Chapter Ten:

She wanted to let go. She wanted to be free of this pain. Of her heavy heart. But what kept her hanging on, was Zuko. He pleaded for her to be okay. He held her hand the whole time. Even with the crowd, Zuko still had her hold on for dear life. An angle stood before her to bring her to heaven. A tall angle with a halo, white wings, and the most beautiful dress she had ever seen.

"Come with me..You have sufferd enough..." The angle would call to her. But then she would hear Zuko calling her to be okay.

"I dont think I should..." Helena would awncer.

"Come..with me. You are no longer needed." The anle lied to her. She would again hear Zuko's plead for her to stay alive. She again denyed the angle.

"No..Zuko. He needs me." Helena told the angel that was trying to take her life. The angle denyed her.

"He is lieing to you. He doesnt need you. You are no longer needed on this earth.Please. Come with me before the angle of hell comes to get you. Come with me if you wish to go to heaven." She cautioned Helena. She heard Zuko plead for her again. He seemed to be getting more desprite to have her back.

"No. He isnt lieing to me. He never would do that. He is a wounderful friend to me. He cares about me." Helena hissed.This angle was really pissing her off.

"Does he give you a reason to live?" The angle asked Helena. She instinctivly nodded. Zuko at this point, really was her reason to keep going.

"Helena, why is he your reason?" The angle asked her. Helena instantly knew how to awncer.

"He cared about me. He is my shoulder to cry on." Helena hissed. The angle smiled and lowerd her hand.

"Okay.Its all upto you now if you want to live."

Helena's eyes flutterd open to see Zuko sitting beside her on the infermery bed. She sat up and coughed alittle. It was obvious what her choise was. Though it was true that its harder to let someting go, when you don't have anything new to hang onto, but Helena, she had Zuko to hang onto. Now, keep in mind that she did feel sad that she lost someone she loved so despritly, but she knew that she had a shoulder to cry on. That made her feel alittle better.Zuko gave her a tight hug. A hug that pretty much said 'thank you, for not dieing.' Helena clung onto him.

"Zuko..thank you.." She said to him. He still had his arms wrapped around her.

"For what? If I hadnt brought you here-" He began to say but she awncerd his 'for what?'

"For asking me to be okay.Zuko. I would have chosen to die if you hadnt been beside me. Thank you." She told him. Zuko smiled and turned alittle red. Zuko didnt know what to say right then, but he knew he was on good terms with her. "You lied to me."

"What do you mean?" She asked. How had she lied?

"You told me you couldnt fire bend. Back there, that was the best firebending I had ever seen." He smiled. Which caused her to smile. Helena laughed a bit.

"I didnt even know I could do that." She smiled at him. He couldnt help but grin. She was the sunlight in his otherwise dark world.He really wasnt that much of a bully. You would be like him too if you couldnt go home at such a young age. He just wanted to catch the Avatar so he could go home. All he wanted to do was go home. He was afraid to comfrunt his father. Afraid that he would get another scar on his other eye. Helena was really the only person that could ever understand him and what he is going through.

Helena's mood went from okay, to really sad. She lied her head on his shoulder and let some tears fall. But what got them out of Romeo and Juliette land was Iroh walked in with Helena's father. He resembled much of Mr.Kotobuki from Super GALS. Two younger girls followed in after them. One wore fancy clothes and had her hair cut. Really short. But it was still below her ears. She had red hair as well as Helena. The other didnt wear fancy clothes, but she looked kind. She had the long hair that was red as well and tied up in a pony tail. Helena's father was over joyed that Prince Zuko had saved his daughter. The two sisters were grateful as well. They had thanked him many times without an introduction.

"Sir, you saved my daughter! I am very grateful! If there is anyway I can repay you please let me know as soon as possable!" Her father said to him. Helena was quite embarrised that all this was going on.

"Dad.." She mumbled bitterly. Hinting that she was embarrised.

"I've got it!" Her father declaired. "You are both welcome to stay at our palace." He told them grinning. Thats what embarrised her more than anything else.

"We would be honord." Iroh awncerd for Zuko. "Where is it?"

"Your in it right now!" Her father told them. Helena wished that they could just leave. Get back on that ship and continue searching for the Avatar. Now she didnt have a reason to find him. Okay okay. Writers block is really hitting me really hard. I hate it so much. Anyway, Im just gonna try and get passed this by saying that Helena's sisters showed Iroh and Zuko to their rooms in the palace. Two big fluffy beds lie in the room.

