Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of its characters.

The sun had slowly risen over the horizon, Chiyo standing at her window with an indescribable look on her face. The brilliant colors of yellow, red, and orange had brightened the sky as the giant star was peaking over the ocean. All she could do was wonder why something so beautiful had lasted but only short an hour or so? It had been her daily ritual to watch the sunrise and sunset, hoping that something good would just come out of watching them but she could still remember the warm, crimson liquid oozing out of her victim. When will the images ever stop? When will the guilt ever fade? When will she ever feel like what she was doing was right? Everyone had thought so; everyone had thought she had done amazing things. Was killing supposed to feel fulfilling? Why didn't it feel that way to her? Her mental questions could never be answered. She had never spoken of her inner turmoil to anyone. Maybe it was best she kept it to herself because who else would understand? All she could do was do what was told of her, she had to make them proud.

As the hours passed and the sky had become bright as the sun had reached the blue sky, she had waited for her younger sister to get ready for her play date. It was odd, her being ten, but feeling like she was much older. Could any ten-year-old say that they were an assassin? Most likely, they could not. It felt like she had to grow up faster than she should, her emotions merely invisible or unstable. There were so many things that she had seen and done that something as innocent and pure as playing games had lost their color, their life, and their purpose. Her father made it clear that she wasn't equipped to be a child; she was something greater than that. But to Chiyo, nothing could be better than to be a free child. She had envied her younger's sister ability to find joy in just mere conversations with her friends and to play games. How come Chiyo couldn't have that same luxury? Why did she have to be what these people considered special?

"Chiyo, are you ready?" Mai had stood at the doorway as her sister had continued to stare out her window. Mai had watched as she had seen that blank look on her sister's face, no expression whatsoever on features, but her eyes had always seemed to be showing something more than a smile or frown ever could. They had always seemed sad and whenever Mai had looked into them, she could feel herself growing sad each and every time. She couldn't question her sister about it because she knew that Chiyo would never say what she felt. What did she look like telling someone like her, her feelings anyway? It wasn't like she could understand what went through Chiyo's mind. Her older sister was more mature than anybody she knew, even her friend Azula, but of course she would never say that out loud.

Slowly, the elder sibling had turned and made her way towards the door. "I'm ready." She finally answered after some time; Mai slowly grabbed her hand as she led their way toward the carriage that would take them a short ride away towards the Palace. Many people would stop and stare at the sisters, their resemblance very thin but noticeable. Chiyo had dark brown hair in which she had down at the moment instead of its usual ponytail, she would wear bangs but there would be quite a little space in the middle of them. Her eyes were a bright amber, like fire, and her eye shape was a cross between almond and cat-eyed. They were more almond like Mai's, but since they were bigger they had more of the cat-eyes appearance. Her lips were small yet full, but she usually painted them red where as their true pink color could be seen today.

Chiyo's attire consisted of a deep, crimson Indian choli top that revealed her midriff, ankle-length baggy pants of the same color, and a scarlet split skirt that covered atop of her pants. Around her stomach was a maroon ribbon that Mai had brought her to accessorize according to Ty Lee's fashion sense. Usually, a bow and a quiver full of arrows were with her but since she was going to the Palace, there was no need for her to carry any sort of weapons. As they reached the carriage, Mai was escorted in first and her sister following after. Their parents weren't going to accompany them today, which was strange because their father had always liked to brag to Fire Lord Ozai all the good things that he had done. Maybe he was busy today, but either way, Mai was glad to have her sister home and beside her. She had hoped that Ty Lee and Azula had shared the same enthusiasm.

Once the carriage had pulled up at the Palace gold gates, the carriage had come to a halt and the doors were opened so that the two girls could come out safely. Mai continued to hold her sister's hand and Chiyo having no intention of letting go, had a firm grasp on it. As the guards had made sure their pathway was safe and secure, Chiyo had looked around and saw Azula and Ty Lee waiting for Mai with bored looks on their face. As soon as her sister had saw them, she had pulled her sister towards them and Ty Lee had finally taken notice of them. "There is Mai! And there's Chiyo!"

