Night had fallen. The dark was only lit up by a few well placed lanterns. Archers were practicing their shots in the dark, hitting their targets every time. In a tower, Commander Zhao argued with their leader about using them for his quest to capture the Avatar.
A Fire Nation hawk screeched as it landed in the tower, a letter in its beak. "News from the Fire Lord?" Commander Zhao asked. His eyes scanned the parchment and a smirk slowly spread across his face. "He's promoted me to Admiral which means my request is now an order." The other man bowed in respect.
Unbeknownst to them, a figure in a blue mask stood in the shadows, listening to everything before slipping back into the shadows, unnoticed.
* * * * *
It was a day or so after the storm and Sokka had gotten sick. They argued over what to do to help Sokka. Yet, after Katara also starting getting sick, Rose and Aang made up their minds to find a cure for their friends.
With a storm starting outside, they decided going on foot was best so they and a mini Crystal perched on Rose's shoulder, headed out.
* * * * *
Zuko stood on the deck of his ship, looking out at the horizon, searching for some clue where the Avatar had gone. He needed to find her, not just for his mission, but to find out the truth of his feelings.
"There's been no sighting of her since the storm." the captain explained.
Their conversation and Zuko's thoughts were cut off, however, when Zhao's ship appeared next to them and his soldiers came aboard Zuko's ship.
"What does Commander Zhao want now?"
"It's Admiral now."
"Oh so he got promoted?" Iroh said as he continued his game. "Good for Zhao."
"Which means any and all information regarding the Avatar must be sent to Admiral Zhao."
"Well I don't have any information. Now can you please leave?"
"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area."
"OFF MY SHIP!" Zuko bellowed.
"Excellent." Iroh said. "I win the pot."
* * * * *
Rose and Aang rushed through the country, unknowingly, setting off an alarm for the Fire Nation, and finally reached the sanctuary on top of the mountain.
Quickly, they explained their situation to the old lady inhabiting the place. She stopped them mid-sentence, promising to help their friends.
"I've been up here for 40 years now. Used to be others but they all left years ago. Now it's just me and Miyuki."
Aang whispered to Rose. "We don't have time for this."
Rose shook her head. "She's just a lonely old woman. Let her talk and she'll help us."
"Earth Kingdom soldiers used to come here, y'know?" the old woman continued. "Brave boys. And thanks to my remedies, they always leave in better shape than when they arrived."
As she spoke, she mixed together a concoction Aang thought was the cure...only to hand it over to her cat.
"Even I could've told you that wasn't it." Rose said. "Who uses plum blossom in a cure?"
"Well I wish you would've told me that!" Aang said.
Rose shrugged. "I'm sorry, Aang. I assumed you knew."
"If the two of you are done chatting, all your friends need is some frozen wood frogs. There's plenty of them down in the valley swamp."
"What do we do with them?" Rose asked, politely.
"Why suck on them of course."
"Suck on them?" Aang asked. Both he and Rose gagged at the thought.
"The frog skin excretes a substance that'll cure your friends. But make sure you get plenty. Once those little critters thaw out, they're useless."
"You're insane, aren't you?"
"That's right." she said in a singsong voice. "Well, don't stand there all day, go!"
With that, they took off again.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Zuko was practicing his firebending to let out his anger, all the while, his mind constantly wandered to the questions he'd never find the answers to.
Iroh finally popped up. "Zuko, are you ok? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order."
"I don't care what they do." Zuko stated flatly.
"Don't give up hope yet. You can still find the Avatar before Zhao."
When Zuko turned towards his uncle, his eyes were filled with anger, desperation, hopelessness, and a raw emotion even he didn't know what it was. "How, uncle? With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar! My honor, my throne, my country," his voice was a whisper as he added, "perhaps more," he slightly raised his voice, "I'm about to lose them all."
* * * * *
As Rose and Aang headed for the swamp, a group of archers appeared out of nowhere. They were chased across the plains, narrowly avoiding being hit by the arrows. It was at a cliff where they got separated.
Rose jumped off the cliff gracefully, caught mere moments later by Crystal who helped her hide. Aang never reached the cliff, instead, running through the thicket of woods until he reached the swamp. Reaching his hand in the water, he came up with a frozen frog.
