Ash [Prince Zuko - Book Two]

❃Chapter Seven❃

Dark night fell around Asake, a semi-comfortable blanket of stars and glowflies lighting up the sky. She wrapped her arms around her legs, keeping an eye out for any sort of creature that might hurt her – animal, bug, man. Beside her, Iroh snored every few seconds, keeping rhythm with her fears.

So far, everything had been really uneventful and boring. Their trek across the Earth Kingdom was long and arduous, hot days and cool nights disturbing their peace. Deep down, though, Asake wished that something would happen to them. She brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes, glancing over at the dual swords resting beside her. She had sharpened them as good as she could, just in case anything happened. But it seemed like the Earth Kingdom was more like heaven each and every day.

She screwed her eyes shut, swallowing hard. Bile rose up in her throat at the thought of her old home, the Fire Nation in all it's glory. How could her home be so foreign to her now? It had been three years since she really, truly stepped foot on that soil, tasted the food, or even seen her father and governess. Instead, she spent a lot of her time in the Earth Kingdom, and while this place wasn't as open to her, it felt more like home.

At the same time, though, it didn't feel like home. Neither did the Fire Nation. Without the ship that traveled through the places she once felt so connected to, she felt . . . homeless.

A bug buzzed past her, grazing the side of her ear. Her eyes flashed open, and she saw a little glowfly floating right in front of her. One wing looked burnt, the edges rugged as it slowly flapped it. She gasped and held her pointer finger out, allowing the little bug to land on her skin. Fuzzy legs moved across her finger and up her arm, and she softly smiled at the little creature.

If something so small and insignicant could choose her, then how small and insignificant was it really?

The bug fluttered away, leaving a small glow in its wake. Tendrils of ash fluttered off of the broken wing, dusting the ground beneath it. Asake reached forward and reached after the bug as it flew away, winking once with its warm light before disappearing completely. She blew out a breath, ruffling her bangs, and leaned back on her hands.

A wave of exhaustion rolled through her broken body. She knew what she needed to do – keep watch, make sure no one hurt her or Iroh – but she couldn't help it. She needed to sleep, and for some reason, she had hope that tonight, after so many nights, she would have a dreamless sleep.

—

Asake grunted as she held her right hand in front of her, watching as a small flame appeared over her palm. Late morning sunlight filtered through the earthy area, and beside her, Iroh softly talked her through a firebending training. Frustration bloomed in her chest when she couldn't conjure enough flame to produce a shot.

"It took Prince Zuko a while to master this shot," Iroh said gently. He placed his hand on her left shoulder, and she bit her lip. Something was wrong with her shoulder, she knew it, but she couldn't do anything about it. "And you've been through a lot in the past few weeks. Give yourself some time to learn how to control your fire, your flame, and your breath."

"Come on, Iroh. I need to master this so I can learn more. If I can't use my bending, then what am I doing as a Fire Nation citizen?"

"You're existing, my dear. Most of the Fire nation citizens don't have the ability to firebend, but you were blessed by the Spirits to do something greater – with or without your bending."

Asake clenched her jaw and hurried away from Iroh. She should have known that he would bring up the Spirits in her presence. She remembered talking to him about her faith, but she had lost that childlike faith. Rocks and dirt crunched underneath her feet as she walked away, the earth trying to ground her but she allowed her anger to take hold.