The Starting Point

by FredandLili

Everybody makes wishes. They can't help themselves: it's part of their nature. But what if they came true? Even those crazy ones, like maybe going to a different universe. Rachelle was nothing special before the day she turned 15. When Rachelle is transported to a fictional world, she thinks that it can't get any more bizarre, but little does she know this is just the beginning.

13. The Blue Spirit

I fell asleep to my sobs. They were the only reason I did. My eyes were tired and exhausted from all the tears that I had cried. My body felt weak from the wracking motion and the constant shaking. I was lucky to fall asleep.

A sharp pain jolted me from my sleep. My face retreated up from the pillow. It seemed that I had rolled over to the side where the burn rested unprotected in my sleep. Sitting up in panic, I released my face from the pressure. I sat there in the dark, the candle must've burned out, with my wound tingling and throbbing with pain. I sat in morose. My eyes still felt heavier than the rest of my body. They begged to be shut again. I complied to my eyes wishes, closing them and laying back down, but the pain was too much. It seemed to haunt me and invade every corner of my mind. I tried to ignore it, just push it to the back of my mind and fall asleep. I couldn't. Then my mind started to play reruns of the events. It all just seemed like a blur and impossible.

I nuzzled deeply into the bed and waited for the time to get up. My eyes scrutinized the small clock that laid on the desk. It was only one o'clock in the morning. I waited and waited. The hands of the clock moved excruciatingly slow and each tick was an eternity. I decided that six o'clock was the earliest acceptable time to get up. It was agonizing to watch, then the clock struck six and I leaped up. I did so too fast and used too many muscles in my face. I hissed in pain.

I went over to the desk, pulled open a drawer and searched blindly for another candle. I went over to the candle holder and replaced the old lump of sad candle with the new one. I lit it. The addition of light stung my eyes that had been adapted to staring into the dark for hours. I squinted my eyes and pulled at my wound. The pain stabbed again. An occurrence I could see would be happening often unless I just didn't make any facial movements. I turned away from the light and deeply sighed. I wasn't quite sure what to do. I spent all those hours just waiting to get up and now that I'm up, I didn't know what to actually do. My searching eyes caught a gleam of light and turned to the source. My sight fell upon the mirror that laid on the floor near the bed. I reached down and picked it up. I sat down on the bed and took in the sight. A large crack ran down the mirror. It must have happened when I let it fall to the floor last night. Still, even with the crack, I could clearly see my face.

The hand print was still seared into my face. The red skin had started blister. The white skin was still white. The blistered areas hurt, but the white areas didn't. I let my hand hover over the wound, not touching it, just close enough to feel the unusual heat radiate off. Besides the burn, I looked horrible. I had deep bags under my eyes due to not sleeping. My skin looked clammy and white. My appearances reflected that I had gone through quite the ordeal.

I put down the mirror and left my haunting reflection. The burn somehow had seemed to grown eyes of its own that stared back at me and hypnotized me in horror. I closed my eyes and sighed. My body collapse down in terrible posture and I felt the tiredness seeping from my bones. I got up and dressed in whatever clothes I thought I looked the best in; overcompensating in my clothes to make up for the fact I looked like such a mess. After I was dressed, I came upon a road block. What was I supposed to do with my face? I didn't have any bandaging or medicine in the cell. I'm sure it wasn't a good idea just to leave it exposed. I would need to go to the medical bay. I had been there only once before after I accidently hurt myself training. I, then, ran into my next problem. I didn't want people to see my face, not with the bloody handprint on it, that, when seen, everyone would ask what happened. I stood by my door, knowing that I needed to open it. I bit my lip and opened the door, as much as every ounce of my being was screaming not to. I stepped out into the hall cautiously, even though I could see that the halls were empty, still afraid that someone would pop out.

I wrung my hands near my chest and my head won't stay still as it scanned every corner of the halls. Even though the sun would barely be appearing on the horizon at this time, much of the crew was already up and around. I blamed it on the fact that most of them were firebenders. It was said that firebenders rose with the sun. Whether it was true or not, it seemed to be accurate. As I saw, or sometimes heard, a person approaching, I would raise my hand and try to block their view of the wound in the most casual way possible. Sometimes it was successful, as long as the person passing me ignore me more than acknowledge me. Most times, however, people still noticed. It was hard not to notice. I think raising my hand just brought their eyes to the area, but they would have seen it no matter what. At least this way, they got the feeling I was trying to hide it. They would get this weird look on their face as they saw what I was poorly trying to conceal. I knew that they were probably thinking what had happened. Some would see it, look straight away, and then awkwardly pass me as if they had seen nothing. Others would flicker their eyes up to mine with a wide-eyed and curious look. I would give them a smile that was just a bit too strained to be real. They would meekly smile back. We would pass as if there had been nothing wrong when there clearly was. Along with the burn, I hoped they didn't notice the beads of sweat that rolled my skin or my all too clammy complexion.

