Wendy could hear the music as clearly as if she were in the great room. She could hear the laughter, each tap-tap-tap of feet following the rhythm.
With her fingers, she traced the edge of the desk over which she'd written dozens of letters. Her fingers traced their way to the drawer where her letters were kept safe and unsent. Next to them, Juvia's own letters rested with fulfillment.
There was once a time that Wendy considered destroying them. It was a thought borne out of deep-seeded despair and brokenness. For a long time, Juvia's letters served only to remind her of what- and whom- she'd lost. However, she was later grateful that Iroh convinced her otherwise. Iroh was a true friend to Wendy, and someone she came to love in a different way than Juvia did during her time at the castle.
Wendy closed her eyes and focused on the music. Suddenly, there was applause and a shuffle of feet. The music played even louder and livelier than before, it seemed. A distinct pair of feet tap-tap-tap'ed on the dance floor now, and all other pairs seemed to fade. It was them. Zuko and Mai.
The words together alone sent a small, uncomfortable shiver down her back. Her eyes snapped open and she stood.
As the party went on, Wendy merely watched from a distant balcony. She forced herself to watch them dance, and smile, and hold each other. When the party died down and they left, she headed down to the garden.
"Now, how did I know you would be here?"
The tickling, weathered voice brought an old smile to Wendy's lips. "You always said it was the hair, but you just know me that well, don't you?"
Iroh sat on a nearby bench. They both watched the moonlight reflect off the pond. Iroh broke the silence, his voice full of pity and concern.
"You can hear them, can't you?" He carefully watched her face. She tried to not react but failed, her gaze shifting to the stars above.
"Of course you can," he continued, "you can hear the wind caressing a window on the other side of the palace. Oh, my dear friend, I would take this burden from you if I could. It was mine to begin with, anyhow."
Wendy tilted her head to look at him. "One would think, after all this time, I would be wiser." She faced the sky again and closed her eyes. Their labored, exhausted breaths slowed. It appeared they were finally done. Wendy heard their internal rhythms trail into sleep. Then, her name.
His voice whispering her name shook her core, and a gust of wind suddenly disturbed the serene garden.
"Wendy?"
She regained composure at Iroh's call. "I should leave."
He reached out to her. "Stay."
"You know I can't."
"You must."
Their eyes locked with meaning.
"I can't do this to him. He has accomplished so much. He's built a wonderful life for himself and others. I cannot be that selfish. I simply... can't."
"I've always thought of you as a little sister, you know that. Not only because of... because of her, but also because I believe you and I share experiences that no one else knows or understands. It's a bond that will forever unite us. As such, it is not easy for me to ask you to stay. I know what I'm asking from you, Wendy. But I also know that he needs you. He may not yet understand this, but he still feels it. It is a part of him- a part he is beginning to come undone without."
She was falling.
It wasn't a fast, breath-stealing fall. It was the type of fall that slows everything down, like sinking. Further and further she sunk into these murky waters until, finally, she was no longer sinking. Now, she was emerging.
Juvia broke the water surface with a shocked cry. The air was chilly against her pale skin, and the water clung to her even more as if wanting to swallow her up again.
The water. Juvia could feel a change in the substance. She could still move it, change it, will it to do her bidding, but it was not the same water that she grew up with. Frightened at this estrangement, she swirled and kicked and pulled and push until she found the edge.
A pond? It had felt so much bigger when she was still inside. Standing on green lush grass, the pond was not as haunting. Juvia carefully studied her surroundings. Flowers she'd never seen before smiled at her. She could see windows and doors and a new moon. If she squinted, she could almost convince herself that she was in her world.
"Who hides there?" a voice demanded from the dark. The demand was followed by a tall, masculine figure. He had long, dark-brown hair and a handsome face. Juvia saw an intensity in his eyes that she knew she should've feared, but did not.
"I am not hiding."
The man stopped in his tracks when he spotted her. His harsh expression collapsed into bewilderment.
"Where... am I?" he heard the creature ask.
Her wet nightgown outlined her tall frame with tormenting detail. Her face was a compilation of delicate features that could enchant any man. What convinced Iroh that he was in the presence of a divine being, however, were the bright sapphire waves that seemed to float around her untamed in the night breeze.
She gave him a concerned look, and Iroh wondered why she was staring at him so. Then he realized she was waiting for an answer.
"These are the fire palace gardens."
The answer made her angelic face contort into dissatisfaction. He decided this was unacceptable, and wished to correct it.
"I apologize. I am General Iroh, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation." He bowed his head before taking off his coat and exposing a night robe clinging from his broad shoulders . "You must be freezing like that. Please take it."
She studied the coat with curiosity before tentatively reaching for it. She didn't look afraid of him, he decided. Rather, she seemed careful. He wasn't sure why but he wanted her to trust him- he needed her to trust him. With a quick movement, she had donned the coat and secured the straps around her trim waist.
"Thank you... your majesty," she added.
The title created a distance between that he didn't like. "Iroh, if you may."
Juvia watched the prince, Iroh, move about the kitchen with experience. She wasn't sure Princess Hisui would even know where to find a spoon in the royal kitchens, but perhaps things were different in this new world.
"And then you found me," she finished.
"That is quite a story," he said.
He placed a mug with a hot liquid in front of her. The steam was sweet and inviting. She brought the cup to her lips and took a careful sip. She could feel his eyes on her, watching, waiting. "It is exquisite."
His strong features produced a smile that made Juvia's cheeks redden. She glanced down at the tea and took another sip.
