Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: I found out that this is not the only Avatar story with this title. I didn't mean to be such a copy cat. Oops! Sorry!
Chapter Six:
When the sun greeted Zuko the next morning, he found himself instantly grieved. He had been dragged out of a dream where uncle was back, and everything was normal. He wiped at wet eyes, and tried not to think about it. It didn't work.
He left his room and met a man in the hallway who said quickly, "Excuse me, your highness, someone is waiting for you." He motioned down the hall, and Zuko frowned. He went down to the dining room. That's where he saw her.
"Toph!" His eyes grew wide, his mouth dropped open in surprise. Then he smiled a tiny smile.
"Good morning." She replied calmly, as if her presence wasn't surprising.
"What are you doing here?"
"You sounded so desperate when you left, I thought I better not wait long to come back." She replied, smiling broadly.
He didn't comment, instead, he sunk into a chair at the table and watched her intently, trying to convince himself he wasn't dreaming. He pinched his arm, but it hurt appropriately.
Kanon entered the room then, and paused. "Ah, Miss Bei Fong has returned." He didn't sound altogether enthused.
"Miss Bei Fong is an honored guest, Kanon." Zuko spoke up, even though Toph didn't really need any defending. She sat with her feet on the table, and Kanon wrinkled his nose as he replied.
"And I welcome her."
"I look forward to the parade." Toph said, grinning.
"Wh-what?" Kanon looked at Zuko.
"She's joking." Zuko said quickly, "Toph, give him a break."
Kanon left a moment later, mumbling that he was very busy.
"I don't like that guy." Toph said, when he left.
Zuko shook his head. He looked at her, still so happy to see her, all he wanted to do was sit and stare and be glad that his friend was back. Then he blinked.
He couldn't stare at Toph!
He looked away.
0000
Toph didn't like to bring it up, because it was such a touchy subject, but she kept on wondering where Iroh was. She just felt like it didn't seem like him to leave without sending any word of where he was going and without any attempt at reconciliation. It made her frown when she thought of it, so she tried not to think about it when Zuko was around.
But something about it didn't make sense to her, and she couldn't shake the idea that there was some mystery that needed to be solved.
She needed to be distracted, anyway. It was so much easier to focus on Iroh's disappearance, however painful it was, than keep on thinking about Zuko. Because she was sure that her feelings for Zuko were not at all good for her health.
One day, a group was gathered around the table for breakfast. Zuko had asked for an update on the search for his uncle, and there had been no positive response.
"What if I go look for your uncle? I might be able to hunt him down, and he would listen to me." Toph offered.
"You think you could find him?" Zuko hesitated.
"Why shouldn't I be able to?!" Her tone was a little defensive.
"With all due respect, your highness, there is no sense sending the girl on a search when no one else has found your uncle." Kanon said from nearby.
"You underestimate me." Then she added to Zuko. "Don't let him change your mind. I can do this."
"You'll let me know what you find? And you'll tell Uncle I'm sorry?"
"Trust me, Zuko. I can find him."
"Okay. I trust you."
0000
Toph already had some ideas about her search for Iroh. She knew something wasn't right, and felt that she should begin her search within the palace. She was walking down the hallways the next day, thinking about all this, when she felt footsteps that she recognized walking towards her.
"Good afternoon, Miss Bei Fong." Kanon said, pausing.
"Right." She said.
"I suppose you will begin your search quite soon."
"I probably will." She shrugged, her tone even.
"How lovely." He replied. "We all wish for the Firelord's uncle to return safely."
Lie.
Toph's eyes narrowed, as Kanon began walking away.
Kanon paused for a second, and Toph could hear a smile in his voice. "What a lovely necklace, Miss Bei Fong." Then he kept walking.
Toph's hand flew to her neck, and she froze. It wasn't hidden, and her eyes grew wide as her fingers closed tightly around the pendant.
0000
Toph looked for Zuko for until she was tired of wondering the castle, when she growled in frustration and made her way down the hall to her own room. She threw open the door and stepped inside, but the moment she did she felt herself swept up off the floor into a net. She was suspended in the air, her feet unable to reach the earth.
"What is this! Let me out!" She struggled against the ropes, but could not earthbend dangling in the air.
"Toph Bei Fong, you are under arrest for intent to harm the Fire Lord." Kanon's voice spoke out, someone was pulling the net from the ceiling when Kanon spoke again. "Wait."
Toph felt the necklace pulled from her neck suddenly. There was a pause and then she heard Kanon speak again. "As I suspected."
There was laughter in Kanon's voice as he spoke to his men. "Congratulations, men. We have captured The Jade Dragon, you have served the Fire Lord well today."
"You don't know what you're talking about! Let me go!"
A moment later, she was knocked out.
0000
The world was dark and with her feet lifted from the ground, she could see nothing. She felt consciousness return to her. She was dangling from somewhere, though she didn't know if it was high. She let out a frustrated scream.
"Screaming won't help you. No one will free such a traitor." Kanon's voice spoke loudly from somewhere below.
"I'm not the traitor! You are!"
"Firelord Zuko will be so sad to learn that his little girlfriend was intending to kill him. The Jade Dragon, very clever."
"I'm not—I wasn't—" Toph felt anger burning inside her ready to explode.
"I do believe he was really quite attached to you. All I am curious about is, that the guards claim they saw the Jade Dragon firebend briefly, and yet, here you are."
"I wasn't going to hurt Zuko! I was protecting him! The Jade Dragon never attacked."
"So you confess that you are the Jade Dragon."
"I would never hurt him! You are the one who is the traitor! I know you sent Zuko away to the earth kingdom with me so you could have a taste of the throne! And I know that you are responsible for Iroh's disappearance! Did you kill him?"
"How did you firebend, Miss Bei Fong? Please, I must know."
"I had matches, genius! I'll get out of here, and you know that I can rip you apart!"
Kanon laughed heartily. "You are helpless. Dangled fifty feet in the air and caught in a net. It's as if you were a caged bird. A caged dragon?"
"I know you are no friend of Zuko's. If you hurt him I'll-"
"How do you think it will hurt Zuko when he realizes his sweetheart has betrayed him?"
"He'll never believe you!"
"We'll see."
Toph heard another laugh echoing toward her before she heard a door slam shut.
Author's Note: Thoughts? Hope you enjoyed it.