Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews at the follow!

Please excuse any errors you may or may not come across, I was really eager to post this chapter! Enjoy!

We floated aimlessly for three weeks without food or water. But that's not what made it unbearable, Zuko and I argued for three weeks…

The guy was seriously mental. Everything I did bothered him. Everything.

Iroh and I having conversations. Me waterbending. Me not waterbending. Me asking questions. Me not answering his questions. Me just being silent and gazing at the ocean.

Spirits there just was no pleasing the guy.

He was just so damn grouchy.

"There's land ahead!" I squealed with excitement, I had just ended up blocking out Zuko's tirade.

"Really?" Iroh said with the same excitement. "How long till we reach the shore my dear?"

My eyes glinted "Soon." I rose my arms making a giant wave. "Hold on." I said with a crazed laugh before bringing the giant wave crashing down.

They held on for dear life as we rode the wave to shore.

I skipped off the boat. Forgetting about the two behind me.

"You little-you tried to kill us!" Zuko snapped from behind me.

I sighed and turned and looked at him. "No, if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't have told you to hang on. I could have easily let the waves smash your body against the rocky shore." I said seriously before my eyes brightened.

"But I didn't. I'm hungry and tired, come on let's eat!" I chirped and skipped up to the nearest hut. Missing the shocked looks of Iroh and Zuko.

Zuko muttered something akin to split personality before following while Iroh shook his head at both of us.

Turns out the place was like a retreat.

The people were really nice. Iroh and I shared grins as the people offered us massages.

Iroh and I both decided we would get massages.

After I got a massage one of the women gave me a some puffy pink pants and a red top that showed my stomach. They also gave me a pink ribbon to wrap around my hair, which they deemed unusual.

I talked animatedly with everyone, people were so nice.

Zuko seemed even more hostile than usual, so I made sure to stay out of his way; I was striving for peace and so far had it. Although the peace didn't last long.

I was talking to a couple of the guys that gave massages. They were showing me how to get a person's muscles unknotted by touching their pressure points. Of course I was the one they were touching.

"What do you think you are doing?" I heard before I saw Zuko.

I looked up at him. "What?"

He narrowed his eyes at me before they flickered to the men behind me.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Um, we'll um see you later Mai." A guy mumbled as he and the other ran away.

Zuko glared at them as they quickly disappeared.

"That was rude, even for you."

He glared at me "Why did they call you Mai?"

"Wow you just a bundle of waterlilies today aren't you?" I said dryly looking up at him, at his growl I sighed holding up my hands in surrender. "Calm down, I told them my name was Mai; I obviously can't have a waterbender name here." I said with a 'duh' face.

"You should probably give them a fake name too, just to be on the safe side as we travel." I said seriously standing up next to him and stretching.

Zuko just stared at me.

"Well, not that staring at you isn't my favorite pass time I'm-"

"You've got quite a sharp tongue for a princess." Zuko huffed.

I shrugged. "Your point being?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes once more before storming away.

I raised my eyebrow at his back. He really should get a massage while we are here…

It was late into the afternoon; the air was warm and atmosphere relaxing. I had finished coming from the shore, I was collecting sea shells.

Iroh and I sat at a phai-sho table enjoying a game as Iroh talked about his appreciation for the white lotus piece.

Zuko; sat in the opposite corner meditating with a few candles.

I giggled as his mediation kept getting interrupted by Iroh's loud voice and noisy clacking of the game pieces on the table. After a particularly loud slam he turned around quickly.

"Uncle! Must you be so loud!? Would it kill you not to slam the pieces down and talk loud enough for the earth king to hear?!" Zuko snapped.

My eyes widened at his sudden outburst and just before Iroh had the chance to reply the door suddenly swung open revealing a girl. She had the same golden eyes as Zuko and Iroh, only hers seemed harder. I cocked my head to the side as I studied her. Her hair was in some sort of top knot and she wore a bucket load of fire nation armor.

Was she like a general or something?

