But you, will be mine

by Mary__lou

Summary:

Zuko was blessed by Agni as a baby. His connection with the spirit world are strong as a result. He travels the world, not to find the avatar, but to try his best to fulfill his promise to Agni, "Help bring peace into the world". He eventually ends up meeting the gaang.

No one really thought the blond streak in his hair was important until they did.

Oh, and Azula loves her brother for a chagne.

Chapter 1: Ursa's Prologue

Ursa wasn’t royalty growing up. She had come from a quiet fishing island on the border of the Fire Nation. Her skin was permanently tanned, a few shades darker than other Fire Nation citizens who lived on the main island. Her hair was dark, eyes golden. Money was scarce, but the village made it work. Her clothing was always a bit baggy. Ursa remembers going into the capitol once, for trading purposes. The citizens mocked her outfit, saying that it was too “scandalous” and “revealing”. She herself had no qualms about the way she dressed. It was hotter on her island and everybody else there went shirtless or would wear a piece of cloth across the chest. Ursa also couldn’t care less about what these rich folk said.

 

Traditions in her village were very important, they meant everything. Every holiday, birthday, and wedding would be celebrated until nobody could stand anymore due to tiredness. She loved these days the most, always helping put up decorations or cooking for the event. All the people on her little island knew each other, and Ursa liked it that way.

 

Now, she knew no one. Her wedding with Ozai didn’t come as a surprise to her. Previously her mother told her that she was important, due to her grandfather. Ursa didn’t understand why her grandfather was so important, didn’t understand why her mother was telling her about the royal family, didn’t understand why she had to know this. Age sixteen found her these answers when the prince showed up, just to meet with her. Prince Ozai had stated that she would be his bride and that was that. Nobody in the village congratulated her and even if they had, Ursa would’ve been upset. Hatred for the royal family was rampant in the islands that surrounded the main island of the Fire Nation.

 

At eighteen, Ursa was married and the next year she had given birth. Those in the palace were upset about her Zuko’s birth, she heard the whispers, due to the date it fell on and the weather given, but none was as angry as Ozai. Ursa didn’t care about any of that. The day she found out she was pregnant wasn’t a happy one. She knew what her husband was like and how he’d inevitably treat the baby. But, as her son grew so did her happiness and love for him. Back on her island religion was very important. It was in the capitol as well, but not like how it was in her home. There were festivals throughout the year, altars set up all around. That’s the way Ursa grew up, she knew when a gift from Agni had been given.

 

That’s why she knew Zuko was special. About three months or so into her pregnancy, she started having dreams. If you asked Ursa what they were about, she wouldn’t be able to tell you, but she knew. A mother always does. She knew her baby was to be blessed. A few weeks before her upcoming due date, she started asking Ozai if she could go back to her home village. It was important for her baby to be born there, it was her favorite place anyway and she’d rather give birth somewhere she felt comfortable. Her husband said no, but that was why Ursa started asking early. For days the topic was brought up again and again, until Ozai gave in.

 

Being home felt like heaven. Even in the winter months, Agni shone brightly down on the island and Ursa knew it was smart to have her baby here. Also, with her husband staying at his palace, it gave her a nice reprieve from his attitude.

 

Zuko was born on the winter solstice during a storm. The local doctor and midwife along with her mother were there. Most everybody else braved the storm in hopes of reeling in as many fish as possible. Once cleaned, Zuko had been given back to Ursa. His skin was the same shade as hers and when he squinted his eyes open for a moment or two, she could tell they shared the same eyes as well. What stood out the most had been his hair. Ursa was surprised with how much he had, for a baby anyway, but what stood out the most had been the color of it. Overall, Zuko’s hair was black, all except for a thick part of light blond hair interrupting the rest of his dark hair. “Hmm,” her mother mumbled after she had snuggled into Ursa’s side on the bed, “would ya look at that? Agni has given you a gift.”

 

Yes, yes she had. Don’t worry Zuko, mommy will protect you and love you. Forever and always.

Notes:

hey guys ;) i'm so excited to start this fic, i've had it in mind for a while now! and don't worry, it'll most likely pick up the pace after next chapter.

i sort of have it planned out so zuko's childhood and banishment will be next chap, then a chap of him exploring the world and spirit world, then he'll meet the gaang hopefully in the 4th chap! im so excited to expand on the spirits and the avatar world. also i rlly love the idea that ursa came from a village and carried her traditions and manners from that time with her to her kids, so be prepared for expansion on that concept too

comments and ideas are VERY appreciated!! (help me come up with a name idea for the island i have no idea tehe)
<3

Chapter 2: Agni's Entrance

Little Zuko grew up dancing. His mother had taught him early on every dance she could remember from her time at her village. Even with his young age, Zuko cherished every second of the dance lessons. Later, when Azula was born, he’d teach her the same swooping, graceful motions that Ursa taught him. To Zuko, nothing else could compete with dancing, he absolutely adored it. Ozai, of course, was against anything that brought joy to people. That extended to children and even his own kids. He quickly put a stop to this desire to move that his son possessed. Zuko was a smart boy however. He was young when he learned that his father wasn’t particularly fond of him, and in order to not get scolded, he’d have to sneak around. After that one thing led to another, and now, everynight after curfew and after his father had gone to bed, Zuko would dance.

