Under the Cherry Blossom ↠ Zuko x OC ✔️

06 | The Firebending Masters

Katara and Peanut sit in Arlington's bedroom. They wait for her to wake. The waterbender rhythmically pets the little dog.

"She'll wake up soon. Don't worry Peanut." Katara says, mainly to convince herself that everything is going to be okay.

Arlington stirs under the sheets. This draws Katara's attention. Arlington flutters her eyelids, revealing her golden green eyes. She looks around with wide eyes. 'Peanut. He's okay!' Peanut perks up and jumps into the bed with Arlington.

"PEANUT!!" Arlington pulls the little dog to her chest and holds him close. "I missed you so much buddy." Arlington whispers, a few tears slip from her eyes.

"K-Katara?" Arlington's voice is strained and raspy.
"Yeah, it's me. How do you feel?" Katara asks. Tears threaten to fall from her ocean blue eyes. She's happy that Arlington is finally awake.

"Like I got hit by a train. Where am I?" Arlington looks around some more. She's confused on how she got out of the Fire Nation prison.

"The Western Air Temple. Zuko brought you here after breaking you out of prison. Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Peanut are here. Some of our close friends are here too. So is Zuko.." Katara whispers the last part. She's afraid that the mention of Zuko will spark something in Arlington.

When Arlington remains silent, Katara speaks again. "I want to do another healing session on you. To make sure everything is healing correctly. Then I can change your bandages and we can talk about what happened while you were in prison. But only if you want to."

"Thank you, Katara."

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Katara made more soup for dinner. The Gaang and others chat amongst themselves as they wait for their meal. After the healing session, Arlington completely passed out. She's exhausted.

"Arlington woke up today." Katara passes out bowls of stew.

Everyone's heads snap in Katara's direction. They stare at her with wide eyes. Aang and Zuko simultaneously stand up, ready to go see Arlington.

"Can I see her?" They both ask at the same time. The Avatar and the Prince stare at each other in shock. Aang narrows his grey eyes at Zuko. After what Prince Zuko did to Arlington, Aang doesn't want him near her.

"She's sleeping. She needs time to take in what has happened to her." Katara glances between the two.
"What happened to her?" Aang asks.
"I don't know. She won't talk about it. Something bad must've happened." Katara places her hand on the young airbender's shoulder. "She'll talk when she's ready."

Zuko looks down at the bowl of soup in his hands. He can barely see his reflection in the murky mixture. His hands grip the bowl to the point where his knuckles turn white. He tries his best not to throw the soup across the room. Zuko's angry. He's angry that he couldn't protect Arlington.

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It's the next day and Arlington is sneaking around the temple. Katara wants her to rest more, but Arlington wants to see what everyone's up to.

Her wounds are almost completely healed. Only a few scrapes and bruises remain, along with some pain here and there.

As Arlington rounds a corner, she hears voices. Zuko and Aang stand in the courtyard area. The Prince is trying to teach the Avatar firebending. Arlington moves from the corner and hides behind a pillar. She can't hear what they're talking about, but she sees some strange firebending.