Chapter 14 – Husband and wife
They had been walking through the forest for almost a week now, living off fish Milah caught for them or berries they found – ones they made sure weren't poisonous. Zuko had been really quiet, sulking mostly, so Milah and Iroh were the ones that kept the mood nice and cheery.
Currently, Milah was standing on the riverbank, trying to catch a fish. She had taken off her skirt and shirt, left in only her white underwear which consisted of a white chest binding and a white pant skirt. She wasn't prude anymore, about her nudity. They had been surviving in nature for a week now; there were other things to worry about. But the fish were scarce in these areas. Zuko walked up to her, silent as always. His hair had grown back over the week, giving him a whole new look. He was much more mature now, she thought. She liked it.
''Shouldn't you be looking for some berries?'' she asked him with a nasty undertone. She was done with his sour mood.
''What if I don't feel like it?'' he retorted sarcastically. ''I was going to help you fish.''
She snorted. ''Don't bother. There's nothing to get here anyway,'' she told him, trying to concentrate on the current around her, trying to find a disruption that could signal the presence of a fish.
''Maybe I will get something,'' he talked back.
''Yeah, probably,'' she bickered back, irritated by his stubborn nature.
''What do I get when I catch one, huh?'' he was standing in front of her now, having taken off his shirt and his pants pulled up to his knees. She tried her best not to stare at the magnificent chest before her, tempting her.
''Well, what do you suggest?'' she asked him huskily. He smirked.
''We'll see when I've caught one,'' he stepped away from her, wanting to get some space.
''Dream on, Your Highness,'' she muttered, angry with herself that he could distract her so well. But she decided she would distract him as well. She knew what an effect a woman's body had on men, especially hers on Zuko. She had noticed him staring at her whenever she would strip herself of her shirt and skirt. Although not for long, she admitted, because whenever he would happen to glance at her she would give him a strict look, willing him to look away, which he complied to. He was a gentleman, giving her privacy and treating her well – when it comes to that matter, anyway.
So she went over to stand further in the water, it reaching her knees now, so she was more visible to Zuko who was fishing near the shore. She could feel his burning gaze upon her when she started to practice a routine which Waterbenders did sometimes in heated pools. It consisted of various movements of the body and she had performed it once herself, in front of some other pupils of Master Pakku, and she had noticed then that the boys from her class all wore blushes and couldn't look her in the eye. She had been 16 at the time, of marrying age, but since her father wasn't present at the Tribe, she couldn't be married off, which she was glad of.
And on that note, she started moving. Zuko saw this, enthralling him. Her hair was moving freely in the end, water making various movements around her, her hips and backside swaying in enticing matters. His pants tightened a little, making him blush from having such a harsh bodily reaction. She turned around then, making his eyes move away from her round bottom and onto her front. She had a flat stomach and full breasts, ones he couldn't keep his eyes off. He imagined what they would look like, perky nipples and all, in display in front of him when he would rip off the stupid cloth.
His pants tightened some more and he was thankful that she had her eyes closed, or otherwise, she would've seen a large bulb in his trousers. Hell, that would be awkward.
He looked away then, towards the water flowing at his feet, and was glad he finally found a fish. It was small, but it was a fish. And this could be his chance to catch it and tell the Waterbender that he had caught a fish while she didn't. And with one stroke of his spear, he caught it.
''Yes!'' he shouted out loud, a grin on his face. His enthusiasm at the caught fish had made his arousal disappear just in time for Milah to fall over in the water, startled by the sudden yell. Zuko couldn't help but laugh out loud at that.
''Don't laugh!'' she screamed at him, a piece of a water plant on her hair. ''It's not funny!'' She stood up and faced him with her arms crossed over her chest. She was thankful that the chest binding was thick enough that they weren't see through – the water had been cold.
''It is, though,'' he continued to laugh and pushed the caught fish under her nose. ''Here, see what I've got here?'' She stomped with her foot in the water and gave out one little noise of irritation before she continued to walk out of the water, bending all of the excess water from her body and back into the river. She quickly put her clothes back on and walked towards their little camp.
