Chapter 4- I Think It Was Meant To Be
Setting: Zuko's boat
Disclaimer- I don't own ATLA
Jamie woke with a fright. It was the worst dream she has had since her and Zuko's banishment from the Fire Nation. She looked over her shoulder and expected to see Zuko lying next to her, but to her surprise he was gone. She got out of bed and walked over to her dresser and got out some clean clothes.
She picked her favorite set of clothing, the one that always got Zuko's attention. It was a red skirt that ended at her ankles with a slit going up to mid-thigh on both sides of the skirt. The top was a red halter top with no sleeves and stopped just above her belly button.
She put half of her hair up into a top knot and let the rest stay down. She left the room bare foot deciding that she is probably not going to leave the ship. She first checked Zuko's room to see if he was there. Nope, not here. Where could he be? Jamie thought. She went up to the main control center to see if he was there, and maybe she could ask the captain where he was.
"Good morning, Miss. Jamie. How did you sleep?" The captain asked when Jamie entered the room.
"I guess I could have slept better, but I don't want to talk about it. Do you know where Zuko went? I can't find him." Jamie said sitting down in a chair that was near the window of the room.
"Oh he and general Iroh went to run some errands. Oh, and happy birthday."
"Well, why thank you captain." Jamie said smiling at the captain. "Do you know when they will be back?"
"No, I do not. Prince Zuko told me to keep you company until he gets back. Would you like some tea? It's your favorite; or that's what Zuko said." The captain said pouring two cups of tea.
"White tea with a hint of peppermint?" Jamie said taking the cup that the captain handed her.
"Ah, so Zuko does know you from inside out doesn't he?" The captain said with a chuckle.
"Ha, yeah he knows me better than I know myself." Jamie smiled at the thought.
"If you don't mind me asking but did a water bender end up in the Fire Nation?" The captain asked sitting in the chair next to Jamie as the two sipped their tea.
"I don't know, my father said that he adopted me from the Northern Water Tribe when I was five. I only remember snippets of when I lived there."
"Well, what do you remember?"
"I remember a girl with white hair held back with the same hair clip as mine. A boy who was older than me by a few years. I remember lots of white, white buildings and wall and stuff like that. Then one day it started snowing black. I remember a lady packing clothes and other important accessories. I remember boarding a metal ship with a man that I didn't know. But, that's all I can remember." Jamie swirled the contents left in her cup with a sad look on her face.
"Well if you didn't come to the Fire Nation, you wouldn't have met Zuko." The captain said trying to cheer her up.
"If my father didn't try to kill me, I would have never met Zuko, or become good friends with him."
"Your father tried to kill you? Why?"
"I'm not sure why, but he paid these two boys that were a few years older than me to kill me. It was on Ember Island. I was playing in the sand on the beach when these two boys who had big knifes in their hands came up to me. I stood up and started backing up. They told me that they were going to kill me so I ran. I ran as fast as I could and as far as I could. Then I ran up this hill. I looked back to see if they were behind me and then I ran into someone. I fell back onto my butt and looked up to see who it was. I didn't know who it was but it was a boy and he asked me if everything was okay. Then the two boys came running up behind us and I crawled behind the boy.
"The two boys told the boy I was hiding behind to give me up, but instead the boy stood up to them and told them to leave me alone. Then he ran over to them and shoved them over. The two boys landed on their knifes. One had a knife stuck in his arm and the other had one stuck in his stomach. They ran off after that."
"So let me guess that's how you met Zuko?"
"Yeah, he brought me into his beach house and that is where I met his mother, and Azula."
"Wow, that's a lot to take in." The captain said taking one last sip of his tea.
"Yeah, Zuko was the only person that knew that those two boys were trying to kill me. He has been very protective of me since. And, now you know." Jamie said filling her cup with tea.
"Does Iroh know?" The captain asked raising his eyebrows.
"No, no he doesn't and I don't plan for him to know. I don't want him treating me differently. I don't want him to think that I'm weak."
