This is a one shot that I've been wanting to write for sometime now. It takes place in an alternate universe where elemental control is only mentioned in old legends and myths.
Ocean Blue
"What are you talking about, Zuko?!" Laughed an increasingly drunk sailor. "Water spirits? I think the sun has finally gone and fried your brain! Hah!"
Four young men sat around a table inside a tavern, pints of beer scattered in front of them. They were all part of the Royal Fire Nation Navy.
"Careful, Chey." Warned a large, burly man. "Mocking the crown prince is considered treason."
The table had a rare moment of silence before the four men drunkenly laughed.
"But seriously, Zuko. I've never taken you to be a superstitious guy," the larger guy remarked. "Water spirits are nothing but legend, created by sailors driven to madness from dehydration."
"I know it sounds weird, and I probably would never have told you guys if I wasn't tipsy," Zuko sloppily waved his pint in the air for emphasis. "But I saw what I saw... Well I'm pretty sure I think I saw her. Actually I'm not positive, but I can't get her out of my mind. I have this fleeting of her that I think I can grasp, yet when I try to focus, she just vanishes."
"Are you sure she wasn't just a platypus-bear, and you were just so starved for female affection that you hallucinated?" The fourth companion spoke up.
"That's the thing, Shinu, it all seemed so real. She was the most stunning creature I had ever seen, I don't think I could have hallucinated a more beautiful woman. But I can't quite place her face." Zuko took a nice, long gulp of his fire ale.
"How did you first... 'meet' her?" The man asked, not truly believing the prince's claims.
"Well, Chit Sang, it happened just under a month ago. She saved my life."
Noticing that a potentially long story was about to be shared, the three sailors finished off their pints and ordered new ones. Stories and fables always seemed more realistic when plastered. No matter what they say, all sailors are at least a little superstitious, and they would never pass up an opportunity to here about the creatures of the deep unknown.
Waves crashed against the metal ship. Fire Nation flags flowed proudly over the ship and its inhabitants. A war was being fought between the Fire Nation and the Western Earth Kingdom. There had been an increase of pirates raiding Fire Nation merchant ships, and the Western Earth Kingdom refused to stop them. Enraged, Fire Lord Ozai ordered the ships to be burnt down; the Western Earth Kingdom became uneasy with so many Fire Nation Navy ships within close proximity, so they told Fire Lord Ozai to call the war vessels back. The Fire Lord refused as long as there were pirate ships attacking his people. With neither party willing to budge, a war had been mutually declared.
Most Fire Nation royalty and nobility were expected to serve in the Fire Nation military for a minimum of ten years. The Fire Nation put a strong emphasis on being militarily competent, many citizens joined the military at a young age. Having always loved the open waters, Crown Prince Zuko enlisted into the Royal Fire Nation Navy, and he had just finished his third year of service. The eighteen year old was quickly becoming a vital part of the navy, and he was expected to one day be the youngest captain the Fire Nation had ever seen. His father was proud, finally his son was making something of himself. The ship Zuko was assigned to was stationed protectively between the outlying Fire Nation islands and the Western Earth Kingdom.
Circumstances aside, the day turned out to be a gorgeous one for the Sailors. The sun shined down on the decks as if it was a blessing. Legend has it that the Fire Nation ancestors were able to command fire, a power gifted to them by the sun. Most people only believed it do be folklore, nothing else. Legends or not, though, Fire Nation citizens usually appreciated the sun more than they other kingdoms. Zuko greedily soaked in the sun while lying on the deck, slacking off. He kept an ear out incase someone approached him. It had already been four months since the war first started, and he had been at sea for three of them. The young, Fire Nation heir wished he could go back home, even if it were to be just for a day. The previous day he had eaten spoiled shellfish, causing him to heave it back up throughout the night. The heat from the sunbeams helped lower his nausea. The boy opened his right eye when he heard footsteps not too far away from his spot. Sighing, he got to his feet, and pretended to be busy.
"Zuko," it was a law in the Fire Nation that royalty and nobles were not to be given special privileges while serving, and that included formal tittles. "How are you feeling?"
"Morning, Kwan," Zuko gave a respectful bow to the older woman. "My stomach is still making me nauseas, but I think with some fresh air, I'll be ok."
"Good," Kwan said sharply. "I need you to prep the cannons. I've been giving word that tonight will probably be a long one."
Kwan had premature wrenches around her eyes, displaying all of the past stress and current stress she's had to go through. War aged everyone. She was infamous for being quick to punish sailors, and not readily willing to listen to reason. Zuko, however, knew that she was just doing her job, and by keeping everyone on a short leash, she had the smallest death toll amongst Fire Nation captains.
"Yes, ma'am," Zuko quickly agreed.
Under the scrutiny of her watchful eyes, the prince scurried off below the deck. He was far from thrilled by the news that she had just given him, and he could tell that she felt the same way. The last time they had been attacked was a week ago, and they were still recovering from the hit they took. It looked like Kwan was trying to be more prepared this time, but in his short experience, battles had always turned out unpredictable.
When he entered the cannon area, he could feel the uneasy atmosphere rolling off of the other sailors. Kwan must have already told them to prepare for the night's battle. They had lost two good sailors during the previous attack, and five other's sustained serious injuries. The morale of the ship had significantly lowered. Zuko walked over to the closest cannon. He inspected all of it's crevices, and cleaned out any debris from its previous use. Some of the other sailors were doing the same thing as Zuko with the other cannons. After they were done cleaning and preparing them, Zuko looked through a window at the sun. From its position, Zuko could estimate that it was 3:30 in the afternoon. He wanted to have some time with himself before they got into a scuffle with the Eastern Earth Kingdom's navy, so he snuck his way down to his cabin.
After he reached his cabin, he was happy to see that none of his roommates were there. Zuko grabbed his notebook, a piece of charcoal, and a packet of matches. Then he sat on his bunk. He opened the notebook to a blank page before lighting a match on fire, using it to burn one end of the charcoal. He started to sketch the waves he saw earlier, slamming against the ship. Drawing was Zuko's main way of relieving stress and finding his peace of mind. His sketchbook was filled with moments from his life at sea, the good and the bad. He sketched away for hours, he often lost track of time when he focussed on his artwork.
"Dinner time!" A loud voice echoed through the hallway.
Zuko's body flexed in surprised from the voice, and he slammed his sketchpad closed. If it was time for dinner, that meant that it was almost seven o' clock in the evening. He tucked his sketchbook into his tunic's pockets, pulled his boots on over his trousers, then he slipped a knife down his right boot. He made his way to the canteen.
The canteen was mostly silent, even after being filled with young sailors. Each of them, no doubt, realized that the nights dinner might be their last. Zuko was doing his own life reflection when someone flicked him on the side of his head.
"Ouch!" He indignantly let out.
He had just broken the silence, and soon the cafeteria was filled with chatter. Zuko saw that it was one of his friends that had flicked him.
"Evening, Chey," Zuko liked him the most.
"What's with the sour look on your face?" Chey teased. "You look like you just found out that someone died."