''You owe me!'' he shouted after her, feeling satisfied by his accomplishment.
Milah was mumbling about how she hadn't won their little competition, feeling stupid for even taking up on it, when she saw Iroh sitting in front of a plant, his back faced to her.
''Zuko's stupid,'' she complained to him, making a move to sit against a tree.
''And you figured that out just now?'' he laughed at her sourness. She laughed with him until she saw a smug Zuko walking back towards them.
''Great, there you have Prince smart-pants,'' she grumbled.
''Zuko,'' Iroh began, ''remember that plant I thought was tea?'' Zuko started to look worried now, alarming Milah.
''You didn't…'' Zuko started.
''Wait, what tea?'' Milah tried to come between them.
''I did… and it wasn't,'' Iroh continued and turned around to reveal his red face.
''Wow!'' Milah exclaimed, falling back against Zuko who dropped the branch with the fish he had caught so he could catch her. ''That does not look good.''
''When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing,'' Iroh told them rather calmly, standing up and holding up a branch with berries attached to it. ''But look what I found. These are bacui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade. That, or maka'ole berries that cause blindness.'' He scratched his body rather painfully. Zuko reached from behind her to take the branch and threw it away from them.
''We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need to get help,'' he said sternly. Milah nodded.
''I'm with him on this. You look awful, Iroh,'' she said softly, taking Iroh's hands from his body so he wouldn't bring himself any harm. ''I could try and heal you, but I don't know if it works against poison.''
''Try it anyway,'' Zuko told her. She bended the water she kept in a little flacon against her side onto her hands and started with Iroh's arm, but after a couple of minutes, Iroh indicated that he didn't feel any different.
''That's it. We have to find a herbal healer somewhere,'' Zuko stated eventually.
''But where are we going to go?'' Iroh desperately asked, scratching his rash vigorously. ''We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom and fugitives from the Fire Nation.''
''He's right. We can't be going around, showing our faces everywhere, telling them you're Prince Zuko and General Iroh. And Azula's probably looking for us all through the Kingdom too,'' Milah panicked.
''If the Earth Kingdom discovers us, they'll have us killed,'' Zuko muttered.
''But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula,'' Iroh interluded, scratching his leg in the process.
''So what will we do?'' Milah tried to urge them on to come up with a solution.
''Earth Kingdom it is,'' Zuko finally decided for them and urged Iroh to walk ahead in front of them.
They walked all day until they finally came upon a small Earth Kingdom village. Sun was already setting and their stomachs were growling from not having eaten anything at all since the day before. Luckily, it didn't take long for them to find a place where a healer attended to the local sick and wounded. They entered the cosy shack and were surprised to find a young girl, around their age, working in it. On the other side of a room, another healer was treating a man with a cupping treatment, but they didn't mind their presence.
''Well, hello there! My name is Song. What seems to be the problem?'' the young girl whose name was Song greeted them rather cheerfully, thankfully coming straight to the point. Milah gave her a kind smile.
''You see, my uncle has drunk the tea from the White Jade, and now he has this terrible rash,'' Milah told her for the party. Zuko kept silent and went over to the bench that was seated in the corner to sit down.
''Ahh, I see, well take a seat, sir. I know just how to treat you,'' she told Iroh and went over to a cabinet to get her supplies. Milah took this as her cue to sit down beside Zuko who was looking towards his feet. She eyed him warily, not knowing what was wrong with him.
''Hey,'' she whispered to catch his attention and grabbed his large hand in her own small one. ''He'll be fine, trust me.'' He nodded, feeling more assured. She gave his hand a tight squeeze, before loosening it to let it go. But he didn't let her pull her hand away, grabbing it tighter instead.
''So, you three must not be from around here. We know better than to touch the White Jade, much less make it into tea and drink it,'' Song broke their moment. Zuko immediately released her hand. She was wringing the cloth that she used to wipe away the excess skin that had come loose from his body due to the rash and was bringing a green looking ointment on it after.
''Whoops!'' Iroh jokingly exclaimed, scratching the back of his head. She swatted away Iroh's hand when he started to scratch himself again.
