The Banished Commander (ATLA fanfiction)

Sixteen

Zara's P.O.V.

I walk into town when I see a group surrounding one person. I walk over, to see the bigger group taunting the person.

"Hey! Leave them alone!" I yell

I see the people turn around and look at me.

"What's a sweet little girl doing here?" The obvious leader says

I roll up my sleeves, the mark showing itself.

"I think this will answer that question," I growl

I hear a few people gasp before the leader walks over to me, grabbing my wrist before looking me dead in the eye.

"You try anything, the people suffer the consequences." The guy in front of me says

I wince before growling as I look at the guy holding my wrist.

"Some soldier you are. You're supposed to be defending these people not abusing your power." I hiss

"Says the one who abandoned her home." The guys laugh

I look over them before I look down at my mark.

"As I said, everybody knows you're with the avatar but fire isn't welcome here." The guy laughs

I growl before walking towards the markets hoping to find food. I see the sad looks of everyone before I look down at my feet.

I'll find a way to help you... I promise...

I walk towards someone yelling something about needing somebody to work for them. I see a crooked smile before I smile sadly and wave a bit.

Sokka's P.O.V.

"Are we sure she's okay?" Katara asks

"Katara, I understand that you're worried but we all know that she was on her own for about 2 years before she came to us." I start

"Wait, two years?" Aang asks

"Yeah, she was alone for that long. She had this fear that the Fire Lord would send people after her no matter where she went." I explain "She finally came to us after the Fire Nation chased her out of the Earth Kingdom the first time."

"That's how she met Jet?" Aang asks

"That is something you'll have ask her when we finally are able to get her back with us," I say "Until then we need to keep moving."

Zuko's P.O.V.

I look around town when I see the soldiers standing in a huddle, gambling over something. I roll my eyes before I look back at the market person. I look over to see a group of kids smirking before they throw some eggs towards the group.

I purse my lips before I hear a low growl start behind me. I turn around to see the guys looking toward me before they push themselves up.

"Who was that?" One of them asks

"I don't know," I say before turning back towards the salesperson

"That usually indicates someone is guilty." The leader says

"Well, it wasn't me. I can tell you that now." I growl

I hear them laugh before they walk away.

"Some soldiers they are." I hear a voice say

I turn around to see a little boy, a crooked smile on his face.

"Thanks for not ratting me out." He says

"Wouldn't dream of it," I say

He laughs before looking back toward the yelling of his name. I look back to see dark hair before I see the kid groan as he leans towards the girl and hurries toward her.

"Wait! Don't you think we could help him? He just stood up to those guards!" The kid says

I look at the person as she looks at me before nodding softly.

"I think you can talk to your parents. I don't get a say in any of this. I just work for your parents until I can get a way to Ba Sing Se." A voice says

I look at the girl's eyes before shaking my head and pulling my hat lower over my face.

"Zara, can you show me more of those moves that the avatar taught you?!" The boy asks

"Lee..." She laughs "You know I can't use my fire here or I would be kicked out. Or your family would suffer more from that group of soldiers. Now go get your new friend so we can head back."

I look up to see him walking back over, shaking his head.

Zara's P.O.V.

I walk towards the house, listening to Lee go on and on about something or other to his new friend as I keep my hands in my pockets. I feel a breeze on my wrist before I look down to see my sleeve coming up. I remove one hand before fixing my sleeve to cover my mark.

I sigh before looking at Lee's family as they come out and look out toward us. I run my hand through the hair that fell out before smiling as I look at the family.

"Mom! Dad!" Lee yells as he comes running over "I totally got those soldiers back!"

I stifle a laugh before putting a straight face on before looking at Lee's parents as they study Lee and the new person. I look under the hat to see the scar over the eye before my eyes widen.

Zuko!...

"Lee, what have we told you about messing with them?" Lee's mother says

"I know but they were being jerks! They tried to get Zara to do things! Bad things for them!" Lee defends

"Lee, I've told you before. They can try to get me to do things, but I will never do that for them." I explain "But your parents are right, we need to be more careful."

"Why don't we get some work in before he has to leave." Lee's father says

I watch as they walk away from Lee's mother and I before we walk into the house.

"They are still trying to get you?" She asks

"Yes, but like I tell them every other time that I'm not theirs. I am my own person and this is only a stop until I can find my friends." I say

"Thank you for bringing Lee home everyday. You've seen how he can become especially now that his brother is off fighting." She says

"Of course. Thank you for taking me in when I had nowhere else to go." I say

She looks at me with a soft smile before she starts to clean up.

-~-

I hear whispering before I walk out into the field to see Lee and Zuko standing there as Zuko is handing Lee a knife. I smile softly before turning around and heading back towards the house.

A/N: So not many of you know this but I had a slight scare the other day. I logged out of this account to check my other one but when I went to go log back onto this one Wattpad was telling me that I had to reset my password. Bad thing is I didn't remember my email that I had used. Well long story short, I was still logged on on my computer and was able to get the email there. Hopefully I won't have that scare again! But thanks for the support you all give me!