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When we returned to the mainland, I knew that I was ready to find Lucan. Etka and I left that evening and went to the arena, dressed both in black hooded cloaks. We had agreed to split up earlier, and search for Lucan divided. Truthfully, I had no idea how I was going to find him amongst this massive city, but I thought maybe I could find someone who knew him. I patrolled the grounds around the stadium, asking for anyone who looked like him and making sure to keep my hood low.

Hours passed, and I was beginning to question if Lucan even existed, or if he was only a figment of my imagination. Frustrated from asking around and tired from walking, I stopped at a fruit stand and was about to buy something to drink when I felt a touch on my sleeve.

Already on edge, I quickly spun around, but it was only Etka, cloaked and concealed as well. "I think I've found him," He murmured in a low voice, and gestured with a nudge of his elbow over at an open-street tavern. A man of Lucan's build was slumped over a drink.

"Is he drunk?" I frowned, straightening up. "I'm not fighting a drunk."

"Well we can't exactly go over and ask him, can we?" Etka replied. "He'll recognize both of us." I sighed, looking around, and grabbed a teenaged boy not too much younger than myself by the sleeve.

"Are you willing to do something for me for money?" I asked, flashing a silver piece. His eyes widened, and I closed my fist.

"See that man by the bar?" I pointed to Lucan. "Ask him his name. And find out if he's drunk or not."

"And that's mine, miss?" He asked, his eyes falling on my closed palm, and I nodded shortly. I let go of his sleeve, and he hurried over to the bar.

"Don't stare," Etka murmured, pulling his hood over his eyes. I copied him and turned away slightly, my heart racing. "Are you ready for this?" Etka asked, looking me straight in the eyes. His gaze was piercing, and I struggled to meet it.

"I have no choice," I whispered back. "I must be."

"You can still back out now," He cautioned. "You still have time." I cast my eyes over to Lucan, and saw that his gaze was now fixated on us as the boy was talking. My doubts were now erased; this was definitely him.

"He knows," I swallowed down my fear. "I don't have time now."

I began to walk over to Lucan, lowering my hood. His eyes widened in recognition, and he set down his drink. "What do you want," He snarled. I pressed the coin into the boy's hand, and he hurried off.

"I have come to take back my honor," I said firmly, keeping my voice level. My hands were sweating.

"You're looking at the wrong person," Lucan sneered. "Go and fight your boyfriend. He's the one who dishonored you." I stiffened, my shoulders rippling in anger.

"It is not Captain Song who insulted my honor," I retorted, my face hot about the "boyfriend" remark. "It was you. I challenge you to an Agni Kai."

By now, a sizable crowd had paused to watch our exchange, which was what I wanted. Lucan had noticed too, and his eyes shifted nervously about. I had him trapped.

"Fine," He snapped. "But this time, it's just you and me. Captain Song will not intervene."

"He won't, and he doesn't need too," I returned firely. "Just between you and I."

"Than I accept," Lucan said, his upper lip curling. I approached him and we shook hands, firmly gripping each other's as hard as we could and slicing up and down. I stormed into the arena, and I felt Etka sidle up beside me.

"Don't forget the basics," He said, as we navigated down the bleachers and into the waiting rooms for the duels. "Stay firm in your core. Don't let your emotion control your bending, let it strengthen it."

I was breathing rapidly, and I knew he was only trying to help, but he was giving me anxiety. This time, I had no option but to win. There would be no saving this time. "You'll win this time," Etka pressed, taking my arms in his hands. "I know you will. You have the strength, and the diligence, and the will. Remember who you are."

I looked up at him, and he pulled me close to him, wrapping me in a hug close to his chest. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, pressing my head against his chest. I didn't want to leave the safety that he brought me, I didn't want to step out into that arena again on my own. Everything was at stake now. I had to go.

It took a lot of strength to pull myself away from Etka, and I stepped back, bowing to him. "Everything you have done for me," I began, my eyes cast on the ground. "I am forever in your debt, sir. Thank you."

When I rose, I saw Etka looking upon me with a strange sort of sadness and emotion in his eyes, unlike anything I had ever seen from him. He reached out and gently touched my cheek, looking me softly in the eyes. "You have the power within you to do great things," He murmured. "Know that I am always in your corner."

With that, he parted with me without another word, and alone, I changed out of my clothes. I took off Ozai's dagger, and held it aloft, looking carefully at it. I remembered the pain of the metal being burnt onto my skin, and folded it carefully in my robes so that it wouldn't fall out. This time, I wouldn't fail. I was the daughter of the Firelord, and I had to win.

When I was called, I stepped out onto the arena, the red shoulder cloak over my shoulders. Oddly enough, I was incredibly calm, my heart at a strange peace before the storm that was yet to come. I knew what I would have to do now, and I felt that I had the ability to win this time.

