Chapter 38

Izara was packing a bag after receiving a note that she was going on a trip for a few days. The message from Zuko concerned her since she wasn't sure where they were going. Since he now knew what she was capable of, Zara's most profound fear that she'd be relegated to doing the same work she thought she'd left behind came bubbling to the surface. Knowing the Fire Lord, that wasn't the case, and he'd never ask her to do such things, but the hint of fear still appeared within her. That fear was merely instinctual, as it was ingrained into her after such a long time.

She was in full armour and held her pack in her hand, unable to put it over her shoulder because it was still sore. The note said he would come and get her but didn't say where to meet him, so she just waited outside her door. He appeared from around the corner, walking calmly over to her.

"Izara..." Fire Lord Zuko spoke, but his voice trailed off, appearing confused as he looked at her up and down. "You're in full armour."

"Of course. What do you need of me?" She responded evenly, slightly concerned about why he seemed so relaxed.

"Oh. Oohhh." He put his hands on his face, his fingers against his temples as if he must have realised something.

"Have I done something wrong?" Izara felt embarrassed but wasn't sure what was going on.

"No, no. It's my fault. My note was too vague. I'm sorry. I wanted it to be a surprise." He winced apologetically as he walked over to her.

Zuko began ushering her in the door to her temporary quarters. She did as she was bid, shuffling through the door after him and blinking slowly.

"You won't need your armour or weapons. We're taking a brief respite somewhere just outside the city." He informed her casually, and she noted that he was in comfortable clothing.

Realising that she'd overreacted by misinterpreting his note, she nodded in confirmation. Izara removed her armour, and the visible weapons, and the one's that were hidden inside clothing. She disappeared into the ensuite bathroom to change into black pants, a black shirt, and a loose, red haori. After glancing at her pack, she decided to change out some items. She wouldn't need the extra weapons she had packed since they weren't going on a mission. Zuko chuckled after seeing the knife set and steel fan she had pulled from her pack, and she rolled her eyes in response to his amusement. After removing them, she put in an extra change of casual clothes, a book and toiletries. Hoping she'd got the right things with her, she looked at him questioningly. He nodded in approval, smiling back at her.

The Fire Lord tilted his head towards the door with a 'Let's go' gesture but tugged her bag from her grip and slung it over his shoulder instead. She started walking behind him absent-mindedly, but he slowed his pace, and then so did she, glancing up at him with a puzzled expression. He laughed softly and stretched his arm out to reach over her shoulder. Nudging her forward to walk beside him, she took the hint and matched his pace. As a matter of habit, she'd reverted to her usual guard position of following behind him, always staying about three steps behind.

Appa awaited them with his saddle as they headed outside, ready to go. She smiled, excited about riding on the sky bison for the first time. Appa greeted the Fire Lord with an affectionate nuzzle that would have sent him flying if there was any strength behind it. Izara walked over to him carefully and allowed him to sniff her before she put her hand out to greet him. She laughed happily when Appa grunted to say hello and nudged his giant nose into her hand. It was incredible to see such a beautiful animal up close; he was also so adorable.

"Have you ever flown on a sky bison before?" Zuko asked with a charming drawl.

"I have not." She responded eagerly.

"Then allow me to escort you." He stood up straight and held out his hand for her.

With Katara's healing skills, her physical state had greatly improved, but it was still difficult for her to get up on Appa. Zuko had evidently prepared a platform to help her earlier, making it much more manageable. Once on the saddle on Appa's back, Zuko smiled as she sat down and put her bag with his own on her right.

Zuko moved to hold the reins, sitting on Appa's head and said the words.

"Yip yip."

Zuko (the Royal Family, technically) had a home that he rarely got a chance to visit. It was a holiday home on one of the small islands connected by sandbars that disappeared at high tide. The caretaker was an old family friend of his mother's, and he'd sent a message to expect him to arrive there today. He'd packed up some of his work to get some things done while they were away.

"Thank you, guys. I appreciate it." Zuko smiled at his Uncle, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph.

They'd agreed to keep an eye on everything since he desperately wanted to take Izara away for a few days to rest appropriately. It would also allow him to complete some of his overdue paperwork and other tasks put on the back burner due to the attack.

After saying goodbye, Zuko left the sitting room and headed towards the spare room Izara was staying in. He'd sent her a message earlier and requested that she pack a bag and get ready to leave, but he hadn't explained why or where they were going since he wanted to surprise her. When he'd turned to go down the hallway, Izara stood just in front of the doorway, looking like she'd been waiting for him. She still had dark circles under her eyes and pale skin, and her stance was tense as if any movement was uncomfortable. She gave him a half smile, which he returned.

