It took me a while, but I had finally come to a decision. Zuko had gone off again, so it gave me the chance to discuss things with Iroh. I sat beside him as he sipped from his tea cup, " I take it you've decided on what you want to do?" " I have, I've decided to leave. I can't keep relying on you and Zuko to help and protect me. I need to be able to stand on my own two feet, figure out who I am and what I can do". " I admire you're strength Scarlett, not alot of people realise these things, but how will you survive?" Iroh asked worried. " I'll work as I go, that way I can gain experience while earning money" " How are you going to break the news to Zuko?" " I have no idea " I sighed, " That's the part I'm worried about the most". " I understand your worry, Zuko isn't in the best place right now, it's going to be difficult", " I'll tell him tonight, I plan on leaving tomorrow".
I waited around for Zuko to come back, biting my lip anxiously as I thought of how I could break the news to him. Zuko isn't the best at taking bad news, I can only imagine how angry and upset he's going to be. Zuko finally came back home with another pet, " Zuko where did you get this?" Iroh asked " I found him, I thought it would be easier for our bird to not have to carry so much weight. Now uncle has his own pet to follow us". I sighed as Zuko tied up the creature, " Zuko I need to talk to you" " About what?" He asked, I took his hands and brought him inside the cave. I sat him down on a rock as I took a deep breath, I opened my eyes before looking down into Zuko's golden eyes.
" Zuko, I'm leaving", his eyes widened as he stood up " What do you mean you're leaving?!". " I want to venture out by myself" " Don't you know how dangerous that is? How are you going to survive? How are you going to keep yourself safe? You're not going anywhere without me". " Zuko, this isn't up for discussion. I've made up my mind and you can't change that". " I won't let you leave me! I need you Scarlett", " That's why I'm leaving, we rely on each other too much. I rely on you for protection and you rely on me for love. Its tiring us out, we can't live like this anymore". " Please don't do this" Zuko begged, " I've already packed my bag Zuko, I'm leaving in the morning".
Zuko's pleading face suddenly turned sour, " Fine! Leave! See if I care!" He yelled at me. I looked at him surprised by his sudden outburst, " Zuko-" " What? You think I'm going to fall to my knees and beg you to stay with me?!" " No-" " I knew I shouldn't have fallen in love with you! I should have kept my distance and treated you like a prisoner from the start!". My eyes watered at his words, tears falling down my pale cheeks as he finally stopped yelling. I gave him a small smile and nodded " If that's how you really feel" " It is" Zuko spat. I nodded my head, turning my back to him and picking up my bag.
" Where are you going?" " I'm leaving, there's no point staying till morning if we're going to fight". I tied my bag to our bird, turning to Iroh and wrapping my arms around him in a big hug. " I'm going to miss you Iroh, thank you for all your lessons" " Of course, thank you for being my daughter". I pulled away and kissed Irohs cheek, smiling as he helped me onto the bird, tears pouring down his face. I grabbed the reins of the bird, ready to take off on my new adventure. I slowly turned to Zuko and gave him a bow " It's been a pleasure Prince Zuko" and with that I took off down the dirt path, away from Iroh and away from my love.
Once I was far enough away, the words Zuko yelled at me finally hit me. I pulled on the reins, slowing down as I began to sob. He wishes he never fell in love with me? What kind of cruel words were they? How could he be so selfish and mean, hadn't he known the life he took me from? The life I turned down to be with him, and this is how to treats me?
I rode all night, until I came across a small town, making my way inside the earth kingdom village until I found a man with a sign for help. I hopped off of the bird before walking over to him, " What kind of help is it that you need?" I asked, the man gave me a dirty look, his eyes examining my frame before looking back at my face. " Farm work, do you have any experience?" " I used to be in charge of everything in my village if that's any help?" I asked nervously. The man sighed " Follow me".
I followed the man for a while until we seemed to be on the very edge of the town, a small farm with a little red house in the middle. I tied my bird up before following the man inside where he introduced me to his family. " This is my wife Kina, my daughter San and my son Rin. Family this is our new Farm hard for the week". " A girl, seriously dad? She's so small and weak looking" the son scoffed. " I assure you I'm not as weak as you think". " You'll be in charge of milking the animals and if I need you, then you come when I call" " Yes sir".
I did as I was told by the family, from taking care of their animals to helping the wife around the house. I even helped the father and son nail a new roof down on their barn. The father seemed genuinely pleased with my work, but the son wasn't as convinced. We all sat down for dinner on my last night of work, the father and mother praising me and wishing I couldn't go. " Are you sure you must leave?" " I must, the whole reason I'm by myself is to figure out who I am. To learn from my experiences along the way" " That's very inspiring, but just know if you ever need a place to stay, you are always welcome here" Kina smiled at me.
That night I lay in the bed they were so kind to give me, sleeping peacefully as I knew I had a long way to travel tomorrow. I stirred slightly in my bed, turning over and letting out a muffled yell as Rin jumped on top of me. Rin had his hand pinned against my mouth as his body sat on top of mine. " Shut up" he whisper yelled at me, " Don't make a sound" " What are you doing?" I asked in a panic " Trying to see what's so great about you, huh? What makes you different to me? Were you sleeping with my dad? Is that why he's taking a liking to you?". " What? No, I haven't done anything like that".
" Like I'm going to believe that, last time he brought a woman to work for us I caught them in the act. Maybe he's gotten more careful, but if my dad gets to do it then so do I". I fought against Rin as he tried to grab my dress skirts, in a blind panic I kicked my feet at him, sending him into the wall with a firey blast. I sat up in fright as he groaned in pain, his parents running into the room not too long after.
" What is happening in here?!" His father yelled out, " She attacked me!" Rin yelled in anger, " That's not true, I was defending myself. I swear I didn't mean to hurt him, but he was trying to take me. Please, believe me, he tried to take my innocence". Kina looked at Rin in shock, his father groaned before helping his son up. Rin cried in pain as his father grabbed his stomach, lifting his shirt and freezing at the burn on his son's stomach.
" You're a fire bender?" Everyone turned to me with a horrified look on their face. " No! Please let me explain" I begged. " Get out of my house and off of my property!" " Sir please!" " Get out of here before I call the guards!" I quickly packed my stuff before running out to my bird and riding off as fast as I could, ending back at square one, no money or food to help me survive.
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Zuko's Girl
FanfictionScarlett is the best friend of Sokka and basically a big sister to Katara. Scarlett, just like her friends lost her mother and father to the war and helps the village the best she can. With her father gone, she seeks answers about her mother as well...