For the second time, Toph was keeping Zuko awake.

It wasn't that she was moving, or shifting, or making noise. (In fact, aside from the occasional light snore, she was perfectly silent.) It was the fact that Zuko's resolve had slipped, and he had poured the sleeping draught into her drink just as he had been instructed. She had consumed it without hesitation. And now she lay on her 'bed', snoring lightly, sound asleep. It had taken her less than ten minutes to doze off.

The room was dark, save for the torchlight under his doorway. He was beginning to hate that light. Why didn't the door go all the way to the floor? He punched his pillow into a more comfortable position, and lay back down on his side again, desperately trying to ignore his conscience.

Several hours passed in near silence. Each time Zuko felt himself drifting off to sleep, he was awoken by some small noise in the corridor, or sometimes by nothing at all. And so he lay sprawled on the bed, frustrated, staring into the darkness of his room.

A noise. Something was moving in the corner, by the window. A person?

He reached automatically for the broadsword that he kept hidden behind his headboard, and wrapped his fingers around its handle. Light footsteps—he wouldn't have heard them if it wasn't for his blindfolded training session. Cloth moved.

That was where Toph was sleeping.

Instinct drove him now. He leapt to his feet, broadsword in hand, throwing fire at the torch over Toph's head. It burst into flame, illuminating the scene, frozen in time like a sculpture:

Toph was awake, sitting up and staring straight ahead, looking a bit shocked. The water tribe boy and girl were standing to either side of her; the boy held a jet black sword, the girl was grasping Toph's arm. Both of them were looking at Zuko like prey, caught in the gaze of a hunter.

And then, in an instant, everything began moving at once.

The girl called water from the glass on his nightstand, gathering it around herself and taking a stance. The boy stepped in front of Toph with his sword pointed at Zuko's chest, looking defensive—and hesitant. Zuko brought his broadsword up to his chest, angling it in a blocking position.

Later he would marvel at how silent it all was.

Suddenly, the girl struck. Water lashed out at him like a whip, giving him a fraction of a second to dodge out of the way, placing his broadsword firmly between himself and the liquid. Even then, the edge of the whip struck him in the side, making him flinch from the sting. The girl called more water, freezing it into ice, and hurling it at him in pieces. He swung his sword expertly to block each of them, and they struck his weapon with metallic 'pings'.

She was forcing him to move so fast he had no time to think, none at all. He was acting purely on reflexes. And when she started throwing five icicles at him at a time, he knew he was in trouble.

Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping.

He couldn't block them all. One tore at his arm, causing the swing of his sword to falter. Another struck him in the chest, another at the shoulder. Blood droplets were starting to form, and yet more kept coming. He couldn't keep up, he couldn't keep up—

Crack.

A tile flew up from the floor, blocking the last barrage of ice, surprising both the girl and Zuko into stopping where they were. Zuko reached out and caught the tile before it could fall, and the shards of ice clattered to the ground.

Both the boy and the girl stared at Toph, who was glaring at them. "Stop it," she said quietly.

"Uh, Toph?" the boy asked, his sword never changing position. "This is Zuko. Prince Zuko. Who chased Aang around the world? Who kidnapped him at the North Pole?"

"Who betrayed us in the cave," the girl added, throwing a horribly venomous glare at the person in question.

Zuko glared right back, although he didn't put much energy into it. Let the girl think what she wanted.

"And now he sits here in the palace, dressed up pretty and dancing at the end of his father's leash—while his uncle, the kind and wise one, rots in prison. Go figure."

His glare was sharp and hard now, and he felt heat rising under his skin. "I never meant for my uncle to go to prison. And I never betrayed you; I was never on your side."

"Weren't you?" she asked, advancing with a dangerous glint in her eye. Zuko did not back away: he walked forward as well, meeting her halfway to match her fierce gaze.

"What would make you think I was?" he snarled. She opened her mouth—

"Enough," Toph commanded, her voice still quiet. "Why have you come, Katara?"

