How long had she been traveling? That was a good question. When had she begun traveling? When had she gotten on the road? Where was she? Who was she? So many questions and just a continuing pile with no answers.

     The dirt road was open beneath her feet. Grass grew on either side along with the trees of the forest. When had she even gotten into the forest? Light filtered through the branches of the trees. Animals made various sounds throughout the place. Everything was blurry though.

     Her head hurt. She could feel the headache pounding in her skull. Her vision was barely stable enough to make out everything. Her body seemed to work on it's own. She had no destination in mind, she did not even know where she was. Still, she refused to stop. There was something in her that made her go on. There was no time for stopping, even if she might as well be stumbling at this point. 

     She could not remember how she had gotten to walking on that road. It seemed like she had come out of some sort of sleep during her trek to no where. All she had done was look ahead and kept walking. Even with her pounding head. Even with the blurry vision. There was something that told her to keep going. 

     That is until she tripped.

     She laid there for who knows how long. She was tired, thirsty, hungry, but she ignored all of those feelings, weakly pushing herself up. The questions still ran through her head. Her body worked and it was as if she were trapped in her own head, not allowed to make the decisions for herself.

     She stumbled to the closest tree, to support herself. She was dizzy, her vision swam even more. She took deep breath, hoping to stabilize something. There was no doubt something was wrong. Her body was in pain, she could feel it. Yet, by some unknown cause or reason, her body just wanted to continue onwards. 

     It felt like there was a large weight on her shoulders. Her body was begging for rest, and she wanted to allow it, but she could not. She did not know what was happening or why. It was just more questions to add to the ever growing list. 

     There was a sudden burst of fire that nearly caused her to tumble backwards. She turned and found the source...well many a source. She could just make out the head of the people surrounding her.  

     He was probably around her age...whatever that was. He was bald for the most part, except for the weird ponytail that was tied up in the back of his head. He wore a heavy set of armor colored red, black and some dark brown. He had gold eyes that glared at her in contempt. His left eye was covered in a large scar. 

     "Peasant!" The boy stepped forward, "How dare you try to sneak up on me!"

     She raised a brow, "Do you start every conversation like this?"

     There was a snicker from somewhere. The boy now got in her face. He was mad. He was very mad. She could have cared less at that moment. She wanted rest, she wanted to get away from the pain. He was only in the way of her actually leaving so she could gain control of her actions again. 

     "I will not repeat myself," the boy growled, "who are you and why are you near my camp?"

     She simply shrugged, "I don't know."

     "That not an answer!"

     "It is when you really don't know and it's to the point you don't even know what you don't know."

      "Woman!" She flinched when his fist was set on fire and he came very close to hitting her, but a new voice interrupted him.

     "Zuko!"

     She saw the new man. He was old and fat, but she felt a sense of peace around him. His amber eyes were hardened towards the boy, Zuko, but softened when he looked at her. He was mostly dressed in brown robes and a chest plate and shoulder pads for armor, but was fairly left unprotected besides that. 

     "That is no way to treat a young lady," the old man chastised.

     "She's being stubborn, uncle! How else am I to get answers?"

     "Young lady," the old man spoke to her, "My nephew here means no harm. We were surprised by your unexpected presence. I am General Iroh, would you tell us your name?"

     "I don't know my name," the girl admitted.

     "Lies!" The boy's fist were set aflame, "Surrender!"

     "You mean you wish to surrender to me?" She smirked and bowed her head, "Very well, I accept."

     Iroh laughed, "That's a good one! Very clever."

     Zuko let out a frustrated yell, "Peasant, I demand you surrender to me! You will be my prisoner! You will come with us."

      "Would you stop with the name calling? It's childish really."

      "I am not a child."

     "Agreed, you're a teenager."

     Iroh had to hold his nephew back when he noticed for the first time, how weak the girl seemed. He sent his nephew a look to stand down before he approached her. He noticed her eyes were hazy and her face was pink. She appeared to be very tired and not well.

     "Young lady," he tried to reach out to her, but she backed away, "you are ill."

     She acted as if she was about to reply. Before she could respond, she fainted. Iroh barely managed to catch her in time.

     She was ill and now that she was out, he could feel the fever that burned her. The old man worried for her health. He had noticed right off the bat that she had no traveling supplies. She was alone. It scared him to think of how long she had been like this. She was stubborn, that was for sure. If she had pushed on, even thought she was aware there was something going on was a feat in itself.

     Zuko glared, "Take her back to the ship, we are leaving this instant."

     "But Zuko," his uncle held the girl, "what will you do? She is very sick and in need of rest."

