Zukolover12 - Thank you!
Dragon's Maiden Slave- Okay, okay! BTW, nice name
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True love, true love,
It must be true love
No one else can break my heart like you
"How is she?" Zuko asked. Iroh looked up from Eri's bandaged face to Zuko, and left the unconscious girl's side to usher Zuko out of the infirmary.
"She's lost a lot of blood, but she will be fine," Iroh said.
"And her eye?" Zuko prompted. Iroh said.
"Her eye... can't be saved I'm afraid," Iroh admitted. Zuko sighed.
"Why did she even fight her father?" Zuko asked, becoming angry.
"Why did you even egg Zhao on? If you hadn't played into his trap, then we would be sailing without an injured girl in our infirmary," Iroh scolded. Zuko looked away and Iroh sighed again. "She will be fine, Zuko. Do not blame yourself."
"When do you think she'll wake up?" Zuko asked. Iroh shrugged.
"A day maybe," Iroh said. Zuko nodded once and walked away.
"The only reason you should be interrupting me, is if you have news about the Avatar or Eri," Zuko said calmly. Iroh pushed open the door completely and entered the room, holding a rolled up scroll in his hands.
"Well, there is news, Prince Zuko, but you might not like it. Don't get too upset," Iroh said.
"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now, whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it," Zuko said.
"Okay then," Iroh said hesitantly, stroking his beard. "We have no idea where the Avatar is."
"What?!" Zuko yelled, enraged. The flames of the candles in front of him suddenly erupted in a fiery mass, brushing the ceiling. Zuko rose to his feet. Iroh shielded his face from the flames, and then merely withdrew a fan from his robe and began waving it to cool himself down.
"You really should open a window in here," Iroh said.
"Give me the map!" Zuko ordered. He snatched the scroll from Iroh's hand and unrolled it, scanning over the parchment. The map in Zuko's hand had several locations marked down with zigzagged lines connecting each point.
"Well, there have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," Iroh explained.
"How am I going to find him, Uncle? He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering," Zuko asked desperately. Suddenly, a crew member rushed down the hall, and backpedaled to speak to them.
"Sir! She's awake!"
Well, Eri was awake, and she had taken up to staring at the ceiling without speaking. Iroh and Zuko entered and the doctor left to give them room.
"Eri?" Iroh said. Eri lolled her head to the side and blinked her eye at him.
"My eye is ruined, isn't it?" She asked. Iroh sighed.
"I'm sorry, but yes," Iroh said. She sighed and looked back to the ceiling.
"Don't be sorry, I rushed headfirst into a battle that I shouldn't have even fought in," Eri said. Iroh blinked at her. "So... Is the doctor going to remove it?"
"Most likely," Iroh said. She nodded a few times.
"And I'll get a fake eye?"
"Yes," Iroh said. "I'll make sure of it."
"Thank you Iroh. But there's one thing I don't understand," Eri admitted, pushing herself to rest against the pillows.
"And that is?"
"What happened after Zhao tore my eye?" Eri asked.
"Zuko carried you back to the ship and you were brought here," Iroh said. Eri looked to Zuko, who looked away.
"Thank you," She said. He grunted. Iroh, seeing the look on his face, backed out and closed the door. "Zuko, what's wrong?"
"Why the hell would you fight your father?" Zuko snapped. Eri frowned.
"I did beat him, he just cheated," Eri pointed out.
"I don't care about that, what matters is that you fought your dad and now you only have one eye!" Zuko exclaimed. Eri flinched and put a hand to her bandaged eye.
"Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious," She said sarcastically. Zuko frowned at her. She blinked at him. They stared at each other in tense silence for almost a minute before Iroh opened the door and entered. He paused at the door.
"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.
"No," They said in unison, looking away from each other. Iroh hummed in thought before nodding.
"Alright then. Zuko, dinner is ready to be served. I'll bring you some in a moment, Eri," Iroh said. Eri nodded and lay down again. Zuko stared at her back before following Iroh out. The doctor reentered and smiled at her.
"Is everything alright, Ms. Eri?" He asked. Eri rolled over and looked up at him. He was tan with dark hair and hazel blue eyes.
