This was a bad idea.
Yue's hot, wet lips pressed against mine, salty from her tears, and I would have liked nothing better than to respond, yet I couldn't shake the knowledge that this was very clearly, indubitably, a bad idea.
Yue had just had a lot dumped on her. Things were still unclear for the future. There was no way she was thinking clearly.
Still, despite these facts, my own lips moved with hers, gently pressing against her plush ruby ones as the kiss lingered.
For a while, we stayed there together before, gently, I drew back and looked at her.
Her blue eyes fluttered open and looked at me; they were an even deeper shade of blue than usual, shining from her tears.
"What do you want, Yue?" I asked.
Yue blinked and then leaned forward pressing herself against my chest, "I want you," the words whispered through the freezing cold of the polar air, still felt like sparks in my heart.
Like generating lightning the first time.
"You don't know me," I murmured, wrapping my arms around her.
Yue rubbed her face against my chest in a denying motion, "Wrong. I know the most important parts of you. Everything else is irrelevant."
My lips twitched, unable to contain the wry amusement that filled them, "You're awfully stubborn, Princess," I mused the words aloud and despite myself stroked through long soft white hair, the texture exactly as I imagined it to be, perhaps even softer.
"This will be difficult," I murmured, just as softly whispering the words into the shell of her ear, feeling her shiver in amusement, "I'm your enemy."
"No, you're my fiancé," Yue removed her face momentarily and frowned up at me, somehow projecting a stern royal image in but an instant.
"I am?" I asked, surprised at the certainty in her words.
Yue's frown deepened even further. "I do not kiss boys. I am not going to marry. It would be extremely improper."
My lips twitched unwillingly into a smile, "Forgive me, Princess, but don't you think it's more complicated than that?"
"Does it have to be?" Yue murmured, pressing her face against my chest once again, "You're so warm. I don't know how I never noticed."
"Yue," I murmured, unwilling to change the topic so easily.
"Please, Zuko," she whispered softly, her voice barely reaching my eats.
I stopped my next words before they had even fully bubbled up in my chest. I had already been inconsiderate of Yue's feelings. There was no need to push further tonight.
"It's late, I should probably leave soon," I said softly.
Yue's arms tightened around me, and I felt the early results of her martial training squeezing me like iron. "You won't stay with me tonight?" she whispered, plaintive, a note of unsurety.
"It would be improper, extremely so," I responded quietly.
I could practically feel Yue's frown, "You're my fiancé," she said again, a mulish note to her voice.
I considered attempting that circular argument again, but immediately capitulated at the futility, "Be that as it may," I sighed, "If I'm found here come morning, there will likely be… difficulties."
To put it lightly. Despite Chief Arnook's relative approval, I imagined that he had limits, and finding me in bed, unmarried and still not firmly engaged to his daughter, would be problematic.
"Then just stay a little while longer," Yue said.
I glanced up at the moonlight shining down on us, pondering Yue's words.
"Of course," I murmured softly and wrapped my arms more securely around Yue.
Morning training with Master Pakku was relatively quiet; the boys I trained with kept their peace as they went through their forms, and I had little to say as I flexed my chi through my limbs, funneling my feelings through my chi.
Every move I made was precise, and every ebb and flow of my chi had purpose.
"You're bending has much improved, one would not think you had been bending for merely half a month," Master Pakku said next to me.
"It's the manipulation of chi," I responded, "I trained as a warrior before, the extension beyond the limbs is the strangest part."
Which was true, firebending, at least in its earliest stages, was largely internal, and even after, as great clouds of fire were generated, those were momentary bursts.
"Indeed?" Master Pakku responded, standing next to me, "Still, you should be proud of your efforts. You are making solid progress."
I nodded, hiding my own discomfort. I did not feel like I truly had earned the praise. I must have looked a prodigy, but it was only through my previous training in fire bending that I had made my current progress.
"Today's the day of your decision, is it not?" Master Pakku remarked casually.
I hesitated for a moment before I nodded, "It is Master."
"I will not ask if you've given it the appropriate consideration. From my short time knowing you, I have no doubt that you have. I will ask if I should expect you at practice tomorrow?"
"Oh?" I questioned, "Do you expect today to go so poorly?" A smile I didn't feel flashed across my face.
Master Pakku chuckled, a dry crackly sound, "No, but young as you are, I expect that this event is rather a large thing for you."
"I do not foresee a disruption, Master Pakku, but I suppose one can never know," I responded, to which Master Pakku nodded once.
"I did have something I wanted to share with you," Master Pakku said, and his tone became much more serious. "I have heard from mutual friends that there are Fire Nation patrols moving along the boundaries of the Earth Kingdom. They do not adhere to the traditional patrol routes, and there is talk that trade is potentially being disrupted."
