Asuni stood in the loading bay with six soldiers and the prince. The soldiers were all armed and armored to the teeth, anticipating a fight. In contrast, she knew she looked incredibly defenseless, standing there in her thick black clothes with no sign of metal gleaming on her person.
"What are you doing here, Asuni?" Zhu asked as he sidled a bit closer.
"I'm going ashore," Asuni replied calmly, tapping her foot in impatience. He looked at her in surprise.
"You are? But-"
"Quiet!" Zuko snapped. Instantly, Zhu shut his mouth and took his place back in the ranks.
The ship jerked as they connected with the ice, but there was only a slight hesitation before the metal prow began to crave through. There were great, echoing crack and scrapes as they plowed onwards, the ice shifting and breaking around them. Asuni winced at the sounds and was glad they wouldn't have to listen to them for long, or she'd be spending the rest of the day with a headache.
The ship halted and Zuko raised his hand. Two crew member who stood nearby nodded in understanding and jerked down on a large lever. The gangplank began to lower with a grinding of metal. Cold air wooshed through the gap and Asuni stiffened as it briefly stole her breath, but her clothes did their job and kept the worst of it out.
The gangplank hit the ground with a loud thud and steam filled their air and the warmth from the depths of the ship connected with the frigid tundra environment. Zuko gave the signal and the soldiers started walking out, their spears held at their sides.
"Don't get in the way," Zuko hissed as he emerged. Asuni took her place behind him and to the left, in a place of deference.
She stared in awe as they emerged. White as far as the eye could see. Structures built of snow and ice seemed to grow out of the ground. Others were made of skins and pelts, whistling slightly as the wind slid across their surface. Fire pits glowed here and there, meat cooking over them. The air smelled cool, stinging her lungs as she inhaled.
A mass of blue was in front of the ship. People wearing the blue parkas of the Water Tribe had clustered together, staring at them in horror. There were no men, at least none older than seven. Little children sheltered in their frightened mothers' arms. A teenage girl stood in the front beside an old woman at the front of the group, blue eyes huge with fear.
For the first time, Asuni witnessed the fear that came with the Fire Nation. She'd never been ashore with the troops when they were there investigating. She'd gone out to get supplies and to shop while they were docked and ports for restocking and repairs, but never when their mission was to interrogate and destroy.
Asuni had always been proud to be a part of the Fire Nation. Hell, as a member of the Royal Guard, it was almost required. Her life was dedicated to the Fire Nation, to making it the best place it could be. She'd never seen what the war had wrought on other countries. Now she understood.
Lo Shen had sent her out because she was so sheltered, so incredibly sheltered, by her life in the palace. She'd read the accounts, heard stories from fellow guardmembers who'd come back from the front lines. She'd always though them grand tales, distant and with no relation to her. Now Asuni saw them for what they were: hints at the violence the Fire Nation had perpetrated.
In that moment, she was more a member of the Royal Guard than ever before.
Her mission loomed large in her mind. Protect the prince, that was her duty. So when a teenage boy – the only one in the village – ran at him, screaming, cudgel lifted high in an attack, she moved instinctively, almost before she'd even registered him coming at them.
Asuni's hands flicked out and the snow rose up in front of him. He plowed into it at full speed, rebounding off of the ice underneath and staggering back onto his rear, stunned. The villagers began to murmur in awe, and Asuni felt all eyes on her. She knew precisely what was going through their minds.
Asuni was one of theirs. She was a Waterbender. And she was siding with the Fire Nation. She was siding against her people.
She was a traitor.
Asuni held herself tall and poised against their judgmental stares, and dug deep in herself for her pride. She was a member of the Royal Guards. This was her duty, one she was proud to have. She stood at the side of the boy who would one day rule a nation. Let them glare all they wanted, they couldn't touch her.
They weren't even really her people, Asuni told herself, fighting against the slight twinge of abandonment she felt as they all turned away from her. Her mother was from the Northern Tribe, the opposite side of the world. Who cared what these villagers thought?
"Where are you hiding him?" Zuko called as their group paused in front of the villagers. His voice echoed, sounding fierce and unbending.
The villagers were scared silent, until he reached forwards and yanked someone from the lineup. They whimpered, drawing back in fear. The old woman was pulled forwards.
"He'd be about this age!" roared Zuko, shaking her violently. "Master of all elements!"
