Disclaimer: If I owned the Avatar….would I be writing Fanfiction?
The next morning Karoku entered the tent which Zuke had spent a very uncomfortable nightdue tothe young soldiers stealing peeks at her through the tent flaps. She hadn't gotten any sleep that nightbecauseof the uncomfortable position her arms were wrapped in.
"Rise and shine Avatar!" He said in a mock cheery tone while he threw some bread at her feet.
"Uhg…And how EXACTLY am I supposed to eat that when I'm tied up?" She questioned in her normal testy tone.
"I'm not entirely sure….you can figure it out…you ARE the Avatar." He taunted as he bit into and apple and she shot him a death glare.
Zuke scowled and groaned and stared down at the bread with hungry eyes, Karoku heard as her stomach growled and she complained to herself. She had figured if she were prisoner she wouldn't be tied to a pole and would at least give her freedom to walk around her small prison hold, but no, she was capture by a boy in a tent. How threatening, how very challenging for the great Avatar.
"You know, being a prisoner isn't supposed to be easy, but I suppose you wouldn't know that, being raised in a small town." Prince Karoku said with his eyes closed as he bit into the apple again.
Her eyes narrowed into the apple, so luscious and sweet, her stomach growled again and she looked to the ground and sighed, "Prince…please….let me eat, I haven't eaten in days…the last time you held me was after the last time I had eaten…" She asked him now feeling an all time low.
" Aw, little Avatar is feeling hungry? Well maybe you should've thought of that before you ventured out alone." He spat, getting his last word in before casually marching out of the tent and knocking over a few young guards listening in.
A few hours later Prince Karoku returned with an angry expression on his face, "Hurry put this on." He mumbled as he untied her and threw some earth kingdom clothes at her.
"Why should I?" She asked falling from the spot where she was previously tied and landing on her knees and gripping her wrists.
"You'll put it on, I have to go into town and I don't trust my soldiers here with you…and you'll be handcuffed so you can't escape so don't try anything." He told her in a stern voice while gripping her sore wrists; he truly didn't trust his fleet so his only choice was to bring her.
"You'll put it on, or I'll dress you, it's your choice." He said making an irresistible offer.
Zuke quickly grabbed the clothes and put them on; she simply slid them on over her clothes so she wouldn't make Karoku happy. The outfit was classic Earth Kingdom peasant green and yellow but its sleeves were slightly longer then normal so it covered her hands so no one would be suspicious of her being handcuffed.
As soon as her outfit was in place Karoku tied a rope around her wrists and pushed her onto a chair, Zuke's eyes widen as Karoku circled behind her and pulled her messy hair behind her back, he gently draped a green cloth over her forehead and tied her hair into a bun and coveredher headin the clothe so no one would see her charcoal hair and think her strange.
Zuke was surprised at his gentleness and care her took with her hair, if she didn't know better she would have sworn he played with it a bit longer then it should have taken to simply tied it up. She sighed and looked at herself in the simple mirror, she looked ordinary something she tried never to do.
"If I didn't know better I'd say you would blend right in." He said with a mischievous smirk.
"Now you can stick with me and be safe for now, and not worry about the soldiers taking you, or you could make a scene and escape causing every Earth citizen to be after you, so I'd suggest door number one." He lectured at he began leading her through the pathway he had marked to get back to the nearby town and port.
After arriving at the town he led her through some markets and went into some out of the way shops to speak with some shady characters, Zuke kept a close eye on every movement of the Prince; she noticed that every slightly attractive woman caught his eye. She figured it was just because he was still young and he was a teenager, Prince or not.
After their long walk and her being exhausted from keeping a perfect posture and keeping silent no matter what he told people who she was, many mentions of her being his lady of the night, and his fiancé, and even one her being his wife! They walked into a tavern and sat down at a small booth type structure, Zuke recognized this as the place she caused a ruckus at and even saw a burn mark still on the floor from where she got angry.
Zuke kept her eyes down as he ordered a drink and sipped on it and went through some information and some battle tactics, he was obviously distracted when a deep older man's voice broke through the silence of the table, it practically rumbled with every word.
"My Prince Karoku you've found yourself a wench, and a quite alluring one at that." It stated as Zuke turned and look as her eyes were met with fierce jade eyes.
She scowled a bit and turned her attention back to the table decorations and pretended to study them.
"Captain Tairu… she isn't my wench, she's the cook of our fleet….I'm taking her for a drink because the men were treating her badly." The prince lied and scowled at him.
"It's Commander now, and I never knew you to be the sensitive one Prince Karoku…getting soft are we? He said in a mock civil tone and stared at Zuke longer then older men should at a young lady.
"My, what unique eyes you have young lady, have a family member from the Fire Nation do you?" He asked trying to get some information from her.
"Yes Sir, my grandmother was of the Fire Nation before she passed away, but I am 100 supportive of the Earth Kingdom, I pity my grandmother and her inferior lifestyle." Zuke lied through her teeth and closed her eyes when she was done.
Commander Tairu was a Class A soldier of pure cruelty, he wore his brown hair up in a topknot with a green band over his forehead, he wore the classic Earth Kingdom armor with a silk hunter green sash hanging over one shoulder to show his high rank in the military. His eyes were a fierce green; even competing with Karoku's when it comes to cold and emotionless. His facial features were sharp and very chiseled, he was in his early 30's but his achievements have far exceeded his age.
Karoku scowled at him and stood, "Well Commander we must be off... I must get the cook back to camp I'm sure the fleet is getting hungry and want to have a full stomach when they go to bed." He said looking towards Zuke who nodded and stepped out of the booth.
Zuke tilted her head slightly to look at Tairu who was staring obliviously at her like she was a slaughtered sheep; he made her feel horribly uncomfortable and insignificant.
The Stone Prince saw this and with his soft spot for women hurried her out of the small tavern and out into the open, Zuke shielded her eyes from the evening sun and kept her eyes on the back of Prince Karoku's head as he led her through the crowd street.
She soon realized he was holding on to her hand, she blushed slightly then her eyes narrowed as they escaped the tidal wave of people. She ripped her hand from his and yelled at him.
"If you ever try something like that again I'll kill you, I'm right here no need to keep track of me. Besides I'd have no where to go if I did run." She said solemnly ruining her slightly elevated mood.
"Don't flatter yourself girl, I was making sure you stayed right next to me so you didn't get swept away by those peasants." Karoku said scowling at her.
Zuke cringed at the thought of him touching her hand, she wiped her hand on her skirt making sure he saw, she smirked and followed him back to the campsite.
Karoku made an abruptstop in the middle of the invisible pathway they were takingand began looking around; he looked into the trees and barely saw any stars beyond the thick branches and leaves.
"What…Why'd you stop? Where are we?" Zuke questioned him as she ran into him and fell backwards; he looked down at her and looked back up trying to mask his concern.
"You have NO idea where we are, do you…" Zuke stated in a monotone voice, even through that you could tell she was getting angry.
Author's Note's Section- Hey everyone remember me? Guess not wow... it's been a really long time well i don't have many ideas, but im gunna follow up on some stuff...i needed to introduce Commander Tairu, he's an important character (( wants to see how many readers caught the clues))
Love Always
GenaricPerson o()o