That next day, Zuko and Zoe headed away from their comfortable, relaxing abode, and began towards, in Zoe's opinion, their impending doom. Iroh, it seemed, was not to come with them.
Zoe was saddened, and she could tell Zuko was too, but he masked it with anger. She wished Iroh would come, she had to admit; she was really starting to love the old guy.
"Thank you." Said Zuko suddenly and he stopped halfway down the mountains trail. Their ship, lead by Azula awaited them in the distance.
"What for?" asked Zoe, stopping with him and looking away from the sea and instead into his eyes. You couldn't ask for a better view.
"For coming with me." He said and Zoe took his hand in hers.
"I wouldn't leave my friend." She smiled, and some of the heavy weight on Zuko's shoulders was lifted momentarily.
"Wait!" cried Iroh's voice suddenly from behind the pair. "Don't leave without me!"
"Uncle!" Said Zuko happily, showing clearly has gratitude, "You changed your mind!"
"Family sticks together right?" He said warmly, placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder once he had reached them. Zuko smiled slightly.
"We're finally going home!" He said with longing contentedness. He dropped Zoe's hand and continued down the path.
Zoe smiled gladly at Iroh, "I'm glad you came." She said.
"Me too." Agreed Iroh, the two of them turned to look at the ominous ship below, their mistrustful frowns mirroring each others.
By the time they had reached the harbour, Zoe's nerves were all on edge. Her feeling of foreboding increased as they marched along the jetty fenced by firebenders.
She caught Iroh's eye and could tell he shared the same feeling. Zuko, however, walked ahead with his back straight and his head held high. He truly looked like a Prince.
"Brother, uncle, and our welcomed guest." Azula said opening her arms wide to them as they reached the boarding deck. They bowed. "I'm so glad you decided to come."
"Are you ready to depart, your highness?" asked the Captain of the ship. This is what got Zoe: his voice was attempting joviality, but Zoe could hear the fear behind it.
"Set our course for home, Captain." Said Azula sweetly, and Zoe had to commend her on her tactics as she noticed Zuko soften even more, repeating the word 'home'.
"You heard the Princess!" Cried the Captain, and the three followed him up the boat ramp, "Raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners home!"
There was a moment, where time seemed to stand still as everyone registered the effects of this sentence. The action started when Azula's fake sweet face, turned mutinous.
The guards swarmed in upon them, but Iroh was ready. Not even needing his bending he kicked and swung round with the agility of one much younger and trimmer than he.
Zuko's face nearly killed Zoe, "You lied to me!" He shouted, the disappointment, hurt and anger painted on his face and he pushed a guard off the deck, storming toward his sister.
"Like I've never done that before." Snarled Azula sarcastically, signalling the guards to attack.
Zoe glanced back at Iroh quickly, but he was handling the guards fine on his own. She did not want Zuko facing his sister alone. She ran after the boy whom she had apparently and very suddenly developed an attraction for, no wait, it was just a…friendly feeling of protectiveness. Yes, that's right.
As soon as she had reached the top of the ramp, Zuko had already taken down the two guards in his way. He could be a little frightening when he was angry.
Azula was taunting him, her eyes alight with malice. Zuko's fists were clenched and spurting orange fire, he tried to pin her down or take a blow, but she dodged every move; infuriating him further. Zuko had three long scratches across his forehead, scratches that matched the pointed tips of his sister's nails.
Zoe ran after him as he chased his sister further up the ship. But then, ever so quickly, something happened, Zoe didn't see what; it happened too fast, but now Azula grasped Zuko's wrist in her hand, an evil smile playing upon her face.
Then her eyes furrowed, and in an instant Zoe knew what was going to happen. Just as the blue flames (blue flames?) erupted from her finger tips, Zoe had blown a gust of wind right at them. Not hard enough to knock her down, but acutely sent to blow her own fames back against herself. She turned her element against her.
She screamed in fury, just managing to block her own flames, and then she turned her glare to Zoe, while Zuko stared at her with surprise.
