Good and Evil || An ATLA Fanfiction

Chapter 24

"How are you feeling?" Grandpa asks, entering the room slowly.

My fingers cease playing the the necklace. "I'm alright Grandpa, honest. My bending is fine." I say, looking up at him "It might be the weather, I always feel bad when a storm is about to hit."

"I had the same feelings, but the skies are clear" Grandpa whispers "Zuko is becoming restless, and it is effecting the crew."

"I should come up, keep everything under control" I state, beginning to get up.

"No no! You should rest! A woman needs her rest" Grandpa demands, shaking his head.

"Grandpa-"

"No, I already have Prince Zuko denying my suggestions, so I am saying that you need rest. I will keep him under control" Grandpa explains, standing up, he leaves.

~~~~~~~

"I win, again" I smile cheekily.

"I'm totally letting you win" Ren grumbles, looking down at my cards.

"Hmm" I smile, rolling my eyes. After Grandpa left, Ren had joined me in my cabin, insisting on playing games. Surely Grandpa put him up to it, but it still felt nice to have someone with me.

Coming back to reality, I gasp at how close I am to Ren. While his face is just inches away, his eyes focus on my neck, fingers playing with the necklace.

"You kept it" he smiles, eyes meeting mine.

"Of course I did, it's beautiful" I whisper, my heart rate slowly accelerating.

He gives me a smile, showing off his white teeth. "A beautiful necklace, for a beautiful girl" he whispers, hands on my hips. A blush paints my cheeks, my own fingers finding the back of his head.

Slowly, his mouth moves closer to mine, head tilting in the process.

My heart pounds in my chest. I felt dizzy, my head swirling with thoughts based on Ren. It was like I had an addiction to him, the mere thought of him sending me into an episode of affection and infatuation.

Our lips are about to touch when a banging fills our room. "Ren! Stop cuddling with the Princess and join us below deck for dinner!" Jee calls from behind the door.

Turning my head, his lips press agaisnt my cheek, still exciting me with the idea of romance.

"I'm sorry about Jee, he can be a jerk" Ren sighs, getting up from our mat. "It's alright" I smile "You should probably go eat anyways."

A small part of me was happy that we didn't kiss, I was still hiding about what happened with Zhao, and I couldn't bear entering a relationship with Ren when lies still existed.

"You can come with me, the crew already loves you!" Ren smiles, taking my hand. Shaking my head, I follow him towards the crew.

~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sick of taking his orders! I'm tired of chasing his Avatar! I mean, who does Zuko think he is?" I hear Jee call below.

"Do you really want to know?" Grandpa's voice calls from beside us.

Jee stands up, shocked "General Iroh. We were j-"

"It's okay, may we join you?" Grandpa asks, looking at me.

"Of course sir" Jee says. Ren's hand leaves mine, and he finds a seat on the ground. I avert my gaze as the crew begins to tease him quietly.

"Try to understand. My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much" Iroh says sadly.

He goes into detail, explaining the day he went into his first war conference. How the general planned to kill thousands of fresh troops. Zuko spoke out, stating it was wrong, which resulted in a cycle of unfortunate events.

"Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out. And there were dire consequences" Iroh explains, stroking his beard.

"After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said the challenge against the general was an act of complete disrespect! And there was only one way to resolve this."

"An Agni Kai. A fire duel" Jee whispers, shocked.

"That's right. Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the general. Zuko had spoken out against the general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father" Grandpa explains, pausing.

I bit down on my lip, remembering the fear that Uncle Ozai sent through me.

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy."

"I looked away" Grandpa says, his eyebrows furring "Then, when I look back, I saw Princess Azara, standing in front of Prince Zuko, challenging her Uncle to a duel."

Eyes trained in on me, some never hearing the continued story.

"My brother gave her a chance to leave, but she refused. They fought, and while Azara put up a fight against a master, she was still struggling. Somehow, she managed to get the upper hand, getting in a few blasts, but he is too powerful" Grandpa goes on "Soon enough, I thought she would share the same fate as Prince Zuko, but instead, she blocked the fatal blast."

"Then why are you here? On this ship?" Jee asks.

"I lost the battle when I tried to create lightning and it failed. Surely I could've fought for my place on the throne, since my Grandfather and Father had the rightful place before Ozai, but I chose to follow my cousin. He needed a protector then, and he still needs one now" I explain, exhaling heavily.

Suddenly, a blast rocks the ship, throwing us all off balance.