Back again so soon? I mean me, not you- you are welcome to come back as many times as you want. Not that we're actually going anywhere…oh you get what I mean. I have to say, I was looking back at the old comments from this past story, and a lot of people thought that it simply went to fast- so I'm going to slow things down, make it deeper and more believable. I think you'll like that. So what am I waiting for?

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Chapter Three : Celebrations

They must have walked for over half an hour; his feet were aching but he said nothing- Zuko wasn't about to start whining. His hands were covered with thin scratches that were the result of pushing back thorn covered bushes. A thin bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck- he was hot even though he wore a light, white shirt and loose brown pants- common attire seen on the island. All the while, Kaori plunged ahead, never losing speed- was she even tired? It certainly didn't seem like it, her pace never slowed and occasionally she would glance back at Zuko with a large grin.

Finally, Zuko spoke up, his tone irritated. "Are we almost there yet-"

Kaori held up her hand, coming to a stop. She turned to look at him and whispered, "Close your eyes, Teken,"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "No. I'm not going to do that,"

Kaori shook her head, coming over to him, startling him by how close she stood. She reached up gently, putting a fingertip on each of his eyes, closing them gently. "Shh," she whispered, so close that he could feel her breath on his face. "Just close your eyes…"

He relented, only because she stood in such close proximity to him. He felt her fingers wrap around his and he flinched just the slightest- she was holding his hand, touching him. This was not something he was used to- this kind of physical touch. This sort of kindness that was held in her hand.

Kaori pulled on his hand, and he felt leaves brush against his cheek. There was a sound, a roaring and loud sound that filled the suddenly damp air.

"Okay…open your eyes…" he felt her whisper in his ear.

Slowly he opened his eyes and the sight before him was a spectacular one. A waterfall loomed out in front of him, massive in it's size and power. They stood on a cliff that was as tall as half of the waterfall; the water pooled below them in a large lake that led out into a river. All around them were flowers of all different sizes and colors, some were even the size of him, and the colors were many that he had never seen before in his life. He could hardly see the sky anymore, there was a canopy of trees above him. Birds flew from branch to branch, bright colored and strange looking birds that seemed to glide through the air as if they were as light as feathers. They made soft cooing noises, filling the air with their beautiful songs.

Never before had Zuko seen such a beautiful place. This island was full of quaint things- houses, supplies, even the people, and yet here was such a beautiful place- such a majestic wonder hidden in the woods.

"This is…" Zuko started, and Kaori nodded, stopping him.

"I know," she whispered.

Zuko looked at her and found that he couldn't look away for a moment. She was simply beautiful, there was hardly any way to describe it. He didn't stare at her because he felt something inside of him, he stared because she was gorgeous. She was staring out at the scenery around them, her hair blowing in the breeze. Her skin seemed to glow softly, a radiant aura to her. Her eyes were so bright, he thought he saw tears in her eyes and that confused him. He had never seen someone be so touched by the beauty around them like she was. It was confusing. He didn't like the way it made him feel- strangely vulnerable. He didn't like that at all.

As he stared at her, Zuko decided something. First, he would get off this island as soon as he could. And second, he would never let himself feel this vulnerable emotion again. He would not let this girl make him feel that way.

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After two more days of being up on his feet, Zuko was feeling like his normal self again. Any sign that he had washed up on sea was gone- he felt stronger and filled with energy. The village had accepted him and showed him their smiles and greetings as he would pass them by. He remained in the room that Kaori had first set him in- it was one of the rooms of a very large building, a building that he wasn't quite sure what it was, but he figured that since he always saw the council in it, it belonged to them.

Zuko walked through the town, on his way back to the room in the large building. He had just picked up a change of clothes from the local seamstress- she had been kind enough to give to him the clothes of her deceased husband.

There was something about walking through the town that gave Zuko a peaceful feeling. He felt as if he had been doing this for years- living here, nodding at the people that waved at him. There was something strange about walking through a place that was filled with people that were all connected by the fact that they had no where to belong.

As he passed by a large and wide building, he heard voices coming from inside. Pausing for a moment, Zuko could have sworn he saw Kaori walk by the window inside. Her expression was what had made him pause- he had never seen her look like that. Angry. Furious. She was yelling inside. Zuko took a step towards the building.

"Boy, you, Teken," a sudden voice spoke, old and raspy. Zuko turned around and saw that an old, hunched over woman approached him, a cane in her white knuckled hand. It was Lady Missi, her white hair tied up in a bun that spilled off in certain directions.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, trying to soften his normally sharp tone out of respect for the old woman.

"The girl. I know you hear her. She has the heart of a rose." Lady Missi stared at Zuko hard, her eyes narrowing. "But you be careful. There are rumors about her that I am not to speak of. Rumors that she is dangerous,"

Zuko frowned. "Dangerous? How could she be dangerous?" Insane, perhaps, but certainly not dangerous.

Lady Missi glanced from side to side, making sure that no one was close by. "The rumor is it that she vainly killed her own family. Slit their throats in the middle of the night,"

Zuko took a step away from the old woman, shaking his head. "That's not true," he stated.

Lady Missi shrugged her frail shoulders. "All roses have thorns, boy." Zuko turned on his heel and walked away from the woman, his brow furrowing. "Be careful!" she called after him.

