A.N. Sorry it took so long to update. Thank you to everybody who reviewed!!

Disclaimer: (insert witty/funny and/or sarcastic sentence here telling everybody that you don't own Avatar: TLA because, of course, they all think you do)

Jina stopped walking and turned to face a door. She knocked softly and waited. The door opened slowly and revealed none other than General Iroh. He smiled when he saw his tea.

"Come in, please," he said, nodding to the two girls.

Katara followed Jina in, unsure of what to do. She studied the room while Jina set down the tray on the table. It was not a bedroom that they were in, but more of an apartment. They were in a sitting room. It had a few chairs, centered around a table.

Iroh sat down and motioned for the girls to do the same. Jina did as she was told, but Katara was a bit confused. Has he forgotten that we are servants? Iroh looked at her. "Sit down, please," he said.

Katara sat and looked over at Jina, who smiled at her. "They have never sent two people to bring me tea before," Iroh chuckled. He poured tea for himself, Jina, and Katara.

Jina smiled at this. That's unlike her, Katara noted.

"I have not seen you around lately, Jina." Iroh handed Jina and Katara cups of tea. Katara, personally, had never had tea before. She smelled it and decided it didn't seem too bad.

Iroh began drinking, so Katara did as well. It was very good. There really wasn't a word to describe it, but Katara liked it.

Jina seemed relaxed around Iroh. "It is nice to see you, too, General."

"I see you have brought a friend with you," Iroh looked toward Katara.

"This is Katara, General," Jina spoke. Katara bowed her head.

"I believe we have met already," Iroh smiled. Katara nodded. She didn't understand why Iroh was acting like this. He's the brother of the Fire Lord! He's not supposed to be nice. It gave Katara a headache.

Iroh turned back to Jina. "I showed her back to her room after she got lost."

Jina smiled. "She is new, General. She is staying with me for the day."

Iroh nodded his approval. He poured himself another cup of tea and began to eat the pastry. Both Katara and Jina were done with their tea and placed the cups back on the tray.

Iroh sighed. "I guess you two have to go then?"

Jina nodded. "They'll need our help in the kitchen, General," she replied as she picked up the food tray. She bowed slightly to Iroh before leaving, Katara not far behind.

Jina turned to Katara. "General Iroh is a good man."

Katara agreed. "He is. Doesn't he have a personal servant?"

Jina nodded. "Several."

"Why don't they bring him tea?"

Jina smiled. "Iroh likes to have different servants bring it to him. He says he gets bored seeing the same people everyday for tea."

"So what do his servants do?"

"Mostly, they go shopping with him and carry his things. Oh, and play Pai Sho with him."

Katara laughed at this. "Are you serious? That's it? "

Jina nodded. "Basically. Sometimes he has them do little things, but bringing him tea is a welcomed break for any of us servants. He likes giving us breaks.

They reached the kitchen. Things had slowed down a bit from when they left, but it still looked crazy, or at least to Katara. Jina brought the tray over to a sink and set it down.

Mistress Pri saw them and waved the girls over. "Jina, Katara, start washing dishes."

Katara could see the disappointment on Jina's face, and soon after understood why. Washing dishes must have been the worst job they could have been assigned. Just the sight of the piles of dishes gave her a headache, and that was before she did anything. For a good part of the next hour, the girls washed dishes. Luckily, they had some help.

Finally, the ever-growing mountain of dishes was gone. It was only then that Katara realized she hadn't even eaten breakfast. She was hungry. Katara looked at Jina. "When do we eat?"

Jina looked around. "We need to get permission from Mistress Pri." That is, they had to find her. After spending a good amount of time looking for this seemingly evasive woman, Jina and Katara ran into her.

The girls both bowed slightly before Jina spoke. "Mistress Pri, do we have permission to eat?"

Mistress Pri seemed to think this over for a minute. She nodded. "Quickly. At noon you two are to bring General Iroh's lunch up. He's having a meeting with some nobles."

Katara and Jina bowed, thankful. Mistress Pri walked off, leaving the girls to hurry off to the servant's dining room.

It was almost midday when Katara and Jina were done with their breakfast/lunch. They went into the kitchen and saw the scramble to get lunch ready. There were several tray set out with food on them. A girl was standing there, apparently waiting for them. Katara recognized her from dinner the night before.

"Jina. Good timing. This is for General Iroh and his guests. You have help?"

Jina nodded. "Yes, thank you."

The girl sighed. "And I heard Zuko was going to be there." She sounded disappointed.

"Another time, then," Jina promised. The girl smiled slightly and walked away.

Jina looked at Katara. "Grab those two."

Katara, after a little coaching from Jina, finally managed to balance both of the trays without falling over. She followed Jina to Iroh's room for the second time that day.

So Zuko's going to be there, she thought. If only I could take him out now and leave this place. But, alas, things are not that easy.

"Why did that girl want to come so badly?" Katara asked.

