A Hand to Hold (Zuko x Reader)

4. The Attendant

Your eyes fluttered open, gaze taking a moment to focus on the roof above. Seeing the dark brown of the wooden ceiling immediately depressed you, reminding you where you were. Closing your eyes again you hoped to reopen them to see the familiar pale blue of the ceiling of your room. You'd wake up to the sound of groans outside, getting up to see Yuka struggling to climb up to your bedroom window. You'd usually laugh, opening the window to watch him try and fail to get up. That was usually how your mornings started.

But when you reopened your eyes, you saw nor heard any of that. Looking around, you were in the same small room within the servant's quarters of the Firelord's palace that you had fallen asleep in.

The sound of knocking on your door almost got your hopes up, making you think for a second that it could be your brother. It wasn't uncommon for him to visit you in the morning before heading to waterbending training with your father. Yet that was impossible, since not only were you now in the Fire kingdom but your brother was dead. You had not only been the cause of his demise, you had witnessed it firsthand. Not wanting to think about it, you squeezed your eyes shut tightly.

"Time to wake up," a voice called following the sound of the door creaking open. Sitting up, you were met with the sight of the older woman you had met yesterday, the one who had brought you here. You weren't sure how to feel about her, not hating her since she had saved you by giving you this job. But this was less like a job and more like slavery because not only were you not getting paid, you were also threatened of punishment if you ever tried to escape.

Letting your eyes scan over her, you noticed the tray of food in one of her hands and some clothing draped over the arm of the other.

"Here's some food for the morning, we need you full and working efficiently since your position is very important. And I also have some clothes for you to change into," she informed, placing the tray in your lap and the clothing at the end of the bed. Looking down at yourself, your hands tugged at your blue dress-like coat, fingers running through the fur that lined the cuffs and hood.

"Am I allowed to keep these?" you asked, keeping your head down in fear of rejection. Right now, this was all you had left of your home and having these clothes taken away from you would just make everything feel much worse. Lifting your head, you observed a sympathetic expression on the woman's face. Her wrinkled hand reached out, giving your head a gentle pat.

"You may keep them as long as they remain in this room, dear," she assured. Hearing that made you feel a little better, knowing that you would be able to keep the only thing you had left of your home.

"Now, make sure to eat and get changed. I'll be back shortly so we can begin your first day of work."

You watched as she turned and left, leaving you alone again. Seeing that you were the only one here once again made you want to return to sleep, wrapping your self in blankets to make yourself feel more secure. But there was no way you'd be able to do that, misbehaving would also most likely lead to punishment. And since you were in the Fire kingdom, you feared what punishments would be like.

As you began eating, you couldn't help but think about how you would get punished at home. You'd usually get into a lot of trouble with Yuka and have to pay the price for it, usually by cleaning or helping others to make up for it. You knew for a fact that it would be nothing like that here, you'd definitely warrant a violent response if you were to do something wrong.

Quickly finishing your food, that not being difficult since you were starving, you stood and began undressing. First, your coat.

Letting it slip off your shoulders and down your arms, you immediately felt cold. The temperature of the room was not low, yet you felt what you could only describe as a chilling breeze on your exposed skin. Now without your coat, you folded it and placed it on your bed.

Now with only your usual shirt and pants left, you reluctantly took them off before reaching for the clothes you were given. Lifting up the single garment, you grimaced at the sight of it. From your hands hung a long, dark red dress with gold trimmings. The outer layer of the skirt was slit on each side, revealing a beautiful golden skirt beneath it.

You had never worn anything like this before and even though you did think it was beautiful, you hated it. It screamed Fire Nation and the idea of dressing up as one of them made you feel nauseous. But it didn't matter what you wanted, you needed to do as you were told and put it on. Sliding it over your head and zipping it up, you looked down at yourself.

"Isn't this a little too extravagant for a servant," you grumbled, tugging at the silky fabric. Hearing a chuckle from behind, you turned towards the door to see that the lady had returned.

"But it suits perfectly for your position. When attending to the Fire Lord and his family we must dress the part so we don't embarrass them," she informed you, entering the room and coming closer. As she approached, you noticed something glint in her right hand. Standing before you, she opened it to reveal a hairpin with a red flower on it. Getting a closer look you immediately recognised the flower.

"A snapdragon?" you question. She nods with a smile, moving closer to being fixing your messy hair.

"You're quite right. A snapdragon or as some call it, a dragon flower. Lots of people in the Fire Nation plant them in their gardens for protection. They're a flower which represents grace, benevolence, strength and protection. And for someone in your position, these traits are necessary for your survival here." Pulling all your hair together, she pins it with the clip and smiles at her work. Moving in front of you, she places her hands on your shoulders to meet your gaze head-on.

"Much better, now listen to me when I say this. You're going to need to show strength in order to get through life here. Whether that be kindness to those who look down on you or restraint to those who mock you. I too was stolen from my homeland and the best advice I can give is to be obedient. Don't step out of line and do all that is asked of you. I want you to do well here," she expressed. Hearing that she was in the same situation as you made you feel a little better. If you just do as you're told then you might be able to get by here, then you'll be able to slip out and head home as soon it's all over.

"Hey uh, thank you for the advice and the pin," you say, bowing your head to show respect. She nods with a smile as she approaches the door, gesturing for you to follow.

"I wish you luck, now let us begin your first day of work." Leaving the room, you hurry after her. It was quiet as you walked, making you want to talk to fill the silence.

"Hey um, what should I call you?" you asked, trying to keep close behind her as others began passing us in the narrow hall of the Servant's quarters.

"My name is Nuo," she answered, her pace increasing as we began ascending the stairs to the first floor of the palace.

"And what exactly is my job. I mean, you keep saying how important it is but never said what I'll be doing," you follow up, listening extra hard for her answer.

"Oh my, I might've forgotten to mention it earlier. You'll be the Prince's new attendant." Hearing that made you freeze in place, eyes widening as her words echoed repeatedly in your head. Nuo stopped walking as well, refusing to turn back and look at you.

"There's no turning back now, (Y/n)," she called, starting to walk soon after speaking. Knowing that there was nothing you could do, you continued and quickly caught up to her. If this was what you had to do to survive, you were just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.

It's been a while since I last updated but I started Legend of Korra and really wanted to write some more. Anyway here we are, your first meeting with Zuko shouldn't be too far away.