The Traitor Princess

Chapter 60 - The Firebending Masters

Eziri fluttered her eyes open and for a few seconds, she forgot where she was. She glanced around nervously before landing her eyes on the boy asleep beside her bed. The familiar ponytail made her smile and she gingerly sat up. The action woke Sokka and he sat upright, disoriented.

"Eziri?" He mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "You ok?" She squeezed his hand that had remained intertwined with hers while she slept.

"I'm ok." She took in the sight of the room in fascination. Before she journeyed down into the Temple, she sent her eel hound off on its own and didn't have much time to appreciate the architecture before the reunion with her friends. "Was it Aang's idea to come here?"

Sokka nodded. "He figured the Fire Nation wouldn't think to look here."

"Smart." Eziri glanced at the food on the nightstand. "Is that for me?"

Sokka picked up the plate. "Yeah. Katara gave me strict instructions to make sure you eat."

Eziri chuckled and made a grabbing motion. "Awesome. Hand it over." Sokka smiled and did as she asked. Eziri immediately started tucking into the food. "Spirits, I don't think I've had an actual meal since we were at that inn with the creepy bloodbending lady."

Sokka looked uncomfortable at the mention of Hama and nodded sadly. He assumed she'd been starved and abused while in prison but it hurt to hear her say it outloud. Katara had healed all remaining wounds but that didn't mean her time in prison could easily be forgotten. He cleared his throat quietly. "Eziri...if...if you want to talk about what happened while you were–"

Eziri cut him off mid-bite. "No." She shook her head and swallowed. "No, I'm not talking about it with any of you." She wrinkled her nose and tried not to let her mind drift back to the cells in the Fire Nation. "I know that talking about it will make it better but I'm not putting that burden on any of you. If anything, I'll trauma dump on Zuko and make him feel like shit."

Sokka was slightly amused at that plan, but couldn't accept that she intended to shut him out. "It's not a burden. I don't want to see you bottle all this up and cause more damage."

Eziri put down the nearly empty plate and softly smiled. "I know." She took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. "I just...I just want to focus on being here for now. I'll try to open up when I'm ready."

"Can you promise me something?"

She squinted her eyes. "Depends on what it is."

"Please don't leave us like that again. I don't think I could survive it a second time."

Eziri bit her lip and looked down at her lap. "I um...I honestly don't think I'd survive it either. I...I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye. I just...I couldn't risk the guards finding Aang."

Sokka sighed. He was still frustrated with her decision to sacrifice herself but knew she had the best intentions. "I understand. But I don't think you know how much it hurt all of us. We need you, Eziri. Please don't leave again." He softly put his index finger under her chin and tilted her head up so she'd meet his eyes.

"I promise." She whispered. And she truly meant it. She was so close to being executed–too close. The fear and hopelessness was something she never wanted to experience again. She had no plan to ever leave her friends again. The pair were quiet for a few minutes, just taking comfort in each others' presence. In the grand scheme of things, they hadn't been separated long, but it felt like years for the two teens.

Eziri's mind then drifted to their reunion. She thought about the faces present upon her arrival and frowned. "What happened with the invasion?"

Sokka mirrored her frown and retold the events of the invasion. She was saddened to hear that Sokka's father and all the other forces were taken captive. She hoped they were doing alright, despite knowing the conditions of Fire Nation prisons were quite brutal.