It had been several days since leaving the village, but there were hardly any words spoken between the two of them. Zeraphina would constantly think about the family there in the village, and Zuko would only think about what the villagers had said to them.
As they sat in a small secluded area near the mountains, eating the food that Sela had given them before leaving, Zeraphina looked over at Zuko who frowned as he ate.
"You still thinking about what the villagers said to you?" She asked.
Zuko didn't say a thing. Zeraphina sighed and sat closer to him, "You shouldn't let it all get to you. You know who you are and that's all you need."
"But what they said is true. I'm a banished prince thrown away by his father. I've lost everything."
She leaned closer to Zuko and put her head on his shoulder, Zuko's face blushing slightly as he looked down at her peaceful face as she smiled.
"Don't worry about it so much. You know what your future is." Zeraphina held out her hand and created a flame with an image of Zuko, with his Fire Nation crown in the top knot on his head. He was standing tall and proud, smiling at his Nation who cheered at his crowning.
"This is the future you are destined to have, My Prince. We may be firebenders, but fire is necessary for life. When things burn away, new things can grow and live. When things are cold and lost in the dark, fire gives them heat and light their way. People have only been seeing the dark and painful parts of fire, when they should be seeing the brighter side of them. And that includes you as well. By the end of this war, you will be crowned Fire Lord. I promise you that."
Zuko couldn't help but feel a little bit of hope from what his friend said. She always said that her fire told the truth and her dreams were glimpses into the future. He didn't know what came over him.
He wrapped his arms around Zeraphina and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. Zeraphina was surprised, as Zuko hardly show any kind of affection, but she was happy to feel him hugging her again. It was almost like she was back to being a child with Zuko, smiling and laughing together in the night.
However, the quiet moment ended when the two heard a loud sound echoing through the air. It sounded heavy and rough, as if it was digging through the ground itself.
"What was that?" Zuko asked as he let go Zeraphina and shot up to his feet.
"I don't know, but that doesn't sound good. We should check it out, My Prince." Zeraphina said, and within seconds, they packed their stuff, mounted their ostrich horse and headed off to see what was happening.
~~~~
They kept riding until they caught up with a large machine that had stopped for the time being.
"What in the spirits is that?" Zeraphina wondered aloud.
Her question was answered when the machine opened, lowering a ramp and releasing three people riding on the backs of large lizards.
They were all teenage girls. One girl was wearing all pink and had long hair tied into a high braid. She was very thin but seemed to be very flexible with how curvy she was.
Another one of the girls was more gloomy looking, her long black hair was perfectly tied into twin buns and straight bangs. Her face was holding a very bored expression, like she would rather be anywhere but there.
And the third, was a face that was all too familiar.
"Princess Azula." Zeraphina said.
"And it looks like she has Ty Lee and Mai with her, too." Zuko added.
"But what are they doing here? This isn't exactly a place a great place for the Princess of the Fire Nation to be seen without a good reason."
All of a sudden, a loud roar rang through the air. The two looked up into the sky and saw Appa, the Avatar's flying bison, flew away from a cliff.
"The Avatar!" Zuko said and immediately followed their trail through the night, not stopping even for a moment to rest. Zuko wanted the Avatar, and this could be his chance to do it.
As they rode to catch the Aang, Zuko peeked back behind him to see Zeraphina asleep, but her eyes were twitching as if she was having a nightmare. It worried him, remembering some of the times where she was fall asleep on him when they were kids. And when she would wake up, she was always silent.
He didn't want to upset her back then, so he never asked what those nightmares were about. But something in the back of his mind wanted to know exactly what she was dreaming about. What could scare her into having a nightmare?
~~~~~
It was sunset, and the day had been long. As they followed the trail left by Azula, they came across an abandoned village that been torn from its people. They hid behind one of the buildings and saw Azula jumping off of her lizard and standing in front of a very exhausted Aang.
"All right, you've caught up with me. Now, who are you, and what do you want?" Aang asked.
"You mean you haven't guessed?" Azula said, "You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." She covered the left side of her face, imitating Zuko's scar, "I must find the Avatar to resore my honor."
