Flame of the Heart - Book 1 // Zuko

Chapter 10

Zuko eyed the girl Raven as she helped June saddle up the shirshu. There was something about the girl that Zuko could not place. She wasn't like any person that he had ever met. There was one thing about her that was like every other bender. Her black hair and red attire suggested fire bending, but her blue eyes and pale tones suggested water bending. Her calloused hands and firm stance as well as her muddied and worn boots were like those of earth benders... but then her light footed, lighthearted attitude and breezy behavior was like that of an air bender. Who was she?

The girl swung her bag up onto her back before jumping up onto the creature as if she was made of air. She reached down her hand to June who took it and the girl pulled her up with ease. The girl then turned to Iroh before holding out her hand to him. Zuko walked over and gave his uncle a boost while Raven pulled him up. The old man sat behind June while Raven sat at the back, a space between herself and Iroh for Zuko. She reached down her hand but Zuko brushed it off.

The girl shrugged her shoulders and leant back so Zuko could climb up and sit down. When he had, she touched his waist where she was going to wrap her arms around him but Zuko stiffened and shot her a warning look. Raising her hands in surrender, she placed her hands on his shoulders and Zuko couldn't help but realize how gentle her touch was.

June drove her feet into the creature's side, and he charged off.

"So Raven," Iroh called back, "how did you end up in the company of June?"

Raven smiled, "It's kind of a long story. To put it simply, I was forced into a coven where weak people are sent to strengthen them up. No one has ever survived... until now."
"What is the place called?" Zuko asked, having not heard of such a place.

"Ducranah," Raven replied, her face grave.

"You survived Ducranah?" Iroh asked, his eyes widening as he looked back at her.

Raven shrugged, "Barely. June found me shortly afterwards."
June nodded as she urged her beast on faster, "she was half dead, broken in so many different ways. It was a miracle she survived the night. She had a fire in her that kept her alive... but she still won't tell me what it is."
Raven chuckled. "That's my secret."
June shook her head ruefully before returning to steering the beast. Zuko looked back at Raven.

"So... What did you become after you survived?"

"A fugitive," the girl replied. "I have lived on the run for the past two years. I have been making yearly trips to Ducranah to rescue kids who are put there against their wills because they do not fulfill other people's wishes."
"You do not agree with the Ducranah goal?" Zuko asked.

He had never heard of the place before and it sounded horrible, but he didn't know enough about the place to know more than the opinions of one girl he had just met.

"Of course not," Raven replied. "Just because you do not meet other people's expectations doesn't mean you should change yourself to be something you're not. You should be who you are and do your best. Being yourself is enough and if anyone wants something more than what you can give, they have a serious issue."

Zuko felt his lips turn up at this statement but he covered it, turning to face forward so the girl wouldn't see it. She sounded so much like Shira it was almost scary... but this girl wasn't Shira. Her face was slenderer and more mature, her chin, cheekbones and nose more pointed than the soft round features of Shira. Her hair was longer, sleeker and black while Shira's was long but fluffy and blond. The girl's body was also different. She was older than what Zuko remembered Shira as but whenever he imagined Shira growing up, she would always come out as petite, soft and slightly plump in the face and chest like she had been the last time Zuko saw her. This girl was slender, tough with strongly built arms and legs, a rounded chest and strong shoulders though her body was still very feminine.

The one thing the two had in common were the blue eyes. The color of the sky... but Shira's eyes were gentle, soft with a faraway look in them and reflected the moon and stars. This girl's burned like blue fire, were shrouded by long black lashes that gave her a mysterious look. They were gentle but tough and determined with a sort of electricity in them like she would shock anyone that came too close.

No, this girl wasn't Shira. Who knows if Shira survived... but this girl could never and would never be Shira. Zuko knew that much.

Suddenly June pulled her beast up in the middle of a town.

"It seems like your girl spent a lot of time here," June observed.

Zuko hopped off the beast and held out the necklace to its nose. The beast lifted its head into the air and sniffed before turning back to the gate.

Zuko climbed back up but this time behind Raven and without thinking, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold on. As the beast charged off, Zuko became aware of where he had put his arm when he felt the girl's stomach tense while keeping her balance.

'How much did this girl go through?' he thought to himself, 'it's like she's built of muscle! She is able to stay on this beast with only her legs holding her on, as well as keeping my weight on.'

Zuko couldn't seem to get this thought out of his mind until they pulled to a stop on the trail and Zuko hopped down. Raven peered around Iroh to see two kids, a girl and a boy standing there.

"That's her?" June asked. "No wonder she left you! She's too pretty for you!"
Raven chuckled at this, earning a glare from Zuko but she ignored it.

"Where is the Avatar?" Zuko insisted, glaring at the two.

"We're not telling you!" the girl yelled back, her eyes burning with fury. "We separated."
Zuko glared at them before grabbing them both by the wrist, "We will see."
With that he dragged the two kids over to the beast and threw them up to Iroh. The old man planted the two kids in front of him between him and June. Zuko climbed on up behind Raven who still had a smile on her face from June's observation earlier.

"Not a word," he hissed in her ear, wrapping his arm around her waist again.

Raven just smiled even when he squeezed her waist to try and get his message through. "It was no insult your highness. I just find it amusing that June thought the girl was your girlfriend."
Zuko frowned, "How did you know she wasn't."
Raven turned and gave him a look as if to say, 'are you serious?'. Zuko suddenly felt really stupid but he didn't know why.

"I have never heard of a firebender who would even hold any respect for a water bender, let alone like her enough to date. Besides, she looked ready to rip your head off. I'm not stupid."
Zuko's eyes widened at her statement. Geez she was straightforward and blunt! That was not what Shira would have said. This girl is definitely nothing like Shira! What were you thinking Zuko?

He had wandered off in his thoughts so much that he didn't realize that Raven had pressed a blade to his neck, "And loosen your grip Mr. Grumps."

Zuko felt himself begin to sweat from fear. The girl's eyes flared up like fire and her face darkened a warning as she said this. How did that knife appear in her hands anyway? She was holding it steadily and it wasn't even shaking!

He quickly loosened his grip and the girl relaxed before slipping her knife back and holding onto Iroh's shoulders.

Zuko ran his hand through his hair and sighed. This girl was going to be a handful!