Port of Call
His crew had been talking about it for days, their first stop at a port in over a month. Zuko was the only one not excited about the stopover. Paying for supplies with a rapidly dwindling treasury was never a pleasure and he didn't indulge in the same debaucheries that all his men did. Even his Uncle Iroh was looking forward to visiting with a particular 'lady' he had met on their last stop at Xiamen. The sixteen year old banished prince shuddered at the thought of his uncle doing Agni knew what with that woman or perhaps another if Lian wasn't available.
"Or dead of some disgusting disease," Zuko muttered under his breath. He shuddered again and pinched the bridge of his nose. The ship's doctor sometimes had the dubious pleasure of treating Zuko's men for minor cases of some ill gotten disease or other. The prince got tired of the complaints about itching and burning and soreness and would forbid all talk about it. "Why do they visit these places?" he asked himself. "I wouldn't be caught dead in one of them."
He was proven wrong just a few days later.
The entire crew along with Iroh stood on the deck and watched with eager expressions as the colourful and morally dubious port city of Xiamen finally came into view. Zuko, who stood stiffly with arms crossed, was surprised that they all hadn't jumped into the greenish looking water and swam to shore rather than waiting for the ship to dock. Zuko's eyes grew wide. Everyone was on deck, including the helmsman.
"Isao! Get back to the wheelhouse immediately. Do you want the ship to crash or dock? One more mistake like that and I'll be looking for a new helmsman."
The man in question turned around and looked at the prince, muddy brown eyes wide and gap toothed mouth open.
"What are you waiting for?" Zuko shouted.
Finally, Isao began to move, slowly at first, almost at a saunter, and then as he finally realized how close the ship was to crashing, he began to run, reaching the wheel house just in time.
"Idiots!" Zuko declared, throwing his hands up in the air. "My crew is made up of misfits and idiots."
Sadly, the people available to a banished prince stripped of his honour and sent on a fool's errand were not of the finest quality. Iroh had done the best he could, securing old friends and a few jobless souls who happened to be hanging around the harbor when Zuko's ship was about to set off. They did their best, Zuko supposed, but sometimes it wasn't enough. He was hard on them, sometimes unreasonably so, and more often than not, Zuko felt guilty after exploding all over the crew. That never stopped him from doing it again a day or a week later, however.
Once the ship was safely docked and the gangplank lowered, the men all gave him a quick glance and then darted away, vanishing among the crowds that walked the city's streets. Iroh approached his nephew and clapped him resoundingly on the back.
"Well, I'm off. Good luck restocking the ship. Don't forget to purchase more tea leaves, green and oolong especially." He winked and then looked longingly at a garishly painted building that stood a story above most of the other establishments on Harbour Road. "I hope that Lian is there. I could use a good massage."
"Massage," Zuko repeated. "I thought that you, well, you know what I mean…with Lian."
"Oh, I do, nephew; the massage gets me all relaxed and ready for that. I'm not as young as I used to be. It takes a little bit of work to get things rolling."
"Okay, okay, that's enough information." Zuko was slightly pink and looked dreadfully uncomfortable. He held a hand up as if to ward away any more of Iroh's suggestive words. " I want to leave tomorrow at noon. The men know that as well."
"Well, I'll be here and I'm certain that the crew will be as well. Try to enjoy yourself, Zuko. Perhaps you could take in a play or buy yourself some new clothes, maybe a knife."
The prince's hand went to the pocket of his tunic and felt for the small pouch of Fire Nation coins. "I'll be lucky if I have enough money to buy what's needed, Uncle. I can't afford luxuries like plays."
"Then buy a pretty girl a cup of tea. Eh, time is wasting. I'll see you tomorrow."
With those words, Iroh disembarked and got swallowed up in the sea of men and women and children going about their daily activities. Zuko sighed, took one last look around his ship, and strode down the gangplank. He paid his docking fee to the Port Authority, ensuring his ship's protection, and pulled out his list.
Rice
Tea
Dried meat
Fruit
Sugar
Ink
Paper
He spotted a general store and headed there, weaving his way gracefully between and around people dressed in Fire Nation reds, blacks, oranges, pinks and yellows. Xiamen was part of a Fire Nation colony, one of those outposts where adventurers and entrepreneurs along with unskilled workers, those who felt ill at ease in the Fire Nation proper, made their home.
After making his purchases and arranging for delivery to the ship, Zuko moved onward, finding an outdoor market that sold all kinds of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats along with rice, flour, and an astonishing variety of teas. He bought an apple for himself and bit down into the firm flesh, relishing in the slightly tart taste. His appetite piqued, Zuko followed the scent of cooking meat and bought one of the skewers filled with delicious morsels that a thick looking, greasy sort of man was selling.
