To the anonymous reviewer: Actually, the Fire Nation is based off of the Japanese culture; the Earth Kingdom is based off of the Chinese culture. The physical geography is one thing; the Fire Nation is an archipelago, as is Japan. The Earth Kingdom is the largest country out of the 4 nations, and China is the largest in the world (Russia was part of theUSSR, which was broken up after the Cold War). The sport of dueling (Agni Kai in the Fire Nation) started in Japan when the trained warriors to engage in hand-in-hand combat with others with martial arts; sometimes fighting to the death (most likely what people of the Fire Nation would do). Though the topknot (the hairstyle Zuko wore) was a Chinese style, the knot was a symbol of military ranks, mostly commonly of a General, making the Chinese reference with Fire Nation hairstyle incorrect. However, the majority of Fire Nation men wore their hair in the strange buns on the top of their heads. All throughout history in Japan, the hairstyle was a symbol of royalty and of privileged and rich men. Remember Madame Wu, the fortune teller? Well, in ancient Chinese tradition, a fortuneteller was a woman most of the time and the bone in the fire? That is also a Chinese way of Fortunetelling widely used in every Dynasty of China and, though rarely, is slightly practiced today in the remote regions of China; mostly for matchmaking and setting wedding dates, predict the future, etc.

And Xei-Xei (Chinese for Thank You) compared to Arigato, I chose Arigato because if was a bit smoother and naturally easy to pronounce. So that's why I picked Japanese words.


Tradition

Year of the Arctic Wolf-Year of the Tiger


I was startled from my sleep with loud cheers.

Blinking multiple times to adjust my vision to the darkness, I searched for the break in my bed curtains and, finding the end of one fabric piece, pulled it sideways and was hit by a blinding ray of sunlight.

Obviously, Ane had forgotten to close the drapes again last night.

Shielding the brightness with a hand, I stood up and yawned; tired from when Iroh kept me up fairly late last night with wine, sweets and drunken talk that I can barely remember.

Tiredly, I made my way into a vanity desk and mirror. Brushing my hair hastily with my fingers and, after finding a servant to fetch a basin of water for me, washing my face, I began to look for something to wear. Instead of something grand, I chose a simple floor length yukata of bright red with draping sleeves and a dark velvet hem and tied a darker shaded sash around my waist and swept my hair up in a hasty ponytail. My feet found their way into cloth slippers as I exited my chamber, always closing the door behind me, and made my way to the main stairs.

Yawning again, I leaned on the railway and observed the grand room filled with a huge crowd. In the midst of the crowd, I saw Iroh, Ozai, Sozun, Azulon and his wife Ilsa, and most of the noblepersons and servants I've seen in the palace, all were surrounding a man who was at least thirty years younger than Sozun and with a woman much younger than he beside him.

Maybe Sovereign Kuzon was more popular than I had first guessed. As I thought on that topic, Iroh waved his hand to beckon me down the stairs.

"Come." He said simply and I, startled, nodded quickly and began to leap down the stairs as fast as I could.

It was then I realized that I had forgotten a brassiere and felt my face redden at the new discovery.

Managing to push aside the large crowd, I spotted Iroh and quickly made my way to his side; noting my newly mussed appearance.

"And this is the now retired Commander I told you about, Uncle Kuzon; Yukihiya." Iroh introduced; brushing a few hairs from my face and resting his hand on my arm.

As respect taught me, I craned my neck up to see him; he was fairly tall, even for standard height in the Fire Nation. His eyes were of a deep shade of amber and staring down at me and I felt another chill cascade through my body.

"It is an honor to meet you." I said, accidentally stumbling as I curtseyed.

Suddenly, it was as if everything around me disappeared save for Kuzon; it was like there was only the 2 of us in the room and suddenly quiet. I pulled my body up, but kept my head down and suddenly felt nervous.

"Let me see those eyes." A deep voice suddenly rang out.

Blinking rapidly, I felt my back straighten, but I could not bring my head to tilt upward. 2 large, rough and callused fingers grasped each side of my jaw bone and lifted my face to meet Kuzon's. For a moment, he only flitted his eyes across my face, then he suddenly released me.

