Ah summer… I've been so lazy- cooking up a storm though. Ever seen that whole Food Revolution show? Gah! I'm so inspired by it! I cook all my food now- love it! Anyway- here comes another chapter : ) I can't wait to dive deeper into the plot… My favorite part is coming up soon…

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"My aunt told me she spotted the avatar flying over her village on a bison,"

Kaori leaned forward, her eyes wide and filled with wonder. "A bison? That's incredible… I've heard stories about flying bison's but to see one… Your aunt was so lucky, Char,"

Char smiled and laughed, shrugging his shoulders. They sat at in the palace in the parlor room, both in their own large couch. The room was formal, and yet relaxed at the same time, meant for holding celebrations and keeping guests comfortable during a wait. Kaori sometimes just used it to chat with people and catch up, or in this case, chat with Char who had stopped by with a baby outfit from Aliruko.

"I'm not so sure how lucky she was, I mean, the avatar was gone for one hundred years and now he's back? I want to know why," Char said, grinning a bit at Kaori's shocked expression.

"Char!" she exclaimed. "It doesn't matter if he disappeared or when he returned- the important thing is that the avatar is back!"

"But will he stay?" Char pointed out, and Kaori frowned, thinking that over.

"Yes," she said with a nod, "I'm sure he will,"

Char smiled at Kaori, his eyes warm and soft. "You are always filled with so much hope, Kaori. It is no wonder that the people here all adore you," His eyes glanced at her stomach. "Your child will adore you as well, of course, there is no doubt about that,"

Kaori smiled down at her stomach and patted it lovingly. "I hope so. It's a scary thing, but I think I'm ready."

"Think?" Char said, raising an eyebrow. Kaori laughed.

"Alright, I guess I have to be ready, don't I?" She paused for a moment, watching a servant walk through the room and exit through another door. She looked back at Char, a smile on her lips. "Stay for dinner, Char?"

He hesitated and Kaori held up a hand, interrupting anything he was about to say. "I insist, please, you're Aliruko's cousin, so of course you are invited,"

Char bit the corner of his lip and then sighed, smiling. "Well, alright, if you insist,"

Kaori clapped her hands together happily, "Oh good! Trust me, there's always plenty to go around-" she stopped, staring past Char's shoulder and smiled, getting to her feet as easily as she could, "Zuko, I'm so glad you're here, I just invited Char to join us for dinner,"

Zuko walked forward, his eyes on Char, who was standing slowly, his lips in a thin line.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Kaori," Zuko said softly, taking Kaori's arm but not looking away from Char.

Kaori frowned, glancing between the two of them. "Why not?"

Zuko tugged gently on Kaori's arm. "Come talk outside," he urged her.

Kaori shook her head, shaking out of his grip and folding her arms across her chest- although her stomach was so big that her arms laid on top of her belly. "No, Zuko, we won't go talk about this quietly. You're being unreasonable."

Zuko ground his teeth together, watching as Char smirked a bit. "I am not being unreasonable. I simply think that…it's not the best idea…"

"And why not, prince?" Char sneered slightly, narrowing his eyes at Zuko.

There was bitterness in his voice, a subtle harshness and hate that surprised Zuko. It was clear that he got a bad vibe from Char, but what could Char have against him?

Zuko looked at Kaori helplessly. "Kaori, please, can we talk outside?"

Kaori took a deep breath, her eyes burning. "Zuko, no, Char is joining us for dinner, so…so get over it!"

"I will not!" Zuko exclaimed. "And he will not join us!"

"You're being stubborn!" Kaori yelled. "This is Aliruko's cousin and all you're doing is being rude!"

"She's right, I've been nothing but friendly!" Char said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Too friendly," Zuko growled.

Char took a step towards Zuko, his hands clenching. "What are you implying, prince?" he asked, his voice cold.

"Both of you, stop it right now!" Kaori yelled. "I've had it with this Zuko, you will treat Aliruko's cousin with respect-" She stopped, her eyes wide and frozen.

The sudden pause in her anger was noticeable enough for both of the young men to glance over at her. At the sight of her expression, Zuko was at her side, holding onto her arm.

"Kaori?" he said softly. "What's wrong?"

Slowly her face crumpled and her arms went around her stomach, her shoulders bending over slightly. "Ow…ow…it hurts," she whispered. "I think…I think," She stopped, letting out a moan and curling towards her stomach.

