It's short and later than I wanted, but at least it hasn't been 5 months, ne? Definitions of their names were found at yeahbaby (dot) com ...lol...for anyone who cares. Ooc-ness...somewhere...beware...this was pulled out by its teeth, so it's not the best quality -sweatdrop-
-sigh- I feel so bad for you guys. I know if I waited so long for a chapter I would be pissed off that its so short, but...oh well. I'll try to get more done next time but...the dreaded writers' block hit...the reason why its short. So...no idea when I'll get the next chapter up but...here you go :) For now...don't hate me. No excuses really this time. It's just been...school...bleh...and sickness. Honestly...been so drugged up and tired that I've just been a mindless zombie. And it is a proven fact that mindless zombies don't write well. I just made an excuse, didn't I...? Oh well...I'll shut up now...
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters...if I did it would have a fourth season :D
She had promised herself she would only stay an hour. Really she did, as she had slipped out of her room, down the empty hallways, and out of the palace during the late night. But still she sat beside the bars of the prince's cell, well over her intended stay. As during the previous night, he was asleep, curled up in the new blankets he had been given, not moving apart from the slow rise and fall of his chest with each breath he took. So intense was her gaze on the sleeping form behind the bars, that it was a wonder he did not feel it and awaken. Her eyes were trained on him with the feel of a student trying to concentrate and solve a difficult problem on an exam, but knowing the answer would elude her. Probing and interested, with the slightest mix of desperation and even a bit of curiosity, as if confused by the thought that the puzzle could possess a solution, and wanting to know what on earth it might be.
The sun would be up soon, its first rosy hued rays filtering in through the minute window, cascading over the sparse cell and its two inhabitants as it had done the morning before. She really should be going, back to her room and in bed, asleep, lest a repeat of the events following the previous visit occur once more. While it was one thing for her to miss her lessons a day here or there, it was another to miss two in a row, and quite yet another entirely to miss three consecutively. The tutors would become worried, and inquire after her absences, at which point her father would most likely find out, and she would be questioned as to why she had been sleeping in instead of going to her lessons, as was the duty of a daughter of royalty her age. Perhaps she could pass it off as sickness, but then he would have the doctors after her, and she would, of course be found out. Leading her father to wonder why she had lied about missing her lessons on top why in fact she had been absent from them in the first place. Simply put, it would be a mess, and avoiding it would be the simplest solution.
Reluctantly, she rose from her place adjacent to the metal bars, taking in one last glimpse of the sleeping boy before she left for her daily routine. His form was as still as ever, his eyelids closed, and his breathing steady. But, just as she was turning away, she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. Doubting her eyesight after being awake far past her bed time, in the near dark, no less, she turned back once, only to be sure. And, to her surprise, discovered that her eyes, had, in fact, not deceived her. The prince was moving, ever so slightly, stirring, eyes flickering, showing all signs of beginning to reach consciousness. Just as he had the day before when she had fled back towards the palace, afraid of being discovered, except this time she could not guess what had disturbed his sleep.
Heart racing, odd nervousness making her stomach churn, she waited for what seemed like hours, for the boy to awaken. When his eyes opened finally, he seemed to do a double take, looking at her for a few minutes, blinking, and repeating the process several times. His eyes were such an exotic color, melted gold swirling about a coal black center. She had never seen the likes of such a characteristic before in her life, though her rational half supposed it must not be that uncommon in the Fire Nation. After a another stretch of minutes, which, again, seemed to extend far past its true time frame, the firebender opened his mouth to speak.
"You are...the Water Tribe Chief's...daughter..." the words came out as more of a statement than a question in a pleasant voice, though slightly rasping, most likely from the cold and below par conditions. Yue nodded numbly in response, surprised he had so accurately guessed her identity, though in retrospect it might have been rather obvious. He paused for a moment, looking her up and down calculatingly, but not coldly, though his smoldering eyes were obviously suspicious. It was hard to imagine he had been alseep only a few minutes prior, he seemed so aware. "Why are you here?"
The passage of the words' meaning through her ears and to her brain was delayed, and she froze, mind searching at a snail's pace for some sort of response. She decided on the truth, not able to think of an excuse off the top of her head, and knowing that only complications came from lying. "I was curious," she answered, in a soft, slightly shaky voice that did not at all sound as if it had come from her mouth. The prince was quick with a reply.
"Curious?" he eyed her up and down once more, contemplatively, before another question was asked. "About what?"
"You," the word was out of her mouth before she could think and in a different tone this time: confident and slightly curt--though she hadn't intended it to be--as if the answer were obvious beyond all reason. And again she spoke just as quickly, with just as little thought, "What is your name?"
It came as a shock to her that she had not thought of this fact before. How odd, that she had never heard him referred to by anything other than "the prince" or "the prisoner" or something of the like. Never a name attached to the noun.
"Zuko." Her mind latched around the the two syllables, embedding it into her memory, as a carpenter embeds a thick nail into a plank of wood. Conceited, proud of oneself. Her teacher's definition of the word rang clear through her mind, somehow, breaking through all the layers of time that should have obscured that knowledge and made it irretrievable. The name fit him well. Proud. How he had sat so straight and still before her father the other day, even when freezing, lacking food, and in a foreign place. Still preoccupied with his appearance and showing a strong front. Prideful.
"And yours?" The question caught her off guard, but she replied out of habit.
"Yue." Moon. Simple and short as that. And then silence reigned. It was only then, that Yue noticed that the room was not quite as dark as it had once been. No where near as late as it had been the previous morning she had visited here, but late enough that she should be back in bed, leaving at the very least. An edge of panic told her limbs to run. "I have to go," she blurted out, turning and taking the handle in her grasp, glancing back momentarily, just long enough to stammer out a quick, "I...I'll come back." And then she was gone, racing through the still silent streets of the city of ice, leaving behind a curious Zuko, with many questions on his mind.
