The tiny people stayed with Yeva for some of the evening, but he eventually requested that they retire to their own chambers. They did not argue. Even if the prince had opened up to them, he was still unaccustomed to doing that around others. Team Avatar was sure that it was a lot for one day. They also had a reason to discuss amongst themselves, so they did not mind the idea of leaving to be on their own. Toph made a small hole in the ground and hopped down. Her friends joined her until Zuko was the last to go. Azula was still standing outside the new tunnel. He looked at her curiously. Without saying anything, he hopped down with the rest of the group. After a moment, Azula did the same. She trailed behind the friends as they made their way to their chambers. Just as they reached it, she stopped. Azula watched them out of the corner of her eye and started to go another way. She would have to use fire to try to burn her way through everything. It would be slow progress, but it would be better than relying on the group.

"Are you really trying to ditch us?" Zuko asked.

Azula side-eyed the other firebender. "What did you expect?"

"Considering what we just did for you, I thought you'd at least be willing to talk with us."

"I didn't need you to do anything."

"Azula, those royals don't fight fair and you're outnumbered."

"What do you want then?" the princess questioned suspiciously. "Did you just get involved so that I'd owe you a favor? There aren't any favors in this world, Zuzu. Everyone has to look out for themselves or they get crushed."

Zuko frowned in annoyance, then his eyes picked up on something new. He stepped forward, gaze on Azula's neck. Immediately, she moved back, blocking it with her hair.

"You already got attacked."

"Of course I didn't."

"You did. When did that happen?"

Azula scowled at him. "Don't ask questions that don't make any difference."

The fire lord let out a frustrated groan. "I'm trying to make this work."

"No one told you to."

"No, but there's no better time to work together than when we could all get stepped on and killed. You can't really think that you can somehow get out of here alone."

Azula wanted to say that she knew that she could do it on her own. But if she could, she would not even have returned in the first place.

"Once I learn how to deal with the birds, I'll be fine."

Zuko got quiet, thinking about what she said. "You never mentioned birds before."

"Why would I?"

"Why did you?"

The other firebender did not respond.

"Did you get out of the castle?"

"I can't be kept as a prisoner."

"Yes, you can. That's why I've been trying to work with you," Zuko stated, irritated. "Azula, there are giants. It's not like back home where you can do whatever you want and everyone's going to fall on their knees in front of you." He pointed at her neck. "If you step out of line again here, that burn is going to seem like nothing."

Azula glared, but it did not seem like she was actually angry with him. She was furious with the situation that was forcing her to be dependent on others. Zuko thought that she required his assistance. She would not give him the satisfaction of being right.

"I don't need you," she hissed. "I came back so that I could gather more information. Not for anything or anyone else."

The princess started walking away, but Zuko caught her arm. If he did not think that something was wrong, the very fact that she did not move in time to prevent this was enough evidence.

"We've been in this dimension a lot longer than you have. We aren't experts, but we're learning more about it and have been doing pretty well for ourselves. If we actually worked together, I think we could come up with a way to leave."

Azula remained silent and Zuko sighed. His eyes moved to the burns again.

"I get it if you don't trust anyone right now, but I didn't want that to happen. The first severe burn is always the worst."

A sympathetic look entered his eyes. Azula saw it, but she did not focus on that. It made her feel unpleasant. How dare he view her so weak as to warrant his sympathy. Azula roughly snatched away her arm.

"You wouldn't understand what any of this was like," she snapped. "You deserved your burns."

Angrily, Azula stormed off to Yeva's room. Zuko stood where he was for a moment, then went into the room where the others were waiting. In the tiny group's absence, the royals' anger festered. They refused to ignore what had happened that evening. For too long, they had listened to their authority being questioned. First by Azula, then the friends, and finally, Yeva. It was not the first time that the prince had opposed them, and they knew it would not be the last. If he were not so fun to punish, they might have replaced him with a new heir long ago. It was days like this that they regretted never directing an ice blade or lightning bolt with more lethal intent.

"They'll have everyone questioning us," Vadim declared.

"If we can't even manage bugs or our own son, how would we control the rest of the kingdom?" Tatia asked, feeling just as furious.

They paced, both searching their minds for an answer to their problem. Vadim was the first to stop.

"The bugs are easy to deal with, but the problem is Yeva. He thinks he's better than we are."

"What do you mean? It's obvious that he's weaker."

"It is to us, but he's a fool. In his small mind, he's better because he hasn't done what's necessary to lead. I say, we change that."

