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After his first day of training the waterbenders around his age on how to fight firebender, Zuko was utterly exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. He was tired of having to deal with the prideful, stubborn, and somewhat thick-headed nature of those waterbending students. Since Aang and Katara were supposed to be training with Master Pakku, while Sokka went for his Warrior Training, he initially thought he was the first to return to their room. But the sound of Katara yelling as well as screaming exasperatingly could be heard from their ice cabin all the way to where he was.
"Just because I'm a girl, I'm prohibited from learning waterbending? How dare he? He's so, so, so– Aaaaargh!" She gestured as though she's strangling someone. "…Katara?" The unexpected raspy voice caused her to let out a yelp of surprise. "Zuko! For spirit sake, don't scare me like that!" He looked around the interior and noticed there were some cracks and splits on the ceiling and the walls. With his usual deadpanned expression, he pointed at the door behind him with his thumb and said, "If you're cursing someone, I think you should consider doing it at a softer tone. I could hear you shouting while I was outside." She blushed embarrassingly at his honesty. "Y-you– I– Khhhh!" She balled her hands into fists as her body trembled to keep her anger in check. Zuko swore if she was a firebender, she would definitely be spewing fire from her mouth. "…Would you like me to cook for tonight?" At his offer, she instantly spun around and stared at him like an addition head had grown on his shoulder. "You? Cook?" She asked. "You. A prince, can cook?" She repeated. Growing tired of her dumbfounded look, Zuko decided that he's going to leave her be. But she caught him by his sleeve and hastily accepted his offer.
In the kitchen, Zuko ignited the fireplace with a thrust of his fist. He set a small and two medium pots on the fireplace. Scanning through the ingredients in the room, the young prince picked and grabbed two flying salmons. With a whetted bone knife in his hand, he easily removed its wings and proceeded to carefully slice its underbelly apart and pulled out its innards. After cleaning the fish, his hands, along with the knife, he swapped it for a longer one. Using the new knife, he lightly brushed the blade against the salmon skin to remove its scales. With a precise angle, his knife cut under the fish's collar and onto its spine. He then pulled the knife out and inserted the blade into to the tail, but only to the top part of the spine. By allowing sharpness of the knife to do its work, he effortlessly dragged the knife back to the collar cut. From there onwards, he found the salmon's backbone with the knife and guided his blade down along it.
Katara who has been observing Zuko preparing their dinner in silence, watched in an awed expression as he properly gutted, gilled and filleted the fish without any difficulties. 'Wow.' Was all she could think of. She has never seen a man working in the kitchen before. Let alone volunteering to cook in her place. 'It's actually…attractive.' The young lady admitted. 'Eh?' She paused and shook her head vigorously to snap herself out of her tiny trance. What was she thinking? Zuko? Attractive? Sure, maybe. Even if he's scarred, he's still quite good-looking–– No. This is wrong. Wait, why is this wrong? What's she doing? Why's her heart racing? What's wrong with her?
Oblivious about the young water maiden's inner conflict, the young firebender tossed the seaweed noodles into the boiling small pot. He stirred the pot a few times and briefly exited the kitchen. When he's back, he re-entered the kitchen while carrying several pouches on his hands. She walked up to him and eyed those bags with great intrigue. "They're spices. I got them when I was in Huahuo Village." He said it while unsealing the bags to show her the diverse coloured powders. The young man took some of the orange-yellowy powder and sprinkled it into the seaweed noodles pot as he stirred it.
Once he's done with the seaweed noodle soup, Zuko reused the small knife to start cutting the fish into smaller chunks. Followed by scoring the fish skins, he coated the salmons with the spices he had purchased. The young prince went on and tossed some diced seal meat into the second searing pot. As greases were seeping from the meats, Zuko removed the cooked seal from the pot and dumped the seasoned flying salmons into it. By using the seal fats to cook the salmon, he took last pot which was filled with stock and poured it into the former one. The moment the gravy was simmering, he transferred the seal meat back into the pot. Finally, a few stirs and low fire were all he needed as he covered the pot with a lid.
After he finished preparing their dinner, Zuko took the additional time to brew some tea for the two of them. While they were waiting for Aang and Sokka, he sat down and listened to her complains on how the Northern Water Tribe forbade women from learning waterbending to fight. They were instead taught only to use their bending for healing. "Don't get me wrong, learning how to heal is fine. But I want to fight! I don't want to sit around while you or Aang are risking your lives in fights." Zuko stared at her and wondered why she never mentioned her older brother. But Katara resumed as if she has read his mind, "Sokka's…well, mostly ideas and boomerang stuff." She motioned her hand around her head and then pretended like she was throwing an invisible boomerang. A ghost of smile abruptly came across his lips as he took a sip at his tea. The young lady then told him how the healing master, Yugoda recognised her necklace alongside with the fact that Gran Gran was born in the Northern Tribe and was originally engaged to a waterbender.
"Hello~" Their conversation was interrupted when Aang wobblingly entered the room. He dragged himself towards his sleeping bag and slumped onto with a groan. "I'm hungry…" He mumbled it through his bedroll. "How's training?" The young firebender asked. "It's no fun at all. I was stuck with Master Poophead the whole day. He won't even teach Katara because she's a girl." Aang whined.
