a/n: Inspiration is a tricky goober. Keeps coming back to me in the middle of the night.
-x-
Time clicked away.
It hummed by, as her back met with the wall, and she let out a soft sigh that escaped from her heart. The hood towered over her face, flowing behind her regally, following her heavy footsteps along the marble floor.
Click.
Click.
Click.
She's been standing there for too long, so long that her muscles are beginning to tense. Hugging herself, she leaned against the wall, hiding in the shadows. It was so easy to get in, because she used to know every corner and room of this palace, but who knew it would be so hard to take one more step? The guards who let her in, the ones who immediately opened the doors for her when they saw her, just as she simply placed a finger to her lips, were just around the corner, keeping their eyes open for the sake of the ex-Fire Lady.
It didn't make her feel any better.
All she wanted to do was run. Run like she always has, leave until her legs fall under her, and until all the problems seem to be gone. Even if they aren't, Ursa was a professional at pretending. Hiding behind a wall, she felt her heart beating along with time, perhaps even slower, so slow, that she barely felt It there.
Until, she saw him.
Her amber eyes widened, a gasp surpassing her thin lips.
She could only think one thing.
He's grown.
Looking both ways, so she was positively sure that no one but the faithful guards were around, she took a step forward. Her foot met with the marble floor, and an overwhelming (yet so familiar) feeling shook her body, causing her hands to shake once again. It was the same feeling that returned to her during the night, during her nightmares, and so many years ago, the day she left.
Something heavy was squishing her lungs, blocking the pathways, and punching her ribs.
Guilt.
Even if the very air she once used to laugh at this very place suffocated her, she managed to spill out a single word, two syllables, and a lifetime of regret.
"Zuko!"
He didn't turn around.
