At dinner, we ate in silence. None of the soldiers approached us and neither did the guards, but I had expected that much. Once we finished eating dinner, we were escorted back to our rooms. The door was locked and Zuko and I were alone. I sat on the cot with my knees pulled up to my chest; I watched Zuko as he started a fire.

Zuko threw a fireball into the fireplace and it quickly at away at the log. He finished, throwing one more log on for good measure and then strode over to me. He sat down in front of the cot. He sighed and extended his arms out. He rotated his wrists and stretched his back.

I rested my chin on my knees. I stared at him, though he wasn't looking at me. I was just watching him. Studying him. "Are you tired?" I questioned quietly.

He nodded his head. "Very."

"Me too," I agreed. I yawned ad stretched my arms out as well. "Do you want the cot tonight?"

He shook his head. "No, you can have it," he answered.

"But you're training with the soldiers," I argued, concern for his physical condition growing.

"I'm not the one being trained," he retorted. "More like a light workout," he dryly said. He breathed deeply and fell onto his left side and his back faced me.

"But—"

"Shhh," he soothed. "Go to sleep."

I languidly glared at his back, and he flicked his wrists, making the room grow dark. I sighed and laid on my back.

The next day came and went; we did the same thing as we had done the day before. We woke up, had breakfast, and then we to training. Night fell and Zuko and I found ourselves in our room once again.

I was sitting with my back against the wall. I was fiddling with my braid, trying to get a knot out of my hair as well as in my mind. I kept pondering over the memory of Zuko being in such a grouchy mood the night before when we had first stayed in this room. I just couldn't figure out why, but I didn't really want to ask. I decided to anyways though. "Zuko," I said.

He was sitting on the other side of the room with his legs crossed. He was meditating, and I thought it was best not to disturb him, but I didn't think I would get another chance to ask him about it. He stiffened and then turned towards me. "Yes?"

"Why were you in such a sour mood the night before?" I asked as I continued with the mess in my hair. I kept my eyes on my hair and my fingers flew across several strands.

He paused and looked downcast. His face was sullen and withdrawn. He was hiding something. But what?

I froze and my hands fell from my braid. My eyebrows drew together in concern for him and I gazed at him. "Please tell me," I murmured.

"I was just having bad memories," he reluctantly answered, his pride being stabbed with each word.

"Memories of what?" I asked. I hoped I could draw him out. I wanted to know why he was so hurt and perhaps it was nosy of me, but it pained me to know he was hurting because of his past. Because of his horrible upbringing.

He closed his eyes like he was reliving a moment in his mind. And perhaps he was. He shook his head as he exhaled. He grimaced slightly and opened his eyes. "It doesn't matter," Zuko finally said.

It didn't matter? How could he say that? Why was he being so introverted about this? Keeping so many painful emotions and feelings inside him would only bring upon his own destruction. He who concealed his anger and pain had lying lips.

"What do you mean?" I questioned. "Of course, it matters, Zuko. It's causing you pain," I reasoned. "Are you angry or sad about these memories?"

"Both, I guess," he forced out, not really sure.

"Is it your father?"

He didn't meet my eyes.

My heart swelled inside my chest with immense sympathy for him. I strode over to him and sat beside him. "Zuko…" I murmured. I wrapped my arms around him. "It's alright," I whispered to him, "you don't have to keep all these awful feelings compressed inside of you because of your father anymore. He doesn't rule you anymore." I twisted my face towards him and looked his dead in the eye. "You are your own person now."

That night I comforted Zuko. We sat on the floor together and I whispered words of wisdom to him and how much I cared for him and that he didn't need his father looming over his heart any longer. I asked him about it scar, but he brushed me off instantly. It hurt, I'll admit, but it hurt even more knowing how heavy this was making his heart.

He had such a heavy burden that he carried around with him all the time. If only he could find a way for an easy yoke; to be free of his pain. If only he could see how much worth and honor he had.

I fell asleep on the floor again beside Zuko, his arms wrapped gently around me. It was a bit uncomfortable sleeping on the floor for the second night, but it wasn't as bad as the first night because I had just a bit more cushioning. And I was warm. Really warm.

Sleeping beside him was like sleeping in pure bliss because of the warmth. He gave off the comfort and solace a fire did, but I didn't become exceedingly warm. It didn't ever become too hot for me to handle, so hot that I had to scoot away for fear of being scolded.

The next morning we rose with just a bit of difficulty due to our soreness from sleeping on the floor. That night I was going to make sure I slept on the cot with or without Zuko.

Two guards came by and took us to breakfast. We ate quickly and then headed to training. Just as yesterday, Zuko trained the men with merciless ferocity. And again, no man faired any better than they had yesterday. It was going to take a while for the men to begin to match Zuko.

The new recruits probably hadn't had any real form of training before like this. And when sparring with Zuko, it was a dangerous wakeup call for what they were to except in the coming battles they were to face. It was a good idea for Keiichi to have Zuko train the men, but how many would walk away after getting a taste of what war was truly like?

I watched Zuko as he danced around the sparring circle, fire swirling around him like a dress on a dancer. I sat at the table with my head resting on my fist. I was mesmerized by Zuko's firebending. It was like an exotic and enchanting dance that I couldn't pull my eyes away from.

