𝑯𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆

𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚

                Chapter Thirteen
Aang

"Actually, I heard they first met in Ba Sing Se and took a liking to each other. They worked at General Iroh's tea shop together, trained together, fought together. They helped the Avatar end the war together and swore an oath of familyhood and loyalty, sealed in blood ."

My ears catch the whisper of gossip from a few feet away—some of the girls brought here for Zuko to meet, fluttering their fans like hummingbird wings. Their eyes were fixed on Inara, who had just been pulled into a dance by one of the noblemen. Usually polite conversation made her look murderous, but tonight, she seemed lost in some fog, moving like a ghost, and I couldn't blame her.

A knot of worry twisted tighter in my chest. I knew this must be torture for her. Inara was a terror, a nightmare of a woman, and yet I couldn't stop thinking about her. I still cared if she was okay, despite my better judgment.

She's insufferable, really, but not in a way that makes it easier to look away or to lay my eyes on something more appealing, because there was nothing more appealing than her, nothing more interesting than her.

She was like a desert rose, blooming defiantly in barren soil, showing off its beauty with every sharp thorn intact.

And I hated it.

The dance was winding down, and before I could think better of it, I slipped through the crowd as quickly and discreetly as I could. I reached out, took her hand, and twirled her away from her partner, catching her in my arms for the next dance.

She did not look happy.

"Your mask is slipping petal," I whispered before she could protest. "Do you want to leave?"

She raised an eyebrow at my nickname but didn't seem interested enough to ask

"I can't," she murmured, a hint of frustration in her voice. "The party just started. I can't leave Zuko."

"He'll survive. You're not exactly helping right now," I replied, dipping her low, just to see if I could shake her out of that daze.

"You're intolerable," she snapped, and I saw a flicker of irritation cross her face—good. I needed to see anything other than that hollow look she had before. That wasn't her.

"Really? Most people find me charming." I grin.

"That's because you're charming to them and save your intolerable self just for me."

I leaned in closer, my voice low, more gentle. "I'll keep an eye on Zuko. You go do whatever you need to feel better... so we can figure out if that thing is real." I say not wanting to be specific in case of any eavesdropping.

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded, but her silence felt strange, almost too quiet, like she was hiding something. And that suspicion only made me want to know more.

Inara stepped away from me, her movements precise, almost too deliberate, as if each step required a decision. I watched her carefully, waiting for a sign, a flicker of the usual fire in her eyes, but it wasn't there. She seemed more like a ghost floating through the crowded ballroom, her expression unreadable.

The moment she slipped past the edge of the dance floor, I saw her pause, glancing around like she was checking for shadows. Her hand tightened around the shawl draped over her shoulders, and for a second, I wondered if she was going to bolt straight out the door. But then, with a slight tilt of her chin, she adjusted her posture, as if steeling herself, and moved toward one of the doors.