"What nation did you say she was originally from, Iroh?" he asked.

"The same nation she led the assault on; the Northern Water Tribe." Iroh said with a steady voice.

"Tell me, child—" I gritted my teeth at that manner of address. "What do you think of your old home?"

I bit my tongue; not trusting myself to answer. I felt a nudge at my side and, taking a deep breath, began to speak.

"They are not the docile and calming presence others claim that they are. They judge people by what they possess, such as their bending abilities, and always state that women are undeniably inferior to the men and they never respect anyone else for who they are. They will always push anyone they assume are 'bad' in their social laws away and shun them. They are—." My fists shook and suddenly, I felt my voice break in my throat. I needed to calm down. As I took silent yet deep breaths, I became aware of the dead silence around me. The woman beside him butted in and broke the silent spell cast through the air.

"Now, Kuzon, you must be tired after that long voyage back. Why don't you rest and we can meet this girl at dinner? Let us go up now." She suggested in a simpering tone that, along with reminding me distinctively of Naiya, gave me the strongest desire to puke on the spot.

Kuzon immediately turned to her, his eyes narrowed and his face contorted in a disgusted expression.

"Do you think that just because you have a rank, that gives you the right to order anyone you want around? Just because I have chosen you to occupy the job of giving me a child, you think you are untouchable? I might add, after 9 years, you have given me nothing; I have wasted my resources on you, haven't I? You don't think that I can just relieve you of your title within a moment and take another woman? You think I am nothing but a cat's paw, is that it?" he demanded; his tone ascending with every syllable that came from his lips.

The woman was obviously afraid and now felt meek, her posture faltered and she was almost cowering away from him if not for the fact that she might fall over from all of those accessories in her hair; the weight must've been heavy.

"Great-Uncle Kuzon, I'm sure that she doesn't want to control you. We guests of the dinner should rest a bit before presenting ourselves." Iroh interrupted.

Kuzon stared at his grandnephew for a moment, then beckoned him to speak alone with each other, which Iroh complied to. As he left with Kuzon, I saw that the woman stayed behind and I sized her up.

She was fairly beautiful, not to mention a little of a younger proportion for Kuzon, with dark hair and bright copper-colored eyes contrasting with her near-albino pale skin and thin face. She wore multiple layers of kimono and dress, I counted the number to be about 7, heavily embroidered and stitched, her face being slathered with makeup that hid her skin, and her hair, as I said, was heavy with ornaments and jewels.

She must've been something to Kuzon, maybe a favored concubine, since I've never seen a woman work solely as much as to earn the gold needed to buy a single kimono, much less five or six, but there was the way Kuzon treated her; it did not make sense.

"You should stop acting so clingy."

She turned to me, as if insulted by my words.

"He is not yours." She retorted to me in a coarse and rough tone. I said nothing, watching as she held her nose up in the air and walked up the steps; nearly running to catch up with Kuzon and the rest.

"You'll also have to excuse her as well." Iroh said as he came down the stairs.

The two of us were the only people left in the grand entrance hallway and I stared after her.

"Who is she?" I asked him.

"That is my, well, you can call her, Great-aunt; Nanue." He said.

"Nanue. What is she to Kuzon?" I asked.

If Nanue has been acting like the way she was for a long time, wouldn't Kuzon, like he threatened, just relinquish her of her title and strip her of everything?

"She is, well, was his consort; he has long since tired of her and she has not given him any child since the nine years she was with him." Iroh replied.

"Are you sure it isn't his age?" I asked curiously. It was a common known fact that men are less able to engage in sexual activities, much less of a chance produce children, when they're as old as Kuzon, right?

He tried to, but failed miserably to stifle a laugh.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Why don't you go get ready for dinner? I'll come by your rooms later and escort you in." he suggested with a broad smile on his face and he hastily ran up the stairs.

"What?" I shouted after him.

