StormAria does not own 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'...
Hi, again! I know the development of this story is really slow, I'm sorry!
But this chapter will be a memory.
Thank you for reading!
Aang's P.O.V
"Hey, are you alright?" Katara asked me, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. She sat beside me on a huge rock. She was teaching me how to waterbend but I guess I wasn't paying much attention.
"It's nothing. I'm just reminiscing," I replied absent-mindedly.
"Really? What about?"
That questioning face of hers was just too cute; I started to blush. She gave up on her ball of floating water, lowering it down slowly back to become one with the lake in front of us again.
"Oh, err... It's nothing! Nothing at all!" I laughed nervously. My voice going an octave higher than usual. My floating ball of water suddenly lost its spherical shape and bursted right in our faces. We came up completely drenched.
Turning to Katara, my mouth opened to apologise but it closed back because no words wanted to come out. Instead, Katara and I burst out laughing. We laughed so hard that we clinched our stomachs, rolling off the rock and finally landing in the lake. Good thing the water was only ankle high where we fell.
I looked up at Katara after our laughter subsided and only then I noticed how close we were. So close I saw the smile lines near her eyes. So close I could see every water droplet that fell from her wet long black hair which she often fashion into a braid down her back. But today I realised, just now, that it was out of its braid, covering a part of her face. The Sun shined behind her, making her look like an angel that had descended to Earth.
I unconsciously reached out and pushed the locks back and tuck them behind her ear.
"I want to see your face," I chuckled softly at her blushing face. Her eyes. They were so round when she was shock. So childishly round.
"A- Aang! I-I- I should go see what Sokka is doing!" She said frantically, looking anywhere but me.
I blushed red when I realised what I had just done. How embarrassing!
"oh, don't stop on my account," A stoic looking Sokka looked down at us. "Though, I think you should get away from my sister before I accidentally break your jaw..."
I flinched at his threat. Even though I knew I could easily take Sokka on but he was Katara's brother and my friend. And they both saved me from my hundred year slumber. I owed it to them. To the world. I was the Avatar.
I stood up in my wet clothing, helping Katara up along with me.
"Sorry, Katara. I shouldn't have done that," I said without feeling to her even though my heart broke in half at her pained expression.
"But, we were just having fun!" She whined. "Don't listen to Sokka. He's an idiot!"
"But he's right," I told her as I looked at her brother's surprised expression. "I'm the Avatar. I can't have fun. I should be training."
"N- No! That's not what I meant! You can have fun, obviously, but-," Sokka tried to defend himself from my conclusion but I had already opened my glider that was on the land just beside me and took flight, my clothes already dried. Looking down at Katara from this height, I knew she was hurt by my 'selfish' act and it made my already broken heart turn to bits. Yet, I ignored it and went flying into the forest.
In the forest, I spent my time calming myself down so that I would not accidentally destroy the world with my depression. Being the Avatar was just so stressful. So hard. And fun, as harmless as it seems, was just a wasted of time.
I needed that time to improve my bending skills. Sokka was right. We were in a war. I could not just simply have fun. But then again, I might have read the situation too deeply. Maybe he just wanted me to get away from his sister because he was just being a good protective brother. I should get back to them and apologise. And so they do not hurt themselves trying to find me.
"Ahh!" The scream invaded my thoughts. It was Katara's voice. What on Earth? I flew back to our base camp. There, I saw a Fire Nation airship right below me. I saw Katara and Sokka all tied up and being forced into the airship. I quickly swooped down and grabbed Sokka. He was closer than Katara.
"Wow!" Sokka muffled As I put him down at a safe distance.
"Look! It's the Avatar! Hurry!" The captain of the airship yelled at his subordinates. Katara was practically carried into the ship as I went through Fire Nation soldiers like they were butter.
"Katara!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as she tried to fight them off using her waterbending skills. But, the Fire Nation soldiers were overwhelming her. And me. There were too many!
then, as quick as they appeared, they were off. Whistling, I called Appa to me, grabbing Sokka and we hastily chased after them. Thinking I could easily get on the airship were child's thoughts. They were too fast and they shot us with cannons. Cannons?! They had cannons! One of the cannons collided with Appa and the impact sent Appa plummeting to the ground. I heard the pain in Appa's roar. Without a second's thought, I saved Sokka and Momo on my glider and lifted Appa with my airbending skills.
I put them down as gently as I could and looked up to see that the airship was gone. I should have been there! Now, Katara was gone! It was all my fault. My broken heart burst into a million pieces and the sky turned dark. Really dark that thunder made themselves known.
"Katara!"
Jumping up, I opened my eyes wide. My heart was racing wild. That memory kept playing behind my eyes, haunting me. The guilt ate at my conscience. I had to find her. I had to before it drove me insane!
Katara's P.O.V
"Get her in here," Prince Zuko said to the soldier.
"but, Prince! That's your-!"
Prince Zuko fire kicked the soldier into the other side of the wall. My eyes widen with shock. How could you do that to your soldiers? They were willing to lay down their lives for you! All the tingling feeling at the pit of my stomach disappeared. It was, instead, replaced with anger.
"How could you do that?" I spoke without thinking.
"Get in,"
"No way! I won't! Why should I?" I could not believe what was coming out of my mouth. But I just could not help it. It was fighting its way out.
"Katara, please. Just get in," He sounded like he aged in the past minute. His voice had an almost pleading appeal to it, so I could not help but listen to his request, reluctantly. Wait, did he say my name? Wait... He knew my name?
The room he told me to get into was huge. Well, I expected him to send me to the cells, so you cannot blame my surprise. The room had a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe and a small living room complete with a coffee table. There was a washroom on the opposite side of the bed. It looked like a guest room to me, by royal standards. Why the hell was I in here?
"You will be staying in my guest room," Prince Zuko said with his usual rough voice, looking anywhere else but me.
"Why did you send me here, Prince Zuko?"
He pursed his lips. I never thought I would live to see the day when a prince pursed his lips.
"Just call me 'Zuko'. Doesn't the Avatar call me that?" He said, ignoring the question.
The thought of Aang reminded me that Zuko was an enemy. I sat by the window and looked out.
"Please leave me alone," I said. My voice rougher than I intended. But I felt a sharp pain in my chest at the same time. I did not show it.
Prince Zuko's stoic face returned, he bowed at me and left the room. But not before saying something.
"You can use the clothes in the wardrobe. Yours looks like they should be washed. Just leave them near the door," he said, "I'll take care of it."
I heard the lock at the door and felt my heart race with the realisation that he had had enough respect for me to bow. Blood rushed to my face without me wanting it to. What is happening to me?
Chapter 3 is done!
I tried making it longer so that you could read more.
Teehee~ that memory. I hope you liked it!
Oh! I just thought that blush is like a combination of blood and rush! (don't know if that's right)
Thank you for reading and please, review!