"Hey, sis, I found them!" It was then he turned to find Rose wasn't there. "Rose? Where'd you go?"
Where indeed?
* * * * *
Rose and a mini Crystal rushed through the woods at the base of the cliff, looking around carefully, when an arrow whizzed just past her ear. Rose panicked and began running again. Crystal, wanting to protect her master, grew in size once again, flying into the air and breathing fire at the archers.
A firebender appeared from nowhere, firebending at the dragon, catching one of her wings. Rose saw and ran, shielding her dragon's body with her own. "Please, don't hurt her!"
Zhao smirked, a triumphant fire in his eyes. "Come with us willingly then, princess, and control that beast!" He commanded, his tone gentle when addressing her but hard and cold when it came to her dragon.
Rose nodded. She turned her back, urging Crystal to calm down. After some coaxing, her dragon shrunk back down in size.
Suddenly, Rose felt something strike her in the back of the head. Then...there was only blackness...
* * * * *
Rose awoke to a dark chamber, her arms tied up, Crystal beside her, also tied up with a muzzle covering her face.
"So this is the great Avatar, master of all the elements." Zhao said, unimpressed, as he strode towards her. "You are quite beautiful." He continued, petting her cheek. "It's almost a pity to hand you over to the Fire Lord."
Rose scoffed. "I think I preferred Zuko capturing me."
It was Zhao's turn to scoff as he circled her like how a vulture circles its prey. "I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for 100 years, but your little game of hide and seek is over."
"I haven't hidden from you or anyone." Rose answered, angrily. "Untie me and I'll fight you right now."
"Uh, no."
"What do you want from me?" Rose finally screamed. "Because if you're going to kill me, you better go ahead and do it!" She stared off into the distance. "I'm not afraid to die."
"Oh, we're not going to kill you. If we do that, you will be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to begin its search for the Avatar all over again. So I'll keep you alive but just barely. Maybe I'll even be a little sweet on you." He added the last part in a tone of voice that made her shiver in disgust, as he stroked her cheek again then her lips.
She blew air at him, making him fly upwards and hit the ceiling. He landed on the ground and hit his head.
Growling, he turned back to her. "Blow air all you want to. There is no escaping this fortress and no one is coming to rescue you." He knelt before her, stroking her cheek again. "You're all mine now, Avatar." She spit in his face. In anger, he grabbed her throat. "Keep testing me, princess, but I control how much you suffer while here. So I suggest you behave." He let go of her and she quickly sucked in a deep breath to recover from the lack of air she'd gotten seconds before.
With that, he slammed the door with finality.
* * * * *
From the darkness, a figure in a blue mask peered out from the darkness. He quickly climbed the cliff where the fortress was held and slipped past the guards by sneaking into a carriage. He snuck past Zhao who held his victory speech for capturing the Avatar. He used a rope to climb down the walls into the prison, slipping through the bars with ease.
The guards in front of Rose's prison cell were distracted when a Fire Nation soldier's helmet crashed to the ground and rolled to their feet. One of them went to check it out. As he turned the corner, the sound of punches landed, and he was knocked out. Two more guards joined the first and were strung up to the ceiling.
The final guard made to grab the horn for warnings when something flew out of the air and knocked it out of his hand. Then a figure in a blue mask raced towards him and knocked him out as well.
The door to Rose's cell was opened, revealing a figure in a blue mask. He pulled out two swords, advancing on the Avatar.
"Who are you?" she growled. "What do you want from me?"
The figure didn't speak, only raised his swords and cut through her bonds, freeing her. Rose turned and freed Crystal, taking her little dragon into her arms.
"Are you ok, girl?" The little dragon nodded, coughing out a small puff of smoke. Rose turned her attention back to the stranger. "Why did you free me? Are you here to rescue me?" The figure in the blue mask only nodded, opening the cell door and waving Rose to follow. "I guess so."
Quickly, she followed.
