A/N - I do not own any rights to Avatar: the Last Airbender. I only own my own OCs.
Trigger Warning: This will briefly mention sexual assault and kidnapping. Please read at your own discretion.
Chapter 3: Zhao
It was a beautiful day out, in Zora's opinion. The sun showed over the ocean over the course of the day, as they flew towards the Northern Water Tribe. When it came time for dinner, the entire group made their way to an abandoned temple on the shores of Taku. Zora had noticed that Sokka had begun to sneeze on their journey to the North Pole, so they settled on Taku to get some sleep.
However, Sokka began to get worse and worse.
Sokka's shivering almost made Zora believe he was going to chip all of his teeth because of how loud he was. Eventually, he curled into a sleeping bag and tried to stay warm. Katara felt his forehead and determined that he had a fever. She got a wet, cool rag to put on him. Hopefully that would be able to help him feel better. Although, he kept coughing and sneezing. Zora began to worry.
"Here. This should bring your fever down." Katara stated, placing the rag on his forehead.
Sokka began to sweat at this point, and was starting to get delirious. "You know what I love about Appa the most?"
Zora played along, "What's that, Sokka?"
"His sense of humor."
She giggled, "that's nice. I'll tell him." As soon as she said that, Appa roared gently. She smiled at the interaction.
Sokka giggled, "Classic Appa."
Aang appeared after searching for herbs and roots. "How's Sokka doing?"
Zora shrugged, "not so good. Being out in that storm for so long really did a number on him."
As she said that, Sokka shivered even more. Zora sat next to him and held the wet rag to his forehead. She smiled gently at him.
Aang sighed. "I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map!" Zora's eyebrow hitched. He continued, "there's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain." He pointed to the mountain nearby. "We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."
Katara challenged his statement. "Aang, he's in no condition to travel. He just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow."
Zora shook her head. "It might be better if we find some herbs for him though, Katara. One of the people in my village had a cold similar to this and he was sick for weeks, even with the herbs."
Katara looked at her to argue, but she started to cough herself. Zora's eyes went wide, along with Aang's.
"Not you too!" Aang exacerbated.
She rolled her eyes. "Relax, it's just a little cough. I'm fi-" she could muster, but then another coughing fit started.
Zora's eyes displayed pity on the girl. Being sick was something Zora dreaded. She and her grandmother often took care of the village when there were people who were sick. When Zora got sick, she felt useless. She hated asking for help from others.
Katara continued to cough for a few seconds more, before Aang spoke up. "That's how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him! He thinks he's an earthbender."
Zora glanced over at Sokka again, whose arms made their way out of the sleep sack. "Take that, you rock!" He threw himself forward a bit, Zora catching him and gently pushing him back in Appa.
"You showed that rock. Now lay down." Zora instructed, placing the cool rag on his forehead again.
Aang spoke again. "A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense, too." He gave Katara a desperate, pointed look. "I'm going to find some medicine."
He stood up, glider in hand. Zora stood up as well. "Wait, I'm coming too. Katara can keep an eye on Sokka for now." Determined to get them both better, her eye contact with Aang said it all.
We have to make them better.
Aang nodded at her, glider opening at the simple command of his bending skills.
"Alright. You take Appa for now."
They both began to walk, when a bright light of lightning and loud clap of thunder stopped them in their tracks.
Zora gave a nervous look to Aang. "Maybe it's safer if we go on foot?" She questioned.
Aang nodded. He turned back to Appa and Momo. "Keep them safe, you guys."
Appa roared and Momo cheeped at them. Sokka laughed out loud, "ha ha! You guys are killing me!"
Aang and Zora turned back and began their journey.
After about an hour, Aang and Zora made it to the herbalist institution. As they walked in the green house, Zora awed at all the herbs that were encased. Ginger root, mint, lavender, tea tree - she almost felt like Katara would've loved to be here.
Aang rushed to the elder woman at the back of the green house. "Hello! We're sorry to barge in like this, but we need medicine for our friends. They have fevers and they've been coughing-"
"Settle down, young man. Your friends are going to be fine." She interrupted. "I've been up here for over forty years, you know. Used to be others, but they all left years ago." She reached out and petted a white, fluffy cat. "Now it's just me and Miyuki."
Aang rolled his eyes, "that's nice."
Zora stifled back a chuckle. Sassy Avatar, she thought.
