3 Days Later
Most of the Navy was scoffing at the ancient cruiser that was floating at the end of one of the docks, being loaded up for departure. Soldiers, many of whom looked ashamed to have been assigned to this crew, were slumping aboard under the weight of provisions, weapons, and armor.
In all the ruckus it was easy for Asuni to slide her way down the docks relatively unnoticed. Those who did see her gave her double-takes at the bag thrown over one shoulder and the divided box holding small potted plants hanging over the other.
Asuni ducked onto the gangway and made her way inside the ship in the shadow of four soldiers struggling under the weight of a huge load of pole arms. She peeled off from them as they headed towards a room that was labled as the armory on her blueprints. She scurried down another hallways towards the kitchen at the end of the corridor.
Asuni opened the door and immediately her nose wrinkled in distaste. She should have known the kitchen wouldn't be as nice as the one in the palace, but she'd expected more than this. There was a storeroom filled with basic ingredients, things that wouldn't spoil after days at sea. The oven was huge, taking up a large portion of the wall opposite the door. The ventilation was poor and Asuni could already tell that the room would be stifling as soon as she got it going.
There wasn't a whole lot of counter space, but she figured that the table bolted to the ground would help with that, even though it was obviously where she was supposed to take her meals. There was one chair. In the cabinets were standard pots and pans.
Asuni set the box holding the pots down on the table and began lifting them out one by one. There were six in all. They were all either medicinal or commonly used in cookng. She had rosemary, thyme, and basil, as well as aloe vera, lavender, and comfrey. They were given pride of place as far from the oven as possible, the box tucked away to be used later.
There was another door, besides the one leading to the storage closet. It was where the cook was to sleep. The place was pretty bare, just a small bed that was really just a pallet that hung on chains from the wall, able to be pushed against the wall and cleared away. A small chest of drawers was built into the opposite wall. Asuni quickly pulled her clothes out and put them away in the drawers.
Already she was sweating. It was hot down in the belly of the ship and Asuni was quickly realizing that her usual palace uniform, which was designed to be used in a well-aired, breezy kitchen, would be entirely too hot.
This room was where the cubby was concealed, behind a panel in the corner next to the door. Asuni quickly went to it and removed her necklace, sliding it into a small gap between that panel and the one next to it. With a quick twist it popped open and Asuni smiled. Sure enough, inside the cubby were the uniform and black clothes for sneaking. A plain white comedy mask was also included. She dug through and was incredibly reassured when she hit metal and toughened leather armor.
She had a small armory. There were a few throwing knives, a pair of daggers, and sheathes for all of them. Most importantly were the two signature weapons of the Royal Guards. The first was a long chain with a three-clawed hook affixed to one end. It was used like a meteor hammer, only it was easier to catch and hold people, and ripped and tore skin instead of smashing it. Next to it was a sword in a sheath. Asuni drew it out and examined it. It looked like a normal jian, but if a small button on the handle was pressed, the sword blade would collapse into segments that could be used to catch and entangle another opponent's blade in a surprise attack.
Asuni's first order of business was to go to her bag and pull out a series of five scrolls that had seen better days. Her mother had brought them from the Northern Water Tribe with her. They were spiritual texts, outlining some of the basics of the spiritual world and the spirits themselves. Asuni found them fascinating, but they would raise entirely too many questions if found, so she tucked them into the cubby for safe keeping.
Pleased with her accomodations, Asuni headed for the deck, curious to watch the launching of the ship. She twisted around the soldiers milling, and some of them gave her odd looks, but she merely smiled back and kept walking as if she owned the place. That was the trick. If you acted like you belonged someplace, people just assumed you did for whatever reason and didn't bother you.
Asuni made it to the deck and moved to the railing. A few people on the dock waved to her and she waved back, but they were only passers-by going about their business on the nearby ships. No one had actually come down to see them off, which was actually a bit surprising. After all, they were sending off a prince and a highly-respected General, members of the royal family. Still, the prince was leaving in disgrace. It was a bit sad though to think that no one had come.
A hand grabbed her arm and spun her around roughly. Asuni had to keep herself from grabbing whoever the hand belonged to and popping them over her hip. Good little cooks didn't know how to fight.
