The Girl and the Fire Lord

1 The Girl at the Pond - Zuko's POV

The papers were stacking up, and there was still a lot of work to do, but I needed a breath of fresh air. I wanted to start off the day with some fresh air and outdoors. Everything felt calmer than it had in a very long time. The sweet morning air cooled my cheeks, and I took down my hair to cover my scar. It bothered me for it to be in full view, and I missed being able to leave my hair down all day. The walkways in the garden were lined with white dragon bush flowers and the hedges were high enough to give me plenty of privacy. I picked a flower and turned the petals in my hand. It made me smile, but I put it down quickly just in case someone else was in the garden and saw me. I didn't want to look soft. When I turned the corner, I heard an unfamiliar voice giggling. I pulled my hair back up as quickly as possible, shoving the pin in and fixing the piece that fell in front of my eye. When I was presentable again, I boldly walked around the tall hedge, but was stopped in my tracks when I saw a girl standing by my pond. 

Wow. She was tall, but still looked a good bit shorter than me, and she had a long silk gown on. It was a little sheer for everyday wear, and didn't seem like one of the traditional gowns women wore around the palace. Her hair was long and jet black, adorned with ume flowers and a little silver hair piece. My eyes slipped down her body, pausing when I caught a glimpse of what she looked like under the gown. I caught myself staring, and looked at the ground as quickly as I could. She was gorgeous, but I knew she wouldn't want me to look at her like that. The sun hadn't even risen yet, so she probably thought she was alone. 

My face burned hot and I felt my heart quicken. If I left quietly she probably wouldn't notice, so I took a gentle step backwards, and then another, and then another. When I was safely behind the hedge, I took a deep breath and shoved my stray piece of hair back into my bun. I needed to get back to work anyway. If she'd seen me, it would have been awkward and I probably would have-

"Fire Lord Zuko-" someone said behind me. I spun around and locked eyes with the beautiful lady that was over by the pond just a moment ago. She practically fell over herself trying to bow down to me, which made me instantly uncomfortable. 

"Um... you can get up." I said, bending over a little, and trying to meet her eyes again. She looked up at me shyly. Her pale face was now completely pink. "What are you doing in my garden at this hour?" I asked, trying to sound official but just coming off aggressive. The sharpness in my voice caused her to look down again. 

"I was feeding your turtle ducks. I usually come down early in the morning and watch the sunrise, but I ran out of fire flakes and some of the ducks didn't get to eat." She held up an empty bag. "I was on my way inside to get them more food." 

She was still on the ground.

"Yeah, that's fine... I like the turtle ducks too." I reached my hand down to help her up, but she just stared at my hand, looking confused. She was so unbelievably pretty I was having trouble finding words. "You can get up." I said a little too coldly. 

"Yes, Firelord Zuko. I'm so sorry, I'm being terribly rude. I shouldn't be in your garden when I'm not working and I certainly shouldn't have assumed I'd be alone. I'll run right inside now. Good day, sir." She stood quickly, then folded her arms in front of her and made a beeline for the palace doors. 

"You can stay out here! I don't mind!" I said a little too late. The door slammed behind her and I stood alone in the garden again. 

I had plans and meetings the entire rest of the day, but I had trouble focusing. I asked a couple of the guards if they knew who she was, but no matter how many times and how many people I asked, no one seemed to know her. After a while of trying to find out her name, I decided to focus on my work and put the thought of her out of my head. I would go back the next day to the pond and ask her name. Maybe I'd bring her a couple of the pretty white dragon bush flowers.