 

He’d dance in his bedroom, the gardens, or even the halls. The latter was his favorite. Little Zuko would feel the shivers of rebellion with a sliver of fear at breaking the rules. This fear didn’t deter him though. This was how he met Agni.

 

Zuko had his eyes closed, spinning in the portrait hall with nothing other than a rogue candle or two to light the space. It was just as his arm was going up and his stance widening when he heard the call. “Zuko…”. The low murmur made the boy jump, his eyes opening wide to see who called. Nobody was in the hall, just him and the flames that flickered with his breath, a little uneven from the shock of having a disembodied voice call out to him. After a minute or two of scanning the empty hall, little Zuko would venture out to the end of the corridor to see if a maid or servant had called him. The further down he walked, the darker the hall had gotten until he was standing in the pitch black.

 

“Zuko, you came.” The low voice had said in the dark. Slowly, as his eyes adjusted, Zuko made out a figure in the dark that became clearer the more he had looked. It seemed to be a woman. Her lower half was that of a snake, scales a plethora of colors that resembled a rainbow but with prominent red and orange hues speckled throughout more often. Her body was plump, a signal of being well-fed, and her face, which was a kind and graceful form of beauty, was haloed in a ring of glowing golden hair. In a word, she was ethereal. When she spoke her voice was a deep almost grumble and each syllable seemed to weigh Zuko down. “My child, don’t be alarmed. You know me by the name Agni. I am here to be your guide.” Little Zuko stood facing the goddess of his nation in a dark hallway.

 

The words of his mother came to him “ Never be afraid of any spirits that might appear to you, Zuko. ” Before now, it had never made sense to him. His grandmother and mother both made a point of stating how he was “blessed”, but he didn’t know what it meant. Now, as he stood in front of the lady who he gave offerings of fruit and braided silk to, he understood. Somewhere, deep inside of his little body, Zuko understood the weight of this moment and he understood, not only what it meant to his future, but also what to do. It seemed to be ingrained into his being.

 

Little Zuko bowed, knees and forehead hitting the cool flooring tiles of a ground he couldn’t see. “Little Zuko, there is no need, truly. Pick your head off the ground, that is no way for a Lord to conduct himself, let alone someone of blessing such as yourself.”

 

“A Lord? Of blessing?”

 

“Yes, Zuko, however that is not for you to know yet. The time will come,” a scaled and clawed hand reached out and tucked the blond strand of his hair behind his ear, “I just wanted to introduce myself, is all. It seemed to be the perfect time, though I am regretful of cutting your beautiful performance short.” Slowly, Agni started to slither past Zuko and down the hall. She had made it to the end of the corridor before turning back around to spare a glance at the boy. Zuko hurried over and followed the goddess around his father’s palace until the duo reached his bedroom's grand doors structured on either side with wooden poles that held carvings of characters from all his favorite plays, courtesy of his mother. “You should not see this palace belonging to Ozai, my Zuko. One day the rightful heir will have ownership.” With that, the candles that illuminated the hall flickered back to life and the form of the goddess withered out of Zuko’s sight. She was gone just as soon as she had appeared, leaving Zuko to question if any of this meeting really happened.

 

That night as he drifted off the sleep, Zuko was soothed into his dreamland of dancers, colorful streamers, artfully dressed animals, and more food that humanly imageable, by soft notes of common lullabies that were sung in that deep murmured grumble that Zuko would soon become familiar with.

Notes:

Hey guys... I'm sooo sorry for the late posting of this chapter, and ik I said this would cover his whole childhood and banishment but, oh well

I'm not sure if it's noticeable yet, but I wanted Ursa's island to be more of a mix of Indian culture, so Agni was based off of a naga, as well as the Hindu goddess Shiva/Mahadeva. I also want to keep to the canon Japanese culture tho, of course so I also looked into the goddess Amaterasu. These traits will likely come up more when Zuko had more in depth talks with Agni.
At the end of the day tho, I'm neither Japanese or Hindu, so if any of you reading know how I could implement these goddesses or any mythological creatures to Agni character that would be greatly appreated!!
I tried looking for any over lapping creatures between Indian and Japanese culture, but it's late right now, so I could find any :(

Hope you had a good read, and while updates (such as this one) might be drawn out, pls have faith, I don't have any desired to discontinue this story I just have no motivation haha