When there was no response, he threw the old woman back into the crowd, not caring when she staggered. He stretched out a fist, sending a threatening wave of fire over the villager's heads. They screamed in terror. A few of the younger children began crying.
Asuni winced.
"I know you're hiding him!" Zuko snapped.
Suddenly, the boy was back on his feet, yelling as he rushed the prince. Again, Asuni moved first, fulfilling her duty. The snow under his feet turned to ice and he skidded past them to spin to a stop at the feet of the old woman. He jerked to one knee and hurled and boomerang. Zuko dodged it easily, scowling at the boy.
"Show no fear!"
A little boy, no older than six tossed his elder a spear. The teenager caught it and ran at Zuko with a shout. Asuni stepped in front of the prince and for the first time, she found herself in the position to take an attack for him. It was a heady thing, to know that even if that spear made contact and slid into her stomach, she was still doing her duty by not letting it touch the prince.
It never made contact though. Snow spiraled up and became liquid. The water wrapped around the spear. Asuni's hands spun and the spear was turned, the boy clinging on for dear life and shouting as he was dragged through the air. The water released the spear and he went flying back to smack into the ground by the teenage girl's feet. Seeing them next to each other, Asuni realized they were probably siblings.
Her ears caught the sound of something flying through the air. She spun around just in time to see the boomerang coming back. Her hands flicked up and icy darts shot from the ground, knocking the boomerang off course. It wobbled in the air and flopped to the ground by its owner's feet pitifully.
Asuni was proud. The first time she'd had to physically protect the prince, and she'd done it. Quite handily too, if she did say so herse-
What was that sound?
Asuni turned and there was only time for her eyes to widen as something brightly-colored and riding on a penguin slammed into her legs and then the prince's. The pair of them went flying. Zuko landed on his face and slid through the snow ignobly, his helmet flying into the air and landing on his upraised rear. Asuni, for her part, managed two less-than-elegant flips before smacking belly-first into the ground with a groan. Behind her, she heard the villagers cheering.
She winced as she pulled herself to her knees and turned to look at what had hit them. Her eyes blew wide.
The villagers were cheering, a penguin wandering off and looking as irritated as a penguin could look, and its rider… Yellow and orange clothes, a wooden staff clenched in one fist. His head was shaved and the distinctive blue tattoos curled over his head and hands. An Airbender, the last one.
He was so small, she noticed dimly as she pulled herself to her feet. So young, barely twelve. By rights, he should be too young, and yet there was no other option.
"Hey Katara, hey Sokka," the boy greeted the siblings cheerfully.
"Hi Aang, thanks for coming," the boy replied dully.
A shadow fell over her and Asuni saw the soldiers spreading out, Zuko looming over her with his hands raised to fight. This would be tricky. This fight he had walked into. She had to defend him without tipping her hand that that's what she was here to do.
Aang took a stance as the soldiers surrounded him. With quick sweeps of his staff, he blew snow at them, blinding them and knocking them away. He jumped and swung his staff, sending a wave of snow at Asuni and Zuko.
Asuni raised her hand and the snow passed harmlessly around her and the prince.
"Looking for me?" the boy asked, planting his staff on the ground firmly.
"You're the Airbender?" Zuko said incredulously. "You're the Avatar?"
"Aang?" Katara said softly.
"No way," Sokka gaped.
Slowly, Zuko and the Avatar began to pace in a circle. Asuni stood stiffly opposite the villagers, watching every step the prince took, waiting for a chance when she could strike. She had to protect the prince, and he was in no way ready to take on the Avatar in a one-on-one fight. She didn't think anyone could ever take those odds.
"I've spent years preparing for this encounter," Zuko said sharply. "Training, meditating. You're just a child!" he spat out.
The Avatar paused, looking at him curiously. "Well, you're just a teenager," he pointed out with the innocence of a child.
Zuko shouted and attacked, sending fireballs towards the young monk. Aang spun his staff, the fire caught and deflected around him by the air current it generated. One particularly big blast surged around Aang and continued on towards the villagers. They raised their arms, crying out in fear. The monk glanced back and Asuni saw the indecision in his eyes. She didn't blame him. She felt the same way.
The Avatar stopped fighting, planting his staff on the ground once more.
"If I go with you, will you promise to leave them alone?" he bargained.
