Is There a Place in Heaven?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal
Chapter 3: Around The Fire
It was the last stone to climb down from the Eastern Air Temple. It was with a heavy heart that she took that last step down and away from a place she finally felt welcomed. Although her interaction with Pathik was brief, she couldn't help but to feel a sense of belonging there. Meanwhile, the news of her father being promoted to prime minister made her feel uneasy. Fire Lord Ozai was known to be a vicious ruler. Add to that a ruthless aide and one can simply imagine what the rules will be like. Things were already bad as it was. The moment her foot hit the ground, a fireball was sent towards her. She barely dodged it as she pulled out her sword instinctively. She looked up and saw Prince Zuko, having remained behind from his crew, now picking a fight with her once again.
"Tell me again why the daughter of the prime minister is out here by herself, running away from the Fire Nation?"
She did not reply to him. She chose to run away instead. She felt as though nothing she said would make him understand her point of view. He was, after all, the son of the Fire Lord who is trying to rule all over the world at all cost. As she thought about it, she shook her head. Parents shouldn't define who their children are. She, more than anyone else, should know that. She defied her parents and left her home country to fight for the rest of the world. She shouldn't be assuming things about Zuko either. However, she couldn't help but believe that those thoughts weren't wrong, judging from his actions.
He chased after her, burning everything in the way to get to her quicker. She noticed the smoke rising from the forest and stopped herself from running any further. Enough damage was done. Who knew what creatures lived within those trees? She couldn't allow for more home to be destroyed.
"Tired of running, I see." He said.
"I could run all day if I wanted to, but look around you. Even if you were blind, can't you smell that smoke? Can't you feel the destructive heat?" She asked him.
He looked around. They were surrounded by fire. He smirked at her. As they stood there face to face, the sky started grumbling. It was originally such a sunny day, yet now, the clouds were dark and closing in on them. Lightning began appearing and rain started pouring down, stopping the fire from causing more damage to the forest. Suyin looked up to sky and thanked the gods for saving the trees. He couldn't help but notice how kind hearted she was. He forgot such kindness could exist in the Fire Nation. However, he thought of that kindness as something dumb. It angered him that someone could be so stupid. He wasn't completely wrong. Out of nowhere a liger jumped towards Suyin as she was distracted. Landing on her, she barely was able to push him back before he could bite her head off. Zuko quickly jumped in and scared it away with some fire before pulling Suyin up onto her feet and running away while holding onto her hand.
They escaped into a cave. It protected them from the beast and from the pouring rain. There was a few dry wood blocks in the cave. They used it to light it up and warm themselves after being drenched. They didn't exchange a single word since they stepped into the cave. They all did what they needed to do to set up camp since the rain didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. Finally, everything was done. They sat down by the fire to keep warm as they listened to the storm going on outside.
"You had a sword in your hand, you know. You could have killed that beast easily with your skills." He then said.
"It only tried to hurt me because it felt threatened."
"So you will protect something that wants to harm you because you think you are at fault? That's the dumbest I've ever heard."
"I wasn't at fault, you were. Do I have to remind you that you put his home on fire?"
"So you are saying that I put you in danger?" He said as his voice was raising.
"Sorry, that's not what I meant. I should actually thank you for helping me." She said as she brought her knees closer to her face, looking away.
He sighed as his anger dissipated. He threw another branch into the fire to keep it going. They remained quiet again for a little while. She avoided any eye contact with him. He couldn't help but to look at her. There was something about her that made him keep wanting to know her more and more. It was a story that was fascinating to him. All the aristocratic girls that he knew from the Fire Nation were pampered princesses. They hated it even when a hair was out of place. She was probably raised in the same environment, yet she was so different. She cared very little about herself and much more about others. She was kind, warm and modest. He knew all these things just from looking at her. However, he was uncertain if he liked those traits or hated it. Perhaps it was because he couldn't believe there was such a person in front of him.
"So…" He started, unsure how to phrase his question in a proper manner. "What made you leave the Fire Nation?"
"There are many reasons. One of them was that I couldn't relate to the narrative that I was being told about the Fire Nation."
"Such words would result in your sentencing as a traitor." He reminded her.
