Playing With Fire
Chapter 3 - The Visitors
"What're you doing," the young man asked. Amira sighed; oh, it was Lee, she told herself.
"What are you doing," she asked. Zuko raised one eyebrow.
"It is my uncle's teashop," he reminded her. Amira rolled her eyes.
"That doesn't give you permission to stalk me," she replied. Zuko's eyes glared at her.
"Stalk? I didn't see you on the floor, and I," his voice had broken the loudness it once had, and he continued softly, " … Uncle wanted me to check if you were doing something stupid," he replied. Amira folded her arms and looked out the window. Something about her stance, the way she spoke to him or just the way she argued back sent chills down Zuko's spine. He hadn't known why. Not yet, anyways. He'd never experienced anything of this sort before. He'd only just met this girl, he couldn't have liked her - could he? No, definitely not; however, there was something about her, something he'd felt was exceptionally unordinary. He felt as if he knew this girl, as if she knew him too. He hadn't realized a great amount of time had passed with him just staring at this girl. All his thoughts had seemed to swirl around his head, and then finally, he opened his mouth to ask her something he never thought he would, "Are-". Suddenly, several urgent knocks resounded at the door. Amira and Zuko looked at each other and then at the door. Who could arrive at the teashop's doorstep this late at night? Amira's heart pounded against her chest as she watched Zuko make his way toward the door. She'd tried to return back to the room, however, her feet had felt as if they were glued to the floor. Just as Zuko had laid his hand on the doorknob, a figure from the back room emerged. Iroh stood there, his hair no longer tied back into a half-pony tail.
"Nephew, why don't you take Amira back to the room. I'll get the door," Iroh said politely, making his way to the door that Zuko stood at completely confused.
"But I'm right here," Zuko replied. Iroh merely closed his eyes and took a step forward to Zuko. "Hide her, and keep her safe," he whispered and gave Zuko a nod toward the back room. Zuko sighed figuring it impossible to argue and or question a 'cryptic old man' anyway. "Amira," Zuko spoke to her. She'd finally snapped back into reality. Her mind had been swimming in thoughts of the three men that had surrounded her previously. What if they'd returned? She would have jeopardized these innocent refugees who've been nothing but kind to her. Zuko motioned her to follow him, and she complied immediately. Giving another glance at Iroh, she noticed him waiting until both Amira and Zuko had retreated to the back room before opening the door. Zuko led Amira quickly into the storage room, which was large enough to fit two people. Amira looked at him curiously.
"What's going on," she asked, unwilling to believe her fear had come true, but if it had … had Zuko or Iroh known about the three men, her past and who she was? Impossible. They couldn't have, she thought to herself. Zuko opened a small, but wide closet-like cabinet near the back of the storage room that was almost undiscoverable.
"Get in there," he instructed. Amira raised one eyebrow. "Just do it," he continued. He hadn't known why he was so forceful at this point, but the way his uncle had told him to hide her made him feel as if this girl was in danger, and something in him didn't want her to get hurt.
With a sigh, Amira complied and squeezed herself into the cabinet. There had still been space enough for one person, and Zuko had squeezed himself in too. They both sat with their knees bent and touching each other, and their backs against either sides of the cabinet. Amira hugged her knees close to her, breathing in and out heavily, worried at who may have been at the door. Zuko watched the worry on her face continue with the silence protruding the air. "Cold," he whispered finally breaking the silence. Amira jumped and looked at Zuko. She hadn't realized her lip was quivering from the cold. She simply shrugged and hugged her knees closer to her. Zuko looked at his own knees. Suddenly, both could hear the door to the back room burst open.
"We know you're hiding her," a man's voice savagely said. Amira's eyes enlarged and her heart had begun to beat faster. Zuko looked at her and then at the door to the cabinet.
"Hiding who," Iroh asked dumbly. She could hear the man give a growl of frustration and slam down something that seemed to shatter - a teapot, maybe.
