Zuko could no longer sit by the palace pond and feed the turtle-ducks. It reminded him of his mother, who reminded him of the single similarity he and the Water Tribe girl possessed, which, in turn, reminded him of the girl.

The ducks would have to go hungry.

He couldn't bear Iroh's presence, either. Seeing hid uncle reminded him of betrayal, which made him remember the hurt in the girl's voice as she yelled, "I thought you had changed", which made him feel guilty.

Iroh would have to suffer in solitude.

Being around Azula was no better. Her cruel, heartless ways made him think of how she had mercilessly killed the Avatar, which caused him to recall the waterbender's tears, which, once again, made him feel guilty.

But Azula was a lot harder to avoid. She was like the air; everywhere, no matter where you went or what you did.

However, Zuko found a way to make avoiding her much easier.

He locked himself in his room.

Mai quickly became annoyed by this action, complaining about the prince not spending time with her and the unbelievable boredom it caused.

Azula smirked, teasing her brother for his odd and pathetic behaviour.

And Zuko's own mind snickered and tortured him by still forcing him to think of the girl. Soon, everything somehow became connected to her.

The tree outside his window,

'I'll save you from the pirates.'

The nighttime,

'You rise with the moon,'

The daytime,

'I rise with the sun.'

Even his own scarred reflection.

'I have healing abilities.'

Eventually, he began staying in bed, huddled under the blankets like a frightened child. He did not eat; he did not sleep. He just locked himself away, trying to hide from sight, from sound, from touch, and taste, and smell. From his own thoughts.

But they were inescapable.


Author's Notes: First, if anyone's confused about the 'I'll save you from the pirates' part, Zuko had Katara tied to a tree in that episode, which is why the tree outside his window reminded him of that.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Tell me what you think!

Dislcaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters.