Author's Note - So this is my first Avatar story, it's between my OC, Xue (Snow in Chinese) who is a northern water tribe warrior and Zuko. This story was inspired by the song "Davy Jones Music Box" from Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I do not own Avatar, or the Pirates Song. I only own Xue. :D Review if you will, Peace bitches.
She felt fish gently nibble at her toes in the water, but Xue gave no notice to them. Usually they brought her happiness but now she didn't care, she merely kept her gaze on the necklace she held in her hands. It had been so many years since that painful, painful day.
She felt tears run down her face, but she didn't care. She was stuck in a place she did not want to be.
She hated the Fire Nation. Every last one of them, yet, Zuko...
Xue paused when she thought of him.
The first time she had met him, she tried to kill him. She despised all Fire Nation people. Against their Lords leadership or not. They had taken two very precious things from her and she would not forgive them. Forgiveness be damned!
But the more she traveled with him, the more she stayed with him, felt his warmth, his gentle hands, felt his pain, she began to think maybe. Maybe I could forgive just one.
She had fallen in love with the Fire Nation Prince. Half of her heart said to love him. Half of her heart said take your revenge for what they did.
She knew Zuko had nothing to do with what had happened. When her mother was murdered he was probably only a few years older than her. She was about 7 when she died, he was probably only ten. But just the fact that he was Fire Nation got to her.
She looked up to the moon.
Her lips opened and her voice was cracked and broken, "Yue. What do I do? I love him, but the Fire Nation took my family from me." Xue felt more tears run down her face as she openly said the the words, instead of normally hearing them in her thoughts.
She truly did love Fire Nation Prince Zuko.
Her dark brown hair fell around her face as she looked down. Her cerulean blue eyes looked into the water and she wished she hadn't.
She felt her heart tighten as if someone had wrapped a thick chain around it. There in her reflection were those gorgeous golden eyes she had come to love.
She couldn't stop herself from whispering "Zuko." She wanted to laugh at how pathetic she sounded.
She saw the look in his eyes. Pain.
"Do you hate me so much Xue?" Zuko asked softly. Xue held the neck to her chest and stood up, now standing the water went to the middle of her leg instead of just covering her feet. She turned to look at him.
He had let his hair grow out and it came to his shoulders now. He didn't have his hair up so his bangs were in his eyes and he looked very domineering like that.
"I don't hate you Zuko. I hate the Fire Nation." Xue said softly. looking back down to the water to see their reflections.
"But I am Fire Nation, Xue. I am the prince." Zuko said, as he sat on the rock where she previously sat.
"I know." She snapped harshly and realized what she did, she didn't look at him, but merely turned to her back to him. She did not want him to see her tears.
"I'm sorry. It's just that, the Fire Nation took every thing I loved. Took everything I held dear. I was seven years old when I watched them kill her. There was nothing I could do. I was eleven years old when I saw them kill him. I ran to him, to fight, but people stopped me. I lost them both!" Xue felt pain engulf her body and with a loud sob, fell to her knees in the water, her tears flowed like the creek she was in and as soon as she hit the water and her body swayed to fall to her side, she felt something wrap around her waist.
She felt herself get picked up out of the water, and she felt heat a few moments later, she cried and grabbed the cloth beneath her fingers. She felt a hand rub her back, she felt his breath against her ear.
After a while she stopped crying and it sooned turned to whimpers.
"I'm sorry my presence has brought you this much pain. Maybe I should leave. And travel on my own." His voice was husky but so gently.
Xue's breath hitched and the thought of him leaving killed her soul.
"NO!" Xue screamed and clung to him, tears slid down her face once more, "Don't leave Zuko. Don't leave me."
"Xue, you hate me because of what they've done to you." Zuko whispered once more, as if trying not to frighten her.
Xue gripped him tighter "Damnit Zuko I don't want you to leave! I knew I would have to overcome this one day, I just." Xue sighed and pulled back from him and she saw his hand move, and she felt the tears being wiped away. Zuko's golden eyes filled with pain and the wind blew his hair in his face.
Xue moved her hand to brush his hair out of his face behind his ear "I just didn't think, that I would have to overcome my vegence with falling in love with a firebender, let alone the Fire Nation Prince."
Zuko gently grabbed her hand and layed a gentle kiss on it.
"My father, took my mother from me to." Zuko said softly. Xue blinked "Your mother was the Fire Lady thought."
Zuko gave a weak smile, "That did not stop my father. I know I can only feel some of your pain. But if you will let me. I will show you that i'm not bad like them."
Xue nodded and leaned against Zuko's chest, she felt his arms around her waist tighten and she gently looked up to the moon.
"I think Yue answered my question." Xue whispered.
Zuko gave a small chuckle "Why do you think that?"
"I asked her what do I do. And you show up." Xue said knowing it sounded silly to him.
"Me showing up doesn't tell you what to do about you... Hatred." He whispered the last part softly.
Xue pushed herself up from his chest and looked at him. Zuko thought he had done something wrong. But Xue leaned foreward and placed a gently kiss on his lips.
"Maybe she's telling me that I need to blame the right person, instead of everyone who's apart of the Fire Nation. I mean if they don't take orders then they most likely die, right?" Xue asked.
Zuko flinched slightly, "Well under my father and grand fathers rule, yes they would die if the did not follow orders."
Xue nodded, "They have families to. And their looking out for them, and wanting to see them another day. As much as i'd like to say that's selfish. I would do the same thing."
"So you will learn to forgive?" Zuko wondered aloud curiously.
Xue pondered this for a moment as she looked at the moon, "I will learn to forgive. I see now that I shouldn't hate you for something your father did. I should hate your father for what he did. And I do hate him. I despise, loathe him. He is a man who should be shown no forgivness."
Zuko nodded, Xue looked at him, "Zuko."
"Yes, Xue?"
"Can you forgive me for judging you wrongly?"
Zuko's eyes softened as he looked at the woman in his arms.
"Xue, I forgive you, as long as you really do love me."
"I do love you Zuko." Xue whispered as he kissed her once more.
"We should head back to camp before they come looking for us." Zuko whispered. Xue nooded and stood from her seat on Zuko's lap. As he stood, he reached out and took Xue's hand. She looked down and then at him, he smiled softly and she blushed and they walked back to camp hand in hand.
As Xue layed in her sleeping bag she looked at Zuko sleeping soudly beside her, and then back to the moon.
Her heart did not feel so heavy. Her heart did not feel as if it were filled with nothing but vegence. She, for once in her life, felt at peace.
She looked at Zuko once more and decided, to be truly happy she needed to forgive.
She needed to stop blamimg people for the wrong mistakes.
She would love Zuko, as no woman had loved before.
And most of all she would forgive him.