Iroh was eleven when he met her.

Perhaps it was the way her laughter seemed to fill him up inside. Perhaps it was her radiating smile or natural confidence that drew Iroh to the little girl on the opposite side of the courtyard. She has flowers in her hair; the rare panda lilies that Iroh's mother had requested by name. On most occasions it was forbidden to pick any flower from the royal gardens, but the girl seemed to have charmed the group of noblemen surrounding her. No one objected to the growing halo of flowers she was building atop her head.

The girl had woven the ends of the stems together to keep all the panda lilies in place. Had her hair been black, as was common for fire nation citizens, the flower would have blended right in. But this girl had brown hair. It was tied into a traditional and respectful bun with a few loose strands escaping at odd angles. Iroh tentatively fingered his own hair. It was course with large clumps jetting out to one side. There were even bits of twigs in it from when he and Ozai had played 'war'.

"Prince Iroh!" Someone yelled, and the whole yard turned to look at him. "Prince Iroh you know that you are not allowed outside until your lessons are finished. Professor Lee has been waiting for you. He will not be pleased when you arrive late to his lesson." Iroh looked scornfully up at his governess, Madam Ima. She was a tall, but unimposing woman whom Iroh could not help comparing to a bean pole. Her scowl and wangling finger were not unfamiliar jesters to the young prince, who had spent most of his young life avoiding Madam Ima at all costs. Of course this had never been difficult. She was a loud woman whose shrill voice echoed willingly off the palace walls.

"Oh Prince Iroh, look at you. You're such a mess. What will your mother say when I tell her that her son, heir to the Fire Nation throne, has gotten mud all over his nice clothes? Oh shame and misfortune, what is to be done with you?" Madam Ima dragged Iroh off to the palace. His face turned red with embracement when he realized that everyone in the courtyard, including the girl with panda lilies in her hair, was following him with their eyes. Iroh could have sworn he even heard one woman whisper "and that's our future fire lord." If Madam Ima hadn't been eyeing him, Iroh would have shot that woman a dirty look.

"Honestly Iroh," his governess sighed. "When are you going to grow up? This is the third lesson you have been late to this week. We even had to cancel Professor Kenji's fascinating lecture on ancient fire nation architecture. Why if I were you're age I believe that subject would truly fascinate me, and in any case—" but Iroh was not listening to her. He was thinking about the girl with panda lilies in her hair. She must be new around the palace because Iroh had never seen her before. Children, even of esteemed officials, were sparse around the royal court. It was especially rare to find young girls running about. Most fire nation girls were kept at home until the age of 13. Afterwards there was an elaborate coming of age ceremony where the girl in question was introduced into society. In Iroh's mind this was a stupid and unnecessary ritual, but there seemed to be a lot of pointless traditions these days.

When Iroh entered the room, he found Professor Lee just as displeased as Madam Ima had predicted. He was a rather large man with fat, fleshy lips and an unkempt mustache. More than once Iroh had spotted the remains of Professor Lee's meal still sticking to the prickly hairs above his mouth. "You're late" he hissed bitterly. "We should have stared reading the 'Forgotten Scrolls of Akira' at six hours past sunrise." Iroh only stared. He had never liked reading any forgotten scrolls. In his opinion, forgotten scrolls had probably been forgotten for a reason, but telling his teachers this often resulted in punishment.

"Oh, and what's even more wonderful" Professor Lee said sarcastically "is that all my ink has dried up!"

"Why didn't you just close the ink bottle then?" Iroh asked before he could stop himself.

Professor Lee looked livid. "That is the kind of remark that can get bad little boys extra lines at the end of his lesson" his finger was about an inch from Iroh's nose. "I will be back before you can say 'firebending', so don't move" and then he stormed off.

Iroh thought that last remark was somewhat pointless. Don't move? Where could he move to? Madam Ima was breathing down his neck; she would never let him escape. Besides, there was nowhere in the castle Iroh could go without being recognized as the prince. Sometimes he really hated being royal. There was no escape from the constant rituals, duties—it was like being a miniature adult instead of a child.

Iroh sighed and kicked the desk out of boredom. Madam Ima scolded him, but then there was another thump that Iroh had not made. Madam Ima was about to scold him again when she discovered it was a knock at the door. "Well that was fast" she said, referring to Professor Lee. But the man at the door was not Professor Lee. Instead, it was an urgent sounding guard.

"Professor Lee?...broken leg?...Oh how terrible!" Madam Ima shrieked with equal urgency. "Iroh stay here. Professor Lee has broken his leg falling down the stairs, and he needs assistance reaching the infirmary" she said, as if Iroh hadn't already heard all this from her worried 'whispers' with the guard. The fact that Professor Lee needed help reaching the infirmary did not surprise Iroh. A man of Lee's size might have to be wheel barrowed out of the hallway—of course Iroh kept this particular thought to himself.