Everything had been mostly fine until I walked past the kitchen, which I had to pass in order to get to the medical bay. The doors were wide open, as they usually were. I passed by at a fast pace, knowing that I only had a little bit more distance to my destination. I stopped in front of the door, almost swaying, as I heard Iroh's voice call out, "Rachelle?" I clenched my eyes and teeth together as I ran into the problem I wanted to avoid. As of right now, Iroh couldn't see the burn. He could only see the right side of my face, but if I turned my head in the slightest to see him, he would probably see it. I really didn't want Iroh to see it. Partially it was because I didn't want Iroh to be disappointed or mad at Zuko, which I figured he probably would be. I also didn't want him to worry or pity me.

I slowly back up to the center of the doorway so I was clearly in view. I looked out of the corner of my eye, making sure not to turn my head, so I could see out of my peripheral vision Iroh sitting with his breakfast laid out in front of him. "Oh, hey Iroh," I said like nothing was wrong, not letting my voice waiver in my nervousness.

There was a pause as if Iroh thought that I would do something more. "Where are you off to in such a rush this morning?" Iroh finally asked, seeing that I was not going to do anything else.

"Oh, um, you know," I stuttered, reaching up and scratching my head, as I came up with a lie, "Just off for a morning walk." In the middle of the halls? Not outside on the deck? "…around the inside of the ship." I realized too late how stupid that sounded, but it was the first thing that came to my mind so it'd have to do.

There was a moment of hesitation on Iroh's part and I knew that he didn't a hundred percent buy what I was saying, "Really?"

"Yes," I said with a firm nod of my head. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna," I motioned my right arm in down the hall. I quickly tried to slip myself out of this situation before it got any farther.

I only got a step in before Iroh called out again, "Wait." I stopped and cursed the situation. "Perhaps you would like to take a break for some breakfast?" It was a very casual request, but I smart enough to know that it wasn't. Iroh was checking to make sure that everything was ok; if I joined him and acted like everything was normal, Iroh's worries would fade and he would know nothing was wrong. I couldn't do that, though.

"Um," I gulped. My voice sounded weak and hesitant as I replied, "Nah. I think I'm good."

"Rachelle," Iroh's voice was firm and concerned. I didn't even try to look at him out the corner of my eye; I stared straight forward and tried to focus on not swaying. "Is there any reason why you're having this conversation half turned away?"

I thought of the reason. I felt myself focus on the throbbing pain that wanted to overwhelm me. "Uhhhh, nope," I quickly said. The was an awkward layer about this conversation since I wasn't turned to Iroh, but there was nothing I could do to remedy that. So, I just lied again.

I accidentally lost my balance standing there and sway slightly. It felt like my center of mass was just off, too high. I quickly jolted into action and steadied myself. "Are you alright?" I heard Iroh say from far off. I heard the moving of chairs but didn't turn my head to look. I swear the hallway exceptionally cold but I still felt sweat on my skin. I must have a fever. My body felt like it had been placed in water and wanted to float away. I looked firmly in the distances and used all my concentration on staying still, plus standing. What had Iroh asked? I was drawn out my daze by Iroh's voice much nearer to me than it had been a few minutes ago. "You look faint." I started to turn my head to him out of surprise but stopped myself. I still was able to see that Iroh had gotten up from the table and was making his way over to me.

I felt the panic come over me. I couldn't let him see. I turned away from him to hide the left side of my face. "No, I'm fine. I promise!" I shouted at him as he stood in the hallway.

"Let me feel your forehead…" Iroh reached out to me. I tried to turn away and not let him touch me, but felt Iroh place his hand on my forehead. They felt so cold. I felt Iroh gently pulling my head around to him. I complied. I moved my hand and arm up in an attempt to hide the burn. "You're burning up!" Iroh placed a hand on my right cheek and brushed away my arm before sliding his other hand my left cheek. I yelped loudly as he did so. Pain shot through my body like a rocket; I bit my lip and tears welled up. Iroh quickly retracted his hands as he saw something was wrong. That's when he saw it, the burn that was blistered up in a disgusting array of brownish-whites and reds. "Rachelle! What happened?"

Every part of me felt broke. Tears streamed down my face; I was too exhausted to even try and keep them back. "It was an accident!" I cried out in a plea. "He didn't mean to Iroh; I know he didn't. And it's not that big of a deal, really. I'm fine!"

"Fine! Almost half your face is burnt." It was really more like a third. "You call that fine. Not mention the fact that you look like you're about ready to faint." He took my chin and guided my face so he could look clearly at the burn. "What happened?"

I hesitated for a moment and flickered my eyes down. I sniffled. I didn't want to answer, but I knew there was no avoiding it. "I got into a fight with Zuko," I mumbled under my breath grumpily. I saw Iroh's eyes narrow and he thought for a moment as if he was trying to hold himself back from saying something.

