Chapter 124

Zuko had tossed and turned all night, haunted by emerald green eyes and a dorky but cute laugh. He had told himself over and over to forget about her, women were the last thing he need to think about right now. He was still torn by what Mai had done, he needed to get his mind off of this simple but beautiful girl he had met. "What is wrong with me? She's just an infatuation!" He said to himself as he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes trying to remove the image of the girl. "I can't let anyone close to me! Mai… Mai ruined everything. Will I ever be able to love another woman?"

There was a small knock on his bedroom door then, it was pushed open by his daughter. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?" He asked as he watched his daughter walk over to him.

"Can… Can I sleep with you? I had a bad dream… Mommy wanted to hurt me." She sniffled and he could see wet streaks down her cheeks.

"Oh, baby girl, come on." He said lifting the blanket for her to climb in next to him. "Mommy can't hurt you. I promise I will always keep you safe." He hugged her and kissed each of her cheeks then wiped them dry.

"I love you Daddy." The little girl said as she yawned and snuggled next to her daddy, it was only a few moments later that she had fallen asleep.

"I love you too." He told her; he was finally able to fall asleep.

...

Zuko was sitting on the floor of her daughter's room, he had his eyes shut as he held out his daughters dress. "No Looking." She told him as she put her arms into its sleeves.

"I'm not. Just hurry so I can open my eyes." He told her, she was quite modest for a two and a half year old.

"Okay, open your eyes." She told him.

"Don't you look pretty?" He asked her, she went over the floor length mirror and did a twirl. The bottom of her dress flared a bit and she smiled.

"Daddy, can we go to the Zoo again?" She asked.

"Did you enjoy seeing all the animals?" He asked her.

"Yeah, and the pretty lady there too!" She said to him. "She was nice too."

"Yes she was nice." He responded to his daughter.

"And pretty Daddy." She coaxed.

"And pretty." He chuckled as he shook his head, Taryn had left an impression on the little girl too. "She might not be there again."

"But, Daddy, I want see her again." The little girl said as she took her Daddy's hand and led him to the kitchen for their breakfast.

"I do too, Baby Girl." He admitted aloud.

…

As soon as Zuko and Ursa entered the tea shop Uncle tossed an apron to Zuko and set up a little table in the corner for Ursa to sit at while her daddy worked. Ursa had her new doll along with a few other toys to play with and Uncle had brought her a tray of goodies to eat.

The day passed by slowly, every time someone walked into the shop Zuko would turn to see if it was the beautiful young woman he had met, it never was. The sky began to turn orange and he felt a bit sad, he had hoped she would come in. He walked into the kitchen to start washing the afternoon's dishes while Uncle washed the tables.

Zuko heard his uncle talk to someone. "I'm sorry, we are getting ready to close."

"Oh, okay… Well maybe I'll come back in a few days, Lee had invited me to come in." The girl said. Zuko's head shot up and he grabbed a towel to dry his hands on, he walked out of the kitchen, his heart felt like it was going to jump right out of his chest.

"He… Hello!" He said to her, a smile spread across his face.

Uncle eyed him for a moment then turned to his nephew. He noticed the small change in Zuko immediately. "I guess I'll just wash those dishes since you have a visitor."

"Oh, if you were busy…" She looked up into Zuko's eyes, "Maybe I should come back tomorrow, I don't want to keep you from doing your job, Lee."

"No, it is no problem at all. Lee you enjoy your guest while I finish cleaning things up." Iroh told him.

"Hi!" Ursa said, she had climbed out of her seat and was now standing by her Daddy.

Taryn knelt down so that she was at the same level as the girl. "Hello again, Princess Ursa. That is a pretty dress did you pick it out?"

Ursa giggled. "No, Daddy picked it out."

"Well your Daddy did a great job, red is one of my favorite colors." Taryn told the little girl, glancing up at the man standing above her.

"We have lots of red at home!" The little girl told her.

"Let me go make some tea, and see what I can find to eat." Zuko changed the subject quickly. He showed Taryn to a seat then disappeared into the kitchen.

"So, who is that?" Uncle asked him as he heated the water.

"Oh, well… she… uh…." Zuko stammered.

"That's what I figured." Uncle said with a laugh.

"It's not THAT… When Ursa and I were at the Zoo yesterday, Ursa dropped her new doll and… Well she, Taryn picked it up and gave it back to us… That's all Uncle." Zuko said to the elderly man.

"Well, it sure looked like THAT to me." Iroh jested with his nephew.

"I… I invited her here as a thank you for returning Ursa's doll." Zuko's face started to blush and his uncle started to laugh more. "I… I don't need another woman in my life… I just don't uncle."

"Oh, who cares?" Iroh said, "Do what you want, have a good time. Smile, your daughter loves her." Uncle pulled back the curtain he had been peeking through to reveal Ursa sitting on the young woman's lap talking with her. A smile appeared on Zuko's face without him even realizing it, as he watched the young woman take off a bracelet and put it on Ursa's wrist, wrapping it a couple times so that it fit her tiny wrist.

"See," The young woman said to Ursa, "That one is the same as this one." She held up her other wrist. "Now we match!"

"Thank you!" Ursa said hugging Taryn.

Uncle came up behind him and pushed him out to where Taryn and Ursa were sitting. "Spend some time with her, get to know her." He whispered. "I'll take care of everything else."

"Uh… Hey… Well, I was kinda kicked out of the kitchen, so I guess… I'm… uuuhhh… joining you out here." He said nervously as he sat across the table from her.

"Look Daddy!" Ursa said holding up her arm.

"I gave her one of my bracelets, I hope that's okay." Taryn said as she held up her own that matched.