Azula had turned to their direction as the two sisters had made their way over to them. "Well, whaddya know." Said Azula, her tone quite questionable but not harsh nonetheless. As the sisters were now in front of them, Mai had smiled at them. "How was your mission this time, Chiyo? Was it more adventurous than the last? My dad and my grandpa said that you did a great job."

The elder child had looked at the soon-to-be Fire Nation princess, her eyes nearly squinting out of anger and curiosity. Why did this girl seem so evil? Like she had liked the idea that Chiyo had killed someone for their grandfather? She knew that Azula wasn't just your normal child, or royalty for that manner, but she didn't know her abnormality that taken this far. "It was just as it was before. No different." The victim this time was a well-known counselor for Azulon many years ago, he had collaborated in a plot to overthrow him and so he had to be taken out. He was just one of the few she had to torture for information, but she had to kill him as instructed by the Fire Lord. "Is your Uncle here?" She asked as Azula shrugged her shoulders, "I'll leave you all to play. See you later, Mai." Chiyo said to her sister with a small smile before walking onto the walkway and into the castle.

As she reached the inside of the castle, she had walked down the hallways with her eyes scanning the area. She hadn't see Iroh, the only glimpse of kindness in the palace. She soon her other footsteps coming from around the corner and so she stopped as she seen young Prince Zuko turning towards the hallway she was walking in. Chiyo was but a couple months older than him. They never really said much since she felt like her rank had made her intimidating. Politely, she bowed and he had gave her a nod of acknowledgement. "Hey." Zuko said to her, which surprised her no less, and she appeared flabbergasted.

"Oh. Uhm, hey." Chiyo replied as he stood there. She was a few inches taller than him and so he had to slightly look up at her and her somewhat looking down at him. "How are you, Zuko?" She managed to ask, feeling somewhat awkward.

The boy didn't say anything for a few minutes, his eyes finding themselves away from her form and down at the red cart underneath them. "How was your mission?" He asked as she felt her eyes lower. That's right, she killed his friend's father. Zuko, unlike his sister, had one friend. His friend was Shen, a very nice and scholarly young boy. He and Zuko had a very strong friendship, he was intimidated by Zuko's title like most kids were and they had been friends for as long as Chiyo could remember. How could she forget how the boy must be feeling now that his father was dead. She killed his father…

"Do you want me to answer that?" She asked, her voice soft as she felt guilty because she could see the hurt on Zuko's face. It had to be more than the fact that she had killed General Kuon.

The Prince frowned, deeply. "Shen stopped being my friend because he suspects that my grandfather had him killed. I know you did it."

"I had a mission from your grandfather to fulfill." She quickly defended herself, knowing that it wasn't all her fault. Maybe she could have assigned someone off to it, but she had been specifically asked to do this. There was no way that she could turn it down. If she had it her way, she would never had done this job.

"I know." His words had surprised her, her eyes widening at the admission. Chiyo watched as Zuko walked toward her, "But why did you have to be so brutal? Why couldn't of you have done it so he didn't feel pain?" Chiyo lowered her head, her memories of the night all coming back to her. The screams of pain, the squirming of the man who had been fighting for his life was now so vivid to her. She had done that. But could she tell him that it was a part of the mission? It seemed like she would be telling too much information.

In a way, she wanted to cry. Now realizing that Shen would never see his father again and that's what she had done. She had killed someone's parent and someone's husband. The thought had never registered in her mind that she had ripped that away from someone. Upon the realization, her eyes had widened as her eyes brimmed with tears. The ever so stoic Chiyo couldn't no longer hide her pain anymore. The tears fell slowly and one by one before they began to rain down and her slapping her hands on her face to hide them or more along the lines drown in them. She could imagine Shen finding his father mutilated, not looking like he had normal seen him. He had destroyed the picture of the boy's father, she was utterly horrible. How could anyone like her deserve to continue on like this? Was Agni torturing her young soul?

