Hey guys! So this is Chapter 7. I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this.

Chapter 7

If I were to just stick my fingers in the flames how long would I be able to stand the pain. When would my body take over and pull them out against my will? Would it ever?

I slipped my long blade back out of my waistband and followed closely behind Zuko, letting his fire lead the way. He took slow, steady steps towards his room.

I leaned close to Zuko and whispered in his ear, "You said your guard was in front of the door, right?"

"Yeah," He breathed out, tilting his head towards me.

The guard was nowhere in sight, which most likely meant that he was in one of the guest rooms. Was he in one of the rooms voluntarily or not? If it was involuntarily then that meant the intruder would have had to drag him in there. It would have to be someone more skilled than one of the Fire Lord's personal guards.

Could we even take him on?

Zuko reached for the door handle and just as he did something caught the light from his flame. What was it?

"Wait." I gripped his shoulder.

He paused, waiting as I reached out to the door frame. There was something sticking out of it. Something thin like a needle. It was stuck it the wood. I gave a little pull and it came out. My breath caught and it felt like my throat was closing up. How…

A sliver of wood, slightly larger than a sewing needle. I could remember it clearly. The wood it was carved out of was a light tan. It was such a pretty color too, and I could remember how fresh it smelled as they cut it up. During that time it was almost enough to distract me from everything else. Then they would dip it into a green sap and ruin it completely. It would turn dark, hideous. And then they would…

I could hear something. It was so far away. Slowly everything came back into focus. Zuko, right behind me. The intruder. Zuko was speaking to me. His voice pulled me back from my memories.

"What?" I asked, swallowing out the huge lump in my throat.

"What is that?" He repeated.

"Arani. It's an…Aranian dart," I whispered.

The clicking sound was so faint I almost disregarded it. I would've too if I hadn't felt a slight breeze brush against me. My heart skipped a beat. All it took was that instant and I could hear my blood roaring, feel blood pulse at my temples.

"What do-"

I caught his right arm, the same one handling his fire, and yanked him hard, spinning him away so my back was facing the end of the hallway, covering him. His head still towered over me, impossibly tall.

"Let go," He hissed at me.

Something hot licked my fingers. His fire had grown, enough to burn me and himself. I snatched my hand back and gave him a shove against his chest, angling it just right so he slammed into my bedroom door.

A sharp pain shot through my shoulder making me cry out. Another one came at my arm. It wouldn't take long for the darts to start working.

Zuko's hand reached for the door's knob, engulfing it in flames for a second before being snuffed out. He gripped my arm and followed it through with a pull that sent me soaring into my room. We landed in a heap on the floor, somehow managing to slam the door shut in our struggle.

What was once just a small, almost forgettable pain was agonizing lying on my back. I detached myself from Zuko, forcefully enough to make him groan. Finding the dart stuck in my arm was easy enough, I just yanked it out and the pain was short lived, but the one on my shoulder was much deeper. I could already feel it working, numbing everything surrounding the entry. That one I found by touch alone.

"Were you hit?" I grabbed the now standing Zuko by his shoulders, digging my nails in.

"What was that?" His hands reached up, encircling my wrists, "Hit by what? I didn't see anything."

"So you weren't hit, I'm taking it." I pulled away from him and held up the darts in front of me, angling my head down as he lit a fire and took a look at what I had.

He picked them from my hands. "Darts…There's blood on them. Yours. You were hit? Tell me now, what do they do?" His eyes sought mine hidden behind the hood.

I stepped back. "Paralysis, numbness, unconsciousness, sometimes death." I could already feel the numbness spreading across my shoulder and down my arm.

"And? What does that mean? You were hit, how long do you have?" He asked as his flames went out, sending us back into darkness, filling me with unease.

"I'm going to be fine. The Aranians have an incredible poison. It's very effective and very fast. However it has one fault," I came closer to him again, placing my hand on his shoulder, "It can be unreliable in certain cases. There's only so much you can take until you essentially become immune to it."

"You'll be fine?"

"Yes, I will be fine except for some minor symptoms," I said, pulling my hand away from his shoulder, "It's you I'm worried about. Did you even feel that?"

"Feel wh-" His legs buckled and he fell against me.

I cradled him, tilting his head up so he could see the third needle in my hand that I had plucked from his shoulder.

"See, it's very effective."