Disclaimer: If I owned A:TLA, this would be on the TV right this moment. Is it? No. So all you lawyers out there can sue someone else. Hmph!
AN: Thanks for the reviews guys, it means I can write more for you! And then you can enjoy it! I would like some more before I update again, so get reviewing! Sorry for not updating in so long, busy times equals very little time for writing Fanfiction, and multiple fanfics on the go means that I have to zoom around each one and write for them in turn :S Now… ENJOY!
Chapter Three: Nobody's Perfect
Appa landed at the start of the road leading up to the palace steps. Each of them jumped off while Aang asked a man if there was somewhere Appa could be looked after, he ended up taking the avatar's bison to the stables.
"Thank you!" Aang shouted over his shoulder, feeling slightly guilty and like he was taking advantage of the man's kindness. He had had time to get used to this type of thing for years now, but it still came unnaturally to him occasionally.
"My pleasure, Avatar!"
They walked the length of the road and reached the steps at the end, then walked up and asked if it was possible to see the Earth King.
"I'm sorry Avatar, but the Earth King is currently engaged in other business."
"But sir," Katara pleaded, "It's really important."
"I suppose you could see him," said the man, "But you will have to apologise for interrupting him."
They walked through into the entrance hall, "This way," Toph instructed, and led them through the maze of rooms and passages until finally they reached a colossal set of gold doors, "We're here," she told them.
"I think you should do the honours," Zuko said, walking up to Leila.
"Right," She muttered.
"You can do it," Zuko put a hand on her shoulder, she looked at him and gave a smile of thanks, he smiled back.
Leila took a deep breath, and turned to Toph, "You're sure they're in there?"
"Absolutely."
Leila turned again and pushed open the massive doors, but instead of looking to find her family, she gazed in awe at the beautiful architecture.
The walls were green, a lovely emerald, with beautiful patterns of gold and silver leaves lining them. Going around the walls of the room was a balcony, held up by pillars with again gold and silver leaves decorating them. The floor was the same shade of green as the walls, and was slippery and slidey. However, the majority of it was covered by a large rug. Leading up to the throne-
Where the Earth King sat.
"Rai, I cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour! Especially from you!" he shouted at the young man in front of him.
"But father, I did nothing wrong!"
"You deliberately disobeyed my orders!"
"Your 'orders' were to stay inside and do something!"
"Exactly! I don't understand why you could not just do what you are told for once!"
"Because I want some freedom!" Rai shouted at the Earth King.
"Look, Rai," the Earth King said, lowering his voice, "Having the prince running around with the Kiazi Gang isn't right, it looks horrific, as if I can't control you!"
"You can't control me father! I need to have some time to myself for once, where I can be a normal person! Not this uprising prince that everybody is talking about!"
Leila looked at the Gaang, "I can't believe it…"
"Leila what's the matter?" Katara asked.
"The Kiazi Gang… they... they were a group of thugs, bandits. Years ago, they terrorised the streets of Ba Sing Sei, and worked for the person, Kiazi, who captured me. My brother, Rai… it sounds like he's joined them."
"I don't know about that…" Toph said uneasy, again.
"What do you mean?"
"As we were walking here, I was sensing the heart rates in the throne room, one of them-supposedly your brother's- got faster for a split second, I think it was as he-"
"Keui! Rai! Stop it this instance!" shouted the normally soft but now harsh voice of Queen Isabella, "You have guests!"
The pair turned to see the Gaang, but couldn't see Leila, as she was behind Katara and Zuko, "You guys go in," she said, "I think I need a minute…"
The Gaang walked in, the doors shutting behind them.
"Avatar! My friends! What brings you here in these happy times?" The King exclaimed, shooting a look at Rai which said 'we'll talk about this later…' He got down off the throne, "Please, come forward, you are always welcome guests."
"King Keui, it is an honour, again." Aang bowed.
"The honour is mine, but, why have you come?"
"We're sorry for disturbing you your majesty," Katara started.
"But we've got a visitor for you." Zuko finished.
"Fire Lord Zuko, they must be of the upmost importance, of royal blood maybe?" said the King, bowing.
Toph chuckled, "You could say that."
A puzzled look came over the King's face as the door opened to reveal, in all its glory, nothingness. Leila was gone.
"Where are they?" the King asked.
"Give me just one moment your majesty." Zuko ran out of the throne room and into the hallway, he looked at a guard.
"She went that way." The guard said, pointing. Zuko nodded, and ran on until he reached another set of gold doors. Tentatively, he opened them, revealing another hallway, with a set of doors at the end. Instead of running, he walked the length of the hallway, so Leila couldn't hear him coming and reached a small set of doors at the end.
He quickly slid in and was silently closing the doors behind him when he felt the cold water on his neck, "If you want to live, you won't move."
"Leila, it's me." Zuko whispered.
"Zuko?" her expression turned to confusion for a split second as she pulled away, then it hardened, "Why are you here?"
Zuko straightened his robes, "I came to find you."
"Why? I can tell I don't belong in this family anymore."
"Leila," Zuko laughed, sitting down on a nearby bed, "You may not be the person you were five years ago, but you're better, stronger. You can bend amazingly, heck, you can bend two elements, not to mention one of them is air."
"So? What if they don't love this me, what if all they wanted was this elegant, pitiful, frail, little girl? I'm not a royal anymore," She sat down next to him, "Besides, I'm nervous. Do you know what it's like to be waiting for so long, years even, to go back to your family, be accepted and loved, and to be someone again, not just 'girl' or 'boy'."
Zuko looked down at her with pitiful eyes, and Leila put her hand to her mouth, "Zuko, I'm so sorry, I forgot…"
"It's ok," he said, standing up, "Nobody's perfect."
"Certainly not me..."
"Leila," Zuko took her hand, "Stop doubting yourself."
Leila looked into his eyes, they looked golden. Amber maybe. She thought to herself. Definitely full of emotions… bottled up, with no one to let them out on. Wow, we have a lot in common.
"Zuko-" He put a finger to her mouth and gazed into Leila's eyes for a minute. So green. He thought. So beautiful… wait what?
"We should go back," he said, pulling away.
"Yeah," Leila replied, slightly disappointed.
They walked back down to the doors and again, they were faced with the very same situation they had been a minute ago. Leila turned to Zuko, "You can do this," he encouraged and Leila pushed the doors open.
Heads turned as the fire lord and the long lost princess walked into the throne room, almost hand in hand Zuko led Leila up to the Earth king.
Leila bowed, a traditional earth kingdom bow, letting her hair cover her face as she came to a halt before her father. Her mother walked up and sat on the throne next to him, completely unaware that their daughter was stood before them.
"Who are you?" asked Queen Isabella, calmly.
Leila looked up, and her parents gave a short gasp as the hair fell from her face, "I'm Leila, your daughter."
A pin drop could be heard as no one spoke, tension rose at 100mph until it cracked, straight down the middle.
"Leila, is that really you?" Isabella rose from her seat once more and stepped down off the throne to meet the girl stood before her, "Look up, child." Leila met eyes with her mother for a moment, there was hesitation, but they immediately pulled each other into a hug.
Dontcha just LOVE cliff hangers? Oh this is gonna be a long hard road for more people other than the characters in the story! :D
I really appreciate the reviews guys! And I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but times have been hard, and I've been very busy. I promise I'm gonna try update more regularly on Fanfiction FULL stop! So if you have tabs on any of my other stories, I'm trying to update them too. Thanks for the reviews again guys! Hey, maybe if you give me some right now, I'll update quicker ;)
~Kyoshixx