My mind passed over to my time at the Fire Temple. Shyu, one of the Sages, had taught me about the origins of firebending, and how the earliest firebenders learned from dragons. Fire does not heal, does not create, he said. Fire destroys and burns, but without it, human life cannot exist. Fire is the source of spirit and strength, and if I could master it, the power and force I would have would be unbelievable.

I looked up, and along the sidelines, high above the reaches of the flame, stood Etka, watching me anxiously. I would not fail my family, I would not fail the Fire Lord, and I would not fail him

With that, I slowly rose, the red garment falling from my back and fluttering to the ground. I breathed in through my nose and faced Lucan. I was ready.

Lucan conjured a flame in his hands, and began to run forward at me. I stepped back in my stance, my heart kickstarting and adrenaline flowing inside me. Bracing myself for impact, I intended to knock Lucan off his feet, but he had to be in just the right spot for it. Closer...

Suddenly, I arched my right hand up, sending a torrent of fire up from underneath Lucan's feet, throwing him backwards. I wasted no time as the crowd's roars echoed in my ears, and drew my fist back. I shot a fireball directly at him, but he narrowly scrambled out of the way, getting to his feet, and returning my attack with rapid volleys of flame. With orange-streaming jets, I knocked and dodged the comets of fire falling from the sky, my bare feet kicking up dust.

Lunging forward, I centered my core and sent ribbons of fire shooting from the tips of my fingers, bending and curling them like cracks of a whip. My whole body was electric, alive, and I could feel my muscles trembling as I bent the cords of fire. I struck Lucan once in the back, sending him stumbling forward, and caught him in the front across the chest before the ribbons of fire collapsed.

Lucan was breathing heavily and so was I, and when he sent a gust of flame at me, I narrowly stepped out of the way. That last move had taken a lot of strength, too much...

"Solidify your core!" I heard Etka shout, and I settled back into a stance, my breath rattling down my throat. I had pissed Lucan off, and his snarling face was the last thing that I saw before a burst of fire exploded towards me, knocking me back. I cried out, roses of pain blooming across my chest, and I struggled for air, breathing raspily into my lungs.

"Get up, Anahi!" I heard Etka crying out, his voice tinged with worry. My fingers curled up in tendrils of dust, and I ducked to avoid another blast. I thought of Etka's parting words to me. Remember who you are...

I pushed myself up, shooting fire from my hands to propel me to my feet and I casted an arc out at Lucan, hitting him hard. Slowly and determinedly, I stepped forward in a strong stance, shooting fire again and again at Lucan. I had to make my parents proud.

I took a deep breath and Lucan shot a jet of flame at me, which I caught and spun around my body, rising up to my toes before stomping my foot against the earth again and sending the flame back at Lucan. Pausing and taking a breath before I struck again, I let myself settle back into good form before I began whipping jets of fire out at him, like I had in my duel with Etka. I felt power surge inside of me, and the thrill of victory this time was so close! I would not fail, I would not fail!

I raised my arms, turning, and a fortress of flame surrounded me like a personal protective wall. Curling my lip, I leapt forward, sending the flame soaring like a knife towards Lucan and striking him with such force that he went flying and struck the back wall with a loud thud, before slumping unconscious against the ground.

The cheers were deafening, and I shuddered, breathing hard. Blankly, I stared at Lucan, as people hurried to take him out of the arena. Oddly enough, I felt a strange amount of pity for him, and wondered if I had struck him too hard...

"Anahi!" I heard Etka cry, and turned around just as he tackled me into a hug, sweeping me off my feet. "You did it! You won."

I was numb, totally numb. My ears were ringing, and my head was pounding a steady beat. What had just happened hadn't even registered yet, and in silence, I walked out of the arena floor with Etka. "Is Lucan going to be alright?" I asked, and Etka sighed, smiling.

"He'll be fine," He said, and I noticed that he was toying with something in his pocket. "After what he did to you, Anahi, you should not be worried."

"I just can't believe it," I breathed, looking up at him in shock. "I won. I have my honor now."

"It doesn't surprise me," Etka said, as we walked together through the tunnels beside the arena. I stopped at my room and grabbed my clothes in a jumbled heap, not caring and not going to put them on. "You've made great strides and gotten much stronger in these past months. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, sir," I looked up at him in gratitude as we stepped out in the night air together. Though the streets were bustling with people, total strangers to me, it felt like it was only the two of us.

"Are you cold?" Etka asked, but before I could answer, he was undoing his cloak and draping it over my shoulders.

"Thank you," I smiled, looking down at the mess of clothes in my arms. Suddenly, something clicked in my brain, and I remembered the dagger. The blood drained from my face as I frantically felt around for it, my heart pounding. Had I possibly dropped it? Was it lost?

"Anahi, are you alright?" Etka suddenly stopped. We had reached our neighborhood, and were very close to our house now. Etka stepped around me, looking at me with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"No...no..." I murmured, not finding anything amongst my wadded clothing. "I think I lost something..." I felt ready to be sick. How could Ozai's dagger be missing?

