Cinder-Zuko: Chapter1
Cinderella AU Request: Once upon a time, in a far off land, young Zuko struggles after his mother's death as he's left to follow his father and sister's orders like a common servant. Everyday seems grayer than the last, until he meets a kind stranger who he doesn't recognize as the princess. A masquerade is his only chance at meeting her again, but he'll need help to get there. Zutara
The sun's rays hit Zuko's outstretched fingertips in the early morning. The gentle warmth roused him from his dreams. When he took a deep waking breath, last night's ashes tickled his lips. His hand snapped up to scratch and wipe his nose with a groan. Grudgingly, he opened his eyes and sat up.
His right cheek was freezing from where it had rested on the cold stone floor of the kitchen. Zuko yawned and felt the scarred skin on his left eye stretch a bit more tightly than the right side. He faced the dead fireplace with contempt. Even if the kitchen was warmer than his room in the attic, the fire never lasted long after he fell asleep.
He flipped onto his feet and went about starting the fire up again for Azula's morning tea, not that she ever drank it. Zuko peeked out the window and saw the half-blue, half-orange sky signaling sunrise. His father would be up soon.
Quickly, he wiped as much ash and dirt from his hands on his battered apron. He fell asleep in yesterday's clothes again, he realized with a sigh.
In no time, Zuko prepped for breakfast. He pulled the risen dough from a cupboard (prepared last night) and a small jar of dried oolong. He rushed outside to fetch some water, eggs, and a fresh branch of rosemary. The hot water boiled as he quickly pulled the dough into 6 pieces. The rolls were in the oven just as the water finished boiling. He fried the eggs with rosemary and let the tea steep off the fire as he waited for the rolls.
Just before everything was finished Azula began her morning yelling. "Zuko! ZUKO!"
He pulled the rolls out and separated the four best, placing them on two different trays. There were only enough eggs for his father and Azula today, so he knew he wouldn't be able to save some for himself.
"ZUUUUUUKO."
"I'm on my way!" he shouted back, rushing to organize the trays and stack them on top of each other.
With a deep breath, he took another look outside. Birds flew outside freely toward the horizon. "Help me get through today, Mom," he whispered before straightening his back and going about his cursed routine.
X
That same morning, a princess woke up a few hours after the sun had already risen. Pushing past the heaviness of sleep, Princess Katara went to the water basin in her room and went about washing her face and combing her hair. She looked out the large glass doors that lead to her bedroom's patio and took note of the sun's position. The patio gave her a clear view of the center of town, the woods at the outskirts, and all the way to the small beach and expansive ocean that circled the island.
Katara smiled and pulled her late mother's betrothal necklace up to her neck. She quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to the dining room. As usual, her father and brother were half-eating, half-planning relationship expeditions to better trade with the neighboring kingdoms.
"Morning," she said with a short wave.
"Hey," Sokka mumbled. He was reading a scroll while holding a long piece of what looked like meat between his teeth. Katara wondered if he even knew he wasn't eating.
The blue, casual, dress she wore indoors got her father's attention as usual. "Katara, why don't you wear that long, silk dress I saw you in last week?"
She took a seat in the ridiculously long table, across from Sokka. Her hands moved deftly over the trays of fruit, nuts, and fish as she picked her breakfast. "That was for the festival of Tui and La. Today I plan on going to the creek with Master Pakku."
Hakoda sighed, "More fighting lessons?"
"Meditation and balance, actually." Katara cut a mango, imported from the nomadic temples up north, as she spoke. The fruit glistened like a sunset. The sweet, almost slimy fruit was so different from the plums her country was known for. She grabbed a piece by the skin and peeled the fruit from it with her teeth as she took a bite. "You act like learning to fight is so bad but Sokka is marrying a warrior from Kyoshi."
"Warrior princess," he corrected primly. Sokka's eyes widened, finally realizing he had a piece of uneaten meat sticking out of his mouth. "Plus, Suki trains with a lot of other women from their island. You just run off with our almost, kinda-sorta grandpa to the forest on your own."
