Hello peeps! The name's Meow-Mix-91! Now listen up, here's the drill! Review! It's not that hard, and it is polite, we provide reading material, you provide feedback, equivalent exchange, right? Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I am the co-author and I love it! From here on, my fellow author and I are going to rotate Author's notes. You'll find that I'm the more Ahem persuasive one when it comes to reviewing, which is exactly what you are going to do after you read this chapter, right? Of course I am, now, on to business. This chapter brings back some good memories. The last chapter and this one are basically the chapters where I stepped in to help wosao out, and it's been fun ever since.

To Lilly: Yes, Lau is part of the fire nation, and the Dance of the Dragon Maiden has nothing to do with the show and originated from the mind of someone who is bored with her life and has nothing better to do than to daydream about fan fiction, that person being me. Anyway, enjoy it.

The underlined, bold, & italics are Zuko talking to himself.

Scene 5: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 2: Shall We Dance? Sure, why not?

Zuko's POV

I could tell that something was wrong with Lau for the first four days of the week. She was very irritable toward everyone and for some reason; she was especially cold toward Uncle. She was a complete puzzle. Whenever she was mad, I usually tried my best to avoid her.

"Good morning, Zeilau!" Uncle said cheerfully, as she walked into the galley. She frowned at the mere sight of him. "It is such a beautiful morning, is it not?" He continued. Answering with a snarl, she grabbed a cup of water and stormed off. Something had to be wrong for her to be communicating with growls; she only seemed to do this when she was really annoyed about something…or at someone. Uncle, however, chose to shrug her hostility off and continued to drink his morning tea.

"Uncle, what is wrong with her?" I asked.

"Oh, pay no mind to her. She is just a little upset about having to be this year's Maiden of a certain ceremonial dance." Uncle replied accidentally, instantly covering his mouth after realizing what he had let slip. I smirked.

"So she is to be our Dragon Maiden, eh? That's next week, isn't it?" I questioned, smoothly. Now I knew why she was so mad, she had this thing when it came to performing. She despised it. Why would this time be any different? My thoughts paused when I realized something.

"Wait, but it is improper for a Noble. She should not be allowed." Uncle chuckled. "That is precisely the reason she is so mad. She told me the same thing." Iroh laughed. "But, what she doesn't know is that her mother, Tora, also did it when she was 16. I still remember it like it was yesterday. As soon as she walked out into the room…well, let's just say that Kumo, Lau's father, was unable to keep his wine in his mouth, instead it all landed in the face of the grandfather of our current general, Xhang. Poor boy was shocked out of his wits." He reminisced.

I grinned at the mention of Xhang. It continued to amaze me that he was now the fire nation's top general. Not to mention the youngest in history.

"Thanks, Uncle. I think I will go see if I can get her to talk to me." I stood up to leave. "Good luck with that, my boy." He called after me.

Since when did you become so caring?

She is my friend, it is my duty.

Why waste your time, she can get over it on her own?

For some reason, I doubt that.

You know she has a few problems.

Your point being, what?

Well…

Enough! Leave me alone!

By the time the conversation with my subconscious had ended I had already reached the deck. Immediately, I saw Lau, she was leaning over the railing, casually sipping her water off in her own little world. I walked over and stood beside her.

"Lau, what's the matter with you lately? You've been…a bit stand off-ish." I asked, just to see if she would come right out and tell me the truth on her own.

"I don't really want to talk about it." She said, trying to avoid my question. I frowned.

"A little tea-drinking bird let slip that it had something to do with a certain dance…" I said trying to get her to break.

"Fine…!" She exclaimed and the words 'Success!' wove through my mind like a banner. "I don't want to do that silly dance, but apparently I have no choice in the matter!"

"And, why, exactly, do you not want to do it?" I persisted.

"You want to know why! I don't want to perform! I don't have the will to do it." Lau finished, cooling off and slowing down a bit. "My will to perform died a long time ago."

"Uncle said your mother danced it when she was 16. If you don't want to do it for yourself, then do it for your mother." I said unusually soft. She didn't respond as she took in this information. Her gaze just lingered on the ocean. I put my hand on her shoulder, and then walked away.

Lau's POV

After Zuko left, his words continued to ring in my ears.

My own mother had danced, even though she was a noble. They always did say rules are meant to be broken. I sighed in defeat. '…do it for your mother.' Those 5 words just wouldn't stop echoing in my head.

I would make her proud - I would dance the damn thing.

I stared down at my costume. My fingers ached from all the repair work I had done, especially after polishing all the bronze.

I had most of the dance memorized all the way down to the Firebending that it included. It wasn't easy. It had a lot of twists and spins, but the most complicated part, by far, was the bending patterns. I had to dance, bend, and sing all at the same time, and I'm not one for multi-tasking. Plus, the singing was in the ancient language of the Dragon Keepers. It was hard, simple as that. Other than that, I was all set. Mom, I'll make you proud.

