The DragonBorn

Chapter 6

Days of sailing continued with nothing to really speak of. Nothing else had happened since they departed from Zhao's harbor and Zuko had fought his second Agni Kai. Zeraphina was on the deck watching as the waves crashed against the metal of the ship. She leaned over against the railing, enjoying the salty air that she had become accustomed to over the past three years. Actually, she quite enjoyed the water much more than fire if you could believe it. 

Because her mother and father were both descended from water benders, she learned a lot about waterbending from her paternal grandfather and her maternal grandmother. Because of this, she became fascinated with water, how it was soft and yet powerful. But she was blessed with the power over fire, a force that burns and destroys. 

Zeraphina sighed as she looked down at the water, creating a small white flame in her hands before letting it fall into the waters below.

"You shouldn't let your fire go like that." A voice said behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Zuko standing behind her. He stood beside her leaning against the railing and looking down at the water.

"It's my fire, isn't it?" Zeraphina said, "Besides, a small flame left to the water is just fine. It's not like anyone would be able to find us through a tiny amount of smoke. I think we'll be fine."

"Why do are you even staring at the ocean? It's a waste of time." Zuko groaned.

"I'm descended from waterbenders, you can't blame me form having a connection to the water. I can't help it."

Zuko chuckled, "A firebender that likes the water. You've always been weird since we were kids."

"And you've always been stubborn about things."

They stayed there for a moment, not saying anything and letting the sounds of the waves fill their ears through their silence.

"Have you had any dreams lately?" Zuko suddenly asked.

Zeraphina shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing too out of the ordinary. I was just basically seeing the same thing over and over again."

"And what is it that you were seeing?"

"I saw water. Lots of water. A woman was standing in front of me dressed in green robes, and holding fans as the earth was shaking around her. She looked so strong and yet she smiled so gently at me."

"What do you think it means?"

"Not sure. You know my dreams, sometimes they tell me things clearly, and other times they just lead me down a very foggy path. This dream seems to be the latter."

"Well, when you figure it out, tell me immediately." Zuko said and turned away from her, "You'd better get ready for training later this evening. I won't be going easy on you."

Zeraphina chuckled, "And you think that I've been going easy on you? Please, I would never go easy on a firebending prince. It's not like you could ever beat a DragonBorn. We excel in fire duels."

"Is that a challenge?" Zuko said, turning back around and smirking at the fire haired girl.

Zeraphina smirked back, "I'll see you at sunset then."

The two left the deck and went back to the their rooms, only coming back out later that evening for training. It was a simple duel, but like she said before, Zuko lost to the DragonBorn girl. When the sun had set, Zeraphina followed Zuko to his room to watch over him as he meditated for the night. She was always in charge of watching how his control over his flames had progressed through his calming meditations.

The prince sat with his eyes closed and legs crossed in front of four brightly lit candles, whose flames seemed to grow in sync with Zuko's calm breathing. Zeraphina smiled at how even his focus was.