I woke up the next morning feeling quite refreshed. Then I remembered where we'd be stopping today and felt sick to my stomach. Katara was still sleeping when I woke up, which was rare for her. I suppose she's tired from all the drama yesterday. I got dressed and jotted down a little note telling her I had to do something, then I'd be waiting for her in the dining room. I left our room, leaving the door unlocked. This made me feel a little uneasy, given her reaction yesterday. However, I reluctantly left the door unlocked, thinking it would be the best choice anyway.

I went up the stairs to the Helm Room and leaned against a window.

"Do you need something, sir?" the helmsman asked. I sighed.

"Perhaps..." I mused. He looked at me confusedly, so I explained. "We may be stopping somewhere, but...I'm not sure if we should..." I suppose I must have looked deep in thought, for he left me in silence after that, which was greatly appreciated. After debating over it in my head for nearly half an hour, I looked up, decided. The helmsman looked at me expectantly. "We will be stopping, at a port called 'Haruna Bay.' We should be there at about two o'clock." I told him. I still didn't like the idea of doing what I had to do, but I knew I had no other choice.

As I was going past the second floor, Katara was just coming out of our room sleepily. "I trust you slept well, Katara?" I asked, chuckling a bit as I did. She nodded with a smiling tiredly. After a nice breakfast, Katara once again wanted to see Aang. Knowing we'd be arriving at the Palace the day after tomorrow, I didn't particularly mind. I was more focused on other things. They two of them related their experiences with Zhao to each other and talked sadly of getting to the Palace soon. I watched over them absentmindedly, trying to think of the smartest way to accomplish my task.

Eventually, we got around to 1:30, and I had come up with nothing.

We had just finished up lunch, when Katara, Iroh, and I heard the loud sound of the anchor lowering. "Why are we stopping?" Katara asked curiously.

"There is something I must do." I said solemnly.

"Can I come?" she requested.

I sighed and replied, "You may, but I don't know if you would want to." Without another word, I got up and walked out on deck. I heard Katara get up and follow me.

Already, there was a small team of guards waiting with Komodo Rhinos. On the Fire Nation port, the flags of a circus tent just be seen. "Z-Zuko? W-Where are w-we?" Katara stuttered fearfully. I looked back at her to see her eyes starting to water.

"I'm sorry, Katara. We're at the Cirque du Fire Nation." I said sympathetically.

"You monster!" she yelled, now fully crying.

"I know, and I wish I didn't have to, but there seems to be no other choice. If I come home to the Palace with a giant flying bison, my father will have the beast killed. At least here, he'll be well taken care of." I pointed out.

"NO HE WON'T!" she cried, "He'll be hurt and underfed and he'll have to make a fool of himself in front of complete strangers!"

I shook my head and said, "That's not true. Come with me." I took her hand; she tried to pull away, but I held firm. "Just trust me, Katara. I promise I would never put Appa somewhere like you described. And just to prove it to you, we're going to check things out here before Appa goes. I will show you how safe this place is." Tears still ran down her face, but she no longer struggled at my grip. In fact, she seemed to almost hold my hand tighter. She was scared, I knew. She needed something to hold onto, both physically and emotionally. Right now, I was all she had, so she held on to me tight.

"You two, you're coming with me. The rest of you, feed the bison and get him very calm. We need him to be peaceful when we move him." I said to the guards. I noticed Katara cringe at the sound of moving the bison, and I looked at her with sympathy. I helped her into my Komodo Rhino and sat behind her, as I was close to a head taller. I reached my arms around her waist to grab the reins, resisting the urge to tickle her or hug her. I cracked the whip and we rode off the ship, a guard on either side of us.

We arrived at the Cirque and were greeted by the Ringmaster, who I suppose must have seen our ship coming. "Would you like to buy some tickets to our show this after-..." he stopped short, eying me over Katara's head. "Wait a minute! You're the banish Prince Zuko!" he exclaimed.

"Yes." I sighed.

"Get out of my Cirque this instant, you traitor!" he cried.

I shook my head. "I have captured the Avatar, and was on my way home." I said matter-of-factly.

His eyes widened, and he quickly dropped to his knees and bowed his head. "My sincerest apologies, Prince Zuko. Please forgive my horrible rudeness." he pleaded nervously.

"Yes, yes, your fine. Just get up!" I said, enjoying my regained power. He stood up and asked what brought me here. "With the Avatar, I have also captured this lovely young lady," I said gesturing to Katara, "And a giant flying bison."

The Ringmaster's jaw dropped. After a moment, he said slowly, "A...S-Sky Bison? The Avatar had a Sky Bison?"

I nodded and said, "And we wish to leave the bison for your Cirque." The Ringmaster looked as though he was about to drop to his knees again. I continued, "However, this girl was very close to the bison, and she is deeply afraid he will be mistreated. I know your Cirque would do nothing of the sort, so I would like you to show us around and let her know how safe this place is." I said, and the Ringmaster nodded fervently.

"Yes, yes. Of course, Prince Zuko. Um..." He took a moment to get his bearings straight and said, "Come right this way. You may leave your Rhinos here." I got off, helped Katara down, and left my Rhino in the hands of my guards. The two of us, Katara again gripping my hand firmly, followed the Ringmaster into his tent. Inside, there was an amphitheater with around 1,000 seats going around the 'stage.' The three of them walked straight across to the other side and through a secret door on the other side.

Behind it was what must have been where the performers trained. The Ringmaster led them into one particular tent which held all the animals in the circus. He said, "Our circus boasts the rarest animals in the world. However, that is not only for crowd appeal. We keep only rare animals so that our circus never gets too crowded. That way, we can give more attention to each individual creature."

