"The rock in the river's path will always give in to the flow of the water, given enough time."

-General Iroh, Meditations from the Wall

When the gravel road turns to pavement, I know that we've finally reached Republic City. I feel like I'm not presentable to the world, sweaty and dirty and disheveled. If my father were to find out that my first real visit to Republic City was in my camp clothes, he would probably disinherit me.

Then again, he's considering doing it anyways, so maybe it won't be such a big deal.

I rub the bottom of my duffel bag. A hard shape pokes out a part of the fabric, and I grasp it. I hope my armor isn't scratched; I can't have it repaired in Republic City without the gossip columns making a scandal out of it. I'm going to have to change into my armor soon. Where, I don't know. I could go off into the forest, but I could get lost. Perhaps Aelius could go with me. He wouldn't look, I know that for certain. I wish he would, but he doesn't. I just want his attention, really.

I sigh. Aelius looks back at me and smiles. "We're almost there," He says, totally misinterpreting my action. "You'll be in a comfortable bed soon enough, Princess." He gives me a crooked smile that makes me feel like fire is going through my body. Any bed with you in it, I fantasize in my head, will be the best bed in the Four Nations.

I equip my best royal tone, and announce "I need to get into better attire before we reach the city." I cringe, desperately hoping that Aelius isn't turned off- not like he was ever turned on- by my station.

Aelius doesn't even blink. "I was going to suggest that," he says. "I should probably change into something more appropriate as well." He groans. "And you'll need me to start carrying your bag, I assume."

I hadn't thought of that, but I nod my agreement. Princess duties come before my fantasy relationship with Aelius. "Please" is all I say.

Aelius slows down, and looks into the forest to our side. It's much sparser than it was a few miles back. And since it's starting to get dark, I will need a light. I can't generate fire and get dressed at the same time. Aelius seems to realize this, as he follows me under the trees. After a few moments, the shadows of the trees vanish, and the entire area is illuminated by a radiant bright light.

I turn my head to see Aelius holding a ball of white light above his hand. He grins, and the light glints on his teeth. "Thought you might want a lantern, but I couldn't find one."

I giggle much more than I normally would. I put my duffel bag on the ground, and Aelius immediately turns his back on me. I roll my eyes. I dig through my bag to find my dress clothes that I normally wear under my armor. The top consists of an elaborate red and burgundy tunic, and the bottom is a matching set of pants.

I take my clothes off, and make sure to find new undergarments to wear. I pick a red set to show my patriotism, though no one will be able to see it under all my clothing. Which doesn't bother me a bit. I pull my dress on over my legs, and then pull the crimson top on over my torso. I throw my old clothes in an unceremonious pile by my duffel bag.

As I pull out my armor, I look at Aelius. He's as still as a statue, his duffel bag at his feet. "You can change behind a tree, if you want." Or, I say inside my head, you could change right here in front of me and let me see that gorgeous body of yours.

Aelius nods, and moves his hand out from under the floating energy sphere. The sphere remains in place, and he goes off a few yards away. He moves behind a tree, and I sigh and turn around. One day, I tell myself as I pull out my armor from the bottom of my bag. One day.

Fire Nation armor has changed a lot over the past hundred years. After the end of the Hundred Year War, it became more ceremonial than useful. It changed from having burgundy metal plates to having cloth wrappings and golden tassets. When my father first became Fire Lord, he publically announced how wimpy the new armor design was. He ordered the finest armorsmiths in the Fire Nation to come up with new designs that were fit, he said, for the greatest people in the world.

Fire Nation armor is now a remake of the armor worn during the Hundred Year War, but now the plates are a shade darker, and the trimming of the armor is blood red instead of the crimson it was before. And that's the only two changes they made visually. My father could have just said that he wanted the armor from the last war, but that would have been too easy.

I put the plateskirt on over my pants. Next I lace up my traditional curled shoes which are the stupidest tradition the Fire Nation has. Then I put my chestplate on over my crimson dress shirt. I try to bring my hands around behind my back so that I can tie the knots to keep my armor tight and in place, but it's harder than usual. I typically have servants to do it for me. I swear under my breath.

"I'll assume that means you need help," Aelius says from behind me.

"Yes, please." I respond without turning around. I reach down to my duffel bag and pull out a brush. I might as well brush my hair too.

I feel Aelius pull tight on the strings, and I try to regain the air he squeezed out of my chest. "Loose armor," he says. "Is useless armor." I can practically hear him smiling.

"Armor that keeps you from breathing is useless, too." I respond, still brushing my hair.

