I figured I should start posting disclaimers, so here it is –

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Avatar, Mai would be history! Zuko would be madly in love with Julie (whichever name – as you can see I made changes) and that would be that :)

Julie and Iroh were dragged into a tank and then transferred into a prison cell of a Fire Navy ship. After a few tense moments, Iroh spoke.

"So you knew my nephew?"

Julie looked out the bars of the cell. "Yes. I knew your nephew."

Iroh watched as she pulled out a beautiful necklace. It was a carved red stone hanging from a thin golden chain. She looked into the distance, as if remembering something from the past. "I knew your nephew. And I was going to marry him." Iroh gasped. He had never known. Zuko had never mentioned this girl to him. He had been planning to marry her and he hadn't breathed a word. Ever.

Julie clutched the beautiful necklace in her hand. It was carved with two tiny dragons curling around the Fire Nation symbol. After Zuko left, she wore it every day to remember him. She had always fallen asleep fingering it, and she promised herself that someday, somehow, he would come back for her. But now, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to be with him.

After at least a few days of sailing, Julie was sick to her stomach. They had only been given moldy bread and dirty water to eat and drink for the past few meals and she was hungry. Most of all, she was afraid of what would happen when they got to the Fire Nation.

One day, she just had to ask Iroh about it. "What do you think will happen when we reach the Fire Nation?" Iroh was busy eating his lump of bread, but he replied around it. "We'll both be thrown into The Dragon's Gate Prison. It's carved into the side of a mountain, and one of the highest security prisons you will find in the Fire Nation."

Julie looked out between the bars, wishing that all of this had never happened. That Zuko had never been banished, never committed the horrible crimes that he had for the past few years. That there was no war. That the world would be at peace with itself. She felt so confused, and so betrayed. So hurt, angry, and just so sad. She wanted to be with her mother again, and she wanted somebody to love her. She wanted to have somebody to love, too.

That night, Julie looked up at the ceiling while Iroh snored away. She thought about the day when Zuko gave her Takeshi, her dragon-snake. It had been a cold wintery day...

Julie stood in the garden on the roof of her house, overlooking Flying Dragon Street. The wind bite at her shoulders, but she was still happy. She was always happy when she saw Zuko. But today, he was late.

It seemed like hours after she saw his tall figure in the street. He wore a dark red cloak, and when he looked at her, the wind stopped blowing. In a few seconds, he was climbing onto the garden. His honey-colored eyes glittered with excitement. "I brought something for you," he whispered, taking something out from underneath his robe. "His name is Takeshi." When he opened his hands, Julie saw the most beautiful creature in the world. It was a tiny red snake with wings, curled up in Zuko's palm. The little snake blinked and snorted and small wisps of smoke curled up from his nose. He unfurled his wings and stood there, blinking at her.

Zuko broke the silence - "I hope you like him. He's a dragon-snake." Julie looked up at him. "I love him." she replied, and pulled him into a kiss.

Takeshi - it meant warrior, and soon the little dragon-snake became a fierce fighter. But to Julie, he would always be the beautiful little creature she had seen five years ago on that wintery day.

Julie blinked and sat up. She wanted to be back there. Back to the place she knew. Where she was still loved.

She remembered that warm feeling that spread through her body when their lips met. He made the wind stop. But here, in her cold metal cell, there was no warm feeling. She was so alone. Touching the sash at her waist, she took a deep breath and slipped it off. She raised it to her mouth and breathed fire onto it, curling the red tendrils around and around the sash. After murmuring a few words, the sash changed shape. It was a little red and gold snake - Takeshi. He yawned and stretched his wings, nuzzling Julie. She smiled for the first time since she was imprisoned and stroked his head.

"I missed you." she said.

Takeshi raised his wings and with one swoop, landed on Julie's shoulder. He curled himself snugly around her neck and promptly fell asleep, his warm scales making the cold night comfortable again. Julie smiled and looked off into the distance.

Soon she fell into a fitful sleep filled with memories of the past.

On the deck of the ship, Zuko stood looking out across the waves that crashed against the metal hull of the ship. The moon shined down, turning black waves into silver puddles. In four days, they would be arriving back at the Fire Nation port. And he would be welcomed as a hero. But did he really want to? He thought about Julie, stick in the prison cells below deck. Was she thinking about him? Probably not. She didn't care about him anymore. But try as he might, Zuko could not stop thinking about her.

There were footsteps behind him. It was Mai. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked, in her normal monotone. It was so different from Julie's ringing voice. He missed that voice, and wondered if she would ever speak to him again. "Zuko?" Mai asked, when he didn't reply. "Are you okay?"

Zuko looked away. "I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long. Over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed."

His girlfriend frowned. "I just asked you if you were cold. I didn't ask for your whole life story." She smiled and turned his face towards her, but Zuko pulled away. "I can't, Mai. It's too confusing."

They stood there looking at the ocean for a while, until Zuko turned around.

"Goodnight, Mai." he said, and walked down to his room.

It was so different from the Fire Navy ship he had been living in for the past three years. Azula's ship was bigger, and more lavishly decorated. Suited for the princess, though Azula couldn't care less about how the rooms looked.

Zuko pushed open the door to his room. It was big, and filled with red and gold tapestries. A shallow trench ringed the room, filled with fire. There was a large bed in one corner, covered with silk sheets. The prince fell onto the bed. It was late already, but his mind couldn't stop running. He tossed and turned.

Somewhere in the early morning, he woke up, his chest heaving, sweat dripping down his forehead. He had one of those old nightmares. Where he watched, unable to move as his mother pleaded for his help. She was sucked down the dark hallway, and he heard his father's booming voice. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher. Zuko saw a burst of fire, and then a stinging pain on the left side of his face, like red hot needles plunging into his skin. Soon, there was darkness.

Back in his room, he looked around. Instinctively touching the ruined skin around his left eye, he groaned and lay down again. There was no way he would fall asleep now.

Like it? REVIEW! I'm not a mind reader so I don't know what you're thinking, though I am pretty psychic. Anyone else have dreams that tell the future? You see, I once had this dream that my fish died, and then a few days later, it died. I freaked out. POOR FISHY!

RIP David Fish, I will always remember you.

REVIEW!