A Princess' Destiny ✘ZUKO ✘

20

"You both better visit Reid and me. It's going to be so quiet without you two here." Yuri said as Sueh and Soana packed their things in their bedroom.

"If you see the Avatar up there you better let me know!" Reid said to Sueh before running away to play with his stuffed platypus bear.

Sueh was finished before Soana since she had not been in Ba Sing Se for as long as her. In response to Yuri's comment, Sueh turned her attention to the mother.

"Don't you worry about a thing. We will be over enough to do our shopping trips and to visit with Reid."

As Sueh and Yuri chatted away, Soana had a satchel full of clothes that she had during her stay. She decided to pack those with since she would need those clothes the first week of being in the upper ring.

While she packed, Soana came across a reminder of her past; the betrothal necklace Zuko made for her.

It was at the bottom of her satchel from when the mechanist had packed her bag along with her water pouch.

When she held it in her hands, she closed her eyes and reminisced about the time she had with Zuko at the North Pole prior to the truth of Niko's murder.

Her head spun when the memory became as clear as day.

"Soana?" She heard Sueh ask.
"Are you alright?"

Soana opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, putting the betrothal necklace in the pocket of her robe.
"Yeah, uhm," She hesitated.
"I just need some fresh air."

Without being questioned, Soana got up and left her bedroom to walk out the front door.

The night had fallen along with the temperature.

Soana hugged herself to keep her arms warm as she inhaled then exhaled. A gust of wind swept through the empty area of the lower ring, making the hair that framed Soana's face sway side to side.

It was silent and everything looked to be still until the princess noticed a figure walking on the rooftops of the condemned houses.

Suspicion had consumed Soana when she saw that the person wore a blue dragon mask and black clothing. The sword sheath that laid diagonally across his back held two dual swords, making Soana's suspicion stronger.

Determined to know who was treading on the rooftops as the infamous Blue Spirit, she began to follow the person as silently as she could manage.

She had the "Blue Spirit" in her sights, but when she followed them down an alleyway they disappeared. Feeling defeated, Soana sighed and turned around only to see the person wearing the blue dragon mask in a threatening stance.

Although the person looked to be dangerous, she felt no fear whatsoever. Instead, she felt sympathy.

The person reached on their back and grabbed their dual swords only to line them in an X on their chest.

"I didn't know the Blue Spirit used weapons?" Soana asked, standing tall and brave.

The person did not answer her question, but they did speak.
"Why aren't you afraid?" He questioned.

Soana figured out why she did not feel scared of this person. She recognized the voice and brought herself closer by taking slow, careful strides towards him.

"Because I know you and the demon that stands before me, masked as a spirit." She said simply. "This isn't who you are, Zuko. You're not the villain."

He lowered his swords to his sides and stood normally.

"Don't tell me who I am. I already know." He sounded irritated as usual.

Soana shook her head.
"Zuko, please."

She stood arm's length away from him. His mask looked terrifying just like his demon, but her fear had diminished when she knew this was only a prop.

"This isn't your destiny. You don't hurt people on purpose."

"Don't you dare talk to me about destiny. Your destiny was to lead your people to peace and freedom. Now look where they are. They side with the Avatar."

"And is that such a bad thing?" Soana gritted her teeth.
"The Avatar is supposed to restore balance to the world, to make peace and freedom for all who thrive with him."

"The Avatar will destroy my father's vision of a balanced world. I have to do something while he's here in Ba Sing Se."

Soana cut Zuko off.

"Your father's and your forefathers' versions of maintaining world order is genocide of the Air Nomads, and imprisonment of Southern water benders. Wiping out an entire nation is not peace nor freedom, it's mass genocide."

"Being a murderer must run in the family then." Zuko said coldly.

"On your father's side it does, but not on your mother's. I've been told by my father's advisors that your mother was everything your father was not. You may be Ozai's son, but you are also Ursa's, and I believe you can overcome this abomination you call destiny."

Zuko did not speak and neither did Soana. The two only stood in silence.

When the princess decided enough was enough, she took a small step slowly towards Zuko and reached for his mask.

She laid her hands on the carved wood and lifted it slightly enough to show Zuko's pale skin and flushed cheeks. Soana then noticed a tear rolling off his cheekbone then down his face.

Feeling sympathetic, Soana wiped the tear away for him with the back of her hand then continued to remove the mask.

She got to where she could see his amber irises looking back at her blue ones. Even looking through his scar, Zuko said painfully:
"I'm not worthy. You should just forget about me."

Soana frowned and turned her hand to cradle the side of his face.
"Zuko," She cooed.

He looked at his feet while Soana remembered something.

She fished her hand into her pocket and felt the lace of the necklace.
"How can I manage to forget about you when I'm always reminded?"

She presented the necklace in her palm to Zuko as he glanced at it.
"You kept it?"

Soana sighed.
"I couldn't get rid of it. Believe me. I thought I lost it at sea, but it followed me like a ghost."

Zuko hummed, took his hand, and cupped the outside of hers to make her fingers fold around the necklace.

"Zuko, wherever you go, I go. And wherever I go, you follow. You're my friend,"

Zuko cut her off by pressing his lips against hers suddenly.

Caught in the moment, Zuko dropped his swords and let them clatter on the cobblestone. Immediately, his hands went to Soana's hips to satisfy his need to touch her.

She felt the warmth of his body near hers, making the cool night air vanish then replaced with Zuko's body heat.

Soana sighed into the kiss and let her eyes fall shut. That was until she realized what they were doing.

Slowly, they both pulled apart and stared at each other. Zuko's amber eyes searched hers with a glimmer of hope.

"Zuko," Soana frowned, knowing that he sees the pleading look in her eyes. "Please."

He backed away from her, letting his touch linger on her hips. He then grabbed his dual swords off the ground and quickly put them back into the sheath before putting his mask over his face.

"This isn't who you are!" She said as he leaped onto a stack of crates then climbed swiftly onto the rooftops and sprinting away.

"Zuko!"
Soana was left standing with the betrothal necklace in her hand. She quickly saved her face and put the necklace back in the pocket of her robe.