Spark [Prince Zuko - Book One]

❃Chapter Twenty Two❃

Asake pulled on a dark pair of trousers and a loose shirt, sighing when she caught sight of burns and scars all along her skin. A numb feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she looked at herself in the small mirror sitting on her desk. Hollow circles sat beneath her terracotta eyes, and her cheeks seemed more gaunt than they were before she got kidnapped. She scrubbed a hand across her face, dashing the image in the mirror, before throwing half of her hair up into a quick ponytail. She didn't want anyone to see the scars on her neck.

She blew out a breath, ruffling her dark bangs that had gotten significantly longer in the past few weeks of solitude. She pulled them behind her ears, immediately regretting it once she hit a small burn on the tip of her right ear. A gasp escaped her lips, and she shook her head, allowing her hair to fall into her eyes. Maybe it was better that way; people wouldn't have to look into her dead eyes and say fake niceties.

And then her bedroom door burst open, slamming against the wall. Asake jumped back, pulling her arm back but dropped it when she saw Daza running a hand roughly through his hair. When he saw her, concern filled his familiar eyes. However, it wasn't only concern in his eyes; it was anger. Why was he angry, though? Instead of focusing on those thoughts, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and asked, "Why are you here, Daza?"

He cleared his throat. There was a little color painting his cheeks as he opened his mouth. Before he could say anything, though, he closed his mouth again. He did that a few more times, like he couldn't figure out what to say.

"If you're only going to stand there looking like a fish out of water, leave," she said coldly. Asake began to shut the door, but he stopped her by placing his hand on the door. She sighed. "Just talk to me, Daza. I'm still me."

"I was told to come and get you. Prince Zuko wants to speak with you." Daza fidgeted with his hands as he continued to stare at her. Most of the crew acted like she was some sort of dangerous creature when they saw her – if they ever saw her, that was. When she left her room, the rest of the crew cleared out of her way, so she rarely ever saw them. "I also needed to apologize."

"You don't need to –"

"I do, Asake. I was so rude to you because I thought you were following the Prince along with his delusions of finding the Avatar. I thought you were too loyal to him, too infatuated with the idea of going home." He hung his head, his face a mask of pure torture. She frowned, wondering why he looked so distraught. "I wish you jumped ship with us."

"If you want to make me regret that," she angrily said, "I'm not going to. I made my choice to stay on the ship."

Daza shook his head, holding his hands up. "I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I did – ugh, I don't know what to say to make it better." He ran a hand through his longer hair, tugging at his roots. "Spirits, this is harder than what I thought."

"What, trying to comfort me? Because you're doing a bad job at it."

"I know. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have been kidnapped and tortured by Zhao's men." Asake narrowed her eyes. It seemed like Daza knew a little bit about what happened, but not the whole truth. She wondered where she heard it from. She trusted Iroh and Zuko with her secrets, and it wasn't like she hid it well. "I should have gone with you and Prince Zuko that day. I should have been on Roku's Island and stopped the man from kidnapping you." His eyes blazed dark for a moment. "Or I should have stopped you from going with him."

"Iroh told me to go with Zuko, and I don't go against what Iroh wants."

"I just – I want you to know how sorry I am for you."

"I'm fine," Asake said, going against what her heart was saying. She forced a smile onto her face, hoping her eyes wouldn't betray her right now. "Really, Daza, I'm okay."