The Ocean Princess and the Dragon Prince
Zutara Month, Dec 1 2015, Secret Lovers
By Sonja Schreiber (aka A Different Cup of Zutara)
"Zuko, tell me a story." The Fire Lord's wife requests of him as she lies in bed. He looks at down at her as he puts down his scroll, surprised. He is not renowned for his imagination.
"What do you mean; a bedtime fairy-tale or something?"
"Yeah, and it has to be romantic," she requests. He wants deny her, but he can't. All she has to do is look up at him with those big, sleepy, blue eyes, and he melts.
"Ok. Um. Sure. Romantic." He wracks his brain. He has never taken her to Love Amongst the Dragons. He'll just steal that story, and she'll never know. Problem solved.
"Once upon a time there were a prince and princess…"
"Zuko and Katara!"
"Sure: Zuko and Katara. Zuko was prince of the fire nation, and his father was a dragon."
"What?" his wife interjects,"That doesn't make sense. Was Zuko a dragon?"
"No, silence. It's my story. Katara was princess of the water tribe, and her mother was a dragon, too."
"No. We don't have dragons. Katara's mother was a ... Killer Dolphin whale!"
He sighs, realizing that the more plot she contributes, the less he'll be able to steal from his hated childhood play. He bravely continues on, "Ok, Katara's mother was the Killer Dolphin whale of the water tribe.
"Katara loved the water and one day, as she was roaming the ocean on her ice skiff, she came across a tiny island with a fiery volcano. Being naturally curious, the princess went to go see this island up close. There, she spotted the prince as he played with a volcano."
"That sounds dangerous," the real Katara states, her eyes wide as she imagines the scene.
"It was, but the prince was a very good fire bender, and was able to control the temperature of the lava near him so he never got hurt."
"If you say so."
"I do. The prince loved watching as the lava flowed into the ocean, seeing the cold water consume the lava, turning it back to rock. Seeing the prince so enthralled by the water, she decided to introduce herself most memorably. The princess, who happened to be an accomplished waterbender, summoned a towering wave of ocean water over his head, and held it there. The prince was very impressed."
"Good."
"I thought you'd like that. At first, the two benders hardly spoke, but met often, demonstrating their skills at bending. They even learned to work together, combining their elements into something even more powerful: boiling water, steam, and even explosions."
"Did they keep meeting on the volcano island? Because that sounds too dangerous."
Zuko sighs at this nitpicking of his story that he's making up for her. "No. They met in a nice, safe, volcano free meadow by the seaside where the temperature was always perfect."
"Oh, good."
"Can I continue with my story now?"
"Yes," she proclaims reluctantly, "proceed."
"Thank you. The two friends continued to meet until one day they realized they had fallen in love."
"Oh, I like this story!"
"However," Katara gasps in anticipation, "they had to keep their love a secret. See Zuko's father, the Dragon King, did not want his son to marry someone outside of the Fire Nation. In fact, he was to marry someone of dragon heritage so that one day, when Zuko became Dragon King himself, he could have a dragon heir. As a dragon, Zuko would live hundreds of years. As a human with a human child, though, he would die very young in the Dragon King's eyes. Katara's mother…"
"The killer Dolphin whale!" his wife reminds him.
"The killer Dolphin whale, wanted her daughter to marry someone of the Ocean Tribe."
"I thought you said Water Tribe?"
"I changed it to Ocean Tribe. It's my story, I can change it.
"Katara's mother knew what a powerful bender her daughter was, and didn't want her loyalties to lay outside the ocean tribe, and be tempted to use her powers against her own people."
"Katara would never do that!" Real Katara exclaims.
"Her mother is paranoid."
"Don't talk about my mother that way!"
"She's not your mother! It's a story. You picked the names!"
Katara grunts in resignation, but continues to listen.
"After meeting together on safe, non-volcano islands for many weeks, the prince and princess got married. It became harder and harder to keep their love a secret though, because they had to go home frequently to keep up the charade, but they also wanted to be together as much as possible. They decided, so that it would be more bearable to be apart, to trade hearts, so that they could keep a little of the other with them at all times."
"They literally traded hearts? That's disgusting. And, impossible" the peanut gallery interrupted.
"It's Romantic; with a capital R. And it's still my fairy tale.
"One day, while Katara was at home, her mother noticed that her daughter was behaving even more secretive than normal, and eventually Katara had to tell her the truth: She was pregnant.
