Cinder- Zuko: Chapter 2

Cinderella AU Request: Once upon a time, in a far off land, young Zuko struggles after his mother's death as he's left to follow his father and sister's orders like a common servant. Everyday seems grayer than the last, until he meets a kind stranger who he doesn't recognize as the princess. A masquerade is his only chance at meeting her again, but he'll need help to get there. Zutara

Katara was beginning to get worried. Hama hadn't returned yet, the guard who was supposed to protect her was dead, and the guy who actually had protected her was lying unconscious. Sokka was right, she'd never been in a fight and that just cost her.

She sat on the damp ground surrounding the stranger. His face looked pale and his eyebrows were furrowed. Well one of them, at least, seeing as the skin where hair should be was pink from a large scar that covered a quarter of his face.

When she first opened her eyes and his face she'd been terrified. Before he had hit her attacker's arm away so she wouldn't be hit the dagger, Katara believed her savior was actually her enemy. It felt stupid and superficial now. He almost died trying to keep her alive.

After she'd pulled him out of the creek, his swords gripped in his fists, Katara tried to help him sit but he'd dropped onto his back. Small cuts ran along the sides of his shirt. His swords must have hit him when she pulled him out. There was some blood and a few scratches around his legs from the fight. All things considered he shouldn't have fainted.

He hadn't even taken in all that much water. She'd checked. This entire situation made her feel a lot more helpless than she had in a long time.

She wasn't good at sitting around worrying, so she made herself useful. She'd covered the dead guard's body with the cloak she'd brought along and prayed over him so his soul could find its way to the next life in peace. Using her training, Katara also did her best to heal the injuries the scarred hero had while she waited with a standard balm she carried for every practice.

Now, she was just waiting for him to wake up. At the ready with a waterskin and an apple.

The sun was finally starting to noticeably travel west. It was somewhere around one or two. If he didn't wake up on his own soon she'd have to do it herself.

She moved her legs and tucked them sideways on the ground. Uncertainly, she reached a hand up toward his face. Just to check for a fever, Katara told herself. Her fingers brushed away the wet bangs sticking to his forehead. The back of her hand was no warmer than his skin. Maybe he was worn-out? There was no way of her knowing how long he'd been out in the woods or what he had been doing—with dual swords at that.

Should she even wait for him to wake up? What if he was a bandit?

Katara rolled her eyes at her own thoughts; he still saved her. She couldn't just leave him in this state, alone, possibly ill, and a lot more vulnerable than she was feeling. No, she'd wait a little longer.

Curiosity led her fingers along his brow, to his temple, down his jaw—following the curve of his scar. Her thumb hovered just above his lip. The scar was soft and firm at the same time. Now that she wasn't looking at it with fear she recognized the injury as a burn. A bad one.

Her throat felt dry.

Katara knew she was being ridiculous. Touching a strange man whose name she didn't even know. Just as the thought to pull her hand back beat the desire to keep it there, his eyebrows relaxed and his eyes opened. They were gold.

He didn't say anything, just looked at Katara with confusion clear in his stare.

Pretending her hand's placement was perfectly natural, she forced what she hoped was a believable smile. "You're awake!"

He blinked. "You're that…" His eyes searched her face for a while. She took that as her queue to take her hand back. "You pulled me out?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he sat up. To be honest, she expected he'd be a bit shocked that someone like her saved him. So when he smiled at her gratefully and didn't immediately question her strength Katara was a little shocked. "Thank you. It seems I owe you a debt."

She snorted, shocking him this time. Ignoring the heat in her cheeks at the very unladylike sound, she shook her head at him. "I should be thanking you. You saved my life back there."

He swayed back a little but kept his balance at the last moment.

"Are you okay?" Her blue eyes softened. She reached for his shoulder and did her best to hold him up while searching his body again for anything she may have missed. "You didn't seem too injured but you shouldn't have passed out so easily."

An airy, sarcastic chuckle met her ears. "It wasn't easy."

