Hey guys :) ok, im so sorry about not posting for so long.. hehe xD *blushes* havent really had time to write, and i actually go into these writter block thingies, that piss the shit out of me.. xD ive finally figured out that everytime i stop writing, then when i sit back down to write, ive lost my train of thought, so it kinda takes me like 10-15 minutes, sometimes longer, for me to get back in the momentum again . and it frustrates me!!! . anyways, sorry again, and im gonna try posting more often now :) cheers and enjoy :) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEE R&R :) pwetty please?? :D

Chapter 4

Rui just stood there staring at the Prince, frozen solid. Oh no, oh no, oh no… she thought to herself, terrified. She realized that if something wasn't done soon, the Prince would die. However, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't move. She stood there, continuing to stare. Finally, she heard a scream. Then, after that first scream, she heard many more, and that seemed to help unfreeze her body. Her eyes suddenly over-flowed with tears that she didn't bother trying to hold them back. She then heard another yell that had even more pain in it than the rest.

"What… LU TEN!!!" Iroh shoved past everyone else surrounding Lu Ten and knelt down beside his son. There were tears pouring down his face. It was one of the saddest things you could ever see. Suddenly my adrenaline kicked me into action. I knelt down beside the General and began trying to redeem myself.

"We have to get him to the nurses, now! He's losing more and more blood as we speak." Iroh just stared at me. I think he got shocked at the fact that I had just spoken to him for the first time, and that to with authority. It was so amusing I nearly smiled. Nearly. "Excuse me, Mr. General, sir? Did you hear me?" He shook his head, as if trying to shake himself out of his reverie.

"Yes, that's exactly what we have to do." Iroh lifted his son up in his arms and began sprinting with his bleeding son towards the hospital. I jumped up and followed the General suit.

I felt so free, running like that. I couldn't remember the last time I had run like that. If the situation hadn't been so horrible, I might have actually enjoyed myself. I lagged behind a little so the General wouldn't feel like I was invading in on his personal space and privacy, and he was probably blaming me for the accident anyway, and with good reason too, so it would be safer for all of us if I just stayed away from the General and the Prince for a while…. So, because of that, when I reached the hospital, I didn't follow the General. Instead, I sat in one of the chairs in the reception area. I didn't see the General anywhere, so I assumed that he was with his son in the operation theatre.

I was just looking at my feet, lost in my thoughts, when I felt someone else's presence beside me. I looked up at the chair next to me and saw that the General was sitting beside me. I got a shock of my life. I finally came to my senses and jumped up and bowed in front of the General. Now it was his turn to look shocked. He realized that he had been staring at me for at least 2 minutes and shook his head, as if to clear the current conflicts and thoughts in his mind. He smiled warmly at me and told me to stand up and sit back down beside him. I did so, obediently. I hid my shock at his reaction to me. He was so calm, when, really, he should be ready to tear my head off. What I was thinking must have been apparent in my eyes, for Iroh chuckled softly.

"I am not furious with you, Rui." My eyes widened at the use of my father's name for me. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt as much as I thought being called my father's name for me would. "It wasn't your fault, Rui." Suddenly Iroh pulled her into a hug, with a worried expression on his face. That's when Rui realized that she was crying.

"It's ok, dear. Let it out… just let it out." Iroh hugged her to his chest, tightly. Rui hugged him back, equally tightly.

"I – was – so – s-stupid! I – sh-should – have – been – pay-paying – attention!" Rui exclaimed, in between her sobs. Iroh just shook his head and stroked her head, in a calming, fatherly fashion. Rui tried calming herself. She pulled away and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. If only her father saw her now! What would he think? She continued to take deep breaths. She stood up and bowed low to the General again.

"I am sorry, General." Iroh just looked at her.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"For losing control, and for my carelessness. I am sorry for what I did to your son, General." Iroh stood up and hugged Rui again. She knew she should pull away, but she didn't have the heart too, because these were the kind of hugs she used to get from her father, and, for some reason, Iroh reminded her greatly of her father. She then broke away from Iroh after a couple of minutes, and smiled kindly at him.

"Thank you, General. You don't know how much I needed that." She smiled at him again. He smiled back.

