BOOK 1
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Akiko's dream 😴💭POV-->
(What she's wearing)
I slowly open my eyes and all I see are branches with red leaves. Sitting up, I look around at the area, trying to assess where I am. 'Ok, where am I? And what happened to my friends,' I thought to myself. To my left was a trail that had a light at the end (picture above). I stood up and looked down at myself in thought, 'Why am I barefoot and wearing a dress?' Brushing that thought aside, I walked the trail while wondering if going this way would help me or not. Along the way, I notice some luminescent mushrooms and creatures I have never seen before. The strangest thing though, is that a few luminous creatures, almost serpent like, were circling around me while I walked. They had a familiar feeling to them as they flew next to me.
Reaching the end of the trail, I'm standing in front of a lake. It looked like the lake my mom and I would sit down in front of while we talked. I put my feet in the water, inhaled deeply and just stood there with my eyes closed, feeling serenity in my surroundings. My relaxing moment was interrupted by the sound of someone humming a lovely melody (Play song here. Hehe! I made a rhyme). The creatures from before circled around me again and one of them flew towards the melodious voice. 'Do they want me to go where the humming is,' I thought to myself in confusion. Giving in, I walked through the water, following the creatures and where the voice was coming from.
One by one, the creatures flew ahead of me, leaving trails of light for me to follow. The humming voice started to sound louder, which meant I was getting closer. 'Maybe whoever this is, will tell me where I am and how to get back to my friends,' I hopefully thought to myself. Pushing past a few stray tree branches, I see the back of a woman wearing priestess clothes with those creatures circling around her. The creatures reminded me of dancing dragons with how they were moving around the woman. I silently walked towards her, trying to see if she is a threat or not. Once I'm behind her, with a little bit of space between us, I speak to her, "Excuse me, ma'am? But, who are you? And where are we?"
She replaced her humming with a giggle as she answered, "After all these years, I thought you would remember my voice, little rose." That nickname was enough for me to recognize who I was talking to. "Mom," I asked in shock as she turned around to face me. Sure enough, I come face to face with my mother, who I never thought to see again, smiling happily at me. She looked exactly as I remembered her to be 100 years ago. I was in so much shock that I started to doubt my own sanity as I asked her in a desperate tone, "Is this real or am I hallucinating? Y-You-you can't be real! Y-y-you're supposed to b-be--" ; "Dead? What was it your father and I always told you, Akiko? Things are not always what they seem," said the calm dragon queen.
"Now, are you going to continue staring at me like I'm a ghost or are you going to give your mother a hug," Mayumi asked with a small smile while holding her arms out, waiting for her daughter's embrace. Tears started to well up in my eyes as I wrapped my arms around my mom's waist while she hugged back. "Oh mom, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. I've missed you so much," I said while crying happy tears. My entire body was trembling as I cried into my mother's shoulder. She gently stroked my hair, something she did that always calmed me down, and said in a soft tone of voice, " I've missed you too, my little rose. But, I'm afraid we won't have a lot of time to talk at the moment."
She gently pushed me out of her embrace but kept her hands on my shoulders. I look at her face again and she has tears in the corner of her eyes, clearly happy to see me as well. "Mom, what are you talking about? Where are we? What do you mean we don't have a lot time? Where's dad and Ryuji? Why aren't they here with you," I rambled questions to her, hoping to see the rest of my family. My mother's right hand moved from my shoulder to my face as she answered me," My dear Akiko, you're in the spirit world. You're body is healing in the world of the living, but I summoned your spirit here to help you heal a bit faster. As I have already told you back then, dreamshade is something no one can heal easily from."
When she said 'dreamshade', I immediately remembered what happened before I fell unconscious. Anger started to flow threw my body as I groaned in frustration from my carelessness. "You should not blame yourself, dear. Even the greatest warriors can make a mistake," Mayumi said trying to comfort her daughter. Akiko just bit her bottom lip and looked down at her reflection in the water, seeing herself as a weak little child, a failure. "What am I going to do, mom? Everytime I'm reunited with Aang and the others, somehow I always end up injured then we get separated. How am I, the dragon warrior, supposed to protect the avatar, who I see as my little brother, if I can't even protect myself?! I even took in two dragon kids and I don't know if I can keep the promise I made to them to end this war," my voice cracked from crying out in anger and frustration at myself.
