Zutara mini series

Chapter One

Zuko’s life had been decided and programmed since the day he was born. Little did they know that the people who planned his life were going to get the biggest surprise of their lives.

Lightning raced through his veins as he ran for his life, trying to stay close to the Avatar. Barely two hours ago, he stood up against his father when the eclipse happened. A few days prior, he had learned about his ancestry, his father's crimes, and the invasion, and he formed a plan. He was going to escape and make things right to become his own person, cutting the ties with his family, except Uncle Iroh. He had looked everywhere for him, but it seemed that they had the same idea to escape from their prisons. In the end, it hadn't been a difficult decision, and he didn't regret his actions. His father wasn't in control of him any longer.

Just as he closed into the Western Air Temple memories flooded his mind. How would his uncle feel about him now? Would he be angry? Sad? Disappointed? Somehow, him being disappointed in him hurt more than any harsh thing his father had said to him in all his life. He quickly took cover as he landed and ran away from the small group of friends. He used the large fabric from his air ballon and a tall tree to make a small hut to sleep in. After spending months as a refugee, his kind of lifestyle felt more natural to him than anything royal-like. His bed seemed too soft, too large, and entirely alien.

A small frog sat across from him, studying him as if he were the most entertaining thing in the world. He might as well have been, as he paced left and right, trying to control his nerves and put his thoughts in order. How on earth would he re-introduce himself to them? He had done terrible things in the past months while he was trying to capture them in an attempt to redeem himself to his father. Only that it wasn't what he had actually wanted. He wanted for the war to end, for the citizens of the Fire Nation to be free and not to live scared under the tyranny of a crazy man. He had the chance to have a fresh start to turn a new leaf in his story.

He sized up the frog. He could use him as his audience. Why not? It wasn't like it was going to judge him … probably. He coughed slightly before facing it fully.

“Hello. Zuko here. But you probably already know that…”

Great, he thinks as he continues mumbling things to the frog and scaring it away. Not that he blamed it; he did yell at him for no reason after all. Where was Uncle Iroh when you needed him? Well, maybe he didn't need to be here; he just needed to think like him.

“Zuko you need to look inside yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself.”
Yeah … this was not going to do it. Be yourself; that was rubbish advice. Basically, saying to trust the person who got him into this mess. Why? Why did he have to be like this? He was just as much of a mess as Azula. Not that she showed it, but he could look through the cracks of her armour.  Her composure was immaculate. Maybe this was what he needed.

“Listen here, Avatar.” He said as a sneer coloured his voice, and he got lost in his character. So Azula wasn't the best option either. What on Agni was wrong with him? After a while, he got tired of his wallowing, and he decided that his best course of action was to do this as soon as possible.

And for once in his life, he was right; it was terrible as predicted, but in the end, he was accepted into the small group of friends who wanted to overthrow his father.

Katara had trouble sleeping and then functioning these days. Since the day Aang had been struck by Azula’s lightning she had spent endless days trying to heal the wound on her dear friend but every time Aang didn't stir, didn't move, he never showed any type of improvement. She felt depressed. Until he awoke, but that wasn't in her favour either. She was tired of travelling and fighting and trying to take care of everyone while no one looked out for her. The only good thing was that she was reunited with her father before being separated again in the invasion.

So when she saw Zuko in front of her trying to convince everyone that he changed and that he wanted to teach him firebending, she was at the peak of her nerves. She needed an outlet for her anger, her fear, her anxiety, and he served as the perfect punching bag. She was harsh and mean with him and for a good reason, but he took it to the chin without speaking back at her. Being kind and trying to make up for his past mistakes, his horrible past mistakes.

And she couldn't forgive him as easily as the others did. Because when she had trusted him, he stabbed her in the back, betraying her for Azula. She was his sister, and it was logical that he wanted to be a part of his family, but it still hurt. It didn't feel right to have him in their sacred found family. But if the others wanted him here, she just had to accept it, whether she liked it or not. He had been the enemy for so long; it was hard to consider him as an ally. But either way, she was going to watch every move he dared to make and if he made one small mistake, if he gave her one hint that he was going to hurt them she was going to unleash Hell on him, without a second thought. 

She felt sluggish and wrong, she must have had huge bags under her eyes by now, but her mind raced in thousands of directions and she could not stay calm, she was always on edge. But every day she put on a brave face and plastered a smile trying to act like everything was fine.