The woman spoke again, "wounded earth kingdom troops still come by now and again. Brave boys, and thanks to my remedies, they always leave in better shape than when they arrived."
Aang's patience began to thin, Zora noticed. "That's nice. Are you almost done?"
"Hold on! I just need to add one last ingredient." She walked away from the pair, muddling through her collection. "Oh, sandalwood… oh! Yes - no, that won't do."
Zora couldn't help but feel as if her guard needed to be up. She was on high alert. As the woman continued to mutter to herself, Zora eyed her cautiously.
Aang began to lose his patience, as he groaned loudly.
After about five minutes, the woman finally exasperated, "oh here's what I was looking for! Plum blossoms!"
"Finally." Aang whispered to Zora. "Thanks for all your help."
He grabbed at the bowl quickly, and his hand was quickly swatted by the woman. Zora instantly came to his defense.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The woman exclaimed.
Aang's eyes went wide, "take the cure to our friends…"
"Oh! Haha, this isn't a cure! This is Miyuki's dinner."
Zora's eyes twitched. "Oh for the love of the Spirits." She whispered.
"What about our friends?!" Aang was starting to worry.
"Well, all you need is some frozen wood frogs."
Zora gagged. "Wood frogs?" She questioned.
"There's plenty of them down in the valley swamp!" She said joyfully.
"What are we supposed to do with frozen frogs?" Zora questioned once more.
"Why, suck on them, of course!"
Zora felt her stomach bile rise in her throat. "You can't be serious…"
Aang looked at her with disgust as well. She continued. "The frog skin excretes a substance that'll cure your friends. Make sure you get plenty. Once those little critters thaw out, they're useless."
Zora and Aang looked at each other quickly before looking at the woman.
Aang said, "you're insane… aren't you?"
The woman smiled adorably, "that's right!"
Zora slapped her hand to her forehead.
"Well don't stand there all day! Go!" The woman yelled.
Zora and Aang did not hesitate, and made their way out of the institute. They began to run, when suddenly something zoomed by Zora and Aang's bodies.
Zora's head snapped in the direction of the wind, to find a multitude of arrows reigning down on them. She gasped and tried to move, but quickly realized her pant leg was pinned to the ground by an arrow. Before the reign of arrows could penetrate them, Aang used his bending skills and created a wind gust to deflect all of them in different directions.
Zora and Aang took out the arrows pinning them to their spots. Before they could move again, more arrows headed their way.
One was heading straight for Aang. Zora quickly reacted and pushed Aang to the side, before narrowly missing the arrow herself. They both realized the men in Fire Nation armor were aiming for them. Zora and Aang's eyes widened, before more arrows fastened them to their spots again.
"Aang!" Zora yelled over the storm winds. Suddenly, something hard hit her head, and she blacked out.
Zora's hair blew in the wind behind her, her face towards the setting Sun. She wore traditional Water Tribe coats and her hair was braided to the side. A couple pieces of her long bangs laid on her warm cheeks. A single tear fell from her green eyes, as she pleaded to the Spirits to take her pain away.
"Zora." She heard in the distance. "Zora…"
Zora's eyes blinked subtly as she adjusted to her surroundings. However, she wasn't back at the abandoned temple.
Around her she found red walls with Fire Nation paraphernalia. A sense of fear jolted through her body as her fight or flight reaction kicked in. She sat up abruptly, the covers of a bed falling off her body.
She quickly glanced down to find that she was only wearing her bindings. Her brown hair was laying freely, her braids taken out. Her eyes searched the room for her clothes, but did not find them to be anywhere.
Zora's breathing started to speed up, anxiety and fear setting in more. Where am I? What happened to my clothes?
There was a knock on the metal door, and without hesitation, it opened.
Zora's eyes found a man standing in the doorway. He looked older - 40s, maybe - and his hair was the color of salt and pepper. His sideburns came down to his chin, his dark brown eyes taking in her surroundings. He wore traditional Fire Nation military armor, his hair tied in a knot on his head.
He smirked at her. "About time you woke up, Earth Kingdom whore."
Zora held the covers up over her chest, trying to hide herself from the man. Her eyes narrowed at him. She refused to give him the satisfaction he wanted.
He continued. "Don't worry, you'll be useful another time. I want to make sure the Fire Lord gets a nice surprise when I hand him a pet and the Avatar."
