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CH 4
Night had fallen on the Fire Nation. Jin Lian played the part of a sulking child to a 't', earning her a disapproving stare from her father during dinner as well as a frustrated dismissal. She closed the door to her room firmly, making sure it made a loud enough sound to drive the point home without slamming it.
Making sure the door was locked, Jin Lian sat at her vanity and looked at the time. She had about an hour to get ready and sneak out of the palace. Jin Lian rummaged through her luggage, finally pulling out a burgundy, knee length dress with short sleeves. She slipped it on and then started to work on her makeup, applying hues of red and gold to her face in the shape of feathers framing her eyes.
When Fire Lord Zuko had come to power and established stability within the former Fire Nation colonies, one of his side projects was to encourage the resurgence of Fire Nation culture that was overshadowed or outright eliminated by nationalist sentiment during his grandfather's and father's reign. The Fire Lily festival was one preexisting event that he helped spread, as the flower itself was the subject of many poets and literary geniuses. Now the Fire Lily Festival was equated with passion and love, and further research found ties between phoenix and dragon worship as a symbol of balance between two lovers.
Jin Lian set the make up with a setting spray before grabbing her phoenix mask. It wouldn't hurt to have more layers to hide her identity. She stuffed pillows underneath the sheets to make a body shaped lump, in case someone found their way into her room. With heels in hand, she opened her window and poked her head out. Lucky for her, the palace was built with a long, but shallow slanting roof, perfect for her to run across without being detected. She swung her legs over the windowsill and gently dropped onto the clay tiles, weather beaten and roughened over time. Her long hair waved freely in the breeze as she snuck towards the garages where she would meet Wang. When she reached the garages, she climbed down from the roof onto a stack of crates and down to the ground, where she finally placed her heels on.
"Hey, Wang!" she called out. She waved excitedly and approached the young mechanic. The young man turned towards her, his own dragon mask in hand. Its design was simple, the wood carved with distinct planes to emphasize the sharp, reptilian features and painted red and white.
"Miss Jin," he replied. "You look nice! I barely recognized you under the makeup." He bent closer to inspect the design she painted on her face in interest.
"That's the point, isn't it?" she giggled. "Let's head out, I don't want you to keep your girlfriend waiting, or give her the wrong idea!"
Wang groaned in embarrassment, "Not you too!" The two started off towards the side entrance, when Wang stopped her for a moment. "Sorry Miss Jin," he said. "I can't have you look at the code, security reasons, you know?"
"I understand," Jin Lian replied. She stepped back and waited patiently, listening to the buttons beep as he entered in the password. "What'll I do if you get lucky tonight?" she teased cheekily. Wang blushed a deep red and tumbled over his words, barely making a coherent sentence. Jin Lian laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll figure it out, I owe you for even getting me out of the palace!"
"Y…you sure, Miss Jin?" Wang asked nervously.
She winked. "There's more to me than meets the eye, Wang." The lock clicked and the door swung open.
The two stepped through the threshold and started down the streets leading to the festival. Street lamps, decorated with scarlet flowers and ribbons, burned orange as they got closer to the festival site. Food vendors and festival games lined the crowded streets, filled with people of all ages. Some women, Jin Lian noticed, went all out in their decorations with real feathers woven into their hair or affixed to their masks. Others simply went unadorned or sported a mask purchased from one of the vendors. The men also seemed to put a lot of work into their outfits, their masks glittering in the night or textured to appear more realistic.
Jin Lian ran into Wang's back when he abruptly stopped. She peered around him to see a young woman waving at him, dressed in a lovely dress and a simple phoenix mask. "Is that your date?" Jin Lian teased.
"Yeah…" he said dreamily. He looked around for a bit. "I don't see her friends."
The girl scoffed. "It's a date, you don't bring friends to dates." She patted his back, "Go get'em tiger! I know the way back to the palace, don't worry about me!" Jin Lian watched Wang jog over to his date, both of them smiling bashfully at each other. They spoke for a bit, Wang's girlfriend looking over and waving kindly. Jin Lian waved back, and flashed a thumbs-up at Wang before disappearing into the crowd.
Heavy drum beats and tsungi horns drew Jin Lian closer to the center of the festival. This is what she was looking for, the nexus of merriment and activity surrounding the musicians. She mixed with the people arranging themselves for a traditional dance, laughing in excitement. The music started and individuals started pairing off, phoenixes dancing around their dragons. The melody with the strong bass thrummed in her veins, electrifying her and making her dance more passionately. She was so absorbed in the moment, that she nearly forgot to switch partners. A firm hand grasped hers, breaking her out of her trance. It was then she saw the blue dragon.
