Day 1.
I got a job! Starting tomorrow I'm going to be a lieutenant on someone's ship! This is my first time since I've been promoted to lieutenant but I think if I make a good first impression on my new master I'll do just fine. I'm still really nervous though… Well I better get ready to go. I've got a big day tomorrow!
The next day.
Today was a disaster! I was always taught to make a good first impression but I don't think I did. It all started when I first got to the ship…
The ship wasn't as big as some of the fire navy ships I had seen before but I was still really exited about being on it. There were a lot of other crew members that had been hired to work there and we were all standing on the deck waiting to meet our new master. I was walking around and exploring the ship when all of the sudden everything turned quiet. Everybody stopped talking and we all stared out into the water as we saw a small boat approaching. The boat stopped and we all watched as two figures boarded the ship. As they came closer we could see an older man with a younger boy. The boy looked like he was about 13 or 14 years old. The man had the boy tightly tucked under his arm and the boy had his head rested on the mans shoulder as they walked. As they got close enough for us to make out their features all eyes fell on the boy. The young boy had scrapes and cuts all over his face, and there were some spots on his head where he was missing some hair. His arms and legs were wrapped in bandages that were stained with blood. But the most disturbing feature was that the left side of his face was swollen and totally covered in bandages. We all watched as the older man began to speak.
"Well… aren't you going to introduce yourself to your crew?" The man asked the boy calmly.
The boy acted like he didn't hear him and continued to stare at the floor of the ship.
"Ok then… I'll do it for you." The man said to the child.
As the man loosened his grip on the boy the boy collapsed to the floor. The boy managed to catch himself on his hands and knees and he just sat there for a few seconds.
When the boy finally started to get up the man began cheering him on quietly.
"Come on.. that's it…" The man encouraged the boy quietly. "See? I told you you could stand on your own now! You're all better!" The man said happily when the boy was finally on his feet.
Although I could see that it was obvious to everyone that the boy was far from all better. Questions raced through my mind… Who was this boy? Why did he look like he had just been crushed my a bolder? It was clear that this ship was no place for a boy who looked as if he could die at any second! He needed to be home in bed or at a hospital! Why was he here?
"My name is Iroh and I am a retired general from lord Ozais navy."
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the man speak again.
"And this is your new master. His name is Prince Zuko." Iroh said pointing to the boy.
This is unbelievable! Was my first thought. Could this boy named Prince Zuko really be my new master? He was so young and he looked so sick… I thought for a few moments and then decided it was time to make that good first impression. I slowly approached Iroh and Prince Zuko.
"Hello, My name is Lieutenant Jee and I'm here to be your right hand man. If there's anything you need you just say the word and I'm on the job!" I said proudly.
Prince Zuko slowly raised his head and looked at me. He stared at me with his one eye that was free from bandages. As I looked into his eye I saw… nothing… well not literally his eye was there but… it was like he was dead… he looked as if he had been robed of his soul. Staring into the despair in his eye was almost frightening… it wasn't until it was too late that I realized that I was staring at him strangely. The young Prince turned his head away as if he was hurt by my stare. Thoughts began racing through my head again… what have I done?… I'm defiantly not going to be on my masters good side now!
"Hello Lieutenant" Iroh said smiling. "And welcome aboard! I'm sure if the Prince needs anything you'll be the first one he calls."
"Thank you…" Was my pathetic reply.
A few weeks later.
Its been about five or six weeks… I'm not exactly sure because everything has been chaos around here ever since we set sail. The prince is very sick. He has a very high fever and the infection on the left side of his face is spreading. Every day we are told that he has died and then every day at the last second we are told that the doctors made a mistake and he is still breathing. At this point nobody really knows if the Prince is going to live through the next day. I started to think what it would be like if Prince Zuko did die… my first job as a Lieutenant and my master dies on me… I'm not really superstitious but I hoped this would not be a curse that I would carry to all of the masters I would serve in the future.
A few more weeks later.
Its been about two weeks since the Prince fell deathly ill. And he seems to be getting better! Yesterday I heard that he actually sat up in his bed and was able to eat by himself. The weird thing is I've been working here for almost two months and I still haven't heard my master say anything… he doesn't give us any orders so most of us that don't need to take care of the ship just sit around and do nothing.
1 month later.
Its been a whole month since anybody has seen Prince Zuko. There is a roomer going around that he has died but I don't believe that because if he did Iroh (Who I recently found out was his uncle) would be going totally insane!
Later that day.
I can not believe what just happened!!! Some other soldiers an I were just sitting around on deck when we heard someone shout.
ATTENTION!
