After a restless night of tossing and turning on the unyielding, icy ground, Zuko was finally snapped out of his sleepless trance by shouting from outside his tent. He, three men and a boy had all been stuffed in one small tent that smelled as if it was made of seal hide. It was so cramped he'd had to lie facing one of the men's smelly, frostbitten feet.

At the sudden noise the men woke at once and started clambering from the tent, leaving Zuko and the boy, who was still asleep, alone. Zuko leaned over to shake his shoulder.

"Hey. Hey, kid. Wake up."

The boy moaned and tried to roll over, but Zuko held fast to his shoulder. "Come on, kid, we've got to go."

There was another groan and then he rolled onto his back so that Zuko could see his face squinting up at him. "My name isn't kid, it's Roz."

Zuko found himself sincerely grinning. "Sorry, Roz. My name's Zuko." He held out a hand for Roz to shake, and they both sat up.

"What's going on?" Roz asked, only just hearing the commotion outside. "Where'd the other guys go?"

"They left already," Zuko said, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He took another look at the kid. He had long, oily black hair, similar to his own but shaggier, and deep gold eyes. Fire Nation, he recognized, and immediately felt something stir in his chest. This was the first time he'd actually spoken to someone from the Fire Nation this whole trip, and he felt a sense of familiarity with the boy who shared his homeland.

And then Roz was standing and busting through the flaps of the tent, calling for Zuko to follow him. Wincing at the tight pull of his muscles, sore from yesterday's unexpected bout of exercise, he followed Roz out into the open. The Southern air was biting and sent a chill down his back, all the way to his feet, which had already gone numb. His bending kept them from getting frostbite, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he ran out of heat. The soldiers had set a few fires the last night, which had helped, but not much.

Roz, who was waiting outside the tent for him, grabbed his arm as if they were already friends, and started towing him towards the people who had gathered at the edge of the city. He saw two figures surrounded by guards coming down the hill from the palace and he knew it was the Princess and her brother. He didn't hide the grimace that distorted his face. They were disgusting to him, and he didn't care who knew it.

When they reached the crowd, Roz ferreted his way through the layers of people so the two of them stood towards the front, with only one line of people between them and the royals. Zuko saw the Princess's eyes glide over those who had come out, and thought he saw her pause at his face. He knew what she was seeing: His scar. A bright, ugly red mark that marred his features. Few people knew how he had come about it since he never shared the story with anyone. But she quickly moved on and stepped forward to address them.

"As I said yesterday, we put you through these training exercises to select the strongest of you to work for the Water Empire. Yesterday, you proved your worth by completing the first phase."

The first phase? Zuko thought. He sensed something was wrong, but couldn't put the pieces together. She had said they proved themselves. They were safe now. Weren't they?

"However, last night two of you proved me wrong by attempting escape." Her eyes were emotionless. Deadly. "Their bodies were found frozen by the harbor this morning and thrown into the sea."

There was a barren silence. Zuko hadn't heard about this. He wondered who had tried to get away. Had he known them? Slept next to them on the ship? Shared a meal? A small hand suddenly gripped Zuko's and he felt a surge of sympathy for Roz. He was too young to face all of this, too innocent.

"Unfortunately," she continued, "the capital cannot hold all of you. Therefore, you will participate in a second phase. This is a test of strength and persistence, and only the strongest and most persistent of you will survive." She waved a hand towards the ocean and pointed to a spot in the distance. "You must swim to that iceberg and back. The last 50 of you will die." She said this with such perfected calm that Zuko did not feel any panic at first. In fact, everyone was silent as the moment between night and the break of dawn. There was complete stillness. And then:

"What?"

"You can't do this to us!"

"Murderer!"

The clamor rose to the point where Roz covered his ears and looked up at Zuko, who put a hand on his shoulder. He was far too bony. The bread and broth they'd been given to eat last night was nowhere near enough to replenish their energy, and Zuko found himself wishing he had given his portion to Roz. How could the kid possibly make it all the way to the iceberg and back? He was nothing but skin and bones, half-starved to death. A little voice in the back of his mind wondered how he himself could make it to the iceberg and back, but he couldn't think about that right now. There was no room for failure.

Someone forced his way past Zuko and shoved Roz into him. He recognized the man; he had shared his tent the night before; the one with the putrid feet. The man flung himself at the Princess and almost seemed like he would get a hold of her before a guard knocked him down with the handle of his sword. He collapsed on the ground and looked up, sobbing, at the Princess, who stood over him.

"Kill me now," he begged. "Just kill me now! I won't make it there and back alive, please!" Zuko shrunk back at the man's pathetic display, but felt sympathy. He must truly be desperate if he is asking to be murdered at the hand of the Princess of the Water Empire. Zuko would drown or take his own life a thousand times before he let the girl lay a hand on him.