Pushing the topic out of my mind and returning to my chambers, I found clothes on my bed; not doubt for the dinner tonight.

A full length black Kimono with draping sleeves was the first thing that caught my eye; it had designs of wildflowers, and birds in shiny colored threads abstractly sewn across the entire fabric along with jewels sewn into design as well and, most likely, the jewels from my personal collection, since I recall that some were missing after I count them.

The under-dress was pure white; the long fabric encasing the arms, partially severed at the shoulder, were fairly long and I was sure that they would touch the floor if I ever wore them. A pair of black velvet slippers completed the clothes laid out and, after checking to see if they could fit me, I called for Ane to help me dress.

She helped me comb my side hair back and sweep it into a bun and secure it with a copper pin, leaving the excess to hang down, and brushed the tangles out of my newly colored blue-tipped hair. As I was trying to blink the kohl out of my eye, planted there due to an slip of my hand, there was a knock at the door.

I nodded for Ane to go and answer it. Out of the reflection of my vanity mirror, I saw Ozai.

Startled, I tensed and turned around to face him.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. He extended his hand to me.

"I came to escort you to the dinner." He said in a calm voice.

Iroh had told me he was the one who would escort me, not Ozai. I nodded, turning my head back to the mirror to adjust my copper pin; I was testing on how fast I could reach it. Not fast enough, I decided, and the copper pin wasn't even sharp enough to pierce flesh.

Discreetly opening a small drawer on the left side of the vanity table, I found a small pin and took it. Placing my hands together so the sleeves of my kimono would shield both my hands and the dagger from view, I walked over to him and nodded.

What length were 3 hallways and a stairwell seemed like eternities of fear and tension and I felt the edges of the dagger cover embed its design into my hands. The open door with guests was a relief to me and, after bowing and making the proper reverences, I took an empty seat between Kuzon and Iroh; placing the dagger within an inward fold of my red kimono sleeve.

Mostly, the dinner started off without a hitch but every so often, I would catch Ozai staring at me. What went through his head when he stared at me, I wondered. Did he want to harm me for slapping him? But that was self defense; even so...

"Yukihiya!" a voice called out.

In a start, I abruptly raised my right arm and found it being contacted by something solid and fairly hot. Quickly turning, I saw that I had spilt a large amount of fish stew on Kuzon.

"I'm sorry!" I immediately exclaimed; taking my napkin and caught some fish chunks that were falling from the fabric.

Nanue seemed to suddenly flare up.

"How could you?" she demanded of me in a loud and insulted tone, as if I had splattered her with fish and not Kuzon.

"Nanue, she did not do it on purpose; it was an accident." Iroh stated.

Suddenly, Nanue turned her attention to Kuzon and grabbed her own napkin.

"Let me help you." She said and leaned in to wipe the juice and fish but Kuzon caught her wrist and took the handkerchief away.

"I am not a child." He said coldly. "Of course you're not, my Sovereign." Nanue said quickly.

"We only hope that you yourself is not hurt, Sovereign Kuzon." I quickly interjected.

Kuzon nodded once in my direction to indicate that he was fine. Nanue sat down again, remaining silent as Kuzon disappeared into another room and came out with a change of robes. Dinner proceeded on as normal as the courses of meats and prawns were served.

As dessert was nearing, Nanue spoke up.

"Yukihiya." She said gently.

I placed my fork down and turned to her.

"Yes, Sovereign Nanue?" I respectively asked.

"You should know the customs of the Fire Nation well enough, don't you?" She asked me.

I nodded, but it was only half true. I knew most of the traditions and customs of the Fire Nation, but not every one of them.

"Well, I ask if you still have a maidenhead." She said to me.

I nearly choked when she asked that question. I wasn't...promiscuous...

"Good. I'll arrange an account for you in the morning." She told me softly. I stared at her; what was she talking about?

"Yukihiya and I need to discuss something; excuse us." Nanue said coolly to her 'husband' and taking my wrist, she pulled me from the room.

