Forged In Fire || ATLA

Paradigm

The Awakening - Continued. 

"I'm way up, a god in size, beyond the reach of mortals, I shed my human side. Father, oh father, I stare at my reflection, have I lost that boy inside? Final paradigm." - Avenged Sevenfold

TW: Frequent mentions of death and extremely distressed mental health.

🌊⛰️🔥🌪

Aelita was waiting for Zetzu when he came back for her, the glow of the mid-morning sun shining through her window. She almost welcomed the sight of him.

Almost. At least when Zetzu was there, the ghostly shell of a murderer wearing her skin was kept at bay. The version of herself that she hated the most had watched her all night, even when Aelita closed her eyes.

The Akira's shoulders relaxed involuntarily at the sight of another life, something the Prince took smug notice of. From where she remained confined, Aelita could tell the ship had docked but with one limb still tied to the bed, she couldn't get close enough to her window to see where exactly they were. The teen couldn't shake the dread that had settled deep in her stomach at the thought that she may very well be at the Fire Lord's doorstep already.

Mushu could pick up on her panic. He had tried to chew his human free from her bindings, and then he tried to bite the person that had left her there. Aelita managed to catch the ferret with her free hand before he did, unwilling to take any chances of him being ripped away from her again.

"Well good morning to you two," Zetzu muttered to the through a tight-lipped smile, desperately clinging on to the remnants of the high he had felt from their progress the night before.

"Where are we?" Aelita asked, forgoing any other pleasantries as the Prince perched on the edge of her bed.

"Bhanti Island," Zetzu answered as he withdrew a set of keys from his pocket, one for her door and the other her bindings. When he brushed Aelita's wrist with his fingertips, her skin was cold as ice. Looming over her, he could see the way she shuddered out a breath at the realization they weren't yet back at the terrible place they had spent their childhood. It was almost reassuring, the similar sentiment they held towards their old lives just another thing they shared between them. "There's someone here on the Island that I want you to meet before we're expected to return to the Capital," He explained. At his words, the Akira went rigid once more, and the Prince wanted nothing more than to be the one to save her from any of her fears or discomfort. "But I've promised you before, and I'll promise you again Aelita," He spoke softly when he took in the tension in her posture. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, here, there, or anywhere else in this world."

The irony wasn't lost on her that the boy promising to protect her was the same one that had nearly killed her.

"But you will admit the Capital and the palace are horrible." She pointed out as he unlatched the chain that held her captive. "Do you even want to go back?"

"Yes, I do actually." He explained, surprising the girl. "I'm not like Zuko, I can see our childhood for what it really was, and I can acknowledge that it holds years' worth of terrible memories, but, I have goals and things to prove. Besides," He said as he reached out to tuck a loose hair behind her ear, a small smile on his face, "Things weren't always so bad. Back then I had my mother, and I had you, and now, I still have you."

Aelita tried not to shutter at the unwelcome touch and instead reminded herself that thus far that Zetzu had become the lesser of the evils when it came to the royal family, even now. "And after I meet this person, then we sail the rest of the way back?" She asked.

"Yes, which means you'll need to be ready," Zetzu spoke after a moment, his lingering happiness fading as the weight of the day's prospects washed over him.