The Banished Commander (ATLA fanfiction)

Thirteen

Zara's P.O.V.

I look at Zuko, shaking my head as I look down at the water before entering the cave.

"I can't believe you would stoop so low that you kidnap Aang while he's in the avatar state, while he can't even fight back!" I yell

"Yeah, well it isn't like you were going to hand him over willingly," Zuko growls

I look at the fire before bringing some to my hand, letting it bounce between my fingers.

"Do you really blame me for not wanting to hand him over?" I ask "Your father just wants to kill him."

I watch the fire as I hear Zuko start to growl.

"Your father isn't going to give you your honor back like you think he will." I start

"How would you know that?" He hisses

"I know how your father favors Azula, he wants her to take the throne. He knows that she has no soft spot for no mercy." I yell "I saw the way that he treated you and your mother!"

"You saw nothing! He's the one that pushed me to be who I am today!" He yells as he finally makes eye contact with me

"I know so much more than you want to give me credit for." I say "I know it hurts you every time that you see your father praise your sister but then doesn't give you a bat of an eye."

I watch as the flame grows with our anger towards each other.

"He wanted me to be the best prince there can be and he knew that having somebody like you around might change that so that's why he wasn't happy about us," Zuko yells

"Oh, is that it? Blame it on me?" I yell, shaking my head "Right, everything that hurts you is my fault, right? I hurt you when I left... guess what, Azula and your father are the reason why I didn't tell you why I was really leaving. But I know for a fact you won't believe me."

I look towards Aang before I see him groan. I sigh before I take a few deep breaths.

"Just let Aang go!" I yell "We want to save this place, we can't let my uncle ruin this kind of place."

"Well Zara, this isn't going to go your way. You're not going to get your way this time." He says

-~-

"You're not getting your way this time." Jet says as he looks at me

"You know that this is the best plan that we might actually be able to pull off," I argue

"Hawkeye, you know that is also the most dangerous one that we can try to do." He says "We all know everyone in the fire nation knows what you look like because of who your father was."

"Jet, you need to realize that you can't always keep me safe. You and the others are constantly out there doing dangerous stuff." I say "You know that I can get out of there if I need to."

"I'm not losing you too!" He yells as he slams his hand on the trunk between us

"Jet!" I gasp

"I can't risk losing you like we just lost so many to the prisons!" He explains

I set my pen down before walking over to him, removing the pen from his hand. I set my hand on his cheek before making him look at me. I see the conflict in his eyes before he shakes his head and leans into my hand further.

"You're not going to lose me. I promise you that." I say "These people are the reason why my father is dead. They are the reason I had to leave my best friend behind. But they are also the reason why I came here and met you guys. I wouldn't have it any other way."