Nanue and I were barely a few years apart, five to eight at most, and I guessed that Sovereign Kuzon was a man who enjoyed the presence of younger, but not too young, women for company and light entertainment and Nanue had gotten him to marry her nine years ago and then the troubles started.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"A Mizuage." She replied to me.

I'd heard of a Mizuage, but…

"Sovereign Nanue, I don't mean to sound rude but why are you suddenly talking about a Mizuage for me?" I asked.

She smiled. "It isn't I who is talking about it. You would fetch a good price for your Mizuage for sure." Nanue told me.

An instant remembrance of what Ozai did to me in the hallway barely a few days ago suddenly flashed into my mind and I wondered…no. That could not be it; that would not be the reason Ozai suddenly attacked me in the hallway.

"Are you saying—?" I began.

"It isn't selling yourself, just a rite of passage, think of it as." Nanue told me in what seemed to be an attempt at a cheerful tone.

"I know of that, but…"

"Remember the other part of the tradition; he will have to keep you." Nanue said.

Faintly, I wondered if that was how Nanue got there, maybe Kuzon had been the highest bidder.

"What about the hole in that tradition law?" I asked.

The hole was that the man would keep the woman, but there was no time setting on how long; so a man can buy a girl's Mizuage and then after he's finished the deed, just leave.

Nanue winced; I could see that the hole had caused her to have fear of the future.

"I know not." Nanue finally sighed.

She gave me a small red box which I recognized as a Bao Bei.

Opening it, I discovered that a small, a delicacy, candy had been placed in there atop of a silk handkerchief with the characters of my name sewn onto it with black thread.

"Give this to the person you would like most to accept your, invitation let's say." Nanue told me.

I thought about it; did I even want this?

"Might I suggest Iroh?" Nanue said suddenly.

"Uh..." I was never comfortable on the subject of womanly subjects when around him; and we were just good friends.

"Maybe." I said finally and hoped to leave it at that. Pocketing the red box, Nanue and I went back into the room only to find everyone near silent.

"Good evening again, ladies. Did you have a nice chat?" Iroh asked and everyone seemed to turn to us. I nodded and took up the seat between him and Kuzon.

Nanue took her place at Kuzon's right and smiled discreetly at me.

The meal continued on and all the while, my hand was still deeply in my pocket; shaking as I gripped the box and glanced to Iroh and our gazes met when both of us reached for a final cherry dumpling and our hands touched. I felt heat come to my cheeks and Nanue's remark came back to me.

"You may have it." I said politely and drew my hand away and quickly passed the box from my right hand to my left and hid it again.

As dinner ended, I was relieved to get up and leave the room.

What I didn't know at the time was that the red box fell out of my pocket and it landed in the hallway right outside of the doors.

"Did you give it to him?" Nanue whispered after we went our separate ways from the others.

"I'm sorry; I just don't want to go through this." I said.

Nanue sighed.

"It's been a long night. Just rest and give me your box." She said as we walked down the hall. I reached into my pocket to feel only silk.

"It's gone." I exclaimed; digging into both of my pockets but finding nothing.

I looked up and saw that Nanue was also gone.


The door to my chamber opened and I, a bit dozed from sleep, looked to see a shadow.

Rising up, I was about to reach for a knife I kept between my mattresses when the torches of my chamber suddenly flared on. I saw Iroh's face and relaxed. He came over to me and sat down on the edge of my bed, at my feet, and smiled at me.

"What?" I asked to his curled lips. He said nothing; doing nothing but stare at me.

"What?" I repeated in a more demanding tone.

"My great-aunt talked to you about a Mizuage, didn't she?" he asked knowingly.

"None of your business." I said quickly; trying to hide the blush that had come across my face.

"It might be." He replied smoothly. Did this have anything to do with my lost Bao Bei?

"Might? And why is that?" I asked him curiously.

"I must say, you do have a truly unique way to approach things Yukihiya." He told me with a laugh.

"And you mean?" I asked, my head was spinning, or at least feeling too light for comfort, and my sleepiness wasn't benefiting right now either.