I frowned in thought, considering Master Pakku's words, "You think that something has changed in the Fire Nation."
"Of course things have changed," Master Pakku scoffed, "The primary heir is dead, killed by his own father apparently."
I heard the question in his voice, but now was not the moment to answer it, "I've heard of the event in my travels," I remarked obliquely.
Master Pakku shrugged his shoulders, evidently dismissing the matter. I assumed there would have been further questions, but as I was a water bender in his eyes, there was little reason to push further down that route.
"As it would happen, though, there is an opportunity caused by the situation, with trade disrupted, the Water Tribe needs to find new partners, it's something that an enterprising young man might find work doing."
"Such a man might find valuable connections," I murmured thoughtfully. "Thank you, Master."
"Pah," Master Pakku snorted, "I have done nothing, I imagine that such an opportunity would be offered to any potential partner of the Princess."
"Such matters would likely send me abroad, though?" I sighed, already feeling the discomfit at the thought that I would most certainly be abandoning Yue if I did so, for an unspecified amount of time at that.
"Perhaps," Master Pakku acknowledged, "But there are things in place to make such travel as amenable as possible. I think Chief Arnook will say more today."
I raised an eyebrow at Master Pakku, those were the words of a man who knew something.
Though perhaps now was not the time.
"You're dismissed Hakoda, I will see you at the Palace," Master Pakku said simply before he turned to the rest of the assembled students as he began the process of winding the drills up.
I turned and began my journey to my lodgings to wash up, thankfully there was a steam hut located nearby which allowed me to scrub my body.
It was also one of the few places where one could feel heat in the North Pole, generated by the fire in the center of the hut that heated the water that one bathed with.
With diligence, I scrubbed my body clean of my morning's exertions.
Was I really doing this?
I snorted, dismissing the thought from my head in the next instant. I had already given Yue my word; whatever would come, I would deal with the consequences head-on.
The hut's pelt draping was pushed to the side, and in entered one of the last people I would have expected.
Hahn, of all people, walked in stripped to a simple cloth to cover his lower areas. The boy's blue eyes locked on me, and I was surprised by the uncertainty in them. For a boy who had directed nothing but derision toward me for the course of my stay here, he looked awfully unsure.
"Hakoda," Hahn murmured, and he dipped his head respectfully, far too respectfully for our current relationship.
"Hahn," I said, keeping my uncertainty from my face and my voice, "What brings you here?"
Hahn hesitated, and I could see a small flicker of conflict in him before he settled on the opposite side of the hut, "I come to bring an end to our conflict," he said simply.
"Oh?" I murmured, caught off guard despite myself, "Have you?"
"You are a great warrior and have proven your worth to the Northern Water Tribe. You have proven your worth to Tui. It is now only a matter of time till you join our tribe fully. I do not wish to continue our animosity, not with a member of my tribe."
The boy bowed his head deeply.
A surprising lack of arrogance given what I knew of the Hahn. I looked at the boy contemplatively.
The boy was no skilled politician, he was not a snake of the Fire Lord's court, and he was still young. He had made mistakes, but perhaps I had as well. The worst crime the boy had committed was the arrogance and heat of youth, and indirectly endangering the life of a young boy whom I should have protected better.
More than that, he had come to me unarmed just as I was and met me by himself to express his desire for reconciliation.
I dipped my head, "Peace then," I said simply.
Hahn's head shot up from how he had bowed it, looking at me with surprise, "As simple as that?" he murmured, his expression confused.
"I have no desire for continued conflict," I shook my head, "It is unnecessary for us to be enemies. There are greater opponents that the Northern Water Tribe must face, let us both move forward from this, the better warriors."
Hahn blinked, still seemingly shocked, before a small smile emerged on his face without the taint of malice, "You are honorable beyond expectation," he said simply and then bowed his head again, "I owe you a debt that will be repaid," the boy said simply before rising and exiting out of the hut.
I had frozen unexpectedly at his words.
It was that word again, honor, the boy I could have been without these memories had been dedicated to the principle. It was a word with too many meanings to pin down. Honor. Pravadem.
A water tribe warrior had acknowledged me as an honorable opponent.
It wasn't much, but it was more than nothing. If the Fire Nation's honor could be restored, it was a step forward. As a prince of the Fire Nation, my honor was inseparable from the Fire Nation itself.
I snorted and resumed cleaning myself.
I really had been getting lost in my thoughts too much recently.
I stood before Chief Arnook and an ensemble of the most important of the Northern Water Tribe's members, including Master Pakku. Directly next to me was Yue, who stood in her full blue robes looking every bit the imperious princess.
