The Air of a Flame

*Trinity’s POV*

“I thought I told you to stay on the ship!” Zuko said, slightly turning towards me while still holding Katara.

“Well, you can’t expect me to stay still when I know you’re going to do something with my brother and his friends. Who are also my friends too, I should add.” I told him, gesturing to Katara. He loosened his grip on her slightly, but not so much that she could get away from him.

Earlier on the ship, Zuko and I had talked about everything that had happened. It was sort of awkward at first, but slowly, that faded away. Neither of us could say why the kiss happened, but neither of us regretted it either. We decided to just see how things went, and not push anything. I believed that everything that had happened had made us closer.

“Tri-Trinity!?” Katara said suddenly, surprised that I was there. I looked at her and smiled.

“Hey Katara! How are you guys doing?” I said, happy to see her. I could tell by Zuko’s face that he wasn’t happy with me “fraternizing with the enemy”. I just rolled my eyes at him and walked over to where they were at. Zuko, however, pulled her away.

“Stay where you are Trinity. You there! Tie this girl to that tree while I talk to my friend here.” He said, gesturing towards a tree while walking towards me. A pirate came and took Katara away from us, while Zuko grabbed my arm and led us towards to tree line, away from everyone.

“What are you doing, Zuko?” I asked him, removing my arm out of his grip. “You do realize that she is my friend, right?!”

“I told you to stay on the ship.” He said, completely ignoring my comment. I could tell he was angry with me. “Why do you always have to completely disobey my orders?”

“What did you expect me to do Zuko?” I asked him, trying to keep myself calm. “You were coming out here to hurt my friends AND my brother! I can’t let you do that!”

“What else am I supposed to do? I have to capture the avatar to regain my honor! There is no other way!” He said solemnly. “You know that.” My anger suddenly vanished. I knew he only wanted to be welcomed back to his home with open arms, and the only way he could do that was to capture my brother.

“Just don’t hurt them.” I sighed. I was torn. My brother and my friends were important to me, but so was Zuko. I couldn’t help either of them without hurting the other.

“I can’t make any promises.” He said before walking towards the pirates and Katara, who was now tied to a tree. With another sigh, I followed behind him.

“Tell me where the avatar is.” Zuko said to Katara, approaching her. I stayed close behind him, but did nothing. I was ready to intervene if he did anything however.

“Go jump in the river!” Katara screamed at him, struggling against her bounds. She then looked at me, betrayal in her eyes. “How could you Trinity? Your own brother!”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt!” I said, walking towards her, trying to defend myself.

“TRAITOR!” She screamed at me, struggling to get free. I didn’t want to know what she would do if she did get free. Before I could say anything though, Zuko pushed me so I was behind his back again.

“Don’t you dare speak to her like that.” He said in a very serious tone. Both Katara and I were shocked. Was he actually… defending me? Then, all of a sudden, he went from serious to smug. A small smirk formed on his face, and he said, “That is, if you want this back.”

Katara’s eyes widened as Zuko held up her necklace. “My mother’s necklace! How did you-”

“I didn’t steal it if that’s what you’re thinking. Now if you want it back, tell me where the avatar is.” Zuko said tauntingly. “If not, well…”

“I will never tell you!” She shouted. The pirates, who were waiting impatiently off to the side, suddenly approached us.

“Enough! You promised us the scroll!” The pirate captain said, pointing an accusatory finger toward Zuko. Zuko looked at him before taking out the scroll from his belt.

“You mean this scroll?” He said, holding it up. With his other hand, he conjured up a fire and held it under the scroll. “I wonder how much it’s worth…”

There was a cry of protest from all of the pirates. “A lot, apparently. Now you can help me or you can say goodbye to this scroll. You’ll get this back when you bring me the boy.”

“Fine.” The pirate captain said before taking his crew into the forest.

“Ah. There you are Trinity.” The deep voice of General Iroh said. “I was wondering where you ran off to.”

“Uncle, you were supposed to keep her on the ship.” Zuko said angrily. I rolled me eyes at him. Hadn’t we just gone over this?

“I told you I wasn’t going to stay put while you came out to hurt my brother and friends.” I said to him, before turning to General Iroh. “I’m sorry for leaving, Iroh. I hope you can understand.”

Iroh gave a hearty laugh. Zuko just looked annoyed. Katara, still bound to the tree, looked on confused.