"Yes, Madam Ima" he said dutifully. Professor Lee being carried to the infirmary was probably the most interesting thing he'd get to see all day, well apart from that girl with the panda lilies in her hair. Iroh let his mind wander for a moment as he thought of her. Chances were he'd never see her again. A child not of royal blood wouldn't be staying long here. A twinge of regret played around his heartbeat at the thought of it. After all, Iroh would have liked to meet her. At that young an age it did not register that what he was feeling was a subtle attraction to the mysterious girl in the garden. All Iroh knew was that he very much wanted to see her again, her and her panda lilies.

That's when an idea struck him; a simple idea, but one he had seen work many times. Girls liked flowers. There were lots of flowers in the palace garden. All Iroh had to do was collect some of the rarest and most beautiful to form a bouquet. He could give them to the girl.

"Yes," Iroh whispered to himself. This scheme was so obvious, and yet it had worked a million times in all the stories and legends he had heard. The boy would gather flowers for a girl, who would respond warmly to the gesture. This idea made him smile, and he took a moment to weigh his options.

On the one hand: he could leave, and directly disobey orders from two of his superiors. But he would get to talk to, or at least see the girl again.

On the other hand: he could stay here; never knowing what became of her.

It was an easy answer really, one Iroh knew he would make even before he asked the question. Slowly opening the door (being careful not to let it squeak), Iroh tip toed out of his room and into the long hall. There was no sign of Madam Ima or Professor Lee. Even the guards seemed to have abandoned their post in order to help the heavy Professor reach the infirmary. Even with a joint effort, Iroh didn't expect to encounter them in the near future. Madam Ima's worry wart nature would surely keep her at Professor Lee's bedside for quite some time. The guards too would have to stay out of respect for a learned elder. Of course Iroh would have been one to question the Professor's supposed 'learnedness', but that was a different topic entirely.

In any case, Iroh's in-depth knowledge of his grandfather's palace allowed him to slip past the pairs of guards. Iroh knew if anyone spotted him, it would be a hundred extra lines at the end of his lesson. But Iroh was small for his age, and could crouch in corners or stand behind curtains without being noticed. With careful maneuvering and silent steps, Iroh was able to make it back into the royal garden. It was still crowded with noblemen and their wives, but where was the little girl? How had her party disappeared so quickly?

In the back of his mind there was a nagging fear that perhaps her stay at the palace was even shorten than he had anticipated. Maybe she was already on her way home—wherever that was for her. Nevertheless, Iroh pushed this thought out of his mind. He spotted the small garden of imported panda lilies and began to pick one or two (just enough so that his mother wouldn't miss them), before moving on to a patch of other colorful flowers.

Being an unobservant boy as he was, Iroh had never noticed how beautiful some of the flowers in the garden were. He had always known there were flowers; he had spent a lot of time here in his eleven years. The garden often served as his sanctuary from the stressful life of being a prince, and it was always a good place to hide when he didn't feel like dealing with Madam Ima. It was a quiet refuge when he needed quiet, but there was always some war veteran recalling the exciting tales of battle if Iroh wanted to be entertained. The garden also harbored a certain magical quality that Iroh had yet to experience in any other part of the palace. In short, it was Iroh's favorite part of his home.

Once he had gathered enough of a bouquet, Iroh decided he better begin his search for the girl before they all wilted. But that's when he heard it; the shrill, unmistakable voice of Madam Ima calling for him through the crowd. He froze in mid step.

"Iroh! Prince Iroh where are you?" She called from afar. What was worse was the fact that Iroh could not see her, he couldn't even tell what direction she was coming from. Anywhere he ran she could be there; ready to drag him back to a dull, mindless lecture about some dull, mindless topic. Even if Professor Lee was in the infirmary there would be someone to take his place. There always was. There was no escape.

Iroh wasn't sure what made him start running deeper into the orchard of the garden. Whether it was the need to see the panda lily girl, or just an urge to escape an hour of boring lectures he did not know. All Iroh knew was that he was running, and he liked it. He was running away from restraints and running away from duty. He felt free and happy—he wasn't sure why he'd ever let himself be taken back into the palace before. The garden just made him feel so, so…but Iroh couldn't finish his thought. For at that precise moment he crashed into something, and his bouquet of flowers went flying.

"Ouch!" He said automatically as his back hit the grass floor. For a moment his vision was blurry, and Iroh couldn't make out what exactly he had crashed into. But then, in a flood of horror, he realized who he had crashed into.

