Legend of the Flower

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air Bender though I wish I did, because I mean…Zuko.

Warning: Dark themes, violence, profanity, and sexual themes.

Author's Note: So I'm just writing this for fun…I'm not really sure where I'm going with it just yet but I might change things in the show around just a bit, but I hope you all like it! Zuko x OC

Summary: The petals from the cherry blossoms fluttered from the trees slowly, the beauty making the garden seem almost peaceful. But the sound of the girl's cries diminished any feel of peacefulness, and fire lord Ozai made sure to make an example of it. "This is what happens to traitors!" He called out reaching down and gripped the young girl by her arm as she cried out to her mother, who lay lifeless, smoke rising from her burnt corpse. "This woman has been conspiring with the Southern Water Tribe, and she has received her punishment." The little girl buried her face into the man's robes, and he knelt down beside her, tilting her chin up to look at him. "Tell me Sakura, what should we do with you?" He murmurs brushing a tear from her tanned cheek, the little girl swallowing down a sob as she looked at the man who just murdered her mother.

The sun was rising in the east and Sakura was lounging in the snow beside Sokka, the two cousins watching the sun go down as she let out a yawn.

"Do you think father will come back?" Sakura turned at the sound of Katara's voice her younger cousin walking towards her and Sokka. Sakura sighed beckoning her fourteen year old cousin over, who took a spot in between her and Sokka.

"Father always comes back Katara," Sokka says with a stern nod and Katara tries to mimic it, Sakura letting out another sigh.

"Uncle Hakoda is the strongest of the warriors Katara, and he'd never leave us alone. He will come back, and we'll be a family again." Sakura spoke softly running a hand through her cousin's hair. "You see the moon?" She says pointing up at the moon in the sky, "He is seeing this just as you and I." She says glancing over at her, a small smile forming on her lips. "Hakoda is looking at the sky just as you are, and he is safe." Katara smiles and wraps her arms around Sakura, who held her closely.

"Sakura! Sokka! Katara!" The three children looked up at the sound of their grandmother's voice, and all raised off towards their home, their grandmother waiting for them outside the door.

"Sakura you have chores that must be attended to," Kanna says giving her sixteen year old grand-daughter a soft smile as she sighed wearily. "Sokka we're running low on meat for the village, I need you and Katara to go out fishing." Sukura chuckles as she heard Katara let out a groan as Sokka started going on about teaching her how to fish properly. Sakura glanced over her shoulder as she watched Sokka race off towards the canoe, Katara following after him in a huff.

"They're going to grow up to do such amazing things," Sakura looked over at her grandmother as she spoke, "As are you my flower." Sakura smiled shaking her head as she looked back down to the bundle of clothes she had in her arms.

"I don't believe I will do such great things gran-gran," She said glancing back over at the elderly woman, "I've but yet to do anything remarkably impressive here." Kanna smiled at her grand-daughter, shaking her head lightly.

"This is only because you're not allowed to show the tribe what remarkable thing you can do." She said quietly, and Sakura chewed the inside of her lip.

"It's not remarkable, it's a curse." She says bitterly, "I must go to Kai Len, she's in need of more clothes for her children."

Sakura turned her back on her grandmother and headed towards the Len hut, needing not to think of what her grandmother said. She was forced to hide her fire bending from the rest of the village since she first arrived there when she was twelve. Many of the villagers had lost family to fire nation soldiers, and all held a grudge against fire benders child or not. Hakoda's brother had gotten Sakura's mother pregnant when she was only eighteen, and they kept the child. Sakura never met her father, he was never allowed to come to the Royal palace where she lived, and her mother was killed by Fire Lord Ozai when she was twelve. She hardly remembers the place, other than the beautiful cherry blossom trees she grew to hate, and the young boy who she used to play with. She did her best not to remember that life, she hated remember how happy she had been, and then having it all ripped from her one day.

Sakura delivered all the clothes she'd made for certain villagers, and then she was free to do as she pleased. She walked up the large snow rift squinting her eyes at the sun as she took her seat on the top, watching the penguin below her.

Sakura pulled her glove from her hand, sighing to herself as she snapped her fingers, producing a tiny flame. She practiced fire bending whenever she was alone, she'd melt the glaciers, start the fire when no one else was looking but she'd never trained with anyone, not since she was young at least. Her mother had taught her many things during the time they had together, and despite of herself Sakura was actually quite advanced in fire bending for her age and lack of teacher. She could never gather enough flame to do any damage she knew, it was because of the cold weather. Hakoda always told her that if she were to fire bend, to not do it around anyone and she did just that.

