Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or its characters.

Chapter Two:

The Fox Bead

"Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us."

– Oscar Wilde

Zuko had sat in his room, leaning on his desk and letting out a long tired sigh. He felt so tired and restless, not even sure on what to do. The feast that was held for him wouldn't be anytime soon and there was nothing for him to really do. "Bored Prince Zuko?" Priyala had asked him.

He had let out a sigh, "Yeah… I am." He didn't even feel like speaking with her mentally, he just spoke out loud. He was in the comfort in his own room and so he thought it would be fine. "Priyala, why don't you tell me how you know Agni? Or about your life in the Spirit world?" He asked.

"Well, I don't know the total amount of years that I lived in the Spirit world actually, but I have always been by Agni's side. It was when he battled Gong Gong the water demon." Zuko had closed his eyes, listening to the tale. "Gong Gong wanted to take the throne of heaven but Agni had stopped him."

"And where do you come in?" Zuko had asked her as the dragon had let out a hum, almost trying to remember how they had got entangled with Agni themselves.

"I was flying by and I had seen the wounded Agni, I had saved him and took him back to the palace. Since then, Agni has forever been grateful."

The firebender had opened his eyes, "It seems you value and trust Agni."

"I do, very much so. Agni has always protected me when I had needed him and I had given him my assistance and my life." Priyala explained to him.

The prince had sat up straight, growing comfortable more in his seat. "I would say that you love Agni. Don't you, Priyala?" The dragon spirit had grown silent. "You don't have to answer that, I could already tell."

He had then stood and walked towards his room door and then opened it, looking down the hall to see the occasional guards walking by. He closed the door behind him and went right, deciding he would be visiting the large library. "I never knew it was that obvious." The dragon had said after a few minutes of evading her personal feelings.

"You didn't seem like you wanted to leave his side when he told you to infuse yourself with me." Zuko pointed out as he had had opened the door to the library, but then stopped as he heard a voice.

The young girl had fiddled with her teacup, rolling it back and forth in her palms and being careful enough not to spill its contents. "All I can remember…" She mumbled before raising her voice so that it was audible enough for Iroh to hear and even to Zuko without it being intentional. "All I could remember was that I was running… I felt scared and confused… I even felt angry." Her eyes had lowered to look down at the tea, steam still rising from the cup. "I felt afraid of whatever I was running from." She had said as she had then looked at Iroh.

The older man had looked at her with heavy eyes, feeling sympathetic for the girl who suffered from amnesia. "Do you think that your past is something that you were running away from?" Iroh had asked her as he had taken a sip of his tea. The girl had looked at him with unsure eyes and then looked over towards where Zuko was standing. Her eyes had stared at the area, "Prince Zuko?" She had called out his name. The Prince had then stepped out of his hiding place, walking towards them. The servant had stood and then bowed, he had nodded in acknowledgement and she had sat back down.

Iroh smiled at his nephew. "Zuko, what brings you here? I was having some tea with our lovely lady here." He had glanced at the girl, who was looking down at her teacup. Her fingers had nervously flexed around the cup, her bottom lips slightly grazing it. She had kept her eyes away from the prince, feeling quite intimidated yet uncomfortable in his presence.

"She doesn't seem to like you much." Priyala had noted, "Or maybe she feels strange being around someone of royalty." Zuko had moved his gaze from the servant towards his uncle. 'It doesn't really matter or not, she's a no name servant.' He had said. "I was just looking for a scroll." Zuko had said, which was half true and half false. He had turned away from them as Iroh had looked back at the servant girl.

"If you find it hard to talk about then we-" Iroh had begun to say, not wanting to pressure the young teen about her past. The girl had looked at him with a smile, shaking her head.

"No… I want to know! There has to be a reason why I feel… I feel like I'm out of place." She had said as she had then looked at the Prince as he had stood at a scrollshelf, pulling out scroll and slowly unraveling it while scanning through its contents.