"You're not weak. Zuko doesn't treat you like you are weak. I don't think you're weak. I know Iroh. He wouldn't treat you differently, he might love you more like he does Zuko, but he wouldn't think that you're weak." The captain placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder to reassure her.
Jamie smiled and got up from her chair. "Well, I'm going to go change and then make my way to the deck to practice."
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that. Prince's orders. Prince Zuko told me that he doesn't want you gross and sweaty when he gets back." The captain said grabbing Jamie's arm. He looked out the window and saw Iroh and Zuko board the ship with a few other crew members holding some stuff in boxes. "Well he's back." The captain said as the door to the control center opened and Zuko walked in.
"Jamie, happy sixteenth birthday." Zuko said with a smile. Jamie walked up to him and hugged him. When she let go he held her hand and whispered in her ear. "I have a surprise for you." Zuko led Jamie out of the control center and down the hall towards his room. When he opened the door Jamie expected something big, but nothing was changed. She gave Zuko a confused look. He just smiled and led her over to the bed.
"Sit down," Zuko said. Jamie did as she was told and Zuko kissed her forehead and walked over to his dresser. He opened up a drawer. He pulled out a box from under his clothes. He brought it over with him over to the bed. He sat down next to Jamie and sighed. "I've been waiting a long time to give you this. Once when my mother took me to the market place we stopped outside a jewelry tent. There was a lady with a table sitting outside the tent. My mother wanted to buy a necklace for Azula for her birthday. While my mother was looking at necklaces, I saw a bracelet. I picked it up and looked at it. I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world and I thought of you." Jamie blushed as Zuko pulled out the bracelet. "My mother and the lady came over, 'That's a charm bracelet, you add charms around it to represent things in your life or someone else's life. It can be a great gift to give to someone that you have been through a lot with.' The lady told me. I asked my mother if I could get it and she asked me who I was going to give it to. I told her I was going to save it for someone who's worth sharing my life with."
Zuko pulled out the charm bracelet and showed it to Jamie. It was a gold chain with six gold charms. "The two knifes stuck together represents the day we met. The Fire Nation insignia represents where we live now, or use to live I guess. The Water Tribe insignia represents where you came from. The heart represents our friendship. The lightning bolt represents our banishment. And, the anchor represents us falling off the boat." Jamie looked at each charm looking at every single detail while rubbing her thumb on them.
"Zuko, I don't know what to say. This is the best gift I have ever received. Thank you so much." Jamie reached over and gave Zuko a hug around his neck.
He smiled, "The day isn't over yet." He then took the charm bracelet from Jamie and clasped it around her wrist. "It looks so beautiful on you."
Then all of a sudden the door opened and two guards stepped into the room. "Prince Zuko, everything is ready."
"Thank you, you may leave now." Zuko said taking Jamie's hand in his and standing up. "Come on I have another surprise for you." Jamie stood up and held on tightly to Zuko's hand as he led her down the stairs and out on to the main deck. It was just past dark as they stepped onto the deck. Jamie gasped at the sight before her.
There were hundreds, no thousands of candles that scattered the deck that were lit. There was one path that led to the bow of the boat where a table and two chairs sat. To surprise Jamie even more Zuko picked her up bridal style and carried her over to the table. This made Jamie laugh and when Zuko sat her back down on the deck; she had to hang on to Zuko for a while longer because she was laughing so hard.
"Zuko, this is so beautiful. You didn't have to do this for me." Jamie said as she sat down in a chair.
"Oh, yes I did have to do this for you." Zuko said as he took the chair across from Jamie.
"How long have you been planning this?" Jamie said examining the glass that had a liquid in it that she thought was wine.
"For a while now, about a year. I thought you might like something nice for your sixteenth birthday." Zuko said with a smirk.
"You're up to something and I want to know what." Jamie said glaring at Zuko. Zuko just shrugged and rang a bell. Then some crew members came out with some trays. They placed one tray in front of Jamie and one in front of Zuko.
"My favorite! Roast pigeon and dragon fruit!" Jamie explained picking up her chopsticks to start eating.
"Try the wine."
