Chapter 2:

"The windows of my soul are made of one-way glass, don't bother looking into my eyes if there's something you want to know, just ask" –Ani Difranco

It was bothering her. Frankly, it was beyond just a bothersome feeling. He was moping about in his solitude and all her efforts to make him talk were futile. He dodged every question, dismissing them with his rude snapping that it was none of her business. Though that was possibly truth, it wasn't sitting well in her stomach. She would have figured he'd at least thank her at one point for her hospitality, but he remained silent each time they ate together or passed one another in the hallway.

Swirling her finger around in her lukewarm tea, she rested her chin on the heel of her hand as she set her elbow on the table. She was staring absentmindedly at the doors to the dining chamber, awaiting the moment that Zuko would walk in as he did every morning. He would loll inside with his hair a tad unkempt and his robe untied and his pants hanging low on his waist. She wasn't sure why he insisted on being so lackadaisical with his attire, but she wasn't bold enough to tell him to properly dress himself, since she enjoyed the image.

But he hadn't joined her yet, which was making her uneasy. She didn't think he was rude enough to just leave her palace without a word spoken between them, though she kept reminding herself that he was a banished prince. As a servant came and replaced her cold tea, she yawned loudly while muttering to herself that he was probably gone. She made the order for pastries to be brought out, the worst idea for breakfast, though her stomach was craving a sugary treat or two.

Agitated with sitting alone, she rose from her cushioned seat, stomping over to the chamber doors. Flinging them open, she went to look for Zuko and found him with ease. She bumped into him, her hands instinctively grasping hold of his shoulders before she lost her balance. She steadied herself quickly and released him, running her hands along the skirt of her nightgown as she composed herself.

"I was beginning to think that you-"

"Left?" Zuko scowled, "I was raised as a prince. I still have those manners."

"And yet your attire is questionable in the presence of royalty." She pointed to his abdomen where two strong lines started from his hips and ended down beneath the fabric of the pants he wore. She shivered at the prospect of what the rest of him looked like, "Though I must reprimand you on your lateness this morning."

"If my attire insults you then I apologize." He fastened the tie of his robe, which made Briar scowl, "As for being late, I wasn't told I had a curfew for anything."

Briar wrinkled her nose, still mulling over how she wanted to unfasten his robe, "You make an inarguable point." She held her arm out for him to walk into the chamber, "Do you wish to join me for breakfast?"

"All your questions are just orders in disguise."

"Funny, my aunt told me the same thing." She smiled while following him inside, leaving him to muse on the idea that there was a relative of hers in the palace somewhere. When she sat down and adjusted the cushions underneath herself, she gestured for her servants to bring in the pastries she had asked for, "Since your late arrival, I decided on foods to satisfy my sweet tooth." She gave him a grin that made him flush, "That is if you oblige?"

Zuko nodded his head upon the scent of honey aromas sweeping through his nostrils, "It's not like I have a choice on the matter."

"Incorrect. You just choose not to give an opinion." She smirked while her servants set out several plates of cakes and custards, all of which were fresh from the oven, "Are you finally going to speak more to me or will this be another silent breakfast?"

Zuko shrugged as if deciding then that he would remain silent in spite of her. He ate with little haste to draw out her irritation that stemmed from his refusal to answer any questions or reply to her statements. It was amusing, and he found that he enjoyed her reaction of drumming her fingers on the table while her eyes set to burn into his face. But he wasn't about to give into her just yet.

"You are extremely disrespectful," Briar hissed.

"I have nothing to say to you," Zuko retorted.

"That is contradictory." She giggled while he rolled his eyes, "What you do have to say to me is generally along the lines of what you have previously stated."

Zuko nodded his head, though was slightly amused by her response. He ate heartily upon the reminder of his life as a prince. Servants waiting upon his every beck and call, people offering their hospitality without a second thought, and simply the joy of being renowned as the heir to the throne…Those were such wonderful thoughts that he found he had zone out with his fork bouncing between his lips. His eyes were fixated on the opposite wall, although there was nothing there to look at.

