Avatar: The Wheel of Time | Book One: The Earth Kingdom |

Chapter 8: The Pool on the Mount

All he could hear was her scream.

Zuko watched her fall as if in slow motion, her back arching, her hand moving instinctively to touch the burned flesh on her shoulder before she hit the ground and went limp, her blue eyes rolling up in her head as her eyelids fluttered shut. He wasn't aware of his own anguished cry, only the all-consuming rage that burned within him as he turned to his sister and saw her self-satisfied smirk.

It was less fire and more pure fury that burst from his hands, directed at Azula. She had taken everything from him, and now she'd even taken Kiyan. The one time he'd thought he might've found a real friend, one who didn't see him for his scar or his lost title....

Azula blocked his attack with a sphere of defensive fire, and it was only then that Zuko realized everyone had joined in his assault.

The sphere exploded, but when the smoke cleared, Azula was nowhere to be found.

Zuko fell to his knees beside the fallen girl, grasping his head in his hands. It was all his fault.... Why was it that everything he did screwed over so badly?! He wanted to scream, to cry, to do something that might hurt the world the way it had hurt him.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and his uncle knelt beside him, examining Kiyan's wound.

Zuko heard shuffling behind him and whirled on the Avatar and his companions. "Get away from us!" he snarled. They'd never lost a friend. No, their lives were happy and carefree. They had homes, and families who didn't banish them. They didn't have sisters who took every opportunity to rip their lives apart, piece by piece.

"Zuko, I can help," the Water Tribe girl stepped forward, holding out her hand like a peace offering.

"LEAVE!" he roared, blasting an arc of fire at their heads.

"Prince Zuko," his uncle said, hand tightening on his shoulder. He remembered Kiyan doing the same thing earlier that day, when they'd chased Azula to this cursed place. His heart clenched.

"The girl is a waterbender," Iroh said quietly. "Healing is one of their many abilities."

It doesn't matter if she's a healer, she can't heal herself now! Zuko thought furiously, before realizing his uncle probably wasn't talking about Kiyan.

"This young woman may have just saved my life," Iroh continued, "put aside your pride, Prince Zuko. It won't help her."

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. How could he ask for help from them? They were his enemies— they hated him! They would probably let Kiyan die from spite.

He let out a strangled cry, slamming his fists on the ground.

"Heal her," his uncle told the Water Tribe girl, drawing him gently away.

She approached cautiously, eyeing him before kneeling beside Kiyan. Zuko watched her every move, ready to attack if she made even the slightest move to hurt his friend.

The waterbender drew out her water, surrounding her hands in it like thick gloves and laying them on Kiyan's burned shoulder. Zuko jerked forward, alarmed, but Iroh held him back. The water glowed softly, and Zuko watched in amazement as the angry red skin smoothed and softened under Katara's touch. Soon, only a faint scar remained.

Katara stepped back. "I've done all I can," she said, looking at him with sympathy in her eyes.

"Thank you," Iroh responded, giving her a small bow, and releasing Zuko.

Zuko collapsed to the ground beside Kiyan, shaking her gently. She didn't stir. Dropping his head, he sat back, listening to the Avatar and his companions leave.