A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long. Okay first off I just wanted to say thank you to arizony for the help, advice and ideas. At my notes at the end I will tell you what his ideas for this chapter were so that I don't ruin it for you right now ^_^ This is from Zuko's POV and I find that I actually like to see things through his eyes instead of imagining them through my OC's eyes. It definitely helps me in trying to capture and understand his personality. Anyways, on to the story. Hope you enjoy reading this and I realize I haven't put this in my previous chapters and I am sorry for that but here is my disclaimer: I do not own Avatar and that's prbably a very good thing because if I did it probably wouldn't have anywhere near as many viewers lol
I paced back and forth in my room. Yes or no? Read it or leave it? The choice was finally mine. It was only a few hours until we would leave and I still had no answer from her. The guards had brought me her profile so that I could read it to learn more about her. All I had to do was open it and her entire past would be revealed. I wanted to and yet I didn't at the same time. Reading it would answer all the questions that had been running through my head. But she might consider it an invasion of privacy. Maybe just the first page…no it was only going to get me even more curious and I would never be able to stop until I had read the whole thing over ad over again making sure I hadn't missed anything.
I finally made up my mind to just take a peak. I walked over to it and slowly lifted the folder half expecting something to jump out at me and attack me for invading her privacy. Luckily nothing came out at me and I sat down and pulled the file onto my lap. The beginning said her name and age and all of that. I skimmed through it not really caring how tall she was or what she weighed. I read down to reason for imprisonment.
"Firelord's orders." Were all that was written and I found myself wishing the lazy guards had been more specific. I looked farther down to see relations. They were names I recognized but couldn't tell from where. Until I read this:
Father Zirone Hikamaru
I couldn't believe my eyes. I hadn't seen or heard that name since before I had been banished but I remembered it well. It was a man who was brought before my father in trial. He was the king of the Central Water Tribe before it was destroyed. My father had wanted some kind of information from him. He had refused to give and was even willing to die to protect his secret. My father had him imprisoned, but what I remembered most was as the guards were taking him away my father had turned to another guard and told him to have the mans family killed.
If he was Kona's father that would mean that Kona was supposed to die when her people were destroyed. The same questions kept running through my mind. What happened? How is she still alive? What secret was her father protecting? I knew I had to find where her father was imprisoned. I had to find the answers to these questions.
Just then a knock sounded at my door. "Come in," I said quietly, not really wanting to be disturbed. Luckily it was only my uncle and he came in and sat down beside me. He examined my face then looked at the folder in my lap.
"Is something bothering you Zuko?" He asked with a worried face. When I didn't answer him he looked down at the file and started reading. When he got to the part that I had stopped at he looked back up at me. "Do you know what this means?" I could only nod my head. "She is the last survivor of the Central Water Tribe." Now I turned and looked at him oddly.
"What about her father? He was imprisoned but he is still from the Central Water Tribe." I finally said. I didn't understand what he meant. Unless…
"I'm sorry Zuko, but Zirone has never been found since the day he left the Fire Nation. Nobody knows where he is. Everyone assumed he was dead."
I wondered idly what Kona would think once she heard this news. Would it be unexpected or something she had already known? I did not know and the unanswered questions bothered me. I didn't understand why I felt this connection to her, why I wanted to protect her from this saddening news. It didn't make sense to me and I classified the feelings under guilt for her many years in prison. I remembered back to what she had told me when she could not keep her emotions under control. What had happened to her in this prison? I wanted to know what pain she had seen so that I could help erase is or at least cover it with happier memories. What could I classify that emotion under? Perhaps that was guilt too; maybe I would never know where my emotions came from. Or maybe all it would take was a little more time with this mysterious girl who seemed to bring out these unknown emotions in me. I would find out soon enough.
My uncle jerked me from my thoughts as he closed the door. Probably to leave me to think about what he said. He always knew when the time was for talk and when the time was to leave me be to ponder my thoughts. I did not have long to ponder however because soon after that there was a knock on my door. I answered to find one of the prison guards.
"The prisoner you spoke with last night wishes to speak with you. Will you accept?" He asked formally.
