The Traitor Princess

Chapter 46 - The Crossroads of Destiny

*** Two Years Ago ***

Eziri was wandering the halls of the ship. For whatever reason, she found it hard to sleep that particular night. Rather than lay in bed and fixate on her insomnia, she decided to walk.

The ship was quiet, save the loud crash of the waves and the rumbling from the ship's engine room. The majority of the crew was asleep–only a few night crewmen remained. Eziri slowly crept down the halls and made her way up to the deck. Before she even reached the door, she could hear frustrated grunts and what sounded like firebending. She walked the rest of the way to the door and pushed it open. Unsurprisingly, her brother was standing alone on deck, angrily shifting through his firebending stances. He didn't notice his sister as she silently walked along the railing to observe his form.

Zuko shifted into another advanced set and lost his footing halfway through. He groaned in frustration and punched fire up at the sky.

"You know–" Zuko jumped at his sister's voice. "--the more frustrated you get, the worse your form is. You can't expect to rage your way through it, Zuzu."

Zuko dropped his stance and rolled his eyes. "What are you doing out here?"

"What are you doing out here? Last I checked, Uncle doesn't schedule firebending lessons in the middle of the night."

Zuko huffed and turned back around. "Go to sleep, Ezi." He grumbled.

"No thanks." She shrugged. Zuko groaned.

"Just leave! I'm trying to learn this set and I don't need you out here showing off!" He yelled in frustration.

Eziri just remained silent. She was never one to 'show off' when it came to her brother. She knew he was insecure about his firebending and wouldn't throw salt in the wound. She sighed and started to walk away. Zuko peered over his shoulder and saw the hurt look on her face. Guilt replaced his anger and he spoke up.

"Wait!" Eziri paused. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She mumbled.

"I'm just having a hard time getting this down."

"I know." She shifted her weight and debated whether to offer her help or not. "You know...I could help you..." she trailed off.

Zuko turned away in embarrassment. It wouldn't be the first time Eziri helped him with his bending, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.

Eziri took Zuko's silence for a no. "Never mind. I'll leave you to it."

"No—" Zuko quickly turned around and stopped his sister with a hand on her shoulder. "C-Can you stay?"

The hint of a smile appeared on Eziri's face and she nodded.

–

The pair spent the better part of an hour working on the set. Zuko was close, but he still didn't quite get it. Eziri was patient and tried not to push him too hard. Eventually, they both got sick of practicing the same set and decided to call it a night. Zuko went towards the inside of the ship, but Eziri started walking towards the railing.

She gazed out over the water. It was pitch black, except the lanterns on the ship and the moon in the sky.

"Aren't you going inside?" Zuko asked.

"In a minute." She leaned her elbows against the railing and focused on the quiet stillness of the night. Zuko joined her and put his hands on the railing beside her. "It's so peaceful out here." She said softly.