"What are you doing on my ship?" the prince snarled at her face. Asuni's eyes widened.
It was like looking at a different person.
At the Agni Kai, the prince had been just a normal young boy, loyal to his father and his country, who didn't want to fight. He looked like the kind of boy you could pass on the street and he would probably smile at you, maybe even wave.
Now he was armored as a soldier and looked years older. His long hair had been reduced to a single ponytail on top of his head. A large gauze patch covered his left eye, protecting what was undoubtedly a very bad third degree burn. He was snarling at her, anger practically rolling off of him.
The kind little boy who warned herabout his sister's fireball was dead, and in his place was an angry prince with a vendetta.
"I'm the cook!" Asuni exclaimed, holding up her hands. General Iroh ambled up behind his nephew, looking at her in interest.
"The cook? Why, you're wearing a palace uniform! At least we won't be deprived of good food, eh nephew?" he said jovially, looking Asuni over. His eyes settled on the ribbon at her neck holding the charm that opened anything the Royal Guards had hidden. He blinked and looked at her with a new respect. "A talented cook to be sure."
Iroh was one of the few who wasn't on the throne that knew that Royal Guard still existed. Since they were formally disbanded they had become a story for mothers to use to scare their children. 'If you don't eat your vegetable the Royal Guard will come and take you away.' However, when Iroh was expected to take the throne, Lo Shen had sworn the services of the Royal Guards to Iroh before swearing them to Ozai when he became Fire Lord instead.
"I hope to live up to your expectations, General Iroh," Asuni said, bowing. She had to pause and correct herself as she imediately moved to drop to one knee. Instead she simply folded her hands and bowed from the waist. When she straightened up, Iroh looked faintly amused, and she knew he'd caught her almost-slip.
"If you're the cook, then you belong in the kitchen," Zuko snapped at her.
"I just wanted to watch the ship launch," Asuni said, surprised by the anger in his gaze as he looked at her. He seemed furious with her for no apparent reason.
"You don't need to be on the deck. You'll get in the way."
Asuni's eyes narrowed. "My apologies, my prince." She bowed, just low enough to make her mocking clear while still seeming respectful. She pushed past him and Iroh and made her way back down into the depths of the ship.
When she reached the kitchen, she leaned back against the door and sighed. She was leaving the Fire Nation, the only place she'd ever known as home to protect him. He may not know that, but she was still the one providing his meals. She deserved a modicum of respect, or at least not outright hostility.
"Bratty prince," she hissed, smacking a fist onto the wall behind her.
"Don't blame him, this is very hard for him."
Asuni stood up sharply and whirled, doing a normal bow from the waist. "General Iroh!"
"I very suddenly found myself in the mood for a good cup of tea," the General said jovially, moving to sit at the table in the middle of the room, but not before shutting the door behind him. "Do you think you could oblige an old man…?"
"My name is Asuni," she filled in as she moved to the faucet, filling a tea pot with water. It took her a moment to get the stove going, but soon she was heating the water and adding the tea leaves.
"You're not a Firebender," Iroh observed. Asuni glanced up at him and he saw the distincitve blue eyes. He smiled self-depricatingly. "Ah, of course not. Water?"
Asuni looked up at him. "You really think I'm going to answer that?"
"Just making conversation. A good cup of tea is always better with good converstaion. I'm assuming Lo Shen sent you to watch my nephew."
Asuni blinked at him dispassionately. "Who's Lo Shen?"
"Your general, Miss Royal Guard."
Asuni sighed. "I'm assuming it was the necklace that gave it away?"
Iroh nodded, smiling. "The only piece of jewelry I ever saw Lo Shen wear. I asked him about it once and he told me the truth. How interesting, to travel with a member of the illustrious Royal Guard."
Asuni's eyes narrowed as she placed a cup of jasmine tea in front of him. "I'll have to ask you to keep that to yourself."
"Of course," Iroh nodded. He raised the cup to his face and inhaled, smiling. "Ah, jasmine, my favorite!"
"So I've heard," Asuni nodded.
"What else do you know about me?"