Slowly, Zuko slid out of his fighting stance and nodded once sharply. Two soldiers moved forwards, grabbing the boy's shoulders. One of them pulled the staff from his hands as they marched him back towards the ship roughly.
"Set a course for the Fire Nation, I'm going home," Zuko said as he started up the gangplank.
"Aang, no!"
Asuni paused and turned back to see the girl named Katara taking a few running steps forwards. The Avatar turned back and gave the girl a smile.
"Don't worry Katara, it'll be okay," he assured her. "Take care of Appa while I'm gone!"
Asuni shook her head at his innocence. She had no doubt he'd get free, much as she didn't like what that would mean for Zuko. Still, the boy had a sort of innocence she hadn't expected to see in the Avatar. She'd anticipated a jaded old man, distant and cold, not a friendly little boy.
"Traitor!"
Asuni froze on the gangplank. She knew that shout was for her. Ahead of her, she saw Zuko, the soldiers, and the Avatar all looking back at her.
Zuko watched with interest as Asuni reacted to the little peasant girl's accusation. He saw her stiffen up and her eyes go wide as the girl continued to rant.
"You're Water Tribe, but you're with them, fighting your own people! Don't you know what will happen if the Fire Nation takes him? You're a traitor!" Katara continued, seeing she'd scored a hit when Asuni paused.
Zuko saw it happen, but he was still surprised. Asuni's face suddenly dropped from its usual friendly dimensions into a vicious snarl, her fingers tensing at her side. She whirled around, hair flying over her shoulder, and snapped at the peasant girl.
As she shouted, Asuni found her features slipping into an expression reminiscent of an angry Zuko. Later she'd realize what it said that she'd been on the ship with him long enough to have picked up his expressions, but for now, it just seemed like the expression best suited to communicate the utter rage she felt at that accusation.
"My mother fled to the Fire Nation and I was born there. My loyalty has always been to the Fire Nation and always will be! It is absolute and unquestionable, and I won't let you say a word to the contrary!"
For the first time in a very long time, Asuni let her temper get the better of her. Her hand flicked up and the snow at the girl's feet rose up, throwing he back into the crowd of her people with a yelp. If she'd done that to a fellow member of the Royal guards, she would have received quite the dressing-down for not controlling herself and maintaining her discipline, but here and now, Asuni was only hoping to shut that girl up.
The accusation burned under her skin. Traitor? Not hardly. Asuni knew who she was, her core beliefs. She believed in the truth, which was why, even though she was capable, she actively avoided lying, twisting her words so that she only deceived. She was kind when it was an option, bandaging up people after she'd injured them in sparring sessions. She recalled holding a crying Kikaku in a corner of the kitchen after her mother died and soothing her with circles rubbed no her back and cooed words in her ear.
And above all, she was loyal. Her loyalty, once earned, never faltered. Her loyalty to Zuko was absolute. So long as she could stop it, no harm would ever come to him, not even a scratch. Her loyalty to the Fire Nation was absolute. Always, she would do what was in its best interests. That was why she had left her home and gone gallivanting off to who knew where for who knew how long, because she believed in the Fire Nation.
And on that point, she would not waver. Knock her down, insult her, call her names, but never would Asuni let anyone cast aspersions on her loyalty. She prized it above everything else.
Point made, she spun on her heel and retreated into the ship, pushing past the soldiers and making her way back to the relative safety of her kitchen.
Asuni was a firm believer in cooking away her feelings. She'd seen it work in the kitchen for years, wearing down Atsui and Hinote's energy and Rin's frustration. She was banging and furiously stirring her feelings away, and it would only result in a better meal that evening, so there was really no downside.
The door was ever so slightly cracked so that she could hear people coming, a sign that she should possibly stir less aggressively. This time, she heard hurried footsteps and Asuni quickly stopped abusing the bread dough and turned to start calmly making tea.
She was surprised when the door was violently flung open and then slammed. Asuni whirled around, a wooden spoon held up to throw. Not exactly the most threatening weapon, but she'd been on the receiving end of Rin's punishments enough to know that they still hurt.
She was shocked to see the Avatar, back pressed against the door and panting, wide-eyed. He froze when he saw her staring at him. An awkward silence stretched on as they made eye contact.
"Uh, hi?" he said uncertainly.
Asuni lowered her wooden spoon slowly. "Hello..."
"I, uh… don't suppose you've seen my staff around?"
