The Other Airbender

19

I am so sorry aaaa I am terrible at updating and I just haven't found the motivation to write :(((

I will also apologise in advance for this chapter :|

not to mention the TESTS
do you knOW how annoying gcse computer science is i want to cry but its also interesting oh god i am so indecisive

---

Words could not describe my hatred for the prince.

But punching the walls of the small dim space I was currently in whilst imaging that they were the prince's ugly, scarred, annoying face could probably provide some insight into how I was feeling.

Every time my fists collided sloppily with the metal walls, I could feel the force of my punches running through my knuckles and up my arms painfully.

"Screw you." I muttered as I glared at the wall, which was, in fact, perfectly intact, as though even the prince in my imagination was mocking me. Tears pricked in my eyes and I slumped down to the cold floor, hugging my knees to my heaving chest.

I had been locked up. Again. Because of that stupid Fire Nation prince.

I couldn't believe how naive I had been, to start letting my guard down even just a tiny bit around them. Had I forgotten that they were firebenders? I must not have been right in the head after I'd drowned. I'd let Iroh's playful banter with the prince and the fact that the prince had saved my life create some kind of illusion in my idiotic brain.

And look where that got me.

I could have escaped, and I hated myself for not trying. Maybe then I would have ended up back in a cell for the fifth time. The fifth time. As I'd trailed after the prince when we set off, like a dog leashed to its owner- which was a humiliatingly accurate comparison, I'd kept thinking about it; escape. All I'd had to do was sever the rope without the prince noticing, and fly away. It seemed so tempting, something so tantalisingly simple, I almost tried it on the spot, before realising I had nothing to cut the ropes with in the first place, and I was walking next to two firebenders who wouldn't hesitate to use force to recapture me again. I didn't want to get burned. Not again.

Two powerful Fire Nation figures against one small, puny, inexperienced airbender, who was too scared to do anything for herself. The outcome of such a match was already decided, I would definitely lose.

So when Iroh and the prince snuck onto the admiral's ship, I barely put up a struggle when the prince shoved me in this tiny, dark, hole of a cell.

Which is why as I sat in the dark, mulling over my hatred of the prince, I realised I hated myself just a little bit more, because I didn't fight back.

"So you finally decided to shut up." A voice from outside spoke, and I recognised it instantly. His royal highness the prince. The door swung open, and light flooded into the small space, contrasting against the shadow of a Fire Nation soldier standing in the doorway. I froze, squinting at the figure in confusion and shock before they removed their face guard.

And there he was, the prince, fully clad in red armour. The eye I had kicked was now a deep purple, and I smiled internally, feeling slightly more satisfied with myself than I was before, after my embarrassing duel with the wall.

"If you pull something like that again, your postponed trip to the Fire Nation will come a lot sooner than you think."

I scowled in silence at his words, but I refused to acknowledge him because I knew he was right. If someone else were to find me, I would be sent straight to the Fire Lord.

He sighed and stood there for a few more seconds, before turning around and shutting the door abruptly and locking it. I heard his footsteps receding, leaving me alone with the silence of the cell as I cursed at him in my head. A loud, creaky groan from the ship interrupted me from finishing my string of cusses, and I felt the ship jerk to life, followed by more loud metallic noises. We were starting our course for the Northern Water Tribe.

---

As soon as I heard the distant sound of explosions, I knew we had reached the Water Tribe. Every blast sent chills down my spine, reminding me of my near fatal encounter with them back on the prince's ship, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was strange though, they seemed to stop as abruptly as they had started, leaving it eerily quiet as the night crept in, and whatever light that had made its way into the small room faded away.

My eyelids began getting heavy with the onset of darkness, but before I could doze off, my door creaked open. The dim firelight from outside illuminated the dull metal walls for a few precious seconds and I blinked hurriedly, trying to adjust my eyesight to see who opened the door.

"Couldn't Zuko have found a better place for you than this?" They complained after they shut the door, "I can't see a thing, and there's barely any room in here for you, let alone me." I could feel myself instantly relaxing at the familiar voice, much to my own shock, and I blamed my lack of human interaction. It was Iroh.

The enticing scent of food lingered in the air and my nose inhaled it longingly. I heard the high-pitched clinking of cutlery as Iroh sighed heavily and lowered himself down to the floor, the cramped space giving us only a few inches between us. I could just about make out his outline in the pale light, before I noticed him sliding a plate towards me.

I reached for it hungrily, and not bothering to wait for an invitation, I stuffed the food into my mouth, completely disregarding the fork that had been placed on the edge of the plate.

"I hope he's alright." I heard him mutter under his breath, following another sigh. I don't know why; maybe it was an eagerness to engage in conversation, or maybe I was just delusional, but I stopped eating for a second, wondering whether to respond.

"...Who?" I asked after a while, already expecting his answer. A silence hung in the air, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"He's all alone." Iroh murmured, a melancholy edge to his voice, and as more of an afterthought, he added, "he always has been." We didn't speak for a while, and I silently finished eating, before staring at the empty plate wistfully, wishing there was more. Before I could say anything, he stood up abruptly, taking the plate gently out of my hands.

"You'll have to wait a while till I can return." He said, making his way to the door slowly. It creaked open, letting in the firelight again, and he stepped through silently, before pausing and turning back to me. He seemed to hesitate, before speaking again.

"Goodbye, Miko."

The door closed, and I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the sound of the lock clicking and trapping me in here, but the sound never came.