The Blue Spirit ღ (Zuko x OC)

ⅩⅩⅠⅠⅠ: Catalyst

"Nala!" A voice whispered with excited urgency as she felt herself being moved about. Her eyes fluttered awake to see swirls of amber. She reached her hand up to the face in front of her with a glimmering smile, fighting against her eyelids drooping to sleep again. She and Zuko had been out late into the evening, they'd ventured about the city and gotten food together, with neither wanting to end the night. Eventually, Zuko had invited her to stay the night so they could fall asleep together. This time, falling asleep beside him was different. He'd wrapped her in his arms and held to her tightly the entire night, and now all she wanted was for him to crawl back in beside her and sleep more.

"Nala, wake up." Zuko encouraged, stroking her hair and laughing as she repeatedly dozed off. "It's important!"

"Ssh. Tell me laying down." She mumbled groggily and pressed a finger to his lips.

"That's the thing . . . Uncle and I were invited to serve tea to the Earth King! He's expecting us."

"Wh-- That's incredible!" Nala pushed herself up right, forcing herself to wake up so she could be excited for him. "And well deserved."

"Yeah. Uncle worked really hard for this. He's wanted a new life for us since we got here." Zuko mused, his eyes drifting to a spot on the wall. He felt his face gently being turned and met Nala's shimmering eyes.

"For you, too, Zuko."

Zuko let himself linger here for a moment. He felt the sun from the window on his back and the top of his head, and his skin set to shiver beneath her fingers. He sighed, letting his head rest in her palm. She thought he deserved it too . . . that kind of acceptance felt alien to him, but he could get used to this brand of strangeness.

"All of your Uncle's love for tea has paid off." She tittered and brought a smile to him. He opened his eyes, realising he'd almost nodded off again. "You should get going, right?"

Zuko nodded. As tempting as it was to lay back down and be beside her, he had to go. It would only be for a few hours at most, but even the promise of seeing her before the day was out seemed too long a time.

"You can stay as long as you'd like." He offered, imaging himself returning home to see her.

"I should be getting back to the troupe. There's a show scheduled for this evening." She gave him a reluctant smile as they got to their feet. She fixed her hair with her fingers while Zuko made the bed and followed him outside to see Iroh grinning ear-to-ear.

"Good morning Nephew-- . . . and company!" The man's delight made the couple flush every shade of red there was. "I'm sorry we have to rush off, Nala, else I'd offer you some tea."

"Your tea is fit for a King . . . I'm afraid it might be wasted on someone like me." Zuko watched the girl beside him lose all ferocity as she spoke. He could read it in her every movement that she wasn't saying this just to be polite.

"It matters not the importance of the person to whom the tea is served, it matters only their enjoyment. A king might be served the best tea in the Earth Kingdom, but not know how to appreciate it." Iroh gave them a knowing look. "But a girl from a swamp who knows a fine tea from a swamp weed, now that is what is important."

Zuko had let himself forget that his Uncle had been feverishly attempting to make a tea out of swamp weed. Another again out of a deadly flower. Goodness knows what else he would have tried to make tea out of, had Nala not given them proper tea leaves.

A thought occurred suddenly to Zuko that there was a small possibility that Uncle may unwittingly poison the Earth King.

"Better stick to jasmine for this meeting with the Earth King then." Nala said, as if reading Zuko's mind, the spirit having returned to her voice. Iroh chuckled, then gestured for Zuko to leave. He turned to give Nala a panicked look, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You'll be great. I know you will be."

He laid a kiss on her head then turned to leave. She stood for a moment and watched him, proud of how much he'd changed before heading off toward the troupe. She had to steady herself, so she didn't skip the rest of the way there, but she was so eager to get back and tell everyone what had happened. She guessed at least one of them would know before she could even open her mouth, and placed a bet with herself that it would be Ying. As she found her way to the caravans, she couldn't help but notice how still everything was.

Her stomach knew before she did, a stone dropping in the pit of her stomach as she noticed the doors were all open. She peered inside to see a struggle had taken place. Panic rose in her and she rushed in to search for her things. She retrieved her weapons from a hidden compartment in a cupboard, and grabbed her red mask to tie to her waist. She pulled her shirt down over the mask and hid the swords in wrappings of cloth that she'd bind to her back. Then, without another second's hesitation, she bolted off toward the train.

*✧*

Nala was making her way through the crowd when she was grabbed by a firm hand.

"Stop. This train is departing for the Palace. Commoners are not permitted without clearance." The face of the man steering down at her beneath his conical hat was stern, not the kind of expression that held any humour.

"My mistake." She bowed her head and wormed away from the man. She wore much nicer clothes than what she was used to, but truth be told she still looked like a commoner to Earth Kingdom standards. She'd have to find another way. She slinked through to a particularly crowded section, ducking out of sight of guards who monitored the doors. When the train was set to depart, she sprang toward the gap between the cars, shedding her outer clothes as she scrambled to the roof, the train leaving the station before anyone could make a scene. She flattened herself against the roof, making herself as scarce as possible as it made it's way through the city.

She used this time to catch her breath and come up with a plan. What kind of plan could she possibly come up with? This was insane . . .

'Okay . . . The facts, Nala.' She thought to herself. 'The troupe is gone . . . again. My family is gone again.' She felt the tears well in her eyes, but she bit them down. It wasn't the time to wallow. 'They were probably taken to a prison. Were prisons near palaces? Not usually . . . right?' She hadn't even a clue as to why they'd been taken. If they'd been arrested at all. Surely someone wouldn't just up and kidnap a performing troupe? No one had seemed too unhappy at their shows. She scolded herself for not having asked around, then reminded herself the dangers in doing so.

Nala took a deep breath as she felt the train slow and tried to pick up her scrambled thoughts.

'Zuko . . . find Zuko.'

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A/N: Hello person reading this!

Okay wow it's been a while since I updated, but as a Treat™, I have 3 (three) parts ready to be posted for you to read! So keep checking back for them!

Thank you all for taking the time to read through my story, and for waiting so patiently.

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I hope you've all been well! And if you haven't recently: this is your message to drink water! :)

Chapter Artwork: 'The Beauty of Empty Space' — Yohaku no bi

— Heather ♥