CHAPTER 12

Nothing much happened after Zuko and I talked. We continued talking about random things until we were both too tired and decided to go to bed. I let the prince wash before me in the metal tub in a room connected to his, then washed myself, dressing for bed. By the time I had untangled my hair with a brush, Zuko was asleep.

I stayed awake a while longer, picking up dirty clothes of his and any trash that I saw, quietly leaving to put them where they needed to be. I would wash the clothes whenever I woke up. When I entered Zuko's room again, he was still asleep, but stirring like he was having a nightmare. I'd never known him to have nightmares, so I wasn't sure what to do.

But I sat down on the bed beside him and gently touched his arm. He didn't wake up, but his frantic movements seemed to subside.

I sighed and looked away from him until I heard his voice. "Kiara," he said. I looked back to him and saw that he was awake and looking at me.

"Yes, Prince Zuko?" I asked.

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Yes. I was just cleaning up a bit," I explained. "I'll wash the clothes when I wake up." He nodded and looked away from me. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all, Ki. What makes you think that?" he asked me.

"Oh, nothing." It was quiet again until I spoke. "You were having a nightmare. At least, that's what it seemed like."

"It's nothing. Now go to sleep." I nodded and laid down beside him with my back facing him. It wasn't long before I felt his arm around me.

~~~~~
Weeks later, I was helping the cook prepare lunch for the whole crew as I usually did three days out of the week. We had run out of spices, so I offered to go down to the storage room and get more. I had to go out onto the deck to get there, so I witnessed Zuko sparring with a crew member. On the way back to the kitchen, the ship suddenly rocked, throwing everyone off balance. I stumbled into one of the guards and we both fell, sliding all the way to the ship's side rail.

"Someone's changing our course!" Zuko exclaimed, his face growing angry. He then made his way to the control room.

"Are you alright, Miss Kiara?" the guard asked, helping me up. "You're not hurt?"

"Not at all," I replied. "Thank you. Lunch will be ready soon. I know you all must be hungry."

His eyes lit up and he smiled at the thought of food. "Indeed, Miss. Thank you." After that, I went back to the kitchen and continued preparing lunch, going out and ringing the meal bell when it was finished. The crew who weren't busy came to eat, but I made a round delivering food to the members at work. They all smiled and thanked me.

After eating lunch with Iron and Zuko, I washed the clothes that the prince had dirtied up over the past two days, allowing a firebender to dry them for me before folding them and taking them back to Zuko's room. Once there, I put them away. I did the same with the small amount of clothing I had on the ship then returned to the prince's room.

I was sitting on the bed, reading a book when he came in. "You're finished already?" he questioned and I nodded. "Good. I need someone to vent to."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I just want to talk."

"You sound like a girl," I said, closing the book and looking at him while chuckling. "Okay. What's going on?"

Zuko came and sat beside me, leaning his head back so that he was looking at the ceiling. "I've been thinking..." He stopped.

"About what?"

He sighed and fell backwards, laying with his feet hanging off the bed. "About what'll happen when I catch the Avatar."

"Your father will accept you again, you know that," I stated.

"That's not what I mean, Kiara. I mean, what'll happen to you? If I catch the Avatar and Father accepts me, he'll be breathing down my neck about everything. That means he'll expect me to treat you cruelly."

"Only in front of him."

"And Azula. She's sneaky. If she sees me treating you kindly, she'll tell Father and he'll take you away from me." He took a breath. "He'd most likely auction you off or give you to someone else, like Zhao, and I can't let that happen."

"All of this is a major if, Prince Zuko. Your father could change his mind at any moment and decide to take you back. For all we know, he could be thinking about you right now." I paused. "Maybe when you go home, you could explain it to him, tell him we're friends."

"He won't listen."

"You're always the pessimist." I laid on my side and looked at him. "But he could have developed listening skills and accept it."

With a scoff, he said, "Not likely."

"This is why you need my optimism," I said, beginning to laugh. Then I asked him, "Who changed our course?"

"Uncle did. He thinks he lost a stupid game piece so he's making us go to a market and find another," Zuko explained.

"Paid Sho?" He nodded. "I used to love playing that! Iron taught me so many strategies." I saw the prince roll his eyes. "It makes you think ahead. If you gave it a chance..." I trailed off.

Zuko looked at me, raising his eyebrow. "What?"

"Never mind."

"No, tell me."

"It's nothing, Prince Zuko."

I was suddenly on my back beneath him hovering over me. There was a playful glare in his golden eyes."Kiara," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Prince Zuko," I mocked, a small grin appearing.

"Either you tell me or I'll make you tell me." A mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Oh, really? How would you do that?" I challenged.

"I'll tickle you." My smile fell and my eyes became wide.

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Now tell me." I shook my head, biting my lip to keep from smiling again. "One... Two..." He gave me a look but I shook my head again. "Three!" His hands attacked my sides, making me burst out in laughter.

After what felt like hours, which actually only added up to two minutes, I gave in. "Alright, alright!" I exclaimed while laughing. "I'll tell you!"

This made him stop all movement and look at me expectantly. "So?"

"Don't get mad."

"I won't. Now tell me."

"Okay." I sighed. "I was going to say that you don't have the patience for Pai Sho."

Prince Zuko began laughing. It was nice to hear his laugh again. It was nice to just laugh with him again. When he stopped, he looked at me. "I'll prove you wrong, Kiara," he said.

"You won't beat me."

"Is that a challenge?" He leaned closer to me. And I realized then that he was still hovering above me. If anyone were to walk in, which I'm sure they wouldn't, they might think something and spread it among the rest of the crew. I guess Zuko realized it at the same time because his eyes widened and he rolled to the side, off of me.

"To answer your question," I said, sitting up and running a hand through my hair, "yes, yes it is." I looked at him and laughed at his expression. "What's that look for?" I asked.

"You doubt me," he replied.

"Prince Zuko, I know for a fact that you can't beat me. You've never even touched a Pai Sho piece."

He sat up and with a serious face said, "Then teach me."

I was speechless and just stared at him. Prince Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, just asked me to teach him how to play Pai Sho...

"Are you being serious?" Zuko didn't blink as he nodded. "Okay..." I glanced at the wall behind his head then fixed my gaze back on him. "Did Iroh say what piece he'd lost?"

"Something about a Lotus tile."

I gasped. "And he lost it? That's one of the rarest pieces ever made!"

"Calm down, Ki. It's just a game piece." I shot him a look. "I take that back." It was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Well, we should be nearing land soon. So we can try and find another one of those."

I nodded. "Until then..."

"What?"

"I'm going to read," I said matter-of-factly.

"Really now?" I nodded and picked the book up again. Before I could open it and begin reading, Zuko stood up and slipped the sleeveless black tunic off of his shoulders. "Well, I'm going to meditate." And he went to the candles sitting on the small table across the room. Then he lit them with a small flame produced with his index finger.

"Oh, my goodness."

"What?"

"You're really rubbing it in my face, aren't you?" He chuckled and sat criss-crossed on the pillow. "You're so aggravating, Prince Zuko."

"You're the one who said it," he replied.

I groaned, hearing him chuckle again. Needless to say, I watched the prince meditate instead of read...