Aang didn't react to the imitation.
"It's okay. You can laugh. It's funny."
"So what now?" Aang asked.
"Now? Now it's over. You're tired, and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you."
Aang stood up tall despite being so tired, "I'm not running."
Azula smirked, ready for the upcoming fight against the Avatar, but Zeraphina was terrified for what may come.
~~~~~
Meanwhile, near the abandoned town in the rocky side of the mountain trail, Iroh was sitting with a young girl, a pot of tea boiling over a small fire. The girl was small, young, and blind, wearing no shoes so she could more easily see.
Her name was Toph, and though she was small, she was powerful, one of the strongest Earthbenders in history despite being born blind and raised as if she was a frail piece of glass.
"Here is your tea." Iroh said, giving the girl a cup, but she didn't move immediately, "You seem a little too young to be traveling alone."
"You seem a little too old." Toph said taking the cup of tea.
"Ha, ha, ha!" Iroh laughed, "Perhaps I am."
"I know what you're thinking. I look like I can't handle being by myself."
"I wasn't thinking that."
"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea."
"I poured your tea because I wanted to and for no other reason."
"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself by myself."
Iroh smiled, "You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do thing on your own without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you. Not that I love you. Well, I just met you."
Toph chuckled at the old man's joke, "So, where is your nephew?"
"He's been traveling for a while with his closest friend. I've been tracking him actually."
"Is he lost?"
"Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed, and he's going through very difficult times. Even the one who cares for him the most can't seem to turn him to the right path. He's trying to figure out who he is, and he went away with her."
"Her? That close friend is a girl?" Toph asked.
"Yes. A girl I consider to be a niece. She's been with my nephew since they were both six years old, and have grown close despite being so different. I want to say that she could help him change his outlook on life and help my nephew, but the only way for my nephew to see who is truly is, is through his own eyes."
"So now you're following him."
Iroh nodded, "I know he doesn't want me around right now, but if he needs me, I'll be there."
"Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it. And that girl you're talking about, she sounds really kind."
"Yes, Zeraphina is the kindest girl you could ever hope to meet. Though she is seen in different ways according to others."
"Well, it's a good thing I can't see then." Toph chuckled as she stood up, "Thank you."
"My pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."
"No, thank you for what you said. It helped me."
"I'm glad."
"Oh, and about your nephew, maybe you should tell him that you need him, too."
"Perhaps, when the time is right."
Toph grabbed her bag and began walking away, "And if I ever meet this Zeraphina girl, I hope we can be friends."
As Toph left, Iroh sipped the rest of his tea, thinking about the fire haired girl traveling with his nephew. Perhaps she could be the key to getting Zuko back on the right path. After all, a DragonBorn is capable of so many things in their lives, and not just through their fire.
~~~~~
"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked with a sinister smirk on her lips as she stared at the Aang.
Just then, Zuko and Zeraphina came racing out from behind one of the buildings and jumped off the ostrich horse, landing on their feet in between the Avatar and the Fire Nation princess.
"Yes, I really do." Zuko said.
"Zuko!" Aang exclaimed.
"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu." Azula said.
Aang snickered at the nickname, "Zuzu?"
"And dear sweet Zeraphina. Love the new hair color, though, I've always preferred your fire red hair. Why the sudden change?"
Zeraphina simply glared at the princess, taking a battle stance with Zuko.
"Back off, Azula. He's mine." Zuko said.
"Please, my Princess, just back away and leave us be."
Azula smiled and took a stance herself, "A filthy DragonBorn telling me what to do? Aren't you loyal to the Fire Nation Royal Family? You should know that I'm not going anywhere."
There was a brief silence hanging through the air, but it was Azula who made the first move. She threw her blue flames at Zuko, making the prince fly back into one of the buildings while Aang tried to fly away. Azula used her fire to bring the Avatar down, but Zeraphina was quick and just as Aang hit the ground, she used her own power to bend the blue flames away and transform them into her white colored fire. Zeraphina then snuffed out the flames.
