Chapter 10

Izara entered the Captain's office to report for her afternoon shift. The past few weeks had been uneventful, and she felt like she was hitting her stride. She was doing well in firebending, although Zuko had been too busy to meet with her since their second session. However, Kazan had been happy to take some time with her, and he had also been a great help with the beginner forms in Suki's class. Kazan was in the highest-ranked class for palace guards, not that Izara was surprised. Suki suggested that Izara bump up to the next level. She didn't feel ready since she had only worked for over a month. Maybe people would think less of her if she hadn't done her time in the lower classes. Suki was understanding but encouraged her to go up as soon as she felt okay.

Luan had met with her a few days ago to ask how she felt about moving shifts. There was plenty of staff on each shift, but one of the male night shift guards had just welcomed a new addition to his family. He wanted to be at home through the night with his wife and spend some more time with them through the day and had asked for someone to swap shifts with while they were settling in with the new baby. Most of the night guards were high-ranking and long-serving, but Luan had suggested that he thought she would do well, so she had accepted. Unfortunately, she wouldn't start until this block of shifts was over. Until then, she was trying to stay up late to ensure that she was well-prepared for the change in her sleeping pattern. It wouldn't be permanent, Luan said, but he wanted to give the other guard at least a month or two at home with his wife through the night.

When she had reported in, she went to her post. Today, she was outside at the wall next to the training grounds, which was always the most exciting spot to be through the day. There were guards training in combat, with weapons and bending. It was the day and afternoon shifts' favourite post. She didn't have to do much aside from keeping an eye on each side of the wall and patrolling her 25-metre section. Since bad situations seldom happened, most guards spent their shift watching everyone training. Izara wanted to get down there and train herself but settled for going through some forms mentally as she walked up and back in her area.

Raiko was on the next section of the wall, and they made pleasant conversation throughout their shift, and it ended up going quickly. Night fell after only an hour or two, and the training grounds fell quiet afterwards. The city was more interesting to look at after dark since the lights from the houses and shopping district stood out across the night sky.

The remainder of the shift was utterly uneventful. Once relieved, Izara returned to report in with Raiko in tow. Once she had checked in, she headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat. The late-night staff at this time mainly prepped ingredients and dishes for the next day and accepted deliveries in the early morning for fresh produce. Since Izara was moving to the night shift, she hadn't seen Ling, who was usually there throughout the day. She had made an acquaintance, Gualin, who always ensured she had something to eat. There were still plenty of leftovers from the dinner rush, and there was a hearty stew served with crusty bread.

After enjoying her meal, Izara returned to her room, keeping as silent as she could as she grabbed her things and headed to the bath. It was dead quiet, and she didn't mind the silence as she washed before hopping in the tub and letting the hot water soothe her muscles. She had been working incredibly hard to pick up everything and probably needed to give herself a break. Training so much had been helping her get to sleep at night, stopping her from laying awake all night, overthinking everything, so that was good.

Once she had thoroughly enjoyed her soak, she got out and dried off. Her bedclothes desperately needed replacing, as they were just her old clothes. She made a mental note to go to a shop that Lia had suggested. Lia tended to have expensive tastes, whereas Izara was far more practical. Still, she appreciated that Lia did always buy quality items. You got what you paid for and didn't worry about loose threads, weird sizing, or crappy materials. She figured that since you spent at least a quarter of your day asleep, you might as well spend a bit more to be comfortable. She also noticed yesterday that her boots, the only pair of shoes she owned, were fraying badly and would need replacing. Something else would need to be done as soon as possible. It was probably worth getting a pair of other shoes, such as sandals, to wear while she was off duty.

Instead of hopping into bed, she grabbed her book and headed to the library. Of course, no one was there, but it was the best place to read at this time of night without being interrupted. Izara had returned to the bookstore and purchased the rest of the books in the series she and Ming had talked about, and she was immensely enjoying them. She found that she very much enjoyed the somewhat cliche-type stories; the lovers who had to go against the world to be together or the fantastical stories involving magic and sorcery.

Turning the page, she looked out the window to see that the night sky was clear tonight. Making a split-second decision, she got up from her seat and put the light out in the library as she left. She headed outside and decided to keep reading there. It didn't matter if it was too dark since she could summon a bit of fire to give her enough light to read by.

Strolling outside, she went to the seats on the right of the training grounds and plopped herself down. Instead of reading her book, she found herself enjoying the view of the night sky and thinking things over. She considered how much things had changed in the last month. Everyone had been so welcoming, and she could hardly believe how many friends she had made. Before coming to the Capital, Kazan was probably the only person she would've considered a friend. No one else had given her the time of day, even her Uncle. Now, even the Fire Lord was taking time out of his day to help her learn firebending, which she was so grateful for. Ming, Kazan, Nami, Lia, Ling, and plenty of the other staff and guards had helped her in some way during her time here.

She smiled up at the night sky as she recalled her initial nervousness arriving here, now knowing that she felt like she belonged…

It had been a long day, but Zuko just couldn't get settled and ended up seated on the lounge in his room, reading in the low light of the candle on the small table next to him. After finishing a chapter, he put the book down, face down, so he didn't lose his place, and got up to stretch. As he moved this way, he noticed the night sky was clear and decided to go outside for some fresh air.

