Here's a new chapter! i think it's one of my longest chapters i ever wrote, i had some help from this from a friend. So Enjoy!
Chapter 20
A few days later after the storm. Liling didn't say anything to Zuko after he apologized. Despite that Iroh had tried to talk to them only ending up in complete silence. But Zuko realized that it was only when He's in the room with Liling is that she's quiet, whenever she's with his uncle in a game of Pai sho she would smile and talk.
"I can't thank you enough for this teapot."Liling said as she carefully poured the water she had just boiled into the teapot Iroh had given her a few weeks ago.
She placed the teapot on the tray along with small teacups and the fruit pastries she baked this morning. She picked up the tray and headed up to the bridge of the ship where Iroh was playing Pai Sho with two other crew members while Zuko and Zhao tried to pick up Aang's location.
"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm." Lieutenant Jee stated as Liling walked into the room, pointing at the map, "But if we continue heading northeast-"
Liling stopped pouring a cup of tea for Iroh to look out the windows when a large shadow darkened the room. Her eyes widened when she saw a large Fire Nation ship pulled up alongside Zuko's.
"What do they want?" Zuko wondered in confusion, looking angrily as the other ship.
"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho." Iroh suggested, running his hands together eagerly.
"Um…Iroh, I don't think they want a game."Liling stated drily, passing the cups to the other men.
A soldier from the other ship entered the room. Liling's eyes widen in shock when the soldier snapped open a wanted poster with Aang's picture on and held it open for everyone to see.
"The hunt for the Avatar had been given prime importance," The soldier barked, ignoring the annoyed look the prince was giving him, "All information regarding the Avatar must be reported to Admiral Zhao."
"Zhao has been promoted? Well, good for him." Iroh said congenially as he moved one of his Pai Sho pieces.
"I've nothing to report to Admiral Zhao." Zuko stated coldly as he looked at the floor then glared up at the three soldiers, "Now get off my ship and let us pass."
"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area." The lead soldier informed the prince, his face stern.
"Off my ship!" Zuko roared as he pointed to the soldier's own ship.
"Excellent! I take the pot!" Iroh exclaimed happily as the soldiers left and he pulled the Pai Sho, and pot towards him, one of the men punching himself in the face in exasperation.
"But you're all improving!" Iroh praised with a serene smile before grinning at them, "I'm certain you will win if we play again."
Liling giggled softly, one of the men let out a huff and his expression changed when he took a bite of the sweet treat instantly changing his mood.
Meanwhile Aang went to find the herbalist to get some medicine for Katara and Sokka, since both of them caught a fever from the storm a few days ago. He left them with Appa and Momo.
Fire Nation soldier looked at the wanted poster while his companion was on watch duty.
"Says here that the Avatar can create tornadoes and run faster than the wind," The soldier said as he read the poster aloud, "Pretty amazing."
"Ah, that's just a bunch of Fire Lord propaganda! There's no way that's true." The second soldier denied before looking back out the small window in the hidden outpost only to see a large cloud of dust in the distance.
His eyes widened when something ran by and destroyed the outpost then he grabbed his horn and blew on it to signal that the Avatar had been spotted.
"Hello, I'm sorry to barge in like this but I need some medicine for my friends," Aang spoke rapidly "They have fevers and they were coughing-"
"Settle down, young man." The herbalist chided gently as she stopped mixing something in a mortar, "Your friends are going to be fine. I've been up here for over forty years you know, used to be others, but they all left years ago."
The herbalist pet the large white cat that was on the table she was working on and it began to purr, "Now it's just me and Miyuki."
"That's nice." Aang said, trying not to bounce in place as the old woman continued to ramble.
"Wound Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and again, brave boys, and thanks to my remedies they always leave in better shape than when they arrive."
"That's nice." Aang said again and this time he tried to gently rush the old woman, "Are you almost done?"
"Hold on, I just need to add one last ingredient." The herbalist stated as she began to walk amongst the shrubbery, looking around and muttering to herself, "Oh, sandalwood…oh, er, uh that won't do, banana leaf? Ah, nope, uh, ginger root, uh, uh, oh where is that pesky little plant?"