"I'm fine. How old are you?" She asked suddenly.
"19, miss," He said. Her eyebrows rose as he pulled up a chair and sat in front of her.
"You're young. How come you came with Zuko?" She wondered.
"I only joined last year. The old doctor was basically kicked out after doing something stupid, I can't really remember. But that's not really why I joined. I like to help people. Which brings me to asking: How do you feel?"
"Like I was slashed across the eye with an exaggerated sia?" Eri said. The doctor chuckled.
"I wonder why," He said. "I'm Daisuke by the way."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Daisuke."
"Likewise, Eri. Now I have a few questions regarding your eye."
"The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island?!" Iroh looked at Zuko as he walks away. "Uncle, ready the rhinos. He's not getting away from me this time."
"Are you going to finish that?" Iroh asked, casually pointing at the smoking fish in front of him. Zuko turned around and snatched the plate off the table aggressively.
"I was going to save it for later!" He snapped. Zuko left the room under the watchful eye of Iroh. As soon as Zuko was out of the room, Iroh crossed his arms, turned around, and sulked.
"Excuse me, General Iroh?" Daisuke called. Iroh looked up. "Is there food that I should take down to Eri?"
"Ah, of course," Iroh said, nodding. Daisuke sat as Iroh gestured him over and sent a servant to fetch the food.
"What is it, sir?"
"What will become of our friend Eri?" Iroh asked. Daisuke sighed.
"She'd like for the eye to be removed as soon as possible, and emphasize on soon. I said I could take care of it as soon as she was ready. So I'm thinking that would be as soon as you, and her, are done eating. I think it would be best for her to have company during the procedure," Daisuke explained. Iroh nodded.
"I'll join you two in eating, then," Iroh said.
"Oh no, I'm not eating," Daisuke said wide-eyed, watching the retired general stand. Iroh chuckled.
"I insist. Come on then."
"So, Daisuke. How long will this take?" Eri asked nervously, braiding the rest of her hair out of the way to it wouldn't fall in her eyes during the procedure.
"Not too long, don't worry."
"She'll lose a lot of blood..." Iroh said nervously as Eri lay down.
"Don't worry, I'm a water bender. Blood bending can be used for good.
"You are knocking me out for this, right?" Eri asked. Daisuke chuckled.
"Yes, you'll be unconscious. Are we all ready?"
"Ready when you are," Eri said. Iroh held her hand and gave a reassuring smile. "Wait! We have people posted outside for when Zuko comes back, right? We don't need him busting in and-"
"Eri!" Daisuke interrupted. She blinked at him. "It's all under control. Are you ready?"
"Now I am, yes," Eri said, relaxing back on the table.
"Then here we go..."
"Uncle!" Zuko called, boarding the ship. There was no reply. Zuko frowned. He stormed below deck and towards his uncle's room.
"Uncle!" He called again, banging on the door. No reply. Zuko became pissed. He headed towards the infirmary and saw the guards posted outside.
"What's going on in there?" He barked. They looked up and the first cleared his throat.
"Miss Eri is getting surgery-"
"What?!" Zuko exclaimed. The guards blocked the way of him trying to barge in.
"Sir, you can't go in there!"
"It's too dangerous. The doctor could slip and Eri could get hurt," The second said. Zuko froze, then sat against the wall opposite of the door.
"You can go now, I won't go in," He said. The guards exchanged looks and left. Zuko sighed.
"Prince Zuko?" Iroh said. He had opened the door to see his nephew sitting across from the door, seemingly asleep. Zuko's eyes opened and he looked up.
"How is she?" He asked. Iroh smiled knowingly.
"Eri is fine. She's asleep. Would you like to see her?" Iroh asked. Zuko stood and stared over Iroh's shoulder. He could see Eri's peaceful expression from where he was and shook his head.
"No. She's fine. I'm going to bed. Good night, Uncle," Zuko said before turning and walking away.
Disclaimer: I only own Eri and Daisuke
Eri means 'Blessed Prize'.
Daisuke means 'Great Help' which I thought was befitting since he's a doctor.