Zuko had watched as the girl's whimpers had become audible to him. In a way, he had felt guilty for telling her that. He did not know what kind of world she was in, what her grandfather and parents had acquired of her. He just knew that she was well-respected by his grandfather and his father. Iroh had spoken highly of her and his mother; his mother had expressed her concern. It was funny because here came Lady Ursa, her eyes fixated on the broken little girl who cried in the middle of the Palace hallway. "Zuko, what happened?" She asked, her hand slowly touching the young girl's shoulder. Chiyo hadn't felt more embarrassed, not only was she crying in front of Zuko but she was crying in front Lady Ursa as well.

What could Chiyo say? Zuko didn't need to answer that question. She was the one after all crying and it wasn't like he was the one to make her cry. "I didn't do anything." He defended himself as his mother's frown had only deepened.

"Chiyo." Ursa's warm voice had called her name and Chiyo felt no other obligation other than to give her, her full attention. Looking up at the tall, brown-haired woman, she had found herself unable to speak. How could she receive such a gaze from Ursa? She gave one of concern when she had been less deserving of it. The young girl took a step back, her eyes brimming with new tears, and her feet telling her to run. Run away from here. And yet, she had taken two steps back before Zuko had grabbed her arm in order to keep her from backing into him. "Chiyo, is everything okay?" The woman trailed off as she tried to figure out how to approach the girl without scaring her, "I have some tea that will be sent to the greenhouse. You should join me." And soon her slender hand had reached out to Chiyo, a smile still gracing her soft face.

Zuko had looked at the young assassin next to him as she remained silent. "Tea?" She repeated, her voice shaky and admitting sadness. "Why would you want to have tea with me, Lady Ursa?" Chiyo asked as the woman merely chuckled. Zuko had watched his mother take Chiyo's hand.

"Zuko, I'm taking Chiyo for a cup of tea. Would you like to join us?" In a way, she didn't want Zuko to follow because she thought that it would be best if she had talked to Chiyo alone. Zuko could see it, that his mother wanted to spend time alone with the older girl.

"I'm going to go see Uncle Iroh." Said Zuko in which surprised Ursa. "See ya!" He then turned around and ran in the direction of what was the library.

And once he was gone, Ursa had led Chiyo to the greenhouse.

Chiyo had looked around in the greenhouse full of flowers from around the world. Her eyes were amazed by the sight of such beautiful plant life and in the middle of the large greenhouse were a large sitting area with four chairs, a couch, and a short table that had already had a tray of two tea cups, two tea plates, and a teapot. Ursa had sat on the couch and Chiyo had sat on a chair next to her, sitting on the edge of it so she was closer to the table. The woman just continued to smile at her in which helped Chiyo feel a bit better. "How have you been since your return?" She asked as the young girl picked up a cup and placed a template under it.

"It was fine." answered Chiyo as she took a sip of her hot tea, making sure that she didn't burn her mouth in the process.

"Seeing your little sister had brighten things up for you, hadn't it?" Ursa said as she watched a smile grace the face of the young brunette. Her eyes literally lit up at the mention of her younger sibling.

At first, she had nodded before finding herself able to say something. "Seeing her always brightens things up for me. Even the darkest days becoming less than nothing when she looks at me with such…" Her words stopped as she realized that her younger sister had looked up to her. She was admiring… a killer.

The woman leaned forward towards the young girl so that she could place her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You can continue Chiyo. You can trust me."

Trust her? Chiyo never trusted anyone except her sister. It seemed like that the woman cared, she was a gentle soul. "She looks at me with such admiration. I don't want her to admire something like me. I do such… such horrible things." The child closed her eyes as she placed the teaplate back on the table, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to stop herself from crying.

Ursa then patted the couch next to her which made Chiyo open her eyes to see the action. The young assassin had stood up and walked over, sitting down next to her. An arm was draped around her in a hug. "I always figured that this life for you was hurting you. You are such a nice, young girl Chiyo. You are too young for this job that you were given. You are still a child and you should be playing with toys and not murdering for royalty. I always knew you were special, you know." She watched as the ten-year-old's eyes were now looking up at her own and that innocence that gleamed within them had made Ura smile.