"Right down the hall, up two levels, turn left, third door on your right," Asuni said. Zhu had stopped by for an orange after dropping the staff in Zuko's room.
Aang's eyes widened as the cook turned back to her work, stirring a huge stock pot of broth calmly.
"Uh, thanks," he said, and bolted from the room, leaving Asuni smiling secretly into her soup.
Asuni was pleased with herself. She'd protected the prince and helped the Avatar, all in one day. It had been rather successful, and it wasn't even noon yet.
Several minutes later, the boat suddenly jerked. Asuni was thrown from her feet, the stock pot flying towards her. She yelped and raised her hands, holding the soup away from her skin. It froze in midair and Asuni lifted the pot back into place with a pot holder, guiding the soup back into place.
That done, she turned and ran from the kitchen, heading to the deck to find out what had happened. She assumed that the Avatar had something to do with it. He had probably escaped, but she had no idea what might have caused them to stop suddenly.
Her eyes widened as she emerged on deck. Two Firebenders stood by a pair of fellow soldiers, trying to melt away a crust of ice that had them pinned in place. The front of the ship was buried under a fall of snow and ice from the cliff above them, holding them in place. A speck was vanishing into the sky in the distance.
"You!"
Asuni looked to the furious Zuko, worried he'd found out that she guided the Avatar to his staff. Instead, he just pointed at the frozen soldiers. "Get them out of there and then start working on freeing us," he ordered.
Asuni let out a sigh of relief. "Of course, my prince," she said, and turned to the soldiers. They were freed with a wave of her hands, and then she turned to the snow.
It was night before they were freed, even with Asuni's help. She had to be careful. Moving the whole mass at once could have brought more down on them. She had to knock it off the top and slowly chip it down. By the time she returned to the kitchen, she was wet and cold.
Asuni pulled the water from her clothes and guided it into a barrel of freshwater in the storage room before turning back to the cabinets. The soup would be distributed among the soldiers, but Zuko and Iroh still had to eat. She managed to scrape together a simple meal of rice, vegetables, and some hastily seared meat.
Asuni placed the meals on two different trays and balanced one on each hand, heading down the hall to the room where Iroh and Zuko ate. She wasn't altogether surprised to see that only Iroh was there when she arrived.
"He won't come out of his room," Iroh explained when Asuni raised an eyebrow at the conspicuous absence.
"That's a bit childish," she observed.
"He's very disappointed," Iroh chided. "He had his prize in hand and then it escaped. How would you feel?"
"Hopefully I'll never know," she said, placing the meal in front of the General. "I'll leave this outside of his room," she said, nodding to the other tray.
"I wouldn't hold out much hope," Iroh advised.
Asuni had to admit that he was probably right, but she still made her way to the prince's private room, the tray in hand. When she got there, the door was shut and locked. She raised and hand and knocked gently.
"Prince Zuko?" she called through the metal.
"Go away!" came the angry response from the other side of the door.
"My prince, you need to eat," Asuni wheedled. "I have a tray here."
"Go away, Asuni!"
"Shall I leave it by the door for you?"
"I'm not interested!"
"You need to eat," Asuni said, habit making her tone that of a scolding mother.
The door was suddenly ripped open and a hand lashed out, gripping her by her collar. The tray tumbled to the ground by her feet, spilling food everywhere as she was yanked inside. Asuni blinked, suddenly finding herself nose-to-nose with the prince.
"I said… go… away," he grit out.
"Prince Zuko," she struggled, grabbing his hand and trying to pry it off of her shirt. He only warmed his skin, making her shirt start to smoke. She quickly gave up.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Zuko demanded.
"You have to eat…"
Asuni was honestly more afraid of the prince at this moment than she ever had been. Rage burned in his eyes, with an undercurrent of despair. She'd seen that look before, in the eyes of some of the felons brought in for the Royal Guards to execute. Some of them were driven to great length by that desperation, and here she was within arm's length of someone like that. A powerful Firebender someone, moreover, one whom she had been commanded to protect, and could therefore not defend herself against at risk of hurting him.
"I don't care!" Zuko snapped, and he hurled her across the room. She hit the bed with a wince and scrambled into a sitting position. Zuko stood across from her, panting and glaring.
"He was so close!" Zuko hissed. "I had him! It was all within my grasp!"
