Chapter 1: Remembered

After eleven years of marriage, Zuko was well-accustomed to waking up with Mai beside him, or curled up in his arms if it was cold out.

After more than a dozen years of knowing them, it had become no less dreadfully annoying when, on a chilly morning while camping, he woke up and found Aang and Sokka snuggled up on either side of him. Rolling his eyes, he sat up abruptly, sending his two friends tumbling in opposite directions as he headed down to a nearby stream to wash up.

"Wait," Sokka moaned, still half-sleeping, "giant flamey mushroom, come back…"

"You mean 'human-space-heater,'" Zuko corrected him irritably, though he wasn't even sure the Water Tribesman could hear him, "and no way, buddy."

It was early fall, and though the Fire Nation's climate was usually fairly warm compared to the rest of the world, it could still get very brisk. That was exactly the reason why Zuko had suggested they bring Appa with them. On cold nights, if someone was going to get dog-piled, he'd much rather volunteer the furry bison, who was just as warm—and much more tolerant—than he, the ever-warm fire bender.

Splashing the bracingly cold water from the stream on his face and running his damp fingers through his long brown hair, he took a deep, meditative breath. This maddening cuddle-habit was not a new convention the other men had just suddenly formed. The last time he went on a camping trip with his friends, he had found himself in the center of a general mash of people, male, female, human and otherwise, with Momo curled up on his head.

"It's cold out," Sokka would always excuse himself, ignoring everyone's reminders that he had grown up in a frozen country. "I just naturally gravitate towards the warmest spot I can find." The harassed Fire Lord had tried to teach Aang how to 'radiate in his sleep,' as everyone put it, but the Avatar was an Air Bender foremost, and couldn't seem to get the knack of it.

At least up until three years ago, Uncle had been as much a victim of the piling as he.

In the twelve years since the war, a lot had changed; not just from the death of everyone's favorite tea-loving mentor. They had all—including a kicking and screaming Toph—grown up a lot; he, Aang and Sokka had married Mai, Katara and Suki respectively, and he and Sokka had become fathers. Aang would be joining the parenthood party some time in the next few months.

Some things never changed though, he reflected as he walked back up the hill to the campsite. For example, the fact that he always managed to land on the bottom of the dog-pile. Toph's eerie ability to know exactly how many ounces he gained when he took time off from his training to finish his bureaucratic responsibilities was also the same as it had always been.

Zuko had really grown into his station as Fire Lord, whereas at first he had tended to be insecure about his decisions, and had relied heavily on advice from his friends and especially from Uncle. Over the last decade-and-a-bit, he had become accustomed to the daily mountains of paperwork, the weekly queues of citizens with complaints, the near-constant nagging of his advisors and council members, and was beginning to resign himself to the fact that he actually worked more on holidays than any other day of the year.

Still, he needed a break every now and then. That was why, when Aang had suddenly had a pressing need to go and visit the Air Temple a week ago, he had jumped at a chance to go with, if for no other reason than to provide some company. Sokka had heard from Suki who had it from Katara, and they had decided to make it a "Men's Camping Trip." Leaving a note for Mai asking her to please explain to the council and the advisors and the Fire-Sages that something unavoidable had come up, he had put on his old traveling cloak and slipped out the loading door at the back of the palace grounds.

Appa had a bit of a tummy-bug, so they had taken the land route on ostrich-horses, and he and Sokka had waited at the foot of the mountain while Aang flew up alone on his glider. They had swapped lies and jokes for around half an hour before a series of loud explosions reminded them that where the Avatar went, irritated spirits tended to congregate. Mounting their beasts, they had started off at a gallop when they spotted Aang flying away at full-speed above them.

Later he explained briefly that the conflict was resolved, with the minor exception of the unfortunate dining hall, which had been reduced to rubble and ash in the scuffle.

On the whole, the trip really was very little more than what Sokka had dubbed it, and now that they were within sight of the Royal City, Zuko was mentally preparing himself for having to sneak into his own house like a thief, and devising strategies to get a moment alone with his sons for a quick game of hide-and-explode before anyone knew he was back.

