End of the Beginning

Chapter 3

I entered the library with a long sigh, closing the window. It was already getting late. I didn't know whether to be happy Zuko was finally asleep or concerned he passed out from exhaustion. I gently stroked his hair away from his face. He groaned softly, fluttering his eyes open.

"Kya," He whispered in a rasp, slowly sitting back up.

"Mhm," I said holding his hand to help him stand, "Let's go take you to bed okay,"

He nodded, smiling and hugging me warmly. Zuko was never not affectionate when he was sleepy. A small laugh left his lips as we walked down the hall to his room making me smile.

"When did you get here?" Zuko asked as we entered his room,"I didn't even welcome you,"

"Not too long ago," I said as he laid in bed. He was extremely drained considering he was so willing to sleep tonight,"Plus your welcoming me now,"

He yawned loudly and fell back asleep. I heard the door slightly open behind me, it was Kaito. She slowly entered the room with a pot of tea. I gestured to her to leave the tea on the floor and close the door.

She smiled mouthing,"Your finally back,"

I shook my head with a smile as the door closed, seems like everyone is glad to see me again. I brought the blanket upwards to cover Zuko, he huffed out a shallow breath of air. I got up to open the window and poured myself a cup of tea. The refreshing cool air entered the warm room, making me feel a bit more settled down. I had to admit I was also tired but it wasn't enough to sleep so soon. I opened my bag and quickly read through all the letters I had received recently. Sokka had been keeping me up to date with the Harmony Restoration Movement since I left them, and Kaito had sent me letters about how the situation was here in the Fire Nation. I sighed and looked out the window, as time came closer to remove the older colonies I grew more worried. Those people had been there for generations, I'm sure it won't be as easy to remove as the others.

I finished my tea and went to sleep next to Zuko. It wasn't often that we'd sleep in the same room because the royal court would give us their unwanted attention, occasionally Secretary Gou would also joke that there was nothing wrong with getting married early. So we both decided it was best to not do it as often. I carefully went under the blankets, falling asleep next to Zuko.

I woke up the next morning with Zuko no longer in bed. It was early morning too. I stretched before getting up. As I walked through the halls I noticed the meeting room was closed. I could only assume Zuko and Kaito here were stuck discussing political matters. I went back to my room and sent a letter to Dad asking how things were back home, then I read some books to pass time. It was a comfortable yet uncomfortable silence. After a few hours Kaito came back with a plethora of letters about the new Ozai society, each and every one of them explaining the same thing. Wanting Ozai back on the throne, Zuko not being worthy of the title of Fire Lord, and that their leader is unknown. The same things we've been hearing since the beginning, it was stressful. We had no connections whatsoever to be able to obtain any information. They were tight knit, and it was mostly just Kaito and a handful from the palace staff gathering information.

"I guess we'll just have to keep waiting to see if that Kei Lo guy shows up again," Kaito said, crossing her arms.

Kei Lo, he was around our age. We heard that he was potentially within the new recruits of the new Ozai society but once we heard it he vanished without a trace. Kaito tried, but we never found him again. We were both tense and annoyed at the situation at hand, the more time went by the more they grew in numbers.

"Anyways, I'm going to sleep and you should too,"Kaito said getting up,"We can keep working on this with a clearer head,"

Clearer head, she knew I was bottling up all my frustration.

"Alright," I sighed,"Goodnight,"

"You too," Kaito said, closing my door.

Clearer head my ass, I began rereading every single letter that was in my room. I scrambled my mind to figure out what to do. Frustration entered my body once more, throwing the scroll to the wall. A loud thunk boomed as soon as the scroll fell to the ground, making me jump back a bit. It came from the next room over. Zuko's room. I ran out, water in hand from the vase Zuko made me swear to keep in my room for emergencies and tripped the mysterious figure ahead of me.

"Show yourself!" I heard Zuko yell throwing fire my way.

The figure jumped into the air as I went a strong blast of water in her direction. She dodged it and tripped Zuko.

"Down with the traitor!" A girl yelled,"Down with the Fire Lord who betrayed his own people," I made shards breaking the chain she had in hand. She quickly turned around to kick me and I pushed her back with a large wave. She groaned as I slammed her into the wall pinning her with icicles.

I pulled the girl's mask down. She looked younger than me.

How in the world did she slip past the guards?!

"Convince me not to take your life," Zuko said, ready to fire at her.

"Why are you here?" I added with hostility.

"Go ahead!" The girl spat ignoring me and looking at Zuko,"My family has been loyal to yours for generations! By getting rid of me, you would simply complete your betrayal."

"Your family?" Zuko asked, softening his defensive stance.

"My father is the mayor of Yu Dao!" The girl growled.

"Yu Dao, the first of the Fire Nation colonies," I said.

I knew there were going to be issues with this.

"Exactly!" The girl yelled,"My home! And now you and the Avatar are going to destroy it with your precious Harmony Restoration Movement!"

"What's going on?" Kaito said, rushing over still in her night clothes,"Who's she?"

"She is here to bring justice," The girl hissed.

"Justice?" Kaito asked angrily.

I looked at Zuko and Kaito who were practically fuming, pulling them back a bit.

"If she's from the colonies, we should speak to her father," I suggested.

"The colonies?" Kaito said calming down, assessing the situation.

"She almost assassinated me!" He hissed.

"I know. But we should also try and understand what's going on," I said,"Especially if the mayor of Yu Dao agrees with his own daughter coming alone to the Fire Nation to try and kill you,"

"Kya right, we shouldn't do anything rash," Kaito groaned, holding her temple after realizing I had a point,"She doesn't seem like the others who've tried to kill you,"

"Oh like there's a difference between all the people who want me dead," Zuko retorted, his eye bags were worse than yesterdays, his complexion was almost entirely dim.

"Please," I begged, placing my hand on his chest, his heart was racing.

Zuko glared at the girl,"Kaito, detain her," He groaned,"And prepare a ship. I'm headed to Yu Dao in a few hours,"

I let out a deep sigh as Kaito quickly took the girl away. We exchanged a quick glance of relief as Zuko calmed down very slightly. He stormed off to get ready to leave so I went to my room to grab my bag to pack. After a bit, Kaito then entered my room with a tired look on her face. Kaito wasn't the type to wake up in the morning just because, I'm sure she was worried about all the commotion.

"At least he didn't kill her," Kaito said, plopping down on my bed.

"Wonder what's going on in Yu Dao," I said sitting down next to her.

"We won't know anything until you two go and find out," Kaito sighed.

"Things never seem to be easy for us huh," I tried to joke,"I haven't eaten with either of you since I arrived,"

"There'll always be more opportunities," Kaito replied with a small smile trying not to fall asleep on my bed.