Things were better after I kissed Zuko. He was still angry, just... well less angry... and just with me. He still had his little fits with Iroh, but he was calm when he was around me... for the most part. Things hadn't changed much, but they were still better. We decided that we would lay low and relax for a while. Iroh and I had no objections to how long we would be here, but Zuko didn't want to stay for more than a week. Right now we had been in the small tranquil village for five days. Even though all of us had our own rooms, I always went into Zuko's room. About an hour after I fell asleep, I'd wake up and crawl into his bed with him. It was that time right about now. My eyes slowly opened. I sat up and stretched, then crept over to Zuko's room. I sneaked into his bed and kissed his cheek. He put his arm out and I crawled closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder. He kissed my forehead and held me close. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but this time I couldn't fall asleep instantly like I could before. Both of us kept on fidgeting around, tossing off the covers, then putting them back on. I was giving off an awful lot of body heat. With the covers on it was too hot for both of us, but with them off it was too cold.

"What's the matter with you tonight?" Zuko asked, a little annoyed.

"I don't know... Can't fall asleep... Haha, I'm kind of..." I stopped and trailed off.

"Kind of what?" Zuko asked.

"Nothing..." I said.

I sighed and laid still, trying to fall asleep again. About thirty seconds after I closed my eyes and seemed to settle down, my eyes shot open again. I turned Zuko's face towards me and pressed my lips harshly up against his. He slid his tongue into my mouth and started playing around with my tongue. I stopped for a minute and bit his lower lip before resuming. He put his arms around my waist and rolled me on top of him. I pulled away from him for a second, but he kissed me again. I felt him smirk a little and chuckled. He started moving his right hand up and down my curves. Now, I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. I completely trusted Zuko, so I tried to brush it off. After about ten minutes, things started to heat up a little too much for me. I was sitting on Zuko's lap with his body in between my legs as he pressed me up against the headboard of the bed. I was only wearing a short under robe and a pair of boy shorts while Zuko only had a pair of pants on. His body had gotten considerably hotter; I could feel the heat from him through my robe. His hand lingered to the sash of my robe and he began to slowly pull the ribbon as he kissed my neck. Being pinned up against the wall by him like this reminded me of... Zhao. Whenever he had his way with me, I could always feel the fire inside of him just from his skin brushing up against mine. I pushed Zuko away a little.

"Stop, Zuko... Stop!" I said.

He backed away from me.

"Liiru, what's the matter? I thought you wanted to..." Zuko asked.

I buried my face in my hands and pulled at the roots of my hair with my fingertips, trying to get the images and memories out of my head.

"I can't... I can't... I'm sorry. I can't... Things keep flashing in my mind. I feel like... I..." I trailed off.

"What did they do to you there...?" Zuko asked.

"D-Do you really want to know...? I don't think you'll want to be around me if you found out..." I said.

"Tell me..." Zuko answered.

I stayed silent for a full minute, and then I spoke up again, barely above a whisper. I couldn't look at Zuko as I spoke; I turned my back to him and my eyes stayed on the covers.

"A-All of the guards used to have their way with me... The worst out of everything was... Zhao... He used to..." I trailed off again, images flashing through my mind.

I clutched the covers in one hand tightly.

"He used to what... Tell me."

I didn't answer. I didn't want to say it, so I thought I'd just show him. I pulled the string of my sash around my robe and lowered my robe, revealing my naked back. It was "decorated" with at least forty scars from being whipped. Right where I was sitting, the bed was illuminated by the moonlight, so Zuko saw everything. Now he knew that he wasn't the only one with scars...

"He had his way with me too... Usually right after he gave me these... At first I was just his 'prize', but the day after you were banished, I did my last show. After that, they moved me to a different prison and then I was shared by the soldiers who guarded me." I said.

After another minute, I pulled my robe back up over my shoulders and tied the sash when I wrapped it around my front. I swung my legs off the edge of my bed.

"I assume you don't want me here anymore, so I'll be going back to my room now..." I said.

Right before I got up, I felt a hand on top of mine. I looked back at Zuko.

"Stay... I... don't want you to go." he said.

That was the first time that he, or anyone in fact, had said that to me... He actually told me that he wanted me to stay with him. I gripped the sheets from underneath Zuko's hand. The warmth that was emanating from him no longer was there; He had calmed down.

"I don't care about what anyone did to you before... I'm not going to do that to you... I'm not going to force you to do anything that you don't want to, Liiru. I told you that... We don't have to do anything... Just, please stay..." Zuko said.

I swung my feet back into the bed, getting under the covers. Zuko scooted down and laid back down. I laid down next to him for about a minute, but then moved closer to him. In less than five minutes, we ended up how we always slept: Me resting my head on his shoulder with his arm around me and one of my legs in between his as he lay flat on his back. I sighed with a smile and closed my eyes. Then I put my hand on his right cheek and turned him towards me, kissing his lips for a couple seconds.