''So where are you travelling from?'' she asked them. Zuko stood up quickly, looking particularly nervous by her question.
''Yes, we're travellers,'' he tried to lie to her, but not succeeding very well.
''Do you have names?'' she asked them.
''Names? Of course, we have names,'' he continued. Milah did her utter best not to give herself a facepalm. ''I'm, err… Lee and this is my Uncle, err… Mushi? And this is-''
''And I'm Kya,'' Milah quickly broke him off. ''Named after my mother.'' Song smiled sweetly at her.
''That's a pretty name. And I assume she's your wife?'' she asked Zuko. Milah already opened her mouth to contradict this, but Iroh beat her in speed.
''Yes, for almost two months now. Isn't that wonderful?'' Iroh sneakily told her, a wicked grin on his face. ''And my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him Junior, in case you were wondering.'' Zuko gave him a very angry look.
''Well, I must congratulate you. You are a wonderful couple. Are you already expecting?'' Milah tried her best not to laugh out loud upon seeing Zuko's horrified face.
''No, we're not,'' the husband she didn't know she had finally said. ''But we're trying to very hard, right sweetheart?'' She choked on her own saliva when he said that while he put a tight arm around her, trapping her against him. He looked into her eyes with a fake-loving expression, which wasn't hard to conjure for him.
''Yes, darling,'' she eventually brought out. Song looked rather happily at the performance they were displaying.
''Well, you three look like you could use a good meal. Why don't you stay for dinner?'' She could feel Zuko's arm slacken, making known his answer to her.
''Sorry, but we need to be moving on,'' he answered her eventually. Milah shook her head in disbelieve and took a step away from him.
''That's too bad. My mom always makes too much roast duck,'' Song told them innocently, knowing what that would do to them. And indeed, Iroh's face changed from discomfort to excitement in a split second.
''Where do you live exactly?'' the old man asked Song, whose face wore a radiant smile.
''Not too far from here, so you won't be too far from your original direction,'' she assured them.
''Well, Junior,'' Milah started, trying to hold back her giggle by saying his made-up name. ''Doesn't that sound nice?'' He grunted in annoyance and walked outside, leaving the little pouch with money with her.
''I'm sorry for his behaviour,'' she tried to apologise for Zuko to the insecure looking Song. ''He's a bit troubled.'' Song nodded in understanding.
''I understand,'' she assured Milah. ''We all have it difficult with the war going on. You don't have to apologise.'' The little Waterbender was happy at hearing those words. She liked Song.
After she was done treating Iroh – who looked a lot better after – they all exited the shop to meet up with Zuko.
''Ahh, my sweet wife,'' he commented sarcastically upon seeing the blue-eyed girl. Secretly, he loved calling her that.
''Stop that,'' she scolded him softly, not wanting Song to hear them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought his lips close to her ear.
''Why?'' he whispered in her ear, tickling her. A blush formed itself on her cheeks.
''You know why,'' she tried to persuade him to stop it, but it was in vain. So instead of fighting him off more, she wrapped her arm around him as well, enjoying his closeness for as long as it would last.
Once they arrived at Song's house, the sun had set and the almost full moon was high up in the sky. Zuko had let go of her sometime during their walk to her house and had grabbed her hand instead without even knowing he had. When one would look in a mirror, they really did look good together, like a perfectly ordinary Earth Kingdom couple.
Song's mother opened the mother with glee upon seeing the new faces. Iroh got to talk with her at once, exchanging pleasant stories. Song directed them to the table and urged them to sit down, telling them that dinner would be ready soon.
And sure enough, not long after Song and her mother walked in the dining room with a delicious smelling plate of roast duck. When they were all sitting, Song's mother got to talk first.
''So, I think congratulations are in order, Song tells me,'' her mother told a smiling Milah and a frowning Zuko.
''Thank you miss, we are very happy,'' Milah thanked them, trying to hold back her laughter once more. She caught eyes with Iroh, who also had a mischievous smile behind his raised cup of tea.
''My daughter tells me you're refugees,'' the old woman continued, making Milah wonder what Iroh had told Song upon their way to her house. ''We were once refugees ourselves.''
