A Hand to Hold (Zuko x Reader)

5. Servant Girl

The walk was short and you were grateful that it was silent. After discovering that you were going to be the Prince's attendant, you weren't sure how to feel. There was no way you would be ready to take on a responsibility like that, not only that but he was the son of the Fire Lord. You hadn't met him yet but you already hated him, not wanting to attend to anything but his death.

All you could do right now was hope that he was a good guy, even though you doubted it because of all the bad things his family had done to the world. But you held a little hope that he may have good in him, if that was the case then life in the palace wouldn't seem so bad.

Nuo stopped before a set of double doors, her frail hand knocking on the painted wood. There was a moment of silence before a very authoritative voice was heard from the other side. Without hesitation, Nuo opened the door and led you inside.

"Why are we here?" you whispered to the older woman as you paused beside her. Within the room stood a very strict looking woman. Her wrinkled face and greying hair showed that she was old, but not looking as old as Nuo. The wrinkles were most prominent on her forehead, her eyebrows permanently furrowed so she looked displeased with everything.

"This is one of the other servants, she will teach you everything you need to know about being the Prince's attendant," she informed before bowing to the angry-looking woman and leaving. Now it was just you and her, letting her focus all of her attention on you. Beginning to walk forward, she stopped before you, meeting your gaze with sharp eyes.

"I am Xiaoli and you must be (Y/n), the one Nuo has been telling me about. I will be the one to train you how to be the Prince's attendant. There isn't much time so you must put effort learning everything quickly. Do you understand?" she questioned harshly, asserting dominance with her much larger size and refusal to break eye contact. Now wanting to be rude, you held it, only breaking it to bow your head to her.

"Yea, ma'am. I understand." Hearing your response seemed to please her, easing the wrinkles on her forehead.

"Good, you'll be meeting the Prince today so let's start now." Xiaoli then brought you over to a low table on the other side of the room, gesturing for you to sit. Taking a seat, you crossed your legs and awaited your next order. But it looked like you had done something wrong already, being able to tell y Xiaoli's displeased expression.

"Is that any way to sit before royalty?" she questioned, waiting for you to act. Looking down at how you sat, you adjusted to sit on your knees. Seeing your quick fix, Xiaoli hummed in approval.

"A good start, you must always be presentable in front of the Prince. Sit with dignity and await your next order. Now that you're sitting, I'll fill you in on the rules of being the Prince's attendant," she said, taking a seat across from you at the table.

"First, you must not meet the Prince's eyes under any circumstance. You must keep your eyes lowered, this is your responsibility as a servant. The Prince may be your age but he is not your friend, he is the future Fire Lord and you are only a servant girl. Do you understand?" You found it degrading hearing all this but didn't say anything against it.

"Yes, ma'am," you respond.

"What is it you must not do?" she questioned.

"I must never meet the Prince's eyes for he is the future Fire Lord and I am only a servant girl," I answered. Xiaoli eyed me for a second before nodding.

"Good, next is that you may not speak until spoken to. The Prince will provide you with orders and you will fulfil them, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am. I will not speak unless spoken to and will fulfil all orders given to me," you followed up, saving her from asking more questions about it like she had the first rule.

"And finally, you must refer to the Prince as Prince Zuko and nothing else. You are not to become familiar with the prince because..." she paused, waiting for me to finish her sentence for her.

"Because he is the future Fire lord and I am only a servant girl," you finished.

"It's not too many rules so I think you'll do fine. I'll teach you a few more things about serving food and tea, that should be enough. And when we're finished, you'll meet Prince Zuko. Are you ready?" she asked, looking a lot less angry than before.

"Yes, thank you."

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The training lasted over an hour, not being as demanding as you had initially expected it to be. It had started off with how to sit in his presence, staying quiet and not moving whilst sitting on your knees. You had been told that sometimes you would have to sit like that for a long time, awaiting the Prince's next order. It sounded really boring but Xiaoli said it was fine to zone out as long as you were conscious enough to quickly respond if the Prince needed you.

That was followed by learning how to gracefully pour tea and lay out food. All of her words stuck with you, allowing you to remember everything quickly and get the training over with fast. After it was all done, Xiaoli informed you that it was time to meet the Prince.

You had become super nervous, feeling your heart race as you entered a very nice area of the palace. By the large doors, you guessed that this is where all the bedrooms where. And when Xiaoli stopped in front of one, you knew that you were already there. Placing her hand on your shoulder, she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Just take a deep breath and don't overthink it. You're prepared for your job and nothing else is expected of you besides the things we learned before. Just follow the rules and do as you're asked, think you can do that?" she asked. Taking a few deep breaths, you nodded.

"Yes and thank you, Xiaoli," you smiled, bowing your head to her. Returning your gaze to her, you were surprised to see a proud smile stretched across her face.

"Now, do your best." The older woman then lifted her fist, knocking firmly on the door. There was no answer but she entered anyway, gesturing for you to lower your head as you followed.

Closing the door behind you, you kept your eyes low so you wouldn't break the first rule immediately. But you were very curious about this Prince person, sneaking a look in a way that would not break the rules. There on the bed was a boy around your age. His long hair sat messily on his shoulders, pyjamas crinkled from sleeping in them.

That was him, the Prince.

"Prince Zuko, this is your new attendant. You may call upon her with whatever you need," Xiaoli informed him, keeping her eyes lowered. Seeing him shift his head in your direction, you quickly moved your gaze to the floor.

You expected him to say something, anything. But he didn't, instead, he returned his attention to what he was doing previously. Xiaoli then shifted her gaze to you, gesturing to a flat pillow on the ground.

"This is where you will sit," she whispered before bowing to the Prince. Xiaoli then turned and began heading towards the door, leaving you alone with him.

Following her words, you approached the cushion and sat down in the way you had been taught. And with nothing to do right now, you waited in silence. You recalled everything you knew, preparing yourself for your first order. All you had to do was:

1. Not make direct eye contact

2. Not speak unless spoken to

and

3. Refer to him only as Prince Zuko

You were only a servant girl, but you were confident that you could do this. After all, it was this or death.

Finally, you've encountered Zuko. It'll get better from here on, I'm just surprised how long the build-up to meeting him was. I had it all planned out and it came out a lot longer than expected, just a lot of introductions and brooding over the bad things that had happened. But we're finally here, can't wait to write more.