"I have no knowledge of other worlds, or of strangers from other worlds... but I can dig around. If something like this had happened before, then someone must've recorded it or seen it. Someone, somewhere, must know something. We'll get you back home, I promise."
He reached across the wooden table to place his hand on top of hers. His hand completely engulfed hers, and his warmth spread throughout her body. Juvia looked up to meet the amber of his eyes, where she found everything she'd been looking for in Grey's.
"Even now," Wendy began after some time, "you can't bring yourself to say her name."
Iroh didn't respond right away. His gaze shifted to the pond. It was a bit different from that night, in the way that nature changes through the years and seasons. But every time he looked at it, he could see Juvia standing in front of it: her nightgown still wet from its waters, her hair billowing around her, her bright blue eyes searching him for answers.
"I think of her everyday. So much so that I can almost feel her with me. I can almost hear her voice; can almost smell the scent of sweet, fresh rain that filled the air whenever the wind ruffled her hair."
Wendy felt the loss in his words. It was a loss that tainted both of their hearts.
"I'll stay, to keep you company. But after the eclipse, I'm gone."
"That's all I ask."
Zuko awoke with a start. His eyes darted across the room, looking for whatever set off his senses. Identifying no immediate threat, he forced himself to calm his breathing down normal. He stood up carefully, not wanting to wake Mai up.
For some unknown reason, he had the urge to go to the window. He found himself staring at the garden. It was closest to the other side of the palace, but he could get a good view of the pond and his mother's bougainvillea-covered gazebo. His eyebrows knitted at seeing Uncle Iroh walking past the gazebo and towards the garden's side exit. He traced his uncle's path backwards, towards the pond, and his breath caught in his throat.
As if she knew, her head whipped to look at him. Zuko took a step back from the shock. He could've sworn she was looking right at him, but how could she? He cleared his throat and stepped forward, back to the edge of the window. She slowly stood to face him.
They stared at each other until they both heard stirring coming from the bed. Zuko glanced back to see Mai re-positioning herself, one hand searching the bed for him. "Zuko?" her drowsy voice called out.
He turned back to the window. Wendy looked away.
"I'm here, Mai. Be there in a moment. Go back to sleep," Zuko softly responded, his eyes still glued to the blue-haired beauty. He watched Wendy give him one last glance before she began walking towards the palace. When she left his field of view, he was left with a feeling of emptiness.
Zuko considered running down the corridor and down the stairs, but stopped himself. Instead, he shook his head to clear it, and climbed back into bed with Mai. She automatically leaned into him and intertwined her limbs with his in her sleep.
Unable to sleep, he merely thought of all the reasons he loved Mai and wondered why none of them managed to convince him to want her next to him in this moment.
"There she is!" Uncle Iroh announced happily. The royal family turned to look at their new guest, who had just joined them for breakfast. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you a very dear friend of mine: Lady Marvell. She will be staying with us until the Eclipse celebration, as my guest. And as such, I expect you all to treat her with the utmost respect and care."
Wendy lightly shook her head but a smile clung to her lips. "Please forgive the grand introduction, and thank you for the hospitality. I hope to not be a burden."
She took the seat Iroh had saved for her, and examined the faces surrounding her. The hardest part was facing Mai, who smiled at her with welcome.
"Of course not. Any friend of Iroh's is a friend of ours. I'm only surprised. I don't recall hearing about a guest, Iroh? Certainly none with such... diverse... qualities," Mai probed while eyeing Wendy's hair with curiosity. "How did you get it to be that color...?"
Wendy was thankful that Iroh loved talking so much, for she couldn't bring herself to have a normal conversation with the woman whose fiance she struggled to keep her eyes off of. By the end of the breakfast, Wendy was spent from effort, and hoped she could make a swift escape.
Zuko was at a loss of words. She came in dressed in fire nation clothes, but still so clearly foreign. It wasn't just the bright, deep blue hair. Everything about her was new and exotic and so clearly different, from the way she talked to the way she held herself. He was thankful that Mai and Iroh were too engrossed in their conversation to require Zuko's input.
She was avoiding him, but he didn't mind. He wasn't sure what would've happened if she looked at him then. Before he knew it, the plates were being cleared and she was on her way out. His first instinct was to follow but he realized that wasn't really an option.
"Alright, my love. I'm all booked for the morning. Meet for lunch?"
"Yes, I'm quite busy myself. Lunch sounds good."
"Great," Mai said with a smile. She pecked him on the lips and went on her way.
Zuko watched her leave and stood there until he could no longer hear her footsteps down the hall. Then, he went in the direction he saw Wendy leave. He was on the move without really knowing which way to go. Where could she had gone? And where was she staying? The palace had dozen of guest rooms. Checking them one by one would take forever. Zuko thought of the conversation he had with his uncle in that cave years ago. Uncle Iroh mentioned that Wendy lived at the palace for some time before...
He made a sharp turn towards the east wing. There was a room there that no one ever used. It had once been used by guests, supposedly, but Zuko couldn't recall anyone ever staying in there. His only memory of it was from a young Zuko stealing a master key to enter it. At the time, and even now, he didn't know why he did it- why he stole a key to enter a room that he didn't care for. He only remembers feeling that he had to. Mostly, he remembers the desk he found inside. He thought it odd that the desk's drawers were locked, especially considering it was a guest room.
One more turn and he was there. He slowed to a stop. A nervous feeling rose up his throat and he had to swallow to keep it from suffocating him. The door opened for him and he stepped inside.