My mom frowned at how I was putting myself down at the moment. She tried to cheer me up with a random question," My little rose, do you know how you got that nickname?" ; "Dad said that I was born with rosey cheeks and everyone just started calling me that," I said with a deadpan face. She chuckled at my answer while shaking her head side to side, "Yes, but also because every rose has its thorns, my dear. They are beautiful to look at, but dangerous if you touch them. That's what you are, Akiko, a rose. A beautiful warrior, who can handle anything the world throws at her and give it back ten fold. After all, you're not just the dragon warrior. You are half dragon, a princess, a priestess and just like your family, you're a force to be reckoned with." I rubbed my eyes while sniffling as I looked back up at my mother's face and nodded with determination.
Mayumi smiled at her daughter, seeing the confidence come back in her eyes. "Now, I told you that I summoned your spirit here so your body can heal faster in the living world. Once you return to your body, you will be in immense pain. But that is to be expected, once you wake up," mom said with a serious face and tone. I started to feel sad now because I didn't know if this would be the last time I see her again. As if reading my mind, my mom said with a smile, "This won't be the last time you see me again. Every time you enter the spirit world, the soul collectors will lead you to me." The serpent like creature from before flew near mom as she held her hand out for it.
Smiling to myself, happy I'll get to see her again, I tell her, "Ok. I'm ready to go back now." She nodded and gave me one last hug before putting her forehead on mine. I could feel she was transferring some of her spiritual energy to me in our current position. I closed my eyes in comfort, I felt so warm and safe in that moment. Then I suddenly felt cold, snapping my eyes open to see that my mother pushed me into the lake. It felt like I was drowning, my spirit was slowly descending down into the dark murky waters. My mother's figure slowly disappearing as I fell unconscious once again.
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Third person's POV-->
Lying down in prince Zuko's bed was Akiko, bandages all over her torso. With her in the room was Takeo, Raidon, Misumi, and Iroh. Zuko was on the deck training, the only time he would visit the dragon warrior was when no one was in the room or when it was time to sleep (it's still his room 🤷♀️). Back to the sleeping ravenette, everyone in the room has been waiting for her to wake up. "Do you think she'll wake up today," Misumi innocently asked while poking the teenage girl's cheek. Iroh sighed as he answered the young dragon girl, "It is hard to say, Misumi. The physician said she needed a lot of rest."
"But sleeping for three days is just insane! What if she never wakes up?! Then what, huh?! What are we supposed to tell Aang and the others," Raidon yells in frustration as he fights back his tears from coming out. "Would you quit yelling. I'm sure the whole ship can hear you," Akiko says with a hoarse voice, as she slowly opens her eyes. Everyone looked towards her in surprise then expressed their happiness towards the NOW awake dragon princess. Raidon and Misumi gently hugged the injured teen as Iroh put his hand on her head and Takeo licked her face many times.
"Ow! Guys, I'm glad to see you too. But can you get off, I'm still injured here," Aki said while laughing as Raidon and Takeo backed away from her. But Misumi refused to let her go, "I'm not letting you go again, big sister. Never!" Calling her 'big sister' surprised the ravenette, so much so that she slapped herself to check if she was still asleep or not. Shocking everyone with her actions, Iroh was the one to ask,"Now why did you do that? You're already injured enough as you are. Don't go hurting yourself anymore." Raidon looked at his princess with a deadpan face and said, "Are you a masochist or something?"
(The look he gave her)
"Say that again and I won't cook for you next time," Akiko gave the spiky white haired boy an empty threat. Raidon gave a small smirk to her as he said to Iroh with a thumbs up, "She's definitely ok." The old man chuckled at their banter as he told the injured teen, "I'm going to make some tea to help with your pain and bring something for you to eat." The dragon princess gave him a grateful look as she nodded to him. As Iroh left the room, Takeo purred while he nuzzled his head on Akiko's leg, showing how happy he was that she was awake. Raidon sat next to his sister, who was still holding onto the teenage girl.
"We were really worried, y'know? You've been asleep for almost three days. Misumi and I stayed up for most of that time, just in case you suddenly woke up. I almost thought of the worst," Raidon said with his head in his hands. The teenage half dragon carefully sat up and used whatever strength she had to pull the young boy into a hug. Soon enough he was sobbing into the crook of her neck, showing how worried he was for her well-being. Aki stroked his hair, a habit she had inherited from her mother, and did the same to Misumi. The two dragon children calmed down from this action and fell asleep on the injured girl.
