A slender figure sat relaxed on the wooden chair. Her long legs were elegantly crossed while she held one of the shells Uncle had found in her hand. She had an oval-shaped face and the classic beautiful features of a Fire Nation royal. Her raven black hair was pulled back into a classic Fire Nation top knot, with the two front locks hanging from the side. In her topknot, the Fire Nation symbol was attached to signal her high status. Her lips were painted in a dark red colour, which complemented the colour of her Fire Nation attire. Her cat-like eyes were a dark shade of amber, not gold like Zuko's. But the family resemblance was unmistakable.

Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation. Firebending prodigy. Ozai's favourite child.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked, his voice getting dangerously low as he spoke to his sister. Elyrie saw that he clenched his hands to fists and that the muscles in his neck tensed, as if he prepared himself for a fight. Next to Zuko, Iroh's kind face darkened at the sight of his niece.

"In my country," Azula said undisturbed as she continued playing with the shell in her hand "We exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions."

She stood up from her seat and walked casually to Zuko. "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?" she asked, the tone of her voice innocent as she called Zuko by his childhood nickname.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko yelled at his sister, who stood unaffected with her arms crossed in front of him.

"To what do we owe this honour?" Iroh asked, his tone respectful but Elyrie did not miss the wary undertone in his voice.

"Must be a family trait," Azula said with a sadistic smile on her face, "Both of you so quick to get to the point." Her long nails, filed to sharp points, broke the shell in her hands without effort. As the pieces of shell fell on the floor, Elyrie exchanged looks with Iroh, who had narrowed his eyes at the Fire Nation Princess.

Elyrie had said nothing and watched the encounter. As caring as Zuko was, that is how ruthless his sister could be. From a young age she was a manipulative genius, bending people at her will. So far, she had completely ignored her presence in the cabin. Not that Elyrie minded in the slightest. First of all, she knew it was one of Azula's strategies. And second, she was not sure what the Princess was doing here, but whatever it was: it could never be good.

"I've come with a message from home," Azula continued in an almost bored tone, "Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him."

Elyrie clenched her jaw at Azula's message. She said it casually, as if it was not an enormous load she just landed on her brother.

"He's heard rumours about plans to overthrow him," Azula continued as her amber eyes kept looking at her brother's face, "Treacherous plots." She lowered her voice, as if she tried to let her brother in on this secret. "Family are the only ones you can really trust."

Are you sure about that? Elyrie thought to herself as she clenched her jaw tighter. She did not trust this charade one bit. A quick glance sideways and she saw that Uncle shared her sentiments.

"Father regrets your banishment," Azula said as she looked away with a look of feigned sadness in her eyes, "He wants you home."

Those words. How long Zuko had waited to hear those words. That his father wanted him home and wanted him to come back to the Fire Nation.

"Did you hear me?" Azula said, her voice sounding far away now to him, "You should be happy, excited, grateful!"

Zuko did not respond. Instead, he turned to the window and watched the setting sun cast a red light on the cherry blossom.

"I just gave you great news." Azula said, her voice now soft and her smile inviting.

"I'm sure your brother simply needs a moment–" Iroh began in an effort to give Zuko more time to let the news sink in, but he was quickly cut off.

"Don't interrupt, Uncle!" Azula sneered at the older man.

There it is, Elyrie thought as she saw the charade of the Princess slightly falter. Iroh had always been the only one who didn't let himself get manipulated by the young woman. And Azula knew it. Uncle did not get a chance to speak, because that could ruin her plan.

"I still haven't heard my thank you," Azula said as she turned to her brother, "I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way."

Then why did you? Both Iroh and Elyrie asked themselves the same question. It wasn't like Azula to do something this caring for her brother.

"Father regrets?" Zuko asked as he continued to look outside, his voice slightly trembling, "He wants me back?" Elyrie felt a sting go through her as she looked at Zuko's helpless face. For a moment, he was a little kid again. The little boy who did everything for his father's approval and attention.

"I can see you need some time to take this in." Azula said gently.

After she had turned around, she fixed her amber eyes on Elyrie's small figure at last. "And here is our lost little friend. You know, you had us worried when you didn't return from the North Pole with your fiancé." The Princess said, her tone sweet and inviting.

"I am touched by your concern," Elyrie replied smoothly as she raised her chin, "But as you can see, I am quite well." Inwardly, she was boiling with anger. What does she know about the Siege of the North Pole? she pondered as she looked into the snake-like eyes of the young woman. Probably everything there is to know.

