[Earth on Fire] Zuko x OC

Chapter 3: The Winter Solstice

"Where's Iroh?" I questioned as Zuko returned to the ship, looking disgruntled. We had docked nearby to refuel and Iroh had wandered off, claiming there were some legendary hot springs nearby. I longed to join him, but of course, anything that could possibly give me an opportunity of escape was strictly forbidden. Stupid Zuko and his stupid rules.

"Still at those blasted hot springs," he grumbled, boarding the ship. "If he's not here in thirty minutes, I'm leaving without him!" I scoffed. No matter how much Zuko griped about his uncle, he would never actually leave without him.

"I can't believe you wouldn't let me go," I glared at him. "I haven't been to a hot spring ever."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked me. "And have you running away the first chance you got?"

"I would've been with Iroh!" I retorted. "Why do you think I'm going to escape? What makes you think I wa-can?" I broke off, almost having said 'want to.'

Zuko stared at me for a second. "Uncle seems to have taken a liking to you. You would've talked your way into escaping or something."

"You don't give your uncle enough credit," I crossed my arms over my chest. And perhaps you give me too much, I added silently. "He was a great general once, you know. He almost defeated Ba Sing Se."

"Almost doesn't win wars," Zuko replied mysteriously. "Almost doesn't achieve anything."

"Ba Sing Se is one of the greatest cities in the Earth Kingdom," I said defensively. "The fact that he was able to get as far as he did is a remarkable feat, something that is unlikely to happen again."

"Ba Sing Se will fall eventually," Zuko scoffed. "Just like your precious hometown." Anger coursed through my veins. How dare he insult Omashu!

"The Fire Nation will never win this war," I gritted my teeth. "Not without the Avatar. And seeing as your attempts to capture him are futile, I hardly think he's going away anytime soon."

Zuko whirled around to face me, his eyes blazing with anger. We stood facing one another in silence with our fists clenched, the tension crackling through the air. It almost seemed as if he was about to shoot fire at me. If he was, I was prepared. The rocks on the cliffside were close enough that I could summon them if I needed to.

"Er... Prince Zuko?" We both turned to see a soldier standing there, looking awkward. "The captain would like to speak to you about strategy." Zuko glared at me one last time before walking off to the captain's quarters. I let out a scream of frustration and stomped off to my room.

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Several hours later (after I had screamed into my pillow for a bit and then taken a nap), I emerged on deck again. Surprised, I noticed that Iroh still was not on board. I searched the ship for him, but he wasn't anywhere. I knocked twice on the captain's door, and Zuko's voice called "Come in!"

"Oh, it's you." he looked away as I entered. "What do you want?"

"Iroh's still missing," I said, ignoring his rudeness. "Do you think he got captured or something?"

"He's not here yet?" Zuko cried, jumping to his feet. "Men! Two of you and I are going to go look for Uncle Iroh!"

"Wait, I'm coming too!" I followed him, running up to the deck. Zuko turned to scowl at me again.

"How many times do I have to-" he began.

"Iroh is my friend too!" I insisted. Zuko stared at me for a second before letting out a cruel laugh.

"You are a prisoner," he said scathingly. "Stay on the ship like you are told." With that, he and two other soldiers leapt onto a komodo rhino and rode off.