Zuko looked up from the paper he was reading. There stood Zulu, still dressed in the outfit he saw her the night before. He gave a smile to her, one that was so boyish it was unreal. Zulu gave a tiny laugh, asking if she could have a cup of rose tea. His uncle immediately sat her down to a steaming cup, and she gave a laugh when Zuko looked at his uncle weirdly.

"You must be General Iroh," Zulu said.

Iroh stopped in his tracks, turning around slowly to look at his nephew. The stare made Zuko so fearful for a second, but he shrugged his shoulders, heading to the back to start washing dishes like he was supposed to. Iroh followed him, anger filling up in his mind and heart.

"Zuko! I told you that we can't tell anyone!" Iroh hissed in his nephew's ear.

"Uncle, she is a Fire Dancer. Can't you tell by the bangles on her wrists and the bands around her ankles?"
"Of course I can, but how do we not know she isn't a spy for the Fire Nation?"

"Did you see the scar on her upper arm? She was burnt there when she was ten years old by a Firebender who attacked her village to control it. She was in the resistance!"

"Then we must report her!"

Zuko shook his head furiously, and steam started to rise from his nostrils. Iroh took a step back. Zuko was starting to become angry and it wasn't the best thing if he was angry. Iroh sighed. He wondered how his nephew met this girl. He took Zuko out back, starting to ask questions.

"I can't tell you out here. There's too much space. I'll tell you tonight. Actually, I'll show you where I met her!" Zuko said, holding his hand out to tell his Uncle that he promised. Iroh shook his nephew's hand slowly. "Besides, there are more like her."

"What?"

"I told you that I was going to show you! Now we have to get back in there. It looks like some more customers came in," Zuko stepped into the building, reaching for a tray to take out a few more china cups for the customers.

Meanwhile, inside, Zulu was talking to another girl that entered, who asked about her strange outfit. Zuko quietly listened to her while he gave the customers their cups and menus, in case they wished to buy some desserts along with their tea.

"I am just into the outfits of the Fire Nation women. I don't support them, oh no. This is a traditional Fire Dancer outfit, and I dance like the Fire Dancers do. I bend my body in ways that a normal human can't."

"That is so amazing. I wish I was as flexible as you. Well, it was nice to know what you do, Zulu! I'll see you around, I guess."

The girl left, and Zuko moved forward. He sat down at the table, causing Zulu to give such a smile that Zuko melted on the inside.

"Well, I couldn't help but overhearing you, but is that even true?"

"You saw me last night, Lee. I am a Fire Dancer, minus the fire," Zulu winked. She even knew his nickname. Bom really did tell them everything about Zuko. "Are you coming tonight?"

"Of course I am! I hope to see more of your dancing, Zulu."

"You always will, Zulu. But in two days we won't have the meeting, and I want to go out on a date with you."

Zuko's eyes widened and his heart soared. Zulu was asking him out on a date! He nodded furiously. Zulu laughed, putting a hand on his scar. The mood suddenly tensed, but it was still full of love.

"Your father is a ruthless man, Lee. I heard of what happened here in Bai Sing Se. A few refugees came to my home and told me of your accident with him. You had the right to stand up for what you believed in, and if that is the price of freedom and equality, then being scarred for life is worth it."

Zuko smiled, putting a hand over Zulu's. She blushed a bit, smiling softly. She had sadness in her eyes, though. Zuko wanted to ask what really happened to her parents, her family, and her village. He hadn't heard of the place she was born in.

"What happened? You know, when you were ten."

Zulu slowly moved her hand away, her smile slipping away. She didn't look like she wanted to talk about, but she took a deep breath, ready to begin.

"My father was the leader of the resistance group against the war. He had just created it a year before the incident. I was a young Firebender being taught Fire Dancing at the local school, but I didn't know what my father was up to," Zulu wiped away a tear. "Then the day came. I was doing my new tricks in the street near the edge of town. They came. I screamed, trying to use my Firebending to protect myself, but I wasn't taught to fight. I was taught to use the flames for beauty, not violence. I was burnt on my arm, and they punched me as well. Hard, in the stomach. I was tall for my age then, so I thought I could take them on. I couldn't.

"They went towards my home first. I ran after them after I caught my breath from being punched in the stomach. I did my dancing moves to try and stop them, but they laughed, punching me this time in the face. I blacked out, hearing the screams of my mother as they burnt the house down. I had a one-year-old brother as well, and I haven't found him since, because my grandmother escaped with him and we were separated," Zulu wiped her eyes again. "I headed out with my friend Fiora and told her we should go to Bai Sing Se, the safest city in the world. She said our gifts wouldn't be appreciated there. I protested, telling her that it was the only place we would be allowed in. When we arrived, we were treated for our injuries, but the burns they wouldn't heal. It was a way they could keep track of us. Yuna soon caught up, after following her seriously injured brother, who was seventeen at the time. She was injured too."

Zuko had his eyes closed. He opened them, tears flowing down his cheeks. His grandfather had been in control then, so he had caused the pain. Zuko's heart ached for Zulu and all of her friends. She couldn't see her family anymore. Her brother was out there, alone in the world. Zuko pulled Zulu into a hug. She was crying in full force now, and needed the shoulder to cry on.

"It'll be okay, Zulu," Zuko whispered in her ear. "I'll protect you from now on. When I rule the Fire Nation, I'll stop the war. For you."