By the end of the week Mingan was reading short sentences. Zuko sat beside her, helping her sound out the longer words and pointing out how each was written. He now left the door to the garden open, allowing Mingan to go outside as she pleased. For the first time in over a month, she seemed to be flourishing.

Zuko was still sleeping when an urgent knock came to his door. "What?" He groaned, rolling over and rubbing his eyes.

"Fire Lord Ozai has summoned you and your slave girl to his rooms."

"What!?" Zuko repeated, snapping up to stare at the servant in his doorway. "Why!?"

"He didn't say, Prince Zuko."

"Get my footmen and send up that little maidservant, what's her name, Jin-"

"Jin Ra?" The servant suggested.

"Yes that's the one, now get going!" Zuko threw the blankets aside and stormed into the washroom. Hopefully he could bathe by the time his footmen arrived. He supposed Mingan would have to be scrubbed raw in order to see the Fire Lord and that could take a while. Women. Just as he suspected he finished drying off just as his servants bustled in to help him get into his robes. They were not formal per-say, but they were much nicer and more complicated than his regular wear.

He was stepping into his pants when Jin Ra dragged Mingan into his room and to the washroom. Mingan had accidently caught a glimpse of Zuko in his underwear and she blushed so hotly she thought she might begin to steam. She had to wonder just what was with these Fire people and their eagerness to be as naked as possible!

Zuko had finished dressing and was standing in the anteroom, tapping his foot impatiently. It had been twenty minutes since the summons and he wanted to be no later. Jin Ra gave Mingan a small smile and gently pushed her towards Zuko. The Watertribe girl was fitted in a light, shifty red dress and a golden sash tied tightly around her tiny waist. Zuko could guess she was wearing that confounded corset. She looked as though a board had been tied to her back and her stomach didn't move when she breathed. He felt bad for her, and then felt very glad he didn't have to wear one.

She followed three steps behind him all through the palace to a huge wing in which the Fire Lord lived. Normally he would share these rooms and multiple gardens with the Fire Lady but since she was deceased... (or missing) there was no feminine touch. However, it was still tastefully decorated. Zuko was directed towards the sitting room by the servants. His father was sitting in a large patch of sunlight at a tea table sipping from a tea cup. He stood immediately, his very casual robe shifting open a bit to reveal his porcelain, sculpted chest. He looked right past Zuko and grinned when he saw Mingan behind him. "Good morning," he greeted. "Come and sit down won't you?" Zuko sat across from his father and when Mingan went to sit down with him Ozai snagged her wrist. The he said lowly; "It is customary to bow before your superiors, slave." Mingan dropped to the floor and pressed her nose to the plush carpet. She didn't want to fear this man, but something told her to stay far, far away from him. She was unsure if she were supposed to say something so she went with her instincts.

"Good morning, Fire Lord Ozai," she greeted back. She heard him make a sound of distaste in the back of his throat and she knew she must have made the wrong choice.

"You may rise," he said, his voice slipping back into that charismatic tone again. She hurried to sit herself next to Zuko. "I see you have been generous with her," Ozai stated matter of factly to his son.

"Perhaps, but I believe she is making progress."

"Ah, progress. It is that matter that made me summon you. I wanted to check in on her education. Since I heard what happened with the royal tutors I wanted to see how she was coming along." He did stop to allow Zuko to answer. Instead he looked her directly in the eyes. His face was smiling and almost friendly, but his eyes were like that of a viper. "Tell me, has my son been treating you well?"

Mingan couldn't get a pin on this guy. First he was treating her like a slave (which technically she was) and then two seconds later he was talking to her as if she were a human being. "Yes, very well. Thankyou for asking Fire Lord Ozai," she said, struggling to put her words in an elegant manner, but succeeding nonetheless.

"I am glad to hear that. Have you been able to enjoy the royal courtyards yet?" He asked kindly.

"Yes," she paused, trying to think of some way to make this man keep her in his good graces. She had a feeling it was wiser than being on his bad side. "I saw beautiful things I have never seen before. Birds and flowers, and a family of turtle-ducks." Wrong answer. Zuko and Ozai both tensed, sharing a hard glance and then Ozai narrowed his eyes at her a bit. She wondered what the big deal was about turtle-ducks. She thought they were great. She decided not to mention them again.

"Zuko, I would like to steal Mingan for the afternoon if that would be alright."

Both Zuko and Mingan froze. She felt chills fly up her spine and she turned to look at Zuko. She begged him with her eyes not to leave her alone with him. Zuko looked away hesitantly and then turned to his father. "Of course."