Briar restrained her giggle while leaning over and plucking the fork from his lips. She watched as he bounced back into reality, snatching the fork back from her, "What were you thinking of?"

"It's none of your-"

"Oh, shut it." She flicked her wrist dismissively while he resumed eating, "I'm surprised that you haven't completely abused my hospitality." When he didn't respond, she threw her hands up in frustration. Tossing her napkin onto the table, she stormed out of the dining chamber, "Fine! You win!"

Zuko let out a sigh of relief as he clean off another plate of food. He set his fork down while picking up his chalice and drinking the fruit juice down. When the silence finally embraced him tightly, he began to feel a void. There was no Iroh laughing cheerfully or encouraging him against his decisions. Sighing heavily, he began to wonder if it would be necessary to take Briar up on the offer of using her soldiers to find him. But the back of his mind said that it he needed to find his uncle, he'd do it on his own.

As he had done everything else.

When he rose from his seat, he saw the doors to the dining chamber open and an elderly woman with grey streaked brown hair shuffled in with piles of fabric in her arms. She was staggering with her steps so as not to drop the bundles while she fought to look over the stack.

"Briar, the least you can do is help me!" She sighed as Zuko rushed over to her and took half the fabrics from her, "About time…You've certainly been a brat lately-" Her face beamed red as she saw Zuko with his brows raised in confusion, "Bless my heart, you're certainly not my niece." Eyes shifting over him, she grinned while dropping her voice, "Though I don't blame her for inviting you here."

Zuko's face beamed as dark as his scar, "Who are you?"

"Hikaru." She set the fabrics on the empty side of the table and straightened out the wrinkled folds of her skirt, "I'm her advisor." She gave a thoughtful sigh, "Been that for thirty years..."

Zuko still looked confused, "You've always been an advisor?"

"Correct, Sugar." She couldn't help but notice how red his face was, "But ever since that damned girl took over, my hair has been graying." She affectionately smiled despite her words, "Now, what are you doing in this palace."

Zuko shrugged while finally setting the fabrics down, "I'm not sure what I'm doing."

Hikaru held up one of the silks that was a deep, rich green, "You could join Briar for the festival tonight. You'd certainly look good on her arm!"

Zuko was back to blushing, "What festival?"

"It's a celebration for the coming of spring. There's music and dancing and plenty of food and drink! I could sew you up a magnificent costume-"

"Thanks, but I'd rather not."

Hikaru seemed to take that personally, "It's the least you can do while you stay here."

"I don't enjoy parties."

"I don't give a fuck what you don't enjoy." Zuko was taken aback, eyes widened while she tossed the fabric back onto the table, "You've got to be the reason why my niece has been so stressed these past few days."

"I wouldn't doubt that…" he muttered.

"Do me a favor and consider the festival." She started to leave, but glanced over her shoulder, "She needs a little help. She has too much responsibility for a sixteen year old."

With a nod, she disappeared down the hall way, though the calmness of her words was broken as she began hollering for Briar.

Zuko ran his fingers over the fabric that she had held up to him, musing on the idea of joining her at the festival. He wasn't sure what to think about it aside from that he didn't want to be surrounded by people that rejected him. Deciding that he wouldn't think about it, he shuffled out into the hallway and upstairs to where his bedchambers were.

. . . .

"You told him- what?"

"It was a suggestion. You always mope about never having a gentleman to go with."

"He's not a gentleman, and I don't always mope!"

Briar howled as Hikaru intentionally prodded her with the needle she was using to stitch her new gown together. Her aunt shook her head while continuing her work, "You do realize who he is, right?"

"What? A Fire Nation Prince?" Briar sighed while staring at herself in the three way mirror in front of her, "He's told me nothing about himself."

"I only know a little servant's gossip." Hikaru finished the first robe, pleased by the gold trimming around the bottom of the skirt, "He was banished by his father three years ago. He has some impossible task to complete, though I don't know the depth of it."

