A/N: Happy Friday everyone. Enjoy.

Chapter IV:

The Assassin

Can you believe he said that? Raya said in irritation. Her physical body sat under the fire maple in the main courtyard and dawn was creeping up over the land. She was very still, her breathing even, and detached. Her spirit rested in the spirit world, across from Aang's. Meeting in the spirit world was something the two had only recently perfected, but they could only accomplish it if they were both meditating. Fortunately for them, they both meditated at sunrise and sunset.

Maybe he's right . . . Aang said slowly. Raya shot him a confused glance.

You're agreeing with him?

No . . . but yes. I don't agree with how he treated you, and I'm sorry he hurt you. But maybe he's right about your aversion to your firebending.

I don't have an aversion to firebending. I use it all the time. I used it last night to call for Rai Jin. Raya folded her see through arms.

I know, but I can feel the way you avoid it until it becomes necessary. Direct link into your soul, remember?

Being passive is the way of the nomad. It's the life I chose.

I understand that better than anyone, believe me. And I appreciate the fact that you don't turn to violence until there are no other options. But you're the Demitar, and a firebender. I spoke with a few of the Avatars before me, back when I was on my way to you to defeat Ozai, and all of them gave me the same word of advice, even Yang Chen: The Avatar and Demitar must set aside their spiritual needs and do what is right for the balance of the world. Sometimes, we have to set aside our own personal trials and beliefs to do what we must.

Maybe you're right . . . I used to love my firebending, even after I had awoken I loved it. But the more I saw of the fear people had for fire and firebenders because of the war . . . Maybe I have been shying away from it.

Just because you are a firebender doesn't mean you have to try to rule the world, or put aside your passive nature. But you do need to embrace the power in fire. You are Power. Maybe you need to rediscover what that means?

She paused and averted her gaze from the see through Avatar.

. . . I hate it when you're right.

All in a day's work for-

Don't say it.

X

The furious scratch of a pen against parchment was all that could be heard in the Demitar's room as the afternoon passed. She knew there was only one person she wanted to help her with her current mental block; potentially the only person that truly could understand and help her. There was no advice she respected more in the world aside from Aangs, and it would be nice to exchange words with one of her best Earth Kingdom companions.

She sat the pen down finally, and pulled the parchment up to tap it against the desk. Once the pages were even, she flipped through them, skimming the words she was about to send. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but made a note to put a rush on it. Signed and sealed, she took the parchment out to the young girl that stood by her door.

"Would you take this to the fire hawk keeper? Tell him this message is very important, please." Raya held the parcel out and the girl took it. She bowed and went off hurriedly down the hall.

"What was that?" She felt herself go slightly rigid, and with a sigh forced herself to relax. She heard the footsteps of the Fire Lord as he approached from behind her.

"Nothing, really. I promised Sokka I would write him," she replied casually as she turned to face him. He looked a bit perturbed, but let it go. She noted that he wasn't the usual fiery person he had been when she had arrived. After their quarrel in the Southern Garden a few days earlier, Raya had used her airbending to ascend into the nearest balcony. Fortunately it was an unoccupied room; she had been so flustered by the moment she didn't consider that she might be jumping in on someone. Her only concern in the moment was to be as far away from the Fire Lord as possible.

His eyes lingered on her silk white hair and she shifted uncomfortably. It took her a few moments to realize why: she no longer wore the crown prince's ornament. She hadn't gotten around to putting it back in after she'd gotten back from the tavern, and simply continued to braid her hair over her shoulder. This caused her to wonder if she had subconsciously been avoiding replacing the object to its usual resting place. Zuko finally tore his eyes away from her casual hair-do and found her amber ones.

"Come with me," he said finally, and walked passed her. She obliged after a moment of hesitation. The Demitar walked slightly behind, instead of beside him, and resisted the urge to ask of their destination. In time they came to a door in the palace that lead out into a foot beaten path. She cocked an eye brow and wondered why there were leaving the palace.

"We're leaving?"

"You said you wanted to help me, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but you said I was forbidden to leave."

"My word didn't stop you the other night." He had a point.

"Right . . ."

"You know everything now. There's no sense in trying to protect you from it," he said in a clipped voice as he stepped out of the palace. She followed, falling into step beside him now.

"You don't have to pr-"

"I get it," Zuko said quickly, not bothering to look down at her.

The walk took about fifteen minutes, all of which happened in silence. The forest stirred slightly with the life of the various creatures that called it home. The air outside was humid, even though summer would soon be winding down into autumn. Raya looked forward to the change of the leaves in the fire maples. She loved the way the yellows brought forth by autumn transformed the trees into fire. The way the oranges, yellows, and reds moved in the wind made the trees become like living flames.

Before she had time to think further about the implications of the coming season, they were walking through two large stone pillars that connected to a thick stone wall. Two guards stationed on the ground at the base of each pillar bowed low to the two that entered the confines. The wall surrounded a place Raya knew well.

The Fire Nation prison that once held her loomed over the two. Raya looked down toward the ground as they walked and tried to push passed the memories that began to flood over her. The frequent visits she received from an angry young Fire Prince. The desperate escape she made with an angry Fire Prince.

