"Told you." I looked at Sokka and his father as fire nation ships were spotted in Chameleon bay. "Fighting is not an option. So, we should take a ship. It has to fit everyone and have somewhere to hide Appa." I looked down at the passing ships. "We can go at night. Take that one." I pointed to one of the ships near the back.
"It should be a supply ship. The cargo hold should have a deck opening, deep enough to hide Appa." I looked at both Sokka and his father.
"Alright. Guess we're following your lead." Sokka looked at me and I nodded.
~~~
"See, not bad right?" I asked. Everyone was dressed in Fire Nation armor. "Not there." I helped Sokka's father with the uniform. "Yeah its weird. This goes here. This on top." I stepped back and looked around making sure everyone wore the armor properly.
"You seem accustomed to this type of thing." Chief Hakoda looked at me.
"It's.. a long story." I smiled.
"True, we don't know much about you. Other than that jerk and your waterbending." Katara looked at me.
"I'm.. uh I guess the best way to say this, I'm a citizen of the Fire Nation." I shrugged. "I was a servant in the royal palace, and the person I served was Fire Lord Ozai's wife, Fire Lady Ursa. When she disappeared I served Prince Zuko." I gave them the main points of my past.
"So you were also exiled..? That must've been like torture.." Sokka whispered.
"That's one way to look at it... but in exile I wasn't branded as a servant, so I liked it." I smiled, reaching into my pocket, pulling out a three sectioned staff. "That's only half my story. Do you want to know the other half?" I asked them.
"Is it about how you fight?" I looked at Chief Hakoda and nodded.
It seemed everyone was now interested. "The Fire Lords of the past, over 100 years ago, had a secret task force. The Guardians, made up of orphans, and children who had no home. No matter the nation, bending style or background. We were taken in and raised to be the next Guardian. When I joined, I was only 6. There were two others older than me. They taught me how to fight, and they did their best teaching me how to waterbend." I smiled, thinking back to them. "I thought of them as my big brothers. But, one of them got imprisoned when the war in the Earth Nation got more serious. And then, the other.. died in battle. I was only 11. After that, I did all the missions they tried to keep hidden from me. From spying, and blackmail to murder and torture. Poor and rich, old or young. None of that mattered." I put away my weapons. "Two years later, I got banished with Zuko." I looked at everyone.
They all seemed shocked, and didn't know what to say. I heard small chirps and looked down at Momo who rubbed his head against my leg.
"It must have been hard." Katara sat next to me.
"Yeah.. that's also why I don't react normally to certain things..." I looked in my hand, it was a ribbon bracelet, with charred edges. "I just box them up and put it away, since they are distracting." I put the bracelet in my pocket. "Anyway, I should make sure you all know the salute, formations and lingo in case we pass a ship." I smiled, walking towards the warriors.
Night fell, most of everyone was asleep. I pulled out the ribbon bracelet again, running my fingers over the braided pattern. It was clumsy, and not the best, but it was a fond memory.
~~~flashback~~~
The day after the night market, Zuko and I somehow joined a ribbon crafting class. We got to pick out our own ribbon colors, and designs of bracelets, necklaces, headwear and more. Zuko and I chose bracelets.
"How are you doing this?" Zuko looked over at my instruction sheet.
"It's like braiding hair, come on." I smiled, reaching over to put my hands over his. "This goes over, under, over, repeat." I looked up at him to see him staring at me. "Quickly, we still have to make some for your Uncle." I awkwardly sat back in my seat to continue my braiding.
"Then tie it off and burn the edges so they don't fray.." I mumbled as I looked around for a candle or matches.
"Here." Zuko gave me his hand.
"What if someone sees." I pushed his hand away.
"They won't." He slid closer, holding the ends of my bracelet, lightly charring it. "See?" He smiled as he slid back to his seat.
"Very nice, excellent." The instructor was walking around. "Very cute." She smiled at mine then looked at Zuko's. "Good effort." She smiled and I did my best to hold back a laugh.
"I'm making another one." Zuko stood up to get more materials.
Looking at Zuko's bracelet now abandoned on the work table, I picked it up, and smiled. The pattern was obviously reversed somehow in the middle, and repeated three times before ending with the proper pattern. "Cute." I thought, placing it over my wrist as Zuko sat down to try a simpler pattern.
I watched as Zuko tried to get it right this time. The time it took him to make his new one, I had made 2 more patterns. "Done!" Zuko tied and seared the edges, showing it to me. "What do you think?" He asked me.
"It looks great. Your uncle will love it." I smiled. "Help me put this on." I covered the pattern with my arm, showing him the strings to his bracelet. "Thanks." I flipped my hand so he could see what I was wearing.
"Wait, give me that!" He reached forward to grab it, but missed and nearly tackled me to the floor. "I messed it up. Give it back and I can make a better one." He frowned as he looked at me.
"But I like it. So I'm keeping it." I smiled at him.
"W-whatever." He blushed, sitting back up.
"This one is for you." I gave him a ribbon bracelet with red, gold, blue and purple. "I also tried this at the very end." I pointed to the Fire symbol and a Z knitted into the fabric. "Give me your hand." I placed my hand out, and he gave me his hand, letting me tie my bracelet to his wrist.
"I'll.. take care of it." He looked at me.
"I'll take care of this too~" I showed him my own wrist.
"Does it have to be that one.." he blushed.
"Yup!" I leaned towards him, kissing his cheek.
~~~current time~~~
I sighed as I stared at the bracelet. "I guess living with his uncle and I with a simple life isn't what he wants." I stared at the torch, the only source of light, glancing down at the bracelet.
"Can't sleep?" I looked at Katara who had what seemed like tea.
"On watch." I shrugged. "Being on the ship, makes me slip into my old routine." I looked out at the water. "It'd be bad if we ran into rocks, or other ships at night." I told her as she handed me the warm cup. "How's Aang?" I asked and she shook her head.
"His wound is.. healing. Slowly but he's getting better." She was very scared but also, hopeful. "I noticed, the bracelet. Is it a couple item? With that .. jerk?" She paused as if not sure whether or not she wanted to say his name.
"We are? Were? I'm not sure right now." I stared at the sky. "I did just leave, didn't say goodbye. But.. even if I had, I don't know if I would've been willing to go back with him. Once I set foot in the palace, I'm no longer me. Just a child soldier, I would have to break up with him anyway. Don't know if he ever thought that far when Azula offered him the deal." I showed Katara the bracelet.
"Did he make this?" She laughed and I nodded.
"The one he had, I made." I put the bracelet away.
"When the two of us were imprisoned together, he told me a lot of things. Things I'm not sure are even true, but I did see him cherish his bracelet. He was looking at it a lot, holding it, and it seemed like it was a comfort item." Katara placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure he still cares about you."
"Thanks." I laughed as we kind of hugged each other.
YOU ARE READING
Zuko x Reader
FanfictionI was abandoned by my parents, and taken in by Empress Ursa. Raised by maids until I was three, taken by Ozai for my water bending, tortured, interrogated and then put in his "Guardians." However... Everything changed during the Agni Kai.. ~~ I ow...