Briar remained silent in her thoughts while her aunt continued constructing her marvelous costume for the festival that night. There were several layers, but Hikaru had carefully crafted it so that her curves were well defined. The gold and green were richer than any other fabric she had used in the past. The sleeves of the robes hung off her shoulders to reveal the twisting, thorny tribal band tattoo across her collarbones. Touching her hand to the artwork, she cast her eyes to the floor.

"I know that face…" Hikaru smiled while grabbing a golden headdress with jade stones from a vanity desk that was overflowing with jewelry. Setting it upon Briar's head, she gave her a tight hug, "You can't save everyone."

"But his solitude is what concerns me." Briar stepped off the platform she had been standing on and strode outside across her balcony. She was joined quickly by her aunt, "What drive does he even have to live?"

"That can't be your concern. People don't always have a meaning to life."

"It doesn't sit well with me," Briar murmured.

Hikaru shrugged, "If it bothers you that much then you need to get him to join you tonight and see if you can loosen that tongue of his."

Briar nodded, though she wasn't exactly sure how to go about that.

. . . .

Briar stood outside his chamber doors, bouncing from heel to toe while rehearsing what she figured would make him agree to going with her. It was a long shot that he would even answer to her incessant knocking, and her last resort was to just invite herself in. Though she had heard of her aunt's stories of breaking in on people, she wasn't too discouraged to try it. She felt a tad silly to be adorned in such elaborate clothes hours before the celebration, but her agitation with his solitude was a distraction from it.

Sighing heavily, she set her hand on the knob and slowly opened the door. As she strode inside, she felt the daunting emptiness while slowly peering around every corner for any sign of him. She nearly tripped over her own feet, stumbling against a dresser as she finally found him. She repressed her giggling while staring at his peaceful face that was deep in sleep.

She tiptoed over to the edge of the bed, her fingertips brushing over the scar on his face. Glad that he hadn't stirred, she leisurely sat down and stared at him, perplexed at how serene he was. She'd never imagined him to achieve such tranquility with the turmoil he had allowed to estrange him. When she brushed her fingertips over his scar once more, her wrist was seized and she was rolled across the sheets, Zuko overtop of her with a knife in his hand.

"This is a predicament…" Briar whispered, though she enjoyed the burning in his eyes from being caught off guard.

"What were you doing?"

"Can't quite say I know." She blushed while he tucked the knife away, "That was a rather hostile reaction."

She caught her breath at just how close he was to her, his bare chest just a gasp away from pressing to hers. With the slightest lift of her head she could kiss his calloused and sunburned lips, but she didn't dare venture into the curiosity of discovering what a Fire Nation Prince would taste like. She found herself imagining a thousand spices that would sting her tongue and scorch her lips, but the pain would be so pleasurable that she wouldn't be able to let him go. His eyes had surrendered to her for the slightest moment, but he cast his stare aside while wrinkling his nose.

"You just startled me," he muttered.

He drew in a deep breath that swept the air from her lungs before climbing off her. He paused as his fingers barely brushed her shoulder, which made her skin light up with tiny goose-bumps. His eyes found the tattoo across her collarbones where the bosom of her dress was slouching off her breasts. There was a twinge in his gut that wanted to touch her.

Briar sat up and fixed her sleeves so that they sat on her shoulders again. She watched as he stood to retrieve his robe from the chair by the ebony desk, "I want to request something of you."

"What's your request?"

Briar drew herself up taller while her hands disappeared into the sleeves of her gown. Her eyes sharpened, their stone cold stare enough to make any normal man beg for mercy, but it had little effect on him, "I request that you accompany me tonight to the festival."

He hardly took a second to think over his answer, "No."

"It's an order. I will not so generously give you shelter without a benefit to myself."

"How is it a benefit if I go to this stupid festival?"

Briar's face was flushing, "I am in need of an escort. It would be unfit as the future queen to go by myself."

Zuko's eyes narrowed to a heinous glare, "I'm not going. Your people have already branded me a criminal."

"You are to wear a mask to this celebration. No one will know who you are." Briar was growing agitated, "My people were not the ones to brand you. Your people did that."