"You're an air bender?" she hissed, her voice cold with malice. "So Zuko, you're an enemy of the Fire Nation for more reasons than I'd realized it seems: fraternizing with the enemy." Before either of them could utter a word, she'd bent into an obvious firebending stance, but instead of fire from her finger tips, there came crackling, electric blue lightening. It was all they could to do to stare at her in fear.
But then, as if the day couldn't get more eventful, Iroh appeared out of no where. He grabbed Azula's electrified finger and somehow directed the lightening through his body and out his other arm to harmlessly whip the cliff face. Zoe was reminded explicitly of the time when Iroh had accidentally done the same thing in the midst of that great storm.
Continuing to impress Zoe, Iroh then kicked the princess in her stomach causing her to fly off her own boat and into the sea. Without a second thought the three took a glance at each other and ran from the boat at top speed.
They didn't stop till they'd seemed to have crossed half the world, with a tail wind (courtesy of Zoe) to speed them up.
Gasping for breath the three runaways collapsed by a stream and Iroh muttered, "I think we are safe here."
Zoe clasped some of the clear water in her hands and threw it over her sweaty face. She had never to run that far without using her bending to go faster in her life! (She couldn't just leave the Prince and his uncle behind)
After a few moments Zuko silently pulled out a small knife with intricate carvings engraved on it from his robes. Iroh and Zoe looked at him. Still in silence he put the knife to the top knot on his head, his face pained. But, without further ado, he swiped the knife cleanly through the red wrappings; cutting his ponytail cleanly from his head. He handed the knife then to his uncle, ignoring Zoe who was in between them.
Iroh took it and mirrored Zuko's actions. Zoe tried to then take the knife to cut off her own hair; why should they do it and not her? But, Zuko grasped her wrist and pried the knife off her.
"But, if you guys have to, why shouldn't I?" She demanded angrily, for some reason she felt left out.
Zuko sighed as if understanding her and grabbed a strand of her hair. With one swift motion he had cut it off and handed it to her.
"That better?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Truthfully he didn't want her hacking at her beautiful mass of curls, ah… that is to say; frizzy haystack. He didn't care for it…not really.
"It will do." Zoe replied childishly.
The three of them then dropped their hair mournfully into the stream, watching them as they were swept away with the current.
That night the three of them found a small cave to camp in. It wasn't what they were used to, but at least it was shelter.
Zoe found them some nuts and berries and Zuko lit a campfire because she was cold. Iroh boiled some water, but Zoe wouldn't let him use any of the leaves he had found for tea because she didn't trust unknown plants.
With a slight struggle Zoe made Zuko sit before her and lend her his knife so that she could cut the rest of his hair wrapping out, and even his hair length.
"Well it's either your hair grows back with a mullet or you let me fix it up!" She cried, exasperated as Zuko glared at her stubbornly. Finally, with a huge sigh he sat before her and she smiled smugly. "And you're next Iroh."
"I look forward to it!" He said gladly, but his happy face puckered slightly when he sipped his hot water, deprived of its tea leaves.
So far none of them had spoken of the days events. She and Iroh seemed to have made a silent pact not to mention a thing unless Zuko brought it up.
"Sit still!" snapped Zoe, smacking the back of Zuko's head as he fidgeted again, "Or you'll get a lovely long gash along this smooth head of yours!"
"Well if you'd quit running your fingers along it, maybe I wouldn't be moving around so much!" He replied with a snarl.
"Oooh, it can't be," said Zoe, her face brightening evilly, "our little Zuko is ticklish?"
"Don't even think about it." hissed Zuko through his teeth.
Zoe's smile widened.
Thanks to Zoe's precarious, but even haircutting talents in the weeks to come Zuko's hair now covered his entire head at all the one length.
Currently said boy had forced Zoe to come fishing with him; apparently none of them were very good scavengers.
"Just stab it, Zoe." Zuko was saying angrily as Zoe sat perched at the edge of the stream, spear (made from a stick) in hand with a look of pure guilt on her face.
"I can't do it!" She cried anxiously, Zuko found it difficult not to laugh at her pained expression, "It gave me the googly eyes!"
