Chapter 35

Finally, the Capital City came into sight, and she walked through the streets with as much purpose in her step as she could muster, exhausted as she was. Her left arm was clenched tightly to her side to keep her wound from moving as much as possible. Her right eye was so swollen that she could barely see. Most of her injuries had stopped bleeding, but the one on her calf dripped, and her pants had soaked through. The Palace was in sight, and she pushed forward, keeping one thought in her head. It was why she had fought so hard to get out of there and get back. She got blank, horrified stares as she walked through the city, nearing the Palace with every step. Her clothes were torn and bloody, and she knew she looked horrible, but no one stopped her. A guard offered her help, but she waved him away, and he reluctantly returned to his post. He referred to her by name, so word must have spread about her by now.

Zuko.

She needed to get back, back to him.

He would be worried sick, and she needed him to know that she was okay, to tell him about the plans she had heard. She was too shy to admit it to him directly, but she had come to care for him so much over the last few months. As Fire Lord, she greatly respected him, as he worked tirelessly to ensure the happiness and prosperity of his people and country. As a man, he was kind, compassionate, and genuine. Judging by his reaction when she was taken and the kiss they shared, he cared about her. Thankfully, it was what she wanted since it meant she would be captured instead of killed, but a small part of her was bashfully overjoyed about it. Even though her heart had sung for him, and her thoughts of him had kept her going, she was still anxious about their growing closeness. She didn't deserve someone like him. With all the blood on her hands from her past, she didn't deserve to have someone care for her like he did, let alone love her. She'd done too many irredeemable things in her life to allow herself such selfishness of being with him.

As she reached the Palace, the guards outside nodded their respects on their way in and just watched her with wide eyes after she declined their assistance. They didn't stop her, knowing she would head straight to the Fire Lord's office. It seemed that everyone knew what had happened by now. Once she reached the right hallway, her hair covered most of her face. It had fallen out of its usual braid long ago.

She turned to head down the hallway that held the Fire Lord's chambers, swaying slightly. The guards went to stop her from entering, but she pushed her hair out of her face, and they stepped back in horror to let her enter after recognising her. Luan was one of them and muttered her name softly. Wen was at her desk, and her eyes were as wide as saucers when she saw her. She stood up and walked over to her but didn't say anything. Her hands hovered near, just in case Izara lost her footing, but she didn't touch her. Wen wasn't the cautious type, but she seemed worried that Izara might break if she touched her. Standing in front of the doors, Izara took a breath to steel herself, and she pushed the large door open with her good arm, her other clutched to her side so she didn't re-open her shoulder wound. She shook with the pain, and forcing the door open even with her other arm made it sting sharply.

Zuko was leaning against his desk, and Aang sat in the seat in front of him. Zuko stood up when he laid eyes on her, and Aang turned around in his chair to see who it was when he saw Zuko's face. She walked in, the door closed behind her, and Izara fell to her knees, placed her hands on the floor, and bowed.

"My Lord, I apologise for taking so long to return. I bring information on their forces, weaponry, and plans." Her voice was raspy from lack of use and exhaustion. She reached into the satchel and pulled out the plans, notes, and everything else she'd stolen.

"K-Katara." Zuko stuttered, his tone full of quiet urgency. It was also a request that Aang give them some privacy.

The Avatar grinned happily and whispered to Izara that he was glad she was back. He knew she couldn't move yet as she was trying to beg forgiveness, but he didn't want to leave without letting her know. It had been hell dealing with Zuko over the last few days, and the look in his eyes seeing that she was okay was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. He definitely wouldn't tell Zuko that, though.

Aang slipped out, shutting the door behind him, and Zuko took cautious steps towards the woman he cared so deeply for as she stayed in her bow on the floor.

"Please get up," Zuko said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Izara heard him and rose to her knees, keeping her head down.

After all the sleepless hours, she was really back. Zuko stepped off the raised platform with his desk and chairs and moved toward her.

She felt herself flinch in reaction to the pain in her ribs while Zuko's eyes examined her closely. He was probably looking at the dried blood, bruises and scrapes she was covered in. Without rising from her bow, she couldn't see his face but could sense his worry, concern, anger...