"I knew that all too well, that's why I left as to not implicate my family." She told him, still looking away and into the fire rather than into his eyes. "We were just so different."
"I can see that. I remember meeting General Yan when I was just a child. He had very little emotion. He was cold, yet he was hot-headed in battle, always wanting to claim victory in every battle. He and my father always got along very well. They shared similar views for this world."
"He indeed always wanted to win. He didn't care who he had to sacrifice to do so."
That's when Zuko remembered that General Yan had a son who died during one of his battles against the Earth Kingdom. His army came out victorious, but he came home with his son's corpse. He didn't shed a tear at the funeral. He stood strong there. His wife was the same. She didn't cry. She was pale as a ghost, but she didn't cry. They greeted everyone and treated their son like a war hero. He was just about their age when he passed away. Zuko went to the funeral, but didn't see Suyin then. She wasn't there. She couldn't face her older brother's death, so she was hiding in her bedroom crying. She was told not to cry that day, that she should be proud that her family had such a dedicated soldier among them. She couldn't be like them. She loved her brother dearly. He was the only one who understood her kind heart. He never blamed her for being soft like she was. When she was scared at night, he would sing her lullabies that her mother never cared to sing for her. He taught her swordsmanship so that she could protect herself in times of war. Those thoughts flushed back into her brain as she looked into the fire and tears started filling her eyes again. She coughed and blamed it on the smoke as she wiped away whatever water had come up to the surface of her lower lids.
"What about you? I only heard you were banished from the Fire Nation. I never heard the reason why."
"I fought my father in an Agni Kai." Zuko simply said.
They went silent again. An Agni Kai was often the last resort used to solve a dispute in the Fire Nation. One could potentially die in such a duel. In Zuko's case, it was his face that took the hit. For the first time, Suyin looked at his face closely. The burn scar was indeed still fresh.
"It must still hurt." She then said gently.
"My pride hurts a lot more." He replied coldly. "I was a prince. I had everything. I am now left with nothing. Just tasked with something everybody knows is impossible to accomplish. Finding the Avatar. He hasn't been seen in a century!"
"You still have your uncle. I can tell he cares about you very much." She replied. "At the very least, you still have that one family member who truly loves you."
"I should feel blessed then?" He asked with anger in his voice once again as he glared at her.
She quickly looked away. She hated confrontation, especially verbal confrontation like these. It made her very uncomfortable. She swallowed her saliva anxiously as she hoped that he would let it go and not pursue the conversation.
"Answer me!" He then said loudly as the fire in the pit rose to the ceiling of the cave before disappearing completely.
They were in complete darkness now, except for the few little specks of fire left from the ashes in the pit. Soon enough, those disappeared too. Suyin sat there in the dark not knowing what to say. Zuko was up on his feet, breathing angrily. He thought she could understand him since she was also away from home, stripped from her wealth and prestige. He forgot that it was a choice for her. She wanted to leave that life. He, on the other hand, was forced of doing so. He couldn't see what he had beside him: a loving father figure who was more of a parent to him than his own father would ever be. She envied his life while he hated his. They were not on the same page at all. They caught glimpses of each other's personality, but they would never come to an understanding in their current state. A gust of wind then blew into the cave making them both shiver from the cold. Suyin made a little fire within her hands to keep herself warm once again. Zuko did the same. They didn't have to share the warmth of a communal fire pit any longer. They each walked to a corner of the cave and sat there by themselves.
She rested her head against the rocks in the cave. They were cold, but, at least, they gave support to her head. They just had to wait it out for the rain to stop and they could each go their own ways once again. He no longer had the desire to capture her. She just wanted to get away from him. She fell asleep just like that as her mind grew tired of thinking. The fire in hand died out as she closed her eyes. He noticed from his end of the cave. He didn't want to care, but he couldn't help it. He walked over and sat by her side, holding the fire still between the two of them. He truly did not want anything to do with her anymore, but it was an automatic reaction of his body and mind. He was unable to fight the urge of caring for her.
End of Chapter 3
Thank you reading yet another chapter!
I hope you are enjoying it so far!
xox
Krystal