"For the 70th time, AMIRA - THE - GIRL - THE - RUNAWAY," he said slowly and loudly. Before Iroh could answer, another man had seemed to step in.
A calmer voice that Amira had also recognized said, "Come on, Long, obviously the old man can't remember a girl being here. There's no need to question the poor being any further." A pause came, and Amira along with every other member except the previous speaker was confused. "Search the rooms," he ordered. Amira had withheld her breath; she opened her mouth in a panic state, but a hand covered it. He held his finger to his lips as his amber eyes stared meaningfully into hers. Amira nodded. Zuko listened keenly to the men's activities. They'd rummaged through his bedroom, through Uncle's bedroom, and there had been only one room left … the storage room. Apparently Amira had realized this as well, as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and shut her eyes closed. Zuko could hear the men's footsteps linger around in the storage room a bit.
"There's nothing here," the savage voice of Long called back. Amira exhaled as she heard the man's feet walk back toward the door.
"Hold on. What's that," the calmer one said. Amira's hands clenched themselves into fists as she nervously hoped he wasn't referring to the cabinet.
"Gentlemen," Iroh had finally spoken, "why don't I prepare you, both, a cup of tea to take home. Come now."
"Silence," the once calm voice cried out, and something had tumbled backward. Zuko's eyes widened as he started for the handle. Amira had been too frightened to move. What if they'd found her? They'd take her back to the place she felt more like a prisoner in than a princess. Zuko stopped himself from the doorknob, remembering Uncle's words. He looked toward Amira who seemed to be much too terrified to do much else other than sit and listen to the chaos outside. Zuko sat himself back against the cabinet and waited, listening intently. The footsteps had grown nearer. Amira shut her eyes tighter almost as if the tighter she shut them, the more this horribleness would go away. Two hands placed themselves on her arms. Amira opened her eyes only to stare into amber ones once more. "Look. They're obviously going to find us here," he whispered quietly, "so in order to get out of this, you need to follow what I say, understand?" Amira turned her head. Hadn't she run away from being told what to do? Still, this was survival. She looked back to him and gave a slight nod. Zuko removed his hands from her and listened closely once more to the movement outside. The footsteps had finally come to a stop in front of the cabinet. After two minutes of surveying the cabinet, Long had finally reached for one of the handles. As he had done so, however, Zuko kicked it opened, sending a stunned Long tumbling back. Seizing Amira's arm, Zuko raced out of the storage room. With several quick glances thrown around the room, he hadn't seen his uncle or the man accompanying Long.
Suddenly, something stirred behind them. Amira let out a slight shriek as an infuriated Long charged at both of them swinging his sword in all directions. "Move, move, move," Zuko shouted as he tugged Amira behind him. Amira sprinted as fast as she could behind Zuko. Then, suddenly, she'd tripped on one of the broken shards of the teapot that had been shattered on the floor. Down to the floor she fell, her feet splintered with small shards of the teapot and her chin roughed by the wooden floor. A hand suddenly seized her from behind. Amira fussed and shrieked, trying to wriggle herself out of the man's grip. "Now, now, Princess Amira, don't fight your birthright," Long snickered. Amira continued to fuss, trying every possible way to set herself free from Long's grasp. Zuko turned back immediately realizing Long had been snickering. His amber eyes widened then glared at the man with the victorious smile plastered on his face. Zuko charged at him, acting solely on impulse. Suddenly, Long's smile turned into a menacing smirk as he drew his sword placing the blade against Amira's neck. Zuko stopped dead in his tracks as he watched the man snicker at Amira's quivering. "Not a step closer, commoner," Long stated savagely toward Zuko. Zuko clenched his hands tightly and glared even harder at Long. "Now step out of the way," Long instructed. Zuko stood his ground, his feet shoulder-width apart and his breathing heavy. Long waited several seconds taking in Zuko's stance, then snickering and laughing at the thought that a mere commoner could think he could take on a fully trained water tribe soldier. This boy was no match for him. "Boy, I could take you down with one hand tied behind my back. Now step out of the way," he commanded a bit more forceful than previously.