Zuko glanced over at Char. "You'll have to take a rain check," he snapped quickly, taking Kaori's arms and leading her out of the room.

"I'm…I'm sorry Char…" Kaori gasped, walking with Zuko, knowing that another contraction would hit her body soon.

"I'll get Aliruko!" Char exclaimed, watching the two of them disappear. He stood there for a moment, pausing, his expression going blank, then he turned around, putting his hands in his pockets and walking away calmly.

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Aliruko ran the cloth over her dishes slowly, watching the water drip down the plates and cups. Her entire life now was something out of a story- an exciting story. She was shaking practically at just the thought. On a table in the corner were a stack of letters, all opened and read through thousands of times. Slowly, Aliruko put down the rag and went over to the table, picking up the most recent letter. She reread it, taking her time with each word. She traced over the letters, knowing who had written them and it sent shivers down her spine. Finally she was doing something with her life. She knew exactly what to do and what it would gain.

Sure, sometimes it hurt a little, but when she thought about the bigger picture…about what she was doing for her country, then it was worth all the little bits of pain. And the reward in the end would be so great.

There was a knock on the door and Aliruko looked up, putting down the letter.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Char. Open up."

Aliruko opened the door quickly, standing aside so that Char could enter. He strode into the room, once again making his presence fill up the area.

"It's happening," he said bluntly, turning to look at Aliruko. "I just came from the palace. She's in labor,"

Aliruko gasped audibly and looked around frantically. "So soon?" she exclaimed, her heart racing. "So soon, so soon, so we have to act so soon?"

Char reached out, grabbing Aliruko's shoulder so hard that she winced slightly. "Calm down." he stated, glaring at her until she nodded at him. He released her slowly. "Stay focused. You know what to do."

Aliruko nodded again quickly. "Yes, yes I know."

Char stared at her and put a hand against her cheek. "Aliruko…you are doing this great nation honor…you truly are," She stared up at him in adoration and he smiled at her, taking a step back and motioning to the door. "After you?"

With a wide smile, Aliruko nodded, heading out the door.

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It took fourteen hours for the baby to be born. Fourteen hours of the most intense pain that Kaori had ever felt in her life. At one point, she swore that she was simply going to rip in two- there was no baby inside of her, it was a clawing monster that was trying to escape. She screamed and held onto a paler-than-usual Zuko's hand, leaving nail marks and bruises on it. Zuko looked uncharacteristically frantic the whole time- she was in so much pain and he didn't know what to do. The most he could do was wipe the sweat from her forehead and hold onto her hand. He felt so helpless but the doctor assured him that everything would be alright.

However, after fourteen hours, it was over. The doctor held up the little baby who was crying loudly and smiled, pronouncing the child a girl. It was in that moment that time stood still for both Zuko and Kaori- perhaps for the whole island. For Kaori, she stared at the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in the world. For Zuko, when that child finally paused and opened it's eyes to look at it's parents, he stared into the golden eyes he had seen in his dreams. Once the little girl looked up at her parents, she paused, her crying stopped.

"Hi there," Kaori whispered, and the baby made a squeaking sound. The doctor cleaned up the little girl then wrapped her up in a blanket, passing her over to Kaori's arms. Kaori brushed the girl's cheek gently, a smile on her lips. She looked up at Zuko, who was smiling down at the miracle in Kaori's arms.

"She's beautiful," Zuko said softly, kissing the top of Kaori's head.

"She's perfect," Kaori whispered, staring down at her baby girl.

Zuko looked at Kaori. "What are we going to call her?" he asked curiously. Names were something they had talked about briefly before, nothing in depth.

Kaori was silent for a moment, looking at the child thoughtfully. "O..at..ki," she said slowly, then smiled. "Otaki," She glanced up at Zuko for approval and he nodded, smiling back at her.

"I like it," he said.

Kaori cuddled the baby closer to her. She glanced up at Zuko. "Zuko…will you…will you go get Aliruko? I want her to meet her niece…I don't know why she's not here,"

Zuko hesitated. Something told him to stay near Kaori, to not be separated from her, but the look in her eyes made him relent. Aliruko was her best friend after all, this was something that Kaori would want to share with her.

