This idea has been bugging me for a while and I'm really happy to finally write it down. This is a little bit longer than I had originally intended, but I'm still happy with the results. Not to put any pressure on you, but I would really like a review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fickle Fate

'Damn bounty hunter. How dare she leave me to hike through this stupid forest back to my ship? She should be apologizing for her epic failure of capturing the Avatar!'

"Prince Zuko, we need to find a place to rest for the night," Iroh said. "It would be unwise to hike through an unfamiliar forest.I believe that we are near the village that Jun had said the Avatar had visited. Perhaps they will have an inn that we may be able to stay at. I could use a good cup of hot tea right now." Zuko rolled his eyes. "And maybe we will be able to have our fortunes told as well."

Zuko glanced at his uncle, and judging by the look in his face, he was thinking about the old woman who called his elderly uncle handsome and had offered to read his fortune.

I think I'm going to be sick.

They left the inn at sunrise the next day. They had to leave as soon as possible and catch up with the Avatar. There was no point in staying any longer than they had to.

"Can we not stay a little bit longer? I hear that the local tea shop brews a very good cup of jasmine tea."

"No! We can't afford any more delays. The Avatar already has a day's head start on us."

Zuko was determined to resume his journey as soon as possible, but Iroh was just as determined to visit Aunt Wu. He had heard of her legendary fortune teller abilities during his travels when he was young, and when he learned from a local that she lived here, he knew that this would be his only opportunity. Iroh would have to think of a way for them to stay just a bit longer and visit her.

"Perhaps, Prince Zuko, we should stay to question the locals about information on the Avatar."

Zuko paused for a moment and gave his uncle a questioning look.

"If the Avatar had visited this village recently, then perhaps the locals will have information on what direction he took or where he's headed."

Zuko contemplated the idea for a few moments.

"Fine. But we leave in two hours."

Iroh smiled. This early in the morning, the only peopl out would be workers and farmers, people Iroh did not believe the young Avatar commonly assosciate with. And since the Fortune Teller's office opened in two hours, the timing would be perfect.

"Very well, Prince Zuko."

Hook, line, and sinker...

2 Hours later...

"IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT SOME OLD WOMAN TOLD YOU! YOU STILL HAVE TO BATHE!"

The dirty old man did not reply, he just smiled knowingly and walked away, leaving behind a very angry and fustrated firebender.

"There you are, Prince Zuko. Have you found out anything useful?"

"Only that this village is full of idiots under the control of a fraud fortune teller named Aunt Wu."

"So you've heard of her. Apparently the Avatar saw her while he was in town. Perhaps we should question her. Her office has just opened."

Zuko stared at his uncle suspiciosly. "Uncle, did you-"

"Come Prince Zuko," interrupting the firebender,"we must hurry and be on our way."

Zuko followed, wondering if he had just been tricked.

They were greeted by a small girl with large ponytails. A normal person probably would have smiled at her goofy hair, or the funny little gap in her teeth, but not Zuko. He, off all people, did not have the right to judge someone on their appearance.

She stared at his scar, but immediately looked away when she met his scowl.

"Um...Aunt Wu will be with you shortly, so have a seat. Is there anything that I can get you while you wait?"

"A cup of jasmine tea would be perfect," Iroh said smiling. She bowed and left to fetch his tea.

"We don't have time for this. We should just walk in there and demand she tell us everything she knows about the Avatar."

"A little patience can go a long way, nephew."

The child appeared again and handed Iroh his tea. Zuko caught her staring again and she looked away blushing. But she wasn't staring at his face. If he didn't know any better, he would say she was looking at his...ears?

Another woman walked through a sliding door. "Aunt Wu will see you now."

Zuko rose and followed her to large room with a fire in the middle of the room. Sitting on a cushion behind the fire was the same old woman who had flirted with Uncle the other day.

"Sit young man, and I will give you glimpse of your future."

Zuko walked to her and stood over the small woman "I'm not here to have my fortune read," he said defiantly." A young monk and his two friends saw you recently. Tell me everything you know about him and where they headed."

She stared at him with a silent anger in her eyes. "It seems you do not have the same patience or manners that your uncle possesses."

The two glared at each other, neither one willing to look away first. Aunt Wu was the one that broke the silence.

"I get paid to tell fortunes, so if you sit down and let me do my job, then I will tell you everything that I know about the monk."

Zuko said nothing for a moment, but eventuallly sat down on a cushion next to her.

"Pick a bone from the bowl and throw it into the fire. By reading the cracks made by the heat, I will be able to see your future.

He picked up a random bone threw it into the fire. He watched silently as the heat from the fire created small weblike cracks. Using a metal stick, Aunt Wu fetched the bone from the fire and examined it.

"Hmm...very interesting..."

"What?" Zuko did not believe this fraud, but the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could resume his journey.

"These cracks tell me that you have faced many hardships in your life and that they have left you with more that one type of scar. Scars that you try very hard not to show."

Zuko said nothing. He thought it would be better if he remained silent then point out that anybody who took one look at him would have been able to predict that he had had faced hardships.

"The road ahead of you is full of difficult challenges in which your strength and bravery will be tested. You will question your beliefs, your ideas, even who you are as a person. You will feel the sting of betrayl and heartbreak, and you will be pushed beyond your limits more than once."

He remained silent.

"But I also see good in your future. I see a group of friends that care about you very much. I see a nation ruled by a great leader blessed with peace and prosperity."

"I'm going to tell you a secret."Aunt Wu put the bone down and looked Zuko right in the eye. "What I see in this bone is just a possible future. It is up to you whether or not my prediction comes true. The decisions that you make and how you make them is what determines you future. I hope that when the time comes, you will be able to live you your choices."

This time it was Zuko that broke the eye contact first.

"The Avatar headed northeast on his bison with his friends two days ago. That is all I know."

Without saying a word, Zuko stood up an left the room to fetch his Uncle. When Iroh asked him how the fortune telling went, he replied with "She's a fraud and she doesn't know what she's talking about. We've wasted enough time here."

It wasn't until later that night that Zuko realized he had never told Aunt Wu that the monk he was looking for was the Avatar.