Three days past and tonight was the big night, I was nervous, but part of me was confident. I couldn't help but wonder how the sailors would react.

"Lau…?" Zuko said opening my door. I was startled. "It's almost time for the banquet to begin; you need to come to the crew galley." He walked into the room further. "You ready for tonight?"

I took a breath and it came out shuddering. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go before those brutes get too hungry." I said smirking as I got up from the floor and walked towards Zuko. As we walked down the corridor I straitened my armor and tightened my sash.

Once we reached the galley, I was blinded by all the lanterns strewn along the ceiling, a pit of fire rested in the middle of the room waiting for me. I eyed it as we passed. Two long tables were lined vertically on opposite sides of the room for the soldiers while the main table rested in the middle, horizontally, for all the Nobles, the captain, and his right-hand men. I followed Zuko to my place. It didn't help matters when I realized how close the table was to the pit of fire.

Once I was seated, Iroh stood and the room quieted. "Tonight we celebrate the Dragon and the art of Firebending. As we enjoy our dinner, performers shall entertain us with whatever they would like to do. I volunteered to go first." Iroh walked around the table to the pit, where the fire swerved steadily within. "You may eat as I tell you my tale." The men proceeded to eat. We were all served the usual rice, fish, and noodles as our first course along with a warm cup of tea. Wine, to my delight, would replace it later. I had grown to love the bittersweet taste.

"The tale that I shall relay to you this night shall be of the 'Keshin Isan' or 'Incarnation Legacy'." Iroh began. My attention was immediately pulled from my food, and I listened intently.

"Long ago, before the war, there lived four divine beings, one from each nation. They, along with the Avatar, were considered to be the supreme beings of our world. They were known as the Isan." He paused dramatically. I looked the room to see everyone's eyes trained on the old story-teller in the middle of the room, their food obviously forgotten for the moment.

"These Isan were the strongest of Doublebenders, the Polarbenders. A Polarbender could bend opposite elements, for example the Fire Nation Isan could bend both water and fire." I winced slightly.

"For some unknown reason the Isan from the Fire and Earth kingdoms were always a woman, while the Water Tribe and Air Nomad's Isan were men. No one has seen an Isan alive in the last 100 years. Fire Lord Sozen disposed of all Double and Polarbenders along with the four Isan. But, our current Fire Lord, Ozai is led to believe that the Isan of the Fire Nation has been reincarnated again." My heart skipped a beat.

"This person would have to be a Polarbender of course. Isan are reincarnated randomly. When they die, it could be years, decades, or even centuries until they are reborn. There are those who say that you can identify an Isan by a single marking, on them since birth, somewhere on their arm, but no one is certain. The bounty on any Isan would be enough to feed a family for years. As for the rumors about this new Fire Nation Isan, all we can do is wait and see." Iroh bowed and all the men clapped. I nibbled on my fish and watched as someone else walked up.

Iroh glanced in my direction giving me my cue to go and prepare. I stood up and walked out the huge double doors silently to avoid attracting any attention. It was time.

Zuko's POV

I sighed, great, more music. I really wanted to see Lau dance. I've been waiting ever since I found out. She was always a perfectionist, so I expected nothing but the best.

I clapped lightly as the musician finished. Finally, it was Lau's turn. The lanterns suddenly extinguished sending the room into complete darkness and the men began to talk excitedly.

The chatter ceased when the double doors swung open, and torches lit on either side illuminating her cloaked form. The room was silent. Slowly with every step she took, her voice grew louder until she reached the middle, pulling back her hood to reveal her face along the way, of the room in front of the pit of fire.

Naun el kree u a mae u el me,
Sili mae nin fi li na lo me le ne
Menel advial dur i fuin i vah mae…

With a flick of her wrist the fire blazed up brightly and I took a drink of my wine, next thing I knew her cloak was gone leaving only her, and all my wine ended up being spluttered out across the table, choking. Uncle, chuckled as he slapped my back. I didn't even know Lau had skin, until today. Her armor seemed permanently attached to her body.

She looked my way, amusement dancing in her eyes, and twirled the fire from the pit spinning around her body. My brain stopped functioning.

Lau's POV

I took a deep breath before beginning my song. The room was silent, exactly the way I wanted it to be. Extinguishing the lanterns had its desired effect on everyone so I was able to catch them off guard. I could hear gasps from around the room. Once I had deserted my cloak, I saw Zuko spit out his wine, coughing and choking as Iroh patted his back.

When he composed himself, I smirked in his direction. I saw him gulp slightly and….was that a blush?

Well, if that isn't a good sign, then I didn't know what was.

So, what did ya think? REVIEW! NOW! MUWAHAHAHAHA! No, really, NOW.

Preview: Scene 6: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 3: Blackmail

-Meow 5-15-06