Somehow, she maneuvered the kids to the other side of the bed, letting them sleep. Takeo laid at the foot of the bed and just relaxed while keeping an eye on the door. Protecting the three half dragons from whoever might enter the room to hurt them. Smiling at the big protective fur ball, Aki looked to her right as she held Misumi's hand while Raidon spooned his little sister, showing the young girl that she was still here. "I hope the others aren't too worried about us," I thought to myself.
The door opened again, thinking it was Iroh, Akiko turned around to greet him but she ends up seeing prince Zuko enter instead. "I see you finally decided to wake up," Zuko said sarcastically but with secret relief as he crossed his arms. The teenage girl sighed as she carefully laid back down while her hand gently touched her wound. "What? No thank you for saving your life," Zuko asked in a teasing manner. Aki coughed before she raised an eyebrow at him, gesturing she had no idea what he was talking about. All Zuko did was walk towards his desk and grabbed an empty vial that looked very familiar to her. Zuko rolled his eyes as he told the female fire bender, "This was the antidote for the poison that was stabbed in to your body. Now I have to ask, what kind of poison was that? It was potent enough to almost kill you."
The dragon warrior closed her eyes while sighing again as she gestured for him to come closer with her free hand. The prince really didn't want to be any closer to her, he was still confused on how he felt about her when their lips touched. But he sucked it up and went closer to the teenage girl. The ravenette gestured for him to come much closer and he was practically near her face now. Zuko leaned his good ear near her mouth, her voice sounded haorse from lack of hydration for three days as she whispered into his ear, "Dreamshade." The male teenager didn't know about that poison and made a mental note to research it later.
Zuko backed away from her a bit, but stopped when they looked into each other's eyes. The prince couldn't look away, he was starting to get lost in her beautiful dark eyes. Meanwhile, Akiko did something unexpected to the prince, she gently hugged him and whispered again, "Thank you, Zuko." The fire prince was in shock at this sudden show of affection and gratitude. Hesitantly, he hugged her back, avoiding the right side of her torso (that's where her injury is, in case you forgot). The door started to open again and Zuko gently pushed her off him before anyone can see the little moment they just had. Iroh walked into the room with a tray of food and tea.
The old man was surprised to see his nephew visiting the injured girl, already knowing that the teenage boy was secretly worried about her. "Prince Zuko, this is a surprise. You usually only come in here to sleep," Iroh said, purposely trying to embarass the hotheaded teen. "Didn't you come here to feed her or something," the fire prince swiftly changed the subject while hiding a slight blush on his face. Iroh momentarily forgot that he had food and tea for the dragon princess, "Oh, yes I did. Here Aki, this is peppermint and chamomile tea. It will help with any pain you are feeling." As he held out the drink for the teenage girl, his nephew grabbed the cup and helped her sit up properly to drink.
"He really does care for her. Perhaps it's something more," Iroh thought to himself with a knowing smirk towards his nephew. Once she was finished drinking the cup of tea, Iroh put the tray with congee on her lap and held the spoon to her mouth. Before she could have a bite of the food, Misumi woke up and said in a cute sleepy voice, "Can I feed big sister?" ; "Of course you can. But blow on it first, it's still hot," Iroh said softly to the half awake girl. He handed her the spoon and she immediately blew on it before she put near Akiko's mouth. Smiling at the little girl's action, she took a bite of the food and sighed contently. Zuko, who was still holding her up, had a ghost of a smile on his face. Nobody noticed but Iroh when he glanced towards his direction. "Now I definitely believe he feels something towards Akiko. I hope the dragon warrior is able to change his heart and help him see how this war needs to end," Iroh thought to himself in hopes of his nephew to change his ways.
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Time skip-->
It was night time now, Aki, Raidon, Misumi and Takeo were sitting on the deck. They were looking up at the stars, something the two dragon kids haven't done in a long time. "What are you doing out here? You're still injured and you might get sick from the cold air," Zuko said walking up to them with a scowl. The ravenette glanced back at him and simply answered, "Stargazing." The prince rolled his eyes at the teenage girl's answer and said, "You could do that while you're inside." ; "Don't wanna," she swiftly retorted back to him while gesturing for him to sit with them. Reluctantly, he complied and sat with the half dragons.
Zuko felt a bit awkward as he fiddled with his fingers, not knowing what to do or say to the teenage girl right next to him. "Geez, I could feel how anxious you are right now. What's up," Aki asks the prince, snapping him out of his own thoughts. The teenage boy sighed and asked her, "Well, are you really half dragon and a princess? I mean, you and the boy don't look like the little girl that has horns and a tail." This time, it was the dragon warrior who sighed as she answered him, "Yes, I am half dragon and a princess. The reason why I don't look like Misumi is because sometimes half dragons look more like humans or more like dragons when they're born. Half dragons are able to hide their dragon features or in my case, not have any of those features and just blend in with humans." (I'm following Inuyasha's half-demon biology logic.)