Chief Arnook spoke first, "We stand here on this day to acknowledge what the spirits have already decided. Hakoda, you came as a boy adrift on the waves, and in a short time, have shown your worth. Ice Dodging would be the typical trial of adulthood, but insignificant to one who has already single-handedly brought a pirate ship back to the North Pole. You are a full member of the tribe as of this moment, but that is not all. It is only right that one blessed by Tui, such as you, should also be the husband of my daughter. Do you accept this?"
Of course, the question had already been answered before in private, but such things also had to be done in public.
I reached within my tunic and drew forth a necklace that I had spent many nights working on.
The blue stone matched exactly the shade of Yue's eyes, and carved within were intricate ocean waves in a circle that had the faintest flecks of gold that I had melted into the stone. It had been the work of a week of water bending to carve and of fire bending to bring the gold into the stone.
Yue looked down at the necklace, and her eyes widened before she glanced at my own eyes. She made to speak, her throat shifting, but she seemed lost for words. Finally, she whispered, "It's beautiful."
I smiled softly, suppressing the overwhelming surge of relief that rushed through me at her words.
I reached out and gently placed the necklace around her neck, binding it shut with the clasp, ignoring the feeling of Yue's soft, warm skin on my fingers.
Seemingly unconsciously, Yue's hands rose as she rubbed the stone.
We both turned to face Chief Arnook, who gazed at us with a fierce look and I noted the tiniest amount of gentleness as he looked at his daughter.
"As a capable warrior of the tribe, I now make a request of you," Chief Arnook said, his eyes flickering for the briefest of moments to Master Pakku, before returning to me, "There has been a shift in the Fire Nation, and it has disrupted our tribes ability to trade. Therefore, I would ask of you to take on the duty of finding new partners for us within the Earth Kingdom."
A small mummering echoed through the hall, and Chief Arnook paused, waiting for the noise to die down.
"In consideration of your future matrimony, though, I have decided to let my daughter accompany you on your journeys. Her safety will be your highest priority."
I kept my face neutral, taking in the man's words, surprised despite myself. I never would have expected Chief Arnook to allow his only daughter to leave the relative safety of the North Pole.
What was the motivation for this move? My blessing? An understanding of my capabilities? A desire for his daughter to form connections with the Earth Kingdom?
But the Northern Water Tribe was isolated, so such a move didn't make a great amount of sense.
So there was something I was missing.
I noted small shifts of discomfort from some of the assembled tribe members.
So it was not a unanimous decision, not surprising, but surprising in that there was enough political push for this to happen.
As strange as it sounded, even though such an occurrence was optimal for my plans, I was discomforted to agree without knowing the mechanisms behind why the agreement had come into place.
Master Pakku had obviously done something, given his words earlier, but what exactly?
Still, now was not the time to go down that path.
"My life will be expended before seeing Princess Yue come to harm," I said solemnly.
Chief Arnook's expression was severe as he looked at me and then solemnly nodded his head, seemingly accepting my words, "May Tui's blessing keep you both safe."
He held his arm out to me, and I was surprised at the motion, but reached out regardless and reached my own arm out, clasping around the man's arm with a firm grip.
We shook, a gentle but firm pressure kept on each other's arms.
The ship we had been given was designed to be powered by a single waterbender with the assistance of sails. A twin-masted vessel with blue sails, I thought the construction sufficient to carry us at a good pace over the sea.
It was several days later, as I went about preparing the ship to leave, a familiar heat made its way onto the ship, not Yue as she was still preparing her own baggage, but instead Master Pakku, surprisingly enough.
"Master," I remarked without turning around as I coiled a rope around my arm.
"Hakoda," Master Pakku said, and I was surprised at the warmth in his voice, an unusual way for him to speak, "I see you've managed to prepare your ship by yourself."
I shrugged my shoulders, "It's not a particularly difficult or complicated operation, Master," I paused, wondering if Master Pakku would say something.
A moment of silence passed as I waited for Master Pakku to inform me of the reasoning behind his presence, even as I continued to coil the rope.
Master Pakku finally spoke, but the words were not what I had expected: "I will miss you, Hakoda," he said simply.
I turned, raising an eyebrow at the man, who finally pulled me away from my work by the sheer incredulity that his words evoked in me, "Master?" I could not help the questioning tone in my words.
Master Pakku snorted in amusement, "Oh, do not look so surprised, boy, rarely do I have so diligent a student, and far in between are the conversations that truly make me think at my age."
I snorted amused, "To tell the truth, I think I caused you my fair share of trouble, Master, but I will take you at your word."
"Your humility, as ever, does you credit," Master Pakku dipped his head, "But too much humility will sometimes make others think less of you. Balance always."
I nodded my head acknowledging the lesson in the words, "I'll think on it," I offered.
Still, I did not think that Master Pakku had sought me out to say these words or even for the sake of a goodbye, "Was there something else, Master?"
