Disclaimer: I do not own A: TLA

Chapter 2

"How did you get in?" I was petrified. I recognised that voice all too well. Fire Lord Zuko stood in the doorway of the training arena, staring at me angrily. Ji stood behind him, mouthing, "I'm sorry!"

"I snuck in," I said at last, deciding that if I was going to get in trouble, I shouldn't drag Ji into it as well. The Fire Lord bowed his head and began walking in circles around me. I barely dared breathe as he surveyed me from all angles with those piercing yellow eyes. "Who taught you to fire bend?"

"I taught myself. I saw the soldiers doing it," I was still, waiting for the moment he exploded and struck me. He stopped and stood in front of me.

"Look at me," He said at last.

"My Lord?"

"Look at me. Like you did earlier," So he had remembered me. Slowly, I raised my eyes and stared straight back into his. I didn't let my eyes drop, or wander over his scar, like the other girls at the palace did. I knew what they said about him behind his back. Scarface, they called him. I wished they would stop, but they never listened to me. I was the outcast, the misfit, the one who didn't belong. "My lord, I beg your forgiveness," I said, my eyes never leaving his.

"Why don't you want to get married?" He asked unexpectedly.

"Because I don't want to belong to someone. I want to belong to me,"

"But you belong to your father,"

"As far as I'm concerned, just because he helped bring me into the world, doesn't mean I belong to him. He doesn't deserve to own me," Lord Zuko laughed at this, and resumed walking around me.

"You have very… strong views. I like that. And may I ask, how would being presented to me as a wife be- now, what was the word you used, 'degrading'?" I blushed at this. He had definitely overheard my shouting.

"I am a human being too, and I think I should have the right to choose who I marry, and if I marry at all. I'm not just some ornament that anyone can buy if they have enough money," I knew I was being rude, but I didn't care. I was going to be executed anyway, so why bother trying to be respectful? He laughed again.

"You are being rude," He said, continuing to walk around me.

"The way I see it, I'm going to be punished anyway, so why speak out for once? I might never have the chance again,"

"You don't care that you're insulting me? Or is it that you don't care about being punished?"

"My lord, I wasn't aware I was insulting you personally. I just wanted to act like a normal person for once in my life," Zuko suddenly stopped pacing, and sat down on the sand, motioning for me to do the same. Puzzled, I sat down and crossed my legs. He sighed. "You know, you are not the only one who would like to act like a normal person," I wasn't sure what to say, so I stayed quiet. "You should be dead," I looked up sharply at this point.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I suppose I should. You have insulted me, insulted the fire nation, snuck into the training arena at night, practiced fire bending even though you're a girl, and you've looked straight into my eyes," I swallowed. He stood up, and I did the same. "Fight me," He commanded, getting into the fighting stance of a master fire bender. I had never fought anyone for real before, and the Fire Lord was a hell of a place to start.

"My lord?"

"You heard. I've seen you practising, and you're not half bad. So fight me," I took up my fighting stance. He moved forward, sending a stream of fire at me. I moved to the side, dodging it easily. He wasn't trying. He stomped on the floor, sending fire coursing along the ground towards me. I jumped high in the air, and landed when the fire had gone. I sent a few fireballs at him, and he dodged them all. Then he began to move faster, sending more and more attacks at me at a rapid pace. I dodged them all and threw a few back. Needless to say, none of them found their target. He quickened the pace again, and this time, I was almost hit several times. I jumped forward and managed to hit him once on the arm. He smirked and moved even quicker, impossibly fast now, and inevitably, I was hit in the stomach by a fierce attack. I hit the ground, hard. I opened my eyes to see the Fire Lord standing over me, smirking. He pulled me to my feet. "You did well," He said approvingly. "Better than I thought you would," I bowed.

"Thankyou my lord," He inclined his head.

"If you were any other girl, I think you'd be dead by now,"

"You mean that they would have been hit?"

"No, I mean that they would have been executed," Feeling very nervous, I said what was on my mind.