Izara was in full armour and carried a small backpack with her, but she was holding it by the strap in her hand rather than over her shoulder. Zuko raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering why she was in full armour. He looked her over and gathered from the tension in her body that she was expecting something formal.

"Izara...You're in full armour." He said simply.

"Of course. What do you need of me?" Her tone was professional.

"Oh. Oohhh." He groaned mentally, and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

"Have I done something wrong?" Izara's voice held a hint of panic, and he felt terrible immediately.

"No, no. It's my fault. My note was too vague. I'm sorry. I wanted to surprise you." He apologised as he walked over to her.

He hadn't addressed the note from the Fire Lord but with his own name, trying to indicate it wasn't anything formal, but it was on his proper stationery. That might have been enough for her to assume it was a serious message and that she would need full armour.

Zuko smiled and began ushering her in the door of the room she'd been staying in while she healed. She did as she was bid, shuffling through the door and picking up her bag so she didn't leave it behind.

"You won't need your armour or weapons. We're taking a brief respite somewhere just outside the city." He said, and she glanced at his clothing choice and took the hint.

After Izara removed her armour and left it on the bed, he smiled and watched as she put her weapons beside it. There were her swords, a set of throwing knives, a folding knife and a set of senbon. Once she'd gotten changed in the bathroom, she removed more weapons from her pack, and he couldn't help but laugh at her. Zuko collected the bag from her without a word to carry it for her as they headed outside. He had to physically shift her to walk beside him rather than behind him like she was working as they walked through the Palace. Once they got outside, Appa had everything on his saddle that Zuko had prepared earlier and was ready to take them to their destination.

Izara glanced up at him in question, but he just shrugged mysteriously with a smirk and watched as she greeted Appa with a smile and a scratch before he helped her walk up a small platform to make it more comfortable for her to get up on his back. He watched as she took a seat with no trace of pain on her face, but it was just a mask, knowing her. After placing her pack beside her, he smiled at her, then went to sit on Appa's head to get underway.

"Yip yip." He said, and Appa took off with a happy groan. There wasn't much way to prepare anyone for the feeling of flying on Appa for the first time.

"Whoa." Izara yelped in surprise, but Zuko looked over to see her grinning brightly as she held on for dear life. He laughed vibrantly, the sound catching on the wind.

It was only a quick trip on Appa, around 15-20 minutes and around an hour by boat. Appa would head back straight away and would come and pick them up in a week. The island came into view once they were up high enough, and Zuko steered Appa towards it, and they descended a few minutes later. Once they landed, Zuko grabbed their things. Appa somehow helped Izara down more gently with a gust of air, and she landed softly on the grass with a chuckle. They both said goodbye to Appa, and Izara hugged him as much as she could with her good arm before he took off into the sky again to return to the Palace.

The caretaker emerged from the house immediately and grinned happily while he waved at them. It had been many years since Zuko had been here. Zuko picked up their bags before Izara could and walked towards the entrance.

"My Lord. It's good to see you." He bowed once he'd reached them.

"Sha'Zu. It's been a long time." Zuko gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "This is Izara. Sha'Zu is the caretaker."

The house belonged to his mother's side of the family, and before she'd married his father, Ursa had spent some of her childhood growing up here. Sha'Zu had been looking after the place and still seemed spritely, even though his hair was more gray than when Zuko saw him last. He lived on an island a few hundred metres away with his wife, and it was close enough to walk on low tide, but a boat was needed while it was high tide.

"Lovely to meet you, Sha'Zu." She bowed her head and smiled.

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Izara." He smiled at her.

Izara was hiding her surprise as best she could, but Zuko could see her eyes darting around as she took in the surroundings. The house was traditional, with a stone garden at the front. A small pool in the middle of the grounds could be seen through the undercover hallway leading to the other side of the house. Zuko was pleased that everything looked practically the same as the last time he was here. It was spacious but homey and peaceful. A cool breeze came through the open shoji doors leading to the pool and small garden.

"There's plenty of food in the icebox, and my wife has made spring onion pancakes with fire flakes for you." Sha'Zu smiled as he led them into the house and pointed towards the kitchen down the opposite end.

