Blazing Crystal (Revised Version)

Chapter 24: Forbidden Romance

Chapter 24: Forbidden Romance

(Zuko POV)

The moment you wake up and know something's wrong has only happened to me once. When my mother disappeared, I'd woken up the next morning with an intense pain in my stomach. So when I felt that familiar pain as I woke up and found Crystal's bed mat empty, I knew once again something was very wrong. Getting off my mat, I looked around the campsite wondering if maybe I just wasn't noticing her. The ostrich-horse she named Zan was standing by some brush munching on some grass, but she wasn't with him. The fire was dead, and I then wondered if maybe she'd gone to find some firewood.

Leaving Uncle to sleep, I headed into the forest searching around for Crystal. I called out to her a few times, but there was never an answer. I went downhill towards the creek I saw the other day, wondering if maybe she was practicing her bending. However, the only thing I found at the creek was a beaver-coon who darted away from me. My panic accelerated as I continued my search and found no trace of her.

It wasn't like her to run off. She made it clear the other day she didn't want to go home. She'd told me she wasn't ready to face her family and be ostracized by them. She told me she was enjoying me and Iroh's company too much to want to leave. She loved me too much to abandon me.

Blood pounded in my ears as I continued to pace through the woods searching for her. Something wasn't right. She wouldn't leave without saying anything. I ran a hand through my short hair trying to calm my worry but failing dreadfully. It was when my foot crunched on a twig that I looked at the ground and found a familiar jewel shimmer in the sunlight. The twig I stepped on had once been in a pile, but the pile was scattered as if it had been dropped.

Reaching down, I picked up the crystal gem watching as the broken pieces of the chain fell back to the ground. My eyes looked over the dirt where I could tell immediately there were three different sets of footprints. A scuffle had occurred. Searching for more clues, I suddenly spotted something laying in the dirt a few feet away. Walking over, my eyes widened as a familiar knife with a blue handle was left abandoned. The knife was a sharpened bone of some aquatic animal I assumed.

Picking it up, I felt my blood boil. That guy from earlier... Kona! He'd come to force Crystal home!

Turning on my heel, I rushed back towards Uncle and the campsite. When I arrived I saw Uncle was already awake and getting some breakfast together.

"Uncle! We have to go! We can't let them get away!"

Iroh was astounded by my frantic voice. "Prince Zuko? What on earth are you talking about?!"

"He took her! That Water Tribe guy took her!"

My eagerness was met by a look of surprise from my Uncle. Then, to my bewilderment, the old man hung his head in defeat. "I feared this might happen... Looks like they're desperate to return her home then..." He placed some fruit in a bowl. "Perhaps it's for the best... Crystal needs to be safe with her family and not out in the wilderness with Azula chasing us."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What? You're happy she's been taken?!"

Iroh grimaced. He turned towards me with a frown. "Of course I'm not happy... I just don't want Crystal to get hurt, Prince Zuko. She's already betrayed her people enough helping us. It's time she starts worrying about her own future."

My fist tightened. "Her future is with me."

Iroh shook his head. "Zuko... The only way you and that girl can ever be together is if you both join the same side of this war. As much as I know you two love each other, as long as your enemies there will never be a true future for the both of you. Your families will keep you apart."