Helloooo. So I had this Prince Zuko fic written and posted around six years ago, and it surprisingly did well despite my crappy writing and high school ramblings. After cleaning out my main account on Quizilla not too long ago, I realized just how much I missed this fic, writing for it, and Zuko, so I have decided to go and rework the story with a new oc and just have everything new and fresh because I really missed that angsty boy. So we'll see how it goes. Time for some old school Avatar :)
100 years. The Avatar had been missing for 100 years; vanished and out of sight, allowing the chaos of the world to grab hold and grow. For 100 years they had searched and scoured for the bridge between both worlds, never finding what they sought. It wasn't until a young Fire Nation prince, banished two years prior for speaking out of turn in Ozai's war room, did things begin to change.
The Avatar was back, and he was Zuko's ticket home. And Zuko, of all the disastrous things that had happened, was blessed with this bit of luck, being one of the first to witness his return. He knew not to underestimate him, and it proved difficult when the Avatar revealed himself as a naïve, 12-year-old boy, but the Prince fought, a brief sense of hope fluttering in his heart at the possibility of ever returning home. All he needed was that child and he'd restore his honor. Unfortunately, things did not work out as he had hoped. The Avatar and his friends, the brother and sister team that discovered his frozen body, managed to escape Zuko and his crew, damaging the ship in the process and leaving the Prince no choice but to stop at the nearest harbor for repairs, and he would have been fine with that had it been any other harbor.
She had been avoiding her father as she would any other time he was around. Family or not, he left a bitter taste in her mouth, a uneasy storm in her gut; the way he walked, nose in the air, hands behind his back as he talked and looked down on those around him. And his men were no better; cowards trembling behind armor, obeying the orders he barked because he was a captain – commander now. With her pampered mother always off travelling, Sakina was always left behind with no choice but to follow Zhao. Follow him to meetings, and ceremonies, places where men trained and fought, where they discussed politics and fought, where they reminisced about the old days and fought. She grew up surrounded by men, savage men, blood thirsty, greedy, shallow, disgraceful men, and she grew to hate them, even her own father, the epitome of what she detested.
She stood ankle deep in the water, hands dipped in the cold searching for shells or trinkets anyone visiting the harbor might have dropped. She pulled a small cloth from the pocket of her wide legged pants, waving her arm until it fell open, and placed the fistful of treasure she'd examine later. A sigh slipped her cherry lips at that overwhelming presence, that heavy, sickening presence of his.
"Playing in the mud again? Are you some 10-year-old boy?" Zhao's voice sounded, deep and disappointed.
"Do I look it?" she replied, back still to him. A very bold move, but he hadn't hit her for it yet.
"In those clothes and that childish attitude, you could pass for one."
"I don't think I have the right parts."
"Sakina, I don't have time for your games or remarks. An oh so special guest just arrived. Go make yourself look like a girl again. I can't have you embarrassing me."
"I only wear things like this when I'm cleaning or training, dirty work. You're acting like I never look put together."
"Sakina –"
"I'll go get dressed." She stepped out of the water, slipping into the pair of old shoes she had left on dry land. "Who is it, that's got you so excited?" she mumbled, folding and hiding the cloth.
"You'll find out eventually. Heed my word and make sure you look your best. Like I said, I won't have you embarrassing me." He narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, Father," she whispered, starting off. As hard as she tried ignoring his comments, one or two would occasionally slip through the cracks of her wall and hit hard. Zhao did major damage to his daughter's self-esteem, and just when she built herself up, he was always there to knock her back down.
She strode away from the water, stealing a glance at the lined ships. Whoever was here was important, as Zhao said. Someone special. To have Zhao so excited, he must be something. She hoped he was. She hoped her father would make a fool of himself. She hoped whoever this special guest was, this higher rank, that he put Zhao in place. She turned away as the door to one of the smaller ships slid open, revealing just the person she was thinking about.
"And I don't want anyone getting in the way," Zuko hissed, marching off the ship with a placid Iroh trotting behind. Zhao, who had lingered nearby after his daughter's departure, smirked to himself as he approached the men, ready for a bit of fun.
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?" he sneered, beady eyes meeting gold.
"Captain Zhao," Zuko said with a tilt of his head, irritated right off the bat.
"It's Commander now," he stated. "And General Iroh, great war hero of our nation."
"Retired general," Iroh corrected.