Iroh knitted his eyebrows and momentarily flickered his eyes up to mine, "This morning?"

"No. Last night."

"Last night!" Iroh backed away from me in panic. "Child, are you crazy? You should have come to me immediately after it happened."

I clasped my hands together and shamefully lowered my eyes to the ground. The tears that had momentarily stopped started again at Iroh's words. He's right. I probably should have come to him. Why was I such an idiot? "I'm sorry," I croaked.

Iroh's expression softened and calmed as he looked me. "Come on," Iroh breathed softly. He wrapped an arm around my shaking form, "Let's get you to the medical bay." Iroh guided me forward and there wasn't much ground to cover before we reached the medical bay. He led me into the room and pointed over to a cot, "You can go lay down there. I'll get the medicine going." I did what Iroh said and Iroh shuffled around the room, digging through cabinets. I put my hands under my head and felt the sleeplessness of the night before hitting me hard.

Now that I was here, I don't really know what I was planning on doing once I got here. I knew nothing of traditional medicine. Back home, I would have probably looked it up on the internet, put some Neosporin on the burn, bandaged it up and taken some Advil. But here I didn't know what ointment to use, what plants or herbs. I was once again at the disadvantage of not knowing this world. I watched as Iroh got herbs and put them into pouches. He had a teapot on the flame and a pot of just water. He put a tea bag in each one. He went around collecting different supplies while they were steeping. Iroh came over with a wet wash cloth and started to carefully wipe the burn. I wanted to cry out from the added pressure, but I bit my lip. Iroh then took the non-boiled tea and dipped a cloth into the liquid. He wrung it of excess liquid then laid it on my burn. I bit my tongue at the initial pain, but slowly the raging pain became a cool sensation on my face. He taped down the cloth to my face. Iroh then poured the hot tea into a cup. I sat up carefully as he handed me the cup.

"Here. Drink this. It will help your wound heal and bring down your fever. It should also help with the pain." The cup warmed my hands as I held it. I brought it up to my lips and blew away the steam. I slowly sipped on the hot tea while Iroh seemed to be moving around the room arranging and gathering items. I watched him with curious, but tired, eyes. I wondered how he knew how properly to take care of a burn. I wondered if it was during his time in the Fire Nation army. I'm sure that burns weren't that uncommon, since firebenders.

Then it hit me like the oblivious idiot I was. Zuko. Iroh probably knew so well of how to take care of a burn because he probably took care of Zuko's a lot. "Oh," I let the understanding escape.

Iroh stopped what he was doing as he heard me. He turned around with worried eyes, "Is everything ok?"

"Oh, yes," I said quickly, making sure that there was nothing wrong with me…well…at least nothing new wrong with me. "I was just wondering how you knew so well of how to take care of my burn, then I realized…well…Zuko and everything." My words got quieter and I lowered my head.

Iroh looked down mournfully, "Yes. I do have some experience of treating burns." There was a pause. "Not just from Zuko, but burn injuries weren't exactly rare in the army."

"Yeah," I sighed awkwardly, "I figured." I finished up my cup of tea and didn't say anything else. It wasn't long before a crew member was taking me back to my room. Iroh told me the best thing for me to do was rest. So I did, at least to the best of my abilities. I woke up once for Iroh to come change my bandage and for food. The rest of the day, though, I rested.

.

Iroh carefully pushed open the door into his nephew's room. The young boy was sitting on a mat, candles laid out in front of him, meditating. The sight made Iroh frown. Zuko only ever mediated this early if he was having a hard time controlling his emotions. "Prince Zuko," Iroh called down to the prince.

"Uncle," Zuko responded without changing position, "Is there information on the Avatar?" The Avatar, somehow, right now felt like the least of Zuko's problems. His mind swirled with thoughts and regrets about what had happened last night. He hadn't slept, not a wink. Talking about the Avatar, though, could let Zuko think that nothing had happened and that today was just an average, regular day.

"No. I came to talk to you about Rachelle?" The flames that were steady suddenly spiked in height as Zuko heard his uncle's words. Rachelle was the last thing that he wanted to talk about. Zuko did have to wonder, though, if Rachelle had told his uncle everything that had happened, if she went crying to him about what had happened. A pit of fear sunk in Zuko's stomach. He worried that his uncle would be against him, take Rachelle's side, tell him that he was wrong. Because really, he was.

"There's nothing to talk about," Zuko gruffly put in a short tone.

Iroh frown at his words. He could see that this would not be a simple ordeal. "Prince Zuko," Iroh reprimanded with a firm voice, "You know that this not a simple transgression. You have seriously injured Rachelle."

The words sent a wave of guilt over Zuko, but his guilt was something he didn't know how to deal with. "Not my problem." It made him sound like an uncaring jerk, however, it was the only thing Zuko could say.

"Not your problem," Iroh repeated in disbelief of what he just said. His will to understand Zuko was slowly being whittled away by his anger. "One-third of her face is burned and she's running a high-grade fever. She may be permanently scared."