"… As much as I am required to know."
That night Asuni was almost asleep, dressed in her lightest clothes to fight the heat, when she heard the door to the kitchen creak open. Immediately she sat up, wide awake. Her hand slid under her pillow and gripped the hilt of a dagger. Slowly, Asuni pushed her thin sheet off of her and stood up, avoiding her shoes for the sake of sneakiness. Her dagger was held with the blade along her forearm, ready to use to attack or defend.
Slowly, she turned the handle on her door, praying for it not to squeak. It didn't, and she pushed the door open slowly. A figure was standing by the storeroom, looking inside. She knew that stealing rations at sea was a serious offense, so Asuni readied herself to confront a starving soldier and take whatever he'd stolen back before sending him off to bed.
But then, through the small window, moonlight landed on the person and illuminated them.
"Prince Zuko?" she exclaimed in surprise. The prince seemed to react instinctively, swinging a fist around and sending fire streaming towards her. Asuni dropped to the ground with a startled curse and the fire soared harmlesly overhead.
"The cook," Zuko greeted her, eyes lingering on her dagger.
"It's Asuni," she grunted as she pushed herself to her feet. "Prince Zuko, with all due respect… what are you doing down here in the middle of the night?"
"I was hungry," he grunted.
"I'll fix you something, if you don't mind waiting," Asuni offered, gesturing to the table. He looked at her as if debating whether or not to accept her offer, and then gave a sharp nod, moving over towards the table and sitting down. She noticed he was still in his armor, meaning he hadn't been to bed yet. That was surprising, seeing as it was only an hour or so until midnight.
"Didn't you eat dinner?" Asuni asked calmly as she stoked the fire and put some water on to heat so that he could have some tea with his meal. She had a bit of leftovers from the soup she'd made for dinner waiting on the burner still, so she resolved to simply let that heat up.
"I'm still hungry."
Asuni rolled her eyes. "I see. You sure that's it?"
She could practically feel him glare at her. "What do you mean by that?"
Asuni turned to face him. "I mean I've worked in the palace kitchens since I was little and I've never heard anyone mention you coming in for a midnight snack. I guess what I'm really asking is why can't you sleep?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you," he snapped. Asuni shrugged.
"You're right, you don't. But if we don't have some kind of conversation we're both going to be standing here in awkward silence while we wait for this soup to warm up and me to make some tea."
He said nothing in response, just continued to glare at her. Asuni looked at him in amusement, shaking her head and turning back to the soup. "Awkward silence it is, then."
"… It hurts."
Asuni turned to face him, blinking. She'd honestly thought he was going to sit there silently and give her dirty looks. "Sorry?"
"My face hurts," he said bluntly, turning away so she could only see the gauze patch and not his expression.
"Ah," Asuni nodded. She immediately went to the pot of aloe on the counter and plucked one of the leaves from it. With her dagger, she deftly sliced the leaf open along one side and squeezed it, using the knife point do dig out every last bit of the gel. She grabbed a small, flat plate from the cupboard and scraped the edge of the dagger off onto it before dropping that in front of the prince.
"Aloe," she said by way of explanation. "Helps burns heal and it has a nice cooling effect. Burns are pretty common in the kitchen, after all. Just rub it on."
He looked at the aloe for a moment and then slowly reached for it. His hand went to the gauze patch and he slowly started to pull it away, only to pause and give her a dirty look. Asuni turned away, giving him some privacy, and busied herself with hunting through the cabinets to find a bowl to put his soup in. Behind her, she could hear him wincing and hissing in pain, interspersed with rare sighs of relief.
When the sounds faded, Asuni waited another minute, and then turned around, soup and tea in hand, and set them in front of him.
"Here you go, prince."
"Thanks," he grunted, and moved to take it. The patch over one eye wrecked his depth perception though. His hand hit the glass of tea and sent it flying, the cup rolling towards the edge. Asuni moved and caught it deftly before it could roll off the edge, leaning and tugging a dish towel from the nearby counter. She quickly wiped away the tea before it could drip onto his lap. Zuko's face burned in embarassment.