"Let's go."

The Demitar realized suddenly that she had paused at the steps leading up to the door. Zuko was already half way up, and turned. He waited almost patiently for her to extract herself from her own thoughts, and when she did she visibly shook her head. It was a brief enough gesture that the Fire Lord wasn't sure he'd even seen it and she joined him. They ascended the rest of the steps and found their way to a particular cell.

Zuko motioned for the guard to stand down, and stepped up to open the large metal door. A familiar grating sound pierced the Demitar's ears and she watched as Zuko stepped forth. Raya didn't follow right away, and she felt a pit forming in her stomach. There was a sudden flash of mistrust bubbling beneath her surface, and she wondered what exactly was going on here. She watched as Zuko stepped back out enough to see her face.

"Raya," he said, voice even. She took a small breath and forced herself in. She felt tense and watched as Zuko sent two small flames into the lamps that hung on the walls within the metal door. The familiar bars at the back of the cell were something that haunted her memories, and she looked toward the shadow that rested within them. The dim light of Zuko's fire cast the shadow into view and she looked at Zuko, confused.

"Who is this?"

"Huein. My attempted assassin."

Raya looked down at the man again, trying to focus on his obscure features. There was still enough shadow in the room to make her squint in order to get a better look.

"Drug the Demitar in to try 'n make me crack? I ain't tellin' you nothin'," Huein said with a disinterested drawl. She felt her face harden as she looked down at him.

"No one's here to make you crack."

"Speak for yourself," Zuko said, his eyes a slight glare as he looked down at the man without pity. "You should feel lucky I spared your life at all."

"Shoulda just ended it when you had the flame in my face. There's no honor for me now; not in this life," Huein said irritably.

"You were going to kill him?" Raya asked, though she didn't really mean for it to be aloud.

"Coward. Both of you. Cowards."

"I don't know what I was thinking," Zuko said as he glared down at the almost assassin. He said he didn't know why he did it, but he knew exactly why: Raya wouldn't have done it. It would have hurt her to know that Zuko had taken a life, even if that person had tried to take his first. So he imprisoned him, for her sake. Even now, he didn't think he could kill the man, though he toyed with the idea.

"And you didn't . . ." Raya said, her voice contemplative. Zuko waited for her to say more, but she simply watched the man, her eyes curious now. He wished more than anything she would tell him what she were thinking, but he knew that wasn't going to happen; and he wasn't going to ask.

"It doesn't matter what you do or say, I won't talk," the man behind the iron bars said once again.

"We get it," Zuko said sharply, irritated already.

"Then leave. You don't have no business here," Huein said as he turned away from them. Zuko clenched his fists and looked as though he were about to explode. Before he could reprimand the prisoner for his insolence towards the Fire Lord, Raya touched is arm gently in an attempt to disarm him. To her relief the Fire Lord paused instantly under her touch, and she saw softness there that she hadn't seen since she'd stayed in the palace three years prior.

Raya pulled her hand back quickly, and gave him an encouraging smile. Zuko stiffened the second her hand left his arm, and turned swiftly.

"We're done here," Zuko said as he walked out of the cell. Raya followed suit and tried to keep up with the Fire Lords swift walk. She turned back to watch the guard slam the door shut, clicking as it locked once more.

"Why did you bring me here?" Raya asked quietly as they began their walk back to the palace.

"He's our only source of information about the Loyalists."

X

"I thought you might like something other than gruel to eat," Raya said gently as she sat down across from Huein. The only thing impeding her view of the man were the iron bars that once held her. She folded her legs and watched him patiently. He didn't touch the food she had brought him, or even bother to look at it.

"I told you before, I ain't gonna say nothin'. 'Specially not to no traitor."

"We don't have to speak," Raya said, and they sat in silence. The minutes ticked passed, and Raya sat in a patient mediation. Being still and quiet were two things she excelled at. She could hear Huein breathing, stirring, shifting, and moving. Her presence irritated him.

"What's the point of this?" he finally asked. Raya opened her amber eyes to find Huein glaring at her.

"Kindness for the sake of kindness," she replied simply.

"I tried to kill your precious Fire Lord, and I'd kill you if I could . . . and you come here with kindness, tryin' ta make me believe you don't have a reason for it . . . Master FaWei was right: You're weak. You are supposed to represent the Fire Nation, as our Demitar, but you are weak."

"I represent all Nations, and there is nothing weak about any of them. Including this one," Raya said calmly as she stood to leave. She repeated the name FaWei in her head as she did so. "Same time tomorrow?" she asked, not needing to turn around to know there would be an angry smile on the man's face.

Raya did return; again and again for several days. Huein seemed to soften to her gradually each time as she came baring various amenities to share with him such as teas, cakes, and fresh clothing. At first, he was nothing more than disgusted by her acts of kindness. He couldn't fathom a world in which people acted without an agenda.

Time and time again, though, Raya appeared baring gifts and asked for nothing in return. She never once asked for information, and found that he often gave it up willingly in small snippets without realizing it. She had successfully collected the lead conspirators name without even trying. What she really sought, however, was their meeting place. She knew from her recon in the tavern that they met outside of the capital city after Huein's failed assassination attempt, but nothing more. She needed specifics.

