Here's the next chapter!
I especially enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you all like it as much as I do!
PLEASE REVIEW!
Edit 8/6/16: I'm gonna go ahead and agree with my 16 year old self on this one-this chapter was very fun to write. I'm gonna add on a little more this time around with the whole arc, which is going to be SWEEEEEET. I forgot how short I used to make chapters, and part of me is kind of like...I should start re-introducing shorter chapters but update more quickly, I'm sure my readers would appreciate it LOL
Edit 4/22/19: Yeah I'm back...and literally its just because after YEARS...I JUST caught that I've been calling 'Matya' MAYA in recent chapters. I decided to go back and change it cuz Maya flows more naturally for me and fits her character more in my mind. But yeah, it's taken me YEARS to catch this...i'm officially trash and I'm dying hahaha.
Chapter 8: Gypsy Mask
From the sight of dried herbs and other goods hanging on the outside of the two-level vessel, Dakota guessed that the owner was a trader of sorts. She increased her splashing and yelling as the boat moved closer, relieved to see the distinct lack of Fire Nation colors or insignia.
The girl continued to treaded water, hope filling her chest as the boat slowed to a stop a few yards away. A young girl—no older than eleven or so and with her hair tied into numerous braids with colored ribbon tying off the ends— was running along the edge of the boat. She was dressed in a functional but still colorful tunic and skirt, various bracelets gleaming around her wrists and ankles. A green painted stripe extended from one cheekbone to the other, arching across the bridge of her nose as it went.
"Mama, Mama, it's a turtle-seal!" the girl exclaimed. Dakota frowned as she pushed her hair away from her face, trying hard to imagine what a turtle-seal looked like.
The girl effortlessly navigated the ship's various surfaces, using the numerous ropes and pulleys to maneuver herself. Dakota stared in awe as the child effortlessly swung up to the higher deck and ducked through a window with all the litheness of a cat.
A moment later, a middle-aged woman's head poked out of the same window. Her long hair—braided in a similar style to her daughter's—framed her face as she peered down at Dakota. Instead of a green line across her face, this woman had a bold crimson diamond painted on her forehead.
The woman gasped at the sight of Dakota. A bright orange curtain fell back across the window as she hastily retreated.
Dakota panicked, scrambling to speak before the boat had a chance to leave. "No, please, don't go! I'm–"
Her words were cut off as the woman suddenly appeared once more, this time from the front of the cabin. Thick braids flew around her head as she jumped over the rail, landing on the lower deck in a flurry of colorful cloth. She tossed a rope out to Dakota.
"Grab hold of the rope, love! Maya, get some towels!" the woman commanded, her voice raspy but still ringing with authority. The little girl hovering at the door ran inside without another word; her feet made soft pattering sounds on the wood.
Dakota didn't hesitate in following the order, surprised by the strength of the woman as she hauled Dakota up the side of the boat. The girl winced as her arm caught on a metal piece. A thin line of blood appeared on the skin but the pain wasn't enough to give another moment of thought. She hauled herself up onto the deck, rolling onto it as she gasped for air.
The older woman knelt beside her. "Are you injured?" she asked.
Dakota shook her head. "No. Thank you so much for helping me…"
The woman smiled. "I am Tali. We saw the Fire Nation ship, and I knew that there was trouble. Wherever their ships go, evil follows. Are you sure you're not hurt? I've heard nasty rumors about the Fire Nation and how they treat their prisoners…"
Ah…so the woman thought she was a prisoner. Dakota was impossibly grateful that she had thought to rid herself of any Fire Nation marked clothing. It was obvious that this woman was against the Fire Nation and so Dakota had to think up a believable backstory. What would she say? What could she say?
In her mind she envisioned the lines and shapes of the world map—Iroh had spent many evenings teaching her the geographic positions of each nation, as well as any cities of importance.
"I'm…I'm fine. I was caught trying to run away from Mining Village with my older brother. He got caught Earthbending and they assumed that I was an Earthbender too. The ship was on its way to take us to the prison rig off the coast. But when they realized I wasn't a bender…" Dakota trailed off, pulling her knees up to hug them to her chest.
Lying to this woman felt so wrong.
The guilt only increased when Tali's arm wrapped around her wet shoulders. Dakota noticed that the woman had two bracelets on her left wrist; one merely a circle of minimally painted wood and the other made of jade, intricate symbols and words delicately carved onto the translucent green surface.
"I know how you feel. My husband was also captured, a few months ago." Dakota looked up in shock, and the woman nodded sadly. "We are one of the numerous Earth Kingdom gypsy traders who travel to Kyoshi Island in order to deliver goods. Since Kyoshi is neutral, ordinary traders don't have the authorization to contact or assist the island. We were on the mainland in one of the Earth Kingdom cities, getting supplies. He and I used Earthbending to move a large blockade that prevented us from getting through, and ten minutes later Fire Nation soldiers stopped us. My husband managed to convince them that he was the only one who could Earthbend, and so they took him," Tali finished with a small sigh.
Dakota blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the sadness that rose up upon seeing the woman's grief-filled expression. Tali shook her head when Dakota opened her mouth to speak.
"It'll all work out in the end, you'll see," she assured Dakota. And then, very suddenly, she laughed. "Oh Spirits above, I can't believe that I still haven't asked for your name! What is it, love?"
Dakota knew that on the off chance that Iroh and Zuko were looking for her, they would be advertising for a girl named Dakota. It wasn't like she didn't want to return to Iroh—she really did—but for now, she had to stick with her story that she was from the Earth Kingdom, and had been abandoned by the Fire Nation ship.
