where the past can't reach us // zuko x reader

Chapter Seventeen - Kidnapped

Landing in Gaoling two days after Chin Village had been a relief for all of us. There were no crazy swamp monsters or unfair trials here, for one, but it was more than that – a new thing to focus on: finding an earthbending teacher – and that left little time to think about remembering. Ever since the failed experiment with the costume, the air had hung heavy around our group, cold and tinged with disappointment, easing at first after a good night's sleep as hope returned to our eyes, then growing heavier still as the attempts inevitably failed. It never ended well. I needed a break.

Unsurprisingly, the Air Nomad costume from Chin Village had ended up being a cheap knockoff. Clearly meant to be worn for one occasion and then forgotten, the soft fabric had torn as soon as it came into contact with, off all things, Sokka’s boomerang and, with my other clothes being dirty or otherwise out of commission, I was in desperate need of a replacement. I wasn’t looking for something fancy – just anything that would last longer than the festival knockoff – and the green Earth Kingdom robes sold in every clothes shop in town would do the job just fine. Still, I couldn’t just buy the first one I saw, I had to try it on before making the purchase. And so, as soon as we’d landed, I was off, promising to join them in an hour, and that was how I ended up separated from the others for the first time that day.

I did the job quickly enough. Just as I’d suspected, the clothes were easy to find, and weren’t very expensive, either, and I started on my way back to meet the others twenty minutes ahead of schedule. The breeze blew gently on my face, and the bustle of people around me was oddly comforting, a sign that there was still a place in the world where life carried on as normal. It was nice to just be able to walk around for once, enjoy the view, linger at shop displays and food carts that made the whole street smell of peach and melon, to look at flowers, smile at strangers, wander into alleyways.

My peaceful reverie kept me from noticing it until I was almost at the place we'd agreed to meet. The feeling was subtle, and at first, I wasn’t sure if it was real or just unfounded paranoia, the stress of the past weeks catching up to me when I least expected it. Still, I stopped walking. Tricks of the light or not, the shadows cast by that cart looked somehow different, vaguely off in a way I couldn’t quite describe, and the wind carried a scurrying sound too loud to be made by mice. The street fell silent and the air turned cold.

“Who’s there?” I called out, slight quiver in my voice.

And then, a man walked onto the street, and a family emerged from a shop, and then a child ran out from behind a market stall; the feeling was gone and everything was back to normal.

I found the others when Sokka was in the middle of choosing a bag.

“It's pricey,” he said thoughtfully, “but I really do like it.”

“Then you should get it, you deserve something nice,” responded Katara.

“I do, don’t I? …But no, it’s too expensive. I shouldn’t.”

I walked up to them and plopped myself down next to Aang. “Woah, Sokka, since when did you have an interest in fancy bags?”

“Hey, I’m allowed to want to look nice! And besides, I need someplace to put my boomerang.”

“Speaking of looking nice,” said Katara, “You look great (y/n)!”

I smiled. “Aw, thanks!”

“Shhh you guys, I’m making an important decision!’ interrupted Sokka, and Katara rolled her eyes as he kept staring at the bag.

“Let’s just go.” Katara began to head off, Aang and I behind her.

I wasn’t sure if Sokka even noticed we were gone when the three of us were approached by a man.

“Psst, psst!” he hissed, waving a flyer in front of us, “Hey, you kids love earthbending? You like… throwing rocks? Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending Academy!” Smiling, he handed the flyer over to Aang, and as quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone.