Samyah

I was slowly starting to come to. I felt a hand on my shoulder and something hitting my face. It took a moment to realize it was Zuko, lightly slapping the side of my face without the bruise trying to bring me back to reality. I opened my eyes and he started to come into focus. His expression was nothing but concern. Once he saw my eyes start to flutter open, he stopped the slapping and breathed a sigh of relief. I dared to attempt to sit up. His hands on my shoulders trying to steady me.

"Agni, are you ok? I had no idea you would react so…severely otherwise, I would have laid down some pillows." I couldn't tell if he was serious or he was trying to make a joke. I sat up and looked at him. He was kneeling in front of me. His eyes burning into mine. I clearly had scared him.

"You want me to MARRY you?" I asked. I couldn't think of anything else to say or any other way of saying it. His expression hardened a bit and gave a quick nod.

"It's the only way I can…It's the only way you will be safe from her. It will anger her, but she won't be able to do anything."

"Why the hell would I marry you? I don't even know you. And what I thought I knew was a lie!" He flinched and grimaced. I had struck a cord. I instantly felt regret, "I'm sorry. That was harsh."

Zuko shook his head. "Uncle and I discussed it ad nauseum. It's the only way. And it has to be soon."

"How soon?" I asked, looking up at him again. He sat down on the floor in front of me, cross legged.

"She said she wants you out of the city tonight. It has to be before we leave."

Here comes the faint feeling again. He sees it this time and is inches from my face again before I knew it grasping my shoulders. "Breathe, Sam. Breathe! I know this isn't ideal but it's either we do this, or I have to turn you back over to her." Oh, there was no way I was going back there.

"How? I mean. Who? Who will perform the ceremony?" Zuko gave his half smile that I had grown so fond of.

"Apparently Uncle decided that when I did marry again" I took notice of the word "again" but didn't mention it, "he would be the one to do it. He is licensed to perform a marriage ceremony and provide the documents to make it legal."

"Is there anything he can't do?" I asked. I was starting to feel comfortable with him again. He noticed it and I saw some tension leave his shoulders as well.

"I don't think he can fly. But it wouldn't surprise me if he figured that out too." Zuko chuckled.

I stood up and walked over to the window. I looked up at the same sky Zuko had just been looking at a few moments ago. "Why?" I asked as I turned around to look at him.

He looked up at me and cocked his head to the side, "beg your pardon?"

"Why are you doing this? You don't even know if I'll be a good Fire Lady. This arranged marriage idea of yours. It's a huge risk. For you. For your people."

He shrugged, "well, we can't have you going back to her can we? Besides, I may have only known you for three weeks, but I caught a glimpse of your soul." he paused and slowly, cautiously placed a hand on my face. "Here I am trying to save you and all you can think about is my people. You care. You help whenever you can. You're passionate. Smart. Loyal. I think you will be the perfect fit."

I blushed. He had never complimented me so openly like that before. I smiled shyly at his praise.

"But, what about, your future? I mean, you're the Fire Lord. You can have any woman you want. Why me? An outsider? A stranger in a strange land? You really want to be stuck with me for the rest of your life?"

He scoffed and half smiled again. He brushed some of my wet hair out of my face, "I wouldn't call it 'stuck'" he said simply. I reached up and cupped his face with my hand. He leaned into my hand and placed his own over it. He looked at me and kissed my palm.

"We will be ok." He said with a smile.

I looked at him, sadness filling my eyes, "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. I should have listened to you first."

He chuckled, "think nothing of it. If anyone knows hastiness, it's me."

Zuko

I waited eagerly for Uncle to return home. We knew what our plan was. He didn't close the shop early. We didn't want to raise any suspicion. I did worry about Iroh. He was taking a big risk to help me. To help us.

When we hatched this plan I had said as much to him and he said, "I would do anything for you, my nephew. You are like my own ever since…" He trailed off and I heard his voice catch in his throat. I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle smile. He had hugged me which I'd reciprocated.

He finally came home. The sun was setting so it must have been around dinner. I couldn't eat. I doubted Sam could either. After our talk, she said she needed some time alone. I'm sure she needed to process this. It was a lot to take in. She had gone into his guest room, the room which I usually slept him when I visited.

I knew she would be angry with me when she found out. She had warmed up to me pretty quickly though which I was pleased with. I didn't want it to be awkward after. No more than it had to be anyway.

Uncle knew we had to leave quickly. He gathered what he needed to. I went to the guest room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she said quietly. I opened the door and she was sitting on the floor. Meditating I thought.

"Uncle is home. It is time," I said. It wasn't until it was out of my mouth it sounded more like a sentence than a marriage.

She stood up, a much calmer look on her face. Like she had accepted her fate. She walked past me without looking at me and out the door. She stood in front of Iroh, ready to get this done. Jok and Shen had joined us too. We had skipped many of the frivolous parts of the wedding and just got straight to the vows. We didn't have time for it. I'll give her a proper celebration when we arrive in the Fire Nation. I silently promised.

I stood and took Samyah's hands. They were shaking. I rubbed the back of them with my thumbs to help calm her nerves. Uncle stood before us and spoke, "Zuko, do you take Samyah as your wife? To protect her with your sword? Respect her as your wife and partner? Love her with the fire burning inside you?"

"I do."

"Samyah, do you take Zuko as your husband? To care for him through the good and the bad? Respect him as your husband and partner? Love him with the fire that burns inside you?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife." He said. We looked at each other and smiled shyly at each other. I leaned down and kissed her gently on her lips. She reciprocated the kiss. When I pulled away, she smiled at me but it didn't touch her eyes.

"Now get out of here!" Iroh said urgently.

We moved quickly not wasting any time. Iroh provided the legal documents to me and I stashed them away in my bag. We had to get out of the city tonight. I had planned on stopping once we were out of the city to rest but Uncle advised against it. "Don't stop until you reach the beach. You don't want to be caught unawares. Travel swiftly, my nephew. Send a hawk to let me know you are safe. I won't rest easy until I know you are home."

"We will Uncle." I bowed respectfully. He stepped forward and hugged me and I hugged him back. When I was a teenager I didn't know how much I loved him. Now that I'm older I know how much he means to me.

Uncle called after us as we walked out the door "and don't forget to make it official once you reach the ship!" I closed my eyes in annoyance. I loved uncle but sometimes I could kill him. Samyah blushed but said nothing. I shot Uncle a look but he simply smiled and waved.

We gathered our belongings. Only necessities. Uncle would send the rest with a courier. We had to travel light. We dressed disguised as Earth Kingdom citizens and we travelled quickly. I was impressed with how well Sam kept up especially with her injuries. I could tell she was getting winded. She kept grasping her side where I had suspected she had broken ribs - bruised at the very least. We reached the train and sat down keeping our faces obstructed. This was good. She could rest a bit. We couldn't stop though until we were outside the city. Luckily, this train would take us there.

Once we arrived outside the city walls and in the forest, I decided to risk it - we needed to make stop for the night. We would not set up tents. Just sleep under the stars. Sam needed rest. I could tell she was struggling.

"I thought we had to keep going until we reached the shore? Unc- I mean Iroh insisted on it."

"We need to rest. We made good time. We should be ok for a few hours. Jok and Shen will keep guard overnight. I have my komodorhinos near here. Just about an hour's walk. We will make much better time once we mount them."

"What is a komodorhino?" she asked. She was sleepy but seemed curious.

"They're steeds. Large but gentle creatures. We use them to travel great distances."

"Oh, so like a horse?"

I'd never heard of a horse, "an ostrich-horse you mean?"

She giggled but simply said, "no."

She laid next to me under the stars. She didn't touch me and I didn't her. I was her husband now, but this was all so sudden. I didn't want to pressure her into closeness she wasn't ready for. I wasn't even sure if I was ready. She laid on her side with her back facing me and I could see her breathing was steady. She was sleeping. I knew she needed it. I did notice that she was shivering. I laid my blanket over her sleeping form and laid down on my back. I didn't need the blanket. I breathed out some of my breath of fire. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Samyah

When I woke, I noticed something off. I opened my eyes and saw a shirt in front of my face. I could smell a hit of ash and man and felt something firm under that shirt - a person. I looked up and saw Zuko's face right next to mine. It took me a moment to remember what had happened yesterday. I had been hoping it was a dream.

I was laying with him. I vaguely remembered waking in the night, seeing him shivering and came over with the blankets and snuggled into him and his warmth. It felt…right. Maybe Zuko was right. We would be ok after all.

"We need to leave. It's time to get up." Zuko said. He stirred bringing me out of my trance. It was then that I realized that his stirring was what initially woke me up.

I got up, stretching and started gathering our things. I looked over and Zuko knelt by a small fire burning near us. My stomach sank. I meant to put that out before anyone saw it. I had no idea Zuko woke so early.

"Where did this come from?"

"You…didn't make it?" I asked to which he shook his head. "Maybe Shen or Jok?"

