A/N: Sorry guys, but I've left you for another week and I feel so bad. So I'm just going to tell you straight out as to why I'm so late with updating. As you know, I was in Italy and we found out that my brother got a concussion when we were gone...it's a long story, but either way, he has a concussion and there's nothing I can do about it. He's suffereing from slight depression and some anxiety which is why he has to be around me, or others, all the time. Basicially what I'm saying is that I have no privacy while I write which explains my delay on this chapter. My other story "1000 Words" has been put on hold for the mean time...at least until things get better for my brother. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Disclaimer: ...

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Chapter 9: Real...or not?

Subconsciously I felt my body become colder as the night pressed on, but warmth soon came upon me. The chill I felt on my shoulder was gone and I felt I needed to be awakened but my mind was thinking otherwise. I was still stuck in my dreamland and I couldn't escape.

There were pirates. I remembered those pirates from earlier in my journey with Aang and Sokka, but I had never thought that they would appear again. I had selfishly stolen a Waterbending scroll and I paid the price. But this time…it was different. Things didn't happen exactly as I remembered.

The events of me stealing the scroll and making it back to the area with the lush waterfall were blurred and before I knew it, my mind was taking me straight to a different event. I had gone to the river to practice the water-whip…I didn't want to be compared to Aang. He had tried to little yet he mastered everything within seconds. While I, on the other hand, had practiced Waterbending ever since I was little yet I still struggled in the simplest of moves. I was failing but I wanted to prove everything wrong.

I couldn't decide if my mind was just playing tricks on me, and if this really was a dream. Everything was going differently. After my practice at the river I was supposed to make my way back to the camp where my brother would find me and punish me for breaking my promise of not using the scroll anymore. But in my dream, I didn't happen like that. No, I was ambushed by the pirates from the market. Before I knew, I was lashing some water in this burly man's face and I was in the arms of a shadowed figure.

"I'll save you from the pirates."

The sound of this voice was all too familiar, yet I failed to identify who the person was. This person was consumed by the shadows, and even though he was unwillingly dragging me into the moonlit rays of the night, his face was still concealed. His grip was strong but not strong enough to leave bruises on my tiny wrists.

Just a few steps ahead of me, I saw a whole army of Fire Nation soldiers and the pirates I had run into earlier that day. The shadowed many brought me up to a tree and bound my hands behind me so I would escape. I looked down at my feet, fearing for my life, my brother's and Aang's and cursing the stupidity of my selfish side.

I brought my head up, and the person in front of me was still an enigma. All I saw was the fiery stare within his eyes as he barked words at me. They went right through me and all I managed to say was for him to jump in the river. Wow, that was smooth of me.

From what I could tell by the outline of their body, it was a teenage boy. He was covered in Fire Nation armor that hugged his body in such a way, that it made me intimidated. Regardless, he continued to step forward, the vision of his face still consumed by darkness.

He was only a few feet away from me, when he made his way around me and then to the left of me. dipping his head down to my ear, I felt his warm breath swarm over the surface of my ear as he whispered something ever so slyly, telling of his lost honor. Then, my mother's betrothal necklace hung in front of me, while two strong hands held onto opposite ends. I still couldn't see his face, but his constant warm breath breathed down my neck, sending chills to unknown places. I was afraid, yet intrigued by the teenager who was interrogating me.

I watched as the necklace flew gracefully into the air while one end was still grasped tightly by my interrogator. I snapped back at him, but instantly stopped as he turned around.

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"Zuko…?" came a raspy voice from the waterbender. "What are you doing?" she asked again, this time looking into his eyes.

"Nothing," he responded blankly.

"You must have been by my side for some reason," she simply pointed out while slowly lifting herself from the ground. "You know, I'm not used to mysterious guys coming up to me early in the morning and covering me up with my sleeping bag," she laughed.

He didn't respond. He merely looked away from her at the weak, but dancing flames of their so-called fire. His body was turned away from him, but he felt her come closer to him. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she wrapped part of her sleep back onto her shoulders and not too long after, she took a stick to start poking the fire with.

"You know, I had a dream about you."

No response.

"It was quite weird actually. I was practicing my Waterbending with this stolen scroll and then was ambushed by the pirates who I had stolen it from and…you."

She turned to him but he still refused to respond. While she was talking he had also take a hold of a smaller piece of kindling, and started poking at the fire. The chilly morning air came sweeping through as she shivered again, but noted that he didn't even flinch to the sharp ways of the wind. She smiled and continued on.

"But I guess what really caught me by surprise was the fact that you had my necklace. To tell you the truth, I really had lost my necklace but…that's a different story."

She smiled again, still half asleep. She waited for the Prince to respond to her words but an eternity passed and the silence only grew more awkward. All she could hear was the crackling of the wet firewood and the occasional cricket here and there.

The wind picked up again and the young waterbender clutched the sides of her sleeping back to concentrate on warming herself. But it seemed as if no matter what she did, the cold wind continued to pierce through every layer she possessed.

"How do you do it?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"How do I do what?" he finally responded, a little hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Keep warm…even though I'm sitting by the fire, I still manage to shiver and you're just sitting there as if the wind doesn't even exist."

"The cold doesn't bother me. Since I'm a firebender, my body automatically keeps itself warm when the climate around me is cold. Being from the watertribe, I had thought that you would be used to the cold."

Was that almost a compliment?

"You would think. But this is a different kind of cold. Back home the air is dry, but here…right now, the air is full of moisture and it really doesn't help the situation," she pointed out, bending small amounts of moisture out of her clothing.

Silence fell upon them again.

"Don't you think it's weird I had a dream about you?" she whispered, her head to the ground.

"…"

"I mean, I just met you yet I'm already dreaming about you. And it was weird too…I almost felt that…it was real."

He cringed to her words, regretting that he had toyed with her. "Maybe it was real."

"Maybe…after all, dreams can seem real," she responded, with a small laugh trailing at the end. "Anyway, I'm sorry about earlier. I really shouldn't have talked to you like that. It's wrong for me to judge someone, especially if I don't know them."

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I tried so hard to hate him, but I just couldn't. Something held me back, and that didn't include Gran-Gran's tiny voice inside of me, telling me to trust him. He had this amazing aura around him.

I tugged at the hem of my dress, twirling the fabric through my fingertips while staring into the flames. The wind caused the fire to dance an eternal dance and I was hypnotized. Never before, had I noticed how graceful the element of fire could be. Growing up, I had always feared its presence and was told of the horrible stories of the turmoil it caused for many innocent families. I didn't want forgive it. But for some strange reason, sitting next to this mysterious teenager, I felt safe for the first time in years. Sure, I had felt safe with Aang and Sokka around but this was different. I felt…protected.

The morning was still early, and would be hours before the rising sun would come and wake the world around me. I yearned so much for its warmth, but all I had was small fire, which was slowly dying and the young firebender next to me. Without even thinking, I scooted closer to him, wanting to feel the warmth his body was giving off.

My right arm touched his left arm and I felt the most amazing surge of power. I had never felt something like this before. It felt like a jolt of lighting searching throughout my body and the sensation was indescribable. I didn't know how to react. All I knew was that he didn't respond to my movements. He just sat there, letting me lean against his strong frame.

Leaning my head against his shoulder, my eyes began to droop…I was so tired and I was trying so hard to stay awake but I just couldn't.

My body had lulled itself to sleep by the sound of the crackling of the fire, to the smell of the ashes of his clothing, and to his warmth.

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A/N: There you guys have it and I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are much appreciated as always!