Disclaimer: I do not own A: TLA

Chapter 3

(Mizoku)

I didn't put my hand on Zuko's arm this time. I just wished that I could be alone in the garden, rather than having to make small talk with him. I didn't bother. It would only sound like I was flirting with him. He seemed a little uneasy, and kept glancing at me. After a little while I got fed up with him and burst out, "What? What is it?" He seemed taken aback.

"What's what?" He demanded, frowning.

"You keep… looking at me. It's making me uneasy," I didn't have enough courage to see what his face looked like this time, so I just waited for him to continue walking, then followed him.

(Zuko)

Uneasy? I was making her uneasy? Making people uneasy was something I did often, but they never admitted it. She seemed really annoyed with me. Or, was it something else? She seemed on edge; not like when I had caught her in the training arena. "Hey listen," I said, dropping my voice and speaking into her ear. "Are you still coming tonight?" She shivered as my breath touched her ear, I noticed.

"Are you serious?" She asked, eyebrows raised. "Of course!" I almost smiled. Almost.

"Good. Be there around the same time you were there this morning," I noticed Iroh was approaching the garden from the palace. Mizoku followed my gaze and spotted him.

"Oh, Zuko!" She suddenly gasped. I stopped. No one had ever called me just 'Zuko' before.

"What?"

"The next girl, she's only twelve, and she's so scared… Please be kind to her!" She paused before adding, "My lord," I watched her face for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Fine, I'll do it," She smiled gratefully at me, and I felt… strange.

"Time's up, lovebirds!" Iroh grinned, and took Mizoku's hand, leading her away. She bowed politely, and thanked me for my time, as she was supposed to. I sat back down onto the bench heavily.

(Mizoku)

Iroh led me away, grinning like an idiot. "You seem to have made quite an impression," He said happily.

"I bet you said that to every girl," I said sceptically.

"No… Well, yes, but this was the first time I've meant it," I raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously! And no one has ever called him just 'Zuko' before. I expected him to-,"

"Did I really call him that? Oh, brilliant! I always forget my place. That's all my father ever says to me," I saw a spark of pity in the old man's eyes as I re-entered the hall to many dirty looks. Lady Timane walked past me, looking pale. I flashed her an encouraging smile, and she tried to smile back, but it came out as a grimace. I went and took up a position in a corner, and began to lose myself in my thoughts. A little while later, Timane entered the hall looking very relieved. I walked over to her. "So, how'd it go?" I asked her.

"Not that bad, actually," She replied. "He was… nice. He seemed in a good mood," I breathed an inward sigh of relief. I had felt sure he would be grave, or cold, or angry with her, but thankfully he had been nice. I wondered if he would still have been nice if I hadn't asked him to. General Iroh announced the Fire Lord's presence, and we all rushed back to our seats. I sat with the other girls lined up and down the hall with my forehead nearly toughing the ground. I felt him move past and felt relieved when I could sit back up again. He gave a short speech, covering the usual formalities; thanking us for our presence, telling us how hard his decision-making would be and begging our indulgence while he made his choice. I switched off and only managed to catch the words, "I will see you all again tomorrow. Thankyou and goodbye," He strode out of the hall, and everyone else followed suit. I was the last of the group to leave the throne room, not wanting to take part in, or indeed hear the discussion of each girl's experience with Lord Zuko.

(Zuko)

I had a fan club. Everywhere I went, a group of the girls who had been presented to me followed, giggling and pointing. I made a mental note that no girl from that group would so much as make my shortlist. I finally found refuge in my meditating chamber, locking the door behind me. I sat down and crossed my legs. This was definitely what I needed; a little time to clear my head. Without realising it, I fell asleep.

I walked into the garden, trying to clear my head. I heard laughter coming from around the corner. It was real laughter, not stupid giggling. And it was coming from a woman. I hurried along the path, and turned the corner to see Mizoku sitting on a bench, looking beautiful in a white dress. She tilted her head and looked at me, right into my eyes. I gasped, and she laughed. She stood up and walked slowly towards me, smiling. She stood right in front of me now, and I froze, unable to move if I had wanted to. She laid a warm hand on my bare arm. I let out a breath I wasn't aware I had been holding in, and closed my eyes, trying to discipline my breathing and slow my heart rate. My eyes snapped open again as she laid her lips onto mine. I slowly wrapped my arms around her waist and she slid her arms around my neck. Enjoying the feel of her body against mine, I kissed her back, and when I opened my eyes, she was smiling sweetly at me. "Zuko," She whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

I shot up into a sitting position. What the hell was that? Oh god, I've gone and fallen for that girl. Out of all of them, I've managed to pick the only one that doesn't want me. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the memory of my dream. It had felt so real. I opened the door and walked down the corridor, trying to find my uncle. I noticed that my groupies were back. Did they wait for me outside my meditation chamber?

(Mizoku)

I sat in my room, feeling very sorry for myself. When I had got home, my parents had decided from 'my tone' that I made a fool out of myself, and disgraced the family. Quite how they reached this conclusion, I had no idea, but I received a beating from my father anyway. It was more vicious than normal, and my entire body throbbed. My guess was that he just wanted revenge for what happened in front of the Fire Lord. I sighed and fell asleep. As I drifted off, I didn't worry about getting up on time. My body had taken to waking itself up at training time anyway.

Sure enough, when I woke up, the moon said it was around 2 o'clock. I reached the training halls to find no guard on duty. Zuko's doing, I thought. I entered the arena and saw no one there, so I began to stretch. I stopped when I heard footsteps. The door swung open, and Lord Zuko stepped through. I bowed to him. "My lord," He inclined his head.

"Lady Mizoku," He made sure I stretched properly, then told me we would have a short spar so he could work out what level I was at. He beat me quickly, as he threw a punch to my already injured stomach. "What was that?" He demanded, as I clutched my stomach on the sand. "What happened to you?" He said more gently, kneeling beside me. "There's no way that should have brought you down,"

"I… received a… beating," I managed to choke out.

"May I see?" He asked, laying me flat on my back on the sand. He gently pushed my training top up enough to see my stomach. I shivered as his fingers brushed against my skin. He winced at what he saw. My stomach was badly bruised where my father had hit me. He ran slender fingers across my abdomen, and I had to stop myself from gasping as he touched my body. "Who… How…" He began each question, but never finished. He looked at me. "Your father did this?" I nodded. He shook his head in disbelief.

"It was for making him look a fool in front of you, and not trying hard enough to impress you," I said, taking deep breaths to ease the pain. I had cried for hours after it had been done. Not in front of my father, of course. He replaced my shirt with trembling hands, and pulled me to my feet. "You can't train in this condition. Come on, I'll take you back to your room," I followed without protest. I had known all along, but I didn't want to skip the very first lesson. He led me right up to my door, and made absolutely sure I would be fine before leaving me. I thanked him and went to bow, but he stopped me. "Don't,"

"Yes My lord,"

"Zuko,"

"What?"

"You called me Zuko before, you can do it again,"

"Goodnight Zuko," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "And thankyou,"

Yay! Three chapters in one day! I'm on a roll!

Note: Don't expect it to last. Seriously.

I LOVED writing that bit where Zuko sees her bruises. Yet again, a little out of character, but I see Zuko as a protective kind of person. Now I'm going to get like a hundred reviews telling me how wrong I am, aren't I? Oh well, a hundred reviews is a hundred reviews I suppose.

Miss SJB