"Hey, guys! I'm back!" The trio watched as Sokka walked in with a big smile on his face. Seeing that everyone's back, Zuko stood up and walked into the kitchen to get their meals. "Well, at least someone's happy." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Look who's here as well." He moved aside and someone else came in. It's Princess Yue.
"We have a guest?" Everyone turned to see the scarred young man returning with bowls balanced on his arms. "Oh, I'm sorry for the intrusion. Maybe I should go and not disturb you all." But all of them quickly reassured to her that it's fine. Once everyone has settled down nicely, Zuko passed the meal to each individual. A spiced seaweed noodle soup for the Avatar and stewed flying salmon with seal meat for the him and the water tribe youngsters. "Wouldn't your meal portion lessen because of me?" Yue asked concerningly. The young man however, candidly brushed it off as he drank his stew. "You shouldn't worry, Princess Yue. It was your tribe who provided us these ingredients." He then pointed at Sokka and candidly informed her, "Besides, I cooked an extra portion because that guy eats a lot."
"… … …" The water tribe boy stared at Yue's bowl for quite some time before sobbingly tasted his meal at a slower pace. In a single slurp, Sokka snapped his neck back to the firebender. "Hold it. Back up a bit. You made this?" Zuko merely nodded with a blank expression. "You? Can actually cook something this decent?" Sokka repeated. The young man rolled his eyes as he saw the family resemblance between Sokka and his baby sister. Katara and Yue became curious so they decided to taste their food as well. The princess astonishingly let out a small gasp while the young waterbender sent a gaze of admiration and jealousy to his direction. Aang who had been starving since he got back emptied his bowl in a jiffy. He wouldn't complain as there's nothing to complain. A simple bowl of seaweed noodle soup has left him in a blissful state. The little airbender scrambled towards the kitchen to seek for second round.
While Zuko and Katara were in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes, while Sokka and Aang entertained the princess by telling stories of their little adventure. Princess Yue got her interest stimulated when they brought up the Kyoshi Island, Suki and her band of female warriors. "Could please tell me more about the Kyoshi Warriors?" She asked with her eyes sparkling with stars.
As he told her more stories about those warriors, Sokka emptied his sack to show her the uniform, metal fan, retractable shield bracelet, and katana that Suki had given him. By then, the two other benders were done with their work and re-joined the little party. "You know how to use all these?" The young firebender asked as he reached for the katana. He slightly unsheathed the sword to examine the blade's sharpness. "Well, we stayed on the island almost a week. I've only learned the basics from her. But they're still effective to those who have never faced the Kyoshi Warriors in their lives!" While Aang and Yue laughed and giggled at Sokka's act, Zuko and Katara shook their heads in disbelief as they watched him going from awkwardly admitting the deficiency of his abilities to gleefully boasting them in a second.
After that, the boys told her the story of how Katara, with their help managed to fool the Fire Nation soldiers into capturing her. She faked an earthbend just so she would get thrown into a prison rig to save a young earthbender, Haru, who they have befriended. The team however ended up liberating a village of earthbenders from the rig. "That's very brave of you." Katara blushing smiled at Yue's estimable praise. But almost no one noticed the sadness that dwelled within her blue eyes. "It must be nice…to travel around and have the chance to fight for your people as well as helping others." For a moment, Princess Yue showed vulnerable side to them all. Realising that she has inadvertently said that out loud, she strained a smile and changed the topic. "How was your waterbending training, Avatar Aang?" Right away, Katara's mood turned soured for the second time. She bitterly mumbled something under her breath, but her voice was too soft for them to hear it. Finding the sudden change in her behaviour odd, Sokka and Yue turned to the two other boys for clarification. Aang explained the whole morning incident to them. "So…why don't you teach her, Aang?" The young man casually suggested.
Katara immediately straightened her back. She beamed enthusiastically at her brother's proposal. "That's a great idea, Sokka! Aang, you can teach me whatever moves you've learned from Master Pakku during nighttime! You get to practice with someone, and I get to learn waterbending! It's a win-win situation for the two of us!" The young airbender zealously nodded his head in agreement. Why not? He would do anything for Katara. The excitement came to a halt when Katara remembered that Princess Yue was sitting with them. She was literally breaking the rule in front of the princess of the North. "I-I'm umm–" Yue tittered at the young waterbender's unsettledness. "It's alright, Katara. Your secret is safe with me." She gently bobbed her head while giving her an honest smile of support. "I myself don't agree with some of the rules as well." She admitted it with a hidden indication of sadness in her tone.
