𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 [ᴢᴜᴋᴏ]

Kya: Chapter 3

Kya's last day in the Fire Nation was stressful. The girl had sent Ozai a letter, telling him to meet her outside the palace at night, then she packed everything important into a small bag.

Michi didn't leave her sister's side for the rest of the day even while Kya was writing goodbye letters to her two best friends without mentioning any details. No one should know any details. For their safety.

"Is this goodbye now?" Michi's quiet voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Gulping down the lump in her throat, Kya nodded slowly. Saying goodbye was harder than she had expected it to be. She engulfed her sister in a tight hug, not wanting to let go soon. She already missed her little sister.

Michi's quiet sniffs were the only sound that could be heard in Kya's dark room. It was already late in the evening and the oldest would soon leave as she still had to meet up with Ozai.

Pulling out of the hug, Kya put her hands on Michi's shoulder. "This is not goodbye for forever," she whispered, afraid of her voice would crack.

Michi nodded and wiped her tears as Kya took a step back and gulped. She didn't want to cry and make her little sister sadder. Taking the two goodbye letters, she handed them Michi. "Could you give them to Iroh and Ursa?"

Michi nodded and took the letters from her sister's hand. "I will," she whispered and pressed her lips together. She knew she shouldn't drag out this goodbye even more. It would only make the seperation harder for both of them.

"Michi, I love you," Kya said and took her bag. Looking at her sister, she smiled sadly as her eyes welled up with tears. "Please take care of yourself."

Michi clenched her jaw and nodded before hugging her sister one last time. "You too Kya," she whispered.

Kya nodded and let out a breath. She opened her door and looked over her shoulder with teary eyes. "We'll see each other again, I promise."

Michi nodded and when Kya left, she pressed a hand over her mouth to silence her sobs.

-----

Kya managed to sneak into the palace's back yard without getting caught and waited for Ozai to join her. The girl had decided that she wanted to talk to him before leaving since the marriage involved both of them equally.

"Kya?" Ozai's quiet voice had her straighten her posture.

She looked at the Fire Prince and let out a quiet breath. Kya had never felt the need to be as formal around the princes as around their father. "Prince Ozai." She quickly bowed her head slightly. "I wanted to talk to you privately."

The prince's heartbeat quickened. He had waited for this moment all day long with good expectations. And now that he stood in front of his crush, nervousness and excitement bubbled up inside of him. He was convinced that she would now confesss her love for him.

"What is it?" He asked, surprising himself with his calm voice.

"I understand how you feel and I wanted to tell you that I feel the same, if not even stronger," she said and gulped. She felt like he deserved at least an explanation as to why she didn't want to marry him.

Ozai tensed not knowing how to respond to that. She was at the edge of confessing and he didn't know if he liked it or if it made him nervous.

"I think you deserve someone who really loves you and not someone arranged. You should decide for yourself who you want to marry and you should go out and find yourself the love of your life."

The prince's heart dropped and he could only look at her. He certainly hadn't expected the talk to take this turn, after all it had started out great. "What?" he breathed out.