Disclaimer- I do not own any character in this story aside from those not seen or mentioned in the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. All other characters belong to me. I also do not own the plot of the story, only the time travelling section of it and any other changed scenes. All credit goes to the creators.

If Amber remembered Sokka and Katara's stories correctly, they had found Aang, releasing a bright blue light, which had attracted Zuko and his ship. Soon after, they had snuck aboard an old, abandoned Fire Nation ship and set off it's flare.

Sokka had then promptly banished Aang from the tribe.
Right before he flew off on Appa, Zuko had arrived.

Right on schedule, then.

Amber raced in the correct general direction towards the water tribe, waterbending most of the way there.

She soon reached it, and, upon seeing the giant flying bison, hid behind an iceberg.

She watched as her future uncle arrived on ship and demanded for the tribe to bring forth the Avatar.

Aang revealed himself and the two fought, as Zuko mocked the former's age.

Aang offered to go with him as long as he left the tribe along. Zuko hesitantly nodded, Katara and Sokka protesting as he stepped forward. Amber saw her chance for an entrance. I know what to do. I'll go with Zuko. Here it comes...

"Wait!" She shouted, stepping out from behind the iceberg and waterbending icey fog around her for dramatic effect.
Everyone turned to look at her. Katara seemed to realize what she was and gave a sort of gasp.

"Who is this?" Zuko asked gruffly. Everyone shrugged.
"I'll go with you if you leave the Avatar alone for now." Amber's voice boomed loudly, echoing across the water.
Zuko scoffed. "Why should I want you rather than the Avatar?"

"Because I am a master waterbender." Amber said loudly, looking over at Katara as she gave her an excited look.         

"And if you take me now, the Avatar will have to wait a lot longer to master waterbending. If you leave me here and take the Avatar, I will personally train this young lady over there, and when we catch you, you will have to deal with two of us." Amber prayed that Zuko would see the faulty logic in this as realistic, while Katara gave her an outraged expression. Amber shrugged apologetically and mouthed, 'Would you rather him take Aang and leave?'

Zuko looked like he was deep in thought. He turned his amber eyes to her and nodded.

"Yes, I agree to this deal." Amber raised her arms in surrender as the guards hurried down and bound her wrists with metal shackles. "I will take you with me."

Apparently, Aang, Katara, and Sokka couldn't find enough unshocked brain cells to protest at this random stranger that had sacrificed her freedom for them.

Amber walked with Zuko and the rather nervous looking guards to the ship. She waved to the tribe and Aang. To the latter and his company, she mouthed, 'Don't rescue me.'

This was going to be an odd time.

"Prince Zuko!" Amber nearly screamed with joy when she heard Uncle Iroh's familiar voice. "Did you find the Avatar?"

"No." Zuko lied grumpily, taking off my shackles as we entered the ship's interior.

"Yes he did." Amber said with a smile, turning around to see her great uncle, a cup of tea in his hands. Typical. "He just decided to take me instead."

Zuko glared at her as she cheerfully smirked at him. "These are your quarters." He said with a growl, stopping in front of a door. He opened it to reveal what didn't look like a typical prison cell. Complete with the red Fire Nation insignia on every wall, her quarters included a bed and a bunch of wall decoration space.

"Wow," she said in an observant and mockingly grateful tone. "You really went out of your way to make me feel welcome."

"You should be grateful that you get a bed at all." Zuko growled. "Or your own room, for that matter."

"Oh," Amber said thoughtfully, "so any other prisoner would get to sleep in your room? Am I really that unspecial to you?"

The color Zuko's face turned at that comment would have agitated a bull. Iroh laughed at his nephew. Some of the guards did the same, albeit nervously.

"Who are you anyway?" Zuko asked with a snarl, roughly gesturing the guards away.

"Zuko!" His uncle cried. "Where are your manners? Excuse my nephew, young lady, though I am curious as to why he brought back you rather than the Avatar."

"She's a master waterbender." Zuko explained. "And if I had left her with them and taken the Avatar, she would have rescued him anyway, and taught one of his acquaintances. This way, I can slow down the pace he masters the elements at."

"A waterbender?" Iroh asked, looking at her with great curiosity. "Tell me, young lady, what is your name?"

"Himari, sir." She lied sweetly. "It's an honor to meet you, General Iroh."

"Himari is a very unusual name for a waterbender. It is my pleasure as well, Himari." He said sadly. "Though I wish we hadn't had to meet this way. And you may call me Uncle Iroh, if you wish."

"Thank you, Uncle Iroh." She bowed and he left the room.

"You will be getting time outside, as well as food and water. You will absolutely not spend your entire time in your quarters. Come to the deck at sunset." With that, Zuko swiftly left the room.

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Amber was in the middle of discreetly metalbending in her quarters when she felt the ship rock. Startled, she ran onto the deck to see Aang in the Avatar state on top of a water tornado in the air, fighting off Zuko's crew. Katara and Sokka were watching in wonder from Appa's back.    

What did I say about rescuing me? Amber thought in frustration. She sighed as Aang deflected twin fireblasts from Zuko and Iroh into a glacier wall. Ice and snow came crashing down on the front half of the ship, severely damaging it. I guess there're some things destiny can't change.

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At sunset, Amber walked to the deck along with the guards. Zuko beckoned her to his side and she obliged.

"Soldiers!" He shouted for their attention. "This is our new prisoner, Himari! She will be spending quite some time aboard this ship with us, so- OW!" He bent over, clutching his foot.

Amber had discreetly metalbended a small spike into his foot. Grinning at Zuko, he glared back at her, mouthed, 'We'll talk later' and continued, "so I feel that we should give her a warm welcome."

Amber yawned. "Yay. Warm welcomes." The crew simultaneously created flames and launched them at the sky.

"Also, we have obtained severe damage to our ship, so to tomorrow morning, we will stop at Zhao's dock." Most of the crew groaned.

Once that was over with, Zuko dismissed everyone and beckoned for Amber to follow him to her room.

"So," he growled menacingly as he slammed the door. "What exactly was that that you drove into my foot?"

"Nothing." She said innocently. "You know I'm a waterbender."

"Drop the innocent act! I know you did it!" He shouted impatiently.

"All right, all right! I'll tell you. Only if you promise not to tell anyone." She grinned at her uncle as he reluctantly agreed.

"Now watch carefully." With concentration, Amber carefully bent water from a cup from earlier in the day into a spike shape and froze it. She then sent it flying towards his face, stopping an inch from its target, who flinched backwards.

Zuko looked at her with slight awe and some other emotion that she couldn't describe with one word.

He didn't believe her. His face said it all. Luckily, the banished Fire Nation Prince had the sense to outwardly accept the answer.

"That's it? That's how you did it?" Zuko asked with a scrutinizing look, scratching his head. Amber nodded, nervous on the inside, but trying her best to not show it.
  
"Alright, Himari. I'll accept that as your answer. I do hope you plan on telling me later." He left the room, closing the door gently.

Amber sighed. As a teenager, her uncle was a complete butthead. Rude and demanding, he saw himself as better than anyone else because of his status.

Oh, well. At least he gets better when he gets older.

The future Fire Nation Princess sighed again. She was quickly beginning to feel exhausted. Keeping in her bending took more energy than people gave her credit for.

She lowered her head to her pillow- and fell asleep the second it touched the bed.