Aang looked at the woman's back in exasperation and slapped his face with his hand as the woman continued to search and mutter to herself.
Liling watched Zuko practice his Firebending, kicking and punching the air. Liling stared at him, Zuko didn't know if she was still mad. He doesn't know what girls think!
'His stance if a bit off centered…'Liling thought continuing to stare at Zuko's form. 'But that blast was pretty fierce.'
"Is everything okay?" Iroh asked as he walked out of the command tower as Zuko stopped flinging fire around, "It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order."
"I don't care what they do."
Liling eyebrows rose, usually Zuko would be barking orders.
"Don't give up hope yet." Iroh said reassuringly as he looked at his nephew, "You can still find the Avatar before Zhao."
Zuko turned around and Liling stared at the obvious fear and desperation on his scarred face. She never saw that expression before.
"How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar." Zuko stated, his voice upset then he turned around and lowered his voice to a whisper, "My honor, my throne, my country…I'm about to lose them all."
"Oh, here's what I was looking for!" The woman exclaimed happily as she found what she was looking for, "Plum blossom!"
"Finally!" Aang groaned, lifting his head from the table and throwing his arms in the arm as the woman walked back over to the table and dropped the blossom into the mixing bowl.
"Thanks for all your help!" Aang said and tried to snatch the bowl from the herbalist's hands only for her to smack his hand with a wooden spoon, "Ow!"
"What do you think you're doing?" the old woman demanded, snatching the bowl away from Aang as he shook his hand.
Aang gave the woman a wide-eyed look and rubbed his injured hand, "Taking the cure to my friends!"
"This isn't a cure!" The woman said with a laugh as she placed the bowl on the table and the cat began to eat out of it, "It's Miyuki's dinner. Plum blossom is her favorite."
"What about my friends?!"
The herbalist laughed again as she stroked the cat's back, "Well, all they need are some frozen wood frogs. There's plenty down in the valley swamp."
"What am I supposed to do with frozen frogs?" Aang questioned, looking at the woman in confusion.
"Why suck on them of course!"
Aang's eye twitched and he looked at the woman in shock and disgust, "Suck on them?"
"The frog skin excretes a substance that will cure your friends." The herbalist explained with a smile, "Be sure to get plenty because once those little critters thaw out, they're useless!"
"You're insane, aren't you?" Aang deadpanned, wishing that Liling was with him she would've made a cure for their friends in a second.
"That's right!" The woman said crazily as she laughed then ushered Aang out of the green house, "Well, don't stand there all day! Go!"
The woman didn't have to tell him twice and Aang ran out of the green house as fast as he could.
Aang yelped when two arrows came out of nowhere and pinned his pants to the ground, his arm pinwheeling as he tried to keep his balance. He at the arrows in confusion then looked up and saw more going straight at him.
"Ah!" He shouted and quickly Airbended a shield around him, sending the arrows out and away from him.
"Uh, I think you dropped this." He called out only to scream again when he saw a couple of archers taking aim at him.
Aang quickly freed himself from the second arrow pinning his foot to the ground and started to run away, dodging arrows as he went. He jumped off the cliff screaming as he fell towards the trees. Aang yelped as he hit and bounced off the tree branches, covering his face with his arms.
Aang quickly jumped from tree to tree as he dodged the arrows the archers were still shooting at him, until he reached the swamp, He yelped when he went under the cold swamp water and quickly pushed himself back up.
"A frog!" Aang shouted as he looked at the frozen frog in his hand only to gasp when an arrow hit it and knocked it back into the swamp water.
Aang moved as quickly as he picked up the frozen wood frogs and stuck them in his shirt. He was about to put another frog in his shirt when his arm was pinned to the log he was standing front of. He stared in shock and began tugging on his arm as more arrows pinned his shirt sleeve to the wood. Aang gasped when he saw the archers standing in front of him with their bows drawn, thinking quickly he Waterbended the swamp water and froze it in front of him as a shield, but the arrows shattered the frozen water.
