Falling for the Enemy (Sun and Moon Book 1)

Chapter 6 - Dinner

         I rush around Aki's house, tossing things about, attempting to make it look presentable. Aki says it looks fine, but every time I turn around there's something else out of place! I have to get it cleaned up--it has to be clean!

         Lee is coming to dinner, after all.

         Oh spirits. Lee is coming to dinner!

         And, worse: he'll be here any minute now, and the house is still a mess!

         I still have to straighten the pillows and dust the windowsills and shake out the curtains and rugs and-

         “Kara!”

         I whirl around, a pillow in each hand and a duster clenched between my teeth.

         Aki reaches out and takes them from me, setting them on the small wooden table. Then she takes my shoulders and pushes me into a chair.

         I stare up at her, my eyes wild. I still have so much to do, she can't make me sit down now! I open my mouth, but she holds up a hand, stopping me.

         “If you move from this chair, Kara, I will hit you over the head with the cook pot!”

         Then she takes the pillows and disappears into our room.

         I glare after her, unsure of what to do. Lee could be here any minute, and she wants me to just sit down and do nothing? I have to move, I have to clean, or I am going to go crazy! I can't just sit here! I-

         There's a knock on the door--soft but decisive. I close my eyes as all the blood rushes to my face and my stomach drops to my feet.

         He's here! Oh my spirits he's here!

         I lunge for the door, then leap back--I don't want to seem to eager! What is wrong with me? I take a deep breath, and open the door, praying to anyone who's listening to give me a hand, here.

         The door swings wide, and my breath catches in my throat. He smiles adorably at me--one side of his mouth goes higher than the other in the sweetest way. His scarred left eye almost completely closes as he smiles; its amber depths laugh at something, probably me.

         He clears his throat, and I start, realizing that I've been staring. I shake my head. “Uh... sorry. Um...” I know there's something I need to say, but I can't for the life of me think what it is. Lee stands on the doorstep patiently, that slightly shy, uncertain half smile still in place.

         Suddenly Aki's voice sounds behind me, asking Lee if he'd like to come in.

         I feel stupid--I should've asked him in. It was my job--I opened the door, I should've invited him in. He probably thinks I'm an idiot.

         I feel my face heat up and I know that I'm Fire Nation red, and the knowledge only makes me flush brighter. I shake my head, closing the door as Aki leads Lee into the small kitchen. What is wrong with me? I am the Painted Lady, for spirits' sakes! I shouldn't be so affected by the mere sight of Lee.

         I don't know him, for all that I feel as if he knows me.

         It's just that... when I look into his eyes, I feel safe. I feel... at peace. As if I've done all I need to do, as if everything will be all right. As if nothing bad will happen to me ever again. And I can't remember ever feeling that way.

         Not that I remember much, anyway.

**__**

         Zuko watched Katara--no, Kara--quietly, smiling inside as she rushed around, never meeting his eyes. She was nervous, he could see that, and it both confused and excited him. Dancing with her had been magical, but he'd thought it a dream.

         When he'd seen her in the marketplace that morning...

         Zuko didn't understand how she was here, alive, when she should be dead. But it hadn't taken him long to realize that she had no idea who he was, which, in turn, made him think that she didn't know who she was.

         He supposed it wasn't that farfetched that she'd survived the drop--after all she was a very powerful waterbender. She'd been good even before she'd been trained--after she'd found a master she'd amazed and stunned him.

         And now--now she had no idea that she was even a bender, much less such a powerful one. A part of Zuko felt beholden to the beautiful waterbender, but at the same time a bigger part of him was slowly giving in to a lure that had been with him for a long, long time.

         The lure of his honor.

         If Katara wasn't dead, then it followed that she hadn't given up her life for him. And if she hadn't given anything up for him, then he owed her nothing.

         In his heart Zuko knew that this was entirely wrong, especially if Katara really had lost her memory.       

         But in the years since his mother's death Zuko had become adept at ignoring his heart.

         What better bait for the Avatar than his waterbender teacher--and one he'd believed dead, at that. If Aang knew that Katara lived, he would no doubt do all in his considerable power to get her back.

         But since he wasn't yet a fully realized Avatar, and hadn't even mastered waterbending since his teacher disappeared, Zuko had no doubt in his mind that he could beat the younger boy. With his dual swords and his firebending, Zuko was powerful, and he knew it.

         All he had to do was convince Katara to come with him somewhere--she wouldn't have to know anything about it. And once he had her trust, using her to capture the Avatar would be easy. He ignored the twist in his heart that came from wondering what would happen to her once he had the Avatar. It was for a good cause, after all.

         His honor was more important than his heart.

         Once he had his father's love and respect, everything would be better. Once he returned home...

         Zuko smiled at the thought, and let his gaze wander to Katara again. She'd sat down across from him, but her eyes were on her bowl. Her chocolate locks were tied up in a bun at the nape of her neck, except for the few strands that had come loose and hung down around her face and shoulders.

         It felt odd seeing her without her hair loopies. She didn't seem quite like herself.

         But then, she wasn't, not really. She was Kara, a penniless Earth Kingdom girl with no memory, no family, and no idea of what she was truly capable of.

         A part of Zuko cried out for her--he knew all too well what it was like to lose everything you loved and not understand why.

         But the Fire Nation prince pushed that soft, caring part of him away; it would do him no good in the months to come.

         He needed to be strong, and uncaring, and-

         Suddenly the door burst open, and pillars of rock trapped the three diners where they sat.

         “What by Erin? What is the meaning of this?” Aki's voice echoed through the room, but Zuko looked at Katara. She took one look at the tall, muscled earthbender who stood in the doorway, and slumped down, closing her eyes.

         “…and you can't just burst in here like this, I don't care if you are soldiers! Really, Jon, you have no-”

         The earthbender shot out a fist, and a rock crashed into the wall right beside Aki's head, stopping her tirade.

         Jon, as Zuko surmised his name was, then walked up to Katara, a slight smile on his face. “Oh yes, I can. After all, stealing from the army is against the law, wouldn't you agree, Kara? Or should I call you Painted Lady?”