Whew. I'm back. I've had writer's block for a couple days but now I'm sitting down to some Rise Against and I'm going to get this chapter out. My trip went well and I'm glad to be back- I'll miss my brother though! But anyway, like I haven't done in a while…here we go! Time to get this plot moving.

By the way…who's excited for the Airbender movie??

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Chapter Eleven : Escape

They ran in the shadows, Zuko gripping onto Kaori's hand tightly. Each time he thought he heard footsteps approaching, he would tighten his grip on her hand until she would wince- though he was to preoccupied to notice that. The only thing on his mind was getting Kaori off the ship. He could hear people talking in the rooms they passed, getting things together that they would need on land- bags, money, things like that. He heard people wondering what the weather was like today, how friendly the people would be and how much the shop keepers would be willing to haggle.

But Zuko did not stop. He pulled Kaori forward. It all seemed to easy, his plan, so far they hadn't ran into any problems. They maneuvered through the ship with an ease that made them comparable to ghosts.

Zuko could feel his spirits rising- this wasn't going to be so hard after all- he had been worried about nothing.

He turned a corner, entering a long hallway and quickly stepped backwards, pushing Kaori back against the wall, hiding both himself and her from view. Kaori stared at him with wide eyes but she did not speak- she knew from his expression that that would not be a wise idea. Voices and footsteps could be heard from down the hallway, coming closer.

"Everything is ready and perfect." said the voice, one that made Zuko's mouth lift up in a snarl. "I've been waiting for this day for so long…"

Kaori's own hands were clenched at her side, her eyes blaring as they listened to Zhao and what sounded like several guards approaching from down the hallway.

"Do not underestimate her though. She may look like a weak girl, but she is quite powerful," Zhao was saying, and Zuko noticed Kaori smirk a bit smugly. He took a slow deep breath, body tensed and ready in case they had to run.

Yet Zhao's voice slowly drifted out of ear, the danger with it passing. They had not been heard or noticed and Zuko was grateful for that.

"We've got five minutes before he notices you're missing," Zuko whispered, "Then there'll be trouble,"

Kaori nodded and gave him a small smile. "Then we better get going,"

Zuko stared at her for a long moment, something catching in his chest, but he quickly looked away from her and pulled on her hand, leading her again.

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Zuko grabbed the cloak that Uncle Iroh had set out beside the ship's exit and quickly settled it over Kaori, who blinked with confusion.

"What are you-" she began, but Zuko silenced her with a sharp glance.

"It's a disguise. Uncle is in his room; we're going to pretend that you're him,"

Kaori stared at Zuko and raised an eyebrow as he lifted the hood up and over her head. "Zuko…" she said slowly and softly. "There's a problem…"

Zuko looked at her quickly, knowing that time was clicking down. "What?" he snapped at her quietly. "There's no problem."

Kaori motioned to her waist, "This is me," she said, then outstretched her arms more so. "This is your uncle."

Zuko paused, contemplating this. They did have incredibly different body types and it was noticeable. He turned, scanning the area around them, and picked up a sack of flour that lay in a pile, ready to be taken down to the storage room. He helped Kaori position it under the cloak so that it wrapped around her middle. "Hold it with your arms across your chest…like…you're sick or something," he said, making the motion to show her.

Kaori nodded and hunched forward, allowing the hood to hide her face from view. Zuko frowned a little. She didn't exactly look like uncle- the form of the body still didn't quite match up, but it was close enough. If he could get her out on land fast enough, no one would notice.

With a sigh, Zuko closed his eyes and opened the door to the ship. Several guards were walking around, fixing up things on the ship, getting things ready that needed to be attended to. Zuko put a hand on Kaori's shoulder, leading her in the right direction. He kept his head forward and up, looking stern.

"Prince Zuko," a sudden voice spoke up, and Zuko looked to his right to see a guard staring at him. "You were not permitted to leave the ship…by order of General Zhao,"

Zuko glared at the guard. "My uncle is sick. You truly believe that even General Zhao will not allow me to escort my uncle to get medicine?"

To add to the story, Kaori gave a deep cough. The guard winced a little, hesitating. "It..is is the order of General Zhao…"

Zuko turned on the guard, eyes blaring and little flames bursting from his hands. "My uncle needs medicine and I will escort him to get some!"

The guard blinked and took a step backwards, nodding. "Yes, yes of course, Prince Zuko," he muttered quickly. Zuko stared at the man and then turned on his heel, putting a hand on Kaori's shoulder again, pushing her forward.

Together they walked off the ship and Zuko could feel his body relaxing with each step. It was done. They had done it. As they headed into the village, Zuko saw Kaori's hood slip and she flashed him a wide smile. It was done- finished, perfect. She was standing next to him alive and well and perfect and beautiful…he felt his lips tug up into a small smile. They made their way through the village, making their way through the trees to where Zuko knew boats were waiting. Boats that would take Kaori away from all this horror.

Once they arrived, tired from all the walking, Zuko stepped up to an old and wrinkled man. He purchased a boat easily- the man giving him cautious stares, rather nervous ones at points when he realized that the clothes Zuko wore were Fire Nation. Zuko returned to Kaori, motioning with a nod of his head to the boat he had purchased for her.

"You'll be able to find your way back…right? To your island?" he asked, realizing that the map they had before was gone. If she couldn't find her way back, then there was a whole new set of problems.

