Zuko wasn't someone to give in to his exhaustion, but that night he was grateful that he could lay down his head. He had a terrible headache. While massaging his temples with two fingers, he recalled the events of the day. The fight on deck, the storm, the helmsman, Elyrie's kind smile…
He sighed and turned on his side, away from the Fire Nation flag. As if today had not been hard enough, his head had been overflowing with memories. He had locked himself in his room to meditate for most of the day, but he couldn't clear his mind. Since Elyrie had arrived on the ship, it seemed the past had come back to haunt him with a vengeance and he feared that his nightmares would come back.
His mother, lost and alone. His father, disowning him and banishing him. His sister, taunting him. "Dad's gonna kill you'.
He closed his eyes and silently prayed for another peaceful night, like the night before. He remembered Elyrie's lullaby, hoping it would hold back the nightmares. He was mistaken.
The dark figure moving towards him as he fell to his knees. Begging again for mercy. "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko." A cold voice. Zuko felt his tears flowing. "I won't fight you", he heard himself answer again.
"Zuko!" he heard a feminine voice call from far away. She appeared in front of him, facing him while her back was turned to his fathers approaching silhouette. She looked younger, like she was sixteen again. Her cheeks rounder, her hair down. Crying sapphire eyes.
"Get away!" he yelled to her, but she did not move. She kept looking at him and reached to touch his face. He panicked, wanting to get her out of harms way.
"You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher.", he heard his father say while aiming his flaming fist at Elyrie's back.
"No!" he screamed in agony. "Zuko!" he heard her yell again when his father aimed his fire at her. She cried his name again before falling down.
"Zuko! Zuko, wake up!" he heard her voice call him. He turned his head around, but felt hands on his face. A pale face came into his view, blue eyes large with worry.
"Wake up!" she said while shaking his shoulders. In a reflex, he grabbed her and pulled her against his chest. Protectively, he curled his arms around her, feeling her warmth against his body. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing.
Elyrie yelped in surprise when Zuko pulled her down and placed his arms around her. She was surprised at his fervent reaction and was not sure how to react. With her head on his chest, she heard his beating heart and heavy breathing. She did not move and waited until his breathing steadied. She had walked past his room when she had trouble sleeping herself a few minutes earlier. The rain had stopped and she wanted a bit of fresh air, so she made her way towards the deck. But when she passed his room, she heard stifled cries and heavy breathing. She only hesitated for a moment before she entered his room.
He had been trashing in his bed, wildly moving his arms from side to side. She had knelt beside him and tried to wake him. It had the opposite effect, since he seemed to only become more restless. She tried harder, shaking him and kept calling his name. His eyes had snapped open and looked straight at her before pulling her down.
His breathing was more regular now and his heart pounded in a steady rhythm. His arms were still curled around her, but she carefully pushed herself back off his chest onto her elbows. When she looked at his face, she saw he had fallen back asleep. Gently releasing herself from his grip, she sat back. She had knelt down to try and wake him and he had pulled her in a surprisingly tight hug. It had been slightly uncomfortable and she felt her legs stinging. She stretched her strained muscles, still not entirely sure what just had happened.
He had not been wearing a shirt, which made the whole encounter even more uncomfortable for her. It was strangely intimate, even if it had not been the first time she had seen him shirtless. She quickly shook her head and looked back at the sleeping firebender. He most likely did not even realize she was here and had fallen back asleep in moments.
She stood up and wetted a cloth with water. Walking back to his bedside, she softly hummed a lullaby. She wiped his forehead and listened to his breathing to see if there were any more irregularities, but he seemed to sleep soundly. She smiled and then immediately yawned, which told her it was best to leave.
"Goodnight." she whispered as she stood up and left the room, slowly closing the door behind her.
The next morning, Zuko woke up feeling refreshed. He had slept well and the headache was gone. He got out of bed to wash himself and after a quick rinse, he got dressed and went to eat his breakfast. He sat alone as he ate his breakfast and inquired after his Uncle and Elyrie. After all, his Uncle never missed a meal. He was informed that they had eaten breakfast already and were training on the deck.
"Training?" Zuko repeated with a frown. He did not know Elyrie had been training with his Uncle. Again, he mentally slapped himself for his behaviour yesterday. He had lost a whole day with Elyrie because of his temper and pride.