"You did?" Chiyo asked, somewhat surprised.

The brown-haired woman nodded her head, "Why of course. When we found you, fighting to protect your little sister from that man who broken into your home. You were strong, you took that man head on. That strength that you have is something that many people don't have. You could've died, but you were determined to protect your sister so much that you had done something that most children who do not bend can't. I see many great things coming from you."

Ursa's word had stirred happiness in her heart and she had felt herself crying from that happiness that aroused in her chest. This woman had thought she was special and not because she could kill, but what she was willing to risk for her family, her sister. That's what started it all in the first place. Chiyo had killed that man who thought he could scare her father by killing his youngest daughter, but little did they know that Mai had begged and pleaded for Chiyo to sleep in the bed with her because she felt safer. If she hadn't, Mai wouldn't be alive today. Chiyo didn't want to kill the man, but she wanted to protect what mattered most to her and that's what she did. The man wasn't able to neither scream nor cry, nobody knew he was there until Mai screamed from the blood that stained the white carpet floor and the shell of the man.

"Don't you think that I'm evil? That what I am doing is wrong? Shouldn't I be punished?" Chiyo questioned.

She watched as Ursa shook her head. "Why should you be punished, Chiyo? You didn't ask for this life. I know that making your parents as well as your nation proud is what you want to do. It is never your fault." It was a relief to know that someone had believed in her, that he didn't think that this was all her fault. And a bond had formed between the two as young Chiyo cried herself to sleep in the arms of the kind, understanding woman.

Soon Ursa had left to attend to some business, Chiyo had stayed in the greenhouse and pondered over her conversation with Ursa. So, if none of this was for her to blame then why did she still feel guilty? Why did her heart feel so tight whenever she thought about the things that she did? Was it because she felt there was a way to get out of this? How? Could she really… Run away? Would running away change everything? It was something she could actually get away with, but was it worth leaving her little sister behind? That would mean that she would never see Mai ever again. Could she live with that guilt of hurting her sister like that? No, it didn't feel like Chiyo could.

The door had slowly opened and footsteps had inched toward her. For some reason, the young girl had kept her eyes at the empty cup of tea because she wasn't sure if she wanted to know who had came into the greenhouse. The footsteps then stopped and she had looked up to see that it was Zuko standing there, observing her before noticing that she was indeed staring at him. "Are you going to sit there all day?" He asked, breaking the silence between them. Chiyo, for the life of her, couldn't understand what he meant by that at all.

"What?" She finally said, confused as to what he had meant by that.

"Let's go." He said to her as she scratched her cheek in confusion but jumped off the couch and walked over toward him, following him back into the palace. There was silence in the air and Chiyo could feel herself growing uncomfortable. She had no idea where she was going or what Zuko wanted from her, but the idea was kind of nerve wrecking. Her and Zuko rarely talked, what happened between them earlier as he confronted her about her last mission had made things awkward, and so she didn't know how to feel or act.

"Where are we going?" Chiyo managed to ask him as he finally looked at her, stopping in the middle of the hall. She followed suit, her gaze not leaving his.

The boy then placed his hand on his head, almost unsure of something, but he spoke like she had hoped. "I was bored so… So I thought we could go do something."

"Go do what?" Her voice had revealed her curiosity, her eyes slightly widening.

"Well, my dad brought me some Fire Nation army toys. So, I thought we could play them together since Shen stopped, well, you know." He didn't want to re-explain how her mission had destroyed his friendship. Chiyo, in a way, felt guilty yet again but she felt kind of happy. This would be her first time able to play something, something that wasn't so childish either. Something in her league. For the first in a while, she had gave a rather bright smile. The future prince blushed at the rare expression on the girl's face. He could see that she was overjoyed and he really didn't understand why. They were just gonna play with some toys, why did that make her want to smile? He shook his head and then started to walk a little ahead of her. "Let's go!"

With a nod of her head, she followed after him as they had gone to his room to play. And since then, Zuko and Chiyo had built a rather inseparable bond.

Author's Note:
I hope this chapter was satisfying.