Asuni winced. Maybe if she hadn't told the Avatar where to find his staff, then he wouldn't have escaped and Zuko wouldn't be like this. Then again, if he hadn't escaped, then he would be in the clutches of the Fire Lord. He was young, far too young for that...
"Prince Zuko," she began slowly, wary of making him even angrier. "You found him once, you can do it again. You've done what three generation of your family could not!" she encouraged. "I think that deserves a little celebration."
"What is there to celebrate?" the prince said bitterly. "I lost him."
"But you have a trail!" Asuni insisted. "A fresh trail, and no one's had that for a century! You have hope now, you know he's alive, you know where he was! Certainly you can find where he's going." She stood up and took a step towards him to illustrate her vehemence. "Have faith, my prince."
Zuko stared at her, wide eyed. She could actually watch as the anger leeched out of him. His shoulder slumped and his face fell, and he looked more depressed than she'd ever seen.
"Get out," he croaked.
"Prince Zuko?"
"OUT!"
Fire streaked through the air towards her. Asuni yelped and ducked under it, dropping to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and then shot from the room, broken crockery crunching under her feet as she ran out.
Asuni took shelter in the kitchen, sitting at the table. Her heart was pounding and she was panting. Never before had the prince attacked her. But then, never before had she so foolishly pushed him. She'd known he was on edge and she still sat there and pushed him. She should have been smart enough to realize that of course he needed a little time to work through the events of the day. It had been rough on her, certainly it had been three times as bad for him.
Cursing herself and her idiot, Asuni rubbed her eyes and decided that training wasn't worth it. She left her weapons in the cubby and let herself go to bed early, hoping to sleep away the effects of the horrible evening.
"Someone seems to have left some broken plates outside of your room," Iroh said casually as he pushed open the door to his nephew's room. He found Zuko sitting on his bed with his head in his hands, glaring at the floor.
"Odd custom," he continued casually. Zuko didn't respond. Iroh looked around and saw the black char marks on the wall. "And someone seems to have been flinging fire around in here," he added. That got a reaction. Zuko gave a barely-perceptible flinch.
"What happened?" Iroh asked softly, sitting down next to Zuko.
"The cook," Zuko grunted.
"What did Asuni do?" Iroh asked, stressing her name slightly. "I don't recall her being a Firebender. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"She brought me dinner, kept insisting I needed to eat."
"Cooks tend to believe that," Iroh nodded encouragingly.
"I dragged her inside and she dropped the tray," Zuko said, finally raising his head. Now the opposite wall was receiving his glare.
"And why would you do that?" Iroh scolded. "She was only trying to help in her own way."
"It's not…" Zuko trailed off.
"Not what?" Iroh asked, unwilling to let him avoid the subject.
"It's not her place!" Zuko snapped. "I'm a prince, she's just a cook!" He shot to his feet, pacing furiously. "Who is she to walk in here and start trying to…. Telling me I should have faith, that I should celebrate because I found him…."
Iroh glanced up at the burn mark across the wall. "You attacked her," he guessed, disappointed in his nephew.
"She wouldn't stop talking!" Zuko shouted, bringing his hands up to the side of his head. "She kept talking, saying how I should be happy! What does she know? What does a little peasant cook know about it? She has no… no idea!"
Iroh observed Zuko. He was panting, frazzled, staring at the floor like he couldn't understand why it wasn't explaining everything to him.
"Peasant cook she may be," Iroh began slowly, "but she was one who put herself in the way of a spear for you today, from what I hear."
Zuko paused. The events in the village seemed like so long ago, could they really have been just that morning? He recalled the teenage boy. He'd registered him as a distant distraction, more intent on his hunt than the boy Asuni had neatly dispatched.
But… yes, he did recall. The second time the boy had attacked, Asuni had put herself directly in the path of his spear thrust before knocking the boy away. She could have done that from any place, and yet she had stepped in front of him, shielding him with her own body like it was the most natural thing in the world.
A sudden bloom of guilt appeared in his stomach. And he'd repaid her by throwing the food she brought him on the ground, by tossing her around like a ragdoll, by throwing fire at her. He recalled the uneasiness on her features when he'd pulled her close, then the absolute shock and horror on her face as she'd seen the fire coming for her, and finally the desperation in her eyes as she'd scrambled to her feet and fled the room.
Too far, he'd gone too far.
His honor may have been stripped from him, but his manners hadn't. He'd been in the wrong. And Agni damn it all, he was going to have to apologize.