''When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away. That was the last time I saw my father,'' Song continued the story. Milah gave her a sad smile.
''I'm sorry to hear that Song,'' she tried to comfort the girl in front of her.
''I haven't seen my father in many years,'' Zuko suddenly confessed, surprising the Waterbender sat next to him. She saw the sadness in his eyes, an emotion he rarely showed. She put a comforting hand on his leg, wanting him to know she was there.
''Oh, is he fighting in the war?'' Song asked him with sorrow. A deafening silence spread through the room.
''Yeah,'' he eventually answered, taking Milah's hand from his leg and cupping it in his own, warming her cold one. It was silent for a few moments, all of them eating their dinner.
After they finished and Iroh had amused Song's mother with one of his many tales, Milah offered to help the old woman with the dishes, which she gladly accepted.
Zuko on the other hand, went outside to deal with the new emotions he was feeling, having brought up the subject of his father. He wanted so badly to see his father again, to look upon him with pride instead of disappointment, to be loved by him.
But he was disturbed by Song who opened the door and sat down next to him hesitantly. ''Can I join you?'' she asked, having already sat down. No, he thought. ''I know what you've been through. We've all been through it. The Fire Nation has hurt you.'' She reached up to touch his scar which he quickly dodged, grabbing her arm to push it away. ''It's okay, they've hurt me too.'' And with that, she pulled up her pants, showing a scar similar to his. He was surprised, immediately being intrigued by the girl in front of him.
Meanwhile, Milah had a good view of what was going outside while she dried the plates with a dry cloth. She could see Zuko and Song conversing in a way she didn't think Zuko was able to. He was talking animatedly and with genuine interest.
''Kya?'' Song's mother, whose name was Sui, she learned, tried to catch her attention. ''Are you alright?'' Milah didn't realise she had zoned out until Sui redirected her attention to her.
''What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine,'' the Water Tribe girl tried to assure her. But she wasn't. She knew it wasn't right to act jealous, but seeing Zuko talk with another girl the way he did tonight, after knowing her for less than a day, made her wonder what was going on inside his head if maybe he found her more interesting than her.
''You must love him very much,'' Sui continued talking, not knowing that Milah didn't pay her attention.
''Yeah… I do,'' she absentmindedly answered truthfully, without even knowing she had. And when she saw him smile about something Song said, she turned away from the window that provided her with the view and concentrated on drying the dishes.
Finally, the evening came to an end. They made their way outside, thanking Sui and Song excessively for their kindness. Zuko and Milah stood next to each other, although Milah kept her distance from him. She didn't feel like touching or even talking to him.
''Thank you for the duck. It was excellent,'' Iroh added, a smile on his face. Sui smiled back.
''You're welcome. It brings me pleasure to see someone eat my cooking with such… gusto,'' Sui answered with a hint of a laugh in her voice.
''Much practice,'' Iroh ended with a pat on his stomach. Sui and Song laughed, but Milah and Zuko didn't join them. The bitter Prince turned around to leave without saying thank you to which Milah grabbed his arm to stop him.
''Don't even try,'' she whispered through her teeth to him, being through with his behaviour. Iroh eyed him with disappointment.
''Junior, where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people,'' he scolded his nephew, who sighed, turned around – shaking Milah's grip off of him – and bowed towards the two women.
''Thank you,'' Zuko simply thanked them, making Milah shake her head at seeing his behaviour.
''Thank you, Sui, Song, I don't know how I'll repay you,'' Milah tried to make up for it, bowing as well.
''Don't, it was nice having you over,'' Sui dismissed her, giving her a wide grin, which she gladly returned. Zuko turned around after she said that, leaving the party, but Song opened her mouth one more time.
''I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned,'' Song shouted after him, pissing off Milah in the process. She turned around and followed Zuko, not wanting to look at the face of the girl that had gripped Zuko's attention tonight.
''I know,'' Zuko eventually answered bitterly. Sui and Song left to get inside after.
''You're impossible,'' Milah whispered at him when she caught up with him, but he didn't turn around to glance at her, noticing an ostrich horse tied to their tree instead. He walked over to it and unfastened the rope, pulling the ostrich horse from its place.
