"You wanted to see me, Father?" Azula asked, raising a highly manicured brow.
Ozai, standing on a balcony, was looking over the gardens. "Yes."
"What is it?" Azula uttered, her patience for her father's unnecessary suspence was wearing thin already.
Ozai turned to face his favorite child, "Your uncle is shaming our Nation, Azula. How do you feel about that?"
"Honestly," Azula declared, "I think that he's just being lazy. He obviously is too old to be running an army, and he's too weak to think about conquering the world. He's probably living it up in that savagely tribe, while we are dying of embarrassment."
"I feel the same way, Azula," Ozai said, stroking his beard. "Which is why I have a plan."
Azula's ears perked up, "Oh?"
"Yes," Ozai stated, "a plan in which we take down my disgraceful brother and that frozen wasteland in one blow. What do you think?"
"I think it sounds quite intriguing."
Zuko and Yue were absently roaming the palace corridors. He noticed how much simpler royalty lived here. Back home, one could not walk for two minutes with out crossing paths with a number of servants. Zuko had seen only one or two in the past hour.
Yue and Zuko had spent what seemed like an eternity together the night before, sitting beneath the stars and just holding each other, talking in hushed tones. Not even the cold could have sent them back into the palace, the two only parting ways once moon began to sink lower and lower into the horizon.
Zuko felt Yue's hand brush against his, their fingers touching ever so slightly. Her warm fingers loosely curled around his, and he looked down at their joined hands. She smiled casually up at him, tightening her grip.
"Zuko, when's your birthday?" Yue loved to ask Zuko questions. Any question. She found his so full of surprises and paradoxes.
"It's in late Autumn. Yours?" He replied, looking down at her.
"Actually, I'll be turning sixteen in about a week. My birthday is just after the summer solstice." Yue quipped, a giddy look crossing over her face.
The two ambled along in the white quiet of the palace, not talking, but enjoying eachother's company.
"What happened to your mother?" Zuko asked, out of the blue.
Yue blinked, "My mother? Why do you ask?"
"I-I just noticed that you seemed to be without one… like me." He stammered, regretting his decision of asking.
Yue sighed, with great sadness and love. "My mother was the most beautiful woman in our tribe. One day there was a … Fire Nation raid to round up waterbenders. We fought them off, but as their leader began more and more angry at our benders gaining the upperhand in battle, he stormed our palace and killed my mother. I was nine."
Zuko shook his head sympathetically, "I am so, so sorry Yue." He'd never felt ashamed of being a Fire Nation citizen, but now…
"I still remember the floor of her bedroom, covered in red," Yue continued, tears springing to her eyes. "I was the first one who found her. I was scared from all the fire and ran to go get her…There was nothing I could have done. Yugoda tried so hard to save her, we even used water from the Spirit Oasis, but she wouldn't open her eyes. Her wounds healed, but the damaged inside was terminal and I… I never really got to say goodbye."
Zuko felt the air leave his lungs. His people had never struck such a disgust within himself. He screwed his eyes shut momentarily, the sight of Yue so mournful was hard to bare. He reached out and tentatively wrapped his left arm around her, pulling her closer.
"What about you?" Yue asked, blinking back her tears. "What happened to your mother?"
The scarred prince swallowed, "I don't exactly like to talk about it… but…"
"It's okay," Yue offered, gazing up at him in his distraught state, "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."
The prince nodded in agreement, "I'll tell you about her soon, though. It's just not a topic that I like to run into."
The two rounded a corner, and Yue froze, squirming away from Zuko's heavenly warmth. She turned pale, averting her eyes from the sight. Zuko squinted at the tall, brown-skinned warrior, who seemed to resemble Azula in attitude and aura.
"That's Hahn," Yue hissed, watching him near them, his eyes locked on Yue's with a devilish glint. "The man I'm supposed to marry."
Zuko felt his protective nature step forward. He did the same, inching forward so that one shoulder was in front of Yue. Hahn had yet to notice Zuko's threating stance as he swished past Yue, his fingers briefly gliding over her waist and lower back as he continued on.
Yue let out a trembling breath, her eyes closing. She hated him. He had no respect for anyone but himself and her father. Zuko's contempt for the young warrior only rose as he noticed Yue's dampened spirit.
"Y-you don't have to get so aggressive, Zuko," Yue simpered, giving him a small, unsure smile, noticing his tensed physique.
"He can't treat you like that, Yue." Zuko growled, his eyes locked on Hahn's back. He took a lurching step forward.
Yue grabbed his wrist, "Zuko, no." The princess sighed, placing her hand on his cheek, turning his face towards her. "Don't."
The prince's crackling golden eyes met her soothing blue ones, and his anger subsided like the ocean's retreating tide. "If it happens again, you won't be able to stop me, Yue."
"You can't protect me from everything," She whispered, stepping closer to him.
Zuko leant down so that his lips were merely ghosting over hers, their eyes half-lidded and still locked. "I can try," he murmured back huskily.
Yue stood on her toes as he bent his head down, there lips meeting warmly in the middle. His arms wrapped around her and held her tightly and she snaked her hands around his neck. Zuko deepened the kiss, turning his head to the right, before pulling away, there faces still inseperably close.
"Yue," Zuko breathed, his hands clasping her waist, "I…"
"I love you too, Zuko." Yue whispered, fluttering her eyelashes on his neck as her pulled him into a warm hug. "You know what we should do tonight?" Her voice muffled by his body.
"What?" Zuko mumbled, gazing fondly down at her.
She pulled out of the hug, looking back up at him. "The Northern lights are always seen around this time of year… I know a place that's perfect to see them."
Zuko smiled lightly, "Ok,"
"I like your smile," She commented, pressing her fingertip to his lips.
"I like you," He said, laughing lightly.
"Meet me in front of my room after the sun goes down." She said, kissing his cheek, dangerously close to his scar, before bounding off the corridor. "Good bye!" She called over her shoulder.
A/N
So sorry I haven't been updating as frequently! School work is piling up at the end of the term! But I promise, chapter seven will be following this one this week! Most likely after wednesday! Much love and please review!
avatla