The girl only hesitated for a moment before replying, "My name's Coda."
It wasn't the exact truth but it also wasn't a lie.
Maya arrived soon after with several towels. Dakota thanked the girl, which resulted in the girl losing all reservations and bouncing up to her. When she finally leaned back her mouth had quirked downward.
"Is that your real hair? Why is it such a weird color?" she bluntly asked, and Dakota laughed as Tali flushed in shame, swatting her daughter's bottom. The girl yelped and whirled on her mother. "Ow! I was just asking–"
"Maya, mind your manners!"
"But she doesn't mind, right?" Maya whined. Her little hands planted themselves on her hips as she smiled winningly at the older girl. Dakota finished rubbing her hair with a towel, smiling wryly at the child's tactics.
"No, I don't mind. It's my natural hair color, and you're right; it is rather distinctive," she said, and then looked up at Tali. "Do you think that I could—"
Tali nodded. "Of course, Coda. We'll get you cleaned up," she said with a secret smile, holding out her hand and leading Dakota into the small cabin behind them.
"This isn't going to work!" Dakota moaned as Tali added the final touches to her newly colored hair. "Everyone's gonna take one look at me and know that I'm not really a gypsy!"
After traveling for three days, the ship was only a few minutes from reaching the Bay of Kyoshi—the location of the gypsy gathering—and Tali and Maya were still helping Dakota into her outfit. Maya was having a marvelous time in using electric blue paint to dab a traditional gypsy mark onto Dakota's face—all gypsies had a single painted line across the bridge of their nose until they turned eighteen. After that, they could choose whether or not to have their own unique marks painted or tattooed.
Tali laughed at Dakota's tone and leaned over to peer at Dakota in the floor length mirror. "Don't be nervous, love. If you think your hair is strange, just wait until you see the rest of them! If you hold yourself right you'll trick yourself into believing it. Once you fool yourself, you'll fool everyone else" she soothed.
Dakota let her gaze return to the mirror.
A timid, brown-eyed girl looked nervously back out at her, dark purple hair loose and straight save for the tightly braided locks of hair that framed either side of her face. Her upper body was clothed in a clean brown tunic, with beads dangling on the belt and on the rather revealing neckline. A long, multi-layered skirt of many colors hung low on her hips. The fabric was light and breezy, with a long slit in the side that reached mid-thigh. A blue line of paint stretched across the bridge of her nose.
It still took her a moment to realize that the girl staring out at her in the mirror was in fact Dakota.
Tali playfully tugged one of Dakota's purple braids. "The dye will stay strong for a few days, and then after that it'll wash out."
Dakota nodded absentmindedly and Tali patted her shoulder firmly before moving to steer the boat. Maya giggled as Dakota carefully itched her nose, trying to avoid the mark painted there.
"This is gonna be so much fun, Coda! The clans only meet at Kyoshi Island once a year—there's always a big party!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! All of us go to shore, and in the town we get to celebrate with the villagers! There's always lots of food, music, and dancing!" Maya happily exclaimed.
Then, a sly look appeared on the gypsy girl's face. She looked around warily before searching inside one of the baskets for something. Dakota looked on, confused, until the girl made a small sound of affirmation as she leaned back, a bracelet in hand.
It was made of plain brown wood, similar to the one that Dakota had seen on Tali's left wrist alongside the jade bracelet. There were no markings on it, and she frowned when Maya pushed it into her hands.
"What is this?" Dakota asked.
Maya shrugged, the movement too purposefully casual to be entirely innocent.
"It's tradition for gypsies to have wooden bracelets like this when going to a gathering. My parents and I are a part of the Lelino Clan, even though we don't technically travel with them, and our bracelets tell everyone that. Here, I'll help you."
The younger girl reached for the paint pots and, using a small paintbrush that was hanging on the wall beside the paint, began to make small designs on the flat wood. The white markings were seemingly random but after a while Dakota began to see a certain pattern to the way the markings were organized. After a minute or so Maya nodded at the finished product and slipped it onto Dakota's left wrist.
"There! You're officially ready to go!"
"What does this mean, it being on the left wrist?" Dakota asked quickly, holding up said wrist for emphasis. Maya smiled wickedly and it was then that Dakota noticed that the other girl had a similar bracelet on; only hers was on the right wrist. Dakota opened her mouth to comment on it but Maya was already gone, running up to the upper deck, where the sounds of other boats and people yelling were beginning to fill the air.
Dakota stood silently there for a moment, staring down at the bracelet on her hand. She glanced up to stare into the mirror once more. Without warning her vision began to blur and she looked up at the ceiling, angrily willing the tears away.
She missed her mom. Being with Tali and Maya for the past couple of days had only served to remind her of what she had lost. Tali's gentle hugs and easy laughter were signature characteristics of Dakota's own mother. Maya was the little sister Dakota had always wanted, girly and different enough from Henry that it didn't hurt quite so much but it was still so hard.
Dakota wanted to go home. Even if it was only for one day, she wanted to run to her family and tell them how much she loved them.
"Fool myself, fool everyone else," was her shaky mantra. She stared into the mirror and forced herself to absorb the exotic clothing, the marking on her face and the shocking darkness of her hair.
The girl took a deep breath and straightened her posture just a tad, encouraging her face to shift into an expression of confidence. Dakota smiled at the way her skirt gracefully swirled around her ankles as she turned to leave the room, admiring the colorful fabric for a moment before darting up the stairs and into the sunshine.
