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Descending down from my carriage, I find myself situated, once again, the grand palace. I am quickly greeted by a familiar face.
"Perfect, you are punctual," the duke from yesterday remarks as I enter the Fire nation palace alongside him, "A great character to carry as the Fire Lord's wife, Lihua Xiong."
I maintain my sensu tightly as he quickly leads me to the palace's open garden, I immediately locate Fire Lord Zuko's swaying body near a cute turtle duck pond.
"Now listen carefully, the Fire Lord is a very hard-working man with very little time to spare, especially for leisure. Understand that you only hold three hours to woo him, therefore make most out of it," he hushedly explains, then lightly pushes me towards the pond before scurrying away.
Nervously I inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth, mustering the limited courage I somehow achieved. Silently dawdling towards the man, I notice his movements halting, perhaps he heard my steps.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Fire Lord Zuko," I uttered as I bow in respect.
"You can rise, Lihua Xiong."
Slowly lifting my head, my eyes unexpectedly comes in contact with the Fire Lord's. He presents a knee quivering smile before gesturing questioningly towards the wooden bench positioned under a tree by the pond. Timidly nodding in response, we graciously walk side by side.
"I apologize concerning this sudden arrangement on finding myself a life partner," he suddenly speaks, then gazes at me in a contrite manner, "Ever since returning with my mother, I have not made considerable time for myself and regularly buried in paperwork. She is naturally concerned I would be single for the rest of my life, thus developing this idea— I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."
"O-oh, you're not. I—" I hesitate to carelessly speak, determining the right words to use.
"And, please, you don't have to be so formal and uptight in front of me. It is just you and I, and you seem like a kind person. Therefore do treat me as a friend and not the Fire Lord," he says, presumably noticing my hesitancy. I raise an eyebrow as he acknowledges reassuringly.
"I- truly think it's adorable how concerned Lady Ursa is with your love life," I finally answered, his eyes instantly widened with red lightly tinting his cheeks.
"I guess if you view it in that way," he clears his throat as he perches on the bench, I follow in suit and settle with a reasonable distance between us. Silence later falls, both of us seem unable to properly maintain a normal conversation.
"Zuzu!" a sudden petite voice exclaims. I notice a little girl running towards us, a broad smile unfolding on her tan features as her brown hair bounced behind, and a cute doll in her possession. Her chocolate iris then descends on my figure, her mouth agape in astonishment, "Your eyes are so pretty!"
A smile grows behind my sensu, "Thank you. I like the doll you're holding, she is quite lovely."
She raises up the said doll upfront with a spirited grin, "Her name is Kiyi, just like me!"
"Oh, really? My grandmother also gifted me a doll when I was younger, I still have it with me in my room. We named her, Ai."
Her features illuminate in pure delight, swiftly holding into my apparel's sleeve as bounced on her toes, "We can have tea parties with our dolls!" with remarkably large adorable puppy eyes, she requests, "Can we all play together? Please? It has been so long since Zuzu and I played, it will be so much fun with three people!"
"Kiyi," Zuko attempts to mutter discreetly in Kiyi's ear, "Lady Lihua came for a different purpose—"
"I don't mind," I interrupt the scarred Fire Lord, sheepishly glancing at younger while waving my sensu, "It will be hard to play since I have to hold my sensu over my face, but I would love to play with you, Kiyi."
Kiyi cheers enthusiastically, arms flailing in happiness. Zuko attentively peers at me before nodding down and shaking his head in guilt, "I am very sorry, you really did not have to. I could have called someone to keep her busy in the meantime."
Using my free hand to casually wave in response, "I genuinely do not mind, she seems to really want to play with you. Moreover, I believe playing with the Fire Lord is much more enjoyable than just sitting and talking."
With a heartfelt laugh, he stands up and offers me a hand, "Well, we cannot keep Kiyi waiting."
Clasping my hand around his, he effortlessly hoists me to my feet. The generous gesture and warmth radiating from his palm remind me of Lee, resembling the day I first encountered the hooded man who likewise helped me to my feet without difficulty.
