#shod

“Nice try Prince Zuko. Couldn’t even hold a kid. Might as well put you with the other kids. Men, escort the...prince and the other two children to my ship” Zhao clapped slowly before turning to his soldiers. The rest of his orders were drowned out as Zuko was dragged to where the water tribe siblings were currently tied. The chains falling to the floor snapped the prince out of his fog. One of the fire sages led them to a small cell until Zhao had finished. 

“Thanks so much Zuko” The girl, her name started with K Zuko knew, spat at him, striding into his personal space. He turned his head to his right, hoping that would make it less loud. She turned away almost immediately afterwards as a guard returned. 

“Come here” He ordered Zuko, who reluctantly obeyed. his hands were covered in an iron mitt, effectively preventing him from bending in a delicate enough manner to escape. 

“So..How’d you get that scar?” The boy asked, bouncing on his feet. He’d searched the entire cell, if it could even be called that, for ways to escape. 

“None of your business” Zuko snapped, retreating to sit in a dark corner. 

“C’mon. I didn’t think you could get burnt. You have fire running in your veins or whatever” The boy persisted.

“Yes, we can be burnt. It’s just harder. Fa-I got it in a duel” 

“Why are you even here? Aren’t you the fire lord’s son and all? Does Zhao just dislike you?” Katana? no..not that, remarked, glaring.

“I’m banished. To return home, and to regain my honor, I needed to capture the avatar” Zuko reluctantly yielded, hoping that would at least stop the other kid from bothering him further.

“....how long ago were you banished?” Said kid asked. So that strategy hadn’t worked. “And how badly did you mess up to be banished?”

“I was banished when I was thirteen, so three years ago. My father took offence when I pointed out....when I told a general that his plan wasn’t good. So I was challenged to an Agni Kai and...instead of the general, it was my father. I’d gone against him, so he had to correct my behavior” The siblings looked horrified, swapping glances. Zuko sank lower onto the floor, feeling slightly drained by telling them the truth. He didn’t know why he’d done it either. It just happened.

There was an explosion from overhead. The entire building shook as people started yelling. Zuko assumed Aang had emerged and wasn’t going down easy. Footsteps pounded down the stairs, and the guards went to investigate. The fighting had gotten closer. In Zuko’s opinion, Zhao was the one being beaten by a kid. There were multiple thuds and scrapes. The building continued to shake. It grew louder, and more frequent. 

“Watch out!” Zuko yelled, tackling the other kids. A massive piece of the ceiling slammed down behind them. The screams grew louder before the only sounds were from the building.

“Katara! Sokka!” The avatar’s voice rang out, sounding frantic.

“Aang! We’re down here!” The girl, Katara, yelled. Soon the youngest member of their trio was gliding down in front of the cell. He fiddled with the lock for a minute before the door swung open. Zuko hung back as Katara ran to hug Aang and Sokka clapped him on the shoulder. Zuko wanted them to leave, but they turned back to him. 

“Go ahead. I won’t try and force you to come with me. Get out of here. I’ll wait a few days before I return to the chase” Zuko ordered them. He tried hard to sound older, and disinterested. Katara bent down to whisper in Aang’s ear. He nodded, none of them leaving. 

“Come with us” Aang said, offering a hand.