"I was walking out after you to see if you were alright, your behavior was somewhat odd after you and Nanue talked out in the hallway, and I know not if I was supposed to, but I found this and you cannot call this meddling if I found it there?" He pondered and his closed hand opened to reveal my Bao Bei.

"Oh." I gasped, startled that someone had found it.

"Did you want to give it to a certain someone?" he asked me.

I nodded; thinking of Nanue's words. When I looked up, he was still staring at me; my Bao Bei in hand.

"You." I blurted out while my mind was lost in confusion.

He looked moderately surprised for a moment, but it seemed to pass.

"Why me?" he asked.

"You're...you." A pathetic answer, but one nonetheless.

"And because I am your preference over those other men; am I right?" he asked knowingly.

Damn him.

I exhaled a deep breath, nodding to silently state that he was right, when a sudden thought occurred to me.

"Will you?" I asked.

"Will I what?" he asked innocently.

"Bid for my…virginity." I mumbled the last word out of embarrassment.

He seemed to be thinking it over; the silence uninterrupted save for the rapid beating of my embarassment thrumming in my head.

"I'll do what I can." He said finally.

A bubble of relief burst in my chest and, without thinking, bound from under my sheets and held him within a thankful embrace.

"Thank you." I whispered, nearly crying of relief that maybe I would not have to couple with some old man or an abusive one.

"You really are scared, aren't you?" his voice drifted over to me.

Silence.

"You should leave now."

The sheets of my bed rustled, signaling that he was moving, and I heard his footsteps echo through my chamber and the hallway. Laying back and pulling the sheets over me, I tried to calm my nerves and dozed off to sleep.


Something was hitting me; hard.

At first, I thought I was Naiya, being half asleep and in pain, from my dream.

"Stop, Naiya!" I yelled out.

"Who?" A voice demanded.

Opening my eyes, I saw that it was Nanue.

"No one." I quickly answered and rose from my bed.

"There's already multiple bids for you." She said simply and then left.

I stared after her; it was not even sunrise and she just came to tell me that some people were already bidding on me?

Grabbing a pillow in sleep-deprived anger, I slammed my head back down on my mattress and held the pillow over my head; staying in that position until sunrise.


"So you're actually trusting her?" Iroh asked me curiously.

I stared at him from the rim of my teacup and set it down. It was just a few hours before sunset, before the deadline of the bidding, and Iroh and I were sitting idly within the gardens, drinking tea (I found an immense liking in sampling different teas) and talking.

An entire week had gone by, and I had tried to ask Nanue of any news, but she just brushed me off and hurried me away as if I were a child.

"Of course not; I still don't trust her, but I'm not allowed to manage my Mizuage account myself and neither are you nor any other male; tradition says it must be run by an older woman who is of an acquaintance of the girl and also of a higher standing, so it rules out Ane." I replied and began to pour myself another cup of oolong tea.

"True, but I don't exactly approve of Nanue running your entire Mizuage account what with the whole jealousy issue." He added.

"Jealousy issue?" I asked him.

"She thinks Kuzon likes you. And have you ever wondered why Kuzon doesn't just take on a mistress or concubine?" he asked me.

The thought did come to me a few times, but I never thought deeply about it.

"Why?" I asked.

"Nanue. She gets these crazy jealousy fits and starts crazy rumors, fights verbally, even physically; there's a case when she grabbed a knife from a plate setting and attempted to stab a woman who was seen walking with Kuzon." He told me.

I gasped at the frightful tale.

"The poor girl." I said, trying to mask my fear that Nanue would do the same to me.

"And a majority of girls who go through the Xei Heu Trang tradition usually end up unhappy because the person running it usually rigged the numbers to gain something for herself from the consumer." Iroh pointed out.

I sighed, regretting that I'd agreed to even go along with this tradition. Iroh noticed my thoughts, leaning forth and, taking my hands from my lap, sighed and tried to smile at me.

"I'll try my best to help you." He said softly to me.

I nodded.

"And if that man, if not you, just tosses me aside, can I come to you?" I asked with a small smile.

