Flashback (third person narrative)
Samyah had been in Ba Sing Se for about a month. Everyone was welcoming to her. Had they known where she originally came from - outside the Bending Nations - they wouldn't have been so welcoming. She kept that part of her past a secret. She'd heard rumors of what Earth Queen Kia would do to outsiders and she didn't want to find out if it was true first hand. Many people showed her the best places to go in the city. One of them told her about a tea shop in the Upper Ring. She didn't know she was allowed to go to the Upper Ring since she lived in the Lower Ring but they said as long as she didn't cause any trouble, the guards usually didn't mind.
"The Jasmine Dragon?" Samyah had clarified.
"Yup, the owner is the best tea maker in the city. He is a kind man too. You will like it there." She resolved to check it out tomorrow after she was done working in the diner. She liked seeing the new haunts in the city and was looking forward to going to the Upper Ring for the first time.
The next day after work, she went to The Jasmine Dragon. It was packed - the tea must be out of this world! She walked in, found an empty table and sat down. A young girl came over to her to take her order.
"What kind of teas do you offer? This is my first time here."
"Oh any tea you can think of. Ginseng, Jasmine, White Dragon, anything really."
"Do you have oolong tea? It's my favorite."
"Of course! I'll put the order in for you." she said and disappeared behind the curtain. Samyah sat at the table for a while until an older man walked up to her with her tea.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Iroh. I like to meet all of my new patrons." he said smiling at her. He only had said a few words but she already liked him.
"It's very nice to meet you, Iroh. My name is Samyah."
"The pleasure is mine, Samyah. I hope you enjoy your tea." he smiled at her and walked back behind the curtain. Samyah sat in the shop and enjoyed the rest of her tea. She laid the money on her table and went back home.
The next day she couldn't stop thinking about The Jasmine Dragon. She really liked the man who ran it and loved the atmosphere. Not to mention the tea. She decided to go again after work. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, Samyah found herself at this tea shop at least 3 times a week. She didn't really have any friends here so she got lonely and bored. She enjoyed going there. She also liked being in the Upper Ring. It was so much nicer and she told herself she wanted to live there someday.
Samyah had just finished work and she decided that she wanted to go to the Dragon again. She finished her shift, went home, changed clothes and went up to the tea shop. She sat down at her usual table when a man approached her with a tray and an apron. It was hard to not notice the large scar on the left side of his face. He smiled and greeted her.
"Good evening, what can I get for you?" The man asked.
"I'll have some oolong tea please." she said politely.
"Coming right up." he said as he walked away. She was curious who he was. She'd been coming here for months and had never seen him before. A new employee she assumed. She sat waiting patiently when he came back over to her with the tea.
"Here is your tea." he said. She noticed he continued to stand there and was watching her. Ok, this is awkward. Samyah looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you, sir." she said politely hoping he would be on his way. He didn't. Instead, he spoke.
"Do you…mind if I sit down?" What an odd way for a waiter to behave. She didn't mind though. She smiled and nodded.
"So…I've never seen you in here before. I've been coming for months." He stiffened a bit at this, which she thought odd.
"Yes, I'm visiting my uncle who owns this tea shop. My name is Zuko." he said. She noticed he said it quietly, almost like he didn't want people to hear him. "I'll be here for a few days."
"Nice to meet you, Zuko. My name is Samyah." She said and extended her hand out for a handshake. Zuko looked awkwardly at her outstretched hand but shook it anyway. His hand was surprisingly warm.
"Nephew! Take these orders before they get cold!" Iroh called out from the kitchen.
"I have to go back to work. Would you…like to talk after I'm done here?" Zuko asked gesturing to the tea shop. She wasn't sure why, but she really wanted to get to know this man.
"Sure." she smiled.
"Great! I'll be done around dusk."
"Sounds perfect, I'll see you then." She said. She finished her tea, paid and left. She had a few hours until Zuko would be done with his shift, so she went back to her apartment to freshen up. Obviously, this was a date.
Zuko finished his shift. "Uncle, I will be going out tonight."
"Oh, that girl you were sitting with?" Zuko blushed. He didn't realize his uncle had seen them but then again, he shouldn't be surprised since Uncle didn't miss much.
"Yes, I am meeting her in a few minutes. I am going to freshen up a bit." Zuko had become a bit sweaty during his shift so he wanted to clean up a bit so he wasn't so…unpleasant to be around. He looked in the mirror and smiled. He didn't wear his topknot like he normally would and definitely didn't have his Fire Lord hairpiece in. He wanted to just be Zuko tonight and he just hoped no one would recognize him.
He walked out of the tea shop and looked around looking for Samyah. Finally his eyes fell on her and he smiled.
"Good evening, Samyah. You look nice." She had pulled the sides of her hair back and left some shorter strands frame her face. Her hair was thick and curly. She was so…exotic. He'd never seen anyone in the bending nations look like her. He hoped she felt the same about him. He found her very attractive.