Sakura was still deep in her thoughts, producing a small blue flame in her hand every so often when the bright beam of light startled her, making her rise to her feet her eyes widening at the remarkable sight. She'd never seen something like that before, and it was coming from the direction Sokka and Katara had been fishing in.

She bits her lip, and heads back to the village to discuss the happenings with her grandmother. Sakura hadn't expected Sokka and Katara to have already been back at the village, with a young boy dressed in very little clothing to be in the south pole, along with a large furry animal.

"Sakura! Aang this is my sister, will cousin, Sakura." Katara said quickly as Sakura walks towards them brushing her dark hair from her face.

"Nice to meet you Sakura, I'm Aang." The young boy held his hand out to her and she took it hastily. She looked over at Sokka for answers and he only shrugged glancing back over at the large animal she realized now was an air bison. Aang stared at her and pulled his hand back quickly biting his lip as he turned away from her. She raised an eyebrow looking over at her grandmother at a silence fell apon the group.

xXxXx

Aang had been a joy to have around for the villagers Sakura thought, he'd kept the kids company and even had Katara in better moods. Though he'd still acted strangely around her, something she'd been confused about but brushed it aside.

Sakura had been helping Sokka with keeping the young children occupied while Aang and Katara were off penguin sliding when the blast of fire went up into the sky from the ship that had long since been abandoned, causing a panic amongst the villagers. Sakura went to Kanna as she tried to calm down some of the villagers Sokka following close behind her, Aang and Katara coming back to the village now.

"Yay! Aang's back!" Sakura placed her hand on the young boys shoulder as he went to run to Aang, stopping him as he walked up to them, the villagers murmuring angrily.

"I knew it!" Sokka shouts angrily pointing his finger at Aang accusingly, "You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"

"Aang didn't do anything! It was an accident!" Katara shouted at Sokka stepping in front of Aang and Sokka glared down at her.

"Yeah, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and well..." Aang rubbed his head giving Sokka sheepish smile, "we boobied right into it."

"Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger!" Sakura looked over at her grandmother as she glances out towards the horizon, a worried frown gracing her lips.

"Don't blame Katara, I brought her there. It was my fault." Aang said sadly, and Sakura actually felt bad for the kid.

" Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy." Sokka turns shooing away the small children who all let out sighs of disappointments walking away with their heads hung low. "The foreigner is banished from our village."

"Sokka you're making a mistake," Katara says clenching her fist looking up at Sokka angrily as he shakes his head.

"No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad." Sokka says angrily and points over to Aang again, "I'm protecting you, from threats like him!"

Sakura looks towards Katara sadly as she starts to argue back with her brother, the two getting more and more heated up until Katara finally turns to her grandmother pleadingly, begging for her to help make Sokka understand.

"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it best if the airbender leaves." Katara looks over at Sakura and she bites her lip, casting her eyes down answering her silently.

"Fine! Then I'm banished too!" Sakura looks up at Katara as she drags Aang away towards the air bison named Appa. Sakura new that Katara would abandon the village, their family but she also knew that when Aang left Katara was going to be upset.

Sakura sighed as Aang left, Katara walking back with glassy eyes shouting at their grandmother before storming away. Sakura went to find Sokka once he'd finished giving his 'warriors' a pep talk, following him over to the wall.

"What are you planning to do Sokka? Club all the fire nation soldiers to death?" Sakura calls up to him putting her hands on her hips as he peeks down at her from his perch.

"That's exactly what I plan to do! Now get back to camp, let the men handle this." He calls back down to her making her laugh shaking her head.

"Yeah alright, I'll do that boomerang boy." She says with an eye roll turning on her heel when the ground starts to shake, and she falls into the snow.

"Oh man," She can hear Sokka's panicked voice. "Sakura, get back to the village!" Sakura nods and runs towards the village stopping when Katara runs to her gripping her forearms the ground quaking more as a ship breaks through the wall.

"Sokka!" Sakura shouted as the ship comes to the stop, the bridge almost crushing him but he rolled away just in time. Sakura watches in horror as the other villagers started gathering behind her, her grandmother coming over to stand beside her and Katara. Sakura takes a step back as figures start descending from the ship. Her eyes go to Sokka as he lets out a loud scream and charges at the men only to get the club in his hand knocked out by a solider, then kicks Sokka out of his way.