She turned to the earthbender, looking surprised. "To get you, of course."

"Do I look like I'm going anywhere?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow. "It seems to me like I'm just sitting on a pile of dirty clothes, waiting to be rescued, while my would-be rescuers are arguing with a Fire Nation prince. How horribly tragic for the captive, her rescue attempt destined to fail because her saviors don't know when to keep their traps shut."

The boy took her by the hand, lifting her to her feet. "I didn't forget about you," he said reassuringly. "I swear."

"Yes, you did. You were as focused on Zuko as she was. Your heart was racing a mile a minute."

The boy scowled, although he didn't look very serious when he did it. (He didn't appear to be a very serious person.) "Quit doing that. Feels like you're reading my mind."

Toph chuckled, then turned to Katara. "Let's go, Sugar Queen. You can argue with the prince later. Maybe we'll make a playdate."

The girl walked over, shoving Toph in the shoulder as she walked by—Toph simply laughed. "Oh, and make sure you put his water back. It would be awful if he woke up with a dry throat in the middle of the night, with no water. Wouldn't you feel guilty?"

Zuko half-expected Katara to throw the water at the wall, or out the window. But she surprised him—and the boy—by making the water drift into the air, and gather quietly at the bottom of his glass. Granted, she did gripe and grumble under her breath while she did it.

It wasn't hard to see which one of them wore the pants in the group.

"Will he let you go?" the boy asked Toph, keeping an eye on him. Zuko vaguely wondered why he had asked Toph, and not him. Wouldn't that have seemed the more obvious thing to do?

"He'd better," Katara said, folding her arms and glowering.

"He will," Toph said quietly, meeting Zuko's gaze.

It was unnerving how she could do that, taking into consideration the fact that she couldn't actually see his eyes.

"What makes you think that?" he asked, tightening the grip on his broadsword. He hadn't even come to that decision yet; his mind was still racing, making the ideas and memories and feelings tumble over and over in his mind.

"Because I got my bending back yesterday afternoon," she replied. It felt as if something had exploded somewhere in the corner of Zuko's mind.

What?

"I could have left, throwing boulders back over my shoulder and cursing you all as I ran. But I didn't. Because you needed me, Pansy, and don't you dare try and deny it!" she interjected as he opened his mouth furiously. "I was going to stay, and give you a chance, because you were the one person who treated me decently in this whole bloody palace. And because you were the only one who saw me as person, I think you're human enough to let me go." She paused, then added: "But it won't really matter anyway, because I'm sure Katara is craving any sort of reason to beat you to a pulp."

"I'd like to see that," Zuko said calmly, with just a trace of sarcasm. It was just to see the waterbender's blood boil, and it certainly looked like he had succeeded. Her face instantly got redder.

"So are you going to let her go?" the boy asked again, this time directing the question at him.

There was a silence.

Zuko thought about it, and thought about it hard. Tomorrow the ambassador would come to see her, possibly to take her away to a mine, where she would toil away for the rest of her life. Tonight her friends had come, to take her back to the Avatar, where they would plot to overthrow his father and unseat the Fire Nation from their place. Would he allow her to do that? To contribute to that cause?

Was that even the question?

No, his conscience countered. The question is: Will you sentence her to a lifetime of hard labor and slavery, or will you give her the freedom she desires, and allow her to make her own choices?

Now, that decision he could make in an instant.

"Go," he said simply. "Take her."

Another silence. Katara and the boy stared at him.

"Are you serious?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Zuko said firmly, glaring at him. "I said, take her. Go."

"It must be a trick," Katara said, raising a hand towards his water glass again.

"He's not lying," Toph said, a satisfied grin coming over her face. "I can feel it. His heartbeat is steady."

Zuko rolled his eyes, laying his broadsword on the bed and holding his hands out wide. "Look. No tricks. Just take her, and try not to destroy anything on the way out. Please."

"Yeah, we'll try," Katara growled, the scowl never leaving her face as she walked towards the window. "We'll try really hard."

