She continued to travel with them and they continued to learn from her. She also learned form them. They taught her how to be stealthy and how to get in and out of places unnoticed. She learned also how to pick pocket even though she had been reluctant.
They even worked on her problem with freezing up. Often waking her up in the middle of the night, leaving the ship, and dropping her into a situation. She hated the feeling of being blind folded and dropped in the woods or in front of a herd of wild animals. The men were always there incase she froze up but after awhile she began to think faster.
Now she would take all of them down before they could get her off the ship. Her mind had become much faster in surprise situations and the men felt confident in what they had taught her.
She hoped it would stay with her when she left them.
When they had finally learned all they could it was arranged for them to meet Commander Zhao. The meeting would take place after they had dropped Pagi off near Gaoling so she could find her parents. They were two days away and Pagi finally felt like she was getting somewhere. She knew after she found her parents the she could be sure they were safe. Then she would head out to find the Avatar.
She stood watching the horizon in hopes that they had been wrong about their distance from Gaoling.
"I have something for you" The captain had approached her on the deck as she started out into the sea.
"What?" Pagi turned toward him.
"Here" he handed her a small box and she began to unwrap it. Inside she found an all black outfit. It was black pants, black shirt, a knee length black skirt, and a silver mask that would only show her eyes. At the bottom of the box was a necklace with a silver pendant. On one side was a picture of an air temple and on the other side was her name.
"Thank you" She smiled at him. These men had turned out to be good friends. They were no different from her. They were just trying to make a living and be happy. She had been glad she met them. Plus they had let her airbend freely after promising they wouldn't sell her out.
"You are welcome." He turned as walked back toward his room.
She smiled at the gift. She knew that they had probably stole these things or bought them with money they had taken from someone else but it was the thought that counted. It was nice and she knew the men would miss her just the same as she missed them. It had seemed the same way when she thought of leaving behind Zuko's ship. She had deiced that the sea brought people together and she was glad for it. Now the sea was bringing her closer to her family.
The two days passed slowly but when they arrived in a small port city Pagi was reluctant to leave the ship. She said her goodbyes to the pirates and thanked them for keeping her secret and for the gifts. It was her first time alone and it felt terrible. She turned and walked off the ship.
She stood and watched the ship leave the harbor. She was alone with only a backpack full of supplies, her gifts, and a little money the men had given her. She had a day's walk to get to Gaoling and she would use this time to figure out how to find her parents.
She walked and let her mind wondered through the possibilities. Suddenly she thought of Zuko. She wondered if he had looked for her after the waterfall. Did he think she was dead? She felt the same small ping of guilt for not trying to track him down. She let it pass knowing that finding her family was much more important than finding Zuko.
She had been walking for quite sometime and needed rest, but she didn't want to waste time on it, even though her legs were getting tired. She pushed on. She wanted to find her parents soon and she wouldn't dare stop to rest.
When she finally came upon Gaoling she began to run. She ran as fast a she could until she was in the middle of the city. Now she had to think of a plan on how to find her parents. She walked slowly through a shop trying to pick up on the conversations of the people.
"I heard that the Avatar kidnapped the Bei Fong's daughter." A Small woman who was rummaging through some clothing said.
"I didn't know they had a child. Are you sure that is true?" Another woman that had been glancing over the clothes questioned the woman.
"I am not sure how true it is."
"I am sorry to interrupt but could you tell me when the Avatar left here?" Pagi took the opportunity to get some information.
"It was about a week or so ago." The second woman answered here.
"Thank you." Pagi turned to leave the store but stopped and turned back around. "Where can I find the Bei Fong's?"
"They have the large estate at the end of the road." The small woman was giving the answers now. "But I doubt they will see you. They don't take many guests and I doubt they will want to see anyone now that their daughter has gone missing."
Pagi left the shop and followed the road toward the Bei Fong's. If she couldn't find her parents just yet she would at least find out where the Avatar was going. She walked to the gates of the Bei Fong estate and knocked on the doors. A servant answered looking her up and down.
"Your name?" He asked still eying her.
"Pagi."
"This way" He opened the door and motioned for her to follow. She was confused as to why the servant had let her right in. The women had made it seem like she would never get past the front door and it was so easy. She followed the man into the house and down a long hallway. At the end of the hallway stood closed double doors. Once they were standing in front of them the servant stopped.
"I think you will find what you are looking for here" He turned and walked off.
"Thank you." Pagi called out after him but he just kept walking.
She looked at the doors for a second and wondered what could be behind them. The servant had been so certain that she would find what she was looking for here. Slowly she opened the doors and sitting in the room were two people.
"Hello my name is Pagi and I am here to ask about the Avatar?" She walked into the room slowly.
"He is gone and I am surprised that it is him you are looking for." A man turned around to face her. "I am Lord Bei Fong and this is my wife Lady Bei Fong." He motioned to the woman who was now turning around to examine Pagi.
"It is nice to meet you both." She said with a slight bow. "I am trying to find the information on the Avatar so that I can track him down. I am also looking for my parents."
"We can not help you with the search for the Avatar but the search for your parents is over." Lady Bei Fong spoke.
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Hopefully I will have some more chapters up soon. Please review these and let me know what you think so far. I hate to update until I know if people like the direction the story is taking. Thanks in advance for your reviews.