Kaori shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Some people say that if you're looking for the island, you'll never find it. It just sort of…calls to you. It will find you," She looked at him and smiled. "So I'll find it, there's no doubt in my mind,"

Zuko smiled a tad at her and nodded, accepting this insane idea. She looked so confidant that he did not question her.

She frowned though, glancing away at the water. "Zuko…" Her voice was slow and quiet, something flickering in her eyes. "You should…you should come with me,"

Zuko paused and blinked, his chest clenching again like it had before. "I can't,"

Kaori looked at him, her expression torn. "You should though. You can start over new, you can stay with me. You're a prince, Zuko, and I'm…I'm a princess, and if you come back then…you can stay with me. I can send Tonu away and tell the council that-" she stopped, her face red with a blush.

Zuko swallowed hard. "Tell them what?" he asked, watching as she glanced downwards.

She looked up at him after a moment from under long lashes. "Tell them that you're going to be with me. That I found someone and I don't need Tonu,"

His chest was aching- this feeling, he knew that she was the cause of it. As much as it hurt, it felt good- he felt vulnerable and open and had feelings that he had never felt for anyone before. He wanted to tell her all that, that maybe for the first time in his life, he had found someone, too. That there had been something on his mind other than just capturing the Avatar. That he wanted more in life than just his honor back.

But his honor…he had been at sea for years.

"I…can't…" he finally said, looking away from her- looking at her made the pain in his chest worse.

"But…but…" Kaori stammered, trying to get him to look at her. "Why not?"

"I..I have to restore my honor,"

"By capturing the avatar?"

He looked at her for a moment. "You know that?"

She nodded. "A woman on the ship told me that you were banished from your home. The only way you can return is by capturing the avatar." She reached up, touching his scar gently. "This has a part to play in the story, I'm sure…"

He pushed her hand away softly, frowning. "Yes. My father. I would not fight him. He showed me that the decision not to was wrong." The memories passed through his mind, filling his eyes with a remorse and a bitterness. "My honor was striped and I was sent away."

Kaori put her hand back against his cheek, turning his face to hers. "Come have a home with me then, I can give you one,"

He wanted to say yes; no, he wanted to say no. But…he wanted to say yes, he wanted to go with her, he wanted her to make him into the person that he envisioned by her side. He wanted to forget about the anger and the violence of this war and of his own nation, of his own father. He wanted her to be the first thing he saw in the morning and the last thing at night. He wanted to laugh and not feel surprised stares on him. He wanted to smile and have a reason for it, a beautiful reason.

Zuko took her hand and held it where it was for a moment as Kaori stared at him with wide and hopeful eyes. He slowly pulled her hand away, touching her fingertips to his lips softly. These hands, such gentle hands, smooth skin, warm.

"I…I can't," Zuko whispered, dropping her hand and walking away.

He would never forget them.

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"WHERE IS SHE, WHERE IS SHE YOU USELESS EXCUSE FOR ROYALTY!"

Zuko looked up, raising an eyebrow at an angry approaching Zhao. Zhao looked more than furious- he looked murderous. He pushed people out of his way as he came over to Zuko who stood at a shop stand, holding up an apple.

"What's the matter, Zhao, lost something?" Zuko asked, giving the man a hard stare.

Zhao pointed a meaty finger at Zuko. "The girl, dammit, tell me where she is, I know you have something to do with it!"

Zuko frowned. "You've lost the air bender. I'm surprised, I thought you were keener than that."

"WHERE IS SHE?" Zhao roared, taking a step closer to Zuko, his eyes burning.

Zuko shook his head. "I haven't even seen her since you put her in a cell. I'm just here with Uncle, he's seeing the doctor. He's not feeling well,"

Zhao shook his head, his hair coming loose from it's proper grip. He looked wild, frenzied, crazed, and people stared at him as they passed like he was so. "Like hell… You expect me to believe that? LIKE HELL!"

"What is all this commotion?"

Zuko turned to smile at Uncle Iroh as he came through the door of the building across the street.

"I can hear your yelling from inside. It's very disrupting," he tutted, shaking his head.

Zhao stared at Uncle Iroh, then looked quickly between him and Zuko. "But you- that can't be-"

"My nephew was kind enough to escort me to the doctor's, I'm afraid I'm not feeling very well. The doctor says I've had a bad cup of tea and it is messing with my system," Uncle Iroh gave a little chuckle and Zuko raised his eyes, crossing his arms against his chest.

Uncle Iroh suddenly looked at Zhao as if noticing his anger. "Something the matter, General?"

Zhao straightened up, his lips curled back in fury and he shook his head. "No…it appears that nothing is wrong…" His gold eyes shot to Zuko's. "But I swear…if I find out that you had anything to do with this…it will be your end,"

He turned on his heel, pushing a man out of his way and strode off. Zuko glanced at Uncle Iroh, who's playful expression had turned serious.

"She is off then?" Uncle Iroh asked Zuko, without ever looking away from Zhao's direction.

Zuko nodded. "Yes. She's gone,"

The words were hard to get out, but he managed. They made his chest constrict even harder. He looked down at Uncle Iroh, whose gaze had turned to stare at his nephew.

"Zuko-" he began, but Zuko shook his head.

"Leave it alone, Uncle," he said quietly, walking back towards the ship.

Uncle Iroh stared after his nephew and let out a small sigh. Oh to be young again, he thought…filled with the wonder and confusion of first time love…of the drama and the hardships that came with it… Oh to be young again…

And most of all, stupid.