A/N: So... after having some beta-issues... chapter 2 is finally ready for being published! :) :) :)
Special thanks to xxTigerAvatarxx for taking up the slack for my previous beta (who has sort out other things now in the first place)! Such a great job though you've never done this before! :)

Alright... here it comes... I had so much fun writing this argument-thing between Zuko and Sureen... hehehe :D...

-2-

DISTRUST

A strange sound woke Sureen up in the middle of the night. The fire beside her was still glowing, so she drew the conclusion that she couldn't have been asleep for long. It took the girl a few minutes to figure out what this sound was and where it was coming from. Upon realizing the fact that the noise was Zuko's suppressed sobbing, she could feel sadness tearing at heart. She noticed that he had finally begun to grasp the fact that Iroh was truly gone... he had lost him. There was no one left in the world to be by his side.

Her heart tensed up. This kind of pain was all-too-familiar to her... although it had been years ago since she had felt it last. But, never the less, her memories had not lost any of their intensity. She deliberated frantically. ... I mean, I can't just go over there and tell him 'Hey, don't cry, it'll all be okay...'! He would kill me or he would be so mortified that he would wish for the ground to swallow him up entirely. I can't do that. But I can't sit here and do nothing, either! DAMN!

Finally, she decided to walk over to the fire-place and put another chunk of wood atop the dying embers. At least now he would know that she was awake as well. She sat there for a while, watching the fire become alive again.

"Prince Zuko?" she asked without turning her eyes away from the fire. Though there was no response from her companion, she continued on. "I still owe you an explanation. So if you want me to..."

"You? OWE ME?! You owe me TO BE QUIET!" His harsh words hit her like a stab in the back. "You appear out of nowhere in the blink of an eye and, despite the fact that I attacked you, you insist on helping me with collecting firewood. After all that, you provide me with this accommodation. And what's more – you worry about the fact that I may be catching a cold."
The angry Prince continued after a moment's pause. "WHY?! Why do you care? I never asked you to do that; your compassion is unnecessary... you're wasting your breath. I'm getting along just fine on my own, as I ALWAYS have! But if you think you can fool me by playing any kind of false games with me, then you've got another thing coming! I saw you traveling with the Avatar... so I know you're on THEIR side! They sent you to spy on me– to find some kind of... weakness or whatever! Don't take me for a fool! Mind your own business instead of bothering me! And another thing..."
He slightly lifted his head and stared at the fire "... You don't have a clue about ANYTHING!"

Sureen felt her blood boiling in anger. Who did this jerk think he was, talking to her that way? "FINE! So WHAT!? You wanna get an explanation for this or not?! Maybe FIRST listening and THEN forming an opinion on me would be the better sequence!" Her brown eyes were flaring up furiously as she turned her head in his direction. This was not fair! He wasn't right! Ok... maybe he was right with the statement that he hadn't asked her for this. And with the fact that she probably talked too much. Sureen sighed. Well... ok. He WAS right. But there were no "false games" and she definitely was not cheating him!

"I... I'm sorry." His voice interrupted her thoughts. The harsh tone was gone. Instead his voice was hardly more than a whisper by now. Apologies didn't come easily for him. "It's just that... suddenly everything has changed... nothing's like it used to be... I can't tell what's right or wrong anymore." He looked down. "It's been so long... since I've been able to trust someone... without worrying that they would use my weakness against me. I didn't mean to yell at you." He dared to glance up, meeting Sureen's eyes for a second. This time they were kind and knowing and full of understanding. The furious flare was gone.

"It's alright... I mean... you were right... at least in part. You never asked me to do this. So I don't blame you for distrusting me. But seriously... let me tell you I'm standing on NO ONE'S SIDE, that's for sure. Just because I accompanied the Avatar for a while does not mean I'm on his side... it just means I spent some time with him and his friends. But…even if I WAS on their side... obviously I'm HERE now and they're miles away! So tell me how I'm supposed to spy on you right now?! Look... I know this probably doesn't make much sense, but I'm definitely not here to confuse you... or to feel sorry for you... or to cheat you. Honestly. But that's why I would like to explain everything to you... or at least I'd like to try... 'cause I really think I owe you that explanation. Though it's gonna be a quite long story. And sorry I often talk too much. 'Specially when I don't know what else to do... when I've got no better plan... I guess."

After a moment's hesitation she went on. "And when I noticed you were... awake... I thought maybe listening to my story would be... it could take your mind off of... whatever. But it was just an offer. You're free to refuse it." She looked over to him, giving him an encouraging look and a careful smile. "And, just in case you should ever decide to trust me, Prince Zuko... I want you to know that I'll never hurt you by betraying that trust." Sureen added softly.

