~The Tale of Zuko and Liena~

Chapter 1: The Meeting

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" A middle-aged woman moaned worriedly as she paced the floor space of the dainty little bookshop. Her hair was short and brown, pulled into a messy bun at the base of her neck. The woman's face was rounded, with a small button nose and defined laugh lines. Her green eyes settled on the young girl leaning haphazardly against the counter.

The girl's identical emerald eyes rolled and she gave her mother a dry look, "I'll be fine, I'm not a child anymore, and it's just for a few days."

The girl swiftly pulled her brown hair back into a bun like her mother's. From behind them, a door opened and a tall man stepped into the area. His hair was black and braided down his back. His features were strong, with a pointed nose and thin lips. His eyes were a light brown, almost golden.

"Orum." The woman sighed anxiously as she shuffled over to him and gripped his brown-sleeved shirt, "Maybe one of us should stay here with her." Orum lifted his free hand to clasp at his chin as he pondered the thought.

The girl let out an exasperated sigh and tapped the counter lightly. "Seriously, you guys are just being a little bit ridiculous. Nothing is going to happen while you're gone. We hardly ever get visitors to our village and on the off chance that something does go wrong, I'll head to Ming-Wei's place and stay with her."

Orum shared another look with his wife, "The war has been over for quite some time now, Huan. I think she'll be okay without us for a couple of days."

Huan sent Orum a fleeting look before fixing her gaze on their daughter. "That's not what I'm worried about." Huan tightened her grip on Orum's arm.

Orum patted his wife's hand gently and smiled over at his daughter who was fidgeting behind their countertop. "We need to trust in Liena to make smart decisions. She's old enough now."

Liena nodded, a gentle smile on her face, "I promise I won't let the shop be destroyed." Liena motioned to her mother. "You've been saying for months that we need more updated books for the shop. You and dad go to the next village over and see what they have. When was the last time you both got to have some time to yourselves?" Liena muttered smartly as she leaned against the counter.

Huan eyed her daughter suspiciously. "I know what you're doing young lady."

"And is it working?" She asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

Huan shared one more look with Orum before she sighed in defeat and rubbed at her cheek. "Fine. You can stay and mind the shop. But I do not want you going out after dark and make sure you lock up. Double and triple check the locks—"

"And don't open it for anyone unless they know the secret password." Liena drawled to her. Liena smirked at her mothers disapproving glare. "Sorry, but I know what to do."

"Come now, Huan." Orum picked up the backpack that was at Huan's feet. He tossed it over his shoulder. "We should head off before it starts to get too dark." Orum approached Liena as the girl moved out from behind the counter and threw her arms around her father's shoulders. Orum was a tall man, and Liena had to step onto her tiptoes to be able to hug him like this. Orum hugged her back, squeezing her tightly for a moment before he pulled away and ruffled her hair. Liena swatted his hand away with a laugh.

Huan swept Liena into a bone-crushing hug. Liena gasped as the air was squeezed right out of her. "Be safe. Don't do anything reckless and if anything happens you go straight to Ming-Wei's."

Liena hugged her mother back. "I'll be fine, I promise."

Huan released her slowly, and then kissed her cheek and then her forehead. Huan stepped away and moved over to Orum who was holding the front door open for them both. Liena followed after them and out into the dry and humid weather. The sun was mildly warm on their skin. A dry wind billowed Liena's loose pants and a few strands of her brittle hair. Orum hitched the bag higher up onto his back as he waved to Liena over his shoulder. Huan took a few steps but then spun on her heel and launched herself at Liena, hugging her one final time. Liena laughed and returned her mother's hug.

"I love you so much, Liena," Huan said tearfully. Liena wanted to tell her mother to stop being so emotional, but she didn't have the heart to do it.

"I love you both. Don't worry about me. I'll see you soon." Liena pried her mother's hands off her as Huan wiped her eyes discreetly and then hurried after Orum who was chuckling and shaking his head at Huan. Liena waved to her parents as she watched them go, a smile on her face.

The Fire Nation convoy rode along the rocky path. A carriage was situated in the middle of the group, being hauled by a Dragon Moose. It's driver sat on the bench at the front of the carriage. Surrounding the carriage were around a dozen Komodo Rhinos, their warriors sat atop them and surveyed the area. Their diligent eyes watch for even the smallest of leaves dropping.

