Is This Love? (Han Shu and Prince Eldunar)

((I apologize for disappearing. My laptop died and I just got internet access today.))

As he explained himself, Han couldn't help but laugh a bit to herself. The way he had described it made her think of the old fables where the prince or princess hides amongst the commoners and meets the love of their lives. "I understand. Don't worry. I'm not mad or anything." It was when Eldunar began explaining the ideals of the natives that she realized how lucky she was to have survived the trip with Eldunar.

When he mentioned heading to the palace, Han smiled and nodded, "I would love to see the palace." She wanted to change outfits ASAP to avoid any other kids or adults attacking her or pushing her aside.

Eldunar smiled, "Perfect, let us go then," he said. He released Han's hand, and the two of them walked up the grassland plains of the eastern half of the island towards the palace. As the two reached the doors, two guards saluted Eldunar and opened the large brass doors of the beige stone palace. Eldunar bowed his heads to the guards, and walked into the large entrance hall.

"Well, it's not the Imperial Palace," joked Eldunar, "But it's home, and it's good enough for me. What do you think?" Eldunar had a good idea what Han was thinking. She was a commoner of average income from the Earth Kingdom inside of the former summer palace of the Fire Lord--which was right next door to the summer vacation home. She was no doubt enthralled.

"So, shall we get you to the dress maker?" asked Eldunar, "He will make you a new wardrobe that you can wear while on Ember Island, and I shall go check the record books for information on your family while you are being fitted."

Han followed Eldunar through the beautiful grassy field, enjoying the scenery as they walked. Upon seeing the palace though, Han felt a serious case of butterflies in her stomach. The building was nothing like she had seen in Ba Sing Se. It wasn't until he led her inside did Han break from her daze, "This is magnificent...I've never seen anything like this..." The interior was even more amazing than the exterior. The tapestries hanging from the walls, the statues, everything had Han beyond speechless. "Hm?" Han heard Eldunar and quickly snapped from her daze once more, "Yes please. Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it." As she waited for Eldunar to show her to the dressmaker, she couldn't help but notice the strange feeling she got from being around this man.

Eldunar walked down the hall, motioning to Han to follow him. He turned left, right, then left again until he was in the west wing of the house. He stopped in front of a medium sized room with no door. It was filled with tables draped in cloths. Sewing needles stuck into large spools of multi coloured thread stood to the far wall. All of the colours in one place made the room look like a rainbow. Several women of varying ages--the youngest of whom was no older than 18--stood working on clothes that draped several mannequins, both male and female.

One of the women, an older woman with white hair, walked up to Eldunar, bowed, and asked what he had come for. With a smile Eldunar swiftly replied, "My friend here requires a new wardrobe for her stay on the island," he stated, "As you can see her clothes are not suitable for this kind of weather, would you make them for her?"

The woman bowed, and took Han by the arm, "Come with me deary, we'll get your suited up nicely, is there anything in particular you'd like?" asked the old woman. Eldunar smiled at Han, and said to her, "I will go check the ledgers, I'll be back by the time they finish, just wait for me here incase I am late." And with that, Eldunar had left the room, and returned to the hallway.

Han followed Eldunar closely, the excitement and curiosity building up inside of her. The sewing room caught Han off guard. She had expected one or two people but the group here seemed like enough to clothe an army in a few days. Then again, Han wasn't sure what to expect from Eldunar's lifestyle. When the old woman asked her to come with her and what she would like, Han hesitated for only a second, "Uh...I'm not sure what styles there are...Surprise me, I guess?" When Eldunar said he was leaving to check on things, Han felt a tad nervous, unsure of what to expect from the seamstresses, "A-Alright..." Once he left, Han turned her attention back to the elder woman. "I guess I'm in your hands now."

Eldunar left the room, and walked towards his study, which was in the other wing of the palace. He wondering--as he walked--what the clothes the seamstresses would make for Han would look like. Would they be the traditional and old Fire Nation red? Or the new Imperial red and gold? Perhaps a streak of emerald as the royal family usually wore? What ever they would be, Eldunar was sure Han Shu would look beautiful in them.

Eldunar finally reached his study, and as he did, he threw open the door, walked to the nearest shelf, and pulled out the second last ledger in the collection. They held the records for the past 20 years on the island. If Han's parents lived there seventeen years ago, they would definitely be there in the ledger, most likely towards the beginning of the book.

Eldunar quickly flipped through the ledger, and after a quick search, Eldunar had found their names. "Riku and Kita Shu," he said slowly, "Well what do you know...this is certainly a surprise. I'd best return to Han with the news." And with that, Eldunar put the ledger back, and walked out of his study, back towards the seamstresses.

As Han was being worked over by the seamstresses, she couldn't help but think of what Eldunar would find in his search for her families history. I wonder if they were exiled...or perhaps they were rebels...Maybe they were a part of the Emperor's court... While the thoughts poured into her mind, Han was brought out of her daze by the elder of the two women gently turning her to work on the details of the dress being crafted. "Ma'am...your dress is done..." The younger seamstress smiled and stepped back as the elder cut the last thread hanging from the bottom hem. Han hesitated a moment before stepping towards the mirror hanging on the wall to see what the final result was. What she saw in the mirror rendered the young firebender speechless.

The dress was ankle length, a beautiful vibrant red with gold threads woven into the fabric, the top was a v cut with sleeves that stopped just below her elbow. The sleeves were almost skin tight and the top was very form fitting, revealing the gentle hint of muscle tone Han had developed in her years of dancing. Along the collar and bottom hems of the dress was a slim strip of deep emerald green that looked almost as if it had been taken from the gems themselves. "This is amazing...It's like I'm a whole new person..." she muttered looking at the dress and the way it flowed with each movement. What surprised her the most was that the colors and the dress itself felt so much more natural than the earth kingdom clothes she was raised wearing.

Eldunar rounded the corner in a brisk paced walk. He was intent on showing Han what he had found, she was definitely not going to be expecting what Eldunar had found. Eldunar wasn't even expecting to find what he did. To think Han's parents...no, he wasn't even going to try to think about this until after he had told Han. He still couldn't believe himself either.

Eldunar quickly, turned another corner, then another and another, and halted in front of the seamstress' room, standing in the doorway as he waited for Han. As she stepped from the dressing room, in her new robes, Eldunar smiled. She looked beautiful in her new clothes, just like a princess. Eldunar hadn't picked too bad this time; this one could definitely fill the role of--but no, that was ridiculous, they had just met. Regardless, Eldunar walked towards Han, intent on telling her the news.

"You look wonderful," he said smiling happily, "Truly beautiful. You look like you were born on this island now, no one will ever know that you're just visiting. What's even better, I found out about your parents. You're going to love the news too."

When Eldunar walked in to the room, Han turned and smiled as he mentioned that she looked more local, "Thank you. I have to admit, I never imagined wearing anything NEARLY this nice before." While he spoke, Han walked over to him. "Really? What'd you find?" Han asked eagerly, smiling in anticipation. She then quickly realized how ridiculous she must have looked and regained her composure, a light blush came to her cheeks, "Sorry, I kind of lost my self there for a moment." Han mentally kicked herself for being so ridiculous in front of Eldunar, I can't believe this...What will he think of me now?