"You've missed a spot," Azula smirked down at me as I scrubbed away at the floor. "ZuZu may have wanted you to come along on our voyage home, but don't think for a moment that things will be the way they were when we were children. My mother is no longer around to treat you like the princess you'll never be." When I didn't reply, she kicked the bucket, tossing the filthy water in my face. She chuckled and walked away, commanding the rest of the ship's crew to stop standing around and get back to work. I bent the water back into the bucket and sighed.

I had never wanted to go back to the Fire Nation, especially under these circumstances. The palace never felt safe to me, and, without Ursa or Iroh, it never will. Zuko wasn't in his right mind— or maybe he was, and this was what he truly wanted. Either way, I wanted no part of it. I, however, wasn't given much of a choice. The Avatar was dead, Katara and — by now, I'm sure— the others were aware that I had been traveling with the enemy, and I had a one-way ticket to my own personal Hell.

It was late when I had begun cleaning the deck. Zuko was out, but I refused to speak to him. He had given up on trying at some point in the few weeks that we'd been at sea. I'd no problem with that. As I dumped the dirty water into the sea, I looked over my shoulder to see Mai looking me directly in the eye as she kissed Zuko. Was she trying to taunt me? Keep him, I said in my head. I don't care. She left after whatever conversation they were having. She looked over at me and glared before disappearing inside. Still, I don't know what I ever did to make her hate me so much.

Zuko looked away from the bright moon and looked at me. He didn't say a word to me, nor did he move. We stared at each other for a long time. I looked away and hurried inside, and Zuko followed. He called my name from behind me, but I didn't look back or slow down as I tried to reach the bunker I shared with the rest of the crew. I slammed the door behind me and heard Zuko yell in frustration. I felt him pound his fist on the door and walk away. I sighed in relief then looked up to see that the crew had stopped what they were doing and were all staring at me. I sheepishly walked to my bunk and curled into myself under the blanket. "Still having drama with His Royal Arrogance?" asked a voice behind me. I uncovered my head to see Bao smiling at me from his own bunk. He chuckled, "Some people just never change."

He hadn't changed much since I'd last seen him. Same square jaw, same inky black hair, same copper-colored eyes. Those eyes. The same eyes that had looked directly into me as he forced a kiss upon my lips. I had nearly forgotten about that kiss. The last time we'd spoken, we were at the North Pole, and I was trying to kill him. Well, not kill, per say. But if I had to, I may have. He didn't seem to hold a grudge from that day, nor did he seem to remember the awkward kiss that had nearly seated him as Zuko's target practice dummy. I shook the thought away. "Bao!" I sat up. "You work for Azula now?"

"It was either this or I was going to be demoted to communal duty," he laughed, and sat on my bunk. "What happened to you after the North Pole?" He asked. "There have been rumors that you died, or that you formed a rebellion to overthrow the Fire Nation, and so many more ridiculous things."

I couldn't help but laugh. "It's a long story, though I'm not entirely opposed to the second one."

Bao's smile faded into a stern line. "Don't let Azula hear you saying that."

"I'm not afraid of her," I lied. "I've faced far scarier people in life than a privileged princess." I was grateful that Toph wasn't around to out me for my incredibly blatant lie.

At this, he laughed. "It's like I said: Some people just never change." He hugged me and went back to his own bunk. I laid back down and covered my head. I pressed my fingertips against the gem of my necklace. For one, I felt nothing. No grief, no loss. No protection, no guidance, no safety. Nothing. I felt incredibly numb. I'd let down everyone I cared for. I'd let Zuko plummet into this insufferable grave of a family dynamic once again. I betrayed Katara's trust by lying to her about who I'd traveled with, as I did to the rest of the group. I let down Ursa, who had trusted me to look out for Zuko. I could only imagine what my disappointed parents could be thinking from the Spirit World...

I laid there and I cried quietly, smothering the noise with my blanket.

Once again, I felt trapped in the Fire Nation. I had been forced to wear their clothes, and I was to be in the palace that had never been a welcoming home.

I cried until I had nothing left. I felt light-headed afterwards and simply stared at the wall, my back to everyone in the bunker.

The next morning, I had woken up before the hustle and bustle of the crew going about their usual business. I catered to the needs of the royal siblings, Mai, and Ty Lee— who was the most tolerable. I worked in an uncomfortable silence as I served Zuko and cleaned his quarters. As I polished his swords, he'd tried to take them from me. "You don't have to do this," he'd told me. "I didn't bring you along to be anyone's servant."

"You shouldn't have brought me at all," I spat, refusing to look at him as I cleaned.

Author's Note

I know that I said that it would be a while before I got started on the third and final book, but I honestly couldn't resist. There definitely will be a few periods of inactivity due to the fact that I need to have a finished script by December, and that I need to be looking at colleges. But I'll be doing this during every bit of free time that I get! Enjoy!