After receiving word that Aang had defeated Ozai, Nava retired to the palace infirmary where Shinu was being kept and spent the night at his bedside. She was lucky to get away with a broken hand, some cuts, and bruises, but Shinu wasn't as lucky and was covered in bandages and splints.
Sometime after midnight, every single one of Nava's emotions came to a tipping point. She clutched Shinu's uninjured hand, forehead resting on his arm as she started to cry.
"I'm so sorry for leaving you, Lao," she sobbed. "I'm sorry my actions caused you to be tortured. I should have escaped with Iroh and brought you along, but I didn't – I didn't think any of this would happen. I'm sorry I was selfish. You're the closest thing I have to a real family and I don't want you to go. Dad, please don't go."
The words felt weird coming from her mouth, but she forgot how much she missed calling him that. Dad.
Nava sat with him all night, holding his hand.
A nurse woke her the next morning.
"Excuse me, miss, but there is someone here to prepare you for Prince Zuko's coronation," she said timidly.
Nava looked to the doorway and saw Suki waiting for her. "Thank you," she told the nurse. She pat Shinu's hand. "I'll be back later, okay, dad?"
She and Suki exchanged a hug when they left the infirmary.
"It's so good to see you're okay," Suki said. "Everyone else is okay too, Sokka broke his leg during the fight but we're none the worse for wear."
"That's great. Who sent you to come get me?"
"One of Azula's old friends, Ty Lee. She and some of my warriors bonded while they were in prison together, and we've decided to let her join us. She said that she wanted to see you and that she can help you get ready for Zuko's coronation."
They came up to an oak door and Suki pushed it open. Nava was immediately attacked in a bearhug by a blur of pink.
"Oh, Nava, it's great to see you! I missed you so much!" Ty Lee exclaimed.
"H-hi Ty Lee," Nava said, patting her back. "It's great to see you, too."
The girl released her and took her by the hand, pulling her inside the room. It was a large dressing room. A group of girls were lounged around, some still in civilian clothing and others were dressed in their Kyoshi Warrior garb.
"Wash up and then come out and we'll get you dressed! You have to look your best for Zuko!" Ty Lee announced and closed the door with a flourish.
Nava took a moment to absorb what had just happened.
There was already a bath drawn, topped off with bubbles and smelly soaps that made Nava's nose hurt. She washed herself quickly, skimming over the bruises along her ribcage from where Ryu had kicked her. Then she allowed herself a few minutes of tranquility, to let the warm water seep into her being and wash away the stresses of the past few months.
Then Nava got out, dried herself off, and wrapped herself in a robe that was supposedly left out for her. Ty Lee was on her in a second when she exited the bathroom, chattering excitedly about something as she led Nava over to a vanity and took a brush to her hair.
Her hair was tied into a neat bun with her bangs pinned back out of her eyes. She was given a set of clothes, a dark red, sleeveless shirt with a high neck, black trousers, and grey shoes, and Suki was able to paint Yuyan markings onto her face.
Nava looked at herself in one of the mirrors and couldn't help but smile. She looked like a fully-fledged Yuyan agent. All she needed was a bow, but she was okay without one until she was able to make her own.
Eventually she excused herself and went to find Zuko. She found his dressing room and knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in," came his reply.
Nava pushed the door open and stepped in. She leaned on it to close it behind her.
"Nava," Zuko breathed, looking her up and down.
She strode across the room and he held his arms out to hug her. Then he held her face in his hands, examining her makeup.
"Suki did it for me," she said. I'm getting the real tattoos done in a few months once I've finished my training. I'm going to be leaving right after your coronation."
Zuko's smile vanished. "What? You're leaving?"
"I still have a lot to do before I can consider myself your bodyguard, Zuko. I'm not ready yet."
"But... do you have to go alone? Can't I come with you?"
"Trust me, if you didn't have a country to run, I wouldn't leave without you, but we all have our responsibilities. I'll only be gone for a while, six months at the most."
Zuko closed his eyes and sighed, pressing his forehead against Nava's. "Okay," he said finally. "But if you're gone longer than six months, I'm going to come get you and bring you home myself"
Nava laughed at that, a sweet, melodic, laugh. "Let's hope it won't come to that."
She looked up at him and leaned upwards to press a light kiss to his lips.
"Come on, Prince Zuko, we should get you into your robes," she said.
///
Nava stood near the back of the coronation platform, hands clasped in front of her and a bow across her back; a servant had brought her one just before they went outside.
"Today, this war is finally over," Zuko said to the crowd of Swamp Benders, Water Tribe members, earthbenders, and Fire Nation citizens. "I promised my uncle that I would restore the honour of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging: a hundred years of fighting has left the world divided and scarred... but with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and to begin a new era of love and peace."
Zuko got onto his knees and one of the men in red, a Fire Sage, Nava learned, held the Fire Lord's hairpiece above his head.
"All hail, Fire Lord Zuko!" he announced, lowering the crown onto Zuko's topknot and securing it with a pin.
Zuko walked towards the edge of the platform and gestured for Aang to join him.
They stood side-by-side, looking out across the crowd that was applauding them.
///
The next morning, Nava packed herself a bag and left with Zuko to a port where she would board a boat that would take her to the Earth Kingdom.
"Are you sure you have to go?" he asked her, not letting go of her hand.
"I'm sure," she said. "Six months. Then I'll be back. I swear it."
He kissed her sweetly then hugged her to his chest.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too, Zuko."
They released each other and Zuko watched as she boarded the boat and waved at him from the bow.
Once they were at sea, Nava sat at the railing with her feet dangling over the edge. She thought of the weeks spent at sea with Iroh and Zuko, thought of how far they all had come, of how far she had come. She was no longer a street rat with a death wish, but instead a bodyguard of the new Fire Lord. She was becoming the person she looked up to as a child.
Nava pressed her fingers over her gnarled eye and took a deep breath.
Things were going to be all right.
YOU ARE READING
fire in your eyes • zuko
Fanfiction"You stayed, you always chose to stay." // "I'll stay as long as you'll have me." She was a runaway, wanted by the Fire Nation. He was a disgrace, outcasted by his homeland. He was willing to stop at nothing to regain his honour, she was willing to...