Jina looked at her, obviously confused. "First of all, it beats washing dishes. Second, Zuko's going to be there. I assure you there is not a girl in this city that does not think that he is drop-dead gorgeous." Katara smiled to herself. I can name twenty.

"So you do, too?"

Jina shrugged. "He's a prince. I'm a servant. It's not my place to say."

"So you do?" Katara teased.

Jina looked at her. "I've seen better, but he's not too bad."

They reached the door and Jina knocked. Iroh answered and, seeing them, smiled. "Come in," he offered. They did.

Katara noticed that more chairs had been set out, all of them now occupied. The men in the room, all nobles, watched Katara with cold eyes. Katara followed Jina over to the table and set her trays down. She set out the cups and poured the men water, while Jina took care of the tea. Katara passed the water to each man and suddenly noticed Prince Zuko.

Katara nearly fell over, but gained control fast. He was looking right at her. Oh, how she hated him. She quickly grabbed the pitcher of water and walked into the far corner of the room, as she was supposed to. Jina, with the tea, stood in the opposite corner. If a noble needed wither water or tea, he would call over the respective girl.

The men began eating and talking. Katara made sure to pay close attention when Zuko talked but surprisingly, he said very little. So, instead, Katara was forced to listen to boring conversations about people she neither knew nor cared about.

Every so often, she would be called over by someone to refill the water. And being 'called over' was anything from simply nodding to Katara to yelling, "Servant girl, more water."

Except for Iroh. "Miss Jina, may I have some more tea?" was all he would say before Jina came over and filled his cup. This caused him to receive several strange looks from the others (except Zuko, of course.)

"Why are you so nice to them?" one asked. Foolish, Katara thought. Even she knew not to speak out against General Iroh, and she was from the Water Tribe. "They are servants, peasants that came here to wait on us. They do not deserve your respect, General. They are beneath you." After he was done, he looked at Katara. "Water," was all he said to her. Katara refilled his glass.

Iroh simply looked at the man. "I do believe it takes a kind heart to put your life aside to serve us. I have the greatest respect for those that give up their lives to make ours better."

The man seemed to ignore him and took a sip of the water. He made a face and looked at Katara. She could feel his eyes burn through her. "How dare you give me warm water! Get back to your kitchen and find me some cold water." He paused for a second. "With ice in it." A silent gasp echoed around the room. It was near impossible to find ice in the Fire Nation at this time of the year. Granted, it was getting cooler, but even in the palace ice was not easy to come by.

Katara didn't know what to do. She looked at Jina who nodded and looked towards the door. Katara bowed and walked towards it, but stopped when Iroh spoke. "Wait. You send her on a fool's errand, to find ice. Cold water will do, Miss Katara," he said to her. Katara smiled at him and left. All she had to do was refill the water pitcher. She could do the cooling off by herself.

Katara, by some stroke of luck, was able to find the kitchen and find someone to get more water. When she got it back, the water was warm, of coarse, but that wasn't a problem. While she walked back to Iroh's room, she slowly cooled it off, resisting the constant temptation to completely freeze it over.

Katara reached Iroh's room and knocked softly on the door. It swung open and Katara was face to face with Prince Zuko. She froze, if only for a moment, and bowed. Zuko stepped out of the way to let her enter.

Katara walked back over to the nobleman that had requested the cold water and poured him some. She stepped back into her little corner, listening once again to the boring conversations of the men.

After about an hour, everybody had left the room except for Iroh, Zuko, Katara and Jina. Iroh lounged back in his chair, sighing. Zuko just sat there, staring around the room, obviously bored.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Iroh turned toward Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, could you get that?"

"Yes, Uncle," Zuko said. He opened the door and the woman on the other side of it dropped into a bow.

"Prince Zuko, please excuse me, but I need Jina," she said. Katara recognized the voice. It was Mistress Pri.

Zuko glanced at his uncle, then Katara and Jina. Iroh nodded. "Jina, you should go, then."

Katara looked at Jina, wondering if she should go with her. Jina shook her head. "Stay here. I'll meet you later." Jina set the teapot she had been holding back down on the table, bowed to Iroh and Zuko and left with Mistress Pri.

Katara felt suddenly alone. She had no idea what to do. Iroh must have seen her confusion. He nodded toward a chair. "Sit, please."

Katara hesitated a moment before collapsing into it. It felt good to sit down. She looked at Iroh. He was smiling. "A good rest is always nice." Katara smiled back at him. He was right.

"Have some tea," he offered. Katara couldn't refuse. The tea she had that morning was delicious. Iroh poured Katara some and turned toward Zuko. "Prince Zuko," he started.

"I don't want any of your tea, Uncle," he replied before the question was even asked.

"But you hardly had any before," Iroh insisted. He gave Zuko some anyway. Zuko took the cup.

"Besides, it's cold," Zuko commented.

"Oh," Iroh said. "Heat it up then." He looked at Katara, who had already realized that cold tea was not very good. "Can you bend, Miss Katara?"

Katara shook her head. "No, General."

Iroh motioned for her teacup. In a moment it was steaming. Katara took a sip and smiled. That was a lot better.

