Zuko x OC : The Phoenix Princess

Chapter 3

Aria looked at the golden flaming bird with curiosity as it stared back at her.

"Hello Aria" it said with a calming feminime voice

Aria's eyes widened even more and started stuttering "Y-you c-c-can talk? How is that even possible? Where did you come from? What are you? Or maybe who are you?" 

"Now now be patient, my princess, I will answer all your questions. My name is Lia and I am the spirit of the Pheonixes. I am here to teach you how to control your pheonix firebending." she said while moving gently her big wings, slowly approaching Aria.

"Oh no, I think you found the wrong person, I am not a pheonix firebender, actually I am not a bender at all!" said Aria with certainty. Her father, always , told her that she wasn't a bender and that she shouldn't try to do something that she couldn't. She would be wasting her time, instead of practicing or doing something that she could. But, then again, her father was a pheonix firbender, but she had never considered the possibility of her inhariting that bending of his.

" I know that is hard to believe but I can assure you that I am not wrong. You are a pheonix firebender just like your father. It just hasn't awaken yet , due to you never believing that you are one and the fear of being one in this current era."  said Lia with a gentle smile, which Aria found weird that she could understand that a bird smiled. 

Aria gave the bird a skeptical look, looked straight at her eye and said 

"Prove it"

" I am sorry?" said Lia , a little surprised.

"You want me to believe that a flaming talking bird just appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be the pheonix spirit and also claiming that I am a pheonix firebender without me knowing it, to not be a dream? Prove to me that you are real and that I am a bender" Aria said with crossed arms and a challenging glint in her eyes. Lia was suprised to say the least. It was the first time that a human doupted her existance and her knowlegde and not kneel down to show their respect. 

Lia gave a gentle chuckle " Very well then "

She started flying, circling around Aria and bright flames formed a mini tornado around her. Surpringly, she was not scared, she actually felt welcomed and warm around the flames. Suddenly, images after images started forming in her head. When the images faded out she was a little shocked. Lia just showed her, her memories. She showed her the story of the dragons, the pheonixes and the soulmates. The story that Aria used to love but hated now because in all her life and the lives of her parents such thing as the soulmates never existed. There was not equality between the firebenders and the pheonix firebenders and no one, such as soulmates or prince and princess, was there to fix it. 

"After the 100 year war the pheonix firebenders were banished, because it was believed that they weaken and burden the fire nation, so Firelord Sozin established the law that you know now. Thus, the soulmates never met or rather they were not chosen since nobody of the royal family was worthy to be one of them. Nil, the dragon spirit, tried to warn Sozin but he did not listen. And now this catastropfe has been done."

"Then why didn't you help the pheonix firebenders. You are more powerful than Firelord Sozin, why didn't you stop him?!" Aria asked a little more intensely with the anger winning over her control, because it was unfair. Everything about this world is unfair.

" We, spirits, are forbitten to act on the human world without the avatar's permition." Lia answered calmly.

"Oh really? Then how did you decide about the soulmates all those years ago? There was no avatar then" Aria stated boldly

"Exactly there was no avatar. When the first avatar was chosen we decided on these rules for the sake of the balance of the world. Right now it's not the same as then. The avatar may be gone for 100 years now but he still exists, he is still alive." Lia explained. 

"He-he is alive?" Aria said with sock. All her anger gone, replaced with hope and excitment.

"Yes he is, but that's all I can tell you now. The rest you will learn when the time is right."

After a few moments of Aria realizing everything Lia said and showed her, she looked at her once again with the same challenging look as before and said " OK, you explained to me who you are and your story and I believe you. But you have yet to prove to me that I am a bender"

Lia chuckled once again and told her "I will prove it to you in tomorrow's training"

"In tomorrow's what now?"

"Tomorrow night I want you to come again to this beach so we can start your training in pheonix firedending. That's when you will have your proof. Now, that's enouph for today, I think it's time for you to get back home." Lia said as she started moving her wings more sharply and quinckly, getting ready to fly up to the sky. 

" Wait-" Aria started running towards her with her arm streching out to reach her. It was too late though Lia had already dessapearred in the night, a thin line of yellow golden line was visible in the sky showing her location.

Aria was once again alone in the beach, with the calming silince of the wind and the crushing waves. Slowly, she made her way back home still thinking about everything Lia had told her.

About the soulmates and their story, which apparently was true, about her being a bender, about Lia wanting to teach her to firebend, about the avatar being alive. Everything was too much and it made her head hurt. She had so many questions and everything seemed to have happened so quickly, she didn't have enouph time to process anything. She sighed deeply and started to think about her mother's warm food and her bed at home. 

She got home without realizing it. She took a deep breath and entered her home. "Hi honey" her mother gave her a warm smile. Aria smiled back at her. "How was your little trip to the beach?"

"Calming, I really enjoyed it"

"Oh I am so glad to hear that. Come sit dinner is almost ready"

Aria decided to not tell her mother anything just yet. She wanted to make sure she had the answers to all her questions before explaining anything to her mother.

That night Aria had a dreamless sleep, with the the thoughts of the evening still spinning in her head.