He smiled down on me. Zuko squeezed my hand reassuringly; I looked at him. His eyes brought forth encouragement and empowerment into me though I was not nervous. I had a strong feeling of faith in myself that I found hard to believe.

I had assumed that I would be nervous and petrified beyond belief. I had assumed that I would even have a little shiver to my stance. Though, oddly enough, I had no such thing.

I was rather brave and had uplifting thoughts. Nothing trying to gammon me, trying to pull my confidence down. I knew the only place we could go was up and so I canceled out any beguiling thoughts that lingered from the morning.

We had made it as far as to the palace. Inside the palace, in fact. We couldn't hit rick bottom for we were as low as we could possibly go, which wasn't very low. We had made it as far as we had, we could go farther. I knew it.

We meandered through the many hallways, getting lost once or twice. We had laughed at ourselves, or, well, tried to anyways. Zuko hadn't seen it as amusing as I had. After that, we continued to try to find our way to the throne room, speeding down the hallways as fast as we could without it seeming like we were running from the guards.

When no one was in the hallway, Zuko and I would take off in a mad dash down the hall. The crisp, ventilated air zooming past us and flying through my hair that I had left loose. When someone was approaching, we would instantly slam on our heels and act as if we had been walking an appropriate speed, though our muffled pants and heaving chests gave us away most of the time.

It was fun and exhilarating to be running like we were. It was liberating as well. It felt as we were running from the war, the pain, the suffering to just one thing. Just one thing that would ensure the two of us together.

And in a way we were doing just that. We had to find Bumi in order to find Aang and Sokka, and without Aang learning firebending from Zuko- I doubt any other firebender would teach him- the world would collapse under Ozai's fist. And we would all perish, never to be with the ones we loved ever again.

After coming to many dead ends, we gave up on trying to find the throne room on our own. It was just wasting time running aimlessly around the palace. We finally worked up the nerve to ask a servant where to find it to which he kindly pointed us into the right direction, and so we made our way to the throne room, our hearts still rapidly beating.

The walk to the throne room was a bit long, but I found the time comforting, though we continued on in silence. The silence was nice; it gave me time to think. I wasn't really sure what I was to say to King Bumi once we had finally arrived. I didn't know if I was to instantly ask him if he knew of the whereabouts of Aang and Sokka, or would it be best to simply start at the beginning?

Shedding a few- ahem- personal details, of course.

I mean, I was sure he would tell his where Aang and Sokka were. I was sure he remembered me from last time; you're bound to remember almost crystallizing the Avatar's friends.

What I didn't know was if he would just instantly tell me where they were or when he had last seen them. I wasn't sure if he would do one of his tests or be all cryptic about everything. Bumi was known for doing that, was he not?

And what was I to say about Zuko? How could I possibly describe his transformation without the help our romance provided. I mean, if I told Bumi that we had fallen in love then Zuko's change would be expected. It was really only natural that someone would change like that with the help of a loved one, but without...? How realistic and genuine would his change of heart seem?

Would it seem fake or real?

I worried so terribly for that matter. For if Bumi didn't believe Zuko had truly changed, then what would he think of me? Would he think of me still a captive merely forced to go along with Zuko's ploy? Or would he see me as a traitor...?

No. He couldn't think of me as a traitor! He knew me too well to think such a thing!

The throne room doors grew larger and larger, coming into view. We were nearing closer and closer to seeing if things would fold out in our favor or not, and the fear and worry of Bumi not taking our side was growing stronger and strong.

"Zuko," I whispered as we grew closer to the throne room, the design becoming clearer and clearer.

"Hm?" He turned his head to me, his eyebrow lifted high on his forehead.

"Well," I said quietly, sounding like a small child. "What if Bumi thinks I'm a traitor or that you haven't really changed?"

Zuko looked at me earnestly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm going to have to explain why we're here and why I'm teaming up with you, aren't I?"

He nodded.

"And, well..." I paused, not sure exactly how to tell Zuko I wasn't going to tell Bumi about our romance. "I'm not so sure telling Bumi about you and me being in love is a very wise thing to do. I don't know if he would understand as your uncle does. I don't know if he would be willing to see past your nationality." My eyebrows scrunched together as I stared hard at the ground.

I hated the fact that we had to lie and duck and cover from everyone. It wasn't right; it wasn't fair! It was just so hard to keep our love a secret because no one would understand. Everyone would either see me as a traitor or Zuko as dishonorable, that he tricked me into having feelings for him.

Keeping it all a secret felt...wrong. But it also felt a bit right. It felt right because we knew that in order to do good in the world, sometimes we had to suffer some. Did that mean we would have to suffer in this way?

Would keeping our love secret from another person really the best thing to do?