Zora's eyes stayed narrowed, but anxiety set into her heart. The Fire Lord? No…
The man smirked at her. "I'll have some fun before that though. Don't you worry."
With a look and a nod, the man turned and closed the door, leaving Zora to herself. She suddenly began to shake. She tried to calm herself, but she only made it worse. She took shaky breaths and her heart began to accelerate. She didn't want to be treated the way her mother was.
She didn't want to be a sex slave and die to the people of the Fire Nation.
Zora closed her eyes and began to think of things that made her happy - her grandmother, her village, Appa's fur, Momo cuddling her at night, Sokka's lau-
Sokka…
Zora's eyes snapped open. She needed to get back to the group and help them. She needed to get them better.
She needed to make sure Sokka was okay.
Zora looked around, hoping to find something that could help her get out of this room. She looked around and noticed there was a very small window at the far side. It was maybe a bit bigger than her head, and it was in the shape of a circle. She looked out and saw nothing but trees that looked miles away. Zora's breathing started to become labored again, panicking in her head. How was she going to get out of here? She couldn't be sent to the Fire Nation.
Suddenly, a loud gush of wind slammed open the metal door of her room. She looked over to find none other than Aang. Relief washed over her as she ran towards him. "Zora! You're okay!" He exclaimed.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulder briefly. "Spirits, I'm so glad you're okay, Aang."
"We need to get out now. Zhao is up to something."
"Is that the man with the sideburns?"
"Yes, and he's very dangerous. C'mon, we need to-"
Zora's eyes wandered past Aang to find a mysterious person behind him in a blue mask that mirrored a dark spirit. She gasped and jumped back. "Aang, who is that-"
"He saved me. He's on our side. We need to go now, Zora!" Aang said, rushing around the room collecting Zora's things.
Zora suddenly remembered she was just in her bindings, and a blush appeared on her cheeks. Not only was Aang seeing her half naked, but a random person was as well. Aang found her clothes and threw her shirt and pants at her, along with her shoes. Zora quickly threw everything on, and out the door they went.
They wandered through halls, winding through and eventually came to a set of doors outside of the building. The person held a finger to their mouth, signaling them to be quiet. Zora nodded and tip-toed outside. They were about halfway through the courtyard when she heard a man scream in anger. "The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!"
Zora whipped her head to find the man who was ready to take her to be a sex slave to the Fire Lord, Zhao.
"Stay close to me!" Aang yelled over the chaos. All three of them began to sprint down to the front gate, which was closing slowly. Aang bended a large gust of wind at the guards, throwing everyone in its path meters away from them. The gate however, did not stop. As the group ran faster, Zora felt heat coming in different directions. Zora suddenly found the power to reveal to Aang what she's been hiding.
She stomped her foot on the ground and created a boulder, and threw it in the way of the group of guards to her left. Aang whipped his head around in astonishment. "Y-you can-"
"Not now, Aang! Go!" Zora yelled over the men yelling at them.
The person with them, who she ended up just naming him Blue Spirit, used his dual blades for hand to hand combat. They all almost made it to the gates, when suddenly guards were surrounding them all. The gate closed on them, and suddenly Zora felt herself catapulted up by a gust of wind. Next thing she knew. She was on top of the gate entrance, where more guards were coming at both sides. She grunted as she slammed her right foot to the ground and threw more blocks of earth at the men. The Blue Spirit landed next to her, throwing his arms around her and launched her onto his back. Zora wrapped her arms and legs around him, as Aang landed on his shoulders, and bending their way off the entrance and moving forward.
It wasn't easy, as spears were being thrown their way, but the Blue Spirit deflected them with ease. However, it made Aang struggle to hold the weight of two other people up in the air. Zora felt them all falling down and crashing onto another entrance of a gate. This time, the guards were too close.
All three of them got into a fighting stance, and thus pursued to fight.
Zora successfully defeated several guards that were aiming to grab her. Muttering under their breath, she heard many slurs thrown her way.
"Earth bending slut."
"You piece of Earth Kingdom shit!"
"You stupid fucking wh-"
Zora threw the last guard over the wall where he fell to his death. Zora watched as Aang and the Blue Spirit were also fine, and continued on to the last gate before the woods started. However, Zora was distracted, and was suddenly grabbed by strong hands. She yelped as a sharp object appeared next to her throat and a large hand grabbed her by the waist, pressing down hard. Before she could utter a word, she saw the way Aang's face contorted into fear.