"Of course," I replied and then saw her standing to the side of the door. "You decided to accept my proposal?" I hoped she had for I knew I could not make myself choose another.
"I-I…haven't decided yet." She looked down as if she were afraid I would lash out at her for her indecision.
"Then what have you come to talk about?" I asked curiously. Her confused expression baffled me and I wondered what she was thinking to make her so distraught.
"I just – what I mean is – I-I umm…" Her stuttering worried me slightly and out of instinct I reached out to touch her arm.
"What is it you're trying to say?" I asked letting my worry fill my tone. She looked at the guard and then back at me. I understood and motioned him to leave then looked back at her.
"I've been thinking this morning about a certain issue," She finally said and I wondered what issue she could be thinking of. "If I accept your proposal that is."
I ushered her inside to give us some more privacy then closed the door. "Go ahead," I offered when she didn't continue.
"Would you – we – I – have to – be required to – um…" She kept changing her words with different ones and it nearly killed me not knowing what she was thinking about that made her do this. After a couple of deep breaths she seemed to regain her composure. "Would I be required to provide an heir to your thrown?" So she was taking my offer seriously. I considered her question for a moment.
"Eventually, yes, but not for some time." I finally answered. "The need is not that great and I would not want to discomfort you in any way." She seemed more content with this answer and she nodded her head gently.
"I suppose that I will have to," She thought for just a moment longer and then finished her sentence. "Accept your proposal." She smiled just slightly after saying this, but only for a moment. Her expression became slightly troubled again after that and it made me truly wonder what could possibly be on her mind that was so troubling.
"What are you thinking?" I finally asked unable to bear the curiosity. She hesitated for a moment and then smiled just slightly again.
"I was just thinking of what it will be like, being Lady of the Fire Nation. I was having some trouble imagining it." She smiled a little wider. I knew it wasn't the full truth but I would take what she was willing to give for now.
"Don't worry you won't have to imagine for long," I said encouragingly. "The ship ride will only last a couple of days. You must be tired," I added belatedly wondering if she was normally up this early. She simply nodded slightly and gave me a weak smile. She seemed so fragile when she was shy like this. I supposed it was because she didn't really know how to act. She had just bound herself to her enemy and he was asking her if she was tired. I thought about how I must look to her. But the more I thought about it the less sure I was about the answer. Curiosity got the better of me again and I blurted out my question. "How do you see me?" She gave me a confused look and I clarified. "I mean how do I seem to you? This must be odd for, having a complete stranger who was in fact your enemy some time ago come and offer you marriage."
"I will admit you do seem slightly odd," She said and then seemed to smile to herself, perhaps a private joke? "But I can see that your intentions are good. I don't think you will hurt me and that scares me more than anything else." I gave her a confused look and after a moment she explained. "My entire life I was raised to hate the Fire Nation. I was taught that they were cruel and uncaring, that they had no hearts and did not care who they hurt because they were so greedy. My years in prison only proved this and so I truly have thought that of the Fire Nation. And then you came and you seemed so nice. When I first looked into your eyes I saw something I had never seen before in someone from the Fire Nation. I saw courage and honor and a kind tender heart and I didn't understand it. But I also saw pain and suffering and it made me think that maybe not all the people of the Fire Nation were driven by greed. Then I noticed your scar…" I scoffed at her. She couldn't have noticed all that before she noticed the scar. That was the first thing everyone saw when they looked into my eyes. She continued anyways. "It made me wonder who could be so horrible as to burn a man as kind as you. It didn't make any sense." She paused before continuing again. "I want to know who did it; I need to know who could be so monstrous as to burn a man with so much kindness and such a gentle heart." Her eyes begged me to tell her and I found it hard to deny them.
"Do you really want to know?" She simply nodded her head and waited for me to continue. I took a deep breath. "It was my father." I heard her gasp as I expected and then went on. I told her the story, the team of Fire Nation soldiers who would be sacrificed, the angry general, but most of all my pleas to my father to forgive me. "The pain of my father's rejection hurt worse than the pain of his flames to my skin. I tried futilely to find the Avatar so that I could regain my honor. It took me a long time to realize that my father could never restore my honor. That restoring my honor was something only I could do." When I finished I looked up at her and her expression was a mix of emotions playing out on her face. And then when she realized I was staring at her, her face became composed. It was as if she had put up an imaginary wall to hide her emotions and even when I told her my story I could not get past that wall. I assumed that the strongest emotion there was probably sympathy as it usually was. Of course I couldn't be sure because nothing about her was how it was in usual people.
