CONTROL > ATLA

CH.8: COURTESY

CHAPTER 8:
COURTESY.
Anisha

"Uncle! It's time to leave! Where are you?! Uncle Iroh!" I hissed as he dragged me along with him on his search for Iroh, the metal around my hands preventing me from Air Bending.

"Over here," He lazily called out, completely nude in a hot water spring.

I really don't need to be here.

"We really need to leave. We're closing in on the Avatars trail, and I don't want to lose him," Zuko told him, his grip on my chains never letting up despite how his voice portrayed his tiredness.

"You look tired, Prince Zuko. Why don't you join me in these hot springs, and soak away your troubles," He kindly offered.

"My troubles cannot be soaked away! It's time to go!" He barked, getting angrier.

How can he deal with him?

"You should take your teachers advice and relax a little. The temperatures just right. I heated it myself," It was weird seeing a Fire Bender use his abilities for heating a spring rather than burning down a village.

A nice sight, but an odd one.

"Enough! We need to leave now. Get out of the water," He sighed and finally listened to Zuko, but with the price of my eyes almost seeing something horrid.

The monks would find a way to shame me in this situation.

I just know it.

"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes. But be back in the ship in half an hour, or I'm leaving without you," He threatened, tugging on my wrists again as we started back to the ship and I stumbled.

"Ouch."

"What are you doing? Get back up!" He ordered and I glared at him.

"Prince Zuko, the lady is clearly tired, and you molded the metal too tight around her wrists. Carry her back to the ship, like a good prince," Iroh lectured him.

"I-I'm fine, Iroh. Just a little tired," I offered a smile as I leaned against a tree to get up.

"You cannot lie to me, Anisha. Anyone with one good eye can see the bruising," I looked at my wrists and there was a clear outline of bruising around it that I didn't really notice.

Ouch.

That looks worse than it feels.

"Be a gentleman and carry her back, Prince Zuko. We are not savages."

"But-!"

"No buts!" Zuko growled under his breath and before I could protest again, he lifted me up with one arm under my legs and the other holding my back.

"This is stupid, why are you so weak?" He asked, avoiding eye contact.

"You've been dragging me around like a polar dog all day. My legs are tired, my wrists hurt. I would be just fine if I could use my Air Bending," I explained.

"You can stay on the ship, heavily guarded. No way I'm letting you use your Air Bending."

He's not as stupid as he looks after all.

Atleast I don't have to walk around as much.

“Why are there two Avatars?”

Here we go again.

“Yes, because I - a fifteen year old girl - would know how and why my brother and I are both Avatars-”

“I didn’t ask for any attitude,” He cut me off, glaring at me.

“And I didn’t ask,” My fear of the Fire Nation dulled during my time with Prince Zuko. He’s bullheaded, arrogant, impulsive, and thinks nothing of others around him.

“How is it you were able to escape so easily last time?” He questioned as we started to make our way back onto the ship.

Because I was thinking of Aangs safety.

I could have killed him last time, and I almost did. I made a circle of air around his head, and slowly started to pull the air from it so that he wouldn’t be able to breathe. But I heard Aang calling for me, meaning he wasn’t dead or atleast fatally injured, so I stopped and ran.

“I was thinking of my brother. I needed to protect him, and you were in my way. And these cuffs do not make Air Bending easy,” It was metal completely encasing my hands, but the major part was also the fact that Kyoshi hasn’t given me the go ahead to leave.

“Prince Zuko! O-oh, uh,” A guard turned the hallway as we were right outside of my room, awkwardly standing there.

“What is it?”

“Oh! The ship is ready to depart. All engines were checked, and everything is in the clear.”

“Good. You stay in your room, and you will not come out without orders from me. Is that understood?” He let go of me, almost dropping me and I stumbled.

“Yes, Prince Zuko,” He shoved me inside and shut the door, locking it with a loud creak.

As if I will ever marry him.

I would rather die.

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Hope you're enjoying so far! I want it to be where the Gaang doesn't understand why Anisha is so forgiving of Zuko, but that during her time with him, she got to understand him more and become friends.