Chapter Text
“Like she told me,
I’m just a big disgrace.”
-Three Days Grace
“Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner.”
Somewhere, wherever she was, Tashi was laughing at us right now. My nails dug into my knees as I restrained my anger. The humiliation of it all. We barely lasted a couple of days in the wilderness before my uncle poisoned himself trying to make tea, and now we were stuck begging on the streets. However, my uncle didn’t care. He simply thanked the disgusting man for the gold piece. How could he be so unbothered by that filthy peasant’s actions?
“Oh? And what do we have here?” A slimy grin appeared on the man’s face, his attention drifting toward Natsumi, and he shoved the tip of one of his dao swords under her chin, forcing her to face him. “You know, I might be willing to part with a few more gold pieces if you agree to show me a good time, baby.”
Natsumi maintained a calm demeanor, but her tone dripped with irritation. “Get lost before I shove those swords straight up your ass.”
The man laughed in response while sheathing his swords. “A feisty one, aren’t you? I think I kinda like that. Now how about we–”
The man had taken a step forward. Big mistake. Natsumi’s foot swiftly wedged itself between the man’s legs. He screamed, his eyes crossing, and he dropped to knees, his hands rushing toward the spot he was struck.
Natsumi glared at him. “The audacity you have to proposition a woman in front of her father. Learn some respect.”
“Well, he seems to have received the message, my dear. Leave him be,” my uncle said.
Right…. Part of our cover story was pretending that Natsumi was my uncle’s daughter, and in other words, my cousin. It felt a little weird, but everyone seemed to buy it, so that’s all that mattered. I glanced back at the man, who had finally come to his senses. Mostly. He crawled away from us while spewing obscenities, and I eyed his dao swords. This wouldn’t be the last time he saw me, I’d make sure of that.
….
“No! I hate you!”
Why had I thought traveling alone was a good idea? I mean, Tashi did it, so it shouldn’t have been this bad. If she was still out there, I wondered how she was doing, for I was at the end of my rope at this point. Abandoning my uncle and Natsumi had led me to nearly starving to death in the barren wasteland that was the eastern Earth Kingdom, and even after finding shelter in a small town, I only created more problems. I had protected the townsfolk from a group of thugs, and now they all looked at me with disdain as I left. All because I revealed my true identity.
It was like my first meeting with Tashi all over again. The people of the Earth Kingdom were hurting. Hurting for their loss of loved ones, hurting from the lack of resources, and hurting from the constant reminder that they still had more to lose. From that hurt bred fear and hatred. Fear and hatred toward me, my family, and my entire nation. The way Lee and his mother looked at me…. How did Song feel once she realized that I stole from her? Why was Tashi interested in me in the first place?
“I left the North Pole with you because I wanted to, and I’m traveling with you now for the same reason.”
Why was Tashi willing to see past everything? Past my title, past this war, past my scar…. Did she even realize the trouble she’d bring on herself if she got involved with me? Or did she really not care? She held no shame as she flirted with me right in front of my uncle, but I….
I stared at the sky as my ostrich-horse continued onward. What was happening to me? Tashi wasn’t even here, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. No. There was no way I was…. I shouldn’t be…. Nothing could happen.
….
“Look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. Alright. I know when I’m beaten. A princess surrenders with honor.”
It had happened so fast. I had been tracking my sister, which had put me back on the Avatar’s trail. The next thing I knew, my uncle, Natsumi, and I were facing off Azula alongside the Avatar and his friends.
It had happened too fast….
Out of everyone here, why our uncle? As Natsumi and I rushed to his side, I knew the answer. Azula always hated him, and she knew attacking him would hurt me the most. Now she was gone, and I was left with guilt. Why did I leave?
“It’s not fatal, your highness.” Natsumi examined the wound before glancing up at me. “But we need to care for him soon, or else the wound will succumb to infection.”
I pulled my hands away from my face as I tried to calm myself. We needed to get my uncle out of here, but where would we go? We were out in the middle of nowhere, and I doubt we’d be lucky enough to find another medic like last time.
“Zuko, I can help.”
The voice of the Water Tribe girl. No. After all of the humiliation I’ve suffered through since being on the run, I refused to stoop this low. I didn’t want or need the Avatar’s help, much less his friends’. My subconscious reminded me that Tashi was also the Avatar’s friend, and that I’d be less likely to refuse her help if she was here.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed the nagging thought away, and swiping my hand behind me, I shot out a wave of fire above their heads. “Leave!”
“Hold on.” This time it was the Water Tribe boy who spoke and stepped forward. “Since you’re here, I have something to ask you.”
“Natsumi, retrieve my ostrich-horse. We need to get my uncle to safety.” Seeing her leave to achieve the task, I stood to face the Avatar’s group. “You think I care about your silly questions! Get out of here!”
The Water Tribe girl furrowed her brow, but her hands hovered over the pouch at her side, ready to fight if necessary. “Sokka, I don’t think he’ll tell us.”
I deepened my glare. Right… that was his name, but what was so important that he felt the need to bother me?
“I have to try.” Sokka glanced back at his sister before returning his attention to me. “What happened to Tashi?”
An interesting question. I blinked, unsure of how to respond. Had Tashi not told them she was leaving? Either way, it was none of my business. Glancing over the group, I noticed a new girl that hadn’t been with them before, but judging by her clothes, she appeared to be from the Earth Kingdom.
“I thought someone was missing from your group, but it appears you haven’t had any problems replacing her.” I nodded toward the new girl. “So why ask me about the air-bender girl?”