Azula jumped onto the roof and ran over to attack Aang, but the Avatar dodged her attacks while also avoiding Zuko's. But he noticed that most of the fire was turning white and saw Zeraphina bending the fire away from him and Zuko while acting as if she was attacking him as well.
Aang lured the princess to the second floor of one of the buildings, but as Azula ran into the chase him, she barely noticed the lack of floor and nearly fell to the ground. However, she quickly moved her body to stand on the narrow ledges. Zuko wasn't as lucky as he jumped through and fell to the floor.
Zeraphina, who was still on the ground level, ran into the building and saw Zuko on the floor.
"My Prince, are you all right?" She asked, helping him to his feet. Azula raced to the ground following Aang who had run out of the building, but decided to help Zuko out as well by kicking both him and Zeraphina out through the wall.
The two landed in a heap on the other side of the wall, groaning from the impact. Azula kept firebending at Aang, leading him into another building which was quickly set to flame.
Zeraphina sat up and scrambled to help Zuko, when she noticed that Iroh was there as well.
"My Prince, Master Iroh is here." She called out to Zuko. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his Uncle standing over him.
"Uncle..." He groaned.
"Get up." Iroh said as he and Zeraphina helped him to his feet.
The three looked around and saw Aang, Katara and Sokka who had come in just a minute ago to help, backing Azula to a corner. All of a sudden, Azula was knocked down by an unknown force. That unknown force was the young girl that Iroh had shared a cup of tea with.
"I though you guys could use a little help." She said.
"Thanks." Katara said to the girl. Azula quickly got back up and continued firebending at the group. She escaped through one of the alleys and tried to run away, only to be stopped by Iroh who hit her with his big belly.
The two groups gathered around Azula, the princess smirking at the sight.
"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done. I know when I'm beaten." Azula held up her hands. "You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."
But Zeraphina wasn't buying her act. Even when they were children, she could always tell when the princess was lying or bluffing, which wasn't often. She followed Azula's eyes which fell upon Iroh, and in that moment, Azula switched her stance and shot a blast of blue lightning at Iroh.
However, it never hit him. Zeraphina was faster than Azula and stood in front of Iroh, taking the painful and devastating blow for the old general. Zuko and Iroh couldn't help but stare with wide eyes after seeing what Azula did to Zerpahina.
The group all fired their bending at Azula, but she covered herself in a blue dome of fire. There was a large explosion, and when the smoke and dust settled, the Fire Nation princess was gone without a trace to be tracked.
But Zuko didn't care. He rushed over to an unconscious Zeraphina, her clothes near her shoulder burned from the impact of the lightning. He fell to his knees and quickly held Zeraphina in his arms.
"Zera, wake up. Wake up I said, wake up!" Zuko shouted, but all he got was a tired groan from the girl.
"Prince Zuko..." Iroh said, placing a hand on his nephew's shoulder.
They heard footsteps behind and Zuko clutched Zeraphina closer to him, turning around angrily to see Aang and his friends.
"Get away from us!" He shouted.
"Zuko, I can help." Katara said, trying to get close to heal Zeraphina.
"Leave!" Zuko shouted in anger, bending a wave of fire at the group. Iroh looked over at them and silently signaled for them to leave. They did so and left the group alone in the abandoned town to take care of Zeraphina alone.
~~~~~
She opened her eyes, seeing nothing but white around her.
"That was quite dangerous, child." The voice said.
"Yes, but it was necessary to save Master Iroh." Zerapina chuckled, feeling something warm wrap around her body, "Besides, I couldn't let someone who was always so kind to me be hurt when I could have stopped the attack myself."
"But you could've directed the lightning to yourself and then redirect it from you. Why take the hit? When they dress your wounds, they'll see it, you know."
Zeraphina sighed, "I know, but maybe it's time I show them what that cowards in a crown did to me. Perhaps that will shed some more light on the path the prince is supposed to walk on."
The voice chuckled, "You are far too wise for your age, my little DragonBorn."
"That's why you trusted me with you, right? Because you knew that I would grow up to be wiser than my years."
The warmth continued to encircle Zeraphina, lulling her to sleep as her wounds healed on the outside.