Heyyyy guys :) Ok, well, you know how I had asked for ideas for a new story name (cause, face it, "Lu Ten's Story" is a REALLY boring name), and, thanks to PottedLilies, I have a MUCHH better name now :) And it's, if u haven't realized already, *drum roll*.... SCRIPTED DESTINY!! Isn't that an amazing name? Well, I love it :) So, thank u, PottedLilies :) And I would also like to thank her for all of her lovely reviews :) I really appreciate u taking the time out of your busy schedule to give me feedback on my work. It means a lot to me, so thank u :) That is ANOTHER reason why I have decided to dedicate this chapter to her :) So, I hereby dedicate this chapter to PottedLilies :) Thank u once again :) And so, without further ado.... THE NEXT CHAPTER :DDDDDD Enjoy ;)

Chapter 8

"I…." I sighed. "I… I'm sorry… for everything… You Majesty," Rui added hastily in the end. Lu Ten just looked at her, too shocked to speak. He must think I'm PMSing, Rui thought to herself, grimly. She sighed again and continued to explain herself. "Look, I-" she paused, and then, after mustering some courage, she continued in a rush. "I'm so sorry about everything – from me not letting you call me Rui to running away from you, to being the reason you were almost killed! I'm so so sorry for everything!! I… I didn't want you to get hurt; in fact, what I want is completely the opposite! I feel so horrible!! All you wanted to do was to be friends, and all you wanted to give me was happiness, while all I ever gave you was misery! I'm so sorry!! You deserve so much more than me! I'm a horrible person and downright unworthy to be your friend! I'm so sorry!" Rui ended, in tears.

She stood up straight and tried to run from the room – having no desire to be in the same room as her saviour anymore – all it gave her was pain – only to have someone grab her hand, preventing her from running. She didn't look behind her at the person who had prevented her from going, but she had a pretty good idea of who it was anyway.

Rui acknowledged the fact that Lu Ten's hands were soft, warm, and loving – not at all like the other firebenders' hands – they weren't soft and loving at all! Theirs were the result of violence. Well, except for her father's, Iroh's, and, now, Lu Ten's. Rui didn't like to think her hands were rough and horrifying either, so she added herself to the list as well.

They stayed like that for quite a while – 10 minutes at least. Rui didn't want to have to face her saviour again after that outburst (that's what she felt for the first half anyway), and Lu Ten was just being patient with her, knowing full well that she'd turn around eventually. After the first half of the 10 minutes, however, Rui began to realize that she had stopped crying, because she felt comforted. She was shocked because the only people that had ever been able to comfort her had been her father and then Iroh. It was always the father-like figures that seemed to comfort her (and her own father, of course), so how had she been comforted by Lu Ten? Rui was at a loss for words. Her shock, however, increased even more when she realized that she actually liked and enjoyed having his hand around her own.

Her heart sped up, her brain going into panic mode. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she just saying the day before how she didn't want to go out with Lu Ten, nor did she even like him as a friend? Then why in the world did she like having his hand around hers? She was confused beyond all reason and decided to pass off this feeling as one of appreciation. I guess – no. I know the reason I am feeling this way is because I feel safe with him, and that's all, Rui managed to convince herself, rather crudely. Finally, after about a minute more of debating, she finally decided to turn around and face the Prince, because she had come to realize that no matter how long she stood there, he still wasn't going to let go. She sighed and turned around, defeated. She kept her head facing the ground, but she looked up at the Prince through her long, thick, and luscious eyelashes.

The Prince had been about to say something, but his voice instantly caught in his throat when he saw her looking at him like that. He closed his eyes for a second and re-opened them, his thoughts rearranged.

"Look," he began, his hand still around hers; it felt too good to move his hand. He felt at peace, somehow, lying there, holding her hand…. "I know you feel like this is all of your fault, but it really isn't. I completely understand why you said and did what you did – if it was me, I probably would have done the same thing. You were just trying to protect yourself – and I understand that." Her eyes widened at this statement; how had he known? How had he known that she was absolutely terrified of losing another loved one? How had he known that that was the reason for her refusal to engage in close human interaction with other people?

