The Traitor Princess

Chapter 4 - The Avatar Returns

The ship was slowly approaching the small village that Zuko spotted in the distance. Zuko was in his room while servants helped him put on his armor.

Eziri opted for her normal fighting clothes instead of armor. She felt too restricted by the heavy armor and rarely put it on. She had loose dark red pants with gold leggings layered underneath. She tucked both pair into her black boots and tied her pants at her waist with a black sash belt that held pockets for her throwing knives. She could fit three knives into her belt and she secretly hoped she wouldn't have to use them. She then pulled on a red long-sleeve thick shirt and tucked it into her belt. She slipped on her fire nation black and red tunic over the top and clinched the tunic at her waist with another sash. This belt held a small dagger that she kept as a back-up in case her bending or her knives failed her. She tied her hair into a tight ponytail with a red ribbon, leaving strands on either side so she could braid them and tuck them into the ribbon. She tied on her metal wrist guards, gave herself a once over in the mirror. She looked striking. Her amber eyes were complimented by the deep shades of red and black on her shirt. She had matured quite a lot in the last few years. She no longer looked like a child; she looked like a fierce, young woman. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked up to the out of her room and up the stairs.

Zuko was waiting on deck with a handful of crew members lined up behind him. When he saw Eziri emerge from inside the ship, he motioned for her to stand next to him. Eziri skipped over to her place and beamed at her brother.

"So, you ready to fight an airbender?" Eziri said cheerfully as she nudged Zuko lightly with her elbow. Zuko just stared at her blankly for a few moments.

"What? Did one of my braids fall out or something?" Eziri asked self consciously as she lightly touched her hair to check that her braids were still tucked securely beneath her ribbon.

"Why aren't you wearing armor?" Zuko asked, ignoring her question.

"I never wear armor." She stated simply

"You're leaving yourself open to all kinds of attacks. The water tribes use a lot of weapons carved from bone. What if you get stabbed?" Eziri dramatically rolled her eyes.

"You're taking all the fun out of this, Zuzu."

"I'm serious, Ezi. We're about to fight the Avatar. This could be dangerous."

"Worry about yourself, Prince baldy. We both know I can handle myself in a fight." She said as she shoved him lightly. He turned bright red with anger.

"I told you not to call me that!" Eziri just shrugged him off and turned her attention to the front of the ship as they got closer to the village.

--

As Zuko and Eziri descend down the walkway, they're met with a sad looking village. This was most definitely not what Eziri expected. She was prepared to receive attacks from the tribe the second they were in range.

Fire Nation raids. Eziri thought to herself. She knew from the reports that the Fire Nation had no plans to raid the Southern Water Tribe any time soon since they already decimated their home. Eziri sighed internally. Where are all the men? She thought to herself.

As the group stepped off the platform, a boy about her age charged towards Zuko with a battle cry. Zuko kicked the boy's club out of his hand and sent him flying into the snow with ease. Eziri felt bad for the boy. He probably had no way to train if this was the full extent of the village.

"Where are you hiding him?" Her brother demanded angrily. Zuko looked around a bit before roughly grabbing an old woman from the crowd. "He'd be about this age, master of all elements?"