The incident with the snow had toppled over some of the ingredients in the store room, and there was only so much Asuni could do to recover them. As a result, breakfast the next morning was simple congee with a few spices to get some flavor.

Asuni stood over the pot, dark circles under her eyes as she stirred, breathing deeply and trying to wake herself up with the scent of spices. It wasn't working. She yawned widely, abandoning the spoon for a moment to ready the royals' meals.

She turned as the door opened and her eyes widened. Instantly she was awake, staring at Zuko, who loomed in the doorway, clad in his usual armor and looking incredibly threatening. Asuni tensed, body sliding instinctively into a ready crouch, her hands braced against the counter behind her.

Zuko watched her reaction with some degree of chagrin. She looked like she was facing down some kind of dangerous wild animal, one that was wounded and backed into a corner. At any moment, he half-expected her to spring towards the door to her room and lock herself inside.

"We'll be docking soon to make repairs," Zuko said shortly. "Uncle and I will be going ashore to arrange it."

Asuni nodded slowly, surprised. Of all the things he could have some down here to tell her, this was definitely not where she had expected this to go. "Okay," she replied cautiously.

"You can come ashore with us," Zuko added.

Asuni's eyebrows went up. "I do need more supplies, some of them were damaged…" she mused to herself.

"That will be handled," Zuko snapped. Asuni blinked at him, her body tightening further. He grimaced.

"I thought you might like… to get some... new pots… or something," he grunted. He reached into his pocket and tossed a small pouch onto the table. A loud metallic clinking came from it and Asuni blinked, realizing it was full of coins.

She looked up at him and Zuko was surprised at how fast her posture and expression softened. Asuni realized that this was as close to an apology as he could come. That was the trick to dealing with him. Any kindness was always to be treasured, to be taken as something more. It was made all the more valuable by the snarls and growls one had to put up with to get it. Honestly, she cared more that he'd actually apologized – in his own way – then that he was letting her go shopping.

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile. "I could… use a new pot… or something."

Zuko knew she was teasing him. It was obvious. But he could tell she wasn't being malicious. He could also tell that she understood what he was doing, that she was accepting his apology, and that she was forgiving him.

"Just be sure to be back to the boat on time," Zuko said as he turned to exit the kitchen. "Or we'll leave you behind."

Asuni smiled. "Of course."

Three days later they limped into port and Asuni met Zuko and Iroh by the gangplank to disembark. Iroh observed the two teens and saw Asuni dressed casually in red pants, a red tunic with lighter edging, and brown leather boots. A small bag hung over her shoulder and her hair was down in a lower bun than usual.

Iroh watched as Zuko nodded to Asuni in a polite way and she smiled in response.

Asuni had no problem leaving Zuko alone. After all, he'd be with Iroh. If the old man couldn't protect him, what hope would she have had? She was particularly pleased to be disembarking here, as there was a member of the Royal Guard stationed here. She had a message prepared and hidden in a secret pocket in her bag, to be slipped into the appropriate hands and sent to the Fire Nation. It contained a lengthy account of the events of the past few days, focusing on the Avatar.

The gangplank lowered and the trio descended.

"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible," Zuko said as they descended. Asuni glanced at him and saw that he was looking around distrustfully. "I don't want to lose his trail."

"You mean the Avatar." Iroh nodded.

"Don't mention his name on these docks!" Zuko snapped. "Once word gets out, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in my way."

"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?"

"Captain Zhao," Zuko said, folding his arms and turning up his nose. Asuni didn't need the prince to identify him. She knew precisely who he was. She also knew that he was now a commander before Zhao even corrected him. Zhao was one of the officers the Royal Guards tracked closely. They were incredibly suspicious of him and his ambition, and Asuni and her father both had a deep-seated dislike of the man.

"General Iroh, great hero of our nation," Zhao greeted, bowing shallowly to the older man.

"Retired general," Iroh corrected.

"The Fire Lord's are welcome guests anytime," Zhao replied smoothly. His bronze eyes turned and settled on Asuni. "And who's this?" he asked, gesturing to her and looking down his nose. Asuni's eyes narrowed. She would have dearly loved to knock him out for the disrespect oozing off of him, but that wasn't exactly something good little cooks did.

"I'm the cook, Asuni," she replied, meeting his gaze and refusing to be cowed.

"A cook in the company of royalty?" Zhao questioned delicately, glancing between her and Zuko. She knew precisely where he was about to take this.

