Avatar Imagines

Zuko ~ Face to Face Part Two

The guards took you to a chamber and locked you inside. The room was nicer than you had expected. Then the same teen and an older man walked into the room. 

     "It is an honor to be in your presence young Avatar," the older man said as he bowed. "I am Iroh and this is my nephew Prince Zuko." He gestured to the teen. 

     "What do you want with me," you asked as you played with the ropes tied around your wrists.

     "You are just what I need to get my honor back," Zuko said. You gave him a look. He stared at you for a moment before looking to his Uncle. "Uncle could you give us a moment," he asked. Iroh nodded, said his goodbyes before leaving the room. Zuko walked towards you and sat in front of you.

     "What," you asked with attitude. 

     "I have been searching for you for years. And now I finally found you," he said.

     "Well do you want a congratulations or what," you replied snarky. 

     "You will have this chamber for yourself here. Any mistakes or attempts to escape, you won't like the outcome," he said quietly. At that he got up and left. Days passed and Zuko seemed to get more and more lost with his emotions. He always would personally check up on you to see if you were comfortable or just make sure you were okay. You didn't understand why he was being overly nice to you, but you didn't mind it. One night he couldn't sleep so he went to your chamber. You were meditating as usual when he walked in.

     "It is late Prince Zuko. Shouldn't you be sleeping," you asked with your eyes closed. Zuko leaned against the far wall with his arms crossed. 

     "I couldn't sleep."

     "And why is that your highness," you asked as you slowly opened your eyes. You felt Zuko's eyes on you. His gaze suddenly left you as he looked down.

     "I had another nightmare," he mummbled. 

     "Does it happen to have anything to do with the scar on your face," you asked. His face hardened. "Maybe you will feel better if you talked about it. I can tell that you like to suppress your feelings," you said as you gestured to a spot in front of you.

     Zuko nudged himself off the wall and walked to the spot in front of you. He sat before your and began to explain everything. He told you about the Agni Kai with his father and how he was burned. When he was done small tears slowly slipped down his face. You don't remember deciding to move but you leaned forward and placed your hand over his clenched fist.

     "You have suffered. You suffered more pain than a child of your age should have. You have my sympathy," you said. He looked down at your hands.

     "Thank you. But I don't need your pity. All I want is to regain what I lost that day," he said as he moved his hands. You took your hand away and lowered your head.

     "I don't think that it's your honor that you want back. I think you are doing this because you want something you never gotten in the first place," you said. 

     "And what would that be," he asked.

     "Love. All you want... is love. But you fail to see that you have all the love you need is right in front of you," you said. Zuko looked into your eyes as tears slipped down his face again. He wiped then away and got up quickly.

     "You have no idea what I want! You can pretend to care and to know me but you don't!" Zuko exclaimed. You stood and walked towards him. 

     "Zuko, I do care. You are just too wrapped up in your own mind to know when someone cares," you said as you took his hands again. He just looked at you for a moment before taking his hands away and leaving the room. The next few days seemed to bleed together and Zuko hasn't spoken to you since that night. 

     By the 5th day, you managed to escape. The guards chased you onto the deck after you found your glider in Zuko's chamber. Then you jump over board and flew away. Zuko sat on the deck and watched as you flew away. The soldiers started to fire at you for ground you. Zuko rushed to them and yelled at them.

     "Stand down! Don't hurt her," he bellowed. "Go back to your stations," he demanded. The soldiers complied and walked off the deck. A part of him seemed to become more empty as you flew off. He watched you until he had lost sight of you in the thick clouds. Iroh stood next to Zuko and watched with him.

     "You let her escape didn't you," Iroh asked. Zuko shut his eyes.

     "It doesn't matter. As long as she got away."

     "What happened between you two nephew? Zuko looked down and shook his head.

     "I don't know. We just talked I started getting this awful feeling in my chest. I didn't like the way it made me feel," Zuko said. Iroh smiled and patted Zuko's back.

     "She taught you something Zuko that I've been trying to teach you for a long time."

     "What's that Uncle?"

     "How to love."