Find Me | Zuko x reader | Avatar the Last Airbender | Book 1

Chapter 16: The Mask

                              Y/N's POV

          Apparently "music night" was supposed to happen that night, something Iroh had made up to simply have fun for a little while. Y/N couldn't play an instrument, and she was dead tired after traveling via rhino for a couple hours to retrieve the paralyzed Zuko and Iroh, so she ended up going straight to bed, listening to the muffled music above her.

          She had felt like she had fallen asleep for only a few seconds before she was abruptly awakened by someone shaking her shoulders aggressively. 

          "What? What's going on!?" Y/N nearly punched them as she sat up, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping. She got her bearings, looking up at who woke her up, and went pale.

          "Come with me, and grab your bag, now." Zuko breathed. Y/N had never seen him in such a panicked state, his amber eyes wide with urgency as he pulled at her arm. She did what she was told, quietly following him out the door.

          "What's going on?" She asked in a quiet voice, and Zuko shook his head, tugging on her arm to prompt her to go faster.

          "Zhao is here, and he's taking my crew to join the ranks raiding the Northern Water Tribe. He's an admiral now, and if he finds you, he will take you, and I cannot stop him. You must hide." Zuko hissed quickly, peering around a corner, and quickly bringing his head back, the sound of marching footsteps filling the halls.

          "I can't get you off the ship, we're surrounded." Zuko breathed, grabbing Y/N's hand and pulling her back the way they'd come. He yanked her into his quarters. 

          "There's a fake floor right here." He spoke quickly and urgently, never letting go of her hand as he opened the metal panel, helping her down into the small storage space. "If he doesn't know you're here, and all soldiers are accounted for, he won't search the ship too thoroughly. Stay here until I come get you." 

          Y/N nodded, now understanding why he wanted her to take her belongings to hide as well. She set her bag on the floor, and looked back up, only for her breath to catch in her chest. 

                             —|〰️〰️〰️|—

                                Zuko's POV

          Zuko held the metal panel open with one hand, and desperately grasped Y/N's hand with the other. He glanced at the door, then looked back down at Y/N. He couldn't pretend right now, the stern mask had slipped off the moment Zhao boarded the ship, taking everyone by surprise, and leaving Zuko minutes to react.

          She looked back up at him and her eyes widened, and he knew she could see right through him, every confused emotion swirling inside of him. Panic, concern, worry, fear, dread. Zhao couldn't take her, who knows what he would do to her now that he was so highly ranked, basically anything he wanted to. He was appointed by the Fire Lord himself.

          "Stay quiet. Promise me you won't let him take you." Zuko urged her, squeezing her hand tightly. He let go for a brief moment to grab one of the water vessels he had made, pressing it into her hand. "I don't care who opens this panel, if they try to take you away, you shoot a spike straight through their skull." 

          "Thank you." Y/N said quietly. She gripped it with a small nod, Zuko not letting go of the container until she did. She would use them to defend herself, in the event she really needed to. He glanced at his handiwork, it had taken him hours for him to be satisfied with the product. He didn't have any tools, so he simply heated his hands and crafted it himself, having multiple accidents where he spilled melted metal and burned himself.