Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 96: Scars

On their final day at the North Pole, Zuko attended an early morning meeting with the officers on board the ship. One issue brought up at the table was the loss of firebending among the former POWs due to constant exposure to the frigid temperatures during their confinement. The doctor in the infirmary had been trying all week to reverse the loss, but he had had no success in treating them, and they were concerned that they might never recover. Chiara had even consulted Yagoda, but the Water Tribe healers did not know enough about firebender physiology to recommend a treatment.

When he returned to the suite at the palace, he was not expecting to find Chiara dressed in Water Tribe clothing. Though he was used to seeing her in the deep red colors of his Nation, he found her beautiful in the colors of the Tribe, and it was a much better sight than the blue stained with blood the last time they visited the North Pole. The light blue accentuated her dark skin and long onyx plait that lay over her right shoulder and drifted down to her waist. But it was her green eyes which held him spellbound.

He drew nearer to her. "You look beautiful," he said sounding dazed. "You look like a Tribal princess..." She smiled at his compliment and it did not help to break the spell he felt he was under. "...I mean...you are a princess...and...you're just...you're really beautiful..."

She was softly giggling at his attempt to compliment her. She pointed to the clothes on the bed. "And you're about to be a Tribal prince."

"Are we doing this because of your family?" he asked.

"No. I just thought it'd be nice to walk through the city undercover."

He smirked at her. "Like Ba Sing Se."

"Exactly."

He may have been welcomed by Chief Arnook and his council and many others of the tribe, including Chiara's family, but there were still quite a few who would stare at them as if they were still the enemy.

After taking the clothes, he reappeared a few minutes later looking like a Fire Nation prince in Water Tribe attire.

Her smile reached her eyes when she saw him dressed in Tribal colors. "My brave warrior is quite handsome in Water Tribe blue. It really highlights your fiery eyes."

He blushed at her compliment, but his golden eyes lit up and a pleasant tremor passed through his heart. He stepped close to her placing a tender kiss on her lips.

"Your lips are so warm," she whispered.

He pressed them against hers again, and the warmth filled her whole body. She was sorry to feel him pull away, but the fiery gold of his eyes made up for the separation of their lips. She took his hand and led him to the dressing table.

"Sit. I'll fix your hair for you." She stood behind him and carefully removed his headpiece before rearranging his topknot into a wolftail. "I did this for your uncle years ago."

"Wait...Uncle dressed like the Water Tribe?"

"Yes, and he looked quite handsome too."

He was laughing. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen him dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes. But it's hard to imagine him in Water Tribe."

"The chief insisted that we both assimilate during our stay," she explained.

Zuko chuckled. "I'm surprised he didn't make me assimilate, especially after inducting me into the Tribe."

"You're here as a diplomat, not to blend in...except for today," she said as she finished his hair. "There."

He stood up and stared at himself in the mirror. "I'm so glad Sokka isn't here to see this." He ran his hand over his hair. "It's bad enough he'll never shut up about us being cousins-in-law."