If Suki were a firebender, the was no doubt her bed would be burning with fire.

She had no idea how she had gotten to wherever she was. All she remembered was Zuko asking for her help with dismantling some rebel group in a random island, going to said island, spotting the group and taking in unconsciousness. When she woke up, she was in a room with the woman that had imprisoned her eighteen years ago.

It made sense that Azula was with the rebels. After all, the Royal Family had practically disowned her when she cheated on Ty Lee, and everyone knew the princess was a psycho for power. What could give her more power than a group that would get her to the throne?

After almost fifteen years of her disappearing, it turned out that the princess was just coldly calculating her revenge. As Zuko had told Suki, there were many small rebel groups around the Fire Nation, but he never said anything about them being connected to each other. That was a smart move from Azula's part.

Suki looked at the firebender with hate, as the woman simply regarded her with a cold gaze.

"I was rather hoping you would take the hint and thank me for saving your life. It's not every day I save someone who isn't Fire Nation." Azula said, walking towards the table that stood beside her head.

"Where am I? What did you do to me?" Suki fumed

"Here," Azula handed a cup to her patient. "drink this tea. It'll help you with the pain."

"I'm not drinking anything you give me. It could be poisoned for all I know."

Azula sighed. "Why would I heal you just to poison you? You should know by now that I'm all about efficiency."

"Tell me where I am!" Suki yelled

"Drink the tea and I'll tell you. And watch your tone, I can make this recovery very painful if I want to." The princess threatened. The Kyoshi warrior glared at Azula while grabbing the small cup of tea and slowly bringing it to her lips.

"It tastes horrible."

"It's medicine. It's not supposed to taste good." Azula rolled her eyes.

Suki put the empty tea cup on the table and faced her physician. "Now can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in the Fire Nation."

Suki groaned. "Where in the Fire Nation am I?"

"In my house. I know, it's small for a princess. But nowadays nobody can ask for much out here in the country-side."

"What's the town called?"

"Since when did this become an interrogation?" Azula laughed as she grabbed some bandages.

"Since I came here on a mission to end the rebels and I end up waking injured at your home."

"Interesting." Azula grinned as she put on the bandage on Suki's knee. "Which rebel group were you sent to dismantle? Was it the Agni Workers Socialist Movement, or the Fire Nation Traditionalist Union?"

Suki narrowed her eyes. "How do you know their names? Are you their leader?"

Azula couldn't hold in her laugh. It was so hilarious that someone who she hadn't seen for fifteen years appeared out of nowhere and began to accuse her of treason. Even funnier was the fact that she thought she could be the leader of any of those two groups.

"Everyone out here knows who they are. They offer peace and prosperity to the people, so many of them join the movements. The capital doesn't seem to notice how much people out here are suffering, and these parties do. And to answer you other question, don't be ridiculous. The AWSM don't want anything to do with the monarchy. If it were for them, everyone from the line of Sozin would be exiled or killed. And the FNTU is extremely conservative. They would burn me alive just for being bisexual." She finished bandaging Suki.

The Kyoshi Warrior wanted to reply, but she had to admit Azula had her beaten. Zuko had not given her much information about the group besides their probable location and number, and the knowledge that they wanted Zuko off the throne. But there never was a briefing concerning their ideals or the why they were rebelling against the Fire Lord.

"Sleep now and come eat breakfast in the morning. You are not allowed to skip it, or your recovery will suffer." Azula said coldly before grabbing heading out, leaving the tea and cup in the room. The princess closed the door, leaving Suki in the small room all by herself.

There weren't many things in the room. There was a big wooden chest, a spear, and a calligraphy set Around the calligraphy set, there were dozens of written papers tossed around, some of them laid down while others were crunched. A big Fire Nation flag hung from one of the walls, and a poster for "Jandai: Bloodsucker of the West" hung from another. There was a window that made the moonlight enter to the room directly to the bed.

Suki turned to the side to grab a little more tea. Despite being brewed by Azula, the tea had a good aftertaste, and it really helped relief her pain. The table where the tea was sitting had a small drawer beneath it. Slowly, without making any sound, Suki opened the drawer and found a small book and two pieces of paper.