Finding a bench, he sat down and ate slowly, fastidiously wiping meat juice from his chin, while watching the parade of people. It wasn't quite homesickness that he felt when looking at all the red and all the flames, Fire Nation colloquialisms flying through the air. It was more like nostalgia, a dull, aching yearning to return to a simpler time when his greatest worry was learning the latest firebending form.
He treated himself to a steaming cup of jasmine tea in a neat looking little tea shop next, hunkering down at a corner table and sipping. It wasn't nearly as good as Uncle's tea, but it was passable and hot and felt good going down.
The prince could sense the sun's descent, his internal fire diminishing a bit. It was an odd feeling, one he supposed that waterbenders experienced when the sun rose. Why was he thinking about waterbenders? Uncle's idle but definitely intentional talk of balance and the importance of every nation must be implanting itself into his brain, insidiously like some slow acting poison.
'Time to go back to the ship,' he thought.
Swallowing down the remainder of his tea, Zuko pushed back from the table and left the little establishment, heading directly for home, for that was what he called the ship. He had no other one after all.
Sleep was a long time in coming. Xiamen had quite a night life and the pounding beat of music, the raucous laughter of drunken men and the high pitched squealing of women kept Zuko awake for hours.
"Why can't they just go home and sleep?" he moaned.
He wondered if some of that laughter came from his men or if they were all inside the brothel, letting their hands roam freely over some heavily painted woman or other.
"Disgusting," Zuko said emphatically.
It wasn't that the prince had no sexual urges. He was certainly not a drone and at sixteen, his hormones were in overdrive. But, he was also an idealist and a romantic and he wanted his first sexual experience to mean something. Zuko didn't want to throw it away on a whore that he had to pay to lie with him. He wanted his first time to be with someone he loved and desired and respected. He wanted his first time to be with her.
Zuko finally fell asleep thinking about the girl he had left behind in the Fire Nation. His dreams that night were bittersweet.
It was almost noon and no one had shown up yet. Zuko paced the deck growing angrier and angrier, peering into the bustling throngs of people, trying to pick out Iroh or Jee or one of the other men. With a frustrated grunt, he punched his fist out, sending a volley of orange flames out into the air.
"Doesn't anyone listen to me?" he hissed.
One of the Port Authority officials looked at him curiously and Zuko returned that look with a deep scowl. His men had ten more minutes to get back to the ship, ten more minutes or he would take the rotting metal carcass out to sea himself, stop at another port and hire a completely different crew.
Oh, who was he kidding? Zuko wasn't going anywhere without Uncle. Despite his abruptness with the old man and despite his often cruel remarks, Zuko loved him like he wished he loved his father. That was difficult to admit and Zuko pushed that thought away before it could cause him any trouble. He would go to the brothel himself and look for his men. Yes, that's what he would do.
Half an hour past noon and still there was no sign of anyone. Zuko lowered his head and closed his eyes, trying to gather his courage.
"Okay, brothel; here I come."
With shoulders squared and a determined set to his jaw, the banished Fire Nation prince strode down the gangplank, past a curious Port Authority official and straight to Madame Ling's House of Fine Ladies. He knocked on the door and then promptly wiped his knuckles off on his tunic. Tapping his foot impatiently, Zuko waited for the door to open.
A young woman, thick brown hair falling down her back and pretty brown eyes full of mischief, pulled the heavy wooden door open and took in Zuko appraisingly.
"You're cute," she declared and gave his ponytail a tug. Turning her head back toward the inside of the brothel, she yelled out "Fresh meat!"
Zuko flushed and ran a hand down his ponytail. He stammered out an explanation for his presence. "I, I, I'm looking for some men."
"Oh, well, we don't provide men here. You might want to try…."
"No, no, that's not what I meant." Zuko looked like an overripe plum now, ready to burst. "I'm looking for my men. They're customers here."
"All right, come on in." She stepped aside and allowed the prince into an ornately decorated parlor. Heavy red drapes covered the windows and there were three plump looking sofas along with tables covered with bric-a-brac. Every wall had a huge mirror. Zuko stepped over the threshold. He felt queasy. "Look around anyway. Maybe you'll see something you like." She winked at Zuko and flaunted her considerable cleavage. "Do you like me? I'm very good at what I do and I'm especially gentle with first timers."
