He felt so warm. Exceptionally warm. I felt so safe and comfortable in his arms. I didn't want to let go; I wanted to hold the moment in my heart and mind forever. But we eventually did let go of each other, ready to face our challenge.

I faced him, ready to decide on our next move in our plan. What little of plan we had. "We need diplomacy," I firmly stated, my eyes set on Zuko's.

He gazed at me for a minute. His gaze held steady and didn't falter as he thought carefully. "I'm starting think you're right. Uncle always said that sometimes the best fight is no fight at all."

I perked up at his words. He was finally starting to see my side! Great! Perhaps then we could work out a way to get through this situation. Perhaps we could find a way to escape or be set free.

He added, "He also said this one other proverb." He bit his lip and let out a sigh. "If only I could remember it. If only I had listened to his teachings a little better," he sourly said. "It was something like... 'The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous roar like a lion.'"

Something inside me clicked and my memory sparked. That was my mother's favorite proverb. She had a thing for proverbs just as Iroh did. "Yes, I've heard that one before. We are not the wicked though, contrary to what they believe, so we must stand firm against them. Whoever they may be," I said.

Zuko gulped and then nodded. "We need to find out where King Bumi is."

"Yeah. Was there any sort of news you received before we left for Omashu?" I questioned. There had to be something that would tip us off about this whole situation. "Anything out of the ordinary?"

Zuko slowly shook my head. "No, there wasn't anything at all. In fact, I didn't receive anything at all. No reports, letters, or memos whatsoever."

That sent a startling ring in my ears. Nothing whatsoever? That didn't seem right. That seemed disturbingly wrong. Why would he have had gotten nothing at all? During the time I had spent with Zuko on board the ship, he had always gotten letters and reports. He had spent about half the day reading and replying to them. They had consumed the majority of his time.

Come to think of it, I hadn't noticed him reading anything after we had kissed. I hadn't seen him reading or receiving any sort of document during that amount of time. I wondered why I hadn't taken note of it at all.

"What do you mean?" I asked concerned. "Nothing?"

"Exactly that. I didn't get anything at all," he replied with a small lift of his shoulders. He didn't know what else to say. And, I mean, what else was there to say? My mind was whirling, thinking, searching for a plausible answer. There could have been a logical answer, right? There could just not have been anything to report. No, there was always something to report, but how would I know? I didn't get any of the reports or anything like that, so how would I know?

I sighed and felt defeated. Again. There wasn't really anything to say. There wasn't really anything we could do, was there? We could only just wait and see what happened. "I don't think there's anything we can do, Zuko," I said.

He looked me head on and his brow furrowed. He shook his head. "Are you giving up?" he hissed threateningly. He wasn't appalled, but more shocked than anything.

To be honest, I was shocked too. But I had to be frank with myself and Zuko as well. We couldn't kid ourselves into thinking everything was alright. Because it wasn't. Things weren't alright at all. There were too many questions swimming around and around in our minds and too few answers. No answers, in fact.

"I'm not—" I started to say, but then I realized that I was. I was giving up, but there wasn't anything else to do. All we could do was wait for the guards to come and get us for whatever we were to face in the future. There was no room for escape or forming a plan other than just waiting. "Yeah," I quietly said. "I guess I am giving up." I looked at the ground and then met Zuko's eyes. "But only for now."

He returned my hard and determined gaze with a golden version of his own. He nodded once, confirming my words, taking them in, and conforming to them.

And so we waited. We waited and waited and waited. There was nothing to do and so boredom quickly set in. All too quickly. I couldn't keep my mind from wandering too far away from comfort. It seemed to only want to think about was where Aang and Sokka were and what would happen if we failed. What would become of us.

It was so quiet. Deathly quiet. It was odd. I mean, usually Zuko and I talked a lot, but now it was different for some reason. I couldn't explain it, but there was some sort of ominous feel to it. A strange tinge to the air that made my skin crawl hung over us and on my body like film. It was eerie.

I didn't like it at all. It was uncomfortable and awkward. We sat across from each other, but we didn't make eye contact. I stared and studied Zuko for a few minutes before shifting my eyes away to the door. There was no entertainment in watching his stony face. His handsome, stony face.

It felt like I was Zuko's prisoner again. I was a prisoner again and I was bored. I was bored just as I had been when I was on the ship. I had nothing to do. The only difference was that Zuko was a prisoner along with me. And I was cold.

It was really cold in the cell. I wondered why it was so cold, but I figured it was because Zuko was a firebender. Zuko had told me once firebenders could lose their bending ability for a few days when they were in cold conditions. Extremely cold conditions, that is. But I highly doubted this temperature could really affect his bending. It wasn't cold enough.

But if the cell was bitterly cold because of Zuko, then why was I there? And if they thought we were working together with the Fire Nation, then why had we been put in the same cell?

