Heart of Fire

Book One: Chapter Five

At some point, I had fallen asleep in Zuko's arms. I woke up and he was laying on the bed next to me, his arm around my shoulder holding me close to his chest. I remembered telling him everything that had happened these past few years.

I told him that before my parents arranged my marriage to Zhao, I was the daughter of a mayor from one of the many Fire Nation colonies, and my father was my best friend. He tried to teach to me firebend, but my mother had always been against me learning, as it was unladylike and dangerous - at least that's what she told me.

She believed that by having me married I would become less interested in bending, and she was right. After only a few months with Zhao, I had completely lost interest. My only concern at the time was making my husband happy.

Zuko stirred, interrupting my thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better now, thank you," I said, flashing a small smile.

He smiled back and pulled me closer to his chest. I inhaled his scent, which was almost intoxicating. I wasn't sure what it was about him, but I knew that he was going to become an important part of my life. I smiled as I thought about all the trouble I got myself into when I was a kid, just so I could see him - even if it was only for a few moments.

We laid on the bed for hours talking about ourselves, each other, and our lives. I felt as if I was seeing a side of him that no one else got to see.

"Can I ask you something?" I said, brushing his long hair away from his eyes and looking at the large scar on his face.

He frowned, pulling away from me a bit. "I knew you would," he sighed.

"When I was younger, all I wanted to do was please my father. I practiced bending almost every chance that I could get, and I would show him what I taught myself. He would praise me, tell me how wonderful of a Fire Lord I would make one day. I aspired to be him, to follow in his footsteps and make not only our family but our nation proud as well," he paused, thinking for a moment.

"There was no way I could complete with my sister, though. The fire she bent was beautiful, a blue so intense it would hurt your eyes just to watch. She was mesmerizing, so skilled for a child. My father began to ignore me, resent me even. He wasn't interested in what I could do anymore. He brought teachers from everywhere to teach Azula how to bend. Not that she really needed it though, she was a natural. My father always said she was born lucky. Maybe he was right, maybe she was. I spent years trying to gain his respect, to no avail. It always seemed to get worse as the days passed," he paused again, his eyes starting to fill with tears. He quickly wiped them away and continued to speak.

"And one day it happened. I spoke out against one of my father's generals, and he challenged me to an Agni Kai. I refused to participate, I was young and I knew that my father was much more experienced and merciless than I was. So, I let him do this to me. I didn't even try to fight back. I was a coward."

If only he knew how much I could relate to what he was saying. I wanted to tell him that what happened wasn't his fault, but I knew he wouldn't believe me... then again, I still think it's my fault for what Zhao did.

We sat in silence for what seemed like forever. I had heard stories about Zuko, but I never really believed them until now. And here I was, lying in his arms and telling him my deepest secrets. I had only truly met him a few days ago but it felt like I'd known him my entire life - likely due to the fact that I spent a lot of time watching him as a child. I hope he doesn't realize that I'm the weirdo who snuck into the palace. I shuddered at the thought.