The Jaded Princess - A Sokka Love Story

Chapter Nineteen

It was dark out when Sokka went to wake Orzala. They had found out that Aang planned to travel to Crescent Island without them, and the princess had been near ballistic when she had heard. After Aang's countless promises that he wouldn't leave without them, she had finally retired for some much needed sleep. However, Sokka knew better, and he waited all night for the boy to run to Appa.

He had almost missed him— the avatar was so light on his feet that Sokka had barely heard him. Still, the tiny patter of feet had drawn him out of his half-sleep, and he had risen to wake the girls immediately.

Sokka paused at the door, blue eyes locked on the sleeping form of the princess, and he let himself smile a little. To say he had been relieved when she'd returned was an understatement. He had been ecstatic, and Katara had made sure he knew that she noticed. The steady rise and fall of the girl's breathing calmed him, and his gaze drifted to her pale face which was illuminated by the moonlight. The boy sighed, inching closer to brush a raven lock of hair away from her eyes.

Orzala sighed in her sleep, nose scrunching up at the foreign feeling, and Sokka felt his heart race. He pulled away quickly, watching in horror as the girl's green eyes fluttered open. Her gaze locked on with his, and her black eyebrows furrowed. "Sokka?" She asked sleepily, sitting up to stretch and look at the boy. "What is it? It's the middle of the night, water boy."

The boy struggled to find words, and he felt his face heating up immensely. He only hoped that Orzala wouldn't be able to notice it. "I- uh, I-" The girl lifted an eyebrow, waving her hand for him to continue. "Aang is preparing to leave for Crescent Island. Without us."

The girl's green eyes bulged and she shot out of bed. "Well what the hell are we still doing here? C'mon! We gotta get Katara!" Orzala raced past him, snatching up her satchel as she went, and darted out the door before he could process her speed. Sokka stared after her, flabbergasted, before running after her retreating form.

"H-hey! Wait up!" He finally caught up to the earthbender, and together they raced through the dark village. The boy couldn't help but steal a glance at the girl beside him, admiring how her black curls danced in the wind as she ran. Orzala noticed his gaze, raising an eyebrow to question his strange behavior.

"Sokka, snap out of it! Where is Aang?" The water tribe boy frowned slightly, but pointed up ahead to where Katara and some of the villagers stood. His sister turned, eyes lighting up slightly when she saw the two of them.

"It's about time!" She exclaimed, grabbing Orzala's hand and leading her toward the flying bison. The princess could hear Aang struggling with Appa and she picked up her speed.

"Let's go, Appa! Come on boy!" He was saying, and she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing as she watched the airbender tug at the bison's leads. Appa growled loudly, plopping down to fight against Aang's pull. "Look, I'm sorry, but Katara, Orzala, and Sokka arent' coming to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself." Orzala felt her heart swell at the boy's words. But she laughed out loud at what he said next: "so get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"

Aang whipped around to face them, a sheepish smile on his face. "I think his big butt is trying to tell you something," Sokka told him, blue eyes watching Orzala colsely as she walked to the fallen boy, grabbing his arm to help him stand.

"Please don't go, Aang," Katara pleaded, desperation dripping from her voice. "The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation." The girl looked to her feet for a moment before meeting the avatar's gaze once more. "Neither can I." Aang didn't notice the suggestive smirk that Orzala sent to Katara, but the girl did and her face immediately flushed red. She glared, but Orzala only laughed.

Aang frowned, his mind replaying the vision he'd been having. He shook his head. "I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means!" Orzala tensed at the name, eyes flitting away from him in guilt. She had yet to tell him about her encounter with his past life. She was too confused to try to talk to Aang about it. "I need to get to the fire temple before the sun sets on the solstice. That's today!" With that, he airbended himself on top of Appa.

His friends stepped in front of the bison, each giving him disapproving looks. "We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang!" Orzala gave Katara a look before walking over to Appa and climbing up his side.

"Screw that, I'm going with you." Aang gave her a smile, eyes brightening as Sokka and Katara began to make their way to the bison's saddle as well.

"Yeah, you're not going without your friends," Sokka told him, settling beside Orzala. "We got your back." The princess shot Sokka a grin, nudging him slightly before nodding in agreement. Aang's grin grew.

"It's a long journey to the Crescent Island. You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown," the village leader told them, offering a package of supplies to the avatar. "Good luck."

"Thank you for your—"

"GO!" The leader shouted, and Aang recoiled, quickly urging Appa to fly. Orzala looked down at the village below, her nose crinkling.

"I am not gonna miss that man." The gang laughed.

Once they had settled on top of Appa, Katara had curled up in her sleeping bag, claiming that she was still tired from the previous day's events. That left Sokka and Orzala in an awkward silence. The princess had noticed the boy's attitude toward her change once again, but this time she refused to buy into it. All his gentleness and concern she had simply met with resistance, and this created a tension between the two that Sokka didn't know how to fix.

The boy sighed, blue eyes drifting toward Orzala for the millionth time that night. She looked like a ghost in the night with the way the white moonlight hit her pale skin. His eyebrows furrowed in concern when he noticed a red gash that lined her cheek, and he immediately hopped up to go to her side.

Orzala's gaze snapped toward him at the movement, and she sighed in frustration as she observed his concerned stance. "What is it now, Sokka?" The boy didn't answer. He only grabbed his pack from beside her and knelt down, digging through the bag for materials.

"When did you get that scrape on your face?" He asked her, ignoring how his heart clenched when she rolled her eyes.

"When did you actually start caring?" Ok, he deserved that. But he only shrugged, pulling out a cloth and his water pouch before turning to her.

"You should've cleaned this earlier. You don't want it to get infected." She scoffed, grumbling under her breath as he wet the cloth and pressed it to her cheek. Her eyebrows furrowed and she scowled, refusing to meet him in the eye. He began to rub the wound gently, and she hissed at the pain. Sokka frowned.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" She asked quietly, confusion evident on her face. The boy huffed, pressing the rag to her cheek once more.

"I'm sorry," he told her again, his icy eyes meeting her own. "I've been horrible to you since the moment we met. You've proven yourself time and time again, and I've shown you nothing but hate." Orzala nodded slightly, and they both laughed. "But, I-I don't know... when that thing took you... I was so worried, I don't even know why. No offense." Orzala snorted, and Sokka smiled nervously. "I don't know what I would've done with myself if Aang hadn't been able to bring you back."

Orzala's smile faded, and she gripped the hand that was cleaning her wound. She pulled it down to her lap, fumbling her fingers with his own.

"You are a great person, Orzala, and a great earthbender. You're selfless, and funny, and smart, and I'm sorry that I've pushed you away for this long." She released a small laugh, her green eyes flitting up to meet his after a long moment.

"Just don't do it again," she quipped, making him grin as she grasped his hand firmly. "So, friends at last?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, gripping her hand just as firm. "Friends at last."