"Thank you, Zuko. You do too." she said blushing.
"Have you eaten yet?" Zuko asked and Samyah shook her head. "I know the perfect place. Come." he said putting his hand on her back to guide her along. They walked down the street and the night sky was clear as a bell with beautiful stars. Samyah thought that she could see forever into space. Back in Las Estrellas there was so much light pollution you could hardly see the stars, even on a clear night like this.
After walking for a while and just making small talk, they found themselves at a lovely little diner. Samyah smiled and Zuko noticed her eyes light up. His heart skipped a beat. She looked so beautiful with the twinkle in her eye.
"You like it?"
"Yes, Zuko. It's lovely. Thank you for bringing me here." He pulled out the chair for Samyah to sit down and walked around the table and sat down himself. Then they both ordered their food.
"I hope this isn't too presumptuous of me but I'm glad you actually ordered a meal. So many dates I've gone on, they order a small amount of food and pick at it. It always bothered me. I never understood how girls can actually live and function on such little food." Zuko said. To his surprise Samyah smiled and giggled. It surprised him even more when he realized that he really liked the sound of her laughter.
"Trust me, girls eat. They just don't eat on dates because they don't want to look like pigs eating. I always figured if I go on a date and it turns into something then they won't be surprised when I actually start eating like a horse." Zuko laughed though a bit puzzled.
"I'm not sure what a horse is. An ostrich horse you mean?" Samyah chuckled at this.
"Something like that." Zuko thought her answer strange but said nothing more.
They both finished eating and Zuko paid the waiter and gave him a healthy tip. Wow. That was a lot of money. Where would he get that kind of money? He wouldn't get that kind of money on a tea server's salary. Samyah thought to herself.
"If you want to continue our night, I have a nice place for us to go and talk if you want to." To Samyah's introverted self's surprise, she agreed. She didn't want the night to end.
Zuko took her hand and lead her to a part of the city she had never been to. It was some sort of square. In the center of it was a beautiful fountain. It had some large birdlike animals in the center and the water was flowing from their mouths. The stone was completely black and she had never seen anything like it before. There was a faint glow from inside the mouths but she didn't know what was causing the illumination. All around the fountain were benches that faced it and a few lanterns near the benches if you wanted to light them.
"Oh, wow. This is beautiful, Zuko." Samyah said in awe. "Such strange black stone. What kind of animals are these?" Zuko's head shot over to her and she blushed in embarrassment. Should she know what they are?
"They are ostrich horses, Samyah. You've seen these I'm sure."
"Oh, yeah. Of course. I guess I didn't recognize them in the black stone." Samyah lied. She saw Zuko look at her out of the corner of his eye and she thought he probably knew she was lying.
"The black stone is from a meteor that struck back when I was a teenager. One of my friends had a sword made out of it. My other friend is an very powerful earthbender and she constructed this fountain out of the rock. If you look in the center of the fountain you can see the figure of a woman. That is her." Samyah hadn't noticed until Zuko said something, the woman was so small. She liked it though.
"Thank you for bringing me here, Zuko. This is beautiful. Can we sit down a bit?" Samyah said. Zuko took her hand and helped her sit. Such a gentleman. She thought to herself. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Zuko wasn't like the other men in this city. He was cultured. Herself being born to royalty, she could smell nobility a mile away. She wondered what family he came from but she didn't ask.
They sat there for hours talking about nothing. And everything. Samyah started to get chilly and Zuko noticed. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him to warm her up. She noticed that his body was very warm like his hands were. She wasn't sure why but she didn't care. She liked the feeling of sitting with Zuko like this.
Once the evening was beginning to grow late, Zuko and Samyah decided to call it an evening.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to walk you to your place. It being so late, I don't want anything happening to you." Samyah wasn't sure. He didn't know she lived in the Lower Ring and now that she knew he was some kind of nobility, she was embarrassed.
"Uh. N-No thank you. I'll be ok." Zuko cocked his only eyebrow at her, skeptically.
"I'm afraid I must to insist. This city can be dangerous at night. Especially for a woman." He didn't want to sound sexist but he really was concerned about her safety. Besides, then he could spend more time with her. Samyah reluctantly agreed.
"Alright. I…live in the Lower Ring." To Samyah's surprise, Zuko didn't even react to it. Of course, she didn't know it but he had once lived in the lower ring.
"Ok. Lead the way." They both walked through the City until they came to Samyah's apartment.
"Thank you, Zuko, for a wonderful evening. I enjoyed your company. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see you again." Zuko responded without missing a beat.
"How about tomorrow night after my shift?"
"Sounds perfect." Zuko leaned his face down to Samyah's and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He pulled back and she craned her neck so her lips met his. His eyes shot open in surprise but enjoyed the kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Sam?" After Zuko said it, he blushed. She had never said she was ok with a nick name. To his relief, she smiled.
"Sam. I like that. Yes, tomorrow then." Sam said. She walked into her apartment, gave Zuko a small, shy smile and closed the door.
