The Pirate Empress

1

"Zari, I have news," I said, biting my lip. My hand rested on his strong shoulder, which was relaxed as he looked over the map of where our ships were at the time of their reports.

He looked up, pale blue eyes shining. "Yes?" he asked, nervous. He must have heard the tone of my voice: serious, and full of meaning.

"We, um.." I didn't know how to say it.

"I went to visit Katara today about those headaches, and me throwing up so much," I eventually said.

"And?" He pulled me into his lap, resting his chin on my head, just the way we normally sat. "Are you okay? Did she heal you?"

"There's nothing to heal," I said, a soft smile on my face.

"What?" He pulls back, confused.

"I'm perfectly healthy.. and so is.. our baby," I said, smiling.

His look of confusion turned to shock, then pride, then settled on joy. He kissed the top of my head. "Baby?" he whispered into my hair.

"Yeah... Katara says it's a boy."

"I'm gonna be a dad."

"You are," I said. "And I'm gonna be a mom."

I was shocked into wakening from my.. "interesting" dream when I fell face-first onto the wooden floor of our cabin. I looked on the bed to see my boyfriend missing, then stumbled out of the room, holding myself due to the cold. We weren't anywhere near Republic City.

I walked up to the platform where I knew my boyfriend was, in a coat, steering the ship around an iceberg. We must be in one of the Poles. I don't have any idea why Zari pulled us out here in the middle of the night, but I trusted him. We were in all sorts of dangerous situations together, and we were only 21. It had all started when I was 8 and snuck onto a sky-bison named Oogi to go off with my siblings and kinda-cousins on an adventure to save our parents, when we got a little help from him and his mom ... but that's another story.

As soon as the danger was passed, I slipped my arms around his waist from behind and pressed my face into the spot between his shoulder blades. I felt him tense up, then relax; he knew it was me. "Morning," he said.

"Morning to you too." I stepped to my right so I stood by his side, looking out at the cold waters. "Where are we? And why is it so cold?"

"We're in the South Pole."

"Why?"

His voice was filled of emotion - sadness, pain, longing. "Today's the anniversary."

"Oh." I paused. "You alright?"

"As alright as I'm gonna be." He wiped a tear from his chin with the heel of his palm.

I stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, then walked down to the cabin.

I changed into some warm black sweatpants, a fuzzy green sweater, and my stereotypical pirate boots that I love. I went to the adjoined kitchen and began to cook some eggs and sausage on the small stove, the smoke going through a hole in the ceiling and out of the ship via a pipe that Zari put in when he built the ship by himself.

I plated the meals and walked upstairs, holding two bottles of water under my arm. "Hey. I made food," I said.

He didn't move. It wasn't like I didn't know why - today was the anniversary, after all. But I've never been with him on this day of the year. He's just so ... sad.

I don't really like seeing my prince this sad.

"Come on, Zari. You have to eat."

"I'm not really hungry."