"You have good reflexes," he said grudgingly, a sort-of apology, or rather as close as he was willing to come. Asuni was mildly amused as she remembered the last time he'd spoken to her, when he said the exact same thing.
"That's the second time you've said that to me."
Now Zuko was honestly thrown. He couldn't for the life of him remember having met the cook before. He never had any dealings with the cooks. If he wanted something to eat he just asked for it and someone got it for him from the kitchen. The closest he ever came to the kitchen help was ocassionally seeing one flit past through the bushes on their way to the cistern if he was out in the garden. He remembered once, when he was younger, Azula throwing a fireball at one of the young girls who worked there…
"You!" Zuko exclaimed, immediately recalling vivid blue eyes, the first time he'd ever seen eyes like that. Then, they'd been in the rounded face of a little girl. Now they belonged to a young woman, staring down at him in amusement.
"Me," Asuni replied calmly, nodding as she tossed the sopping towel into the sink deftly and moved to fill the teacup again. "Thanks for giving me a warning, by the way. Never said that back then. You were too busy pawing at my face."
Zuko flushed slightly, recalling how surprised he'd been to see someone with blue eyes. He knew that people in the Water Tribe had them, but back then, he'd never actually seen someone with Water Tribe features.
"So you're from the Water Tribes," he said, trying to change the subject.
"No, my mother was."
"Was?" he noted.
"She died when I was little."
"…Sorry."
"Not a problem."
"What about your father?"
"Not in the picture," she replied shortly, wishing not for the first time that she could proudly say she was Lo Shen's daughter. Zuko winced again.
"Oh. I should… I should go…"
With that, he stood up sharply and left the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him. Asuni raised her eyebrows, staring at the uneaten bowl of soup on the table. Shaking her head, she dumped it back into the pot, washed the dish, and then headed back to bed.
It was another two days before she saw the prince outside of a few brief glances when she delivered meals to him and Iroh. It was just like the first time. She'd been almost asleep when she heard the door to the kitchen open and someone start shuffling around. This time she didn't grab her knife, already suspecting who it was.
"Back again?" she asked, stepping out of her room and stretching languidly. The prince's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her and she wasn't surprised. She'd traded her palace uniform for a light cotton ensemble consisting of a breezy pair of red pants and a loose shirt belted with a sash.
"That plant," he said, hastily looking away, cheeks slightly pink, and pointing at potted aloe vera on the counter. "It helped."
"Ah, you want more," Asuni nodded in understanding. She returned to her room and retrieved her dagger. Personally, she found it better for digging out the gel. Again Zuko looked mildly surprised to see her with the weapon.
"Do all cooks carry knives with them?" he asked.
"I am the only woman on this ship," Asuni said drily. "And I'm at the wrong end of the ship for anyone to hear me if I need help. So yeah, I've got a knife." She plucked a leaf and slit it, scooping the inside of it out onto a plate. He reached for it, only to get swatted reproachfully.
"Calm down, I've got something else," Asuni said with a playful smile. "Let me work my magic."
She walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a small bottle with a hand-written lable on it.
"What's that?" Zuko asked suspiciously.
"Lavender oil," Asuni replied. "It's an antiseptic. It reduces pain and helps promote healing. It also reduces scarring." She poured a little bit onto the small plate with the aloe and used the end of her knife to mix it around until the gel was slightly runnier.
"How do you know all this?" Zuko asked, surprised. The doctor at the palace had just given him nasty-tasting capsules to take if he felt pain and they helped far less than the aloe she'd given him last time.
I'm part of a secret military group and we're trained to use any available resource we might have to aid in healing.
Asuni gave him a wink. "State secret."
This started a rather odd tradition. Every few days Asuni would wake late at night to find Zuko in the kitchen, sitting at the table, waiting for her to emerge and give him some aloe, ocassionally supplimented with the lavender oil and other things to help healing. She would mix it all up and then give it to him. He would sit at the table and rub it in while Asuni turned away and stared out the window, giving him the privacy he clearly wanted. Sometimes, they would talk.