"Mm, maybe she likes you. She's staring at you." Priyala had said to Zuko, who had paused what he was doing and looked over his shoulders. His amber eyes had caught hers, her eyes stayed on him before she felt herself looking away again. "Isn't this awkward?" The dragon spirit sighed. "Humans are quite complicated." She continued on.

'Tell me about it. I don't understand humans myself even though I am one.' Zuko jadedly replied before putting the scroll back on its shelf.

"So, tell me. Do you like the palace life despite being a servant of the royal family?" The brunette had looked at the elderly man and then smiled. "I enjoy it here. I even made friends! Uhm, well… I guess they aren't really friends since we only speak when we work and when nobody is around… I'm not supposed to tell that… right?" The girl had placed her hand on her cheek, "They'll hate me for saying it."

The man laughed, "It is alright to talk among peers. I'd be worried if you didn't talk at all." He had said as he had placed his empty cup on the table. She had done the same, "But we need to give you a name, a temporary one until you remember your own." He had said as she had looked at him and gave him a name.

"A name… something that's mine." She had placed her hand on her chest, Zuko had watched as her face had lit up at the idea of having a name.

"That's odd. She's acting like she never had a name before." The Prince's face had read that he was quite curious of her actions.

'Well, she doesn't remember having a name. It's a perfect reaction.' He had tried to explain or tried to believe. He didn't want to believe that his family had just allowed someone strange in the palace that would cause problems in the future. They had must've checked her out.

"True… It's just something feels so familiar about her and I don't know why… Maybe I'm just being strange. I haven't fully adjusted to your body and the physical world and so I might be having some weird side effects or maybe it's that Fox bead."

'The Fox bead doesn't do well with your body?' Zuko had asked as he had pulled another another scroll from the shelf and skimmed through it.

The spirit within him sighed. "A bead is the source of a fox's power. This bead is precious to them because it is linked to their power. For instance, a Kyuubi or Kumiho or however you humans call them, a nine-tailed fox usually has nine or one bead. They lose a tail each time they a lose a bead or don't have the one bead that they have. Agni gave you that bead because the Fox he had taken it from had done something unforgivable."

The Prince had soaked in the information and then began to speak, 'So that means I have that Fox's power? But he just said it would alleviate the pain and heal my wounds.' He had said.

"What he failed to mention was that, that Fox loses its power the longer you have that bead. I'm pretty sure that Fox was looking for it, but since it has no way of being in the human realm… Well, they'll just be powerless. Though I suppose Agni didn't mention it because he figured that it didn't really matter whether you knew that information or not. It doesn't change anything." Priyala went on to say as Zuko had nodded.

'I don't care about the Fox. Since it had done something unforgiveable then it probably deserves to lose its powers.' He had said as he had walked out of the row of shelves and then seen Iroh and the girl still talking.

"You do have to admit she's quite a beautiful girl though. It's a shame her beauty is being put to waste for serving people." Priyala had went on to say. "Oh, now I know. She reminds me of this woman I had once known. It's odd that I forgot since Agni used to speak so fondly of her.."

'Was it because you were jealous?' Zuko had subtly, well more than subtly, teased the spirit, hearing the dragon snarl at his attempt to anger her.

"There was nothing to be jealous of!" Priyala had roared at him, the prince's face emotionless but he had inwardly smiled. Priyala sounded so jealous and childish, which had amused him very much. "Anyway, her name was Tamamo-no-Mae. They say she was one of the most beautiful women that the world, both in spirit and physical, had ever known. She was known for her beauty and her cleverness, a bit much like a vixen if you ask me. Agni had always described her as stunningly beautiful and intelligent. Pfft, she was pretty but she wasn't all of that!" The firebender had slight smirked, the jealous tone still very much embedded in Priyala's voice.

"Anyway, I didn't meet her in the physical world but those who had the ability to come in the spirit world had always said that she had always smelled wonderful, and her clothes never became wrinkled or dirty. Not only was she beautiful, but she was infinitely knowledgeable in all subjects. She was twenty in the physical world but she had answered every question posed to her… It was strange but everyone adored her. One man in particular who was Fire Lord at the time had fallen deeply in love with her. After spending all his time giving her all his love and affection to her, he had suddenly fallen mysteriously ill. He went to many people for answers, but they had none to offer him. One man, an astrologer of the sorts, had told him that Tamamo-no-Mae was the cause of his illness because she was a-"

"Zuko, how about a cup of tea?" Iroh had interrupted Priyala's story.