"Same to you," he replied, a twinkle in his eye, despite all the pain and horror in his eyes and on his face. Rui apologized again for what had happened. Iroh placed his hand over her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

"My dear, you have nothing to apologize for." He smiled kindly at me, but I could see all of the pain that was present in his eyes. Suddenly I saw one of the Fire Nation nurses coming towards us, with a slightly hopeful look on her face. I tensed up and could feel my heart beat, as well as the General's heart beat speed up at the site of the nurse.

The both of us waited, tense, to see if she was coming to talk to us. She was. She was silent for about a minute before I snapped.

"Well??? How is he?? Is he alive, is he dead?? WHAT'S HAPPENING??" Rui finally cracked and started yelling. However, before she could say anything else. The General put his hand on her shoulder and she calmed down right away and apologized to the nurse for over-reacting and acting unconditionally rude. The nurse smiled and accepted her apology and said that she got this kind of behaviour a lot. She said it was because of turmoil of emotion occurring in their minds and hearts. She also said that most of them never actually meant what they said and usually apologized after. Rui simply nodded, not allowing her annoyance and worry take over her again. Finally, the nurse gave her update on the Prince. When she spoke directly to the General, she spoke while bowing her head out of respect.

"We… we are not sure if the Prince is out of danger yet or not. The arrow punctured his chest quite deeply," she explained. Rui's hand flew to her face and covered her face in horror. The Fire Nation continued with her update, without pausing to look at Rui. "Ho-however… if the Prince survive tonight, he will live for sure – but, th-the chance that he wi-will s-survive tonight is about th-thirty five p-percent." The General and Rui could both see that the nurse was on the verge of tears at having to give this horrible information. Rui just stood staring at the nurse, dumb struck. Iroh stared at the nurse for like a minute, before sliding slowly to the ground in horror. Rui slowly realized that there were tears on her face. She touched her cheek and looked at her finger in surprise. She hadn't even realized that she had started crying. She looked to the ground and saw the General staring off into space, a horrified expression on his face.

Rui bent down beside him and saw tears on his face.

"General…?" she called out softly, her voice layered in emotion. He turned his head slowly to look at her. Rui looked into his eyes and could feel her tears spilling onto her cheeks; there was so much horror and pain and loss present in those eyes, that it actually made Rui cry when she looked into them.

"Everything's gonna be ok, General... he's gonna be fine. I'll make sure that they do everything they can to help him, General. Don't worry, I'll make sure he survives." Rui had a new look of determination in her eyes, and as soon as that look came into her eyes, Iroh knew that she would do everything in her power to save his son. However, he still couldn't stop the emotion from the pain he felt from showing. He finally let himself crack and he started sobbing full out. He felt Rui pull him into a hug, and, somehow, he felt renewed strength from that hug. That's when Iroh realized how difficult it must have been for Rui when her father died, since she had been so close to him… and he had been the only family she had known.

Iroh pulled away from Rui's hug after a few minutes and smiled weakly at her.

"Thank you, Rui… I think I needed that." He chuckled sadly. Rui smiled sadly at him, but Iroh could see the concern for him in her eyes. He answered her question even before she could ask it.

"I'll be fine, Rui, don't worry." He smiled at her weakly. She was opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and nodded her head once instead, although she was still extremely worried about the General.

Rui looked at the General for a minute more before sighing and standing up. The General looked up at her surprised.

"General, don't you want to stay with your son for the night?" she asked him, heavy sadness present in her voice. He simply looked at her and nodded, mindlessly. She smiled sympathetically at him; she was trying to put up a brave face for the General's sake, but really, her emotions were in turmoil. She was dying inside, because she knew that she was completely responsible for all that had happened, and for all that was happening right now. She wanted to kill herself, but she knew that if she did that, she wouldn't be of use to anyone. If only the she had kept refusing the Prince and she had stayed depressed. If it hadn't been for her emotional issues, then none of this would have happened. She would have easily fallen for the Prince, and she would have been acting like a normal girl again, so then she wouldn't have disturbed her father in the after-life, so then she wouldn't have had that dream, and if she hadn't had that dream, then she wouldn't have been so transfixed by that painting because it wouldn't have reminded her of anything because she wouldn't have had the dream, so she would have been able to protect herself and the Prince, so he wouldn't have had to get hurt in the process of protecting her because of her blankness.

That's when Rui made a promise to herself: if the Prince survived – Which he will! she thought to herself – then she would do everything in her power to make it up to him. I just hope he forgives me in the end… she thought miserably to herself.