Author's Note: I know I said I would not post anymore chapters until someone reviewed my story, however, I already have a follower, and someone already likes my story enough to favorite it, so I will take back what I said before and give you another chapter. Whoever you are, thank you for following/favoriting me! I sincerely appreciate it!

Two

The next morning, Maya awoke to the sound of feet walking on the metal floor of the ship. She guessed that meant she had to get up, too. She'd been a crewmember on a ship more than once, and she was used to getting up early, and receiving no special treatment just because she was a girl.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood up, trying to get the wrinkles out her clothes. She'd been given something to change into the day before, since her old clothes had been wet and ruined. Her new attire was too big for her, but she appreciated it all the same. She'd learned a long time ago to take anything she could get, and to not ask for more than that. Anything was better than being beaten and burned by her own father on a daily basis.

Maya shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had to stop thinking about him. Quickly, she used the restroom to clean herself as much as she could with a bucket of cold water and a rag. Then she went out on deck, calling for Uncle Iroh as she went. She found him out near the railing, having a quiet discussion with his nephew, whose name, she realized, she did not know.

After a few moments, the boy shouted, "You're not helping, Uncle! Nothing you say ever helps!" Then he spun around and stalked away, which, from Maya's perspective, meant that he was stalking straight towards her. He nearly ran into her before he realized she was there.

"Out of my way!" he yelled, not stopping to wait.

Quickly, she stumbled to the side, and then turned to watch him stomp down the stairs. Huffing in anger, she went over to Uncle, who was standing looking out at sea, shoulders slumped in defeat.

When she was close enough to him, she said quietly, "Uncle? Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" He turned, his face immediately blossoming into a smile that Maya knew was fake. "Oh yes, I'm fine. Prince Zuko is just a little… sensitive sometimes."

Maya's mouth dropped open. "Prince Zuko? The Fire lord's son?"

Uncle flinched. "Yes."

"What is he doing on a ship like this? The last thing I heard about him was that he had decided to go on a long vacation, and had never returned. A lot of people in the Fire Nation think he's dead."

Uncle's face took on a look of utter melancholy. "Of course my brother would make it seem as if his son was dead. Rather that than a failure."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mm," Uncle said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not sure whether you ought to know just yet. It's complicated, and I'm afraid you might get the wrong impression of my nephew if I told you right now."

"Oh, he's given me his own wrong impression already. He nearly ran me over on his way down below just now."

"Do not be so quick to judge him. He's had a difficult life, full of confusion and hardship. He has been hardened by past experiences, and is not readily trusting or friendly with anyone – not even me. He does not mean to be so cruel. I think if I just keep encouraging him to be the man I know he can be, he will come around and realize that the world does not hate him like he thinks it does."

They were both silent, and Maya took the opportunity to think about everything Uncle had just told her. Zuko's life sounds a lot like mine. She was beginning to feel bad for him, but then she thought, But at least I'm still a nice person! Just because he had a difficult past doesn't mean he has the right to go around bullying his uncle and yelling at people.

She shook her head. "So," she said, "what's for breakfast?"

Hours later in the day, Maya was wandering the corridors of the ship, feeling bored. She didn't pry into any rooms, just wandered aimlessly. At some point, she realized she had found her way into the engine room. Startled, she looked up, and saw a few crewmembers standing around talking. They sounded angry.

She didn't go over to them, but she didn't leave, either. Silently, she stood and listened. It wasn't as if they could accuse her of eavesdropping. They'd left the door open; otherwise she would not have even been in the room.

"I'm sick of this kid!" one of the men said. "I mean, I know he's a prince and everything, but he was banished! And yet he still acts like he has authority over everyone. And all he ever talks about is capturing the Avatar!"

Maya could not be silent anymore. "What?" she exclaimed, walking over to the three men standing at the back of the room. "All he ever talks about is what?"

The men eyed her with looks of annoyance. "We weren't talking to you, little girl," one of them said, sneering at her.

"I'm not a little girl. I'm sixteen. Now tell me again what you said. Something about Zuko wanting to capture the Avatar? So that means the Avatar is alive?"

"Of course not," said the man who had spoken originally. "But Prince Zuko is convinced that he is, for some harebrained reason. I don't even know why he's so obsessed about it! It's like he eats, sleeps, and breathes this idea about capturing the Avatar."

Maya went into her thoughts. What is going on? What happened to Zuko to make him so angry? And what the hell is this about capturing the Avatar? Why would anyone want to do that? And then she stopped, and thought back to her years in school before she had run away. A hundred years ago, Sozin used the comet to destroy the Air Nomads, hoping to kill the Avatar so that he could advance in the war. Maybe Fire Lord Ozai wants to make sure that the Avatar is really dead. But why now? It's been a hundred years, and there hasn't been any sign of the Avatar for all this time. What makes Ozai so sure the Avatar even exists anymore. I mean, if he or she had died, they would have already been reincarnated as a waterbender, right?

"Hey!" one of the men said, making Maya jump. "Are you just gonna stand there all day?"

"Sorry," she murmured, too lost in thought to care about his rudeness. Slowly, she walked away, still thinking things over. She wanted to ask Uncle about what the man had said, but she had a feeling he wouldn't answer any of her questions. That meant the only person left to ask about Zuko… was Zuko.

She sighed. Great. Why do I get the feeling he won't answer any of my questions either?

But then again, if she did get him to talk, maybe she could get him to tell her why he was so mean and angry all the time. Maybe if he talked to her for a little bit, he might feel better. It was definitely a long shot, but she told herself to do it anyways, before she lost her nerve.

Quickly, she followed the hallway, until she came to the door of the room that she knew was Zuko's. She took a deep breath, and knocked.