"When it comes to my life, trusting others has never been the right decision. It always ended... painfully. So why should I ever...?" Zuko took a deep breath. "Anyway. I'll accept your offer. If you would like to give me some insight into... whatever... then go ahead." He averted his eyes again. "And... thank you." he whispered in a scarcely audible voice.

-x-x-x-

"I was twelve. Suddenly, everything changed in my life and nothing would ever be like it used to be. It was a warm summer night and I couldn't sleep, so I decided to get up and take a walk through the woods, up to that hidden glade where Sera used to spend the nights. I figured, since I wasn't able to fall asleep, maybe I could check on her and make sure everything was alright. You know, since that day I secretly freed her from that little stable in my village, she never really left my side. She typically hid out of sight, and only I knew of the places she had deemed "safe enough" for us to meet. She's a black albatross-horse, you know. They're extremely rare animals and therefore... you can sell them for a lot of cash on the market. Unless someone frees them before this can happen... anyway.

As expected, I found Sera on her glade, grazing peacefully, and the sight of her so free was so wonderful to me that I stayed to watch her awhile. But after some time she suddenly tensed up. Every now and then she would lift her head hectically, with her ears pricked, and look in the direction of my village. Suddenly, she rushed off, disappearing in the woods. At first I was confused and unnerved at her abrupt discomfort... But, then, I felt it, too. Something was happening in the village. Something was just going horribly wrong down there! So I ran back through the woods as quick as I could. I could already see the flames before I was half way there. The whole village... the home of my family, my tribe... the place where I grew up... everything was ablaze. It was like... my entire past burned to ashes that day." Sureen took a deep breath.

"As I got closer I could see my people... And the Fire Nation troops. They had captured everyone. My heart was in my mouth. I watched the Fire Nation soldiers walking them off, forcing everyone to come with them. And I did... NOTHING. I stood behind that tree as though I was completely frozen... unable to move, unable to think, unable to do anything. And then... they were gone. I had let them go... didn't even try to stop them... I watched them walk away, hiding behind that damn tree and didn't stop them!" Sureen tried to blink back the tears in her eyes but to no avail. She bit her lip.

"Sureen..." Zuko's voice was full of shock.

"No. It's alright... I'm fine. I told you I owe you. So I won't back down now. I'll let you know... what you need to know. No worries." Sureen attempted a smile. The first time he called my name... she realized at the back of her mind.

"Some days later, I found out that my people were dead. They had been executed because they had refused to cooperate with the Fire Nation. My people have... well, HAD... an extraordinary ability: special powers of perception. That's why we had to keep our identity a secret... to make sure that in these times of war no one could ever use our special abilities as a 'tool' or something equally horrible. That's why we lived in that hidden village deep in the woods. But, obviously, the Fire Nation found out about us and our secret somehow and came to collect us; however, my people were not willing to act as a tool for the Fire Nation. And so, they were killed. And I just watched them being taken away like the coward I was. I didn't do anything. The only reason why I'm still alive is because I hid behind that damn tree, completely paralyzed. I should have done something... anything... but I didn't... I didn't even try..."

Sureen hid her face behind her hands and choke back harsh sobbing. Tears were streaming down her cheeks by now. Damn. She hadn't expected these memories to affect her that deeply... even after such a long time. But the pain still felt exactly the same as it had at that very moment. Even though it had been more than ten years ago now.

"But there was nothing you could have done back then. You couldn't have changed it anyway!"

"Yes... I know that now. I'm sorry. I didn't want to... didn't mean to... whatever. I'm ok." Sureen wiped the tears away from her face with her sleeve, glad to hear Zuko's comforting words.

"Uhmm... may I... ask you something?" The Prince asked hesitantly.

"Sure." Sureen was regaining her composure.

"How did you go on... after losing them?"

"I... actually I can't even remember. In my mind it just feels like... one single dark weird vortex thing. I just kind of... ran away. I don't know if I found Sera or she found me... but she carried me away from that place in the woods and took me somewhere else. I don't know how I actually survived those days... weeks... no idea. All I can remember is only being able to think one thought back then: that everything was MY fault… I had let them down, I had betrayed them, I was the one to blame, I was responsible for their deaths and everything else. It wasn't long before I came to the conclusion that I didn't have any right to be alive. I didn't deserve to live when so many had died.

Finally... I..." she couldn't speak on. Instead she looked down on her wrists.

Slowly she rucked up her sleeves, revealing those two ugly scars. With eyes cast down she turned her wrists in Zuko's direction. For whatever emotion was in his eyes now - she knew she wouldn't be able to stand it.

"Well..." Sureen cleared her throat. "That's why... that's the reason... for this. Why I couldn't leave. Why I wanted to come back to you. Why I think it's not a good idea to deal with losing someone you love all by yourself. I mean... of course you aren't me... I know I cannot judge you by my own standards. But I kind of... did. So maybe I was wrong to make that decision. But at least now you know my reasons. No false games, no cheating... ok?" She brushed a strand of dark brown hair out of her face and raised her eyes.

