Searching (Zuko x OC)

Chapter 6

Zuko had immediately set a course for the direction the light had come from and I hadn't see him since our sparring session. Instead, I decided to go back to my room and rest before we arrived. If we did find the Avatar I would need all the energy I could get.

It had been hours before I heard furious knocking on my door. I groaned and got out of bed.

"Prince Zuko wants you. We're here," a solider said.

It sounded like Akemi but she couldn't be sure. She was just focused on gathering her knives and getting her armor on. She pulled her hair back and tied it with her ribbon before taking off for the deck.

Zuko was standing by the railing and watching the town come closer into view. He looked so determined. I shivered slightly at the cold breeze but my body quickly adjusted. I joined him at the railing.

"What is it you needed Zuko?" I asked, turning to face him.

"I want you by me when we arrive. I trust you to make sure nothing happens," he said without looking at me.

My heart swelled with happiness at the prospect that he trusted me enough to protect him. The amount of respect he had for me was made clear by his statement.

"Of course my dear Prince," I teased, bowing with a smile on my face.

I could tell he was hiding a smile. He never allowed himself to show emotions unless it was just the two of us, but that didn't mean I tried any less.

"Stop that. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that you don't have to bow and call me that," he huffed in fake annoyance.

"Whatever you say Prince Zuko," I said, exaggerating the last two words.

Before he could respond, the helmsman yelled down to Zuko.

"We've arrived."

The mood instantly changed. I had my knives in each hand, ready in case I needed them. Zuko walked out first and I followed after him. I saw a small crowd of Water tribe people around where we docked, but something struck me as odd. Where were all the men? Since he wasn't out here, the Avatar had to be hiding. I stood close in front of Zuko and to his right. Suddenly, a boy around my age was running straight for him. I quickly swiped his legs out and shoved him into the snow on the side. It was forceful enough to get him out of the way without hurting him.

Zuko walked in front of me then and began talking to the crowd. I had heard similar versions of his speech before on our other encounters, so I easily tuned him out. I simply scanned the crowd of people and kept an eye on the boy I had pushed earlier. He get up not soon after and began running. Zuko turned and saw him, ducking out of the way before his attack could do anything. He blasted fire in his direction, but the boy dodged it just in time and threw a boomerang at him in response. It whipped past his face and Zuko glared at him.

"Show no fear," a child said, throwing a staff at the teen.

He grabbed it and went to attack again. I went to intervene but Zuko held his palm out signaling me to let him handle it. I watched as he used his wrist guards to break the staff into pieces before yanking it from the boy, poking his head a few times, and then breaking it in half and throwing it on either side of him. I was so focused on what he was doing that I barely heard the sound of air whooshing. I looked and saw the boomerang coming back and before I could grab it, it smacked Zuko in the back of the helmet. He let out a grunt of surprise. I cringed and he turned to glare at me through my helmet. He turned back around and his fists engulfed in flames.

He began moving towards the boy. I looked at the people in the crowd and saw a teenage girl. However, she seemed to be looking off at something in the distance. I followed her gaze and saw something speeding down the slope towards us. As it got closer, I recognized it as a young boy riding a penguin and he was aimed straight at Zuko. I lightly shoved the Prince out of the way before I got knocked over like a bowling pin. I flew backwards and saw myself flipping in slow motion. I tried to prepare myself to land, but I didn't quite get my footing right and I went smashing into the snow. I propped myself up on my shoulders as one of the solider I had slid near helped me up.

"Good one," he whispered as he grabbed my arm, "Who knows how furious he would have been if that had been him."

I nodded in acknowledgment before turning around and seeing the culprit. He was a small boy. He had a blue arrow on his forehead that wrapped around his body and a childish grin on his face. I couldn't be him. Could it?

"Hey Sokka. Hey Katara," he said, looking at the boy who attacked Zuko and then the girl I saw watching earlier.

"Hey, Aang. Thanks for coming," Sokka said in defeat as he sat in the snow by Katara's feet.

Zuko spread his arms out and the soldiers followed his orders and began surrounding the boy. I felt my stomach drop slightly at the sight of it. He was just a boy! He couldn't be who we were looking for.

But as soon as I thought it, it was immediately refuted by the boy, Aang, using his wooden staff to air bend at us. My heart immediately sank. This really was who we were looking for. I couldn't believe it. We were going to imprison a child. My mind was spinning.

I almost didn't notice Zuko throwing fire at everyone. The children screamed and I saw the boy look over his shoulder as he spun his staff, deflecting the fire. He planted it firmly on the ground and faced Zuko.

"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" the boy asked.

Zuko got out of his fighting position and stood up. He nodded his head in acceptance of his offer and the two soldiers closest to him grabbed his arms to lead him aboard. I went by Zuko's side once more and we walked back on ship. If he spoke to me, I didn't notice. I walked in a daze back to my room and shut the door. I took my armor off and looked at myself in the mirror in distress.

The Avatar was a child. A child! How could that be possible! He should be at least 112 years old by now! Unless he had died and been reborn? But that's impossible because then he would have to be a water tribe. None of it made sense. But what turned my stomach more was the fact that I was partially responsible for capturing a child. And I knew what his fate would be once we were home. Even if he was the Avatar, the fact stood that he was a kid. And it made my stomach knot.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was walking to where I knew they would keep him. However, when I got to the cell, I noticed that he wasn't inside. I heard noises upstairs and realized that he had escaped. I wasn't sure if I was happy or upset about it. I didn't have time to think about it and I didn't have time to get my armor back on. I ran up to the deck without a second thought, only to be immediately thrown overboard by a wave of water. I screamed as I watched myself fall. My gaze met Zuko's for a split second as we both fell before I felt myself hit the water.

Everything went black.