She wasn't ready for the hand that seized her wrist and drew her close, but not in that sudden turn of romantic intentions. His grip was painful while he twisted her wrist so that she yelped from the discomfort. Nails scratching at his hand to release her, she found herself staring up into his eyes, empty and soulless with a fire of agony blazing.

"You know nothing about my scar," he hissed.

"You refuse to tell me anything," she retorted.

"It's none of your business."

He tossed her aside, turning his back, but was stopped when Briar threw her shoe at him. The slipper bounced off his head, which made him turn around slowly to see her sitting on the floor with a smirk on her lips.

"Our conversation is not over," Briar said.

"I don't take orders from you-"

"You will if it means you are to remain in my palace." She rose with fluid grace and strode over to him, picking up her shoe that sat between them, "Whether you like it or not, you will attend this celebration tonight or, I assure you, I will turn you over to the authorities of the Earth King. I can promise you that they are less merciful than I."

Zuko grimaced, agitated by the amusement in her eyes, "You've resorted to threatening me into attending?"

She licked her lips, an action that made his heart skip a beat, "It was worth a shot."

She held her shoe out to him, leaving the wordless silence to express her intention. He grudgingly took it from her and knelt to the ground where she held her barefoot out to him. Sliding the slipper on, his eyes found a scar that looked to go up her shin. But she quickly fidgeted with her skirts to keep it hidden. When he rose to his feet, he saw a slight blush had risen in her already rouged cheeks.

"I'll go…" He groaned as her face lit up, "But I'm not going to be happy about it."

Briar walked over to the door, glancing over her shoulder, "I will have my aunt tailor you a suit." But before she got too far out the door, she whispered, "Thank you."

Zuko sighed as she disappeared from the room, venturing down the hallway to wherever she felt she needed to go. He mused on the sound of her voice, so small, yet echoing across the walls as she spoke those two words. He hadn't heard that in a very long time.

. . . .

He came into the main hallway with such volatility that she wondered if he felt like a prince again. His tunic was the finest silk in the land, emerald green to match her gown with gold trimming. He wore brown underneath with a simple mask of gold silk that made his eyes flicker like candles in the evening breeze. Each muscle of his body was flexed with tension, the lines defined from under his elaborate costume. He was breathtaking, but not in that "Prince Charming" way.

Briar smiled as he strolled up beside her and took her hand, pressing a kiss to her skin. Glancing over his shoulder, she watched her aunt smile from around the corner. He said nothing while offering his arm to her, which she gladly took with a childish giggle. She felt his muscles relax as she led him outside where a thousand or so lanterns were lit like the stars in the nighttime sky above them. Music was blaring loudly, mixed with the sounds of laughter.

It had been such a long time since he'd seen that many people gathered for a happy occasion. He felt Briar tugging him through the crowds that parted to bow in respect to her. It wasn't like she was attempting to hide her identity with the giant butterfly mask she wore. Cheering ensued until the music changed and people rushed to find a partner to dance with. Zuko could feel the burn of a couple girls' eyes on the back of his neck, which made him blush.

"You look uncomfortable," Briar said while stopping beside a stand that was selling fruity drinks.

"What's the purpose of all this?" Zuko murmured.

She picked up a chalice, taking a sip, "This is a celebration of life and love. The mask is our façade from the times of old that we shed when Spring gives birth." She leaned closer to him, hand pressed to his strong torso, "The mask is removed when you receive a kiss."

Zuko's eyes widened in alarm and he instinctively pushed her back, "A kiss?"

"It doesn't have to be passionate…" she mumbled with agitation.

She set the empty drink down while ushering him to join her in the next dance, but he seemed less than eager to oblige. Leaving him once a handsome young man took her hand, she allowed herself to be swept away into the crowd where the music was blaring so loud she could hardly hear her own thoughts that were worried about Zuko. He was standing by himself against the wall of a building, watching the world that was bustling with life in front of him.

