COLLISION - a zuko and yue centric tale

Chapter eight

The night passes uneventfully. The wind howls. The lamp flickers. Zuko turns in his sleep and pushes the blanket down further. Yue pulls it up each time. She's a light sleeper. A fine sprinkling of snow sneaks in through the crack under the door. Yue gently bends it back outside several times before freezing the crack up. Zuko stirs.

Daybreak comes with soft pastels colouring the sky. The storm quiets, but only slightly. Yue unfreezes the door and opens it a crack, letting the fresh air in. The sleeping man groans and covers his eyes.

"You need to drink, and eat." Yue opens the cabinet. "There's seal jerky, stale bannock, and dried seaweed." She takes some of each out and sets it on the bed next to Zuko's head. He just stares at her. Yue closes the door again, the temperature inside was already starting to get chilly, undoing the work of the oil lamp. "You have to eat." She tells him. "I didn't stitch you up for you to refuse to eat." Without speaking, Zuko's eyes leave hers and look at the food presented to him. He grabs the bannock.

Zuko eats it all in silence. Then he downs his glass of water. Yue goes to refill it but he waves for her to stop.

"Why aren't I in prison? Locked up with a letter sent to my father?" He demands. Yue looks to the ground.

"It's difficult to explain..." How could she tell him how she has become one with Tui, the moon spirit, and everyone didn't know where she was. A thought hits her. Do they think I'm dead? They must, and even she herself had said goodbye, truly believing she was giving up her life. She had been so sure.

"Tell me." Zuko grinds out.

Yue doesn't want to tell him... everything... she didn't fully understand it, but she could tell him some things. "I found you bleeding out on the street. I brought you out here behind the city where no one goes this time of year because... I didn't want the soldiers to find you."

"You're lying," he spits. "There has to be more to it."

Taking a breath, Yue grits her teeth. "There is, but I... I don't know."

"Is it why you were meditating?"

"Yes." Yue answers. Zuko frowns and looks like he's about to say something but thinks better of it. "I need to inspect your stitches, is that okay?"

He grunts in... affirmation? Yue takes it as such.

Zuko settles onto his back. He isn't happy with the Princess's answer. But her last answer... he had woken up, startled, from his sleep, only to see her, Yue, glowing this ethereal light blue, brow troubled. He had thought it was an attack and felt his fists heating up in response until she didn't move, her eyes closed with her palms upwards. Zuko had never seen anyone glow while meditating. Uncle could explain it. Zuko misses the annoying old fart.

Yue places her hands gently on his forehead. They were cool as they accessed the stitches.

"They look good, but I'm going to clean them, alright?" She says. He says nothing as she rises from her kneeling position by his bed and disappears from his line of sight, presumably to get the medical supplies. When she returns, she wets a cotton ball in a liquid, alcohol, from the smell of it, and presses it against his head. She quickly wipes around his wound. Zuko hisses when it touches the fringes of the cut. She murmurs a quick apology and informs him the bruising is already improving. At least some parts of my face will heal... he thinks moodily. The princess asks if she can look at the burn on his chest. Zuko mutters an agreement. Yue softly pulls down the blanket, exposing his chest. She frowns when she looks at the wound.

"What?" He says, forcefully.

"Nothing," she rushes, "much. I wish it was further along but there's nothing I can do except let it rest and make sure you're hydrated. It will heal though. I'm sorry I can't heal using waterbending."