The Fire Nation Royal Palace was just ahead of us and Appa had already begun his decent. I peaked over and looked into the courtyard. I could make out the shapes of Zuko and Azula, gazes fixated on our arrival. I waved at them and they disappeared under the rooftop. Appa landed soon after and I jumped off only to see the whole royal family waiting for me.

"Aang!" Azula cried, greeting me in a similar fashion that Katara had when I first arrived at the South Pole. "Oh, we've missed you!"

"Are you sure it's not just you, Zula?" Zuko smirked, offering me a hand.

I grasped his and he pulled me up. We exchanged brief hugs as I laughed. Zuko, always the sarcastic one of the family. I was surprised to see how long his hair was getting. It reminded me of a mop, actually, the way it fell against his face. Since when was 'The Fire Prince' allowed to have his hair down?

I shook my head, recalling the pregnant savage in the saddle. Perhaps I shouldn't have called her a savage, but I still wasn't over the pregnancy news.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" I did a few flashy moves and Katara flew out of the saddle.

"I REALLY wish you would stop that!" She cried as she landed, her eyes only noticing me.

Zuko quickly slinked to her side. "Well hello there," he smiled, showing off his ridiculously white teeth.

Katara turned and nearly jumped at the lack of space between them. Her gaze narrowed and Zuko's eyes widened, no doubt realizing what he had just gotten himself into.

I wanted to laugh. Zuko had a pretty big reputation as a ladies man. Almost every single girl that has had the luck to walk in front of him has also had the luck of...entertaining him in his bed. If he thought Katara would be exactly like that, boy was his ego about to be bruised. Even if she wasn't in this . . . 'predicament', she wouldn't be subdued by him. Heck, any attempt on that and Azula might suddenly have an old sister named Zuka.

I turned my attention to Fire Lord Ozai, who stood alone, which surprised me. I smiled at him and quickly made my way in front of him. I bowed, showing my respect. "Fire Lord," I said as I righted myself. His face was firm in mock anger.

"Avatar, you weren't due back for another few years," he noted, but I detected a hint of happiness in his voice. "Glad to see you could not resist us!"

I smiled. "I always enjoy my visits here, sir, unfortunately this visit isn't just for fun. Fire Lord, I come to request a private audience with you as soon as possible," I said reluctantly. I despised being so quick to ruin all the fun.

He nodded. "Yes, Aang. But tonight we are having a ball to celebrate Azula's birthday. Might it wait until tomorrow?"

I nodded, glad that I wasn't being a total downer. In my peripheral vision, I noticed movement. I turned and gave the Fire Lady a beaming smile. "Fire Lady Ursa! It's good to see you alive and well!"

"Oh Aang, thank you so much for your help when I was ill!" she laughed, pulling me into a hug. "We truly have missed you!"

"Look, Azula! You weren't the only one that missed him!" Zuko remarked to his younger sister.

Fire lashed out from her hand, nipping her brother in the rear. "HEY!" he hollered, his hand quickly patting the flames out.

"Azula! Zuko!" Ursa barked. "Behave! Look it you're scaring that poor Water Tribe girl!"

Oops. I forgot Katara again. "Sorry! I've been so rude. Katara, this is the Fire Nation Royal Family. Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, and Azula. Royal family, this is Katara, the Southern Water Tribe Princess, daughter of Hakoda and Kya."

"Engaged to be married to Sangok of the Northern Water Tribe," she added, her gaze boring into mine, and then shifting to Zuko's. I'll admit, it was difficult to hide my snickering.

I quickly composed myself. "For now," I muttered under my breath, I glanced up at Zuko and smiled. Zuko was an excellent home wrecker, maybe I could get him to work his magic...hm, I would have to talk to him about that later. Only I had to make sure he wasn't going to take her to his room.

"Are you a water bender?" Azula asked, not phased by Katara's snide remark. She looped her arm through Katara's and practically dragged her down the halls of the palace, with the rest of us following at a safe distance.

"We're not going to see those two until the party, are we?" I asked jokingly.

The other three nodded. "She'll find Katara a nice dress to borrow, the question is, what will you wear?" Ursa pursed her lips, eying her son. "Zuko, take him to your rooms so that he might find appropriate clothing."

"Uhh..." Zuko hummed. "I don't think that's a good idea..."

Ozai shot his son a look, and boy, if looks could kill, Zuko would have died a hundred times by now.

"Right! Let's go, Aang!" He grabbed my wrist and sprinted down the corridor into the protection to the Royal Wing, hesitantly opened the door and peaked in. Heaving a sigh of relief, he flung it open, leading me into the vast chamber of which he called his. It was adorned with red and gold, a few browns hidden amongst the room. I raised my eyebrow when I noticed the mess on the floor, wondering what he had been worried about. I spied the undergarments of a women and suddenly didn't want to know the answer.

Unfortunately, I had no choice.