The little girl with panda lilies in her hair rubbed her head tenderly. Half of the flowers that had been weaved into her hair had fallen out and mixed with the fallen bouquet. It was impossible to tell whose flowers were whose, everything was so mixed up. "Err," she groaned, still rubbing he place where hers and Iroh's heads had collided.

"Are, are you Ok?" Iroh asked tentatively, all trace of his happy feeling was gone now. This was not the way he had imaged introducing himself to the girl who once had woven panda lilies in her hair. He reached out awkwardly to comfort her, but to his surprise she began to laugh. Not a subtle giggle, but an outright belly laugh.

"Ouch!" She screamed in the midst of her laughter, and she did not sound angry. "Wow you really ran into me. How fast do you think you were going? I can almost see stars." She opened her eyes, smiling.

Iroh was simply confused. Since when did running into people get that kind of reaction? But he could only croak out "Um, I dunno how fast. Did I hurt you?"

"Nope. I'm fine." She said, still smiling. She stood up and offered Iroh a hand, which he took gratefully. "My name is Vailea." She said matter-of-factly. "You must be Prince Iroh. I've heard a lot about you."

Iroh was about to respond (What exactly had she heard about him?) when that shrill voice rang through the orchard. "Iroh! Prince Iroh is that you?" Iroh froze, and his face must have said it all because Vailea knew right away what to do.

"Follow me," she said without hesitation, and Iroh obeyed. She took his hand; sending shivers through his body, and led him down another row of trees. It seemed silly to him that she be the one leading. After all, Iroh took great pride in being the most knowledgeable about all the secret paths and escape roots throughout his palace home. But she seemed to know exactly where she was going, so Iroh didn't question her.

Vailea led Iroh to a large tree in the center of the orchard. It was more twisted than the others, and the knobs in the bark made it look easily climbable. "Go," she said, directing him upwards. Iroh obeyed instantly. Her voice was not commanding, and yet it held a sort of innate authority in it. It was strong, but kind. He liked it. "Shhhh." She put a finger over her lips when they were both situated high in its branches.

"Prince Iroh!" The shrill voice called. "Prince Iroh where are you? We've just heard wonderful news! Professor Lee only sprained his ankle and he'll be fine in a day or two! Prince Iroh! Prince Iroh we've found a replacement tutor for the time being. Prince Iroh!" Her voice was almost unbearable, and Iroh cupped his hands over his ears. Vailea stifled a giggle. But she could not help mimicking Madam Ima's mouth movements. When Madam Ima would shout 'Prince Iroh' Vailea's lips would move in turn with the words. She crossed her eyes and waggled her finger at Iroh as she did this, causing him to suppress his own laughter.

Just when it seemed like she would never leave, Madam Ima spoke in a hoarse voice "Well alright Prince Iroh, if you're going to be that way I wont waste my breath." Too late Iroh thought to himself, but he kept silent. "I suppose I'll have to tell Professor Ami that she won't be able to substitute for Professor Lee today because the prince is being child!" She finished dramatically, and stomped off.

Iroh let out a sigh, and smiled at Veilea. "Thank you." He said simply. She smiled back with an even bigger grin.

"You're welcome. I hope this doesn't make things harder for you when you finally have to face her."

"It will, but I really don't care. I'm sorry for hitting you earlier." It was amazing how calm he now felt with Vailea. It was as if he had known her forever, being with her felt so right.

"Oh that's fine." She said honestly. "It was an amazing rush when you hit me; everything was blurred like a water color painting." She smiled again, and took the remaining flowers out of her hair. It tumbled down accordingly.

"What's a water color painting?" Iroh asked with genuine curiosity.

"You mean you've never seen one?" Vailea asked, pulling a few more flower stems out of her hair. "They're beautiful. The colors all flow together. It looks like something out of this world. We used to do them all the time where I came from."

"Which is?" Iroh asked again. Where did girls like Vailea come from?

There was so much hair in her face when Veilea answered that Iroh couldn't read her expression. "I'll tell you about it some time. We can meet in this tree. I'll tell you some stories about my life, and you can tell me some about yours." She tried pinning her hair back up into a traditional bun.

Iroh nodded. He liked the idea of sneaking out to meet her in the orchard and talk again. What was more, it sounded like she wanted it to make it a tradition. "Yeah," he nodded, but Iroh could not think of any story that was worth telling her. Most of his life had been spent avoiding the inevitable—obligations. "That sounds like a great idea."

"We can meet on full moons when it's bright outside. We can tell each other stories. We can meet in this, in our story tree."