She glared and pointed at her brother with her knife. "Master Hama is there too!"
"Whatever," he said waving her comment away. "Point is, you've never even fought anyone while Suki is a seasoned warrior. You know she lead the fight against—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know how amazing your fiancé is, Sokka." She rolled her eyes. "I love Suki, but I swear if you keep bragging about her accomplishments like they're your own—"
"I do not—!"
"Enough," Hakoda interrupted. The two stopped arguing but crossed their arms. "Since we're already on the subject of your engagement, Sokka," the young man grinned broadly, puffing out his chest, "I'd like to discuss the upcoming ball for Suki's arrival."
Katara brightened at the slight change in topic. She'd been looking forward to welcoming her new soon-to-be sister in law. The last few times Suki had visited their country, she had been so much fun to be around. Since she came from a small island, she didn't seem as bound to the code of conduct other Princesses prided themselves on. All three of them had even snuck out of the palace to a dance some of the young locals held in a cave.
Her father looked at her sternly. "Now, Katara, I know this is the last thing you want to talk about." Suddenly, her good mood plunged to the ground. "The ball will be attended by all of our allies and some of the most respected dignitaries in the kingdom." Not this again, she thought with a deep frown. "They will most likely bring their sons along. It would be a great time to finally find you a sui—"
"Can we talk about this later?" She asked, standing and grabbing a few nuts and emergency fruit for later. "I really shouldn't make Master Pakku wait. If you'll excuse me."
"Katara—"
With a forced smile she walked away. "Bye, Dad. We'll talk later." She ignored the small bit of guilt she felt from walking away from her father. "I promise."
As she left she heard Sokka shout, "She took the last mango!"
X
Ozai slammed the door of his office on Zuko as the young man left to go to his room for some trade documents Zuko had let him leave behind that morning. It was Zuko's duty to help him move everything he had in one room to the other every morning and evening. The only good thing Zuko was able to say about his father lately was that at the very least the man's obsession with his work could be confused for passion. The man dealt mostly in dealing gunpowder and explosives with the military and nearby allies of the kingdom.
Ozai's temper was unrivaled, however, and he had the habit of punishing Zuko in whatever way he saw fit the boy's indiscretions. This varied from things like downgrading his living quarters from a fine bedroom on the second floor for the attic to making Zuko "test" some highly flammable new product.
The latter had been the worst, a result of Zuko speaking against the unethical build of a new gun that could result in a 45% chance of the gun exploding and severely injuring the user. Ozai yelled at the boy for insulting the engineer, one of his employees, during the meeting and thereby insulting him. He was furious Zuko had the audacity to speak about things he knew nothing about, like the potential low cost of manufacturing that lead to that design. Additionally, Ozai thought he had been overly generous to let the boy sit in on the meeting and told Zuko that if wanted to speak like an uneducated house worker he could be one.
Thus, resulting in his role as the only servant in the house and the burn scar on his left eye.
When Zuko knocked on the office's double doors, after retrieving the remaining file he'd overlooked earlier, Ozai gave no response. With a sigh, he walked inside, left the files on the desk, and left. His father gave no sign of acknowledgement. The lack of physical violence or punishment was a welcome reprieve.
Finally, though it was an hour till noon, Zuko was able to return to the kitchen to eat the leftovers he'd saved from breakfast. Even if everything would be cold and the probability that he'd probably burn the tealeaves while trying to reheat the water was high, he felt a swell of happiness nudge the corners of his lips up.
When he stepped inside, he was unfortunately greeted with six pairs of eyes and the plopping sound of his breakfast being thrown into the trash.
"Hey, Dum-Dum," Azula greeted with a smirk. She dusted her hands dramatically, as if it took effort to get rid of the crumbs on her fingertips. "Ty Lee and Mai are hungry."
