꧁ chapter seventeen ꧂
guilty conscience

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"AANG?" MEILUNA CALLED out as she saw the the boy stumble out of his room.

"Twinkle Toes! That's gotta be you!" Toph said excitedly.

"You're awake!" Katara realised as the three girls rushed over to him.

"Are you sure?" Aang rubbed his eyes, "I feel like I'm dreaming"

"You're not dreaming, you're finally awake" Katara smiled, embracing him.

"Aang, good to see you back with the living buddy!" Sokka said happily, also wrapping him in a hug.

"Sokka?"

Aang's breathing started to get shallow before he began looking faint.

"Uh oh, someone catch him, he's going to-" Toph was cut off as Aang collapsed, Katara holding him closely in her arms before he could hit the ground.

"You should take him back to his room to rest" Meiluna suggested, to which Katara nodded, carrying the boy to his room.

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"Aren't you cold?"

Zuko turned around to see Mai standing behind him,

"I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed"

Mai let out a yawn as she covered her mouth,
"I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story,"

She laughed upon seeing his frown,
"Stop worrying"

She gave him a gentle hug before turning to go back inside the ship.

But Zuko couldn't stop worrying. He couldn't shake the feeling. He did everything right, everything he was supposed to and now the Avatar was dead. He was finally welcomed back by his father and his nation.

So why did he feel so terrible?

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Meiluna decided to make her way to her own room when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Sokka looking at her with concern,

"Are you feeling okay, Luna?"

Meiluna forced a smile on to her face,
"Perfect"

She slipped out of his grip, walking into her room and closing the door behind her, her back pressed against it. Meiluna had never felt so overwhelmed. She slid down the door, hot tears sliding down her face uncontrollably.

Seeing Aang's lifeless body plummet to the ground broke her. Meiluna lost sleep staying by the Avatar's side for days on end. She had used the water from the Spirit Oasis to heal him, but even afterwards remained with him in his room, trying to heal his scars, take away his pain.

Anything really.

Katara and Sokka had tried multiple times to get the Princess to take a break to rest, but she refused every time. She couldn't leave Aang.

She couldn't just take a break if it meant that she wasn't doing everything in her power to heal him.

She had let her mother and her sister's lives slip through her hands already. She would have done anything to save Aang.

Meiluna felt her breathing became shallow as she recalled the moment Prince Zuko made her feel like a complete fool for ever believing he could change. The moment he took the trust she gave him and threw it away like it was nothing.

What would Yue think of her now? Getting this worked up over a boy.

She lifted her head, slowly standing up. She walked up to sit in front of the small vanity, wiping away her tears.

Meiluna only noticed that she had fallen asleep when she felt the ship sway from a rough patch in the sea.

She still somehow felt drained of all her energy. Of course, healing the Avatar took a lot of her power but there was something else constantly pulling at her heart. It felt like her lungs weren't able to hold enough air, like she was in a constant state of being knocked out of breath.

She knew Prince Zuko was in Ba Sing Se and did nothing about it.

The sentiment weighed heavily on her mind. She felt like closing her eyes once more just to escape the mess she had caused, to rid herself of the feeling of complete regret.

She rubbed her eyes, staring back at her reflection. Unruly hair, tear stained cheeks and prominent eye bags were what she was met with.

She attempted to quickly tidy her appearance up, running her fingers through her hair anxiously as she inhaled and exhaled slowly before making her way back to join the others.

She noticed everyone stood around listening to Sokka.

"After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew to Chameleon Bay where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men," He explained to Aang,

"The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone. Soon, the bag was overrun by Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then we've been travelling west. We crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us"

"So, what now?" Aang asked.

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan" Hakoda answered.

"It's Sokka's invasion plan" Katara corrected sharply.

"Yes, Sokka's plan," Hakoda looked at his daughter wearily, "We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable"

"So we're planning a smaller invasion. Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke" Sokka pointed out.

"Good to see you again Aang!" Pipsqueak smiled while he ate his noodles.

"And the best past is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage!" Sokka looked left and right before whispering to Aang, "We have a secret... You!"

"Me?"

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead! Isn't that great?"

"The world thinks I'm dead? How is that good news? That's terrible" Aang replied as he looked off the side of the boat.

"No, it's great!" Sokka insisted, "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore! And even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of the Black Sun!"

"No, no, no, no, no," Aang muttered to himself before turning to Sokka, "You have no idea, this is so messed up!"

Just as Meiluna was about to speak up, she noticed another Fire Nation ship approaching their own.

"I'll handle this," Aang said as he opened his glider, "The Avatar is back"

"Aang, wait!" Katara called out to him, "Remember, they don't know we're not Fire Nation"

"Everyone just stay calm," Hakoda assured, "Bato and I will take care of this"

Meiluna joined the others in moving to hide from the Fire Nation men's sight as they boarded the ship.

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"Hey Aang! We're going into town to find some dinner" Toph informed the Avatar.