"Someone might very well die tonight," the prince muttered.
Chey gave Zuko a sluggish push on the shoulder.
"Don't say that, come on now," Chey tried to help Zuko think positively. "Tonight, we're going to be on the offensive. We were attacked by surprised last time, this time it's our turn to deliver payback."
"That's true," Zuko said with a little more confidence. "We'll teach those Earth Kingdom scum not to mess with the Fire Nation."
"That's the spirit," Chey slapped Zuko on the back. The prince almost spilled his water. "Sorry."
Zuko shook his head at his friend, smiling. He was about to make a crack at Chey's actions when he heard heavy, rushed footsteps stomp down to the canteen. Everyone in the room looked to the entrance, they had a sinking feeling settle into their stomachs as they waited to find out who it was. A sweaty sailor trampled into the room. He only muttered a few words that caused the room to fall into chaos.
"We're under attack!"
Scrambling and shouting, everyone tried to run to their designated position incase of an enemy attack. None of them had been expecting the Eastern Earth Kingdom's navy to launch another assault against them so quickly. Zuko sped into the armory in order to grab is dao blades. He fastened the sheath to his back, and then he started to look for his protective gear. He strapped on his leather greaves and arm bands, then he quickly made his way to the ship's deck.
When he breeched the surface, he was met with the deck covered in Eastern Earth Kingdom soldiers. He instinctively jumped out of the way just before a sword slashed into the wood, where he stood moments before. Zuko drew his dual blades from their home, and he entered into a fight against the soldier. They sliced at each other, falling into a deadly rhythm. Zuko spared a glance at the rest of the deck—rapidly grasping at the situation, they were well out numbered. He parried a slash that was aimed for his head, then, in between their dancing arms, he saw his captain fighting with her two-handed sword. Captain Kwan swung a heavy, powerful swing at an approaching earth kingdom sailor. She hit true to her mark, his head flew away from his body as if it had never been attached.
"Where are you looking, fire fucker!" Zuko's opponent shouted at him, preparing a kick.
The man kicked his leg at Zuko's flank; unfortunately, Zuko was ready for him. The Fire Nation prince hit the man's leg at just the right angle with the perfect amount of force behind the blow, the leg was now no longer part of the body. Blood gushed out at where the leg previously had been, the sailor screamed in pain. Zuko made quick work of the shrieking sailor with a slice to the throat. Across the deck, he saw Captain Kwan give him a thumbs up of approval.
Two new Eastern Earth Kingdom sailors replaced the one that he just slew. They clashed blades against the out numbered prince, but to their dismay, Zuko wasn't giving up any ground. One of the men sent his sword at Zuko's face while the other attacked his legs. Zuko blocked them both just in time, and he commanded his left dao blade to slice into one of the sailors abdomen. The other sailor watched in horror as his comrade's intestines spewed onto the wooden deck. The man would bleed to death within minutes.
"You're next," Zuko promised with a low, deadly voice.
With panicked vigor, the remaining soldier pounded away at Zuko with his sword. He had lost his cool, and the prince took advantage of that. The sailor dropped to the ground, dead, just moments after he started attacking. While he currently wasn't under attack, Zuko scanned the deck to see if anyone needed help. His eyes widened as he watched an Earth Kingdom sailor stab a one of his friends through the chest.
"No!" He shouted out.
The Earth Kingdom killer stood up from his kill to challenge Zuko. The Fire Nation prince rushed over to meet it. Zuko was almost within attacking range when a cannon ball crashed into the side of the deck, fifteen feet away from him. The collision sent Zuko rolling on the ground, shards of wood and metal sprayed into his body. His blood soaked into the wood, staining it. Grunted through the pain, Zuko forced himself back onto his feet. The Eastern Earth Kingdom sailor tackled Zuko back onto the ground. The two young men took turn punching and kicking each other as they tumbled down some steps. Zuko was able to get his hand on one of his dual swords while the man pulled a knife out of his shirt. They stabbed one another in the chest at the same time. The Eastern Earth Kingdom warrior was instantly killed, but he had barely missed Zuko's heart. On his hands and knees, Zuko coughed a mouthful of blood onto the deck.
"Zuko!" He hazily heard his name called. "Zuko! Look out!"
Looking up, Zuko saw a sailor clothed in green rush at him. He silently cursed. Another cannon ball whistled through the air then made contact with the side of the ship. All Zuko could do was watch the faces of his companions light up in fear as his body helplessly tumbled off the ship, and into the cold water. His body hit the ocean with a splat, to him, his death now seemed like a certainty.
Here lies Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. A most honorable death at sea. He morbidly thought to himself. The Eastern Earth Kingdom is going to regret making Azula the heir to the Fire Nation.
His head broke through the water, and he had to throw up sea water mixed with blood before he could breathe in any air. He was cold, wet, bleeding, and he was pretty sure he had a broken bone or two. His consciousness was escaping from him fast, and he was about to accept his death. Off in the distance, he swore he saw a blue light. He strained his eyes, trying to see it again. Just as he was about to right it off as a delusion related to his fading condition, he saw the blue light underneath the water, this time much closer to his bobbing body! The light disappeared again, and it was impossible for Zuko to see anything beneath the black waves. His numbing body just barely felt a hand wrap around his ankle, then he was unexpectedly pulled below into the abyss. All he could muster was a pitiful peep, then his entire body was enveloped in darkness.
The death of Zuko. For some reason, that was a comforting thought.
Was he in heaven? Zuko wondered to himself. He could sense light, but he couldn't see anything. His senses began to slowly come back to him, and soon, he heard a soft, delicate voice singing. He neither knew the tune nor the lyrics, yet the song brought great comfort to his mind. Yes, Zuko believed, he was indeed in the afterlife. The song grew louder, he wasn't sure if the source was coming closer or his hearing was getting better. The song stopped, Zuko wanted to plead for it to continue. He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth. Pain cut into his body, and the grunt that he finally was able to produce, caused his throat to burn. Every breath he took sent waves of agony into his chest and abdomen. Zuko was so focussed on his pain that he almost did not hear a faint, splashing noise next to him.
He felt a cool hand tentatively touch his shoulder. His body froze at the sensation.
"Are you hurting?" A melodic voiced asked.
Zuko tried to open his eyes, but they were sealed shut by the salt from the dried sea water. He wanted to wipe his eyes clear, his muscles seemed to have other plans. Gritting his teeth, Zuko settled with nodding his head.
"You fell hard off of that ship," the voice told him. "You can't talk right now, can you? I've never been so close to one of your kind before."
The girl moved her hand from his shoulder to his face.
"You need more water, hold on a moment." She then sounded sheepish, "I suppose there isn't much as you can do, huh?"
Zuko was confused, his mind was racing, trying to figure out where he was and what was happening. What if he was taken captive by the Eastern Earth Kingdom? That wouldn't make sense, he knew he took a plunge into the ocean earlier. There was a momentary swishing noise above his face, then water washed into his mouth and down his throat. Zuko coughed a little.
"Sorry, I must have gotten some down the wrong opening."
