Hehehaha. I am back! NO FLAMER can keep me down! T.T , Oops... ignore that. NEWAY onto the story. I had to mix things up a bit.

Katara stared blankly at Zuko. She knew that that was what the stones had ment in the town, but was he serious? She knew that she loved him enough but was she ready for such a change. If ever he knew how to make him doubt herself it was now.

Zuko caught the hesitation in her eyes. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Sokka.

"Git."

"Excuse me this is ..." Zuko brought a small fire ball to his hand. Sokka smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh did you mean for me to git? I thought you were talking to Katara. Hehe." Sokka dumbly got to his feet and scuddled away, but not to far. If there were going to be fireworks he wanted to see.

"Okay what's up?"

"What do you mean?" Katara said looking away from him tryign to play dumb. Zuko just looked at her and then down to Riyo.

"You changed your mind didn't you?" Katara watched him as he covered Riyo with a small blanket.

"No."

"Then why did you look like you seen a ghost when I said that we werent married yet." Katara blushed.

"That isn't something that you say to my family."

"Are you ashamed of me?"

"No."

"Then what is it! First you profess your love for me to the entire world then you don't know! Dammit make up your mind!" Katara glared at him.

"You can't force me into this." Zuko closed his eyes. This was going sour very fast and it wasn't his intention. He wanted her to be happy about that, sure he hadn't made it official and now he was skeptical on that.

"I wasn't trying to force anything on you. But I want to know that you will when the time comes." Katara frowned. She stood up and started to walk off in to the forest. Zuko shook his head. He guessed that came out wrong. He looked after her then over to Iroh.

"Watch Riyo." The prince pushed himself up and ran after the puffed up waterbender. He caught up to her and stopped right behind her crossing his arms over his chest.

"Y'know running off by yourself like that is what got you in this mess in the first place." Katara spun around like she had been bit by a snake and glared at the boy. He didn't know what he had started.

"No, I wouldn't have been in this situation if a certain prince knew how to keep his little man in the house!" She hissed putting her hands on her hips just challenging him to argue. Zuko was taken aback. What do you say to something like that? Well what he said didn't make the situation any better.

"What are you jealous?" Katara's jaw fell slack.

"I can't believe you would even say such things! I knew you were just after one thing!" She said and pushed him backwards. She turned and huffed off leaving the prince to think of a way that he could have done that differently.

Katara growled to herself walking through the dense woods but making sure not to stray to far from the camp. She was only aggrivated, but not honestly at Zuko but more at herself. He had a point, she didn't know what she wanted. She wanted him she knew that, but she didn't want to get hurt. And she did not, under any circumstances want to be used. He was arrogant. He had always been and that wasn't a problem with her. But just then the arrogance was either completely gone or cranked up to the max and she didn't know which it was.

Truth was, she was rather jealous. That whore had known Zuko in a way in which she was afraid to. She didn't think she could, or would ever know him like that and she didn't know whether that scared her or comforted her. She was really uncertain about a lot of things.

Zuko started to walk back to where they had set up camp but he stopped and scowled He looked back over his shoulder and let out an aggrivated puff.

"I can't just leave her out there." He grumbled to himself and started after her. What did she want? Did she want him to fall to his face and beg her to love him? Was it that she didn't love him in return? What was it? She acted like she was all for it. Did she think that he wasn't serious? He grumbled as he walked pushing branches out of his way. Did he have to prove to her that he loved her? If so then what, . Little brat, more trouble then she's worth. He grumbled again and bent a tree limp back so he could pass but when he let it go it snapped forward and smacked him across his butt. He frowned and turned around and tore the limb from the tree and burned it to ashes.

"Stupid tree." He mumbled as he turned back around. Where did she get off acting like that? Was it because they were now around her people in her world? He grumbled again and stopped looking up. The night had enveloped the trees, distorting their apperances, twisting their features. He brought up a flaming fist to lit his way. The path he had been following had mangled with bushes and thorn bushes. How in the world the waterbender had managed to squeeze through the thicket without tearing or breaking the limbs was beyond him. Has he knew she was going to throw a tantrum and run off he might have thought about grabbign his broad sword. Stupid vines.

"You can look down there all you want." Zuko frowne dand turned aroudn looking upward. The night trees tangled andmingled witheach other casting ominous eyes upon him. He raised his hand above his head and showered the leaves with the light from the fire. As he turned the light landed on something that gave off the same reflection that a diamond would.

