A Kindred Spirit [Reader x Zuko]

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: It's aliiiive. As a note, I decided to split the Ember Island episode up into a couple days of time. At least on the Fire Nation brat's side.

A Kindred Spirit

Chapter Fourteen

You and the others had arrived in the morning. The unrelenting sun meant that you had been escorted by one of the ship's crew. They held a parasol above you, shading you from the sun, and guided you into the house as you had somewhat of a blindfold over your eyes. The combination blocked out just enough sunlight that you could make out some shapes as you were escorted onto the island. By comparison to all those around it, the house on Ember Island was small. When it wasn't compared to all the mansions around it, however, the house was rather large.

You gently took control of the parasol and closed it once you were inside the house. The sailor bowed formally and made a quick retreat at that. You did your best to ignore him. Not that you weren't grateful for the assistance but it seemed that's what everyone else was doing. So in order to keep as poised as possible, not that you felt that way beneath the surface, you looked around the place as you closed the parasol.

There was a certain musky, perfume all around. You weren't the only one to notice the scent either. Zuko just gave it a name - old lady smell. That sounded vaguely insulting but it intrinsically fit. Through the blindfold you couldn't tell what color things were but you could tell that there were a lot of little things all around. Different shaped furniture, pillows, and decorations were scattered in abundance. As a short tour was given of the house, it soon became clear that Unfortunately most of the space was allocated to the shared areas as there weren't that many bedrooms.

There weren't enough beds in the room given over to you, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. Not that the prospect of sleeping on the floor bothered you. You were more concerned with the fact that you were in the same room as the Princess and her friends. If it wasn't for the fact that the sun was so hot and bright you would have volunteered to keep to a terrace or something. You might have been the Avatar now but sleeping in the same room as the Fire Lord's only daughter seemed unreal.

Thankfully you didn't have to deal with it right away. The day was still young for the rest of the elite Fire Nation teenagers you were with; your day was pretty much ending. While you got a nap in the bedroom the others went down to the beach.

You'd finally been able to take the blindfold off when you were left alone in the bedroom. As you laid down on a few cushioned mats that your twin hosts were gracious enough to have brought in, along with plenty of bedding, you looked towards the table in the center of the room and let your mind drift.

Everything about your situation felt unreal. Less than a month ago you had been a prisoner. You'd been nobody, just another slave to the Dai Li. The only consolation was that you'd not been alone in that life, mother had been with you. Though you hadn't seen her as often as you would have liked she'd been alive at least. Now you were a guest of the Royal Fire Family and the Avatar. The Avatar. You had more freedom and prestige than you ever could have imagined. But your mother was dead.

As you drifted off into a nap, you promised yourself that you were going to help make sure that the injustices done to you and your family were never repeated again.

________________________________________

The sunset on the island was a beautiful thing. It was still really bright to you, still, but just on the bearable side. You sat in awe as you watched it from the balcony. Behind you, your two hosts, Mai, Zuko, Ty Lee, And Azula were eating dinner. You couldn't pull yourself away from the sight before you. The colors were beautiful and you were able to see the ocean. It swayed in an elemental dance that you could feel deep inside of you. You had never seen, nor felt, anything as beautiful as the setting sun across the ocean. You were lulled into such a blissful sense of tranquility that the conversation happening behind you seemed so distant.