To the prince's surprise, the pain in his throat vanished.
"Am I dead?" He was able to ask.
"Dead?" The voice echoed. "No, you're not dead. Hardly alive would be a better description."
"Oh," Zuko wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that. "I can't," a cough interrupted him. "I can't see."
"Hold on a second, I'll see what I can do."
Zuko felt water press over his eyes, and through his eyelids, he saw a blue-hued light. He guessed that it must look similar to the light he saw the previous night.
"Alright," the soft voice said, "open your eyes."
The injured sailor did as he was commanded, and he was delighted when his sight returned to him. He forced his neck, through the stiff pain, to turn towards the voice. Zuko's eyes took in the most beautiful site he had ever seen. Next to him was a girl, no, creature that was sitting next to him. The upper half of her body was that of a human, but her lower half consisted of a long, dark-blue fin. Part of her tail was inside a pool of water. Zuko almost choked when he saw her. The sea creature gave him a puzzled look.
"What's wrong?" She asked, nervously rolling her long hair in between her fingers.
"I've... I've never seen anyone like you before."
The half girl giggled at him. "I've never been this close to a human before either, so we're even."
"What are you?" Zuko hoped he didn't sound rude.
"I'm a water spirit, I live underneath the water's surface"
"A water spirit? I've heard of them before, but they were from myths and legends."
"I can confidently tell you that I am in fact real," she said with a playful voice.
For the first time, Zuko took in his current environment. They were inside a small cave, covered in glowing crystals. The pool of water the spirit was part way in must be the entrance and exit to the cave.
"Where are we?" He asked, still amazed by the beauty of the crystals and his companion.
"This is a cave that's close by to where I live."
"What happened? Why am I still alive?"
"I watched you fall off a ship," she began to explain.
The water spirit pulled herself towards Zuko. Covering her hands in water, she reached out for his body. She placed her hands over his chest, and soon a mesmerizing blue light enveloped the water. The prince gasped now that he saw it clearly, the glow scared and fascinated him.
"I'm healing you," the creature informed him. "It's a special skill that we water spirits have."
Zuko had never been one to be superstitious, and he certainly never believed in mythical creatures. Though she was healing him right before his eyes, he wasn't sure if he could trust his senses. He wanted to argue, tell her that wasn't possible, but the only thing he could do was accept it.
"You fell off the ship," she continued. "I swam over to you, and pulled you into the ocean. You're probably wondering how you didn't drown." Zuko nodded his head. "I created a bubble of air around your head. Anyways, you were badly injured from whatever you were caught up in, you're lucky you aren't dead. I brought you in here, and I healed your life threatening wounds."
"That's amazing," Zuko expressed, awestruck.
"Thanks," the water spirit giggled. "I finished healing your main wounds; and I would have done more, but healing uses up my energy. When I knew you weren't going to die, I took a nap. I actually woke up a little bit before you."
Zuko watched her glowing hands traverse his body, his sensations slowly came back to him as the stiffness ebbed away. He sat up on his elbows once she got to his legs.
"What's your name?" He asked her.
She removed her hands from his legs, and placed her right hand against his his cheek bone. Looking into his eyes, she allowed her hand to stroke his jaw-line. Zuko felt compelled to hold eye contact with her.
"Katara. My name is Katara."
The name fit her perfectly, Zuko felt like he had always known her name.
"Katara, my name is Zuko," he said as he held his hand out to her.
Her hand left his face and connected with his, they shook them in a greeting.
"Zu-Ko. Zuko." Katara looked happy with the way his name sounded. "Zuko."
"Yeah, that's my name," he smiled up at her. "You're staring at me again."
Katara flexed her head back and raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, you're looking at me," she challenged.
He gave her a funny look, "I suppose I am. Sorry, you're the first water spirit I've ever seen. Before today, I didn't even know you existed."
"It's ok," she bit her lip. "You're the first human I've ever spoken to. There are no male water spirits, so that makes you even more interesting."
Before he registered what she was doing, Katara slipped his left boot off, and had his foot in her hands.
"And these!" She so excitedly observed, splaying Zuko's toes apart. "If they aren't just the most enthralling things I've ever seen."
Zuko had to resist the urge to recoil his foot away when her fingers sent tickling sensations over his foot. She continued to pull and tug his toes in various directions, testing out their flexibility.
"What do you call these little nubs again?" She expectantly looked at him.
"Those are toes, Katara."
"Toes," she tried out the word. "A respectfully cute name for equally cute nubbies."
"I think your tail is much more extraordinary," he insisted. "Do you have to keep it in water?"
"If I spend too much time out of the water, it will dry up. I could die if it dries up completely, so I try to leave part of it in water if I'm out of it."
Under closer inspection, Zuko noticed that her tail was made up of tiny scales in different shades of blue.
"Can I touch it?" He was so curious, and he wasn't about to let this chance escape him.
She flipped the end on her tail out of the pool, spraying salt water over them.
"Sure. I've touched your toes," she giggled at the word, "it's only fair."
His hand hesitantly reached out at her tail, sensing his uncertainty, she grabbed it and placed his hand on part of her tail.
"Wow," Zuko exhaled out. "I'm going to be honest, I thought it was going to feel slimier."
"Slimy! You think I'm slimy?" She asked with mock hurt.
"No!" The now flustered boy quickly back tracked. "It's smooth. Very smooth."
He stroked it with the grain of the scales. This was a new sensation for him.
"That tickles," Katara reacted to his touch.
Zuko stroked his hand over her tail one more time before he tried to stand up. Shakily, he used his fists to push himself onto his knees.
"Careful, you may be healed, but you're still weak," the water spirit warned.
After two failed attempts, the sailor staggered onto his fee.
"I can't believe that I was almost dead last night."
Katara, enchanted by his legs, touched his calf muscle through a tear in his pants. It felt hard and firm against her touch. Zuko almost fell back down from her tugging.
"Sorry," Katara apologized when she saw him regain his balance.
Zuko waved his hands at her, "No, no, you're fine. I wouldn't even be alive without you. So you go on ahead and push me over if you'd like."
He had meant that as a joke, but Katara took it as an offer. With a spirited glint in her eyes, she swiped the human's legs from under him with her tail.
"Wah—" The poor boy fell face first into the pool.
Katara dove into the pool after him. She grabbed his torso, and flipped her way to the surface. Zuko took a deep breath when his head reached the air. He looked at her for a moment like she was crazy, then they both started to laugh.
"Can you swim?"
"Yes, I'm actually a decent swimmer," he looked down at her fin. "Well, probably no where near as good as you are, but I blame my own anatomy."
After hearing his confirmation, she released his body. They treaded and swam around in the pool, and Katara evaluated Zuko's swimming ability. Her knew infatuation pulled himself out of the pool.
"Where are you going?"
"Nowhere, I'm just going to remove the unnecessaries."