Perhaps, but all I truly wanted was for no more lies, no more secrets; for my family and friends to know that I had found and wanted the love I had as much as I wanted this war to end, but I knew that they wouldn't accept our love while the war still continued on. Still... It felt so wrong to keep it a secret. As if we were ashamed of our love.

But I wasn't ashamed. I was far from ashamed. If anything, I was proud. Not proud that I had found love, but proud that Zuko had changed. Because of me. I wasn't arrogant about it, and it wasn't that I wanted to show him off, but it left a nice feeling, a feeling of accomplishment inside me at the thought of that. It made me think back and smile and think 'Yeah, I did that.'

And I did feel accomplished that I had broke through to him. Ever since that day I had been captured, I had strived to get through to Zuko, to peel back the gammoning layers that hid away his true self, his heart, and I had done just that. True, not completely, but I had done a lot.

For some reason, I somewhat admired the young Prince. He had been through so much. He had been born in hate and raised in grief, and yet...yet he still seemed to be so pure. He had still kept his heart through all the hardships he had faced. Though he had hidden it away and covered it with gruffness and malice, he had still kept it none the less.

He still seemed to be so uncorrupted, when he was still bruised and bone-weary. He was very rough on the outside, but on the inside he was actually very kind and gentle. Most certainly not the monster I had perceived him to be.

I squeezed his hand, feeling a sudden surge of sympathy for Zuko, but I didn't pity him. I knew he had been through a lot, but I promised myself that he wouldn't go through anymore suffering. I would do all I could to keep him from going through what he had in his past. His secluded, taciturn past.

I suddenly realized that I had no true idea what had happened in his past. I remembered that that had been the main thing I had tried to uncover, but he had always shoved me away, kept me at bay, pushed me away from him. And so I had no clue what his past entailed. I knew only of his father burning him, but not the story behind it. I knew not of why he had been burned.

His past was so secretive and clouded. He didn't let me in at all. The only way I had found out that his father had burned him because of Zu-Long. But even then, Zuko had still not expressed a wish to tell of that part of his history, but I knew that he needed to talk about it. To help heal.

I could tell that he was still very wounded and possibly a little mislead. I wasn't sure how mislead, but I could definitely tell that there was still some conflict inside him. He was still waging war against himself. But against what?

I'll just have to ask... I thought firmly. But be cautious, I warned myself.

I knew how sensitive and tender Zuko was about his past. It was dangerous- or had been- grounds to tread on when I had been a captive. The matter had to be approached with soft, tentative steps, and even then it was still hard to talk about with him.

What was so devastating and sad...?

"Falling in love was the thing that made you change, right?" I asked him.

"Yes," Zuko answered.

"There wasn't any other reason?"

He looked at me for a second blankly, his usual stony expression. He turned his head straight-forward. He then shrugged. "Well, yes," he finally announced. "I mean, you were still a big part of me changing, but falling in love wasn't the only reason I changed," he said softly, perhaps a bit darkly as well.

I gazed intensely at him. "What were to the other reasons?"

"I just realized," he sighed, "that I was getting no where trying to hunt the Avatar, and after Zu-Long came aboard the ship, I finally saw that there was no way I was going to be able to—" his word cut short just a little, and I probably wouldn't have caught it if I hadn't been looking for it. "—please... my father," he said that last part so quietly, so hushed and then more bravely, "With or without the Avatar."

I nodded my head slowly. I guess I knew what to say to Bumi then. But I still couldn't help but feel a bit vulnerable, that he wouldn't believe us. "But what if he still doesn't believe us?" I asked darkly.

Zuko stopped walking and placed his hands on my shoulders, spinning me around to face him. He gazed down endearingly at me, staring deep down into my eyes as I felt small tingles thrum through my veins. "He will believe us, Katara. You're the Avatar's best friend and waterbending teacher. He's already met you," he reminded, "and anyone who knows of you knows that you would never betray your country.

"And you can melt even a heart of stone with just the smile of your velvet lips. I know all too well. So don't worry," he added with a smile.

I closed my eyes and held them for a second, seeing quick and small flashes of my memories. I saw Sokka poking Aang with his spear when we had just found him. I saw Aang in the Avatar State at the Northern Air Temple. I saw Suki and Sokka dressed as Kioshi Warriors. I saw Zuko lashing out at a village with his fire. I saw my mother's necklace at the nape of my neck and out of the corner of my eye Zuko. I saw him fighting against me at the Spirit Oasis.

I opened my eyes and realized then that we had come too far to blow it on my silly worry. I took a small breath of air and as I exhaled, I felt my fear and anxiety flow out of me, away from me. "Thank you." I smiled.

Zuko smiled at me and pulled me into a hug.