"No, I asked them. It's strange because there is no kindling to light the fire either." he eyed me suspiciously. Of course I knew where the fire came from. We both were cold so I had made it while he slept. But I couldn't tell him that. I couldn't tell anyone about that part of me.

We continued to walk through the woods until we came to three what I assumed were komodorhinos. I gasped and my eyes widened. I had no idea how BIG they were. Suddenly, I felt intimidated and recoiled a bit next to Zuko. He looked down at me and smiled. For the first time, he put his arm around me, guiding me to the beasts.

"Don't worry. They aren't as scary as they look. They are quite gentle actually." Zuko touched one on it's snout and it huffed at him. I smiled and walked over to touch him too. He moved slightly and I jumped out of my skin. Next thing I heard was Zuko bursting out in laughter. This was the first time I heard him laugh since before I was taken captive. It was music to my ears, which surprised me a bit. I banished the thought of the palace. I did not want to relive that.

"I hope you don't expect me to ride those things. I don't know the first thing about komodo dragons."

Zuko looked down at me, "Komodorhinos," he corrected. "My men will have their own. You will ride with me." I felt a bit more relaxed knowing I would ride with Zuko. At least he knew what he was doing. He mounted the beast leaving room in front of him for me.

Jok came over and formed a stirrup with his hands. I lifted my foot and the man chuckled, "other foot, your highness." Your highness? Been a while since I was called that. I guess I will have to get used to it again. I offered my other foot to him. Zuko reached down and I took his hand. I lifted my free leg over the beast and Jok helped me mount in front of Zuko.

I made the mistake of looking down. Dear God this was high! I felt like if I fell off, I would surely fall through the earth. Zuko reached his arms on either side of me grabbing the reins and his chin hovered above my left shoulder obviously to avoid my bruised side. I grabbed a hold of the saddle horn with both hands. I heard Zuko snicker in my left ear, "Relax. I won't let you fall." I looked up at him. He looked down at me with confidence. That relaxed me a bit and my grip loosened on the saddle horn.

That was until he clicked with his tongue and the animal shifted getting ready to set out. I kept my left hand on the saddle horn and the other flew back wrapping my right arm under Zuko's and around the back of his shoulder clinging for dear life, plastering myself against his body. He laughed again but said nothing. I felt Zuko's leg muscles contract behind my own, nudging the animal in it's side, urging him to move forward. I had never been this close to Zuko before save for last night. This was quite different though. As he rode and steered the animal, I felt the muscle and sinew through his legs and body that was hidden beneath his clothing. I felt safe, despite my situation.

"And don't forget to make it official once you reach the ship!" Thanks Iroh for making it more awkward. I knew this would be a thing. We'd have to make it official. I didn't want to think about that right now. I tried to focus on the steady stride of the beast. As time went on, I relaxed a bit. I unwound my right arm from Zuko and settled for both hands on the saddle horn but stayed pushed against him. My muscles began to give way a bit and I let myself rest a bit against Zuko, my head resting on his chest. I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't sure if it was because I finally relaxed or because he enjoyed our bodies being in this position.

I closed my eyes but didn't fall asleep. Zuko kept silent during the ride. I wasn't sure if it was because this whole ordeal was just awkward or if he was focused on the komodorhino. I hadn't decided. But just as Zuko said, we arrived at the shore where his ship was quickly. The knot in my stomach was back. Our journey across the Earth Kingdom came to an end. The beasts walked up the ramp and into the ship where a ship hand was ready to feed them. He looked at me then at Zuko, surprised, but said nothing.

Zuko dismounted and he reached his hands up for me. I was again scared of falling. I looked down at Zuko with apprehension still clinging to the saddle horn.

He reached his hands up further, "you can't stay up there forever. I'll help you down. I won't let you fall." he said to me. I felt reassured. I wasn't sure why, but I really trusted him despite being apprehensive about him. I carefully swung a leg over the saddle so both legs were dangling on one side. I leaned forward a bit and grabbed hold of Zuko's biceps. They felt larger than I thought they were. Then again, I'd only seen them through his shirt. That will be changing soon I thought wryly. I slid my body off the animal slowly and Zuko guided me down. He helped me land on me feet. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked, looking down at me and smiling. I returned the smile and thanked him.

I regained my footing and he led me into the ship. It was made of metal. Steel I thought. He introduced me to everyone who all looked shocked. Imagine how I feel I thought to myself. He then led me to the dining hall. It wasn't until then that I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten since that bowl of "rice". We were both hungry. We sat in silence eating our meals. Once finished, he held his hand out to me, "Now, I'll show you to our room."

Welcome back butterflies.