Katara was treated with an eye-full of the young man's body while he stripped off his tunic, under shirt, and remaining boot. He then rolled and cuffed his pants up into makeshift capris, and placed his knife into his trouser pocket. She wouldn't admit it, but she was delighted when he turned around, giving her full view of his well-defined torso that had been sculpted from years of hard work with the navy. The male form was foreign to her, so she studied his body. Zuko ran, jumped in the air, and took a clean dive into the water next to her. He resurfaced, and flipped his hair out of his eyes. An idea came to her.
"Hold still," she ordered.
Zuko obliged her request, not knowing what she was planning. She swam up close to his body; she couldn't help herself, she spread her hands across his chest, noting how stony it was. She then flipped behind him so she was holding onto his back. This was the strangest, but definitely not worst, piggy back ride Zuko had ever given someone. From behind, Katara cupped his pecks into her hands.
"These are so hard and flat compared to mine!"
Zuko was happy she couldn't see his face, for he was sure it was turning red. Unaware, the water spirit continued to grope at the Fire Nation's crown prince.
"Wh-what are you doing," he tried not to stutter, really.
Katara hugged her arms around his chest, "Exploring. I've only been touched female bodies before yours. It's different, but a nice different."
She released her grasp on him, and swam back to face him. She smiled at his flushed face which made her pull on his hair. She noted that he had lovely, silky hair.
"Now I know what they have always been talking about," she said obscurely.
"They?"
"The older water spirits," she answered. "I mentioned earlier that there are no male water spirits, so in order to reproduce, we search for a temporary human partner when we are old enough. Some of them used to tell me stories about their mates, and I was never interested in that whole ordeal until I saw you. I think I now understand why so many of them search for partners. You have stunning eyes, I feel like I'm looking into the sun."
Zuko, while flattered and nervous, wasn't sure if he should run away or embrace her, so he settled on diverting the conversation.
"What do you do... In the ocean as a water spirit?" He tried to cover up any embarrassment in his voice.
Katara pondered for a moment, deciding what she should share with the human. Hundreds of years ago, humans made a sport out of hunting water spirits and other spirits close to extinction. Of course, she was not alive back then, but she had been taught from a young age to be wary of making herself known to humans. Traditionally when water spirits wanted to mate, they would find a man to their liking, seduce him, procreate, then use their waterbending to wipe their memories. The water spirits would then beach their chosen lover close by to where they had found them. Never before, since their near extinction, had she heard of a water spirit spending time with a human like this. He seemed to be a nice person, and his actions had yet to give her a reason to be suspicious. She wanted to get to know him better and show him her world, but she was worried about getting in trouble with the other water spirits. In the back of her mind, there was the thought that she could be wrong about him. He could lead a charge against her and her people. Weighing her regretful uneasiness against her urge to play with her new friend, she chose to start of small, then work her way up to bringing him to her home.
"I can show you better than I can tell you," she told him with a smug voice. "Follow me!"
She ducked under the water, and Zuko had little time to react when he saw her disappear. He swam deep into the hole, following after her. The pool's water quickly turned dark as he journeyed away from the glimmering crystals. About a minute later, rays of light pierced into the water. Seeing the light, Zuko kicked his legs hard in an upward momentum. He gasped in a breath when he reached the surface. When he regulated his breathing, he looked around the vast ocean for Katara. She was nowhere to be seen.
"Katara?" His voice got lost in the wind.
A hand grabbed onto his ankle. Zuko did all he could to prevent himself from rolling his eyes at her child-like playfulness. As expected, she yanked his body back under the sea. Ignoring the stinging from the salt, he opened his eyes to see the girl (if that was even the proper term for a water spirit) grinning at him. Zuko shook his head at her, then a made a motion to show that he needed to resurface for air. This time, she joined him.
"You're a better swimmer than what I had expected," she complimented.
"Thanks, I try. Though I'm not sure how well I'll do if you keep trying to drown me like that."
"Drown you?" She asked in mock-shock. "Me? Never."
"Yeah, yeah, we'll go with your story."
"Come here," she said, grabbing his hand. "I want to show you something."
She sped off, towing Zuko along with her. They were both slower holding hands, but neither of them wanted to end the feeling by letting go. Katara led them for fifteen minutes, Zuko could feel his legs grow tired.
"I don't know if I can keep up with you for much longer!" Zuko called out, trying to talk over the wind and waves.
She slowed her pace to help accommodate him.
"If you feel like you can't keep going, just hold onto me tighter! I can easily swim for the both of us!"
"Ok!" He yelled back.
"We're almost there, it's just a few more minutes away!"
Zuko thought that his body would be able to last for at least that much longer. They moved through the ocean, and now the waves were pushing him as if they wanted to help him. He wasn't sure if it was just luck that they were traveling with the waves, or if the water spirit had something to do with it. From his earlier interactions with Katara, he had learned that it's easier to not ask questions, and just go with the, well, flow.
"Here we are!" She told him, stopping their momentum.
The spot in the vast ocean looked no different to Zuko than where they had been twenty minutes ago. He scanned the area for anything that could hint him on about what Katara wanted to show him, or for something that might happen.
"Um... Where exactly are we?"
"The ocean," she said with a dead, serious voice and expression.
Zuko deadpanned at the water spirit's trivial antics.
"Gee, really?" He asked in a sarcastic manner. "I would have never guessed. Land, ocean, what's the difference?"
"Do not sass me. I will drown you if you sass me one more time." She placed her hands on her hips.
"Yes, mother."
With a crooked smile, Katara dunked Zuko's head under the ocean. He sputtered for air when she let him back up.
"What? I gave you a fair warning," she justified her actions when he shot her a glare.
"We're playing an unfair game that's completely slanted in your direction," he pointed out to her.
"Yeah? And?" Her lips curled into a playful smirk.
Zuko knew he wasn't going to get anywhere, he would have to accept that he needed to be prepared for any more of her drowning attempts. He noticed that Katara was leading them closer to a cliff.
"Follow me," she told him, forming an air bubble over his head.
The sunk down below the water's surface, swimming in the direction of the cliff. As they got closer, Zuko saw a small opening in the precipice. They slipped through the crack, and entered into a beautiful, coral covered lagoon. The coral reefs were translucent, and when the light particles hit them, rainbow beams flooded the area. They dodged their way in between the coral until it was shallow enough for Zuko to stand.
"Wow," he sighed.
"I know, this is one of my favorite places to be."
Dramatically colored fish and sea creatures inhabited the lagoon, and a few of them nibbled at Zuko's feet. The water was warmer here, and Zuko took the heat as inspiration to sprawl out on top of a large, smooth piece of coral to bask in the afternoon's sunlight. Katara propelled herself to the edge of the coral, resting her head against her arms. She intently watched him close his eyes. cHe looked so relaxed, so serene. She couldn't help herself, she pulled her upper body out of the water, closer to the resting prince. Zuko felt tiny drops of water hit his face, so he peaked one eye open. His eye opened to see the water spirit's face lean towards his. He reflexively pushed his head up, his lips meeting hers halfway. It was a gentle, lasting kiss. When it was over, she wrapped her arms around his abdomen, and rested her head on his chest. He embraced her back with his arms, and immersed his face into her hair. To them, it looked like the entire was engulfed in a radiant, rainbow glow.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," he whispered, lazily stroking her hair down her back.
