, you're from the water tribe AND you're alone. What else did you expect the commander to think? Why are you here and why are you alone?"

Kozu's face was only inches away from Kalaya's as he said the last. Both were angry and fuming at each other and stared at one another for a minute. Kalaya's face fell, and she turned away from him before answering.

"I was exiled." She turned back to look him in the eyes again, angry. "I was exiled for doing what I do best, bending, and I'm just trying to find my way. So excuse me if I'm in the way and seem out of place." Tears started forming in her eyes. She felt so lost, and now this boy, this prince was questioning her integrity.

Kozu noticed her tears and his face softened. He stepped back. "I'm sorry. You'll stay here tonight. It's not safe for you to leave now. The other door leads to a washroom adjoining my own room. I'll have my men escort you to your boat in the morning."

He turned and left, closing and locking the door behind him. Kalaya just stared after him before turning to the bed and fell on it, crying into the pillow. Why me? All I wanted was to fight! To help!

Eventually her tears stopped and she grew hungry. She got up and went to the table, picking at the rice while watching the sun set outside the window. A knock on the door startled her.

"Come in," she said, expecting the prince. His older companion came in instead with a pot of tea. He was slim, with a tan face and crows' feet surrounding his brown eyes. He was clean shaven, but had a full head of gray hair in a fire nation topknot. His wiry muscles looked thin and weak, but when he moved, he flowed like a cat, belying his strength.

"I thought you might like some more…civil company," he said with a grin.

"Oh, um, sure," she said, getting up.

"It's all right, my dear, please remain seated. My name is Li, and you are?"

"Kalaya."

"A beautiful name," Li said, pouring the two glasses and sitting opposite her at the table.

"I apologize for my prince; he can be a little hot headed, even for a firebender. But I have known him since he was a small child and he is a good man."

"A little?" she asked, shocked, "I think he was more than a little."

Li laughed. "Yes, but not many can stand up to him, so I think you may be more than a little yourself." Kalaya looked insulted. "I mean it as a compliment. I'm glad you stood your ground. Only Captain Jin and I can stand his temper here, and I'm glad someone his own age can as well. We can only stand it because of practice."

Kalaya smiled along with Li at this. "Why did he help me?"

"Ah, he is a very honorable man, and can not bear to see an innocent, let alone a woman in danger."

"I could have defended myself," Kalaya said, becoming defiant again.

"As I said before, I'm sure you can, but that is who he is, and I am proud of him for it. I love him like a son, and I am proud that he has turned out to remain honorable."

"What is your relationship to him?"

"I am his teacher, of swords, martial arts, and most importantly, firebending."

Kalaya was startled by this and shrank back a bit.

"Don't worry, my dear, you have nothing to fear from anyone on this ship. I heard that you are a bender as well. We are all part of the cycle; every element has its part. Perhaps one day, you can show me your bending. It would be an honor to view. But, I need to go and prepare for your departure tomorrow. If you need anything, just knock on the door, there is a guard outside."

He got up and took the pot and tea cups and headed for the door.

"Master Li," Kalaya said, getting up. Li looked back to her from the door. "Thank you."

Li smiled back at her and walked through, a guard closed the door behind Li, making no eye contact with Kalaya and locked the door. She got up and fell onto the bed, instantly asleep.