Catch My Breath
By Entei Artist
-------------------------
He felt nothing but numbness as he dragged his feet across the high terrain of snow, his once-joyful uncle lugging behind him. The icy wind hit him in the face with huge blasts, not allowing him to see anything beyond a three feet radius of him. He squinted, trying to search for a sign of light or sanctuary while pushing his unruly hair out of his eyes, but failing miserably at both.
It had already been several months after the start of the search for the infamous Fire Nation Prince and the retired General of the Fire Nation Army. They had been to many places on their little "journey," attempting to avoid being captured. They would have collected many souvenirs if it didn't mean risking their lives every time they stepped foot in a store (which was usually owned by some hysterical old guy that would run into the streets, screaming that traitors had tainted his beloved shop, and would usually end with Fire Nation soldiers hot on their trails.) They pretty much learned to stay away from society if they wanted to live after the first incident.
Prince Zuko was almost positive that the avatar was at some faraway palace, drinking warm tea and laughing with those little friends of his, surrounded cozily by the warm flickering fireplace. They would most likely still be celebrating over Aang's little victory over the Fire Lord, one that would not last long. The comet and danger might have passed, but the Fire Nation refused to surrender to some little kid who claimed to be one hundred years old and still enjoyed riding across the room on a spinning air bubble. But that was the least of Prince Zuko's worries. His sister seemed to appear everywhere he went, and it had become more difficult to lose her time after time.
Sighing, he could almost feel the fire if he could imagine hard enough. Damn, this was some hallucination he was having, because the fire felt so real that he open his arms to it, yearning to be enveloped by its secure arms and taken away from this madness. Suddenly, he realized that this was not a hallucination, and there was a house in front of him that radiated heat that warmed him to his toes. He picked up speed, dragging his bewildered uncle along.
"Do you see what I see, Uncle Iroh?"
Iroh gave a puzzled look. "A warm bath?" he suggested.
"Maybe," Zuko replied and proceeded to knock on the door, "just maybe."
A young girl, one that didn't look a day past fifteen, answered the door, peering at the odd pair that stood before her while trying to prevent the cold air from seeping into her house.
"Hello," Uncle Iroh spoke, wanting to break the awkward silence. "As you can see, we are merely travelers that would appreciate a place to stay until this storm is over with."
Zuko was sure that she would say "no" and slam the door in their faces as every single other person they had met up with, but when she smiled, they knew that reality had decided to give them a break, even if it was seemingly temporary.
"Come in," she beckoned, closing the door behind them.
They were greeted with a sudden gush of warmness from the crackling fire that stood against the wall, and they ran up beside it, trying to catch the heat with their hands.
"May I ask why the two of where outside during a blizzard?" she inquired politely.
"Ah, it's a long story," Uncle Iroh said calmly before Zuko could do anything stupid. "One perhaps we will tell you later."
But it wasn't as if Zuko could say anything. He was too caught up with this girl's smile, which seemed warmer than the fire at the moment.
"By the way, my name's Ame," she told them, smiling again. "I'll see what I have for you to eat."
"We'd like that," Zuko replied, giving in return his own crooked smile.
And thus began their long friendship.
She was not much of a bender by any means, but Zuko could have sworn that any flame that was nearby resulted in a dramatic incline of size when Ame was angry. They had learned that she became a widow at age twenty and had been living here for two years by herself, that her father was a famous general in the Fire Nation Army, and that she was quite a great cook, all in a good amount of time. While she gave everything away about herself, she knew nothing about them except that they had no home, and they were running from someone, or perhaps something dangerous. She had assumed that they had no luggage, only the clothes they wore, but did not press the matter of why they were on the run. She had just accepted them into her house without question, and warmed them and took care of them. It was like an unwritten rule to her, to not let anyone suffer if one had the power to prevent it.
Zuko liked to think that their presence lessened her burden. They helped in whatever areas they had the skill (but they left cooking to her in fear of screwing up) and received words of encouragement and thanks from Ame. They never had a second thought or doubt about Ame's motives, nor ever thought why Fire Nation troops never came to Ame's door in suspicion of the people staying in her house. Of course, she lived deep into the mountain terrain, so they felt rather comfortable in their current residence. They had just accepted things as they were, just as Ame had accepted them.
