• THE GIRL •

THE ROOM WAS WARM AND SMELLED LIKE SPICES. He stared at the ceiling. The old boards above him, little whorls decorating the wood, creaked every now and then. The weight of a thick blanket pressed against him. Where am I? His head pounded, thoughts foggy and mouth dry. Blinking slowly, he tried to rub his eyes, only to find that his arm was bandaged neatly. Also, his arm hurt. Both of them, actually, as well as his ankle and especially his stomach. And he felt very, very warm.

Zuko wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he knew it probably wasn't good.

More creaks sounded from above. Almost like footsteps. Turning his head, he spotted the bottom steps of a staircase. A shawl hung on the railing, and a pile of blankets sat underneath it, as well as a satchel and a pair of scuffed boots.

It suddenly occurred to him that he could be in someone's home.

Just as Zuko came to his conclusion, he heard soft footsteps and mumbling travel down the stairs. A figure appeared at the last step, hazy at first, then clearer as his vision focused. It was a girl, dressed in the greens and browns he'd grown used to seeing in the Earth Kingdom. "Oh! You're awake!" The girl was suddenly right in front of him.

How ...? He didn't remember her walking over, but now she was close enough that he could see the dark freckles across her nose and the strands of black hair falling out of her bun and how tanned her skin was. He couldn't quite figure out why he was able to notice all of this, until he realized that he had been staring at her far longer than he thought.

She was saying something else. It was muffled, though. Everything sounded like it was underwater, and little spots floated in the air. She paused, watching his lack of reaction, before reaching out. Then, all was black.

When he woke up for the second time, the girl was still there. She pressed a wet rag against his forehead, brows pulled together in a worried frown. Upon seeing his open eyes, she smiled and, quiet as if any loud noise would scare him, said, "Welcome back."

Zuko stared at her for a moment. His mind turned up and over, and finally locked onto the fact that this was a stranger. A threat.

He lurched forward, prepared to fight.

Pain exploded in his gut. A strangled gasp escaped him, his arms wrapping instinctively around his stomach. "Careful!" The girl held out her hands, as if to catch him. "You've got a nasty bruise there, it's going to be sensitive for a while." Zuko opened his mouth to tell her to go away. He was very displeased to find that he couldn't quite speak. Everything was still a bit foggy. "I was about to redo your bandages, but it'll go quicker now that you're awake."

He automatically looked at his wrapped arms and, seeing how she somehow already held his right hand in hers and was taking off the bandages, pulled away, glaring fiercely. That had the opposite effect, though, as she just chuckled.

Her dark eyes glinted with humor. "I don't bite," she said, taking his arm once more and unwinding the white material. "The dressings need changed out, and your left arm will need more ointment, but other than that you just need rest and some chamomile for that fever." 

"I ... don't need your help," Zuko rasped, pleased that he could finally speak but annoyed at how raw his throat felt. A blatant lie, of course, but he could not, would not allow himself to rely on anyone but himself. Especially not some random girl that he didn't even know. Not after the fiasco with Lee and his family. He shook her off and tried to stand up, only to wobble as the room spun around him.

She grabbed his shoulders to steady him. "Obviously, you do." With a more serious look on her face, she guided him back to the floor, which was not moving quite as much. "Sit still, please, and I'll be done quickly." Letting out a sigh of resignation, he held out his arm. The girl peeled away the old dressing carefully, revealing quite a few ragged cuts and scrapes. Zuko winced, the fight with Gow and those earthbending thugs flashing in front of his eyes.

The girl raised an eyebrow and said nothing, pulling a small jar from her basket and popping out the stopper. A sharp smell wafted out, making his eyes water as he leaned away. "Relax. It's just a cleaning paste. You don't want an infection, do you?" She dabbed the white paste onto the cuts, and though she was gentle, the cuts began to sting, no, burn and he jerked away with a yelp. "That just means it's working," was all she said. Ignoring his glare, she pressed new pads onto his arm and wrapped it all up with a clean bandage roll.

"Great, that's done. Now the other arm," she said, smiling at how he shot a dark look at the jar of paste. "Look, the sooner you get better, the sooner you can leave. But I'm not going to send you out in a feverish state with barely healed wounds. You'd just die of sickness." No I wouldn't. But Zuko knew she was right, however much he didn't want to admit it. Plus, he needed supplies. Badly.

" ... Fine," he muttered, avoiding the happy look she gave him. "Until I'm healed. Then I'm gone."

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i don't like how this chapter ended sksjkasj but whatever we're just rolling with it

also writing? is hard?? how do i word???

me, trying not to use the same word too many times: *angry author noises*

but whatever i hope y'all like it so far