Later that night, Umara lied awake in bed, a mixture of curiosity and general apprehension keeping her awake. Her talk with Iroh had really knocked her for a loop: of all people, Iroh was the last person she would have expected to agree with her, and there weren't many. Save Zuko and maybe Chey, she had little faith in the receptiveness of anyone in the Fire Nation. Like Iroh, Chey was also in the army, but seemed weary, though she was hardly convinced she could trust him. He was nicer to her than most people, though, even going so far as to voulenteer himself to be her 'host family', much to the disdain of his wife, who was, at best, slightly disdainful of Umara's presence in their home.
She squirmed uncomfortably against her mattress. Slowly looking around the candlelit room. It was nice, if one liked the elaborate sort of decoration. Like most places she'd visited in the past year, there was an air of ominosity to it. It was fitting, in a way. Her own life was beginning to feel a lot like this room, comfortable if she didnt think too much, but innately, an uncomfortable place to be. She sighed as she pressed her face harder against the pillow. She just needed some sleep, everything would feel normal again then.
With that thought in mind, Umara closed her eyes and tried to relax. She was just about to drift off to sleep when she heard a gentle rapping on the bedroom door,
"Mari, are you awake?" Zuko whispered, cracking the door just barely ajar. She breifely considered ignoring him, but couldn't manage it.
"Yeah," she responded defeatedly. "I cant sleep."
"Me either," he began as he eased himself into her room without opening the door much wider.
"I was gonna wait until tomorrow, but I kinda wanna talk to you about something, if that's okay..."
There was an odd hesitance in his voice as he stood there all folded in on himself. Umara knew that look, whatever he wanted to talk about was making him nervous. For a moment, she was concerned he'd overheard her conversation with Iroh earlier.
She sat up, legs still under the blankets, "Come sit." She patted the bed in front of her, trying to seem nonchalant.
Zuko reluctantly obliged, carefully climbing onto the bed and situating himself cross legged in front of her. She waited for him to say something, but he just sat there staring at her. It was dark, but she thought she saw him try to say something a few times.
"Whats up?" she prodded, rocking gently back and forth "You're making me nervous." she chuckled anxiously.
"Sorry," Zuko shook his head. He stared at her for a few more seconds, chewing the inside of his lip. "So, uh...I just..." He trailed off, his face turning red enough that she was able to see it despite how dark it was.
Umara smiled at him, relieved that this was probably just another one of his overblown tangents.
"Come on," She teased, shaking his shoulder. "Spit it out!"
Zuko took a sharp breath in, "Okay so, I just wanted to say, I'm really sorry that I yelled at you earlier, and I hope you're not mad at me...'Cuz, the thing is, I like you, a lot, and I don't want you to be upset..." He mumbled, glancing up at her uncertainly.
Umara's mind went blank. Zuko had always had a strange way of picking his moments, but this was odd timing, even for him. She started at him expressionlessly for a few seconds, before deciding that she should probably say something.
"Oh," She started hesitantly. "I guess you probably shouldn't though, right?"
Zuko's brow furrowed, "What do you mean? Why shouldn't I?" he asked, sounding more curious than hurt.
She raised her eyebrows and stared sternly into his eyes, "Because I said something that you didn't agree with earlier today, and it made you want to throw me off the boat," Umara explained slowly, slightly annoyed at Zuko's tunnel vision. "And I know, you're sorry, but that doesn't change the fact that I think about things a lot differently than you do..." She trailed off, hoping that he wasn't so naive that he didn't get her point.
Zuko frowned, "I didn't want to throw you off the boat, I was just surprised," he mumbled abashedly. "And I like that you're different, it's what makes you special." he smiled, anxiously grasping both her hands.
She stayed silent for a moment, studying his face. She hated when he did that. His stupid, naive smile was going to be the death of her one day. Or worse.
"Fine," She relented, smiling in spite of herself, "I guess I kind of like you too...but I still think this is a bad idea!"
"Really?!" Zuko beamed at her, completely ignoring half of what she'd just said.
Tunnel vision.
Umara rolled her eyes playfully, "Yeah, but now it's yourturn to promise me something."
"Anything!" Zuko chirped happily, with that same, deadly smile of his.
She thought for a moment, "you're not allowed to hate me if I say or do something that 'surprises' you." she offered with a stern look.
"That's easy. I like you too much to hate you!" he replied confidently.