'We can finish this some other time.' Zuko had explained as he had then walked over to them and took a seat at the empty loveseat. Iroh was to his right in a single chair and the odd girl across from him on the large couch.

Iroh's nephew had stared at him, wondering why had called him over. It seemed Iroh was interested in what he was doing since he had stepped into the library. "I should be going." The girl had then spoke, placing the cup down on the table and then bowing to them both. "I have to get to work." She had then turned around and walked, or more like ran, out of the library.

"Just when I wanted you two to get acquainted." Iroh sighed, "Ah well… I wanted you to tell me more about King Bumi's capture." Iroh had said.

Zuko had taken a sip of his tea, angling the teacup under his chin. "I wanted to tell you about something in particular that happened during it." The young prince had said in which made his uncle looked at him quizzically. "My soul.. My soul merged with a spirit." He had blurted out which caused he man to look at him as if his nephew had spoken of the unthinkable.

"What? Zuko, please tell me that you're just kidding around." His uncle had said as he had placed his hands on his knees.

Zuko had kept the air about his mysterious yet serious. Iroh had closed his eyes, "How did that happen, Zuko?

"You better tell him that you sort of died." Priyala had said as the prince had tried to find the right way to put it without piling it all on him and expecting him not to freak out or grow upset.

He had seen how his uncle was looking at him; he was certainly confused and concerned. He wasn't sure if he had truly believed him but he was going to convince him. "…During my fight with King Bumi, a spike of earth had gone through my chest." He had said as he had lifted his shirt and revealed a light, purplish mark on the center of his chest. "I died but I had gone to the spirit world and met a dragon named Priyala, who had served Agni."

His uncle closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I believe you. Though it's hard for me to believe that you didn't tell me this when you first came home. And how are you not in pain? You should be rested. That spirit couldn't have been able to completely heal your wounds." Iroh had explained.

"Agni gave me a Fox bead, which had helped heal them. Though it hasn't completely healed them yet but soon…" Zuko had answered him.

Silence had crept upon the room, leaving Iroh to fully digest the whole story. "It was quite a reckless thing that you did but since Agni and the dragon spirit wanted to save you, which I glad they did… Then you must serve a purpose in the spirit world." He had said as his nephew had looked at him with surprise.

"He did say I was supposed to be in heaven but since I died before my time, I didn't end up there." He had explained as Iroh nodded.

"I see. I just hope you hold onto your life more cautiously and seriously. I would not want to lose you." Zuko's eyes had somewhat softened, his eyes lowering down to the ground. "You know I've been protective of you since the day you were born and it is selfish of me to be even more so than before since Lu Ten died… But I see you as my own son."

"I know." Zuko replied, giving the man a small smile who had returned one of his own. "And I promised the dragon spirit that I would be more careful." He nodded, "It's the least I could do for putting her through all this."

The older man had then poured himself another cup full of tea. There was a knock on the door which had caused both males to look towards the library's only door. A servant had opened the door and walked in, "I didn't mean to bother you both, but the Fire Lord requests an audience with all family members."

Zuko and Iroh had looked at one another before standing and going out of the library, the servant had bowed until they had exited the room. Zuko and Iroh had walked alongside each other down the palace's hall. "What do you think father wants with all of us there?" He had asked his uncle.

"It must not be anything too important since I'm requested to be there as well. If it was talks of war, just you and your sister would be requested." Iroh replied as Zuko had nodded in agreement. His father had asked Iroh to go back to being general but Iroh had always refused. He had much rather remain retired, not wanting to involve himself with war anymore.

