The General's Daughter | Zuko Fanfic

Chapter 1 || Bethrothed

A young girl with beautiful brown hair stood under the cherry blossom tree located in the Palace Garden as she waited for her father to fetch for her. Her blue eyes were filled with awe as she watched the pink flowers dangle above her while the sun peeked through the branches. Now, if only she was tall enough, she could pick out a flower from the tree to bring home but that wasn't the case. Instead, the young girl continued to watch the flowers from below until she drifted to sleep.

A young boy walked along the corridor, passing through the garden to meet with his mother on the other side of the palace. It was an important matter to attend to as it pertained to the young prince and the future of the Fire Nation. 

Just as he was making his way through the garden, he was spooked by the figure sitting under the cherry blossom tree. He stopped and looked to see it was a girl around his age dressed in a red floral yukata made from silk. The young prince went down on one knee and checked if she was still breathing by staring at her shoulders. They rose and fell at a steady pace. The prince was relieved knowing she wasn't dead.

The prince looked at the young girl's face as she was soundly asleep underneath the tree. He hasn't seen her before. She didn't look to be a commoner as she was dressed with fine fabric, let alone a decorative one, so he assumes that she was the daughter of a noble. As he continued to look at her face, the young prince knew that he couldn't leave her alone under the tree. He knew it was right to bring her to her father, or at least somewhere else that was more comfortable to sleep on. The boy's dilemma was that she was fast asleep. He didn't want to wake her up.

Just as he was contemplating on what to do, the young girl slowly opened her eyes. She felt a presence nearby as while she was asleep, but she wasn't sure who it was. She opened her eyes, only to see a figure kneeling before her. Her vision was blurry for a moment before blinking her eyes to clear up.

That was when she met his beautiful golden eyes that stared at her with curiosity.

The two stared at each other in silence. The spring wind blew past causing the cherry blossom tree to sway and have pink petals fall around the two children. The young girl was lost in the boy's eyes as she continued to stare for a little longer. She examined him more, seeing the fire crown seated at the base of his ponytail. Realizing this, the young girl averted her eyes from the prince.

"Ah! Sorry, I must have fallen asleep," she uttered as she quickly got up on her feet, dusting off the petals off her silk robe. Her cheeks were burning up with embarrassment knowing that the prince has seen her sleeping under the tree. She bowed her head repeatedly causing the boy to laugh.

"It's fine," the young prince chuckled as he watched her acting flustered. "You don't need to bow your head so many times. You might get dizzy doing all of that." And he was right. The young girl felt slightly light-headed as soon as she stopped. It was as if the world around her was spinning.

The girl tried to regain her balance, closing her eyes shut so she could ease the dizziness she was experiencing. No matter how hard she tried, the young girl's body continued to sway, losing her balance only to topple forward. The prince's eyes widened as his arms reached out unconsciously to catch the young girl.

"Are you okay?" He asked as the girl held onto his fabric. He smelt the sweet scent of cherry blossoms on the girl. It was just like the actual flower.

Her eyes fluttered as a slight pang on the side of her head made her nauseous. She blinks a couple of times to realize that she was holding onto the prince. Almost immediately, the young girl pushed herself off the prince while her cheeks were now beet red. 

"I-I'm sorry! And yes, I'm alright thank you for catching me, Prince...?" The young girl realized she never knew the names of the children in the royal family. Her father didn't really mention them.