The Blue Spirit ღ (Zuko x OC)

Chapter ⅤⅠⅠ: The Burns They May Leave

Zuko stirred awake, his eyes groggily adjusting to being open again. He felt warm and more comfortable than usual. Blinking the sleep away and letting his eyes fall upon a sleeping face in front of him, he remembers the fire, her arms around him ... how she looked at him as she offered the bed beside her...

He felt his face start to burn, feeling thankful she was still slumbering peacefully beside him and couldn't see. At some point in the night, she must have turned over. Zuko realised he'd been tensed up and relaxed his body, admiring her features. He found himself flooded with a desire to touch her, to run his fingers through her crimson hair or kiss her softly, protectively on the forehead. It took every bit of strength to resist, before he began to scold himself for feeling this way, and questioning himself.

There came a knocking on the door that seemed to rouse Nala. He watched as she looked up sleepily, her eyes roaming to the wall hanging behind him. Something about the Fire Nation emblem seemed to ignite a terror in her.

"Prince Zuko." Came an authoritative voice from the other side of the door. Nala leapt up in panic, but Zuko grabbed her to pull her to him, covering her mouth to stifle a squeak.

"What?" He snapped.
"Prince Zuko, Admiral Zhao has lifted the restriction on ships. At your request, we shove off from port this afternoon. The men are hoping to pick up some supplies from the land before departure."

"Go ahead without me." Zuko responded to the ship's officer, hearing his footsteps leave. He removed his hand from Nala's mouth.

"Prince?" She turned to him wide-eyed. Zuko looked away, his mind wandering.

"... maybe." His response was pensive and morose. Nala was about to speak again when several more footsteps could be heard. She pulled the blanket up and buried herself into Zuko's chest, unsuccessfully trying to make herself scarce. The maybe-Prince felt himself tense nervously at her closeness, succumbing to the urge to place his hand at the back of her head protectively. They lay in silence for several moments, listening as the footsteps of the crew gathered then departed from the ship.

Nala felt panic undulating through her like the sea. Prince? Is that possible? Suddenly she felt incredibly self conscious ... could she really be nestled this close to the Prince of the Fire Nation? Was there ... any other Firebending kingdoms they could mean? Maybe small sovereign nations? Was there a chance it could be a mocking title? Surely not, the Fire Nation was too proud for such humour.

Once the footsteps had been out of earshot for a decent time, Nala peered up at him from beneath the blanket. Her eyes trailed over him ... those eyes, that scar, that ponytail ... down to his shoulders. She stopped her gaze abruptly to meet his eyes again.

"Prince ... Zuko? Prince of the Fire Nation?" She was in complete disbelief. Zuko was about to speak, when there came another knock on the door, causing Nala to curl into him again. She ran through a measure of excuses for her being there. So long as her appearance could be hidden, they could say she was just some Earth Kingdom girl. If he truly was the Prince, surely it wouldn't be difficult to believe he could have any woman in the world? That thought made her stomach sink.

"Zuko? I thought you might like some tea and jasmine rice for you and your guest." An older voice came from the other side of the door. Nala looked at him from under the blanket with panic. He mouthed a gentle 'It's okay' before speaking up to the man behind the door.

"No, thank you, Uncle." But he was met with a different look. Wrong answer. "Uh ... on second thought ..."

"If you'd be so kind ..." Nala peeped. She decided to trust this voice.