"Alright," he said softly, kissing Kaori's forehead softly and then Otaki's, "I'll be back quickly,"

Kaori smiled at him, watching him leave, and held the baby closer to her.

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Zuko walked quickly through the palace, making his way towards the direction of the town. Aliruko…where would she be? The marketplace? Her home? The beach? He cursed the fact that the girl hadn't shown up; hadn't Char said he would go get her? Of course, he didn't trust a thing that man said, so he wasn't surprised that Aliruko hadn't shown up, he supposed.

Zuko walked for a little bit more, then paused at the top of a hill that overlooked the town. Where could she be? Where would he start? All he wanted right now was to get back to Kaori and Otaki, his daughter. He hadn't even had the chance to hold her yet.

He squinted his eyes, scanning through all the people he saw. There! His heart picked up for a moment and he ran through the village, heading towards where he had seen Aliruko.

"Aliruko!" he called out. "Aliruko wait!"

She paused ahead of him, blinking and turning around to stare at him. "Zuko? You look…..really tired,"

He took a deep breath. "Kaori wants you, she's had the baby,"

Aliruko looked visibly upset. "And no one came to get me! Zuko I'm offended!"

"I know," Zuko said quickly, "I'm sorry, but you can come see her now, she's waiting for you,"

Something flickered in Aliruko's eyes- a bit of hurt, and she glanced at the ground. "She…she is..?"

Zuko nodded, wishing that the girl would hurry up. "Yes, she wants you to meet your niece,"

Zuko watched in confusion as a tear ran down Aliruko's cheek and she shook her head. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I'm just…I'm so happy for her…" She looked up at Zuko. "I'll be there soon. I just want to go grab the gifts I made for her; they're at my house." She paused for a moment. "Will you come with me to get them? It will only take a moment,"

Zuko hesitated, glancing back towards the palace, and sighed. "Alright, but we have to hurry," he said finally and Aliruko nodded.

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Kaori glanced up, "Zuko?" she said, and then shook her head, seeing that it was not Zuko at the door, which made sense because he had only been gone for a minute so far. "Char," Kaori smiled, the baby in her arms. "I'm so glad you're here," She paused for a moment. "Where's Aliruko?"

Char shrugged, shrugging off a brown bag he had over his shoulders and placing it on the table next to the bed that Kaori laid in. "Probably off getting your gifts that she made for you," he chuckled, "So I came first to wish you congratulations,"

Kaori smiled and nodded. "Thank you…she's beautiful, isn't she?"

Char nodded, staring at the child. "Very. What's her name?"

"Otaki," Kaori replied, loving how the name felt on her lips.

Char moved closer to her, getting a better look at the child. "Kaori," he said slowly, holding out his hands. "May… May I?"

Kaori hesitated for a moment; this was her baby, she didn't quite want to share her with anyone, but this was Char and not letting him hold Otaki would be rude. Grudgingly, she held out Otaki. "For a moment," she said with a smile.

Char nodded, cradling the baby in his arms. "She's going to be very strong," he stated, staring down into the girl's gold eyes.

Kaori nodded, watching Char hold her child. Something felt off though, about the way he was staring at her child, but Kaori couldn't put her finger on it. She just wanted Otaki back in her arms.

"You know…" Kaori said slowly. "Zuko just went to get Aliruko…he's going to be back soon…I don't want to start anything, Char, so maybe you better wait a while and let him cool off-"

"Kaori," Char said, cutting her off. His eyes looked straight into hers, yet Kaori had never seen him look so serious. "You look so weak,"

"That's what giving birth can do to a person," Kaori managed to chuckle. She was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable. All she wanted was Otaki back. Right now.

"I bet you don't even have the strength to air bend right now…" Char muttered, looking at the baby again.

Ice went through Kaori's veins and she froze, staring at Char. "What…what did you just say?" she stammered. It wasn't possible- nobody knew.

Char moved Otaki so that he was holding her with one arm and he reached into the brown bag that he had brought. "You heard me."

"Char…" Kaori whispered, her body frozen with shock. Horror was spreading through her body slowly. "Give me my baby…"

Char sighed softly, looking tired and bored. "I'm afraid I just can't do that, Kaori," he said softly. Before Kaori could even speak a word, Char drew a rock from the bag and hit her across the head with it. Kaori folded over in bed, the world going black around her. Char sighed again, slipping the rock back in the brown bag. He lifted the bag, throwing it over his shoulder. Glancing down at the baby in his arms, he frowned. "You better be worth my trouble," he murmured to Otaki.