Though the young man she was dancing with was attractive, he was not a graceful dancer. She managed to yank herself from his arms and rush off to find a different fellow. As she neared Zuko with a wave, an arm linked around her waist and it was back to the dance floor with her. This man was more persistent, but when he went to give her a kiss, she covered his mouth before dismissing herself. She denied any next person that asked her dance- She was bound and determined to make Zuko join her.

"You have many admirers," Zuko muttered as she strolled up beside him.

She linked her arm with his like a silly school girl, "I wouldn't say admirers."

"Your people hold you in high regard."

"It's early…" She sighed heavily while watching the people around her that were illuminated by the green and gold paper lanterns that were strung from rooftop to rooftop. The poverty her people suffered through was vanquished by the sense of joy and unity, "Will you dance with me?"

His eyes widened and he wiggled his arm from her hold, "I don't dance."

"Everyone dances." She set her hands on her hips, "Stop being such a baby."

"I agreed to escort you, and that's all."

Briar stomped her foot, and Zuko felt the earth shake underneath him, "It's just a dance!"

When she realized that he wasn't going to change his mind, she stomped off back through the crowds of people, which filled him with a sense of relief. He leaned back against the wall as he followed her butterfly mask that came to life while she was spun round and round into the arms of several different suitors; though he knew none of them stood a chance. Drowsiness ensued the longer he watched her twirl, but he was thwarted from his trance when someone tugged at the sleeve of his tunic.

Glancing to his left, he saw a little girl with bright green eyes and curly brown hair. Her mask was in her hand and she was giggling as quietly as possible. Her cheeks were flushed pink as she beckoned him to come closer. When he knelt down, she stood up on her toes, pecking a sweet kiss to his cheek. Her giggling became louder as he blushed.

"Now, you have to take off your mask!" she cheered.

Zuko paused, his skin blanching while he held a hand to the edge of the silk. He was hesitant, but her beady eyes made him forget what lie underneath. When he removed his mask, he saw that the little girl's eyes remained full of innocence.

She tapped him on the shoulder while pointing to Briar, who was enjoying a hearty conversation, "Someone needs to kiss the princess."

His mouth was agape as he fumbled for a response, but the girl was quickly swept away by a frantic mother, whose stare made him remember who he was. Standing up to his full height, he bowed his head to her.

"Tabitha, you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers." The mother began walking away, "Especially not Fire Nation scum."

Zuko sighed, bringing his hand to the scar on his face. Burning in his eyes were the tears from the pain of begging for mercy from his father. As he tugged at the mask in his hands, he heard of pair of footsteps slink up to him, and when he turned his head, he saw Briar's butterfly mask.

"Was she a sweet one?" Briar chimed.

Zuko bowed his head, "I want to go back."

Raising a brow, Briar stepped in front of him and lifted his chin with a gentle finger, "What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired."

She held his gaze, her heart racing at the tears that were held back in his eyes. She carefully brought her hand against his scar, the touch of her enough to send a shiver down his skin. He leaned into her hand in desire of her gentleness. Stepping closer to her, he heard those words of the little girl until reality hit him between the eyes and he pulled her hand from his face.

"I want to go back to the palace," he said.

Briar didn't bother arguing, but linked her arm with his and slowly made her way back toward her palace that had a gloom about it against the star streaked horizon. Zuko was quick to dismiss himself from her in the instance that they walked inside, which left Briar to stand by herself. She stared at the emptiness of the hallways and slowly removed her mask. Unfortunately, the loneliness never left, and her façade remained intact.

"Who kissed you?"

Briar glanced over her shoulder as her aunt hustled up beside her and swung an arms around her in a hug, "No one kissed me, Auntie."

Hikaru lifted a brow, "Are you serious? Not even that handsome fellow of yours-?"

"He's not mine!" Briar's voice echoed off the walls and Hikaru held her hands up in a sign of peace, "He's nothing…"

"It was only a joke."

"I'm going to bed."

Hikaru watched her niece shuffle off with defeat weighing her shoulders down, "Sweet dreams…"