Aelius laughs, and loosens the laces a little bit. I take a deep breath, thankful. "That's why Energybenders wear robes. Armor is easy to wear over them, and easy to conceal armor and weapons under them."

I turn around and see exactly what he means. Aelius is wearing a long white robe that almost drags against the ground. The ends of his sleeves are large, but not baggy. His hands pop out of his sleeves without any effort at all, and I can see that the sleeves end exactly around his wrists. Around his waist is a silver belt with a large buckle in the center. Even as amazing as the belt and robe is by itself, it's the robe's prime aspect that makes my jaw drop.

All along the sides of the robe, running along the sleeves, and in intricate patterns on the robe skirt and torso portion of the robe, are brilliant white lines. The lines, on their own, aren't the amazing part. The amazing part about the robe is that the lines are glowing. Radiant light shines out from them, and I can see the pulsating movements of energy running up and down the length of the lines.

Gingerly, I reach out and touch one of the lines, and immediately yank my hand back as a surge of energy runs through my body.

Aelius laughs, and for a moment the light shines brighter. His robe illuminates the entire forest around us. "The energy is there for the same purpose as why some Earthbenders wear gloves made out of rocks and why some Waterbenders cover their arms with water. It makes it a lot easier for me to just use my robes as a channel to bend energy, instead of having to generate it on my own."

I poke at a cloth portion of the robe and do not get electrocuted. "I guess people don't hug you when you're wearing those." I grin.

Aelius grins too, and the light reflected from his eyes give him the look of some sort of all-knowing being. "Exactly. And I'm a walking nightlight."

"Can you turn off the energy?" I ask.

Aelius nods, and he squints slightly for a second. The light fades away on his robe, and I can see that underneath where the light was shining from are simple grey lines. "The robe is like an extension of my body. Every Energybender has to earn their bending robe within the first ten years of their life, otherwise they have to make a walkabout across the entire world."

I shudder at the thought, and at the sudden darkness that now has fallen over the entire forest. There is no moon out tonight to illuminate the sky. Aelius sees me shudder and immediately produces another energy sphere to give us light. The one he made before died when he turned off the energy going through his robe.

After a few moments while I put away the clothes I had been wearing before, I stand straight up and put my hands on my hips. I push all of the hair out of my face, check my nails, and use my Firebending to quickly dry all of the sweat from my body.

Aelius grabs my duffel bag in one hand and holds his in his other hand. He then looks at me, smiles, and says, "Princess, it is time for us to enter the city."

Something is off by the tone of his voice, put I can't put my finger on the reason. So instead, I just smile and nod my head.

The city at night is astonishing. Lights shine from every window we pass, giant glowing signs illuminate the tops of giant buildings that scrap the sky at their peaks, and people hurry on their way to unknown destinations.

I look in every store window we pass. Aelius leans over as I look into the window of a dress shop. "Princess, there will be plenty of time to shop once we reach our destination," he whispers in my ear. I feel his warm breath push softly at my hair. I nod and we move on.

I'm beginning to get sick of Aelius's princess routine. He's not my servant, but he's acting like he is. I'm beginning to regret using my royal voices and commands and other things of the sort. I'll need to tell him later that he isn't my servant, just a friend keeping me company on my travels. He does not need to treat me like royalty; if I wanted to be treated that way I could go back home.

I sigh. It's my fault for pulling the princess card, I suppose.

We stop at a street corner to allow cars to go past. I'm still awestruck by the entire city. We wait for the light on the other side of the street to signal that it is safe for us to walk.

Aelius has been relatively silent, and I try to draw him out of it. "Have you ever been to Republic City?" I ask, still focusing on the signal light.

"Many times." Aelius says. "I've lived here for most of my life."

The signal light changes, and we walk across the street. Aelius stays behind me and to the right of me, which is ironic considering I have no idea where we are going. "Where did you live?" I ask.

"Make a right." Aelius tells me.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Turn right here." He repeats softly.

I look to my right. "You lived over there?" I ask. I'm looking at a seedy looking building across the intersection with a sign above the door saying "Wuda Wang's Wonders."

"No," Aelius says. "We have to cross the street here."

"Oh," I say softly. I quickly make my way across the road, looking at the cracks in the pavement. I can't believe I could be so stupid as to not know what he meant.

Suddenly, I hear a loud horn blare to my side. I turn around to see a monster of a truck speeding towards me, it's lights shining right in my eyes. I freeze, unsure of what to do. I'm standing as still as a statue. My body doesn't allow me to move. I can't take my eyes off the truck, but I can't get out of the way. Fear makes me tremble.

"Cathra!" Aelius yells.