I sighed at my questions. There were too many questions and not enough answers. In fact, there were hardly any answers at all. I pondered when we were going to be released or put on trial or questioned more. I wondered what would become of us and I broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of staying in this cell until the war was over. Or until our lives were taken.

Zuko shifted his sitting position, drawing my attention to him. He sat on his bottom and laid his legs out in front of him, bent at the knees. He laid his arms across his thighs and let his hands hang. His eyes were sullen and downcast.

I wonder what's he thinking about... I wistfully thought. Could he be upset with himself? He looked rather...distraught. Could he be battling himself again? I hoped not.

Though I knew Zuko had realized his father was an enemy to him, I also knew he was still struggling with many other things. Transformations didn't just simply happen over night. They took time and nurturing care. Something his father never gave him.

How could a man give his own son a scar? How could anyone burn a loved one? I just couldn't fathom it and I marveled how Zuko could go on in life with a constant reminder of how his father saw him. What his father did to him. It was just unbelievable.

Zuko suddenly jumped up from the ground. He balled his hands into fists and began to pace around. He walked with an angry strut, much like a caged animal. He was so restless and unstimulated. His body temperature was rising considerably fast, and the cell was heating up as well.

I watched him with wide eyes and curiosity. I'd never seen him like that. It was strange seeing him impatient and perturbed; he was usually patient and withdrawn about things. He had more patience than I did. My eyes followed him move from left to right, back and forth, to and fro.

He stopped in the middle of the cell. He was breathing heavily and, all of a sudden, he blew smoke and sparks out of his mouth, through gritted teeth. He let out a groan of frustration. He flopped back down on his bottom against the wall again and crossed his arms.

I blinked mindlessly at him. What had just happened? It was like he had a mini-meltdown or something. "You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered gruffly, "just fine."

I gave him a sympathetic look and small smile. "You don't do well in confined areas, do you?" I questioned.

Zuko gazed at me for a second or two. He shook his head, looking away. "No, no, I don't."

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"How do you stand to be in cells?" he asked, standing up again. He began to pace all over again throughout the small cell. "You seem to be always be captured," he commented.

My left eyebrow perked up and I pointedly glared at him. Oh, how observant of him to notice that sort of thing. Glad to know he paid attention to how many times he captured me and held me prisoner. "Well, you would know a lot about that," I retorted languidly.

He glared at me.

I shrugged, remembering his question. "I guess I just got used to it. I mean, as you said before, I get captured often, so there's really nothing else I can do about it other than get used to it." I thought for a moment and remembered all the times I had been captured. It was true, I had been captured a lot. Why was it always me?

Come to think of it, I had always been the one to be captured. It was never Sokka or anyone else. Always me. It kind of stunk how it was like that. And here I was again—captured and in a cell as a prisoner. It seemed as if just about half the adventures I had were spent being in a cell or confined in some way shape or form.

Zuko sighed and stepped around the cell for a minute or two. He was very restless and jittery almost. He also seemed anxious for something, as if he was stressed out. Was he worried about what would become of us?

Granted, I was worried too, but I wasn't immensely so. I could not help but worry about the future though. It was such a silly thing to fear, but I worried about what would happen if Zuko and I were not releases. What then? It was a dark and unsettling thought, but it was a relentless and incessant thought.

"What do you think will happen to us?" I asked quietly after silence had descending over us like a dark rain cloud.

Zuko looked up at me from the ground. He thought for a moment. "I don't know," he grimly answered. "But we mustn't act as if it's over."

I nodded in agreement. Zuko was right. I mean, we would make it out of this. We were a bright and resourceful pair and we had gotten out of many sticky situations in the past. This one was really no different. Though it seemed to be hopeless, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Silence grew and it was comfortable enough. There wasn't anything to do besides wait, so the silence was expected. We waited and waited and waited again. Just waited. It grew so tiresome.

I sang small mantras in my mind until I ran out of them. I waterbended the small amount of water that was in the dank cell, but even that became boring. I became restless, and I eventually came to just picking the little fuzz balls off my dress.

Nobody came into the cell at all, so I could tell if it was day or night. Time passed endlessly and the passing minutes felt like sand running through my fingers so seamlessly. It felt as if a new day had been born, but there was no way to tell at all. Everything seemed to blur together.

After hours of waiting, the cell door opened with a grinding creak. A burly man dressed in a green uniform stood in the doorway. He held two small dried fish in his hands. He gruffly said, "Here," and handed us the fish.

Zuko jumped to his feet. His fists were balled and were slightly smoking. "Where's King Bumi?" he questioned loudly. "Take us to him!" he ordered.

The man in the door scoffed and then slammed the door shut.

I jumped at the sound of the door being crashed closed. I pawed the fish and gazed hungrily at it. I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was. I hadn't eaten for...I didn't know how long it had been since I had eaten. I ate the fish quickly and then looked at Zuko.

Zuko glared deathly at the door. He was so angry and agitated at the moment. He looked ready to explode or roast anyone that dared interfere.