"Jee, I wonder what that feels like," Zuko sarcastically muttered under his breath.

Iroh sighed deeply; he needed to stay calm and not let Zuko's aggravation get to him. His nephew had never had an easy time showing what he was truly feeling and he was sure that this was another one of those times. Iroh just needed to stay calm and help his nephew. "What happened?" Iroh asked after a pause, which he really did want to know more about what had happened. With Rachelle in her condition, he couldn't have very well asked her.

Zuko didn't say anything at first, then muttered out, "It was nothing." He thought about the situation. How he was completely infuriated with the girl before she came up to him. It was always one thing after the other with her. She normally got on his nerves, seeming to always know just the right things to say, but yesterday was a whole different level. First, it was her arguing with him after he had tried so hard to be nice and polite. He even made a pot of tea! Then she had the nerve to scoff him and say that she was better than him. Then during the storm, when things might have actually been looking up, she ruined everything again. Zuko could have had the Avatar, he was starting to say yes, but then she butted her away in. He was already angry at her. Then she brought him down with her words. The things she said, he couldn't help but feel a slight truth in them. He really didn't have any honor. Perhaps that's the reason why they got to him so much, her words, because they weren't ridiculous nonsense, they seemed correct. It wasn't just her that he had gotten angry at, but it was everything. "She's just so infuriating!" Zuko shouted letting his emotion slowly poured out. "And she was insulting me. And I let my anger take control of me, because no matter how much I seem to try and control it, it just keeps growing out of control."

Zuko's voice held a sliver of desperation. Iroh sighed and softly looked down upon his cherished nephew. It hurt him to see him so troubled, but he was relieved to hear that he did feel regretful for what he did. "Prince Zuko, I think I'd be for the best if you apologized to her," Iroh suggested advice to Zuko in how to better this situation.

"You think that I don't know that!" Zuko shouted in emotional anguish, "You think that it's not eating me up on the inside. I haven't even slept. How could I have done that? I just kept staring up at the ceiling wondering how I let that happen! But…how can I just apologize?" Especially after what he had said to her about just apologizing. "If I was her, I wouldn't ever want to see my face again, let alone hear a pathetic apology." Zuko, downtrodden, slumped over.

"If that's the case," Iroh started, seeing that Zuko would need a little help getting started, "Then how about you go with me for dinner tonight?" Iroh always ate dinner with Rachelle. Maybe if he just got the two together, they would remedy the situation themselves.

Zuko furrowed his eyebrows in confusion of what his uncle was asking and turned around to look at the man. He didn't see how coming to dinner would help this situation, "Why?"

"Trust me."

"Uncle…" Zuko continued to hesitate. He saw Iroh tilt his head as if to say just do it. Zuko sighed and begrudgingly accepted, "Ok."

.

It was dinner time. I had laid in bed all day, but Iroh said, that if I was up to it, he thought it'd be good for me to go down and eat dinner. I agree. Of course, at the time, I didn't know quite what I was agreeing to. Most days I ate dinner with Iroh, maybe a few of the crew. I didn't think that today would be any different.

I sat at the table. I still didn't feel the best, my face throbbed and I felt weak, but I felt much more rested and together. I was quite looking forward to some delicious food and pleasant conversation. I chatted happily with Iroh about nothings and, for the first time, felt better about my face. It was nice. That was, until Zuko walked in.

"Un—" Zuko pronounced as he entered before he saw me sitting at the table. Iroh and I looked up at Zuko. The tensions immediately went from 0 to 100. I glared deeply and full of anger at Zuko. He also glared, although he had not really the reason to. Then his eyes flickered down and saw my face bandaged. He his eyes softened. I wanted to scoff at his action, but I just rolled my eyes.

I looked around confused for a second before I turned over to Iroh, "Huh? Did you hear something, Iroh?" Iroh looked very confused, so did Zuko but we don't care about him, as Zuko was the one who had made a sound. "Hm," I said shrugging my shoulders, "I suppose it was just the wind." I knew that it was childish and petty, to pretend that Zuko just wasn't there, but you know what, I didn't really care if it was. Iroh awkwardly looked over at Zuko who stood at the door shifted uneasily.

Zuko started making his way over to the table, in my direction. "Prince Z—" Iroh tried to call out to the boy to get him to stop.

"I'm not the wind," Zuko said with a peeved off expression and annoyance. With restrained forcefulness, he sat down at the table. Unfortunately, in the seat across from me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in surprise, "There it is again." Zuko's frown deepened and his eyebrow twitched. "It must be pretty windy this evening."

Zuko pounded his fist down onto the table and opened his mouth to say something else. Luckily, Iroh cut him off, "Prince Zuko." It was said as a warning. Iroh and Zuko locked their eyes and seemed to be exchanging a conversation. Zuko sighed all the air out of this lungs in a dramatic way, as if what he was doing was the biggest inconvenience.