     The prince was silent. He stared at the annoying girl. She had brown hair, that was somewhere between wavy and curly. She wore simple travelers clothes consisting of a green tunic and black, baggy pants tucked into tall brown boots. He had noticed her eyes were a strange color. He hand noticed some moments they were brown and other moments, they were green. It was a strange combination to him. 

     The girl had been rude, witty and a liar. She deserved to be sick. How dare she mock the prince of the Fire Nation! She acted as if she thought she could get away with it. Even then, he knew his uncle would be on his nerves if he refused to give the girl treatment. Sometimes, he questioned why he listened to his uncle.

     "Put her in one of the empty rooms. You can be in charge of watching over her since you seem to care so much."

     Iroh smiled ever so slightly. The moment the prince turned away to boss his men around, the general's smile morphed into a very large grin.

     A week and a half went by while they were all out at sea. The Fire Nation general had been dividing his time between watching over the girl and training his nephew. Other than the occasional words spoken in her sleep and maybe a moan or change of position, she had been quiet. When she was first brought on board, she had been feverish and would shiver every now and again. Now that whatever sickness that plagued her had passed, Iroh expected her to wake up any day now. 

     He had been in the middle of making himself some tea when she finally stirred. She tossed and turned a few times before her eyes began to flutter open. She jolted upright and looked at her surroundings. It was probably frightful to suddenly wake up in new surroundings that were unknown to her.

     "It's about you woke up," the old man commented. "It would be such a waste for you to miss another day to enjoy tea."

     "I... I don't like tea," the girl spoke.

     Her voice was cracked and rough. It was to be expected after such a long time of sleep. Even then, she found herself feeling small under the gaze of his shocked look. She had tried to not sound offensive, but it was true. Tea just left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.

    "Don't like tea," he repeated.

     "Well, I keep on trying it!" She shrugged as she threw the blanket off, "It just... It has a bitter taste that's unbearable without sugar and milk."

      "Try mine. If you still do not like it, I will send for some water."

     "Thank you."

     She took the cup. After one sip, she made a face and the old man sighed deeply. There had been hope she would change her mind, but people were different in many ways. Disliking tea was one of those sad differences.

     He went to the guard outside the door and asked him for the water to be sent down and inform his nephew the girl was awake. 

     "Thank you for your kindness, Iroh." The girl looked around, "Where are we anyway?"

     "We are out at sea. My nephew is looking for the Avatar."

     "...Somehow it seems like I knew that." She shook her head, "Anyway, is there..." Her face made a look that was somewhere between a grimace and apologetic, "Is there a bathroom?"

     An hour or so later she was walking with Iroh on deck. After a side trip to release her bladder and being allowed a bath, she was dressed in a different shirt. Iroh had picked up a red tunic for her during a stop. It was long sleeved and it fell to her mid-thigh, but with a belt, she made it look a little less like a dress. After struggling with combing out her hair, she braided it and was led to the front deck to feel the breeze on her face.

     The two stood at the bow of the ship, standing in silence. The girl knew she was a "prisoner", and she would have to answer questions soon enough. It was that moment she appreciated to be allowed to collect her thoughts. It seemed a lot of things were coming back to her, but there were many holes.

     "So..." Iroh looked at her, "Can you tell me where you are from?"

     She shook her head, "No. I... I don't remember. There's a lot I don't remember."

     "Your name is one of those things?"

     "Yes." She looked down, "I remember my parents, too. I could give you a description of them, but I don't remember their names. I don't know the name of the place where I'm from... Honestly, there a lot of things I'm searching for in my mind, but there's just a lot of blanks or just a scene of white."

     "Do you remember how old you are?"

     "I'm just turned sixteen. That's about all I could tell you."

     "I can see this troubles you." The old man placed a hand on her shoulder, "And I am not surprised. You have a fractured memory. Hopefully, these things will come back to you in time."

     "Same here." She looked out over the water and she started grinning, "Look at that beautiful sunset!"

     It was a sight. The sun reflected off of the water and the sky was painted in yellow and orange. The few clouds that were out were colored pink and there were hints of purple in other places. What caught Iroh's attention the most was the look of awe the covered the girl's face. Moments ago, she was down cast and upset, but something so simple brought her spirits up.

     "I don't think I've ever seen such a pretty sunset," the girl admitted. 

     "Yes, a sunset is a gift of nature."

     "I remember some story related to the sunset. I think it was called "Twilight Princess" or something like that... I don't remember a lot about it, but it was one of my favorites. It was about a boy who traveled between his world and that of the twilight realm to save his kingdom and it's princess."

     The general smiled at her, "See, you have something returning to you already! Do you remember anything else about this story?"