She was opening it, making her way through—but the boy took a few steps towards Zuko. He looked sheepish, and looked at the ground as he sheathed his ebony sword. "Thanks," he said quietly. "I mean it. I don't know what we would do without her."

Zuko noted that he was still holding Toph's hand. And she hadn't let go either.

He shook his head. "There's no need to thank me," he said flatly. "I should be thanking her." She looked up, surprised. "She helped me to see a lot of things more clearly. She's a lot like my uncle, in that way. I was glad to have her; even if it was only for a short time."

The boy grinned. "She has that effect on people," he joked, causing the earthbender to blush, and Zuko to smirk in response.

And for one moment, with both young men grinning at each other, Zuko felt a shock of connection.

"Sokka, let's go!" Katara hissed from outside. Sokka, still holding Toph's hand, went to the window and promptly hopped out with her in tow. They were gone.

"You're welcome, Pansy," she called from the courtyard, out of sight.

Zuko smiled.

"Toph!"

"Twinkle Toes!" When he hugged her, it was a complete surprise. He must have been floating on air—she didn't see him at all.

"Are you all right? He didn't hurt you, did he? I SO wanted to go in there, but Katara and Sokka were all like, 'No! You can't let him see you!'"

Toph laughed. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't that bad, actually. Not as bad as you might think. I'm not too scarred."

"'Too' scarred?"

"What happened?"

"Her two water tribe friends arrived. One of them could waterbend, the other had a sword. I had no weapons, and they overwhelmed me."

"Ah, those foreigners. So volatile, unpredictable; the lot of them. They're so much more uncivilized than we are, Zuko, remember that."

Instead, Zuko was remembering the grin that he and the boy had shared, from knowing a single earthbender girl.

" Do you have any idea where they went?" Ozai continued.

"None, although I have a suspicion they're leaving the Fire Nation as soon as possible. She's recognizable now."

"True. Ah, well. The mines lost a valuable potential candidate, hm?"

"Yes, Father."

"Don't look so serious, Zuko, I can get you another servant, if you want."

"No, Father, that's all right. I've had enough of servants for now."

"Another package for you, old man."

The metal door swung open, a basket was thrown in with a 'thud', and the door slammed shut.

Whatever happened to civil conversation?

Iroh reached through the bars, recognizing the basket as one identical to another he had only received several days ago. He opened the top, snatching the letter and opening it eagerly.

Dear Uncle,

I let her go. I don't know if I did the right thing, but she's free. Her friends came in the middle of the night. I decided it would be better for her to fight the Fire Nation than be locked up in some mine in the middle of nowhere.

Then again, the enemy just gained a valuable member, didn't it?

I suppose I should feel bad, that I defied my father. The truth is, I don't know whether I feel bad or not. I feel like someone who just stole a cookie from the jar. Should I feel guilty? Or just satisfied, and nervous about getting caught with the cookie? Or the crumbs?

Either way, I thought you wanted to know. She scared me yesterday—she sounded exactly like you. I don't think her parents were very kind to her. She gave me advice on handling my father, and it sounded like she spoke from experience. She also found a letter in your courtyard; you know which letter I'm talking about, right? Surely you read it.

If you haven't, I'm saving it for you. You won't be in there forever, uncle, I promise. With Toph not here, I miss you more and more. I'll see what I can do to get you out, one way or another.

Don't feel like I've deserted you. I'll be there when you need me this time, I promise.

Zuko

Iroh felt his eyes burning. Those last words seemed horribly, wonderfully familiar, and it brought tears to his eyes and warmth to his heart.

He reached into the basket for the other object he knew was there: a canteen, with a note that said: "I didn't make it, so I know you'll love it."

End.

A/N Last chapter. :)

I really hoped you enjoyed it. I was really surprised; that ending just came so naturally. Usually I have a really hard time with the very very end…but it seemed to fit.

Sorry about the kinda cruddy action scene, there. I'm not very good at action.

I love you all, remember to review, I love whatever you guys say. -