A bright light illuminates the intersection. My friends back home always made jokes about how when people are dying, they are supposed to go towards the light. I desperately plead to whatever Spirits are watching me that my death won't be painful.

I hear asharp fizzle, and I feel a huge thing hit me in my side. I'm knocked off of my feet and go flying all the way across the road. I see the truck speed right over the spot where I just had been. Instead of stopping, the thing keeps propelling me through the air. I look over and see that I'm rapidly approaching a hard brick wall.

I scream and have a vision of being smashed against the unforgiving brick wall, my bones shattering as a prelude to my death…

I close my eyes and hear a faint crack. I imagine my bones breaking as I die, blood splattering everywhere…

I hit a wall. Somehow I bounce off it as if it was made of rubber. I fall back on top of the thing that hit my side.

I open my eyes and see that I'm staring up at the night sky. I can barely make out the stars because of all the light pollution from the city.

I'm alive.

Sweet Agni I'm alive.

I hear deep breathing from under me, and realize my hand is clasping at a handful of white fabric. I turn my head to the side and realize I'm laying on top of Aelius's bending robe.

I feel the heartbeat under my back and realize not only am I laying on top of Aelius's robe, I'm laying on top of Aelius.

I push myself up with one hand and look down at my savior. Aelius has a single bead of sweat running down his face. His light grey eyes are calm, and I can almost see my reflection in his pupils.

"You saved my life, again." I say softly. Gratitude and warmth rush up into my chest.

Before Aelius can say the modest response that I know is coming, I lean over and kiss him on the lips. His lips are warm, and when my lips touch his, I feel a surge of pure energy rush through my body. I love the sensation, so I just kiss him harder. Aelius kisses me back passionately, not completely refusing me like I was worried that he would.

The entire scene takes only a minute, but it feels like an eternity. I wish it was an eternity. When we're done, I lean back. Aelius's face is red, and I can feel the heat in my cheeks. We just kissed, an Energybender and the Fire Nation princess, in the middle of a street. The gossip columns will be ablaze with this event by tomorrow morning.

Aelius and I look at each other for a few seconds, and then I get up off him. I see that he somehow managed to save me from the truck and bring our bags over at the same time. I grin. I don't know how he saved me, and I honestly don't care. It's just one more amazing thing about him.

Aelius gets up and then picks the bags back up, one in each hand. He points to his left down the sidewalk. "We only have a few more blocks to go before we get there." His voice sounds calm at first, but I realize that he stumbles with his words at the end of the statement. It dawns on me that he isn't sure about what just happened.

But I am sure about what just happened. I liked it.

I take a few steps closer to him and look up at him. I realize that he's only a few inches taller than me. I bring my chest up against his. "And then what?" I ask him.

Aelius's eyes seem to grow distant, and his light grey eyes look like storm clouds. "And then we can find some food."

As he leads me to our final destination, I groan inside my head. So close.

Aelius walks down the street, and I catch up to him. Instead of walking behind me, he now walks to my side. People see my topknot and armor and see his white robes and they move out of our way. Some people whisper to each other as we walk by, casting glances in our direction, but no one accosts us.

A few blocks later and the entire scenery changes as though we've stepped into another world entirely. The black pavement on the road has changed into tan brick with intricate designs. The shops have turned into massive gorgeous government buildings and fabulous restaurants. The people have changed as well, and are now wearing elaborate suits and dresses and robes. I see some with metal identification cards hanging from their clothes.

Neither Aelius nor I act any differently in this new scenery. I've been around powerful people my entire life, in my father's court and at expensive dinners and ceremonies. I don't know what Aelius's experience has been around these types of people, but he certainly knows his way around this part of the city.

A few people bow to me as I walk past. Others make a clear attempt to stay far away from me. Others see Aelius's robes and their eyes go wide as they find some other direction to walk. I try not to laugh at all the different reactions.

After awhile, we stop in front of a breathtaking building. It's a huge white marble palace. A white metal wall surrounds it, and I can see the tops of large fountains just inside the palace boundary.

I see pairs of guards patrolling the tops of the wall. They wear brilliant white chestplates with grey trimming over top of robes that look very similar to the bending robes that Aelius is wearing. They all are wearing white helmets that have no holes for breathing or for sight. The helmets are smooth metal. I see no way to take them off or put them on. A brief thought flies through my head and I wonder if the guards are actually machines.

Aelius and I walk along the outside of the wall for a few moments before we come to the entrance. I know it is the entrance because four guards are stationed in front of a huge white and grey door, each one holding a long metal pole with a glowing orb at the peak. They're standing at attention in between two medium sized guard towers. I can see that inside each guard tower are two more guards. One guard in each tower is holding a white bow that looks like it's made out of crystal. I don't see any arrows, so I don't know what the bows shoot.

