Whirlwind [Avatar Aang]

☁Chapter Thirteen☁

She hated Bumi for choosing her to be the next queen of Omashu. She hated him for it. 

And that killed her to admit it.

Though she had no input in the planning of King Bumi Day in the slightest since she missed so much of the meeting the other day, Gazon allowed Nazadori out of the palace to walk around Omashu and celebrate with the people for their beloved king. The only bad thing about this walk around the city was that she had to have a guard stationed right by her side the entire time, and she wasn't really able to talk to the people from the public. Not that she wanted to, anyway. The stares of the older men and women made her keep her gaze focused on the ground beneath her feet.

She couldn't believe that the news had traveled that fast around the city. Now, people were giving her a wide berth when she walked by them if they knew who she was (and they sure did because of the guard stationed by her side). No one even wanted to approach her and ask her what really happened last night. They only knew that Nazadori was a delinquent, one who already had a troubled past and seemed to be heading toward a troubled future.

The only good thing about this walk around the city was that Avatar Aang had decided to come with her. He was chatting nonstop about all the memories he and Bumi had had together in certain parts of the city, but she could barely listen to his melodic voice because she could see people whispering to each other and pointing at her. Nazadori couldn't focus on anything besides the hate rolling off the people in waves when they saw her.

And that was why she hadn't noticed that Avatar Aang had stopped walking, so she ran directly into his back, nearly knocking him down in the process. 

"I am so sorry," she said quickly, shame spiraling through her veins and stomach. Before Aang had fallen down, the guard reached out and steadied him. "I didn't know you stopped walking. I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay, Nazadori," Aang said gently to her. He reached out and almost put his hand on her shoulder, but his eyes flicked to the guard before dropping his arm back to his side. "I know you didn't mean to do it. You don't have to worry about it."

As they started walking again, Nazadori couldn't help but look around at the people. They all were chatting with each other while the children were playing some games. King Bumi Day was meant for the different people of Omashu to get together and reminisce about him and just have fun together, whatever that meant. Nazadori didn't know what fun was even if it bit her on the face.

They had to pass through a wide crowd, and Aang glanced back at her for just a moment. The mischievous look on Aang's face made her heart skip a beat. His smile stretched widely into his cheeks, and his eyes glowed brighter than the noonday sun. As the two of them cut behind a group of people, Aang took her by the hand and pulled her deeper into the crowd, leaving the guard behind.

Her pace picked up speed as Aang ran through the crowd, narrowly missing a cart full of cabbages. Colors flashed by her in a blur as she sprinted behind Aang, her lungs burning. She could barely keep up with the Avatar, yet she knew she didn't want to lose him in the crowd. Whatever he was doing, it was happening for a reason, and she didn't want to be left out of it.

Thankfully, Aang started to slow down as they entered a small alleyway, empty of anything and anyone. "What in the world are you thinking?" she asked him breathlessly. She had to bend over and place her hands on her knees to try to breath normally while he just stood there, grinning at her. "Why'd you pull me away from my guard? You know Gazon will be so angry at me for ditching him."

"I don't care what Gazon thinks," he said to her with a shrug. It seemed like he only had eyes for her. Even as she stood up straight once more, his eyes followed her every move. "I want to know what you think about this whole situation."

"What situation?"

"The robbery situation."

Nazadori's heart fell in her chest. She didn't want to relive the humiliation again. She turned away from him. "What else is there to say? I intercepted a robbery, and I shouldn't have done that. I'm going to be the queen, and queens don't act that way."

"I want to know what you think, not what the other advisors are telling you, Nazadori."

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "I thought I was doing the right thing," she said softly, not really speaking to him anymore. She had to get this off her chest before she blew up. "I mean, who in their right mind would leave a girl getting robbed? What if they had killed her? I couldn't let that happen."

"Thank you --"

"I mean, Bumi fought the Fire Nation when they invaded Omashu," Nazadori said to Aang this time, shaking her head. She twisted her body until she was fully facing him. "All I did was help one girl who was getting robbed, and all I did was get her to safety. My sister basically did all the hard work fighting those bad guys."

"I know --"

"Is it because I'm a girl that people aren't happy that I helped that girl? Do I have to be soft and kind and quiet all the time? Or is it because I had a troubled childhood? Do they think that I'm just going to bring Omashu back to the dirt?"

Aang took her by the shoulders, and she stopped talking suddenly. Her eyes went wide when his fingers found an open patch of skin, creating a circle of electricity between the two of them. "Nazadori, you did the right thing," he said gently. "Don't listen to your advisors. You did the right thing. Trust me."

"But everyone keeps looking at me like I'm crazy!"

"Hey, don't you think a lot of people were happy with me when I came out of the iceberg?" Aang asked her, taking his hands off of her shoulders. She wished he still was touching her. "There are a lot of people who are disappointed in me or angry with me that I didn't stop the war a hundred years ago."

She didn't really know what to say to him. His gaze had suddenly lost all its brightness now, and in its place was devastation. "You didn't know what the Fire Nation was going to do before you were frozen, Aang."

"Countless lives have been lost because I froze myself in the water. My whole nation was killed. I was disappointed in myself." He squared his shoulders, and she offered him a small, sad smile. He had been through so much in his life, yet he was still a bright star amongst the darkness. "But I proved to myself and everyone else that I can bring peace and harmony to the world. And in time, you will do that here in Omashu, too."

Before she could say anything else to him, the guard suddenly appeared behind him, a glare on his face. "Don't you ever do that again," he said to both of them, pointing fingers directly in their faces. "I do not want to lose you. Either of you. Stay by my side or else we're going back to the palace."

As Aang and Nazadori followed the guard back into the crowd, she glanced at him and found him smiling at her. Laughter bubbled out of her lips at the sight, and soon, the two of them were laughing so hard they could hardly follow the guard. It didn't matter, though. She hadn't felt this happy or encouraged in a long time. She was grateful that Aang had joined her on this walk today. He truly was a wonderful man, one that she couldn't help but start to fall for.