A/N *eesh! I'm so sorry this took so long...I've been swamped xP anyway, I'm halfway done with the next chapter =D (I think) so that should be up soon. For now, enjoy this chapter =D
Jasmine tugged with her teeth at the bonds around her wrists. She had been thrown into a small room with no windows, the walls, ceiling and floor made out of wood. It had been over an hour from her encounter with Pipsqueak and the tall blonde kid. Jasmine narrowed her eyes. Once she found away to get out of this wretched room she'll give that kid a good ol' ass kicking.
Jasmine flung herself across the room at the bolted door on the wall and battered the door with her fists. Deep laughter could be heard from the other side.
"You're not going to get out of there anytime soon, fire nation scum."
Jasmine gritted her teeth.
"For the last freaking time! I am NOT from the fire nation!"
The deep chuckle sounded again but the person said nothing. Jasmine groaned in frustration and gave the door one last defiant bang before slinking back into the corner.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Maria delivered a tray of tea to a waiting table, smiled sweetly to the customers and returned to the back of the tea shop. Mushi had given her a job as a barista at the Jasmine Dragon, though much to the grumbling of his scarred nephew. Lee had been giving her strange looks the past days, and Maria caught him staring at her twice. He would always blush and turn back to whatever it was he was doing. By now Maria had figured out most of the predicament she was in, though she was still confused as to how she got into Avatar: The Last Airbender anyway.
Mushi's nephew, 'Lee', was actually Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, trying to capture the Avatar but is undercover now in Ba Sing Se. Mushi was really the retired General Iroh traveling with his nephew, Prince Zuko.
But she still hadn't found Jasmine yet…
Maria let out a breathe and ran her fingers through her toffee hair. The whole ordeal was greatly astonishing at first, but Maria had grasped the idea and accepted it after a while. She had a plan to confront Lee later today and break the ice to him; Maria was definitely looking forward to his response, despite her nervousness.
Maria set another tray down in the sink and looked around her. The customers seemed satisfied for the moment, so she slunk into the back where Lee was washing a tea pot. Iroh wasn't around. Maria leaned against the doorway and folded her arms over her chest, waiting for Lee to comprehend her presence.
"What are you doing?" he asked softly after a few minutes.
"Oh, just watching you clean."
Lee snorted. "Couldn't find anything better to do?"
Maria said nothing for a few moments.
"I know who you are."
Lee abruptly stopped scrubbing the pot, but resumed after a while, though at a much slower pace.
"Of course you do. You've lived with us long enough."
Maria scoffed.
"Well who knew I'd ever live with Prince Zuko, son of Firelord Ozai and Ursa, and heir to the throne!" Maria waved her arms about in dramatic movements. The next thing she knew Zuko had pinned her against the wall.
"How did you find out?" he hissed, glaring at her. Maria shivered against the feel of his fist against her chest; even if it was through her shirt. Her eyes raced over his pale face, his gorgeous golden eyes, his scar…
"Well, at first it was just a theory, but you kind of confirmed it just now…"
Zuko's eyebrows shot up and then he released his grip on her and threw his hands in the air.
"Why am I so stupid?"
Maria laid a hand on his arm. "You're not stupid. You're one of the smartest people I know. Besides, I've kept so many secrets my entire life, what difference is it going to make to keep one more?" Zuko turned to her and his eyes searched her face, a yearning yet hopeful expression.
"Alright." He whispered.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
The wooden door banging open to her enclosure jerked Jasmine out of sleep. The boy with the grass in his mouth was standing there, his eyebrows furrowed as always. Jasmine wrinkled her nose at him, though not because of an odor.
"What do you want, twig boy?" she spat. The boy stepped in and slammed the door behind him. With two long strides he crossed the room and knelt in front of Jasmine, glaring at her—their faces thisclose.
"I want you to tell me everything you know about the closest Fire Nation raids."
Damn this boy infuriated her. She had nothing to do with the infamous Fire Nation. She didn't even know who this kid was!
