Jaded Petals ↛ Zuko x OC ✔️

15 | Burning Desire

Daiyu had looked at him with uncertainty, unsure of how she should handle his confession. She wanted to hold him, to smile and kiss him again. The wave of all the emotions she wanted to feel were coming back to her, she wanted to say how in love she was with him. Though she had to second guess all of that, there was something wrong here. No matter how much she loved him, no matter how much she had always hoped for all this when she had realized her feelings... She was a concubine. His father's concubine. Admitting that she had loved him was the first step to heartbreak. She could not endanger Zuko, or further endanger herself. The Fire Lord would be angry upon knowing that his son was here and that he had spoken feelings of love to her. All of this could go terribly wrong and she did not want Zuko to be hurt, but would she have to hurt him in the process anyway? "Zuko, you have to leave." She had finally said a full sentence. "You have to go."

He had looked at her in shock, not really registering where all of this was coming from. "What are you talking about? Why would you want me to leave?" He had said, grabbing her wrist but she had pulled her arms and away. "Do you know you're playing in dangerous water? You and I can't be together. I am not of Royalty." She had said as Zuko shook his head, "I told Susumu who told father that you are of Royalty. That you were going to marry King Kuei of Ba Sing Se." Her eyes had widened at his words, "Are you crazy?!" She slapped her palm against her forehead, her mind racing and her heart beating fast. "If your father wanted, he could make me his wife now!" The Prince appeared shocked at her words, his mouth slightly open in surprise. "No... This can't be happening. This can't be..." She shook her head, "It's over..." She whispered as she had felt his hands grabbing both her arms as she looked up at him with sad eyes.

"I'm going to fix this." The conviction in his voice was strong but Daiyu shook her head in dismissal, "There's nothing you can do to fix this Zuko. It's already done. There's nothing you can do." Her hands were now pressed to his cheeks, a small smile on her face. "I have been in love with you for a very long time. And so, I'm just happy that you return my feelings. I was afraid you never will. And so, I want to make the best out of this because soon things will change." She had said as she had lowered her head, her thumbs still brushing against both of his cheeks. "Zuko, I want you to do something for me." She had said as she continue to caress both his soft, cheeks. "I need you to leave here. I need you to get as far away from the Fire Nation as you can, can you do that for me?" She had asked him as he had narrowed his eyes, his eyes trying to search for answers in her eyes. "Why would you want me to leave you here? Alone and with my father?!" His voice slightly rose which caused the girl to wince from the loudness and ferocity in it.

"You have to trust me." Her voice was very serious and her eyes asking him to believe in her. He looked at her with confusion and with worry. "Things are bad right now, but I can change things around. I just need you not to be here." She had continued on to say, "You should break Iroh out. Both of you need to get out of here." Zuko narrowed his eyes, unsure of whether to do as she said or not. He knew that the reason why she said this was to protect him, but something was amiss and he refused to leave her here. "No, I'm not doing that. I'm not letting you stay here by yourself. You can't convince me of that, so quit trying." Daiyu wanted to smile but this situation was too stressful and serious for her to be smiling at him when she knew that if he had stayed then things will go sour very quickly. "Fine. You're so stubborn..." She sighed as she averted her eyes, trying to conjure up a new idea. "Before I go for the night," Her eyes had went back to the Prince whose gaze had never left her face, "I want you to tell me how you feel."

She clenched her teeth and close her eyes. If she had told him then it would make things difficult... Why can't he see that? Why was he so selfish and persistent? Even though she hated those things about him, she still loved his flaws. "I've always loved you. At first, I wasn't sure what kind of love it was. Did I love you like you were family or did I love you like a lover. I didn't think about it much until I went to Kyoshi Island when I began to miss you nearly every minute of every day. Despite that, I was still in denial about my feelings." She had given him a small smile, "But back in Ba Sing Se when you were going to go out on date with that girl, I felt jealous. I felt like she was taking you away from me.... And then when I was to marry Kuei, Katara was the one to tell me that I was in love with you like a lover. I kept realizing the more I felt like I lost you, the deeper my love was for you."