He looked back at her with a shocked expression on his face. "I... I didn't know... I had no idea that..." he stumbled.

"Of course not. I mean... how could you?! It is not exactly tattooed on my forehead or something." A faint smile flashed over Sureen's face. She was almost feeling sorry for him being that shocked about her story. "Hey... I'm sorry for being that... emotional. I hadn't expected this to affect me so much either. It happened ages ago, after all. But obviously... never the less, it's still... whatever. I didn't mean to shock you though." Again she gave him a smile.

"Ok. Uhm... listen... I'm sorry for what my nation's soldiers did to you and your people." He replied gloomily.

"Hey... you couldn't help it. I guess you still were a little child back then. You probably didn't even know about it. So you're definitely not responsible for that... not personally, anyway. But thanks." Instinctively Sureen reached out to touch his shoulder to show him her appreciation. But before she could reach it, Zuko shied away from her. Oops... evidently not a good idea.
For a while, Sureen and Zuko both stared at the chimney-fire in aberration.

"Um... one more thing." The Prince interrupted the silence.

"Yeah... what is it?" Sureen perked her eyebrows up.

"You mentioned some extraordinary... powers of perception... or whatever... of your people. What did you mean by that? Do you also have these... skills?" The Prince wanted to know.

"Oh... well... yes... uhmmm... I do have them. But I... I can't tell you anything about that. I mustn't. I'm supposed to keep that secret. I'm sorry."

"Great. How am I supposed to trust you then?! Because apparently it's your intention to keep secrets from me!?" Angry, he folded his arms.

"My intention is WHAT?!" Sureen stared at him in disbelief. "C'mon... how am I supposed to trust YOU if tomorrow you'll possibly decide to take a path different from me!? Maybe I've already told you way too much! You've been the FIRST person who EVER got to know about what happened to my people and to me back then. I've NEVER told this to anyone before! So don't you complain about ME being secretive! Honestly. Jokester!"

"Hm..." Zuko had no answer to that. He wasn't used to someone being that uninhibited by his statements. After all he still was the Prince of the Fire Nation and that woman was just some peasant. How could she dare to contradict him like that?! But on the other hand... at least she didn't seem to be one of those apple-polishers who pretended to be loyal to him during his presence but took his name in vain as soon as he turned his back on them. At least she had the courage to say her true opinion to his face and wasn't fearful of his reaction.

Sureen shook her head and went on. "Look... this is my people's carefully guarded secret. I was raised to never ever reveal it to anyone. And now that my people are gone... those rules and principles are the only thing I still have. It's only thing that's left of them. Thus I'm trying to live up to their legacy. So it's got nothing to do with YOU. Really. I would tell this to no one. Not to Aang, nor to the Firelord, nor to anyone else..."

"The Avatar doesn't know about this secret either?" The Prince asked doubtingly.

"Nope. No one means NO ONE. So please don't take it personally... Prince 'Sorehead' ...!" She couldn't choke back her bemused grin as she watched Zuko sitting there in a huff. "Hey... Zuko... c'mon... if you've got any brains in there, you'll figure it out. My skills... I mean. You'll discover it on your own sooner or later. But don't be mad at me any longer... alright?!"

"Hm." At least his voice was a little less sulky by now.

"Right. And now I think we should really try to get some sleep..." Sureen stifled a yawn. Just as she was about to go over to her sleeping bag, she heard Zuko's voice behind her back.

"Wait. I... um... wanna thank you. For letting me know... all those things. And forget the last bit... about you being secretive." He looked down in embarrassment.

"Already forgotten." She replied with a soft voice. "Good night then." Sureen gave him one last faint smile, turned around and went back to her sleeping-place.

When the lights go down
At the end of the day
With this game that I play
Has gone another round
As I lay there alone in this big empty bed
Nothing but thoughts of you in my head
I think of the things that I wish I had said
When you were still around

When the lights go down
There's nothing left to be
When the lights go down
And the truth is all you see
And I wonder if all my life's about
The sum of all my fears and all my doubts
Yeah, when the lights go down

When the lights go down
When there's nothing left to be
When the lights go down
And the truth is all you see
When you feel that hole inside your soul
Wonder what you're made of
Well we all find out
When the lights go down.

[FAITH HILL - WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN]

LINK TO THIS SONG:
w w w . youtube. c o m . watch?v= fnlPYCf0r5Q
[copy+paste - remove blanks - enter :)!]

-x-x-x-

... And of course once again I'm interested in your opinion! I'm looking forward to reading any kind of reviews! :)