"And why haven't I been executed?" He raised his unburned eyebrow.

"You shouldn't ask me that,"

"My apologies,"

"Do you come here every night?"

"Most nights,"

"Come tomorrow. I will teach you," My eyes widened. A real teacher! And not just any teacher, the Fire Lord himself! Controlling my excitement, I managed to reply. "Thankyou my lord,"

(Zuko)

I watched as she hurried away into the darkness. I couldn't believe what I had just said. I knew that she should be dead by now, or at least punished in some way. But then, I supposed, when she woke up the next day her punishment would come for making her father look a fool in front of me. I felt a twinge of guilt as I thought that, but brushed it away impatiently. I'm doing enough for her, I decided, and proceeded to begin my own training. After a hard training session, I sat down in my room to meditate. I kept thinking about the day that was about to begin with a feeling of nervousness. Today was the day that my prospective brides would be presented to me. I briefly wondered if Lady Mizoku would still be among them. What am I thinking? I scolded myself. I shouldn't be having thoughts about that girl! I shouldn't even be letting her live. But the way she looked at me… I was woken from the memory of her red eyes boring into mine by a knock at the door. "Yes?" I shouted irritably.

"Nephew, it's me. May I enter?"

"Yes, uncle," I sighed. My uncle was the only one who treated me as a normal human being since I became Fire Lord. Since the Avatar named me Fire Lord, I should say. My old uncle waddled into the room, looking very pleased with himself. "Nephew, I have just seen some of the ladies that are queuing up to be your bride, and I must say some of them are very beautiful indeed! You are a lucky man,"

"Uncle, I don't need a wife, and I don't want a wife!" Liar, I thought to myself. You want that girl. Anger welled up inside of me, but I was not angry at my uncle, I was angry at myself for thinking about that girl again. I don't need her, and I definitely don't want her! "Nephew, if you want to produce an heir, you must take a wife!" My blood ran cold at this. An heir… That would mean… Well… My uncle could see my discomfort and began to laugh. "Oh, nephew! I know what you are thinking! Your face is easier to read than the pages of a book. Don't worry, when you find the right woman, it's-,"

"Uncle! I do NOT need to hear this!" The very thought of my uncle talking about that kind of thing was sickening. Him and that were kept in two very different parts of my brain, and they were never meant to mix!

(Mizoku)

I was standing outside the throne room with the other girls, waiting to be called in. My mother had spent hours this morning fussing over how I looked, making sure my hair and makeup were perfect, and my dress was just so… Oh, how I hated this. I would rather be anywhere else right now. My mother stood on one side of me, and my father on the other. When we went in, each of us would be introduced by our parents, then we would courtesy, say something along the lines of how honoured we were, and be seated. Afterwards, we would each spend some time alone with the Fire Lord. That was the part I was dreading most. I could handle being 'presented', I could handle lying through my teeth, but I couldn't handle a moment alone with him as a candidate. Suddenly the doors swung open, and we filed in. I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the other girls. They were all dazzlingly beautiful, did what they were told, and never did anything wrong. One by one, the girls were introduced, courtseyed, and said in a very sultry voice how honoured they were. I felt sickened by their shameless flirting, and when it came to my turn, I said perfectly normally and calmly, "It is an honour, my lord," The other girls smirked, as if they knew I was obviously not going to win the Fire Lord's heart because I hadn't made a complete fool of myself. I sat between my parents and stared in silence at the last girl who had been presented. The poor girl was only around twelve, and was absolutely petrified. "I- I am t- truly honoured, my lord," She managed to choke out.

"Well, that's one more not to worry about," Said a girl near me.

"Leave her alone," I retorted. "She did her best!" My mother and father gave me disapproving looks, but the small girl's eyes shone with happiness when I said that. I smiled warmly at her. "Ladies and gentlemen," General Iroh said, standing up. "Lord Zuko will see each candidate privately in the order they were presented in the garden. Therefore, Lady Aurora will please proceed to the garden alone," It was then that I looked up at the throne and saw that Zuko had already left. Our parents left us, and we were left to 'get to know each other'. This meant that the twelve year old and I talked to each other while the other girls formed tight groups and whispered amongst themselves, occasionally shooting dirty looks at the others. "Are you okay?" I asked the girl.