"The Firelord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What bring you to my harbor?" His gaze returned to the boiling prince, watching him, silently taunting him.
"Our ship is being repaired," Iroh answered.
"Oh? That's quite a bit of damage." He looked past them, ever so intrigued. What had Zuko gotten himself into, and how would Zhao use it against him?
"Yes, you wouldn't believe what happened," Zuko piped. "Uncle," He flashed Iroh a look. "Tell Commander Zhao what happened." The older man stared at his nephew momentarily before catching his drift. Story time.
"Yes! I will do that! What, did we crash or something?" he mumbled.
"Yes! Into an Earth kingdom ship," the boy finished, peaking to see if Zhao had believed any of it. He stiffened when the Commander stepped close, faces only an inch apart, eyes locked once again.
"You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?" Zhao leered.
"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko turned to leave. He wouldn't face Zhao. He didn't want to deal with him, to put up with his comments and smirks. He didn't need to be reminded of his situation.
"Go? Nonsense. I'll have my daughter throw on a pot of tea, and we can chat."
"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect. We would be honored to join you. How is Sakina, by the way?" Iroh said, starting off with him, mumbling along the way, "Do you have any ginseng tea?"
Zuko threw his hands in a fit of anger, flames bursting from clenched fists. The Avatar had escaped, his ship sat damaged, and now Zhao, of all people, decided it was tea and criticize Zuko time. He followed soon after with heavy steps and a curl of his lips, dreading what was to come.
They sat stuffed in the small room for what seemed like ages, Zhao rambling on and on about politics and war. The Fire Nation would soon claim victory. Their onslaught on the world was justified. Zuko's eyes never left the ground as he listened, disagreeing with most of Zhao's views. Of course he kept that fact to himself. Already banished for speaking out of turn, sharing his opinions of Ozai's war would not help his case.
"So, any news about the Avatar?" Zhao suddenly asked. Zuko never looked up, only turned his head slightly
"No. Nothing."
"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died over 100 years ago, along with all the other Airbenders. Unless…you've found something? Prince Zuko, if you have an ounce of loyalty left you'll tell me what you've found."
"The tea's been done for a while. You never told me who was here or when you wanted this," Sakina sighed, stepping into the large tent, tray in hand.
"Next time ask before waltzing in," Zhao scolded. Did he want her to knock on the invisible door? She nearly rolled her eyes, but caught herself and glanced at the two guests instead, lips parting at the sight. Surprised now, she didn't realize Zuko had caught that flicker in her eyes. Was it resentment? Bitterness? Something foul and all for Zhao.
"Sakina, it's been so long," Iroh beamed.
"General Iroh," she said with a nod, stepping deeper into the space to set the tray down. She turned, bowing gently.
"Prince Zuko." She straightened herself, peaking over at Zhao. She searched his face for some reaction, and oh how glorious it was; frustration, bitterness, envy plastered across that harsh face of his. Sakina knew how he felt about Zuko. He put the prince down whenever he could, always belittling him, criticizing him, laughing at his misfortune. For one, Zuko was still so young. Zhao laughing at a struggling young adult? Disgusting. And the Prince at that. Had he no respect? No decency? Regardless of if he possessed any of that, she knew he hated Zuko.
Sakina held nothing against in the Prince. In fact this was the first time meeting him up close, the only other times she set eyes on him being the occasional event, and even then it was from a distance. She was, however, there with Zhao the day Ozai decided to punish his son, the day he decided suffering would be Zuko's teacher. That was something she could not forget, something that angered her about the way the old, backwards men handled the world. She felt bad for him. Not pity. Perhaps empathy, putting herself in his shoes. Just how lonely was he? Was he hollow like her? She had no reason to disrespect him. And seeing as how Zhao boiled over her proper greeting, she decided she'd have all the fun she could with this.
"Father," she spoke. "You didn't tell me Prince Zuko was here. I would have prepared something else, something more."
"That won't be necessary."
"What are you talking about? We have two important guests. Of course it's necessary."
"I asked for tea. It's here. Now go." He narrowed his eyes, his voice sharp.
"I'll go, but I'll be back with something. Prince Zuko, General Iroh, any requests? Granted we don't have everything at the moment, but I'm sure I could get a hold of something." She faced them.