Still, the princess waited for the man to answer her question. When he didn't she grabbed his face again and made him face her. "Please. Let me help." She noticed him take in a sharp breath and worried she may have been too forceful. This time she tried to give him a warm smile before speaking. "I'm a healer."

This seemed to work. Especially when he slipped from her fingers a bit as he swayed again. "Hungry," he said so quietly that if Katara had been even a little further she wouldn't have understood him.

She let him go and grabbed the apple without looking. "Here," Katara said dropping it on his lap. As he picked it up she pulled the waterskin out and popped the cork off.

The first bite he took was shaky and took some effort. He must have been starving. Some fruit juice almost dribbled down his chin but he quickly lapped it up with his tongue. He wasn't letting anything go to waste.

She handed him the waterskin as she watched. "When was your last meal?"

His focus broke away from the fruit finally and he stared at her blankly. "Yesterday… I'm sure." The statement seemed like a question he was asking himself.

All that was left in her bag was the mango she was saving as a treat, but she couldn't in good conscious expect the apple to be enough. She stood up, pushing some long strands of hair over her shoulder. "I'm Katara, by the way."

"Zuko."

The mango was easy to spot in her bag. She pulled a small knife out and began cutting a large slice as she walked back. The nectar spilled onto her fingers. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Zuko. Though I wish it would have been under better circumstances."

"Likewise," he said peering at her curiously. It seemed he'd already finished the apple. Using her eyes, she signaled to the waterskin in his other hand so he would drink something. "What…what is that?" His finger pointed at her hands

"Hm?" Katara looked down as she sat down next to him again. "It's fruit. We get them imported to the palace from the monks up north." She held a slice toward him.

Zuko took it, though doubtful. Instead of questioning the foreign fruit he opted for a different query. "You're a healer at the palace?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I…what?" He didn't recognize her? Not even her name?

"I must be in good hands, then." He took a generous bite.

Before she could tell him who she was, her eyes grew wide at his action. "Oh! No, not the peel!"

Zuko stopped chewing and opened his mouth awkwardly with the fruit balancing on his tongue. Probably scared it was poisonous. He was so casual around her. It was different, but nice. Exactly what she always wanted from people like Hama and others at the palace. He wasn't worried about how to address her, much less how to act around her. Zuko just was, even if what he was was a bit awkward.

She laughed a little and took a slice herself. Like at breakfast she bit the fruit to the peel and stripped the flesh from the skin with her teeth. "Like that."

He was blushing as he shut his mouth again. A little bit of peel stuck out of his lips and when he pulled it out it came clean. She nodded.

They finished the rest of the mango together. His pale complexion seemed to gain a bit of color. "So…uh…why were you under a waterfall?" he asked.

"I was training." Katara explained.

"For what?"

She blushed, out of anger more than out of embarrassment. "Combat."

They were both silent for some time. Eventually, it was broken when Zuko stood up and began gathering his things. She watched as he picked up his swords and then strode towards a few bushes.

For a moment she thought he was going to leave her there by herself. Instead, he picked something up from the ground. Zuko started to walk back toward her, but instead of acknowledging her he dropped a satchel and what looked like a dead rabbit where he had been laying.

He only started talking when he kept walking past her toward the creek. He followed the flow of water with his eyes as if he were looking for something. "There are more shameful things than being caught off guard." His voice was grave and angry, though she couldn't understand why. "Maybe you would have faired better than me…"

"What do you mean?" Katara looked back at his swords, turning away from the man she believed she owed her life to. What was going through his head?

She heard him walk into the water. As he waded in the outer edges of the creek Katara made a conscious decision to let herself lose track of time.

Mud kicked up and turned the water murky as he pulled on some plant life. Zuko didn't answer her question, instead he pulled out somewhere around four of those plants before finally sitting next to her again. He took one of his swords and started cutting the thick root away from the long grass like stems at the top. They were cattails, she realized.

"I let him drown," he said, interrupting her silent observations.