"Let her go, Zhao!" He yelled.
Zora's eye turned big and she started to lose her breathing pattern. She felt Zhao's hand grip tighter on her waist, and she winced in pain. The edge of the sword sat closer to her throat, any more pressure and she wouldn't have a cut forming.
"You are not leaving here, Avatar. If you surrender, I will let her go." Zhao said. Zora felt anxiety race in her heart.
"No, Aang! Don't do it!" She yelled. She was shushed by Zhao as he held the sword even closer to her throat, creating a thin cut on it. She winced in pain, holding as still as she could. Zhao noticed her breathing become uneven, and he moved his hand from her waist a little lower to her butt, as he grabbed his hard. She felt tears leak from her eyes.
"Zhao!" She heard Aang yell.
"You will not leave here, Avatar."
Zora looked at Aang and gave him a look. It's okay. Go. She pleaded with her eyes.
Aang shook his head quickly. "I'm not leaving her with you!"
"She can walk free, but only if you surrender to me, and the Fire Nation, now." Zhao said, his hot breath on Zora's ear. More tears leaked from her eyes.
Aang looked between her and Zhao, before slowly laying his fists down at his side. He stood up straight and looked at Zhao. "Fine."
"No!" Zora yelled.
Zhao smirked even more, before removing the sword from her throat and shoving her towards the ground. "A wise decision, young Avatar."
Zora scrambled to her feet, trying to grab at Aang as he walked toward Zhao. "Aang, no! Please!" She pleaded.
Aang ignored her though, and continued to walk towards him.
Suddenly, the Blue Spirit lept from behind Zora and grabbed a hold of Aang, one of his blades on his throat and the other hand pointed at Zhao, signaling him to stay back. Zora picked him up prompts though, and she slowly began to walk backwards. The Blue Spirit did the same with Aang in his arms.
Zhao and his army stopped advancing. "Open the gate," he demanded.
"Admiral, what are you doing?" A guard questioned.
"Let them out, now!" He yelled.
With the sound of scraping metal, the gate opened. The three continued to back away, before they were free. However, to be safe, they all slowly crept away, their eyes still on the gate. Zora gulped, and observed her surroundings. She noticed that Zhao and two other people sat at the crew's nest, watching them walk away. Before she knew it, an arrow whisked towards them, hitting the Blue Spirit right in the forehead.
She gasped as the man fell backwards, and was knocked out cold. Zora gasped and rushed to his side. She immediately checked his throat and made sure he had a pulse, which he did. She looked back at Aang, whose eyes were the size of plates.
Aang just stared at the man on the ground. His face read confusion, mixed with panic and wonder. She raised an eyebrow and looked back at the man, who was still unconscious. "Aang?" she questioned.
Suddenly, Aang raised his arms and created a large dust cloud that surrounded them all. Aang ran over to her and the man, and crouched down to them. He slowly lifted the mask off of the man, and it revealed someone with a large scar on their left eye. Aang gasped, stumbling away quickly in disbelief.
Zora looked at him in panic, "What?! Who is this?!"
He began to back away without responding, before turning back conflicted. Zora tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy for her. "Aang, help me!"
Aang looked back between them and the guards rushing their way. He sighed and helped Zora pick up the Blue Spirit. Aang threw him over his shoulder, and they all ran before the guards could catch up to them again. Finally, they had gotten away.
Zora and Aang eventually stopped in the middle of the woods, Aang putting down the Blue Spirit, who was still knocked out cold. Zora and Aang sat down in a secluded area, breathing heavily.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, and Zora noticed that Aang did not take his eyes off the person next to them. Zora was curious, why was he so afraid of this guy? He had just saved them both.
"Aang, who is this?" She questioned quietly.
Aang continued to stare. "This is Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation."
Zora gasped, and scooted away a bit. "But… how… I don't…" She was so confused! Why was the Prince of the entire Fire Nation, son of the Fire Lord, helping them escape?
Suddenly, the Prince began to stir and he regained his consciousness, moaning a bit as he was waking up. He turned his head and Aang sank back into the tree he was sitting on. Then, he spoke.
"You know the worst part about being born over 100 years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend, Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had…and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you."
Aang turned his head and looked at the Prince. "If we knew each other back then, do you think we could've been friends, too?" He smiled softly at the Prince.
Zora looked at them both, smiling at Aang's story and his thoughts. She wonders too if the Prince of the Fire Nation and him could've been friends. Zuko didn't say anything, though.