Whoever she was she was important as both men were suddenly to their feet within seconds, Iroh quickly stepping in front of me blocking the younger girl from my immediate view.

"So brother… uncle. This is where you have been hiding" she said taking a few steps forward and looking around.

My eyes widened. she was related to them. I scolded myself, I should have seen that coming.

Suddenly a glimpse of blue had caught her eye, "oh" she said noticing me "and who is this?" she asked cocking her head to the side while curiously eyeing me while I copied her motions.

Stepping forward Zuko surprised me when he snapped "She's no one Azula. What do you want?" Raising an eyebrow Azula glared at her brother "No need to snap brother, we are family after all."

Zuko rolled his eyes and quickly retorted "I did NOT snap."

At this the princess crossed her arms. "Yes, you did." she accused.

As brother and sister continued bickering I quietly got up and walked out of the room. There was no telling when their bickering would end.

*A little while later*

I sat on a hill side watching the soldiers and the princess walk up the ramp to their dark boat at the dock.

The wind lifted my hair brushing it across my sun-kissed shoulders. Turning my ocean blue eyes to the horizon ahead I noticed that the sun was setting and decided that it was probably safe to go back inside.

When I did, I noticed Zuko was nowhere in sight.

"Um, is everything alright? Where is Zuko?"

Iroh gave me a smile. "He has just went out for a walk."

"Ah, so, what news comes from the fire nation good or bad? Is everything ok back home?" I surprised myself with how genuinely curious I really was about their lives.

Iroh's smile wavered a little. "My brother wishes for Zuko to return home."

My eyebrows shot up. "His father right? Wow, that's great, you guys can finally go home."

"The thing is…in our family things are not always what they seem."

"Meaning that Zuko's father could be calling him back just to throw him in a dungeon…or worse."

Iroh sigh was my answer.

I started pacing. "Well you have to tell him, you can't let him walk into a death trap."

Iroh sighed again. "Zuko is excited at the prospect of returning home that he is not listening."

I stopped pacing. "Figures. So then what are we going to do?"

Iroh's lip twitched into a smile. "We, you do realize your life would be in danger?"

I blushed. "Well yeah, you guys are like my new family now, even cranky old Zuko, I protect my family and friends."

Iroh smiled at me and I returned it.

"The only thing we can do now is be there for him."

I nodded. He was right.

I was woken late the next morning by the sound of the wind.

Sitting up I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my blue eyes as I searched for the cause of the wind.

Scanning the room her dark eyes finally fell on the empty room and open door.

My eyes narrowed, they were gone.

I searched the room, it was cleared. They had left me, abandoned me and I was all alone.

I remembered that Iroh said Zuko was planning to go back to the fire nation, so I should have also figured that Iroh would have joined him.

I felt so stupid. Here I was going to go and protect these people, and they couldn't care less…

I sighed and started packing. I guess I was on my own now.

I was walking down a path way; I didn't get but a few more steps before I heard running footsteps behind me, turning around I saw that there were two figures running toward me.

As they came closer I recognized them "Zuko? Iroh?" I questioned as they came in distance of her.

I cocked my head to the side in confusion but didn't get a chance to ask any questions before Zuko quickly grabbed my small hand and drug me along at full speed with them into the forest.

We ran like that for quite a while going deeper into the forest before we finally stopped at a river and all caught our breath.

Sitting at the edge of the water I calmed my breathing and bent the water to wash my face, when I was satisfied I watched as the two men fell to their knees at the river's edge and Zuko pulled out a knife.

I quirked an eye brow as he took the knife to the pony tail on the top of his head and in one swift motion cut it off, staring at the lock in his hand sadly.

Blinking my eyes several times in confusion I continued to watch as Iroh did the same and they both tossed their knots of hair into the flowing river.

I shook my head several times overwhelmed with confusion

"Ok, so what in the name of La just happened?!"

However neither man made any motion to answer my question, instead their eyes just watched the flowing of the river.