"I grew up in the kitchens," Asuni explained. "I've been working there since I was three. Every morning when I was little I would get up before everyone else and fetch the water for the day, and even though I wasn't supposed to use the stoves back then, I'd heat the water and make everyone a cup of tea to start the day."
"What was it like being the only kid there?"
"I wasn't the only kid, just the youngest," Asuni corrected. "At first it was really annoying, because everyone would ruffle my hair and fuss over me like I was a pet or something. I guess when I was little, I kind of was," she admitted sheepishly, ruffling her hair. "But by the time I got older, I was sort of… you could almost say I was the mascot of the kitchen." She chuckled. "Messing with me was like messing with the entire kitchen staff. And we have knives," she added with a wink.
Zuko didn't say much about his life. Asuni did most of the talking, but he did listen and occassionally comment. Asuni was incredibly glad for these moments. She didn't really know anyone aboard the ship and she'd worried she would be just the faceless provider of food no one cared about or talked to, exiled to her little corner of the ship alone. To have someone to talk to was a luxury she hadn't expected.
Now, if she could only figure out how to get him to talk every now and then.
Zuko wasn't her ony visitor though. Somehow word got around that Asuni wasn't bad with her little arsenal of herbs. That brought the soldiers down to her with small cuts and burns from training or work around the ship. The worst injuries she'd seen were undoubtedly in relation to those who had the 'honor' of training with the prince. While before it was a badly-kept secret that the prince was a less-than-average Firebender, now it seemed his anger was fueling him and making his fire burn longer, hotter, and stronger than ever before, and he unleashed it, uncaring, against his sparring partners.
Asuni was no stranger to soldiers. She'd been around them her whole life, and as more came filtering into her kitchen for medical help, and even some conversation, she became more and more integrated into daily life on the ship. Soon she was really a member of the crew and knew things about them that they didn't tell others aboard the ship, as her silence was assured. She found herself once again becoming a sort of 'little sister' to the men, just like she'd been back in the kitchen. It provided a much-appreciated sense of familiarity and helped stave off the homesickness.
Zuko sat on the edge of his bed, Iroh in front of him. He clenched the edge of his mattress in his hands as Iroh reached up and gently unwound the gauze holding the patch over his eye. This was the part of the day he hated, when he felt – or rather couldn't feel, since the nerve endings were dead – the gauze fall away and light barraged his left eye. Then Iroh's face would go grim and he would observe for a while before rewrapping it. His uncle had offered to let him see, but thus far he refused.
A knock sounded on the door and it was pushed open before either of them responded with permission to enter. A soldier poked his head inside.
"General Iroh, we'll be landing on the island of the Southern Air Te-"
He paused, eyes wide. Zuko glared at the soldier, whose eyes were fixed very obviously on the left side of his face. He stood up sharply. "Get out!" he roared, snarling as he swung a fist through the air and sent a wave of fire towards the soldier. The man yelled and ducked back behind the door, shutting it sharply behind him.
Zuko turned away, panting, fists clenched at his side. He turned and punched the metal wall furiously. Iroh made a small disapproving noise and caught Zuko's fist on the rebound.
"Let's not get another injury," Iroh scolded gently, examining the hand. The skin was red and would definitely bruise, but nothing seemed broken, despite the small dent in the metal.
"Everyone's going to be like that, aren't they?" Zuko bit out. "Staring."
"Not every-"
"Yes they will!" Zuko snapped, cutting his uncle off. "And why would they? Half of my face is melted off! I don't blame them…"
Iroh sighed, giving his nephew a pained, empathetic look as he turned away, presenting his back. "The sooner you take off the bandages for good, the sooner they'll get used to it. You could probably take them off now."
"No," Zuko said shortly. "I'm not going to be stared at like some kind of circus freak. Not… not yet." His shoulders slumped and Iroh knew that if he didn't say something, Zuko would never take the bandages off. He'd keep hiding behind the gauze, not just from everyone else, but from himself. By covering it up it was like he was trying to deny its existence, but once it was out there for everyone to see, to gape at, then it all became real. His disfigurement, his banishment, all of it.
"You'll find people who won't care," Iroh assured him. "Who will look at you and see a whole person instead of a feature. Those are the people to surround yourself with."