The fingers of the fire stretched high to the heavens, sending a cry of anger. Mournful faces stared at the funeral pyre with respectful silence. One elderly man spoke to the silent crowd as the flames were lit, the respected Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation. "No words can truly be said to what the Avatar has done for us. He defeated the Fire Lord and brought balance back to the world. He gave us all hope. Aang was the Avatar but he was also a young man, who should have had the chance to grow. Let us say goodbye to him now and what he could have been," Iroh's rough voice boomed gently.
Tears formed and trailed down one young woman's dark cheeks. Blue eyes screamed her inner pain and sang the feelings of regret and grief. One figure approached her carefully, who was dressed in the dark red clothes of the Fire Nation. Golden eyes looked at her carefully. He spoke with a cold voice touched with guilt, "I'm sorry." Blue eyes looked at him for a mere second till they returned to the fire. "I didn't mean to let him die," he continued, "He saved me." The girl looked at him with only a hint of surprise. "I think he could have been great, if he had been given the chance." He stated, "He loved you, he wanted me to tell you that."
The girl looked at him sadly. "He was great," she replied sorrowfully.
"Did you love him?"
She stared at the fire. "I don't know, but I wish that I could have found out."
Golden eyes stared at the fire with her, but for the merest second when she said that, they flared with emotion that almost looked like anger. "I'm here."
"I know."
"If you need anything…."
"I'll let you know."
He gazed at her quietly while she breathed deeply. It was ironic really. He had never really cared for the Avatar himself as a person till he had begun to know him. Yet now he was jealous of something he couldn't have and the Avatar could have had it, but he had died to protect her. She loved the Avatar.