"Thank you, Zuko..." I said.


"Look at these magnificent shells! I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come." Iroh said, pouring out a sack of seashells he had gathered on the table in front of me.

"They're really beautiful!" I said, picking up a purple and blue medium sized conch shell.

"We don't need anymore useless things! You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now." Zuko said.

"Hello, brother... Uncle..." called a voice of a woman.

It seemed faintly familiar to me, but didn't hold any good memories. I looked to see a woman that looked a lot like Zuko sitting down in the chair across the room by some more of Iroh's shells. She was dressed in fire nation royalty attire... Azula. I'd had my encounters with her after she figured out that Zuko had been sneaking off in the middle of the night to see me. She told me that he could get in trouble for it and that she would send the guards in next time he was there to get us in trouble if I didn't play her little games and entertain her... Not a pleasant person.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked.

His face hardened.

"In my country, we exchange a pleasant 'hello' before asking questions. Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zu-zu?" she asked, picking up a shell and walking up to Zuko.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko yelled at her.

Her gaze fell on me. "Isn't this the little dog you used to play with in the palace? Heh, still stringing her along I see..."

I scowled a little at her.

"Ugh, she's repulsing." Azula spat at me.

Her arms were crossed as she looked down at me.

"To what do we owe this honor?" Iroh asked.

"Hm, must be a family trait. Both of you so quick to get to the point."

As the word "point" came out of her mouth, she crushed the shell she was holding. Iroh made a face at her.

"I've come with a message from home. Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him; Treacherous plots. Family are the only ones you can really trust. Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home." Azula said.

Zuko didn't answer, but now he looked like he was deep in thought; As if his mind couldn't comprehend what Azula just said.

"Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful! I just gave you great news." she said.

A look of concern lingered on my face as Zuko looked out of the window at the Sakura blossoms.

"I'm sure your brother just needs a mome-" before Iroh could finish his sentence, Azula snapped at him.

"DON'T INTERRUPT, UNCLE!" she yelled.

I wanted to punch her in the face just about now, but I held my impulses back.

"I still haven't heard my 'thank you'. I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way!" Azula said... talk about bratty.

"Father regrets... He... wants me back...?" Zuko asked.

Iroh was right, he didn't comprehend what Azula had told him. Personally, I didn't trust it... From experiences with her, I could tell his family wasn't one to be trusted...

"I can see you need a moment to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good Evening." Azula said.

With that, she took her leave.


It was nighttime. I sat next to Iroh as he was deep in thought, staring out of the window. This was the happiest I had ever seen Zuko in my life. He had a smile on his face as he packed up all the stuff in his room.

"We're going home! After three long years, its unbelievable!" Zuko exclaimed.

"You're going home..." I said quietly when Zuko was on the other side of the room.

He was so wrapped up in packing his things that he didn't hear. On the other hand, Iroh heard and put a hand on my shoulder.

"It is unbelievable. I have never known my brother to be regretting anything." he said.

Zuko looked at him. "Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him. He cares about me."

Iroh stood up from his chair next to me. "I care about you! And if Ozai wants you back... Well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine..."

Zuko turned around. "You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything..."

I stayed silent as they spoke. It was no place for me to speak in matters about their family. I wasn't part of it. I had no say... I did, however, see that Zuko was blinded by emotion, for once in his life. He couldn't see something that was so obvious. He wanted to go home so badly... I felt sorry for him.

"Zuko, I only meant that in our family things are not always what they seem." Iroh said sympathetically.

"I think you are exactly what you seem. A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother!" Zuko said.

"Zuko!" I scolded him.

He ignored me and walked away. I couldn't believe that he had said that to the one person who cared about him the most. I walked up to Iroh and put my right arm around his shoulders, and my left hand on his left shoulder.

I spoke to him as I led him to sit down on the floor by the table. "He didn't mean that, Iroh. He knows that there's something odd going on. He just doesn't want to accept that because he wants to return home so bad."

Iroh sighed. "I know he is blinded by his emotions... but it still hurts to hear that from the one person you've come to love the most..."

I grabbed the tea pot and put some loose tea leaves in it. I placed on the metal stand over the small pile of kindling under it. There was a special pit in the table just for making tea like this. I grabbed the flint next to the pit and lit the kindling. I placed my hand on top of Iroh's.

"He's just angry, Iroh. He knows what you said is true and that's why he reacted like that. Zuko appreciates and loves you, he just doesn't show it."

Iroh smiled, turning his hand around and giving mine a light squeeze before letting it go. "Thank you, Liiru."

I smiled at him. By this time, the tea was ready. I got two cups and lined them up next to each other. I poured the tea in them and then gave one to Iroh. He smelled its aroma from the cup and then took a sip.

He smiled again. "Your tea has the secret ingredient in it."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Love and nurturing." Iroh said.

I smiled and took a sip of the tea myself. It tasted good, but not quite as good as Iroh's tea. It was up there, though! This was the first time I'd ever made tea.