When they had reached the throne room, the doors were opened for them as they had seen Azula standing in the middle of the room. She was already kneeling waiting for them arrive. Zuko and Iroh had sat next to her, kneeling as well. "Took you two long enough." Azula muttered underneath her breath, her brother looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

He decided not to respond because if he did, that would only urge her to continue with her continuous bashing. "In light of Zuko's victory, I decided that we will throw a feast for our capture of Omashu." He had announced in which made Iroh grab Zuko's shoulder as the boy smiled. "This is a victory that will be mentioned in history and so it is best that we celebrate this."

The boy's sibling had simply rolled her eyes. "Father, but we have not yet to capture Ba Sing Se which is a much bigger goal. Do we have time to celebrate when we can map out a plan to take the biggest victory piece?" She just couldn't let Zuko have something of his own, could she?

Though Zuko did very much agree. Ba Sing Se was a much bigger problem and needed piece than Omashu ever was. "Ba Sing Se will be ours any time. King Kuei poses no real threat to us and we needed Omashu before we could take down Ba Sing Se. Our soldiers need rest; we have been at war for about two months straight in the Earth Kingdom. We cannot afford to lose more than we have already lost." Ozai had explained as Azula had nodded. "We'll take this break and then charge forth when we are able. I assure you, it will not be long."

"When will the celebration begin and should I help with preparations?" Iroh had asked his younger brother.

"It'll begin in a week and no Iroh. That's for the servants, not royal family." Ozai had said, "You are all dismissed."

All three had stood and then turned to leave. "It's not like anyone couldn't have taken down King Bumi." Azula spat, her brother continuing to look ahead and try not to feed into her insult.

"If that were true, I believe your father would've sent you." Iroh had said with a smile. Azula glared at him and then walked faster, leaving them behind.

"You did the right thing by ignoring her, Prince Zuko." Iroh had said.

Zuko had nodded. "I'm far too happy to let Azula ruin my mood." He had said as he smiled. "Next thing you know, father will promote me to general. I've been dreaming about it since I was a child, to be a great general like you were uncle."

His uncle had smiled. "And you will be a great one and an even greater Fire Lord." He had added which only seem to give rise to Zuko's pride.

As they entered the hall, Zuko had then gone the other way. "I'm going back to my room." He had had did a slight wave.

"Okay. If you need me, I'll be in the library." Iroh had waved as well and left his nephew.

"Your sister seems to be an interesting person." Priyala had commented. "She really, really doesn't… Uhm, okay she hates you."

Like he didn't know that. 'I know. She's hated me since we were kids.' He had said with his eyes closed. Soon, Zuko had felt something hit him square in the chest. He had kept his feet firmly on the ground and balanced so that he wouldn't fall. He had opened his eyes and saw the servant girl covered in what looked to be water.

Her eyes had immediately looked up at him, the empty glasses laying on their sides and the tray a few inches away. Her mouth opened to speak but she had immediately closed it. "I-I'm… I'm so sorry!" She had apologized, closing her eyes and shaking. Was she afraid that he was going to harm her?

She had then went from shaking to crying. Zuko's eyes widened slightly as she had tilted her head back and let out a huge wail. "I-I'm such a screw up! I can never do anything right!"

Well, that was much of a surprise. Zuko's face had confusion and surprise written all over it. Whenever she was around him she had seemed quite, intimidated, and shy but now… Well, now was a different story. She had flailed her arms, shaking her head and continuing her tantrum. Zuko rose his hands before him. "Calm down." He said as she had opened her eyes, tears brimming in them as she had sniffled.

"It's not a big deal. It was just water." He had said to calm her but she had made no intention of letting up her stream of tears and cries. She sounded like a child, crying like a five-year-old who was lost in a bazaar. "Look, you won't get in trouble." He tried to calm her down, worried that if she kept on then guards will come running and people would think that he was being cruel to her.

The girl had looked at him, "But you don't understand… The girls will get mad. I'm already late, I nearly tripped twice on the way." She had said as she had looked down at her feet.

Zuko had then followed her gaze to see a broken ankle, "It's because its broken." He told her as she had looked at him with surprise. He had taken off her shoe and inspected her foot, "You shouldn't have been walking on it. How long have you been hiding this?" He had asked her.