"No thanks," Zuko said, bewildered by her sudden warmth. She knew how to play the crowd. She was pushing Zhao with every word she spoke, and Zuko stood aware of that now. Though it didn't show, he was oh so curious of what would happen. Just how far would she go?"
"I haven't found anything. It's like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago," Zuko finally said once Sakina had left. Zhao fell silent for a moment.
"Zhao, my, my, your daughter has grown. She is becoming a strong young lady," Iroh said, hoping to change the subject.
"More like a useless fool who constantly disobeys me," Zhao snapped.
"She's young and around that age. She'll grow out of it. Besides, she's a very strong firebender. I can see in her eyes she's very eager to learn."
"She needs to learn her place, just as some others do as well." He eyed Zuko. The Prince stood up and headed towards the door without so much as glancing at the older man.
"Come on Uncle, we're leaving," he stated, prepared to march out and to his ship; however, two guards slid in place, blocking the exit. A man stepped inside and over to Zhao.
"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the ship's crew. They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."
"Now tell me…" Zhao strolled over to Zuko, bodies near, his lips so close the boy felt his hot breath against his ear. "How exactly was your ship damaged?"
Zhao made sure his guests stuck around long enough to share all the details of their little adventure with Aang, squeezing everything he could out of Zuko. Sakina had returned by then, and with the help of Iroh, was able to stay with the men so long as she kept quiet and out of the way. She stood in the corner, lips pursed, eyes cold and hard as Zhao harassed and humiliated the Prince. What nerve. Not long after the little interrogation, Zhao had waltzed out for something. What it was, she wasn't too sure, nor did she care, only for the fact he was gone and she could relax a bit.
"Sakina," Iroh caught her attention as she had tilted her head to crack her neck. She straightened up, stepping closer to him.
"How have things been?"
"As miserable and grey as the sky is outside," she sighed. He blinked in surprise, positive he had heard something like that a few times from a certain prince. He glanced at his nephew just as she did. He sat slumped in the chair, arms crossed, lip curled, staring off to the side.
"Why so miserable?"
"My father is a pompous ass, the men here are disgusting, I'm ridiculed for everything I do, and trust me, if you stayed here a few days you'd come to see what a sad existence my life has become. It's the same boring crap every day. The same outrageous rules. The same pigs and lairs, my father included."
"Has it gotten that bad?" He met her eyes, concern evident.
"It's been bad for a while. It's not like I have a mother around either – not that she'd do anything. She's just as bad in her own spoiled way." She crossed her arms with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain. It's just been a while since I've gotten it all off my chest. Visitor or not, you're about the only one who ever asks how I'm doing, General Iroh."
"Iroh. Just Iroh. Or Uncle if you prefer," he smiled.
"I'm sorry," Sakina spoke loudly, hoping to catch Zuko's attention. He peered at her from the corners of his eyes before fully facing her with a raised eyebrow.
"What for?"
"Zhao. I'm sorry for the way he's been treating you – for how he's treated you in the past. For one, you're the Prince. He should know his place," she said. He glanced down.
"Second, Prince or not, you really don't deserve to be kicked around like that. He's arrogant and rude. I don't know why he hates you so much, only that he does, and it's annoying."
"Annoying, hu?" He looked up again. "I can imagine."
"Sakina, if you're not happy here, what do you plan on doing?" Iroh jumped in.
"What can I do but wait until Zhao gets killed or someone decides they can tolerate me enough to marry me and drag me away? As a woman living under his rules, I don't have many options. Trust me, Uncle, I'd love to travel or go somewhere to improve my firebending, but let's be honest, I go where he goes."
"Well it seems as though Zhao will be leaving soon in search of the Avatar."
"You bet he will. He'll probably make me stay here with his dogs." She cringed at the thought.
"You made sure to piss him off earlier, the way you were kissing up to me. What's stopping you from breaking his word and doing whatever you want?" Zuko said. She nodded slightly to herself, surprised where that came from.
"I don't know. I've just never had a solid plan, you know? Sure I could run away, but then what? Where, why, how? It always seems to fall apart. I can't exactly trust anyone's help either. I've spent my entire life surrounded by these men I've come to hate with everything in me. You're uncle's about the only man I feel even remotely comfortable around." She held herself tightly as she spoke.
"I don't have a problem with rules. It's his rules and the garbage he spews that makes me want to leave. I'm sure you can tell he's horrible."