     "Uh... Not really. But it made me think of how much I enjoy writing my own stories and poetry. Now that I think on it, I had a few ideas that I began, but stopped because I ended up with a new idea and abandoned the first one... Those were some pretty cringe worthy ideas. 

     "I had a big fascination with writing my own stories... It seems like there's more too it, but I love fantasy stories. I love adventure and romance and... I could sit and read for hours." She cupped her face in her hand, grinning, "I'm so happy I remember that! Maybe it might lead me somewhere."

     "You know... It's refreshing to see someone be so excited over the thought of a good tale." The old man was stroking his beard thoughtfully, "I haven't seen my nephew act his age since he was banished from home. Maybe you could help him remember he is still young."

     "Zuko? He was banished?"

     They stood there as the old general related the tale of what happened two years, almost three years prior. Her heart dropped hearing how the Fire Lord, so easily, would have killed his own son, yet banished him. It was all so easily without a second thought. She almost regretted being a smart-aleck with him. Almost. 

     Again, as she was being told this, it felt like she had already known this fact. It was so strange. The idea seemed to site in the back of her mind, ever so slightly out of reach. It was disturbing and more than just a little annoying. 

     Just out the corner of her eye, she saw the prince, whose story she had be told of, heading their direction. It was so sad. She had been enjoying herself and now the moody prince was here to tear it all away. Oh boo.

     "Iroh, I...I think I have a giant headache heading my way," the girl said, failing to hid her smile.

      "Uncle! What are you doing with the prisoner," Zuko demanded.

     She placed a hand to her head, "There's my headache."

     The old man laughed, but "became serious" when he saw his nephew's glare, "We were just having a nice little talk. This girl has some memory loss. She is harmless."

     "As far as we know," the firebender got in her face, causing her to back away as much as he would allow, "she could be a very convincing liar."

     "I'm telling the truth!" The girl stomped her foot on the deck, "I don't appreciate being called a liar when I'm innocent!"

     "Then prove it."

     "How can I prove that I've lost some of my memory?!" She started to tear up, "I can't even remember my own name."

     She wiped at her eyes, upset that she was angry enough that she was crying. When she wanted to seem intimidating, she started crying. That was just great. It was just what she needed when she had a bossy, ponytail-freak teenager calling her a liar. It was not her fault. She did not ask to be thrown into this mess. 

     "I believe you have said enough, nephew," Iroh placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hikari is in a fragile state right now."

    She girl sniffed, "Wh-what?"

     "We will have to call you something!" He sent the prince a side glance, "We can't just go calling you, "girl" or "young lady." The old man seemed to present her as if the name were already her own, "Hikari sounds like a beautiful name for a beautiful young lady! What do you think? Do you like it?"

     "It...has a nice ring to it... I like it."

     The prince interrupted their moment, "Now is not the time to be picking names. You need to get the prisoner back to her room. I'll question her myself... What are you doing?!"

     "Who?"

     "You! What were you doing?!"

     She grinned and sang out, "None of your business. I'm not supposed to be here." She shrugged before grabbing the old man's hand, "It's as you said. I need to go back to my room. So whatever does it matter?"

      She waved and pulled Iroh away. She was grinning, and loudly speaking to his uncle about getting away from "Mr. Grouchy-Pants". He was already furious. She was taking his uncle away from him and so quickly, she was acting all giddy and being sarcastic and witty. The next stop she was going to be kicked off of his ship. 

     He was going to make Hikari regret ever trying to sneak up on his camp. He was going to make her regret keeping his uncle away from him. She was going to regret ever speaking to him as if he were a child.

     He noticed some of the men that were with him had smirks on their faces. A couple others seemed to be biting the inside of their cheek. Apparently, the girl was a source of amusement to his men. And why not? She was so childish, it was ridiculous! He glared at them.

     "Enough standing around!" The prince threw his hand out, gesturing to the rest of the ship, "This ship doesn't work itself. Get to work. We're setting course for the Southern Water Tribe."

     She would be lucky if he decided to be somewhat generous and let her off near some sort of civilization. If not, her death in the frozen water would not bother him. 

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A/N: HEY EVERYBODY!!!! So this is the beginning of an idea I started playing around with. I grew up watching Avatar and recently, my dear girl, @pandafangirl2 made me sit my butt down and re-watch it (cause I have all the seasons on dvd now). And I fell in love all over again, especially with the angsty fire baby. 

So, I just wanted to put this out here in case I decided to actually continue it. It depends really. If enough people like it, I'll keep it up, but it just depends on you guys. I hope you all like the start of this story and hopefully, I'll be able to continue it.

Tootles~

-Muse

P.S. Feel free to point out any grammar errors. It bothers me when I don't catch them the first time.