Only Once

By:

Alicia Alexander

Dawn broke the horizon and I was already up and preparing for the day. Aang, Sokka, and Toph were still sleeping as minutes ticked by. Finally, I got bored and grabbed my bag. It was full of shurikens and kunai knives so I was perfectly protected. I strapped my black dragon leather shuriken pouch to my leg, under my dress and above my tights. I also grabbed my camouflage poncho and navy blue water bag. The poncho slipped snuggly over my head and the water pouch slid over my shoulder. All was ready, so I set out on my adventure. My feet slid over the ground like glaciers slide smoothly over flat land. I jumped up to the nearest tree and startled something beside me. It fell, flipped, and landed on its feet. I saw its mask and my eyes widened. It was the same mask Aang had seen when he was rescued from the Fire Fortress. Its mask was a sky blue and white with a half dragon, half human design. The person's body was covered in a skin-tight black suit. He beckoned forward and I followed, and an urge to follow, so strong that I could not break free. We both followed the urge; resisting futilely and dragging our feet to slow down.

Finally, we came to a clearing. It had a huge willow tree with curtain like branches, beautiful roses and tulips scattering the ground, and long grasses waving in the gentle breeze. Red and gold butterflies flew from flower to flower as though sampling each one's unique scent and the mighty willow tree stood tall and proud over the entire clearing. While I was taking in all the beauty I hadn't noticed the pull had stopped. I looked over to the man and noticed how thin, but muscular he was. There was absolutely no fat on his body. I walked slowly over to him and gripped the mask. His hands twitched as though deciding if he was going to let me take off his mask. The mask was half way off when his hands closed around my wrists. I jumped and realized the situation we were in. It was the same position Prince Zuko had me in when I tried to run away from the pirates. I tried to pull away, thinking how pointless it was seeing as he was so strong, but my hands slipped gently out of his loosened grip. I moved forward again and lifted off the mask. A gasp escaped my lips as I recognized the scar and amber eyes but the hair was unfamiliar. Did he cut it?

"You…You… Why did you bring me here?! Is this some sort of plot to get the Avatar?!" I screamed, as I pulled a kunai knife out of my pouch.

"No," He said plainly, "Just don't hurt me."

"And why shouldn't I?! Just because you asked nicely? Well, we asked you and you didn't give a crap about it!" I bellowed at him, "Come on! Tie me up and demand the Avatar! I know you want to! Why? Because every opportunity you get you want to hurt us!"

"No, not anymore… I'm sorry." He whispered.

"You're damn right you're sorry. Think about all the pain you put us through! Think about how many nights we had to go without sleep to escape you! And why is that? Because you can't live without your stupid honor! If you did something to help us, maybe you would get a different kind of honor called respect! Ever hear of it?!"

Zuko stayed silent. I groaned in fury as I sat down on the gnarled tree trunk. The sound of crying echoed through the clearing.

"A-are you… crying?!" I asked, bewildered.

"Why w-would you c-care?! No one could ever c-care for a-anyone l-like me! I've h-hurt to m-many innocent people t-to b-be forgiven." He choked out in sobs. "The only person t-that ever c-cared for me…w-was m-my m-m-mom, and s-she is d-dead!!!!"

I was silent for a moment then said, "I…I'm sorry. I had no idea. I just thought you…well…weren't capable of…"

"You'll be surprised if you thought I had no feelings! I'm just like you or your brother, except I'm banished from my home!" Zuko interrupted. "You have no idea what it's like to lose your mother…."

"And how would you know?! Your people are ruthless!" I screamed,"Y-your people k-killed my mother! So d-don't you talk to m-me about losing s-someone near and p-precious t-to you! I know w-what t-that feels like! So d-don't talk t-t-to m-me like…" I broke down in sobs. Warmth, it came from my back and I realized Zuko had laid his top coat over my shoulders.

"Hey, thanks…" I whispered.

"No problem…" He shivered.

"Aren't you cold? I'll go get some wood for a fire. If you could light it, we would both have warmth."

"Okay, why not?" He said.

I jumped up and slid into the shadows. Throwing off the coat, I sprinted towards my campsite. A searing pain shot through my body as I collided with an invisible barrier.

"It's no use, my dear. I've tried." A voice cracked with age sounded behind me. "I've tried for 20 years."

I leaned on the barrier and closed my eyes. An image of Zuko and I kissing passionately shot through my head. My eyes flew open and butterflies filled my stomach.

"No, I can't! That's not what…I don't…but I do…" I stuttered.

"Hush child," The woman whispered,"This barrier only shows your hearts deepest desire. What did you see, exactly?"

"Well…I saw me and a boy, kissing, in that clearing under the willow tree…" I paused. "You don't think that will happen, do you?"

"Well I wouldn't know child, but I do know this…you may not realize, at first, that you're in love." The woman said.

I turned towards the barrier and stared into the light. I turned back around and the woman was gone.

"Where did she…!" I stood there, stunned, "Oh, great…it's sunset and I still got to collect firewood!"

"No need. I already did it." Zuko said behind me.

"Oh-no, I'm so sorry! I…I…I'm sorry!" I stuttered, afraid of his legendary temper.

"What's with the fear? I know I hurt you guys but I've changed now." He said quietly.

We headed back to our makeshift camp and I saw a woven grass tent.

"Whoa! How did that get there? Did you…"

"Yes, I made it…I could only make one from the grasses here. So, I'll sleep out here."

I rubbed my shoulders and arms as I shivered.

"Oh, are you cold again? I'll start a fire. Can you set up the wood?" He asked.

"Uh…Sure," I agreed. I set up the logs in a tent shape as Zuko set up my sleeping area.

Later that night, I had a woven grass blanket laid over me as I shivered and my teeth chattered. Zuko came over and laid another blanket over me. I was still cold.

"Why is it so cold? I'm freezing my butt off!" I chattered out.

"The guru I Visited said it would get down to near freezing temperature. You can move closer to the fire if you want." He said, barely audible.

I scooted closer to him, "Which fire, you or the other one?"

He smiled, "Doesn't matter to me. Which ever one you want."

I noticed I gleam in his eyes as he looked back at the fire that told me he didn't tell me everything about himself.

"So, tell me a little more about yourself. Your bloodline, heritage, anything that's important." I said.

"Trust me; you don't want to know everything about me. I've been through to much…way to much…" The sparkle vanished as Zuko remembered something I couldn't see.

"Hey, what's wrong?!" I shouted as he collapsed. Panic spread through me and I shook him, "Wake up!!!! Wake up!!!! Please wake up!!!!"

His shoulders shook with sobs of anguish. My eyes filled with tears as he screamed out in agony.

"So, Zuzu has found himself a little girlfriend. How sweet…" A deep voice growled behind me. I whipped around and saw the tell tale crown, throne, and bodyguards. The fire lord had found his son.