Hey, Luka here! So... this chapter took way too long. 6 months is alot longer than i had planned for this but here it is. Im acually really pround of how it came out. let me know if ya'll like it or if theres a mistake that i missed. Enjoy the chapter!

Frozen flames chapter eight

Interlude: The Prince and a Retired General

The Prince

Was it my fault that he got burned? I don't think so. He could have moved, he should have moved, but he was just standing there like an idiot. I didn't warn him of the incoming flames 'like I could have' because I thought he would see them coming. It's not like I meant for him to be burned. It's not like I wanted anybody to be hurt like that.

'To be hurt like me.. no one should have to deal with that.'

No it wasn't my fault. I dodged a fireball coming my way and it just so happened to go towards him.

'Why didn't I say anything?'

All he had to do was take one step to the left and he would have been fine!

'It only had to be one word.'

He wouldn't have hit the ground screaming, he wouldn't have been unconscious for two weeks, he wouldn't have to deal with the troubles of a burn mark... Burn marks hurt. They hurt when they happen, they hurt as they heal, and they hurt once they've scared over.

'I would know.'

Is this what people saw when I got burned? It really wasn't my fault. 'Wasn't it though?'

It wasn't. He could have moved but he didn't so it wasn't my fault.

He got burned in an Agni Kai. It's not uncommon. Sure he wasn't supposed to be there in the first place, and it was my idea to have the Agni Kai but he agreed to fight. He told me he could handle himself in a fight, so he should have been able to dodge. I don't even know the guy- 'He said his name was Kozu'- so why do I care wether it was my fault or not? I don't, because it wasn't my fault.

And I'll say it however many time I need. However many times it takes to make me believe it. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault.

It was.

'It was all my fault.'

The Retired General

I've been told that I worry too much. By many people in fact, and it's not something I can fix. I've also been told that I try to do too much on my own. I might not succeed, but I can try to change that. Maybe I just need the right chance. I got that chance when I met a brilliant young man, around my nephew's age if you would believe it. When I saw him fall after the ship was dislodged from the ice, I thought he was young, too young to be in the navy, despite what the fire nation would say, and too young to here on a ship, guarding my nephew, a prince who he knows nearly nothing about.

That was what I thought until he woke up. His eyes were more distant then some of the war generals I was stationed with. His posture hinted of a warrior, and his words were carefully chosen, cautiously spoken, as it every sentence was a test. It wasn't heathy, I thought, to keep going on like that. So tightly sprung that all it would take is one well placed hit for it to all fall apart. He needed a friend here, an ally and a partner.

' Zuko does too now that I'm thinking about it.'

How does a retired general get a soldier to talk with his nephew without it seeming like an obligation? They would never learn to trust each other like that. Trust.. that's what was lacking here. If he trusts me than maybe I can get him to trust Zuko as well.

So a warning perhaps? Just a heads up about the ships next landing point and about the people who work there.

"You wouldn't be sold out be your own crew, especially if one of them overheard a conversation you had with your nephew about being cautious. The word moves quickly on a ship this size you know?"

I hadn't expected that. I know that any one of my nephews soldiers would help me if I asked but this one was willing to help me with a problem that I couldn't even put into words. Yes, he and Zuko would be fine friends.

It was all going smoothly until the commander revealed his hand. I knew it would happen at some point. As much as I wanted to trust the kid, 'what is his name again?' I knew whatever plan he had wouldn't stand up to Zhao's wartime tactics. It would be fine, the avatar has kept himself hidden for a hundred years, he could do it again for two weeks. As long as zuko could keep his head down then everything would still be fine.

"An Agni Kai. At sunset. The winner leaves and the loser stays here for two weeks. That will give Me plenty of time to capture the avatar."

'But than again, this is my nephew, I should have known.'

"Alright, on one condition. Two on two, and the General cannot be your second. He is a war hero after all, there's no need to make him fight your battles."

He shouldn't have too do this. This is not his fight, it's a challenge issued between my nephew and the commander. Zhao should know better that to bring other into his battles. They always seem to end worse for him than normal. But than again, when has the commander done anything other than drag others into the fire with him?

Do I think it was my fault that young Kozu got burned? No I do not. But I do think I could have prevented it. I was too complacent, too lax with the whole situation. If I had fought the way my nephew had than maybe the Agni Kai wouldn't have happened it the first place.

So, no, it wasn't my fault. But I did nothing to stop it either. And that is something that's going to change.

So thoughts? Suggestions? Recommendations? corrections? any of the above? please let me know so i can fix them. see ya'll next time!