The Girl They Won't Forget

The Search, Part 4

The morning of our departure began as one would expect. I was bound to the restroom with morning sickness while Katara tended to my every need. Mika and Sokka were assigned to keep an eye on Azula. Zuko and Iroh saw to it that everything we needed would be packed. Iroh, naturally, made sure that we'd extra materials to support a pregnant woman on the journey.

That man truly was a blessing.

"Now, you're sure that you want to go?" Katara asked for the nine-hundredth time once I was better. I was marching through the palace with her on my heels as we were going to join the others.

"For the thousandth time," I said, "yes! Ursa was just as much a part of my life as she was Zuko's and Azula's. I want to know where she is and what happened to make her leave."

Katara sighed, obviously seeing no way of convincing me to change my mind.

Once we were outside, the fresh air was a relief. It had been a long time since I had been outside the Fire Nation capital, and I was ecstatic to see the world again.

Aang was preparing Appa's saddle, while Suki and Ty Lee stood at Azula's side. Mika was engaged in conversation with Sokka and Zuko - about what, I'll never know. "Good morning!" Aang cried out cheerfully. "Beautiful day for a trip, isn't it?"

Azula sneered, then looked to me as I grew closer. She held out her back and dropped it for me to pick up. "Be careful when you put my luggage up on that shaggy beast of yours," she ordered.

"I don't work for you," I said coolly. "Do it yourself." I snuck a smirk in her direction.

She glared in response, but said nothing as Katara and I joined Zuko and the others.

"Why do you have to be so mean all the time?" Ty Lee asked her. While I wanted to make a snide remark, I focused on my friends.

"I still don't like this, Zuko," Katara said dubiously.

"I know," he said. "We'll need to take turns keeping an eye on her. Every moment of every day, at least one of us has to be totally focused on Azula."

Sokka took the first shift, which went downhill within two and a half minutes. Then, the first shift was given to me.

We sat in the saddle as Appa soared through the sky. Azula was between me and Zuko. Sokka and Mika were to my right. Aang and Katara sat in the front, smooching.

Sokka inhaled and exhaled deeply, arms wide open with a grin on his face. "The open sky above us, a daring mission before us, and friends all around!" He cried out happily. "Just like old times, isn't it?" He paused and looked at me, glancing at my stomach then at Azula. "Well, almost like old times."

"Even better than old times!" Aang chimed in. "Before, I always wanted to kiss Katara. Now I can actually do it!" He looked to his girlfriend, who smiled, and proved his point by kissing her.

"I, for one, could do without that part," Sokka grimaced.

"Oh, Sokka," I laughed. "You and Mika do the same thing. Don't be such a hypocrite."

I looked to Azula. Her eyes were narrow and wild, a sneered on her lips. "So, tell me, kids," she said, "I'm dying to know. Which one of you miscreants did she approach first?"

"What on earth are you talking about, Azula?" I asked.

"These peasants had never even met me yet," she snapped. "How did she convince all of you to help her ruin my life?"

"Ruin your life?" Mika asked. "You tried to kill all of us! Many, many times!"

"Because of her!" Azula snarled.

She leaned forward, as if to charge at someone. Zuko held up his arm to stop her. His hand was balled into a tight fist, smoking emitting as a warning. "Azula," he growled, "that's enough!"

Azula looked at her brother from the corner of her eye. Her lips twitched into a smirk. "Put that away, ZuZu," she said. "It's just small talk."

Everyone slumped down, already exhausted of her, but I simply glared. I still didn't trust her — I probably never will — but she was an asset. A kick in my stomach yanked my attention from her. I recoiled in response.

"Are you alright?" Mika asked. She gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded. "I'm alright," I replied with a short laugh. "The baby is just...very active right now."

Mika smiled at me. She was going to be a good mother, I thought. I wondered how she would handle the mood swings and excessive eating. More importantly, I wondered how Sokka would deal with all of it.

"Your daughter is going to be an angel," she said to me. She help my hand and smiled again. "I'm sure of it."

"Thank you," I said, then I stopped. "Daughter?"

Mika only giggled. I wanted to asked how she knew the sex of my child before I did, but I was distracted by another pain in my torso. I yelped and groaned, squeezing Mika's hand so tightly that I was afraid that I might have hurt her. These were coming more and more as time passed, as I grew closer to my nine-month mark.

"Saki?" Zuko scooted over to me. "What's the matter?"

"They're contractions," Katara explained. She was still seated beside Aang, but she watched us all carefully. "It means she's getting closer to having her baby."

"Oh, no," Sokka groaned. "You're not going to give birth during our adventure, are you?"

Zuko frowned. He sat himself at my side and wrapped a protective arm around me, holding my hand with his other. "Even if she did, Sokka, everything would be fine," he said.

"I won't," I said between shaky breaths. "I've still got a month left." With that, I rested my head on Zuko's shoulder and closed my eyes to calm myself. The pain was still prominent. Mika and Zuko spoke softly to me, coaching me through the pain and distracting me with little anecdotes of our past together.

Every so often, I'd open my eyes and find Azula's amber orbs searing into me. I closed my eyes again to evade her glare, but could still feel her watching me like a predator.