Flameheart | Zuko

TWENTY-THREE

The girl's soft laughter was a sound that wasn't usually heard in the gardens of the palace. No children resided there any more, and a few guards and servants paused in their way as they heard the laughter, took a look and then kept going after having pinpointed the source of the noise. It wasn't hard to find it. Under the lone tree in front of a small pond turtle ducks swam in, sat a young girl that was feeding them, a young woman by her side with long and straight black hair kept up in a half-bun that moved with the gentle breeze of the wind the way a silky curtain would. She had skin as pale as the moon and lips as rosy as a petal in spring, eyes that flickered like flames. A gold ring was placed around her finger and she kept twirling it as her eyes never left the girl she had been asked to watch, even though her mind was further away.

She was thinking about a man she had gotten to know properly not too long ago. He had eyes of burning embers, a smile that warmed her up like a clear sunny day. She was supposed to be protecting him even though she was aware he didn't need her protection, and so far, she wasn't so sure she was doing a good job protecting him. Last she had checked, the guards didn't kiss those they were guarding and they certainly didn't think of their kiss hours later. But she couldn't help it.

He had grown bolder over the few days after his confession that he indeed cared about her. The smiles he sent her way had gotten more usual and even though he was a busy man, he managed to get time to come and see her. She was almost expecting him to come during the evening now after dinner and find her in her room. She would ask him about his day, he would reply and ask about hers. He'd close the space between them after a while and she'd melt against him because surely, there wasn't another appropriate reaction when he was so adamant on kissing her. Wherever he kissed her, she felt as if she could feel his lips on her skin for hours later.

Her friends' absense was almost forgotten when she was with him. He was a constant reminder of all she gained by staying behind in the Fire Nation capital and in the end, she didn't regret her choice one bit.

The warning she had received a few days prior hadn't evaded her mind, though. Mai's words hadn't been forgotten and she doubted they would be any time soon. She thought of them whenever she met with Zuko and every time, she thought he should know the truth about her family but every time she ended up saying nothing.

She knew of her father's hatred towards Zuko. Sokka had told her a few years ago. She knew, telling Zuko who her father was wouldn't be easy and it certainly wouldn't make him like her more. She wasn't going to have much luck if she told him about her mother either. Chiaki had been a ruthless firebender, Ozai's tool to use as he wished. A brilliant fighter and an even better spy, she had somehow gotten caught and was thrown in prison and she could have easily been the one that planned the attack against him. Telling him about her parents was something she already knew wouldn't go well. If she didn't tell him about her past though and someone else told him instead, things were going to get even more out of hand.

She was at a loss. No matter what she thought, she couldn't see this ending without a fight. She was afraid of his reaction once she told him. She didn't want to find out how he could react.

"Mum, look! Homura got me food for the turtle ducks!"

At the mention of her name, Homura looked up only to see the girl's mother, Ursa, walking over, appearing to have finished what she had been asked to do and was back to get her daughter. For a moment, she turned to the turtle ducks and smiled before she faced her daughter.

"Did you thank Homura for the food, Kiyi?"

The girl nodded at once, "I did!"

"Good," Ursa smiled as she outstreched an arm towards her. "Come on, we've got to go home now. Throw in the food and we can go."