She relayed all the information that she collected to Zuko and let him do with it what he would. He thought she was only proving Huein and the Loyalists right by employing the use of kindness on the man, but as she returned with more and more useful information, he changed his tune. Things were still strained between them, however, and Raya never spent more time with him than it took to relate her findings.

"I didn't think it would really work," Zuko said as he moved some papers on his desk to make room for his newest endeavor. He had been recording everything Raya learned when she went to visit his almost assassin.

"Never underestimate the power of kindness," Raya said from the other side of his desk.

"You sound too much like Uncle sometimes," Zuko said absently. He had to admit that he missed the old man, and constantly found himself wanting to reach out for his guidance. He never seemed to be able to do it though. He promised Uncle a peaceful life in the Earth Kingdom, where he could live out his dream of running his own tea shop. But on the rare occasion that Raya sat with him in his office, she would say something that would make him yearn for the old general's presence.

"He's very wise, so thank you," Raya said.

"Not always," Zuko muttered, trying not to smile at the memory of the time Uncle had brewed tea from a flower that he knew had the potential to be poisonous. He took the chance anyways, which landed them in the home of a small Earth Kingdom family for help.

"So what've we got?" Raya asked as she watched him go over something slowly.

"The name has to be an alias. I've had a small team of investigators on it, and they've turned up nothing in particular."

"We need more. Someone who can get on the inside. Someone who would seem so obvious as a Loyalist they would never be suspected . . ." She watched Zuko pause then, and wondered what might be going through his mind.

"I think I know someone." Zuko's mind began to race at the possibilities this person opened up, but the question remained; was he willing to put her in that much danger? Would she even agree?

"Who?"

"Their father was arrested a few years ago for leading a small group of Ozai followers. He even resorted to kidnapping children. They'd be the perfect person to infiltrate the group; it would be more suspicious if they weren't part of the Loyalists. The motive is there."

"Who?" Raya pressed again. Zuko seemed particularly bent on avoiding the subject as he seemingly rambled.

"Mai."

X

"Demitar Raya, a message has arrived for you."

Raya was approaching her room slowly, the tides of her mind churning deeply in thought. She knew the plan that Zuko had just proposed made perfect sense, but she had her concerns. For one, she wasn't sure she wanted to put Mai in that kind of danger. She had once sacrificed a great deal for the once Fire Prince; was it fair to call on her once more? Especially now that she had no ties with him nor the palace. None that Raya was aware of, anyways.

The young chamber maid bowed deeply to Raya as she drew near. The Demitar accepted the message gratefully and instructed her not to bow like that anymore. She was accustomed to people paying their respects, but those who served the palace did it so often that it became unnerving. Raya didn't feel that simply because she was born into this position in life that it warranted such rituals. They could bow to Fire Lord Zuko that way, but she preferred not to be.

"Thank you," she said as she began to walk into her room in order to read the message privately. She heard the door shut behind her and the young chamber maid stood by the door patiently. She sighed inwardly and knew that no matter how many times she told the girl she didn't have to remain with her, she would still do it. Because they were Fire Lord Zuko's orders.

She blocked the girl out of her mind and focused solely on the message then. The script inside was clearly written by a practiced hand and she took in each word carefully. Her eyes lit up suddenly as she realized the implications of the parchment in her hand. Happiness began to swell within her, but in the same moment, so did concern.

She'd have to tell Zuko.

The Demitar found herself knocking tentatively on his door only a few hours after she finished reading her message. She had patiently waited and meditated on how she wanted to approach the subject. She had simply written in an attempt to gain some insight and advice on her firebending predicament, but now she was faced with an immanent visitor. The way she saw it, Zuko would either be glad of it, or angry that yet another person may be placed in harm's way.

"Enter," his voice came from the other side. She pushed the door open slowly and stepped in. His office was nothing new to her, but what he was doing within was. She found him seated on the floor off to the right of the room. He faced a wall that had nothing more than a table against it. On the table sat several candles of varying sizes, and they rose and fell with his breath. Their dim light extended over the room and then diminished repeatedly with each inhale and exhale. "Anything new from Huein?"

"No, nothing," she said. He stopped his meditation then and she watched him relax his posture a bit. The flames, no longer under the influence of his firebending, turned back into small flickers upon the wicks.

"What is it?" he asked. She had yet to pay him a visit purely for the sake of visiting, causing him even now to know that if she wasn't here to relay information, then she must have other business.

"The palace will be expecting a visitor soon," she said lightly, trying to keep herself casual.

"What? Who? When?"

"In a few days I expect," she said, avoiding the 'who'.

"Who, Raya?" He demanded, his voice taking on the qualities of the Fire Lord.

". . . General Iroh."

A/N: Thanks for reading guys, I hope you're still enjoying this story so far. You may have noticed at this point that I have incorporated some aspects of the graphic novels that followed the end of the animated series; some I have not. All things have been done for convenience and the sake of the story line.

Pronunciation guide:

Huein: Hoo – ay – een

FaWei: Fah - Way