"There's just one more thing," Master Pakku hummed to himself, stroking his beard, "In the interest of your continued learning, I'd like you to keep up your practice with the Princess."
I raised an eyebrow at the man, "I thought you didn't approve," I said the words lightly, not wanting to push hard on the subject, but confused at his change of heart.
"I still don't, not really. Yet I'd like it if the safety of our princess is not entirely dependent on your capabilities, not as a lack of faith, but as a matter of good sense. I expect that, given you will no longer need to hide your practice, you can push the Princess to a higher level."
I dipped my head to the side, acknowledging the point, still caught off guard, "There's something else, isn't there?" I remarked.
Master Pakku did not wince, but he turned slightly, looking out to the ocean, "Love comes so rarely in the life of a warrior, Hakoda, I trust you will not squander it."
I looked at Master Pakku, unsure of what to say. The words were oddly vulnerable, very much unlike the man I knew.
This was not the advice given to a student from his master.
More akin to the advice given from a father to a son.
"I won't, Master," I said.
Master Pakku shot me a brief smile and then walked off the ship without a backward glance.
I turned back to coiling my rope, pondering Master Pakku's words.
"Love," I turned the words over with my mouth, before shaking myself and narrowing my focus to preparing the ship.
It was an hour later that I felt Yue's heat approaching with several other signatures, which I took to be her guards.
I went to the edge of the ship and stood waiting for her approach.
Down the icy paths of the North Pole she walked still dressed in the ceremonial robes expected of her, but I could tell from the heat thrumming through her that there was a definite excitement within her.
The guards around her moved with purpose, though compared to the Fire Nation guards, their movements lacked a certain level of unanimity. A Fire Nation military drill instructor would have had conniptions.
She walked up to the plank that led to the deck and then glanced at the guards surrounding her, "You are dismissed," Yue said softly.
The guards, to their credit, immediately turned and began to walk away, though I sensed a small degree of uncertainty, as if following their Princess's directions was not the usual course of business.
The docks as empty as they were in the early morning left us a wide open space with no other people.
"Permission to come aboard, my Prince?" Yue asked, and I saw her lips twist a small smile of wicked amusement on her face.
I grimaced at her smile, "You trying to get me killed?" I sighed.
Yue pasted on a mock look of confusion, "You are to be my husband, that will of course make you a Prince, unless you are referring to something else."
"Maybe you can stay on that side of the plank then," I chuckled.
Yue shrugged and then very conspicuously stepped onto the wood and walked purposefully over onto the ship's deck.
"Did you say something?" Yue asked me politely, her blue eyes filled with glimmering amusement.
"Nothing at all, Princess."
Yue frowned glaring slightly at me, "It's not funny when you do it. Everyone already calls me Princess."
"Agree to disagree," I replied diplomatically, "Are you ready?" I asked somewhat more seriously.
Yue tapped her lips thoughtfully, "You have my luggage?" she asked.
"Of course," I replied.
"Then I'd like to leave the North Pole as quickly as possible," Yue shrugged, "I'm ready to see far more of this world."
For some days, we traveled south from the North Pole.
During that time, we practiced our water bending with the abundance of the element and the lack of supervision that surrounded us.
It was pleasant, somewhat freeing.
Out of the center of the Northern Water Tribe, I decided it was time to let my eyes return back to their natural color.
Sitting out on the deck of the ship, I pressed gentle fire to my eyes, concentrating as I let them return to their natural form. The fire tingled slightly, coursing through the sensitive nerves of my eyes.
I stared with my natural golden eyes out onto the horizon as the sun's rays began to glimmer off the ocean in scintillating rays of gold that peaked just above the water in shining, brilliant rays that warmed my skin.
Here I was between the two elements I could wield, yet as I sat meditatively on the deck, I contemplated the meaning of the opposites.
I didn't consider myself a philosophical person, but the meaning of the elements of this world was beyond just the simple manipulation.
How could I bend light if that were the case?
I bent aspects of fire individually and together.
Thoughtfully, I generated a small burst of blue flame over my palm, letting the energy flicker between my fingers and over it.
Such a simple manipulation did not require physical gestures or motions, but others did because of the necessary manipulation of Chi.
A small gasp alerted me, as if her heat presence hadn't already, to Yue standing behind me.
Instantly, the smallest feeling of guilt emerged within me as I went to snuff out the flames on my hands. I couldn't expect her to be okay with everything so soon. In some ways, it was a stretch to think she'd ever really be okay with my firebending.
Yue's hand reached out over my palm, drawing a trail of water with her, flexing the clear liquid around the flame, creating a display of fire filtered through water, a shimmering duality shifting and changing the clear blue light of my fire.