Inside the carriage, a man sat with his arms crossed and his back slumped against the plush red seat. His face was angled to the side so that he could peer out of the window and watch the thick trees and dense foliage of the Earth Kingdom go by. He shifted in his heavy red robes. He pulled at the collar, letting cool air waft under his clothes.

"Remind me again why we couldn't take one of the airships?" He asked the man sitting opposite him, a grumble in his husky voice.

The man in question raised his eyes from the pad he was currently writing on to stare over at the fidgeting man. "This area of the Earth Kingdom has a strict 'no-fly policy' in place still, Lord Zuko. The people here are wary of outsiders, which is why we're doing this tour to broaden our contacts and establish trading and peace with these outlying villages." The man lowered his gaze back down to his pad and scribbled away once more.

Zuko sighed and leaned further back against the chair. He reached up and scratched his head. He so desperately wanted to rip the stupid headpiece out of his bun, it was catching and pulling on his hair painfully but he knew that the man across from him would advise against it. They were due in another village at the end of the day, and he needed to look his best.

"I know this isn't the most glamorous part of your position, Sire, but we're almost done here and then we can return home." He stated, his gaze never once leaving his paper.

Zuko studied the elderly man carefully. Daruk had been his advisor for close to two years now. He was pushing his late fifties but could still move around like a spirited thirty-year-old. His hair was long and grey, pulled back into a bun that nobles fashioned their hair into.

"Thank you, Daruk." Zuko suddenly said. Daruk paused in his scribing to meet the Fire Lord's amber gaze, "I couldn't have organised and done this trip without you."

"It's my pleasure, Lord Zuko." Daruk bowed his head respectfully towards the young Fire Lord.

They lapsed into silence. Zuko resumed his staring out of the window dreamily. He couldn't wait to go home after this was all done. He didn't mind coming out to the Earth Kingdom to establish relations with the citizens, but after a couple of months it became very boring and he was becoming homesick.

The silence carried on between them until the convoy came to a sudden stop. The force of the stop had Zuko pitching forward slightly in his seat. One of his hands flew to grip the fabric to steady himself as he met Daruk's concerned gaze.

"What's going on?" Daruk questioned as he set his pad down next to him.

Zuko stood up from his seat, "I'm not sure." Zuko reached for the handle of the carriage and he opened it up. "Captain Jee! Why have we stopped?" Zuko called out, sticking his head out of the door.

Jee rode up next to Zuko on his rhino. The middle-aged man was garbed in full armour as he motioned to something ahead of the entourage. "There's a hazard in the road up ahead. We need to either find a way through or around it. Sit tight, Sire, we'll be back on track soon enough." Jee told Zuko with a firm nod of the head.

Zuko looked up and down the road nervously. For some reason, he had a bad feeling in his gut about something, and generally, his intuition was right most of the time about these things. Zuko closed the carriage door and sat back in his seat. Daruk had shuffled over and moved the curtain that covered his window out of the way as he peered outside. Zuko'scuriosity got the best of him as he angled his head and focused his attention outside once more.

A few of his armed guards were riding slowly passed the carriage. Zuko could hear them calling out orders to one another. Zuko's spine suddenly tingled as his amber eyes flicked over to something in the dense trees. For a moment, he was confused about what he was seeing, and then he gasped and lunged back for Daruk.

"Get down!" He yelled. His arms wrapped around the elderly man's shoulders and forced him to the floor of the carriage. Daruk let out a yelp of surprise just as the carriage exploded around them. There hadn't been enough time for Zuko to jump out of the carriage to deflect the oncoming fireball so he had resorted to hoping he wouldn't be incinerated upon impact.

The wooden carriage erupted around them, large splinters soared into the air as the Dragon Moose reared up on its hind legs, letting out a started cry before it rushed off. The driver of the carriage had been thrown from his seat in the explosion and was being picked up by one of the guards.

"Lord Zuko!" Jee called out as he turned his rhino back towards the carriage. Just as he did, dozens of people sprung out from the bushes and began firebending at them.