Etka relaxed slightly, and took my arm in his hand. "Come on," He murmured, dropping his voice and looking around at our near empty street. "We need to get inside."

"No, I think I lost something," I pulled against him, stubborn. "Something very important, I need to go back - "

"Anahi, come inside," Etka said firmly and I looked up at him in shock to find his face totally serious. "Someone might see."

"Might see what?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes, and Etka propelled me forwards, refusing to speak to me until we were safe behind the gates of his home.

"Anahi, I know about the Firelord," He said, pulling the dagger out of his pocket and holding it aloft. I dropped my clothing on the ground before me, staring hard at the glinting metal hanging from Etka's fingers.

"Where did you find that?" I said, my voice low, challenging him.

"I found out when you were badly burned," Etka said, his voice a twinge apologetic. "One of the healers showed it to me after they had treated you. And the Great Sage at the Temple only affirmed my suspicions. Anahi..."

I reached out and snatched the dagger from his hands, and slid it over my neck again, feeling angry and defensive. "Are you going to arrest me?" I asked, trying to hide the fear that was now creeping up inside me.

"No, no," Etka replied, holding his hands out in a gesture of peace. "I'm not going to do anything, Anahi. This doesn't change anything between us at all, I just..."

"Just what?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He looked almost betrayed, torn between that and disbelief.

"Why didn't I tell you that I'm Ozai's bastard daughter?" I snapped, and Etka's eyes widened. "How do you think that would have sounded when you pulled a half-dead girl from an abandoned island who claimed she was the Firelord's daughter? You would have had me put to death!"

"Ozai's daughter...?" He repeated numbly, looking like I had just smacked him in the face.

"Well, what did you think?" I snapped.

"That you were a relative or - or something..."

I relaxed a little, trying to calm myself down. "My birth mother and Ozai had a forbidden relationship. He gave her the dagger before he was married to someone else, but she was already pregnant with me. Kita - my mother - was forced to flee the fire nation and eventually found refuge with my adoptive parents. She had me in secret, and begged my adoptive parents to take me in. One day, I accidentally got angry with my brother, Naheel, and discovered I could fire bend. My parents told me the truth, and I left the water tribe to learn firebending and find my parents. That's the whole story."

Etka was staring hard at the ground, taking in the whole story. My hands went to the dagger around my neck, passing it back and forth anxiously. When he hadn't said anything for quite some time, I spoke up. "So, are you going to turn me in?"

"No," He answered. "But know that this information spread to the wrong hands can be very dangerous to you. Anahi, you can trust me."

"I didn't know that when I first met you," I said in a low voice. "Do you know what I was raised on? Stories of the tyrannical fire nation, where soldiers pillaged, raped, and murdered without discretion, stories of the wicked Firelord who would stop at nothing to conquer the world. How do you think that I felt when I was told that my father was the man who had put so many to death?" I felt a solid lump rising in my throat, and I bowed my head, feeling tears rising. "How do you think I felt when I learned that I had become the thing that everyone I loved feared the most?"

"Anahi..." Etka said slowly, quietly.

"I didn't want this!" I cried, tears spilling over down my cheeks. "Nothing good comes from fire! All that I can do is hurt and - and - and destroy. In the water tribe, there was none of this dueling, no Agni Kai's to save anyone's honor. If my family saw what I had done..." I turned away, but Etka reached out, catching my arm.

"Anahi," He murmured. "You don't have to become the person that your family despises. You can become more than your anger and more than the power you wield. You've gained back your honor today, Anahi. Use it to maintain what is right, what is just." I stopped, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

Etka reached out, pulling me into his arms and I let him, hiding my face in my hands. "You have a gift, Anahi," He murmured. "But most importantly, you have a heart. Don't lose yourself to your abilities."

I let myself cry into his chest, feeling the most safe I had in months inside the protection of his arms. "Sir," I murmured shakily into his tunic. "You're my only friend left."

"As long as you need it, you are under the protection of the House of Song," He said firmly, stepping back slightly and reaching out to dry my eyes with his thumbs. "There is no need to be afraid."

"I have to find the Firelord," I looked up at him determinedly. "He's the only means I have to find out where my mother is. I know who he is, and I know what he's done, but I have to go and see him. He's my only chance."

Etka paused, his face falling into a look of concern. "Anahi, I don't think..."

"I know what he can do to me," I said firmly. "And I know that even meeting with him is incredibly dangerous. I had to learn firebending first, so I might be somewhat worthy to stand before him. That's why I left home, and that's why I'm here. I have to find him, sir."

The Captain was quiet for a long time, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he struggled to find the words to say. "I can tell you right now that it won't be easy," He said slowly, carefully. "And he may not even wish to see you at all. I understand that this is something you must do, and I will help you in any way I can. This, I swear on my honor."