"You see? Appa won't be unloved here, he'll get plenty of attention." I said gently to Katara. She nodded, her facial expression growing less afraid.

The Ringmaster nodded also, and he showed us all the animals they had. There was an ostrich-lion, a badger-frog, a panther-bear, and a hen-turtle. All four of the animals looked very happy and ran to the sides of the cages to greet them. "You can pet them if you like; they never bite, even the panther-bear." the Ringmaster said, and he was right. The creatures seemed all to glad to be petted and loved.

Katara was careful to pet the animals with only one hand and kept one firmly holding mine. However, upon seeing how happy and lovable the creatures were, she got quite cheerful herself, and stood on her own with both hands free. And I couldn't help but smile.

As we walked out of the tent, the Ringmaster turned to Katara and said, "So, would you feel safe leaving your bison here?"

Katara paused, thinking it over. "...What about feeding them?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me, I almost skipped their lunch!" He turned to one of the men standing around, "Gonji, will you give the animals some food, quick! They must be starving!" He laughed, and turned back to us. "Anyway, the animals get three healthy meals a day, plus some snack during training and shows. Sky Bison like to eat fruits, correct?"

Katara nodded, "And vegetables. Melons are his favorite."

"Alright. So, would that be a 'yes' on him staying here?" he replied.

Again, she paused, but then she smiled, "Yes. I think he'd be very happy here. But...he'd miss Aang and Sokka and I." she added, growing a little sad again.

"It'll be okay." I said, and Katara nodded understandingly, pushing a smile that I knew wasn't true.

So, the two of us went back to the ship and I let Katara talk to Appa before we moved him. I stood back a little and listened to her talking.

"Appa? I have to...tell you something." The bison growled quietly, showing he was paying attention. "You're...going to have to l-leave us..." Katara's voice was wobbly with crying. I was about to go comfort her, but Appa had already moved his immense head down to where she was. Katara's knees gave out, and she fell into the soft fur. "I'm so sorry, but...you'll never be able to see us again. Not-...Not ever." Appa gave a roar of sadness, and I suddenly decided something.

I turned to the nearby guards and said, "Don't move him yet, wait a little longer. I'll be back." I turned back to Katara, "Katara? You may stay with him a little longer. I'm coming back in a moment." I ran around to the stairs down below deck and into Aang's cell, dragging the guards on duty with me. "Avatar, for the sake of your bison, will you promise not to run away if I unchain you?" I asked quickly.

"Why? What are you doing to Appa?" he demanded angrily.

"Nothing yet, but I'm taking you to him! So, will you?"

"Why would you let me see him?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just answer my question, before I change my mind!" I was on a bit of a tight schedule, and I didn't have time for Aang's suspicions.

"Okay, okay! I won't run away! Just let me see him!" he said, apparently giving up his questions. I signaled to the guards to unchain him and we took him up to where Katara was still bawling and Appa was still roar-crying. "Appa! Katara! What's wrong?" Aang asked, running up to them.

Katara's eyes widened when she saw Aang, and slowed her crying in embarrassment. She looked to me in confusion, and I smiled at her kindly. I had made a last minute decision, and let Aang see his bison before putting thousands of miles between the two of them. From the way Katara acted, I could easily guess that there was a strong bond between the Avatar and his pet. Now that I was so close to having her to myself, I decided I'd let her see my good side.

Katara turned back to Aang and Appa 'catching up with other,' if you can do such a thing with someone who doesn't talk...

"Aang?" she said, a little nervous. The boy turned to her.

"Why were you so sad, Katara? What's going on?" he asked kindly.

"I...have a confession. When I told you about what was going to happen to Appa...all those weeks ago...I didn't really tell you the whole story."

"What? Why not?"

"I didn't want you to get upset." she replied, "Appa...he's going to a...a circus." She sighed, probably fearing his reaction as I was.

"A CIRCUS? NO!" he crying, his eyes watering. His face looked like a twist of sadness, anger, and hurt. "Zuko, how could you do such a thing?" he started up towards me.

"Please, Aang, don't be mad." Katara held him back bravely, "He's really just doing what's best for Appa." Aang stared at her in a mix of anger and confusion. "Think about it. If we take him to the Fire Nation Palace, the Fire Lord will only have him...killed. And, plus, Zuko and I checked out the place, and it's really okay. The circus doesn't have many animals, so he'll get plenty of attention. The animals that were that looked really happy and cheerful; they were even okay with me petting them! And the Ringmaster made sure I told him Appa's favorite foods, and he said that they get three good meals a day. And also little snacks during training and performances. It...looks like a really nice, and safe, circus." she explained.

Aang now had calmed down, and looked like he understood. "I guess this is the best way, huh, buddy?" he said, turning to Appa. The bison roared and scratched his ear. "Yeah..." Aang said, as if he'd understood exactly what Appa had said.

So, now that the three understood the situation, they turned to me with confidence...and sadness.

A/N - Sorry, but there was no way I could think to get Appa in the palace. As I said in the story, Fire Lord Ozai would never have allowed a bison to be kept on Palace grounds; Appa would just end up served for dinner. =( So, I had to put him in a circus. But...besides the fact that you all hate me for getting rid of Appa, how'd y'all like the chapter? I tried to make it an emotional turning point for Katara and Zuko's feelings for each other. We'll see what Katara thinks of it next chapter! =) And perhaps Zuko seeing on old friend...? Please review with your thoughts!