Umara rolled her eyes again, "okaaaay" she sighed in a song-songy voice.
. . .
The room feel silent after that, both of them shifting their eyes around nervously, unsure of how to proceed. Zuko was beginning to realize he hadn't entirely thought this through, and perhaps the middle of the night hadn't been the best time to broach the topic.
"I guess I should go back to bed..." He awkwardly broke the silence.
Umara thought for a moment, "Just... come on," she layed back down and tugged on his arm for him to follow. "No, use the other blanket," she motioned to the quilt hanging over the end of the bed. "It's weird if you're under the covers."
Zuko aquisced heaving the heavy quilt on top of himself and settling his head on the pillow next to hers.
He stared at her dreamily for a moment, the soft glow of the candlelight illuminating the stark contrast between the blackness of her hair and eyes against her light skin.
"You're really pretty." he whispered, his voice cracking a little.
"Shut up," Umara blushed. "Are you tired?" she changed the subject, seeming almost flustered, much to Zuko's delight. She was cute when she was embarrassed, and it wasn't a common occurrence.
He shrugged, "Not really."
"Me either." She smiled at him sheepishly, shakily tracing her fingers along his jaw line, bringing them to rest next to his chin.
Zuko quite possibly would have completely melted right there, if he hadn't gotten distracted.
He craned his neck and squinted through the darkness, "What's that on your arm?"
Umara abruptly rolled onto her back, stiffly brushing her hair out of her face. "They're tattoos," She replied curtly. "But they're a secret. No one's supposed to know I have them. So...just don't say anything about it."
Her request swiftly went in one ear and out the other. "What do they mean?" He persisted, oblivious.
"I don't know," Umara replied shortly. "They were done in a hurry. It was right before they brought me into the Capital. No one explained anything to me." She snapped, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Zuko frowned at her sudden change in demeanor. He'd always wondered if perhaps there was more to the story than his Father had told him. If it was really a favor, why did she always get so uncomfortable when he asked questions?
He sat up so he could see her face, her eyes looked unusually glassy and far away. "You never really told me why they brought you here...Is there a reason? My dad said it was a favor to you but--"
"It wasn't a favor, okay? I don't want to talk about it. You'll just be surprised again." She hissed, sitting up to glare at him.
He probably should have let it go, though, restraint was never his strong suit.
"Mari...Did something bad happen?" He prodded softly, an uncomfortable feeling spreading through his abdomen.
Umara pursed her lips and squinched her eyes closed. "Zuko...please. Just leave it alone. It doesn't..." Her voice cracked, "it doesn't matter anymore."
"...but it does matter..." He paused as little details started to click together. "You're scared of people in the military..." He thought out loud.
"Stop!" She cried, her plead falling on deaf ears.
Zuko did stop, but only to think for a moment. Shortly before Umara had shown up, he vaguely remembered over hearing his Mother and Father arguing about something having to do with some people from Hira'a. He strained to remember the conversation, something his mother had said crept into his mind.
"Ozai, please, the Natoyi are peaceful, I'm sure it must be some kind of misunderstanding"
It was staring to come back to him now. His Father yelled at his Mother when she said that...something about someone trying to hurt his Grandfather...
His eyes widened frantically, "Mari! Did my Grandfather do something to you?! I remember the army got sent to Hira'a...Something happened, didn't it?" he shouted. A conflicted mess of guilt and indignation began to wash over him.
Umara glared at him intensely, "Stop talking so loud! Something bad happened, okay? Now please just...go back to bed!" She whispered loudly as she stood up, gesturing sternly to the door.
Zuko barely heard what she said, a mix of conflicted anger and concern building up inside him. "That's what it is, isn't it? That's why you won't tell me! You came to the Capital because you had to!That's why you're scared of my Uncle! You're not afraid of the army...You're afraid of the Fire Lord!" he shouted painfully, planting his feet on the floor.
Zuko knew he was right. Something bad had happened to her, and all this time she was too afraid to tell him about it because it was someone in his family that had done it.
He felt as if he was going to split in two. For all he'd been taught, anyone who didn't trust his family was a traitor, but he knew that wasn't true in this case. Umara wasn't a liar, and more importantly, she was his friend and...He was pretty sure he loved her.
"Answer me!" he shouted in frustration.
Umara's shoulders shrugged as she took a deep breath.
