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Chapter 7:

I stood in front of my long mirror, unsure of what I was doing. Dinner was in a few minutes and I was still standing in my room, half naked. I frowned as I pulled out a dark blue silk robe I had never worn before. It seemed strange but I wanted to look my best for when I saw Katara at dinner. I was floating in the hope that she would come to dinner today.

I heard a knock on my door, and I sighed a sigh of relief. A maid, it was exactly who I needed now. "Come in!" I yelled out and slowly my door opened a maid's head popped in. She slowly entered my room and her eyes widened as she saw my bare chest. She awkwardly shut the door behind her and I handed her the robe.

"I need something to wear."

"Very well your- uh majesty…" She walked into my large closet and pulled out a long red silky robe. I shrugged, it would do. She pulled out a pair of shoes for me and set them down at the foot of my bed, "Anything else your majesty?"

"No," I told her and she turned to leave, "Thank you." I added as she shut the door.

I slowly pulled on my robe, being careful of my injury that still burned with the desire to be felt with pain. I wrapped the thick line of silk that wrapped around my waist and tucked it into my robe. I combed my fingers through my hair and put on my shoes.

I made my way to the dinner table quickly, was she already there? I made my way into the dining hall to find everyone sitting except for Katara. I felt my insides deflate; she must have been too exhausted to come to dinner, a shame really, for me.

I caught Mai's eyes and she quickly diverted her eyes and I had to resist the urge to feel happy about her not feeling anything towards me, that or she felt too much for me- something I would never return. I took my seat next to Azula who shot me a smug look as if she knew something I didn't. And that was what I hated about her, because she always did know something I didn't know.

Mother smiled at me, "How are you?"

I nodded slowly, "Fine." I sucked in a breath, "Thank you."

Father seemed distracted; he wasn't even paying attention to my every action like he usually was which made me feel ever tenser. The duchess was eyeing me as if I had done something wrong, I wondered if Mai had told her about how I broke our kiss, but I pushed the thought away.

"Prince Zuko."

I looked up abruptly and sat up straighter at being called by the duchess.

"You seem awfully tense." She smiled at me revealing her perfect teeth.

I stared down at the table and then back at her; I could feel my father's stare on me. I offered her a small nod, "I guess I'm tired."

She nodded at me and narrowed her eyes at me, examining me. "What University do you attend?"

I raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. All members of the royal family had tutors. "I have a tutor actually."

The duchess laughed softly. "Of course, of course…"

There was an awkward tension in which Azula broke in. "I think the appropriate question is how he is doing in University."

I glared at her from the corner of my eyes and the duchess cocked her head to the side. Azula was always the perfect one, she was always praised by our tutors and she would always be moving on to different training levels faster than me, it made me feel pathetic. Everything about her made me feel pathetic and Azula never missed an opportunity to make me feel pathetic.

The duchess laughed again and Azula and she began speaking freely all about the order of the Kingdom's and the education standards. It made me cringe; she also never let an opportunity slip where she could show father she would be a better heir than me. Father commented, in agreement with Azula and mother remained silent.

I picked at my meal impatiently. This was the reason I hated having dinner with my entire family. Suddenly the sound of the door's creaking open caught everyone's attention and we all turned to stare at her. Standing there, looking so beautifully out of place. Katara.

Her eyes were widened slightly as she took in the dining room, her eyes trailed over everyone sitting at the dinner table and she finally stopped at me and I smiled at her. She quickly diverted her eyes and inched forwards. Mother stood up and smiled at her warmly. ""Take a seat; this is Arya, the royal pianist." Mother introduced her to everyone.

Katara sat right across from me, beside mother. Everyone was eying her and I couldn't help pitying her, having to be the center of attention for this entire family. She stared at all the food on the table and her eyes glinted with uneasiness. I was growing impatient as she wasn't looking up at me, her head was lowered and her eyes trained on the table. Strange, she never struck me as the shy type.

The duchess looked over at her and I breathed in sharply, bracing myself for a very long dinner. The duchess shifted in her seat as she looked at Katara, almost in disgust. It angered me that she could stare at her with such a look, but I was no one to speak otherwise. Katara did look out of place. Her long dark blue dress hanging loosely off of her and her hair carelessly tied into a braid.

Finally the duchess cleared her throat, "So where did you come from?" Her voice dripped with forced interest.

Katara's blue eyes flashed with something and I knew she wasn't growing fond of the duchess of Brugnure. She sat up straighter and looked her right in the eye. "From the town of Astrid." Her voice sounded like silk in the midst of the tension of the dinner table.