"You need not worry about her," Ozai chuckled upon seeing Zuko's distressed face. "I understand if she has become somewhat of a novelty to you. I will send her back when we are finished." Something in his voice told Zuko that it was time for him to leave. With a quick thankyou and a bow, Zuko left her. Just left her there. Left her there with some man whom she had yet to peg. "I wanted- oh come now don't look so frightened. I'm not going to hurt you," he said in a surprisingly soothing voice. It instantly made Mingan feel a little more sure about herself. "Have some tea, its quite good." He did not pour her the warm drink, he was a king afterall. She took a drink and swallowed. "There, that's better. Now, I wanted to ask you what you have learned so far."

"Um, I have learned some geography and some Fire Nation history."

"Really now?" Ozai said, sounded delighted. "Tell me, what exactly did your tutors teach you?"

Mingan was a little confused. She thought he was aware Zuko was teaching her now. She wouldn't disclose that information, she had a feeling Zuko might be upset if she did. "I learned about Fire Lord Sozin, his son Fire Lord Azulon, you and Prince Iroh's father..." she trailed off. She felt cornered under his golden gaze and shifted a little on her cushion.

"What else have you learned?" He asked, not bothering to comment on what she had just said.

"I've learned a bit of math and I've learned to read and write a little."

"Wonderful! Let's see what you know," he said rising suddenly, making Mingan flinch. He disappeared into another room and she wondered if she was supposed to follow. "Come on girl."

She hurried after him, not wanting to anger him. He was standing beside a grand desk. It was bigger than her entire bed! She sat down in the chair he motioned to. "Write what you can," he said, standing behind her. She wrote out the alphabet and a few simple words she could remember like run, throw, sit, fire, sky. "Very good," Ozai rewarded.

"Thank you," she answered bashfully.

"Can you write my name?" She stiffened and then shook her head. "I will teach you." He reached around her, his chest pressed into her shoulders, his hand entirely around hers and the brush clutched in her fingers. Her heart started pounding. This was the most human contact she'd had since Jung had hit her weeks ago. She could feel the muscles in his chest as he breathed across her ear. She didn't like the sensation of either. She knew in her heart that it was wrong for him to be so close to her, for her to feel so much of his body. In her tribe things were more modest than this and it made her feel a little scared. She almost panicked when a sliver of his skin touched the top of her shoulder where some of her skin was uncovered. He guided her hands through the characters of his name. Mingan was too frightened to even pay attention to what he was showing her. His palm was like fire on the back her hand and his fingers were much to warm around hers. All she could think about was how he was touching her, even if it wasn't necessarily threatening, and how wrong it all felt. He had written his name three times with her hand now. "Now you try," he said in a husky voice. Her hand was visibly shaking as she moved through the strokes clumsily. "Very nice try, Mingan," he purred. She was surprised her name, and she wished he hadn't. It sounded wrong coming from his mouth.

He towered behind her like that for nearly ten minutes as she read a small, simple passage from a scroll he sat in front of her. "This is the character for 'sakura tree'," He had told her gently when she began to struggle with the words she had not seen before.

"Isn't that the same kind of tree in Zuko's courtyard? The one with pink flowers?" She asked.

"You are very bright," he told her, a smile in his voice. Somehow, she felt as though she wanted his approval. He had done nothing to make her want it per say, and now that she had a taste of it, she decided it felt nice. She almost felt relaxed around him, and started to wonder if that "gut instinct" she had felt earlier was really just a side effect of the new fruit she had last night at dinner. He gave her a small book after that, his strong arm perched beside her as he leaned his weight against the desk. She blushed when she saw his muscles roll as she readjusted his weight. "This was a favorite of my daughter Azula's when she was child," he said opening the cover for her.

"Your daughter?" She blurted.

"Why yes. Has Zuko not told you?" He asked, sounding surprised. She shook her head. "Yes, I had a daughter, Zuko's little sister. She was three when she passed away, murdered actually." Mingan felt her heart clench. She did not want to imagine a little child being brutally killed, but the image was already ingrained in her mind. She thought the Fire Nation even more brutal. How could anyone kill a baby? And out of cold blood? She felt chills creep up her neck and she suddenly felt uneasy. Here she was with the Fire Lord, interacting with him as though he was a human being and not the monster he was. But then he started speaking again, and she reevaluated her hasty thoughts. Zuko was not really a monster. He had done her no harm since she had been here. He fed her, taught her, gave her beautiful clothes to wear, and didn't make her degrade herself as working as a slave girl. Perhaps his father was very much the same.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said softly.

"Thankyou." He was silent for a moment. "Perhaps I have judged you wrongly, Mingan. You do not seem the savage I initially thought." There was that approval again. A small smiled even twitched at the corners of her mouth. "Her mother was so devastated I fear it drove her to madness. I miss them both very much." Mingan thought it would be too personal and over-stepping her boundaries to ask what happened to his wife. "Now, let's see if you can read this," he encouraged. This book was much more difficult, with more words she did not recognize. Ozai even helped her sound out a particularly long word. She enjoyed the story, although it took her quite a long time to get through it. "Would you like to take a walk with me, see my favorite garden perhaps?"

