Here is a slightly longer chapter. This will help answer some questions about the mystery girl-her intentions with the Fire Nation and Zuko! Hope you like it! Please READ AND REVIEW!
Truth
Zuko's eyes narrowed in shock. This girl had been looking for him… He just didn't know what to make of it, but because of all of the happenings that day, Zuko was inclined to have raging suspicion. Iroh, being his usual pleasant and trusting self, stepped toward the kneeling girl and helped her up by her elbow. She turned to him, "General Iroh…" she resembled a small animal realizing its been caught in the sights of a predator.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" questioned Iroh. Zuko snarled, "What do you think you're doing? For all we know she could be a spy for my sister!" he pointed disdainfully at her.
"Then if I was a spy for the Princess, then why would I have just fought my own men?" she contradicted, hands on her hips. Zuko was not used to having someone talk back to him and it took a second for her argumentative words to process, "B-because you were obviously trained to be very convincing."
"Come on now, this is no place for an argument," Iroh interrupted the two arguing teens that were nearly nose-to-nose. "Yes, sir," the strange girl turned to Iroh. The intensity of his shocked look was matched only by the glare in Zuko's eyes. "See, now why can't you be more like her?" Iroh jested. "Let's go, Uncle!" growled Zuko as he dragged Iroh along. There was no reason to spend any more time with a suspected spy than necessary. Zuko couldn't help but think that if she had been a man, he would have burned her to a crisp by now, but he let the thought slip away. They sped over the fallen men and along in the direction that the girl had come from.
"No, we can't go that way!" the girl called ahead to Zuko. "I can't believe you're following us!" Zuko yelled over his shoulder past Iroh. She frowned back at him, "There are Fire Nation troops swarming that village, we have to go to the forest that's coming up!" Iroh's running body shrugged and Zuko let out a low growl while swerving to the cover of the trees, I can't believe that I'm listening to this…this…spy!
The trio bounded and dodged the tall and winding rows of trees. Iroh would give out an occasional grunt as he hit a risen root or moss-covered branch. The girl soon passed Iroh and caught up to Zuko, much to his displeasure. "There is a clearing up ahead with a small pond, we can rest there," she breathed. Zuko had to inhale deeply to prevent himself from lashing out at this traitor. "How can I trust you?" he hated to admit it, but he was becoming slightly desperate-he was tired of running from everything. "Do you have anyone else?" she lifted an eyebrow that revealed a cockiness that rivaled even his own. Zuko turned away from her and they all kept on running.
They all soon came to the clearing, just as the girl had said. Crouching over, Zuko couldn't help but glare at the girl. She seemed to know the land too well. The three of them were panting, but none as bad as Iroh. He plopped down on the nearest stone on the pond's edge. The girl quickly stripped off her cloak, revealing a darkly colored short tunic over fitted pants-Zuko couldn't look away. No Fire Nation colors… he couldn't help but think. The thought was soon pushed out of his head when he realized that a disguise would have been easily acquired. She smoothly tied back her long, dark hair and waded into the shallow pool.
The rays of sunlight peeking through the treetops glistened off of the surface of the clear water and reflected on the mysterious girl's features, highlighting every curve and angle. Zuko blinked hard and looked away, obviously the day's traumatic events had altered his perception. He looked back to see her produce an animal skin canteen from her side and she proceeded to fill it with the crystal water. She waded back over to the resting Iroh and handed him the bottle. Before he could take a drink, Zuko lunged forward, "Wait, Uncle! How do we know it's not poisoned?" He glared at the girl, but, much to his surprise, she snatched back the canteen and allowed some to trickle down her own throat-her defiant eyes never leaving his. Iroh took the pouch back, raised it to his paranoid nephew, and drank deeply. Zuko stormed off, scowling, to the opposite end of the clearing. No matter how far he went, he couldn't completely shut out their voices.
"So, my dear, where in the world did you learn to fire-bend like that?" Iroh relaxed and began to lounge on the flat boulder-shamelessly checking her out in his own usual fashion. "Well, sir, I was raised in a strict military home on the main Fire Nation land…" she trailed off. "Please, don't call me 'sir', its terribly formal, call me Iroh. Any enemy of the Fire Nation is a friend of ours. Right Zuko?" That was when Zuko saw his chance. He stood angrily and strode over to them in only a few steps. Pointing a finger in the girl's direction, he boomed, "If you were raised in such a military based household, then why betray your beloved Nation and assist a banished Prince!"
The girl's face had contorted-Zuko assumed that he'd finally scratched the surface of the spy. His face never faltered from its hateful expression-golden eyes burrowing holes in the strange girl.
