Chapter Three: Meeting the Fiance

A week passed uneventfully as the day of the Ball grew closer. Kira had growing doubts with each passing moment and all she could do with her opinions was sit outside by the small pond behind her house and watch the fish swim carelessly in circles or patterns. Kira sighed slowly and dipped the tips of her fingers into the water, giggling softly as one of the fish swam over to her hand and brushed its tail against it. "Well, hello to you too." She said to the fish as it continued to swim around her hand. "It must be nice, just swimming in the water all day, not worrying about anything."

"You always were so in love with animals." A sudden deep voice made Kira freeze and remove her hand from the water. She knew who the voice belonged to, and she had been hoping not to run into him. She heard him chuckle when she remained still and take a few steps towards her. "It's such an attractive quality."

"Commander Zhao, I would like some time alone with my thoughts, if you don't mind." Kira's voice held no emotion, as it often did when she spoke to him. She knew that he wanted her, in more ways than one, and to be honest, that kind of scared her. Kira had always known Zhao to be a man who takes what he wants. Hopefully the fact that her father was the Fire Lord would save her from being another conquest obtained by Commander Zhao. Kira heard him chuckle again and take a few more steps towards her until he was standing right behind her. He took a strand of her hair into his hand and began twirling it around.

"My dear, we both know you don't want me to leave. Let me stay with you. Let me.. Be with you." Zhao said in a very lustful tone, causing the hairs on the back of Kira's neck to stand up. She closed her eyes for a minute, thinking of what to do. She didn't notice his hand on her bare shoulder.

"No, I do want you to leave, or I'll have to get my father involved." Kira smiled inwardly when she felt his hand fall from her shoulder, and she slowly stood up, idly dusting off her satin red dress. She pushed her hair back off her shoulders and fixed her golden ringlet. "Now.. If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to. I'll see you at dinner, Commander. Good day." She brushed past him, leaving him speechless and rejected.

Kira couldn't believe that man. He hadn't the right to put his hands on her, or present himself in such a manner. He was commander in her father's army, after all! Kira let out a huff of irritation and stormed back up to the palace, her arms crossed over her chest. Once she entered the main hallway, she stopped and leaned against the wall, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts. This was no time to be worrying about that pig. It was nearly dinner time, and tonight was the night that she was finally going to meet her suitor. At the thought, Kira's stomach turned uncomfortable. So many thoughts were running through her head; Would she like him? Would he be a proper husband? And was she ready for this?

"Princess," A guard walking towards her pulled her back to reality, and she shook the questions out of her head. The guard lowered to one knee and bowed his head, then looked up at Kira. "Your father sent me to fetch you. He says it's time you begin getting ready for your dinner with your fiancé." He explained, never leaving a kneeling position. Kira nodded and waved her hand to dismiss the guard.

"Thank you. You may tell him that I am on my way to get ready now, and I'll see him shortly." Kira's voice was distracted, and she didn't wait for the guard to say anything before she walked away from him, going up to her bedroom. Her room was fairly big, with red walls. In the far left corner of the room was a king-sized four poster bed with black silk sheet and at least a dozen red pillows. Opposite the bed was a large mahogany wardrobe with gold handles. On the other side of the room was a gold vanity table various perfumes, hair clips, and make-up brushes.

Kira walked across her room and noticed that there was an outfit already laid out on her bed. She guessed that one of her servants set it out for her. When she got to the door next to the wardrobe, she pushed it opened to reveal a spotless bathroom. It was like any other bathroom; White tile reflecting light perfectly matched the white marble floor, a white porcelain toilet next to a matching sink, across from a tub that was placed next to a shower. The tub was filled with steaming water, and there were three servants standing by it; One boy and two girls. The boy looked familiar.