So he had not been imagining things; the girl had really been there the morning before. She had most likely just panicked and rushed off when she saw him waking up. He wouldn't put it past her. Not in the least.
But why, he wondered again, was the girl even visiting him in the first place? He was a dangerous enemy, or so she must think. Why would anyone in their right mind want to visit such a person? Especially as she was the princess of the opposing side no less. It just didn't make sense.
Unless she was simply curious beyond reason. Or just incredibly addicted to dangerous situations, which really didn't seem at all like her. Not that he knew the girl's character that deeply--he had seen her what, three times?--but he had been able to gather a few things. She seemed shy and cautious, but also very curious, if he were to hold true to his first theory. Before he had had her marked off as an obedient little girl, hiding behind her father and his men when she had visited the first time. But apparently, she was either allowed to stay up late visiting dangerous prisoners (which Zuko highly doubted), or she was skipping off on her own to visit. But maybe she had wanted to return on time, the cause for her abrupt panic. That would make sense. Not wanting to upset her father; he could understand that.
Sighing, Zuko nestled back into his mass of blankets, grimacing as his stomach gave forth a small growl. Already hungry, and just hours before he had downed bowls and bowls of whatever the nearly-foul substance had been. The sensation was no where near as painful as it had been, though his stomach felt uncomfortable nonetheless. But he needed to put that aside for he moment; he had more important things to think of than his over-demanding stomach.
His options were, at the moment one of two courses:
1) Try to escape
or
2) Do nothing. Just sit back, gather information, and wait for events to unfold.
As the first option would be nearly impossible (not to mention useless; he was in an unknown part of the bitter Arctic without the use of his bending powers. Making any headway in those circumstances was beyond feasibility), he would have to go with the second by default. Sit and do nothing. Very proactive. Wouldn't his father be pleased...
Frowning to himself, Zuko nestled further into his blankets, thankful for the umpteenth time that he had been given them. Thankfulness towards the enemy: another train of thought that would make his father absolutely ecstatic, he was sure. The sarcasm was suffocating, even in his mind.
Lessons flew by quickly for Yue, as her mind was elsewhere. Listening and hearing the words being spoken to her yes, but hardly taking them in, and only processing their meaning enough in order to provide a nod of confirmation, or negation, whichever the need. Daydreaming, a common hobby of the girl. But never before had she spent her lessons daydreaming about something so interesting, someone so intriguing as the mysterious enemy prince. Zuko.
She thought of tonight when she would go yet again to meet the prince and talk with him, if luck would have it. What questions would she ask him? What details of his homeland would she want to know? And would he answer her questions? He had seemed cooperative, if not exactly talkative in those few minutes they had conversed. But a name wasn't a very personal thing, or a very difficult question to answer. Still, she hoped he would consent. She yearned to know more about him, so strongly that she wondered what could be the cause of this sudden obsession. Curiosity had, of course, incited it, but was it still the driving force? Or was there something more, something deeper? Something more along the lines of...
Love...? Infatuation...? The thought struck her suddenly, and she gasped with surprise at the realization, earning an odd look from her teacher. But it must have been a well-laced gasp indeed, for he merely mumbled something about yes, indeed, in had been a terrible battle, before continuing on with the lesson. Whatever it was about. She really should be paying more attention but she couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment. Could it really be true? That she had developed romantic feelings for the firebender? Yue was a firm believer in love at first sight, but she had barely spoken to him, barely known him for more than a few days, and already....
But she couldn't find any contradicting feelings in her about the revelation. Besides that it would be taboo whether or not the firebender reciprocated her feelings. The two nations were at war. For her, Princess of the Northern Water Tribe, to love him, Prince of the Fire Nation...what would that result in? More fighting, betrayal, disbelief, disgust, anger...? Was there any possible way it could bring about peace, like the arranged marriages between those of noble birth to keep relations in good order? It seemed to big a gap to bridge.
And she was getting ahead of herself, jumping to conclusions. Right now, she needed to...needed to...she wanted to go see him, right now, but it was in the middle of the day and she needed to keep this a secret. At least for the time being, until she was sure, and until she could figure this out, and until she knew more about him. He could be a jerk. He could be impolite, rude. Cold and isolated, sarcastic, jaded, and...
But what if he wasn't? What if he was a genuinely kind, good, caring person, who was not at all evil or cruel? What then...? Would she be able to help herself...? What would her father say? She knew that he loved her and would want her to be happy, but would this be too much to ask for? She didn't know. There were so many factors that could influence everything. Too many possibilities, and too much to think about. She needed to concentrate on here and now.
Maybe on her lesson for starters.
"...and that is how the 100 year war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world began. Any questions?" She shook her head, more at herself than as an answer to the teacher's question. A whole lesson she had missed and a very important one at that. Perhaps she might have learned more about the Fire Nation and the royal family--about Zuko's background--but it was too late for that now.
So instead, she simply smiled and thanked her private tutor for the lesson before making her way outside of the palace. Perhaps she would take a walk around the city and give her raging thoughts a chance to settle. There were hours still remaining until darkness would fall, and even then it would be awhile before she could slip out to meet her Prince once more. Thinking of it would merely make her more impatient and on edge.
She sighed, trying to still and calm her thought process, but it was no use. Her excitement was getting the best of her, as usual. The frigid arctic air met her head on as she emerged form her home, the sun shining blindly over the snowy expanse. It was a beautiful sight, simply breath-taking. But still, she closed her eyes and prayed fervently that night would fall soon. She needed to see him.
