Chapter Four
Light in the Distance
Zuko woke Malu the next morning with considerable struggle, and resorted to baiting her with morning breakfast. She dressed behind a curtain in the corner of the room and Zuko packed the provisions. He had already eaten, so he left her in the inn with her food, last he saw she was shoveling down her breakfast when he left to ready the boat.
When he reached the dock the sun had barely risen out of the horizon. It was good news. The sooner he left the less chance of him being spotted. He inspected the boat with scrutiny and happily noted that it was well cared for and clean. Perfect for their short voyage to the mountainous island where the Western Air Temple resided. He dropped their packages inside and made a few short stops at the early morning venders for some food that wouldn't spoil easily and another black cloak, since he couldn't wear his from the Fire Nation. He reached the inn in time to see Malu sprinting out to meet him. She barreled into him and was about to apologize when she realized who it was.
"Let's get going!" She babbled excitedly. "I can't wait to get there! Can you?" Malu forcibly grabbed his shirt and nearly choked him as she trudged determinedly to the docks. "I've never gone with anyone else before!"
Zuko caught up with her at the dock as she untied the boat. He climbed in before she threw him a paddle in the air. "Good catch." She grinned and pushed off from the dock using her own paddle. And just like that, they had set off. Well, Malu did make it a point to turn around when she was far enough into the water and blow a raspberry toward the sleepy dock manager, who had just trudged outside. He jumped and shook his fist at her, waving at her to leave.
Zuko look bemused throughout all this. He shook his head at Malu, who shrugged. "He started it," she said smugly as they paddled.
Soon they passed out of sight of the town and Malu was soon directing him across the Ocean. She would use 'left' and 'right' to indicate which side he should paddle on, and he took the orders silently. If only his old crew could see him now, he inwardly laughed, the arrogant Prince Zuko taking orders from a teenage girl. The situation was rather comical; he wondered what his uncle would say right now.
They passed over small waves and nearly halfway through the day the wind changed to favor their direction, and the girl put out the sail and they rested for a while with their afternoon lunch. The girl was insatiably curious over this and that. Small details, she even went so far as to ask where he got his scar, a question he coldly avoided. She was smart enough not to ask any questions about his past from that point onward.
"So what's your favorite color?" The girl asked while taking a startlingly large bite out of her papaya. The juices dribbled down her chin and Zuko threw her a towel from across the boat, which was only three feet away.
"I don't know... red." He responded, and then thought better of it, "no, maybe black, or blue?"
"So which is it?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, I've never thought about it before."
"My favorite color is yellow! It's so bright and happy!" She said, "You'll see a lot of yellow in the Air Temple. And orange, there's a lot of orange."
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Zuko asked to get the topic off himself. He looked around, all he could see was the ocean, and it wasn't dark enough for him to see the stars. He had never traveled without a larger crew, or a skilled astronomer with him. Without these luxuries, he felt lost. But this was his journey, and he wasn't going to give up. He had some small amount of faith in this girl. Something compelled him to follow her lead, perhaps a part of him knew it was in his destiny.
"I'm positive; I've made this trip a thousand times before, just by myself." She added somberly, "It's nice to have the company, the ocean gets lonely." She ducked her head, perhaps to hide her face from view, though Zuko couldn't see her anyway, from his position behind her.
"Why do you make this trip so many times?" Zuko asked.
"Personal reasons," was all she said, perhaps to mimic his response from earlier. He almost felt sorry for being so mysterious yesterday, but he hadn't a choice, he no longer could choose who to trust. Azula had made him weary of strangers, and it was no different for a thirteen year old girl. Later that night, they landed on the rocky shore of an island. And in the distance, he could faintly see a light in the dark.
"Lead the way," Zuko remarked to her, as they finished securing the boat. She nodded grimly and grabbed her own personal belongings from within the boat. Before they left, Zuko made sure the boat was well hidden enough so that no one would notice their presence here. With any luck, and his calculations being correct, he may meet the Avatar tonight.
"Aang still needs to master Firebending!" Katara explained to the group at whole. "Our best bet would be to forestall another invasion until we can find a firebender to teach Aang."
"What about Jeong Jeong?" Sokka inserted. "Now that you've mastered the other elements he'll be willing to teach you."
"And just how long are we going to wait for another invasion? It could take months to learn Firebending, and keep up the other elements!" Aang let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm tired of waiting for an answer!" He gazed at the fire they had made. "If only my old friend from the Fire Nation was here, he'd teach me."
Aang was tired of the indecision of the group, they had to decide on something, and it was between going after the others and finding a Firebender to teach him. But while he was learning, what would they do? Haru had suggested spying, but it was incredibly risky. Sokka was at a loss, they needed time to think, and plan.
"Another invasion now would be foolish, they're expecting it." Sokka said slowly, "We can't risk another frontal assault."
"Sokka is right." Katara added, "You all saw how Azula didn't chase us, she knows we're coming back, and she'll be waiting with the entire Fire Nation army behind her."
"Guys..." Teo said.
"And how are we supposed to enter the Fire Nation undetected? You saw their security, it's flawless."
"Guys..."
"We need another day to talk, and think, I think we should sleep on it."
"Guys..."
"We've already slept on it once, we need to decide something even if it's to move from the Temple."
"The temple's the safest place for a hundred miles around."
"Everyone be quiet!" Teo snapped, and everyone turned to stare. "I think we're being followed." He pointed in the distance, and sure enough, two figures were steadily climbing their way down the mountain, toward the pass.
Zuko wasn't quite sure how Malu had found a pass over the mountain, but it was close to sunset when they reached over the top and began to descend. Zuko had pulled his cloak around him in warmth. He didn't dare bring out his old one, for fear of Malu's excitable mouth, and curious ways. The cold chilled him, but his reminder to himself to keep going and the thought of the Avatar forced his legs to keep moving. Malu had produced from the depths of her bags a small fur coat, she happily draped over herself.
The two could quite plainly see a light in the Temple. Malu was not happy. "I've never seen anyone around here before, who do you think it could be?" She asked as they silently snuck down the narrow passage.
"I don't know," he lied, and gritted his teeth. "Let's be quiet, we don't even know if anyone is there, I don't see any shadows."
And true enough, as they made the climb, there were no shadows against the pale light of the fire. Zuko and Malu saw the grand entrance of the Western Air Temple. The gate was locked, but Malu led them through a small gap in the wall, apparently made by the Fire Nation attack. Zuko could tell from the charring on the stone, and the burns on the trees surrounding the beautiful land. At one time in his life he would be proud that the Fire Nation was able to conquer such vast and wild terrain, but it only made him more ashamed of a part of his unspeakable heritage.
They entered the grander hall with the small fire in it from the side. Zuko could see no one in sight. But it was obvious that a campfire had been made recently. Logs were surrounding the fire like seats, and a water canteen lay empty to one side, with water dripping out of it. Zuko unsheathed his swords. "Get behind me," he told Malu.
Malu scampered behind Zuko's larger bulk.
"I think I've found who I've been looking for," he told her.
A/N Please review:)