"How?" Tatia inquired, looking intrigued.

"We need to expand into the surrounding territories anyway. Let's send him and make sure the soldiers know that he's expected to work with them. If he doesn't, they'll kill new recruits until he does the job right."

Happily, the queen gave him a kiss. "You're brilliant."

The rulers called their servants again, informing them of the order. Soldiers went to the barracks, waking up any new recruit who was still resting. Levka was the first to stir. She tiredly opened her eyes, seeing the soldiers entering the area.

"Everyone, get up!" they ordered. "Be ready to move out by the time we return."

"Where are we going?" Levka asked, too tired to recall that she would not be given an answer.

The soldiers said nothing to her, only leaving the barracks again. The new recruits speedily changed into their uniforms. As they did, some servants went to Yeva's chambers. The prince raised his eyes to them and they bowed their heads respectfully.

"Prince Yeva, His and Her Majesties would like you to join the new recruits immediately."

The young man let out a small scoff, but he did not argue. He changed his attire, then got ready to leave his chambers. Before he could get far, he saw the king and queen.

"You're welcome," Vadim stated.

Yeva did not respond to that. It caused Tatia's brow to raise.

"Aren't you curious why he said that?" she asked.

For the sake of making this end faster, the prince nodded his head.

"We are giving you a chance to redeem yourself, Yeva," the king explained. "Surprise us. Don't be such a disappointment like you normally are."

Yeva did nothing more than nod his head again. Tatia's eyes narrowed when she realized that he was not bleeding anymore, but she decided to allow it this time. Yeva left the palace, finding where the new recruits were stationed. When they began to leave, he joined them. The seasoned soldiers were in the front, leading the others. Yeva's eyes moved over the group, seeing who looked like they had any fight inside of them. While they walked, Yeva began to recognize where they were going. Keeping his voice low, he approached one of the recruits.

"We'll be going into an area with a lot of beasts," he whispered.

"At least if they kill us, the royals won't."

Yeva frowned slightly. He was heard not only by that recruit. Subtly, someone else went towards him.

"What kinds of beasts?" Levka asked.

Hope flickered on the prince's face. She had more engagement in her eyes than most of the other recruits.

"Bears," he answered. "Those, leopards, and some wolves too. I know how to prepare for them, so we can make sure that no one gets attacked. We won't want to do any night traveling in those lands. It would be safer to stop and build a shelter first, then move it as needed when we wake up."

"How do you know so much about this?" the mother inquired, brow raised.

Levka narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. Having only been in the castle that one day, she never saw Yeva in any princely garb. This day was no different. He dressed the same as the recruits did.

"He's the prince," another soldier whispered. "I saw him near the town once when I was selling items."

The metalbender's eyes widened. "Is that true?"

"It is," Yeva confirmed.

Levka glanced up ahead at the soldiers, making sure none of them were listening. She lowered her voice even more.

"Why are you here with us, of all the soldiers?"

"As a punishment, but I'll take it as an opportunity."

Levka was not sure why, but there was something she found comforting in his confidence. The group continued on their expedition. When they neared the new lands, Yeva moved closer to the leading soldiers. They were riding on horses while everyone else walked.

"We need to stop," Yeva said.

"We won't stop until we reach it," the older man stated.

"The recruits need a break."

Yeva was met with silence. The soldier hit his heels against the sides of the horse, making it walk faster. Yeva quickened his pace to keep up with him.

"It's night. They could rest until morning."

"You're not in charge here."

"I know, but I thought that you wanted to return with a positive report for the royals," Yeva retorted. "The recruits won't be useful in any invasion if they're exhausted. The king and queen might view them as expendable, but they still want to see victory."

The soldier side-eyed him. Reluctantly, he had the horses stop.

"Since the recruits are so weak," he insulted, "they'll take a short break for the night."

Relieved, the new soldiers set down their belongings. Yeva did not take a break. Instead, he used the information he had gathered while paying attention to the terrain. The prince began building a shelter for the people. As he dug for water, Levka helped him. She manipulated the metal off her uniform, using it as a tool.

"Are you sure you're the royals' son?" she asked lightly.

Yeva chuckled softly. "If you told me otherwise, I wouldn't complain."

"I can't believe you actually got those soldiers to let us stop. They hate giving us breaks."

"They might, but they're afraid of the king and queen, like everyone else is."

"They'd be fools if they weren't. That's what I learned the hard way," Levka admitted, sighing.

