She froze and looked at him in surprise, "What? Where is she?"
"On a ship, we have to go, they're leaving," he had looked over her head to see Zuko and the strange girl leaving, the crew following behind. But before he could catch up they had already closed the gangplank.
Alex was beaming from the excitement, her cheeks flushed. She turned to Zuko gaily, "Wasn't that wonderful?"
He grumbled and she frowned at his reaction, until she remembered what she had said to him previously. Sticking to her word, she clamped her mouth shut tightly.
Josh watched as they sailed away, and it was then he knew he had to get to the North Pole quickly.
Once on board the ship they took their time casting off. The crew had had a little too much to drink, and they had to work slowly in order to preserve their safety.
Alex had spotted Zuko on the bow of the deck and had started to approach him when she heard the surprising shout from the crew.
"Sir, Captain! There has been a sighting of a rebel gang off the coast just ten miles ahead!"
Alex looked at the man and nodded sharply, "We should look into it. Thank you private."
She looked over at Zuko, who was standing erect with his hands clasped behind his back.
She bit her lip, "Is that all right sir?"
He turned and looked at her, his face cold, "It doesn't really matter what I say, does it?" he stopped and stared at her face. It was so familiar, the way she looked right now. Her face was confused, startled, and afraid (though she showed so little of her true fear). He had seen that face before, when he had felt the utmost longing for a savior. And as the light shone behind her face, casting it into shadow, he knew it at once.
She had been there, Alex had. She had been witness to his defeat; she had watched his demise as he had groveled for his father's mercy.
And when he had chanced a look at the crowd, and in that crowd he had seen the smug look on his sister's face, he had seen more than just his uncle's face that had fear for him on it. He had seen Alex, she had been so frightened for him, he had seen it on her face.
Strange memories came back to him as he stared down at this familiar girl:
He was walking through the palace gardens, a young man of thirteen. Chancing a look over the garden walls he had spotted a young girl sitting atop the roof. She was regarding the gardens with a wishful eye, yet she did not spot him among the flowers. The wind blew her hair around her face and she automatically pushed it aside.
It was then Zuko had developed his first crush.
Every day he casually ventured out onto the grounds in hopes o spotting her. He did this for a period of two weeks before his father caught him and made him train harder.
It wasn't until a year later that he had decided to take that lucky stroll through the main city square. And as he had been eyeing the vendors lazily, he had spotted someone ahead of him.
There, eyeing a vegetable cart, was the girl. She was a year older now, and her womanly figure showed immensely in the casual clothes she wore. She was selecting items with a bored expression as she placed them in her basket and made her way down the square.
As if in a trance, Zuko had followed her until she disappeared inside a small house just outside the busy square. Cautiously peering through the window he saw her talking to an elder boy ( Troy ) and seemed to be arguing about something.
"I'm telling you, if Zuko becomes Fire Lord it'll bring the entire nation closer to ruins than it already is!" Troy stated.
The girl (Alex) turned and glared at him, "I don't think he's all that bad. And how would you know? You've never met him."
Troy scoffed, "Neither have you! And besides, like father, like son."
It was then Zuko had gone back to the palace, and it would be three hours later that he had stood up for his people, in a desperate attempt to prove the unknown boy wrong. It was that day he fought his father, and it was that day his life changed forever.
She was glaring at him, unaware of his memory. Tapping her foot lightly she inquired, "Is there anything else sir? Or am I permitted to make sure the men are ready?"
He looked down at her serious face, and just behind those amber eyes he saw fear, honest to gods fear. He reached out to gently touch her arm but she took a step back. He knew then that he would never touch her willingly again.
She nodded quickly and turned, arms crossed over her chest as she made her way across the bow.
After she had left Zuko was still thinking about her. He knew now why he had felt that small connection upon meeting her, he knew now why he longed to touch her again. But he also knew that she had been wrong, perhaps for the first time in her life, she had been wrong about him.
He really was a heartless monster.