The two women kept eye contact, neither one of them breaking the silence. Elyrie knew that remaining silent was Azula's way of making another person uncomfortable. But she didn't give in. She had grown up around this girl and she wasn't afraid of her.

Azula's red lips turned into a line when the silence lasted. The blue eyes of the girl in front of her were confident and unaffected. She simply looked back at the Fire Nation Princess, which angered her in a way.

"I'll call on you tomorrow." Azula finally said as she looked at her brother, who was still staring at the red cherry blossom out of the window, "Good evening."

Elyrie finally exhaled when the Princess left the cabin. The veiled threat was not lost on her: if Azula knew anything about her heritage or what happened to Zhao, she would be in great trouble.

She crossed eyes with Iroh and could almost hear the wheels ticking in his brain as he pondered the same question she was asking herself.

What does this mean?

An hour later, they were not anywhere near the answer. In the meantime, night had fallen outside and Elyrie had lit the small lanterns in the cabin. Uncle had brewed them a fresh pot of tea and poured two cups for himself and Elyrie while Zuko had walked tirelessly around the cabin.

"We're going home!" Zuko exclaimed, looking happier than Elyrie had seen him in a very long time, "After five long years, it's unbelievable!"

Elyrie sat across from Iroh at the wooden table with a steaming cup of tea in front on her, but Uncle had not even touched his drink. With her hands clasped around the cup, Elyrie said nothing as she watched Zuko pack his belongings. Silently sipping her tea, she looked at Uncle. Iroh had not shared his nephew's enthusiasm. He sat with his hand on his chin, looking pensively at the rough wood of the table.

"It is unbelievable," Iroh finally agreed with Zuko, "I've never known my brother to regret anything."

"Did you listen to Azula?" Zuko asked as he turned to his Uncle with a frown, "Father realized how important family is. He cares about me."

"I care about you," Iroh retorted, his voice louder than normal as he rose from his seat, "And if Ozai wants you back, it may not be for the reasons you imagine."

Elyrie did not miss his choice of words. He referred to his brother as Ozai, not 'your father'. Now that she thought about it, he almost never had referred to the Fire Lord as Zuko's 'father'.

"You don't know how my father feels about me," Zuko said angrily as he turned his back to his Uncle, "You don't now anything!"

Elyrie tightened her grip. Zuko was being unreasonable now, but she understood why. She did not agree, but she understood. His home, the Fire Nation, his honour; all the things he had dreamed of these past five years were suddenly given to him on a silver platter.

It was too good to be true. It had to be.

She knew that, but he didn't.

"Zuko," Iroh said soothingly, "I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem."

"I think you are exactly what you seem," Zuko said furiously as he turned around to look at his Uncle, "A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother!"

"That's it." Elyrie finally said as she slammed her cup on the wooden table. The hot tea spilled over the edges, but she did not pay attention to it. Both men looked surprised at her uncharacteristic outburst. She pushed her chair back, grabbed Zuko's sleeve and pulled him with her. "Outside, now."

Taken aback by her reaction, Zuko followed without protest. Elyrie had remained silent the entire evening, so he had assumed she agreed with him.

"How dare you speak to your Uncle that way?" she said in an icy voice as she let go of his sleeve. They were standing in the dark, the moonlight lighting the cherry blossom above them. Elyrie's blue eyes caught light of the moon and her pretty features were twisted in anger.

"You of all people should agree with me." Zuko said impatiently, "You told me how much you missed home. Why aren't you more supportive? Azula told me-,"

"Zuko, do you hear yourself?" she interrupted in a clear voice, "Why do you trust Azula more than Uncle? Only because she tells you want you want to hear?"

"As if you would understand." Zuko growled at her as he turned his back to her. He did not need another lecture now.

"Don't act like I am a fool, I am not." she retorted, her tone like a poisonous sting. He turned around to look her in the eye, but she was not fazed. "Why are you angry at him? Uncle always has your best interests at heart."

"I am not angry!" he yelled at her as his nostrils flared and sparks came out of his mouth.

"So you are yelling out of pure happiness?" she said with a raised eyebrow as she crossed her arms. He gritted his teeth at her response. Damn this woman, he mentally cursed. He had a temper, but she never seemed to be fazed. Always calm, always collected.

"Just leave me alone." he sneered at her, out of arguments. He turned his back to her again and crossed his arms.

He waited for a response, but nothing came. That was not like Elyrie, so Zuko turned around to see where she was. He saw her retreating figure walking back to her own cabin.