I still just ignore the fact that he was even there. "Oh, do you need someone to go get his royal pain in the ass?" Iroh opened his eyes in shock and Zuko shot back up in anger. "Oops. Sorry," I smile innocently as if I had accidently said my previous statement, "I meant the royal dick head. Gosh, dang! I did it again. The prince. Do you need someone to go get the prince?" I held a mischievous glint in my eyes and the smallest of grins. I looked at Iroh with questioning eyebrows. He gave me a disapproving look and was telling me to stop. I sighed lightly but shrugged my shoulder. "Very well. If you insist." My words, however, had already gotten to Zuko who sat with breathing deeply and held a nasty glare.

Fortunately for all of us, the food was brought out at that moment. It was a seafood delight. The silence that sat between us was very awkward as we started to eat our meals. I didn't look up from my food and neither did Zuko. That left Iroh uncomfortably glancing between the two of us. Iroh cleared his throat and both of us simultaneously looked up at him. Now that he had our eyes, Iroh seemed unsure if he wanted them. "So, the food is pretty delicious, no?" Iroh stumbled out with the two teenagers firmly staring at him.

"Yes," Both Zuko and I replied at the same time. The tension climbed even higher as we both knew what happened and both of us refused to look at the other.

"Ah, yes," Iroh continued to try and break away at the tension. "It is quite good."

Then, once again, there was silence. "So," I started hesitantly, pushing grains of rice around on my plate. "How was today? Since I was asleep for most of it."

"It was pretty boring, especially without your lovely company," Iroh flattered me. I chuckled light and felt a slight enjoyment of this situation return.

That was, until Zuko muttered under his breath, "If she wanted to know how today was she should have just stayed awake."

I quickly snapped my head over to him and I locked my jaw in anger. "Well, maybe I would have if someone hadn't burned my face," I said through my gritted teeth, astounded in disbelief that Zuko had actually said that.

"Well, that's not my fault is it," He muttered grumpily under his breath.

Not his fault! What a pretentious bastard. I stood up in anger and shouted down at him, "Not your fault. You're the one who slapped me, you son of a bitch!"

"What did you say?" Zuko stood up in fury. We glared at each with ferocity unseen by anyone ever and, even though there was a table between us, I might just jump over it and attack him.

Our glares were interrupted by Iroh's shouting, "That's enough, you two! Sit down and eat your dinner." We grumbled, but we both complied to Iroh. He so rarely raised his voice that it was actually quite scary.

We went back to eating in silence, no one brave enough to try talking again, least not another yelling match occur. I reached out with my chopsticks to get the last crab cake that was laid out on the table. Looking down at the ends of the chopsticks, I saw another pair reaching for the same food I was. The chopsticks came from the opposing side from me. That meant that it was Zuko reaching for them. I kept my eyes on the crab cake and daren't look up. I drew my mouth into line in frustration with this whole situation and I started to shake with anger. After everything, all I wanted was a nice and relaxing dinner. This dinner had proven to be the opposite. I clenched tightly the chopsticks in my hand. I pulled them back and, with much too much force, slammed them down onto the table. I stood up quickly and forcefully. I turn to Iroh with a weary and panicked face, "I'm sorry, Iroh, but this is just too much. I'll just finish up dinner in my room. Later." I grabbed my plate of remaining food and chopsticks before I left the dining hall. I heard Iroh call out to stop me but I just ignore him. I went back to my confining cell of dreariness and ate my dinner alone. There was something so lonely and sad about eating a dinner by yourself. I didn't even have a TV to be my company. I just sat in the silence and ate. I felt loneliness and sadness grip my soul. It reminded me of how I felt last night. I ate more sluggishly than normal, the food feeling claustrophobic in my mouth, and started to slowly cry while I chewed.

After I finished, I put the plates on the desk and laid down with an emptiness in my chest. I stared into oblivion until there was a knock at the door. I apathetically sat up and watched the door open. Iroh stepped into the room carrying a tray full of items. "Iroh?" I questioned in confusion of what he was doing here.

"You need to have your bandages changed," Iroh explained simply. I nodded my head in understanding as Iroh sat down his tray of objects. He picked up the large bowl of water and pulled a chair over to where I sat. Iroh held the bowl in both hands and I rested my burnt and bandaged face into it. It felt nice. It not only cooled down my skin but it also allowed it so the bandage would not stick to my face when it was taken off. Only silence filled the candlelit room. "…Look I'm sorry about tonight," Iroh softly apologized to me. "My nephew just has a hard time expressing how he truly feels."

"It's ok, Iroh," I pushed aside his worries and monotonously stared at the grey metal wall. "You don't need to apologize for Zuko's actions. The only person can do that is Zuko. Although its seems that he won't be." I muttered the last statement underneath my breath in an annoyed tone. I paused for a moment before I spoke again, "I'm sorry, though. About how I acted. I know that it was childish and immature, but…I'm so upset with Zuko. It doesn't make is easier that he obviously is not apologetic. If he apologized, and truly meant it, I'd probably just push this whole situation behind us. But that doesn't seem to be happening."