More arrows were fired at him and pinned his other arm to log then a net was shot at him, trapping him place. Aang looked at the archers with wide, terrified eyes as they advanced on him.
Zuko watched as Liling was practicing her stances , somehow she was going with the flow of things moving quickly and fully concentrated in her training. The entire time Liling didn't say a single word to him. Zuko frowned, He knew he had done the wrong thing and he apologized. He turned and walked away he leaned back at the metal wall until he heard two voices.
"Ah, doing some practice?"Iroh said
"Yeah, it relaxes me."Liling said
"Did you manage to find your necklace?"Iroh asked
"I can't find it anywhere." Liling panicked
"I'm sure you'll find it."Iroh said
"Iroh, I searched almost the entire ship for my necklace….i retraced my steps and everything! "Liling said
Zuko raised an eyebrow, she was being so frantic for a piece of jewelry? Why?
"Don't worry-"
"I can't….it's…it's the only thing I treasure the most.."Liling mumbled. "I have to find it…"
Zuko reached in his pocket taking out the amber jewelry that he found, He didn't know how to give it to her or even what to say.
"I'll try again..i'll start in my room."Liling said
Zuko heard footsteps slowly fading away. Why of all the people he had to have liked…Why did it have to be her?
She's supposed to be just a prisoner not someone that he likes! What was he supposed to do? His uncle certainly isn't doing much help either, as if he somehow knew what was happening to him. She's just a peasant girl!
"Argh! Why did this happen?!"
Zuko frowned as he let out a huff.
Aang glared angrily, at the metal door his feet chained to the floor while his arms were outstretched with his hands chained. He was barely able to move, but he struggled against chains anyway.
He stopped struggling and looked towards the door when it opened and a man in Fire Nation uniform walked inside with his hands clasped behind his back.
"So this is the great Avatar?" Zhao questioned as he came to a stop in front of the boy, "Master off all elements. I don't know how you managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide-and-seek is over."
"I've never hidden from you!" Aang shouted angrily as he strained against his bonds, "Untie me and I'll fight you right now!"
"Ah… No." Zhao drawled as he looked over his shoulder at the young boy before turning around full with a cruel smirk, "Tell me, how does it feel to be the only Airbender left? Do you miss your people?"
Aang looked down at his feet sadly as his words.
"Don't worry, you won't be killed like they were." Zhao continued to taunt the boy who glared up at him angrily, "See, if you die you will just be reborn and the Fire Nation would have to start searching all over again. So, I'll keep you alive, but just barely."
Aang glared at Zhao as he walked away then took a deep breath and blew a gale force wind at the smug admiral, knocking him over and into the wall. Zhao rubbed his head and shook it as he got to his feet and glared at Aang.
"Blow all the wind you want, but your situation is futile." He snapped as he walked to the door, "There is no escaping this fortress and no one is coming to rescue you."
Aang watched him leave with scared eyes before he closed them and bowed his head.
Liling pursed her lips as she closed the drawer, letting out a frustrating sigh.
"It's not here….i can't believe I got so careless…."Liling muttered
She then heard a light knock on her door.
"Liling?" Iroh's voice was heard on the other side of the metal door.
"Tonight is Music Night on the ship." Iroh stated after a few more moments of silence, "Would you care to join me?"
Liling took a minute to think it over and maybe if she relaxed a little she would try to find her lost item again in the morning. "Yes, I would like to go."
"If you are ready we could go and get the instruments out." Iroh said
Liling smiled as she tied her hair in a braid, she walked towards the door opening it seeing the retired general.
"Let's go.."Liling said
The Blue Spirit looked at the guarded fortress from the bushes carefully then quickly moved to the left and further down the road, keeping out of sight. Once he'd reached the good distance, the Blue Spirit slipped out into the road and laid down, covering himself with mulch and dirt to hide his body as he waited for the opportunity to come.
