The sun was shining on his face, the air hot and humid, trees all around him. Why did Uncle have to make him pluck tea leaves in the afternoon? It was all a disguise anyway; Zuko didn't see the point of it all. He knew that Azula was chasing after him and Uncle, but did they have to open a tea shop at Ba Sing Se?

Uncle had given him a list of all the tea leaves that he was needing for the shop. Zuko was initially reluctant, but eventually gave in and decided to look for the stupid leaves. He searched around thoroughly, but his limited botanical knowledge didn't help to make the search easier.

Zuko felt uncomfortable with the heavy foundation plastered onto his face. It was needed, however. Because his banishment was such a publicity, the scar made by his father would easily give away his identity. His hair was also undone from its usual ponytail; the black hair was cut short and messy.

Zuko continued to search for the leaves, but to no avail. He was exhausted and ready to shout at Uncle to go find the leaves himself, but his derogatory thoughts were quickly silenced by the sight of a young girl.

"I've seen her before...", Zuko quietly whispered to himself.

With a start, he realized that she was no one but Katara, the girl who was always around Aang, the Avatar. His heart beat faster, and he quickly concealed his presence completely.

"What are these guys doing in Ba Sing Se?", he thought to himself frantically, "These are the worst people I could run into; they'd cause a commotion and reveal both Uncle and I immediately, possibly getting us captured by Earthbenders or Azula."

Zuko, being the sharp strategist that he is, decided to quietly walk away before being noticed by the girl. He started off slowly, darting from tree trunk to tree trunk to get out from the forest.

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him, "Hello? Young man? Could you please help me find some aloe in this forest?" Zuko stiffened. It was unmistakably the voice of Katara. He thought about running off, but decided it would be too suspicious to do so.

Plastering a smile on his already plastered face, Zuko turned around and met Katara's eyes. Her cerulean pupils seemed to pierce into his own black orbs, and he felt terribly vulnerable. Her eyes held a kind look in them, however, so she could not have known that he was the Fire Lord's banished prince. Zuko raised a hand in greeting and began to walk towards her.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, but my friend is hurt and I was looking for some aloe to apply on the wound. Do you know whether I could find some here?", Katara kindly asked.

Surprisingly, Zuko did know where to find some aloe, even with his small scope of plant knowledge. He needed to leave the forest quickly, however, before Katara could recognize him, and lied instead.

"I'm sorry; I'm really not sure where to find aloe here.", Zuko replied.

"Oh, that really sucks. I guess I'll have to keep searching.", Katara said. A long silence pierced the conversation and Zuko felt the heat rising in his cheeks. Prepared to make an exit, Katara suddenly interjected, "What brings you to the forest today?", in a conversational tone.

Zuko was prepared to lie, but decided that his reason for being in the forest was pretty normal overall, and so just told the truth.

"I'm here to find some tea leaves for my Uncle's tea shop. I seem to be having some trouble, though.", Zuko carefully laughed.

"Oh really? I could help you find those. Let me see your list and we could go search for the leaves together, and maybe find some aloe along the way.", Katara kindly remarked.

Zuko quietly panicked. Katara couldn't help him find the leaves; during the time it takes to find them, she may realize who he really was. He quickly formulated an acceptable response.

"Thank you, but I'm really fine. I was going to get back to my Uncle's and ask him to come help me out.", Zuko remarked.

"All right, if you insist. I'd better get going then. Thanks for your help, although you didn't help very much at all", Katara smirked. Zuko felt a tinge of guilt for not helping. Despite the past, Katara seemed caring and genuinely kind towards him. "Haha, I'm kidding. My friends and I are new to Ba Sing Se, so we really don't have anywhere to go. Where is your Uncle's tea shop located? I'd love to visit."

Again, Zuko was worried about telling Katara where the tea shop was. If she or Aang came to the tea shop and saw Uncle and him, there may be some big trouble. But it was terribly suspicious not to disclose an address, so he ended up giving in.

"It's around the Southeast side of Ba Sing Se, in the shopping district.", Zuko replied, internally reluctant.

"I'll definitely come by. Nice to meet you then! See you around!", Katara chirped cheerfully. Zuko waved his hand off awkwardly and turned around, eager to stop the panic in his head.

"Hey wait!", Katara called out to him. Zuko felt a strong urge to run again, but stopped short and turned around as Katara's hand lightly grazed his shoulder. "I found some tea leaves!", Katara said enthusiastically.

"Oh, thank you so much.", Zuko remarked and awkwardly received the leaves. Feeling guilty, he decided to point out some aloe to Katara as well. He grasped the leaves tightly in his hand and took a step forward, hesitantly. "Hey, umm, you know I think I remember seeing a aloe bush near a stream a few yards west from here."

"Oh really? Thanks for the advice! Looks like you were a big help after all.", Katara giggled. "I guess I'll be going now. I'll drop by your Uncle's tea shop sometime!"

Zuko smiled and waved his hand. When Katara was finally out of sight, Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. His cover was so close to being blown. Both him and Uncle needed to be more careful around the shop now, especially if anyone from Aang's group came by. Ba Sing Se may not be the safest place to be anymore. He had told Uncle not to come here, maybe not because of the Avatar, but he was still going to rub it in Uncle's face all the same.

Zuko quickly started home from the forest, tea leaves in hand. He could still feel the haunting, piercing quality of Katara's eyes, looking into him and seeing him as the banished Prince that he was. But there was a kindness in those eyes that also seemed to 'enchant' him. He shivered at the thought and walked faster towards the tea shop.

Author's Note:

This is the first fanfiction my friend and I have ever written. Please review and give us feedback! We'd love to hear what you think! Also, please read the upcoming chapters :)