It was invasion of privacy, but Suki couldn't really trust Azula. She grabbed the book and opened it.

'Globalization and its discontents' the title read.

Suki scoffed. Of course the princess of the Fire Nation, the princess who wanted the whole world to burn, would have a book about how globalization was negative. As far as she could see, people all around the world were happier now that the war was gone and there was free trade between the nations. The Earth Kingdom economy had stabilized throughout, and the Water Tribes economy had boomed tremendously.

She put the book in the drawer and took the two pieces of paper. The first one was filled with numbers and percentages, and more numbers. It was stuff that Suki, or any normal person for that matter, dreaded to see. There was only one person she could think of that enjoyed using their brain for that…but she didn't want to think about Sokka. Years after their breakup and she still wanted to be together with him again, despite the fact that she had been the one who had broken up with him.

Suki quickly put that paper down on the drawer exactly where it had been.

Her eyes turned to the other paper, which laid on the bed where she was laying at. Her hands grabbed the paper and she began to read.

'Father, I wish I could talk to you in person. As happy as I am here, I always wish to have you by my side. Maybe you could help me pass through the town without certain people throwing dirty looks at me, or maybe you could help me master the spear. Wherever you are right now, I hope that we may see each other one day. I have to say though, I'm not so happy with you being absent all these years. But, maybe I could forgive you one day if you prove to be worthy. Anyways, I doubt this will ever happen, so this letter will stay right here. Blah blah, yada yada yada, hope to see you whenever Agni desires it.'

The hysteric side of Suki's mind went to overdrive. This was certainly proof that Azula still had desires to see her father, Ozai. If this was true, then it wouldn't rule out the possibility of Azula wanting to dispose of Zuko and put herself on the throne to make Ozai proud, or put Ozai directly on the throne once again.

The logical part of her brain, however, also took a turn. Knowing how Zuko's and Azula's relationship with their father was, it was not viable that the princess would write in such an informal manner. After all, 'blah blah, yada yada yada' was not something you said to a man who burned down half of your sibling's face. Furthermore, Azula was never known for fighting with anything other than her firebending.

But if this wasn't her letter, then whose was it?

The Kyoshi warrior went to sleep after putting the letter away. It had been a sleep with no dreams. She woke up with the heat of the sun hitting her body, meaning that it was probably around early in the morning.

Suki sat on the side of the bed, thinking about how to walk without putting too much pressure on her wound. She scanned the room and found two crutches right beside the bed. How convenient.

It didn't take much energy for Suki to use the crutches and walk outside the room. The hall was very small and simple, with only a Fire Nation painting hanging. She turned left and quickly came face to face with Azula and the back of a boy sitting at a small table, eating some rice and soup.

Before she could make a noise, Azula lifted her gaze and nodded. "Lee, help the patient sit down so she may join us for breakfast." She said as she continued to eat her food.

The boy stood up and turned around, making eye contact with Suki. Her eyes widened involuntarily. The boy had one golden eye and one blue eye, which was swollen from what seemed to be a punch. His hair was straight and brown, but his skin was as pale as Azula's. He had high cheekbones, which were common in the Royal Family of the Fire Nation, but also in the Water Tribes. His cheek was busted, which further supported the idea that someone had hit him repeatedly.

What struck Suki the most though was the scar on the left side of his chest. She had seen familiar scars before on both Zuko and Aang, which meant that she had a good idea who had caused the wound.

Despite all this, the boy gave Suki a warm smile as he helped her sit down on the table. It was a very comforting smile, which reminded her of someone. She just couldn't place who exactly. Not Azula though, that was for sure.

"I hope you slept comfortably." Azula said, eating some rice.

Suki narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Thank you for the tea."

"It was no problem. Suki, I would like to present to you Lee Ten, my son. Lee Ten, this is Suki, an old acquaintance of mine and leader of the Kyoshi Warriors."

The boy turned to Suki and smiled. "Good morning Ms. Suki. It's an honor to meet the leader of the esteemed Kyoshi Warriors. Perhaps you could teach me some moves once you have recovered, if you are willing to do so of course. As you can see, I need to learn how to protect myself, because not every battle can be won solely on wits."

