The Other Airbender

14

Everything seemed hazy. The world was a blur. Sometimes I felt burning hot, like someone was pressing searing metal into my skin and other times I felt freezing cold, like I had been tossed into a vat of dry-ice. My skin was sticky with sweat, and my hands were clammy. I would wake up to strange, faraway noises and voices, but the gentle rocking of the ocean always lulled me back to sleep before I could get a grip on reality.

I was awake, again, and my body felt more alert than usual. My head was still fuzzy and I felt dizzy, but I compelled myself to stay awake. Somewhere distant, I could hear conversations. Deep, husky voices, slowly growing more agitated by the minute. Or at least, one was agitated. The other sounded calmer to me. The sweet scent of herbal tea wafted around my nose, and my eyelids fluttered. The voices paused, but I stayed still, keeping my eyes shut.

"It wouldn't end well." One voice said warningly, worry laced in his words.

"How could it not, Uncle? All I want is my honour to be restored, and bringing an airbender to him will make up for some of that, even if she's not the Avatar." The other voice responded firmly.

"Zuko, just listen. Bringing an airbender to the Fire Lord will not solve this. It will only upset him."

"But I can't keep this hidden from him! What other choice do I have but to bring her to him."

Were they... talking about me? The Fire Lord, did they say? I'm being taken to the Fire Lord? I sat up abruptly as I tried piecing my thoughts together. Pain instantly seared through me, and as my eyes adjusted to the light that was streaming through a large window behind me. I twisted my neck to look through it, a sense of relief filling me at the sight of sunlight, a stark contrast to the dim firelight from my previous holdings. The ocean was all I could see, spread out for miles as it glittered in the sun. Small clumps of ice floated lazily on the waves, and they would probably melt sometime midday, when it was warmer. 

A painful sensation was running through my body and when I turned I realised I was covered in bandages. There was one wrapped around one of my thighs, one on my arm, near my shoulder, one on each of my wrists and ankles, and I could feel something bound tightly around my head too. There were still cuffs wrapped around me, a chain connecting them to the wall, but they weren't as unbearably tight anymore, and the bandages protected my skin from the discomfort. My attention was soon drawn away from the bandages when I noticed the red robes draped over my shoulders. I was wearing male Fire Nation clothing. 

As I inspected myself in confusion, my head still drowsy, when I felt two pairs of eyes staring at me. I turned my head slowly to see the prince and his uncle watching me intently as they stood beside the bed I was lying in. I realised they were the source of the voices I had heard. I gulped when I noticed the prince's expression. He was glaring at me. Again.

"W-why are you doing this for me?" I asked hesitantly, motioning to the bandages on my body. I was already dreading the answer. 

"I need you to be alive when I hand you over to my Father." The prince responded tensely, his tone filled with something that sounded like hostility. I fought the urge to puke, whether from his words or from my injuries or whatever medication I had been given, I didn't know. 

"The Fire Lord?" I confirmed uneasily, although I had already expected his response. My eyes flitted between the two men standing in front of me, as if trying to convince myself this wasn't real. The prince's frown deepened into a scowl.

"Zuko, reconsider your actions." Iroh interrupted the tense silence.. 

"Why Uncle? There is no other choice." He shot back angrily. "We should have set a course for the Fire Nation long ago, before she woke up."