Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the song "Hello, Young Lovers" from The King and I, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

Author's Note: In this installment, Yue accepts her station and shows mercy and compassion to all lovers in the world.

Hello, Young Lovers

When I think of Tom, I think about a night
When the earth smelled of summer,
And the sky was streaked with white,
And the soft mist of England was sleeping on a hill.
I remember this, and I always will.

The moon rises over the North Pole and shines down on the buildings, canals, and bridges, reflecting in sparkles off the predominant ice. Princess Yue can travel with it when she chooses, and tonight, she wants to. She sees the bridge where she met with Sokka, the place where he gave her that carving of a bear. Or a fish. The place she kissed him for the first time.

She smiles, remembering. Yue has mostly settled into life as a spirit, but those precious moments spent with Sokka she keeps close to her heart. These memories remain sharp and clear as icicles. She recalls him taking her for a ride on Appa and the exhilaration of flight. There had been such a contrast between the cold air rushing past them and his warm body beside her.

There are new lovers now on that same silent hill,
Looking on the same blue sea,
And I know Tom and I are a part of them all,
And they're all a part of Tom and me.

Yue is still getting used to her abilities, so she decides to practice by focusing her attention on the bridge, making it seem larger in her vision. Looking more closely, she sees that there is a new young couple standing on it. Yue doesn't blame them. It is a beautiful spot. They do not seem to notice her, too absorbed with each other. That is as it should be.

Oddly, she feels connected to them and to all other people in love. She hopes that her love and Sokka's are in these two. She knows that their love is in her. One thing she has learned since becoming a spirit is that everything is connected.

Hello, young lovers, whoever you are,
I hope your troubles are few.
All my good wishes go with you tonight,
I've been in love like you.

Some might think it would be painful to her to be essentially the patron of young lovers, given her own disappointment in that area. Yue feels just the opposite, however. She wishes for everyone the happiness that she was not allowed to have. She wants arranged marriages to be carefully considered and perhaps abandoned. She hopes that no one else will have to face decisions like she or Katara's grandmother had to make.

To Yue, it doesn't make sense to wish others ill just because your life hasn't gone the way you might have wanted. It wouldn't change her situation if other people were unhappy, so they might as well enjoy their lives, and she might as well be happy for those who are fortunate.

Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star.
Be brave, and faithful, and true.
Cling very close to each other tonight,
I've been in love like you.

The moon continues her circuit and looks out over the vast Earth Kingdom. Picking out details randomly here and there, she finds a couple who seem to be saying goodbye. As she draws closer, Yue realizes that the young man is joining the army. The woman is tearfully wishing him luck and preparing to send him off. She is proud of him but also sad. Yue understands this.

Yue wills herself to shine more brightly, wanting the couple to enjoy their last night together, reveling in one another's company. If Sokka and the others are successful, these two won't need to be parted long, but in the meantime, Yue sends them her blessing that they will remain in each other's hearts.

I know how it feels to have wings on your heels
And to fly down the street in a trance.
You fly down the street on the chance that you'll meet,
And you meet – not really by chance.

Yue proceeds to the large city of Ba Sing Se. Here she sees many couples doing many things. Some are just sitting on park benches and looking at her or each other, some are walking along hand in hand, and still more are sharing food or drink. They don't even seem to know that there is a war going on, and Yue feels their joy. She also feels a subtle sense of wrongness underlying everything, as she always seems to when she checks on this city, but she doesn't want to think about that tonight.

One particular pair catches her attention, and she brings her awareness closer. The young man has a large burn scar around his left eye, and Yue would gasp if she could still draw breath. Although he looks quite different from the last time she saw him, she recognizes him as the person who kidnapped Avatar Aang. He is innocuously eating dinner with an ordinary girl, and the effect is surreal, even to someone who's been through as much as Yue has.

Yue searches her spiritually enhanced store of knowledge to find their names: Jin and Zuko. Intrigued, she follows the pair as Jin leads Zuko to a lake surrounded by unlit torches. The girl seems disappointed. Zuko asks her to close her eyes. He looks around and, unobserved by anyone but the moon, and lights the fires, making the light reflect beautifully, rivaling even Yue's own glow. It is a sweet gesture, and Yue cannot help but think that there might be hope for him.

Don't cry, young lovers, whatever you do.
Don't cry because I'm alone.
All of my memories are happy tonight;
I've had a love of my own, like yours.
I've had a love of my own!

Yue knows that Sokka is in the city, too, but she resists the impulse to see him. He has to go on with his life, and she has the feeling he can sense when she is truly watching. She knows that he has found love again, and she is aware of the problems still facing both of them. He doesn't need her to complicate matters now. As she retreats back to the North Pole, Yue wishes her erstwhile love future happiness.

Returning to the pond in the Spirit Oasis, Yue wonders if her story will be told through the generations. In a way, she hopes not. The moon has always watched over lovers, and she doesn't want them to feel sad about her. She wants them to enjoy being young, in love, and happy. She was in love herself once, and at the end of the day, what more could one ask from life than the opportunity to love and be loved? Yue had that, no matter that it was only for a short time, and she is grateful.

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Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, Aangy, and honorary member SnakeEyes16

Author's Note: Did I break some kind of record for the number of times the word "love" was used per 1,000 words of text? Sorry about that, but let me know what you think.

Review responses:

Vanille Strawberry: Ah, yes, connections between twins are totally different! But yeah, I finish my husband's sentences all the time.

Snows Of Yester-Year: Oh, thank you! I guess I do like to do character studies, and most of the best musical songs are basically just that. I'll think about the Turning idea. My initial worry is that there are a whole lot of lyrics that sort of say the same thing. It may take some doing to squeeze a story in between.

TTAvatarfan: Well, they always do seem to chicken out or get interrupted. It might not be satisfying, but it's appropriate to the show.

Aangs fangirl1214: That's okay. Chapter 4 was probably a better chapter to spend your time on, anyway.:)

maiko forever: I was actually thinking about doing a Maiko story with a Wicked song, so yes, you'll likely see that. I've already got a few chapters in progress, though, so I'm not sure how soon that will be.

Let's Just Say I Loath It All: Yes, Kataang is definitely the ship most near and dear to my heart. I love Jekyll & Hyde!

Justcallmewolfy: I have to imagine the confession is coming soon in the series. At least Aang tried, and I'm pretty sure Katara knew what he was going to say, so…I'd say the ball's in her court, now.