Chapter 12
"Lassie!" My eyes fly open to see an older Earth Kingdom man leaning over me. I rub my forehead. "You havin' a bad dream?" he questions. "Screaming yer purty leetle head off, you were." I nod.
"Sorry," I mutter. That dream was definitely the worst. It had the feel of a cheesy horror play, and scared me. Seeing Iroh and Zuko in pieces.
The other refugee walks away, leaving me alone. When I look around, I see that everyone seems to be a bit happier this morning. I look closer, and see that all the refugees are eating the food that Zuko and Jet stole. I scowl. Maybe I don't like the method, but at least the results are good.
A shadow appears over me and I look up, holding back a shriek when I see Jet. Maybe it was because of my dream, but this boy now terrifies me. And for me, fear turns to anger. I jump up as Jet says, "I saved you some food, yellow-hair."
"I don't want your stupid food," I growl. "Listen to me! I can tell you're trouble, and I don't want anything to do with you. If I had my way I'd pitch you right off the edge of this boat! But Zuko seems to like you, so I can't.
"But I swear, if you do anything that hurts him, or gets him in trouble, I will kill you. We don't need any more trouble than we've already got. Do you understand?"
Jet's eyes narrow thoughtfully and he raises his hands in mock surrender, "Fine, fine. We'll be careful from now on."
"I don't want you to be careful, I want you to be GONE!" I shout, pushing him away. He's grinning now, but he takes a mock bow and walks away. "Stupid Jet, with his stupid height, and his stupid hair, and that stupid piece of grass! And his stupid temper and fire and his stupid scar," I sigh, realizing that I was now talking about Zuko.
I run into said stupid firebender and his uncle as we are getting off the ferry. "I don't suppose you have a passport?" Iroh asks cheerfully. I nod, showing him the one my mom packed in my emergency bundle.
"Do you?" I ask warily, and Iroh waves them at me. I take them and giggle. "Lee and—"
"—Mr. Mush—ee, is it?" the lady behind the monorail counter questions. She's ugly, with a huge hairy mole on her forehead that makes me and Zuko jump with alarm. We chuckle quietly with each other before I remember that I'm mad at him.
"It's pronounced moo-shi," Iroh says, giving the woman a smile and sidling up to the counter.
"You telling me how to do my job?" the woman asks, her raspy voice irritated. Iroh's eyebrows raise slightly, wrinkling his forehead even more than usual.
"Ah, no. No, no," he says delicately. "But may I just say, you're like a flower in bloom, your beauty is intoxicating." I hide my mouth behind my hand to smother my laugh when I see Zuko's eyes widen, their golden depths alarmed.
"Mmm," the woman says, grinning, "you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Rawr," she growls at him like a cat, and I've stopped breathing, because if I let myself breath I am going to burst out laughing. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."
"I'm going to forget I saw that," Zuko says, and I allow myself one tiny hiccup of laughter before I approach the counter and give the woman my passport. She looks it over and glances up at me.
"My lady," she says, giving me a small bow. "Will you be staying in the Upper Ring?" she asks. "I have a pamphlet of interesting sites to see in—"
"I'm afraid my schedule is completely full," I say as politely as I can. I have my hood up enough so that she can see my face, but not my hair, and I can see her looking me over.
"You look so much like your mother," the woman sighs, then stamps my passport and hands it back. "Have a lovely vacation, Lady Delyssa."
I stalk away from the counter, knowing that Zuko and Iroh are going to be asking questions. I'm not disappointed. Almost instantly Zuko's long stride catches up with me and he's gaping. I sigh. "What?" I snap finally.
"You're nobility," he says.
"No, really?" I ask sarcastically. I smirk at his expression. "What, you thought I was just some poor, peasant refugee from some little village that got burnt down by the Fire Nation? Nope. I was rich. I lived on a large estate before firebenders came and burned it all down."
"Why?"
"I have no idea, so just LEAVE ME ALONE!" I scream, shoving the passport back in my cloak. Zuko and I walk in silence for awhile as we head to the right monorail, and Iroh trails slightly behind us.
"So your name is Delyssa, huh?" Zuko asks finally.
"I told you that," I remind him. He shakes his head, and I glare. "What? Yes, I did! Iroh asked me my name and I said Delyssa."
"You said Del, your nickname. I knew it was probably a nickname, but I never figured out your full name," he says slowly.
"Well, now you know," I say tiredly, not really caring.
"It's beautiful," he murmurs. I blush.
We take a bench next to the monorail while we wait for it. The large room is buzzing with conversation, but we sit in silence. At least until a tall boy comes to sit next to Zuko. I glare at Jet, but he is ignoring me, looking only at Zuko.
"So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?" he asks. I bristle silently, sure that this is an opening for another stunt once we are inside the walls. If he turns Zuko into a thief, I'm going to be furious.
A man pushing a cart of tea shouts at us, "Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!"
"One Jasmine please!" Iroh shouts, his face lighting up. As the man pours the tea in a cup made of leaves, Iroh searches his pockets for a coin. I fish one out of my cloak and press it into Iroh's hand. He smiles gratefully at me.
Iroh takes a long sip while the tea seller pushes his cart away. Suddenly, Iroh shakes his head in disgust. "Bleh! Aagh! Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it! What a disgrace." I smile.
"What did you expect in a monorail station?" I question, and the old firebender shrugs.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Jet asks, and for a terrible second I think he's talking to me, but then Zuko sighs and gets up, following Jet to stand by a nearby bench. I can see them speaking.
"Mmm!" Iroh says happily, sipping his now scalding hot tea. I shake my head, realizing that firebending here isn't the brightest idea, but I let it slide, looking back over at Jet and Zuko. Jet is gesturing, but Zuko finally snaps something at him and stalks back to us.
Zuko's eyes land on Iroh's hot tea and his face contorts with anger. He lashes out, knocking the tea to the ground, where it spills.
"Hey!" Iroh protests. I tuck my arms into my cloak, not wanting to deal with an angry Zuko right now.
"What are you doing firebending your tea?" Zuko demands through clenched teeth. "For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move!" Iroh is not listening to Zuko, but instead staring at the tea on the ground.
"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but," he sniffs, "it's just so sad!" I smile slightly as Zuko rolls his eyes, settling back down next to me. Finally the monorail pulls up and we load into a compartment.
Once again I'm sitting between Zuko and Iroh. Zuko slumps in his seat, hiding his face beneath his hat, and I can feel him fuming, but Iroh is speaking to the young couple next to us. They are holding a newborn baby. "What a handsome baby," Iroh says, rubbing the baby gently.
I glance over at Zuko, who is looking up at the baby. His golden eyes remain angry for a moment, but then a light smile crosses his face and his eyes soften. I smile.