The training was going swimmingly, although no one faired any better. Zuko beat each soldier that stood against him in a matter of minutes. It only took a few bending forms for Zuko to hold the upper hand. He wasn't even sweating profusely. He began to pant, however, after about the 11th soldier.

"He's a magnificent bender," I heard someone say behind me. I twisted my body around to see Keiichi. "What?" I asked.

"He's a magnificent bender," Keiichi repeated. "Don't you think so?"

"Well, yes," I said, turning my attention to Zuko, and I caught sight of him performing a powerful form. "I supposed he is." I quickly crossed my arms and a scowl formed. "For a firebender anyways," I added. I didn't want Keiichi to think I was allied with the Fire Nation or that there was anything going on between me and him, though there was. It was best if we kept that part of our relationship a secret.

He chuckled and replied, "Oh, there are a great many talented firebenders in the world. Prince Zuko being one of them," he acknowledged.

My head turned towards him and my brows furrowed. His words confused me and seemed to be a bit contradictory to what the leader of an earthbending army would say. "How can bending that's used for destruction be so amazing to you?" I questioned.

Keiichi sat down beside me. "Not all firebending is used to destroy and wage war," he explained. "Like with Zuko, at the moment, he's using his talent for good."

"Even if it's against his will? Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of Zuko training the soldiers and I believe everything can be used for the good of everyone in the world, but can that be true if someone does not wish it to be used for good?"

"Things never turn out the way we plan, and we can never truly see what we are destined for," he answered. "We do not know the plans that have been made for us—plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future."

I nodded my head slowly in agreement. "I suppose so," I murmured. I turned my gaze back at Zuko. I watched him idly fight one soldier who was taking a rough beating at the moment. "Keiichi," I said, "how much do you think Zuko training your soldiers will affect the war?"

His eyebrows raised on his forehead. "I hope it will affect it a great deal and lead us closer to winning the war."

"Me too," I added. I turned completely towards Keiichi. "What plans do you have for these new recruits? Are they to fight on the front or to advance on the Fire Nation?" I questioned foolishly.

Keiichi stared at me hard, studying my features. His eyes were firm and relentless as they scanned over my face and tried to poke into my mind.

That had been a mistake. I should have kept my mouth shut. Poking my nose into the plans of the army was not going to help Zuko and me out in our current situation. I cringed on the inside and prayed that he would let this slip by.

He continued to stare at me with his dark brown eyes. His jawline was firm and his eyebrows unwavering in a furrowed line. His gaze lasted for what seemed like hours before he finally shifted in his seat and turned to the soldiers training.

I bit my lip. Well, that went over well. Things were starting to fall downhill, I could tell. Zuko and I were going to have to be careful about what we did and said. Things were getting unsteady and fragile, and who knew how long we were going to be prisoners and for how long?

We fell into a balanced routine after that. Zuko and I would be awoken to either the pounding of soldiers on the door or all on our own and then be escorted to breakfast. We would eat and then go to training, Zuko sulking just a bit; I supposed he was none too thrilled about training soldiers while we could be searching for Aang, but this was just another stop along the way of finding him. Zuko would kick the earthbender's butts until dinner and then we would be taken back to our rooms after that. Before we knew it, we had spent about a month doing that. It wasn't until one morning in late summer that our routine was drastically altered.

Soldiers raced through the halls of the army base and of the palace. They were all in their uniforms and battle armor, some of them carrying weapons too. Orders were being shouted by commanding officers in harsh barks of urgency. Keiichi was in the war room talking with another officer and had just sent two soldiers to guard Zuko and me in our room.

I paced in front of the door with my arms behind my back. I was breathing deeply from frustration and worry through my nose. "What's going on?" I questioned although I already knew the answer.

"I don't know, Katara," Zuko answered. He was sitting on the cot with his hands folded together and held close to his mouth. He was breathing rather steadily, but concern for the situation at hand was evident on his face. He kept his eyes towards the left on the ground. "But we'd better wait and not do anything rash. This is none of our concern," he said.

I twisted towards him, angry at his words. "How can you say that?" I cried out at him. "That is too our concern!"

He finally looked at me and dropped his arms. "No, it's not, Katara. We're on a mission to find the Avatar; we are not part of this army," he argued back.

"It doesn't matter if we're part of this army. We're not even part of this nation, but that shouldn't stop us from fighting for what's right and protecting the people of this city!"

"We don't even know that the city is under attack!"

I shook my head. "I don't have to know, Zuko," I retorted. "I can give you a pretty good guess that the Fire Nation is behind all this chaos!" I shouted as I waved my arm out.

"All we need to focus on is getting out of this army and trying to find—" he said before he was cut off by a loud and monstrous boom that made the ground and walls shake. The rumbling was so strong that it knocked both of us onto the ground.

I lifted my head up, tendrils of hair falling into my face. "What was that?" I breathed exasperatedly as I eyed the door.

A/N: Hey! Here's the newest chapter! It's kind of short actually...Oh, well. I never really intended it to be very long. Just a filler mainly and a bit of a scene setter because the next chapter is goign to be big and full of stuff, so I didn't really want to get into this in this chapter.

Thanks so much for reading and please review!

-Neon