He felt her move her head in agreement against his chest. They didn't say anything more, and soon, they were lolled into a tranquil sleep.
"The cave is in that direction," Katara directed, pointing her finger into the distance.
"You're the leader, after you."
It was in the early evening. Katara and Zuko were traveling back to the cave to grab Zuko's possessions after they woke up from their nap. From his vantage point in the sea, everything looked the same. He was having a hard time with directions, but luckily he had Katara for that.
"Lets play a game," Katara said, more of a statement than a request.
"Ok, what kind of game?" He was a little nervous that she was going to try to drown him again.
"Do you want to see where I live?" She asked.
Zuko's ears perked up, she hadn't offered this before. He was not going to give up a once in a life time chance to see the home of the water spirits.
"Absolutely."
"Good, that will be the prize."
"What?"
"If you win the game, I'll take you home with me," she clarified.
"Deal," he agreed. "What's the game?"
She gave him a look, one that read that she was confident that he would lose.
"We're going to play a game of tag. If you can keep up with me and catch me, you win."
Zuko's mouth dropped open while he raised his eyebrows.
"I would hardly call that a game!" He whined. "That's not possible for me to win."
"That's too bad..." She drifted off before a glint got caught in her eye. "Well... ready or not! Here we go!"
She dipped into the water, and swam away from him. Quickly realizing that he had no choice but to play, Zuko tried his hardest to keep up with her. Katara knew there he had no chance in catching her. She had already decided that she was going sneak him into her underwater country; however, that didn't mean she couldn't have some more fun with him. She easily got ahead of him, soon he could hardly see her body. Her plan was to out swim him, then double back to take him by surprise from behind. She enjoyed making him jump. She was now swimming under water, and she looked behind her to see how far away she was from him. She couldn't make out his form anymore, so she prepared to swim back to him. The water spirit was about to turn around when she crashed into a large net. Confused, she thrashed around which only caused her to get tangled even more in the net. Katara started to panic from the closed space, she kicked her tail in hopes of propelling herself out of the net. Nothing seemed to help. Trying to calm herself down, she looked around her trapped body. She was stuck in the net with hundreds of other fish.
"Fishermen," she said in shock.
This was not good, she had to free herself. She saw an opening at the top that she could work her way out of; unfortunately, fate had different plans for her. The net jerked to the side, sloshing Katara and the fish around, then it began to reel up. The cold air pricked at her skin, announcing that she was now out of the water. Roughly, the net was dumped onto a large, fishing ship. The water spirit and hundreds of fish tumbled out of the net and onto a hard, wooden deck. She heard sharp intakes of breath all around her while her tail flopped helplessly.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"I don't know!"
"Touch it."
"No, you touch it!"
Once she was oriented, she opened her eyes to see five men staring at her in utter surprise.
"It's a water spirit!" A tall, lanky fisherman cried out.
Shaking his head in disbelief, and muscular fisherman said, "I would say this couldn't be, but she's right in front of me!"
"Guys, we have just made a breakthrough discovery!" Another fisherman exclaimed.
The girl's eyes widened in fear when they walked closer to her.
"Stay back!" She shouted at them.
"It can talk!" A short, tan man remarked.
"I have book on mythical creatures in my bag, I'm going to grab it!" One of the more superstitious fisherman told the others.
"Make sure she can't get away!" The more muscular man commanded.
Katara freaked out, and tried to crawl and flop her way off the ship. The fishermen noticed her attempts, so they hastily through a smaller net over her body, dragging her to the ship's mast.
"Let me go!" She squirmed when they tied her arms behind the mast.
"I cannot believe this is happening," the tall, lanky man said. "What are we going to do with her?"
"How about you release me?" They all ignored her.
"She's got an exotic look about her, don't she? We could definitely sell her for a hefty sum of gold!"
"Ba Sing Se would be the place to sell her," one of the men suggested.
"Yes, I'm positive we could sell her to a freak-show or to royalty."
"I also agree. She'll fetch us a fine price in Ba Sing Se. Hi, little dolly," a fisherman with horrid teeth said to her. "Your pretty little face and your pretty little tail are going to make you famous, and us rich."
Katara shook her wrists violently against the rope, trying to escape. In response, the ropes only dug into her more.
"I found the book!" The superstitious man came running onto the deck. "You won't believe it, according to it, water spirit blood is supposed to have 'healing and strengthening properties to those who drink it.'"
The men pondered what they had just heard, Katara wanted to cry.
The short man spoke first, "We could try it out without permanently hurting her."
"By the time we get to Ba Sing Se, she should be all healed up, right?" The muscular man openly wondered. "Aren't you all curious to see if it's true?"
"I sure am," the muscular fisherman said, pulling out a knife.
The water spirit pressed her body into the mast as much as she could, shrinking away from the approaching men.
"Naw, don't be like that. This will be over before you know it."
A loud scream forced its way out of Katara's mouth when the knife came closer.
Where did she go? Zuko wondered to himself, just the tinniest bit annoyed. The girl sure loved to play games with him, and it seemed like she turned the game of catch into hide and seek. He continued swimming in the direction that he thought he last saw her travel, but he figured she would eventually find him when she got bored. Not too far away from him, he saw a fishing ship. He thought about changing directions since she most likely wouldn't have swam too close to it. He wasn't sure which way to swim now. Zuko was about to take off in a random direction when he heard a muffled scream. There was no way that could have been her, or so Zuko thought. Doubt crept into him, though, before he was able to ignore it. He swore the sound came from the ship, but if it had been Katara, what was she doing there? That didn't matter to him, he had to find her.
"What's going on?" He grumbled to the open sea.
About twelve minutes later, he was able to reach the ship unseen. He could hear male voices, but that was it. The noise from the ocean spray and waves prevented him from making out their words. Zuko climbed the side up the ship, and he peaked over the edge when he reached the top. Rage palpated through his veins and arteries when he saw his friend tied up to the ship's mast, and bleeding. Why was she bleeding?! The burning question was answered when he saw the men of the ship pass around a pint amongst them that appeared to be filled with... Blood?
"Do you feel anything yet?" He could hear one of them ask, Katara's blood dripping off his beard.
"Please," she said, energy draining from her body fast. "Let me go"
Zuko silently and stealthily snuck onto the ship. He pulled his knife out of his pocket, and he hid behind a stack of crates. In order to break them up, he kicked over a box full of tools. The metal clanged as they fell out, alerting the fishermen.
"Damn fish are knocking stuff over," one of the men muttered.
Two of them walked over to the crates where Zuko hid in order to clean up the mess. The moment they were out of eyesight from the other men, Zuko ambushed them. The fishermen where no match against a trained navy sailor, so Zuko was able to make quick work of them. They would never be able to fish again.
"I don't think anything's happening," the muscular man.
"Maybe we need more?" One of the remaining fishermen questioned.
"I'll harvest a little more," the muscular man said.