"We'll see." He replied to the question and sat down again in his stool.

"What do you think of Ozai?" he suddenly asked me.

I stared at him, wondering why he asked such a question.

"What do you mean? I hate him." I replied stiffly.

"And yet?" he asked.

'And yet…I sometimes fear him.'

"You cannot fear him that much." He asked me and I started; how did he know?

I hated to admit it, but I did fear him; he always stared at me, he sometimes followed me, there were times at night when I woke up to strange sounds and saw a running shadow just disappear when I stood up to investigate.

There were times that when I returned to my chambers, I found that certain things were moved or rearranged and there were times when I found doors to adjourning rooms in my chamber open and recently noticed some things to be missing.

It was all creepy and sometimes, I would find clues to who was breaking into my room. A strand of black hair coated with fine oil and had a distinct smell to it, a small thread pulled from fabric caught onto a jagged edge or a closed door, a footprint indent on the carpet, it was beginning to scare me; every piece of the mystery person I found seemed to point that the person trespassing into my chambers was someone within the Royal Family who does not have graying hair and the hair is too long to be Iroh's.

I'd told Ane about it, but all she said was that she would thoroughly lock my suite every time we're both out and at nights before she went off to bed.

He nodded, and we sat there for what seemed to be moments when he abruptly stood up.

"I should get going." He said, hastily leaning over and giving me a small kiss on the cheek before darting away; leaving me on the garden bench with the teacups and teapot. Picking up the copper pot and cups, I walked back to the palace only to find a servant running around to find me.

"You must be present when Nanue announces who the highest bidder is!" the servant just said to me and, grabbing my arm, pulled me and forced me to drop the cups and pot with a loud crash, but no one seemed to notice; I guess noise like that were common within the palace.

Before I knew it, I was on the high table of the banquet hall and Nanue had a piece of paper in her hand.

"Yukihiya, you're here." She said with a smile and turned back to Kuzon a bit to speak with him before she leaned toward me and whispered the winner's name.

"It's Ozai." She said to me.

Immediately, out of impulse, I jumped up and knocked over a servant or two.

"WHAT?" The voice that came from my mouth was unfamiliar; even to myself. The entire rooms' occupants turned to stare at me.

"Yukihiya, it is true." Nanue insisted, trying to calm me down.

"No!" I shrieked and backed away from her.

Desperately, I turned to find a familiar face that could help me.

"Iroh, please tell me there's an alternate way." I pleaded to him; feeling tears of dread coming to my eyes.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Yukihiya; there is nothing I can do to defy tradition." Every word he spoke was like falling ice; cold and descending.

"Come now, don't make this any more difficult than it has to be." Ozai's voice rang out to me.

I turned to him and held back the urge to spit in his face; slapping away his hand when he tried to grab my arm.

"I would prefer death!" I spat at him; slapping my hand across his face, a small arc of fire appearing at the path of my fingertips, and he reeled back and cried out; as if in an immense pain. When he looked back up, I saw a scrape of raw and burnt skin near the top of his left eye.

Instantly, I saw his face shift into one which held immense anger.

"That can be arranged." He snarled, and I fell back at when his hand collided painfully with my cheek and tasted blood in my mouth. I heard a chair scrape back and I saw Iroh holding Ozai by the upper arm.

"Ozai, there is no reason to resort to violence." He snapped at his younger brother.

Ozai broke free and looked as if he was about to punch Iroh. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shout of 'stop' from Kuzon.

"Do not fight; a servant tells me that the bidding was rigged." Kuzon continued.

Kuzon shot a glance at me and then his eyes darted elsewhere before shaking his head.

"The actual highest bidder is Iroh." Kuzon said calmly.

Anything that kept me on the ground was gone as I suddenly rose up and nearly fell into his reassuring embrace as he whispered quiet words to me.

"And you!" Kuzon spat; pointing at Nanue.

The entire court was dead silent and anticipating the long-awaited dismissal of Nanue.

