The next few hours went by like a blur, a physician was quickly called to treat Kahlee's head injury and then she was ushered onto the boat that was to take them back to the Fire Nation. Back home. But it didn't feel like home anymore. Nothing felt right. She had gone to her room which was deeper in the ship, lying on her bed, when suddenly the door burst open.
"Kahlee!" Came an excited squeal.
All of a sudden Kahlee was being pounced on by Ty Lee, who was grinning manically.
"It's so great to have you back, it's just like old times" Ty Lee exclaimed.
"I missed you" Kahlee smiled back, genuinely having missed her old friend.
"I kind of missed you a little too" A voice from across the room announced.
Kahlee grinned as she saw Mai standing in her usual bored manner, and ran over to the girl, hugging her tightly.
"It's good to see you" Kahlee stated, pulling away.
"Did Zuko really do that?" Ty Lee questioned, pointing to the wound on Kahlee's scalp.
"Yep" Kahlee replied, as she bended some water out of a nearby bucket to help heal the wound some more.
"So it really is true" Mai realised, seeing how Kahlee could waterbend.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier, it's not that I didn't trust you. It's just I thought the less people who knew the better…and Ty Lee can only keep a secret for about two seconds" Kahlee giggled.
"Ooo, I almost forgot! There's a party going on upstairs to celebrate conquering Ba Sing Se. You've got to come!" Ty Lee insisted.
"I'm not really in the party mood, head wound and all" Kahlee shrugged.
"That's just what I told her" Mai said, shaking her head.
"Alright, we can catch up more later. I want to hear all about your adventures!" Ty Lee grinned.
"Sure" Kahlee told her, as the two girls left the room.
It wasn't much later when her door was opened again, Kahlee was expecting it to be Mai telling her that she needed to come stop Ty Lee literally bouncing off the walls. Instead Azula entered the room.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you the guest of honour upstairs?" Kahlee questioned, as Azula shrugged.
"How's your head?" Azula inquired.
"Better" Kahlee exclaimed, as Azula came to sit on her bed.
"I'm sorry…for fighting against you these past few months…I know you're probably mad at me…" Azula trailed off.
"You're not the one I'm mad at" Kahlee admitted.
"Oh please, you and Zuko will patch things up in no time. You always do" Azula assured her.
"Not this time" Kahlee retorted.
"I thought…I thought you might have been dead when he through that fireball at you…I'm happy you're not" Azula confessed, as Kahlee pulled her into a hug.
"I guess I really did decide to follow the wrong sibling…at least you care about me" Kahlee said, pulling away.
"Zuzu's an idiot, he always has been" Azula shrugged.
"That's true" Kahlee laughed, as Azula came to sit beside her.
"Aren't you going to go back to your party?" Kahlee queried.
"I'm not really in the party mood" Azula told her, looking at her own hands.
Kahlee mentally scolded herself as she realised that Azula must have felt that she killed someone today with her own hands. However, Kahlee knew this wasn't true. She knew Katara would have found some way to save Aang…she remembered her saying something about a special water she had. The Avatar was still alive, she just had to wait until he called upon her.
"I don't agree with what you did today…but I know why you did it" Kahlee informed Azula, holding her hand.
"My father…he said if I didn't find the Avatar and kill him…" Azula trailed off, not wanting to tell her.
"You don't have to tell me, its okay" Kahlee insisted, holding her hand a little tighter.
All was quiet for a week, Kahlee hardly ventured from her room, trying to avoid Zuko as much as possible. She had to admit it was good to be around how old friends again. Ty Lee was currently entertaining her by telling her all her tales from the circus, while Mai and Azula had left earlier, one after another. Kahlee couldn't help but wonder why.
"You should take a painting, it would last longer" A voice boomed from behind Mai.
"Azula, what are you doing here?" Mai questioned.
"I came to see where you had snuck off to…and it seems it was to ogle at my brother" Azula said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not" Mai quickly retorted.
"Well there's nothing else around, unless you're out here to get your hair wet" Azula stated, gesturing to the sea drizzle.
"I'm not judging you" Azula told her, when she got no reply.
"You always judging, Azula. No one's perfect enough for you" Mai explained.
"That's not quite true. Look, I know you always had a crush on Zuzu when you were younger, and I believe he returned those feelings" Azula exclaimed.
"Oh please, we both know where his heart has always lied…with Kahlee" Mai insisted.
"It would seem not, he did betray her" Azula suggested.
"That's because he thought it was what was best for her…and it was. She'll be happier back in the Fire Nation" Mai replied.
"Is this your problem? Kahlee?" Azula inquired.
"She has feelings for him, I know it" Mai answered.
"Ask her" Azula shrugged.
"What?" Mai queried.
"Ask Kahlee if she would approve of you and Zuko. Therefore you wouldn't damage your friendship" Azula went on, turning away.
"You're being awfully nice Azula. What do you want?...Or is it more who do you want?" Mai inquired, as Azula kept walking.
Mai debated with herself for the next few hours, but eventually decided to take Azula's advice, no matter how manipulative it was. She knocked on Kahlee's door before entering.
"Wow" Mai couldn't help but gasp at what she was seeing.
Kahlee had ventured onto the deck just outside her room and had managed to stop the rain in a bubble around her. It was an amazing sight to see. However, Mai's interruption seemed to surprise her, as she suddenly dropped her hands and the rain came splashing down on her, soaking her through.
"Sorry" Mai exclaimed.
"It's alright, I'm still learning" Kahlee laughed, walking back into the room and closing the doors.
"Can…Can I ask you something?" Mai questioned, as Kahlee wrung her wet hair.
"Sure" Kahlee said, tapping the space next to her, for Mai to sit.
"I know you and Zuko have always been very close…even before he was banished and well I was wondering how deep those feelings lie…" Mai trailed off.
"It's not like you to want to talk about feelings Mai" Kahlee replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I was just wondering how you would feel if…Zuko and I got together? Just theoretically of course?" Mai inquired, embarrassed at how she was stuttering.
"Oh…well its got nothing to do with me really" Kahlee shrugged.
"Of course it has! You…I mean it seems like you have feelings for him, you can't deny it" Mai retorted.
"Okay, so maybe there were some feelings in the past, but trust me, they are gone now. Zuko can date whoever he likes" Kahlee explained.
"Oh…good" Mai exclaimed.
"I'm more worried about you, Mai. Just…don't let him break your heart, yeah?" Kahlee insisted.
"Don't worry, I never let any boys near my heart" Mai told her, a small smile on her face.
As Mai stood up and started to walk away, Kahlee couldn't help but let out a sigh. So she had lied a little bit there, she did still have feelings for Zuko, but it was ridiculous. How can she still have feelings for someone who betrayed her like he did? She figured the best thing for her would be to see Zuko moving on…maybe it would help her move onto. She just wished he wasn't moving on with one of her best friends.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter! So, how is everyone liking the way this story is going? Please leave a review:)