"Our supplies need to be replenished while we're here, and who better to know what's needed?" she fired back immediately.

"Hm," Zhao mused, smirking at her. "And is that all that brings you to my harbor?"

Iroh gestured to the very obvious damage done to the front of their vessel. "Our ship is being repaired," he explained.

"That's quite a lot of damage," Zhao observed.

"Yes, you wouldn't believe what happened," Zuko said, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Uncle!" he barked. "Tell Commander Zhao what happened!"

Iroh scrambled. "Yes, I will do that. It was incredible! …What, did we crash or something?" he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

Asuni could have cheerfully smacked both the royals, and Zhao too, for good measure. No idea of how to deceive, either of them.

"We ran afoul of a glacier near the South Pole," Asuni cut in quickly. Zuko and Iroh both looked at her, impressed.

"Really?" Zhao asked, glancing back at her. "Don't you have men on watch at all times? How did that happen, I wonder? You must tell me. Join me for lunch?" he asked, leaning down until he was an inch from Zuko's face. Asuni resisted the urge to growl and step between the pair of hem. He was trying to intimidate her charge and she didn't like it.

Zuko pulled away and started off. "Sorry, but we have to go."

"Prince Zuko." Iroh caught his nephew by the shoulder. "Show Commander Zhao your respect. We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea?" Iroh asked casually. "It's my favorite."

He moved off, Zhao following him. Zuko snarled and threw up his hands, fire trailing from the heels of his palms.

"Don't let him get to you."

Zuko looked up and saw Asuni still standing there, a tight grip on the strap of her bag as she glared after Zhao. Going by the look on her face, she hated him just as much as he did, if not more.

"He's clawing towards the sort of power you were born into," Asuni continued. "You've already won, my prince." With that, she turned to walk off. She was brought up short when a hot hand grabbed her wrist. She turned back and saw Zuko scowling, tugging her along after him.

"If I have to suffer through lunch with him, you do too," he grunted. Asuni smothered a smile and allowed herself to be dragged along after the older men, weaving their way through the tents set up along the harbor. A few soldiers passed them, going about their daily duties, and some gave them curious looks.

"Oh, my apologies," Asuni said as she accidentally bumped into a large, muscular man with a helmet tucked under his arm.

"Watch it, girlie," he grunted, continuing on his way. A golden disk glinted at his throat, a piece of paper concealed in his hand. Asuni smiled to herself at the successful trade off and continued on her way.

"And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under out rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war," Iroh said smugly, turning away from the map hung at the back of his tent. It was the biggest of the assemblage, and also the fanciest. They'd been served tea in filigreed metal pots, and decorative racks of weapons lined one wall. While they might impress some people, Asuni knew with one glance that they weren't even sharp. They were purely there for intimidation.

She wasn't impressed.

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," Zuko said bitterly, glaring at his lap.

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue," Zhao observed slyly, sitting down next to him. "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"

Crash!

Iroh had sent a rack of polearms toppling to the ground in a clatter of metal and wood. Asuni stared at him incredulously as he sheepishly backed away.

"My fault entirely," the old man apologized.

"We haven't found him yet," Zuko snapped.

"Did you really expect to?" Zhao sneered. "The Avatar died a hundred years ago, along with all the other Airbenders."

Zuko committed a cardinal mistake in deception. He glanced away as Zhao spoke. The commander was no fool. He noticed the movement and pounced on it.

"Unless you've found some evidence that the Avatar is alive?"

"No. Nothing," Zuko spit out.

"Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."

Again he was on his feet, leaning over in front of Zuko and trying to use his superior height to intimidate the prince. Asuni fisted one hand and had to hide her snarl behind a cup of tea.

"I haven't found anything," Zuko deadpanned. "It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, we're leaving."

Zuko pushed himself to his feet took long steps towards the tent flap. The guards crossed their spears and blocked him just as a foot soldier entered. Zuko glared at the soldiers blocking his way furiously and Asuni rose to her feet. Her hand slid to the knife inside of her bag.

"Commander Zhao," the foot soldier reported. "We interrogated the crew as you requested. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape. They also reported a Waterbender on board."

"Hm, that's interesting," Zhao said, eyes narrowing at Asuni maliciously. He moved to stand behind Zuko, lowering his mouth to the prince's ear. "Now remind me, how was your ship damaged?"

The two soldiers surged forwards, seizing Zuko under the arms and depositing him back in his chair. The prince snarled at them as they took their places behind the seat, one of them forcing Asuni back down into the chair.