"I know this is how you want things to be, but remember one thing." Elyrie said as she stopped and turned around. She looked him straight in his golden eyes.

"Azula always lies."

The following morning, Zuko was pacing up and down the cabin. All his belongings were collected by the guards, who had taken it to the ship that was waiting in the harbour at the foot of the mountain.

His steps sounded loud in the quiet cabin. He was all alone. Uncle had taken his belongings and moved to Elyrie's cabin when Zuko had told him off last evening. He had seen neither his Uncle or Elyrie after yesterday evening.

He was angry with them, but he couldn't imagine they would let him leave without saying goodbye. He had expected to see them at breakfast, but neither had shown up.

After a few more minutes of pacing, he furiously grabbed his last bag and swung it over his shoulder. "Fine then," he mumbled, "See if I care."

The harbour of the resort was situated at the foot of the mountain. To get there, you needed to climb down the stone staircase, which would take roughly 10 minutes. As Zuko was making his way to the stone staircase, he saw the ship docked at the harbour.

I am really going home, he thought to himself as he saw Azula's flagship. After five years, he finally was going home. He felt happy, but he couldn't shake the feeling of regret. These five years, Uncle had been his constant companion and now he was leaving without even saying goodbye to him. As for Elyrie, it pained him to miss her so soon after being reunited again.

"Wait!" he heard a voice behind him. Zuko turned around and saw his Uncle running down, holding his hand up to motion him to stop. "Don't leave without me!"

"Uncle!" Zuko said, his face immediately lighting up, "You've changed your mind!" Behind Uncle, he saw another figure making her way down to stairs. He felt himself smiling even brighter when he saw the sun catching the red in the auburn hair. Elyrie was coming down the stairs as well.

His Uncle gave him a warm smile as he placed his hand on the shoulder of his nephew. "Family sticks together, right?" Iroh said, touched by the happiness he saw on his nephews face.

"We're finally going home!" Zuko said contently as he looked down at Azula's ship.

"And you?" Zuko asked, his look hopeful when Elyrie reached them. She had her bag strapped to her back and wore loose pants and a tunic with flat shoes. Her long hair was tied with a ribbon in a ponytail, with a few the stubborn strands at the side of her face. She looked ready for travel.

"I am coming to see you off," she answered with a smile, "I want to visit Kun and Jin before I return to the Fire Nation Capital, but I'll visit you in the Palace as soon as I return."

That was enough for him for now. He was going home with Uncle and Lily would follow in no time at all.

"Let's go!" Zuko exclaimed as he took Elyrie's hand and pulled her with him. Elyrie laughed at his enthusiasm and tried to keep up with his quick pace.

Iroh, on the other hand, waited for a moment and shot a suspicious look at the ship down the foot of the mountain. He and Elyrie had discussed the situation at length last night. She agreed with him that Azula and Ozai could have an ulterior motive for summoning Zuko home, but neither of them could explain what it could be. After sleeping on it for the night, they agreed that it was best that Iroh accompanied Zuko in case something would go wrong. Elyrie didn't need to come along, since she had already planned to visit her friends to make sure they were alright. Especially Jin, because she felt responsible for what happened to her.

They had agreed, however, that they would keep an eye out for any oddities this morning. When either of them had the slightest suspicion Azula was up to something, they would take action. "Azula always has hidden motives" Elyrie had said pensively that morning. Iroh had agreed with her, which is why they needed to keep up their guard at all times.

When they reached the walkway, the trio was greeted by at least a dozen guards of the Royal Procession. Elyrie bit her lip at the welcoming committee. She recognized their armour without effort, since she had grown up around them. Their helmets had three-point theme: three spikes a on top of the helmet, three eye holes and the shard-shaped mouth holes. Their colours were mainly gold and red, which easily distinguished this group of elite firebenders who served as personal guards to the Fire Nation Royal Family. Carefully selected and trained, they were among the best firebenders in the world.

As she walked past them, she counted them in her head. Iroh, who was walking beside her, eyed them with suspicion as well. In all his life, he had never seen this many guards for the transport of a single member of the Royal Family. Even Ozai himself was never accompanied by more than four guards.

Elyrie discreetly placed her small hand on his arm and he immediately patted it. They watched Zuko practically ran to the end of the walkway to get up the ramp. Then, Elyrie held up two slender fingers and after a few seconds made it four. She had counted twenty-four guards. Iroh nodded and formed a 'three' with his fingers as he motioned with his head to the ramp.