Yeva looked at her. "We don't need to be afraid of them if we work together. They're powerful benders, but they aren't invincible. They can be outnumbered."

"That's easier said than done."

"Maybe, but I still think it can happen."

"That sounds impossible."

Yeva shrugged, smiling when he saw water at the bottom of the new hole.

"Maybe, but it also seemed impossible to get the soldiers to stop. Now, we even can have water breaks. Some things might be possible if we keep trying."

Yeva got up, going to check on more of the other soldiers as Levka watched him, gaze curious. Slowly, a small smile spread over her face. While the soldiers had been on their way to the neighboring kingdom, Azula was still trying to figure out how to leave Krozhny. If Zuko had not been so infuriating, she might have been willing to work with the others. Naturally, it would have been temporary, but that would have still been more than she initially expected to do. Now, she was back to trying to come up with another plan. Team Avatar was not too much more certain of their plans either. Something Katara was very certain of was that ever since leaving Yeva's room, Zuko seemed to be in low spirits. She knew who was responsible. While the others were still discussing plans, the waterbender went over to Toph. Her friend did not even need to be asked.

"You want me to bring you to the princess, right?" Toph inquired, a knowing look on her face.

"How'd you know?"

"I heard what she said to Zuko," the earthbender admitted. "If you didn't want to go, I'd just do it on my own."

With a determined look, Katara went with her out of the chambers. Toph could tell that Naum was not currently in his chambers, so they were able to enter without any risks. As soon as they did, Katara drew water from the air to block Azula's attack.

"Get out," the firebender instructed coldly.

"Not happening, Pain Princess," Toph stated. "We didn't come down here just to leave."

Katara glared at Azula. "This whole time, Zuko's been trying to find a way to work with you. Even for someone as self-centered as you, it should be obvious that the king and queen don't care about us. They don't respect you and they won't. If you want to leave, fine. Go and see how long you last around the giant animals. If you want to stay, that's also fine, but why deal with the royals on your own when we could all just escape together?"

"Zuko never would have thought about working with me if he didn't think it was necessary."

"Oh, wow, I wonder why," Toph commented sarcastically. "Maybe it's because you like attacking people as a hobby."

Azula scowled at the younger girl. "Stay out of this." She directed her attention to Katara. "Be a good teammate and tell her that I'm glaring at you both."

"I didn't need to see you to know what you said," Toph stated. "Even when Zuko's being nice to you, you're nasty."

"Nothing I said was wrong. He does deserve his burns and scars. He was a fool for trying to protect this waterbender and an even bigger fool for speaking out against Dad."

The friends' eyes widened slightly.

"Your dad?" Toph inquired, shocked.

"That's how it happened?" Katara asked quietly.

"He didn't tell you?" Azula asked, feigning interest. "He must not like to admit that he was never Dad's favorite. You don't oppose the Fire Lord and expect nothing to happen."

The other two benders felt more anger building up in them.

"How can you not tell that Ozai didn't care about either of you?" Katara questioned. "Our dad left so that we'd be safe. Yours sent you to fight in his war."

The princess's expression turned to surprise before it showed her anger.

"Get out," she repeated.

"You have no one on your side, Azula," Katara continued. "The only one who's trying is Zuko. If he wasn't our friend, we wouldn't be here right now. He still views you as his sister. Even when you were attacking us at the Western Air Temple, he didn't want you to fall to your death. Even when you tried to shoot me with lightning, he didn't redirect it into your heart. You might hate him, but you should rethink who your real family's been this whole time."

Angrily, the friends left Azula in silence. They returned to their chambers as Naum was still walking around the palace. He had an opportunity now. The royals were displeased with the tiny people. It had taken those two more than enough time to finally get irritated. If Naum planned properly, he could get rid of them all in a matter of a few days. That was why the jester was so concerned when another servant approached him. She slowed down, quietly speaking to him.

"There's talk going around the palace of your execution."

Blood drained from Naum's face. "What?" he asked in a harsh whisper. "I didn't do anything."

"The royals are furious for some reason. They want blood to send a message."

Naum felt himself starting to shake. In comfort, the other servant briefly put her hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing's confirmed yet. You have time. Just…be careful."

Not wanting to be considered loitering, the servant continued walking. Naum remained there, trembling like a leaf in the wind. He had spent so much time working for these royals, following every foolish whim of theirs. They could not dispose of him so easily. He would not allow that.