A Prisoner

Book 1; Chapter 1

The Aftermath of Ba Seng Sei

"General (L/N)," Fire Lord Ozai roared, "do you have anything to say for yourself and your treachery against the Fire Nation?"

You only stared at the floor, your disgust for the man too great to even look him in the face, "I acted with humanity's best interest in mind, sir." Your small voice carried proudly throughout the war room, "You are leading the slaughter of innocent lives and I could no longer be apart of it."

"So, you admit to working against our cause."

You finally looked him in the eyes, "Yes, and it was the greatest decision I have ever made."

Ozai glared into your (E/C) eyes, trying to get you to cower under his gaze, to intimidate you into recanting your confession; you were the most powerful firebender he had ever encountered, he could not afford to lose your skill. But, after staring each other down for what felt like hours, he rose to his feet, "You will be sentenced to life at the Boiling Rock, but given the nature of your relationship with my children you will tell them that you are leaving. I don't want them to feel the disgrace of being friends with a treacherous peasant." You were uncuffed and you had half a mind to flee, "And (Y/N), if you try to run, I will see to it that your parents take your place in prison, where they will spend the rest of their days in Coolers."

There goes that plan, you thought flippantly, and left the room to lie to your only friends.

Friend.

Azula was rude and you constantly wanted to set her on fire for the way she treated everyone around her. Zuko was all you had, and you were about to say good-bye to him forever.

...

"Psst, Z, wake up." You whispered urgently, shaking your friend awake, "I need to talk to you."

"(Y/N)?" Zuko asked, rubbing his bleary eyes as he sat up, "What are you doing here? I thought you were seizing Ba Seng Sei?"

"We failed." You said solemnly, "I'm here to tell you good-bye, I'm fleeing before I can be publicly banished and disgraced. Just remember, you're my best friend and I love you so, so much; this is something I must do."

In a burst of courage you leant forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, "Live a long, happy life for me, okay? Hopefully, we will meet again."

You quickly got off his bed and turned to leave, "Wait, (Y/N), stop! You aren't making any sense, what's going on." 

He reached to grab your hand, but you were already at the door to his bed chamber; you cast him a glance over your shoulder, "I'm sorry, Z, I wish we could've had more time, but I can't stay here. I wanted to marry you, y'know, that's impossible now though."

And with that, you were gone from Zuko's life, and soon after his mother also disappeared.

...

"Prince Zuko, please," Iroh said, reaching for his nephew, "I will tell you everything, you just need to calm down."

Zuko glared at his uncle, but listened and took a seat on the mat across from him, "I want to know what happened when you and (Y/N) raided Ba Seng Sei."

Iroh nodded indulgently, sipping from his tea cup, "Where would you like me to start?"

"What really happened to (Y/N) after the failed raid?"

"Ah," the wise uncle sighed in understanding, "Prince Zuko, better the devil you know than the one you don't."

"Rah!" Zuko roared, sending a blast of fire just over the top of his uncle's head, "I don't have time for your ridiculous proverbs, Uncle! I want to know what really happened! There's no way her and my mother just disappeared without a trace. I want to know if I should be searching for my friend too while we're on this chase for the Avatar!"

This gave Iroh pause, even though all Zuko ever portrayed to have in his heart was rage, you still lingered and kept him going. Even though most of his fire burned with the hunger to restore his honor, there were still embers of you, keeping him going, keeping him truly hopeful. The old man wondered if he should even tell Zuko the truth, lest he lose what little hope he had left, but he knew his nephew would never stop searching. With a heavy sigh, Iroh told him the truth.