Aelius approaches the guards with a duffel bag in each of his hands. I hurry behind him. People are sparse on this section of the street, but I still don't want to risk getting separated.

The two guards closest to the massive door silently turn their heads towards Aelius. I shiver, unnerved by the creepy faceless guards.

The guard to Aelius's right extends a white gloved hand, palm up. "Identification, please." His voice is emotionless.

Aelius reaches down to his belt buckle, and pushes the center of it. For the first time, I realize that the silver buckle has the insignia of a clenched fist. The fist sinks into Aelius's belt, and Aelius quickly yanks a small circle of crystal out of the bottom of his buckle. As he places it in the guard's open hand, I realize that all the guards are wearing similar buckles on their belts.

I realize that they're all Energybenders.

The guard clenches his hand, and the glove glows a bright yellow for a few moments. After the glow dies down, the guard hands the crystal disk back to Aelius. Aelius puts it back in his belt buckle as the guard bows at the waist. "Welcome back to the Regia," the guard says emotionlessly and without any change in tone. "Brother Aelius."

Aelius ignores the words of the guard, or at least I think he does. "I have the Fire Nation Princess with me." He tells the guard.

The guard looks at me and bows, although not as low as he did for Aelius. "Princess Cathra," the guard says. "Welcome to the Regia."

I follow Aelius's lead and ignore the creepily-armored guard. A few moments later the guard turns around towards the massive white door. The guard across from him does the same. Simultaneously, both guards extend their free hands towards the door. With a stomp of their back foot, they pull their hands back.

The door vanishes. Just past it I can see a massive courtyard with white robed people walking about. I see one of the fountains, and the water dances around in a colorful display of the entire rainbow. Fantastical berry bushes line the sidewalks, and I see some people sitting on benches in between flower arrangements.

If entering the upper district of Republic City was like entering a new world, entering the Regia is like walking into a dream.

Aelius walks through the now-empty gateway, and I hurriedly follow close behind him. Once we get through the gateway, I stop and turn around just in time to see the guards wave the orbs mounted on top of their poles in front of where the gate had been a few seconds previously. With an effect akin to water rippling, the massive gate comes back into existence.

"How did they-" I start.

"Brother Aelius of the Impera Clan and Princess Cathra of the Fire Nation," a voice behind me says calmly. I turn around and see a young girl with grey hair and light blue eyes standing in front of Aelius. She's wearing a plain white robe with only a single grey line running across her waist. She's bowing deeply. "My name is Cae. If you would like, I will show you to your quarters."

Aelius bows slightly to Cae. "That would be appreciated." Aelius says in a monotone voice. I realize that Aelius must be a member of a powerful Energybending family, and that's why he has such great manners and poise. He must have grown up like I did.

Cae looks at Aelius's and my bags. "Would you like me to carry your bags, Brother Aelius?"

Aelius drops the bags on the ground without answering. Cae doesn't flinch; while the bags are falling she clenches her hands and pulls them towards her chest. The two bags halt mid-fall, and I see small panes of energy form underneath them. Cae brings her fists to her waist, and pulls back on her arms. The bags float towards her and move closer together. Then Cae swings her hands over her head, and both bags are encapsulated in a web of energy.

I try very hard not to gasp, but I think a little one escapes me. All this Energybending is astounding. I'd never even seen someone Energybend until last night, and everything that these Energybenders are doing is probably novice-level stuff.

Suddenly, Cae's eyes grow wide. She throws herself to the ground and lies prostrate. For a moment, I think that she's showing deference to Aelius, but when Aelius turns around, I see his eyes go wide too.

By the time I turn around, Aelius is already on one knee. He brings his right arm across his chest in some sort of weird salute, and he bows towards the ground, leaving me standing like an idiot.

A man, who is accompanied by two Energybender guards, is standing before us wearing robes similar to Aelius's, except his robe is glowing with a royal purple light. The man has light grey eyes and light brown hair, just like Aelius. The man has a scar running down the left side of his face, from his left eyebrow to his cheekbone. The man looks at me, tilts his head, and I see the corners of his mouth move in a small smile.

Aelius is the first one to speak. "Master Antonius. It is an honor to be in your presence again." His voice is emotionless.

I realize that I should be kneeling like Aelius is doing, so I hurry to do so. Master Antonius just laughs, and it's a gravely laugh that sounds like it's rarely ever been used. When he speaks, his voice sounds like it's coming from far away. "Ah, Aelius, my son. What brings you here so early?"