Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 7.1: Ember Island

- Zuko -

I had been too late. I couldn't save her.

I had stormed to the palace prison the moment I had finished that despicable conversation with my father and sister, but the guards had already gotten to her. They had whisked her away to an unnamed prison before I even had a chance. I had no idea where she was or what she was living through, and it seemed as if my father (or, more likely, my sister) had set up extra measures so that I would never find out what happened to the waterbender. I could only hope that Azula's threats had been empty, but knowing her, I knew that would not be the case. It killed me to think of all the things she could have been living through, and I would have much rather known the truth than to allow my imagination to slip into numberless dark and indescribable dungeons.

I fidgeted with her moon blade as I walked along the shore of Ember Island, trying my best to ignore the moon's rays as it seemed to sear a hole through the back of my head. This small dagger had been the only thing I had left of her—only just managing to snatch it from the guards as they went to dispose of it—but just looking at it made the pain and the guilt worse, not to mention how it constantly reminded me of her. It reminded me of what I had so carelessly tossed aside to get my father's love. And I wasn't too sure that it was worth it because if it was, I wouldn't miss her this much.

I missed the way she practically skipped down the stairs on her way to work in the tea shop. I missed the way that she would always fuss over meals to make sure they were just the way I liked them, even when it was almost too spicy for her to handle. I missed the way she would snuggle closer to me every time I embraced her, almost as if it was the first hug she had received in years. I missed the way she would beam at me every time I said her name or told her that I loved her. I missed the way she would tease me and call me out every time I would do something stupid, and recently, without her around, I only seemed to make stupid decision after stupid decision.

I missed the way she would fiddle with her hair every time she was lost in thought, and I missed the way she would perk up excitedly whenever she came up with an idea. I missed the way her eyes lit up every time she would use her bending, and that didn't exclude the times her eyes literally ignited as she channeled the power of the Moon (she really was an incredible bender, even if I didn't understand it). I even missed the muffled sounds she would make as she slept—I never realized how long we had shared a room until she was gone, leaving me completely and utterly alone. And no matter how much I tried to forget her, I just couldn't. I missed her. I missed Elara.

I stepped on something sharp as I walked in the sand, snapping my attention away from Elara to my—now injured—foot. I suppose I had stepped on a jagged shell of some kind, and as I bent down to tend to my wound (which Elara could have easily healed if she were still around), I couldn't help myself from studying the very object that had cut me. I felt as if I had seen that shell before, and as I picked it up to inspect it further, I found myself completely powerless against the memories that came flooding back.

*****

It had almost been a year since Elara had joined my crew, and I swear that she had made it her personal goal to do nothing but make my life difficult. Was I just bitter that she always seemed to wipe the floor with me during training and spars even though she was just a waterbender? Perhaps, but that wasn't the point.  The point was that she was throwing me off, and there was nothing I could do to get rid of her.

"This is our first port in weeks!" I snarled as I watched Elara running towards the sea, having opted to join her on her adventures instead of following Uncle around on one of his shopping sprees (I could not do that again). "Why is it that the first thing you have to do when we find dry land is jump right back into the ocean?"