Prologue
The room was dimly lit by a couple of candles that sat on the edge of the room. In the middle of the room, a young girl was sitting beside a bed tending to the Fire Nations Prince. After a brutal Agni Kai battle between the boy and his father, he had been left severely burned. She wasn't even sure he would be able to see out of his eye when they were able to take the bandages off. He had been running a fever for a few hours and she hadn't left his side since. Only time would tell if he had lost his eye with the emotional damage, she knew it had caused. It would heal with time, but the scar would forever be a reminder of his father's rejection of him.
"I'm here Zuko." She murmured, dabbing a cool cloth on his burning forehead. A groan left his lips, his legs shifting in discomfort and pain. Leaving the cloth where it was, she ran her fingers through his hair to try and soothe him. They had been close ever since they were kids and while her parents had disappeared at a young age, the royal family had still accepted her as one of their own and given her a good life. His mother had been a warmhearted caring woman, much different from his cold-hearted father. Seeing her best friend in this state of pain hurt her heart and she knew there was nothing she could do to ease the pain.
From where she was sitting, she could see a bit of blood starting to seep through the bandage on his face. Uncle Iroh had been the one to wrap him up and take care of him. She knew that blood was a sign to change the bandage, but she hadn't done it on her own yet. Looking around, hoping Iroh would come out of nowhere to help her, she sighed. He was preparing for them to leave. They had both agreed that leaving was in Prince Zuko's best interest, and they wanted to leave before he woke up. So, she did what she could. Working slowly, she found the extra bandages next to the bed with the liquid that Iroh had dipped them in. Removing the bandage that was on his face she bit her lip to hold back the tears. The mangled skin underneath was blistered and angry red. His eyelid was slightly charred as well, but they had left that alone so as not to cause him unnecessary pain. Zuko sucked in a deep breath as the air hit his sensitive skin and she paused.
"It's alright Zuko. I'm just going to try and change the bandage." She whispered to him, not knowing if he could even hear her. Hanging her head for a moment she let a tear roll down her cheek as he whimpered under her touch. "Everything is going to be okay. We're going to get you through this. I promise."
"Really? You think you can save him so easily?" A menacing voice growled from behind her, and she froze what she was doing. A hand landed on her shoulder and every muscle in her body tensed. She stayed silent for a moment debating if it was worth it to lash out at the Fire Lord.
"After what you put him through, he has a lot to work through." She growled, setting her supplies down. Her hands were shaking in anger and every instinct in her was telling her to stop talking and leave the issue alone. But she was too angry.
"The boy is a coward and a disgrace. I have no place for such weakness in my country. Since you are his betrothed and your parents were traitors, you are both banished. You are to leave at once and only return once you've found the Avatar." Ozai told her, his grip on her shoulder tightened to the point of bruising and she ground her teeth. Pushing up from the bed she stood, forcing his hand to let go. She turned to look at him and narrowed his eyes.
"You are a horrible father Ozai!" He turned away from her and began walking out of the room, clearly not caring what she had to say. This infuriated her, so she went on yelling at him. "Not only do you abuse your child and burn him, but you also give him an impossible mission. Who knows if he will be able to see out of his eye when he is healed? And now you task him with finding someone who has been missing, hidden, or dead for the last one hundred years. YOU WON'T EVEN GIVE HIM THE CHANCE TO HEAL BEFORE YOU FORCE HIM TO LEAVE! YOU'RE A DAMN TYRANT!" She was screaming at him by the end of her rant. The Fire lord stopped in the doorway of the room and glanced over his shoulder at her, eyes dark and murderous. She swallowed thickly, taking a step back.
She didn't even have time to run away from the man before he was in her space. His burning hot hand was clutching her throat, lifting her off the ground. Her feet kicked at him trying to get him off her, but it was no use. His free hand ignited and pressed against her side, burning away her clothes and eating away at her pale flesh. A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat despite the pressure blocking off her airway. Her fingers reached up, nails ripping away the skin of his fingers to get him to release her but the flame eating her side grew hotter. Tears streamed down her face, and she could hear that Zuko had woken up, hearing her scream. Knowing that he was witnessing her pain she hardened her resolve to escape the fire lord's clutches. She brought her knees to her chest as best she could and blasted fire from the soles of her feet. The blast was enough to put space between them and they both went flying. She landed on the bed, Zuko barely moving out of the way in time. Ozai on the other hand, ended up by the bedroom door. There had been enough force behind the flames but not enough heat to hurt the older man.
