Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire [Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic]

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Fire Lord entered his tent, the door swished closed, and Izara stood for a moment, feeling taken aback. She knew that the Fire Lord was a bit older than her, but the smile he gave her made him seem like he was still a teenager. Knowing it would be strange for her to stand outside his tent all day staring into space, she shook her head to dispel her thoughts.

Her Uncle would be heading this way, looking for a fight with her. Instead of going to her tent, she went to see the cooks about getting the Fire Lord some food. As usual, the men she walked past nodded politely, which she always returned. Swiftly and quietly, she moved through the tents and found that some soup was almost ready to be served. One of the young male cooks had a bit of a crush on her and never missed an opportunity to give her something extra and flirt with her a little. The food wasn't great, but a little extra piece of bread or an extra piece of fruit was lovely. He put together two servings, one for the Fire Lord and one for herself, with some warm crusty bread. She thanked him kindly, and he flushed red up to his ears and smiled in return.

She returned to the tents, careful not to spill the meals everywhere. Usually, her Uncle would eat with his Captains, so she usually ate in the kitchen area for convenience. She made sure to keep her pace slow enough to steady the tray. Once she stood outside the Fire Lord's tent, she made her presence known and waited until she was permitted entry.

When she entered, she pushed her rear through the tent door first to keep the tray steady and turned around to find the Fire Lord adjusting his robes. Although she tried not to, she could notice the sharp outline of muscle underneath the fabric. She worked with soldiers, who weren't always modest, and some were more than happy to walk around shirtless. Still, she wasn't exactly immune to an attractive man. However, this was the Fire Lord, so she immediately dropped her eyes, looked at the tray, placed the food on his small table, and told him what the soup was.

"Thank you for bringing it all the way here." He brushed some hair off his shoulder and sat down at the table. "Is that for you? You may join me if you like." When she hesitated with a blank face, he continued. "Please sit and eat with me. Or will you make me sit here alone, in a war camp tent?" he smirked faintly, teasing her a little.

Immediately, she sat down and placed her food on the table with a slight fumble.

"Don't be so nervous. I hate coming to war camps. No one ever talks to me because I'm the Fire Lord, so I get bored. I also don't get to talk to people my age a lot unless my friends are visiting the Capital." he said quietly and stirred his soup. His tone was relatively open and friendly, more so than she expected.

"I don't really get to talk to many people here either. I'm usually too busy," she responded with an awkward huff and smile, showing her uncertainty although she tried to hide it.

Unfortunately, though he did ask her to, she couldn't just switch off her nervousness. She took a breath to centre herself as silently as she could and began to eat with him quietly. It was the first thing she had eaten today, so she made sure she took her time and didn't spill everything all over herself while eating with royalty. He was surprisingly open and relaxed with her, so she guessed she should try to be the same.

"So, how long have you been in the army for?" he asked, making impersonal conversation with his guest.

"I'm technically not in the army, My Lord. I'm just helping my Uncle," she replied quietly, hoping she wasn't giving the wrong answer.

"Hmm. I expected from your analysis earlier that you had been enlisted for quite some time. How old are you?" He ran a thumb across his chin in a thoughtful gesture.

"I am 24, My Lord. To be fair, being here has given me some experience in battle plans despite my short years." She replied with a somewhat cryptic tone, which he did not question.