"For tampering with a matter of tradition, dishonesty to the monarchy, accused of adultery with several men to try and ensure a pregnancy, and treacherous acts against the crown, you are hereby stripped of your position and banished from the palace." He declared and nearly everyone knew that he had wanted to say this for the longest of time.

Nanue looked around desperately, obviously searching for someone to lean on to and help her, and her eyes settled on me. I backed away, knowing that she was going to ask me for help, and I could not find a way to turn her down without appearing cold to her.

"Don't even try it; you were the one who set her up in the first place. She will not forgive you for that." Iroh said crudely to her.

She stepped back and winced; as if she had been whipped.

Guards came and shielded Nanue from view as they escorted her to her now former chambers. At first, Kuzon said nothing but then he turned to Iroh's direction.

"Go and get ready." He said to his nephew.

Iroh made his reverences and walked away. I made my own reverences and exited as well; catching up to Iroh in the hallway. We walked in silence until, before I knew it, we were at the door of his bedchamber. A sudden thought occurred and I found myself blushing at it. Iroh must've noticed, for he then turned to me and looked at me.

"Why so red? Are you mad?" he asked, obviously already knowing the answer.

"Just…thinking." I replied.

"So have I; is there any other reason you asked me to bid on you besides that I'm your choice over anyone else?" he asked.

I turned away from him for a moment, thinking if there really was another reason.

Of course there was, there always was, but I never wanted to admit it; not to him. I made the mistake of looking back at his eyes and felt the clog in my throat that would always force me to answer in pure honesty to him.

"Because of you." He took a step closer to me.

"Oh?" he asked; curious.

"When I seemed to die, you brought me back to life. When I had nothing to want, you gave me everything I needed. When I fell so hard, you picked me back up and helped me get back on a new ground. You were and are always there for me; I am eternally grateful. The least I could give you is my life. Everything good that has happened to me in these past 4 years—even the breaths I take because I am right now alive!—I owe it all to you, my prince." I stated; showing impromptu weakness that I'd always been trying to hide.

He said nothing; just lean closer to me and staring at something.

I was startled at the proximity of our faces and leaned away from him. Suddenly, I lost my balance and fell on the cold floor on my back; pushing myself into a sitting position only to find him on his hands and knees over me and continuing to grow closer to me. His forefinger came up to my face, his head even closer, and wiped something from my lip.

"Blood." He murmured; rubbing his thumb and forefinger against the other, staring at his fingers, then turned back to me. He was so close; I could see the peach fuzz on his cheeks.

"Not here." A voice barked out.

We both turned to see Sozun facing us and we hastily parted.

"Your room is right there; go." He added.

We both nodded, and went inside. What happened to the ceremony, I wanted to ask.

It wasn't like the plot in one of those plotless erotica books where the passion runs high and it just happens; for the first few hours, we just talked and had dinner and played games. I playfully snatched away a piece from the playing board that would have secured his victory and we chased each other about his chamber; him tackling me and trying to distract me by hitting me repeatedly with his silk pillow. I threw the piece off to the side and we both laughed; continuing to roll around and push each other playfully on his grand bed. He pinned me down and tossed the outer robe I wore away.

I began to attempt to squirm free, my cheeks sore from laughing so much, only for my inner thigh to come into contact with something hard.

"You must've also heard the rumors." Iroh said with an amused laugh at seeing my face. Even if the situation was serious, it didn't seem like it anymore...

"Are they really such?" I asked; leaning forward.

Suddenly, he leaned down and caught my lips in a kiss. A familiar warmth spread throughout my body, much stronger than ever before. His teeth grazed at my lower lip and a light groan came out of my lips.

When he broke the kiss, my right hand was freed and I felt his hand at the sash of my yukata.

"See for yourself, then."

Before I met Iroh, I wasn't even curious of what sex was. I, nor many other women of my tribe; I expected, had never known of desire. But even without knowledge, my body responded to him.

That night, I discovered a new joy.


I awoke to laughter and loud jests coming from outside the door and saw something on my left hand. With a clearer perspective, I saw that it was a gold band with a dark red ruby shining in the sunlight; how did that even get on my finger in the first place?

