Ash [Prince Zuko - Book Two]

❃Chapter Fourteen❃

Zuko stormed over to Asake, anger rolling off of him in waves, but she stared him down. She wasn't afraid anymore. She wasn't afraid of him. Not now, not ever again. He looked so angry when he stopped in front of her. He didn't say anything, though. Instead, he tried his best glare on her. She laughed in his face.

"Hello, Lee," she said, her voice low. She didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation, especially if he decided to call her by her real name because he was so angry. "Long time no see."

He growled and grabbed her right arm, pulling her toward the door. They stepped outside together, and he dropped her arm in disgust. That little gesture made Asake's heart hurt, but she ignored it. Bright sunlight shone down toward them, highlighting his new hairdo. His hair had grown longer, shaggier. He looked great. Unfortunately, might she add, he looked great. 

"Why did you leave?" he hissed at her.

"I needed to leave," she said simply.

"That doesn't tell me why."

"Why do you deserve to know?" she snapped. Anger -- for him, for the world they lived in, for the life she hated -- crawled its way up her stomach and into her throat, bringing the fire with it. "I doubt you noticed that I was gone. You can't really see anything past your own grief."

He looked taken aback by that statement. His feet stumbled over each other as he retreated away from her. Zuko was farther away from her than ever before. He looked hurt that she would say something like that. She was surprised she said it out loud. Those words only lived in the darkest depths of her mind. They were never supposed to see the light of day, especially around him. Now, they hung in the sweet breeze, souring her beautiful day.

Before he could say anything else, Iroh stepped outside. He looked between the two of them, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. Asake turned her gaze to Iroh. When she locked eyes with his, the anger in her throat fell down again, finding a home near her feet. "I have to go."

She turned on her heel and started to walk away when someone latched onto her left arm. She cried out in pain and stars painted the blue sky above. For a second there, Asake was worried that she was going to pass out in the middle of Ba Sing Se. The pain was horrible, but she managed to turn around and shove Zuko away.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Zuko asked, worry filling his eyes.

"Nothing," she snapped. That seemed like the only thing she could do around him -- snap. Was she really that angry around him? Had she always been that angry around him? This anger traveling through her body was not healthy, she knew that. "Nothing's wrong with my arm."

"Asake, tell me what's wrong. Right now."

"I think I broke it, okay?" she said. She stared at Zuko to find him frowning. Why in the world was he acting like he cared about her? "And my name is Mo. Aren't you smart enough to use my new name? Or did you forget that we're on the run?"

"It looks like you're not running anymore," he snapped. That made her even angrier because she was still running from her past, from her memories. She would always be running from what had happened to her. "It looks like you're starting a new life here."

"Maybe I am," she replied softly. Her new life was so close to her that she could taste it. Yet her previous life was standing here, staring at her with anger written all over his face. This was the one thing she wanted. Why did she have to be so naive to believe that her life was going to change for the better? "Maybe I wanted to."

"It looks like you found someone new," he said, his voice low and angry. "That guy is trouble."

"Funny," Asake said, tilting her head to the side. She almost found this funny, but she didn't dare laugh at Zuko right now. "That's exactly what he said about you and Iroh."