"It happened two hours ago." She answered truthfully, her eyes looking down in embarrassment as he continued to inspect her small foot.

"It'll be fine as long as you get medical attention. I'll take you to the infirmary." He had knelt down, "Climb on my back." He had said as she had looked at him skeptically. He had then looked over his shoulder to see if she was going to do as he said, and she had done so.

She had wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands were at the back of her knees. He had then walked down the hall, a servant was coming by and he had paused. "Could you clean the mess down the hall? It's just water and a few glasses." He had said as the servant nodded and then went to it. "What did you mean when you said the girls would get mad at you?" Zuko asked.

The grey-eyed girl had looked over his shoulder and kept her gaze fixed in front of them. "When I came to be a servant, my seniors had taught me the ropes. They had told me that since I was new, I was their servant too." She had said. "And if I didn't do what they said then they would get me in trouble and eventually thrown out of the palace."

The corners of the prince's mouth had dipped. A frown was ever so apparent on his face, "Is that so?" He had said as she had nodded her head. He hadn't said anything else but kept going on ahead.

"I think I'm okay, Prince Zuko." She had said as he had then looked at her over his shoulder, "I think my ankle is okay… Like it magically feels kind of better." She said as she had climbed down his back and then jumped on both feet, spinning around just to further prove that her ankle was fine.

How was that even possible? "Do you think the bead helped her feel better?" Priyala asked him. "I don't know much about those beads but maybe having physical contact with someone who possesses them can heal them." She had then explained.

'That's the only reasonable explanation.' He had said as he had looked down at her ankle which seemed like it wasn't broken minutes ago. 'I need to play it cool so she doesn't get suspicious.' He had nodded. "Well, it must've not been broken. It was probably sore." He had said.

She had then fiddled with her fingers, a small smile on her face. "Thank you for helping me, Prince Zuko. I…I didn't deserve it, being a servant and all." She had found herself saying, averting her eyes from him. "Uhm… Well…" She had looked around, blood rushing to her face. "I-I need to get back to work." She had quickly bowed, "Thanks again!" She had then turned and ran off.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Priyala had asked Zuko, who had shrugged his shoulders. "I'm guessing there isn't much to do at this place?"

Zuko shook his head. "I should probably take a nap." He had said as he had turned back around.

/ / /

It was the middle of the night when Zuko woke up. Sweat beading down his forehead, his lungs were rattling as he was out of breath. He had immediately placed his left hand to his chest, trying to feel for any wound. He had sighed of relief when he didn't feel it and the wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist. "What's gotten you so shaken up?" Priyala had asked him, worried and all the more curious as to what made the prince wake up in such a panic.

Zuko had shaken his head. "Some strange dream…" He had answered her, "It…It was so strange." He had finished saying as he had placed his hand on his head.

"What was it about? Maybe I can help." The dragon spirit asked him.

Sitting up straighter in his bed, he had rested his forearms on his legs as he had stared out into the darkness. The only light coming from his room was from the window and it was pale moonlight that had brightly lit up just a small portion of the room. "All I could remember was blue eyes, sharp teeth, and a claw holding what looked to be my liver.

"Your liver? Hm… That's strange. There are a lot of spirits and myths that were known to eat livers." He didn't feel any better by the sound of that. "Though I imagine it was probably the Fox spirit, angry that someone is harnessing its bead."

"Why the liver?" He had asked, "And shouldn't it be angry at Agni and not me? I didn't ask for the bead and nor did I take it by force."

"Well, some of them eat hearts, some eat both… But most of them eat livers. The reason why they eat livers is because the liver contains the energy of humans, meaning that because it processes food and gives energy, which makes it the container of the life of a human." Her explanation didn't make Zuko feel any better.

The male sighed. "That still doesn't explain why it wants to kill me." He had said but Priyala hummed as if she was trying to find an explanation. "You don't know, do you?"