As soon as the wagon passed over him, the Blue Spirit lunged upward and clung to the bottom of the wagon tightly as it headed towards the fortress. He glanced to the side when the wagon stopped, watching the gate guard's feet as he walked around the wagon.
"All clear." One guard called out.
Silently and stealthily, the Blue Spirit slipped out from under the wagon and into the back just as the guard ducked down the check the undercarriage.
"All clear." The guard called out again as he straightened then waved the wagon forward as the gates began to open, "Go on in."
The Blue Spirit looked out from the supply crates inside the wagon, watching as it passed through the three gates that closed right behind it. The Blue Spirit slipped from the wagon, ducking behind the supply crates that had been unloaded in the inner most part of the fortress, then raced towards the stairs that would take him into the actual fortress where the Avatar was being held prisoner.
"We are the sons and daughters of fire, the superior element!" Zhao stated, projecting his voice so that the soldiers below the balcony he was standing on would hear his speech, "Until today, only one thing has stood in our path to victory…The Avatar! I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!"
The soldiers below cheered loudly and Zhao smiled faintly, waiting for the cheers to die down then continued his speech.
"This is the year Sozin's Comet returns to grant us its power!" Zhao waited again for the cheers to die down, "This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Ba Sing Se and burns the city to the ground!"
Aang growled as he struggled against the chains. He stopped, panting heavily and his head hung low.
"What?" Aang muttered when he felt something his shirt start to move then the half-thawed frogs began to leap out of shirt and crawl across the ground, "No! Don't leave frogs. My friends are sick and they need you! Please go back to being frozen!"
The frogs continued to pull their half-frozen bodies to the door, croaking loudly. Aang began to struggle against the chains again.
Standing outside the chamber, the four guards looked at each in confusion when they heard the unmistakable sounds of frogs' croaking. The soldiers looked down and all of them blinked in shock as the frogs appeared out the door. The four were distracted from the strange sight when a Fire Nation soldier's helmet suddenly came bouncing down the hall.
The guards looked at it then at each other, before the guard farthest on the left walked down the hall and turned the corner, disappearing from view. A burst of fire appeared suddenly followed by the sounds of a slight struggle before going silent again. The remaining three guards looked at each other before two of them walked down the hall, their arms raised in a bending stance.
The two guards stare in shocked confusion at the first guard tied up and hanging from the ceiling. The two guards didn't have time to process before the one guard was knocked unconscious when the Blue Spirit had dropped from the ceiling and on top of him.
The last guard stood by the door and reached for the horn hanging on the wall, only to stare with wide eyes when a dagger knocked it out of his hand. Glaring, the guard quickly shifted into a bending stance as the Blue Spirit raced down the hall towards him. The guard set a blast of fire from his fist, but the Blue Spirit doused the flames with a bucket of water he had in his hands. The Blue Spirit then swung the bucket and knocked the guard's legs out from under him, sending him crashing face-first into the metal floor.
Aang struggled against the chains, when a noise outside the door distracted him and he looked up. Aang stared at the door as it opened.
Aang's eyes widened and he gasped when he saw a figure in a blue mask enter the room. Aang screamed in fear when the Blue Spirit suddenly unsheathed two dao swords and rushed at him, the swords swinging and slashing intricately.
Aang closed his eyes and flinched backwards as the Blue Spirit came close and brought the swords down, only to open his eyes a moment later when he felt the chains lighter. Aang looked at them in surprise then up at the Blue Spirit in surprised wonder.
The Blue Spirit stepped closer and cut the manacles from Aang's wrists with his swords then slashed the manacles on his ankles. The Blue Spirit put his dao swords back together and walked towards the door, leaving Aang to stare at his back in surprise.
"Who are you? What's going on?" Aang asked but the masked man continued to walk towards the door, "Are you here to rescue me?"
The Blue Spirit opened the door and peaked out, then motioned for Aang to follow him brusquely.
"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Aang muttered as he hurried after him, blinking surprise when he saw the bound and gagged guard outside the door.