Jasmine sighed.
"I swear to you twig boy, I have nothing to do with the Fire Nation."
She looked him square in the eye, put on her puppy dog face, and begged him silently to believe her.
"Not going to buy it, big eyes." The boy smirked. Jasmine groaned and kicked her foot out.
"This is getting really exasperating! It's not like you have any proof that I'm from the dang Fire Nation! I just want to go home! I don't even know where the fuck I am, let alone the Fire Nation!"
She looked pleadingly at the boy, the sincerest look she could muster on her face. The boy stood up.
"I guess your right. I'll let you go-out of this room. But you'll stay my prisoner." He looked her in the eyes. "Any slip ups, and your dead meat."
Jasmine grumbled.
"Fine. Could you please tell me who you are? Or would you rather me keep calling you 'Twig Boy'?"
Twig boy scowled and he called in a short little kid, about seven, and told him to untie her.
"This is The Duke. Don't underestimate him by his age."
When 'The Duke' had finished untying Jasmine, she stood up and strutted out the door and onto the deck, where she stopped abruptly and staggered in her place to keep from plummeting over the side of a short railing, down to certain demise. Jasmine took a few unsteady steps backward, and smacked into Twig Boy, who gave her an amused grin. Jasmine glared at him despite her pinking cheeks. She pushed herself off of him, gave him one last spiteful glare, and looked around her.
She was standing on a circular balcony surrounding the small hut that was her confinement. Rope bridges swung out from either side, and led to another hut, just like the one Jasmine was standing by, which led up around a tree to some more houses, which branched off to other buildings. Jasmine looked down. She could faintly see the gnarled roots of the great tree she was standing in on the ground. This entire structure was an enormous tree house.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
"Whew. That last rush of customers really wore me out," Maria stated as she placed one last tea tray in the sink.
"Tell me about it," Zuko replied, switching the 'open' sign to 'closed'. Iroh took his apron off and stretched.
"I don't know about you, but my aching bones are tired. How about you two go for a walk and get some sunshine while I go take a nap?" Maria hung up her apron.
"That doesn't sound half bad. You want to come, Zuko?"
"I guess I have some time." Zuko hung up his apron next to Maria's. "Bye Uncle."
The two teens left the Jasmine Dragon and walked in silence. When they reached a bridge that crossed over a small river, Maria jumped up onto the barrier and walked along it, her arms out for balance.
"What are you doing?" Zuko asked, his eyebrow raised. Maria rolled her eyes.
"Walking. Same thing I was doing five minutes ago." She quickly did a cartwheel and jumped off the barrier when they reached the end.
"You kind of remind me of someone back home," Zuko said. Maria raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Was she your girlfriend?" Zuko looked away.
"No. She was a friend of my sister—and of my old girlfriend. Her name was Ty Lee."
Maria was silent for a few seconds.
"Oh. That's…nice." She grinned mischievously and ran ahead, making rocket noises with her arms out—like a three year old pretending to be an airplane.
She kicked her shoes off and ran barefoot along the sandy beach of the nearby lake. Zuko face palmed.
"Do you always do this kind of stuff?" he asked, slightly amused. Maria stopped her ship noises to giggle and nod, and then continue. She ran towards Zuko and tackled him into the sand, making crash noises. Zuko looked slightly flustered for a few minutes, but then sat up and raised an eyebrow at Maria, who collapsed in a heap of laughter.
"Oh! You should have seen your face!" Maria wheezed between laughs. "You looked as in the world was falling on top of you!"
"In a way, it was," Zuko grumbled to himself, rubbing his elbow where he landed. Soon Maria ceased laughing and she lay in the sand, looking at the sky and sneaking glances at Zuko every one in a while. His hair had started to grow longer, and the hair in front fell lightly at the center of his forehead. Damn he was handsome.
"Why are you looking for the Avatar?" she asked. Zuko turned around, his eyebrow raised.