''No, you can't,'' Milah tried to persuade him. ''These people don't have much, haven't you seen?'' Iroh saw what was going on at that moment, frowning and startled by Zuko's actions.
''What are you doing? These people just showed you great kindness,'' Iroh agreed with Milah, but it was all for nothing.
''They're about to show us a little more kindness,'' Zuko stubbornly ended the discussion. ''Well?'' He reached out with his hand to Milah, who reluctantly took it so he could help her mount the ostrich horse.
''Just so you know, I didn't agree with this,'' she muttered, not feeling well with what they were doing.
''Yeah, we know,'' Zuko sarcastically said to her while mounting on behind her, making her huff out in annoyance. When Iroh was mounted behind Zuko they finally left the place.
They rode the horse for all night, getting as much distance from the town they had been to. They had shown their faces there and who knows how many sources Azula had.
Zuko regretted letting Milah sit in front of him on the ostrich horse. It was already quite cramped, seeing Iroh was rather large, and now her bottom was pressing against his front rather temptingly. He could only hope that she wouldn't notice what she did to him.
Meanwhile, Milah was still staring ahead of her with her arms crossed over her chest, mad at the man sat behind her. But it wasn't long until she started to fall asleep against him, his chest always inviting her to lay against comfortably.
Zuko put his arms around her protectively so she wouldn't fall off the animal. He could feel her relax against him, and soon he heard her breathing even out.
''Zuko,'' Iroh whispered at him, startling him. ''Do you love her?'' The question shocked him and he didn't know what to answer. Did he love her?
Whenever he would look to her, a warm feeling would go through his whole body, his stomach fluttering and an ever-lasting feeling of always wanting to be close to her. Every night he dreamt of her and when he was awake, his only thoughts were of her. He couldn't imagine being with anyone else but her. Not even Mai, his childhood crush and intended for marriage.
''I…'' he started, not knowing if he should say it out loud. He could feel Iroh smiling slightly behind him.
''You don't have to say it. I have all the answers I need,'' Iroh whispered back. Zuko held Milah tighter against him, enjoying that she was able to relax as much as she did against him. ''But… have you thought about what you're going to do once you capture the Avatar?''
''I haven't, and I don't know,'' he opened up to his uncle, who was pleased that Zuko was able to speak so true to him. ''I can't lose her.'' Iroh smiled sadly.
''You don't have to. You can make a new life, here, in the Earth Kingdom,'' Iroh took the extra step, but he shouldn't have. Immediately, Zuko shut him out. Iroh had gone too far.
''No. My place is next to my father. One day, I will rule the Fire Nation,'' Zuko stated with a final tune in his voice, signalling the conversation was over.
Eventually, when the sun was starting to peek through the leaves, Zuko stopped the ostrich horse. He first helped off Milah, who was sleeping peacefully against him and laid her down on a soft spot of grass. After, he helped off his uncle who was in a sleep-drunken state but still managed to lay down on the ground by himself.
By the time he woke up, it was past noon. Zuko felt like he had been speed on by a rhino, but he was glad that they had covered so much distance between Song and them. Milah was already searching for freshwater while Iroh had begun to light a fire to heat up the roast duck they had gotten from Sui.
''Look who's finally awake,'' Milah said when she returned with the freshwater. Zuko grimaced.
''Well, you're not the one who had to steer that ostrich horse all night,'' he retorted to her, but she didn't give him any attention.
''Milah, Zuko, keep it civil,'' Iroh scolded them, grabbing his first piece of roast duck. Zuko merely scoffed and stood up to find someplace where he could wash. Milah obviously wasn't in a good mood.
And she continued to be in a sour mood all week. They would travel by day and rest by night, but Zuko thought it was wise to make as much distance as they could, barely giving them time to rest properly. The ostrich horse was beginning to feel it too, so they took turns walking so it wouldn't have to carry all of their weight.
Zuko didn't know what to do with Milah. He tried to cheer her up every now and then, but she continued to ignore him or to give short answers. It drove him crazy.