Iroh sighed deeply as he pulled the bowl away and I sat up. Water dripped down my face as I lethargically watched him. "I know that it may not seem like it, but he does truthfully regret his actions," As he spoke, he worked on cautiously pulling off the bandage, careful not to pull the delicate skin around the burn. He words gave birth to a tiny seed of hope that maybe what he said was true and maybe, one day, things would go back to normal between Zuko and me.

I didn't say anything in response. Iroh successfully managed to remove the bandage from my face without any casualty skin. He relaxed back in the chair as he sat the old disgusting bandage down on the tray. When he turned back, I spoke with nervousness, "So? How does it look?"

I could see Iroh's eyes scanning observantly over the wound, "It looks good. Really good actually. Much better than this morning." I hummed happily at the news as Iroh started to patch me up again. I was really hoping that it wouldn't scar. I knew that it was a vain hope. It was a pretty serious burn, so there would probably be some scarring. I would probably be stuck with Zuko's handprint forever now. Maybe I'd get a tattoo over it. Something cool and artistic. Although, I don't know if I'd trust the tattoo quality of this world.

It didn't take long for Iroh to finish bandaging me and he grabbed all of his stuff to leave. Before he left, he handed me another cup of tea and told me to drink it. I drank it after he left and faded back to sleep.

.

It had been three days since I acquired my burn. I was sitting around the Pai Sho table in the bridge, watching a game of Pai Sho, which was what I had been doing most of the morning. I was temporarily not allowed to train at the moment due to my wound. Quite saddening really, I think I would have taken solace in training. Iroh sat on my right and another crew member sat on my left. They were the ones playing this match. A couple other crew members sat around watching the match. There had been bets taken that Iroh couldn't win the game in twenty turns. I had teamed up with Iroh and helped convince the crew members that it was an impossible feat and that there was no way Iroh could win. I got them to raise their bets quite a decent amount.

We weren't the only people in the bridge, though. Unfortunately, Zuko and the Lieutenant were also in here. I didn't mind the Lieutenant at all, actually, we got along quite well, but it was Zuko who I wished wasn't here. They leaned over a map and talked about the next move in the Avatar chase. I tried my best to just ignore them, but as I stared firmly at the Pai Sho board my ears listened to their conversation.

"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm. But, if we continue heading northeast – " Lieutenant Jee's plan was cut off as a gigantic shadow cast over the room. Everyone's head snapped up to see what caused the sudden change in lighting. Looking out the window, an enormous Fire Navy ship was drawing up next to us.

As we all stared out the window, in a mixture of confusion and worry, Zuko whispered, "What do they want?"

"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho!" Iroh hummed hopefully.

I gave him glance and a skeptical look. "Yeah," I sarcastically agreed. "I'm sure that's what they want." A little huff of amusement escaped Zuko at my statement and my eyes quickly snapped to his. Since the incident, we had avoided direct contact between the two of us at all times. We both stared at each other in the realization of what had happened. We both silently agree that we'd pretend this never happened.

Not long after the ship arrived, three Fire Nation soldiers made their way into the room. Their presence made me really uneasy. Being completely honest, Zhao scared the crap out of me. I don't even know if Zhao knows that I was traveling with the Avatar, but I still feel like one of them was going to kidnap me. I know that this they wouldn't know that I was with Aang, but I still worried they would see me and shout 'Hey! You know the Avatar. Come with me.' Then I'd be carted off and it'd be so sad. So, I nervously slouched and tried to make myself invisible. The leader of the group unrolled a scroll, showing a drawing of Aang, and spoke firmly to Zuko, "The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance. All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao." As he finished speaking, he closed the scroll and put it behind his back. The Fire Nation soldier stood authoritatively as he stared down Zuko. Zuko stood there with a grumpy face and his arms crossed.

"Zhao has been promoted?" Iroh said much too casually. Could he not tell that my heart felt like it was going to explode? "Well, good for him!" Iroh pushed his tile into the center of the board, winning the game. The two crew members' across from me faces morphed into a displeased expression at the sight, knowing they had lost their bets. One even slapped his face at the regretful decision.

"I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass," Zuko grumbled out to the guards. I could tell that he was trying to hold back his temper.

The soldier was ignorant enough to continue to push Zuko, "Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area."

"Off my ship!" Zuko shouted in rage to the man. He lunged forward and pointed over to their ship. It felt nice not to be the one Zuko was yelling out this time.