"Yes, I would like that very much, thankyou," she said twisting around in her chair. He gave her big, dazzling grin and held his arm out for her. She looked from the crook of his elbow to his face and back again, unsure of what he wanted her to do. He took her dark hand in his, and with surprising gentleness, tucked her fingers in the crook of his elbow. She felt very small by the Fire Lord, but oddly comfortable. She found it hard to dwell on his previous actions as he talked with her, leading her through the grand corridors of his wing of the palace. He told her a lot about his heritage but also talked quite a lot about domestic matters, like his family and his childhood. Much to Mingan's surprise they walked right out of the palace and straight into a massive garden, no door or anything. It was literally breathtaking. She heard him chuckle, deep in his chest before he tugged her farther out into the grass. She still couldn't get enough of the outdoors, after being deprived of it for weeks.

She hadn't even really noticed she had tugged free of Ozai's arm and was edging her way towards the magnificent fountain. It was made out of a white and gray stone. Ozai said it was called marble. The crystal clear water spilled from the top and streamed into several tiers of beautiful bowls with engraved carvings along the bottoms, and then it spilled into the pond, the water falling all the way around the bottom bowl like a curtain. She crouched next to where the water lapped at the edge of the stone and dipped her fingers in. It was very cool and refreshing. She wondered briefly if there were any turtle ducks here. That was alright though, if there weren't, because a lavishly-colored lizard suddenly darted into the water and started swimming. She nearly squealed in delight at the beautiful creature, but managed to control herself. Ozai must have noticed her pleasurable surprise. "That is called a dragon lizard."

"I think it's very beautiful. All of it, actually," she said getting up and taking a long look around the gardens. Ozai walked with her along the stone paths, curving all around and through his courtyard. They finally went back inside and Ozai led her back into the sitting Zuko and she had entered hours earlier. "Thankyou for everything, Fire Lord Ozai," she said politely bowing to the floor.

"Yes, I had quite the time. You're a breath of fresh air, Mingan. Perhaps we might do this again," he said.

"I would like that, thankyou." Ozai pulled her to her feet and kissed the back of her knuckles gently. Her heart felt like it would burst through her chest. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with the gesture or not. Ozai gave her a long, smoldering gaze and then waved his guards to escort her back to Zuko's rooms.

Zuko was worried sick. He had stormed into the training courtyard and burnt every target to a crisp. He was angry at his father and angry at himself. He was angry because of Ozai's audacity to just whisk away a slave from her owner and-... he was just furious. He was worried for Mingan. He knew his father had taken a liking to her the second he laid eyes on her in the throne room a month ago. He knew how his father was with women, Agni knew he had a harem full of concubines. He knew that if his father were to make some kind of move against Mingan, that she would fight to the death. Literally. He hoped he hadn't just condemned her to something horrible. If he had just said no, been braver, less of a coward... He growled and blasted another fistful of fire at the far wall. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He had promised her he would look after her and make her life as easy as possible! And now look what he'd done!

He had worn himself out and decided to to get all the sweat and ash off of him and take a bath. After that, he had spent hours moving listlessly from room to room. He couldn't help but come back to his study, Mingan's room. He wasn't sure why, but somehow he kept coming back. He gave up eventually and just flopped into his desk chair. He scanned the room, seeing Mingan's changing screens, behind which was her bed. He had been thinking about opening up a few more of the rooms in his wing of the palace for her. She didn't seem bent on escaping, and she could have her own courtyard to visit as well. She would like that. But now that his father had taken up his liking for her again... well, it just wouldn't be safe anymore for her to be alone. Zuko sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He didn't know what to do. He could hardly deny the Fire Lord what he wanted, but at the same time, Ozai was also walking on thin ice, so to speak. If he kept up his attentions for Mingan, there would be a property bout and Zuko really did not want to fight his father... again. He wished his uncle were here. He would know what to do.

Maybe he was overreacting about all this. Maybe this was a one time thing and maybe his father really was checking on her educational progress. At just about this time he heard the doors to his quarters open. He practically leapt from his chair and almost ran into the sitting room. "Are you ok?" He blurted.

Mingan stopped and gave him a confounded look. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"What did he want? You were gone all afternoon."

"I believe that's how long your father requested me for," she said as though he were stupid. "And we talked, he showed me around the gardens. He was actually quite pleasant." She sighed and flopped down on a couch along the wall. "What did you do all day?"

Worried. "Nothing," he shrugged.