Pulling myself up, feeling a tingle of pain from between my legs in the process, I saw where I was remembered what had happened.

"Awake?" a soft voice asked. Turning, I saw Iroh next to me.

"What's going on?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Morning-After Ritual; it happens after the consummation." He replied; helping me into my old robe.

I was silent as I tied the sash around my waist.

"Come; I'll carry you." He said and without another word, he picked me up like someone would carry a bride on her wedding day (though this was discouraged in the Water Tribes in fear that the man would drop her) and opened the door to reveal quite a crowd.

"Put me down; I can walk!" I demanded of him.

Iroh did not object.

"As you wish." He replied and set me down.

I sighed, intending to take a step, but as soon as I lifted my leg, pain shot through my legs and I stumbled a bit before collapsing on the ground. Ignoring the whispers, I pulled myself up again and marched back to my own chambers.


It took a few days, but I was able to walk properly again.

In the daytime, I was addressed as a Princess of the Fire Nation.

In the strange tradition of the Fire Nation, the ring was the only thing needed to say that someone was married while there are these long and near tedious ceremonies for things such as appointing an apprentice, the making of a sacred object such as something for the Fire Temples, or even a simple tea ceremony.

But after dinner and talking with him for many hours, I was in Iroh's bed once more for many nights.

It wasn't until near the end of the month when I realized that I'd missed the first day of my course.

Immediately I thought of alternates besides the most obvious one; maybe I was only too stressed, or I'd dropped too much weight again with the fact that I'd been constantly restless since my 'marriage' and felt compelled to eat less.

Maybe I was only a few days late.

As hours melted away, my worry grew as I'd not begun to bleed. The following night, I saw that I was still clean.

I grew worrisome and isolated myself, refusing to eat and taking long walks in the gardens, always taking a book with me to read, but nothing seemed to rest my worry.

Iroh and Ane must've noticed my anxiety and isolation to everyone; I noticed a significant change in the both of them.

Iroh seemed to be postponing more of his duties as a Prince and often asked if he could walk with me. Of course, I accepted and let his hand settle on my waist or around my hip; finding comfort in the warmth of his hand.

He spent more time with me; giving me more attention than I'd received from him since he first took me in as a student, and instead of teaching me new Firebending attacks, taught me to play simple games with cards, dice, and game pieces.

Ane became more attentive to me; tracing me like a second shadow and, in a way, seemingly having everything I'd need at any time. Every time I reached up to wipe a bit of perspiration on my forehead, she would always be there with a handkerchief for me. Every time I pressed a hand to my stomach, whether from pains in my abdomen or hunger, she would always be at my side with maybe a small snack to eat or a leather pouch of heated water inside to press against my pain.

The next 2 weeks went by slowly, but surely and by then I was almost certain but I could not tell him only on thought. I needed to wait and see if I'd missed a second time.

In the morning during the 3rd week I'd been worried, I often began to feel severe pains in my abdomen and also began to routinely vomit in the morning despite that I'd not eaten anything.

I often felt weary and that my breasts were sore.

I was sure when my 5th week went by and I still had not bled.

Calmly, I wrote a brief message to Iroh and asked a servant to slip it to him when he saw Iroh again. I asked Ane to request a small meal to be made and delivered to the Private Gardens' West Pagoda and dressed in a single Kimono, one of dark red lined with white hemming, and waited in the pagoda. At near sunset Iroh came to the pagoda.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

I bit my lip in worry of telling him the news. It had been over a month since I've had my courses and I was sure that this was the only answer.

"Iroh…" I murmured, noting the worry in my voice.

He leaned closer to me, concerned.

"Yukihiya, are you alright?" he asked me.

"I am sure of it." I replied with a sudden relieved tone.

"What is it?" Iroh asked.

I hesitated, but there was no point in hiding it. I took his hand as he leaned forth and with the bravest tone I could muster, I told him.

"Iroh, I'm pregnant."


R'n'R.

So, do you think the baby should be a boy or girl?