Privyet Everyone! So... the latest S&S Chap. Also: I made a bl og. I'm putting my chapters up for this book I'm writing, Vanishing Act. Here's a lin k:

. I don't know if that showed up, but whatever. If you really want the link, PM me.

I'd moved on from silly things long ago, like the stuffed bunny I used to carry (Usa-Chan!), or the notion my father was still alive. But the one thing I hadn't moved on from was the idea that one day, maybe next week, Zuko would come walking around the corner and recognize me. I was surprised that he had recognized me when I had saved him, but I knew that, like an arrow through the eye or lightning striking the top of the Palace, it wouldn't happen again. I walked through one of the more quiet parks in the Fire Nation and sat down on a bench, thinking.

"Hey you!" A little boy ran over to me.

"Yes?" I asked, a little bit annoyed at his rudeness (I was having a bad day, what can I say?).

"Are you the girl who saved the Firelord?" He asked, pulling out a piece of paper holding my likeness. I was surprised how similar the picture was to me.

"Um, I guess so..." I responded, taking the picture from him. My full name was written out: Zai Lin Xiao, meaning 'little owl in the forest'. [A/N I didn't know that until after I came up with her name... What a coincidence.] Under my name, it read: Zai Lin Xiao must report to the Firelord's Palace immediately. Unlike most Firelord propaganda (which was normally about the Harmony Restoration Movement, which had failed), the words were written in a dark orange ink that somehow symbolized urgency.

"Well?" I had forgotten about the little boy.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to see Firelord Zuko?" He asked.

"I-I guess so." I nodded to the boy and ran off, taking the poster with me. My heart was pounding so hard I thought my chest would explode, even though it'd been a year and a half since I'd actually had a direct conversation with the guy. When I arrived at the palace, I stopped before one of the pillars and took a deep breath. My ivory hair was a mess and my jacket was in shreds.

It can wait at least an hour, can't it? I thought and began to run off.

"Zai?" A voice called out. I whirled around to find who but my ex standing not too far away.

"Look, I'll come back later looking more... respectable." I called back and ran away before he had time to protest. I opened the door to one of those shops I'd never be caught dead in normally. Little bells jingled above me as I closed the door. Some people gave me rude looks, but I just ignored them and made a beeline for the dressing rooms. I removed my ponytail ribbon and raked my fingers through my hair until it looked presentable. I re-tied my hair. Next was my attire. My pants didn't look terrible, just a bit ripped and dirty and short and.. who was I kidding? I needed new clothing ASAP. I sorted through the contents of my bag and found money I'd never seen the point of using. I always just washed my same clothes over and over and hunted and gathered my food. After purchasing a new set of baggy black pants, a vest much like the one Toph wore for her Fire Nation outfit, and a hairbrush, then putting them on- except for the brush-, I was ready.

~.oO0Oo.~

As soon as the Palace came into view, my heart began to beat rapidly to the point where I thought that it was going to burst out of my chest. I placed a hand over it in an attempt to still my heart, but it was in vain. Why is my heart beating so fast anyways? I thought to myself. I can't still have feelings for him, can I? Maybe I do... I shook my head quickly to banish the thought from my brain. I walked out on him, after all. I stood at the front door. I raised a fist to knock, but before my fist collided with the door it swung open. I stopped myself just in time, because an inch closer and I would have broken the nose of my ex-boyfriend the Firelord, who stood before me. I lowered my hand and lowered myself into a traditional Fire Nation bow.

"You don't have to bow." He said. I stood up, and for the first time in months, my eyes collided with his.

"Sorry. I saw your poster, what did you want to talk about?" I averted my gray-black orbs from his amber ones quickly, hoping I wouldn't fall for him over again. He didn't love me anyways. Nobody did.

"Come inside." He pushed the door open fully and we stepped inside together, our legs moving in synch. I followed him through a few hallways and rooms, most of which were bigger than I'd ever seen before, until we came to his chambers. I sat on the floor and he sat on his bed.

"I've seen you sleeping outside, and I wondered..." He trailed off. "I wondered if you were okay." He mumbled, looking a little embarrassed. I knew that he was only asking me because he was the Firelord and he was supposed to care about everyone's wellbeing, but still, I was shocked. I nodded.

"Yes, I'm alright. Didn't I tell you once that I'd been living outside for a while before I'd met you?" I refused to believe that he cared about me. I played the sentence over in my head. Spirits, I sounded rude and bratty. I softened my tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you saved me... And winter is coming soon... So if you wanted to stay here in a spare room, you're welcome to. So I could, you know, return the favor."

"I'd like that, thanks." And for some reason, he laughed. It was strange to hear him laugh, I'd only heard his laugh once or twice. But it was contagious, and I began to giggle too.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked in between giggles.

"That's what you said to me the day we met and I wanted you to come join us." Zuko stopped laughing, but the ghost of a smile still lingered on his face.

"Oh, yeah." I reminisced. I wished we were still together.

"Mai and I broke up." He blurted.

"Oh, um..." I didn't know how to respond. So in one quick motion, I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck. It was a quick hug, but as I stepped away from him, I felt very satisfied. "Thanks for letting me stay here for the winter." Winters here were very mild and often it didn't even snow, like last year, but this year all the local fortune tellers predicted the same thing: bitter cold and harsh weather.

"No problem."

Filler chapter is filler.