"Fun," she said sarcastically. It quit for a moment, and awkward. Zuko just stood there in the middle of the room like an idiot. Mingan looked across the room out the window. "Can we feed the turtle-ducks after supper?"

"Sure."

It was the longest conversation the had held for a while.

A week went by, Ozai kept calling for Mingan to visit him and their time together went much the same. In the mornings and evening Mingan would eat her meals, sometimes with Zuko and sometimes without and he would tutor her when he could. Jin Ra was turning out to be a friendly person. She didn't talk too much and didn't ask too many questions. Mingan supposed she was alright with that. Zuko told her that Jin Ra would be her 'ladie's maid' or something like that. Mingan couldn't really understand that part. She thought she was supposed to be posing as a slave and if that were the case, why would she have a ladies maid. From what she understood of the palace life so far, that meant she must be important somehow. Oh well, it was no time to ponder things like that. Mingan was once again in Ozai's study, reading out loud to the Fire Lord.

"Well done," he rewarded as she finished reading. It was silent for a while, Ozai walking a few steps away. "I was wondering, Mingan, what your role was in the South Pole." She stiffened. He had never asked her about her home before, and as of late, she had been doing her best to keep the agonizing pain of loss at bay by not thinking of the South Pole.

"I was a hunter." Best keep it simple.

"Fascinating, a women doing a man's job. Tell me, were you very good at it?"

"Some would say," she answered vaguely.

"I see." He paused for a minute. "I would like to see a demonstration. Come, I have retrieved your bow and have arranged a small shooting range in the training yard."

Mingan stood, her bow drawn back, aiming at a red target. Her last few attempts had been clumsy at best, she was nervous and had not shot in a long time. But that was no excuse. She would get it right this time. Ozai had been making grunts of disappointment everytime she failed to hit the target in the center. She wanted his approval, almost craved it. She didn't know why, she knew she shouldn't care, but there was just something that made her feel adequate if he gave her a word of encouragement. So she was going to get it. The arrow sung through the air and thunked right in the center. Ozai praised her aim and had her retrieve the arrows and do it again. It was nice, getting to shoot again and feeling something familiar. Lucky for her, somehow had tied the feathers that were once in her hair to the bottom of the bow. She untied the three feathers, laced onto a thin leather thong with blue and white beads and shoved it down the top of her dress.

When she returned 'home' later that evening she rushed into the bathroom and tied the feathers back in her hair. It was a tedious task, braiding and tying just so, making sure they would stay where they should in the front left strands of her hair. She had thrown a fit when Zuko had demanded she take them out on the ship. She had fought him tooth and nail but he tore them out anyways. Those feathers were very special. She had found them when she was hunting. They were gifts, dropped by hawks and falcons. She had a grey one from a falcon, a spotted one from a similar bird and a tawny red feather from a hawk. She had taken great care with each one, tying them to the leather thongs and picking out just the right beads to put at the base of them. When they were back secure in her hair, where they belonged she tossed her head side to side, watching the feathers twist.

Zuko stormed in not long after, fuming. "He wants me to go to ember island for three days!" He growled. "He says its some kind of diplomatic visit to reassure the people we are still concerned with them and their problems. I hate it when he springs stuff like this on me."

"Wouldn't want to have any unwarranted surprises now would we?" Mingan deadpanned. Zuko returned with a similar look.

"Thanks for the sympathy."

"Mmhm."

"Just, be careful while I'm gone ok?" He said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh, yeah sure..." She wasn't sure what he meant by that.

Zuko left two days later before Mingan had even woken up. She was supposed to meet Ozai later this morning. She had been enjoying her time with him. He had ceased being creepy and was actually quite pleasant. She had been learning a lot from him, he seemed to challenge her more than Zuko. She even got to shoot her bow and Fire Lord Ozai was even teaching her a little self-defense. She was pretty good at it already simply because her stamina was still intact and she had lived around a bunch of rough-housing men her whole life. He pushed her hard, actually he had taken to yelling to be honest. But, there was just that infernal desire to please him.

She was escorted to his quarters and motioned to sit down and wait for him. It was not a minute after the door closed that she heard the Fire Lord calling her name. She rose and followed after his voice, unsure of where it had come from. She eventually tracked down his call to a slightly ajar door. It was a grand door with intricate carvings in the rich wood. She had to actually take a moment to admire it before knocking. Ozai called her in and when she saw the room before her she froze in the doorway. It was his bedroom. She was still terribly uncomfortable just passing through Zuko's sleeping room and Ozai wanted her to come in there and chat?

AN: Thankyou guys SO much for the reviews! I love hearing back from you it encourages me to write :) Also if some of you are wondering just why in the world Ozai is so OOC and switching back and forth between haughty and personable, trust me I intended that ;) it will make sense in the next chapter.