Ty Lee smiled and waved at him, unaware of the tension in the room. As always, Mai didn't say anything to him as long as Azula was in the room. To think that before his mother's death, her silence used to be a result of her shyness around him and now it was a result of fearing being shamed by Azula.
He glared. "There were two perfectly good bread rolls you could have fed them, but you just tossed them in the trash."
Her eyes widened in mock disbelief, "Those things?" Ty Lee's smile faltered, finally reading the room. "They were stale."
"I made them this morning."
"You honestly expect me to believe those rocks were fresh?" She laughed haughtily. "Either way, it's almost lunchtime. You should go to the creek and get us some fish."
He was aware of the time. The hollow aching in his stomach told him just how much time had passed since he woke up.
"It's cold, Azula, by the time I caught something it'd be dinnertime." Zuko said crossing the room. He walked right past the group of women toward the stove's small flame. The pot was hanging there already.
He could hear Azula roll her eyes and checking her nails in that condescending manner she had mastered. "Well then catch us a rabbit or something." Sparks flew up as he dropped a new log into the fire. "I shouldn't even have to tell you what to do. Just figure it out, Zuko. You've been slaving away in this kitchen how long now?" He knew she was trying to get a rise out of him on purpose. Deep breaths, he reminded himself. "Do your job. We'll be here when you come back."
Still not turning to look at them, he stretched his back as he stood. Their footsteps were almost silent as the three left the kitchen Carefully he grabbed the kettle and pulled it off the fire. At least, he'd have something before going into the woods.
Just as he thought about how light the kettle was he heard Azula call back to him. "By the way, I gave the rest of the tea to the girls."
Not for the first time, Zuko wondered how long his punishment would last.
X
As it turned out, Master Pakku was busy that day. So Hama and one of the palace guards accompanied Katara to the creek. She was still expected to practice balance exercises with Hama. Though the woman was more of an expert healer, she had at one point been a spy for the kingdom and knew combat.
In the woman's old age she wasn't much of a sparring partner, but she was still terrifying in other ways. At times, she taught Katara about strategy and poisons that could be made from plants she had once only thought were only healing remedies.
They were currently standing on a few slippery stones by the small waterfall a bit down creek. Katara mirrored her mentor's stance and movements. They stood on one leg with the other leg tucked up to their chest. Their arms were stretched above their heads, with their elbows bent out slightly. In perfect sync with her teacher, Katara turned her hands up and brought them down and forward in front of her stomach. As her arms moved down so did her leg. When her foot touched the ground her body moved into a lunge matching the pushing motion of her hands.
"Follow the flow of the current," Hama instructed in a grave voice. "Let the water teach you how to make your movements fluid, free from any constrictions your body may trick you into believing."
Katara focused on her breathing. Matching it to the push and pull of the water splashing around the slick stone she was balancing on.
"Very good." The old woman's voice came out like a hum.
The princess smiled and continued to repeat the motion several times. This was the last of ten stances she was supposed to practice to work on, both for balance and to understand the movement and weight of her body. It may not be the same as slashing through armor with a sword like Sokka, but there was a quiet strength to these exercises she knew held as much power as his blades.
Stupid, Sokka. She frowned into the last movement. Now finished, she and Hama both turned to face each other and bowed out of respect. "Thank you, Hama."
The old woman's wrinkles made her smile almost sinister in a way Gran-Gran's never seemed to. Maybe it had to do with the different experiences the women had lived through.
"Now, I want you to meditate by that waterfall, dear." She suggested, pointing at the small drop. "I'll search for a few herbs we're running low on at the palace in the meantime."
The water would be too loud for her to hear.
Sensing her uneasiness, the guard who had been sitting on the bank called over. "Not to worry, Princess, I'll be right here with you."
Katara smiled at the man and nodded. "Alright," she said.
Hama nodded. "Excuse me, your Royal Highness."
The Princess blushed at the formality but before she could insist Hama call her by her first name, the woman already began walking away.