"Thank you, you really didn't have to give it to her." Zuko told her shyly.

Taryn laughed her cute laugh, "I wanted to."

Uncle came out of the kitchen with a steaming teapot and a plate full of confections and finger foods for them.

"This all looks lovely, I didn't expect so much." Taryn said as she looked at the crowded tray.

"Enjoy." Was all Uncle said to the three of them before he went back into the kitchen.

"Thank you!" Taryn said to him. "So, Lee… Where in the Fire Nation do you come from?"

"Huh?" Zuko was confused for a few moments, "How do-"

"Your gold eyes," Taryn said letting a small laugh slip, "That's how I knew."

"You're not going to be weird because I'm from the Fire Nation are you?" Zuko asked her, even this long after the war ended there were still many people who still hated the Fire Nation and everyone and everything from it.

"No!" She laughed again, his smile kept growing bigger as they talked, he really loved her cute laugh. "I think the new Fire Lord is doing a wonderful job trying to fix what the Fire Lords before him had messed up."

"Yeah," Zuko rolled his eyes. "They left everything pretty messed up."

"So where do you live in the Fire Nation?" She repeated the question.

"We live in the Capitol." He told her.

"Is it pretty there? Have you ever seen the Palace, or well at least the Palace walls?" She asked, she was so interested in everything he had to say.

"Yes, it feel like every day I see it." Zuko couldn't help but stare into her mesmerizing green eyes, they were almost hypnotic.

"Do you live or work near it?" She asked him.

"Both." He simply said staring deeper and deeper into her eyes. Her Cheeks started to change color, as she stared into his golden eyes.

"Do you need any more tea?" Uncle asked bringing Zuko's mind out if the girl's eyes.

"Oh, uh yeah… Thank you." Zuko said as he shook his head and blinked a few times.

Iroh refilled their tea cups, "So, she likes what the New Firs Lord is doing. That's wonderful news."

"Daddy, I like her." Ursa said then giggled.

"I like you too!" Taryn said then tickled the little girl's sides causing her to erupt in laughter and wiggle all over the place.

"I kinda thought you wouldn't come here… I was so awkward yesterday." Zuko told her.

"How could I not accept such an…. innocent invitation of gratitude." Her pink cheeks had reached red.

"Cookie please." Ursa said, both Zuko and Taryn reached for the same cookie at the same time, when their fingers touched it was almost like lightning passed from her fingers to his. He knows exactly what it feels like to hold electricity in his body and this was exactly what it felt like, his hair stood on end, his entire body tingled. Neither moved their hand, their eyes locked as their very spirit connected, they both felt it.

"Cookie please." Ursa repeated. Zuko removed his hand and Taryn handed the cookie to the girl sitting on her lap.

Zuko shifted his eyes to look out the open sliding door, the sky was dark purple with hundreds of shimmering stars visible. "Oh, It's so late! I'm sorry I didn't mean for you to be here after dark, please let me walk you home. I can't let you walk all alone."

"Yes, that would be wonderful." She said shyly going pink again.

"Come here, Princess." He told Ursa, he put her on his shoulders the called his goodbyes to Iroh then they began walking down the street. "So… Where do you live?" He asked so that he would know which route was best to take.

"I live in the middle ring, near the marketplace." She told him. "Ok, so I know you are from the Fire Nation… So are a firebender?"

"Yes, I am a firebender… Does that bother you?" He asked her, hoping it didn't.

"No, not at all… bending fascinates me, I have read so many books and scrolls… My father loves to read and travel and learn everything he can, I have seven older sisters… all too concerned about whether their dresses were in style, or if they had the right shade of make-up. Not me, I was always by my father's side, reading the books he read. We would go on trips to see all the places we read about, the one place we never went to, and I still really want to, is the Fire Nation. All the Volcanic Islands… I heard the palace itself is in the middle of a volcanic creator."

"Yes, it is." Zuko said as they walked, he pictured his home. "There is green life all around it."

"It sounds beautiful." Taryn said.

"It is beautiful… Maybe one day you and your father could plan a trip to see it." Zuko told her.

"There are so many places I want to see… My father has a few books about the airbenders and their temples. In one book is said it looked like the temples floated on clouds." Taryn said to him as he nodded, remembering his trip to The Southern Air Temple.

"You have real a lot of books haven't you?" He asked her.

"Yeah… I love reading." Taryn told him.

The walked side by side through the lamp-lit streets of the middle ring, Ursa riding on her Daddy's shoulders. As the passed by a darkened alleyway there was a scuffling sound and a cat hissing. Startled, Taryn jumped and locked her fingers around Zuko's warm hand. He kept the contact, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." He told her with a smile. "I think I might just be a good enough firebender to protect you."

"Well, my house is the next on the block." She pointed with her free hand to a fairly large house. He walked her up the short path to the door. "Goodnight Lee, thank you for walking me home." She told him her cheeks pinked a little. "Goodnight Princess Ursa." She told the little girl sitting on her Daddy's shoulders.

"G'night!" Ursa said as she waved to Taryn.

"Goodnight." Zuko told her as she slowly let his hand slide out of hers. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Yeah, me too." She said as a short plump woman opened the door.

"Where have you been Taryn?" She demanded, eyeing Zuko in his common clothes with a dirty look.

"I'm sorry Mom, Lee and I had tea, His daughter dropped her doll at the Zoo yesterday and He invited me to have tea to thank me."

"It's late and I was worried sick." The woman snapped at Taryn.

"It's my fault Ma'am." Zuko said as kind as he could. "I'm sorry. Goodbye Taryn." He turned and walked back down the path to the road. He really did hope to see her again.

…

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