"Nope." She had bluntly said, making Zuko groan and force himself to lie back down. His eyes had looked at the ceiling before he tried to close them to make himself go back to sleep. "Whatever the case is, the Fox spirit can't get you because it is in the spirit world."

The prince placed his arms behind his head, his left leg bent and his right leg flat and outstretched. "That doesn't mean it can't kill me in my dreams."

"True… I never experienced a dream. Spirits don't dream." Priyala had said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Lucky you." Zuko mumbled before turning to his side. "At least I know I have privacy as far as my dreams are concerned."

"Hmph! You act like I don't wish to have privacy. I would like to actually have a body to be honest! I'm doing you a favor, chump." The dragon spirit had went on a rant, not enthused by the boy's attitude.

"Shut it, old spirit hag." Zuko had said as he had closed his eyes, the dragon scoffing at his insult.

"Why… I never- Hey! Psst, something is outside your door." She had said as Zuko had immediately sat up. From the distance his bed was from the door, he could see the crack of light from under his door and the shadow that seemed to appear on the ground.

The prince had narrowed his eyes and the climbed out of bed, not bothering to put on his shirt. He had noticed the shadow leave and he had quickly opened the door and look down the hall to see the strange servant girl standing in the hallway, looking out at the night as the moon was covered by clouds. 'Why is she up at this time of night?' Zuko had asked himself.

He had slowly approached her, the girl had looked in his direction to see a shadow coming towards her but once he had step into the light she had continued to stare him. "Prince Zuko? What are you doing awake?" She asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing." Zuko had replied. "What are you doing awake and why were you near my door?"

The girl seemed surprised that he had knew and then looked down at her feet, her arms behind her. "I wanted to tell you that the girl had kicked me out of the servants' wing." She had said as she had looked down at her feet. "The girl you told to clean my mess told the others and they thought that I was sucking up to you to get special treatment… So they made me sleep in the hall. I wasn't sure what to do… I was going to tell Iroh but I forgot what room he was in and…"

The Prince had closed his eyes, "Why don't you sleep in the library? There's a room in there." He had said as she had appeared surprised. "Yeah, it's kind of easy to miss it… I'll show it to you. Follow me." He had started walking, she had ran to catch up with him.

"I still find it weird how my ankle had gotten better so suddenly." She had said as she had looked down at it, "It was so strange."

Zuko hadn't said anything since there was no real reason to tell her why her ankle had felt better so instantly. He didn't need her going around telling people the truth and so it was best to keep it between himself and Iroh. "Like I said, it might not have been as wounded as I thought. Maybe a little time off it had made it feel better."

The brunette had nodded her head, not sure on how to really dispute it. What other explanation was there? She had then placed her hands behind her, her steps slow but fast enough to remain beside him. "I'm sorry for waking you up, again. I…" She had looked down at her feet, "I just don't really want to go back there."

"You shouldn't be treated like that. I should talk to th—" She had cut in, making her way in front of him with her hands up. He had stopped, looking down at her as she had shaken her head.

"If you do then that will make things even worse." She tried to explain, "Then they'll think you'll favor me and then the bullying will just get worse. I've never been really good at standing up for myself."

He dimly sympathized. He knew how it felt to not being strong enough to stand up for yourself after all his sister had been bullying him since the day she could form words and sentences. Even though he was older, she had always seemed to outwit him and leaving him feeling pathetic. "The time where come when you will, you just have to practice for it." He simply sad as she had looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you." She mumbled, feeling embarrassed all over again.

The walk had then become silent but it was a comfortable one instead of awkward. When they had reached the library, Zuko had opened the door and motioned for her to go first. She had nodded and then walked in, him following after. He had walked ahead of her, going down the aisle and then making a sharp right at the sixteenth book shelf. He had pointed at the door and she had walked over and slowly opened the door to reveal a small but quaint bedroom. "You should be fine here. Nobody really goes down this aisle." He had said, "Mainly because these scrolls aren't interesting enough. Just about trivial things."

"Thank you again." She had bowed, "You really are a kind person even though you don't seem to look like it." She had said.