Suddenly, he jumped up and threw a whip of flames at Aang, who then sprung into action and air bended his way upward. Zora took this as a sign and ran, far away from the situation.
After about 20 minutes, Zora and Aang came back to the swamp and found more frogs for Katara and Sokka. She had gathered about three, and Aang had four. Then, they made their way back to the abandoned temple on Taku.
When they arrived, Katara and Sokka were sleeping, both shivering under their sleep sacks. Aang walked over to Katara and placed a frog in her mouth. Zora walked over to Sokka and did the same thing. She sat closely next to him and laid her head on Appa, her eyes fluttering shut, as she was whisked away into slumber.
A couple hours later, Zora woke up and realized that Sokka was up and moving again, sniffling a little, but at least oriented to everything again. He was gathering wood for a fire. She blinked her eyes a few times, the sun starting to set in the sky. "Sokka, you're up." She stated.
He looked at her and smiled. He nodded, "thanks to you and Aang." He placed the wood down and began to start a flame. Zora stretched and sat up a little more. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Much better."
"Where's Aang and Katara?"
"They're getting some fish so we can eat supper."
"Oh, gotcha. Do you need help?"
He nodded, "sure, I wouldn't mind it."
She stood up and suddenly realized her throat was very tender. She placed her hand on her throat and noticed that there was a scabbed over cut on it. She winced a little. Sokka turned and looked at her. "Zora, what happened?"
She shook her head slightly. "Oh, nothing. When we were looking for your medicine, I ran into a branch and it got me good. No big deal." She tried to reassure him.
Sokka's eye hitched up, questioning her story. He walked over to her and looked down at her throat. "Zora, that doesn't look like a scratch from a-"
"Sokka, it's nothing." She said more firmly.
He looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "Hey, I'm just trying to-" He stopped, noticing the bruises on her arm and her waist. They were the shape of fingers. His eyes widened. "Zora…"
She turned away and walked towards the entrance of the building. "Sokka, please." She begged, hoping he would drop it.
He walked over to her, grabbing her wrist very gently. However, she gasped and tugged it away. She jumped a bit, and grabbed her wrist. Sokka then knew.
"Zora, who hurt you?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine." Spirits, she was so stubborn.
He sighed. "You're safe here. You can tell me."
He waited for her to answer, as she stared out into the valley. She was scared. How does she tell Sokka what happened? He would be ashamed of her, even judge her possibly. Tears formed in her eyes, and she shook her head slightly. "I can't."
He wasn't letting up though. "I'm here for you. You know this."
She took a deep breath, tears finally escaping and sliding down her face. After a few more moments of silence, she gave in.
"Zhao's people captured us as we were looking for your medicine. I woke up in a Fire Nation bedroom, with nothing but my bindings on." She didn't know, but Sokka had closed his eyes, hoping he wasn't going to hear what he had thought. She continued on. "An admiral, Zhao was his name, walked in and he said that he couldn't wait to bring the Avatar and a pet back to the Fire Lord. Before he left though, he said that he would make sure he had his fun before the Fire Lord was able to." More tears escaped her, she pushed them off her cheek gently. "Thankfully, Aang found me and we managed to escape the room. We got outside, and we thought we almost made it, but Zhao was quick. He grabbed me, held his sword to my throat, and he threatened to kill me if Aang didn't surrender." She couldn't control her tears anymore, as they fell rapidly down her face. "Before Aang agreed, Zhao grabbed at my waist, and made sure he didn't let go. I tried to tell Aang to go, but he didn't listen."
Sokka took a deep breath, composing himself. How dare someone touch her without her consent like that? Zora was a human, not a piece of meat. He struggled to keep his cool. However, the moment he turned his gaze at Zora again, and noticed her tears falling down her face, his anger subsided. "I'm so sorry, Zora." He said.
She nodded at him, a sign of her appreciating his words. "I'm just glad we're back here." She whispered.
Slowly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into his body frame. Sokka was a bit taller than her, he was about 5'10", and she stood at 5'5". She leaned her body into him, her hair covering her face like a veil. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a full blown hug. Zora slowly wrapped her arms around his waist, and cried into his chest silently. Sokka whispered, "I'm glad you are too."
Zora felt safe there. She felt like no harm could be done to her if Sokka was around.
Hopefully it will stay that way.