Carefully, he kneeled down, reached out and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. His fingers came under her chin, and he tilted her head so she would look at him. There was a bruise on the right side of her jaw, and he ran his thumb over the swollen skin. He saw her lip was split, and his thumb gently brushed over it as well, stopping when she flinched. Her right eye was swollen and blackened. She saw his eyes light up with fury, but his touch was so cautious and concerned.

Finally, he looked into her eyes and saw that she had nothing left. She knew that she looked like absolute shit, with dark circles around her eyes, and her skin was pale from lack of food and water. With as much desperation and caution as he could, he pulled her into an embrace, carefully avoiding her wounds. He tangled his fingers in her hair, which was matted and smelt like blood. The other arm circled around her waist, effectively holding her up since she could barely do it herself. Izara used her good arm to return the embrace, her hand on the back of his neck as she pulled him close, ignoring her body's pained protests.

"I was so worried." He managed to choke out. "I...I didn't know where you were, or even if you were alive...I was s-so terrified that they had killed you." All the exhaustion and days of worry were blatantly apparent in his voice, and her heart raced hearing it.

Izara was surprised to hear how upset he sounded; it tugged at her heartstrings, and she was stunned at how vulnerable it made her feel. Typically, in a formal sense, he only showed much emotion or feeling if it was appropriate. So it wasn't that she wasn't used to seeing him act like an average adult male, but this was different. She felt so happy being back here, in the Palace, in his arms.

"I'm all right. I came back...Back to you." Her throat felt like sandpaper, but she didn't let it stop her from speaking.

She loosened her grip on him, far too uncomfortable to stay where she was, and he leaned back to help her stand up. It took a minute, but she was going as fast as she could and winced as she felt her leg wound tear open again. He kept one hand at her waist to support her and one against her good arm.

"What did they do to you?" he ran his fingers over a cut on her arm, his brow furrowed and tone revealing restrained anger.

"They just tried to get information from me. I didn't talk." She kept her voice firm, trying to brush it off, but his face twisted into fury. "Shh, shh. I'm all right." she cupped his face with her hand, and he placed his larger hand over hers. Her touch seemed to dull his anger briefly.

He pulled their hands down and looked at them briefly before huffing faintly. As the anger disappeared, a shadow of a smirk appeared on his face. However, there was still hellfire in his eyes.

"You have such tiny hands."

She laughed at his abrupt comment, but the pain from her ribs, more than likely cracked or fractured, stopped her, and she began to cough. Quickly, she pulled one of her hands from his and covered her mouth as she coughed, feeling a thick, warm liquid covering it. Her nose scrunched up, her brow knit together, and she felt rather grossed out. Zuko watched her with a concerned expression as she removed her hand. His eyes went wide as he saw what she had coughed up.

Her mouth, chin and hand were covered in blood, and she winced as she tried to catch her breath. She looked down after seeing Zuko's face and swore when she saw the mess in her hand. Zuko swore and turned away from her, moving a few steps away so she didn't get caught up in his anger. In one swift move, he grabbed a chair and threw it across the room, where it collided with the wall and smashed. Another followed. Izara's eyes widened as she watched Zuko's tirade, which lasted only 10 seconds. Despite the outburst, she was glad that he cared so much.

Once he looked back at her, his eyes softened from fury to concern. She teared up slightly, seeing how worried and angry he was that she had been hurt. Although his temper hadn't disappeared, he had never physically expressed it like that in front of her before. No one had cared about her like this before. Her parents probably had, not that she remembered.

"Sorry. I've been going crazy not knowing if you were okay." He felt bad for losing it in front of her, but she seemed to understand. "Katara will be on her way. Let's go."

Izara nodded and went to turn to the office door but went too fast and got dizzy. Before she could get her bearings or regain her composure, she slumped to the floor, vaguely hearing Zuko call out to her. She felt his arms come underneath her, and he lifted her up, carrying her through the halls until they reached a room he had prepared earlier. When she felt a soft surface underneath her, she finally passed out, unable to stave it off any longer.

