I OPENED MY EYES. White light poured into the room like a waterfall, a lantern flickered in the distance, and weirdest of all, I had no idea where I was. My hands were unable to move until I heated them up. What was most disturbing was . . . my legs were frozen. I quickly heated my body up and became free of the ice, frowning to myself as to how I ended up inside a block of ice.

I carefully stole along the hallways, coming to a screeching stop when I glimpsed two men praying to Avatar Roku. Oh yeah. He died. I slowly made my way to them, frowning deeply. "Hello," I said, bowing as I pressed my closed fist into my palm. 

"Who are you?" An old man with a beard and gray hair smiled at me. I flashed him a smile back. 

"I am Avatara Hakai, daughter of-" I stopped, the smile wiping off my face. Maybe I shouldn't share personal information with strangers. "Never mind."

I'm pretty sure I shrank a couple of inches when the other man who had a scar on the left side of his face and a ponytail on his bald head shot me an intimidating glare. I mouthed a 'what?' to the guy, but he just averted his eyes back to Avatar Roku.

Tears welled in my eyes when I glanced up at my father, remembering the fun we had together. 

"He was a great man, wasn't he?" I choked out. The old man mumbled a 'yes, he was'. I politely sat down, glancing at the two men.

"What are your names?" I asked, a smile replacing my frown.

The old man turned and replied, "I am General Iroh, and this is Prince Zuko." He gestured to the scar-faced ponytail guy who didn't even look. Huh. Some prince manners he had. "What do you need?"

"Hello!" My face brightened. "Well, I am an uh . . . traveler, and I need a . . . ship."

"You can travel with us!" Iroh grinned, earning a dark glare from Zuko. 

I smiled in response. At least I had a chance to get away from the temple. I couldn't bear to see Avatar Roku incarnated in a statue, so I sucked in a deep breath and stepped outside. I gasped. The world was so different. I put my hand over my mouth when I saw Fire Nation soldiers marching into ships. 

"So much has changed since Ba and I traveled the world together . . ." 

"Yes, it has." Someone said behind me. I recognized the voice. It was Iroh. I looked away. Iroh explained everything to me, the Fire Nation, the war, everything.

I sat down outside the temple steps. Okay. So basically, to sum everything up, the Fire Nation was invading territories and a war was going on which Ozai started. Ozai. Literally the worst guy ever.

I followed Iroh and Zuko into their ship and marveled at the new techniques used, basically admiring everything. 

"Wow . . ."

"Avatara, how long has it been since you left that temple?" Iroh questioned with an arched eyebrow. I smiled sheepishly.

"Approximately a hundred years," I giggled. Everyone stared at me in shock, including Prince Zuko. "What? I've been frozen in a block of ice."

Iroh shook his head and still with wide eyes, he guided me to the deck where there was a pot of tea on a brown table. A Fire Nation banner hung from the railings. I sat down and rubbed my hands together, giggling with delight at the food. 

When Zuko and Iroh looked at me, I shrugged. "It's been over a hundred years since I ate, people."

Iroh handed me cold Jasmine Tea, which I heated by firing my hand up. 

"You're a white Firebender?" Zuko asked. I nodded. 

"My flames are created out of pure love," I explained as if trying to tell complicated things to an unprepared child. I snickered at their confused faces. "Whatever." I sipped my tea and gulped down noodles.

I crept up behind Zuko and leaned on the railing next to him. "So why are you traveling in the world?" 

"To capture the Avatar and regain my honor," he explained his honor expedition to me, in which I placed a hand on his shoulder and advised, "Avatar or not, if your father really loved you, he would let you home."

I walked away, leaving Zuko to ponder about my words. Iroh guided me to my room, in which I collapsed on the bed, sighing at the comfort. It had been so long . . . 

"Hey!" Zuko growled at the door. "What are you doing in my room?!" I frowned.

"General Iroh said this was my room." 

"WHAT?!" Zuko stormed out screaming 'UNCLE!' He came back with the tip of his ponytail on fire and anger lined in his voice.

"Uncle said we have to share," he said. I choked on air. What. The. Heck?! I shrugged and got off the mattress before smoothing it down and settling on the floor. Floors made nice beds if you didn't smash your head on them.

Zuko rubbed his neck. "Uhm . . . you can grab a mattress in the wardrobe."

I raised my eyebrow at the sudden mood change, but nevertheless took a mattress from the tiny wardrobe, placed it on the floor, and snuggled in. I yawned, sleep drowning me, and in minutes, I was asleep. 

Too bad it wasn't the same for Zuko. He lay awake thinking about my advice before yawning. He covered his mouth in embarrassment and looked down at me to make sure I didn't hear that. Thankfully, I didn't. A frown laced his features when he saw me. 

Curled was an understatement.

My chin was touching my knees and I was sobbing furiously, tears rushing down my cheeks. I was dreaming about my father and mother's death. Zuko clearly didn't know what to do, so he decided to leave me be, hoping I'll stop.

A few minutes later, I didn't stop.

Zuko sighed and hopped out of his bed, a small look of pity on his face. I was literally weeping, and he picked me up bridal style, which caused me to clutch and fist his shirt (thing) before burying my head into his chest. Red was immediately splashed on his face and he tilted his head fondly at me before snuggling back into the cozy red covers. 

Zuko set me down and I cuddled into his chest, tears still flowing, but less than before. A rosy red blush covered his face and tinged the tip of his ears. Soon, we were both fast asleep, each in our dream worlds/lands. 

↠ ↠ ↠ ↠ ↠

I yawned and opened my honey green eyes, wondering why I had such an amazing sleep. My eyes widened and a look of shock replaced my usual (ugly) lazy morning face when I spotted red in front of me. I swallowed nervously and I traveled my eyes up the red to see Zuko's sleeping figure. 

I almost screamed.

I was literally cuddling the glaring meanie I met yesterday. What. The. Heck?! I tried to get up and only succeeded in making Zuko's grip on my waist tighter. My eyebrows crinkled and before I knew it, I was grinning like an idiot. Two things.

One, I would scare Zuko.

Two, I felt so warm.

I decided I would first enjoy the Firebender warmth, then scare Zuko out of his pants. I giggled softly and put my hands on his, sighing when the warmth went up to my spine. I waited a few moments before taking — correction, peeling — Zuko's hands off my waist and jumping off the bed. 

I took a deep breath and yelled, "WAKE UP!" I ran for my life and almost crashed into General Iroh, who chuckled upon seeing me. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he started mumbling stuff about 'jasmine tea' and 'warm tea' and blah blah blah blah. He walked away and I frowned before turning around, gasping when I saw Zuko literally on fire.

"I'M SORRY!" I shouted and squealed when he started chasing me. I kept yelling sorry while laughing my head off, running around the whole ship. I was way more experienced and nimble than he was, so I easily outran him. Until I slammed into a dead end.

GREAT.

I screamed, "I'm sorry, Prince Zuko!" Zuko gritted his teeth. Suddenly, I got an idea and snickered. 

"Actually you should be sorry, mister. Do you know how hard it was to get out of your grip?" I said, knowing that would turn Zuko into an awkward mess. And I was right!

"Um . . . I —" He stammered, not finding words. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You were having a nightmare so — I — uh . . ."

I laughed loudly, placing my hand over my mouth and doubling over in laughter. Man, my second day on the ship and I was already teasing the prince of the ship! I didn't lose my humor, now did I?

"I'm just teasing," I reassured, sprinting away out of Zuko's reach.