She suddenly turned and splashed out of the water, causing Iroh to dodge flying water droplets. She glared at him again, hands on her hips in her seemingly signature pose, "Do you want to know why, my Prince? Because I was banished too!" Iroh gagged on the water he was ingesting and Zuko's jaw nearly dropped in shock. He had been the first one of royalty to be banished from the Fire Nation, but there had never been a girl banished before. For a second, he wondered what she could have possibly done that was bad enough for banishment. His question was soon answered though, "Do you want to know why?" she yelled. "It is all because of you! I was one of many who believed your banishment was unfair and that you are truly the heir to the Fire Nation-Avatar or no Avatar." Iroh's eyes began to widen in disbelief and even Zuko's steel features softened slightly.
"I spoke out, I stood up against the Fire Lord, your father to let the crown prince return, for that I was considered a disgrace to my family and was sent away. I made it my mission to help you find the Avatar and finish your quest. Even if I couldn't return, you would be able to end the Fire Lord's tyranny and stop the war…"
The girl grimaced in Zuko's direction, her deep blue eyes masked by pain, and jogged off until the men could no longer see her through the dense brush. "Once again, Nephew, you judge too quickly. I told you but nooooo, don't listen to Uncle Iroh…" he took another swig of the water. Zuko thought better of going after the girl-no matter how noble she claimed her intentions of being.
Zuko did pride himself on his polished ability to read people pretty well and what he saw in the girl was nearly as much pain and suffering as he, himself, had on the inside, but he feared that his overall people judgment was clouded as of that morning's encounter with Zulema. When the sun had begun to set beyond the trees, Iroh and Zuko gathered dry sticks in silence and with a mere flick of his fingers, Zuko had begun a roaring fire for the two of them. Iroh leaned into the licking flames, constantly mumbling something about ginseng tea. Zuko sat back with his arms crossed gazing at the crackling fire. To the side sat the girl's belongings and Zuko knew that if she truly were banished, she'd hold on dearly to all that she had and come back for her things.
"You know…if you stare any harder at that flame, Zuko, its not going to listen. But if you concentrate and work with it, it will obey," Iroh said solemnly. Zuko looked up at his uncle. He growled again, "I have no idea what that means…just get some sleep, we have to move fast tomorrow." Deep down, Zuko knew exactly what Iroh had been trying to tell him-that he should be more trusting and to give their new "friend" some of the benefit of the doubt. It all seemed like a rather legitimate story, but Zuko never knew that some people of the Fire Nation thought that highly of their banished prince-enough to get themselves banished for it at least.
Zuko stepped away from the fire to one of the darker areas of the clearing and sat down. His knees were bent towards the sky and tiny slivers of moonlight penetrated the whistling leaves and dotted his features. This was the time that Zuko felt at his weakest. There was no sunlight to fuel his elemental bending abilities and so he had to conserve as much energy as possible just in case they were attacked that night. Suddenly, a bag dropped into his lap and he shot up to a standing position. Startled, he brought his inner fire to the shape of a dagger in each hand.
"Relax, Prince…it's just dinner…" came the girl's voice from the shadows. Soon he was able to make out the shape of her figure in the dim light. After stepping into the glow of the fire, Iroh was able to tell who it was. "Ah, so glad to see that you have come back…and you bring food!" the old man licked his lips greedily and the girl smiled and tossed him a sack. Zuko quickly extinguished his flames and bent down to pick up his own food. He was not usually one to accept charity, but his stomach cried out in the form of a growling pang.
The girl sat down beside Iroh and opened her bag. There were several large cooked fish inside. She began to pick at her own dinner while Iroh gobbled down his. Zuko apprehensively opened his bad and his mouth shamelessly watered at the smell. He still had his suspicions about this stranger.
"I don't believe I know your name, even after all that you have done for us," Iroh sighed in contentment with his full stomach. She quietly mumbled something under her breath. "Huh? I am sorry I didn't hear you…" Iroh said. She turned to Zuko's uncle, "My name is Zana…" she smiled a shy smile. Iroh grinned from ear to ear, "Zana, what a lovely name!" Iroh suggestively raised his gray brows. Zana… Zuko thought. He had a feeling like he'd heard that name before, somewhere. "Zuko aren't you going to eat? Like you said, we have to move fast tomorrow," Iroh yawned and rolled over. Within minutes he was snoring as loud as thunder. This made Zana laugh and her whole face lit up, eyes glowing and flickering with the flames in front of her.
She turned to face Zuko across the fire. Her expression was wiped back to a blank slate as she stared back at the young man. This made him feel slightly uncomfortable-he never felt uncomfortable. Zana silently stood and retrieved her meager belongings and returned to her spot near Uncle Iroh. All Zuko did was watch while Zana lay down and cover herself with her long cloak. He though he heard her say something like "Good-night, Prince," but he couldn't have been sure over the roar of the fire.
With him being the only one awake, Zuko decided to eat. He was a little wary about the food being poisoned, but it actually turned out to be pretty good. Better than anything he'd had on his own ship. Zuko found himself wondering again where he'd heard her name before.
Zana…