Spark [Prince Zuko - Book One]

❃Chapter Five❃

Asake covered her head with her arms. In this almost fetal position, her side ached from how she was bent over. She didn't think about the pain, though. No, fear overtook the pain from being front and center. Frantic breaths spewed out of her mouth just as a wave of flames flew over her head. With a quick glance up, the flames reminded her of a red sky, one that was made from the fire of the sun when it was setting below this world. It would have been beautiful if Asake weren't afraid of it.

She focused her gaze on Zuko, who was blasting fire at Aang. The small boy barely dodged each blast. Whenever the fire came within an inch of him, she could see the red and orange colors reflected in his gray eyes. He gasped slightly and rolled underneath Zuko, staying behind him. Asake caught her breath since Zuko's blasts fizzled out. Zuko locked eyes with her, and he frowned, slowing down. He seemed to take a step toward her, and Aang noticed Zuko's slight distraction, launching himself at his staff that was sitting in the corner of the room. 

"Zuko!" Asake called out to him. 

She pointed to Aang, and Zuko turned around. Aang airbended the mattress and hit Zuko with it. He slammed it into the wall, and it fell to the floor with a thud. Aang used his staff to airbend the mattress and Zuko again up into the air before the two things fell back down quickly with a loud clang. Asake shot up from the fetal position she was in and ran over to Zuko, dropping to the ground. When she knew that Zuko was alive, she turned around to see if Aang was still there. The room was empty; the only trace of the airbender that remained in here was the slight breeze he left. She didn't care, though; the only thing that mattered was that Zuko was okay. 

She touched Zuko's back and could feel him breathing. She knew that he had a heart beat when she made sure that he was alive earlier, but she was relieved to find him breathing. "Come on," she said, rolling him over. Asake rested her hand on his face, right above his scar, and suddenly his eyes shot open. They were wide with fear, so he pulled back and said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," Zuko said gruffly, sitting up. His hand massaged a place on his head. He stared at her with a weird look on his face. She was surprised to feel her heart flutter at the intense look he was giving her. "Are you okay? You were cowering in the corner."

"Yeah," Asake said in a rush. She ducked her head; the embarrassment crept up her neck in the form of heat. "I was just afraid of the fire." She looked back up and said, "The Avatar got away."

His worried face morphed into something of anger. She couldn't really tell what he was feeling in that moment, but she knew that her heart was beating so fast against her chest, especially after he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Let's go! We have to follow him!"

Zuko's hand in hers was warm. She hadn't expected his touch to be that warm; she always thought that his physical body would be as cold as his personality. Apparently, she was wrong. She was wrong about a lot of things, especially about him.

She picked up her pace as Zuko raced around the corner. Her hand slipped out of his, and, when she went around the corner, he was gone. Her footsteps faltered as she stared down the corridor; her ears strained to hear for his own footsteps. It was completely silent. Instead of following where he went, she turned around and ran quickly to the main deck. As soon as she burst into the bright sunlight, two things fell right onto the deck in front of her. The loud thud and even louder yell told Asake that it was Aang and Zuko who fell onto the deck. 

"Zuko!" Asake cried, running toward him. The Avatar hopped up and grabbed his staff before she could make it to him. How many times was Zuko going to get hurt today?

"I'm okay," Zuko said, standing up. She touched his shoulder to make sure that he was okay before he sent a fiery blast at Aang. However, he ceased his firebending, his eyes scanning the sky. He pointed at something small that dotted the sky and asked, "What is that?"