The Girl and the Fire Lord

4 After All of These Years - Hiromi's POV

The light in my room made it difficult for me to do my makeup, but not impossible. I used a slightly darker color on the sides of my nose to slim it down and make myself look more like Kaori. Zuko had only seen her once, but he already seemed a little bit suspicious of me and my story. I didn't look much like Kaori at all, but he'd seen her without makeup and in a night dress. I needed to make certain he saw me in full makeup and with a nice dress on - at least for a little while. Once the memory of Kaori faded a little bit I'd relax on the dressing up and let him see me in my more natural state. For now, I did my best to make myself look like her. She didn't usually wear thick eyeliner like I did, but that was one thing I couldn't give up. I swiped the thick black line on my eye and smiled. I looked pretty.

As I wrapped my hair up into two neat buns, I contemplated waking up Hana and asking her for some advice. She and I had lived together for about a year now and I knew I could trust her to keep this a secret for me. I felt weird about pretending Zuko had stumbled upon me in the garden that first night, but yesterday he seemed completely convinced that it had been me. Plus, Kaori didn't see him the way I did. She constantly called him Fire Lord Zuko, or sometimes just 'Fire Lord'. He was different to me. I grew up cleaning his room, and even while he was... away, I dusted and fluffed the pillows. He didn't know me yet, but I felt sure we would do well getting to know each other. It was too convenient that Kaori asked me to go to the ponds in the morning for her. It felt like destiny to me, and who was I to get in the way of my destiny?

Still, I felt a little wrong for keeping this from her. 

He was waiting for her yesterday morning, not me, and when he saw me he looked visibly confused. I walked towards Hana's bed to shake her awake, but I stopped just before I moved her arm. 

This was my one chance to live out the dream I'd always wanted. Yes, I had to stretch the truth a bit to make this happen, but Kaori asked me to go to the pond, Zuko seemed convinced of me being the girl he met at first, and my makeup looked flawless. I swiped on a natural shade of pink to darken the color of my lips. I looked almost exactly like Kaori if she were made up. Taking one last look at myself in the mirror and one more glance over at sleeping Hana, I grabbed the little bag of fire flakes and headed for the palace gardens. 

The palace was so empty this early in the morning. No one woke up any time before seven, and people didn't usually flood the halls until just before breakfast opened at eight. Five in the morning was a peaceful time. Not even the guards were in the halls - the night shift took turns watching the perimeter of the palace. As I walked down the cool palace hallway, a shiver shot down my spine. I couldn't quite tell if it was my conscience or the cold, but I shoved the shiver down and kept walking. 

The grand palace doors looked twenty feet tall and were covered with beautiful murals of dragons and people from the fire nation living in harmony. I was glad that under Zuko's rule we could finally live peaceful lives like they did in the days the murals were done. I pushed open the huge doors and let the brisk night air kiss my cheeks. The fresh air really was wonderful. Even when Kaori started back on her walks - if she ever did - I think I would probably keep coming out and walking, especially if I saw him each morning. That would be a complicating factor - if she decided to start her walks again any time soon. I'd have to do something about that later that day, but I decided to cross that bridge when I got there. 

I tossed a sprinkle of fire flakes into the pond and the little creatures came swimming over, quacking and splashing as they swam. 

"Good morning!" I heard his voice say from behind me, and I turned around to look at who I'd really come for that morning. I gave a respectful bow, and set the bag down beside me.

"Good morning. It's so lovely to see you again." I said, moving towards him. I closed the gap between us until there was a little less than a foot of space. His cheeks darkened to a faint shade of red, and I smiled sleekly. His hair was pulled up nicely into his crown, but a strand of hair fell in front of his eye. When I reached up to gently brush the stray out of his eye, the corner of his mouth turned up a little bit and he lightly touched the back of my hand. I'd never realized quite how incredible his eyes were before. They were usually serious and still, but now they moved around, taking in every part of how I looked. I let my hand fall down to his chest and he kept his hand on top of mine. 

"Would you like to take a walk?" He asked. I nodded, and he offered me his arm. As I wrapped my arms through his, I realized that he felt just as strong and sturdy as he looked. I tried to take in every single second of that walk and commit it to memory. I was finally holding his arm after all of these years, and I never wanted to let go.