Searching (Zuko x OC)

Chapter 20

Zuko's POV:

I almost lost my grip of the ladder when I saw what happened. I couldn't move. I felt like I had just been hit in the face. Sora had waterbended.

It took my Uncle shouting after her as she ran inside for me to snap back to reality. I didn't have time to focus on that. I needed to get down and get the ship to safety.

I began climbing down the ladder, but no matter how hard I tried, my thoughts kept racing back to Sora.

•••

Sora's POV:

I had kept myself locked in my room for the past few days. I hadn't eaten or anything. I could barely sleep. I just kept staring at myself in the mirror in disbelief. Anytime that Uncle or another crew member tried to coax me out, I simply ignored them until they walked away. Zuko hadn't even tried.

I pulled my hair up and sighed. I admit that my blonde hair wasn't very Fire Nation, but it wasn't Water Tribe either. The rest of me however was definitely Fire Nation. Even my mother had looked Fire Nation. I knew it couldn't have been my father since he was a general for the Fire Lord. They'd never let a Water Tribe man be a general. My mind hadn't been able to stop running with questions. I wished my mother was still here so that I could ask her what was happening. I didn't understand. I couldn't. How on earth was this even possible?

I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard footsteps approaching.

"Sora, it's been 3 days. You need to eat. Please," Uncle begged.

I sighed as my stomach growled at the mention of food. I knew that I needed to eat. But I refused to leave my room.

"You can't lock yourself away forever, my dear," Uncle continued.

I finally relented and walked over to the door. I undid the lock and opened the door just enough to peek my head out. Uncle was standing there with a tray of food and tea. He looked surprised for a moment before suddenly he gave me a huge smile.

"You can come in," I said softly, opening the door for him to enter.

I closed it once he was inside and locked it once more. I sat down cross legged on the floor as he did the same. He set the tray down in front of me and poured me a cup of tea. I had to admit that the food looked delicious. There was a smoked fish of some kind topped with a ton of spices and a bowl of noodles that were steaming hot. The tea also looked delicious and I assumed that Uncle had made it himself. I smiled warmly at him as he passed me my cup. I happily took a sip of it and let the warmth sink into my body.

"Did you know?" he asked.

I didn't need to ask to know what he was referring to.

"No," was all I replied with.

I didn't feel like talking about it. I didn't even understand it myself so how could I even begin to answer everybody's questions?

Uncle must have gotten the hint because he dropped the topic and moved on to something else. He chatted lightly with me as I ate and before I knew it I had eaten every late bite of my food.

"I'm glad to see you eating. You had me worried," he admitted.

"How can you still care about me? You're supposed to hate me. I'm a waterbender. How can you still treat me like nothing has changed?" I asked him in bewilderment.

"Nothing has changed," he replied, taking a sip of his own tea before explaining, "You've been the same person all along. Just because you didn't know about it doesn't mean you weren't one all along. I see no reason to suddenly change my opinion of you."