Lunch wasn't very exciting, being just the two of them and Poppy, with Lao conducting business in his office. Throughout the meal, Poppy kept glancing up skeptically at Teo, making him uneasy. For some odd reason, the woman wasn't too fond of him, and didn't necessarily care to keep it hidden.

Once they'd finished eating, and Sadako was excused from the table, they returned to her room. Sadako seated herself back on her bed, and Teo moved over to the bookshelf.

"So, is there anything else that you like to do around here? Something to keep yourself busy?" He looked over at her swinging her feet over the edge of the bed.

"Not really."

Teo thought for a minute, trying to find something for them to do. Noticing the old scrolls on her bookshelf, he decided to give one a shot. "Hey Sadako, do you want me to read you something?"

He picked up the top scroll.

Sadako turned to him. "Like what?"

Teo unrolled the scroll, checking the title. "Um… It's called 'Oma and Shu'. I think it's one of those old fairytales." He grinned. "I haven't heard one of these in ages. What do you think?"

Sadako thought for a minute.

"Sure, I guess. I don't think I remember that one."

Teo laughed. "Great!"

Sadako pat the bed beside her.

"Why don't you come closer?"

"Alright."

He wheeled over and sat himself next to the bed. As a last moment's thought, he placed the scroll on the bed and eased himself out of his chair to sit next to her as he read. Picking up the scroll, he began to read.

"They met on top of the mountain that divided their two villages. The villages were enemies so they could not be together. But their love was strong, and they found a way. The two lovers learned earthbending from the badger moles; they became the first earthbenders. They built elaborate tunnels so that they could meet secretly. Anyone that tried to follow them would be lost forever in the labyrinth."

He glanced down to see Sadako curl her legs underneath her, staring intently at where she presumed the parchment he was reading from was located. "But one day the man didn't come; he died in the war between their two villages."

She leaned up against him, gasping softly. "That's so sad; poor Oma…" she whispered.

"Hey," he said. "It's not over yet; there's more."

She nodded for him to continue.

"Devastated, the woman unleashed a terrible display of her earthbending power. She could have destroyed them all, but instead she declared the war over. Both villages helped her build a new city where they would live together in peace."

"The woman's name was Oma and the man's name was Shu; the great city was named Omashu as a monument to their love."

He folded the scroll back up and placed it in his lap. "So," he asked. "What did you think?"

Sadako was quiet for a second. "I don't know… it's so sad. I'm glad Oma ended the war, though, it was terrible."

"Yeah."

"Nobody should fight. War is pointless," she continued.

"Heh," Teo scoffed, "don't I know it."

She turned to him. "What do you mean?"

Teo sighed. "I once fought alongside the Avatar in battle."

Sadako's eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah…" Teo sat quietly.

"Tell me about it," Sadako begged.

He chuckled. "Alright. So there we were inside of the tank, outnumbered by Fire Nation troops…"

Sadako listened intently as he spent the next several hours describing to her his tales of the war, their walking for miles to flee to safety, and his adventures at the Western Air Temple with Haru and The Duke.

Both were so absorbed in the stories that before they knew it, the bell was being rung for dinner.

Teo looked towards the door. "Wow, we'd better get going. Your father won't be happy if we're late."

Sadako nodded.

He shifted himself off of the bed and back onto his chair, and put Sadako's hand on the handle of his chair, starting for the door. She slid down from her seat and the two left for the dining room.

After yet another uneventful meal, Teo escorted Sadako back to her room. The night watchman was already posted, and he handed her off to him. The man nodded before ushering her into her room.

She called over her shoulder before. "Goodnight Teo!"

He chuckled. " 'Night."

The guard shut the door, remaining on the outside. He stood for a moment, before he glared down at Teo. "Move along, kid. Scram."

He nodded his head, hurrying down the hall. So, what was he supposed to do now? The sun was setting, so the estate was becoming dark enough to severely limit his options.

Yawning, he remembered that was almost to his room. With a shrug, he decided that he might as well just go to bed early; he didn't want to risk being late like that again.

Turning into his bedchamber, he closed the door and began to situate himself for bed. As he lay down, sleep began to take over him much more quickly than the night before. Today had been a surprisingly fun day. He was going to enjoy his new task; he already knew it.

When he was just to the point of drifting out of consciousness, a noise jolted him back into alert.

Muffled by the door, there was the distant melody of a harp being strum. He shook his head, thinking he were imagining it, but it didn't go away. Dragging himself out of bed, he moved to his chair and opened the door.

Peering down the hall, he could tell that it was coming from somewhere in the noble family's sleeping quarters. Squinting through the dark, curious, he tried to see more of what was going on. He was about to wheel himself into the hall when he remembered the rule the guard had told him; he was absolutely forbidden to go near Sadako's room after sunset, and he assumed that it called for the rest of the family's as well.

With a sigh, he turned back into the room. Whatever they did at night was their own business.

He returned to his bed and submitted himself to sleep.

Alright, I admit, not my best chapter ever :P I promise the next one will be MUCH better, I'm a little excited for it myself. And I'd just like to make a short comment to my reviewer Adam Hardy: You are absolutely awesome! Your reviews always make me smile, I love your enthusiasm for the plot. If the dramatic irony is killing you now, you'd better hold on, it gets worse XD As for the rest of you who also put up with my random updating scheduled, thank you so much, you're great! I love all of you guys!