Don't Leave Me (Zuko x OC)

Chapter 12

My feet were starting to ache but I knew I had to continue on my journey. It was getting dark and wasn't safe to stop. There were dangerous people about and I knew if I were to fall asleep on the side of the road, I probably wouldn't wake. I stared up at the starry sky, a feeling of longing filling my heart. Ever since the North Pole, whatever strange connection I had felt for the stars seemed to strengthened tenfold. The moon was a waxing crescent now, yet it still reminded me of Yue. 

"I hope you join me soon little sister, Raza misses you so."

Raza, the name sounded familiar. And it felt right for her to call me sister. Between that, the inexplicable pull I felt towards Tui and La and how devastated I felt when Zhao killed the moon spirit; it had been a very confusing night for me and had left me perplexed since. 

Down at my feet, Nalo started to growl at something ahead. A small sound came from a bush and immediately I was on guard. I reached into my bag and slowly pulled out some darts. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move and spun around throwing a dart directly at the figure. 

A man fell to the ground, spasming out of control. Someone moved behind me. I swerved out of the way as another man lunged towards me. I threw a dart but he hit it away with his knife. Before I could react, a third man came out of nowhere behind me, shoving me to the ground and grabbing my arms behind me. I struggled in his hold, trying to get away but I couldn't overpower him. I felt Nalo jump onto my back and bite the man's hand which thankfully made him let go.I practically crawled away, desperate to escape. But was yanked back when one of them clutched my hair, pulling me on my ass. Before I could even try to escape, a knife was held against my neck. 

"What's she got on her?" The man with dark hair asked in a gravelly voice. 

The other one, light haired, grabbed my bag and started rummaging through it.

"Eh, just a dress...some scrolls..." His face suddenly turned to a smirk, "Well would you look at this." 

He pulled out my golden jewellery, bracelets, necklaces, forehead chains, hair accessories. The only thing they hadn't seen yet was the ring on my finger, which I was hiding beneath my skirt. 

The guy holding me chuckled, "It's a literal gold mine. They'll fetch a pretty penny."

"No! You can't take them!" I cried. 

"Oh don't worry." His voice was like slime, leaning into my neck, "We're taking you too. I reckon there'll be a bidding war over you for a bed slave."

I tried to wriggle away, desperate to escape. He pressed the knife harder into my neck. I whimpered at the pain, accepting defeat which made him laugh. 

"Zhang, grab Fido. I'll carry the girl." I hiked me up over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, taking the opportunity to grab my ass to keep me stable, "We'll get back to camp and set off for Gaoling in the morning."

Nalo stood on the road, head cocked in the confusion. He lifted his paw, ready to follow but decided against it. My heart dropped when I realised he wasn't coming with me, instead sat on his bum on the path, watching me disappear into the darkness of the night. 

I felt a sharp hit to my head and everything went dark. 

*****

**Zuko's POV**

"Come on Uncle." I barked at the slow man behind me. 

Iroh groaned, "Zuko, perhaps we should rest for a moment. We will achieve nothing if we are worn out."

"No! We need to keep going!" 

If we don't, I might lose track of Muri. I might never find her again. And I can't let that happen. 

"But Zuko-" Uncle was interrupted by a rustling in a  bush. 

I grabbed my swords, ready to fight whatever it was. But I was surprised to see Nalo, Muri's annoying little rat, jump out. He came to me immediately, tugging on my pant leg with his mouth, biting down and trying to get me to move. 

"What do you want?" I asked the animal, annoyed, "Wait, is Muri with you?" 

The creature ran into the trees and I quickly followed, "Wait!"

I heard Iroh groan behind me before running too. The fire-ferret led us to a dirt road and nuzzled at marks in the mud. Small little footsteps. Muri. We followed the path, keeping on course with her previous route. Iroh was complaining about his feet hurting but I didn't care. This was more important. 

I came to a stop, making Uncle crash into me. 

"What is it?"

I stared at the ground. Marks in the dirt, like there was a fight. From the scuffle emerged two sets of large footprints while Muri's small ones disappeared. I clenched my fists around the hilt of my swords. 

"Someone took her."

I now had a new mission, hurt whoever the hell had hurt my love. Running at my top speed, the footsteps veered off the path and deeper into the woods. In the distance I could see a faint light and figured it was a campfire. 

Slowing my breathing, I hid behind a bush, peeking through the leaves. Sat around a campfire were three men, one dark haired, another with an eye patch and one with light hair. 

"What did the girl even do to you?" The blond asked. 

Eye patch groaned holding up a dart, Muri's dart, "Shot this at me, injected some kind of venom. It's over know." His head ticked violently, "Almost."

The dark haired man, picked up Muri's bag, rummaging around, "I reckon she's a noble. Good quality dress and gold jewellery. And look at this ring." 

He pulled out the engagement ring I had made her. 

"Pure onyx." He smirked, "Shoddy craftsmanship but still gold. She's good merchandise. We'll sell her to some rich lord and drop the gold at a pawn shop." 

I narrowed my eyes at him but as he stood up to stoke the fire more, something behind him caught my attention. 

Muri. They had her hung up from a tree branch by her wrists, her toes barely touching the ground. She was unconscious, head lolled down and blood dried down her face. 

They had hit her. They had hit my Muri. 

Pushed by rage, I jumped out from behind the bush. I slashed at the dark haired man, clearly the leader of this ordeal. Iroh took on the other two, beating their asses while I handled the other. They started to run off but I saw one go for Muri's bag. I struck his hand with my swords and he reeled back, scampering off with his tail between his legs. Looking up, Muri was still hanging there, swaying gently in the breeze. 

I rushed over, wrapping one arm around her and lifting her up so there was no tension on her wrists while my other hand reached up to burn away the rope. She collapsed into my arms and I held the back of her head, holding her close. 

"Prince Zuko, we need to leave." Iroh said softly, picking up Muri's bag. 

I picked her up bridle stile, resting her head in the crook of my neck. 

"Yeah, let's go."