The young prince stormed into his room in a fit of anger sending unlit candles flying and pushing over a chair before finally flopping down on his bed, letting his anger mingle unpleasantly with humiliation.
" I hate her, I hate her, I hate, hate HATE HER ! why does she ALWAYS have to show me up in front of father ?" he yelled into his pillow, bitter tears beginning to sting his eyes he pushed them quickly away as a lump rose in his throat, he swallowed trying to force it away, composure was one fo the first steps to being a perfect prince.
He had just attended fire bending training and once again his little sister had been better than him, to make it worse his father had been there. He was smiling proudly at Azula as she aced every test, no matter that he did, Zuko always seemed to come in second best, his father looked at him with something close to disgust. When the little boy ran from the training area, he'd been so angry he'd even pushed his mother off of him when she'd tried to comfort him.
Immediately his anger vanished when he remembered her hurt expression and a wave of regret hit him hard, he shouldn't have done that he thought as he rolled onto his side and curled into a little ball, poking at the fire emblem on his pillow letting his emotions run around in his head. He sat like that for some minutes before he caught something in the corner of his eye, looking up he saw a someone dissapear from his window.
Must be Azula come to laugh at him, brag, make him feel bad, as she always did when she was victorious over him.
He walked over to his window checking his face with his hand to make sure his tears had dried or to get rid of any still around. He scanned the grounds outside for anything, and nearly jumped out his skin when a young girl, about his age popped up and peered at him through the window. Zuko felt anger rise in him again, who was this girl ? how dare she spy on him when he was feeling so low ! but she, seemly oblivious to his mood smiled and waved. The anger melted into confusion, without meaning to he raised his hand and waved it slowly back at her. Her grin split wider and she motioned for him to open the window. Without being exactly sure why, Zuko obliged and was now standing face to face with the strange girl.
"Hi" she chirped in a bright voice.
"Hello" said Zuko, then after a short pause, where neither of them said anything, Zuko continued.
"Who are you ?" he asked suspiciously.
"Me ? Oh I'm Moranna, but everyone just calls me Mora, you must be Prince Zuko"
"what are you doing here ?" Zuko said scanning the girls appearance to see if she could have been a thief, she didn't look like one.
"My Father is one of the fire nations generals, he is in a meeting with your father, uncle and the fire lord. I was told to go play with your sister, but she left and went and played with those other two girls, and they all ignored me." she said looking a little upset.
Zuko nodded.
"That sounds like Azula, she's always doing stuff like that"
" oh, she's kind of mean"
"yes, she is" Zuko smiled a little despite himself.
"Anway" she continued " then I saw you all alone in your room and thought maybe you'd wanna play, but then you looked up at me so I ducked down and hid" - she said looking a little embarrassed. - "Like maybe you'd think I was spying on you or something"
" well I thought you might have been a thief when I saw you" said Zuko but stopped when he saw the taken aback look on her face "but then I realized you probably weren't" he added quickly blushing embarrassed himself now.
" how ?" she questioned, blinking.
" you don't look like one" he stated
" what do you mean ?"
" umm" Zuko said blushing harder. Glancing up at her, she was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Long dark brown slightly covering her bright green eyes, and shading her freckle spattered face, surely no thief could look like that, the ones in the stories he knew were all haggard, old and ugly. He couldn't say that or course, so he just shrugged in response. She smiled.
"Anyway, wanna play ?" she asked holding her hand out for his. Zuko hesitated slightly before taking her hand in his and she helped pull him through the window and out into the garden. They stood for a second, face to face, her smile bright and confident, his nervous and unsure until she pressed a hand to his chest.
"Tag ! You're it" she cried before bolting off.
"No fair !" yelled Zuko chasing her. The two played together for a couple of hours before they both collapsed on the pond bank, they sat for a while watching the turtle ducks and catching their breath ad lost in their thoughts.
" Can you do it too ?" said Mora finally breaking the silence.
" What ?" asked Zuko as he rolled from lying on his stomach to his back to get a better look at the girl while they spoke.
"Fire bending - like Azula"
Zuko paused for a moment, the sting of today's failure coming back again, but less so.
" I'm not as good as her" he said trying to hide the jealously in his voice.
" can I see anyway ?"
"if you've seen Azula firebend, then watching me isn't that impressive"
"Try" it was more of a question than a command. Zuko sighed and stood, and went through his routine finally finishing looking a little embarrassed.
"Not that good I know, you don't need to tell me" said Zuko, preparing himself for her laughing at him like his sister.
" I liked it" she said, he barely glanced at her, she looked like she meant it, he allowed himself a small smile, and an unknown warm feeling sparkling in his stomach. He did his best to squash it away as he let himself flop down next to her again leaning back and using his arms to support him, facing the sky.
" you're just saying that" he mumbled
"Nu-uh" she shook her head " I mean it wasn't as– big – as Azula's but it also wasn't as scary, I mean when I saw Azula fire bend I dunno" Mora leaned forward hugging her knees " It made me worried , like she'd hurt people with it, with you, I dunno, it's just different, you're different I guess"
Zuko had been looking at the back of her head the whole time she had been speaking.
"good different ?" he asked without thinking
" very good different" she replied simply.
A comfortable silence flooded the space between them as Zuko gave up fighting the warm feeling now ad just let it consume him. He lowered himself into the grass and they both just sat together as the day faded into the first bloom of dusk.
"thanks" Zuko said, after a long while. She turned to him, and opened her mouth to say something
" MORANNA, WHERE ARE YOU ?" shouted a male voice from across the grounds, her head turned away from Zuko again, towards the palace.
"That's my daddy" she said standing up and brushing herself down. Zuko stood up too, not wanting her to go.
" well, goodbye for now " said Zuko bowing to her, the way he had been taught to bid goodbye to all house guests.
She blinked at him for a minute then smiled and pulled him into a hug. The young boy fumbled unsure, he never really hugged anyone except his mother and Mora was an entirely different shape. She pulled away, still smiling and trotted off across the grounds.
" Coming daddy" she called to her unseen father, she glanced over her shoulder and waved before disappearing around the corner.
Zuko walked back to his bedroom, still bathing in the warm feeling, which had faded when Mora left but not entirely gone. As he climbed back through his window and slid the glass shut again, he caught a glimpse of his reflection smiling back at him and made a face at himself. He laughed.
"And why are you so happy Zuzu ?" the cold drawl of his sister's voice making him stop dead. He turned and narrowed his eyes at Azula, he didn't want to tell her, she'd only find a way to ruin it, they way she did most things that where his. Not that the Mora girl way his , but she was definatly more his than Azulas's after all hadn't been Azula that had ditched her in the beginning ?
"Fine, don't tell me, see if I care, but dad's super mad at you for messing up today" She turned and started leaving tossing her head back.
"oh and dinner's ready" she called back to him
He followed, almost walking into his mother on the way to the dinning hall. Zuko threw his arms around his mothers waist and hugged her close.
"I'm sorry for pushing you earlier in practice mother, I didn't mean to upset you" he said, his words being slightly muffled by the soft fabric of her robe. He felt her hand on his cheek, he looked up as she leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"it's ok, my little prince, I know you where hurt." she said softly to him. " I hope you're feeling a bit happier now" He nodded and smiled up at her
" I am mother" he smiled
" good I hate to see you so upset, i'm glad you cheered youself up"
'but I didn't' thought Zuko to himself, 'Mora cheered me up, I guessed that's what friends do' he stopped 'friends ?' he though ' I guess she is' he smiled wide, safe in the knowledge that his mother was no longer his only friend.