Zuko helped Daruk up and out of the rubble and pulled the elderly man down onto the ground behind a large rock. Two of his guards appeared at his side just as Zuko's soldiers began fighting back.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked Daruk.

Daruk nodded and motioned to Zuko's steaming clothes. His robes had been singed in the attack. "I am fine, My Lord. Please worry about yourself."

Zuko handed Daruk to one of his guards as he stripped off his heavy cloak and tossed it to the side haphazardly. As he did he noticed that there was a pain in his upper left arm. He glanced down and saw blood trickling down his arm. He must have been injured when the carriage exploded. He couldn't worry about it now. He squeezed his fist, feeling a slight pain but not enough that he couldn't fight back.

"Protect the Fire Lord!" Jee yelled out to his men as they engaged the black-robed assailants.

Zuko studied the men who were attacking. They were firebending, which meant that they had to be the rebels from the Fire Nation. It wasn't the first time he had come under attack by these people. He was just surprised at the sheer number of them this time; there definitely hadn't been this many before.

Zuko jumped into the fray, defending his soldiers and putting some of the rebels on the defensive. He managed to knock out a few before Jee came riding up to him on a rhino.

"Lord Zuko, hurry please!" Jee extended his hand down to him, motioning for him to climb up behind him.

"We will stay and fight!" Zuko bellowed. He punched fire towards a rebel who deflected the flames. Zuko suddenly saw the rebels take two of his soldiers out. He instantly realised why Jee looked so panicked—they were going to lose this battle because they were so outnumbered.

"My Lord, please!" Jee called again desperately. Zuko glanced around at his men trying to defend him so valiantly. He knew that if he and Jee fled, the rebels would then chase after him, leaving them alone. He made his decision as he gripped Jee's hand and hoisted himself up behind his Captain.

Jee cried out and flicked the reigns of his rhino as the animal took off. Zuko braced himself on Jee's shoulders, keeping himself steady on the back of the rhino. They sped along the road, leaping over the fallen tree that had been their hazard on the road—and more then likely the ambush spot planned by the rebel organisation.

Zuko glanced over his shoulder and groaned in displeasure, "We have company…" he muttered. Jee looked behind him for a split second. Chasing after them on two rhinos that they must have stolen from the other soldiers were four rebels. Two sat on each rhino.

They were closing in fast. Zuko twisted his torso and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the rebels. They managed to dodge and deflect his attacks.

"Any ideas?" Zuko questioned Jee as the man pulled the rhino's reigns sharply to the left to dodge an oncoming fireball that had landed in front of them.

"This was my idea," Jee replied through gritted teeth.

Zuko shot out a fireball to cancel out one of the rebels as he sent a wave of fire out to create a wall across the road. He was hoping to stall them for a couple of seconds but the rebels pushed the rhinos through the flames and kept them coming for the pair.

"How far away was the village we were supposed to arrive at?" Zuko asked, shooting fire out once more.

"Still half a day's ride. We'll never make it there with these guys behind us." Jee grunted as he turned the rhino down the path. Zuko groaned in frustration and moved his head to the right to dodge a fireball. "Oh no…" Jee suddenly muttered.

Zuko whirled around, looking passed Jee to see what could be happening now. What he saw had his eyes widening. Two rebels stood in their path, a large wall of fire behind them. Jee tugged on the rhino's reins, making the animal let out a wail as it started skidding to a stop. Zuko held onto Jee's shoulders tightly to stop himself from being flung off the beast as the rebels ahead of them combined their fire-bending and launched a massive fireball at them. Zuko tried to deflect it but was too late and in doing so the fire hit the rhino as he and Jee were sent flying. Zuko went soaring off to the side. He hit the ground hard and began to roll down the hill. Zuko felt a blinding, white-hot pain flash through his head. He knew he must have hit a rock, but his body was still rolling and sliding down the slope, and he had no way to stop himself.

All of a sudden, the ground was gone from beneath him. Zuko flung his hands out desperately, hoping to catch onto the edge of the cliff that he had just rolled off but it was no use. His hand flew to his bun, where he wrenched out the golden hairpiece and slammed it into the rock. The spike dragged down as he desperately tried to slow himself down but the hairpiece popped out of the rock and Zuko plunged into the icy river below.

