I didn't want to admit that I was jealous of her.

She was walking through the hall in front of me, her father on one side, Sokka on Hakoda's other side, and the air bender on her free side. I watched as her father put his hand on her shoulder, telling her how proud he was of her.

Why it bothered me so much, I couldn't peg. Oh wait, yes I could- my father and sister were completely insane, and my mother had disappeared off the face of the planet. My father didn't even know where she was, now a days. Sure, Katara had lost her mother as well, but she still had her family. Spirits, she even had more in the South.

Behind me, I heard the footsteps of my uncle. When he caught up, he smiled at me, and I nodded in return. The old man looked at me questioningly, and I cursed myself for being so readable. I shook my head, silently telling him that it wasn't anything important. Since I had inherited the throne, he had let things slide every once in a while .He knew the stresses of power. He knew, even better, the stresses of holding onto uncorrupted power.

This time ,though, it was different. I felt the old frustrations arise, felt the jealous monster inside me fighting to breach the surface. All the years of learning control were being tested vigorously.

I couldn't wait for them to leave the palace.

Suddenly, Hakoda turned his head and he saw us walking maybe ten paces behind them. He smiled at us.

"Iroh, Zuko, come on. We were just about to go out for some dinner. You should join us." The little monk spun around with all the grace of Ty Lee and smiled.

"Yeah guys! It'll be fun." Aang said. He stopped walking and waited up to join me and Uncle. Everyone did.

"So how's the high life?" Sokka asked me. I shrugged and smiled a tight smile.

"It's… stressful. But it's worth it." He clapped me on the shoulder, and Hakoda beamed at me.

"It's good to see that the throne is in such sensible care." He told me.

"Yes, the Fire Nation has suffered enough insanity governing it." Uncle replied for me. He and Hakoda sunk into conversation over the world's affairs. I was glad they didn't try to engage me.

"So Zuko…" Sokka began quietly. Our little group had split into three pairs, Sokka and I leading up the rear. "Mai dumped you?" I sighed. Would no one let that go? I had been consulted by sages, fortune tellers, Uncle, even Ty Lee! It had become really annoying.

"Yep." I replied. Short, not offering for much more conversation. Just as I had been taught to do when engaging in talk of political affairs. The same principle was applicable here.

"That's rough, buddy." I smirked. I remembered saying that to him when he had told me of his ex, who was now the current moon goddess.

"Yeah it is." I patted my stomach. "I cant wait for dinner. I spent all day in negotiations with the Earth Kingdom."

"Oh, me neither! I wasn't trapped in a room with a bunch of old guys, its true, but I did…" Sokka kept going on about his day, and I half listened. What I really wanted was some rest.

We finally arrived in the dining hall and sat upon giant, heavily embroidered pillows while platters of exquisite cuisine were brought out. Aang sat beside me, Uncle sat on the other. Sokka and Katara were opposite us, and Hakoda sat at the head of the table.

It wasn't long before Uncle had had many, many cups of tea spiked with some of the strongest wine the Fire Nation had to offer, and he had decided to challenge Aang to a game of Pai Sho. I didn't even know that Aang played.

Hakoda and Sokka began to discuss plans about rebuilding their village, and Katara and I were left to find our own topic of discussion.

"so how's your sister?" She asked, surprising me.

"Just as crazy as ever." I replied. She smiled.

"Good to hear." I grinned slightly. "So… How's ruling a kingdom?" Katara continued. I sighed. Sometimes I hated talking to people.

"It's… A pain. I don't see why anyone would want to take the throne."

"Maybe it's because of the power." I shook my head.

"I don't care about the power. I learned to live a normal life at one point, and it was… pleasant."

"It could be duty to your country." She offered. I looked at her, the smile on her face. It had only been a couple of months since I had seen her, but she'd gotten… prettier, somehow. I shoved that thought to the back of my head. "Maybe. My country hasn't done much for me, though." She stopped smiling.

"Well… Maybe you want to prove that your family isn't crazy, after all. Your real family- not just us."

"What do you mean, real family? As far as I can tell, I only have one family." She shook her head, the long cascades of brown hair running over her shoulders softly.

"Only one blood family, sure. But us-" Katara gestured around the room, " We're also your family. Sometimes we forget that, but it's true."

"Oh." She laughed, and I could only hear a pretty little tinkling. By Agni, what had come over me?