I woke up to my mother shaking me fervently, as I opened my eyes I caught a glimpse of her borderline terrified gaze as she whispered, "We have to leave sweetie". My grogginess from being abruptly awoken quickly turned into confusion and fear and she practically pulled me out of bed.
My bare feet slapped on the cold floor of the fire nation palace as my mother dragged me along the winding hallways leading us to the exit of the palace. I still had no idea what was going on but followed my mother without question as I desperately held onto the blanket that was thrown haphazardly around my shoulders. I soon realized we still had a long journey awaiting us as my mother did not stop running when we reached the edge of the palace grounds.
"Mommy, where are we going?" I asked between heavy breaths.
My mother turned to me and then quickly turned ahead, "Away from this place. Somewhere you will be safe."
Soon, we reached the docks of the firenation. The water crashed against the rocks upon the shoreline and the sound made me want to curl into myself and fall back asleep. The sun was not even rising yet and I wondered just how late at night it was. There were no ships but one on the shoreline, the one me and my mother were heading towards. We reached the side of the ship to board and I saw my mother hand what I assumed to be the captain a heavy-looking pouch that made a clinking sound as it was placed in his hand. The man threw the bag up silently and huffed to himself before turning on the ship with a wave for the two of us to follow.
At least I thought it was the two of us.
As I began following him, I turned to my mother who stood perfectly still. The wind caused her long hair, the hair I had spent nights practicing to learn how to braid on after she had braided my own, to tangle in the wind. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. Why was she crying?
"Mommy what's wrong? Aren't we leaving?"
She smiled through her tears, "I'm sorry sweetie. But this is a journey you must take on your own".
"But mommy I want you to come!" I raised my voice and stomped on the wood of the dock.
"Trust me my dear (Y/N), this is what is best for you to have a safe future". She then knelt down to my height and tucked my hair behind my ear, "My sweet girl, you are destined for amazing things and I know one day we will meet again . . ."
She trailed off and looked behind her in the distance. I shifted my gaze to where she looked and saw the lanterns back in the palace being turned on. My mother quickly scooped me up in her arms, a rare occurrence as she had always said I was getting too big to be carried, and gave me a kiss on the forehead, one of her tears dropping onto my cheek somehow causing my own eyes to well with tears. I then felt myself being handed to someone else. I looked up to see a broad man with dark skin taking me from my mother. I thrashed and screamed in his arms but it was no use. The man was five times my size and held on just tight enough to keep me from escaping but also to not hurt me. My mother nodded to the man and he carried me onto the boat. All I could do was stare helplessly as my mother grew further and further away. I could barely make out her expression due to the tears that clouded my vision and hastily wiped them away so I could get one last glimpse of her kind face.
It was too late and all I could see was her fading silhouette.
YOU ARE READING
Traitor - Zuko X Reader
Fanfiction(Y/N) lived in the fire nation most of her life, growing up in the palace where she was close friends with Prince Zuko. She enjoyed her time in the palace, aside from the occasional rude comment from Azula, nonetheless she had lots of fun playing wi...