I spared a glance over to the Fire Nation soldiers as they left. Finally. I felt the tension pent up from the presence release as I turned back to the Pai Sho table. Iroh held a grin as the bets were laid out on the table in a pile. "Excellent!" Iroh said happily as he leaned forward and gathered up all the loot he had won. The other men did not so happy with their faces laced with regretful pain. I chuckled slightly at the sight "I take the pot. But, you're all improving. I'm certain you will win if we play again."

"I can't believe they bet against you in the first place," I said to Iroh as I shook my head in disbelief, "Can I play the next game?" So, started another game in the day of Pai Sho games.

.

I sat in the medical bay with Iroh changing my bandages. My face only felt tender now and wasn't much bother. The bandage came off swiftly, without any trouble, and Iroh threw the remnants into the waste bin. He sat back in a relaxed position and observed the burn. "Wow!" Iroh exclaimed as he rubbed his chin, "That is healing up really nicely. Too nicely. It looks as if it's been healing for at least two weeks."

I furrowed my eyebrows at his statement, "But it's only been three days. Well, slightly over three days if you count the evening it happened, but still."

"Exactly," Iroh contemplated, "How strange." Iroh face held a frown and he stared at the burn.

I felt awkward with his eyes staring contemplatively at my cheek. "Well, you know what they say: don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" I chattered uneasily, afraid that Iroh was going to tell I was an alien or something ridiculous.

Iroh chuckled for his chest and smile, "I suppose you're right. Would you like to see how it's healing?" Iroh asked. He asked just about every time my bandages were done, but I always said no. Therefore, I hadn't actually seen the burn since the morning three days ago. Truthfully, I was scared to see it. If I didn't see it, it was easier just to pretend that it wasn't there.

This time, I changed my mind, "Sure." Iroh picked up the hand mirror and handed over to me. I bit my lip as I raise the mirror. The sight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought that I would look like a deformed and mangled person, but I wasn't. Iroh wasn't lying when he said that it was healing up nicely. The hideous burn that I had seen a few days ago had been replaced by red handprint. The burn looked slight raw and irritated, but nothing compared to what it had been. It didn't look too bad. I lowered the mirror and looked over at Iroh, "So, are you gonna bandage me back up?"

"No, it doesn't need to be anymore," Iroh confirmed while he took the mirror and put it away.

I hummed uneasily at the words. The crew knew that I had injured, but they didn't know exactly how. With the wound uncovered, they would easily be able to tell what had happened. I didn't argue though, "So, does this mean that I can start training again?" Iroh nodded and we continued on with our day. Our next destination was the deck for a lovely afternoon tea.

On our way, we were stopped by Lieutenant Jee. The man strode up to us with a firm resolution, "General Iroh, just the man I was looking for. Prince Zuko has not given us an order for an hour, what do you want us to do?"

Iroh pondered over the news given to him for a second before he responded, "I will go check on my nephew." Iroh cast a glance over to me, knowing that I probably wouldn't want to go see Zuko.

I sighed and rolled my eyes in annoyance, "It's fine." My exclamation, however, attracted the Lieutenant's attention that had stayed off of me.

"Oh, spirits!" He shouted in surprise as he saw my face. "That's what happened to your face."

I scowled deeply at his reaction, even though it was the reaction I was planning to get. I gritted my teeth and grumpily spoke, "Yes, just ignore it. Let's go." I took off in large strides leading us forward. Iroh hurried to catch up with me and it wasn't long before we stepped out onto the deck. Outside, the sun was hidden behind the clouds and a slight darkness was cast over the area. Zuko was furiously practicing his firebending, sending wild balls of fire in every which direction.

He heard us come out the door and stopped. Iroh calmly walked closer to his nephew before he spoke, "Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order." Zuko gave a glance over his shoulder as his uncle spoke. He looked apathetic and downtrodden.

"I don't care what they do," Zuko muttered without hope. He turned his head and solemnly looked out over the sea.

"Don't give up hope yet," Iroh tried to inspire hope into his nephew. "You can still find the Avatar before Zhao."

Zuko snapped back at his uncle's words. His face momentarily leaked the fear and worry that he held inside. "How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar." He turned back around, once again staring off into the distance. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I knew that I shouldn't, that after what he did to me he didn't deserve my empathy, but even still, I wanted to help Zuko. "My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all," Zuko whispered in desperation out to the sea.

I sighed lightly and gathered my courage. "But you have one thing he doesn't," I projected to him in a strong voice. He turned around with his eyes wide. I hadn't spoken to Zuko since the night of the dinner, "Determination." I held his eyes firmly for only a moment before I broke the contact and head to the door, leaving him behind to ponder what I just said.

.

Tonight was the first music night that we had while I was on the ship. Let me tell you, I was excited. Between learning to read this world's language and learning to be a bad ass fighter, I had managed to find time to practice the flute Iroh had bought at the market. I wasn't good, but I wasn't bad considering I was going off of years old knowledge and I had only ever been at a beginner level.

