The Concubine's Apprentice (an Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfiction Zuko x OC)

Chapter 6: Escape

Right after the performance, Suiren and Chiyo made their way over to the Royal family and bowed. "Fire Lord Ozai, my apprentice and I are honored to have you here tonight." Suiren smiled sweetly up at the monarch.

"That was a very impressive performance," the Fire Lord addressed Chiyo, who bowed her head in respect. "You certainly take after your teacher, in talent and charm."

"I have a long way to go before I could even reach a quarter of my mentor's talents, my Lord."

Several nobles and town folks paid their respects to the Fire Lord and his family, as well as steal a glimpse of the Lady Suiren and Chiyo, who still donned the heavy makeup and the elegant cheongsam. Suiren turned to her pupil. "Find your Auntie Lee and Auntie Anita, and get changed. We should head back to the palace soon."

Chiyo pouted. "Can't we stay and enjoy the festival a bit more?" It was actually Chiyo's first festival and she wanted to explore the plaza. It's been quite a while since she stepped out of palace walls.

"Chiyo," Suiren said in a sterner voice. "Get changed, we are going home."

"Yes, Lady Suiren..." She turned and made her way back to the tent to look for Lady Lee and Anita. She spotted the organizer and asked him, but found out they had left early for some emergency back in the troupe quarters. Left alone in the tent, she changed back into a white yukata and tried her best to remove the thick makeup.

"You were amazing out there..." A voice spoke from the tent entrance and Chiyo turned to find the prince. He approached her and pulled three long-stemmed fire lilies from behind his back. "For you."

Chiyo smiled and took the beautiful fire lilies. "Thank you, Prince Zuko. For the flowers, and for coming to the festival."

"You..." He pointed at his cheek. "Still have some of the white stuff on here."

She used the back of her hand to try and wipe the residue off. "Did I get it?"

She tried a few more times before Zuko reached out and wiped it for her, his palm cupping her cheek and his thumb took care of the smudge.

"There, all clean..." Chiyo could feel the heat rush to her cheeks. She must be as red as a tomato by now. She cleared her throat and looked away. "Shall we head back now, Chiyo?"

Chiyo looked down. "I kind of wanted to stay behind and see the town a bit more." She suddenly had an idea and took the prince's hand. "Let's go around for a bit, then we'll head back, I promise!"

"But Chiyo, they are going to be looking for us..."

"Please?" She looked up at him with her wide amber eyes. "We'll only be a few minutes, and then, we'll go back."

How could he resist her? The young prince sighed and nodded his head. "But how will we get around town? The guards and the town people will easily recognize us."

Chiyo thought hard, looking around for something around the tent until she spotted what she was looking for. She picked up the blue mask she had discarded during the performance and gave it to Zuko. "Here, you wear this. The people won't recognize me without the makeup. It'll be easy! Now let's go!"

Zuko put the mask on and Chiyo helped him tie it behind the back of his head. Once everything was set, they head out to the plaza.

The streets were alive with light, music and people. The young kids tried everything from eating fire flakes and gummies, to trying to catch goldfish with a paper net, and admiring the fire dancers in the plaza. All the while, Chiyo held on to Zuko's arm so as not to lose him in the sea of people, the fire lilies he gave her in her other hand.