Saviour, chapter 3! Before an author's note, this is dedicated to NeeMou for being my awesome first review and Aku Tora for favoriting the story!

AUTHOR'S NOTE! (Anyone else notice how many of these I have lately..?)

Okay, so we are doing a little bit of time skipping for the next few chapters. I'll try not to make them TOO drastic, but knowing my penchant for being oc, well, you just might wanna hold on to your hat. I WILL always tell you if the chapter is a time skip, though. I don't like being confused, so I try not to do the same to others.

Unless they deserve it.

Anywho, this particular chapter is after the war is over. Because I have too many ideas for after the war. That's my only excuse… yeah…

*slaps self in face* THIS ISN'T A BLOG! MIKA KEEPS TELLING YOU THAT! Sorry 'bout that…

DISCLAIMER: grr rrr… still no… because I would have had my way and had Haru show up more with his awesome mustache-y-ness!

~ The evening after Zuko's coronation~

Amaiya winced as she peeled her glove back.

It was sticky with blood and burned up.

That wasn't all too surprising.

It was covering a burn, after all.

She tried to flex or move her hand, only to bite back a loud cry. It hurt too much. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back tears.

Warriors don't cry.

Even if they're girls.

She took a shuddering breath and opened her eyes to examine it more. It'd been too long for it not to leave scars. She reached over and grabbed a cloth, getting it wet. She wanted to heal it the old fashioned way for some reason. She very carefully dabbed at it, biting hard on her lip. Now she knew how Sokka felt whenever he treated his own wounds.

'I guess this means they match now…' Amaiya thought solemnly as she looked at her other hand.

That one had gotten hit by Azula sometime before she completely went crazy. When, Amaiya wasn't sure anymore, but definitely before she lost her mind. It, too, was covered in burns. And it wasn't that she or Katara hadn't healed it fast enough. No, it was because it was just that bad of a burn.

Amaiya suddenly realized how long it had really been since she got the new one.

Nearly a whole day.

Nearly a whole day had gone by since Aang had beaten Ozai.

Nearly a whole day had gone by since Sokka, Toph and Suki crashed and destroyed the fleet of airships by themselves.

Nearly a whole day had gone by since Iroh and Pakku and the others had freed Ba Sing Se.

Nearly a whole day had gone by since Zuko and Katara had finally beaten Azula.

Nearly a whole day had gone by since Amaiya had taken on all 100 of the Fire Nation soldiers that were left in the capital city to protect Azula, by herself, to give Zuko and Katara a chance.

Nearly a whole entire 24 hour day.

Amaiya looked at her hands. One was scarred, and the other was red and tender to the touch. She'd used those hands to make Zuko and Katara go after Azula. She shut her eyes, playing it back in her mind.

"GET DOWN!"

Amaiya got on top of Katara, shielding her younger sister from the heat of the fire blast. Zuko seemed to cut it in half with his own fire. Amaiya looked up, and looked over at where Azula was.

They didn't have enough time to waste here.

Amaiya jumped up and got in front of Zuko, hitting her fighting stance and drawing her bow.

"Zuko, take Katara and take down Azula! I'll handle this!"

Zuko's eyes got wide, as did Katara's.

"Amaiya, no we're not going to leave you here!"

"Katara, we have 2 options: either you two go, or we all get held up here and Azula will be able to get away."

Amaiya looked back at her sister, smirking.

"I'd rather be useful here than sit around watching you two do all the work!"

One soldier had the guts to try to blast her when she wasn't looking.

With amazing reflexes, Amaiya not only dodged it, but sent an arrow clanging into his head, knocking him out.

"1 down, 99 to go!"

She grinned at her friends.

"Don't worry about me! I'm gonna be fine, I promise!"

Katara sprinted up and hugged her sister hard.

"You better be!" she called as she ran off.

Fire balls began flying at the young girl.

Amaiya bended them all, making steam fill the air.

Under cover of the damp fog, Amaiya ran over and pushed Zuko towards the same direction as her sister.

"Zuko, go, and take care of my sister!"

Zuko looked uncertainly at the water bender.

Amaiya looked back.

There was something in his golden eyes that Amaiya hadn't seen before.

He looked like they were saying goodbye forever.

Amaiya took his hands and squeezed them.

She looked deep into his golden eyes with her sapphire ones.

"Promise me you'll take care of Katara, Zuko. Please?"

Something looked like it broke inside the Fire Nation prince.

He hugged her, holding on tightly.

"Only if you promise me that I'll see you again," he whispered into her ear.

A shiver went down Amaiya's back.

She hugged him back.

"I promise."

Amaiya thought about that look in Zuko's eyes.

She didn't want to admit that he looked scared for her.

She didn't want to admit that she didn't want him to let go of her when he held her.

Numbly, she dipped her hands into the bowl of water that sat next to her. A soft glow illuminated her expressionless face for a second. She blankly looked at her newly scarred hand. It didn't hurt anymore.

She sat there in the dark of her room, the only light coming from the sliver of the moon coming through the windows.

Silently, she touched her healed hand, a few tears glittering down her cheeks.

She didn't want to admit that she was crying.

She didn't want to admit that he was happy with this other woman.

She didn't want to admit that she'd lost him.

She didn't want to admit it.

She'd already been burned enough for one day.

Sooo changed the genre for obvious reasons… this is my first dramatic story! For some reason, it fits very well…

So because of this chapter, I now have the idea to jump a few YEARS later instead of a few MONTHS. Why you ask?

Because 1: I guess that's just how it's progressing in my head and 2: I'm just that messed up.

But fear not! The plot bunny stew is pretty much done, so I'll have roaring chapters that only go from day to day again in no time! That being said:

PLEASE R&R! BE FIRST AND GET A CHAPTER DEDICATED TO YOU!

~Never eat Plot Bunny Stew. Unlike seal jerky, it's not very filling. ~