The Jaded Princess - A Sokka Love Story

Chapter Fifty-One

The princess's mind was reeling. Her thoughts raged like a tsunami inside her head, but she tried her best to seem impassive. After all, one slip up and she was sure that Jeong Jeong would send her away. Today's lesson had been hard. Like Aang, Orzala had been instructed to perfect her stance and concentration-- but he made a point to keep them away from one another.

"You need a focused mind," he had snapped at her, amber eyes blazing at the question. "That is impossible when you are distracted, and he is a definite distraction." The avatar had pouted, resembling a kicked puppy as the raven-haired girl was lead away, and it took all of Orzala's strength to stifle her laughter.

She had yet to present any abilities. The old man had advised her not to try and use them unless it was absolutely necessary, and she was just fine with that. Orzala still hoped to deny the existence of her skills, hoping that they wouldn't manifest and perhaps this was all a misunderstanding.

Her gut screamed at her that she was wrong.

The sun was sinking in the sky when she retired, slinking her way down the mountain and toward Sokka. He flashed her a small smile she approached, brow creasing worriedly as he observed the tired expression she wore. "Hey, you," he chirped quietly at the princess, and she forced a smile to her lips as she plopped beside him.

"Hey." A heavy sigh left her lips, and she slumped heavily against the boy's shoulder. Sokka only smiled again, having grown used to this behavior. Orzala almost always sought him out when she was tired, resting her head against him and dozing off soon after. He tugged at his fishing rod once more, turning his sapphire gaze back to the river.

"Where've you been all day? I haven't seen you since Aang started training this morning." The princess tensed beside him, dissolving his smile immediately as she sat up. Her green eyes darted about worriedly.

"I- uh. Jeong Jeong had me go find some herbs for him over the mountain. It was a long process," she lied smoothly, brushing a satin strand of black hair away from her eyes. She still avoided his gaze, only watching him nod slowly at her through the corner of her eye. "Interesting," he muttered, his glance calculating as he turned to look up at the mountain top. The old man still stood there with Aang. "Why would he make you do it?"

Her breath caught slightly as she racked her brain for an answer. "He said that he was too old and that most of his men had already begun their assignments for the day. I didn't mind." Sokka fell silent, his eyes searching her face before he let out a small hum, turning back toward the river.

"What kind of herbs? We may be able to pick some before we leave-- might help with healing. Or even better, we might be able to eat them!" The boy's face lit up at the thought, but Orzala's heart dropped.

"Oh, I don't know. I think they were just to make his tent smell nice when he burned them." His face contorted oddly, and he shook his head, muttering something about "old people" and how "firebenders are weird." The princess smiled fondly at him before standing slowly and retreating toward the woods.

"Where are you going?" She heard him call after her, but she only shot him a smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well, yeah. That's why I asked..."

Orzala rolled her eyes, but offered nothing else, continuing her stride toward the trees. Sokka released an irritated groan as he pulled his line in, setting the fishing pole aside before following after her.

By the time he had caught up to her, she had found a small clearing within the woods and had settled against a shaded tree. Her gaze was unfocused, staring ahead, and her frown was deep. Concern grew in the boy's chest as he sunk down beside her, eyes fixated on the crease of her brow. Without thinking, he lifted his hand, rubbing away at the worry line and making her turn to him in confusion.