It was only then that it hit Katara. She was in the presence of one of the greatest firebenders in the world. And she was having tea with him.

Katara finished with her tea and set the cup back on the tray. Zuko did the same. Iroh nodded towards Katara. "It was nice to have tea with you," he said. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"You too, General," Katara replied. She looked at the trays, not sure how she was going to carry them back to the kitchen.

Iroh noticed this. "Prince Zuko, help her. I will meet you down on the practice courts." Iroh quickly left.

Zuko just watched Katara with no intention of helping her. She was trying to pile everything onto only two trays, and not having much success. She glanced up at Zuko quickly, but all he saw was a flash of blue. Wait a minute…blue? He stood and she looked up at him again. Yes. Blue. She returned to what she was doing when she realized he wasn't going to be of any help.

"I've never seen blue eyes before." Is he talking to me? Blue eyes? Uh oh.

"I'm sorry, your highness, but I don't know-" she began.

"Stand up," he commanded.

Katara hesitated a moment before doing so. She kept her eyes down. "Look at me," he said, plain curiosity in his voice. Katara had always known that eyes were the gateway to the soul. She dared not look into his for fear of what she might see.

"I said-" Katara took a deep breath and lifted her head up slowly. Her blue eyes met his golden ones. She felt a surge of emotions flow through her body. She gasped and looked away.

Zuko stepped back, a look of pure bewilderment on his face. "Rei," he called. In a second, the old woman stepped through a door. "Help her," he commanded. He stormed out of the room without another word.

Rei looked at Katara and then at the trays. "I guess you could use some help, couldn't you?"

Katara gave a slight nod. "You were here the whole time?"

Rei smiled. "Prince Zuko didn't need me, so I was able to eat my lunch in the other room."

"Oh," was all Katara said. She and Rei then made their way to the kitchen. "I must be nice, to have a break like that."

Rei laughed at that. "And you haven't even been here a full day yet."

"I've never worked like this before, that's all. I'm just not used to it."

Rei gave her a questioning look. "It makes me wonder what you did before you came here."

It wasn't a question, so it didn't warrant an answer. Rei didn't push the subject either, but kept talking (about what, Katara had no idea.) Luckily, lunch was over and all the dishes had been washed already. Katara let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't long before Katara ran into Jina again. After a quick explanation of why she was called away, she dragged Katara off to help her water the gardens.

The rest of the afternoon was quite boring, unless of coarse you consider watering flowers to be exciting. The shock of how many different colors there were wore off after about a second and a half. Now the colors gave Katara yet another headache and the smells of the flowers grew annoying (Katara was more accustomed to the smells of blubbered seal jerky and stewed sea prunes.)

When it grew dark, it was finally time for Katara, Jina, and the several other girls they were working with to go inside. As soon as they stepped in, though, Mistress Pri ordered them to go straight to the kitchen and help out. So, Katara got to spend another long hour of washing dishes.

Katara was just about to go off with Jina to eat (a supervisor in the kitchen permitted them to do so) when Mistress Pri came up to her. "Katara, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Katara nodded and came over. She bowed slightly. "Yes, Mistress Pri."

The woman simply looked over Katara for a second before speaking. "His Highness Prince Zuko has just informed me that he would like a new personal servant. Normally, I would give him someone with more experience, but he specifically requested you."

Mistress Pri paused, waiting to see Katara's reaction. She seemed to have none. "I would be honored," was all Katara said in reply.

Mistress Pri turned and started at a brisk walk down the hallway, motioning for Katara to follow. "Very well, then. You will have your own room, right next to His Highness'. You are on call all day, every day. You are to answer to Prince Zuko alone for you are his charge. If you need anything, you are to report to me. "

Mistress Pri stopped in front of a large wooden door. "This is Prince Zuko's room. Here is a key to it," she explained as she handed a small golden key to Katara. It was attached to a string, to be worn around the neck. "And over here," Mistress Pri continued, "is your room. You use the same key on this door. All of your belongings have been moved here already. There are bells hanging from the ceiling inside. When they ring, Prince Zuko is calling you. Any questions? Good," she said without waiting for a response.

"Go settle yourself now, and Katara," the woman said, sounding sincere, "good luck."

A.N. There you go - Chapter six. Sorry it took so long. I've been crazy lately - my dance school has a Christmas show coming up and I've had practice every day.

FYI - this is pre-scar Zuko here, which makes it more difficult to write about him because we've seen a grand total of 3 minutes of his pre-scar life. I'm guessing he's less angsty, but I really have no idea.

Two words: Season Finale. I refuse to believe that Zuko has turned evil. It's called character development, and two season's worth of it just doesn't disappear in a second. Zuko would never betray Iroh like that. And he was so close in the cave...why Aang? Why? You could have waited another few minutes...

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. Oh, btw guess what show is #1 on tv .com's top ten shows. (Avatar, duh!!) But there is currently a war going on between Zutaras and Kataangs...GO ZUTARA!!!

Okay, I'm done. Review please!!