𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 | zuko

16: GARDEN

Dezao resisted as he was dragged away, but he was bound in metal, and his firebending was no use for him, as the guards were stronger and smarter than he was.  

Kyra was rubbing a bruise on her arm, where I assumed one of the cronies had punched her.  After the two guards dragging Dezao away were out of sight, four more came and took the unconscious cronies with them as well.  They nodded to Zuko.

"Nothing more to see here," said Zuko, to the crowd.  "Go back to your homes."

Where we were now wasn't so far from the castle.  Zuko had walked, and so had we, until we ran into trouble.  We started making our way back to the palace.

"Are you sure you're both alright?" asked Zuko.

"We're fine," said Kyra.  "Couple of scratches here and there, nothing we can't handle."

Zuko smiled slightly.  "Good," he said.

We held off visiting Hakan.  Kyra went and told him we couldn't come, but that was all.  She just told him she had planned a day with me, and she completely forgot.  She didn't want to alarm him, because he'd make a big deal out of it all.  He surely would want to stay with Kyra to make sure she wouldn't get hurt again.

All because we had come from the Earth Kingdom.

"How did he know we were from the Earth Kingdom?" I asked Zuko, as we walked up the path and through the gate.

"I'm not so sure.  Word gets around fast here, but I don't know who in town would have known.  Maybe it's the way you look."

"Excuse me?" asked Kyra, offended.

"Not bad-looking," he reassured.  "But you've both got green eyes, and lighter hair than most Fire Nation Citizens."

Katara ran out of the castle door before we even got there.  She must have heard already.  News does travel fast.

"Are you okay?" she asked us.  "What happened?"

"We got into a fight," shrugged Kyra as if it were nothing.  

"Well, are you okay?"

"We're fine, Katara," I said.  "They're just scratches."

"Either way," she continued, "come on."  She pulled us inside the castle and to the nearest room with chairs.  A maid brought in a large bowl of water, and Katara took Kyra's bruised arm and brought some of the water with her.  She touched Kyra's arm, and the water began moving around it.  When Katara lifted her hand, her arm was no longer bruised.

"That's amazing," said Kyra, examining the spot where the bruise had been.  "You can heal, too?"

Katara nodded, turning toward me.  there was a scratch on my back where I had slid on the rock pavement to evade one of the men.  She continued healing, and afterward, asked questions.  Sokka came in as well.

"So you fended him off with a stick?"

"It wasn't a stick, Sokka, it was a staff.  And it was easier than I thought."

"Well, like you were saying the other day, maybe you've found your fighting style.  Maybe you should train more with a staff."

I hadn't even been thinking about that.  But Sokka was right.  I had found my fighting style.  It was something I had adopted easily, and quickly.  And got used to immediately.  It was as if I just knew how to use it.  

"You're right," I replied.  

一 ꩜ 🌊 🌏 🔥 一

Three weapon shops later, I still hadn't found anything right for me. It seemed the wooden pole in the square had been perfect, even with a splinter or two.  

So we went to get that one back, and workers sanded it and made it stronger.  Zuko had surprised me with an earth kingdom symbol carved on one of the ends.   

I wanted to thank him, and I found him sitting alone in the garden, watching the water in the pond from a bench nearby.  It was dark out, and the moon glittered brilliantly against the water.  

"Thank you," I said, gesturing to the staff.  I propped it up against a tree and sat next to him, watching the pond as he did.

"You're welcome," he said.  

"Zuko?"

"Yes?" he replied, turning to me. 

"What did Dezao mean when he said 一 when he said you'd never be his Fire Lord?"

Zuko turned back to face the pond.  

"There are still some people who don't want me as the Fire Lord.  They're in favor of my father, and what he was going to do."

"Wow.  I just thought 一 well, I thought that being Fire Lord would be easy, now that the war's over."

"So did I," he said.  "But there's so many people who were attacked by the Fire Nation."  He turned back to face me.  "My father was going to burn the whole Earth Kindom to ashes."

"He was going to..."  It took me a moment to process.  "Earthbenders would be... extinct?"

Zuko nodded.  "On the day of Sozin's Comet.  That's what he was on his way to do when he ran into Aang."

I was no longer looking at Zuko, but at the pond.  I would've been dead.  The whole earth kingdom.  Gone.  It wasn't an easy thing to process.  And I think Zuko realized, because he started rubbing my back.

"But he didn't get the chance.  Aang took away his bending.  He's powerless."

"But some people... they still don't like you?"

"No," he replied.  "And I don't know if they ever will.  The world might never be completely at peace, but, we can at least try."

We were staring at each other.  Probably having zoned out.  We were getting closer, and closer, just like that night...

But when we both realized what we were doing, we immediately turned away.  I would be a horrible person if I kissed him again.  He's got a girlfriend, and there's nothing I can do about it.

"I - I'm gonna go inside," he said.  "See you tomorrow."

And he bowed, awkwardly.  

"Right," I said.  "Um, good night."

He turned around and went inside.  I turned down one hallway, while he turned down the other.  It was extremely silent, except for the sound of our steps, Zuko's fading.  

"Hi," said Kyra, when I opened the bedroom door.  She was lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling.  "So.... what did he say?"

"Why do you assume he said something?"

"Hmm, well, you were out there for a while for a quick 'thank you, Zuko' 'oh, no problem'"

"Right.  Well, we were just talking.  About... today."

"Ah.  Well, anyway, I was looking at some maps, and there's some nice beaches around here."

I was glad she'd changed the subject.

"Do you think you'd want to go tomorrow?" Kyra continued.  "Maybe everyone else would want to come too?"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

ooh, a beach chapter

I wonder what will happen

just kidding I know exactly whats going to happen

molly