Ablaze || Aang x Reader

11: His Cousin, the Soother

I must've spent at least a month cooped up in my room, maybe two. I did a lot of breathing exercises and practised a lot of forms. My fire bending improved a lot but I can only get so far without instruction. I'd've gone stir crazy if it weren't for Jinju. He was always the one to bring me food.

I'm not sure if he was told to feed me or if Zuko just forgot about me, but he put in a treat every time. Sometimes it's a slice of pie, sometimes just some fresh fruit like papaya. Sometimes he'll put in a trinket he got from a market they stopped by. If I needed to use the washroom, Jinju would help me sneak past everyone to get there. He's possibly the sweetest person from the Fire Nation I've ever met. Of course, I knew Kuzon, but he was more Aang's friend than my own.

I was sewing up one of the banners in my room. At some point in the past month, we were hit by a big storm. It didn't last long but a piece of metal from the tower or something came crashing through the window and wedged itself in my wall.

My door slammed open. I jumped, startled at the sudden noise. Thankfully, it was just Jinju. Too bad he didn't have any good news.

"Avatar Y/n, you have to change immediately!" He whisper-shouted. He didn't fully enter, he kept looking behind himself as if someone was gonna catch him.

"What's going on?" I asked, gathering my Fire Nation clothes hastily.

"Admiral Zhao is collecting all the troops he can for a siege! You need to blend in as a person from Fire Nation so that he thinks you aren't of use to him and not his target!" Jinju explained. Then he looked back outside and yelped. He put his face mask back on and quietly closed the door without locking it.

I quickly changed into my Fire Nation clothes, making sure I had my headband on tight. My regular cloak was green and it would draw the wrong kind of attention to me, but without it, my tattoos are visible. I go for the blanket trick again.

I walked out of my room for the first time in a month. It was literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air. I attempted to look tired. Maybe the blanket would make sense if I looked like I just took the fattest nap imaginable.

"Hey, you! Stop!" A voice yelled from down the hall. I eyed them 'groggily'.

The voice came from one of two soldiers walking down the hall. I didn't recognize them from any of the guards or crew. They must've been from this Zhao guy's crew.

"Everyone is needed on the deck for a headcount." The other soldier explained.

"Uh... what if I don't want to be in Zhao's crew?"

"You don't have a choice."

"Sir, I'm twelve."

The two muttered amongst themselves for a solid thirty seconds before they came over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. They began guiding me somewhere. I wanted to force them off me, but I didn't in order to sell this 'innocent child' image I forged for myself.

I found myself in front of Zuko's room. I'd never been inside before. Strangely, the door was wide open. We entered.

As one would expect, Zuko and Iroh were there. Talking to them was a tall man. He had thick sideburns and looked as if he had a ton of authority. He was probably this Zhao guy that I've heard so much about.

Zhao was holding a sword, examining it. There was also a missing spot next to another sword on Zuko's wall so it was safe to assume that Zhao was holding Zuko's sword.

The conversation completely quieted when we entered. Everyone stared at us, but mostly me specifically.

"Sir, we found this one in the halls, but she's too young to join the army. What do we do with her?" One of the soldiers grasping me said.