The guards greeted him on his way through and opened the door. It was a balmy night but not too uncomfortable. As he strolled outside, he saw a familiar figure in the darkness on the other side of the training ground. He wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone, but he thought it was a good idea to check in with her and make sure she was okay. She was seated on a bench and was looking up at the sky.

"Izara." She flinched before turning to her left and putting a hand over her heart once she recognised him.

"You scared the shit out of me," Izara replied with a breathy laugh at herself and bowed her head in apology after realising that her choice of words was not great. "Apologies, my Lord."

"Sorry. Um… can I join you?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to intrude if she came out here to be alone. Since he knew she shared a room with three other girls, certainly she would like some time to herself occasionally.

"Of course, my Lord. Please, sit down." With a smile, she gestured to the empty space on the bench next to her.

"Thanks. I didn't know if you wanted to be on your own." He sat next to her and put his arms over the back of the bench. He purposely kept his tone informal and hoped that she would follow suit, not being too distant with him. She usually did, but as they had gotten to know one another better over the last few months, he had found her quite pleasant to talk to. She was intelligent and funny, and he respected her.

"I'm starting the night shift next week, so I wanted to try and get used to being up overnight. Why are you out here so late?" As he hoped, she matched his pace, but only with her word choice. Her body language was rigid, probably as good as he would get.

"Uhh, can't sleep. I was reading for a while but thought some fresh air would be nice." Zuko looked up at the night sky, and Izara did the same.

"It is nice out tonight."

"Can we train together the day after tomorrow? I have a few hours to spare in the late afternoon." He offered while the thought was in his mind. He had planned to see her tomorrow and ask, but there was no time like the present.

"Yes, please. I have a few questions about the fourth intermediate set." Izara mentioned off-handedly, and Zuko leaned back in surprise.

"You've gotten that far already?" He asked incredulously. Last time they were working on the fourth, fifth and sixth beginner sets. Her progress surprised him.

"Yes, I've asked a friend to help me. Kazan. I knew him from when he served under my Uncle." She continued speaking when he didn't reply and just stared at her. "I didn't want you to be teaching me like a toddler. I should know more and be much better than I am."

"Izara, I know we've only had two sessions so far, but your ability to pick it up has been impressive. I'm stunned if you're already sharpening your intermediate forms." Zuko offered in a firm but encouraging voice.

"Oh no, they still need so much work. That's why I wanted to ask you a few things." She was brushing him off, and it seemed like she felt awkward.

"Do you think I'm lying to you?" His tone hinted mirth, just enough for her to stop and think about his earlier reassurance.

Her golden eyes were wide as they stared back at him in surprise at his compliments. After a moment, she snapped out of it, and she couldn't hide her smile as she shook her head. He felt it had long been since anyone had made her feel good about herself. Maybe he would take a chance to ask her friend, Kazan, if he knew anything about her past. Kazan might be able to answer some of his questions about her.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, just enjoying the view of the night sky and the cool breeze. Eventually, they began talking, and the conversation topic varied, from if Izara was enjoying living in the Capital, to firebending, to their favourite foods and places that Zuko had visited before becoming Fire Lord. Hours passed without either of them realising, and they both continued talking and laughing with no interest in how long they'd been there.

"Izara, are they changing the guard?" Zuko asked as he squinted to try and see what was happening in the darkness at the door back into the palace.

"Oh my. It's that late already?!" She replied and confirmed his thoughts.

"I think you mean early." They both turned to look at each other and began to laugh. "I can't believe we sat out here all night."

"I know! I'm so sorry! You should go and get some sleep." Izara stood up and tried to usher him indoors but seemed to realise exactly who she was talking to and backed off with pursed lips.

"Please don't be like that. You helped to distract me from the fact that I run an entire country, and I'm grateful for that. Don't forget that I'm still a man underneath all this." He lazily gestured to the palace behind him, and she nodded with a smile after taking in his words.

Tilting his head in the direction of the palace, they began walking towards the door, and the guards let them in wordlessly, probably surprised to see them outside at such an hour. Quietly, they strolled towards his room, and when they reached his door, Izara gave him a bow, although he didn't want her to. He couldn't fault her for her unfailing courtesy, though.

"Good night." He said and felt a smile come across his face.

"Good morning?" She replied with an upward inflection, and they chuckled softly at her joke before she bowed politely.

Taking that as his queue, he opened his door and slipped inside, closing it quietly behind him. Through his window, he could see the beginnings of light appearing on the horizon and pulled his curtain closed. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about any early morning meetings and decided to take the first half of the day off to rest. He could go to the office in the afternoon and get any work done. Wen would look after everything in the meantime.

With a quick glance over the book he had left open, he smiled, glad that he had decided to go outside and enjoy the night air. It had been one of the most relaxing times he had experienced. Talking about anything and everything with Izara had been more cathartic than he expected. He would have to ask her to join him outside to speak again. He would ask her at their next training session, which was tomorrow, since it was technically morning.

As he hopped into bed, finally feeling like he would fall asleep now, he dozed off with a smile on his face…