"Please tell her thank you. She obviously hasn't forgotten how much I love them. Oyiku's pancakes are amazing," Zuko said to Izara with a smile.

"Is there anything else you need for now? I'll drop off some fresh food in a few days." Sha'Zu asked politely, with his hands linked behind his back.

"Nothing at all. Thank you." Zuko smiled as he put the bags down, trying not to groan at the paperwork's weight.

"I'll leave you to settle in. If you need anything, you remember the light?" Sha'Zu asked and pointed to a light in the garden out the front, and Zuko nodded. If the lantern was lit, Sha'Zu would come and check on them.

"Thank you," Izara said quietly and bowed her head politely as Sha'Zu waved and left them be, closing the front door behind him.

"I'll show you around," Zuko suggested and kept his pace slow for her.

"Here's the main living room, with a toilet on the right. We'll go upstairs in a minute. The kitchen and dining room are through here. There's a library this way." He smiled as she perked up at the idea of books, knowing how much she liked to read.

They walked through the enclosed hallway, which passed the open shoji doors leading to the pool and small garden, with a bench and bamboo rising tall. Izara gasped quietly at the sight and stopped to look for a moment. There were paper lanterns that lit up the pool at night, and it looked amazing. He led her to the sitting room, with a kotatsu, couches and bookshelves all over the walls. Nothing had changed since he was here last, but Izara was stunned silent by the house. It wasn't as luxurious as the Palace, even though he'd toned it down since he'd come to power.

"Maybe I didn't need to bring my own book." She commented with a soft laugh, and Zuko smiled.

"Let me show you upstairs so you can put your things down." Zuko walked beside her and resisted the urge to hold her hand as they returned to the main sitting room.

He picked up their packs without giving her a chance and headed upstairs with Izara trailing behind. On the left was the master bedroom with an ensuite and a smaller bedroom with two beds. Zuko wanted to give Izara the bigger room, but he knew she wouldn't stand for it. He would try anyway, though.

"This is my room," he gestured faintly but did his best to shuffle her towards the master. "This is your room," he said.

"That isn't right. I'll take this room. I don't need such a big bed." She protested and marched back towards the smaller room.

Zuko sighed but didn't argue with her. He placed his pack inside the master bedroom. It wasn't worth fighting with her about it, and he wanted her to take it easy while they were here.

"Your bathroom is here." Zuko opened the door, revealing the room behind it.

It had been renovated since he was here last, with clean white tiles on the floor and walls, aside from a large row of black tiles that broke up the white across the walls. There was a large bath in the left-hand corner, big enough to fit them both with room to spare, but he didn't let his thoughts further descend down that path.

"We should eat the pancakes. You'll love them." Zuko suggested, feeling awkward since Izara would likely not feel comfortable for a while yet.

"I'll make us some tea then." She said, likely to try and contribute, which Zuko appreciated, but he shook his head.

"Your job is to do nothing while we're here. Nothing," Zuko said forcefully but compassionately, warningly shaking his pointer finger at her.

"As you wish, my Lord." She replied with a brief bow of her head, and Zuko chewed his bottom lip.

Although they had kissed, and she had kissed him back before abruptly pushing him away and then all but sprinting from him, he had hoped that Izara would just call him by his name. It had happened a few times, but he thought they'd gone forward since she returned, not backwards.

"I thought we were past that." He blurted out with quiet denial in his tone.

Her chin dropped to her chest, and he cursed himself for speaking. His temper still got the better of him sometimes, and he shouldn't have said anything. Despite that, he couldn't bring himself to apologise since he was genuinely hurt by her putting distance between them like that.

They headed back down the stairs and into the kitchen in silence, and Izara sat at the dining table and stared out at the pool while Zuko made them tea. The awkward silence had faded into a comfortable one by the time he had brought over the plate of savoury pancakes and the pot of tea. Izara poured some tea to each of them while Zuko nudged the plate of food towards her and sat down. After she took a bite and began to chew, she made a happy sound and smiled at him. He smiled and ate his pancake, and they sat quietly, enjoying the tranquillity.

Once they'd finished the tea and eaten their fill, Zuko put the rest of the pancakes away so they would keep longer. Izara headed towards the sitting room, likely intending to check out the books. Zuko went upstairs and grabbed the stack of paperwork he'd stashed in his pack. He wanted to give her some space, primarily because of his stupid comment earlier, and it was an excellent chance to get some work done.

After setting up at the coffee table in the sitting room and allowing himself a sigh, he got to work...