"Well, I need to go as soon as possible to give a message to the Fire Lord, so I'm afraid I won't be any help. Why doesn't your mother teach you?"

"Mom is an expert on firebending, but I need to learn how to fight without using too much energy. Why do you have to go so soon? Wait, forget that You know the Fire Lord?!"

Suki furrowed her eyebrows at the boys enthusiasm. There was no need to become so excited about her knowing the Fire Lord, his uncle. In fact, why would he call Zuko the Fire Lord and not uncle?

Azula drank a little bit of tea. "Lee Ten, don't bombard our guest with your questions."

"But mom, she knows the Fire Lord! Maybe-"

"Leave the matter as it is." Azula said sternly, earning a grunt from her son.

Suki was bewildered by the interactions between Azula and her son. There are signs of physical abuse, like the scar on his chest, but the way the family behaved was just like a normal family. In fact, it was as if this family loved each other, something Suki was sure Azula couldn't do. Not after what she did to Ty Lee.

"Have you been in close contact with everyone from the palace?" Azula asked Suki

"I have correspondence with Zuko and Ty Lee."

Azula put her head down and frowned slightly, almost impossible for Suki to catch. "How is she?"

"Last time we talked she said that she was very happy with Kim, much happier than she ever was before. There are also rumors of Kim possibly proposing to her, but I don't know if that's real. It should be though, if we're basing the criteria of marriage on fidelity and love."

Azula closed her hand tightly, her nails digging to her palm. If they had been as long as they were when she lived in the palace, there was no doubt her hand would've already be bleeding.

"I'm glad she's happy." The princess said in a low melancholic tone.

"Excuse me, mom, can I go to the clinic with you today?" Lee Ten asked, watching as his mother was showing very rare emotions for her standard.

Azula frowned. "Don't you have school today?"

"Nope," Lee Ten shook his head. "It's Veterans day, so there's no school"

"Why do students get a free day because of veterans?" Azula asked genuinely curious. It had been almost nine years since Lee Ten had started school, and she still did not understand why they had so many free days. It really put the public education system in perspective. If their children were not at school, then where would they pass their time? Where would they learn important material to improve their lives?

Logically, the poor budget of the school department and the low interest in education had been one of the downfalls of the Fire Nation. When she was little, schools were a place where children learned about their nation, but also about math and science. Without educated people, the nation would never prosper.

True, the schools before the end of the war had been indoctrinating, but at least pupils graduated with knowledge on how to make a good living. Nowadays, people from the outside of the city had a very bad education, which meant that they could no longer rise in the social hierarchy.

Once again, this had been Zuko's fault. By trying to change the school system so that it would contain no Fire Nation propaganda, he completely forgot about other key elements in Fire Nation instruction. It was impossible to make Fire Nation schools teach the same way as Earth Kingdom schools. Yet that's apparently what they did, and no effort on improving this problem has been noted.

"Maybe children have the day off so they can appreciate the effort of the veterans." Suki said, breaking Azula from her thoughts.

"A better way to show our appreciation to the veterans would be to pay them their retirement money so they can buy food, medicine, and their mortgages." Azula replied curtly.

"Anyways, can I go with you mom?" Lee Ten asked before a squabble could begin.

"No. Stay here with Suki and help her with the recovery. Change her bandages if they become dirty and give her some painkillers if she needs them. Make her soup for lunch with a side of white rice, nothing too strong on the stomach. Lastly, don't bother her with too many questions. She needs to have peace in her mind for a full recovery."

Lee Ten nodded his head. "Yes mother."

Azula turned to face the Kyoshi Warrior. "Suki, I will treat you as any patient of mine. Stay sitting or lying down and don't put pressure on your leg. If you need anything, let my son know and he will help you. I hope you have a pleasant stay at my home."

As Suki was about to reply, the princess of the Fire Nation stood up from her place and walked away. She grabbed a bag and went to step outside of her home.

"Behave Lee Ten. I love you." Azula said without turning around.

"Love you too mom." Her son replied while stuffing his face with rice.

Once the door was shut, Lee Ten put his bowl of rice down and grinned at Suki. It was the mischievous grin, not the usual bloodthirsty grin Azula commonly wore.