She stretched before walking toward the bank to avoid the impossible task of swimming against the current to reach the waterfall.
X
The woods were a dangerous place. It was common knowledge that many had been held-up for their little or great wealth, women had been raped, and men killed. For this reason, Zuko always carried dual swords whenever he had to enter the woods for food or to travel to town. Plus they helped with hunting.
Before his father had essentially disowned him, Zuko had always had multiple tutors and teachers to cover both his education and skill as a fighter. He knew how to read, plan, calculate, and use anything from a dagger to a gun. Dual swords were still his favorite.
It really didn't take him too long to catch a large rabbit using a trap. If it hadn't been for his hunger he would have probably already been back home preparing lunch. But with the hunger and anger he was experiencing Zuko couldn't imagine moving too far from the trap he'd made. Really, cooking the rabbit for himself seemed like a great idea at the moment.
Luckily, he knew he was near the creek. There were a few blackberry bushes along the bank. That plus the rootstock of a couple cattails might tide him over for the trip back.
He tied some thin rope around the rabbit and to the strap of the sack he brought along with him. It was best to leave all the messy bits of cleaning the meat for later. After all, he could always use the different parts for something or another.
Zuko stepped along the clearest path toward the creek and could soon hear the sound of rushing water. As usual, he slowed down as he got closer. He knew better than to rush toward the open water source without making sure there was no dangerous wild life or a group of thieves resting in sight.
Luckily, there were no bears. However, he saw what looked like a dead soldier lying by the bank and a thin, cloaked figure creeping toward the waterfall. A crooked dagger glistening red was at the ready in their right hand.
The sack around his shoulder touched the ground without making a sound as Zuko rushed upstream. He used the trees and other plant life to hide his shadow, easing the swords out of their sheath. Just as he lined up with the killer, he saw her.
A young, tan woman with her legs crossed and back straight as she focused on her breathing sat under the waterfall. Water pounded around her while her eyes remained shut. Oblivious to what was about to happen.
Zuko dug his heel into the earth before he launched forward toward the person about to attack her. His feet almost slipped when they touched the wet stones at the bottom of the creek. The awkward movement was enough to create a noticeable splash, catching the attacker's attention. Zuko crossed his arms and pointed the swords' tips to the ground.
The man's eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated. Vaguely, he heard the girl gasp. In one swift motion Zuko slashed the swords up cutting the man's chest in an 'X.' He then swept his leg at the man's ankles making him fall on his rear.
The man's eyes were still wide and frantic as he stared at him. Zuko barely noticed the man prepare to launch the blade at the girl and hit the man's arm just before he released his hold. The dagger hit the rock wall behind the waterfall. As the current began to overpower the man, he grabbed Zuko's leg in a hurry and both tumbled around the water pulling each other under several times.
Desperate to breath, Zuko too frantic to be kind sliced the man's throat with one of the swords. With the other sword he stabbed the ground to not be swept away any further as the drowning man clung to him. Zuko gave the man's chest a hard kick and watched as the body floated away.
He stabbed the other sword into the ground and tried to manage his breathing. He'd swallowed some water during the struggle. Coupled with the lack of food and energy he'd already been suffering from before, Zuko was unable to do more than hold onto the hilts of his swords hoping his desire to live would eventually beat out the fatigue.
A soft voice called out to him and he felt something rough hit him in the face. The next few moments were a blur. He remembered grabbing whatever hit him, something sharp digging into his skin, water, then warmth.
Finally, no longer fearing death, his body shut down and Zuko fainted.
X
AN:/ I honestly didn't expect this to end up being a multi-chapter fic, but it seems that's what's gonna happen. This story will most likely be somewhere around 4 chapters long. I realize it's a bit off from the classic fairy tale, Cinderella, but I hope you've enjoyed what I've written so far. Make sure to please, please, please, give me some feedback! Darkheartlink I hope you like the story!