"Good evening, Princess." The boy said with a slight smirk. Kira looked him over more carefully, but it wasn't until she looked at his ocean blue eyes that she realized that it was Sokka. A small smirk of her own now formed on her previously tired face, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"So my father has you working as a servant now, huh?" Kira offered tauntingly, moving behind the changing curtain to undress. "I always figured you to be useful for something." She laughed as she slipped out of her uncomfortable dress and slipped on a black silk robe.

"Very funny. But it's better than being held up in that dungeon." Sokka retorted as he watched Kira come out from behind the curtain in her new attire. The robe wasn't very long. It only came up to the middle of her thigh, and it fell open a little at the cleavage, making Sokka's cheeks turn a little pink. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away when he noticed her looking at him.

"I suppose it is." Yes, Kira had indeed been looking at him. The baggy, red cotton pants that hugged around his waist, and the black sleeveless vest with red around the hems made him look all the more muscular. And the way his hair fell loosely over his forehead made him even more attractive. Kira shook the thoughts that were forming out of her head and walked closer to the tub. The other two servants took blindfolds out of the pockets and tied them over their eyes. Sokka looked at them in confusion. Kira saw this and giggled. "Well you don't expect me to let you all see me without clothing on, do you?" She picked up a blindfold from the sink and tossed it to him.

"I guess that makes sense." Sokka caught it and tied it over his eyes. Kira made sure that he couldn't see, then she let the bathrobe fall off her shoulders and hit the ground in a puddle around her as she quickly gathered her hair in a messy bun. She stepped into the water and let out a sigh of relief as she slid down and leaned her back against the side of the tub. Kira tilted her head back and closed her eyes for a moment, then removed her hands from the water, snapping her fingers. At the same time, the two female servants each took one of Kira's hands and began giving her a manicure. Kira sighed peacefully again and opened one eye to look at Sokka.

"Your princess is hungry, servant." Oh yes… Kira was enjoying this. Sokka growled in frustration, clearly not liking that he couldn't see. Kira giggled at this.

"How would you like me to get you food when I can't see?" Sokka asked through gritted teeth, trying to keep calm. The princess annoyed him greatly. He wanted nothing more than to put her in her place. But there was something about her that intrigued him. So he kept calm.

"There are a bowl of grapes two steps to your left." Kira informed him, idly making little splashes with her toes. Sokka felt around blindly until he found and picked up the bowl of grapes that Kira had asked for. "Good boy. Now take one step to your right and then five forward." Sokka did as she instructed, and soon felt his hip brush against the edge of the tub. He sighed in frustration and held out the bowl of grapes.

"Here." Sokka said grumpily, holding out the bowl of grapes. Kira smirked and rolled her eyes.

"My hands are a little busy at the moment, getting massaged and all that. Feed them to me?" Kira batted her long eyelashes, even though Sokka couldn't see, and smiled sweetly. She heard a low growl from the back of Sokka's throat, and it almost made her want to see how far she could push him. Reluctantly, he held the bowl with one hand, while he slowly fed the grapes to Kira. She smiled in satisfaction as she ate, but soon became aware of the time. "You may all stop." All at once, the three servants stopped what they were doing and Kira pulled her hands back. She examined her freshly filed and cleaned nails and marveled how they looked like glass.

"So do we have to dress you as well, or can you do that all by yourself?" Sokka challenged, leaning against one of the walls. Kira glared at him as she stood up and took a white fluffy towel from one of the other servants. The helped her step out of the tub and she wrapped the towel around her slender form. Kira walked over to the Sokka and stood in front of his. She reached up and pulled the blindfold off of his face, surprising him.

"One more crack like that, and I'll show you what I can do all by myself. And trust me, it'll burn. See you around." With a final smirk and single finger trailing down Sokka's cheek, Kira turned and walked back into her room. She quickly dried her body and tossed the towel carelessly to the side. Her eyes looked over the dress for a moment and she sighed. It was a fairly simple dress; Red, strapless, formfitting. Kira slipped into it and adjusted it. It hugged her curves nightly, showing a small bit of cleavage, and coming to the middle of her thighs. To go along with the dress, there was a black shear hooded cape that dusted against the floor. Once dressed, Kira walked over to the vanity table and sat down on the stool. She pulled the hair clip from her hair and watched it fall around her shoulders.