The three of them walked to Katara.
"No," she croaked. "No more."
"Don't worry, little honey," the taller man soothed. "I promise this won't hurt much."
"Really?" An cold, deadly voice spoke, almost touching the man's head from behind. "I can't promise the same for you all."
Zuko's knife found itself buried into the back of the man's neck, then it was slashed out, and sent into a different man's neck. With two down, only the muscular man with the knife remained. Katara and the fisherman stared at Zuko, the man in frightened shock while Katara's eyes filled with joy.
"Who are you?!" Loudly asked the sole fisherman.
"I don't have to answer a man that is already dead."
Before the man could even think to protect himself, Zuko launched his knife from where he was, and hit the man between the eyes. The dead fisherman fell to the side.
"Katara!" Zuko rushed over to the injured water spirit. "Are you ok?"
If he wasn't so worried for her health, he would have smacked himself for asking such a stupid question. Katara's breathing came out as uncontrollable wheezes. Looking at her, he observed that her normally radiant skin was dull.
"How long have you been out of the water?" He anxiously asked her.
"T-too l-long," she said between wheezes.
"Shit."
He ran back to the muscular, dead man, and pulled his knife out of his forehead. He then ran back to Katara in order to cut her free. Upon release from the ropes, Katara felt her body fall flat on the ground, her tail was no longer moving around. Distressed from her lack of movement, Zuko scooped her into his arms (her anatomy made this hard for him to do), and jumped over the side of the ship. He only tightened his grip on her when their bodies made impart with the water, and he kicked his legs to keep them afloat. He let her slide completely under the water, but he kept a hold on her by her shoulders. She floated lifelessly with the water's movement.
"Why isn't anything happening?!" He had to stop himself from panicking.
This was his only bet at curing Katara's dehydration with his limited knowledge on water spirit health. He was frustrated by how little he could do, nothing was happening. Then he saw it, a dim blue-tinted glow surrounded her body. The light was much softer than the last time he saw it, this worried the prince. To his dismay, the glow flittered out. He pulled her part way out of the water to inspect her, thankfully, he saw some of her color return to her body.
"Katara? Can you hear me?"
Her eyes weakly fluttered open.
"I'm... Too weak, Zuko," she coughed out.
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked out of desperation.
"No," his face fell. "You can't heal me... But you can bring me to my people..." She dropped off.
"I'll do anything. Where are they?" She was fading fast from consciousness, and he had no idea where to carry her.
She lifted a fragile hand surrounded by water to his forehead. He felt a cool sensation before his mind was filled with foreign images. The girl collapsed into unconsciousness in his arms. Zuko shifted her higher up on his arms. From the odd images replaying in his mind, he realized that she stored her own memory into him. It was her memory of how to get to her home from where they were. Without wasting anymore time, Zuko followed the directions from his implanted memory.
After a long, stressful journey, Zuko had finally tugged them both to their destination. According to the images in his head, he was treading just above her home. Steeling his nerves, the prince took a deep breath, then he sunk the both of them deep into the sea. It was almost impossible for him to force his way down, and the change in pressure started to bother him. His air supply was quickly running out, but he wouldn't stop until she was safe. With his depleting oxygen, Zuko watched his vision tunnel. His body's basic functioning kicked into high alert when it sensed that he was in grave danger of drowning. He tried to fight it, but the urge became too strong. Zuko's body instinctively took in a breath, but instead of air, he inhaled salty water.
So this is what it feels like to drown... Katara could dunk him hundreds of times, and it still wouldn't have prepared him for this feeling. Zuko, through his haze, knew tears would be streaming down his face if it wasn't already plastered in ocean water. He was so close! But his muscles were quickly failing him, his lungs hacked from the invading water, and his mind was blanking out. He joined Katara in calm unconsciousness.
Katara had not felt this stiff in a very long time. She stretched her arms out, enjoying the sensations in her muscles. She felt a dull pain over a abdomen which was odd, that was not normal for her. Her head snapped up along with her eyes, now remembering everything that had happened. She took in her surroundings. Perplexed, she saw that she was in her room. She uncurled herself from her previous position, against her body's wishes, in order to look for her human friend.
"You're awake!" A voice observed, happily.
Katara saw a pretty, white haired water spirit enter the room.
"Yue," she called, "what happened?"
"A couple of us found you just outside of the domain," Yue explained. "You were injured, it took some of us quite some time to heal you. I'm happy to see that you're doing well."
"Yue," she said her name again. "This is important, was there a human with me?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "We found you both unconscious. You were in his arms."
"Where is he?" Dread creeped up her spine. "Is he still alive?"
"He's chained up in one of the cages, they put an amulet around his neck."
Katara chewed the inside of her cheek, "Can I see him?"
"Are you sure it's a good idea to visit your attacker? We were going to hold him until you woke up, so we could ask you what happened. Then Hama was going to remove the amulet to let him drown."
"No!" Katara gasped.
Yue was taken aback from her unexpected outburst.
"What's going on, Katara?"
"He's my friend, please, can you lead me to Hama?" She requested. "I have to free him before anything bad happens to him."
"He's a human! They're evil!"
"Not all humans are," she countered.
"Do you remember what they did to us? They hunted us! Killed us like animals!" Grief for the dead flowed into Yue's eyes.
Katara pressed her eyelids shut, "I know Yue, but he wasn't one of them. He's good."
"He's a human," Yue stated once again.
"He saved me," Katara made the smart decision of not mentioning that she had originally saved him when she snuck away to observe the humans.
"What?" Another voice entered the room.
"Hama," Katara said to the older water spirit. "I need to see him."
"That's not going to happen," the grey-haired spirit said.
"Why not?" Katara's frustration was increasing.
"He's a vile, worthless human being," Hama spat out.
"He saved my life!" Katara defended her only human friend.
"How? You were found unconscious with cuts across your belly!"
"He wasn't the one that attacked me!" She yelled back. "I got caught by some fishermen that wanted to sell me, but he saved me from them."
The room settled into silence, the other two water spirits mulled over the news.
"Don't lie to me, Katara," Hama threatened.
"I'm not, I promise," Katara now said in a calmer voice.
Hama's eyes barely softened, but it was better than nothing.
"He can't stay here with you," she told Katara. "He has to go back to where he belongs."
"I understand," the relief was evident in her voice.
"He cannot remember us, I'm serious. Even if he is, like you claim, not an evil person, he's still a human. Mistakes happen, and I will not allow a slip up lead to a second downfall of the water spirits."
Katara knew that eventually the time would come when she had to swipe his memories of her from him, but the thought of him forgetting her made her sad.
"Ok," she said, head hanging low.
"It's for the best," Hama said with a poor attempt to comfort her.
Seeing her distress, Yue rubbed Katara's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Yue sincerely apologized.
Katara was too upset to acknowledge the other girl.
"Where is he?" She asked.
"He's in one of the cages at the outskirts of the city," Hama replied.
"Ok."
"I want you to take him out, erase his memories, then leave him on a beach somewhere. It's the right thing to do."