"I'm a little nervous ma'am,"

"You don't have to call me ma'am,"

"Oh. Sorry. Well, what is your name?"

"I'm Lady Mizoku. What is your name?"

"I'm Lady Timane,"

"I'm sorry, how do you pronounce that again?"

"It's said Tim-ain, Lady Mizoku. Are you scared?"

"Of what?"

"Of being alone with Lord Zuko? He scares me half to death!"

"I am a little bit," I smiled, "But I don't want to impress him,"

"Why ever not?" Lady Timane gasped. "You don't want to be the Fire Lady?"

"Not one bit!" I said. "If I'm nervous now, think how nervous I'd be if I had to spend time alone with him all the time,"

"I hadn't though of it that way," Timane said thoughtfully. "But he won't pick me,"

"Why not?"

"I'm only twelve. I can't bear children yet," I felt cold when she said that. What if I was picked? Bear children? I couldn't bear his children! I shook myself from these disturbing thoughts, and tried to put on a brave face for Timane. "I'll never be married," She said sadly.

"Of course you will!" I smiled. "Just maybe not now. When you're good and ready, there'll be a nice man who'll see you, and think, she's the one I want to spend my life with, and you'll be swept off your feet. And you will bear his children and he'll look after you until you grow old together," Timane seemed really pleased by this thought. Indeed, my own spirits were lifted by the promise of a wonderful life.

"Lady Mizoku?" Came General Iroh's voice.

"Good luck!" Timane whispered as I walked towards the old man. I smiled at her, turned away and my expression melted into one of dread.

"Well miss, are you excited?" Iroh asked me, as he led me towards the garden.

"Not really sir," I said honestly. "I don't want to be married," I suddenly realised what I'd just said and mentally kicked myself. Why could I never keep a hold on my tongue? "I'm sorry sir, I mean-,"

"I know exactly what you mean," Iroh chuckled. "But my nephew isn't that bad once you get to know him," His eyes wandered to the cut on my forehead. "Oh my… Are you the girl who ran into my nephew the other day?" I blushed a little.

"Yes sir," He laughed.

"Oh, then I see you are quite determined not to be married," I smiled in spite of myself.

"Well, here we are," Iroh left me by a bench in the garden. Zuko was sat on it, staring into space.

"My lord?" He glanced up.

"I didn't think you'd turn up,"

"I had no choice," Brilliant, more insults. Why can't I just stay quiet for once? Or maybe even say the right thing? Luckily, he wasn't in a bad mood.

"Do you have any control over what comes out of your mouth?"

"Sometimes I wonder," He smirked.

"Well, I suppose we'd better get this over and done with," I nodded, perhaps a little too quickly. "The last girl I said that to didn't seem as pleased as you," He said. He stiffly offered his arm, and I took it, holding it lightly as my mother had taught me. "The last girl nearly cut off my blood supply too," I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"I'm not like most girls," Oh shit. Now I sounded like I was flirting with him!

(Zuko)

She's holding my arm, and flirting with me. Fabulous. I thought she wasn't like most girls. She sighed, staring at the blossom trees. I continued walking, staring straight ahead. Cue the remark about taking my time and appreciating all the beautiful things. I thought drearily. But it never came. She just allowed herself to be pulled along through the garden, in a rather detached way. Her hand left my arm quite suddenly, and she turned to face a one of the trees. I gave a small cough, and she seemed to realise what she just did, and continued walking beside me. She didn't put her hand on my arm this time.

Sorry if Zuko's getting a little out of character. The way I see it, if he's the Fire Lord now, that means he's not stressing out over that Avatar, or his father, right? So he'll be a little more relaxed, right?

Well say whay you like, it's my story, and that's my explaination. sticks out tongue

Miss SJB