"I can't imagine how painful that must have been." She finally said after the long pause. "I should probably consider myself lucky because I don't know if I could go on if I had been rejected by my father." I winced as she said that last sentence. She would never get to see her father again and I didn't know if I could tell her, much less how I would tell her. She needed to know, and I knew it was wrong to keep it from her, but still…a part of me hesitated. Maybe I should move on to some happier news for now. I decided I would do that and tried to think of some good news in the midst of all this pain. Finally a thought came to my mind.
"You will get to meet the Avatar soon," I said and by her face she knew I had purposely changed the subject. She didn't say anything and instead gave me a weak smile. Maybe she was glad for the subject change too, or maybe she didn't say anything for my sake. "And his soon to be wife also, I'm sure you two will be able to connect in more ways than one."
"How's that?" She asked curiously.
"Well Katara has been through some rough times," I thought of the time we had gone together to avenge her mothers death. She truly was a good person and I was really happy for her and Aang that they could be happy together. "She also didn't like me very much at first." I added with a chuckle. Her face became defensive and I wondered if she thought I didn't realize her distaste for me when we first met. I was under the impression that she wanted that well known. "I was their enemy for a very long time and she found it hardest to forgive me because at one point when I was confused about how I was feeling about everything, she trusted me. I betrayed her trust and it took me a very long time but I slowly regained it." I explained slowly, allowing her to take it all in. She needed to know that even though I was bad at one point I was still a good person on the inside. I hoped having everyone there would help her see that.
"So when will I meet them?" She asked, and she now seemed almost eager to meet them. Of course I couldn't place exactly where her eagerness had come from and I had a feeling she made it that way on purpose.
"When we return to the Fire Nation they will be waiting for us. Katara's brother Sokka will also be there with his soon to be wife Suki." I remembered once again how Sokka and I had rescued Suki from the very prison we were preparing to leave. "And another friend Toph will also be there, however who she is with I do not know, but I am eager to meet him. In fact I almost feel sorry for him, Toph is a very tough girl, but if he can handle it then I am happy for both of them." I added with a slight smile. It was a good thing Toph was an earth bender because her personality was just a little too hard for any other element. But it fit her well and I hoped her relationship with this unknown person would be good for her.
"I can't wait to meet all of them." She said gracing me with a warm smile and I found it hard to breathe. Her smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. But the she involuntarily yawned I recalled that she was tired.
"Why don't you rest here," I said motioning to the bed. "I have some paperwork to fill out before we set off and you look like you could use some extra sleep." She gave me a small smile and walked over to the side of the bed pulling the covers down. She looked up at me as if she had forgotten to mention something.
"Thank you," she said and then paused for a moment before continuing. "For everything you are doing for me. I really appreciate it." She said gracing me with another one of her amazing warm smiles. I smiled back and dreamed that perhaps my smile could have the same effect on her and hers did on me.
"Your welcome," I said and then turned to leave. As I closed the door I whispered gently. "Sleep well." And then I left to attend to my duties.
A/N: Okay so feel free to tell me what you think. Even if you didn't like it. In fact espescially if you didn't like it. Don't get me wrong I love reading positive reviews but the negative ones also help me to know what my readers don't want to read. Because without readers an author is nothing. Anyways it was arizony's idea to add in the profile at the beginning and my sister gave me the idea for the background story on her father so that now we know somewhat of what really happened to him. It was also arizony's idea for the gathering of old friends. Which will hopefully be in the next chapter. And hopefully I will get that one out sooner than I did this one ^_^' It took a while because I had a ton of tests in school and everything but I finally finished it. I really am sorry it took so long and I know I made some editing mistakes and misspellings I apologize for those too. Anyways hope to get the next chappie out to you sooner! In the mean time tell me what you think of the story so far. Like I said even the negative comments give me inspiration!