"I'll be back later tonight," Katara told them before she swam outside through one of her windows. Once in the main street, she ignored the curious glances from the other water spirits. She commanded the water to make her swim faster, she wanted to reach Zuko soon because it was getting dark. He was an easy target for some predators that might be patrolling the bottom of the sea. It took her thirty minutes to reach him. She saw his legs were flat against the ocean floor, his back was raised against metal bars from the cage.
"Zuko!" She called for his attention when she got closer.
"Katara!" He called back to her, thrilled to see her healthy.
"Hold on a moment..." Katara murmured while she released him from his chains and the cage.
"You're ok," he remarked. "I was so worried, I thought it was the end for us."
"Thankfully we're still here."
"Wait..." Zuko said.
"Yes?"
"How am I not dead?" The question confused Katara. "The last memory I had before I woke up in a cage," he jabbed his head at the crude prison, "I was drowning. But I'm alive... And even stranger, I'm breathing under water. This phenomenon might be normal for you, but this is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me... Which I think says a lot."
Katara's only reply was a shake of the head, then she through her arms around him. Zuko smiled at her reaction, and eagerly reciprocated the hug.
"I thought you were going to die," he whispered into her ear.
She hugged him tighter, "But I'm alive, thanks to you."
"Katara?"
"Yes, Zuko?"
He leaned back in to her, "I caught you."
Laughter bubbled out of her throat, and he quickly joined her.
"You won," she granted. "I'm sorry to say I'm not allowed to give you your prize."
"I figured that much," he wasn't too disappointed. "I know the basic history between humans and water spirits, though I didn't believe any of it was true until this morning."
"I can't believe it hasn't been too much more than twenty-four hours since I saved you."
"Yeah, I've been aware of your existence for even less time, but I feel like I've known you for a life time."
Zuko pressed his lips against his forehead, they both closed their eyes.
"This is going to keep bothering me," he ruined the moment. "How am I breathing again?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. That amulet around your neck," Katara tugged on a silver chain with a light, blue crystal attached to it that was around Zuko's neck, "has been blessed. It grants non-water creatures the ability to breathe under water."
"That's amazing," Zuko touched the crystal.
"I have to bring you home," she let out.
He knew his time with her would eventually come to an end, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Ok."
"Come on," Katara turned away to lead him away from the city. "Lets get your stuff from the cave."
Water splashed onto the cave's floor when Zuko hauled his body out of the pool. It had been hours since the last time he felt solid ground beneath his feet, it felt nice. Katara assumed her normal position, half in the water, half out of the water. She remorsefully watched him shake out his tunic. Curiously, a piece of charcoal and a pad of paper toppled out of it.
"What's that?" She asked.
Zuko bent over to pick up the runaway objects, Katara unabashedly stared at his butt. She was never going to see him again, so she wasn't going to miss anything. With the notebook in hand, Zuko walked over and sat down beside Katara. He handed her the sketchpad, and she flipped through the pages.
The drawings in the book were as close to life-like as a sketch could get, Katara found herself admiring his work. She became engrossed by his artful telling of day to day life of a sailor. She wanted to see more of his art, but she also wanted to spend more time with him.
"Zuko."
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to miss you, a lot."
Zuko sighed and leaned in closer to her, "I'm going to miss you."
Katara gave him a heartbreakingly sad smile at his comment, Zuko couldn't shake an off feeling.
"Come here," she gripped his shoulders as if letting him go would kill her.
She attacked his face with her mouth, and he had to work to keep up with her ferocity. Her hands traveled from his shoulders to his chest, then to his waist. Zuko sucked in a breath of hot air when he felt her cool hands press against his obliques. Encouraged, he slipped one hand onto the small of her back and the other on the hippy part of her tail. His mouth left hers, now trailing little nips down her neckline. Katara's body shuddered from the new sensation. Within the pit of her stomach, she felt a fiery burn of need grow in her. This must be what the other water spirits had described as "desire." It was either now, or never. She knew this was going to be her only chance with him, and she couldn't imagine being with anyone else.
"Wait," she said while holding his hands.
"Are you ok?" Zuko became paranoid that maybe he went too far, maybe she changed her mind.
He gave him a quick kiss of assurance.
"Yes, more than ok," she stroked his arm. "Remember this morning when I talked about... About how there are no males amongst my race?"
Zuko nodded his head, not connecting what she was getting at.
"And remember when I told you that sometimes water spirits find human partners..." She gave him heated look.
"Oh," was Zuko's response when he understood what she was hinting out.
"Yeah..." She fidgeted with her hair. "If you want to, I—I would like to try it with you."
Zuko's could feel his body temperature flair up. He would be lying if he said that he hadn't entertained the idea of being with Katara; she was after all, an ethereal creature with unmatched beauty.
"I—I wouldn't mind," Zuko kicked himself for that response. "I mean I would like to too, but is that even anatomically possible... For us to, you know?" He motioned between her tail and his legs.
She flashed him a mysterious smile, Zuko wasn't sure if it made him anxious or if it turned him on. She reached out and grabbed his forearms.
"Pick me up," she commanded.
Intrigued by what she might do, and too involved to stop, he heaved her into his arms. She ran her hand through his shaggy, wet hair and pecked his nose.
"I've never done this before," she warned, "but in theory, it should work."
"Do what?" He asked, hoping that whatever she was planning, she'd do soon because her tail made her heavier than a human girl.
She didn't reply him, instead, she began chanting in an unknown language. He almost dropped her when the scales on her tail began to glow brightly. The glow grew brighter and brighter until the light scattered away and disappeared, leaving a pair of legs in its wake. They both gasped at the product.
"I can't believe it worked!" She kissed the side of his face.
"I don't really know what just happened, but I can't believe it either!" He the returned a kiss onto her temple.
With confidence from her new legs, Katara latched her mouth onto Zuko's right earlobe. The prince's legs buckled from the tingle, and they crashed onto the floor. Katara wrapped her legs around his waist, and Zuko supported her body while she worked on taking his pants off. She loosened his pants enough for him to shimmy them off. She pushed Zuko until his back was pressed between her and the floor. His hands trailed from her hips and up her her body as she slid down his body, kissing every inch of the way down. When Katara got too close to the danger zone, Zuko pulled her back up for a long, intense kiss. They pulled a part, both panting heavily. He placed a sloppy kiss on the new scar on her belly and then on her eyebrow.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" He panted out.
"Yes," she had never been more sure in her life.
He smiled at her, she grinned at him, their mouths met again, and Zuko flipped them over to reverse their positions. Falling into each other, they made a brilliant connection.
Katara was part way back in the water, restoring her lost energy. She was still coming down from her euphoric high, trying to hold on to the feeling for as long as possible. Her tail flipped idly in the water, and her long her covered her bare breasts—her seashell cups lay forgotten somewhere in the cave. Zuko was sitting against a rock, his sketchbook resting on his leg. He had his pants back on, the ground where he sat was rough. His deft hand carefully sketched the mythical creature he, moments ago, became one with. She was bewitchingly beautiful, he wanted to do her justice in his drawing. Every muscle in his body felt relaxed, and any pain or stiffness he might have still had from his previous injuries, were long gone. He finished his basic sketch of the water spirit, then he went back in to add fine details to the scales on her tail. Katara sighed a content sigh.
