Responses to Reviews:

Guest: I think Yue believes him. The others haven't got over the whole 'Fire Nation trying to conquer the world and kill them' thing yet so are not inclined to trust Firebenders. It's not right, but they are teenagers with flaws.

Zigzagdoublezee: Like the Imperial Japanese military of the Second World War they're partially based on (though in this story there's more Mongol influence too- the human shield tactics were a Mongol thing) inter-service rivalry is playing a part because Zhao is navy and Kaito is army. But it is also because Zhao is a prat.

RonaldM40196867: Maybe, I don't find myself particularly interested in most sports. Perhaps I would be.

As Always, Please Review!

Yue sat miserably as the cart rumbled along the poor dirt road, lost in her own thoughts. True to his word, Kaito had not tied her up, but he had found a wagon with a big metal cage covering it and thrown her inside for the journey, with nobody else inside for company.

She wondered for a moment why he was being so nice about it. She knew he had heard about what had happened with Zhao, so maybe he thought that by not provoking her he could prevent her Avatar State, for that was what it was apparently called, triggering. That wasn't much consolation.

She knew she was doing this for the right reasons; but the guards were openly staring at her as they travelled, the road was bumpy and the weather was hot. Yue was thirsty, but they wouldn't give her water because they feared she would use it to escape. And that was without the uncertainty of what would happen to her once they actually reached their destination.

Yue was, in short, thoroughly miserable. At least none of the guards actually bothered her, which was a relief; maybe that was Kaito's orders too.

She was interrupted by the sound of someone coming up the track the other way. She looked up, curiously, and raised a white eyebrow; that didn't look like a Fire Nation soldier.

An ostrich-horse trotted towards them, a simple saddle draped across its back; on it sat a girl who looked about Yue's age, with pale skin and jet black hair, which matched the black clothing with just a hint of red. A pair of swords were strapped to her mount with their handles within easy reach of her. She approached the guards and they flagged her down.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

The girl stopped, almost contemptuously. One hand reached into her robes and produced a piece of paper.

"I'm sure this will answer your questions," a monotone voice responded.

The guard took it and read through it quickly. Then he looked back up at her.

"Of course," he said quickly. "Please proceed."

He handed the letter back.

"Anything else we can do for you?"

The girl looked around and saw Yue. Her eyes widened. She pointed at her.

"Who's that?" She asked.

The guard saw who she was pointing at.

"Oh, just the Avatar," he said conspiratorially. "We got her!"

No you didn't, Yue thought indignantly. You didn't 'get me'. I got me.

The girl regarded her.

"Can I see her?" She asked.

The guard's eyes flickered to the letter again, and then he nodded.

"Go on then."

The Ostrich-horse stepped up to the cart, and the girl studied her with cold amber eyes that gave nothing away.

"Hello, Avatar," she said. "My name is Lady Mai."

"A pleasure," Yue said in the most bland voice she could manage.

Mai stared at her for a few extra seconds and then turned away.

"I'd better be on my way," she said. "I have a job to do, after all. Duty calls."

"Of course," the guard replied. "Good luck finding Prince Zuko then!"

Yue did a double take. "Prince Zuko?" She repeated dumbly.

Mai's head snapped around and she came back towards her.

"Have you seen him?" She demanded.

"How do you know him?" Yue answered with a question of her own.

"He's... a close friend of mine," Mai said. Yue couldn't help but notice the hesitation, which indicated that this may not have been entirely accurate. "Did you see him?"

Yue didn't say anything. If Lady Mai was not telling the truth about her relationship with Zuko, that could mean one of two things; either they were less than friends, Mai lying to gain some nefarious advantage in finding him, or they were more. And if they were more, then surely it was a good thing for Mai to find him.

She shrugged.

"What happened to him?"

"Kidnapped," Mai answered, the response sounding just a little too rehearsed for Yue's liking. Also, Zuko hadn't seemed like he was there under duress. "Apparently he went missing from the boat returning from the North Pole. Now tell me, have you seen him?

Yue regarded Mai for a second, debating whether to tell her or not. Instead, she regarded Mai impassively. It was obvious that Zuko did not want to be found, and she was uninterested in doing the Fire Nation any favours at the moment.

"I hope you find him," she said blandly. "I haven't seen him recently, though."

Mai scowled.

"What kind of answer is that?" She asked. Then she shook her head and changed the subject.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Give yourself up. I've heard that's what you did." Mai regarded her again.

Yue shrugged.

"Because it was my duty. I had to save lives."

Mai's eyes widened for a moment. Then she rode the Ostrich-Horse back away from the cart and prepared to be on her way.

"I hope you find your friend," Yue called after her, putting emphasis on the last word in hope of finding out the truth of their relationship. Mai gave her a strange look, which did not actually help her at all, and then raised a hand in farewell.

"Good luck Avatar," she said. "You'll need it."

And then she turned and trotted away, the lone figure receding into the distance as the cart continued bumping and jolting down the road towards the coast. Yue settled back in for the trip.

The guards settled back into their positions, resolutely ignoring her, and she leaned back against the bars and closed her eyes. How much longer was this trip going to take? She thought of Zuko, fleeing east with his refugee family. So he had friends from back home, who were coming after him. If that's what this Mai was, if her reasons for going after him were genuine, then Yue did genuinely hope she found him. But she couldn't be sure. Even if she had asked outright, she wasn't sure that Mai would have given her a straight answer. That was why she hadn't told her the exact location.

Still, she couldn't linger on Mai and Zuko, not when she had far more pressing problems in her own life. She wondered what her own friends were doing, Katara and Rinzen and Sokka. Whether they were making good use of the time she had bought for them.

She could only hope that they were.