* * * * *
Zhao walked down the corridor, back towards Rose's cell, muttering orders to a man following him. "And I want a full transcript of my speech sent to the Fire Lord, along with glowing testimonials from all of the ranking officers present and--"
He cut himself off when he noticed the guards knocked out and tied up to the ceiling. He raced back to the cell and slammed open the door to find the cell empty. Growling in anger, he raced back the other way.
"Sir, shall I hold off sending that speech to the Fire Lord?"
* * * * *
Rose and her rescuer had escaped out the way the latter came in. They had arrived at the courtyard and were almost out of the fortress when a loud alarm rang, signaling their escape. Zhao shouted for the gates to be closed.
Rose raced ahead. "Follow me and stay close!" She commanded her savior.
As the guards attacked them, Rose began airbending while the figure in the blue mask used his swords. She had almost reached the gate when she turned and saw her rescuer still fighting. She ran back, continuing to fight.
"Do you trust me?" Rose shouted.
Her savior nodded. Rose whistled and Crystal grew in size and breathed fire at the guards and soldiers around them, then swept her and the figure in the blue mask up. Taking a deep breath, Rose called upon her aetherbending to transport them somewhere safe. At the last moment, someone fired an arrow. Then, the Avatar, the dragon, and the figure in the blue mask disappeared.
"Where'd they go? Find them!" Zhao spat.
Rose and company appeared not far from the fortress. As Rose prepared to use her aetherbending again when she noticed her rescuer had an arrow in his side and had been knocked unconscious.
"Oh no!" She worried as she knelt beside him, pulling the arrow from his side. "You're gonna be ok. I promise."
She used aetherbending to pull healing supplies from out of the pocket dimension and began cleaning and bandaging his wound quickly. When she was done, she replaced the supplies. Looking down at the masked figure, she felt an overwhelming urge to know who had saved her. She pulled off his mask without a second thought and fell back in surprise.
Her rescuer...was Zuko!
"Oh no no no! That's not possible! Why would you save me after you tried to capture me so many times?" She turned her back on him. "I guess I'll find out soon but right now, we've gotta leave this place."
She whistled and Crystal carried them off once more, Rose using her aetherbending to make them seem invisible so the soldiers searching just below them saw nothing as they escaped...into the night...
* * * * *
Zuko opened his eyes to see trees stretched out above him. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. His gaze was drawn then to the object of his affections.
Rose sat perched on a rock, her legs tucked under her, her skirt flowing down the rock's surface. Beside her, a large dragon with scales made of crystal stood, protectively. Rose held up a large possum ferret, feeding it to the dragon who immediately devoured it. She pet the dragon affectionately, calling it by name with a small smile on her face.
The little display brought a rare smile to Zuko's face. She was beautiful, inside and out, and he felt something for her he never felt before. He couldn't explain it but just the thought of her made him happy.
"Where am I?" He asked, groggily.
Rose turned toward him, a wide smile on her face. "You're awake!" She airbended off the rock and to the ground. "How do you feel?"
Zuko stood. "Ok, I think." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why haven't you run off like you usually do?"
Rose took a step forward, a mischievous smile on her face. "Why did you save me?"
Zuko moved toward her too, shrugging. "I didn't want to lose you to that jerk. Why does it matter?"
Rose stopped. "I thought maybe you cared. Maybe we didn't have to be enemies." She shrugged, moving forward again. "But if I'm wrong, go ahead. Capture me again."
Zuko sucked in a breath. She couldn't be serious, could she? Offering herself up like that? He advanced on her, grabbing her by her wrists and pulling her in. Then, he did something he didn't expect to: he kissed her.
He didn't know why he did it but now that he did, it made perfect sense. Her lips were soft, molding against his own, her face tilted up to his, kissing him back like that was all that mattered, wrestling herself free from his grip only so she could wrap her arms around him. It was perfect.
Then he realized what he was doing and he pulled away in anger, turning his back on her. Rose breathed deeply, her fingers wandering to her lips, still feeling his kiss on them. She looked up at Zuko who was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself and remind himself why he was here in the first place.
"Well," Rose teased, not knowing how else to respond, "as far as first kisses go, I think that was a great one."
Zuko turned in surprise. "That was your first kiss?"
Rose shrugged, still teasing. "Well yea. That tends to happen when you've been frozen for 100 years and not being the dating type." She giggled.
