The Heat that Drives the Light

Chapter 7

I reseted my head on the side of the tub. The water had grown a little cold, and I knew that I had to get out soon or Zuko would worry. Or maybe he wouldn't.

Recently he had been swamped with official documents because of some incident that he had vaguely explained to me. Some bandits had hijacked an aid package to the south pole that Zuko had ordered and now they were trying to track down the culprits.

I sighed slightly before pulling the golden chain that connected to the drain and watching the water swirl down it. This tub was certainly fancier than the wooden things we had back on Kyoshi Island.

I stepped out of the tub and dried myself off, pulling on a nightgown that one of the tailors had fashioned for me. The thing was light for the hot fire nation summers and even green. I almost teared up at the gesture even though it was her job.

Having the familiar color was almost comforting to me. Gosh, I have become so sentimental lately. Maybe I needed to hang out with Toph more.

Pushing the bathroom door open I saw Zuko still hunched over his desk, scribbling away. Just as I had left him an hour ago when I had disappeared to take my bath.

"Zuko," I mumbled, softly placing my hands on his shoulder. I could feel the tense muscles under my hands.

"Hmm," is all he said in reply, not even sparing me a look.

"C'mon, put it down for the night. You need to relax so you don't fucking work yourself to death," I said in a kind but firm tone. He kept on writing and for a moment I thought he was ignoring me, but after a second he sighed and put the quill down.

"Fine," He said, finally turning to look at me. I grabbed his arm and guided him to the edge of the bed where I caught his lips in a chaste kiss. He stilled for a second before grabbing the back of my head to deepen the kiss.

I swiped my tongue on his lip to ask for entrance and he obliged. We stayed like that for a while, caught in a deep and passionate kiss. He pushed me down into a lying position gently as I fiddled with the ties on his robe, managing to push it off his chest.

I felt him smile against my lips as his hands reached for the hem of the nightgown I had just put on. He pushed it up to my hips, exposing my legs.

Suddenly, a loud crash rang out. Zuko jumped off of me and turned towards the door to the hallway where the noise had come from.

We heard muffled sounds of some sort of struggle and Zuko quickly pulled the robes back over his half naked body. I stood up and glanced around the room for a weapon, cursing myself when I realized I had left my fans in a locked box for the night.

I jumped in my skin when the sound of clashing metal was heard right outside the door. I glanced at Zuko, who held his hands out in a fighting position while slowly inching towards the door. I followed him and with a swift kick he pushed open the grand doors.

My eyes had to adjust to the darker room as I realized the torches had been blown out. I pulled myself into a fighting position, but soon realized that wasn't nesseracy as a guard was kneeling besides a crumpled figure, a dark liquid pooling below it.

"What is going on?" Zuko questioned, clearly not entirely sure.

"An attacker- most likely here to assassinate you sir," The guard said, looking up at us from the body, "we got them, but not before they-"

He gestured over to the right. I glanced over to see another guard sprawled on the ground, an arrow sticking out of his eye. I cringed slightly at the sight as the blood streamed in riverlets down the side of his head.