Aang followed a few steps behind the Blue Spirit when a sudden croaking grabbed his attention and he looked down one of the hallway junctions, gasping when he saw the partially frozen frogs on the floor.
"My frogs! Come back! And stop thawing out!" Aang yelped as he kneeled down and picked two of them up only to drop them again when the Blue Spirit came back, picked him up by the collar, and dragged him down the hallway.
"Wait!" Aang shouted as he reached for the frogs while the Blue Spirit dragged him down the hallway, "My friends need to suck on those frogs! I knew I should've asked Lils about making medicine…"
Liling smiled, she clapped her hands after Lieutenant Jee had finished singing a rather beautiful love song with Iroh playing the tsungi horn.
"I haven't heard anything like that before that was beautiful, Lieutenant Jee." Liling said
"Thank you, Liling." Lieutenant Jee said with a faint blush staining his cheeks.
"It was very moving." Iroh agreed as he took a sip of tea then turned to Liling, "Do you want to sing?"
"I would love too." Liling said with a small smile.
"Excellent!" Iroh exclaimed and picked up his tsungi horn, "When you are ready, we'll start."
Iroh began playing a lively upbeat tune it was soon accompanied by Liling's soft voice. The crew listened to the melody.
Aang followed the Blue Spirit as they walked silently through the sewer system under the fortress, the Blue Spirit occasionally looking up through the metal bars above them where soldiers were patrolling the grounds. The Blue Spirit paused and pulled himself up slightly to get a quick look. The masked man pointed up at the grate then he hopped out, followed by Aang a moment later.
The two ran towards the wall where a rope was hanging from the top of the inner most wall of the fortress. The Blue Spirit gestured for Aang to start climbing then followed after him once he had gotten a few feet up the rope, then the alarm suddenly sounded. They froze.
"There!" One of the guards yelled out "On the wall!"
Aang screamed when a guard on top of the wall cut the rope, sending him and the Blue Spirit plummeting towards the ground. Just before they hit the ground, Aang quickly Airbended the air around so that they landed.
The dust cleared and the Blue Spirit unsheathed his swords, pointing to the gate and the two began running towards it.
"The Avatar has escaped!" Zhao shouted as he leaned over the balcony. "Close all the gates immediately!"
The gate began to close and soldiers armed with spears rushed to block it while Aang and the Blue Spirit pushed themselves to run faster.
"Stay close to me!" Aang ordered as he ran in front of the Blue Spirit.
Aang continued running for the rapidly closing gate but the Blue Spirit is forced to stop when two guards with spears attacked him, while more began to surround him.
Aang looked over his shoulder, seeing his rescuer was in trouble when a guard tried to impale him with a spear. Aang grunted and grabbed the spear, hooking his leg over it and sending a blast of air at the guard's face which knocked him backwards. Aang quickly twirled the spear around then slammed the head against the ground, breaking it, he then raced forward to help the Blue Spirit while the gate closed behind him.
The Blue Spirit dodged the spears being jabbed at him then disarmed the guards rapidly but more kept surrounding him until suddenly the ones in front of him were blasted away by a gust of air.
The Blue Spirit jumped up just another power gust knocked the rest of the guards away from him and Aang stood in front of him. Aang looked at his rescuer for a moment then used Airbending to catapult him to the top of the innermost wall, where he is instantly surrounded by more soldiers. The Blue Spirit looked at the guards on either side of him then Aang appeared, wrapping his legs around the Blue Spirit's torso as he spun the broken spear above his head and flew them into the next courtyard.
Aang struggled to the keep them both in the air while the Blue Spirit used his dao blades and feet to knock the spears being thrown at them away. Aang grunted and strained as he tried to keep them up but he couldn't as they tumbled.
The Blue Spirit picked up his dao blades and moved to engage the group of guards in front of him but Aang Airbended them off of the wall. The two look at each for a moment before being distracted by the soldiers setting up ladders against the wall and quickly climbing them, Aang and the Blue Spirit working to knock the soldiers off the ladders as they reached the top.