"What are you doing to me?!" Zuko screamed.
"What do you mean?" Rose asked, genuinely confused.
"Why did you make me feel things for you that I shouldn't?" Zuko snarled. "To trick me into letting you escape?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do! You are controlling my mind! I don't know how but I know you're doing it!"
"First of all, if I wanted to escape, I'd have left while you were asleep and I wouldn't have saved you. I especially wouldn't have just offered myself up. Second, I'm the Avatar. I control the elements, not people's minds. Third, what could I possibly be making you feel?"
Zuko exhaled sharply, a plume of smoke escaping. "You are making me feel like I care for you, maybe I'm falling for you. I don't know."
Rose let a small smile slowly spread over her face as she approached him. "Is it so hard to believe you could care for me? Or that maybe I feel the same?"
She reached for him but he smacked her hand away. "Yes! It is!"
"Why?" Rose asked, her smile falling.
"Because no one could ever love me!" He sighed. "I'm hideous! I have no honor!" He hung his head. "Even my own father doesn't think I'm good enough."
Rose sighed too. She reached for Zuko again and this time, he didn't stop her. She stroked his cheek gently. "You're wrong. You are a good person. You have all the honor you need. And you deserve to be happy." She stroked his scar with her fingers. "This doesn't define you."
He growled, grabbing her by the wrists again, pushing her backwards. "Quit lying to me!"
"I'm not lying!"
Zuko pushed her backwards into a tree, pinning her arms above her head, his brown gaze burning into her rainbow orbs. Time passed slowly. Rose leaned forward and kissed Zuko, pressing herself against him urgently. He kissed her back, letting his anger fuel his passion.
After a few minutes, he let her go. "Leave!"
Rose aetherbended herself behind him, reappearing on the rock she'd originally been on. She turned to him, her red hair flowing in an unseen breeze. "I know you, Zuko. Probably better than you know yourself."
With that, she jumped on Crystal's back and they took off into the night.
* * * * *
They landed a few miles outside the swamp. Rose jumped off Crystal's back and ran into Aang's arms, hugging him.
"Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere!"
"Got kidnapped by some dude who looks like a monkey." Rose said, making Aang and herself laugh. "The Fire Nation captured me but I escaped."
"Awesome! And I got the frogs!" Aang reached in his pocket only for a bunch of frogs to hop out. "Wait! Come back here! My friends need to suck on you!"
Rose laughed. "Well, c'mon let's go get more."
* * * * *
Zuko returned to his ship, mulling over the words Rose had told him.
"I thought maybe you cared. Maybe we didn't have to be enemies."
"If I wanted to escape, I'd have left while you were asleep and I wouldn't have saved you. I especially wouldn't have just offered myself up."
"Is it so hard to believe you could care for me? Or that maybe I feel the same?"
"You're wrong. You are a good person. You have all the honor you need. And you deserve to be happy. This doesn't define you."
"I know you, Zuko. Probably better than you know yourself."
Could she be right? Could anyone care for him--even love him--regardless of what a failure he was?
"Where have you been, Prince Zuko?" his uncle asked. "You missed music night. Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song."
The idea of that made his headache worse. "I'm going to bed." he replied shortly. "No disturbances." He needed time to process what had happened earlier.
Iroh shrugged and continued playing his trumpet.
* * * * *
Rose and Aang finally made it to where Sokka and Katara were waiting. Aang stuck the frog's in their mouths while Rose plopped down. She needed time to think about what had just happened with Zuko. If he truly believed she could never love him, why had he kissed her not once but twice?
"Guys, how was your trip?" Sokka asked. "Make any new friends? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? I don't judge." He said, nodding towards Rose.
"Nope. Just got lost and had to escape some firebenders. I'm tired."
Rose rolled over and fell asleep, thinking of what happened and dreaming of how it could've been different if Zuko had truly trusted her.
Zuko had done the same as he fell asleep too, both of them wondering what could've been...
YOU ARE READING
Fire and Aether
RomanceWater...earth...fire...air...aether... Long ago, the five nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all five elements, along with her Guardian, could stop them. But when the...