The duchess smiled in a mock way, "Isn't that one of the poorest towns in the country?" she asked everyone at the table. Mother looked embarrassed at what the duchess was saying but the father nodded in agreement. Azula laughed mockingly and I clenched my fists under the table.

The duchess continued, "Many thieves live there. Haven't you heard the news?"

Katara's was now sitting rigidly, containing her anger. I watched as she worked her jaw.

"What does your father do?" The duchess asked, ignoring the fact that Katara hadn't replied to her last question. Katara didn't meet her eye's this time and I bit the inside of my cheek, this was not going well. I desperately wanted to somehow comfort her, but how could I? She wasn't even meeting my eyes.

I stared down as she answered in a surprisingly strong tone, "He passed away three years ago."

"A shame really." The duchess replied immediately, with the least bit of care in her voice. "And your mother?"

I shifted in my seat, the duchess had no right to ask her such personal questions. I stared at Katara as she gripped her dress in her hand.

"Elise, have you tried the potatoes?" Mother's voice broke in and even I was startled. I slowly looked over at the duchess who was scowling from the interruption. "Yes I have, Ursa." She replied stiffly.

I caught Katara's eye and she froze in place as she stared into my eyes. I wanted to smile at her but I couldn't help feeling embarrassed from the type of welcome she had received. I glared at the duchess and then looked at Katara again.

She finally looked down and began to eat, quietly. I was glad that the duchess seemed to forget about all her questions as the entire table indulged into conversation again, I commented a few times, but I felt deflated. I knew Katara was off in her own world.

Dinner came to an end and Katara was the first to leave. I watched, miserably, as she left the table and walked out as fast as she could carry herself. I wanted to speak to her so badly and just talk to her on my own. I wanted to tell her everything, that her brother was looking for her and that I had to take her there, but I was trapped.

Mai followed me out the dinner room next and she stopped ahead of me abruptly. I walked up to her. "Mai, what's wrong?" Her skin lost its color and she scrunched her eyes up. "Mai?"

She held her head in her hand and shook her head. "I'm fine…just dizzy." I watched in horror as her body went limp. I dived forwards as I grabbed her right before she hit the ground. My eyebrows were drawn in and I was looking around frantically for anyone to come and help, but there was no one in sight.

"Damn it." I cursed under my breath. The one moment I needed a maid, there was none in sight. I helped Mai up to her guest bedroom and set her down on her bed. She finally opened her eyes and inhaled sharply.

She massaged her temples with her fingers before looking up at me. "A-are you okay?" I asked her, still utterly confused on what had just happened.

She nodded slowly. "Yes…I-I don't know what happened."

"You should rest. I'll bring a nurse up in a few minutes." I told her, and I stood awkwardly above her. I hesitantly reached for her covers, her eyes were closed again. I slowly pulled up her covers and she blinked weakly. "Thank you…" She mumbled.

I bit my lip and nodded as I brushed the hair away from her face. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine…now." She replied softly, her voice slightly hoarse.

I felt heat rushing to my face and I leaned down and took her hand in mine. I leaned down and kissed her hand before setting it back down on the bed. I thought I saw her smile, but maybe I imagined it. I left her room after blowing out the lanterns.

I wasn't sure what had happened, but she would be fine, hopefully. I slowly walked back to my room and I kept the door open behind me. Soon a nurse came in to blow out my lanterns. "Uh…Could you get a nurse to check up on Mai- The duchess's daughter? She was a bit dizzy earlier."

The maid smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course, your majesty." She turned to leave.

"And- uh- ju-just make sure she's okay, alright?"

The sides of the maids eyes crinkled as she nodded. "Anything else?" She sounded amused. I felt heat rush to my face. "No." She left without another word and I flopped down onto my bed and closed my eyes.

Just because I wasn't attracted to Mai didn't mean I was cruel. I just wanted her to feel at home and I wanted her to stay healthy here. I didn't want anything to happen to her- it didn't honestly mean anything…did it? I tried to recall the moment she collapsed- had I felt anything other than confusion? I didn't know. I just wasn't sure how I felt about her. I had kissed her and yes, I had felt that spark that I felt after kissing any woman, but did it seem genuine and special?

No, probably not, considering I was pretending she was Katara. I sighed deeply as I turned over, my thoughts turning over to Katara as well. I would see her tomorrow, I wasn't sure if I could last for that long knowing she was living in the same estate as me and I hadn't said a word to her.

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