Throne of Ashes (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic)

Companions

The girl remained silent for the most part, not giving him much time of day, though Minato proved not much better even though both came around to the idea they were assigned to be Zuko's companions.

In some ways, Zuko found this much more enjoyable than the noisiness he associated with his sister's friends, neither of whom came by recently, and Azula left him well enough alone. This tranquility allowed Zuko and his companions to watch a butterfly fluttering around the garden and immerse themselves in the beauty of the plants.

Nor did they discuss what happened, asking him questions beyond what Minato asked the day he and Hana decided they would agree to be his companions.

And then—

With Hana, he discovered she liked knowing the names of the flowers and other similar things and thus learned as much as he could regarding anything and everything they might see from the gardens they were allowed to play in, although they didn't do much play.

Minato, in turn, approached him. "May I see how your arms are doing?"

"Ah. Sure," Zuko said, holding out his arms.

"Hama did an amazing job healing the burns, but they must have been quite painful."

"They were," Zuko said. "I'm lucky, I think, that the flames didn't go farther. I overheard some of the servants suggest the fever may have been worse, or I might not have had any mobility in my arms at all, and then I'd be very useless, and I doubt—well, I still doubt they'll let me out in public."

"May I see you bend?"

Zuko's mouth opened, his first instinct to agree, wanting to connect with Minato, but then he noticed Hana flinch, and he pointed. "I don't think Hana would be comfortable with that; otherwise, I would. There's a particular reason you want to see it, right?"

"Yes," Minato said. "I've got a good reason to see your bending, so I will ask the Crown Prince if it would be possible to occupy Hana otherwise."

Zuko frowned.

"That still bothers you?"

"I like Hana, so yes." Zuko sighed. "And I don't want her to think she's being sent away because she's done something wrong because she hasn't. She just—I think she has a reason for being afraid of my firebending."

"Understood," Minato said. "But I'm sure your uncle will see she is well taken care of like he takes care of you. He is..." Minato glanced away. "Not what I expected from someone who is Fire Nation."

"Oh! Yes!" Iroh agreed. "Hana, I think she can be spoiled a little bit and treated like a princess, but for that, I'll leave her in your mother's care. I think Ursa would actually enjoy a daughter with whom she could have mother-and-daughter time."

"She doesn't—what about Azula?"

"Azula," Iroh sighed. "For starters, Azula isn't into the ways girls like to be spoiled, perhaps because your father never thought to actually treat his beautiful daughter as the princess she is. It's not that Fire Nation women can't be powerful and strong like us men, but there is also a power behind their beauty that allows them to do things men can not do, and Azula—she lacks any of that charm, which is already hurting her."

"Azula's hurt?"

"Not physically or mentally. But life is going to be harder for her, and things will make it harder for her to form friends."

"But she has Mai. And Ty Lee."

"Those are girls your father selected to be your sister's companions. They weren't given a choice."