Jamie eyed Zuko as she picked up her glass and took a sip of the wine. Her eyes widened. She hasn't had wine since she turned ten. And it was her favorite kind too. "Black cherry. How did you know?"
"You told me a while back. I wrote it down so I would never forget." Zuko smiled as he took a sip of the wine and picked up his chopsticks to start eating. "Eat, it's delicious and hurry up I have more surprises for you."
Jamie's eyes widened again but she didn't ask any questions. She just picked up her chopsticks and started to eat her roast pigeon and dragon fruit. When Jamie finished eating she and Zuko stood up. Zuko picked her up again and made his way to the stern of the boat. When they got there, there was a blanket spread out across the deck and a wine bottle and two glasses sitting next to the blanket. There were still candles but not as many.
Zuko laid down on the blanket and Jamie laid next to him. Zuko wrapped an arm around Jamie's shoulder. They looked up to the stars and pointed out shapes the stars made. Every once in a while they would point out a shooting star.
Zuko kissed Jamie's forehead to get her attention. She looked over at him and smiled. Zuko frowned and sat up. "What's wrong?" Jamie asked him.
"Captain Jee told me that you didn't sleep well after I left. Did you have a nightmare?"
Jamie sat up and faced Zuko. "Yes, I had a nightmare. It's just been so long since I've had one that I didn't think it was necessary to tell you. It wasn't bad it was just about what I remembered from my childhood before I came to the Fire Nation."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Zuko said placing a hand on Jamie's cheek. Jamie shook her head. "Okay, would you like some wine?"
Jamie laughed and nodded. "I totally forgot that we even had wine out here." Zuko smiled and poured the red liquid into the two glasses.
He handed Jamie a glass and took a sip of his own before speaking again. "Jamie, I have to ask you something." Jamie nodded and sat her glass down. "Um, well we have been friends for a while now. And, I know we have grown really close." Zuko fiddled with his glass trying to find the right words. "I care about you more than anything and I know you feel the same way about me."
"I do Zuko, but what are you trying to ask me?" Jamie said with a confused look.
"I want to be more than just friends Jamie. I love you so much and you're now at marrying age and I don't want to see you with anyone else." Zuko looked at Jamie and she looked like she was going to cry. "Jamie, I just want you to know that the moment I fell in love with you was when you stood up to my father for me, even though you knew you were going to get hurt. I love how brave you are and can be. I know that you don't want to be the damsel in distress because you think that will change how I feel about you. But, I love you and I want to protect you."
"Zuko, I love you too. I've always have. I have been waiting for you to feel the same way all this time."
"Wait, what do you mean that you have always loved me?"
"I fell in love with you from the moment you saved me from those two boys."
"For that long?" Jamie nodded. Zuko picked up his glass and finished off his wine. Jamie smiled and crawled into his lap. Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist as she finished off her wine as well.
Zuko laid back down and Jamie straddled him. He placed his hands on her thighs as she placed her hands on his chest and leaned down and kissed him. "Got any more surprises for me?" Jamie asked as she sat up.
"Not particularly." Zuko said as he rubbed his hands up and down her thighs.
"Prince Zuko, Miss. Jamie. I am sorry to interrupt, but we have found the Avatar." Captain Jee told them. "We have set a course for his location."
"Thank you, Captain Jee. I think I'm going to take my lovely new girlfriend to bed. It's getting late." Zuko said standing up and pulling Jamie with him. "Wake me when you get to port." Zuko took Jamie's hand and led her to his room. They both got into their under clothes and crawled into bed. Zuko wrapped an arm around Jamie's waist and planted a kiss on her shoulder. "Good night my lovely James, I love you."
Jamie smiled and closed her eyes. "I love you too my lovely prince. Thank you for tonight."
A/N: Best Chapter EVER! At first this was going to be a filler chapter but as I started writing it I was like um no it's more than that. Please R&R and tell me what you think! Please follow me on Instagram and Twitter t_pizzle50_gk
ASLO: I made a website where I can keep you informed and maybe get a little preview of each chapter so please look it up its: .com