Soon after the sun had risen in the sky, Zuko, Iroh and Zeraphina made it to the refugee pass into Ba Sing Se. Once they were there, they went to one of the booths to get their passports approved and documented.
"So, Mr. Lee, Ms. Mingxia and Mister, um... Mushy, is it?" The woman at the booth read off the names on the passports.
"It's pronounced Moo-shee." Iroh corrected.
"You tellin' me how to do my job?" The woman said with a deeper tone in her voice.
"Uh, no, no, no." Iroh said leaning in closer to the woman, "But may I just say that you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty's intoxicating."
Zeraphina and Zuko had to try to their hardest to keep their lunches down after hearing Iroh flirt.
"Mm, you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome, Rawr!" The woman flirted back, "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."
She stamped their passports and handed them back to Iroh.
"I'm gonna forget I saw that." Zuko said as he snatched their passports from his uncle.
"Honestly, Master. That was far too much for even me to see." Zeraphina sighed and walked with the two to a bench to wait for the train.
As they walked over to the train rails, Zuko took a glance at Zeraphina, only barely noticing the soft dark circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept properly for a while. He did notice that for the past few days she was tossing and turning in her sleep, even on the boat. But he didn't want to say anything, kind of because of his pride as a great Prince, but also because he wanted her to come to him with her problems instead of him just forcing it out of her.
However, unbeknownst to them, Jet and his Freedom Fighters were watching as they walked away to the train.
"I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter." Jet commented, "He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us."
"You don't know anything about him, Jet." Smellerbee said.
"I know he didn't get that scar from a Waterbender."
"Besides, I thought we were going straight now."
"We are. And the new Freedom Fighters could use a guy like Lee. Maybe we could even convince Mingxia to join us."
"Why her? She doesn't look like a fighter."
"Not completely. But, I happened to see some burn scars on her shoulders and neck. She may be a good match if we just train her a little bit in fighting. What do you think, Longshot?"
Longshot just gave Jet a look.
"I can respect that."
Zeraphina yawned as she leaned her head against Zuko's shoulder, slowly falling to sleep. But, she quickly pulled away not wanting to trouble her Prince. Secretly, Zuko wanted her to lean on him, but once again, his pride was too much for him to actually say that.
"So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?" Jet asked as he sat on the other side of Zuko.
"Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!" A man passing by with his tea cart called out to everyone.
Iroh waved to get the man's attention, "Oh, Jasmine, please!"
The man came over and poured Iroh a cup of tea, but as soon as Iroh drank it, he spit it out from its frigid temperatures.
"Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it." He complained.
"Don't worry, Mushi. We'll get some more, much better tea once we get into the city. Does that sound well?"
Iroh sighed and smiled, "Thank you, Mingxia, that wounds delightful."
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Jet asked Zuko. The two walked away to talk privately.
"Look, you and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together. You wanna join the Freedom Fighters?"
"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang." Zuko answered.
"Come on, we made a great team looting that captain's food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."
"I said no."
"What about Mingxia?" Jet's question made Zuko stop in his tracks, "Don't you think that she deserves a good life here in the city? You join the Freedom Fighters, and you can give her everything that she deserves."
Zuko thought for a moment. He wanted Zeraphina to have a good life, but at what cost? He knew that she would never want him to steal or to do anything terrible, even if it was for her sake.
"Nah. Mingxia would kill me if I join you. Can't let her life without me."
"Have it your way." Jet said. Suddenly, his eyes widened when he noticed Iroh holding a now steaming cup of Jasmine tea.
The same happened for Zuko, who slapped the cup out of Iroh's hand before anyone else could see it.
"Hey!"
"What are you doing firebending your tea? For a wise, old man, that was a pretty stupid move." Zuko shouted quietly.
"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but..." Iroh sniffed at the sight of his ruined tea spilled all over the floor, "It's just so sad."
Zuko sighed at his uncle, "Can you believe this man?" He said to Zeraphina, but he looked over at her, he saw that she was sleeping sitting up.
Zuko sat down and carefully positioned her so that her head was laying on his lap. She subconsciously smiled at the comfort of his lap, sleeping much more peacefully now than she was sitting up.
Iroh glanced at the interaction, secretly happy that his nephew was being so kind to the young girl he thought of as family.
~~~~~
Zeraphina stood in the center of a ring of white fire, watching as something was happening in front of her. She saw the Avatar's bison, chained to the ground and trapped in what seemed to be an underground dungeon.
There were three people standing in front of the bison, all ones she recognized as herself, Iroh and Zuko, dressed in black and holding his blue Spirit mask in his hand with his dual swords in the other hand.
"...Who are you, and what do you want!" Iroh shouted at Zuko. Zuko roared in frustration and threw hisswords to the ground, not knowing what else to do.
But then, Zeraphina took Zuko's hands in hers and smiled at him.
"You have a greater sense of honor than anyone else that I've known." She said, "Remember what I said at the fountain? You are more than who you see in the mirror, Zuko. Who the history books say about your family. You are Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. And one day, you will be a greater Fire Lord than any of your forefathers. Now, this is your first step to changing for the greater good. What will it be, My Prince? Chains.... or Freedom."
Zeraphina watched this scene, seeing that her future were so filled with love and truth.
"A turning point in the Prince's path, Child." The voice said, "Perhaps this will be a good thing for the Prince."
"One can only hope, my friend."
~~~~~
"Last call for Ba Sing Se!" A voice shook her from her dreams.
"Zera, let's get going." Zuko whispered to her as she slowly stretched her body and stood up to board the train.
They took their seats on the train next to a couple holding a newborn baby.
"Ying? Than?" Zeraphina said as she recognized the two from her time traveling with Zuko.
The couple looked up at her and smiled.
"Mingxia? What a surprise! I didn't think we would meet you here." Ying said as Zeraphina took a seat next to her.
"Is that the baby?"
"Yes, she was born before we got here." Than said, "We named her Hope."
"Hope, such a beautiful name for a sweet baby girl."
"Mingxia, would you like to hold her?" Ying offered.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Ying carefully handed Hope to Zeraphina, who held her like she was a fragile piece of glass.
"She's beautiful. I wish her the best in this city."
Zuko looked over at Zeraphina, seeing her smile at the little baby she was holding. He couldn't help but crack the smallest smile, seeing her so happy and calm. But he wondered what would happen in this city?
What would happen to the three of them? He wasn't a prince anymore. And what Jet said hit him deep. How could he, someone without status or money, give Zeraphina what she needed and desired?