CHAPTER 11
I felt like a child being scolded by their mother as I sat in the infirmary on the ship. Zuko was pacing angrily, although I've tried to explain to him what happened. I think he was more angry at Commander Zhao than at me. Finally, he spoke again, making me cringe.
"I gave you a direct order, Kiara. You deliberately disobeyed me," he said. "Why did you tell them?"
"I didn't tell them, Prince Zuko. I-" He cut me off with a shout.
"Don't lie to me! How else would he know about that unless you told them?" He glared angrily at the medic for a second. "Are you done yet?" he questioned.
The medic jumped a little, then scrambled away. I didn't blame him. Zuko's a little moody right now. "Y-yes, sir. All finished," the medic said. I smiled kindly at him and hopped down from the examination table, only to have Zuko grab my arm and pull me away before I could thank him.
"Kiara, how many times are you going to defy me?" Zuko asked.
I stopped walking and yanked my arm away from him, making him stop as well. We were nearly to his room. "How many times are you going to change your mood? When are you going to be the Prince Zuko that I grew up with, the one who liked to have fun?" I shot back.
"What do you mean? I've always been this way."
I shook my head with a dry laugh. "No. You were nice once, fun even. You spent your time feeding turtle-ducks instead of sparring. And you watched me play Pai Sho with Iroh, laughing whenever either one of us lost. Where did that Prince Zuko go?"
In one swift movement, Zuko had both of my arms in his hands and my back against the cool metal of the wall. "That Prince Zuko is long gone. You can thank my father for that. And I don't know if you've noticed, but there aren't any turtle-ducks around here," he hissed. "Come on." He pulled me away from the wall and continued to his room, opening the door and practically throwing me on the mattress.
I silently watched as he slipped his shirt off and sat cross-legged on the pillow on the floor, his muscular back facing me. He lit the candles with his finger, then began meditating. I slowly stood up and gathered his shirt from the floor, putting it in the pantry. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get through to him. He was too stubborn. Maybe once he calmed down... No, I have to do it now.
"You're wrong, you know," I finally said, making him look at me. "That Prince Zuko is still in there. I know he is. If he wasn't, you wouldn't have taken me straight to the infirmary when we got back to the ship. You would have let the mark swell up. You would have burnt me when I pulled away from you. That's how I know."
"Maybe. But that still doesn't excuse you from telling them what happened," he calmly stated.
With a slight shake of my head, I replied, "You never gave me a chance to tell you what happened."
"Then tell me." He crossed his arms.
I went closer to the prince and sat across from him, my legs cross and hands folded in my lap. "I never told them that you hit me. My brother assumed that you had threatened me to defend you. Then he asked if you'd hit me before and I hesitated. That's what gave it away. I never told them anything."
"You defended me?" he asked. I nodded.
"My brother can be difficult and he doesn't trust easily. So when I defended you, he thought something was up, that you were threatening me or something. I-"
"You could've lied and said yes."
"But I didn't."
Zuko sighed and scratched his neck. "I guess I owe you an-" I cut him off this time.
"Don't, Prince Zuko. It's fine. I'm sure if you and my siblings get to know each other, you'll get along. I may not remember much about them, but I know they're good people."
"But why did you defend me?" he asked.
"Do you even have to ask? Prince Zuko, I'm only going to say this once, so you'd better be listening..." I took a deep breath and sighed. "Our friendship means more to me than anything else. I do what I can to keep you satisfied, and if it's not working, you need to tell me. Through all the years I've known you, you've been my best friend, the person I can count on. Sure, we have our rough patches, but every friendship has those. I can literally sit and watch you meditate for hours because the flames fascinate me. And although you're stubborn and pigheaded, being your friend is the greatest thing that's happened to me...even though you technically own me."
Maybe it was the candlelight, but I could have sworn the prince was blushing. There was the faintest amount of pink on his cheeks. And he gave me a simple half smile before standing up and holding his hand out to me. When I took it, he pulled me up to my feet and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Kiara, thank you," was all he said before pulling me into his arms. I responded instinctively by hugging him back, my arms wrapped around his torso. His scent filled my nostrils. Just like always, he smelled of fire and a bit of ocean, which made me smile. "I really needed that."
I chuckled. "What would you do without me?" I questioned sarcastically.
"Don't ruin the moment, Ki." I could hear the smile in his voice. I only nodded in reply.
Please, Universe, don't tear us apart. I can't stand it when we fight. Just do me a favor and keep him safe and happy...