We broke apart after a second or two, much to my reluctance. I wanted to stay in his warm embrace. I wanted to feel his love and comfort and strength for just a minute or two longer. I wanted to feel all the electricity I could before I had to stay away from him, before physical contact was prohibited.

We strutted to the throne room doors, and I stared forward at them confidently and ready. I was ready to get this over with, but I was also more than ready to find Aang and Sokka. I was ready for this long, tedious journey to be over. Not that this journey was boring or horrid or anything. No, it was quite the opposite.

I gulped down a steady breath of air, feeling courage and strength come to me. I could do this. I was Katara, master waterbender! I could face King Bumi, whether he was to believe me or not. "I'm ready," I said. I pushed hard on the doors.

The doors swung wide open, revealing the looming, stained glass ceiling high above. I gazed up at it, amazed. It was full of vibrant colors such as indigo, burgundy, violet, lavender, and shamrock. The glass ceiling told the story of how the great city of Omashu had been built. The tale of two lovers, Oma and Shu.

I started to stride into the throne room, walking further and further into the throne room. I was eager to talk to Bumi. I scanned the entire ceiling, taking in the story as if I had never heard it before. Already had I known of how Omashu had been built, but never in such a way with merely pictures that somehow told the story in far more eloquence and mastery than words could.

Next, my eyes went directly to the King's chair. His throne. The very place in which my future depended on. The place where everything was supposed to fall in place. At least, I thought everything was supposed to fall into place there, to come together, but I appeared to be wrong for what I saw was not what I had expected. I expected to see Bumi's withered, yet muscular body slumped in the chair while he was wearing one of his exotic outfits.

Nah, that is not what I saw. I saw the exact opposite. I saw a young man with brown, wavy hair that hung to his shoulders. His chin and upper lips were covered in much stubble. He had broad shoulders, and I could already tell he was a man of great power, bender or not. He was sitting in the chair quite regally, his arms rested neatly in the arm rests of the chair as if he knew for a fact that that was where he belonged.

But I knew all too well that that was most certainly not the place he belonged.

I stared at him in confusion. My mind processed what was occurring, trying to get a grip on what was happening. What did this mean? Where was Bumi? Such questions, and many more, raged through my brain.

My eye brows drew together, worry and confusion evident on my face. I turned my gaze to Zuko, though it was hard to tear my eyes away mysterious man before us. I shaped my mouth as if to say "What?", but I couldn't find my voice in the mist of disorientation.

Zuko had the same look of shock on his face. He knew who King Bumi was, and this clearly wasn't him. His eyes beheld worry and confusion just as my face did, but there was also...fear? Why would there be fear...?

I looked at the man sitting on Bumi's throne. I took a step or two forward at him. "Who—" my voice caught in my throat. I swallowed the lump and tried again. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice ringing out, echoing, bouncing off the walls and back to my own ears.

A/N: Hey, I am so very sorry that this chapter took way too long to come out. I was very busy due to other writing I really needed to get down for school, and I got sick for about 5 days so I had a TON of make-up work to do. Things have just been crazy lately with school and church and trying to get back on the right path with God. It's just been a little hectic lol. OH, well, welcome to high school.

But I'm here now! Haha, I can't say I haven't missed being able to write an Author Note to you guys! I've been feeling awfully guilty for not uploading anything lately, and one of the main reasons for that is because I wasn't sure where to go with this story. It was going WAY too fast than I had planned and I wasn't very happy with the way it was going. So I had decided to take a step back, take a small break, and plot out where I want to go with this story in order to feel satisfied with it.

And now I know where exactly I'm going to go! THings are going to get exciting! I, for one, am very happy with where I'm heading! It's going to get really fun and adventurous! I'm ready to get farther in this story!

This story doesn't have a lot of dialogue in it, and I hope I didn't bore you all with all the long paragraphs. I just knew that I needed to get some things said and out into the open. For one, Zuko and his father's relationship. I realized early on that Zuko wasn't as "wounded" as I would want him to be because of his father. And I really want to highlight that part in the story. I don't want this entire thing to be about their love life. I want it to be about the romance, yes, but also about Zuko trying to gain closure and everything else the show highlights.

I'm not saying I want it to be like the show, but I just want it to just not only be about the romance like it is in the show. Make sense? I hope so.

*gasp!* who's sitting in Bumi's seat? Well, I'm not going to tell you! YOu'll just have to think about! YOu'll find out soon enough!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter to some extent if not thoroughly! Lol. Thank you guys for being so patient with me! Please review!

Oh! Before I forget! If you haven't read what I said about my email on Silence Before the Storm, I said that my email has been acting up and screwing up with all the emails I've starred (I star all the stuff from FF) so if I don't reply back to you please understand or if I reply back twice because that's happened before lol. Thanks again!

-Neon