"That was nice," she drastically understated.
"No moving," he told her. "I'll be done soon."
She closed her eyes, arched her back, and breathed in a satisfying amount of air.
"I like legs," she spoke again.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, they're fun."
"You can't swim nearly as well with them," he informed her.
"True, but you can't do that with a tail. And that was something else."
"You're right, I like you with legs too," that made her laugh. "Your tail is beautiful, though."
"Thanks," she waved it in the air.
When Zuko finished his charcoal drawing, he folded it up and tucked it into his tunic's pocket. He picked up and put on his undershirt which was soon followed by his tunic. He decided to forgo his drawing pad, knife, and boots. He sat down next to Katara, and she dumped her head onto his lap. Without thinking about it, his hand went to her hair to play with it. Though difficult to tell from within the safety of the cave, it was past four o' clock in the morning. Katara knew that her clan would be getting worried if they weren't already, and she knew she had to take him back soon. She unhappily sat up from his warm lap.
"I—I don't want this to be over, but I don't have a choice," she tried not to choke on her words, her throat threatened to close.
"I understand," he said quietly. "I wish we could have spent more time together."
There time together was almost at an end. If they could, they would have spent an eternity together; nevertheless, she was a creature of the water and he was a creature of the land. They could never be. They both seemed to share the same thoughts. She longingly looked into his eyes, every moment her mood dampened more and more. He read her mind through her eyes.
"This really is it," he stated.
She didn't say anything.
"I'm going to miss your attempts at drowning me," he said, trying to make her smile.
It worked, a small smile tugged at her lips.
"I'm going to miss beating you at our games."
"You mean the games that you make up that are overwhelmingly in your favor?" He asked.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," she teased.
There was another comfortable, sad silence as the two soaked in the other's company.
"I'm not going to remember you, will I?" His voice was hardly above a whisper.
"No," she quietly said, looking down, this time all of her earlier playfulness was gone.
Zuko stroked her hair. He held her chin in his hand, then he longingly kissed her. They both sighed, dispiritedly.
"I will remember for the both of us," she whispered into the crevice of his neck.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"So this is goodbye?" His voice broke.
"I think so," she wasn't ready to say goodbye. "Zuko," he looked at her, "I'm glad I met you."
She leaned upwards while pulling him down to her. She kissed him softly.
"Goodbye," she breathed into his ear while brining water-coated hands to the sides of his head.
He pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.
"Goodbye."
Zuko groggily woke up to the sound of birds cawing at anything and everything. His eyes blinked open, and the first thing he noticed was sand. Wearily sitting up, he took in his new surroundings, and saw that he was beached on a seashore. He had no memory of how he got there, so he assumed that the waves must have pushed him onto the shore after he was blasted off the ship. He thought that he had been badly injured from the battle, but after making a mental check list of his body parts, he couldn't find any wounds. The only thing off about his body was a sunburn that was developing from lying under the rays for too long.
"And then I got picked up by a small fishing boat, and they dropped me off at the nearest Fire Nation port," Zuko finished his story at the tavern.
He told them what had happened to him, or at least the parts he could vaguely remember which wasn't much. He remembered falling off the ship, hurt. Then he next day was a giant blur of random images of fish and crystals. He knew something had to have happened. His drunken story lasted less than ten minutes, and it looked like none of his buddies were buying it.
"Zuko," Chey hiccuped, "I think it's best you keep this story to yourself in the future. I don't Kwan to kick you off for madness."
The other two sailors laughed at Chey's crack, and Zuko joined in with them.
Discouraged and now doubting himself, a notion in his head made him think. Maybe the heat did get to him after lying in the sun for such a long time. He couldn't remember much at all, but every now and then, his body would have a relapse of how he felt during his forgotten day. Again, he wasn't sure if that was from the probable heat stroke, or if it was a fleeting sensation that really did happen.
Zuko woke up in his bad inside of the palace. He fidgeted with the silver chain around his neck. The way the light reflected against the blue crystal compelled Zuko to clutch it. He couldn't remember when or where he got the necklace, but he never took it off; for some reason, it was significant to him, but he didn't know why. Zuko suddenly remembered about his notebook full of drawings. He hurriedly ran to his closet. How could he have forgotten? He had no idea. It must have been the shock and alcohol that caused him to temporarily forget about it. He entered his walk-in closet, and began his frantic search. Zuko flipped the room upside down until he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled his tattered tunic out of his bag that he never unpacked from his time at sea. Inside his tunic's pocket, he pulled out a weathered sheet of paper that had once belonged in his sketchpad. With trembling fingers, he unfolded the damaged paper. Zuko nearly dropped it on the floor when he gasped out in surprise, his left hand was covering his opened mouth.
"I knew it," his voice was filled with wonderment. "I knew it."
He stared at his hand-drawn picture of the water spirit—she was in the crystal cave, part of her lower half was submerged in the water pool while her upper half leaned forward on the hard ground. In what he previously thought was a memory from a dream, he remembered that this was the cave where all of his wounds were magically healed. Though that part of his memory was still hazy, he couldn't help but feel that his injuries had been cured there. He couldn't recall her name, but that didn't matter because she was real. She was real! There she was, sketched on a piece of paper, just as she was in his fuzzy memories. He wanted to jump for joy, wait until he showed this to his buddies. He wanted to prove he wasn't crazy. The sailor was supposed to meet up with them again at the tavern that night, and he decided that he could bring the charcoal drawing with him. He folded the picture and stuffed it into his tunic's pocket. He was halfway out of his room when he suddenly stopped.
"Wait," he said to himself. "What are you doing, Zuko?"
He took her picture out again and unfolded it. She looked ethereal, unearthly. While looking at her, the Fire Nation young adult thought long and hard.
"What's the goal of proving she's real?" He asked himself. "Sure, everyone would stop calling me superstitious, but what would happen to her? To her kind?"
If the legends and folklore were true, that meant in the past, the water spirits were hunted for their mythical qualities. They were driven to near extinction. Now, Zuko was kicking himself for talking about her, and he prayed that no one else in the tavern had overheard his story. If he proved she was real or tried to search for her, all he could do is bring tragedy to her and the other water spirits. She saved him and trusted him enough to reveal herself, he couldn't lead a hunt to her. He was hit with a wave of sadness, now understanding that he could never see her again. For her own benefit, he couldn't see her.
"This is for her own good," he convinced himself.
He walked back into his room, and grabbed his packet of matches. He started a small fire in his fire place, the orange glow roared up and reflected in his eyes. He sighed dejectedly, gave her picture one last longing look, then he tossed it into the fire. The fire enveloped the paper, and in moments, any proof of the water spirit burned away forever.
I'm currently at the point where I'm wondering if I should leave it as a one shot, or add a multi-chapter sequel to it sometime in the future. What did you all think of it?