Zuko then had a inquisitive look and began to wonder if it was because she meant his scar. Did his scar scare her or make him seem hard and mean? "What makes you say that?" He asked, pondering her answer.

"Whenever I see you, you don't seem to be in high spirits." She had said with a nervous smile, her hand slowly rubbing the back of her neck as her eyes were closed. "You look like you have a lot on your mind, stressful things. It makes you seem brooding and kind of unapproachable."

The prince was indeed surprise that it wasn't about his scar. "There have been a lot of things on my mind lately." He had said as she had nodded.

"You are the Prince of the Fire Nation, and a soldier to boot. It shouldn't be surprising but I hope you do get a break, you need it." The girl had said as she had then turned around, "Good night." She waved and then closed the door.

"She's an odd one." Priyala then spoke, "Though she seems a bit harmless."

Zuko had then turned around and made his way out of the library. "She's fine Priyala. You're over-analyzing things."

The brunette maiden had woken up early that morning, rolling to her side as the sun had come from the windows as the curtains were pushed apart. She wondered who had come in and did that since she didn't remember them being liked that last night. She had dusted off the room, cleaning it down so that she wouldn't get into a sneezing fit although it didn't help that she was sneezing and cleaning. The room hadn't been used in years.

She had sat the edge of her bed, looking down at her petite feet. She wiggled her toes in a bored manner before shifting her grey eyes to the door. "I better hurry up before they noticed I didn't sleep in the hall." She had said as she had then placed her hand on her chest, letting out a sigh. "I hate this so much." Although nobody was around, she didn't mind talking to herself.

Standing up straight, she had adjusted her clothes and brushed down her hair before pulling it into a neat ponytail. She had then dashed out of the room, making sure she had closed the door and escaped the library and went into the hall. It was an hour before dawn, a time where the servants had to wake. She had laid herself on the floor, pretending like she had been sleeping out there.

The door had opened, and the servant had closed her eyes before the other girls had left out of the room. "She really did sleep out here."

"How pathetic." Another spat.

"Well, where else was she going to sleep? Don't you think you guys punished her enough?" She was surprised to hear one person come to her defense.

"If you like her so much Chiharu, why don't you give her your bed and you sleep out here?" One girl had said, and even the brunette could tell she was smirking.

Footsteps had come from down the hall. "What is all the ruckus for, girls?" It was the voice of a woman. "Uh… nothing." One of the girls had said. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all, Priestess Masuyo."

They had scattered and left, leaving the girl they left to sleep outside right where she was. Masuyo had walked over to her, bending her knees. "Wake up, girl." Masuyo had said in which caused the young brunette to slowly sit up. "So you were awake all this time? You could've fooled me." She smirked.

"I'm glad you came when you did or else they might've tried to bully me or Chiharu." The grey-eyed girl had nodded her head in thanks.

"It's fine." The pale, dark-haired woman had cupped her hands under the girl's chin, tilting her head back some. She had looked deep in the girl's eyes, making the other female uncomfortable. "Your name?" Masuyo questioned.

"I don't know. I've been suffering from Amnesia for quite some time." The priestess had let go of the girl and then offered her hand to help the girl to her feet. The young brunette's small hand had clasped onto the older woman's, slowly getting up on her feet as Masuyo stood alongside her.

"I really don't know how to thank you." The brunette had fiddled with her thumbs, her eyes lowered.

The priestess merely smiled lightly, her hands on the girl's shoulder. "Should you ever need any help, look for me."

The girl nodded her head and walked the woman leave. "Wow, she's so beautiful and kind." She had awed at the woman, who had switched down the hall. Her hair was so long and swift, moving with every step the woman had taken. "I wish I looked like her."

"I think you are a natural beauty yourself," She was startled by the voice; she quickly spun around to se that it was Iroh. She sighed relief, "but yes she does have a charm about her, Masuyo that is. It is probably why my brother has her always beside him."

"You think the Fire Lord is in love with her?" She had asked him as Masuyo's form had disappeared as she had turned to the right.

