The girl in the painting

**This fic will take place in three different times. The first one is soon after Zuko becomes Fire Lord. The second is in LoK, set a year after the end of the first season. The third is set during the reign of Fire Lord Azulon, when Ozai and Iroh were children. I wasn't sure of the age gap between Ozai and Iroh so is put them as being two years apart as I wanted them to be teenagers together. In the beginning chronologically of the fic Ozai is 13 and Iroh is 15, and later on Ozai is 15 and Iroh had just turned 18. **

Zuko opened the door and walked into the room. He'd never seen the inside of this room in all the years he'd lived in the Palace. His father had ordered that the room wouldn't be touched, even Ozai didn't go inside. All these years he'd wondered about the room. It was one of the largest, and Zuko could see no reason for this room to be off-limits.

When he opened the door he saw that it was a bedroom. A large four-postered bed lay directly opposite the door, with red and gold sheets. The bed was covered with dust, except for the stuffed toy dragon that sat atop a pillow. The right side of the room was one large window, leading to a balcony.

The room was neat; there were no clothes lying around, it seemed eerily tidy. He walked over to the wardrobe on the left side of the room. Zuko opened the wardrobe and was surprised by what he saw.

The wardrobe was full of red and gold dresses, all obviously expensive, so Zuko couldn't understand why someone would abandon them. He took one dress off its hanger and held it out. It was small, about the size of a teenage girl. There was a pattern of a gold dragon winding across the top. Putting the dress back he saw something behind all the clothes. He brushed aside the dozens of dresses and was surprised yet again by what there was.

It was a portrait of a Fire Nation Royal family. But he didn't recognise the family so it must be an old one. In the painting there was a Fire Lord, his wife, and two sons. One son appeared a few years younger than the other. Also there was a young girl of about 10 with long black hair and gold eyes. The girl was looking serious, like everyone else, except for the older son who was smiling.

He was about to put the painting back when he saw something. The younger son, the middle child, looked like Zuko's father Ozai. And as he looked closer the older son seemed to look more like Uncle Iroh the longer he looked. So if the sons were Iroh and Ozai, then the parents were his Grandmother Ilah and Grandfather Azulon. But then who was the girl?

He knew he didn't have an aunt. Azulon only had two sons. Zuko thought, was the girl a cousin or distant relative, who was staying at the time the portrait was painted? But then why was she included in the portrait?

Zuko glanced quickly round the room. Maybe the girl was Ozai and Iroh's younger sister who died at a young age. That would explain Ozai's attitude to the room,; his sister died and he was still grieving all these years later.

_The family sat perfectly still._

_AAAAHHHHH-CHOOOO!_

_The 15 year old boy sneezed loudly, surprising everyone._

"_Shut up, Iroh." The 10 year old girl hissed, kicking her brothers' leg._

"_Be nice to your brother, please." Their mother scolded her daughter._

"_it's not her fault, darling." The woman's' husband said calmly. _

_The young girl smiled and stuck her tongue out at Iroh, before returning to looking serious. _

_The 13 year old son was trying to stay out of the family arguments, preferring not to anger Iroh and his mother, or his sister and father. Normally, though, it was Iroh who had to try and stop the fights between Ozai and his sister. Iroh liked peace, and didn't want yet another wing of the palace burnt down when his sister would automatically try and fire bend her way out of any problem. Ozai would be slower to react, and try and take defensive action. _

_Ozai smiled weakly, "Sisters right, Iroh, please be quiet."_

_Iroh looked openly hurt. He opened his mouth slightly to speak, and upon thinking decided to close it. Ozai glanced at his sister, she was glaring at him._

"_Why would I want Dozy-Ozy on my side? I'd even prefer the tea lover then you. Ozai, you really need to take subtle hints. But apparently you're not very bright for your age." She laughed and turned to her father._

"_Daddy, can I come with you on your next trip to the earth kingdom?" She asked sweetly._

_Azulon frowned, "Sorry, darling, but your too young. How about on you 13__th__ birthday, I'll let you be in control of a city."_

_Her face lit up, "Thank you, daddy. I love you so much. Can I make all the people my servants?"_

_Ozai sighed, "You're such a spoiled princess."_

_The princess just laughed, "You say that like it's a bad thing, Ozai. I'd rather be a spoiled princess then an idiot prince."_

_Ozai stamped his foot and turned to his sister, "No I'm not, you're the idiot… idiot."_

_Azulon shouted, "Stop talking this instant, children or else I'll ban your bending lessons for a month!"_

_All the children stopped arguing suddenly._

"_But dad…" The princess gasped, her eyes growing wide with fright._

"_Darling, please. Listen to your father."_

_Iroh, Ozai and the princess all remained abnormally quiet for the rest of the day._

**Thanks for reading. Please review, and if you have got any questions regarding this chapter of the storyline so far in general, don't hesitate to comment.**


End file.
