The General's Daughter | Zuko Fanfic

Chapter 3 || Secrets

Li Wei and Prince Zuko got along quite well just like the day that they first met in the Palace Garden when they were children. Li Wei didn't think it would be possible to get the prince to actually agree on meeting up ever so often to chat either. It was like things changed ever since that day when they bumped into each other at the garden. 

They were both busy with their own agendas but somehow, the two made it work. Zuko had bonus support from his uncle who had been reminding the prince to meet up with Li Wei as it was 'good for him'. Although the prince didn't dwell too much on it since he saw Li Wei as a good friend. 

It wasn't long until they both grew attached to one another. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses; their likes and dislikes; their favourite pastimes and biggest regrets. It was as if the four years that they had missed out on getting to know each other had been crammed into a couple of months. 

Before they knew it, they were already catching feels without even realizing it. Besides, they liked the way that things were as their friendship bloomed throughout the season.

"Lady Li Wei! A message from your father," an older gentleman walked up to Li Wei as she was watering the plants in her garden. He pulls out a scroll with the Fire Nation badge wrapped around it. 

Li Wei had been waiting for her father's reply for weeks. Though she could handle weeks without her father, she missed him terribly. She missed having to come home and prepare dinner for two or even preparing her father's favourite tea. Who knew that he would be out for so long? 

With a single pull of the string, Li Wei opened up the scroll to see her father's messy penmanship, as usual. A smile crept up on her face knowing that her father was doing well and that he was healthy. He even congratulated Li Wei for remaining at the top of her class as always, cheering her on even though he was far away from home. He even reminded Li Wei not to get physically intimate with the prince since they were still too young knowing that they're spending more time with each other.

Her cheeks blushed reading that one line. It wasn't like she was planning to be that close to the prince. The thought about being intimate with Zuko was far from what Li Wei could even imagine. She was too young for that. Besides, Li Wei was pretty traditional and would only go so far as to hugging and holding hands in public with someone that she romantically loves. 

As she continued to read her father's letter, steady footsteps walked up behind without her knowledge. 

"What do you have there?" A gentle voice whispered into her ear, startling Li Wei and causing her to close up the scroll. She turns around, pulling the rolled-up scroll over her lips. That was when her eyes met with the familiar gold eyes she's been seeing lately. He was too close.

"Z-Zuko! Don't come up from behind me like that!" Li Wei retorts as she took a big step away from Zuko. "It's a message from Papa. He says he's coming back in a week." Her cheeks were bright red, burning up at how close she was to the prince. She could only hope the prince wouldn't notice, but he did. The prince thought it was cute seeing Li Wei's bashfulness.

His golden eyes grew soft as he chuckled. "I didn't think you would jump like that," Zuko says. "But that's good that your father is coming back home soon. I'm sure he has some trinkets for you when he returns." 

Zuko would remember the time his Uncle Iroh would send his cheesy letters and cool souvenirs from his battles. He was a lot younger then but Zuko would never forget the dagger he received from his uncle. It was the best thing he's ever gotten. 

"Anyway, are you ready to go and train?" Zuko asks.

Li Wei had almost forgotten their training practice for the week. They usually met up to practice combat. It was a nice way for Zuko to improve skills if his firebending would suddenly disappear or grow weak. It wasn't exactly explained why or how that might ever happen, but it was better to be prepared for the worst.