𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 | zuko

10: FIRE LORD ZUKO

"Ah!  He's amazing.   You know, his favorite color is green.  I asked why, he said because of my eyes!  Oh, he is so romantic," bragged Kyra, speaking of her newfound "love" as we walked through the city toward the royal palace.

"I'm glad you like him," I said.  "Did he kiss you?"

"Not on a tea date Hakan wouldn't.  He's a senator's son, extremely fancy.  He took me to the greatest tea place.  You should go with Zuko."

"I haven't even seen Zuko."

"Well, he's been on a date with you before.  You kissed.  I'm sure that's acquainted enough, don't you think?"

She was right.

"That's a big palace," I muttered after a couple minutes more of walking.  The upper part palace had come into view, and we were walking up the path toward the gate that surrounded it.  There were two guards on each side of the door.  They bowed to Aang, then turned around on their heels and walked toward the gates, blew a fire blast into four dragon's mouths, and turned and walked a step back to their posts as the doors opened.  They stared forward, and we walked through the gates and up the path to the palace.  

It was a long, stone path, that led to the platform where the palace was.  Kyra's and my jaws dropped as the whole castle came into view.

"If you marry him, you'll live here," muttered Kyra.  

"I know," I replied, still in awe of the place.  It had three main towers, and the one in the center was the tallest, and topped with the same shape that the Fire Lord's crown was. There was a red door on the first level of it, and three steps led up to the platform where the palace sat.  It was adorned with gold carvings and decorations, and the main build was of stone and metal.  

Two guards were posted at either side of the entrance door.  Like the ones at the gates, they bowed to Aang, who was leading us, and opened the doors to let us inside.  They nodded back when anyone nodded a thanks. 

"I've seen the outside, but I've never seen the inside," said Suki, in awe at the place.

"I haven't seen either," remarked Toph with a smile.  Kyra snickered.

Everyone seemed to be amazed with the place.  We were lucky we had someone to follow, or we'd just be bumping into each other the whole time looking at stuff.

We were in an echoey room, but it had windows, and was bright.  Red curtains acted as doors to the hallways off this main room, and in the back of it, was a grand door surrounded by gold carvings, that I assumed was the throne room.  Sokka picked up a small statue of a gold dragon that sat on a stone pedestal, and Suki admired the shapes on the ceiling.

"Don't touch that, Sokka," said a voice, coming out from one of the side doors.  Sokka put the gold dragon down hastily and bowed very low.

"Sorry, Fire Lord," he said, suppressing a laugh.

It was indeed the boy from Ba Sing Se.  Though his hair was up in a bun, his face was exactly the same.  Same scar, too.

"Is it him?" Kyra whispered.

"It's him."

I wasn't sure whether to be nervous, excited, or in awe of how extremely good he looked.  

"Hi, Zuko," said Aang with a smile.  Zuko greeted everyone else, as well, but Kyra and I stood toward the back of the group.

"Nice surprise?" asked Katara.

"A great surprise," said Zuko.

"Well, we've got even more," muttered Toph, but no one else heard.

"So what is it you're all here for?" asked Zuko.

"Well, we've got someone to see you, actually," said Katara.  

"Okay," said Zuko.  Suki lightly kicked me and I shortly stumbled forward.  

"Hi, Lee," I said with a smile, and Zuko's eyes widened at the sight.

"It's you!  You're the girl from Ba Sing Se! You're Jin!"

"It's nice to see you," I said reassuringly, letting him know that there were no harsh feelings.

"It's -- wow.  Listen, Ba Sing Se --"

"It wasn't your fault," I stopped him.  This I was sure of, even if I didn't know.

"But I left you, then my sister --"

"Hey, it's okay," I said, putting my hand on his wrist.  It was only supposed to be reassuring, but it felt... well, I wasn't sure how to describe it.  But it was a good feeling.  "It's over.  They're gone now, and I'm sure that's somewhat thanks to you."

Even in the little light there was, I saw his cheeks go slightly pink.

"Well, why don't I take you all to the courtyard, and we can sit and talk," he said.  He took us through a hallway and out a door, which led to a courtyard surrounded by warm colored flowers and a fountain in the middle, topped with a carving of the Fire Nation emblem encrusted in gold.  There were stone benches as well, but Toph went ahead and made herself comfortable, stepping on the ground once and a chair with a back popped out of the ground.

"Toph," muttered Zuko, rolling his eyes.

"What?" she shrugged.  "You get a throne."

"As long as you put it back the way it was," he said.  "Anyway," he continued, turning back to everyone else, who had sat down already.  "Where have you been?"

"Well, we've been staying in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, for my meeting with the Earth King," said Aang.

"And that was..."

"Boring," said Aang.  "But Bosco liked my tricks."

Zuko smiled.  "And, Jin, how did you meet them?"

"Well, actually, it's a long story," I said.

"I've got time," he said, his face becoming more intent.

"Well, I saw a poster of you in town," I began.  "I knew it was you, and I wanted to see you again.  I remembered your uncle, and I heard some people talking about his tea shop in the markets.  Kyra and I went to the Upper Ring, and met your uncle and Toph, who took us back to meet the rest of them."

"I'm Kyra, by the way," she interrupted, leaning forward and waving.  

"Nice to meet you," said Zuko, smiling at her.

We caught up, he asked me questions about Ba Sing Se, and when I asked, he told me, reluctantly, the story of the coup with the help of the rest of the group.  It was his sister, and it had always been.  He said he made the wrong choice.  And he shouldn't have.