Lotus Flower: Book One|ZukoxOC(Avatar the Last Airbender Fanfic)

Do Princes Really Keep Their Promises?

"No...You're joking—tell me you're joking! How could this happen?" I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation.

"I tried so hard! I did everything I could," disbelief coated my voice.

"Don't let this discourage you, I see much potential in you." Iroh soothes making me look up at him from the table in between us.

"You do?" I ask and he nods before letting out a laugh.

I look back to the game in front of us. He'd made it to the goal of five harmonies across the board in the matter of mere minutes! "I don't understand how you're so good at this game!"

"Many years of practice," he admits.

One of the nearby soldiers decides to butt in; "wow, Liena, you're really bad."

"Watch it, Niko!" I growl playfully, crossing my arms.

"Yes, Liena is the most formidable Pai Sho opponent." Iroh reveals.

"No way... you can't be serious." My mouth drops. He's joking.. he has to be! There's no way I can even begin to compare to this man's skill.

"Oh, but it's true, young one. It's not very often I get to meet someone so naturally gifted in the arts. Have you played many times before?"

I instantly brighten at the memories that seemed to have been circling in my mind for the last few hours while playing against Iroh. "My uncle and father would always play this. I would only watch. My uncle didn't let me play because he said my time hadn't come yet." I never understood the meaning behind his words—I mean, it was only a fun game.

"I see. I'm sure they'd be very proud of you." Iroh smiles and I give him a toothy grin back.

"Remind me, what were their names again-" I didn't get the chance to answer, since just then the door leading onto the deck slammed against the wall, almost falling off the hinges. Out stormed the prince.

Immediately, a few crew-mates stood in a line in front of Zuko. I had to raise an eyebrow at that. "So who's first?" The prince asked and the men gulped simultaneously.

"What's going on, Iroh?" I ask in the utmost confusion, turning back to the man who was still staring thoughtfully at the board.

"My nephew does this frequently. Sparring is essential to his training." Iroh waves off, and I nod.

I turn back to the scene in front of me. One of the soldiers were in place a few feet ahead of Zuko, getting into their fire bending stances. The prince stood there calmly, calculating every move as the soldier began to circle around him.

Eventually he got frustrated, his patience wearing thin and he blasted fire from his fingertips at the soldier, who quickly went to disperse it.

The soldier advanced forward, sending out his own flames, which Zuko easily flipped over; punching fire as he went. The fire pushed the soldier into the wall of the ship and he fell like a rag doll to the ground.

With a blast of air, my chair was out from under me and I was running towards the firebender on the floor of the ship. I pressed a hand to his head and the other I used to feel for his pulse.

He was okay.

Iroh calmly walked over, his tummy swaying as he went. "He's okay, they all have a fairly high tolerance for pain and Zuko's ferocity as an opponent."

"I figured.. but still, when I was on Kyoshi we were never so rough with the warriors we sparred with. We all knew each other's limits." I say, looking at the man who was still unconscious.