Mindbenders

Zuko opened his eyes when he felt the sun rise. Even though he could no longer Firebend, he felt the warmth run through his veins.

Something’s you never forget, he thought, and something’s you wish you could.

Zuko slammed his head against the headboard for thinking such thoughts. He knew Azula could make him forget, she had offered too on numerous occasions, but he always refused. His memories were all that kept him from being truly hers, and luckily, that mindbending technique couldn’t be forced, you had to be willing for it too work.

He looked over at the pillow to his right; a single long black hair lay on it. In the exact center of the indent where Azulas head had been. It was no accident, it never was. It was her way of telling him that no matter what, she would always be there.

The curtains were open as well; the room faced west, so he wasn’t in danger yet. He knew that and so did Azula. After their nights together she would always leave the blinds open, giving him a choice. (Giving herself a defense when he fights back.) If their life was so unbearable, why didn’t he end it?

Zuko got up and walked to his chest of drawers. In the top drawer, under everything was a small piece of blue silk. He pulled it out and unwrapped its contents. The blue necklace she had been wearing when they first met, and a small glass vial of her blood. Every few decades he would visit her tomb in the Ice Temples and refill it. He looked at rays of sunlight creeping over the floor toward him. It would be so easy to step into them, to join her.

He let out a growl and pulled the sash to close the heavy curtains. He couldn’t die, not while Azula still lived. He knew eventually he would have the courage and power to defeat her, until then he would have to suffer and endure.

He sighed and crawled back into bed. He pulled the crystal stopper of the vial and took a sip; he put the piece of blue silk to his nose and inhaled deeply. His hand traveled underneath the covers, he groaned and took another sip of her blood. He spent the rest of the morning reliving their nights together