Now that the ship is gone and everyone thinks that you and Zuko are dead, Zuko came up with a plan to hide on Zhou's ship while Iroh stayed on the ship as a guest. The worst part about it besides the horrid conditions, smelly men and commander monkey face being around, wearing heavy armor and pretending to be a guy really sucks. But you rather wear it instead of getting found out.
Zhou's ship stopped about a mile away from the northern water tribe in preparation for the attack the next day. Tonight is your time to escape. Iroh silently led you and Zuko into a small lifeboat room. Zuko took off his armor to reveal a grey training shirt and pants; you took off the armor to reveal a black skirt and matching black halter-top. it felt good to be back to how you normally clothes.
You hugged Iroh goodbye. "Be safe" he said with a warm grandfather like smile.
Zuko had already gotten into the boat. You climbed in and got settled as Zuko began to lower the boat into the water.
Iroh waved as he said, "Stick to your basics and remember your breathing."
"I know uncle"
"Remember your breath of fire, it might save your life"
"I know uncle"
"And cover your ears!"
"Uncle!" Zuko yelled.
You giggled and said "relax he means well" you told Zuko who simply rolled his eyes.
Once the boat was in the water Zuko started rowing towards the northern water tribe. You started to shiver. Zuko noticed instantly.
"Kana come here" Zuko said as he stopped rowing because the current was bringing the boat to shore. Zuko gestured for you to sit on his lap. You blushed as you sat sideways on his lap. Zuko wrapped his arms around you and rested his chin on your shoulder. You cuddled close to him. "Are you any warmer" he asked as he lightly kissed your neck.
"Yes" you sighed happily. Zuko smiled. "So what are our plans?" you asked curiously.
"I'm not sure exactly but we'll look for your brothers and the avatar" Zuko replied, he sounded relaxed for once.
The two of you cuddled and shared innocent kisses as you kept each other warm. About an hour later you drifted to the shore and left the boat.
The two of you wandered around until you found a natural ice cave. It was slightly warmer in the cave but it still felt like your hair was frozen and your skin is icy. You heard annoying barking sounds.
"gah! What is that?!" Zuko asked no one in annoyance.
"It looks like leopard seals" you said gesturing to a group of them. Zuko sighed. A few of the leopard seals jumped in a small lake but never came up. You looked at zuko. "They must be going somewhere" you commented
"Lets follow them" Zuko suggested you nodded. It looked like your best bet.
The two of you dove in and followed the leopard seals. You stopped in an air pocket.
"You ok?" Zuko asked catching his breath.
"Yep, you?" you replied. Zuko nodded and the two of you continued to follow the leopard seals. You were pushing your self to your limits; you and Zuko saw the light of the surface. You were running out of air, you wouldn't last much longer. When you got to the surface you hit a wall or in this case ceiling of ice. You panicked silently for a second and looked at zuko. He tried to break the ice with his back but that didn't work, then he held his hand to the ice and heated it till it melted. Zuko grabbed you and pulled you to the surface, he made sure you got out of the water before he did. He crawled onto the surface and you rushed to hug him as both of you tried to catch your breath.
"Lets never do that again" you stated between gasps of air.
"Agreed" he replied gasping.
After a few minutes of relaxing, both of you felt ok enough to start moving, so the two of you wandered around the northern water tribe city. As you approached the highest part you were surprised to see green grass, a tree with leaves and flowers in full bloom. You could feel the spiritual energy all around you as you embraced the beauty. You frowned slightly because all zuko could see was Aang meditating.
You sighed, to your surprise Zuko noticed instantly. "what's wrong" he asked worried.
"Nothing, don't worry about it" you replied Zuko gave you an I-love-you- and-i-guess-you'll-tell-me-when-you're-ready-look.
Katara and a water tribe girl you had never seen before stood on either side of Aang. Zuko waited for his time to strike.
Suddenly another much larger figure entered the oasis. You felt tears in your eyes. "Kaito" you whispered. Zuko looked between you and your brother and squeezed your hand lightly as he smile warmly.
"Hey Princess Yue! Have you heard the rumors yet!?" Kaito yelled in his loud bear-like voice.
"No what happened?" Yue asked him with a slight giggle.
"Apparently some of the guards saw a guy wearing grey and a girl in all black with bright red hair sneaking around the city" kaito said with a big grin on his face. Apparently you and Zuko weren't as sneaky as you thought.
"Doesn't your sister have red hair" Yue said with a smile.
"Yep! She's normally so easy to find, you could probably see her hair from space" he said with a warm laugh. Katara and Yue laughed as Aang opened one eye and said, "Come on guys trying to concentrate here"
You suddenly felt self-conscious and pulled your hair to the side in an attempt to hide it
Zuko stopped you and whispered, "I like your hair" as he tucked a few strands behind your ear.
Suddenly Aang went into the avatar state. It was time for Zuko to make his move.