Hello, everyone! Moonfire here with, finally, a fanfiction for Avatar: The Last Airbender!
Don't get me wrong, I love Zuko and Mai together...but I love Zuko more~
So I decided to create an OC for him who goes on his journey together.

Do give it a read if it catches your eyes~ (Moonfire, 29/10/2018)

Chapter 1: The Lost Girl

General Iroh was in his office, busy planning his strategies to the Earth Kingdom capital. He stopped when he suddenly heard commotions outside. Iroh exited his office. He heard a few of his soldiers talking.

"Who is this little girl?" a soldier asked.

"How did she get onboard our ship?" another one asked.

Iroh arrived at the main deck to check up on them. They seemed to be surrounding someone. The soldiers stood up straight when they saw him. They lined up to give him a better view of what they were observing. Iroh saw an eight-year-old girl in tattered clothes. She was in a battle stance, as if ready to strike anyone who threatens her. She was wearing an ear cuff. Iroh recognized the insignia.

"Father, what is going on?" Lu Ten, Iroh's only son came up to him.

He set his eyes on the girl, surprised to see one on a ship full of men. The girl calmed down a little when she saw Lu Ten. She seemed to be amazed by him. Lu Ten smiled, squatting down in front of her. He caught a glimpse of the ear cuff she was wearing.

"My, my, you have a fierce face…" he was amused.

"Hmph…" the girl replied.

"What is your name?" Lu Ten asked.

"Isla…" she replied short.

"She must be a fighter if she can sneak into our ship unseen," Lu Ten remarked.

Isla blinked at Lu Ten. The young man smiled at the girl.

"If you have taken a liking to her, then…let's bring her along…" Iroh said to his son.

Lu Ten nodded. He picked the girl up into his arms. The rest of the soldiers did not say anything. They respected Iroh's decision. Lu Ten gave Isla a room for her to rest. She got change into a Fire Nation dress. She stared at herself in the mirror. She glanced up at the ear cuff she was wearing.

"I will succeed my mission…" she muttered.

Lu Ten would train Isla some martial arts and firebending. Even though she could not bend at all, the young man never gave up on her. He just believed that she was a late bloomer. As time passed, Isla became one of the best warriors in martial arts. She spent most of her time with Lu Ten, training and discussing battle tactics. Lu Ten hardly let her participate in battle as she is a girl and he wanted her safe.

Soon, Isla joined Iroh and Lu Ten in making history, breaching the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se. When Lu Ten lead the frontlines of the war, Isla stayed by Iroh's side. The inevitable happened; Lu Ten was killed before they could seize the Inner Wall. Isla comforted Iroh but it was not enough to lift his fighting spirit back up. He ended his siege.

After a long journey around the world, Iroh returned home with Isla as his adopted daughter.

It was the first time Isla has ever stepped into the Fire Nation, not to mention, the royal palace. She was given her own room next to Iroh's. He spent most of his time in his room or the studies. Isla did some exploring around the place, getting familiar with her surroundings. She caught sight of a girl about her age, throwing some bread crumbs at the ducklings in the pond.

"Hey! You shouldn't do that!" she shouted.

The girl stopped, glaring at Isla. "Who're you?"

Isla glared back at the girl. The girl raised a brow, recognizing her.

"You're uncle's adopted daughter. I bet you don't know who I am?" she smirked.

"Of course, I do! You're Princess Azula…and a princess should not be acting like that!" Isla replied.

"Hmmm… Whatever," Azula shrugged, walking away.

Isla was still glaring at her. Suddenly, Azula spun around and threw a fire shot at Isla. The girl sidestepped to dodge the attack. She turned to Azula who had a smirk on her face. Azula kept on attacking with more firebending. Isla swiftly avoided each one, even pushing away Azula's hand gracefully, as if she as dancing, not fighting. Azula aimed another strike using her palm, but Isla pushed it away with the back of her palm. Azula kicked with fire, Isla ducked to avoid it, elbowing Azula on her side, causing her to topple. There was a brief pause. Azula was getting impatient. Isla was still calm. They came at each other, Azula with firebending and Isla with a punch, but their respective hands were held off by someone.

"Enough, both of you!" Iroh said sternly.

Azula pulled away. She huffed before taking her leave. Iroh turned to his daughter with a stern look. Isla avoided his eyes, looking guilty.

"Care to explain what had happened?" he asked.

"She was picking on the ducklings…" Isla replied, feeling angry again.

"And what did you do? Pick a fight with her?" he asked.

She shook her head. "She started throwing fire at me, so I dodged away, like I promised you…and Lu Ten," she explained.

Iroh took a seat under the tree. "Good then. Come sit," he invited her.

Isla obliged, sitting beside him. He pulled out a bun from inside of his sleeve and started feeding on the ducklings and their mother. Isla joined.

"Listen to me, Isla. They must never know who you truly are," he reminded her.

"I know but my mission…" she muttered.

"I know of your mission and when the time comes, do what you must," Iroh said with a smile.

"Thank you, father…" Isla replied.

One fateful evening, thirteen-year-old Zuko was looking for his uncle. He passed by Isla's room and heard her humming a song. He took a peek through the curtains and saw her bending water, making it to swirl around her dagger. Shocked, he barged into her room. Isla lost her concentration, shifting her attention to the prince. She got out of bed, standing up straight.

"You're a waterbender?!" he exclaimed.

Isla averted his gaze. Zuko approached her with the urgency to ask more questions. She just froze at her spot, trying to stay calm.

"How did you deceive my uncle?" he asked. "Why are you even here?"

"It's confidential…but all I can say, I was found by father on his ship. I can't really recall how I ended up there," she explained, avoiding his eyes.

"Uncle helped you?" Zuko was even more shocked.

"I've been learning martial arts from Lu Ten. I shared my secrets with only him, but yes, your uncle helped me survive which is why I helped him breach Ba Sing Se…" she replied.

Both Zuko and Isla went quiet. They did not know what to say to each other. Isla glanced up at Zuko. She could see that his eyes show compassion and care, just like Iroh's.

'I wonder if he ever noticed that about himself…' she thought.

Zuko took a glimpse of Isla who looked away immediately when their eyes met. He could see the fierce determination and the slight softness from her face.

"Since uncle accepted you, then I should too. I won't tell anyone," he gave in.

"Thank you so much, Prince Zuko," Isla smiled happily.

Zuko looked away from her and nodded. Iroh came in, froze when he saw Zuko with Isla. The young prince excused himself after taking one last glance at the girl.

"Did he…?" Iroh hesitated to ask.

"He found out I'm a waterbender, but for your sake, he promised not to tell…" she explained.

Iroh pulled her into a hug. "I am so glad to hear that! I thought I was going to lose another child…"

Isla returned the hug. "You're never going to lose me… I promise."

Iroh smiled. "I hope so."