The Tale of Amara

Chapter 24: Dark Tunnel Part 2

Chapter 24: Dark Tunnel Part 2

(Third Person POV)

Zuko could not believe what was happening. He really cared about his uncle, but sometimes the man drove him crazy. He had told Iroh not to test the plant that was sprouting out of the bush earlier, but the old man didn't listen to a word he said. When Zuko had gotten back from catching only one fish for dinner and found his uncle had been poisoned by the White Jade bush, he was horrified.

Being fugitives and on the run from his sister was already hard enough, but now he had to find his uncle medical help before the man died. He was so tired.

"I hope you learned your lesson," Zuko muttered as they stepped over a hill and saw the Earth Kingdom village in the distance.

Iroh scratched at the rash and boils that had spread to his face. "Don't assume pretty plants make good tea?"

Zuko scowled. "No! Don't try plants unless you know what they are!"

Iroh flinched, and then scratched at his arm. "Yes. You're right. I suppose this old man just missed Jing's tea from back on the ship."

Zuko let out a heavy breath. He missed his crew too. He missed a lot of things: His room; His bed; His home in the Fire Nation. He missed knowing where the Avatar was. He still had yet to find anything out about if the boy and his friends were still at the North Pole or in the Earth Kingdom. Then there was one more thing he greatly missed as he thought about the Avatar.

Amara... he missed Amara. He pulled his hand up in his view and saw the blue ribbon appear as his sleeve dropped.

Despite Iroh being super itchy and having a little trouble breathing, he caught his nephew's action. He managed to speak through his scratchy voice, "I know you miss her. I do too."

Zuko dropped his hand and crossed his arms.

"It's better this way," Zuko muttered. "she'd be as hungry as we are if she was with us. At least her family knows how to find food better than we do." He was saying this to try and convince himself her being with the Avatar was a good thing. It wasn't working though.

"The good thing is that she is safe from Zhao at last," Iroh agreed.

Zuko's eyes narrowed when his uncle mentioned Zhao. He was so glad that man reached his end. Zhao had tortured a sweet girl for sixteen years... he had broken something beautiful. While Zuko and his uncle had been able to mend some of the damage, Amara would always bear the scars of her past on her skin and in her memories.

He suddenly thought back to a time on the ship when he had been helping Amara learn some more with her reading. As they sat at the low table in Amara's room, she started to cry.

Zuko was shocked as he looked up from the book to see Amara had turned away from him to hide her tears. He could see her body shaking despite her attempt to hide her crying. He knew a lot of her emotions had to do with her friend Tu Lan being gone. He had only been sent back to the Fire Nation a week earlier to be treated. Zuko knew she missed him.

"Hey... What's wrong?" He put the book down, not sure why she was suddenly upset. They had been reading about Earth Kingdom landscapes together. There was nothing sad about that.

She turned away from him more, ashamed she was losing herself again. "I... I'm sorry... I got a little lost..."

Zuko frowned. He placed a hand on her arm to let her know he was concerned. "What do you mean?"

She took in a heavy breath. She looked back at Zuko with tear stained cheeks. "Sometimes I fall back into the past... I can't stop myself... it's nothing... I'm okay."