"Katara's mother, the giant Killer Dolphin whale, became very angry. Though Katara was very frightened, it was Zuko that felt the pace of her heart quicken as it almost escaped from his chest. Realizing that his Love may be in danger, he flew to the Ocean tribe
"He flew? How did he fly?" his rapt audience inquires.
"He's half dragon. Or, mostly dragon and he has wings or something."
"That seems important enough you should have mentioned it earlier."
"Anyway...when he got to the North Pole the whale ate both of them. The end. Good night." The Fire Lord moves from his sitting, narration position to lie in bed and starts to extinguish the candles in their bed chamber with a flick of his hand.
"Nononono!" his contrite wife pleads, "Keep going. I'll stop analyzing."
Zuko rolls over to face his wife, and continues his story.
"Zuko flew to the North Pole and approached the whale. He told her the truth about his love for her daughter and apologized for keeping it a secret. The Killer Dolphin Whale loved her daughter very much and could see the love the young couple had for each other. She forgave them under two conditions: They had to vow never to use Katara's bending against the ocean tribes, and that they were to live near the ocean so that grandma whale could visit her grandchild.
"The couple agreed and moved into a cottage near the ocean. After many years..."
"Wait! What about dragon dad? Wasn't he mad?"
"Zuko told his father everything, too. However, the Dragon King did not respond as forgivingly as Katara's mother. He was furious. He did not want his son to die young or to leave the fire nation without an heir. But Zuko did not want the throne if it meant giving up Katara."
"Awww. That's sweet."
"No, it's a cliché plot device. Let me keep telling the story.
"So the prince did not tell his father where he and his new bride moved to. Zuko and Katara spent many years together. They stayed in love, and though they were together, they kept the other's heart in their chests..."
"Still gross, by the way."
"...and when their hair was starting to gray, their daughter decided she wanted to explore the world on her own. So their daughter whose name was..." The story teller pauses here, this time wanting his audience to interrupt his story.
"Zona!" Real Katara happily supplies.
"Zona was given this warning by her parents: Do NOT seek out the Dragon King, and if she were to meet him, she was not to tell him who she was. See, they were afraid that he would become angry and hurt her.
"So Zona traveled the world, learning different cultures and ways of life, and making friends in the Earth Kingdom, the Air Temples, the Ocean Tribes, and eventually, in the Fire Nation.
"As she roamed the Fire Nation, she came across an old man in the middle of a field. Though he dressed as a farmer, he held himself quite regally. Curiosity got the better of her, and she approached him.
"The man introduced himself as farmer Iazo. They talked as they walked together and eventually, Zona, a naturally open and friendly person, told the farmer all about herself and her family.
"Suddenly, the farmer transformed into a dragon!"
"I knew it!" His wife exclaims.
"Yes, you're very smart, now be quiet or the dragon will eat their daughter.
"Zona, realizing that she had been tricked, decided not to run, but faced the dragon, her grandfather, head on. Part dragon herself, and daughter of the greatest water bending master of all time," Real Katara smiles proudly at this, "she did not frighten as easily as other people.
"It therefore took her completely by surprise when the dragon began to cry. See, King Iazo missed his son, and was very glad to see his granddaughter for the first time. He told her that he had become very old and was dying, and before parting this world for the next, he wanted to see Zuko one last time.
"Zona climbed on his back and guided him to her parents' cottage. They arrived late at night while Katara was at the beach bending her element in the light of the full moon. Seeing the dragon nearing with her daughter on his back, her heart leaped with fear. Though, her heart being in her husband's chest, he awoke and came running. His saw their greatest fear realized.
"To their surprise, the king landed softly to the ground, and let their daughter off to greet them. The king lowered his weeping eyes in humble respect, and, transforming to a human one last time, embraced his son."
Real Zuko pauses for a moment, his eyes far away.
"The end."
"That can't be how it ends!" Katara explodes, white knuckling her blanket over her face.
"It's my fairy tale," His voice a calm juxtaposition to her anxious behavior.
"But what happens to the king? Does Zuko become a dragon king? Does he stay human and die?" Her face is now peaking from under her blanket, her eyes heavy with concern for Zuko's imaginary family.
The Fire Lord smiles at this, "Maybe I'll make up more another night."
Instead of looking appeased, a tear rolls down Katara's face. She gently touches her husband's face.
"I'm sorry your dad is a bad person."
"Me, too." He admits.
"I'm glad fairy tale Zuko made up with his dad in your story." The Fire Lady embraces her husband, touching her forehead to his.
"Me, too." He admits.