Adrenaline coursed through her as she righted herself on the bed. She stood from the bed not feeling the pain in her side yet. She held fire daggers in her palms and glared at the man that called himself Zuko's father.
"You will not touch either of us. Ever again." She growled. The Fire lord jumped up from the floor, his hair a mess after having been blown across the room.
"You'll die for that, you insolent little..."
"Ozai!" a voice rang out from behind the angered man, and she sighed in relief. Iroh stood behind his brother with two bags slung over his shoulder. "That is quite enough. Let the children go."
"If I ever see that little bitch in my country again, she will die." Ozai threatened before storming out of the room smoke streaming from his hands as he went.
Knowing she was safe she let out a breath and dropped to the floor, black spots converging in her vision. The pain in her side was unbearable and she knew that she was about to pass out. Even so, she used what remaining energy she had and reached out to Zuko. His hand clung to her immediately and he was on the floor next to her. She blinked hard, willing the spots away from her vision so she could see him clearly.
"Asana... that was reckless and stupid." Zuko cried out to her, and she chuckled.
"It was worth it." She breathed out and her vision faded into nothing as she lost consciousness.
...............................................................................................................................................
She woke slowly, crusty eyes peeling open to take in her surroundings. It was darker in the room than she thought it was going to be. The walls were black metal and only one candle was lit under a fire nation banner. Opposite where she was laying, she saw that a small dresser was against the wall with a meditation mat set before it and her bow resting in its cradle on top. She eased herself into a sitting position, ignoring the stinging in her side as she sat up. Every muscle in her side was tugging and aching. Looking down she could see the bandages wrapped around her torso and she cringed remembering what had happened.
Ignoring the pain, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and reached for the dark red robe at the end of the bed. Wrapping it around herself, she secured it loosely to avoid putting pressure on her injured side. Leaving the room, she wandered around the halls in search of the main deck. She knew where she was going, having been on a fire nation war ship plenty of times in her life. Despite her pain, there was one person she wanted to see at that moment, but she wasn't sure if he was in his own room or wandering the ship as well.
Soon she found herself out on the main deck, alone and in the cold with only the stars to keep her company. A deep sigh left her lips as she made her way over to the railing to look down at the ocean below her. A slight breeze tugged at her hair, trying to free the curls from their ribbon at the base of her neck. She had no way of knowing how far away they were from home, which made her heart ache. She had never been so far away from home. Even though everyone she cared about was on the boat with her, she had left everything she knew back in the fire nation. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she didn't have the energy to release them. She was so numb to everything that had happened, even the cold didn't bother her.
"I'm glad to see that you're awake." A gentle voice spoke. A soft hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked over at Zuko's uncle, Iroh.
"Thank you for getting us out of there safely."
"What you did to the fire lord was reckless." Iroh gently scolded her.
"I know. I should have kept my mouth shut. I let my anger take hold." She looked down at the sea feeling like her emotions were both calm as the waters on the horizon and as violent as the water fighting their ship. A constant struggle with the calm always being further away than the anger. "It was worth it to toss him across the room though." She looked over at the older man and he gave her a pointed look to which she chuckled. The movement of her moving skin on the bandages though felt terrible and she hissed in pain.
"You should be resting," Iroh told her and she nodded in agreement. Just finding her way to the deck had zapped all the energy that she had.
"Where is Zuko?" She whispered, looking up at the moon and soaking in the light. Despite being a child of the sun, she found that the moon had always called to her, the light giving her a sense of peace.
"Come, I'll take you to him." Iroh placed a hand on her lower back and ushered her back towards the inside of the ship.
As they made their way through the halls, she felt her energy-depleting even further and she found herself leaning on Iroh for support. Sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead and her breaths were coming in labored gasps. Iroh was giving her concerned looks, while the pain was getting worse, and all she could think about was making sure that Zuko was okay. They were nearly there but her knees buckled, hitting the metal floor. Her arm went to cradle her side and she hissed as her hand came back bloody.
