Ezra took a step forward and Shinah's hand fell from her shoulder, but she hardly felt it. Her brows furrowed in confusion when Noah's eyes hardened and her brother turned away from her, speaking to the man next to him. She began walking towards him, ignoring Yona's and Hak's calls for her to exercise caution.

"Noah!" she called, her pace quickening.

Noah turned back towards her, separating himself from the group of Fire Tribe soldiers to meet her halfway.

Ezra's face broke into a grin. "Oh my god, Noah, I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" She made as if to throw her arms around her brother's neck for a hug.

She was startled when his hands caught her wrists and jerked her back, holding her at arm's length.

"What are you doing here, Ezra?" Noah's voice had gotten deeper in the five years they'd been separated, but that wasn't what made him seem like an entirely foreign person to Ezra. His voice and eyes were hard, the edges cutting into her like a knife.

This wasn't the brother she'd once known and loved.

"Noah...?" Her voice was small and weak, and she hated herself for it.

His jaw clenched at hearing his name coming from his sister's lips. "What in the hell are you doing here?" he repeated, his green eyes flashing.

"I-I'm traveling," she stuttered. She couldn't get a grasp on this person who wore her brother's face; who was he? "What do you mean, Noah--"

"Don't play games with me, Ezra," Noah snarled at her, his voice going even deeper. "I know what you did."

"What I..." she trailed off, eyes going wide as she realized what he'd meant. Oh god, he'd heard about what she'd done. He knew exactly what kind of person his little sister had become.

Noah narrowed his eyes, barely concealed rage writhing in their emerald depths. "You're a wanted woman, Ezra. You're lucky we didn't have enough resources to launch a manhunt for your head when it happened two years ago." His grasp on her wrists tightened painfully, but Ezra was too stunned by his words to try to pull away. "I was heartbroken when I heard, Ezra. That my mother had died and that my little sister had become a murderer, a monster, while I was gone."

Ezra opened her mouth to explain, but no sound came out. Her voice had failed her.

Noah grit his teeth. "I don't want to hear your excuses. That was the worst day of my life, and I've been angry at you ever since. What were you thinking?"

Ezra tried to speak, but Noah cut her off.

"No, I meant what I said; I don't want to hear it. Now get out of my sight. You're lucky I don't have the time or desire to haul you with me to the capital so you can get the punishment you deserve. You're a traitor to the Fire Tribe. Don't think that I'll ever forgive you just because you're my sister."

He released her wrists and turned abruptly on his heel, stalking back to his group. Suddenly he halted and glanced back at her over his shoulder. "I'm ashamed to be related to a killer."

Then he returned to the soldiers without looking back.

Ezra stood there in shock, staring after him.

Well, that didn't go as I expected.

The one wry thought flashed through her mind, and she was almost startled into laughing. She might've stood there all day in complete and utter shock had not Yona grabbed her hand and began gently pulling her away.

"Ez..." the red-haired princess murmured. She sounded far away, as if Ezra was hearing her through a foot of water. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah." Ezra's voice sounded hollow and unsure. "Yeah, let's go."

~~~

"What was that about?" Yona murmured to Hak at the front of the group, glancing furtively over her shoulder at Ezra. The raven-haired warrior was trailing after the others with her eyes on the ground, not appearing aware of anything or anyone around her.

"Beats me," Hak shrugged. His voice was casual, but his eyes were dark and serious. "That little chat did reveal one thing, though; she's been hiding something."

They'd heard the entire conversation between Ezra and her long-lost brother. Yona didn't understand what Noah had meant when he'd called his sister a murderer or a monster, but she wasn't about to jump to conclusions.

She wouldn't judge her friend until she knew exactly what had happened. Yona refused to believe that the Ezra that she had come to know and love didn't exist.

Ezra was a good person. Yona would believe that until her dying breath.

Ezra was silent for the entirety of their journey back to the camp as she trudged along at the back of the group. Kija and Zeno shared a look and began to drift towards her with the intention of cheering her up, but they were stopped when Jaeha grabbed each of them by the wrist. When they glanced at him in askance, he just shook his head, his eyes sad. Shinah walked alongside her quietly.

Their hike was permeated with a silence so heavy that Ezra could feel it like a burden on her already exhausted shoulders. Confusion, anger, hurt, and loss swirled around into an incomprehensible mess inside her brain, bringing tears to her eyes no matter how desperately she fought to keep them down.

Noah, her older brother who'd been ripped from her side when she was just twelve years old, was alive and well. And he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the little sister he'd left behind all those years ago.

Where did it all go wrong?

Ezra scoffed to herself, banishing the thought. Of course she knew where it went wrong.

Ezra kept her eyes locked on the ground as she walked, watching her feet kick up the dirt along the road. She was so distracted by the snarl of thoughts inside her head that she didn't even move soundlessly like she always did; her every footstep sounded like the beat of a dying heart.

"I'm... gonna go for a walk," Ezra announced quietly once they arrived back at camp.

"But--" Yun began to protest, but Hak interjected.

"Let her go," he said quietly. He wanted to hear her story as much as the rest of them, but he knew that she needed time. Being called a monster or a traitor by the brother she lost five years ago could not have been easy for her, no matter what she had or hadn't done to deserve the abuse.

Ezra nodded her thanks to the former general before turning and heading off in a random direction. Yona watched her friend go with tortured violet eyes.

"I should go with her," Yona said, taking a step in the direction Ezra had gone. "She shouldn't be alone."

Hak grabbed the princess's arm to keep her from moving. "Talking about it is the last thing she wants right now. What she needs is space and silence to process what just happened. Besides, if you go after her, you'll just end up getting yourself lost."

Yona stuck her tongue out at that last comment. "You're mean, Hak." Then her eyes widened. "She needs space and silence, you say?"

Hak's brow furrowed, wondering where the princess was going with this train of thought. He nodded. 

Yona turned to Shinah. "Shinah, will you go check on her for me?"

Shinah's mouth parted into a small "o" of surprise. For a few moments he stared at the red-haired princess, his expression seeming to ask, Why me?

"She's comfortable with you, Shinah," Yona told him earnestly. "And I don't think she should be alone right now. Just... go sit with her. She tends to open up to you more than the rest of us."

Hak raised an eyebrow. His naive princess had a point. "It wouldn't hurt," he agreed.

Shinah nodded before striding off in the direction Ezra had gone. 

***

Not gonna lie, it broke my heart a little writing this out. What did you guys think? Let me know!

As always, you guys are the greatest. I can't appreciate you enough!

--Veratia0011