The water crystallized into ice, creating a ball around the flame, though not stifling its oxygen, as air could still flow in from underneath.
I glanced at Yue's expression and was met with one of severe concentration, her eyes narrowed as she held the water in place.
"Push and pull," she murmured the words soft but audible.
"Yue?" I asked, unsure if I should really disturb her, but feeling as if I had to do so regardless.
Yue blinked, then turned to me, giving me a soft, gentle smile. "Sorry," she murmured, "Your fire is so fascinating to me. Why is it blue?"
I chuckled at the question, "That answer's actually relatively simple, blue fire emerges from chi that is more concentrated, there are those with natural talent towards it, and there are those who have to work towards its generation, I am the latter."
"Do you know someone who can naturally generate blue fire?" Yue asked cocking her head at me.
I nodded, "My sister, she's an incredibly gifted fire bender," I said, simply unable to keep the reminiscence from my voice as I looked toward the horizon, toward where the Fire Nation was.
I could only wonder how she was doing right now.
Another thing to check in on with my network.
Our journey neared its end in short order, and the land of the Earth Kingdom came into sight, much to my relief.
I carefully manipulated my ship into the harbor using my water bending to draw it just up to the pier where it was tied off.
After a short discussion with the dock master about having the ship returned to the North Pole, and moving our baggage to the ship, I had still docked here, Yue and I walked into the tavern I had entered over a month ago.
Sitting down at a table, we ordered our food, though I had to give Yue some assistance in picking out the unfamiliar Earth Kingdom cuisine.
It was with amusement that I watched as the girl poked at the rice dish in front of her in seeming confusion.
"What exactly is this?" she asked.
"You've never had rice before?" I asked, keeping my amusement to myself.
Yue shook her head, looking at the dish in fascination, "No, what is it exactly?"
"Rice is a grain grown here in the Earth Kingdom and in the Fire Nation as well," I replied, "Try it!" I remarked with a grin.
Yue considered the dish in front of her with some trepidation, but eventually seemed to give in and grabbed a couple of grains of rice along with a grilled piece of fish with the provided chopsticks, displaying a great deal of dexterity for her likely first use of them.
She consumed it in a single bite, and then her eyes lit up, "This is so good! What's the spice?"
I tried the fish myself and immediately felt the familiar tang of spice and salt.
Fire Nation spices.
"It's a traditional blend used in the Fire Nation, Spicen Salt, it's called," I gave Yue a half smile.
"They have spice like this in the Fire Nation?" Yue questioned, looking at me with wide eyes, "It's so hot!" Her cheeks had flushed, and sweat had begun to bead on her forehead.
"Easy," I chuckled, gesturing her towards the tea, "It can be an acquired taste."
Not to mention the fact that this level of spice was not likely to be found in the Northern Water Tribe, it wasn't really a match for their traditional foods.
We ate, but I kept an eye on the door. I had made contact with the bartender and had learned that an agent of mine was passing through.
The door swung open, and an old, thin man with a bald spot and long grey hair bound in a topknot walked in, surveying the bar before his eyes landed on me.
The briefest of moments of realization passed through his eyes before he kept walking, passing close by my shoulder, bumping slightly against my shoulder, a small paper scroll dropping into my palm in a small second.
I kept eating, acting like nothing happened, even as the man kept walking.
It had been somewhat expensive to keep a man in this port waiting, but it also meant I would have access to the information I needed the moment I came back to the Earth Kingdom.
After several moments, I rolled the paper out on my palm, taking a glance at the characters blazoned across it.
The characters were absolute gibberish, but rapidly I figured out the code that was used, 'The Palace remains quiet and the Court sessions remain sparse as the Fire Lord deals with the aftermath of his son's apparent death and the rumors spread of his continuing life. The Princess has become somewhat withdrawn, but her contact with the Fire Lord has been appropriately limited by our agents' interventions, along with Fire Prince Iroh's own proclivities. This arrangement has the potential for carrying on for some time as the Fire Lord is busy suppressing dissent in the population, but his distraction is unlikely to continue in perpetuity. Of immediate attention, there is a push for something to be done about Kyoshi Island within the court, to achieve some new victory as the war continues to stalemate in the broader Earth Kingdom.'
That last part was new and unusual; it was nothing like what I remembered happening before. Kyoshi Island had been left to its own devices for quite a while.
My lips thinned as I fiddled with the paper before letting a single blue spark send it up in a flash fire, as the message was, as always, written on flash paper.
"That's halfway across the world," I sighed.
There really wasn't much I could do to get there.
Yue's finger jabbed my stomach, and I turned to raise an eyebrow at the girl, who looked unrepentant. "If you frown so much, your face will stick that way," Yue said reprovingly, though a small grin peeked through on her ruby red lips.
