Heart of Fire

Book One: Chapter Eleven

I woke up the next morning completely wrapped in blankets. I looked at Zuko, who was blanketless shivering. A muffled giggle escaped my lips as I freed myself from the blanket and threw it over him.

"Good morning," he said, grabbing my waist and pulling me in towards him. My eyes went wide as he planted a kiss on my lips.

"I'm still not quite used to that," I said awkwardly, nuzzling my face into his chest.

"I know. I'm sorry, we can take things slower if we need to," he said, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

"No... I like this. I like being with you. I just need time to adjust," I murmured.

"Take all the time you need," he said, planting a soft kiss on my forehead.

We laid like this for a few minutes, before he sighed.

"As much as I'd love to stay here with you, I can't leave my uncle and the crew to their own devices."

I pouted, but pulled away and sat up so that he could get out of bed. I watched as he dressed himself in his armor, admiring the details of his body.

He noticed that I was staring and chuckled softly. I blushed and turned my head to hide my embarrassment.

"No need to be embarrassed, you can look as much as you want," he said, sliding on his boots. He gave me a peck on the cheek and left the room. I unconsciously caressed the spot he had kissed and smiled. In this moment I felt like one of the luckiest people on the planet. His tender touch was enough to make me forget about my worries.

...

After I had bathed and dressed myself I headed to the deck to see where we were, and we were docked at a Fire Nation harbor in the Earth Kingdom. I panicked, looking around to find Iroh. Our eyes met and mine filled with tears as I collapsed to the ground.

"Misaki!" He shouted, running down from the command deck. He put his hands on my shoulders. "What's the matter?"

I looked up at him and said "Zhao is in charge of this harbor," as a violent sob ripped through me.

The realization on Iroh's face came quickly. He glanced around looking for Zuko, who was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, I could hear two men shouting from a distance.

"I'll kill you!" I heard one of them say. I knew this voice - it was Zhao.

My eyes widened as I sat up to peer over the ship's railing. Standing down the pier was Zhao, along with an extremely angry Zuko. I watched as the two got closer together until they were almost touching chests.

"You'll pay for what you did to her," Zuko spat.

"What I did to her?" Zhao sneered. "I did nothing, except treat her like the whore she is!"

The words made me shudder. Is that really all he thought of me, after everything? I was just a whore to him? I tried to shake the thought from my mind. I already knew he didn't care for me, and I don't care for him. He's a dangerous man. I just need to keep telling myself that, I thought.

I continued to watch as the two were yelling, attracting attention from everyone in the harbor. Iroh stood up and rushed to the pier.

"Zuko! This is no way to handle the situation. We shouldn't be drawing attention to ourselves," he said sternly.

"You're right," Zuko said calmly, much to my surprise as well as Iroh's.

"Well, I'm glad you see it that way. Let's just get the ship repaired and continue our journey. We'll leave you be, Commander Zhao," Iroh said, bowing his head to Zhao.

"I didn't mean we were going to ignore him," Zuko snapped. He turned to Zhao, yelling his next words loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"I challenge you to an Agni Kai!"

I almost fainted. What the hell was he doing? There's no way he could stand up to Zhao. We barely managed against him when he attacked Zuko's ship. I pulled myself together and hurried down to the pier.

"Zuko, please, you can't do this!" I said tearfully, holding onto his sleeve.

"It's already done. I'll see you at sundown," he turned away from Zhao and headed back to the ship. I looked at Iroh with disbelief. He looked almost as stunned as I was. Zhao grabbed my arm tightly and whispered into my ear.

"If he loses, you're mine."