The high pitched voice came so quick… so loud… it literally made one of the soldiers fall over on to the floor! We all looked up to the top platform above the ship and we couldn't believe what we saw. There stood Prince Zuko… but something was different… it was his face. The left side of his face was no longer covered in bandages and you could see the scar tissue going from his left eye all the was to his ear. It looked like someone had taken a blade and cut off all of the flesh around the left side of his face. It was the first time anyone had seen him without his bandages.
"I know… what your all thinking…" Came the first words that I ever heard come out of Prince Zukos mouth.
"Your all thinking that I am that just because my face is messed up and I have a lot of injuries that you don't have to worry about me punishing you for not working hard. Well… your all WRONG! Starting today things are going to change around here! I've got some new rules that I want to make clear for all of you.
Rule 1. You ALWAYS have to be working… the only breaks you get are breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sleep. So in other words if your not eating or sleeping you have to be WORKING!
Rule 2. If you don't obey rule 1 you will be killed!"
At this point Iroh came up to Zuko and said something to him.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CANT KILL THEM?????" was Zukos angry reply to his uncle.
"Fine…" Zuko finally said after talking to Iroh for a few seconds.
"If you don't obey rule 1 you will loose your job!" Zuko said.
"So all I have to do when I don't feel like working is take a nap!" Said one of the soldiers. And I don't think he knew that The Prince heard him.
In less than a second Zuko was down on the deck and walking toward the soldier.
"So… let me get this straight… just because I look different your going to disrespect me?" Zuko asked.
"No… sir… I just-"
"So because I'm injured your going to disrespect me?" Zuko asked.
"No sir… I didn't mean to-"
"Is it this scar?… this scar on my face? Is that why you think you can disrespect me?" Zuko asked again.
"Sir please… I didn't mean to dis-"
"Then will you please explain to me why your disrespecting me because I'm out of reasons and I don't understand!"
"I'm sorry sir… I-"
"Your sorry? Sorry? You don't know what sorry IS!" Zuko said as he took the soldier by the neck and used a fire blast to throw him across the deck.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you. I may not be able to kill you but that doesn't stop me from punishing you. If you don't want to end up with a face like mine then you will NEVER disrespect me! That is all I have to say! As you were!"
Everybody was in complete disbelief. Nobody could believe that this ill and injured child who had been on the verge of death had turned so cruel and ruthless.
Later that night I was doing some work below deck. I had just finished inspecting the galley and I decided to go back to my cabin to get some sleep. On my way I stopped in the hall because I heard screaming.
"SHUT UP YOU DON"T KNOW ANYTHING!"
I recognized that voice… it was the same voice that everyone heard announcing the new rules that morning. But that morning the voice had sounded firm and strong.
Now the voice was frail and shaky.
"I'm never going to find him! NEVER!" I heard Zuko scream in rage.
"Zuko please calm down!" I heard Iroh say.
"But uncle… what if I never find the Avatar?" Zuko said. His voice showed that he was calming down.
"Don't even say things like that Zuko… your going to find the Avatar." Iroh replied to his nephew.
"W- w- when?" Zuko asked.
His voice was really shaky now and you could tell that he was crying.
"I… don't know Zuko." Iroh replied.
"Your lying! I'm never going to find the Avatar and you know it!" Zuko screamed raising his voice again.
"Shh… Zuko please… I'm sure people are trying to sleep." Iroh said trying to calm his nephew.
"I DON'T CARE! I haven't been able to sleep ever since I got on this stupid ship! Its already been a month and I still haven't found anything!
"You expected this to take less than a month?" Iroh asked surprisingly. "Zuko stuff like this takes time."
"I DON'T HAVE TIME UNCLE!" Zuko sobbed. "I miss my home… and my father…I want to go home NOW!"
I had been standing there for a long time and I decided to leave before someone saw me. But there is something I still don't understand… If Zuko wants to go home so bad… then why doesn't he?
The next day.
Zuko is really mad and I heard he is going to increase the work load. We are also going on first mission outside of the ship tomorrow… I'm going to be really busy so I might not be able to write in my journal for a while.
See you next time!
Two years later.
Wow… I found my old journal… I remember two years ago when I first started working here I started writing in this. Things haven't changed much though… Zuko is still as angry as ever. Today something happened though… something BIG. We found the Avatar hiding in the south pole. It turns out he's only 12 years old. We had him in custody a few minuets ago but I just heard Zuko screaming "I CAN'T BELIEVE WE LET HIM GET AWAY!" So I don't think he's here any more.
Later that day.