"For as long as you've stayed with us, I don't think I ever told you I was after the Avatar."
Maria bit her lip.
"Well, I saw you holding a picture of the Avatar's bison, and I heard about the crazy prince trying to capture the Avatar, so I put two and two together."
It seemed like a plausible answer, since she had fallen through a pit with only the information of what the TV-show had given her.
"You think I'm crazy?" Zuko's eyebrow was raised, and his face unreadable.
"No! I just meant that," she paused, searching for the right thing to say. "Some people think you're absolutely absurd."
"Oh."
Maria rubbed her forehead.
"Never mind. I know why. You spoke out of place in a meeting, and you're father challenged you to an agni-kai, and scarred you," Zuko reached up to his eye and rubbed the burnt flesh. "And banished you to capture the Avatar and you can't return until you have him, to 'regain your honor'" Maria made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "And that's why you're in Ba Sing Se in the first place."
Maria looked over at Zuko, whose mouth was hanging open and staring at her with disbelief.
"How did you know all that?" he whispered.
Maria gulped.
"Um…just a lucky guess?"
Zuko snapped his mouth shut, but still stared at her for a long time before turning away.
Maria dug her toes into the sand and looked out at the water, before sitting up and pulling her short, home-made, sky blue dress off, leaving her clothed only in her mini shorts, (despite her medium girly-ness, she still didn't like the feel of her thighs rubbing together under dresses or skirts), and bandages concealing only her breasts. Zuko turned to see what she was doing, and immediately his cheeks turned a bright red.
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed. Maria smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Going swimming, genius." She ran onto a nearby dock and dove into the crystal blue water, her head reappearing farther out. She disappeared again, and reappeared closer to the shore, and Zuko, who was sitting one the edge of the dock
"Come on," Maria pleaded, tugging at his hand. "It's not that cold."
Zuko touched the water with one finger and shivered.
"It's too cold for me."
Maria laughed.
"That's 'cause you're a fire bender. It's actually really warm." She looked pleadingly into his golden eyes.
"Swimming isn't really my thing."
"Well neither is making tea, but you do that anyway."
Zuko hesitated.
"Fine."
He stood up and took his shirt off and jumped in, sending a splash of water droplets towards Maria, who giggled. She swam over to him when he surfaced, and swept her arm across the surface of the water, sending a small wave into Zuko's face. Zuko staggered back and went under and pulled Maria with him. They resurfaced together, Maria laughing, and a small smile on Zuko's face. Maria had never seen him smile before.
When he smiled, his one eyebrow went up a little, giving him a sweet look, his eyes twinkled, and he had very tiny dimples.
Maria melted a little bit and slid her arms around his neck. Zuko gave her a questioning look, and Maria only smiled.
"You should smile more often, you look awfully cute."
Zuko blushed a deep pink and looked away. They were silent for a while, just standing in the water, Maria's arms around Zuko's neck, and his hands on her waist. Their head's were so close; Maria could feel Zuko's warm, pepper-minty breathe on her neck. Their noses and foreheads touched, and they both moved slightly in simultaneously. Their eyes fluttered closed, and their lips touched in a sweet, soft, tender kiss.
When they pulled apart, Zuko blushed again, and even Maria's cheeks were flushed. She looked away, too embarrassed to meet Zuko's gaze, and she quickly withdrew her arms from his neck.
"I'm…sorry…" she said, looking down into the water.
"Why?" Zuko asked, his usually coarse voice soft.
"Well, you're a prince and I'm…not really anything," Maria answered, gazing out past Zuko. "That's not supposed to happen." She pulled away from him, no longer up against his muscular chest. Zuko tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and pulled himself out of the water and onto the dock, and then helped Maria up next to him.
"We should probably be getting back," he said, pulling his shirt on, the softness gone from his voice. Maria nodded, pulling her blue dress over her head and tying the sash around her waist. She didn't put her shoes on however, and instead walked barefoot next to Zuko, neither of them saying anything. Before long they arrived at the bridge that Maria had walked along on the barriers. Zuko noticed something white out of the corner of his eye and turned to see what it was.