"Don't yell at me!" she screeched as she whirled around to face him, "I didn't do anything wrong. No one did anything wrong! That is the whole problem! I already told you a long time ago that I didn't want to talk about it! So just leave me alone."
Zuko's anger was extinguished when her eyes finally met his, he'd never seen her look so.. he wasn't sure what that look in her eyes was, and he didn't have much time to think about it: as soon as she finished her sentence, she disappeared.
After a few seconds, she came scrambling through the bedroom door, the previous tension dissolving as they gaped at each other in disbelief.
"How did you—"
Zuko was swiftly interrupted by his Uncle busting through the door, an elated looking Azula following closely behind. "What is going on in here?" he shouted sternly from the doorway.
Zuko and Umara exchanged glances, still too shocked to speak.
Unfortunately, Azula took the liberty of doing so, "Shehates the Fire Lord!" Azula screeched gleefully, pointing agressively at Umara, who just blinked at her expressionlessly.
"She never said that you liar he snapped back at his sister.
"Enough," his Uncle interjected, sternly. "Azula and Umara, go back to bed. Zuko and I need to have a talk." he motioned for Zuko to follow him, leaving Azula and Umara behind in the bedroom.
"I told you it was a bad idea." Umara mumbeled as they left the room.
. . .
Umara sighed deeply as she climbed back into her bed. She didnt like yelling: it felt foreign to her. Before Zuko, she hadn't ever gotten angry, even when she was sure she should have.
She carefully inspected her hands in an attempt to convince herself that she hadn't just blinked temporarily out of existense. It felt like a push, in a sense. She could see Zula's anger like heat coming off of hot pavement. She'd wanted nothing more than to get away from the situation, and then, as if by instinct, she used that energy to repel herself away.
She flopped dejectedly onto her back.
That doesnt even make sense.
Her mind curiously wandered to the story of Iza and Taku, but she quickly pushed that hubris thought from her mind.
"Ahem," a small voice beckoned from the doorway.
She looked up, and much to her disdain, there stood Azula, leaning against the door jam with her arms proudly crossed.
"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Umara sneered cautiously. She'd never really interacted with Azula before, but Zuko hadn't painted a particularly appealing picture.
Azula feigned offense, "You have terrible manners, you know. When a member of the royal family addresses you, you're supposed to bow. But I suppose that's to be expected, it 's not your fault that you were born in that pathetic little village."
She shrugged with her nose in the air.
Umara reluctantly did as she was told, remembering what Iroh had said earlier.
"Do you need something, Princess." she asked politely, nearly choking on her words.
Azula smirked, "What? Im not allowed to make conversation with my big brother's girlfriend?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"I'm not his—" Umara closed her eyes as she rolled them. "Oh, whatever."
"I dont know what you see in him," she clasped her hands behind her back as she invited herself into the room. "He's an idiot. And you, well, you're smarter than you look, aren't you?" She sneered matter of factly.
Umara slowly and carefully turned herself away, mindful that her arm was exposed. She suddenly regretted not taking Zuko's complaints about his sister more seriously.
"You don't have to bother hiding your arm, I already heard my idiot brother talking about your tattoos," Azula shrugged. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Yet."
Umara's heart sank. Azula had been listening to their conversation.
She's nine. Nothing to be scared of.
"Did you come in here just to threaten me?." She snapped.
"No, I actually feel bad for you, it can't be fun having to pretend to enjoy my brother's company." Azula shrugged.
Umara grimaced, "what are you even talking about? Not everyone thinks he's an idiot, you know."
Azula rolled her eyes. "You dont need to play coy with me, I already know you're up to something, unless you expect me to believe you're happy my Grandfather finally ridded the world of that disgusting tribe of yours."
Umara exhaled sharply, pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth to brace herself for what she was about to say, "You're wrong, Azula. I'm actually grateful that he helped me. I may not have been able to see it at first, but he did me a favor that day. I mean, he couldhave just had me killed along with everyone else."
Azula seemed satisfied with her answer, smirking at her evilly, "You're smart to lie, I mean, it's obvious, but I doubt my brother and Uncle are smart enough to realize that," she started regally for the door, spinning around one last time. "But just so you know, I'm watching you, and the moment you slip up, you're done. Understand?" She turned back toward the door and sauntered away without waiting for an answer.
Umara sat in silence for a moment, attempting to digest what had just happened, her eyes wide.
She's nine!