"I know my mom doesn't want me to ask too many questions, but I can't help myself. You're the first outsider I've met, and you even know the Fire Lord! The highest political connection I have is that my mother treated the Governor's daughter, but that isn't even that strong of a political connection. Anyways, there isn't much to do inside the house, and my mom said that you shouldn't move around. So, can I ask you questions? You could ask me questions if you want too!" Lee Ten ranted enthusiastically.

Suki had to take a few second to take all that in. She would've never expected for Azula's son to be so energetic. Around his mother, he seemed like a normal teenager, with a poised character but with good character.

The Lee Ten that had emerged once Azula left the house was a completely different creature.

"Sure, you can ask me any question you want. And I'll take a few questions I want to ask myself." Suki kindly smiled. There were many questions surrounding Azula that she wanted answered, and who better to answer them than a clueless boy.

"Awesome! So, first question, where do you know my mother from?"

"We met each other when we were teenagers. We never met eye to eye on many things, but we still had friends in common, so we tolerated each other." Suki answered honestly. She didn't want to tell this boy, who seemingly had no idea about his royal lineage, about his claim to the throne. As things stood now, he would be third in line for the throne.

"Oh cool, like that Ty Lee she asked about?"

"Precisely."

"Interesting." Lee Ten leaned back on his chair. "You can ask your question now."

"Did you get in a fight one of these days?" Suki asked. Since seeing the physical state of the boy, she had a tight feeling in her chest. She was concerned where that damage had come from. In other words, she wanted to know if Azula had been physically abusive towards her son. After all, the scar on his chest screamed that at her.

Lee Ten frowned slightly. "Oh, that. I got beat up at school yesterday."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Suki said

"I'm used to it by now. When you look like this," he pointed towards his blue eye. "people tend to dislike you. Now it's my turn for the question. What were you doing in the forest, and did that got you injured?"

"I was simply taking a tour of the Fire Nation when bandits attacked me. It had been around since I traveled." Suki easily said.

"You could've just said you couldn't answer my question." Lee Ten said, sipping from his tea.

"What?"

"It was a lie," Lee Ten smirked. "your pacing was a little off and you right hand moved slightly to the left, a movement you had only done when talking about Ty Lee. I could tell that you were lying to make my mother feel bad, so shame on you. Oh, and also you should think of a better cover up story. Nowadays pilgrims have stopped going through the Fire Nation because of all the hate crimes and kidnappings."

Suki's eyes widened in horror. She had thought that the Fire Nation had been going well by what Zuko had written and what she had seen at Caldera.

"Seeing as you evaded my question, I think it's only fair that I make another one. Are people from the Water Tribes cool? I know their weather is, but their personalities, are they also cool?"

"Yes, they are. Actually, my ex-boyfriend was from the Water Tribe. He loved to use the boomerang."

Lee Ten's eyes widened, and he put on a smile. "That is awesome! I've read about boomerangs, but I've never met someone who has known someone who uses one of those!"

"It was also annoying." Suki grumbled

The teenager laughed. "I bet. It's your turn to ask now."

"What do you think of the Fire Lord?"

"Well," Lee Ten began to say, measuring his every word. "you know the Fire Lord personally, so I don't want to say anything that accounts for treason. However, I do think that he is not doing a good job in terms of our economy or treating our people with respect, which is the cause of many of the problems we face today. I believe he has good intentions, but he's stuck in the palace and doesn't see the reality that we, the common people, live in every day. Does that satisfy you?"

"Yes, and can I ask, what does your mother think of him?"

"She says that he believes himself to be the savior of the world, focused on fixing our image to the other nations, but has forgotten about his own roots. She doesn't think he's a bad person, or that he has bad intentions and is harming our nation intentionally, but she does think that the Fire Lord is unprepared to have so much work on his hands, like if he needs advice and help but does not get any." Lee Ten explained, careful to not say anything that could put his mother in danger.

Suki nodded her head. "Sounds reasonable. And don't worry, this stays between us."

Hours went by and Azula's son kept asking many questions, receiving honest vague answers from Suki. He asked many questions regarding Water Tribes and how life was in Kyoshi Island, while Suki asked about his life and Azula's. The Kyoshi Warrior learnt a lot about the life Azula led on the town, now identified as Ido. It seemed the firebender had been practicing as a healer for almost 15 years, and as the head physician for almost six, soon after the pass of her mentor.