"Thanks," I grinned at her, "I'll keep that in mind." Her words had poked my mind in a strange way.
"The Foggy Swamp," I remarked suddenly.
"Excuse me?" Yue raised an eyebrow at me, seemingly unimpressed by my non-sequitur.
"There's a place I want to go in the Earth Kingdom," I said, "It's called the Foggy Swamp, there it's said the spirits are present and the past and present join together."
"Why do you want to meet with the spirits?" Yue asked, her brow furrowing at me in confusion, "I thought we were supposed to be finding trade partners for the Northern Water Tribe.
"It's not really the spirits I want," I shook my head, "But it's a place I could get some answers to some questions I've been having, there's something larger at work. I want to find out why I was blessed by Tui."
"And you think you'll find it there?"
"I don't know," I shook my head. I was aware that the moon spirit had a physical form as a fish at the North Pole, but it wasn't specifically her guidance I was looking for; it was knowledge that I thought would be available specifically at the Foggy Swamp.
Not to mention, it would have been a pain to sneak into the Oasis, and the risks were very likely to outweigh the potential gains.
"But it's a possibility," I shrugged my shoulders, "We can train on the way there, and it gets us closer to where we need to be."
From what I remembered, though, the swamp seemed to have a habit of showing destinies.
And I think I needed to finally learn what mine was.
The open ocean remained as it had been since the start of our journey, a rippling blue expanse.
I could taste the salt in the air as we traveled across the waves, I stood by the ships motor feeding flame into it to speed our course over the waves.
This kind of firebending was easy enough, I knew in the future that air ships would be powered by fire bending past the technological development that allowed for fire to power propellers for ships which had been a development that had been around for a long time as a part of simple motor technology.
The motor of course could have worked with coal but this was simpler.
The metal ship was relatively small but sizeable enough for two people, it was more than the size of a fishing craft, and just on the low end of size for ocean travel.
The days fell into a pattern where we traveled the waves tracing a path down the Earth Kingdom.
At first I retraced the path of the waters that split the Earth Kingdom until I diverted when we reached the open ocean again and I began to trace a path down the western part of the Earth Kingdom.
From the maps I had obtained I knew the Foggy Swamp was right on the edge of the ocean which I imagined meant the water within would be rather brackish.
Still it was quite a ways away and I imagined we were in for several weeks of travel.
The sea air ripped past me, drying my lips out, but I smiled regardless because the breeze had reached a peak point again.
I stopped stoking the motor now and stood up, stretching my limbs with a yawn.
I moved down the ship, and with a couple of pulls of rope, I engaged the sails on the vessel, which caught the wind.
I glanced across the deck to see Yue lying out her robes, stripped off far past the point of modesty, only wearing a blue cloth wrap around her chest and a blue skirt with shorts.
She was stretched out like a lion seal on a rock, absorbing the sun's rays into her skin with a small smile on her face, her features relaxed.
The further we got away from the North Pole the more she seemed to relax I noted. What were passive smiles became quiet giggles became soft laughs.
Even confined to a ship as we were, she seemed to revel in the freedom of being able to bend water whenever she wanted.
Unable to help myself, I walked across the deck and took a deep breath as I stood above her and then gently blew out a wave of frost, the cloud of ice and cold covering Yue in a mist.
Yue startled, sitting up with a yelp, "Cold!" she cried out, before seeming to realize what had happened, and she turned to glare at me, "Ha- Zuko!" she cried out, "Was that necessary?"
Her pouting face stirred a small feeling of guilt within me, and I shrugged my shoulders, "I didn't think the cold would bother someone from the North Pole," I admitted. I had wanted to startle her, but I didn't think the frost would truly bother her.
Yue sighed, shaking her head, "It's not so simple. The further south we get, the warmer I feel. I actually really like it. I didn't realize the world could be so warm."
I nodded, and a small part of me realized that such a fact was rather serendipitous if she ever went to the Fire Nation, where heat was ever present, before shrugging the thought away almost immediately.
"Either way, we should go through water bending forms for a bit," I said.
Yue cocked her head at me and then looked at the ship, "Do we have enough room for that?" she questioned.
"It's fine," I said with a half smile, "Even if we don't bend a lot, practicing every day is the best way to improve."
"Your Chi can handle it?" Yue questioned, raising an eyebrow at me, "You've been powering the ship since before I even woke up."
I snorted, shaking my head in amusement, "I haven't been blessed with your reserves, Yui, but I've bent long enough that I'd say my efficiency is second to very few. No more talking, let's bend."
Firebending motions were sudden and powerful; waterbending motions were fluid and deceptively gentle.
I paced across the deck with Yui as we moved across from each other, mirroring our movements as we drew water from the ocean, passing it between us.