"I apoligize that there are two beds in the same room." Suki, the long haired sister apoligized.

"It is alright." Iroh told her. Even two beds in the same room was okay, they were pretty big. It would be worse if there was only one. Then, the short haired sister;Nami; walked in once her sister had left.

"Hero-boy." She said to him, referring to Zuko. She also pointed to Zuko. She grinned. "wanna see something?"

"Um. Okay, what?" Zuko asked, walking to Nami. She only grinned and held out one hand.

"200 copper peices." She mearly told him. He glared at her.

"Why should I give you money for-" But she cut him off.

"Trust me on this. Its against my policy to falsely advertise. Now, 200 copper peices please." She told him. He figured he could trust her, so he gave her the money. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to a door. "Now. Its obvious to me that you like my sister Zuko mumbled. Nami smiled and opend the door and pushed him in. He turned and saw the door shut. He turned back around and looked around. He saw a japanese style sliding door. On the frount of it was a note that read: Please remove all clothing before entering. Zuko didnt know what else to really do, so he did as the note told him to, he removed his armor and his clothes. He opend the screen door and there, standing in the olympic sized bath tub, on her way to getting out, was Helena. There was an awkward moment of silence as the two staired at one another.Zuko's face was bright red.

The moment of awkward silence continued for a long time.Neither of them moved a mucle. Zuko saw as Helena reached for her towel. He saw her wrap it around her breasts, step fully out of the water, and walk out. Then, he heard her peircing scream. The scream lasted a long time as she ran down through the halls and grabbed a table. She ran back to the bathroom, ready to beat the hell out of Zuko, but he ran, with the towl tied around his waist. Having no time to get his clothes back on.

"PERVERT!" Helena screamed as she chased him down the halls. They passed Nami.

"I HATE YOU NAMI!" Zuko shouted at her. She didnt even hear him. She was too buisy counting her copper peices and smiling to herself.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING YOU SICK BASTURD!" Helena screamed. You'd be pissed off too, I mean, if a man just randomly walked in naked with you taking a bath. They ran passed Iroh and Helena's father. Iroh giggled to himself. "IM GOING TO MAKE YOU SORRY!"

"I ALREADY AM!" Zuko yelled back at her. Iroh watched as his nephew and the girl with the wounderfully built body with the towl wrapped around it chased him down the halls with a table as a weapon.Zuko was so very red. Helena's father looked at Iroh.

"Why are you giggling?" He asked Iroh.

"No reason." Iroh lied. He found it funny that Zuko was being chased by the girl he loves when both are naked. When Helena stopped chasing him was when her sister Suki grabbed her wrist and made her put the table down. Helena bitterly obeyed her sister and told her that she was okay now. The second Suki let her wrist go she ran after Zuko, weaponless. Without knowing what she is doing, she takes water from their koi pond and bends it to use it as a weapon. But her father sees this and smacks her. Hard. Zuko instantly stopped running and ran to Helena.

"What the hell was that about?" Zuko hissed. Her father glared at them.

"I told her that water bending is bad. Everyone in this family is a fire-bender. Damn it, she'll be a fire bender too!" Her father hissed back at them.

"What about your wife? Helena's mother?" Zuko hissed right back. That was when everyone was silent. Helena just forced Zuko to let go of her.

"Zuko its okay, Just forget it." Helena sighed.. She and her sisters walked away from them. The sisters seperated into their rooms. Helena put on a chinese style dress and sat on the window sill in her room. The sun had long set and her room was dark.

Zuko, once dressed, walked to Helena's room and knocked on the door.

"Go away." He heard her hiss. But he came in anyway. He could see the tears on her face reflecting in the moonlight. She had her arms set in her lap, but her legs were also on the window sill. She didnt make a sound as she cried. Zuko silently walked to her but she didnt say anything to him.

"Helena. Im sorry if I made you feel bad. I really am." Zuko apoligized to her. Her heart was heavy once again. She didnt reply. Her eyes were focused on the grave at the hill where she fell. She felt his hand slip over her's. The usual warmth he gave her when she was in pain. Weither it be physical pain or emotional pain, she would always count on his hand to slip over her's and be followed by a hug. This time, she did not want a hug. She did not want his hand. Although, good things to have, all she wanted was her mother to be back. She wanted to be able to save her mother from drowning. She knew she shouldnt spend her life looking in the mirror. Wishing to change what was behind her now. She had to learn to let the mirror go. But still hold onto it. Zuko was the fondest image behind the mirror. Only seeing what is behind her, unable to see what is ahead. All she could do was have Zuko stand beside her and allow her to let the tears drop, when his hand came to wipe them away, her hand grabbed it. That pretty much told him that she didnt want them to be wiped away. He didnt understand why not, but he didnt, he kept his hand to himself. "Im really sorry.."