And so it was one evening, enjoying the fish Milah had caught for them, when Iroh told them he would go for a walk, having figured out that it was time for them to talk. After he left, Milah wanted to disappear into the ground rather than face Zuko, knowing he wanted to chat about her absence.
''Milah…'' he started softly, gazing at her with those golden eyes she loved. ''Tell me what's wrong.'' She shook her head.
''Nothing's wrong,'' she mumbled, but he didn't let it go.
''There is something and you're going to tell me what it is,'' he spoke louder, growing more impatient now.
''Just leave it alone. It's no good anyway,'' she tried to deride him. Zuko went over to her, sitting in front of her on his knees.
''I'm not giving up until you tell me,'' he continued, angering her.
''Fine! You want to know what's going on?'' she almost shouted in the quiet forest. ''Us! This! It can't continue like this. I realised it the other day when you were talking with Song. I realised that we can't ever be together! And that hurts, okay, more than you know!'' A tear streamed down her cheek. ''It's delusional. I'm a Waterbender. You're the heir to the Fire Nation throne. It can't happen, no matter how much we want it to.'' Zuko's face was full of hurt and sorrow, his eyes burning into hers with disbelieve.
''But-'' he wanted to disagree, but she cut him off by standing up.
''No buts, you know it's true. I can never be your wife like I was today, nor can you be my husband. Not while this war is going on, and not while you're so awfully determined to catch Aang just to regain your father's honour. Don't you see that's wrong?'' she argued with him, noticing all the cropped anger was let out at this moment.
''Don't bring my honour into this,'' he warned her, standing up as well. His face was no longer filled with hurt or sorrow, instead, it was filled with anger directed towards her alone.
''And why not? You say you want to be with me, but you're always on about catching the Avatar and stuff. Don't you remember?'' she sobbed a little. ''You never chose me when you were asked. You never did. And I always chose you.'' He shook his head in disbelieve and took a step towards her.
''I never chose you? What, you think I want to live here like some Earth Kingdom peasant and leave my whole life behind? You would really ask that of me?'' he tried to reason with her, being sick of her self-pity. ''You know what, if you hate it so much with me, why don't you go and find your precious brother and sister? I think that's an excellent idea.''
''Fine by me! Have fun on your own,'' she screamed at him and finally turned around to walk away from him. How dare he talk like that to her. She had been nothing but good to him and he was being a total asshole once again.
Zuko was raging as well, but still, he didn't want her to go off wondering the woods on her own, especially when it was nightfall. And so he decided to go after her.
''Milah!'' he yelled after her, lighting up a fire in his hand to illuminate his path. ''Wait! Please, it's not safe. You don't even have any light.'' Finally, he saw her ahead of him, carefully stepping over vines and other dangers on the ground. ''Wait! I'm sorry, okay?'' He tried to convince her to come back and finally, he saw her stop in her tracks. ''I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.'' He saw her turn around slowly and he knew he had won.
When she finally reached Zuko again, she stood in front of him, arms crossed over her chest. ''I'm sorry too,'' she whispered finally and looked straight into his burning eyes. ''It's just… you make me want to scratch my eyes out sometimes.'' She gave him a small smile.
''Yeah… I know,'' he answered back softly. ''I have that effect on people.'' They both could laugh a little, feeling their anger towards each other dissolve slowly.
''I can choose you, you know,'' he suddenly whispered when she started walking towards the fire. He had grabbed her hand in the process. ''I want to choose you.'' She had sadness in her eyes, he saw.
''The only thing I ask of you, is that when the time comes, you will make the right choice for yourself. And whether you choose me or anyone else by that time, that's up to you,'' she whispered back. He let her go then and watched her walk back to the fire.
He tossed and turned that night, not being able to sleep, always seeing those blue eyes in front of him. Next time, I will choose you, was his last thought when the sun had already started to come up. But finally, he slept.
I'm having some difficulty with finding the right pathway my story has to take. I do however have a very clear view on how my story will proceed once we're at the end of book two and book three. Just the route I need to take until I reach my destination is not very clear. But nonetheless, their fight is important, it's not just a filler :)
Thanks again Vosck! You make my day :)