Children of Agni

Chapter 6 Unconditionally

Zuko held little sister in his arms as he walked in wilderness, by some good fate he had found good shelter: a seemingly earthbended tent out in the in the wilds near the bays, and in it were some rags and some earthenware cups and plates. Zuko set his sister on the floor, took his hands up to her chest and tore her chest plate into two pieces and removed them he then did the same to her leggings and boots. She now lay naked, and Zuko saw how severe the damage really was. The gold had scorched her flesh; her body was now covered in intricate swirling patterns of deep black burns. Thank Agni the lightning had not been conducted into her metal boots or her feet may have been ruined.

There was a good deal of shrubbery surrounding their shelter, Zuko went out and searched until he found a common aloa-rose bush. He picked an armful of leaves and went back into the tent; he took one leaf and milked it into his palm. A greenish clear substance came out of the leaf. He rubbed the raw burn salve between his palms and began to apply it to his sister's burns.

Even though he had to apply the salve to some of her more intimate places, Zuko felt no lust as he worked. He worked tirelessly making sure that her flesh absorbed the salve, he made these wounds; now he sought to unmake them.

Zuko only left Azula's side to get food and more salve supplies. Two days later Azula opened her eyes as Zuko was applying the salve to her arms. She couldn't move and eventually her brother gently sang her back to sleep.

Azula awoke for the second time, and this time she was aware of her nakedness, and of her brother massaging one of her breasts, and she aware of the cool salve, and the hot burning pain, and she was ashamed. She sought to alleviate her pain, she raised her arm and made fire in her palm, she tried to burn his arm. Zuko guessing her intent grabbed her arm and brought it up to his face, right over his good eye. He was offering her the one last bit of dignity he had. Azula couldn't do it; she let the flames die out, her brother went back to his work. Azula began to cry.

Azula no longer resisted her brother, when he put some food in her mouth she ate it, when he put a cup to her lips she drank. When he came to administer to her bodily functions she did not resist his cleansing. He spoke very little giving her instructions when the situation called for it and every night he would sing her to sleep. However when he touched her she felt as though he was pouring life into her. She knew every inch of his hands and grew accustomed to his masseur's skills; she came to enjoy his administrations. Slowly Azula began to recover and move, after a week she was able to sit up and eat with Zuko's help. Their diet consisted of mostly berries, crushed nuts, and water Zuko got from a nearby tributary to the bay.

Then one day Zuko noticed that her burns were starting to recede, they would leave permanent scars to be sure but she would recover without crippling damage, his burn had been much, much worse. Azula noticed her recovering health in another way: one day while he was administering the salve to her breasts, she felt every inch of his hands and their skilled and gentle touch, she felt her nipples harden and her moist heat between her thighs. As he began to work down her body to her thighs she felt more heat build up between her legs.

Zuko reached her thighs and removed the cloth that hid her most intimate region. He noted his sister's arousal but thought it mere the natural physical reaction. Azula, exposed, blushed a deep crimson, but Zuko did not feel embarrassed, ashamed or aroused. He himself had more control over his body; two years at sea with near unlimited freedom had well stripped him of his innocence. His dark demeanor always seamed to attract female attention. He had of course ventured into the romantic world on many occasions when his men were on leave.

There were but a few pleasures he had not, and would not, indulge in: homosexual relations and incestuous relations. The fact that his sister could not control her body like he could his did not disturb him in the slightest, she probably had never engaged in the pleasures of the flesh; such an act was below a princess.

Azula lay there exposed and embarrassed, watching for her brother's reaction, but Zuko's face remained steady and stoic, betraying no emotion. He finished with her thighs and covered her most intimate area with the cloth and then finished her legs and gave her some water to drink saying nothing.

Azula's condition continued to improve; soon she was able to sit up without Zuko's help and administer the salve to some of her more intimate regions, then she would turn over and Zuko would administer to her back and legs. She would become aroused every time and he would disregard it every time.

Then finally after three weeks of recovery Zuko wrapped his arms around Azula's torso, raised her to her feet and helped her take a few steps and then lay her back down. As she lay her head down she felt that her top knot had slid down to the back of her head, Zuko had never taken it out, the symbol of her allegiance to their father was still in place.

As soon as Azula could walk without Zuko's support he started giving her personal space he would only insist on being there to apply salve to her back and to sing her to sleep at night. Azula did not enjoy the space she felt so helpless without her brother caring for her, when he got up to leave one day she put on a short robe he had made for her and followed him.

They stopped a fairway onto the pass and Zuko turned and faced Azula. The sun was just rising and the sky was painted a brilliant shade of red.

"Is there any particular reason you have joined me on my morning walk?"

Azula knelt in front of her brother and gracefully whipped off the clasp that held her top knot in place and presented it to her brother saying "I once sought your dethronement; now I seek your forgiveness and your love, will you accept me?

Zuko watched with quiet awe as sister humbled herself before him. He took her clasp, her crown, pocketed it took her hands and raised her to her feet enveloping her in a warm and gentle hug.

"You are my sister, of course I forgive you."