Yue had power in spades, I had discovered, somewhat like Azula, and a part of me was awed by the thought of what she could have accomplished by now if she had been trained like Azula.
Her technique, though, needed work.
It was her body that was the biggest limit; my own body had been forged with firebending prior, but Yue still had to deal with the entirely new physical effort from this way of waterbending compared to the healing she had been taught.
Her progress through the forms was decent, but a part of me worried that I was not encouraging enough innovation.
A master bender bent their elements in ways that others never thought of.
Uncle Iroh would warm his tea with a breath.
Pakku would stir his soup with a movement of his lips.
The beginning and advanced forms made a vital basis but those could only take you so far. If you had the body control and dedication along with the right teachers you could master and run through the forms with little trouble.
I had practiced all the forms of the bending I had found in the Fire Nation's library, adapting what I could, though it had been the air bending scrolls that I had gotten my hands on through great difficulty that had helped the most.
My Uncle Iroh would have said something about the different types of jin, or basics, being the true fundamentals, but I had a simpler explanation.
Fire flew and burned through the air and was a similarly insubstantial element as air was.
Water and Earth were solid elements.
Therefore, there was a similarity in their manipulation.
It was something that I thought of when I created billowing clouds of flames. I was literally setting my chi alight as I stirred the air.
It was a thought that remained in my mind as I guided Yue through stances I had learned a long time ago from scrolls, and some more recently I had learned from Master Pakku.
Yue had the potential to truly be great, and I didn't want to be the limitation of that.
I wanted her to bend water like Toph bent earth. Almost thoughtless in the motions, the element moving to her will be even more than just her body's motions.
I realized Yue had formed the water stream into shifting lines of ice, arcing streams glittering frozen water towards me.
I spun with the motion, drawing the streams of water into a singular ball, forming it at the center of my chest.
"Well done," I grinned at the girl, "You held the flows together this time," I praised.
Yue sniffed, "And you were getting lost in thought again," she rebuked mildly, raising an elegant white eyebrow at me.
"Ah," I winced at Yue's words and bowed my head in acknowledgement, "You're right, my apologies."
Yue sighed and shifted her arms, taking the ball of water from me, orbiting it around her torso in a rapid stream before sending it shooting into the ocean.
"You're getting tense," Yue remarked, walking towards me and standing in front of me, her arms crossed across her waist, her brown skin shining from the sweat in the sunlight, "What's wrong?"
I blinked, taken aback, unsure of how I had been read so easily, "I'm not tense," I replied instantly, not thinking the words though.
Yue's eyebrow raised further, and disapproval was evident on her face. "And I'm not the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe," she remarked dryly, "What's bothering you?" she asked, and her tone softened, and she looked at me with her calm blue eyes boring holes into me.
I sighed and turned to the ocean, unable to meet her eyes so directly right now, gazing over the sea with a furrowed brow, "I think I'm getting antsy," I replied, the words surprising me but making more sense once I had said them, "I keep getting this feeling that somethings waiting for me."
"Waiting?" Yue asked, confused, "How do you mean?"
I shook my head, frustrated with my own inability to correctly phrase the feeling, "The longer we spend on the water and the closer we get to the Swamp, the more I feel this tense anxiety in my stomach eating at me, "I think there's something I need to do but I don't know what."
"Have you felt this way before?" Yue asked, and I turned to her, surprised at the question, my face scrunching slightly in thought.
"It's similar to before my sister was born," I finally remarked before sighing and shrugging my shoulders, "I don't know more than that."
Yue hummed, "I'm sorry, that must really be bothering you," she said a gently hand stroking down my bare back.
We looked out to the ocean in silence for a moment before something seemed to occur to Yue, her face brightening, "Want to take a bath?" she exclaimed.
I was unable to suppress the grin on my face at her words. Yue had become utterly fascinated by bathing with hot water instead of the cleaning the Northern Water Tribes usually participated in, since I had heated the tub for her on the boat.
"Go on then, I'll heat the first bath for you," I said, turning to walk to the cabin where the tub was stored.
Yue hummed in agreement.
I walked into the somewhat small cabin that contained the steering wheel, along with two cots stacked against the wall.
On the far side, there was a metal tub which I began to fill with water that I had desalinated with fire bending and a metal barrel, after which I rapidly filled the tub with hot water, smiling as I flexed my chi.
My ears pricked up as I heard the cabin door open. "The water will be done heating soon," I said.
The door closed, and Yue spoke, "The water always cools down so quickly from the best temperature, though…"
Several soft steps made their way toward me, and I heard the unmistakable sound of bare feet slapping against metal before two gentle arms were wrapped around my waist, and hot breath ran across my lower back, before two soft, plush mounds were pressed into me, gently squishing against my skin and conforming to my muscles.