"Zuko..." I calmly and quietly said.

He let out a huff and then turned to me, snapping his head to me. "I'm fine," he simply stated. He sat down after a second or two of staring at the door fiercely. He looked disdainfully at the food. He sighed and handed it to me. "Here," he said. "I'm not hungry."

I gazed at the fish in his hand. I shook my head. I wasn't going to take his food. That was his and he needed to keep his strength up. "No," I replied, "eat it. It's yours."

"I'm not hungry," he said again.

"Well, you need to eat it to keep your strength up," I stated. Goodness, he could be such a child at times. If I had to, I was going to force him to eat his food.

He sighed. "Fine." He took the fish back and slowly ate it.

We grew silent again. That seemed to be the one thing I could always count on. Silence. Fragile, fragile silence.

The day—at least I thought it was a day—ended and Zuko and I fell asleep easily enough. It was hard to get comfortable in the bitter cold and stale air from the vents. The ground was hard and cold as well, but I feel asleep in due time.

I awoke the next morning stiff from the hard nights sleep. It had been anything but pleasant. I had tossed and turned all night and barely got a wink of sleep. I hoped that was going to be the last night sleeping in the cell.

But it wasn't. It was only the beginning of a long duration of sleeping in the cell. Several nights past after that first one. Everyday was the same for so many days. A man would come in the morning with bread and water and then come back at night with fish. Zuko would jump to his feet with his hands balled again and he would be yelling about where Bumi was. The man then would scoff again and close the door, leaving Zuko fuming and cursing under his breath about insolent earthbending scum. It was like over and over again. That man was the only thing that let me know what time it was.

Zuko and I barely talked during the entire time. And what was there to talk about? We didn't really have anything to say. We couldn't find anything to talk about. There was nothing to share and there was still a bit of tension between us.

We went on in the same, small cycle for what seemed to be about a month. I couldn't tell at all. There wasn't any real way to count the days other than the mysterious man that came and gave us food, but even then it was hard to keep track. The days just seemed to blur together. One after another. One after another.

It felt like nothing would ever change. It was scary to think that we would live the end of our days in this same cycle. It was very scary and disturbing. I mean, to think that we would never see the light of day again or even fight in the war anymore, fight for our freedom, was disturbing.

Over the course of time, I became to weary and, honestly, downtrodden. I was pretty much giving up hope. I mean, it had been over half a year and yet there had been no rescue attempt for me. I was beginning to believe what Zuko had said was true.

Where were my friends? Didn't they care enough to come and rescue me? I mean, sure, Aang had already mastered waterbending and was moving onto earthbending, but I was still an important asset in the gang. I was still a powerful component and ally. I wasn't one that should be disposed of and forgotten.

Right?

It didn't matter how much I argued with myself and how many times I tried to persuade myself any differently, I couldn't help but go back to my original thought—Sokka and Aang had left me.

No, they wouldn't do that. They loved me. Sokka was my brother and Aang was my best friend. And I was sure Aang felt something much more special for me besides a meager friend, although I hoped that wasn't true. If he did feel something more, then things would get very tense and manic if Aang felt something for me while Zuko and I were in love. That...things would not work out if that was the case.

A/N: You guys probably all hate me. I know, I know. I was beating myself up about not updating. But I was very busy with school. FInals were going on along with many other stuff. I was studying my butt off for many other tests and finals as well and I was also trying to learn my miming and flash mob routine between this chapter and the last for drama. Yeah, our drama final was a flash mob. It was exactly two days after a Ghostbusters flash mob. ALl the new kids think my school is just crazy. Especially the Irish guy. He's not exactly sure what to think of it. Haha.

Anyways, so yeah, another reason it took sooooo long to get this chapter out was because I just did not know where to go with this story. I was working so hard on other writings that I felt almost dried with creative ideas. I figured out what I was going to do with this story and how to go from where I was at the last chapter because I had no idea. And honestly, I had chapters that end on a good note and that resolve things. That's pretty cynical of me to say, but it's true. WHen I write chapters that end nicely and resolve thigns, I never know where to go from there. It's like I have a mini-writers block.

So, yeah, I just didn't know where to do from the last chapter on until last night. I was laying in bed feeling really guilty for not getting somethign out, so I really started thinking about what to do for this chapter. And then it hit me! Like lighting! I am not going to tell you what I thought of because you'll know in due time. Oh, yes, in due time...

Haha, yup.

There's not a lot to say about this chapter other than that one proverb about being like a lion can actually be found in Proverbs 28:1. It's actually my favorite verse, so it was good that I remembered that one lol. The first one about the best fight is not fight at all is by someone...I just can't remember though. So I'm not taking credit for that because it's not mine.

Let's see...Is there anythign else I need to touch up on? No, I don't think so. Well, if I don't update by then, Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! :D

Thank you guys so much!

-Neon