The Tale of Fire and Sun | Zuko x OC

Chapter 26

Yara's POV:

"I have a plan" I spoke after a prolonged silence while feeding Zuko.

Zuko seemed a bit okay after uncle patched him up but his skin still seemed pale. He also had a good amount of cuts and bruises which would only heal with time.

While uncle patched him, I prepared food from the leftovers and we ate in silence, still processing the events.

Uncle lifted his eyes from the bowl and looked at me with curiosity. Zuko on the other hand, stayed quiet the whole time.

He was still reeling from the fact that he lost all his resources. His crew, his ship... he was on his own now

I couldn't imagine how much he's been going through now. His three years of wild goose chase came to an end and he finally had hope. He was confident and determined that he'd succeed.

But losing everything he had ever worked for overnight... Agni... It hurt to see him like this. That's why I was ready to do anything for him...

"What is it, dear?" uncle asked.

I took a deep breath and looked at them, "We're going to the North Pole". Uncle looked at me with a blank expression and Zuko just stared at the ground.

"No, just listen to me" I said, "It might sound stupid but I couldn't think of any other way"

Uncle thought for a moment before saying, "Tell us, Yara. Let's see"

"Uncle, you said my father offered you a position as his army's advisor, right?" I asked and he nodded in response.

I let out a sigh and continued, "You have to accept it..."

Zuko's head snapped to my direction, his eyes widened. Uncle scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Go on..."

"The plan stays the same. Just the way changes. We travel to the Northern Water Tribe. We are left with no resources. So we make use of what is available. As of now, my father thinks Zuko is... dead" I let out a shuddered breath and continued.

"Uncle, this will the right time for you to accept his offer. You have to convince him that you believe it was the work of the pirates. Once you are on the ship, you can get some spare soldier clothes for us. So Zuko and I can infiltrate and blend in till we reach the North Pole"

A tensed silence lingered as uncle and Zuko pondered on the plan. If this didn't work, I had no idea what else to do.

"Yara..." uncle started and I glanced at him, "I hate to say this but I guess we don't have much of a choice here"

Uncle sighed as he looked at Zuko, who nodded ever so slightly, his eyes distant.

I gently placed a hand on his shoulder but he didn't look at me, "Zuko, this will work. We're not giving up on you. So don't you dare lose hope. We'll get through this"

"We will always be there for you, nephew. Don't give up now. You still have more chances in getting to him before Zhao" uncle smiled and pulled both of us into an embrace. I returned the gesture and nudged Zuko to do the same... but he didn't

We pulled back and I turned to uncle, "Uncle, I guess you should go see my father now..."

"Stay safe, I'll be back" he said and left to meet my father.

Hours passed as we waited patiently for uncle. Zuko's been asleep for a while since he was pretty exhausted from the accident. He's lost a lot of blood and it'd definitely take a couple of weeks for him to recover.

I had his head on my lap and he looked troubled even in sleep. I gently stroked his face, hoping it'd make him feel better.

He hasn't spoken a word to us after he apologised to me. I let out a heavy sigh, wondering how long this was going to last. Talking would make him feel better but I had a feeling that he wasn't going to do that anytime sooner.