"It's like Grandfather doesn't even see me!" Zuko ranted, throwing his hands up in frustration. "And Father looks at me like he wishes I didn't exist!" Beside him, Lu Ten walked with his hands folded behind his back.

"I'm sure your father doesn't really think that," the older fire prince comforted. "Some people just have strange ways of showing affection, especially if they're not good at it."

"I think affection is the last thing he feels," Zuko mumbled. Then, louder, he cried, "What am I doing wrong?"

"If you want my honest opinion, I think what you're doing now is wrong," Lu Ten pointed out. "Stop worrying about it too much. You'll try too hard, all to end up crashing and burning. Just try your best, be yourself, and let whatever happens happen."

"That's easier said than done."

Lu Ten sighed. He decided to change the subject. "So, little cousin, I've noticed that you and Seiya get along famously."

"Seiya? What about her?"

"Nothing," Lu Ten corrected quickly. He didn't really know why he was bringing this up. Really, he shouldn't be, and yet… "You're almost ten. It's just that you're a big kid now. You're nearly in the double-digits."

"Yeah," Zuko replied nonchalantly, trying to balance on the railing of the roofed pathway.

Lu Ten gave the boy a side-glance. "You know, I read this poem the other day," he continued. "It was about a servant and a prince. They became friends in secret, and when the prince rose to the throne, he married the servant and made her his queen. Isn't that nice?"

"Uh huh," Zuko replied absently, concentrating on his balance. Lu Ten rolled his eyes. Never mind. Perhaps it was for the better. He really shouldn't have brought it up. Just then, a voice rose up, its shrill, desperate note carried clearly across the courtyard.

"Please! Give it back!" someone pleaded. Lu Ten turned his head towards the sound. Zuko jumped down from the rail. They headed towards the source of the voice. As they walked around a decorative dragon statue, they spotted Azula and Ty Lee. They stood in a way that had their bodies form a makeshift prison against the courtyard wall. Huddled in the corner, Seiya tearfully watched as Azula twirled a floral scarf around her hand.

"Are you saying this is yours? I doubt it. It's far too nice for someone like you to own. I bet you stole it, didn't you?"

"No! I didn't!"

"Ooo! Can I have it?" Ty Lee asked.

"Of course not," Azula snapped. "I'm the one talking here. Don't interrupt!" To Seiya, she continued, "Okay then, just tell me who you stole it from and I'll give it back to you."

"I didn't take it from anyone!"

"You apparently don't want this back." Azula held the scarf up and dangled it mockingly. "Maybe Ty Lee can have it after all."

"Yay!"

Lu Ten marched over. "That's enough," he ordered. "Whatever's going on here needs to stop right now." Azula and Ty Lee looked at him. When their heads turned, Seiya pushed herself out of the corner and reached for the scarf. In an instant, Ty Lee ducked down and stuck her foot out. Azula stepped to the side as Seiya fell face first into the mud. With a snort, she said, "Good one, Ty Lee!" Looking down at the girl, she held the scarf up by her face and crumbled it into a ball within her fist. "That was a dirty move you pulled. I think a cheat like that deserves a punishment." A soft sizzle emitted from Azula's fist. Tendrils of smoke curled out from between her tightened fingers.

"Don't!"

"Too little, too late."

The scarf burst into flames. Seiya began crying. She dipped her head down, unable to watch. Mud dripped from her chin and her clumped hair. The sight of the servant's torment seemed to fill Azula with a hideous glee.

"You two!" Lu Ten chided angrily. "You better—."

"Bye, Cousin!" Azula chirped as the two girls hurried past him. As she passed Zuko, Azula grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go!"

Zuko glanced back at Seiya. She sat up, her entire front covered in mud. "But—."

"Yeah, let's go!" Ty Lee encouraged, grabbing his other arm. "Mai's waiting by the pond. We're going to play Catch The Phoenix." The two of them quickly tugged Zuko away.

Lu Ten crouched next to the crying girl. With his sleeve, he wiped the mud off of her face. "Hey, it's okay. Shh, don't cry. Did you get any in your eyes? Shh, let me look."

"I don't want to be here anymore! I want to disappear somewhere far, FAR away where no one will ever find me!"

He pulled Seiya into a hug. "Don't say that," he whispered. "Everything's going to be all right." He stood up and gently pulled her to her feet. "Let's go inside and clean up."

"Where's Zuko?"