~Iroh~
The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation took a look at the vortex of dancers from behind his dragon mask. The fur lining the lightweight wooden mask tickled his neck as he turned his head this way and that, following the dancers and trying to find a way in. It had been years since he attended the Fire Lily festival, due to his many tours with the United Forces. He was afraid he had lost the mask, which was a gift from his grandfather. It was unique, after all. The wood was painted a royal blue, the same color as one of the original fire bending masters, Shao. It was also made in the dragon's likeness, with horns and fangs affixed to the elongated, reptilian face while leaving the lower part of his face bare.
He noticed a gap when a couple had left the ring, either exhausted from the activity, or simply wanted to do other things. Before the gap closed, he saw a familiar mask. Red, gold, blue, and green, shimmered in the festival lights on a mask intricately carved to resemble a phoenix. Its wearer wore a mid-length dress that swayed with every movement and was laughing while dancing around her current partner. The way she spun and leapt indicated experience with dance, but it looked like she was not dancing with the man, but that he was her prop. "It couldn't be her," he thought. "She's supposed to be back at the palace."
Iroh quickly slipped into the crowd of dancers and positioned himself so that he would be her next partner. She, however, continued dancing even when her partner moved onto the next girl. Before the mystery woman made another spin, Iroh grasped her hand. When she looked at him, he knew it was Jin Lian. The close up of her mask confirmed her identity, bringing back memories of her performance when he first met her. He bowed his head shortly so that his own mask wouldn't slip. She returned the bow with a curtsey and they began their dance.
Iroh and Jin Lian moved together, their steps mirroring one another. They put their arm out, touching forearms as they circled and switched positions. They stepped back and Jin Lian began her spin into his arms. Before he could hold her, though, she ducked beneath his arm with a giggle and tapped his back. Iroh swiveled to catch her, but she slipped away again, but not before brushing his face with the back of her hand. They continued the game of cat and mouse, all the while following the dance steps. Iroh became frustrated, always managing to miss her because she would evade him at the last second. He could hear the last part of the song, and his hand shot out and clumsily caught her wrist. A strong pull earned Jin Lian a hard landing against Iroh's chest, where one of his arms wrapped around her waist and his other hand rested on her cheek.
"You caught me," she panted lightly, laughter bubbling in her voice. In the heat of his victory, he pulled her mask off. Her face was flushed, complimenting the orange and yellow makeup that adorned the upper part of her face. Jin Lian's bronze eyes glittered in the festival lights, making them appear golden. Without thinking, he pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips against hers briefly. To his surprise, she returned it before pulling away. Iroh tightened his grasp around her waist and bent his neck so that his lips brushed the shell of her ear.
"Was it because I was fast enough, or that you wanted me to?" Iroh asked softly. He smirked as she shivered lightly against him, despite the warm night air. With his arm still around her waist, Iroh led Jin Lian out of the dance circle and underneath a tree where he sandwiched her between the trunk and his body.
"Are you enjoying the festival, Lady Yang?" he asked playfully through his mask.
"Very much so, Prince Iroh," she answered. He heard no guilt in her voice, just pure exhilaration as her eyes shone.
"I thought you were 'grounded'," he stated. "Did you manage to change your father's mind?"
She laughed loudly, much like her father. "He doesn't know I've left the palace," she confessed with a devilish smile on her face. "It makes the night that much more exciting, much like this mask of yours." Iroh's chest fluttered as Jin Lian ran a finger along his jawline and up to the mask.
"How did you get out of the palace?"
"That's for me to know, and you to never find out," she said. Jin Lian stopped tracing the mask's carvings and looked Iroh in the eye. "Why did you kiss me, my prince?"
"Heat of the moment…," he started to say, when Jin Lian interjected.
"Because I would like to do it again," she said boldly. Again, in the heat of the moment she rose on her toes and leaned against his chest to meet his lips. He closed his eyes slowly, feeling the soft petals of her mouth move against his. The sounds of the festival drowned out as he focused on the woman in his arms, tracing the delicate curves of her small body in his hands. Suddenly, his mask was shoved down his face, breaking the kiss and blinding him temporarily. He felt Jin Lian escape from his grasp and laughing, "Try and catch me again, my prince!"
Iroh grumbled and pulled the mask off his face. He ran his fingers through his mussed hair, scanning the crowds for the small woman. Iroh cursed, as she was nowhere to be seen.
Short chapter is better than no chapter!