We are on our way to captain Zhao's docks to get the ship repaired… apparently when the Avatar escaped he did some damage.
The next day.
We all had the day off today since we had to leave the ship as it was being repaired. Zuko seems to be in a good mood for some reason… He's been walking around with a big smile on his face… I don't think I've ever seen him smile.
About five weeks later.
Today I tempted death… I disagreed with Zuko… But I couldn't help it! He was being such a brat! There is a storm coming and we need to head in a different direction to avoid it but he said that the safety of the crew doesn't matter and we are going to keep heading the way he wants us to go. Later when Zuko saw the storm clouds he got scared… and I rubbed it in his face. I told him that he should have listened to his uncle and that he should have changed the course when we still had a chance. He told me I needed to learn respect… and if I didn't he said that he would teach it to me. I couldn't help it and I started laughing.
"What do you know about respect?" I said. Your just a spoiled Prince that only cares about himself! You know nothing about respect!"
Zuko turned around to face me and I could see the hate in his eyes… he was going to kill me… I don't know why he gets so sensitive when anybody talks about respect around him though…
Zuko raised his hands into a fighting stance… as did I…
We stood there for what seemed like hours… but I know it was only about one minuet. I couldn't wait to start strangling Zuko… I would teach him what respect really was… But of course I was going to let him attack first… but he never did. He just stood there breathing hard… steam coming out of his hand… he was holding back. But why?
Before I could ask him two hands came between us.
"That is enough!" Iroh said pushing me and Zuko in opposite directions.
I can't believe how Zuko is acting! Who dose he think he is?!
Later that night.
I need to gather my thoughts… I can't believe that I've served Prince Zuko for two years and I never knew this… I'm finding what Iroh has just told me hard to believe. But I can tell that he's not lying.
I now know why Zuko is so obsessed with finding the Avatar… and I now know why he can't go home no matter how much he wants to.
When Zuko was 14 he was badly beaten by his father in an Agni Kai. After that he was banished from the fire nation… forever. Zuko begged for his fathers forgiveness… and he begged his father to let him come home. His father told him that the only way he could ever come home was if he could capture the Avatar. When his father told him to go capture the Avatar it was supposed to be a cruel joke but Zuko took it seriously and he's been on this ship looking for the Avatar ever since.
I feel like a jerk… I don't know how yet but I'm going to try and apologize to Zuko.
The next day.
I just finished trying to apologize… it didn't go well.
I decided to go to Zukos room and see what he was doing. He was at his desk going through some papers and maps.
"That was some storm we had last night… we couldn't have gotten control of the ship without you. Thanks for all your help." I said
"Your welcome." Zuko replied without looking up from his desk.
"Prince Zuko… about yesterday… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disagreed with you. You're the leader of this ship and I'm not. I'm sorry.
Zuko looked up from his desk. "Your sorry?" He asked.
"Yes… I'm sorry." I replied.
"Yeah… I'm sorry too. I guess I was acting kind of immature." He said.
"You have nothing to be sorry about Prince Zuko." I said. You've already been through too much.
"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked cautiously.
"Your uncle told me everything. About what happened to you two years ago… when you were 14."
"MY UNCLE WHAT?" Zuko said and I could tell that he was starting to get angry. "I can't believe he told you! I'm never going to trust him again!" Zuko screamed in rage.
"What? Why? Why don't you want anyone to know?" I asked in confusion.
"Because if people know then they will feel sorry for me!" He replied. "That's why you're here isn't it? Your not really sorry! You just feel sorry for me because my dad beat the hell out of me when I was 14! There is a BIG difference in being sorry and feeling sorry for someone!
"No that's not true! I'm sorry about disrespecting you!" I tried to convince him.
"As far as I'm concerned feeling sorry for me IS disrespecting me!" He replied. The only thing I hate worse than people disrespecting me is when people feel sorry for me! Your apology means NOTHING!" Zuko screamed.
Yeah… just like I said the apology thing didn't go well.
The next day.
Today something really out of the ordinary happened.
I went back into Zukos room to try to apologize again. And yes this time I was really truly sorry.
"Prince Zuko… I thought about what you said and you were right. I wasn't really sorry I just felt sorry for you. But now I'm really sorry.
Zuko stared at me for about five seconds. "Ok I believe you." He finally said.
"Really?" I asked. "You believe me just like that?"
"Yep." was his short reply.
"You know Prince Zuko… I really wanted to kill you the other day. I was just waiting for you to attack first. You could have attacked at any time. Why did you hold back?
"When I first heard that I was going to have my own ship and my own crew I was really worried." Zuko said.