Soon, Kira's hair was brushed, and sported a silver hair clip with a jeweled dragon on it keeping the her hair out of her face. She took one final look in the mirror and sighed, standing up. Kira hated being presented as a perfect doll. But that was a price being princess came with. There was a loud know on her door that caused her to turn around, and whoever it was didn't wait for permission to enter. The door opened and Commander Zhao leaned against the doorframe, grinning. "You look stunning, my dear."

"I don't believe I ever said you could enter." Kira glared at the man in her doorway. This man was really starting to annoy Kira. His persistency wasn't an admirable quality.

"My apologies, Your Highness. But your father sent me to escort you to dinner." Zhao held out his hand for Kira's, urging her to take it, but she just looked at him.

"I don't need an escort, thank you very much." Kira waved her hand in dismissal, and walked out the door. She could feels Zhao's eyes follow her, and she could feel the familiar chills running down her spine. In a few minutes, she entered the dining room to be greeted by her father, her sister, two of her sisters friends, and someone that Kira didn't recognize. He had light brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail, dark, nearly black eyes, a hansom face, and a well-built body. He dressed in rich-looking clothes and he had an arrogant look to him. 'That must be my fiancé.' Kira thought as she idly lifted her hand to touch the necklace he sent for her.

"My Princess." He said, his voice deep and powerful. He stood up from his place at the table and walked around to stand in front of Kira. He looked her up and down for a moment, then took one of her hands and brought it to his mouth. "Your father told me how beautiful you were, but his words do you know justice." He said smoothly, smiling when he saw the blush on her face. "My name is Yen. And it is my honor to be graced by your presence."

"So charming. Show me to my seat?" Kira asked, giggling flirtatiously. She was actually impressed. Her eyes made contact with Sokka's as he poured more wine for her father, and he briefly mocked Yen's actions so only Kira could see. Kira could help but laugh, earning curious looks from most of the people in the room. "Uh… I was just thinking about how nervous I was to meet you. But that all seems so silly now." Kira said cleverly. Yen laughed as well and ushered Kira to her seat between her father and him.

Dinner went by slowly for Kira. Yen never stopped talking about himself, and barely paid attention to her, unless is was to steal a quick kiss, or put his hand on her knee under the table. Soon, after what seemed like forever, the Fire Lord raised his arms and chuckled. "An excellent feast. Now, I'll leave you all to mingle." And with that, Ozai stood and walked out of the room, accompanied by Zhao. Azula and her friends started talking secretly to each other, while the servants started cleaning up.

"How about we go back to your room and get to know each other a little better?" Yen smirked, lightly kissing Kira's lips. His hand, which was resting on her knee, started moving slowly up as the kiss deepened a little. Kira pulled away and stood up, not wanting that much physical contact so soon.

"You know, I'm a little tired. I think I'll just go to bed." Kira curtsied and bowed her head a little. Yen didn't look pleased, but he nodded and kissed the back of Kira's hand.

"Until tomorrow, my love." Yen kissed her one last time on the lips and retreated to another room. Kira looked around and noticed that Azula and her friends had left as well. In fact, now she was left alone in a dining room full of busy servants.

"Well, he looks like a keeper." Sokka mocked, coming up behind Kira. She sighed and turned around, looking at him.

"Don't you ever have anything nice to say?" She wasn't in the mood for this. Too many things were going through her head and all she wanted to do was scream and run. In her eyes, he could see that something was off, but he chose to ignore it.

"No, not really." Sokka said, a sly smile on his face. Kira hissed in annoyance and walked away from him, closing her eyes as she walked. It's been a long day.

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There you have it. Another chapter. Tell me what you thought.