By this time, Natsumi had returned with my ostrich-horse, and together we hoisted my uncle onto the saddle. After everything the three of us have gone through to survive out here, one would think he’d be a little lighter, but we were able to secure him regardless.
Sokka growled, clearly frustrated by my lack of interest in the conversation. “Because we haven’t seen her since the North Pole, and she was in danger. Does your friend Zhao ring a bell?”
I frowned. “Zhao and I were not friends. Besides, I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s not anyone’s concern anymore.”
The Avatar’s eyes widened, distress replacing the exhaustion that overwhelmed his expression. Why? I had no idea.
Sighing, the Avatar looked at his friend. “But her note said….”
“I know what it said, but it’s clear that she wrote it at an earlier time. When we last saw Tashi, she was tied up and surrounded by Zhao’s men. And it’s not just her that went missing. Several water-benders were captured, so something had to have happened.” Sokka narrowed his eyes at me, the bags underneath them making him appear angrier. “You’re the Prince, right? You have to know something. Did your people take her? Where?”
“Your Highness?” Natsumi gave me a worried look before nodding toward the others.
She wanted me to tell the truth, but I shook my head, signaling her to keep her mouth shut. “I don’t see how any of this is our problem.” I looked toward Sokka. “Such confidence you have in your girlfriend though. I can see why she ditched you.”
“She isn’t my–” Sokka blushed. “That’s not the point! We just wanna know what happened to our friend.”
I stared at him as amusement filled me, but my expression remained irritated. Why did I care if another boy was interested in Tashi? She wasn’t my girlfriend either, and I didn’t want her to be of course. Still, I felt a small comfort at Sokka’s response. It was nice to know that I wasn’t competing with the only eligible boy in her group. Wait? What was I saying? A sigh escaped me. As if these idiots would believe the truth. They’d probably just accuse me of capturing her instead.
“Listen, I don’t know where the air-bender girl is, so leave us alone already!” I shot a blast of fire at the ground, forcing Sokka to retreat back.
Taking the reins of my ostrich-horse, Natsumi and I headed further into the desert terrain without sparring the Avatar or his friends another glance.
….
“Which is the real you? The pampered prince fighting for his nation and trying to capture the Avatar, or the handsome boy, who hides behind a mask and wants to save everyone, including me?”
As night fell, I donned the mask of the Blue Spirit, and rode my ostrich-horse into the wilderness. Natsumi and I had found a second abandoned town that resided on the cliffs. It provided a good vantage point, and the place was so far on the outskirts of the desert that we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone coming after us for a while. We had managed to keep my uncle stable, but we needed food and water.
So here I was, hoping to have better luck than my previous attempts at hunting or fishing. I reached a small patch of forest, which was harder to navigate at night, but it was also much cooler. Tying my ostrich-horse to a nearby tree, I set off on foot, and I cursed under my breath as I tried to search for something suitable to eat. Why was this so hard?
I lost track of how much time passed as I walked in circles. Finally, I saw something scurry across the forest floor before stopping in the clearing under the moonlight. It was a rabbit-squirrel. It wasn’t very big, but at least it would be a start. Pulling out my new dao swords, I crept over to it as quietly as I could. However, just as I got close enough, thunderous footsteps started approaching from the right. The rabbit-squirrel was scared away, and I was out of a meal.
Still, who or what was approaching to create such a loud disturbance? Hiding in the shadows, I braced myself, and a few minutes later, a creature burst through the tree line and into the clearing. My eyes widened. An eel-hound? The beast sniffed the area aggressively before its reins were pulled by its owner in an attempt to calm it. It snorted through its nostrils, its head turning toward its owner in protest. I moved to get a better look.
The owner’s clothing was rather… form fitting. Wait. I mean, it was easier to tell that it was a girl since the fabric held so snuggly around her brea–that’s not what I meant! They weren’t even big. It’s just that her black tunic had a revealing design, and it didn’t help that the moonlight was illuminating her pale skin, making that area more pronounced. But Agni did they look soft… I… what was I saying?
Her outfit had to be made of a much finer material to be that clingy, for it hugged her waist just as sweetly before flaring at her hips into a dress. The dress bore two slits for her legs, but the dark red pants were equally tight, showing off how long and shapely they were. Come to think of it, the girl’s figure was rather tall and lean. My thoughts drifted as I pictured her lethe form wrapped around me, and…. Why did that sound familiar? Did I know this girl? Looking up towards her face, I furrowed my brow in confusion.
Why was she wearing the Dragon Empress mask from the play? The lower half of her face was covered in make up, which explained why she appeared to be so pale, but it didn’t make identifying her any easier. Still I couldn’t ignore the warning signs. The color of her clothing combined with the dragon mask signaled that she could be a Fire Nation bounty hunter. I retreated further into the shadows, for I couldn’t be seen, much less risk leading her back to Natsumi and my uncle. However, the eel-hound howled at my movement and began sniffing the air.
“Relax, Mali.” The girl tugged on its reigns before petting its head. “You probably scared everything off, and whatever you didn’t, I’ll take on myself.”
The eel-hound snorted, and it started sniffing in my direction. However, I was too stunned to run away, and my face heated up with embarrassment. I knew that voice, which meant that the girl I had been gawking at this whole time was….
“Tashi?” I called out.
Immediately, she perked up, her hand gripping the reins as she steadied the eel-hound. “Who’s there? Because I could’ve sworn I heard a brooding prince. Why are you lurking around in the dark? You still pissed at me?” She giggled. “It’s alright. You know I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”
Her taunting was not helping me clear my mind of all of the enticing thoughts running through it, but I stepped out of the shadows anyway.
“Well, well–” Tashi smiled. “Long time no see, Handsome.”