"Worried about what?" I asked.
"A lot of things" Zuko replied. "I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to handle the ship and my crew. I was also worried that nobody would listen to me. On the first day when uncle was introducing me I thought he was wasting his time because I knew that nobody was going to listen to commands from a 14 year old. But then someone walked up to me and said that he was here to be my right hand man and if I ever needed anything just to ask him… that was you."
"I was just trying to make a good first impression." I said.
"Good job… you did." Zuko said with a small smile.
"So what dose that have to do with you not wanting to fight me?" I asked.
"You were the only one out of everyone on my crew that ever said something like that to me. I wasn't going to kill off the best person on my crew." Zuko replied.
"Thanks". I said.
A few days later.
I was on my lunch break and I was heading back to my cabin and I saw Zuko carrying something. It was a big black bag full of who knows what. Then something fell out of the bag… something blue. It was a blue mask. I picked it up and handed it to Zuko. And he grabbed it from my hand quickly.
"What's all this stuff?" I asked.
"None of your business". He replied.
I shrugged and headed back towards my cabin.
The next day.
Nobody has seen Zuko all day. Someone did say that they saw him leave the ship on a small boat this morning though.
The next day.
Zuko just got back. Nobody except his uncle knows where he was though. He probably just wanted to get away from the ship so he didn't have to be around for his uncles music night.
A week later.
Today something horrible happened. Admiral Zhao came to the ship and… he's taking Zuko's crew. All of us… even me. I'm getting ready to leave right now. Zuko is very angry.
Later that night.
I'm on one of Zhao's ships. We have been sailing for about an hour. I wish I could have said goodbye to Zuko. After Zhao came he wouldn't come out of his room. We all told Iroh to wish Zuko good luck for us. I wonder what he's going to do now. He can't run his ship with out a crew.
A few days later.
I just received terrible news. I still can't believe it but… the night I left Zuko's ship… there was an explosion… Iroh had gone for a walk… but Zuko was still on the ship… he's gone. I have to get off of this ship. I need to see the remains of Zuko's ship.
The next day.
I just got back from where Zuko's was blown up and I'm back on one of Zhao's ships… in fact I pretty sure I'm on the very ship that Zhao is on. If I ever see him… I'll pay him back for stealing Zuko's crew! Oh yea and one more thing.. When I was looking at the place where Zuko's ship was I saw something in the water… something blue… it was the blue mask I had seen Zuko with that day! So I went down into the water and got it. I don't know why… I guess I just wanted something to remember my first master by. I wonder what he was doing with this mask anyway… well I guess I'll never know now… he took the secret to his grave.
A few days later.
I just learned that Iroh is on this ship. He's working for Zhao now. It seems weird that he would take a job right after his nephew died… it just doesn't seem right… Zuko meant everything to Iroh. Maybe this is his way of dealing with it… taking a job so he'll just think about work and not have to think about Zuko. For whatever his reason… it will be really nice to see him again. And I've decided to give him the mask that I found. I'm going to find out where his cabin is after dinner and go talk to him.
The final entry in Lt. Jee's journal reads as follows:
Something amazing just happened!! I found out where Iroh's cabin was and I had just turned the corner into the hallway where it was and I saw the door to his cabin shut. "He must have just went in" I thought to myself. I waited about a half a minuet and then knocked on the door… no answer. "Iroh?!" I called but there was still no answer. I opened the door and went in because I was afraid that something bad happened. In the room there was a soldier standing by the bed struggling quickly to put his helmet back on. It was a low ranked soldier with one of the helmets that had the white masks. I looked at him awkwardly. "Is this General Iroh's cabin?" I asked. The soldier nodded. "So then what are you doing in here?" I asked. The soldier picked up a rag on a nearby table and started wiping it. "Oh I see. Your in charge of cleaning his cabin." I said. The soldier nodded again. I held the blue mask up to the soldier. "Could you give this to General Iroh when he returns?" I asked. "You see it used to belong to his nephew… my master… he was recently killed in a terrible accident… well we think it was an accident anyway… why am I telling you this? Just give him the mask and tell him Lt. Jee stopped by". I turned around and started walking towards the door when the soldier grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me back. "What the-" I stated to scream but the soldier held his finger up to his mouth motioning for me to be quiet. Then he took off his helmet……….. I stared in disbelief at his face. It was covered in cuts and bruises and it was clear that the soldier had recently been in an accident or a fight. And he had a big.. almost mischievous smile on his face. But the feature of his face that stood out the most was the huge scar on the left side… it was if someone had taken a blade and cut the flesh all around his left eye to his ear clean off.