His family, once a fractured institution that caused him nothing but agony, was now the joy of his life. Of course, it helped that the two members of it most responsible for that situation were no longer prominent figures in his life. His father was firmly behind bars, and had been for twelve years without any attempts to escape or other issues. His sister…

Well, she was no longer around, so her influence was certainly dulled.

Azula's mental breakdown had been severe, and after she finally calmed down and stopped spitting fire all over the place, he had brought in doctors and security personnel to remove her to a mental facility where she could be both treated and restrained. He had expected all sorts of problems—escape attempts, suicide attempts, bribery, threats and the like—but when he had received a report of her apparent abduction only three weeks after she was incarcerated, it took him by surprise. For the next two years, he had focused intently on tracking her, only to find that she was gone without leaving a single footprint.

He had completely ignored the ridiculous story about the baby that the one doctor who seemed able to remember the night's events had sworn to. That couldn't have possibly been right; the man had been looking at her in the dark, so how could he know what he saw?

Putting thoughts of Azula out of his mind, he pulled his damp hair into his typical half-pony-top-knot and fingered the royal crest in his pocket, thinking of exactly what pillar he would duck behind to don it.

-0-

That same morning, another set of three travelers awoke and prepared to enter the royal city. The An-Din family, a middle-aged couple and their young daughter, had slept that night wrapped in cloaks beside a wagon full of produce from their farm. They were journeying towards the market in the Capitol to sell what they had grown and purchase wool and tools and other things they would need for winter.

Though her parents had done this many times before and were quite at ease, the little girl, Rue, was about as excited as a child is able to be. She had turned eleven the previous spring, and that meant that for the first time she would not be left at Aunt Lila's house, but be allowed to come with and help with the grown-up job of minding their little stall. She would also have the opportunity to see the Capitol in all its glory. Also, she'd pick out her own present, instead of it being a surprise brought back by her parents as a taste of far-off splendor.

Her golden eyes were open long before her parents had stirred, and she was washed and dressed, sitting expectantly in the wagon when they finally started to wake up.

"Are you sure you would not like to sleep some more, Sunshine?" her mother teased as she braided her long light brown hair—so unlike Rue's own pin-straight, chocolate colored tresses—and made a long business of fastening her cloak. "We can't have you falling asleep in the middle of the royal road."

"I'm fine mummy," she responded, trying her best not to sound as impatient as she felt. Her own hair was pulled back into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way, except the strands at the front. These would not hang straight like a bang no matter how short she cut them, and formed two long tails above her temples, framing her face. "Let's go, come on!"

"I think she'll spontaneously combust if we dawdle any longer," her father commented with a laugh and a playful sparkle in his grey eyes. The lines of his careworn face seemed to soften when he laughed, and he looked younger than his true age. He had always looked stronger than a man of fifty ought to. It was a consequence of working hard on the farm to support his small family. "Let's get a move on."

-0-

Zuko's eyes flitted restlessly between the stalls at the market, not really looking at the wares as much as trying to judge the general mood of the people. They all seemed fairly content and cheerful, and that conclusion motivated him to do his best as their leader more than any report he could read. He tended to only see the common people when they had some complaint that needed solving, or when they were all on their best behavior. It was a rare opportunity to "observe them in their natural habitat," as Toph would put it jokingly when he voiced his thoughts aloud.

His gaze slid to a family on a wagon… and froze, locked on the face of the little girl beside the driver.

He rubbed his eyes until blue and green stars exploded in his vision and looked again. He hadn't made a mistake.

She couldn't be more than thirteen—she was probably a lot less than thirteen, actually. She always had looked older than she was. He gaped openly as she rode past, the wagon's clattering racket seeming to fill his ears and drown out every other noise.

He sensed rather than heard Sokka's sharp intake of breath; felt Aang stiffen in shock from half a meter away.

Then the back end of the wagon drew level with and passed them, leaving them to stare at one another in blank amazement and horror.

'Azula!' he mouthed, barely believing the evidence of his own senses.

A/N: An-Din is supposed to be pronounced, "On-dean."