Black Jade - Zuko X OC

No Sense in Picking Fallen Petals up from off the Ground

Five days.

It's been five days since the Fire Lord maimed his son on stage in front of every prominent person on mainland Fire Nation soil.

They weren't letting her see Zuko.

Uncle Iroh said he wasn't awake most of the time. When he was he had to have help to use the bathroom, be cleaned and his wound treated. She didn't understand why she couldn't see him after those things. 'In time', Uncle said. 'Firebenders weren't as likely to die of infection as others,' he said.

The whole palace felt heavy, and quiet. No one was talking about it. No one was making her go to her lessons. She spent those days in her room doing nothing but thinking about fire and Zuko screaming and he probably wasn't going to die. Probably. She only left her room to go eat dinner with Azula. Azula who wasn't saying anything or smirking or even looking at Dai Yu.

After nightfall on the fifth day Azula appeared in her room, silently beckoning Dai Yu into the tunnel. She followed. Which was maybe a bad idea. But the alternative was to keep lying in bed and thinking about fire and Zuko screaming-

Azula held a palmful of ice blue fire, a recent development in her abilities further separating her from the rest of them. It casted a cold light across her pale face, making her look like spirit in the endless tunnel blackness. Azula wasn't wearing lipstick for once, another development that Dai Yu was so used to by now that Azula almost looked wrong without it.

They made their way through the tunnels in a direction Dai Yu wasn't familiar with.

"Where-"

"Shhh!" Azula hissed, cutting her off and turning so that the blue fire came closer to Dai Yu, the heat of it she could feel through her nightgown.

She took the hint and they walked in silence for another thirty minutes until they arrived at a square cut out in the tunnel wall. It was subtle enough that Dai Yu probably would have missed it if she'd been alone. Azula crouched down in front of the door before putting out her fire.

Dai Yu followed her into a crouch and waited. After a few long moments in complete darkness, muffled talking could be heard from the other side of the door, steadily getting louder and clearer. Dai Yu edged closer to the door, turning her ear towards the sound.

"-told the girl yet?" A voice Dai Yu recognized as the doctor who was first on stage, pouring water over Zuko's burn the second the Fire Lord stepped off of it. Despite his gentle tone it sent a prickle of anxiety across her skin. She remembered him shouting for the stretcher, for more water, for someone to get both the princesses out of here-

"No, I was planning to deliver the news to the both of them once he was awake enough to hear it." Uncle Iroh said, sounding more tired than she'd ever heard.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not sure there's any good way to find out one is going to be banished from their home. But they've always been supportive of each other. Banishing her as well is probably the only good thing my brother's done for him."

Banished. Dai Yu felt hesitant relief. They would get to leave the Fire Nation, and get away from Ozai. She wondered if the colonies were also off limits. If not, they could go back to her old home. There was plenty of room in her grandfather's mansion. Or if Zuko preferred, maybe they could find her Fire Nation family and live in Yu Dao.

"It looks like the infection has retreated for now, but there's a chance it'll come back before he's fully healed. Will you be staying tonight?" The Doctor asked.

"Not tonight, I have a lot of letters to write and send out. I still need to find a suitable ship's doctor, not many are volunteering for the job. But I'll be here when you wake him up." Iroh said.