"He…" Lu Ten looked around. "Let's just go inside, okay?" With an arm wrapped around her shoulders, he led her back to the servants' quarters. "And afterwards, I'll give you a gold coin and we can go get a new scarf. There's a merchant who sells silk in the main plaza."

When the last customer had left Silent Falls Inn and all the dishes had been cleared away, Seiya returned back to her room. Her arms and feet ached. She reached up and rubbed her neck, but felt a sharp pain as she touched the cuff. Quickly, she retracted her hand. As she entered her room, she saw a piece of paper resting on her pillow. She picked it up and read its brief message. Then she headed out towards the back.

Just as he had written in the note, there he was waiting for her. He picked himself off of the wall and faced her. "Hey," Zuko greeted.

"It's late," Seiya replied monotonously.

"I know. Sorry. I just want to talk to you." He took her hand and led her to a stack of crates. After they sat down, he continued, "My uncle lives in Ba Sing Se. You remember Iroh, right? He has an apartment in the Upper Ring. You could stay there."

Seiya pulled her hand away. "I told you. I'm fine here. This is where my work is."

"Seiya, you have to know that the Lower Ring isn't safe, especially for us," Zuko said. "There's someone who's been killing anyone who comes from the Fire Nation—both benders and nonbenders. I've spent all of today in the Lower Ring trying to find whoever is responsible."

"You shouldn't be here," Seiya said.

"Neither should you."

"No one knows who I am," Seiya insisted. "Is this why you called me out here? It's late—I have work tomorrow." She stood up.

"No, wait." Zuko quickly stood with her to keep her from leaving. "Don't go. I didn't… I didn't mean to upset you. Listen, I just wanted to see you. I figured I could drop by since I was in the area." He held a hand out. "Let's walk over to the Middle Ring. We can just talk… you know, just like we used to."

Her heart jumped at the thought of those years. The ones when she had actually been happy. Bittersweet was the longing she felt for those times. "Okay," she whispered quietly, taking his hand. As they walked out from behind the inn, Zuko glanced at her.

"I like your cuff," he said. "It matches your dress."

Seiya reached up and touched her neck cuff. "It does," she agreed softly.

They passed a few more blocks in complete silence. Seiya could feel the tense nervousness radiating from the boy beside her. Still, she couldn't find anything to say. As hard as she tried, she couldn't rekindle the giddiness she used to feel with him.

"I want to ask what happened," Zuko finally spoke, his voice barely audible. "But I know you won't want to talk about it. I just want you to know that I really missed you. And I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I understand."

"Seiya, I wish you would stop doing that."

She looked up at him. "Do what?"

"That—saying you understand. Acting like it's your fault whenever I'm upset. I didn't realize it when we were kids, but you were always willing to take the fall for me, even when you shouldn't have. And what you said yesterday about how you put me up on a pedestal—thinking back to those years made me realize just how right you were. I wish you would stop always giving me what I want and start demanding things for yourself."

"I was already happy," Seiya said. "I just wanted you to be happy too."

Zuko was silent. Then, he said, "But you never told me the truth, did you?" He looked at her. From the sadness he saw in her eyes, it was clear Seiya knew what he was about to say. "That you cared so much because you felt something for me?"

"Maybe the little servant girl did once. Maybe she felt it so passionately," Seiya admitted. "But I knew it was wrong. That's why I never said anything."

"There was a poem," Zuko recalled. "About a servant and a prince. They got married in the end."

"I can't," Seiya said. "Not anymore. Things are too different now. There's too much you don't understand." Her hands gripped one another tightly. "You are my best friend. Can we keep it at that? Is that too much to ask?"

"No. If that's what you want." They had reached a pool of water, which was fed by a man-made stream. Lazily, the water drifted across the pool until it reached a small waterfall on the other side, which guided the stream further down the garden. A willow tree leaned over the pool, its wispy branches almost touching the water.

"This place is beautiful," Seiya remarked quietly.

"I want to show you something," Zuko said. He stepped over to the willow tree and slammed his fist against its smooth, gray trunk. Soft shushes came from the juddered tresses of the tree, followed by the explosion of hundreds of brilliantly dotted lights shed from between the slender leaves. As the fire-dragonflies swirled through the air, the surface of the pool reflected their dazzling light.

Seiya let out a breath of air. "Wow, it's amazing!" she said. "I've never seen so many at once!"