"Or what," Zuko muttered. The man erupted with laughter.
"Why, I kill you, of course. Then, I kill Miss Runaway over here if she refuses to cooperate," he stated before erupting into laughter once more. Zuko finally realized the only way out of this.
"Amira, close your eyes," Zuko stated.
"Yes, Amira, you surely wouldn't want to see the bloody mess your boyfriend will turn into after I'm done with him," Long sneered. Zuko looked at Amira whose cheeks had been tear-stained from the fright.
"Do it," Zuko instructed. Amira did as she was told. Please don't die, she thought to herself. Several seconds had passed by in complete silence. Amira wondered whether Long was just that quick at finishing Zuko off that he hadn't had time to give a cry of pain. Then suddenly, a warm swoosh skidded past her, and in a second's time, Long had let out a terrible yelping sound. Suddenly, a hand from in front of her seized her wrist and pulled her forward, away from the chaos. Amira finally opened her eyes as she had been much too frightened by the ear-piercing yelp to do much else other than cringe. She quickly followed Zuko as they stole away from the teashop and rounded a corner into a dark, narrow alleyway. Just as Amira had attempted to run towards the other end of it, Zuko pulled her hand, sticking her against the wall. "Shh," he whispered as he too stuck himself against the wall. The darkness seemed to have concealed both of them. Two men scrambled from the teashop. One, Long, looked as if his face had been slashed or burned severely on one side. Both men had been bickering incessantly about the inability to capture the girl, the boy or the old man.
Apparently Iroh had been too much for both to withstand. Both men continued on bickering and squabbling amongst each other so intensely that they had walked right past the alleyway. Both Zuko's and Amira's chests heaved in nervousness as they watched the men move past the alleyway. Amira watched as Zuko edged himself toward the end and peered out inconspicuously. "Gone," he whispered back. Amira let out a sigh, and a feeling of shame washed over her almost immediately. Zuko looked at her curiously. "Did you hear what I said," he asked in reference to the sadness etched on her face. Amira merely looked up at him and then at the ground, sinking to it and hugging her knees. Zuko's brow furrowed. Hadn't her greatest threat been thwarted just now? What more was there to be sad about? Zuko simply watched the girl he'd protected hug her knees into her chest as several tears had begun to run down her face. He couldn't understand why she was crying, but it made him want to ask. Stepping forward, he cleared his throat and sat himself down beside her staring at the wall opposite them. "Um," he began, trying to figure out a way to ask all his questions. A short pause followed his beginning, but he continued in a whisper, "what's wrong?"
Amira wiped her tears off her cheeks and stared at the wall in front of them as well. "You probably think I'm some sort of freak, running away from home - from the life of a princess, who'd want to run away from that, right," she asked sarcastically. She sighed. "Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Rules, isolation, no one should live like that," she added. "And then there were my parents …"she stopped as she wiped more tears off her cheeks.
"Yeah, I know," Zuko stated, his groggy voice not changing it's indifferent tone. Amira looked at Zuko, and Zuko, in turn, looked over at her.
"I don't want to go back," she whispered. Zuko hadn't known what washed over him then at that moment, but in a matter of seconds, Amira's hand had rested in his own, and strangely, he didn't push it away. It was nice having someone he could relate to a bit. He almost didn't feel as if he were alone.
"You won't have to," he whispered back to her. A small smile twitched on Amira's face as she looked into his amber eyes once more. There was something about this moment that made Amira feel almost normal. Although, as quickly as these feelings had come in, they were followed by a shadow of doubt and realization that all this might not last forever; however, for right now, she would dwell in the presence of another outcast, inviting, for the first time, a feeling of inclusiveness in.