"Well, I am pretty hungry," Aang sighed as he clutched his stomach, "Maybe dinner's a good idea"

"Here," Sokka held out a bandana, "Tie this around your head, it'll cover your arrow"

"I'm not going out if I can't wear my arrow proudly!" Aang replied stubbornly as he moved to lie back down.

"Aang, come on, be practical" Sokka insisted when Katara placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

"You guys go ahead without us," She told them, "We'll catch up to you"

Meiluna turned to leave the room, sensing the tension from the Avatar, along with Toph and Sokka. The three of them walked for a short while when they heard Katara running to catch up with them, a somber expression on her face.

Finally, the four had managed to find a place to eat. Well, it was largely Sokka's decision as the bright advertisement on their window that showed the variety of meats offered had easily convinced him. Sokka, Katara and Toph chatted quietly amongst themselves while Meiluna kept her head down, focussed on the plate in front of her. She poked at the food before her, unable to gain her appetite.

"What's wrong with you?"

Meiluna didn't even notice the question was directed at her until Sokka and Katara fell silent. She looked up with wide eyes noticing Toph pointing a finger at her. Her mouth opened to try and understand what she was talking about, but no words came out.

"You're being all sad and weird" Toph continued.

Meiluna looked to Sokka, who was still stuffing his face, and Katara, who had turned to Toph with her arms crossed.

"Toph!" She scolded her.

"You're telling me you haven't noticed? I haven't heard her laugh in like forever" Toph exclaimed.

Meiluna felt herself get flustered from all the attention placed on her. She hadn't even realised how obviously her emotions were showing to everyone around her.

"I'm fine" Meiluna spoke softly, not even convincing herself.

"I can tell you're lying" Toph continued.

Katara looked to her with worry,
"Is something wrong Luna?"

Meiluna hesitated. Feeling her ears burn in shame, she realised there wasn't anyway to lie her way out of this situation. And even if there were, she thought that she owed her friends the truth, at the very least.

"This is all my fault" She whispered as she dropped her fork, sending it to her plate with a loud clatter, bringing her head down to her hands to cover her face.

"What are you talking about?" Sokka looked to her with a puzzled expression.

"We did all we could to save Aang" Katara tried to reassure the Princess.

"No, you don't understand, I just-" Meiluna paused, thinking about whether she should even continue or not.

"I did something bad"

Katara and Sokka exchanged confused glances as they waited for Meiluna to explain.

"I knew Prince Zuko was in Ba Sing Se"

Meiluna had felt like she dropped an explosive bomb on her friends. Katara and Sokka's expressions morphed into one of anger? Betrayal? Hurt? Confusion? A mix of all?

Meiluna felt her eyes water and her throat close up at the silence she was met with. Although it was quiet, the message from her friends was clear.

How could you?

She couldn't continue to bare the silence she was met with so she explained. She explained everything, from meeting him in the tea shop to the last moment she saw him on the opposite side of the battle. She wasn't even sure if she was making sense at this point, her mind was scrambled from her overwhelming guilt.

She rambled on and on about how he treated her with kindness and respect, albeit it did take some time for him to get used to her, she firmly believed that he was capable of something much better. Of course, this vision was shattered when he decided to return to the Fire Nation. So Meiluna begged for her friends forgiveness. To forgive her for her dishonesty, her naivety, her misplaced trust, for everything.

Katara remained silent, still feeling an unbelievable amount of anger. She saw Meiluna as her own sister. And yet, Meiluna had put Prince Zuko before her own 'family'. After Meiluna had finished speaking, Katara picked up a small box of food that was packed for Aang, and immediately left.

Meiluna watched her figure as she left without a single sound. Sokka seemed more hurt than angry. He thought they were best friends. He thought friends told each other everything.

He stood up with a quiet sigh,
"Let's go back"

He didn't wait for the other two to follow as he exited the building. Meiluna slowly stood up and moved to follow him too, not wanting to see how Toph felt about the whole ordeal. She felt a hand clasp around her wrist and saw that Toph had grabbed on to her.

"I forgive you"

Meiluna's eyes widened in shock at hearing those three words. She continued to keep her head down whilst leading Toph out of the restaurant.

"I don't deserve that" She mumbled quietly.

"Hey!" Toph called out loudly making Meiluna jump slightly, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself!"

"I'm a horrible person Toph, didn't you see the way Katara looked at me?" She sighed.

Toph waved a hand in front of her face,
"No"

"Right, sorry" Meiluna apologised immediately.

"You did what you thought was right," Toph started, "I could tell you weren't lying"

Meiluna remained silent, unsure of what to say next.

"You're a good person Luna," Toph continued, a bit softer.

Meiluna felt a smile graze her features at Toph's sweet words.

"None of this is your fault, you've spent this whole time by the Avatar's side fighting to end a war and you think that counts for nothing? You're better than any stupid Fire Nation Prince!"

Meiluna listened in disbelief, hearing the words of praise leave her mouth. It seemed almost foreign.

"Now stop being a baby and take us back! I can't see which way we're going"

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