The Girl and the Fire Lord

25 Hurt - Kaori's POV

"Can you please tell me what you're getting all pretty for!" Hana begged. I'd invited her and Hiromi over to hang out after work and catch up some. It had been a busy week, and we were taking any spare moments we could get.

"If it works out, I'll tell you about it. I swear." I said. I really didn't want to admit that I was spending time with the Firelord - especially in light of everything with Hiromi. Hana wouldn't understand. I didn't really even understand.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I shouted, putting another flower in my hair.

"Hello beautiful lady!" Hana said, jumping up to hug Hiromi. She did look especially beautiful. Her shiny hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and her brown eyes were lined beautifully with her traditional makeup. Her dress was short and jet black, matching her sharp, black shoes.

"Wow! You look gorgeous! What are your plans for tonight?" I asked, pinning a curl I'd just made into place.

"I'm going to see Naoko!" She said, and Hana squealed.

"I'm so glad you two are back together. You suit each other so well." Hana said, and I nodded in agreement. I was glad they were back together too - and not for entirely pure reasons.

There was another knock at the door, this time quick and loud. Hiromi moved to answer, and Hana and I waited to see who could be visiting us.

"Naoko's at work... I'm meeting him after my shift." Hiromi said, looking through the peephole.

"Yeah, and Taiyo is with his family tonight." Hana added. The room was silent for a moment.

"Um... it's one of Zuko's attendants." Hiromi said. What? Why would one of his attendants be here? It was a little after ten o'clock, but it only took a few minutes to walk to Zuko's room. Maybe he'd sent one over to escort me?

My throat went dry when I realized just how awkward this could be. Hiromi opened the door.

"Hey... what's up?" She asked the smaller man, and he lifted a letter.

"Are you Kaori? This is from the Firelord." In his other hand, he held a bouquet of pretty yellow zinnias. "Oh - and so are these."

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut.

"No, I'm not Kaori, unfortunately for me." Hiromi snapped. "I can give them to her though." She reached for the bouquet and letter, but he pulled both back quickly.

"The Firelord said these are urgent, and it's imperative I place them directly in her hands. He wants to make sure she reads it and gives a response before I leave."

No no no no - this was the worst timing. I waited for some sort of response from Hiromi, but she simply moved to the side. Hana looked as if she were about to pass out, and I felt the same.

"Um, okay. Thank you sir." I said, walking over. "I'm Kaori."

"Yes, you look like the picture. Okay, here these are." I took the crumpled little letter and the zinnias. Picture?

"Thank you again. Have a good day." I said, starting to shut the door. To my surprise, he stopped it with his hand and pushed it back open again.

"I'm supposed to get your response before I go back." He said.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and read the letter. My eyes stung a little bit when I learned he was leaving tomorrow. He didn't even specify how long he'd be gone or when he'd be back. One line filled me with a little bit of hope.

Can I see you tomorrow in the garden?

I wanted so badly to see him again before he left. I needed to ask him questions. This sounded dangerous, and even though we didn't know each other very well, I cared about him.

"My answer is yes." I said. The man wrinkled his forehead.

"I don't understand. What is your response?" He asked. I felt Hiromi's eyes burning the back of my head. Clearly this guy wasn't going to leave without a thorough answer.

"Tell him I am sad to hear about tonight and I have a lot of questions. Also tell him I'll be there tomorrow morning."

The man, satisfied with my answer, walked away as abruptly as he came. I took a deep breath and turned to face my friends.

"So do you want to tell us what that was about?" Hana asked, showing a rare emotion for her - anger.

"I really would just love to know what was going to happen tonight and where you're planning to be tomorrow morning." Hiromi added slyly. She turned the corner of her mouth up in a smirk, but the jealousy practically radiated off of her. I walked to the bed and took a seat, ready to explain.

"Well, the Firelord asked to see me tonight. I was going to have dinner with him. He had a change of plans - an emergency came up - and had to cancel. I'm going to meet him in the garden tomorrow morning." I confessed.

"Great. Our spot." Hiromi said.

"Well it's not really your spot considering he met me there the first day and I work there." I said without thinking. Hana's mouth fell open.

"Kaori, that was terrible. She liked him and you knew it. He was her chance at moving up through the ranks." Hana said. They must have talked and planned it all out.

"Well I'm not trying to entertain feelings for him and I certainly am not trying to move up the ranks - I promise."

"Of course you aren't, Kaori. You're already a level above us. You think you're better than me and Hana because you're a gardener and not a maid but guess what? Neither of us have fathers, neither of us have money, and until the Firelord walked into our lives, neither of us had a particularly bright future. I liked him because I saw a way out of this tedious lifestyle, sure, but I also have seen him as we've grown up. He was different than any other guy I've been with. I cared about him, wanted to spend time with him-"

"But you lied and pretended to be me!"

"Because I'm in love with him." Hiromi admitted, and tears started falling down her cheeks and around her clenched jaw. Hana glared at me and wrapped her arms around Hiromi. "I'm not going to forget that you did this, and I'm not going to just stand by and watch it happen. I'm going to hurt both of you until you can't stand to be together any more. You ruined this for me, so you'd better expect the same in return."

"Hiromi, what are you talking about?" I asked, almost in disbelief. Hana didn't even meet my eyes.

"I've got a plan to get back at him tonight, and I can promise you this - I'll find a way to get back at you too."