"I can't believe this…" muttered Zuko, rolling his eyes, "What do you mean it gave you the 'googly eyes'? It's a fish!"
"Look at it! It's making me feel guilty. Can't we just find some nuts?" begged Zoe.
"Give me the stick." snapped Zuko; this was getting ridiculous. It had taken long enough to even find a pool of fish and now that they had she wouldn't kill any!
"No." replied Zoe, suddenly on the defensive.
"Why not?" demanded Zuko, voice rising.
"Because, you'll kill it!" She bustled distressed, backing away from the stream in the process.
Zuko followed her like a fox stalking his prey. Zoe's back hit a large, solid trunk of an old oak that stood behind them, and she could go no further. Zuko leaned in very close to her face and she gulped, using her sudden vulnerability he snatched the spear from her loosened grasp and grinned smugly.
Zoe didn't find this funny.
"Don't you dare kill that fish Zuko." she warned, her face fierce.
"Would you rather starve?" cried Zuko outraged and bemused.
Zoe inhaled sharply, seeming to puff out her chest glaring at him and said, "Yes."
With that she stalked away from him back to, he assumed, their camp.
He let out a frustrated growl then returned to the river. The fish was still swimming happily in that little pool. Zuko raised the spear, glaring at the pesky, scaled thing.
But then, he hesitated, spear held loosely in his hand. The fish was giving him the googly eyes now! He dropped his arm down to his side furiously; he couldn't kill it!
With a furious huff he stomped away; he'd have to find a different fish now because of that damn girl.
"Look!" Cried Zoe excitedly, when she finally returned to camp that day, "There's a wanted poster of me! You guys too, obviously, but look- aaghh!"
Iroh's whole face and body was swelling and red, his cheeks looked like they were ready to burst as if filled with too much wine.
"He made tea." Explained Zuko, hurriedly kicking his spear with a tiny fish stuck to the end into a shrub. "From a white jade bush."
"Iroh!" scolded Zoe, "I told you not to trust any of these plants!"
Iroh chuckled then shrugged, scratching madly at his body all the while and said, "It was a risk worth taking!"
"We need to find help." sighed Zuko.
"But, where are we going to go?" asked Iroh, voicing the question that was in Zoe's mind. "We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation!"
"If the Earth Kingdom discovers us…they'll have us killed." said Zuko thoughtfully.
"But, if the Fire Nation discovers us; they'll have us turned over to-"
"Azula." Zoe finished the sentence for Iroh. All three of them looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement.
"Earth Kingdom it is." Said Zuko, and off they went.
It was into the small Earth Kingdom Town that Zuko, Zoe and an inflating, itchy lump that was Iroh went on foot, and back out that came Junior, June, and a rashless Mushi on top of a stolen Ostrich-horse.
Zoe had only accepted to ride the stolen creature because she was so tired. She could vaguely understand how Zuko was feeling, but she personally knew that stealing was not the answer.
As soon as they were away from the city, Zoe pulled her hair out with a contented sigh. She had been forced to tie her hair completely back as she was apparently 'known' for always wearing her hair out. She just liked a nice healthy breeze through it!
"I say we shelter in the woods tonight." said Zoe with a yawn. She wasn't in the mood for scouting out caves.
Zuko didn't answer, but turned the Ostrich-horse toward the woods to their left.
As soon as they'd found a reasonable place to rest, all three of them collapsed to the ground; it had been a long day.
"I hope that teaches you not to use strange plants for tea Uncle," Said Zoe, then she realised she was still addressing him as if she were related. Iroh had said that Zoe was Zuko's sister. "I mean Iroh," she laughed, "Sorry, just habit after tonight."
Iroh chuckled sleepily, "Do not worry, and feel free to call me Uncle. I am beginning to forget that you are not part of out family, well not by blood at least." Iroh smiled at her, and she felt that comfortable warm feeling spread through her.
"Thank you, Uncle."
With that the trio fell to sleep, the silent Zuko tumbling through restless dream after restless dream.
A/N Sorry about the delayed update =) I'm away up the coast with no internet =O anyway, hope you enjoy!