Zuko stepped off his ship, looking at the small crowd of villagers staring at him. He was in the Southern Water Tribe, determined to find the Avatar and put an end to his fool's quest.

But then she caught his eye.

He didn't know her name or anything about her, but somehow she seemed… familiar. He recognized the fear in her eyes, and that recognition brought back a memory.

It had been nearly ten years ago, and Ozai had offered to bring his son on a trip to the recently raided Southern Water Tribe. Ozai rarely offered to take his son anywhere, so the boy was happy to agree.

But the trip wasn't like he'd expected it to be.

Instead of the beautiful city of ice his uncle had told him about, Zuko found himself in a tiny village of collapsed huts and mourning citizens. The snow was tainted red by blood spilled during the attack on the village, and several bodies were half buried in freshly fallen snow.

From one of the many poorly constructed igloos scattered throughout the village, a small head appeared. A little girl crawled out of the snowy shelter and stared at Zuko and his father. Zuko had watched as she rushed over to the body of a woman, took a small necklace from her, and then rushed back to her igloo. Just before she had re-entered her shelter, the girl had looked back at Zuko, fear evident in her eyes.

It was an event that had caused him nightmares for weeks, and still did on occasion.

And now, there he stood, seeing that same frightened face, in that same broken village. A girl he didn't even know had brought back a memory he didn't want to have.


Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, or any of it's characters. I am a humble fan.