"Let's just say Zhao isn't exactly my favorite person at the moment." Zuko fell back against the chair with a sigh. Trapped by Zhao. If this was anything like what Sakina lived every day, he truly felt for the girl.
Another half hour passed, and Zhao was back to belittling Zuko, pausing from time to time to urge Sakina to leave, only to have Iroh intervene and beg she stay because he enjoyed her company. As before, she stood in her corner listening to Zhao's harsh words. She hated that man. She hated him so much. She couldn't stop telling herself that, couldn't stop curling her lip or rolling her eyes every time he held himself above everyone as if he were Firelord, as if he were God. She wanted him dead, and if possible, by her own hand. She looked up at the sudden commotion.
"You? Stop me?" Zhao laughed, pacing before the prince who had never left his chair.
"Don't under estimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you!" he spat, glaring at his captor.
"That's enough, Prince Zuko!" Iroh scolded.
"Me, I have hundreds of warships under my command. And you, no home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."
"You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne."
"If your father really wanted you, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire nation."
"That's not true!"
Sakina clenched her fists, her jaw just as tight. This is what Zhao did to her; yelled at her, ridiculed her, got her all worked up for nothing. To see someone else on the other end…
"You have the scar to prove it," Zhao half laughed.
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko bit back.
"Is that a challenge?" He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms as he waited for the boy's answer.
"You shouldn't push him. He's the Prince, Father," Sakina finally spoke.
"You shouldn't speak out of turn, Sakina. Prince Zuko can tell you all about the consequences of doing so, can't you?" He returned to Zuko.
"You're causing trouble. They're only here for their ship. You got your answers, so let them go. It's General Iroh and Prince Zuko. You're the one who is out of place."
"Excuse me?" He face her fully. She looked on, never wavering, never flinching or turning away.
"You're always going on about respect and knowing one's place. You're disrespecting the Firelord's son –"
"Do you think Firelord Ozai would care? There's a reason Prince Zuko is here and not at home in his cushy palace."
"Exiled or not, it doesn't give you the right –"
"It doesn't matter, Sakina, what you believe or how you feel. This is my business, not yours. You're only here because general Iroh insisted you stay. The Avatar is back and Prince Zuko thinks he can capture him all on his own. I highly doubt it, but it's ok to dream a little." He faced Zuko once again, his lips curved in a smirk.
"Where were we? Ah, yes. You're answer, Prince Zuko?" He held that smirk, waiting. Zuko met his beady eyes.
"Agni Kai…at sunset."
"It's a shame your father isn't here to see you lose," Zhao began, stepping away. "I guess your uncle will do."
"What is wrong with you?" Sakina stepped towards her father. He stood at the exit, turning his face.
"Hm?"
"What are you thinking – are you even thinking?"
"I warned you multiple times to keep your mouth shut and mind your business," he spat.
"Do you understand what's going on?" She went on, still defiant. "An Agni Kai, with the Prince? You must be out of your mind."
"Sakina," Iroh said in an attempt to calm her.
"Always walking over people, putting them down, humiliating them, and now you're dueling the Firelord's son? You don't want me to embarrass you? It turns out you're the one embarrassing me!"
"You're my daughter living under my roof, my rules, my word. You'll do as I say, whether you like it or not, Sakina, until you're dead or some desperate man comes around asking for your hand, understand?"
"This isn't about me. It's about your stupid actions. You're really going to fight –"
"Sakina, please," Iroh said.
"Enough." She froze at the command, glancing at Zuko. "That's enough. Let it go," he said. She didn't speak again. She knew what it would do to Zhao, what obeying Zuko would do to him. He flashed a warning with a snarl, hostility in his eyes, and left without another word.
Sakina quietly made her way over to pour the older man another cup of tea, eyes never leaving the tray and cups. Though she was silent, she could feel, she could hear her heart ramming against her, and it took quite a bit effort to control her breathing, tricks she had picked up through firebending training of course, as well as the countless times Zhao had pushed her, the times he had built her up only to knock her down and watch her shatter, and then blame her afterwards for not being strong enough.
"Prince Zuko, do you not remember what happened when you last dueled a master?" Iroh spoke.
"I will never forget."
Thank you again, as always, for swinging by. I appreciate it. I will continue to post for the other stories as well. I'm working on getting the Itachi fic up to date with my main account, so bear with me :) More chapters are soon to come. And check out the Facebook page for updates if you'd like - /Shadowbender16