The Banished Commander (ATLA fanfiction)

Eleven

Zara's P.O.V. 

I look at the mark, tracing it with my thumb as we continue to head towards the North Pole. 

"Zara, you okay?" Katara asks as she walks over, sitting next to me 

"I will be," I say 

"Your bracelets... They weren't able to be fixed?" Katara asks 

I look at the floor, my bracelets in pieces before I sigh. I reach over, picking them up, and putting them in my bag.

"No, but it's fine. It's about time that I start being open about this. People are going to see me as I truly am." I say 

"Do you think you could tell us about them?" Sokka asks "We've never really heard about this spirit's marking." 

"Yeah. I only know so much with this mark. People believe that we can't be hurt from fire that isn't from the avatar..." I start "But that is where they are wrong. We can be hurt from fire, it just won't necessarily always cause us a setback, or sometimes it might even make us stronger. It's a weird concept that I wish I knew more, but that is how my father explained it." 

"Like that hit that you took for me..." Sokka says "That harmed you." 

"Yes. So that proves the theories wrong. Fire can harm me at least but it won't set my progress or usage of fire. It's a weird thing to have. This mark is mostly for the strength that I have." I explain "This mark just shows that I am one of the strongest firebenders that are out there. If I had the proper training, I could be undetectable pretty much." 

"That would be pretty cool if you couldn't get killed from it," Aang says 

I laugh before looking out towards the sky. 

"There is so much unknown about this mark that I hope to discover through this one mark," I say 

"Well, we can always help you find out what you are capable of with this mark." Katara says "Maybe our bending moves can be interchangeable." 

"You just might be right, we'll have to try it out soon," I say 

I wince before I look down at my wrist to see the body growing a bit more. 

"Is it still supposed to be growing?" Sokka asks 

"It hasn't done this since shortly before I came to live with the water tribe." I comment "Something must be coming that needs to have more firepower." 

"For all of our sakes, I hope you're wrong about that," Aang says 

"We need to get you a water teacher. You need to learn in the right order and we can't advance you to what I know with fire until you learn the water and earth way." I say 

He looks at me before he nods, looking out towards the sky. 

Zuko's P.O.V. 

I look out towards the sea, watching as Zhao is looking out towards the sea, watching as the North Pole gets closer. 

I see my uncle come walking out, heading towards Zhao. I watch them before heading back towards the back of the ship. 

"The avatar won't be ready with this little time to learn water bending," Zhao says 

"I hope you realize that with your niece fighting with him, your plan might backfire to a point." Iroh says "She will become as strong as we are and won't have a setback like the water benders." 

I watch the sea as it starts to get rough from the jets. I turn around, heading towards my uncle's room, sneaking in, waiting on him to get to the room. 

I hear the door open when I see my uncle walk in, looking at me. 

"You heard his plan?" He asks 

"Yeah. This means I need to get to the avatar before he can." I say "Which shouldn't be hard, as long as Zara stays out of my way." 

"You aren't going to bring her in?" He asks 

"I'm not going to try and bring her in where she can be harmed. Zhao is correct about me not wanting to see her hurt." I say "If Zhao wants to attempt to bring her in, I'll let him and Ling try." 

"Ling hasn't even come out of his room since your apparent death." Iroh says "He's afraid of how his sister will react to him being part of this." 

I look at him before nodding. 

"She would probably agree with him." I laugh "You know that she doesn't want this life for me." 

Iroh looks at me before shrugging. 

"Do you really blame her? She's been living her life on the run for almost two years before you even had to do it." Iroh says "She has always wanted the best life for you." 

Zara's P.O.V. 

I look around at all the snow and water. I rub my hands over my arms as I watch the others look around in awe. 

"Zee, you okay?" Sokka asks

I shake the thought out of my head before looking at him. He looks at me, a worried look on his face as he sets his hand on my shoulder. 

"It's just going to take me a minute to get used to this much snow and water around me again," I whisper 

"Wait, Zara..." Katara starts 

"I'll be fine. We need to get you and Aang trained. I can survive with this much water around me again." I say 

"Zara, are you afraid of drowning?" Aang asks 

I look at him before laughing softly. 

"As a firebender, yes. It took me a while to get used to living at the South Pole." I say 

The princess looks at me, a look of confusion on her face. 

"Right, we didn't get to introduce Zara as she is." Sokka says "Zara is a friend of ours who was banished from the Fire Nation. She now works with us." 

"I'm sorry if me being here makes you question your safety." I start 

"But we can vouch for her, she won't harm you guys at all if anything she'll help protect you if it is needed while we are here," Sokka says 

"If she travels with you and you trust her, then we can trust her here." Princess Yue says with a smile 

I smile before looking down at my mark, a frown on my face as it grows a bit more. 

"Wait, is that the mark of the dragons?" The princess asks 

"Yeah. You know something about it?" Aang asks 

"No. But my father might. He's studied it when we got a message from a spirit a while ago." She says 

"What did the message say?" I ask 

"It was more like a prophecy." Princess Yue says "Something about one with the mark of dragons will come to save the kingdom." 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Katara starts 

"The bad feeling that I'm getting..." I start "The reason why it started growing again. Something bad is going to happen and the spirits expect me to stop it." 

The princess looks at me before holding her hand. 

"We need to get you to my dad. He would love to speak with you." She says "All of you." 

I look at the others before they nod, heading towards the princess's home.