"Stay here, I'll get Zuko," Iroh instructed her and she nodded, though she didn't really want him to see her in this much pain. Placing her bloodied hand on the wall she pushed herself up enough so she could lean against the wall. One hand on the wall and the other cradling her side she slowly inched forward through the hall. She wasn't weak. She wouldn't sit there and wait for help. She'd always been able to take care of herself, even before her parents disappeared. Her father had been in the military and was never home and her mother was never home, for reasons she never knew. Which had left her home alone for most of her life. Now wasn't any different. If she could just make it down the hall, they wouldn't have to carry her so far. She knew that she needed Iroh's medical knowledge to patch up her side, but it was letting Zuko see her in tears that she wanted to avoid. Even as a kid if she was hurt, she never cried, never whined when she was starving, and never got annoyed when Azula was bullying her. She didn't have much of a say in the matter though.
"Asana!" Down the hall, she could hear their footsteps approaching quickly. Glancing up she could see the two most important men in her life running toward her. Zuko looked worried as he called out to her. Taking another pained step forward to get closer to him, she felt her knees give out again and she was on her hands and knees. A few water drops hit the metal near her fingers, and she knew that the tears had started to fall. She was in so much pain and she just wanted it to stop.
"Zuko." She whispered as he reached her. His arms were around her in an instant, pulling her into his arms, and off the ground in one motion. They may have only been teenagers, but he had been training long enough to be able to carry her without much trouble. She turned her head into his chest and relaxed into him.
"You should have been resting. Uncle told me you went looking for me. I was just right next door, silly." He whispered to her bringing her into his bedroom. He sat her down on the meditation pad and brought his hands up to her cheeks to wipe away the tears. "Uncle went to get you some medicine for the pain and more bandages." She looked up to meet his gaze but instead for an almost unfamiliar face. The left side of his face was still bandaged but what she hadn't seen before was that the only hair that remained on his head was the ponytail. With shaky hands, she reached up to touch his bare head.
"Your hair." She whispered sadly. Her hands ran down to rest on his cheek.
"The whole left side was singed away so they shaved everything except the ponytail." He told her.
"I barely recognize you." She whispered. She recognized him now but when she had first looked up the lack of hair and the eyepatch had confused her momentarily.
"I didn't either when I woke up." His hands made their way down from her cheeks to her robe where he opened it wide enough to see the bloody bandage on her side. His eyebrows knotted together, and his fingers brushed against the crimson stain. "What were you thinking going against my father like that? You almost died!"
"I was angry at what he did to you and then he came to see you, not to make sure you were okay but to take insult what honor and dignity you had left. I wasn't going to stand there and let him abuse you any longer." She told him, looking up into his eyes.
"You could have died." He whispered and she realized that he would have had to watch her die had Iroh not shown up when he did. His father would have burned her to a crisp right in front of his own son without a second thought and Zuko would have been even more traumatized. She hadn't even really thought about the consequences of standing up to the Fire Lord, she had just done it with no regard for her own life.
"I'm sorry...I didn't think..." She muttered looking into his eyes.
"Promise you won't scare me like that again?" He asked her, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Don't ask me to keep promises I can't keep Zuko. I will always defend you." She told him, she was going to say more but Iroh returned with the medicine and bandages and their conversation was cut short. There was so much more she wanted to say to him. Things that she had never admitted to feeling but she had lost her chance.
It took time to fix her back up. Some of the blistering on her side had opened and had caused the bleeding. In her case, it was more dangerous given the size of the burn to her side which was now more of an open wound than it had been before. She ran a higher risk of infection. Iroh banished her to her room for bed rest. Meals would be brought to her three times a day and Zuko was allowed to visit her whenever he had the time. The healing process for her was going to be much longer than his. She was lucky in the sense that she was still in pain, so her nerve damage wasn't as bad as it could have been, but Iroh explained that by the time the wound scarred she would lose a lot of feeling in her side.
That night though was the last night that she would see the Zuko she knew as a kid for a very long time. Because by the time she woke the next morning the sweet and loving Zuko she knew was gone and in his place was a hardened Prince determined to regain his honor.
Thank you to the few who have read this story already. I really wasn't expecting any views or reads. I will say posts are going to be sporadic and not on a set schedule. Life likes to kick my ass a lot so I'll do my best and when I post I'll try to make the chapters long for y'all. Let me know if there is anything, in particular, you want to see with this story. I'm always open to ideas!