Legends of Asana: Book 1

Chapter 1

Six months passed in the bink of an eye. Zuko's wound had healed as it should, leaving an angry red scar on his eye. He had opted to leave his hair shaved back instead of allowing it to grow back.

Asana on the other hand struggled to heal the much larger burn to her side. She battled infection after infection over the months While the wound was healing, it was open and bleeding frequently. Due to the nature of the wound, she hadn't seen daylight in weeks. Zuko refused to let her out of her room, fearing she would take on another infection. The last fever had nearly taken her in the middle of the night, after stopping at the Western Air Temple to search for the Avatar. She had gone out with him to search. The temple had been breathtaking to behold but she had fallen into an old pool of water despite her best efforts to be careful. She had laughed it off and simply cleaned the wound when they got back to the ship but by the end of the night she was feverish.

Zuko had been irate with her and banished her to bed rest. Guards were posted outside her room day and night. At first she didnt care since she could barely move much less leave her room. But as she got better she got stir crazy. The first time she attempted to leave, guards had escorted her back in and then stood inside her room for half an hour to make sure she wouldn't leave again.

The second time Zuko was there and clearly annoyed with her. They had talked for a while and come to an agreement. She would stay on bed rest, if he brought meals to her instead of a guard. He had agreed to it begrudgingly, but hadn't failed to bring her food yet.

Two weeks had gone by, and she was ready to get some fresh air. Currently she was polishing the bow Zuko's mom had gifted her before disappearing. It was made of iron spruce, like any other bow one would find in the fire nation army. Only this now had been ornately carved and etched. The designs were floral in nature with fires licking either end, bathed in gold. It was her most prized possession. It had been a longtime since she had last cared for it, and after reading all of Uncle Iroh's books, it was the best thing she could do to occupy her mind.

She had already removed the string allowing the wood to relax. One of the guards had brought her oil and some rags, as well as a new string for when she was finished. So she sat on her meditation pad with a few scented candles lit, oiling the wood until it looked brand new. Though she hated to admit it, fixing up her bow didn't take as much time as she had hoped it would.
Even though she took ner time, it only took her half an hour to ensure her bow was oiled properly. With a sign she placed the unstrung bow in it cradle to dry, later that night she would rest reach the bow with the new string.

Next to the cradle was a large box. She smiled to herself, and placed the box before her on the floor. She'd had the box for as long as she could remember. Her mother had gifted it to her before they had been executed. No one had ever told her what they had done but at a young age, after she had been publicly betrothed to Zuko, Ozai had caused her parents of traitorous acts and had them killed. Ursa had saved her from that same fate. As long as she remained loyal to the Fire Nation she was allowed to court Zuko until Ozai found a more suitable bride. Now Ozai had what he needed to be rid of her should she ever return to her country.

She stared at the box in front of her recalling the day they were executed. It was in the morning of her birthday. Her parents had been ripped from their bed and brought before Ozai . She could still hear her mother's protests as they had drug her through the halls. She had naturally chased after them in confusion, but Ursa had stopped her from entering the throne room to spare her the details. In the end, Ursa's actions had only left a pit in her stomach.

Shaking her head at the memory she opened the box where hundreds of feathers were neatly bundled and packed into the small space. The box was divided into four sections. One for each nation. Each nation had an assortment of birds they were known for and she had made it her mission to collect as many as possible. She already had every bird from the fire nation. In fact, she had so many took they took up two sections in the box. There was only one other section that had any feathers in it so far. They had visited two Air Temples so far. The Western Air Temple and The Northern Air Temple. Each temple had an abundance of yellow and white feathers that came from the local birds, that she had brought back to the ship.