It had been a normal day when Zuko had woken up in the morning. Ame had politely asked the two of them to gather some wood for the fire, and Zuko and Iroh departed to do their chores without protest, if not happily. Zuko had a tune stuck in his head, the one that Ame had played yesterday on her unnamable instrument that faintly reminded him of home, and he kept humming it, much to Uncle Iroh's annoyance; so Iroh soon took another path to fulfill Ame's request in a more peaceful environment.
Once Zuko decided that he had gathered as much wood as he could carry, he headed back "home," his spirit cheerful and the atmosphere light. "Ame-san!" he called out when he realized he could not open the door with more than an armful of wood. And when she did not answer, he set the wood on the ground and opened the door himself, only to find the scene before him empty.
"Ame?" he called out repeatedly, worried that she could have fallen, hit her head, and fell unconscious. He jiggled open the doorknob to her bedroom, hesitating slightly. He could hear a quiet conversation nearby. "Ame?"
Two figures came from the right, one short, and the other slightly taller.
"Ah, Zuko, have a nice walk?" came a familiar voice that made Zuko so scared he couldn't bring himself to turn his head.
"Azula," he replied icily after a few moments had passed.
"Good, he talks. I was wondering if you had become mute after so long, dear brother," Azula sneered, a smirk rising on her face.
Zuko turned to Ame, searching in her eyes for an explanation, but finding none. "Ame…" he started in a shaking voice, "You didn't… you didn't…"
Azula laughed cruelly, tossing her head back in amusement. "No, she didn't bring me here, if that's what you're asking. I hired her a long time ago, knowing you would be stumbling into these mountains. And you did; you fell right into my trap!"
Zuko mentally shook his head furiously. No! Ame wouldn't do that! She wouldn't --- she wouldn't do that to us --- to me!
Ame only stood there, a sad expression clouding her eyes, tears threatening to pour. She yearned to pull Zuko into a warm embrace, wanted to whisper words of comfort to him, wanted to assure to him that she loved him. But all she could do was stand there, her feet immobile. It had been her mistake, and Zuko was paying for it.
"No…" he whispered like a frightened child, "no, no, no, no…"
He could barely hear his sister's taunts.
Wait till I tell Father!
Ha, Zuko, I always knew you were useless!
Don't tell me you've fallen in love with her!
Traitor! Traitor!
"NO!" he screamed, a loud cry of pain ripping from his throat as he dashed out, running as fast as his legs could carry him. He hoped desperately that he would come across Uncle Iroh so he could warn him about what had just occurred.
Azula gave an aggravated sigh. "Sorry to cause you so much trouble, Ame," she told the girl lazily, pushing the door open, oblivious to the silent tears that rolled down the girl's face. "See ya later, then." And with that, Azula was gone, and so was Zuko with her only chance at another life.
Zuko was cornered by rows of fire benders, the silence and tension only broken at the rustling of leaves and cloth. Out of the trees emerged his sister with the biggest smirk that he'd ever see.
"Looks like you have nowhere to run, brother," he heard Azula say, and with one smooth motion, fire erupted from her hand and towards him. The smell of burning flesh reached his nose, a terrified scream of a girl reached his ears, and the pain inside tore up his soul. Left on the ground was nothing but the ashes of the Fire Nation Prince, and the remnants of his torched clothes. Azula did not bother even to give his ashes the proper burial, and only sneered at her brother's foolishness and rejoiced at the thought of her father's praise.
"Let's go, men." And one by one they marched into their ship, headed home.
Her eyes wide and full of tears, Ame's mouth was wide with shock at what had happened before her eyes when she had come out of her house in worry. Only the howls of a tortured soul remained, and it too soon left the earth for the heavens, leaving Ame alone for her to grieve, but she could still hear Zuko's echoing accusations of her betrayal lingering in the wind. Deciding it was for the best, she headed back to her house, awaiting Iroh's shocked expression at what had happened.
Good-bye. I love you. Those words had never reached him in time.
Fin-------------------------------
Author Note: Mm, just felt like writing that. Please review!