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"And this is the bonnet that I made, see it's hand stitched and everything, and I even put in little flying bisons because I know that Kaori really likes them-"

Zuko opened the door to where Kaori lay, only half listening to Aliruko go on and on about what she had made for Kaori. Aliruko stopped talking though when they opened the door and Kaori was bent over in bed, the baby no where in sight.

"Kaori!" Zuko shouted, running into the room and lifting Kaori up. There was a gash on the side of her head, a large knot forming. "Kaori can you hear me?" He tapped her cheek softly and her eyes fluttered open weakly.

"C-Char…" she whispered, lifting an arm to point towards the door. "B-Baby…"

Fury ran through Zuko as he laid Kaori down. "Take care of her," he ordered to Aliruko before running out the door. He had known all along that something had been off about that Char. If only he had gotten there sooner…then maybe he could have stopped Char…but Aliruko had taken so long…

Zuko ran fast, stopping only to ask if people had seen Char- most of them hadn't, but a few said they had seen a glimpse of him heading towards an area of the beach that no one went to anymore. Zuko ran faster than he ever had- that man, that liar, that monster had Kaori and his child, his little girl, the girl in his dream.

Zuko got to the beach and saw what made his blood boil, perhaps literally, he didn't know. Char was standing in a boat that wasn't to far off, he could swim to it if he tried. A man, he must have been scheduled to pick Char up, was rowing the boat.

"Char!" Zuko screamed, rage in his eyes, smoke coming from his hands. He immediately ran into the water, wading into it, preparing to dive down.

Char watched Zuko, a smirk coming over his lips. He glanced down at the child who slept in a basket in the boat and picked up the brown bag with the rock in it.

Zuko froze, watching Char pick up a bag and hold it over the side of the boat.

"If you dare come any closer, traitorous prince, then you will lose what is precious to you," Char shouted, loud enough for Zuko to hear him. "Do not follow us, my grip is already loose…you wouldn't want anything to happen, would you?"

Zuko froze, completely unsure of what to do. He could attack- but Otaki…he couldn't do anything that would harm her. And if he followed, or even tried to catch the boat, then Char would drop Otaki. There was no way that he could swim fast enough to get to Otaki before she drowned.

Feeling more helpless than he ever had in his life, Zuko watched the boat become smaller and smaller. He let out a roar, tears of anger falling from his cheeks. Flames flew everywhere, catching small plants near the edge of the ocean on fire.

It was just like the child in his dream had said. She had repeated that she was going to go away.

And now she had.

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The room was dark, with only three pieces of furniture in it. The first was a large chair, the second a small table, and the third was a candle set that sat upon the table. The walls were a dark red, making the room look as if it had been painted in dried blood.

Zhao sat in the chair, his eyes focusing on the door in front of him. When there was a knock, he smiled, motioning for a guard to open it.

"Welcome to my ship," Zhao said lazily, motioning for the figure to enter.

"Thank you, the trip was easy," the figure replied, smiling.

"I'm so glad…" Zhao muttered, then he leaned forward a little. "Well..?"

The figure stepped into the candle light, flipping a chunk of brown hair out of his eyes. The baby in his arms gurgled.

Zhao smirked widely. "You have done so well, Char…"

"I don't understand, sir, if you found their location…why not kill them right away…?" Char asked, frowning slightly. That was the logical thing to do, in his mind.

Zhao laughed, the sound confusing the baby. "That would be to simple. No…I want the prince to suffer. I want him to hurt. He betrayed our great nation…he cannot be punished so simply for that. He and his air bender will suffer. They will die eventually, all in due time."

Char nodded and held out the child to Zhao. Zhao took the child slowly, looking down at it.

"What will you call her?" Char asked.

"Felice," Zhao said simply. He ran his finger down the side of Otaki's face with a smile. The baby looked up at him in confusion, as if she recognized that this man was not one of her parents.

"This is just the beginning, little one," Zhao whispered, smirking widely. "I have great plans for you…"

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Pretty spiffy plan they had cooked up, eh? : ) So far, this is the LONGEST chapter lol.