Aang quickly jumped onto the edge of the wall where one ladder was leaning and sent a huge blast of air down it, knocking the soldiers off he repeated it to the next later just the Blue Spirit knocked the last guard off the ladder in front of him.
Aang grabbed the two emptied ladders and rushed over to where the Blue Spirit was standing in front of the cleared ladder in front of him.
"Take this." Aang ordered, passing one of the ladders to the Blue Spirit then he stepped onto the ladder still leaning against the wall with the other ladder held horizontally in his hands, "Jump on my back!"
The Blue Spirit quickly did as Aang told him, Aang used the ladder in his hands and the one he was standing on like massive stilts.
"Give me the next one!" Aang shouted as he dropped one of the ladders and the Blue Spirit handed Aang the ladder in his hands, just a Fire Nation soldier sends a blast of fire up ladder Aang and the Blue Spirit were standing on.
They were able to jump from the last ladder and towards the last wall. Aang grunted as he grabbed the edge of wall but his hand slipped, the Blue Spirit's grabbed the edge but it was too late and he fell. The two fell to the ground below, landing on their backs with grunts of pain.
The Blue Spirit quickly rolled to his feet and unsheathed his dao swords just as four Firebenders cornered them around the last closed gate. The Firebenders launched a torrent of fire at them and Aang quickly grabbed the masked man by the shoulders, twirling him around then dissipating the fire with an air shield.
"Hold your fire!" Zhao ordered as he stalked forward to stand between two of the Firebenders, "The Avatar must be captured alive!"
Aang gasped quietly in surprise when his rescuer suddenly crossed his dao blades in front of his throat. Zhao glared at the masked man shifted the dao blades even closer to Aang's throat.
"Open the gate." Zhao said through gritted teeth as he continued to glare heatedly at the masked figure.
"Admiral, what are you doing?" One of the higher ranking officers asked in shocked confusion.
"Let them out!" Zhao barked without looking away from the two duo, "Now!"
The gate opened and the Blue Spirit backed out slowly, keeping his swords against Aang's throat while also keeping his eyes on Admiral Zhao.
"How could you let them go?" the officer from before asked Zhao quietly.
"A situation like this requires…" Zhao's furious expression turned to a smirk "Precision."
Zhao watched the Blue Spirit back away from atop the main gate of the fortress.
"Do you have a clear shot?" The admiral asked without looking at the Yuyan archer standing beside him with an arrow drawn.
The Yuyan archer remained silent as he aimed the arrow at the Blue Spirit's head, but that was all the signal Zhao needed.
"Knock out the thief." Zhao ordered smugly as he watched the masked figure continue to back away with the Avatar, "I'll deliver him to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar."
The archer released his arrow and it soared through the air towards the Blue Spirit and Aang.
"Liling that was beautiful…"Iroh said
"Thanks..my mother taught me a bit of music."Liling said "She always told me that anything she taught me will come in handy someday." Liling yawned a bit. "I'm going to sleep now…see you later."
Liling walked to the hallway but she stopped for a second, She hasn't seen Zuko the entire night…she wondered where he went? He didn't even show up in music night.
'Is he okay?'She thought 'Maybe…he's sick?..i'll see him in a few hours just to check on him.' Liling opened the door to her room closing it shut as she collapsed on her bed in her metal room.
The Yuyan archer's arrow soared through the air and struck the Blue Spirit in the head right over Aang's shoulder, a loud 'ping' filling the air when the arrow connecting with the mask. Aang turned around in shock as the Blue Spirit fell to the ground unconscious, the dao swords lying on the ground. His eyes widened further in horror when he saw a portion of his masked rescuer's face from the mask.
Without thought, Aang spun back around and Airbended a huge cloud of dust around him and the Blue Spirit.
"Quick! Recover the Avatar!" Zhao ordered as the gate opened again and soldiers poured out, racing towards the giant dust cloud.
Aang kneeled beside the Blue Spirit's form and grabbed the blue mask, removing it from his face and revealing Prince Zuko's scarred face.
