Zuko peered through the spyglass. The Southern Water Tribe was somewhere around here, and they could be giving the Avatar shelter. He gave an almost inaudible sigh and lowered the spyglass. Who was he kidding? The Avatar was probably dead like the rest of his people. Three long years he had searched for him, and found not a trace of the powerful bender.

He turned around, intending to return to his cabin and perhaps meditate or even take a short nap before training with Uncle. He had barely taken a step when suddenly there was a large crash and the ship jolted violently. Zuko just managed to stay on his feet. Stupid helmsman! Couldn't he even steer properly? The scarred teen whipped back around to see what they had hit.

A large iceberg was sliding up out of the water. Uncle Iroh ran onto the deck and joined Zuko in staring at it. The front of the iceberg had a large crack on it from where the ship had struck it. As Zuko and his uncle watched, a brilliant blue light shot out from the crack, nearly blinding them.

One of the crewmen shouted, "Something's in there!"

Zuko lowered his arms to see what the man was talking about. Sure enough, he saw a small shape in the center of the iceberg. He peered closer and saw that it was… a person? And above the person was another shape, this one much larger. Some sort of monster?

Zuko turned to his uncle. "Only the Avatar could make that powerful light. It must be him!" Zuko wasted no time in shouting orders to the crew to begin melting the front of the iceberg. He joined them, eager to see if his suspicions were right. With all the firebenders on the ship working on it, it didn't take long for a sizeable portion of the iceberg to be melted away. Zuko leapt into the large cavity they had made and made his way over to the person who now lay, freed from the ice, in the center. He dropped to his knees and turned the body over. His eyes instantly went to the forehead and saw a bright blue arrow, the sign of an Airbending master. And if it was an Airbender, than it had to be the Avatar. He had finally found him! He tore his eyes away from the arrow and surveyed the rest of the Avatar. He had long, black hair and his face was unwrinkled and rather feminine. Still a child, then? The iceberg must have kept him from aging. Zuko's eyes continued to travel down the Avatar's body. When his eyes reached the chest, he knew he had been wrong about more than just the Avatar's age. They were small, but the Avatar undoubtedly had breasts. He had been assuming all along that the Avatar would be male, as the majority of past Avatars were. Well, none of this really mattered anyways. Zuko could have cared less whether the Avatar had two heads, as long as she was in his clutches. He was going home and his father would be so proud! He scooped up the young girl and handed her to his uncle before leaping back onto the ship.

"So, the Avatar is a girl?" Uncle Iroh was clearly surprised. "And still very young." He lay her gently down on the deck of the ship and turned to his nephew, who was still trying to figure out what that other shape in the iceberg was. It was still mostly frozen, luckily. "That, Prince Zuko, is a flying bison. Must be the Avatar's pet. Most of the Air Nomads had them."

"Are they vicious beasts? What should we do with it?"

The retired general chuckled before replying. "Vicious? No, I don't believe so. Why don't we unfreeze it and bring it with? The Avatar will want it with her when she awakens. We should try to make her as comfortable as possible on her journey with us."

"Why should I care about making the Avatar comfortable? She's not on a vacation. She's our prisoner!"

"She will be more inclined to stay on the ship willingly if it is a friendly atmosphere."

"Ah, good idea Uncle. Who knows how long she's been frozen in that iceberg? Perhaps she knows nothing of the war and will be able to view us as friends. Unfreeze the beast!"

The crew followed their new orders promptly. Zuko turned his attention to the Avatar, who was still lying motionless on the floor. "Why hasn't she awoken yet? She's not dead, is she?" He watched her closely and was relieved to see her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Her eyes remained closed however and she continued to sleep.

"She'll probably wake up soon. It might be best if it is somewhere other than on the floor of your ship," his uncle advised him.

Zuko nodded and scooped the Avatar up again. She was small and light, so he brought her below deck easily. He entered his room and placed her on his bed. This would have to do for now until he could have another room set up for her. He fought the urge to bind her hands and feet with rope or even chain. He was just leaving the room when he heard a small noise from the girl. He rushed to the side of the bed, ready to act if she showed any signs of trying to escape. Her eyes fluttered open and he saw that they were a stormy grey color. She looked at him quizzically and sat up. He knew he should do something to reassure her, so he attempted a smile. She instantly smiled back.

"Hi!" she said brightly. She jumped up from the bed and Zuko had to squash the impulse to grab her and hold her down. What if she did know about the war and she tried to escape? She looked around the room curiously before turning back to Zuko. "Where am I?"

"This is my room. On my ship. My crew and I found you frozen in an iceberg."

"In an iceberg? Well, thanks for getting me out!"

"Yeah, no problem. We're unfreezing your beast now."

She raised an eyebrow. "My beast? You mean Appa? He was frozen too?"

"It has a name? I mean, yes, Appa was frozen too." He had to be careful to not offend her.

As if he had heard his name being spoken, a loud bellowing from the creature was heard from above. The girl's face lit up and she dashed towards the door. Zuko launched himself in front of her, blocking the doorway.

"What are you doing? I want to go see Appa!" the Avatar said excitedly. She tried to squeeze around Zuko and he grabbed her shoulders. He released her almost immediately and took a deep breath. She was not trying to escape; she just wanted to see her pet. He had to stop acting like he was trying to imprison her or she would get suspicious.

"Sorry, I just… want to make sure you're feeling ok before you run around. After all, who knows how long you were frozen in that iceberg?"

"I feel great! I was probably only in there for a few days!" She shrugged and smiled again. "Thanks for your concern though!"

Zuko stepped aside and let her dart upstairs. He followed her closely. She ran over to the bison and hugged his massive head.

"Appa! I'm so glad you're ok!" The bison bellowed again and licked the small girl, coating her in slobber. Zuko was disgusted, but the Avatar just giggled. She continued to pet the animal as Zuko approached.

"So, you're an Airbender, right?"

She nodded. "Sure am. My name's Aang, by the way. What's yours?"

"Zuko."

"Nice to meet you Zuko! You're from the Fire Nation? And this is your ship?"

"Yes, I'm traveling with my uncle." She didn't seem alarmed about him being Fire Nation, so he figured she had probably been frozen in that iceberg for a lot longer than a few days. He was certainly not going to tell her that though. Or anything about what had happened in the world while she had been frozen. Hopefully, he could keep her on the ship until they reached the Fire Nation and she wouldn't hear anything about the war.

"That's nice! I like traveling too. Is your ship new? It looks a lot different than the ships I saw last time I visited the Fire Nation."

"Yes, it's a new style."

She hummed happily and looked around the ship. "It's smaller than most of the ships I've seen, but it's nice!"

Zuko couldn't keep himself from smiling. She trusted him so easily already. This was going to be easy. "Why don't you travel with us for a while? I could have a room set up for you and there's plenty of hay for Appa."

She looked conflicted and turned her face up towards the sky. "I don't know… I should probably get home. The nuns will be wondering where I am."

Zuko thought fast. He had to keep her on the ship. Luckily, his uncle stepped in.

"Why don't you at least stay for a few nights? We have Music Night tomorrow, and Zuko plays the Tsungi horn very well. It would be a shame for you to miss it."

Aang made her mind up fast. "Ok, I'll stay! Appa's probably too tired to do any flying now anyways. Aren't you buddy?" She crooned to her loyal pet. He groaned in agreement. She flashed a smile at Zuko and his uncle. "Music Night sounds really fun! I can't wait to hear you play the Tsungi horn, Zuko!"

Zuko forced himself to smile back. If he had to play the Tsungi horn to keep the Avatar on his ship, he would play constantly the whole way home.