Ash [Prince Zuko - Book Two]

❃Chapter Six❃

Three long days passed, and Iroh still wanted to stay and wait for Zuko to come back. Asake grew more frustrated each day, wondering why Iroh still had faith that his nephew would really come back. She rolled over on her side, staring at the stony wall of the cave. Iroh softly snored somewhere behind her, and she ground her teeth together. Faith was a silly thing; her faith was dead, dead to the world, dead to the people, and most importantly, dead to Zuko.

She placed her hand on the ground, sucking in a deep, earthy breath. Sunlight trickled in through the entrance of the cave, but it was still early enough that the birds slumbered, the air around them silent. She tried to allow her mind to wander, to think about their upcoming travels or anything else, but she kept going back to Zuko.

Asake knew Zuko wouldn't come back after leaving three days ago. She also knew he had no idea what he was doing, that the very thing he was doing was purposefully isolating himself from the two people who had been through very similar things. However, she also knew he was confused. Confused about what his life should be. Confused about what love – platonic, romantic, familiar – was. Even though she could see that he was confused, her anger outshone everything else.

Couldn't he see that she wanted to leave? Couldn't he see that she desperately wanted to escape from this world, escape from her own memories? Couldn't he see that it was her turn to make everything about herself and just leave?

Tears pricked her eyes, and she shut them tightly. Zuko made everything about himself; he was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, banished because he spoke out of turn. He needed to get his honor back, to go back to the place that didn't want him. He up and left her and Iroh because he thought he needed to go his own way. Didn't he realize how selfish that was?

Deep down, though, Asake knew she would do the same – and soon, she would.

Behind her, Iroh shifted around. She opened her eyes and sat up, watching as the older man scrubbed a hand over his tired face. Her heart dipped in her chest. The thing she was angry the most was the fact that Zuko was hurting Iroh.

"Iroh, we shouldn't wait here any longer," Asake said tersely. During the three days, Iroh hadn't left the cave at all. Asake was the one who went out and traded the things Zuko stole for food. "Zuko isn't coming back, and I don't want us to get caught."

Iroh nodded solemnly. He gathered their stuff together and handed one bag to Asake, keeping the other for himself. She slung it over her shoulder silently before leading the two of them out of the cave. With a quick glance behind her, she saw Iroh clasping his hands together as he whispered something toward the blue sky.

"I know you're worried," Asake said to him when he joined her outside of the cave. She crossed her arms over her chest, hating the hurt she felt at Zuko's departure as well. "But you, of all people, should have hope."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"When I didn't have hope after what Zhao did to me, I turned to you," she confessed. The two of them began their trek toward another home, another life, away from the last spot where they saw Zuko. Secretly, she sent a quick prayer up to the Spirits, hoping that they would listen to her heart about Zuko. "You gave me hope because you believed everything happens for a reason, and everything will be okay in time. I'm still terrified of him, even though he's gone, but I don't think I would've made it out of that first week without you. I would've ended up killing myself because of the shame."

Iroh was silent for the longest time. Her words hung out in front of her, and suddenly, she wished she hadn't said any of those things to him. She started to regret saying that to him, opening up to him, when he finally said, "Do you really think that?"