Zuko had laid Izara on the bed, and Katara came over to check her out. She got some water from a large vase she had brought with her and went to work. For privacy's sake, Zuko looked away most of the time since Katara had to cut off Izara's shirt to get to her shoulder wound and deal with her ribs. Occasionally, he looked back and saw her skin covered with red, blue and purple hues, making him angry again.

Katara yelled at him for heating up the room, not realising his breathing had changed to the fight part of the fight or flight response. His fists were balled tightly, and he smashed a fist cloaked in flame clean through a table, making Katara yell at him again. He slumped against the wall and sat down, staring at the ceiling as if cursing the gods.

Zuko had no idea how much time had passed, but Katara eventually approached him. He hadn't moved from his spot against the wall, but from the feel of how tense his back was and the numbness in his rear end, it had been a couple of hours.

"Zuko, she's going to be okay. She patched herself up well enough and cleaned up her wounds really well. She just needs to rest. I'll get some rest myself and come back in a few hours." Katara held his shoulder to comfort him, and he stood up.

"Thank you, Katara." He hugged her, partially to thank her and partly because he needed it right now. She sensed his need and returned the hug tightly before letting him go.

He walked silently to the bedside and took up the seat that Katara had been in. After she had been taken, he had organised a room for her to stay in while she recovered. It was usually just storage before, so it was convenient. He had fully expected that she would need a lot of rest on her return and wanted to ensure she had somewhere comfortable and hidden away to do it. Conveniently, the room was just around the corner from his own chambers, so he would be nearby should Izara need anything.

As Zuko leaned forward in the seat, he rested his elbows on his legs and put his head in his hands. He heard the rustling of sheets and flinched before staring intently at Izara, ensuring everything was okay. She was sleeping deeply, but a thin sheen of sweat was on her forehead. He looked around but didn't see what he was after.

Since he would need supplies, he walked into the hall until he found one of his staff. He asked them to get him a few things and to organise a staff member to check in every hour to see if they needed anything else. They nodded and zipped off to fulfil his request, and it only took around 3 or 4 minutes before there was a soft knock at the door.

They came in with everything he had requested and helped him set everything up: a large bowl filled with cold water and a few small towels. He also asked for some water, porridge, bread, and other things that would be easy for Izara to eat during her rest. He had planned not to let her move for months at this rate. He had finally gotten her back and would ensure that she came to no more harm. No one would touch her without his strict permission and supervision.

Carefully avoiding tender spots, wounds and bruises, he gently ran a damp cloth over her skin, removing dirt, dried blood and whatever else he could. She didn't react at all, and he was careful not to disturb her. He felt like this was his way of trying to make it up to her. She had gone to such insane lengths to help the Fire Nation and to help him, and he had no idea how he was possibly going to reward her or show her his appreciation. As he tried his best to clean up for her, his vision blurred as he imagined the horrible pain she must have gone through. Even though he didn't want to, he had listened to Katara's examination and diagnosis. It almost made him fly into another rage, but he kept control as he held her hand and ran the cloth over her skin.

With no one else around, he let the unshed tears he'd held in over the last few days fall down his cheeks.

Hesitantly, he moved the blankets back and did the same to the revealed parts of her skin on her stomach, legs and feet. Using the simple motion, he breathed deep and slow, calming himself as best he could. As much as he wanted to scream and yell, he knew he needed to be calm to support Izara while she was healing.

Another knock at the door drew him from his thoughts, and he permitted entry. It was his staff who came to check on everything and make sure he didn't need anything. He requested fresh water and towels. They returned within minutes, and he thanked them politely before dismissing them.

Once Zuko finished, he wet the clean cloth and laid it on her forehead. In a few hours, he would wake her up and give her some food and water, but for now, maybe it was a good idea for him to close his eyes. He had barely slept since she was taken, so it would be good for him to rest and be at his best when caring for Izara.

Blinking hard, he sat back in the chair and let his head loll backwards. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and allowed himself to doze off….