"I never said he was in love with her but he is fascinated by her. She's a very talented woman, beautiful and witty. She has a vast knowledge for a lot of things even when it comes to tactics in battle or cultures of other tribes and Kingdoms." The servant had looked up at him as he explained. "The men always seem to fawn over her during meetings."

The young girl laughed, "Kind of like I did a few minutes ago?" She had said as Iroh had smiled. "What are you doing over here anyway?"

"I wanted to check up on you since I didn't see you at your post today." He had said as the girl had quickly realized she was supposed to be scrubbing the royal hall floors.

"O-Oh no! I better hurry!" She had then quickly ran, "Goodbye Iroh!" She had waved as she ran, Iroh watched her leave until she was out of his vision. His eyes then quickly looked down the hall in which Masuyo had taken.

When she had reached her post, she had seen three of the servant girls. They had folded her arms, staring her down with glowering eyes. "You were supposed to be here minutes ago!" One girl had said.

"Yeah, do you think we're just going to clean this hall by ourselves? You were supposed to be working this shift with Qiao!" One girl had said.

Qiao, a chubby-face and short-haired girl, had her hands on her hips. "You think I was gonna clean the hall by myself?! Since you don't want to be here on time, you'll clean this whole hall."

The grey-eyed girl mouth opened in disbelief, "But… But I can't do that! That's too much."

Qiao had thrown the bucket at her, but the newest servant had caught it. "Get to scrubbing!" She said as the girls laughed and left the hall, leaving the grey-eyed girl with the scrub brush and bucket.

Chiharu, the one who had tried to defense her earlier, had looked at her with sad eyes. She didn't say anything, but she had had left as well.

/ / /

Training had taken its place like it always hand in the morning. However, training was different than normal since Zuko had seemed to hold back. Now that half of him was spirit, he didn't want to abuse his power and show it off. In fact, he wasn't sure if showing anyone his new powers was a wise idea. Of course they wouldn't know that his soul had merged with a spirit's but he didn't need to risk anything. "How would they even know? You need to train in your powers Zuko. We were just lucky in Omashu, you could've really messed up and gotten yourself hurt." Priyala lectured him, trying to tell him to use her power that was now his own.

'I was fine before without it and I'll be fine now.' He replied as he had gotten into stance, perspiration sliding down his forehead, shoulders, and back. "Prince Zuko, why does it seem like you are restraining yourself?" His master had asked him, noticing that Zuko had held back a lot which wasn't his usual self.

"I'm not holding back." Zuko argued, "I'm just a bit tense. I'm sorry. Today just isn't my day." He shook his head and took a towel that a servant had offered; he had wiped his face of sweat as his hair seemed to cling onto the sides of his face.

He had turned around and left the training area, his towel wrapped around his neck. He didn't need the pressure. He wanted to keep this secret to himself and Iroh, and that was it. He also didn't want to heavily rely on Priyala. He believed he could do anything he did before without her. He didn't need her, she was just available to him.

Once he made it back to the palace and towards his room for a bath. He had noticed a certain brunette scrubbing the floor. He wasn't going to say anything at first, but he noticed how troubled she had seemed and before he could turn away and dismiss it, he had seen her stop. He watched as she had sat up straight and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.

Was she crying?

Zuko could feel his curiosity and concern eating away at him. He shook his head, convincing himself that he shouldn't worry. She probably had soap in her eyes anyway. He had opened his room door and walked in, throwing the towel around his neck onto his dresser. He had walked towards his window to check out the view of the capital and he noticed that it was raining.

"Is it raining?" Priyala had asked him, "But it's a clear day!"

"I know… That's strange." Zuko mumbled.

The dragon spirit had then hummed. "They say that if there's rain on a clear day that a fox is crying."

"That's a strange myth." Zuko commented, "Why would it rain because a fox was crying?"

The dragon spirit then made an 'I don't know sound'. "That's just ancient myth."

The prince had then shrugged it off, "I just hope it doesn't rain during the festival that's coming up."

Bodhan is the sanskirt name meaning "Clever, Wise, and Kindling."