"My uncle told me that fire-dragonflies lived in the willows. I didn't really believe him until now," Zuko said, shaking his hand.

"You didn't?" Seiya giggled. "But you seemed to believe anyway. What if it hadn't been true?"

"Then I would've looked pretty dumb punching a tree."

The light in her study was on. Jangzhen stood in front of the door, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. For years now he had avoided this conversation with her, but tonight he felt like he needed to finally confront it.

He raised his hand and knocked twice.

"Come in," came the gentle voice. Jangzhen pushed the door open.

Jing Yin was rolling up a scroll when he entered. She greeted him with a tired smile. "You should be in bed, sweetheart," she said warmly.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Of course."

Jangzhen lowered himself onto the seat opposite to her. "Today the head of the Dai Li asked me and a few others to follow the avatar. He told us that if the avatar did anything suspicious, we were to capture his friend—the waterbender." He shifted uncomfortably. "He probably wanted to hold her as leverage."

"I see. And what did the avatar do?" Jing Yin asked.

"When it was my turn to watch, they went to the Lower Ring with the firelord. I think they were trying to find that killer you've been tracking," Jangzhen answered. "I don't think my commander would've been happy about that. I know he would've wanted me to apprehend the waterbender, but… I couldn't."

Jing Yin placed her hands on the desk and laced her fingers together. "I think you did the right thing. Holding innocent people hostage is not what honorable men do."

"The thing is, I almost did it. Even when I knew it was wrong—I was… I was tempted to capture her just to please my commander. Just to be recognized and… considered worthy in his eyes." Jangzhen confessed. "I know you're probably disappointed in me. You've probably felt that way ever since I joined the Dai Li."

"Jangzhen." His mother's eyes were gentle. They held the warmth he had known since he was a child. And they held the vulnerability she was never afraid to show that let him know she was being genuine. Jing Yin lowered her hands. "I've never been disappointed. I know how much you've wanted to be an agent, ever since you were a little boy."

"But I'm following in the footsteps of Dad," Jangzhen blurted out. Jing Yin's brow reflexively furrowed. "I know you don't like it when I talk about him, but I think about it all the time. I can't keep these thoughts to myself any longer. What am I becoming, Mom? Joining the Dai Li—keeping their secrets and enforcing their agenda. Almost giving in to the temptation of power even when it went against everything you taught me. It's like there's a part of Dad in me that's starting to come out, and I can't even look at my reflection out of fear that he'll be in it. I used to admire him—that's why I've always wanted to join the Dai Li. I'm scared that by the time I've become him, I won't realize it."

Jing Yin raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. She didn't speak. Jangzhen watched her, his hands balled into fists on his knees. A part of him was wondering if confessing all of this had been a mistake. Never before had he feared confiding in his mother—her judgment had always been stronger than the element she mastered. But when the confession involved him… Jangzhen wasn't worried that he had angered his mother. He was worried he had hurt her.

Then, finally, Jing Yin lowered her hand. Her eyes opened, gazing at her son with a resolute gaze.

"What you've told me," she said in slow, steady words, "has made me realize how selfish I've been. I thought I was protecting you by never talking about your father. Now I realize it was something I should have done from the start. How foolish of me to try and pretend he never existed when you still remember him. You do, don't you?"

Jangzhen nodded. Before the life on the run, the roads that never seemed to end, the panicked escape from the city… he remembered having a father.

"I want you to know that I do not hate your father. He is not a shadow lingering over me, or this family," she said. "He wasn't a bad man. I never would have loved him if he were. But even good men can become misguided—even noble intentions can come as vices in disguise. And I partially have myself to blame. I refused to see him changing until it was too late." The firmness in her eyes softened to compassion. "I don't want you to be afraid of him, Jangzhen, but I want you to cautious of the hidden vices that changed him. You realize this already, even if you weren't aware. You understand right from wrong. And because of that, I'm proud of you. Just because the footprints look the same, doesn't mean the path will be. Remember that, okay?" She stowed the scroll away inside of a drawer and stood up. "And remember what I've told you. For now, it's time for us all to get some rest. I need to check on your brother. Good night, sweetheart."

Do you miss me since I stood and walked away

To find the reasons why I'm living every day

For that something that I can't seem to find

This time

But I will be all that I set myself up here to be

And I will try to see the future through your eyes and keep

Myself fine, away from all the ones who punish me

For all the little reasons, every vision I will keep

"Banner Years" by Gavin Mikhail