I'm—you—where—huh?" I sputtered, taking a step back. "You?" I repeated, blinking rapidly. Finding yourself face-to-face with the Banished Prince many feared because of the attacks and kidnappings, was the most frightful thing that could happen to you.
"I have questions for you," he said in his low voice. It sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
I'd never seen the prince in my life, but I figured it was him instantly because of the scar stretched across the left part of his face.
"More questions?" I groaned, slinking back and giving him way. I couldn't fight him—not now.
He walked in and shut the door behind him firmly.
"Who are you?"
"My name is . . . Izuki," I hesitated a little. Probably because I rarely lied and wasn't good at it, and by the look on his face, he could tell too, but decided it wasn't important and moved to other questions.
"Do you know the Avatar?"
"I've heard of him," I shrugged. "I was looking at him."
"So you don't know the Avatar In person?"
"Of course not! Only really lucky people get to meet him these days," I said honestly.
He realized I wasn't lying because of my smooth answer and rolled his eyes.
"Why did I even waste my time on you," he said with a groan, smashing the base of his fist against the door. "I could've been so close by now."
"Excuse me?" I put my hands on my hips. "You did not waste your time on me. I am not a waste of space, Zu- Prince Zuko," I corrected myself quickly.
He kicked the wall and walked out of the room.
"Hey!" I called after him. "Where are you going?"
"Taking you back to the Earth Kingdom. I can't hold you here anymore," he said, not even looking back at me, walking down the long, dim metal hallway.
"What if I don't want to go?" I challenged, leaning against the doorframe.
"You don't want go?" he stopped walking. "Why would you want to hang around a monster like me? The scarred, banished prince," Zuko scoffed.
"Why wouldnt I?" I shrugged. "You don't seem like a bad guy."
"Oh," he looked over his shoulder, "Then you don't know me very well."
I had to stay to know what the prince was up to, and who he really was. Maybe he could help me look for the Avatar, and even join them.
"Maybe I do," I said with a smirk, and he shook his head and continued walking.
So I was staying, then.
🔥🔥🔥
I decided to explore.
I stepped out of the room, my pointed Fire Nation shoes tapping on the floor with each step. It was a little cold, steam bursting from the metal pipes every now and then. I walked down the hallway, rubbing my arms and took a right turn down another one. There was a flight of stairs up ahead which I ran up, uncaring of whether I made sound or not. Suddenly, I smashed into a tall person.
"Hey, watch where you're—" The person turned around, and I found myself staring up at the guard, his face hidden behind a white mask.
"Uh-oh," I muttered with a small smile. "I won't cause any trouble if you just move a little," I said, poking him with my finger.
"Intruder!" he bellowed, punching fireballs at my face. I dodged them before I could turn into a human torch and jumped in the air doing a flip, landing on my feet.
"Hey!" I yelled in protest, regaining my balance and ran at him, throwing punches at him, fire exploding against his chest. He flew back and slammed into the wall, and I delivered the last kick, my leg going high up and fire smashing into him. He lay on the floor, limp.
I best my first real opponent.
I wiped my hands on my pants and blew out through my lips.
"You asked for it," I mumbled, turning my back towards him and continuing my exploration.
♋♋♋
Iroh had seen the whole fight from his room, and he was genuinely surprised. The girl had so much power, and if she used it for the wrong cause she could cause a great deal of damage. No one could take a skilled Fire Nation guard down as easily as that.
Iroh chuckled to himself. He needed to see her against Prince Zuko, who was the only other person he'd ever seen do something like that.
What was her secret?
🔥🔥🔥
Something small caught my attention. It was a room with a dent in the door and scorch marks lining the edges. The door looked pretty beaten up. Curiosity got the best of me, and I reached for the door, finding it unlocked.
The room was a mess. The metal walls were scorched and dented, the stuff was broken; like an insane boarcuepine had rampaged through the place. The only things left untouched were a stack of papers in the corner, some scrolls, and a picture on the wall. I stepped inside, hopping over the stuff on the floor and peered closer at the picture.
They looked happy, and I smiled. Such a cute family. The mother was beautiful.
I remembered my mother, and suddenly, tears came to my eyes, but I blinked them away. The children were so obedient; so happy, so . . . perfect. That was until I noticed the boy, who was strangely familiar.
It hit me hard.
The boy was the prince.
The man was the Fire Lord, the one responsible for the scar on Zuko's face. The mother was never seen again after Fire Lord Azulon had died. She had killed Azulon because he had ordered the death of Zuko for something . . . I couldn't quite remember. Then she ran, fearing the consequences . . . or, that's what I had heard.
Azula had become rampaging princess, destroying everything in her path and twisting the innocent minds to do something her way. I stared at the picture until a voice startled me.
"What are you doing here?"