Though she knew it was rude, Katara stared at Zuko. So far, this stranger was more intriguing than any other nobleman or villager she'd met. There was palpable anger radiating off of him, but it was there just as much as guilt. Shouldn't he be reveling in his heroics? Trying to sweep her off her feet? Demanding a reward? Any other emotion than regret.

A small pricking sensation on her back reminded her that a few feet away lay a dead man with a family, who had been one of the kindest guards to ever be assigned to her. "It's not like he deserved a trial." Her icy tone shocked her, but the words felt heavy with truth.

She felt him looking at her and tilted her chin up to meet him defiantly. His gold eyes shocked her once again. "It's not that," Zuko said, looking like he was going over the words in his head over and over. "It's just…he didn't—he didn't seem like he was in control. He was scared."

How could he not be in control? Even if the man was being extorted, there was always a choice. He chose murder.

"When I saw him I knew I might have to kill him. But," he sighed and ran a hand through his long black hair. "Katara. I don't regret saving you, I just think…there was something else."

X

Zuko gave Katara the cattail roots to make up for eating her food and escorted her all the way back to the village. On their way, she explained she had been travelling with one other person. Though her teacher never appeared, Katara didn't seem too worried. It made him wonder just what kind of person that Hama lady was.

He knew he'd be in trouble when he went back home late. But when she smiled at him his desperation to please his father and regain his favor disappeared for a moment. Even though something really was bothering him about the man with wide eyes, Zuko was grateful he was able to meet someone like her who didn't look at him with pity, shame, or hatred. Katara was kind, not to mention clever and a fighter.

They stopped just outside the village and faced each other. He wanted to figure out some way to thank her, though for what he wasn't quite sure yet.

Déjà vu interrupted him before he could even open his mouth as her hand rested against his cheek gently. Just like when he woke up. Her fingers touched the pink of his scar. Her boldness wasn't supposed to fit someone proper like her, but it did. Katara wasn't afraid of him, he realized. Warmth grew in his chest and he wanted to do nothing more than linger in that moment. So he closed his eyes.

"How did—?"

"Occupational hazard," he whispered.

"I know a few burn remedies."

"It's a scar."

"I know," she said dejectedly. "I just wish there was more I could do for you."

His eyes opened when he hand disappeared. Blue eyes held his gaze in place. "Katara, I…" he drifted off unsure of how to phrase what he was feeling.

So when she hugged him out of nowhere and said "I hope we meet again" sincerely, he stopped thinking. He hugged her back just before she pulled away and held her tightly to his chest. Zuko dropped his head onto her shoulder and wondered how long he could hold her before she pushed him.

She never did.

"Me too," he whispered and finally let her go.

They separated and went opposite ways. But Zuko held onto the memory of that moment all the way home and into the night. For the first time in years, Zuko owned something his family couldn't snatch away from him.

X

"Dad, about the ball." Katara said the next day during breakfast. Hama was still missing. When her father insisted she not train for sometime, Katara couldn't even make herself argue. There was a very strong possibility that Hama might be dead at this point. The palace was more guarded than usual. She tried not to think about her guard's death body or Zuko's ominous observations.

Hakoda perked up at his daughter's sudden interest the masquerade. "Have you changed your mind?"

She smiled, thinking about her scarred hero. "I'll do it. But under one condition."

She even had Sokka's attention now.

"What is it?" the king asked.

"I want the whole kingdom to be invited. Even the villagers."

X

AN:/ Oh my gosh, this was getting WAY too long so I had to stop. Sorry the creek scene was so long and almost exclusively in Katara's POV. I promise next chapter will have a lot of Zuko. I had planned to write a lot of what will now be for next chapter into this chapter, so I'm sorry I let things get out of hand. I just really saw an opportunity to develop the plot and developing relationship between our two protagonists.

To answer a question I got in a review: No, there is no bending in this story. Katara is learning martial arts and Zuko is a trained fighter. However, an element of ATLA will be coming up next chapter.

Thank you for all your support thus far, everyone! Please review!