Zuko popped up to the surface of the water, gulping in air and brushing away his long hair that had come loose from his bun. Water trickled into his good eye as he wiped at it but winced harshly. As he pulled away his hand and examined it Zuko saw blood covering his hand. He pressed his fingers back against his head; he felt the wound just above his eyebrow as Zuko groaned in pain, now feeling the full effect of his head injury.

"There he is!"

Zuko angled his head up to the top of the cliff where he could see three (or four?) rebels looming over the cliff. He couldn't make them out clearly as the blood was still running down into his eye. Either way, he knew he needed to move.

"Don't let him get away!" He heard the echo from their calls.

Zuko turned and paddled his way to the shore of the river. He clambered out, stumbling a few steps as he tried to keep his head up high. He raised his hand to wipe at his eyes and gasped in pain. Zuko used his good arm to wipe at his eyes again as he stumbled through the shallow water and into the nearby forest. He had to keep moving, he couldn't stop yet. He needed to put as much distance between himself and the rebels.

"So they finally left you alone, huh?" Ming-Wei said with a smile as she nudged Liena lightly with her shoulder. Liena rolled her eyes at her older friend and went back to dangling the shiny objects over baby Ushi. The little boy was only a few months old but was the current pride and joy of Liena's village.

"It took some great convincing," Liena muttered as Ushi gave out a little giggle and tried extending his little hands up.

"Well, it's about dang time," Ming-Wei said as she braided her long black hair over her shoulder. "When I was your age I had just gotten married. You've barely left the village." She said with a side look.

"You're only two years older than me." Liena said dryly, "And I have my reasons for not wanting to leave the village, thank you."

"Yes, I know." Ming-Wei sighed dramatically. "It was a scary world out there. But hello, Liena! The war ended over three years ago. The rest of the kids our age have already moved on and travelling the world, you should do the same."

Liena stopped jiggling the toys over Ushi's head and dropped her arm to the side. Her eyes moved down to the floorboards as she sighed heavily. "I want to…but I can't, Ming."

"Why not?" Ming-Wei asked, shuffling closer to her. "Don't tell me it's because of your parents? I get that they're over-protective of you but there has to be a day when you need to stand up on your own two legs for once. Make your own decisions, Liena."

"It's not that simple," Liena argued, moving her brown-eyed gaze over to her friend. "I'm not like you. I can't just walk out on them. They need me."

"No," Ming-Wei said sternly. "They want to control you."

"No, they don't!" Liena argued, raising her voice slightly. Ushi whimpered, hearing the tension between his mother and Liena. Both women flicked their gazes down to the little baby for a moment and then looked at each other guilty. Liena stood up, shaking her head because of their argument and headed to the door.

"Liena, wait," Ming-Wei called out as she clambered to her feet and followed her. Liena ignored her and opened the front door. "Liena!"

Liena paused before heading out and glanced over her shoulder at her friend. "I know all you wanted to do was help. But you can't understand what it's like for me. I'll see you tomorrow." Liena said with a disappointed huff as she shut Ming-Wei's door behind her.

Liena gave herself a few moments to breathe. From behind the door, she heard Ushi's little attention wail and was thankful for the baby, it meant that Ming-Wei wouldn't be coming after her. When she was ready, Liena squared her shoulders and stepped down from Ming-Weir's porch and walked off in the direction of her home.

It wasn't that late at night. Barely two hours after sunset but the village seemed to be completely deserted. Liena could see the silhouettes of people inside their homes from behind curtains. She could smell dinners being cooked and laughter from families spending time together.

Liena wasn't mad at her friend. Ming-Wei just wanted the best for her, as did her parents. But Liena wasn't sure who was right between them. She could never admit out loud that she wanted to leave the village. She wanted what Ming-Wei had, that desire and freedom to travel wherever she wanted. Ming-Wei had done it when she celebrated her eighteenth birthday. She had travelled, and fell in love quickly and then had a baby.

Liena didn't want a baby. But she did want to see the world. She wanted to see more than her small village. She needed more than her parent's bookshop…but she didn't know how to tell them. They had spent their lives keeping her safe, making sure that she had a normal childhood. Their village had been one of the few in the Kingdom that had been unaffected by the one hundred year war. They were so isolated, stuck between two mountains that they rarely got visitors. The village had a few farming houses on the outskirts that produced what they needed and everyone chipped in when required. Liena had lived a good life, but now she wanted more—and she was terrified to tell her parents that.