Azula was standing at the top of the ramp, flanked by two guards. The captain stood at the foot of the ramp as he welcomed his royal guests. Iroh let go of her arm as he walked to his nephew's side. Elyrie remained a few feet behind them.

The twenty-four guards behind Elyrie closed their ranks, forming a row behind her. The uneasy feeling crept up her spine as she bowed before Azula. Twenty-four guards behind me, two next to Azula and a captain on the ramp, she counted while scanning the surroundings.

"Brother, Uncle" Azula said while raising her hands, "Welcome!" Her red lips formed a irresistible smile, as if she was truly happy to see her family again. "I am so glad you decided to come."

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?" The captain asked as he walked up the ramp. "Set our course for home, captain." Azula said sweetly as she tilted her head to the side.

"Home" Elyrie heard Zuko say wistfully. Please, let this not be a trap, she thought as she ignored the nagging feeling in her stomach. Let him be happy, he deserves it.

"You heard the Princess," The captain commanded as he motioned to the guards, "Raise the anchors. We are taking the prisoners home."

Everything seemed to stop for a moment.

Azula's face darkened.

Zuko's eyes widened.

The captain swallowed nervously.

Elyrie's breath hitched.

And then, Iroh turned around to kick the guard nearest to him in the water with one smooth motion.

With that move, everything was set into motion again. Elyrie ducked as she felt the heat of a fireblast coming from behind her. She spun in the air and with a fiery kick blasted the guard into the water.

Zuko stormed on the ramp and pushed the captain out of his way without effort. "You lied to me!" he cried furiously at his sister.

Azula simply raised her eyebrows and turned around with a passive hand gesture. "Like I've never done that before."

The two guards at her side shot fireblasts to Zuko. With a cry, Zuko crossed his arms and spread out the flames to deflect the attack. He leapt onto the ship and kicked off the two guards with fireblasts of his own.

On the walkway, Elyrie and Iroh were busy getting rid of the guards. Elyrie's main advantage was her speed and flexibility. The heavy armours of the guards slowed them down, so she used precise attacks and quick moves to knock them into the sea. She propelled herself and flipped backwards when four guards stormed to capture her. Landing behind them, one powerful blast was enough to simultaneously knock them down.

Her hands on her knees, she panted with a grin as she watched Uncle fight the remaining guards. The Dragon of the West hadn't earned his fearsome reputation for nothing: he fought like one-man army. Not for the first time, Elyrie was glad they fought on the same side when she saw guard after guard flying and landing in the water. In the time she had knocked out five guards, Iroh had taken care of at least twelve.

Propelling herself over the guards, Elyrie landed by Iroh's side. Deflecting a fireblast, Elyrie formed a circle of fire around herself and shot small blasts to every guard that approached her.

Iroh pushed away several guards before he took one in a wrestling hold. "Zuko!" he yelled over the commotion, "Let's go!"

Zuko didn't appear, which made Elyrie fear the worst. "Get him!" Iroh yelled at her, "We need to get out of here!" It was no longer the tea loving Uncle who spoke. This was the powerful Dragon of the West, the General who broke through the outer walls of Ba Sing Se. All she could do was obey.

Using firedaggers, Zuko charged at Azula with a blazing fury on the deck of the ship. But Azula dodged all the attacks. Not even using her bending to defend herself, she simply spun around and blocked his attacks with effortless ease.

The smirk never left her red lips. "You know," she began in a taunting tone, "Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole." Her smirk widened as pushed her brother away with a simple move. "And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar!"

Zuko was out of breath as he listened to the cutting words of his sister. It had all been a lie. She had done it again.

"Why would he want you home, except to lock up where you can no longer embarrass him?" she added with a sadistic smile.

Conjuring his daggers again, Zuko leaped into the air in his anger and humiliation. This was just what Azula wanted. As he attacked her in blind rage, she pushed him back and scraped his forehead with her sharp fingernails.

"Zuko!" he heard Elyrie's voice call him. In the corner of his eye, Zuko saw her running towards them. Azula saw it as well and aimed a blue blast of fire to the girl.

Deflecting them with a circular motion, Elyrie shot back the flames in Azula's direction. Copying the move she watched Katara perfect at the North Pole, she conjured up her own circle of flames to surround her. She waited as she saw Zuko retake his stance.

"As for your little halfblood friend" Azula added with a cruel smile, "Let's just say that father doesn't take treason lightly."

Elyrie felt her stomach drop. She knew. Of course she knew, Azula was always three steps ahead of everyone.

With a quick blast of blue flames, Azula knocked over Zuko. With a groan, he landed on the steel flour of the ship. Preparing for a second attack, Azula pointed her two fingers at her brother.