Katara smiled and leaned back against the tree.

"Boo."

"What are you doing in a tree?"

"Hiding from you."

"Cute. But what are you really doing up there?" Katara leaned forward and rested her chin on her knees. The playfully smile left her face and she turend to look at him with cold eyes.

"Thinking." Zuko knew not to ask, but it took all of his strength to keep him from it. He reached out an unlit hand towards her.

"Well come down her, you can think on the ground." She glared at him.

"No you just don't want me to be mad at you anymore."Zuko growled.

"Look woman. I want you to be safe. You can do whatever the hell you please just get you ass down here." She narrowed her eyes and glared down upon him form her perch.

"Well that isn't the way to get me down. Why don't you come up here and get me?"

"Oh no. I already jumped in the ocean after you I am not climbing a tree." Katara took this as a challenge.

"Oh really. Then I hate you." Zuko's mouth fell open. Where did that come from!

"What!"

"You really are only out for yourself. You aren't willing to come up the tree after me, then whose to say that you wouldn't save me if I needed it."

"That is different."

"No it's not. How do you know I'm not stuck up here?"

"You're not, are you?" Katara shurgged and stood up going to the next limb up.

"What do you care?" Zuko growled. This was getting ridiculous, and she was just testing him. But he knew what she was tryign to do and he wasn't going to let her win.

"Maybe I don't." Oops, wrong answer. Katara turned and glared down at him then without any warning let go of the branch and landed right on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"Say that again and you're a dead man." Zuko just smiled up at her. She growled and hit him on the shoulder sittign up on his stomach.

"Just what do you find so funny?"

"I got you out of the tree didn't I?"

Malana's heart trembled as she felt them drawing nearer to the prince. The princess had been eyeing her warily since the tiff earlier, but that made no nevermind to her, she just knew that at dawn the prince would be in her arms at last.

Azula walked up behind the young whore and watched her for a moment. She let out a frusterated sigh and cleared her throat.

"Oh good sister, you surprised me."

"I am not your sister, I will never be any kind of kin to you."

"I must argue, when Zuko finally realizes his true feelings for me, he will have no other. That would make us sisters!" Azula frowned.

"You are trying to make me sick right? You can't be serious. " The harlot just smiled and turned around. A cruel smirk crossed Azula's face.

"I know who you are."Malana stopped dead in her tracks as if the very words had frozen her.

"You are the daughter of Maio Mihn.A noble under my father. I remember you know. You were crazy, you had visions seeing things that would hapen that noone could have ever known. You are considered a bad omen, and your own father 'kidnapped'you."

Malana turned slowly her yellow eyes wide with astonisment.

"Oh I've got your attention. He had planned to kill you didn't he? But he didn't have the heart, you were his only offspring and the coward couldn't do it. So he did the next best thing, he dumped you off in a overthrown village and sold you to the brothel for only one silver coin. He told the court you were kidnapped and killed. But to make the story so much happier, you mother was killed for fear of producing even more like you." Malana's eyes grew into dangerous stones.

"He sold us."

"He threw us away."

"He told me that I was bad."

"You bitch. How dare you bring up issues that belong to my family! You are a noble as well as I and don't think that you are any higher then me. Many a wealthy firenoble had visited me in the brothel. I was a jewl that many of them hadn't seen since being on the sea. You own brother laid his soul aside for me as a personal escort for an evening. The revered Zhao, was another that I had the pleasure of his company. Even once you're own father, Fire Lord Ozai himself, sent for me. He brought me to him after hearing tells of his weary battle ridden generals. So before you go an tell em abotu me. Look at yourself and your own worth. Because on tallies I am worth far more to the FireLord and Prince then you will ever be."

Azula's face paled. How could her own father sink so low as to bed a common whore? He had plenty of cocubines for his company! No, this wench was lying. Twisting her forked tongue around fantasies that she had warped in her mind to believe as actual events. She wanted to play this game then the princess could play and knew that she would very well win.

Ooh I have no idea what started this chapter, and I kinda lost myself ..o.O? Ah well it's all good. Oh a little hint...something in this chapter is VERY important. But since I am evil I will not tell you. BUT if you guess you would get a cookie...but I doubt it.