The Girl and the Fire Lord

12 Confusion - Zuko's POV

It was her. The girl I'd had dreams about, wondered about, and looked for was standing right in front of me. 

Her hair was long and black, but it wasn't styled in any particular way. It fell around her shoulder and it looked so soft. I wanted to touch it. 

I'd never seen someone look so graceful. She had soft curves and smooth skin. Everything about her - her hair, her dress, her hands, her body, how she moved - was absolutely breathtaking. I felt a grip around my hand and was pulled out of my trance. Hiromi tightened her hand around mine and her jaw was clenched. She looked absolutely furious. If I ran to the beautiful girl, I'd hurt the one standing next to me. I didn't want to upset Hiromi. She seemed like a great person.

Still, I'd never felt so drawn to someone before. Every ounce of me urged me towards the girl, and I was absolutely certain she was the one I'd seen all of those mornings ago. I watched as she reached up into the tree next to her and plucked an apple from it. Upon examining it, she smiled, and my stomach flipped - in a good way.

"Um, do you know her?" I asked Hiromi. She looked up at me and I could see the anger in her eyes. 

"Yeah. I do." She said curtly. 

"Oh, hm." Was all I managed to say. 

"I think we should probably leave." Hiromi said. My eyes were still locked on the girl. She had gathered a couple of apples in her arms now. You weren't really supposed to do that - pick the apples from the palace garden - but I didn't care. If she wanted them, I wanted her to have them. She reached down and picked up the little bag she'd brought with her, and when she turned around, her jaw dropped. Every single apple fell to the ground, and the little bag fell too, scattering its contents in the grass. 

"Is she okay?" I asked Hiromi.

"We need to go." She said, and she pulled me around the corner of the hedge. I followed her, hoping I could figure out what she was so mad about (and what the girl was so surprised for).

"Why'd she drop everything? You said you two knew each other, do you not like her?" 

Hiromi didn't answer. When we got inside, she shut the door and locked it. 

"Um, she's still out there." 

"She'll find another door."

"This is the only door inside."

"Someone will let her in, I'm sure."

"Can you please tell me why you pulled me in here so quickly?" I asked. "And-" I took a deep breath and worked up my courage. I had to know. "Why did you tell me you were the girl I saw in the garden all those mornings ago when it was her I saw?" 

"What are you talking about?"

"That's the girl I saw in the garden."

"I was in the garden that morning. Not her. That's my friend Kaori. She would have told me if she'd run into you." 

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but she looks exactly like the girl I'm remembering, and you look pretty different. You're beautiful, but I really don't think you're the same person." 

"I wasn't wearing any makeup that night and I was wearing one of the dresses I never wear out! Of course you didn't recognize me at first. Kaori isn't the girl you were looking for though. It was me." She said, and she moved towards me, wrapping her arms around me. "And you found me."

I wrapped my arms around her too, and rested my head on hers. Her breathing was steady. Surely she wouldn't lie to me.

In the past, I hadn't been good at recognizing when I was being lied to. Still, Hiromi was calm. She was interesting, hot, and she really cared about me. I didn't want to throw that away just because I thought she was lying to me. 

Plus, I didn't remember what the girl looked like anyhow. I hadn't seen Hiromi without makeup, so that definitely made sense. Girls usually looked a little different with makeup on. I calmed my suspicion and held the girl I'd grown to like. I needed to trust her if I wanted to keep moving forward.

Even as I held Hiromi in my arms and felt her cheek against mine, I couldn't help but wonder about the girl by the pond.