The Sea of Ice (Sun and Moon Book 2)

Chapter 32 - Memories

I wake to a strange sensation, and it takes me a moment to figure out what it is. Warmth. I'm WARM. I blink open my eyes slowly, not understanding.

Though my eyes are open, the blackness doesn't really fade. I shift a little, and that's when I feel it.

Feel HIM.

He is wrapped around me, or maybe I'm wrapped around him, I'm not sure. He's turned toward me, his arms around my waist. Our legs are entwined; my fingers are loosely clenched in his shirt, my face buried in the hollow of his neck. He smells wonderful. My heart pounds and I'm not sure what to do. I have no idea how this happened, but underneath the combined weight of our furs, sharing our body heat... I'm warm.

And I feel safe here, and cozy. I should move. I should get up and move away from him, I'm supposed to hate him! But... how can I? How can I hate him when it's so obvious that he hasn't changed? I thought that he'd lied to me, that everything in Ba Sing Se was just another trap for Aang.

But Zuko hasn't changed. He's still kind, and quietly contemplative, and strong, and funny... and his smile still makes my heart beat faster.

I don't know what that means anymore. I don't know where we'll go from here. I know that if I tell him about Lia... he's going to hate me. Will our places be reversed, then? Can't I just stay here in this moment, at peace and with him, without the world and our lies intruding?

Sighing softly, I let myself drift back to sleep.

**__**

"It... it can't be true." Kamil shook his head, rereading the letter over and over in his head. There were countless letters in the chest, but this one... oh, this one. Mai looked at him with wide eyes.

"We have to send for Zuko."

"No, no, we have to think about this. If anyone finds out..."

"He has a right to know."

"I know that, Mai, but... Zuko... he's not..." Kamil couldn't wrap his mind around it. "We have to burn this letter! No one can find out that he's... that he's not..." He took a deep breath, but Mai put a hand on his arm.

"We can't. We'll keep it safe until he comes back, but he has to see this for himself."

Kamil nodded slowly, and together he and Mai gathered up all the letters. He WOULD send a message to the South Pole, and tell Zuko he needed to get his butt back home. It wasn't just this newest development.

The Fire Nation needed its Firelord.

**__**

Zuko woke feeling... good. He was warm and comfortable, with a soft, familiar body in his arms. He opened his eyes, blinking sleepily, and kissed her forehead. He wondered if Uncle was awake yet. Probably.

He smiled as she woke, blinking at him. "Morning, Kara." He smiled sleepily at her, and she returned it, snuggling closer. He absently stroked her hair, drifting in the world between being asleep and being awake.

Then, suddenly, Kara's bright blue eyes bolted wide and she straight up. Freezing cold air enveloped them, and Zuko was wrenched forcefully back to the present. He rubbed his head and looked away from her, quickly finding his coat in the mess of furs and pulling it on. She did the same, not looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her face and would've sworn she was blushing.

He wasn't sure how they'd ended up like that, but for a moment... for a moment, Zuko had thought they were back in Ba Sing Se, in their apartment over the Jasmine Dragon. Zuko had thought... had FELT... at home. Safe. Comfortable. He shook his head. He had to stop with the fantasies.

Just because she'd realized she didn't hate him didn't mean she LOVED him. And if he was honest with himself... Zuko wasn't sure he wanted her to love him. Things were complicated enough without that.

_____

Zuko watched her, her arms forever moving. It was like she never got tired. She was so determined, so... strong. Her emotions may have been in turmoil and she may have felt lost and confused, but she was still the strongest waterbender in the world, with a strength that left him dizzy.

He frowned as he recalled her words, 'I'm not the strongest waterbender!'. He wondered what she'd meant. He thought about asking her, but he was too cold to talk. Hunched over himself in the sled, breathing fire that was more like embers instead of flame. It was so cold that firebending was difficult.

It was a hundred times worse than being in the cooler in the Boiling Rock, worse than any cold he'd ever experienced. He wondered if--

Suddenly the sled skidded sideways, and Katara yelped as she toppled backwards. Zuko stood as fast as he could, catching her with his good arm, holding her against his chest. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. But... what.." She moved her arms, letting a portion of the ice wall down. Staring out over the suddenly much clearer landscape, Zuko gaped. There wasn't a tree or a cliff or even a bird to be seen. Stretching out in front of them was nothing but ice, raised in patterns like wavelets. Zuko stepped onto it, catching himself against the sled so he didn't slide and fall.

Looking down, Zuko saw that the ice was dark and thick, probably descending for miles. What was this?

Katara stepped down beside him, and she looked around with as much awe as Zuko felt. She leaned down and took off one glove, placing her palm against the ice. She gasped and stood, her blue eyes wide.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Zuko... this place. It's... it's amazing. It's an ocean. A sea that's been completely frozen, all the way through! All the way down to the seabed. It's nothing but frozen water. And there are tunnels, leading down through the ice!" She frowned, and moved her left foot forward, bringing both her hands up. Then she spread them to the sides, and a few feet away a yawning tunnel opened in the surface of the ice, leading downward. A pale blue light seemed to emanate from it.

"I think... I think Araden is down there, Zuko. I think there's a city under the ice." She looked at him, caught between shock and amazement. Zuko felt the same way. "If Araden is down there, then that's where we're going."

She nodded, then frowned at the sled. "I don't think it'll fit."

"Then we leave it here."

Nodding again, she dropped the rest of the ice wall and gathered the furs that laid along the inside of it. She tied several to her pack and slung it over her shoulders. Zuko did the same, and with one last glance behind them, the Firelord and the Water Princess descended into the Sea of Ice.

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0.o wellllzzz den. XD five comments!