The Water Bender and the Fire Prince//Zuko Fanfiction

11 ~ Stealing

The sun scorching across her forehead was a sure sign to Enyo that spring was advancing fast. She tilted her broad hat lower, pushing the shade into her eyes. Next to her, Zuko and Iroh wore identical ones, covering their newly trimmed hair. 

After escaping Azula, they had to discard their old clothes-- they attracted too much attention walking around like Fire Nation nobility. They had to stay anonymous if they wanted to remain alive in the Earth Kingdom. Enyo had found some clothing in a closing shop that she had bought with the last of their money. Now all three of them wore identical Earth Kingdom commoner clothes. Green shirts and brown pants with wide hats. 

Enyo glanced down the long street. They were in one of the busier towns, where the main road that passed through led to Omashu. Occasionally a Fire Nation wagon would go rolling through and the three of them would duck their heads. She turned her gaze to the small wooden bowl in front of them and suppressed a sigh. There were only three coins and they had been out here all morning. It would take months to get enough coins to reach Ba Sing Se at this rate. 

Enyo opened her mouth, about to suggest that they walk to Ba Sing Se or stow away on a wagon instead when a tall man stepped in front of them. His shadow loomed over them and Enyo tilted her head up, narrowing her eyes. The man's beard was neatly trimmed, and he could've been handsome, were it not for the glint in his eyes. It made Enyo nervous.

"Beggers huh?"

Enyo kept her gaze on him as Zuko scoffed. She knew that the prince wasn't happy with their situation-- he was rarely happy at all.

"Certainly sir," Iroh spoke for them both. "If you would be so kind as to spare a few coins, it would be greatly appreciated. We are trying to reach Ba Sing Se."

The man laughed, tilting his head. Enyo paused, lowering her hand to one of the few knives she still had. Her spear was too large for short-range combat, though it remained on the ground behind her. She brushed her fingers over the hilt of the knife, her other digging into her pocket, tightening around the stones. 

Iroh's hand grabbed her wrist and tightened. Enyo released the knife, though she kept her fingers near. 

"Why don't you perform for me? The man asked, leering down at them through one beady eye. "Then I'll consider giving you a coin or two."

Without further persuasion, Iroh stood and broke into song. Enyo pursed her lips. Iroh's voice was decent, but he was singing an old Earth Kingdom folk tune, and it was written for a higher-pitched feminine voice-- which Iroh did not possess.

Enyo tried to catch Zuko's eye, anything to keep from laughing, but she couldn't. There was a dark look on his face, and she frowned. Zuko was plotting-- if the way his hands traced his broadswords were any indication. 

"Why don't you dance too?" The man laughed, and pulled out his sword, thrusting it at Iroh's feet.

Enyo stood, but Zuko beat her to the action. He grabbed his broadswords, standing in front of Iroh.

"Back off, we don't need your money!"

Enyo grabbed her spear but remained close to Iroh. They weren't supposed to attract attention, not now that they knew Azula was after them. 

The man scoffed and took a step back. "Fine, I guess you don't want my money."

He stormed off and the three of them settled down again. 

"He probably didn't have any money anyways," Iroh chuckled.

~~~

A hand shook her and Enyo flinched, her eyes flying open. She immediately snatched her spear, moving to attack.

"Stop!"

Enyo froze. Her spear was an inch from Zuko's chest. He was crouched next to her. She could just make out the flashing amber of his eyes and he was dressed in all black.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, propping herself up on her elbows. Enyo blinked to ward off the sleep that was still trying to pull her back despite her pounding heart. She glanced across the small cave at Iroh, who was lying on his back and snoring.

Zuko chucked the red spirit mask onto her lap. "Come on, let's go get some food and money."

Enyo frowned. "From where?" 

Zuko glanced away, staring out into the dark forest. For a moment, all she could hear besides Iroh was the faint hooting of a tiger-eared owl.

"We are going to take them."

Enyo paused. Did he want to steal money? Enyo would tolerate begging, but stealing made them criminals. 

"Stealing is wrong," She responded, her voice slow. Enyo was too tired for this conversation. 

Zuko scoffed. "So is breaking the Avatar out of prison, and we are fugitives anyways, how is stealing going to make it worse?"

"Breaking the Avatar out was the right thing to do," Enyo responded. She tightened her hands into fists, sitting upright. "Zhao was going to do horrible things. Stealing is different and you know that."

Zuko straightened up. "Fine, I'll go by myself,"

He snatched the mask off of her and Enyo watched him shove it into his satchel, before vanishing into the darkness outside the cave. 

She should go after him, she thought. Enyo needed to keep him safe-- didn't she? How else would she get home? 

She shook her head. No, this was Zuko's mistake. Enyo wasn't going to help him.

~~~

Enyo poked at her bowl of broth-- if it could be called that. It was mostly water and a few plants that they had plucked from. Iroh sat across from her, tending the flame. 

Zuko still hadn't returned.

"Do you know where he is?" Iroh asked at last. He looked down at his nephew's sleeping bag. 

Enyo kept her gaze low and shook her head. It was partially true, she technically didn't know where he had gone, but she did know what he was doing. She curled her fingers around the stones.

There was a rustling at the cave entrance and for the second time that morning, Enyo grabbed her spear, ready to aim. 

She lowered it when Zuko appeared at the mouth of the cave. His mask was gone, but he still wore the black clothes. Dark bags rested underneath his eyes. 

"Here," He chucked down a sack, which clanged when it hit the ground-- no doubt coins-- then placed down two large crates of food-- cabbages, radishes, and a few other packs of veggies and meat.

They made eye contact for a moment, and Zuko glared at her. He still wasn't over their spat. 

"Where did you get all this?" Iroh asked. He didn't move away from the pot.

"What does that matter?" Zuko responded, sitting down on his sleeping bag. "It's food and money. Now we can get to Omashu." 

"Where did this come from, Zuko?" Iroh's voice was stern and Enyo clenched her jaw, keeping her eyes on the broth.

There was no response from Zuko.

"You stole it, didn't you?" Iroh's voice was heavy. He had figured out what had happened. "We can't steal things, Zuko. Stealing is wrong."

Zuko huffed, and Enyo tightened her grip on her spear. "We needed to eat."

"Stealing is not right, Zuko. You cannot go around and steal things, it harms everyone."

Zuko was quiet for a moment, and Enyo watched as he rolled up the sleeping bag, shoving it in his satchel. 

His voice was slow when he spoke again. "I think it is best if we go our separate ways,"

Iroh said nothing.

Enyo watched Zuko pack his satchel on his back, and he vanished out of the cave. The last thing she saw was the sun glinting off of his face.