"Oh, Zuko, are you back for more?" a soft voice called from the wash room. A pale slender figure appeared in the door way, with her long dark hair preventing her body from showing too much, nonetheless, their wasn't much left for the imagination. She gasped when she saw me and snatched up her robe, quickly pulling it over her naked body.

Meanwhile, I adverted my gaze to Zuko, giving him a scornful look. He smiled hesitantly and shrugged. "Mai, maybe it's best that you return home to ready for the party tonight."

My eyes widened in shock. This was Mai? The girl Zuko had been trying to get with ever since I had left him years ago? My how much she has changed. She wasn't small and awkward, like she used to be. She was curvy, attractive...and actually with Zuko.

She nodded and quickly made her escape from the room. My gaze followed the slender wonder until she closed the door. I whirled around to find Zuko blushing a deep red. My face broke out into a grin. "You finally got her?"

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, I did. But Mom and Dad don't know that she and I are hooking up, they think the girl they hear is from the mistress quarters."

I shook my head. "Watch it, Zuko, I don't need to hear about what goes on in your room. Your love life is your business."

"Speaking of love life, yours is my business as well. What was with that look you kept on giving that one girl, Katara was it?" he asked as he disappeared into his walk in closet. Must have been a new addition.

"What look?" I asked innocently, setting myself down on his desk.

"Oh don't pull that crap with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about," he grunted and something fell. He muttered a curse word and I could see a small flash of light and smoke following it. I rolled my eyes. He couldn't do anything without setting something on fire. and I mean anything.

I shrugged. "She's the one, Zuko. The one that I've been in love with for the past decade. The one that I wish I could marry."

"So marry her, what's the issue?"

"Didn't you heard her? She's engaged. I can't ask her to marry me if she's engaged."

"Yes you can, engagements are easy to break. And if what the rumors we've heard are true, that this man is a traitor to her father, then it shouldn't be that hard."

"It is that hard, Zuko!" I cried, burying my face into my hands. "She's pregnant with his child. How could I ever be with someone who is carrying the spawn of my enemy?"

"SHE'S WHAT?" Zuko stepped out of the closet, gazing suspiciously at me, "Are you sure? I mean she could be lying..."

I shook my head "She would never lie to me, not about this. Zuko, I wish I had never gone on this stupid tour! If I hadn't, I could be with her, not dragging her all over the world so I can gather forces to kill her fiance!"

Zuko shook his head, "Aang, fate has a wave of screwing things up, but then fixing them. Just go with it!" He returned to his work in the closet, leaving me to think about what he had said. "BINGO!" he cried, retreating from the closet holding a garment that looked much like the formal robes the monks used to wear. "You gave it to me as a gift before you left, you're about the size I was then, so it should fit."

I looked down at the orange and yellow cloth in my hands. It had been so long since I was able to wear this color. Often I had to blend in with the country I was in, wearing their garments and leaving mine for traveling. After my washing, I slid into them with ease, wrapping the cloth around my body so that it covered one shoulder but left my other and most of my pectoral exposed. The pants went half way down my shins. As for shoes, Zuko let me borrow a pair that I had given him. I took my pendant from the bags that I had and looked at it sadly, thinking about how much it reminded me of Gyatso. I draped it over my neck and looked into the mirror. This was as good as it was gonna get.

Zuko came up beside me, in his formal clothing. "Aren't we a sight?" he asked, chuckling. "Come, we must meet up with my parents shortly."

_

"Azula, must I really wear this dress?" Katara asked, pulling at the fabric that clung so tightly to her. The red clothing contrasted with her skin. It covered only her chest and from the waist down, showing her well toned abdomen, one that held a baby, as far as Aang knew.

She smirked. And Sangok said I couldn't lie.

Azula smiled. "Of course you do! It's the only thing of mine that fits you and you look AMAZING in it!" she gushed, tossing jewelry in the direction of her new friend. "So, I meant to ask you...what's going on with you and Aang? Are you guys a couple? If you are it's okay, he and I had a thing a while back but if you're together then it's totally over, but if you aren't then...can I go after him?"

Katara looked at her with wide eyes. She had never heard someone talk to fast and so much. She shook her head. "No, Aang and I are not together," she said almost regretfully. Her thoughts went back to the kiss they had shared only days ago. How his arms had felt around her...nothing would ever compare. Yet for some reason she was still insisting on staying with Sangok, a man that she loved deeply, but not as much as Aang. She hated having to pick Sangok over Aang, but she had made a commitment to Sangok long before Aang had arrived in the village. She wasn't going to go back on her promise.

Katara's response sent Azula on an excited tangent around the room. She was dancing from wall to wall in anticipation of seeing Aang again and getting to rekindle the fling they had engaged in so many years ago. She frowned for a moment, realizing that their fling had only consisted of her following him around and occasionally stealing a kiss. She shrugged and started running around the room again. This time he was going to be hers!