"But what about the boy and girl," Zuko asked, curiously. Akiko had a contemplating look as she said, "I don't really know to be honest. Hey, Raidon, Misumi, are you guys able to hide your dragon features?" The dragon kids looked at the two teenagers, then to each other, then back to the teenagers. "We're able to hide our features but Misumi sometimes forgets to do it," Raidon said while pointing at his sister. Misumi pouted and glared at her brother for calling her out on forgetting as Aki told the little girl, "It's ok, Sumi. I'll just remind you the next time we are around strangers, ok?" The sweet little dragon girl looked up at her princess and nodded with a small smile. Akiko smiles back at her, then turns her attention back to Raidon and asks, "Raidon, can you show me your dragon features?" The dragon boy hesitated at first but nodded his head as he showed the princess his other form.
(What he looks like in dragon form. Ignore the clothes)
"Awww! Raidon,you look so cute," the dragon princess said lovingly to the boy, which made him flustered and revert back to his human form. "Big sister, can you sing something for me," Misumi asked, innocently. The teenage dragon looked at her like she had grown two heads and asked, "Why?" Raidon answered this time in a low tone of voice, "Our mother used to sing us to sleep when she was alive." Akiko rubbed the back of her neck as she meekly said, "Um... I would but I don't like singing in front of people." Misumi then proceeded to give her the sad eyes, begging for her to sing. Sighing, she gave into the cute dragon's request and sang a lullaby her mother had sang before.
Misumi was fast asleep and Raidon looked like he was about to doze off. Aki tapped the young boy's shoulder to get his attention. Rai turned to her, looking half asleep as the teenage girl whispers to him, "You and Takeo should go back to the room with Misumi and sleep already. I'm gonna stay out here a bit longer." The dragon boy didn't argue with her as he picked up his sister and went to Zuko's room with Takeo following them. Which left the fire nation prince and dragon princess sitting alone together. Akiko turned to the teenage boy next to her and held her hand out to Zuko saying, "Hand it over." The prince gave her a questioning look, translating 'what are you talking about?' The dragon princess rolled her eyes and said, "Give me back Katara's necklace." ; "No way," he said with a firm tone. Instead of arguing with the childish prince, she decided to trade with him, "If you give me the necklace back, I'll give you something of mine." The fire prince didn't know if he could trust her word or not. But eventually, he gave up the necklace and held his hand out for whatever the ravenette would give him.
The dragon princess gave the prince a comb with a flower on it. "A comb? That's it," he said blandly while looking at the object he was holding. She nodded at him and said in a melancholy tone, "It was the first girly gift my brother ever gave me. Right after I had finished my training and was about to leave home." Now understanding what it meant to her, Zuko kept the sentimental accessory. After their little exchange, the prince kept silent as he looked up at the stars but he had to get something off of his chest to the girl next to him. However, he didn't know how to tell her until she speaks to him, "Something else on your mind, prince ponytail?" She was glancing at the prince, noticing how tense he looked being alone with her and not saying anything.
Taking a deep breath in and out, he finally got the courage to say what he wanted, "I'm sorry." ; "For what," Aki asked as she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. Zuko looked her in the eyes and told her, "I'm sorry for what my great grandfather did to your family, your people and the dragons back then." The dragon warrior had a surprised look on her face, not expecting the prideful prince to apologize, but then turned her gaze back to the stars. "Thank you for apologizing, Zuko. That means a lot to me," the ravenette said with a smile directed at the teenage boy. Nodding to her, the fire prince stood up and held his hand out to her, "It's late, we should get some rest now. Besides, you still need to recover." Smiling at the teenage boy, she took his hand and stood up while wrapping her arm around his waist. Zuko put his arm around her shoulders and helped Akiko walk back to his room in a comfortable silence.
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To be continued...
(◡̈⋆🅷🅸(●'◡'●)ﾉ my darlings! I'm sorry it took me so long to put this chapter out. Brainstorming this chapter was brutal and you know, some procrastinating too. Just a heads up, I'm gonna be skipping "The Great Divide" episode because I don't wanna do another original chapter for a while. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and I'm already working on the next one. ٩(ര̀ᴗര́)ᵇʸᵉ)