"Yes sir," the crewman answered, "Miss Elyrie requested a few firebending practices." Zuko nodded at the man and motioned for him to leave. Elyrie had mentioned something about being jealous of him for training with masters, he remembered while eating his breakfast.
Jee entered and bowed to him. "Sir," he said while looking at the younger man, "We will reach Pohuai Stronghold tomorrow morning. Would you like to send a hawk to announce our arrival with Miss Elyrie?"
Zuko thought about it for a moment, feeling a sting of regret. He wished it would take just a little bit longer to reach their destination. He quickly repressed the thought of delaying. They had lost enough time chasing the Avatar already.
"Thank you, captain." he said with an impassive face, "Please send a hawk to Commander Zhao announcing the arrival of his fiancée."
Jee nodded, not missing the slight falter of the Prince's voice at the word 'fiancée'. "He would be glad to have his fiancée back safe and sound." Jee answered, misinterpreting the meaning of Zuko's slip.
Zuko nodded absentmindedly as Jee left. He repressed the thoughts about Zhao and finished his breakfast. He sighed and pushed his bowl away. Better tell Elyrie about the news, he thought with an unfamiliar feeling of sadness.
Uncle had convinced Elyrie to start training early in the morning, with the rising sun. She was definitely not a morning person, but she tried her best. She quickly mastered the basics and followed Iroh's instructions carefully.
Iroh had studied her movements and adapted his instruction to suit her. She moved like a waterbender, dancing through the movements. She was flexible and fast, easily evading his attacks. With a good master, she would be able to become a great firebender, Iroh mused.
Her style was unique, which intrigued him. It was clear she mostly taught herself, since her form was vastly different from his own or any other firebender. Instead of using open palms or fists, she bended fire with her middle and index finger, like Azula used to do. However, that was the only similarity to the bending style of the Princess. Elyrie was more defensive and her movements were more circular, like she was dancing. But when she attacked, her attacks were precise and her aim flawless. She even surprised him with her own moves, like how she used her fire to launch herself several meters off the ground.
Elyrie wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling energized. Her face glowed from the exercise. They had been training for an hour when Zuko approached them.
"Good morning, Prince Zuko" his Uncle greeted. Elyrie nodded to him, hoping it would hide her blush. She remembered how her head had rested on his naked chest. Quickly repressing this thought, she focused on her breathing. Uncle instructed her on a firekick, so she continued the movement.
Zuko mumbled a greeting while he observed the training. For training, she wore pants and a shorter top, which let her stomach and arms free. She had braided her hair out of the way during the practices. His mouth went dry watching her, appreciating her slender figure and womanly curves. She moved with effortless grace as she practiced her movements. Her skin glowed and her blue eyes sparkled. Reprimanding himself for gazing at her, he cleared his throat.
Uncle and Elyrie looked his way when he cleared his throat. Hastily, he thought of something to say.
"You fight good." He managed to say, mentally scolding himself as soon as it came out of his mouth.
But Elyrie smiled at him. "Thank you." She answered while looking at Uncle, "Uncle has been giving me a crash course." Iroh looked at his nephew, noticing the blush on his good cheek.
He smiled a fatherly smile at him and looked back at Elyrie. "You are a very good student, my dear" he said affectionately. "It is nice when someone listens to my instructions for a change" he added teasingly when he looked back at his nephew.
Zuko mumbled something and shot his Uncle an angry look.
Elyrie chuckled. "You are lucky to train with such a great instructor every day," she said to Zuko, "You know I never formally trained with a master. All I can, I taught myself or took over from you."
Zuko remembered sparring with her when they were younger. "How about a little match to see how much you learned?" he answered with a cock of his eyebrow.
Uncle frowned. Zuko's bending was quite rough, mostly due to the fact he fuelled his inner fire with rage. Would he attack her with the same aggression he normally showed and hurt her? However, he did not discourage the idea. He was convinced Elyrie was able to hold her own against his nephew, even in the short amount of time they practiced. She had trained herself with an iron discipline and even if her technique was slightly different, she was still a very capable bender.
Elyrie raised her eyebrows at Zuko, but agreed immediately. She never backed down from a challenge. She nodded at him and took her fighting stance, excited to spar again after such a long time. Zuko quickly removed his heaviest armour, so he was able to move more freely. He walked to the other side of the deck to face her.
Iroh took a few steps back and watched the two with his hands in his sleeves. This will be very interesting, he mused.
