Super sorry, I am late from a combination of having a cold, being a little busy, and mostly being lazy. I hope that you enjoy and any suggestions would be lovely. I hope that I portrayed everyone well in this chapter. Please review if you have any questions, suggestions, comments, or complaints, it really makes an author feel valued.

Bumi barely managed to catch himself on a railing to keep from falling face first on the ground. The ship had been losing air for a while now, and it barely made it over land before losing all of its air, resulting in a semi-gentle crash landing.

The captain came out and announced,"We have landed near the village of Mei Zhong. We will make the repairs over night and leave at the crack of dawn. Until then, unless I have selected you to help with the repairs, you are free to do as you choose."

Bumi watched Zukari with concern as she grabbed her bag and stepped off of the airship distant look in her eyes. He was genuinely worried about her. The princess had been acting strangely all day avoiding conversations, keeping her distance, and seeming kind of sad. Deciding to try and figure out what was wrong; he went to the mini kitchen and made tea, knowing how much she enjoyed tea.

Fiddling with his hands, the young man though about how much Zukari meant to him. The two had been dear friends since infancy, practically growing up together. Recently though, he had been feeling attracted to her, and he wanted to be more than just friends. There is no way she would even think of me that way, he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by the whistling tea kettle. He finished making the tea as quickly as he could, and walked outside with two steaming cups in his hands. Surveying the area, Bumi could see her silhouette on the cliff gazing out over the ocean. Taking a deep breath, he approached.

…

Due to her above average hearing abilities inherited from her father, Zukari had heard him approaching, and quickly covered the fact that she had been crying. Knowing that her eyes would still be red, she turned her head away from Bumi as he sat down next to her. Holding a cup of tea out to her, he said,"Here, I made you some tea."

Plastering a small smile on her face, the princess turned and accepted the tea. Grateful for the darkness hiding how red her eyes were, she sipped her tea in silence, waiting for the dreaded question. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Bumi finally asked with obvious concern," Zukari, what's wrong?"

As nonchalant as possible, she asked in reply, "What do you mean?"

"Zukari, please don't do that," he said determinedly," I know there is something bothering you, and I am not going to give up until I find out what it is."

They stared at each other for a long time, and she knew that Bumi would hold true to his word. Swallowing hard, she said in a small voice," Six years ago today on her birthday, my mom died."

Not knowing what to say, Bumi simply put down his tea and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Zukari relived the memories holding back tears. Bumi drew her out and said, "I, uh, never quite heard what happened. Could you tell me?"

The princess nodded, and began trying to steady her voice," It was a wonderful autumn day, with clear skies and it was kinda warmish. Because my mom was Firelady, they were throwing some big party and all of that. We were planning to have a nice small birthday the next day, just the three of us and Uncle. I was going to give Mom a new knife with a dragon printed on it. I was also going to play a song I had just learned on the flute called Warriors.'

'So anyways, that night we were there just conversing with all the people, and every time that I caught sight of Mom, she looked so utterly bored, and ,"Zukari stopped here taking a deep breath," she would pretend to be interested, though she clearly was not. Then, I heard a whistling sound, and about five feet away, I saw Mom collapse. I heard Dad yell, 'Mai!' and run to her. " She could feel her eyes burning and the tears running down her face. Struggling to keep her voice even, she continued the story," The room exploded in chaos, with the guards chasing down the assassin, and all the ladies screaming and calling for healers. I ran to mom and kneeled down beside her. Dad was there already holding her hand and reassuring her. I could see there was a knife burrowed deep into her chest, and I could tell that she wasn't gonna make it. Mom looked up at me and smiled weakly. Reaching up a hand, and stroking my face, she said, 'I love you. Both of you.' With that, her hand fell and she breathed her last."

The princess was sobbing now, and Bumi wrapped his arms around her. She leaned in, taking comfort in his arms. After she calmed down enough, she said," The guards caught the assassin and he was thrown in prison and later executed. A week later that is when we had the funeral, and that is when I was sent to live with you and your family for several months."

Zukari could feel her mouth working on its own accord and, was beginning to pour out all of her thoughts," I could have stopped it though. I heard that knife whistling past me," she sat up, with tears of anger pouring out now instead of sad ones," I was too dumb to do anything though, I just stood there like a baby or something, I-"

Bumi stopped her so that she couldn't continue," Zukari, there was nothing that you could do! You were only eleven, and you couldn't have reacted in that short instants time. You are not to blame for anything."

Seeing the reasoning, she made peace with that fact. But all the other guilty thoughts in her head tumbled out," Azula then surely, her escape is my fault," Bumi was trying to interrupt her, but Zukari over talked him," I let her out of the mental asylum early every night. I felt kinda bad for her; I thought some time away from the asylum would help her. It seemed to be working. She would teach me bending, and she seemed like she actually cared. We would even sometimes talk over tea! But I suppose that I never should have felt sorry for her. Azula had done so many bad things in the past, I should have known. But that's me all summed up, stupid."

Bumi was shocked, he had never known about Zukari letting Azula out. He shook his head, and said,"You are, by far, one of the smartest people I know! You had compassion, and there is nothing wrong with that. Who knows how much it helped her knowing there was someone who loved her and wasn't judging her."

She seemed to take no comfort in his words, and said,"But it is still my fault! She escaped and was probably behind the whole thing about me being captured, and now she has all of Team Avatar!"

Bumi replied,"Azula is determined. She would have found a way to escape either way. I think that you did was good actually."

She hesitated, and then asked, "You really think so?"

Smiling, he said, "I really do."

She eased back, leaning on Bumi, and the two soon dozed off. That night, the princess slept better than she had in a long time.