Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire [Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic]

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Zuko's golden eyes open to see dark hair and pale skin before him. Izara had her back to him; he had an arm underneath her head and one over her waist. There was faint sunlight coming through the gaps in the curtains, and he could see the small scars on her skin. He was so furious with himself about letting her get taken. Izara had told him more precisely what had happened in their custody and confirmed that she was being vague about it for a reason. He had already put a hole in his bedroom wall after seeing the stab wound in her shoulder that Katara had healed up and smashed some furniture in his office. Though he had looked away for most of it, just for privacy's sake, he had seen a few flashes of skin, some mottled with red and purple bruises; others had blistered skin from burns. She'd shown him some of her scars last night, and he'd seen the evidence of the torture she'd gone through.

Zuko knew he couldn't go back to sleep now and carefully removed his arms from around her before sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. He had asked her to come to the Capital because he could see her potential and hated how her uncle mistreated her. It was his fault she'd been hurt. He hadn't done anything when the Supremacists took her. He could have commanded his men to help, to do something, anything to get her back. He could have gone there himself and killed them all to save her. He should have burnt them to cinders for hurting her. Only he didn't.

The look in her eyes said, 'Trust me', and he knew he had to put his faith in her. However, he hated himself as he watched her get stabbed and have a blade held at her throat. He was surprised at how calm she appeared, but it was because she had a plan. Rarely did Izara do anything for no reason. Internally, he'd prepared to strike with lightning, hoping it would force the Supremacist to release her, and he began to adjust his stance, but Izara had noticed immediately. If it had come to that, he wasn't sure if he would have followed through out of fear of hitting her.

Afterwards, Kazan explained everything about her past and experiences, and Zuko knew she wanted to be captured. Partly to protect him, keep the attention on herself, and infiltrate by being taken directly to their base. Rationally, he understood why everything happened the way it did, but the part of him that wanted to protect her couldn't reconcile it.

Izara shifted, and he must have woken her by moving away. He heard her breathing change but stayed still, hoping she might stay asleep.

"Zuko," she spoke softly, almost in a whisper, and he straightened up before turning to look at her.

She smiled sleepily at him as she rolled over, and he moved to face her and lay back down. He smiled back in apology and took hold of one of her hands. Breathing deeply, he tried to relax so she would not see his frustration. It only took her a moment to notice, hidden poorly in his eyes and body language.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I'm just so angry with myself for letting them take you...and hurt you like that." he sat up and grumbled quietly.

"You did not let them take me. I let them." Izara grabbed his arm and tried to turn him toward her, but he resisted.

"But I didn't even try to stop them. I could have given the command or done it myself. I should have killed them for hurting you. I lead a whole country, and I didn't do anything to stop them."

"If you did, you would have ruined my plan. I... I am sorry, but I did use your emotions to make sure that they would take me hostage. Once you showed up, I knew that your reaction would force them to take me instead of killing me... I apologise. I should not have used your feelings like that, and I'll always feel bad for it. Even though it took the focus off you." She lowered her eyes so she didn't have to look at him, and he knew she was ashamed of her manipulation.