"Yue," I murmured, trying to make my voice sound like the gentle warning it was meant to be, but my throat slightly choked as my teenage body didn't seem to agree with me.
"Zuko," her hot breath whispered against the back of my neck.
"This isn't appropriate, Yue," I said quietly.
Yue's fingers drifted over my bare chest, trailing down toward my abdomen, her dark brown skin contrasting against my own paleness.
Her lips brushed against my ear, and I suppressed a shiver down my spine. "I'm to be your wife, Zuko. I think it would be far more inappropriate for you to leave me by myself."
A shiver passed through me as Yue's fingers continued their path lower.
I resolutely stared ahead, attempting to navigate this suddenly stormy current, "Please, Yue," I murmured, though I was unsure of what I actually meant by those words.
Yue's lips pressed against my collarbone, gently pressing against my skin, a soft, wet, warm feeling trailing over my skin.
"Just a little bit," she whispered softly into my ear, her tone yearning, breathy, hot air brushing against my skin.
I grimaced unwillingly, feeling the excitement of my teenage body coursing through me, my blood flowing far too quickly.
"Just a little bit," I returned, gently twisting around in her hold, getting a full frontal view of her.
She was absolutely gorgeous.
Her white hair had been undone to drape gently down her back as she stared up at me with half-lidded blue eyes, a somewhat clouded look in them.
Her lips were slightly apart, and I could hear her somewhat labored breathing as she stepped forward, pressing herself against my torso, her breasts pressing flush against my stomach, conforming against my abdomen, though not before I caught a glimpse of her smooth pubic mound protruding out slightly.
Her eyes met mine, and I saw her cheeks flush a deep red. She glanced away almost immediately. Her breasts were small, equal-sized teardrops, not fully sized from her youth, but taught and high up on her chest, dusky nipples poking out slightly.
Her dusky skin was smooth, soft, and with a gentle warmth as I stroked my palms against her sides, feeling the edge of her hips stroking her hip bone.
She kept looking away, though I could see her biting her lip, and I realized that despite her actions, she was nervous, almost painfully so.
Her breath was quickened not just from arousal but from the rapid beats of her heart, I could feel from her breasts pressed against my chest.
Gently, I reached out a hand and stroked a single finger down Yue's face, marveling at the smoothness of her skin.
I stood there for what felt like an eternity, marveling at the creature before me, before I leaned down slightly, pressing my lips gently to Yue's forehead.
"There's no need to rush," I murmured, a hand curling around her back to stroke her shoulder blades softly, "When we're both ready, there will be all the time in the world."
Yue sagged into me, her body untensing as she buried her face in my chest.
"It's really okay to wait?" she murmured, her tone shy, a somewhat mixed sound of relief and the edges of disappointment audible in it, "I always thought… I was told when you became a man's wife, there were needs of his you would need to see to. That you should do so as soon as possible if you want his love for you to last."
I withheld the grimace that wanted to appear on my face from her words, instead keeping my face gentle as I looked down at her.
"We've still only really just met, we have plenty of time to get to know each other, we'll move forward when we're both ready, okay?"
Yue nodded into my chest, and my stomach dropped as I felt hot, wet moisture against my skin.
"Yue, are you alright?" I asked softly, gently stroking her back.
Yue hummed into my chest a soft, barely audible sound, "I'm fine, Zuko, but I must ask that when I remove my face, you mustn't look, I can't let you see me cry again so soon."
"And why is that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange reasoning.
Yue growled and then I felt her nip my chest, biting softly down on my skin, "Because it's unladylike," she remarked petulantly.
"I suppose if that's what my fiancée wishes," I said in a musing tone, withholding a slightly amused smile from my face. Only Yue would bare her body to me, but then refuse to let me see her cry.
I turned my head, and Yue withdrew before sliding past me and sliding a delicate leg teasingly into the tub.
"It's so warm," she said aloud, and I could hear the awe in her voice.
"It should be, I heated it with my fire bending, though I don't know how long the heat will last," I said, shrugging my shoulders. The tub wasn't super well insulated, so I could only hope the heat lasted long enough.
I was about to step out of the cabin to give Yue privacy before a gentle hand latched onto my wrist, "Stay, please," she whispered quietly.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"If it's not too much," Yue responded quietly, "I'd like the company." She hesitated another moment before her voice became closer to its normal teasing tone. "And how else will you make sure that my bath remains warm?"
"Your reducing a Prince of the Fire Nation to a bath warmer?" I asked, amusement curling my lips.
"No, I'm having my fiancée do a necessary and important duty," Yue sniffed haughtily from behind me.
A moment of silence passed before each of us broke into light chuckling, the tension easing from the room.
Now, if only the same could be said for my pants.