Rui was so confused. She just kept on staring at the Prince, wide-eyed. He chuckled at her expression. She's so innocent…he thought to himself, sadly. She's probably wondering how I knew exactly how she had been feeling. The Prince chuckled inwardly. The truth was, he hadn't known; he had simply guessed, using, what he thought, would be his reaction if hi father died, as evidence. His guess had only been verified now, by the surprised look she had given him. He smiled softly at her, trying to unfreeze her expression. He wasn't doing a very good job.

"You… you knew? You knew exactly how I was feeling this whole time?" she asked softly, thousands of questions burning in her eyes.

He hesitated, then said, "I had guessed… and I was right wasn't I?" He ended, on a more joyous and silly note. She looked down at her feet.

Really, he was just trying to distract her, because he had realized that thinking about all of this, and, by bringing it up, he had made her think of her father, and he decided that it must have made her feel horrible inside, thinking about him, so he was now trying to change the subject, to try and distract her from her pain. He didn't like seeing her in pain, but he didn't know why. It wasn't like he enjoyed seeing other people in pain! He hated, in fact. But, for some reason he just could not fathom, when she was in pain, his heart and insides burned… literally! He always felt like his insides were burning when she was in pain, and, in fact, that feeling was quite uncomfortable, so he tried to avoid it as much as possible, which is one of the reasons why he was trying to distract her at the moment. He was about to say something else to her when she opened her mouth, obviously to speak.

"How?" she asked him, softly. She was obviously intrigued, and it didn't look like she was in any pain at all. In fact, if anything, all the looked was… curious. Lu Ten just kept on staring at her, shocked. However, once he realized that he had been staring at her, he quickly shook his head and smiled at her.

"Well… this answer's kind of a long one; you might wanna sit down for a while." There was a mischievous smile on his face that almost made Rui giggle. If the situation hadn't been so serious, she probably would have.

There it was again… that word: giggle. Rui hadn't had the opportunity, or the ability, to experience that sensation for quite a while now, and she probably still wouldn't have for many years to come, if it hadn't been for Lu Ten. The Prince, Rui realized, was the reason she had started laughing again – even if it was only once; but that once had made all the difference in the world. Rui's cheeks were slightly pinker because of the slight increase in the positive energy inside of her.

Rui shook her head, removing herself from her reverie, realizing that the Prince was about to speak. He opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again. He kept doing this for a good minute or two. It kind of made him look like an overgrown pelican, and that image was just so funny that Rui couldn't hold her laughter in any more. She just burst out laughing, right in front of the Prince. And this time she didn't just giggle, she gave a full blown laugh. He looked at her surprised.

"What did I say?" he asked her, bewildered. She just kept on laughing. She couldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried.

"It's just... you…" she said in between giggles, before bursting into a fresh fit of laughter. She took a few deep breaths and tried again. "You… looked… like… an… overgrown… pelican…!" She fell into another fit of laughter. The Prince was just staring at her, shocked. Then Rui realized that she must have offended him, by the look on his face. She instantly fell ashamed of herself. He had been trying to tell her something and all she had done was thrown her appreciation in her face. She instantly jumped up from the chair that the Prince had invited her to sit in (that Rui had realized had been the same one that Iroh had been sitting in during the duration of the night) and fell into a deep bow on the floor. Her face burned red from her embarrassment and shame. Rui suddenly looked up, surprised, when she heard the Prince collapse in fits of laughter. She just looked at him for 2 seconds before bursting into fits of laughter of her own. They continued to just sit there and laugh, all thoughts of Lu Ten's explanation forgotten.

They were so immersed in their laughter that they didn't even notice when Iroh opened the door, looked inside, smiled to himself, and then left the room again, without even uttering a word.