"I, um, don't know." Zuko wanted to look anywhere but into her eyes. His own reflection greeted him at every turn and he wondered how she knew he was inexperienced. "Please, I need to find my crew. We were supposed to leave at noon."
"Fine," the woman sighed. "I'll go have a word with Madame Ling. Take a seat."
Zuko stood. A few customers drifted into the parlor, sated and content looking. They recommended various girls to the prince, and each one of them mentioned how good these particular girls were with virgins. After the fourth man mentioned inexperience, Zuko blew up.
"How do you know I'm inexperienced? It's not like I'm wearing a sign around my neck. Maybe I've been to dozens of brothels."
The man exploded into obscene sounding laughter and clapped Zuko on the shoulder. The prince winced. "You don't need a sign, boy. It's written all over you. I'd go with Yoko if I were you. She was my first."
"I'm not here for that." Zuko reddened again and wanted nothing more than to sink beneath the gaudy carpeting, disappear beneath the floor boards, vanish forever.
"Sure, sure, I believe you. Let me give you a little advice, boy."
"Could I stop you?" Zuko retorted.
"No, no you couldn't. Being with a woman is like nothing else. Experience it as many times as you can before you close your eyes for good. Yoko!"
Zuko sighed gratefully when the man left but worse was yet to come. Another woman glided into the room, this one about twenty five. She snaked her arms seductively around Zuko's neck. The woman was pretty enough in a coarse sort of way, but no one could ever compare to Mai. She was the girl he had left behind, the girl he loved, the only girl he wanted to be with.
"Madame Ling wants to know who your men are. You can whisper in my ear, sweetie. My, you are a handsome young man, and well built."
She pressed herself into Zuko's chest. His eyes bulged as he looked down at her large breasts, breasts that spilled provocatively out of her tight bodice. He pushed her away, accidentally brushing against her bosom. Mortified, he retracted his hands and muttered an apology. He didn't want to touch this woman. It felt like a betrayal to Mai, unintentional or not.
"Why are you apologizing, honey? I liked it."
"My Uncle's name is Iroh. Is he here or not?" The prince spoke harshly, ignoring the woman's come on, and refusing now to even look at her.
"Iroh? Well, why didn't you say so? He and Liang had a rather vigorous session yesterday and this morning." She made several rude gestures with her fingers. "They drank a lot of fire whiskey too and slept late. I'll go tell Madame Ling."
Zuko was beginning to wonder whether this Madame Ling actually existed. "Fine; are the rest of my men here? Did they come with my uncle?"
"Yes, yes, he was speaking with some men. Let me go take care of it now."
She left and the smell of her cloying perfume faded as she got further away. Zuko was relieved but still wanted desperately to get out of the brothel. He didn't like it and the idea of using one sickened him. His brief stay had done nothing to change his mind either.
"Hurry up," he whispered and looked at himself in the mirror again.
With probing fingers, he traced the outline of his scar, so stark and dramatic against his pale skin, his almost completely bald head doing nothing to hide it. Mai didn't know about the scar; at least she didn't know the extent of it, how horribly disfiguring it was. Would she want to be with him? Would she be willing to look at his face, kiss his lips? Maybe a brothel, paying for sex, was the only way he could ever experience it.
"I'd rather not ever do it then," he said through gritted teeth. "Mai is the only one."
"You seem deep in thought, Zuko. What's bothering you?"
Iroh and the men, who had emerged from several doors down the hallway, all wore smiles and looked completely worn out.
"What's bothering me? You're late, all of you. I had to come into this, this place and look for you. It was humiliating and it had better never happen again. Next time I'll leave without you."
It was an idle threat. He needed the crew and his uncle more than they needed him. But it felt good to say it anyway.
"Nonsense, nephew; are you sure that you don't want to try one of the lovely ladies here? It might calm you down."
"I said NO!"
"All right, all right; I won't mention it ever again." Iroh sensed more behind the anger; there was a profound sadness in his nephew's voice and it wrenched his heart. "Is there something you would like to talk about?"
As they left the brothel, Iroh winking at the women who were now lined up to say goodbye, Zuko decided that perhaps he did need to talk.
"Uncle, did I ever tell you about me and Mai?"
Iroh patted Zuko's back encouragingly. "No, nephew, but I would love to hear."
"Mai." Zuko said the name reverently. "She's beautiful, Uncle, and smart, and I love her."
"Ah, everything makes sense now, nephew. Everything makes sense."
Zuko smiled wryly. "Nothing makes sense for me, except Mai. I wish that I could see her."
"Patience, Zuko; I believe that things will work out."
Zuko prayed that his uncle was right. Zuko prayed that he would see Mai again.