Sukura glares at the men, taking a step in front of her cousin and grandmother as the one who kicked Sokka to the side comes to a stop, him glaring down at her.

"Where are you hiding him?" He shouts angrily and she raises an eyebrow slowly slipping her clothes from her hands.

"Hiding who?" She mocks his angry tone, making his eyes come back to hers as he glares at her.

"Don't play stupid! I know you have him!" He shouts back and glances over to Kanna before he reaches out and pulls her roughly towards him by her parka.

"He's about this age, master of all elements?" He suggest before shoving her back towards Katara and Sakura steps closer to him.

"Who do you think you are?" She growls at him, feeling the anger bubbling up inside her as he glares back down at her. Before the soilder had time to answer Sokka was charging at him again, Sakura taking a step back as he ducks Sokka's blow and hurls him into the snow.

"Show no fear!" Sakura hears a young boy shout and all hell broke loose. Sakura had some how lost her control during the events and charged at the soilder, her hands aflame as took her stance, shooting a few balls of fire at him. She could hear scared gasps and whispers from the villagers, and she knew after this was over she'd have to leave but she needed to keep her family safe.

"You're a traitor!" The soilder yelled at her, who's helmet had some how been knocked off in the fight, Sakura thinking it had to have been Sokka's boomerang hiting him in the head that did it. There was something about the boy that was familiar, he had to have been about her age maybe a year older.

"I am no such thing," She spat back at him dodging his leg as he went to kick her in the side, then threw a punch at his stomach and he grippe her arm pulling her to him. His bright golden eye piercing into her own.

"You're a traitor to the fire nation, you're coming with me." He said and twisted her arm causing her to cry out before he pushed her to the ground.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for something to hit her, or the sound of the boy's voice. But all she heard was the sound of him being thrown away from her, then Sokka rushing over to her to help he rup.

"Looking for me?" She looked over at Aang watching as the other boy picked himself up off the ground, his eyes widening in shock.

"No way!" Sokka said gripping onto Sakura tightly. Sakura watched at the Aang moves in a circular motion with the boy, the two never looking away from each other.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating." He shouts at him, "You're just a child!" Aang stops a moment tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah well you're just a teenager." Sakura wants to laugh at his childish antics but the boy shouts angrily and starts throwing fire balls at Aang, who dodges them all before he stops to view the scared villagers that had dodge one of the fire balls thrown their way.

"If I go with you," Aang holds up his staff in a peace offering looking over towards Katar, "Do you promise to leave everyone here alone?" Sakura looks towards the scarred boy as he turns his head eyeing the village, his gaze stopping on her.

"Only if I can take this traitor back with me." He says angrily, and Sakura closes her eyes and Sokka and Katara both shout out a no.

"Deal," Sakura says quietly pulling from Sokka's hold as he protests. "I made a promise too Sokka." She says giving him a weak smile before pulling away from him, glancing over at Katara who's shouting for her. "I'll be back guys, don't you worry." She calls glaring as she feels the boy grip her arm tightly.

"I wouldn't make empty promises." He growled dragging her towards the large vessel. She jerks her arm, trying to break his grip but it's in vain and he grips her arm tighter, jerking her closer.

"Who are you?" She asks as he drags her onto his ship, him looking down at her a little surprised.

"Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai." Sakura's eyes widen some and she stared up at him in shock, Zuko. But he was so different, when she was banished Zuko was only twelve…he had kind eyes, he was always smiling but now...he was a monster. She lets out a cold laugh catching Zuko's attention.

"Of course you don't remember." She mutters to herself glancing over at Aang as two soilders began to bind his hands, and Zuko shoved her towards the guards. Sakura watched as Zuko took Aang's staff and started to examine it, telling the other man, who she recognized easily as Iroh, a man she once liked, to take the staff to his quarters.

"So traitor, do you have a name?" He asks as the other guards took Aang away leaving only Zuko, Iroh, and Sakura on the deck. She only shrugged glancing over at Iroh who watched her curiously, and something about the way he was watching her made her think he knew.

"Yes," She says straightening her stance as he looks down at her raising an eyebrow, waiting for her to answer him. "Sakura." She says quickly, her gaze flicking over to Iroh who's jaw dropped some before he closed his mouth, smiling.

"Sakura," Zuko repeated her name looking down at her, "Sakura…I…Do I know you?" He questions and she gives him a bitter smile.

"It hasn't been that long now has it Zuzu?" She watches as his jaw drops now, before his mouth closes in an angry line, he had always hated when Azula called him that.