~*~

A little while had passed, and I had moved over to sit next to Katara. I didn’t dare try to unbind her from the tree, in fear of what would happen. I tried to talk to Katara, but she refused to even look in my direction. Zuko was pacing in front of us, and Iroh was just watching the scene in silence.

We all heard as the pirates returned, holding both Sokka and my brother tied up. I jumped up and began to run over to where Aang was, but Zuko caught me and held me back. When Aang saw me, he tried to run to me too, but since he was restrained, he couldn’t do much.

“Aang! Aang! Are you okay? Let me go, Zuko! I said let me go!” I screamed, struggling to get out of Zuko’s arms. I didn’t think of how nice it felt to be in his arms, or how strong he was, all I thought about was my brother.

“Trinity!” Aang exclaimed, also struggling against his captors.

“No Aang! Don’t! She’s with them now!” Katara said, narrowing her eyes at me.

“She’s my sister Katara!” He shouted at her. It was the first time we had been face to face since Kyoshi Island. In that moment, I realized how much I missed him. Before, in the air temples, we were always together, at least until he disappeared. This had been the longest that we had ever been apart from each other.

“Don’t say another word or I’ll hurt her.” Zuko said, now with his hand over my mouth. Aang shushed instantly. I knew he was bluffing because he would never hurt me, but Aang didn’t. Holding me tight in his grip, he approached the pirates. “Give them to me.”

“Give us the scroll.” The captain said.

“You’re trading us for a scroll?!” I heard Sokka yell indignantly. I would’ve laughed if I could.

“Ignore him. He’s trying to turn us against each other.” Zuko said holding out the scroll. The captain was about to take it when Sokka’s voice was heard again.

“That boy is the Avatar! You could get a lot more for him on the black market than you could with that stupid piece of parchment! Think of how much the Fire Lord would pay!” He said. I could hear Katara trying to shush him, but failing. Aang kept his eyes on me, but stayed quiet. The pirate captain looked at Sokka, and then pulled back his hand.

“You know what? Keep the scroll. We could get hundreds from the money we’ll get with the boy.” The pirate captain said, walking away with my brother and Sokka. Zuko however, was enraged. I could feel his anger radiating off of him, and his grip on me tightened.

“You’ll regret breaking a deal with me!” He shouted at them before shoving me out of the way. With a small scream, I fell into Iroh’s arms. Zuko then began attacking the pirates, the fire from him burning everything in its path. The pirates struck back, but rather than with bending, they used swords and other weapons.

When some of the pirates threw smoke bombs, everything became a mess. I couldn’t see anything besides Iroh, who stood protectively in front of me. I could hear the clashing of blades and feel the heat of the fire, but nothing else. I was worried for my brother, my friends, and Zuko. For a split second, the smoke cleared, and I could see my brother, still bound, in the middle of the fighting, and Zuko in combat with the captain. The smoke covered everything again, and this time I am completely alone. I can’t even see Iroh anymore. I walk backwards, trying to get out of the smoke. When I finally get out of it, I see Aang and the others on the pirate’s boat, sailing down the river. The ship Zuko had come on was following close behind them, full of pirates. I must’ve looked heartbroken, because when he spotted me, he almost jumped off the boat to try to get to me.

“Aang, don’t!” I screamed, but I wasn’t the only one. Katara had said it at the same time as me. He looked confused and torn between getting me and listening to us and saving himself.

The smoke finally cleared, and I could see Iroh separating Zuko and the captain. He said something to them that I couldn’t hear, and they both took off running towards their ships. I stood frozen on the riverbank, but when Iroh chased after them, I unfroze and began to run. Since I was an Airbender, I quickly caught up, and past them. I could see that the two ships were about to fall down a waterfall, but Aang and Sokka were preoccupied with a pirate who had come onto their ship. Katara was trying her hardest to keep the boat from falling by using waterbending. As the boats neared the side of the waterfall, Aang blew on some sort of whistle. I had run all the way to the edge of the riverbank near the waterfall, and my heart dropped when I saw them tip over.

Just when I had lost hope, Aang and the others flew up on Appa. I was overjoyed. Zuko had finally caught up to me and saw them fly away. Aang looked at me one last time, before he and the others flew up into the clouds. All I could do was wave him a silent goodbye.