Liena crossed her arms over her chest and held herself tightly. It made her stomach turn just thinking about having that conversation with her parents. Considering how hard it had been for them to let her stay on her own for a couple of days, it would take a small army to try and convince them that her travelling on her own was a good thing.

Liena halted in her tracks. Something was moving up ahead in the darkness. It was a tall shape, staggering along the path. Liena's arms dropped from her stomach as she took a hesitant step backwards. Her heart started to thump loudly in her chest, the sound of her heart was deafening her. Her palms began to sweat as she watched the figure stumble around for a few more moments before there was a very human-like groan as they collapsed onto the ground.

Liena frowned, she was sure that the groan had been human, and young by the sound of it. Her instincts were telling her to turn and run back to Ming-Wei's house. She didn't need to concern herself with something like this. But something had her approaching the figure.

She took tentative steps, her tattered shoes pressing down lightly on the rocky ground. As she got closer, Liena was able to make out more features of the person from the nearby light from one of the homes across the street. Their hair was long and dark, touching the collar of their dark shirt. It was hard to see much else as they were lying face down on the ground.

"Are you alive?" Liena whispered at them. She heard no response. She crept even closer. The bare skin of their arms was exposed and Liena could see that one of them was completely covered in what appeared to be blood.

Liena's shaking hand reached down to pick up a small stone. She gripped it tightly in her hand for a moment and then pitched it at them. It bounced off their shoulder and back onto the ground.

"Are you alive?" Liena called out again. She was expecting no response like before, but she squealed in shock when they moved suddenly. Their shoulders hunched, and they moved their hands under their body to push themselves up. His head angled up to her. Liena was finally able to make out that it was a man after all.

"Please…help me." He whispered before collapsing back onto the ground. Liena shot up onto her feet. She backed up from him, shaking her head.

"Nope. I'm not doing this. I don't even know who you are." She protested with herself as she took nervous steps away from the unconscious man. This was going to be some trick. He was a bandit or a criminal or something. Her mother had always warned her to be wary of strangers; you could never know what their agenda was.

Liena had backed up a good few meters away from the man. He was almost dissolving into the darkness of the night now. If she continued, she wouldn't see him anymore and it would be like he never existed. She could take the long way home, lock her doors and cower under her bed for the night until someone else found him. She wasn't going to be taken by surprise!

"But…he said please…" She muttered to herself. She thought about it. What kind of criminal uses manners? "No!" She shook her head vigorously. "You can't trust him." Liena balled her fist up and held it to her chest as she tried to calm her beating heart. She turned on her heel and took a few steps before stopping. Her brows crinkled together. "He's injured…he must be in pain."

Liena glanced over her shoulder at him once more. Her expression was full of conflict as she tossed up whether or not to help the man. She was torn in half, and the compassionate side of her was winning.

Liena, with a final sigh of resignation, quickly rushed back to the injured man lying face down on the ground. She crouched down and assessed how she was going to lift him up.

"Please don't be crazy…" She whispered at him, but more to herself than anything. She pressed her lips together in a firm line and then nudged him with her hand. "Look, I'm going to help you. But I'm going to need you to help me too. So first, just promise me that you won't attack me or my village once I help you?" She didn't receive a reply from him, causing her to huff in annoyance. "Good reply. I'm going to try and lift you. If you can hear me, try and give me a hand, okay?"

Liena rolled him over onto his back, and she finally managed to make out what he looked like, somewhat…

In the darkness, she could see that he had blood covering his face; the wound appeared to be from above his eyebrow. His hair was long and fell into his closed eyes. She didn't have any more time to study him as she moved to stand by his head. She looped her arms around his armpits and then hoisted him up. Liena groaned from the weight of the man as she dragged him towards her home.

"What did you eat for lunch, an ostrich horse?" Liena growled out as she gave the man another tug just as she stopped outside her door. He had not awoken since she had begun to drag him, and she had once assumed that maybe he had died but he had coughed twice, groaning in pain as he did so. Liena thanked herself for all these years of hauling books around, otherwise she would've probably never been able to lift him.