Aang gasped and jerked backward in surprise. Aang jumped up and started to run away then paused, looking back at Zuko's unconscious body with wide, compassion filled eyes.
Aang glanced up and saw the Fire Nation soldiers getting closer through the dissipating dust cloud, he made his choice and was fully determined now.
The Fire Nation soldiers reached the spot on the road just as the dust cloud cleared completely and they all looked around in confusion when they realized nothing was there.
Zhao's face screwed up in rage as he glared furiously at the road which was empty save for his soldiers. His lips curled into a snarl and his fists clenched tightly at his sides, when a croaking sound by his feet drew his attention. His eyes narrowed when a slimy frog croaked again then leapt onto the edge of the main gate, then hopped over the side.
Zuko's eyes opened and he stared through bleary eyes at the green canopy with the sunlight filtering in above him then looked to the side where Aang was sitting on a large tree root a foot or so away from him. The young boy's knees were pulled up to his chest and his arms were wrapped around them while his chin rested on his arms, his expression forlorn. Zuko groaned quietly and he blinked, his vision beginning to clear just as Aang began to speak.
"You know the worst part of being born over a hundred years ago is?" He said suddenly without looking at the still dazed prince, "I miss all the friends Lils and I used to hang out with. Before the war started, we used to visit our friend Kuzon and Ru."
Zuko watched as the boy's forlorn expression turned to one of fond remembrance, "The four of us, we'd get in and out of so much mischief together, sometimes even that Lils and Ru would bail me and Kuzon out."
Aang looked away then down at Zuko, " Ru and Lils…they were always together, I was surprised when she told me that Ru asked her out on a date. She was so happy and excited to see him again. Kuzon would tease Lils about it whenever he saw the two together. Those two were my best friends and they were from the firenation just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?"
Zuko blinked at the younger boy who was now smiling slightly at him then he rolled into a crouch and launched a huge fireball at Aang, but he dodged backwards and used an air current to fly into the tree branches high above Zuko's head.
Aang paused on the branch above the prince and looked down at him while the prince looked up.
"If you ever hurt Lils, I'll make you regret it…" Aang trailed off then turned and jumped from branch to branch, away from Zuko, leaving the threat hanging in the air behind him.
Zuko watched the boy jump away until he disappeared from sight then he looked away, his tense expression relaxing into a thoughtful one.
Iroh sat on a small stool on the main deck. Iroh suddenly stopped playing the instrument when he saw his nephew walk onto the deck.
"Where have you been, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked cheerfully as he watched his nephew walk past, "You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song and then Liling sang as well."
"I'm going to bed." Zuko stated in a tired voice as he ignored what his uncle said and rubbed his head, "No disturbances."
Iroh gave his nephew's back a curious look before shrugging and began to play the tsungi horn again.
Zuko walked tiredly through the hall, He saw Liling out of the corner holding a tray.
"You're up."Liling said quietly
"I'm going to bed." Zuko said until he heard Liling call to him. "What?"
"I'm sorry about before…" Liling softly said she bit her lip as Zuko looked up at her in surprise "We both said some nasty stuff…"
"Yeah" he nodded quietly only to burst out again. "But still I shouldn't have-"
Zuko stopped as something pressed against his lips. It was Liling's hand, or to be specific her fingerstips .
Unconsciously, his tongue that had been paused in the middle of talking, accidently flickered out ever so slightly and touched her finger couldn't help but gulp.
He blinked and looked into her eyes. He felt his gut swirl around strangely as his throat ran dry.
They were quite close now, their shoulders almost touching and yet he found himself wanting to inch if possible even closer still. His entire body tingled as he leaned in a bit closer to her, he stared into her eyes, after what the airbender said he now knows a bit about Liling.
"I better go." Zuko said quickly going to his room
Zuko stared at the metal ceiling of his cabin on the ship then he looked over at the large Fire Nation symbol hanging on his wall. He stared at it a moment in thought then rolled over so his back was to the emblem and shut his eyes tightly.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think, if you have any ideas about any special ZukoxLiling moments feel free to leave me a message!