Once she had gotten all the information she wanted, as much as Lee Ten allowed, she asked for the boy to help her get some message to the post office.

"My friends may be worried for my lack of contact." Suki reasoned.

Lee Ten raised an eyebrow but complied to the request, handing a paper and a brush for Suki to write her message. Out of respect, the teenager chose not to watch the message the woman wrote. He was curious, and a little distrustful about the message Suki was writing, but his mother had told him to give her anything she wanted. By Agni was he a good son.

"I'm finished."

"Ok, can you please give me the paper so that I may put it in an envelope? Can you also give me the address where it's going?" Lee Ten asked

"9075 Seitzo Street, Caldera City. And it's for Ty Lee."

"Got it, thank you. I also have to take my ink and brush to my room before it dries…so excuse me for a quick moment." Lee Ten grinned as he picked up the stuff.

Once in his room, he hid behind his bed and quickly opened the letter. He hadn't read it whilst she was writing, but he had to make sure the Kyoshi Warrior did not mention anything that could be harmful to him or his mother.

'Dear Ty Lee,

I hope this letter has found you well.

It has been so long since I've seen you at your lowest, when you and Azula ended things. I am currently resting, for I have been wounded by some bandits in the woods. A healer has taken me in her home in a small town called Ido (Fire Nation).

I have missed you so much, and I have to tell you lots. But foremost, how has Zuko been doing? And Mai, could you tell me how she has been? I hope she has been eating. After all, that pregnancy sure took a lot out of her, but her baby is really cute from what I've hear, just like a mini Mai. And at least there's a spawn to greet.

Continue to be your happy self.

Sincerely,

Suki'

Lee Ten furrowed his eyebrows at the letter. I seemed as a normal letter a person would write her friend, but the wording had been awkward. A normal letter to a friend would've been written with fluidity. This was just too stiff, meaning that there was some inner message written somewhere there.

"Maybe it's the first word of every sentence…no. The second one? Nope. What about…" Lee Ten murmured as he tried to decipher the code. It seemed to be harder than he previously thought, and it was the first time he ever did this kind of stuff. He wasn't a child soldier, and he didn't have a fascination with spies, so there was absolutely no way he could decipher the code so fast.

Grabbing a paper, Lee Ten copied the message Suki had written and, once the ink had dried, folded it and hid it on his pant. As quickly as he could, the young firebender grabbed an empty envelope, put the letter in it, and sealed it with wax and a Fire Nation stamp (which he had one day found just outside of school).

"Sorry I took so long. I couldn't find my stamp." Lee Ten apologized as he entered the room where Suki had been sitting down. "I'm heading out to send this. Are you sure you don't want anything before I go?"

"I'm sure. Thank you for your service."

Lee Ten waved his hand. "It's no problem. All part of being a good host and following mother's instructions. I'll be back soon."

The postal office was very close to the town center, which was close to the well, which thankfully was very close to the firebender's house. In a short five-minute walk, Lee Ten was already at the postal office.

The envelope in his hand felt very heavy despite only containing a single sheet of paper. Lee Ten knew that whatever Suki had written would affect him, but he couldn't figure out how. It had been a harmless letter to Ty Lee, someone the teenager knew his mother cared about. Whatever was in the envelope, it couldn't be too bad. Right?

He handed the envelope to the mailman and bowed down, showing respect for the people who had to work on a National Day Off. He turned around and got the copied version of the letter out of his pant. He read it dozens of times, trying to figure out any hidden messages in the letter.

"Maybe it's the third word from last?" Lee Ten asked to himself, his patience wearing off.

His eyes widened as a message was uncovered. It was a clear message, not gibberish that somehow made its way into the letter. No, this meant something important. He turned around to see the mailman, but the officer was already gone.

Lee Ten leaned his back on the well, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. In his hands was the message that Suki, that woman, had sent out to Caldera. He knew what the message said, but he didn't know exactly what it meant.

But one thing was clear. 'Found Azula in Ido. Tell Zuko she has a spawn.' were two sentences that were bound to change his life.