"Its not your fault." She whisperd to him. As if a secret. Her heart hurt, which caused her to cry.

Prince Zuko, he knew that she was hurting. But he didnt know what he should do. All he knew what to do was be there when she needed someone to cry on. Or just someone to talk to her. Someone to digest her horrid food. No matter how mad he got her, he knew she would eventually forgive him. What hurt him the most was seeing someone he loves so dearly was in pain. Enough to cry. It was not to long after that, that Nami came to get Helena for breakfast. Helena quickly wiped her eyes and made her way to the dining room. Only to have her wrist grabbed by Zuko.

"Im still so sorry." Zuko apoligized again, he felt it was his fault for bringing up the subject. Helena placed a finger on his lips.

"Its not a big deal. stop aplogizing over it." She told him, getting her wrist free and walking to the dining room. The dinner was a silent one. No one spoke, only ate. It was Suki who broke the silence.

"Are you ready for the festival Helena?" Suki asked her sister, who was sitting on the other side of Nami who was in the middle of the two sisters, Nami was across from Iroh and Helena was across from Prince Zuko.

"I think so. I just need to practice a bit more." Helena told her sister.

"What festival?" Zuko asked. Nami was the one to explain.

"Every year on this island we hold our traditional dance festival. The youngest girl in each family gets up on a stage and dances. Helena is the lead dancer because she is the youngest in the royal family. She learns the dance Suki and I did when we were leaders in the festival and the group of the young ladys follow. Its based off a dance performed in the story of the dark genie who was said to have unleased all the evil in the world. The other girls who arnt royal wear wolf masks and dance along to Helena who will be wearing the costume of Ruby the Genie. Thought to have been given to the hero in the tale of the dark genie in the town known as Queens by a rich man. Thats why only the richest girl wears her costume." Nami explained. Zuko lisoned well. While at the same time eating it. "The youngest will always dance in the festival untill another in the family is born. But when Helena isnt able to perform, I fill in for her because im the middle child."

"Nami. You forgot to mention that it lasts all week. Always diffrent themes to the festival. The first theme, the theme of love. Showing how the hero in the story Nami mentioned, loved his dearest friend. Enough to risk his life to save her from a burning windmill. Helena has to pick someone from the audiance and kiss them on stage once the dance has finished. The second theme, is sacrifice. Helena must take a small knife and at the beginning of the dance, make a slit on her breast. To show the sacrafice of blood that the hero lost trying to save the world from darkness. The third theme is friendship. This is to commemerate how the hero had to befriend the allies he had inorder to be helped in his journy. What is after the dance is a small carnaval so that the dancers can spend time with their friends.The next few days they just do the dance that the dancers in the story did to summon the dark genie from the urn." Suki added. Zuko thought this town had weird coustoms. But he rather liked the idea of the first theme. "Come to think of it. Doesnt Helena still have that old book?"

"Yeah I think I do. I think I didnt want to bring it with me, so I left it in my room somewhere." Helena told them. They continued discussing the festival all through dinner. Once dinner was over, Helena retreited to her room and opend her closet. She pulled out the outfit that Ruby the Genie wears in Dark Cloud.

She put it on and it fit her perfectly. She practiced the dance that they did in the game at the beginning with the dancers. Zuko was in the room he and his uncle were going to sleep in that night meditating. His uncle wasnt in the room at this time, he was enjoying green tea with Helena's father.

"Helena has to pick someone from the audiance and kiss them on stage once the dance has finished" I will be the one she picks. I will make sure of it. But, need she really make a cut on her breast? Would it really be needed? Why did I just think the word breast? At least, the third theme is when we get to spend time together. I'll have uncle have something else to do that day and get some copper coins from Nami and show Helena a good time. Maybe she will be over her god damnd ex-boyfriend then. Maybe even get her to like me! Could happen! It is possable! Zuko thought to himself as he meditated, his facial expression said nothing of his plan.

okay. Some of the stuff is from Dark Cloud. Im just saying this because I am slapping a disclaimer right here on the Dark cloud thing. I do not own it at all. Pluse, i kind of like the dance a bit. I love the game though!