A Lily.
He bent to pick one, and he held it out to Maria, who felt her cheeks warming as she took it and twirled it in her fingers.
"Thanks," she said, only slightly audible. When they turned to continue walking, she grasped his hand, and Zuko pulled her closer to him so that their arms were touching. They arrived at their apartment just as Iroh was getting up. He saw their hands clasped together and grinned, a knowing expression on his face.
"Did something else happen during you're walk?" Maria's cheeks tinged a little and Zuko made a coughing sound in his throat.
"Maybe," was all he said, and he gave Maria's hand a slight squeeze before letting go and going upstairs. Iroh raised his eyebrows at Maria, who just smiled and twirled the flower in her hand.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
"You built this?" Jasmine asked, turning to twig boy, who nodded, a smirk on his face. Jasmine stuck her tongue out at him and turned when she noticed three people approaching them. Twig boy grinned.
"As for your introductions, I'm Jet, and these are my freedom fighters. Pipsqueak," he paused, pointing to the elephant man that had carried her in the sack. "Whom you've met already. Longshot," he pointed to the tall lanky guy with the triangle hat and the bow. "He's a mute, so don't try to get any information out of him. Smellerbee," he pointed to the mushroom top boy that Jasmine had seen earlier. "She's a girl."
Whoops.
The mushroom top girl.
"And you've already met The Duke," Jet finished, turning back to Jasmine. "Now you know us, but we don't know you."
Jasmine crossed her arms.
"I'm Jasmine."
Jet nodded.
"Well nice to meet you, Jasmine. Where are you from?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.
Jasmine sighed.
"A long ways away, that's for sure. Mind telling me where we are?"
Jet waved the others away and started for a rope bridge, motioning Jasmine to follow him.
"The heart of the Minstrel Forest. The Fire Nation haven't found us yet, and with our expertise, they probably never will." He chewed on the end of the grass stuck in his mouth. Jasmine squinted at him.
"Do you mind telling be about this…Fire Nation?"
Jet turned his head to her with an odd look.
"You don't know about the Fire Nation?"
Jasmine blushed.
"Well, I'm not technically from around here, so I don't know about most of the happenings."
Jet sighed.
"There are four nations: Water Tribes, Fire Nation, Earth Kingdoms, and Air Nomads. Some of the people in the Water Tribes can bend the energy and atom structure in water, to control it to their will. Same with the other Nations. Fire Nation bends fire, Earth kingdoms bend rock, and Air Nomads bend air. Only the Avatar can bend all four elements, and there is only one in existence at a time. The current one actually came by here recently with a Water Tribe girl and her non-bending brother."
Jasmine nodded, taking it all in.
"Oh, I see. What's so bad about the Fire Nation?"
Jet frowned.
"The Fire Lord is a corrupt, crooked man who needs to go down. He's trying to expand the Fire Nation and take over the others. He caused the war and has taken millions of lives and abusing his power. He even scarred his own son and banished him to capture the Avatar before he could return home."
Jasmine listened intently, wide eyed, but not from what Jet was saying. This was exactly like a show that played on TV…Avatar: The last Airbender.
"Wait so your, how old, and living in a gigantic tree house, by yourself, wanted by the Fire Nation, and nobody to take care of you?"
Jet stopped walking, keeping his gaze strait ahead.
"I'm seventeen." He turned his head away. "And the Fire Nation killed my parents."
Jasmine felt her heart melt a little when he said this. She laid a gentle hand on his arm.
"Oh…I'm sorry. I'm sixteen. I lost my mother when I was little. She was a…" Jasmine was going to say flight attendant, but planes hadn't been invented in this world yet so she racked her brain to think of something else. "Traveling agent. There was a fire and…" she stopped, feeling tears spring up in the corners of her eyes. Jet turned to her, his eyes gentle and that vicious spark dulled.
"I'm sorry."