It was getting late and Yue believed it was time for her to return to the palace. "Thank you for the hospitality. I really love those adventures you've told me." She shook the boys' hands and gave Katara a sisterly hug, "It was also nice to have an actual conversation with someone of my age. I hope me being a princess wouldn't stop us from being friends?" Yue was truly elated when the Avatar and the water tribe siblings have already considered her as their friend. She gave them her thanks again and walked towards the exit. But the young firebender came up to her and offered to escort her back. Beneath the crescent moon, even with her parka, Yue shivered slightly when the chilly, icy breeze tickled her neck. She peeked to her escort and noticed he was wearing less than her. "Aren't you cold?" She was seemingly concerned about his condition. "I'm a firebender, I don't get cold that easily." He plainly assured her. "Thank you…for the dinner and tea, Lee." He curtly nodded. After fleeting pause, Zuko decided to speak up. "…You hated here." His voice forced the princess stop dead on her tracks. She timidly raised her eyes to meet with his. "Wha–" She wanted to deny it or pretend to not understand what he's saying. But she sealed her lips tight as he pressed on, "Not to be creepy, but I observe people." He paused to see if she showed any signs of discomfort, "I had a hunch during the celebration, when Chief Arnook announced publicly that you're at marrying age. But I only confirmed it once I saw your eyes after you've heard stories about the Kyoshi Warriors and Katara's prison break."
"And what would that be?" She asked warily. "Admiration. But I could see envy within them. I know their stories somehow inspired you a little. You wished you could be them." He answered her as fog escaped from his mouth. "It's a silly wish…but I know I could never be them. Katara and the Kyoshi Warriors are fighters. I'm just a…" She stopped. What came after was a sigh dejection from her. "…You're just a princess." She nodded.
"But you're not just any princess, are you? There's something about you that's different from the rest of us." Her blue eyes widened in astonishment. She spun around to stared at those steady gold eyes. "…Can I show you something?" He dipped his head and took a few steps back. As she soundlessly respired, her shoulders relaxed. The second Yue began to gracefully sway her arms to her side, the snow around her liquified. Creating a small tarn around her. Under her elegant guidance and motion, the water rose in the shape of koi fish. They swam and dance in the air before she sent them towards the young man and to encircle. "Amazing…" He muttered in a daze. Not long later, the water fish lost their shapes and fell back into the snow.
"You're a waterbender?" Impressed by her ability, Zuko fixed his attention onto the delicate looking lady. She touched her pale, snowy hair and told him the truth. "The moon is the source of power for all waterbenders." Her hands then traced to her chest, "A fraction of the Moon Spirit's life runs through my body."
"Of course…that explains everything. Now I know why I keep feeling that there's something special about you. You were touched by the Moon Spirit." She offered a smile to his deduction. She stared longingly at the crescent moon as though she was reliving a moment. "When I was little, I was sick and weak. Other babies would cry when they're born…but I was born as though I was asleep. Our healers tried everything, but nothing worked. I was supposed to die." The young prince grimaced at her ill-fate. "My father begged the spirits to save me. So, one night when the full moon came, he brought me to the Spirit Oasis and place me in a pond. There, the Moon Spirit, Tui, blessed me with his power and life."
"Were you by any chance, taught by Master Pakku?" She shook her head. "I just feel the push and pull." With that, Zuko has confirmed one additional thing. 'She's a gifted one.'
"Just because I am the chief's daughter, doesn't mean I'll get additional privileges. In the end, I'm just a woman." She spat the last part in disdain. Yue instinctively masked her mouth behind her hand. This was the first time she has ever groused in front of someone. However, the exiled prince's silence and inscrutable expression could be construed as an encouragement for her to continue. "…Even though the Moon Spirit has saved my life and gifted me with such a wonderful ability…My destiny is set the minute I was born as the chief's daughter. Here, I am to be married off. It is a duty that needs to be done. For my father, for my people."
A beat went by and the young man responded, "…So you're putting others before you. It is a thoughtful thing to do. But you're neglecting yourself."
Yue's lips trembled. "Are you telling me to be selfish?" Her words quivered in her attempts to hold back her frustration.
"No. There's a difference between being selfish and putting yourself first. I'm asking you to consider your own thoughts and feelings."
They've finally reached the palace. "But the customs…the rules…" He reached for the pearl dagger he hid in his shoe. "Read it." He unsheathed it as he handed it to her. "…Never give up without a fight." She said it out loud. "A wise man once told me that destiny is a funny thing, Princess Yue." He took back his dagger and placed it back into his shoe. "He told me that no one would ever know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, you will find your own destiny."
An awful memory of his past resurfaced within his mind for a split second. He ran his hand through his left hair to ease his throbbing scar. "Your father, Chief Arnook…I can see that he cares and loves you very much. Talk to him. Get him to listen and respect your opinions. Fight for your destiny, Princess Yue." He cheered for her.
It was the first time in her life that someone listened and actually supported her. Being emotionally overwhelmed by his had said, she ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Lee. You're a great listener." Zuko's body was already solidified by the unexpected physical contact. He didn't have the chance to think for a reply, because she released him by the next instant. Yue smiled beamingly as she started running back to her palace. Maybe. Just maybe. She could change her destiny. Unbeknownst to the exiled prince, Katara who came out to find him, saw the entire hugging incident unfolded. She clutched her chest tightly as her heart ached on what she has witnessed. 'Why? Why am I feeling this way?' Confused by her very own emotion, the water maiden ran back to their house with a hurtful look on her face. That night, the young firebender never knew she was there at the first place.
So, I'm not shipping Sokka and Yue together. What are your thoughts? Please leave a review or a comment.