The Girl They Won't Forget

The Search, Part 11

"Wait," I said quietly, "only one?" I looked to Misu and Rafa, then to Aang and Zuko. "How do we choose?"

Aang thought this over, then said, "Maybe we don't have to..." He turned to the Mother of Faces. "See, here's the thing... we actually need two favors. I'm sure a big-and-gigantic-yet-beautiful-and-lovely Spirit like you can handle two, right, Your...uh..." He paused, searching for the right word. He eventually settled on, "....Face-iness?"

"Do not test my generosity, young Avatar," the Spirit warned. "One."

"We can't settle for one," I said quietly to Aang.

Zuko frowned as we all turned to face the siblings. "They've waited for so long," he reminded us. "If there's only one, it should be theirs."

"I'm sorry," Aang said with a sympathetic face. "We'll keep looking for Ursa on our own after this."

"It's alright," Zuko said with a sad smile. As Misu approached us shyly, Zuko's face seemed to brighten. She graciously thanked him, repeatedly bowing her head in gratitude. She nervously approached the Spirit, stuttering through her words to speak with the Mother of Faces.

"Ridiculous!" Azula's voice shrilled, followed by a loud crack. She had broken her way out of the icy shackles and was now stomping over towards Misu. Zuko shouted and ran to stop her, but it was useless. She had shoved past him, then effortlessly pushed Misu out of her way. To the Spirit, she demanded, "We seek a princess of the Fire Nation named Ursa! Tell me where to find her!"

The Mother of Faces repeated the name in a breath voice, almost in fond memory. "Ursa... I remember her. I could not understand why a human with such beauty would ask for a new face." The Spirit held out a viny hand, the palm facing the sky. A mirage of light formed in it, taking the appearance of Ursa. A pang in my chest pounding like an ice pick as I looked at her face for the first time in years. I felt a tear fall down my cheek, then another, then another. But I never made a sound. "To test her sincerity," the Spirit went on, "I offered one as plain as can be." The figure reshaped into a new face, a familiar face: Noriko. "She accepted."

Upon this realization, Zuko gasped. "That's Noriko! Azula, our mother is-!" He looked around, but Azula had already run off out of sight.

"She's gone," I said. "But I know exactly where she's going: back to Hira'a, back to Noren's house!"

"There isn't much time," Zuko frowned and began to run. Once I began to follow, Zuko stopped. He turned to me and shook his head. "You're not going."

"Zuko, you just said there isn't much time. Don't waste it by trying to stop me! Stop making me feel so useless!"

"Saki..." He said my name with so much hurt. As if he couldn't believe that I had ever felt this way, that he was the cause of it. He took hold of my hands and spoke quietly, holding them closely to his lips. "Do you remember what I said the last time we had this conversation? Back on the ship?"

"Zuko, how would I-"

He recounted, "I protect you because I love you. Please, just let me protect you. And your baby. Please."

I was speechless. The last time he had told me this, I'd deferred it and changed the topic to focus on finding Aang. I'll never completely understand why I had done that. I had changed since then, as did my love for Zuko - but, my response did not. "Go get her," I said. "Come back to me safely."

With that, he kissed my hands, then my forehead. Then, he and Sokka sprinted off to catch Azula. I turned to face my friends, finding Mika staring at me. Her face was twisted with a smile in addition to shock.