Liena fumbled with her key, trying to keep the man lifted so she didn't drop him at the same time. She managed to shove it into the lock and then kick the door open with her foot as she dragged him into the dark shop.

Her parent's bookstore was also her home as well. The shop was in front and the bedrooms, kitchen and washroom in the back. The only way in was through the front. It was pitch black as she dragged him in. She moved him into what she knew would be the centre of the room as she lay him down, careful not to jostle him too much as she hurried and fumbled around in the darkness for a candle. She lit it quickly, the room suddenly illuminating around her.

Liena turned back to the unconscious man bleeding on her floor as she walked over to him cautiously. He was sprawled out on the floor, his chest heaving as he breathed deeply in his sleep. Liena crouched to get a closer look at his face. She gasped in shock and reeled back slightly.

What she had assumed had been blood on the side of his face, wasn't blood at all. He had a scar, a scar that engulfed almost the entire left side of his face. A deep gash was above his right eye, the blood was trickling down the side of his nose and to his chin. Liena was taken aback by the severity of the man's scar, she had never seen something like it before.

A firebender has done it. Liena couldn't fathom how someone could do that to another person. It was completely barbaric. She felt guilt well up in her chest. This man had been through a lot, and she had been prepared to just let him rot in the middle of the road. On that note, Liena remembered that he was injured.

She jumped up straight and hurried into the back of the store and into the living area. She lit more candles along her way so that she could see as she collected a variety of things to tend to his wounds. She also detoured to her bedroom and grabbed one of her pillows and her blanket to cover him with.

She also grabbed her father's hunting knife—just to be safe.

Arriving back at the shop, Liena peeked her head around the corner of the doorway and was pleased to see that he was still out cold.

Or he's faking it, she thought fearfully. Liena shook her head. She needed to stop being so dramatic. She was going to be fine.

Liena gripped the hunting knife in her hand, letting the wooden hilt calm her nerves slightly as she approached the unconscious man and nudged him with her foot. He didn't respond.

She came around to his head, staring down at him in the dim candlelight. He looked older than her, only by a few years. His nose was small and pointed, his face thin and long. Liena had always known the men in her village, she had grown up with them, like brothers. So she had never imagined that she would meet someone that she would find appealing, and he was very handsome, even with the scar. His hair was almost touching his shoulders and covered most of his forehead. His clothes were ripped and stained with blood, the arms in tatters and some of it singed in places.

Had there been firebenders? Was he on the run from them? Was he a criminal?

Liena almost talked herself out of helping him once again but shook the thoughts away and knelt by his head. She would treat the head wound first, it was the most serious concern. Liena ripped up the rags and started to put pressure on the gash above his eyebrow. She dabbed it, and after clearing away some of the dried blood she deduced that it would need to be stitched to stop the bleeding. She had brought her medical kit with her when she had run around looking for supplies. Her mother spent her younger years being the village medic and also teaching Liena basic skills in the area. In a farming village, there were always accidents.

Liena readied the needle and silk, heating the metal with the nearby candle to sterilise it. She cleaned the wound up as best she could as she began to stitch. She half expected the man to wake up and start screaming at her but the only reaction he gave her was a small moan, letting her know that he was still alive.

Liena didn't know how much time had passed before she was finished doing what she could for him. His head was bandaged and so was his arm. She had washed most of the blood off of him with her rags, the water in her bucket turning a brownish colour. Liena moved the pillow under his head and covered him with the blanket. She would leave him to rest and see if he made it through the night…he could have lost too much blood before she had found him. Or he had other wounds that she didn't know about.

She cleaned up around her and decided to keep the front door unlocked, in case he decided to wake up and disappear. She would hate to have someone angry in her house that couldn't get out.

Liena disappeared into the back of the shop, to her room. She washed the blood off her hands and tidied herself up. She turned back to the door that led out into the bookshop and she dragged a heavy chair over and wedged it under the door handle…just in case…

That night, Liena slept with her hand on her father's hunting knife under her pillow, not knowing that the man whom she had just healed and saved…was the Fire Nation's own Fire Lord.