The Fire Within - an atla fanfic (Zuko x OC)

Thunderbolt and Lightning

It was hard to sleep in the Fire Nation. Whenever I tried to close my eyes, I thought about how close I was to my father. It was scary. I rolled over and looked at Zuko, who was peacefully sleeping. I'm glad he seemed happy, for the most part. I could tell he still had his doubts about whether or not Aang was still alive.

I turned back around and sighed softly. I couldn't fall asleep. I dug in my bag next to the bed and pulled out my father's book. I sat up, and opened the book, producing a tiny flame from my fingertip for light. I looked over at Zuko, making sure I wasn't disturbing him. I started reading the second chapter.

———

I have arrived in the New World. It is brilliant. More different from our world than I could ever imagine. I have managed to get into medical school, which is what i must do before being able to become a true 'doctor' here. Right now, I can't afford anything besides a small room to live in and just enough food to get by. I plan to find someone I can exploit for money.

———

I frowned as I read the first paragraph. He never even explained how he got there. The whole point of this dumb book was to find a way home, not listen to him ramble about stealing money from people. I narrowed my eyes. I thought for a moment, and then my face turned into a look of disgust. That someone he planned to exploit for money was probably my own mother. I huffed and slammed the book closed, my flame going out. I didn't want anything else to do with that guy. I can't believe he is half of my DNA. Disgusting.

"Ash? What are you doing?" Zuko said sleepily.

I sighed, realizing I was being loud. "Sorry I woke you up, Zuko. I couldn't fall asleep, so I tried to read some more."

"Did you learn anything?" Zuko asked.

"No. He completely skipped over the part of how to actually get to my world." I said in frustration. I put the book back in my bag and laid back down.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. You could always just go ask him." Zuko replied.

I turned on my side to look at him. "Sounds scary."

"He wasn't mean the one time I met him." Zuko responded.

"What do you mean?" I asked quickly.

"Well, he just randomly showed up like a year before I was banished, and he was the person who ended up bandaging my scar. He is the head medical guy for the palace, after all." Zuko explained.

"Where is his office?" I asked.

"Outside the palace, but right on the edge of the noble's houses. It's very close."

I closed my eyes. "I don't know, he might have been nice to you, but he won't be to me. That is, if he even recognizes me. I wouldn't put it past him to not."

"If you go see him, I promise I'll come with you, if it would help." Zuko suggested.

I smiled slightly and nuzzled against him. "Thank you, Zuko."

He responded by kissing the top of my head and proceeding to go to sleep. I kept staring at the ceiling. Zuko didn't completely calm my nerves. I was so paranoid that my father was gonna come slash through me with a scalpel. I don't think it was possible for me to truly get those thoughts out of my head. I needed to be stronger. I wanted to prove to my father that he should be afraid of me, not the other way around.

I carefully got out of bed and put on a robe. I needed a glass of water. I walked out into the hallway and glanced around. It was very dark. No one was even around. Part of me was saying to go back in Zuko's room,  but the other was saying "just go get some water, you sissy." The last thing I want to be is a sissy, so I went. Walking down the hallways, I became quite confused. I realized I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I made a metal note of how to get back and just kept walking. Eventually, I passed by a room, the window flickering with blue light. I paused and looked in briefly, seeing Azula going through a fire bending set.

I saw her pause and look at me, which made me feel obligated to at least say hello. I opened up the door and walked in, glancing around. It was the Agni Kai arena. Where Zuko got burned. I tried to hide my shiver, and looked at Azula.

"Why are you here?" She snapped.

"I was just exploring the palace." I replied, crossing my arms defensively.

"It's the middle of the night." Azula responded.

"It is, so why are you here practicing?"

Azula sighed and continued blasting fire. "You can never practice too much, Ashley. Unlike Zuzu, I actually work to improve my skills."

"Zuko does work hard." I responded. "I know he was weak before, but he got very strong during his absence."

"Not strong enough." Azula made one final kick of fire and looked back at me. "Either way, how would you know? I didn't take you for a bending enthusiast." She added dryly.

I scoffed. "Oh, I'm not by any means. But I know a little bit."

"Show me, then." Azula said with a tiny smirk. She crossed her arms.

I narrowed my eyes. What was she trying to do? "What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Just show me how much fire you can produce." Azula instructed.

I nodded reluctantly and took a deep breath. I stepped forward from my stance and released a large amount of flames, at least for my standards. I looked back at Azula, who was clearly judging me. "Well? Am I good?" I asked.

Azula covered her mouth and snickered. "Oh, definitely not."

I rolled my eyes, unamused.

"You fight just like Zuko. So reserved. Real firebending is supposed to be cold and deadly, not pathetic."

"Cold. That's ironic." I said with a tiny smile.

"But it's true." Azula replied. "And your stance is totally off. It's supposed to be like this." Azula said, demonstrating.

I focused and mimicked her stance. "Wait, so like this?" I asked as I shot fire from my palms. The minor changes I made in my stance seemed to make a big difference. I could feel the new strength of my fire. In a way, it almost felt like too much.

"Yeah, that's much better." Azula confirmed. "But keep your knees bent."

I kept practicing my stance for a few minutes until I was too tired to continue. "Thanks for showing me, Azula. But I have to ask, why are you helping me?"

"I'm only friends with people that have skills." Azula stated, looking at her nails.

"Good to know." I responded. "I'm going to bed." I added, walking out.

"Goodnight." I heard Azula say as I left.

I walked back down the hallways in confusion, was Azula saying she wanted to be friends? Also, I had no idea how to get back to Zuko's room. And I was still thirsty, but that was besides the point. Azula sure did have a weird way of communicating. It was strange though, I could tell she cared, contrary to how Zuko said she always was heartless.

I finally made it back to Zuko's room and laid back down next to Zuko with a feeling of relief. I was glad to be back in here, where I didn't feel so put on the spot. In contrast, I felt so pressured to make sure I said exactly the correct thing in front of Azula. It was terrible. It was very clear that Azula made friends by intimidation. I wanted to grow to show that I wasn't afraid of her. I looked at Zuko happily, who seemed at peace for once, and then let sleep overtake me.