Elemental Dance

Zuko glared at Zhao as a soldier threw a pile of crimson rags onto the ship. The rags moved, revealing a woman, slowly getting to her feet.

She straightened her spine and glared at Zhao, her exotic golden eyes defiantly brimming with anger. Windswept raven-black hair tumbled around her face to rest an inch or so below her elbow, when brushed, it would've hung straight, but she had been denied the privilege of grooming herself on the voyage. She was an aristocrat of the Royal Court, learned and beautiful. Her clothes had been ripped, but she wore them elegantly much to the chagrin of her captors. They had been made to shackle her because of her unwillingness to let them come close to her; many of them were now sporting burns.

"Get off my ship!" Zuko's tone made Zhao look at the young prince twice. His voice was quiet, a deep growl that was tense with carefully controlled rage and hatred. Zhao smirked.

"Lady Kurina is a gift from the Fire Lord unto you, Prince Zuko. She has disgraced herself. I hope you enjoy her." Saying so, Zhao swept Zuko a mocking bow and walked arrogantly up the ramp of his ship.

Zuko blanched. The only way a noblewoman could disgrace herself in the eyes of the court was to become a whore. His father had insulted him, not presented him with a gift. He turned cold, amber eyes on the girl. She looked about 17, a year younger than him.

"My disgrace was unwilling, Prince Zuko. The f-" She struggled with herself. She could not call an Admiral in the Fire Nation army a fool. "The man whom you just spoke with was the bearer of my disgrace."

Zuko blinked. All good and well, but only the Fire Lord could give such orders to a noblewoman. "My father sent you to Zhao?"

She nodded slightly in affirmation. "Your father discovered that I was teaching my maids to dance."

That didn't seem like a cause for disgrace. Then again, he had heard rumors of how his father had fallen in the times of the Avatar; how the Fire Lord no longer retained any of his former honor. The Royal Court had become a place of terror instead of the luxurious peace the nobles had grown up in. "What kind of dance?" the Prince asked, knowing his soldiers and his Uncle were looking on, watching him as he spoke with a noblewoman for the first time in four years. They were all having great fun at his expense.

She smiled slightly then, a bitterly sweet smile of triumphant sorrow. "The Elemental Dance."

He blinked again, shocked at her words. "You need an Air bender soul pair for that dance."

She cocked her head to the side, letting him see her confusion. "A few air-benders have been kept alive for the Fire Lord's amusement. Many know of this."

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. That was interesting information. "How? The Air Temples are empty."

"They don't have to be in the Air Temples to be alive or known of."

He nodded. True statement, that. "You may stay on the ship. Captain Emilio will show you to a room." He was going to have to mull over her. Her arrival had been a surprise and had managed to throw him off guard. "I have a question."

Her lips curved up slightly, as if she found humor in his words. Did she? "Ask away, my Prince."

Strange endearment. "Can you defend yourself?"

She still smiled, but her eyes lost some of their warmth. He could see that she had enough pride to be offended by his words. "Of course, I can. Why do you think Zhao hates me? Because I made it easy for him?"

He grinned. He couldn't help it. The image of Zhao being brow-beaten by a lady in chains was just too funny. He sobered up almost instantly though, having detected a note of heartbreak in her tone. The situation wasn't all that funny. Image was. Situation wasn't. Should he offer her tea?

Dear Agni, his uncle was rubbing off on him.

The Captain stepped up, sweeping her a bow. "If you'll come this way, Lady. I apologize if the accommodations are a bit sober."

She bowed to Zuko. "It's alright, Captain. I can expect nothing less. This is assumed to be a warship after all, is it not?"

He grinned. "Of course, Lady. Right this way."

Zuko watched her go. From the corner of his eye, he saw his soldiers doing the same. Ping elbowed Kunai, grinning after raising his face shield. Zuko smiled. He had no need to warn his men off; they wouldn't harm the girl unlike many of his father's commanders. His men had honor.

"You should've asked her for tea," his Uncle said.

Yup, his uncle was rubbing off on him. "I'll ask her later; once she has situated herself in her room."

"We should get her clothes the next time we stop," his Uncle commented. "I wonder what we have that she can wear. She is very petite." He glanced at his nephew out of the corner of his eye.

Zuko was staring at the point where the girl- Kurina, had disappeared. He had to mentally shake himself. Imagining what lay beneath those rags was not a good idea. Being a fire-bender meant lust came easily, but thankfully, a flame could be easily controlled if you had been properly taught. His uncle was his sensei. He knew how to control his flame. He just wasn't sure he wanted to.

"She can wear some of my old clothes until we dock to restock our supplies," he replied. He slid his gaze to the first mate of the crew, Hiro. "Put the men through their paces for three hours. We'll dock on that island and they can stretch their legs for a run."

"Yes, sir," Hiro said. He turned to the men and began giving orders, dispensing a few to steer the ship towards the small dot on the horizon.

"Ping!"

Ping bowed towards him. "Yes, sir?" he asked.

"Come with me, please," Zuko said. "I'll meet you in the Captain's Cabin, uncle. I'm going to get Lady Kurina's clothes."

As soon as Zuko was out of sight, a huge grin lit up on Iroh's face. Ghouls quaked and seraphim fled; both light and dark felt sorry for the Prince Zuko and his future bride.

"Look at them Aang!" Katara was watching the dancers in the village square avidly. "I wish I was that graceful."

"You are, Katara. You're a water-bender. Grace comes to you naturally." Sokka glanced at Aang out of the corner of his eye.

The air-bender had grown into a handsome young man; a young man that was currently staring at his little sister like he wanted to eat her alive.

"Aang?" Sokka growled. He didn't like anyone looking at his sister, no matter how close to the person he was. Besides, he knew that Katara didn't see Aang that way. He would always be like her brother.

"Yes, Sokka?" Aang looked at Sokka cheerfully.

"Let's go get some food. We'll leave Katara to ogle the weirdoes."

"Sokka!" Katara yelled.

The water-tribe warrior whirled around, his boomerang in his hand. Paranoia was the mother of survival. He slowly lowered his weapon, forgetting he had two short knives at his waist that would've done a lot more damage than his boomerang in close range combat.

Katara was moving through the dancers like a blue flame, her hips swaying with a natural grace as she laughed with the male that had grabbed her hand. She moved her hands in front of her, mimicking the dancer to her right. The flame-wielders smiled and picked up the pace, loosing interest in the other citizens they had enticed into joining them. Katara kept up until she spotted something that made her heart stop cold. She slid in between the warm bodies, calling two water whips to her and slipping into the brightly dressed crowd. Her brother and Aang followed her like shadows, their weapons at the ready.

Unbeknownst to her, the dancers had stopped when she left. The villagers watched in puzzlement as the dropped to the ground and wept.

One of them looked up and screamed wordlessly.

The crowd gasped.

His tears shone like stars in the black of the night sky. Yin and yang danced in the sparks of his amber eyes, his flame dimming until all that was left was an unbearable sorrow.

Zhao kicked the man on his side and peered into his eyes. His eyes widened at what he saw. "Search every house in the village. Bring me everyone," he ordered.