Dangerous? There was no way that a girl like Kaori was dangerous. He was dangerous- he was Prince of the Fire Nation- he held authority and power that no sixteen year old had. Kaori…she was just a girl on the island. Sure, she had the respect of everyone on the island, but that didn't make her dangerous, only well-liked. Kaori was the type of girl that skipped and twirled.

He walked through the halls of the large building, making his way to his room and when he got there, he threw open the door, throwing the clothes on the bed and sitting down on the end of it. He placed his head in his hands and let out a sigh. What did he care anyway if she was dangerous? He would be out of here soon enough. There was no reason for him to stay and he had a job to do.

There was a soft knock on the door and it opened slowly with a creak. Zuko looked up and saw Kaori step gently into the room, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against it, hands against her back. The look in her eyes was a quiet and calm one.

"I saw you talking to Lady Missi," she said quietly. Zuko nodded and Kaori glanced at the ground, frowning a little. It didn't look right on her face, that frown. "She's a nice lady…but she likes to talk about me. I don't really care it's just…" She glanced up, looking at Zuko sternly. "It's not true. Whatever she says, it's not true,"

Zuko nodded slowly. He didn't need to know what was true or not, he would be leaving soon, but something was pulling on his skin- he couldn't explain it.

Kaori took a step forward and then stopped, biting the corner of her lip. "I just…there's so much I could tell you, Teken, I should tell you everything, but I can't,"

Zuko shook his head, staring at her. "You don't have to tell me anything," he said softly- after all, he certainly wasn't telling her everything. "You don't owe me anything,"

Kaori looked up, staring at him for what felt like a long moment. Zuko was the first to look away, and when he looked back at her, she was smiling. "The real reason," she said, "I came here was to invite you to a party. They've spotted the avatar near here,"

Zuko felt a shiver run up his spine and he froze, his gaze falling upon her slowly. "The…avatar…"

Kaori nodded, smiling wider. "Isn't it wonderful? Maybe there's hope left in the world after all. But we're celebrating the good news- not that we actually need a reason to celebrate, but this is a splendid reason,"

"Splendid…" Zuko looked away, clenching his fists. The avatar…so close and yet here he was, stuck on this island. He needed to form some plan of escape- some way. And soon to before the avatar got to far.

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They sat outside, the entire village gathered around multiple fires. There was music and dancing going on all around him. The older villagers told stories to the children, enthralling them with myths and legends of their ancestors. They spoke mostly of a man named Haru who seemed to always be up to some type of mischief. The largest fire was in the center of the town square, and it was this fire that Zuko sat before, along with many of the other villagers. Some were playing instruments and everyone was full of smiles, Zuko however was not. He simply watched everyone, glancing from person to person as they celebrated the sighting of the person he meant to capture.

He caught sight of Kaori from the corner of her eye. She looked radiant- a flowing purple skirt and a tight, strapless red top that clung to her body. She was twirling, dancing and laughing to music as a group of villagers clapped her along. Zuko felt something stir in his chest and he quickly shoved it away, remembering what he had decided. She simply was beautiful, that's all it was, nothing more. The fire danced off her skin and he felt his hands twitch. He was longing to use his bending but there was no reason to- and it wasn't safe to do so.

He watched Kaori twirl around in circles, dancing and moving her hips. She laughed as a group of children stood up and joined her, spinning around so quickly until they fell down in a dizzy stupor. Getting into the beat, she took off towards the fire, jumping over it and landing on her feet at the other side. The entire movement seemed strange to Zuko- the fire was just to large for someone to jump over, let along land on their feet on the other side..

Before he could think about it for a moment more, Kaori was at his side, pulling at his hands. "Dance, Teken, dance with me,"

Zuko frowned, resisting her pull. "I don't dance," he said simply, and Kaori laughed, shaking her head.

"But you have to dance with me, Teken!"

Zuko shook his head and she rolled her eyes, groaning loudly and then took off running- still clutching onto his hand. Zuko let out a yelp and exclaimed "What are you doing? Where are we going?"

Kaori laughed. "Well, if you won't dance with me, then I want to show you something!"

She led him to the beach, to where she had first found him and pointed to what she had called her garden.

"Kaori what are we-" She slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Just…be quiet and watch," she said, staring intensely at her garden.

Zuko looked over at the mangled pieces of what looked like seaweed and rolled his eyes. It really was the most pathetic looking garden he had ever seen- it wasn't even pretty. Kaori's eyes flickered up at the moon and then at her garden. It was just at that moment that Zuko noticed the plants shift slightly. They were twitching. Slowly, ever so slowly, they began to rise, as if they were raising arms up to the sky to try and touch it. There was a white glow to them and thin, feather like flowers grew from the weeds, pulsing ever so slightly.

"What are they?" Zuko asked, confusion and amazement in his eyes.

Kaori smiled and glanced at him. "Moon plants. Took me forever to grow,"

Zuko stared at the plants and then glanced up at the sky; there were so many stars. Funny, he had been doing this a week ago right before he had been pushed off his ship. Suddenly he felt something touch his hand. He felt the warmth of Kaori's fingers intertwine with his and hold on. He froze for a moment but did not pull his hand away- he did glance over at Kaori but she was staring up at the stars, a look of wonder in her eyes. Zuko turned his attention back to the sky but the fact that her hand was in his was pressing on his mind.

He would not let go because they were sharing the beauty of the night sky together. That was why he wouldn't, there was no other reason.

There was no other reason. There couldn't be. He wouldn't let there be.

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See you all soon J