"We caught him. He got away. That's it," Zuko ground out, staring at Zhao with his eyes alight with hate.

"Really? I hardly think that's true," Zhao said mildly. "What did he look like, for example?"

"They reported a boy of twelve," the soldier who had reported jumped in. Zuko's fists tightened on his knees.

"Tch. So a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your Firebenders?" Zhao sneered. "You're more pathetic than I thought."

"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again."

"No it will not!" Zhao snapped. "Because you won't have a second chance."

Zuko protested. "Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two and I-"

"And you failed!" The commander whirled, an arch of fire flying out from his fist. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands."

"That's not your call."

Everyone turned to look at Asuni. She sat straight but relaxed in her chair. In fact, she was the only one in the tent who looked totally relaxed, and she knew it. She had carefully crafted it so that she looked that way.

"Excuse me?" Zhao asked quietly, turning on her with fire flickering at his fists.

"The prince was given his assignment by Fire Lord Ozai. Fire Lord Ozai is the only one who can rescind that order. You are not Fire Lord Ozai, and therefore you cannot tell him to stop," Asuni replied, completely confident in her words because she knew he was right.

"You give your opinion very confidently for someone so young, especially for a servant," Zhao observed, but she could tell he was annoyed with her. "And a Waterbender too, you should have been killed or imprisoned. Really, I wonder how you've gotten this far as confident as you are. Perhaps because of some… favors you've been doing?" He glanced at Zuko down his nose, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind exactly what he was implying. Zuko flushed a violent red and snarled.

Asuni surprised even herself by letting out a scoff. "I have no delusions about where I stand. I am a servant, he is a prince. I am not pretty or powerful enough to have a place there. I am very good at judging where people stand, you see. I know where I belong, and I know where you belong, and it's far below where you pretend to be."

Zuko gaped at Asuni, his jaw loose. She just looked at him blandly. She sat there, completely calm, telling Zhao off, and she didn't look the slightest bit afraid. Despite himself, he was impressed by her. She never failed to surprise him, and now he had to smother a laugh as Zhao's face went red.

That ended almost immediately, however, as the back of Zhao's armored hand flew out and cracked across her face. Asuni was spun out of her chair and she landed on her stomach on the floor with a gasp, a thin cut on her cheek opened by the metal of the commander's armor. Blood trickled from her face and for a moment no one but Zhao moved, planting his booted foot on her back to keep her from rising.

"You're getting ideas far above your station," Zhao snarled and drew his fist back, a fire whip blazing between his fingers, ready to come down across her shoulders.

For a moment, Zuko saw another person lying on the ground, another man standing over them. The burn over his eye throbbed and he lunged to his feet with a snarl. The two soldiers caught him and held him back, but Zhao seemed sufficiently distracted. He lowered his hand, the fire fading, and removed his foot.

"That's what I thought," he smirked, looking down at Asuni. "Keep them here," he said, striding from the room. In a fit of rage, Zuko kicked the table, shattering it and upending the tea service.

"More tea please?" Iroh asked absently, lifting his cup.

Asuni stood up and dropped back into her chair. She turned her head aside and spat, blood flying from her mouth and landing on the ground with a splat. The two soldiers forced Zuko back into the chair and one of them sneered at her, "Should have minded your tongue, eh?"

Asuni's eyes flicked to him, her right eye already swelling shut as blood dripped from her chin. Her hand flicked up and the tea that had spilled was pulled from the carpet. Her blood also rose up, mixing with the tea in a sticky mess and coiling around her fingers. The soldiers each made disgusted faces as Asuni pressed the mixture to her cheek. Zuko watched the glowing liquid as the swelling and bruising slowly began to recede. Asuni's eyes never left the soldiers, even when she was finished healing herself. Only a thin line of slightly lighter skin showed she'd ever been hurt. Her fingers spun in the air, the tea and blood spinning in an orb, occasionally separating and then coming back together. It was surprisingly threatening.

Zhao reentered the tent sometimes later, triumphantly flinging open the flaps.

"My search party is ready," he announced. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you'll be free to go."

"Why?" Zuko snapped. "Worried I'm going to try and stop you?"

Zhao laughed in his face. "You? Stop me? Impossible!"

"Don't underestimate me Zhao," Zuko said, lunging to his feet. "I will capture the Avatar… before you."

"Prince Zuko, that's enough," Iroh said warningly, rising as well.