When he took his fighting stance, Zuko aimed a fireball at her. It had been a controlled attack to go easy on her. She spun around and easily evaded the attack and ran towards him. In his surprise, he aimed another fireball at her. But he was too slow in his reaction. She jumped and blasted herself into the air with her firebending.
As soon as she flew above him, Zuko looked up but was blinded by the sunlight and he lost her for a moment. Then, she landed in front of him within the blink of an eye. She stood in front of him before he realized it and grabbed his wrist, pushing it down so he couldn't aim at her.
With his wrist down and her two fingers aimed at his throat, he was cornered. He blinked his eyes at her in surprise and was stunned.
"Never underestimate your opponent." she said with a mischievous smile. Her eyes gleamed with pride. He heard Uncle chuckle from the sideline.
She let go of his wrist, still smirking at him. He shook his head and said "You're on."
She retook her stance and waited. Zuko growled and attacked again, aiming his fireballs at her with more speed. She evaded them just as quickly and never stopped moving. Her petite frame and natural flexibility made her a difficult target. It was like trying to punch a feather. He stopped and regained his breath. That is when she started to attack. With two fingers, she aimed small shots of fire at him. When he evaded them, she started doing the firekicks. He blocked her attacks with a smug smile. She saw it and smirked back. Elyrie took a breath and started to make her way towards him, using her flexibility to her advantage.
Iroh watched amused from the sideline. It was like watching a waterbender and a firebender spar. She was more defensive than offensive and slipped through Zuko's fiery attacks. He on the other hand was far stronger in his attacks and blocked hers easily.
They should practice together more often, he thought with a chuckle. Their different styles complimented each other and forced them to adapt to the situation.
Elyrie made her way closer to Zuko, not breaking eye contact as she advanced. Zuko noticed her approaching and created firewhips. The long scorching flames extended from his hands and he aimed them at her. She was surprised, but quickly adapted her style. Evading them using acrobatics, she moved through the lines. She blocked his hits and made her way back to him. She noticed he kept his midriff exposed when he raised his arms for another attack.
She smiled playfully and ran straight towards him, catching him off guard. Zuko yelped when she physically ran into him and they fell onto the metal floor of the deck. In his confusion, she straddled him and pinned his wrists next to his head.
"Mercy?" she asked with a smug smile as her loose curls tickled his face.
However, she was not trained in hand-to-hand combat like Zuko was. Zuko quickly reacted and rolled them over, pinning her wrists to the ground above her head. She shrieked when he moved her around.
Zuko smiled arrogantly. "You cheated, so now you get to beg for mercy." he said teasingly.
"Never!" she yelled while trying to get herself free. It was useless. Zuko was stronger and heavier than she was, so she had nowhere to go. Amused, Zuko watched her attempts to break free but held her pinned down with ease. After a few tries, she relented.
"Fine, I surrender!" she said with an angry glare, "Now get off me!"
Zuko smirked and got off her. He extended his hand to help her stand up and she took it, albeit a little bit grumpy. Her hair had become undone and her cheeks were pink. She started to laugh however when she was back on her feet and Zuko could not help but smile. That certainly was an interesting sparring match.
Iroh looked at the pair and shook his head at them, while trying to hide his amused grin.
"Elyrie, that is not how you spar." He reprimanded the auburn haired girl. She didn't answer, but instead pouted her lips in an innocent way as if to say 'Well, how could I know?'
"And Prince Zuko," Iroh continued, "you never force a lady to beg for mercy."
Zuko shrugged and said "Well, she started it." Elyrie opened her mouth to protest when lieutenant Jee approached them.
"Prince Zuko," he said when he nodded to the other two, "I have received a message back from Commander Zhao." He extended his hand and offered Zuko a piece of paper.
Elyrie widened her eyes, but Zuko evaded her look when he took the massage and read it out loud:
We will pick up my fiancée at the Phan Hue Harbour tomorrow at noon. Expect to see her in good health.
That was it. Two sentences. Zuko felt his temper flare at the arrogance and indifference of the Commander. He looked at Elyrie and saw she clenched her jaw as well. He ignored the urge to burn the paper to a crisp in his hands and pinched his nose bridge.
Elyrie in turn gritted her teeth at the message. She could practically hear Zhao's condescending tone through the written words. There was no thanks for saving her or for offering to escort her back to him. She absentmindedly touched her small scar and sighed.
"I'm going to clean up for lunch." she simply said and walked away.