Elyrie quickly blocked Azula's attack as she jumped in front of Zuko. The flames still circling her, she attacked by sending small and precise blasts of fire in the direction of the Princess. All the black-haired girl could do, was evade the firebullets. One managed to graze her sleeve and set the expensive silk on fire.

"You filthy,-" Azula cursed as she started the familiar circular motion with her arms. Lightning.

Elyrie inhaled, but was lost on what she could do to stop her lighting. Aim at the legs, she remembered, Break the root.

But before she could do anything or Azula could release her lightning, another hand grabbed the wrist of the Princess.

Uncle pointed his fingers to the nearby cliffs, redirecting the lightning bolt away from them. Then, he forced Azula to bend backwards and kicked her smoothly off the side of the ship. With a loud splash, the Princess landed in the water.

"Ha!" Elyrie said, unable to hide her surprise and delight. Quickly grabbing Zuko by his arm, Iroh helped him back on his feet.

"Let's go!" Iroh yelled as he pushed them both in the direction of the ramp.

Running as fast as they could, they made their way into the forest and followed the river. Feeling the adrenaline rush throughout her body, Elyrie ran faster than she had ever done before.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Elyrie tripped on a rock and fell down on the ground. Panting uncontrollably, she tried to steady her breathing and get back up. But she was exhausted. "I can't go any further" she coughed.

Zuko and Iroh saw her fall and stopped immediately. They too fell down on their knees, panting and coughing. "I think we are safe here" Iroh said out of breath.

Elyrie didn't even react, but laid on her back as she felt her chest heaving up and down as her lungs screamed for air. She couldn't speak and only coughed a couple of times. Then, she pushed herself up to drink from the fresh water of the river. Cupping her hands and lifting the water to her lips, she drank eagerly. Her dry throat thanked her when the cool water made her finally calm down.

She leaned back and looked at the two men, who followed her example and quenched their thirst.

"Now what?" she asked finally after a couple of minutes after they had all calmed down.

"Returning to the Fire Nation is not an option," Iroh answered as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"So we need to go into the Earth Kingdom?" Zuko asked indignantly, "To do what?"

"Live as fugitives, I guess?" Elyrie answered while looking at their meagre belongings. She was surprised to see that her bag had survived the whole ordeal on the ship. "Do we have other options?"

"We could go to the Water Tribe?" Zuko suggested, "Would they cast us out if you plead on our behalf?"

"I can't go back!" she replied with a shriek, "Azula knows I'm part Water Tribe and what do you think she would do if she finds out we hide from her there? Zhao's Armada is nothing compared to her wrath." Her blue eyes shot fire. "I'll die before I let that happen."

I promised to take care of the Water Tribe, she reminded herself. And she would keep her promise to Yue, which for now meant that she had to stay away Well done, Lily she groaned inwardly, You were so eager to leave and now you got your wish.

Zuko said nothing, but reached for the sharp knife in his waistband and cut of his ponytail at the base. Without saying a word, Zuko handed Iroh the knife as well. Iroh cut off his topknot in a smooth motion. Elyrie swallowed her emotions when she saw the two men do this with an impassive look on their face. Cutting off their hair signalled cutting their roots with the Fire Nation.

Elyrie extended her hand to take the knife from Uncle before Zuko grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?" he asked with a puzzled look. "Cutting my hair" she simply responded.

Zuko looked at her in disbelief. She had always been so proud of her auburn curls. They were hanging past her waist and she always had lovingly nourished it.

"But, you can't-" he started, tripping over his words, "Your hair can be worn down. You do it most of the time!" For some reason, it was harder to accept that she was cutting her hair too.

"Zuko, my hair is long, curly and reddish brown." Elyrie said as she gently pulled back her hand, "It is a dead giveaway."

"But-," Zuko tried again. Her beautiful curls. The crown on her beauty.

"There will be wanted posters of us and it is my most distinctive feature. I have to get rid of it." She interrupted without hesitation as she brought the knife to her hair. "Besides, it will be good for my vanity." she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

With a few slashing motions, she had cut her hair just above the ribbon which had held together the ponytail. It was hanging just above her shoulders now and she gathered it to make a small bun in her neck. "There, better."

But when she saw her long ringlets laying on the ground, she felt a sting of regret. Her mother had always loved her hair. But she shook her head and with a determined motion, she tossed the remainder of her ponytail in the water.

There is no going back now.

Happy 2021 everyone! :)