"You can't compete with me," Zhao said, eyes glowing mercilessly. "I have hundreds of warships under my command. And you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies… Your own father doesn't even want you."

"You're wrong!" Zuko thundered, his voice full and powerful, the kind of voice that could command a nation. "Once I return the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me back with honor, and restore my rightful place on the throne."

"If your father really wanted you back, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar," Zhao replied coolly. "But in his eyes, you are a failure, and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

"That's not true," Zuko growled.

"You have the scar to prove it."

"Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?" Zhao scoffed.

"Agni Kai!" Zuko said brashly. "At sunset!"

"Very well," Zhao agreed, turning to leave. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. Oh well, I suppose your uncle and… cook will have to do."

"Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?" Iroh chided.

"I will never forget."

Her worst nightmare. This was definitely it. Zuko was walking into a fight against a master and there was nothing she could do. Even the Royal Guards respected the tradition of the Agni Kai and were not allowed to interfere. Even if they were, Asuni wouldn't be able to without revealing herself.

"You're shaking."

"I am."

"Are you alright?"

"Not hardly."

"Is it because he's fighting?"

"Yes."

Iroh and Asuni stood on Zuko's side of the arena. Asuni's eyes were huge and desperate as she watched Zuko approach Zhao. She knew she was shaking with pent-up energy. Over a decade of training was yelling at her to stop this, but she couldn't.

Despite her reservations, the gong rang, the Agni Kai began.

As befitted his aggressive style, Zuko sent out the opening salvo, a series of fire punches. Zhao sidestepped them easily, not even reacting as the fire streamed towards him. Within a few punches Zuko was winded, but Zhao wasn't even panting as he crossed his arms, the last fire blast dissipating around him harmlessly.

Zuko tried a flurry of vicious kicks, sending long lines of fire at the officer. Zhao blocked it with his own fire and the flames streamed around him. Zuko kept kicking, but his fire always met Zhao's own and was deflected.

"Basics Zuko!" Iroh called. "Break his root!"

"Break his bones," Asuni hissed under her breath.

Zhao finally responded. His fire punches blazes larger and hotter than Zuko's. The prince raised his arms to block, but the force of the attacks still sent him scooting backwards once, twice, three times. The last punch Zhao threw was a powerful double-handed blow that sent Zuko skidding across the dirt on his back with a shout.

Asuni took a step forwards. It was only Iroh's hand clamped tightly on her shoulder that kept her from charging in and kicking Zhao from here to Ba Sing Se. Her hands twitched desperately, missing the feel of the chain with its three-clawed hook that was her primary weapon. A flick of her wrist and she could tear out the cocky commander's throat before he even knew she'd moved.

Zhao leapt into the air with a shout, one knee lowered to drive devastatingly into Zuko's stomach. That blow would not only winded him and kept him from fighting until he caught his breath, but it likely would have ruptured internal organs.

"Look out!" Asuni cried desperately.

Zuko twisted his body out of the way, but Zhao merely rose to his feet and pulled his arm back for a point-black flaming punch, much like the one that had given Zuko his infamous scar. In a desperate swirl of his legs, Zuko managed to hook his ankle around Zhao's and knock him off-balance while righting himself.

Suddenly Zuko was steady and Zhao was back on his heels, and Asuni could see the small smirk on the prince's face. Zuko made sure he kept it that way, kicking small bursts of fire at Zhao's feet and forcing him to step back hastily to avoid painful burns on his soles.

With a final kick that sent a line of fire at the commander's chest, Zhao toppled back. Zuko took two quick steps forwards, his hands raised in the same devastating final blow Zhao had tried to use on him. He paused.

"Do it!" Zhao roared.

Zuko punched, but with his other hand. The fireball connected just to the right of Zhao's head, singeing his iconic sideburns. Zuko lowered his hands as a trail of smoke spiraled up from the scorch mark.

"That's it?" Zhao demanded. He spat, "Your father raised a coward."

"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back," Zuko swore, turning away.

Asuni saw the moment Zhao's body language shifted from disdainful to enraged. But even before she could move, Iroh was there, catching the flaming kick Zhao aimed at the back of Zuko's head. The flames sputtered at died against Iroh's palm as he gripped Zhao's foot. With a flick of his wrist, Iroh sent the loser flying backwards.

Zuko snarled and attempted to lunge at the commander, ready now to land the final blow. Iroh caught him by the shoulders before he could take more than a step.

"No, prince Zuko," he advised. "Do not taint your victory." Iroh turned his eyes on Zhao, who lay on his back in the dirt, glaring at the pair of royals. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat?" He shook his head. "Disgraceful. Even in exile my nephew has more honor than you. Thanks for the tea," he added as he turned away. "It was delicious."

Together, the pair of them crossed the tournament field back to Asuni, who stood on the sidelines, her eyes still wide and seemingly frozen in place, staring at them. Zuko shifted uncomfortably.

"Let's go," Iroh added to her.

That seemed to break whatever trance she was in, because Asuni suddenly lunged at the prince, nearly tackling him in a hug.

"Thank Agni," he heard her mutter as she squeezed him tightly. Startled as he was, that quickly faded as her hands pressed against his scraped and bleeding back. He quickly pried her off with a wince.

Asuni stood before him, flushing and fidgeting.

"Ah, sorry… Carried away… Got really worried, you know… eh heh."

Her cheeks reddened further and Asuni wondered if it was possible for your whole body to flush.

"It's, uh… fine," Zuko said uncomfortably, turning away from her and heading for the exit. Iroh gave Asuni a knowing look. Asuni forced down her embarrassment enough to roll her eyes.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered as she and Iroh followed the prince out of the arena.

Asuni paused though, and glanced back at Zhao. He was still sitting there, elbow propped up on one knee, glaring after them with hate burning in his eyes. A similar emotion flamed to life inside of her.

"I always thought General Lo Shen over-exaggerated how much he hated that man," she mused. "Now I see where he was coming from."

"What do you know about General Lo Shen?" Zuko asked, glancing at her in surprise.

Asuni blinked, and scrambled. She managed to piece together a confident smirk and a secretive tilt of her head. "The servants know everything," she said loftily, and Zuko dropped it.

But she heard him mutter under his breath, "Did you really mean that uncle?"

"Of course," Iroh replied breezily. "I told you ginseng tea is my favorite."

Later on that night, Zuko was surprised to hear a knock at his door. Dinner was long since over, so it wasn't someone bringing his food or taking the tray, and he couldn't think why his uncle would want him.

"Come in!" he called.

The door was pushed open and Asuni stepped inside, a bowl of water held between her hands, a towel thrown over her shoulder.

"What do you want?" Zuko asked looking at her in surprise.

"You scraped up your back pretty well today," Asuni explained. She lifted the bowl. "I thought I could help."

Zuko recalled her abilities, and had to admit that she could probably do a better job than what he'd managed.

Instead of verbally acknowledging her, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it onto a chair. He moved to the edge of his bed and sat down. Asuni joined him and examined his back contemplatively. There were scrapes and bruises decorating the majority of it, and a few deeper, bloody cuts from where he'd slid over rocks. Some of the cuts still had bits of grit imbedded.

"This would be easier if you laid down," Asuni advised.

Zuko looked at her suspiciously, but nevertheless he lay down on his stomach, his chin resting on his folded arms. He flinched slightly as the water first settled on his back, but relaxed at the cool smoothness as it began to slide along the injuries soothingly.

He glanced over his shoulder and watched her work. There was a slight furrow between her brows, her eyes focused on his back as her hands moved about, focusing on different parts of his back. As he watched, her lips pulled back and she caught the tip of her tongue between her teeth. The glow illuminated her from below, the shadows making her look alien.

Asuni, for her part, was concentrating on the pale expanse of skin in front of her, determined to leave no evidence of the fight behind on his back. Zuko didn't need any more scars. She carefully swept her water over the wounds, washing the dirt and dust from his wounds carefully before healing the deepest cuts, moving on from there to the bruises, and then to the minor scrapes. When there was finally no longer even a hint of redness to show there had been an injury to begin with, she pulled the water, now dirty and slightly pink, back into the bowl and leaned back in satisfaction.

"Like it was never even there," she said smugly. Zuko sat up, moving carefully at first, expecting his back to still sting. When it felt entirely normal, he smirked slightly, thinking Zhao wouldn't be in nearly as good shape as he was, despite the fact that he was in exile.

"Well done," he said, which was as close to thanks as he was willing to come. Asuni was still the cook after all.

"No problem," Asuni replied, getting up. She gathered her materials and turned to go.

"You handled Zhao well today," Zuko called after her as she left. She turned and looked over her shoulder, tossing him a smirk.

"Zhao? Please. He's a power-hungry idiot, they're a dime a dozen."

With a parting wink, she left.