So, we sat around the fire with the stars shining above us in a brilliant array. There was laughter everywhere and not a single person's hand was free from alcohol, not even mine. I had been conflicted about, but I figured when it Rome. Not that I planned on getting drunk, but nothing wrong with a cup to warm the spirits. A few songs had been played, but I had only listened. Sometimes, the crew members would give a strange look and I knew that they were looking at the clearly marked handprint. I wondered if they Zuko was the one who had given it to me. "Rachelle," Iroh turned to me with a jolly expression, "Would you be willing to grace us with your flute playing abilities?"

Hesitation rose in my chest at the thought of play, especially in front of so many crew members. My mouth hung opened in panic before I gathered my words, "Uh, I don't know. I'm not really that good."

"It doesn't matter how good you are. What matters is the amount of spirit you play with?" Iroh grabbed the flute and held it out in front of me to take. I looked down skeptically at the instrument. I saw Iroh smiling brightly and I gave in.

I sighed and took the instrument, "Fine. But I'm not promising that it'll be good." I raised the flute up to my lips and positioned my hands. I made the small hole in my mouth and blew air over the opening. I got off to a rocky start; I always had a hard time positioning my mouth so that way it played. However, soon I got the hang of it. The melodies I played were nothing fancy, just simple notes strung together in a pleasing manner. It was all improvised, so there wasn't really a direction with the song. A few too many times I played a rotten note or got my fingers all messed up, but it wasn't a bad performance. After a decent about of playing, I lowered the instrument with my head feeling light due to the breathing, the reason I had quit the instrument in the first place. I looked up and smiled as I finished. The crew moderately applauded my performance, so they must have thought that it was at least tolerable.

"See," Iroh said happily, "That wasn't bad at all."

I smile lightly and rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I suppose not. Still, it's not really where my talent lies."

"Oh, really," Iroh raised his eyebrows intrigued, "And where do they lay."

"Hm?" I thought for a moment, "Probably in singing."

Iroh lit up with enthusiasm and I knew that I shouldn't have said anything, "Oh, you must sing us a song!" I reservedly shook my head and opened my mouth to decline. I loved singing, and I wanted to perform in front of others, but I was too shy and I wasn't prepared. Before I could even decline, Iroh cut me off, "What do you guys think? Would you love for Miss. Rachelle to sing a song?" Iroh turned to the crew who sat around the fire. Sure enough, his plan work and the crew started cheering boisterously 'Sing! Sing!'

I pursed my lips and gave Iroh a half lidded glare. "Very well," I spoke only mildly displeased with the situation. If I was going to sing, I wasn't just going to sing, I would perform. I stood up and got ready to perform, then I realized a small problem: I didn't know what to sing. I didn't have a whole catalog of music memorized in my head. I did have some music memorized in my head: songs from musicals I had been in. It would have to do. My first thought was Just You Wait from My Fair Lady. I could just imagine filling in the words 'enry 'iggins with Prince Zuko, but maybe that wasn't the most appropriate song to sing. Instead, I decided on Wouldn't It Be Lovely. "Ok," I cleared my throat, "How does it start again? …Oh, yes!" And I started. I moved around in a manner of what I remember from the film and my own school musical. I hadn't been Eliza Doolittle, nope. I should have been. I had a knack for accents, but I wasn't it in choir and choir kids always got chose first, even if their acting abilities sucked. Anyway, I twirled around the crew and the fire, singing to my heart's content. I would be lying if I said I wasn't having the time of my life. I loved it so much. The song ended all too soon and I bowed. There was a loud smattering of applause and even a few hoots and hollers. I smiled brightly and sat back down.

"You were definitely correct in saying that your talent laid in singing," Iroh praised cheerfully.

I sighed dreamily, "Yeah, it's a lot of fun." Iroh and I watched as a few crew members started to perform a song together. I swayed along with the music, feeling a little tipsy and light. "Hey Iroh," I called softly getting Iroh's attention. "Do you think things between Zuko and I will ever get better? Or do you think that we'll just be silently enemies forever?"

"I think that's up to the two of you," Iroh advised. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't turn my head to look. "If you wish to remedy things between each other, then I'm sure that your relationship will improve. But both of you have to be willing to work."

I hummed at the answer, letting it sink in. "That's what I'm afraid the problem is," I muttered under my breath. Silence fell between us as I thought over the words and the whole situation. "I really hope that we can, Iroh. I really do." I was put into a solemn mood for a while as I watched people perform, but with some laughs and cheers, my mood perked back up.

The evening ended with Lieutenant Jee serenading us a love song. He was surprisingly good. While he sung, he went around and interacted with the few ladies on the ship, including me. He took my hand and raised it to his chest while staring comically deep into my eyes. I couldn't help the cheery laughter that rose from my chest and the smile that took over my face. A rosy blush took over my face, a combination of the alcohol and the words that were being sung to me.

It was a wonderful evening.

.

It was late in the morning. Iroh sat playing the tsungi horn and I listened to the calming music while I did basic drills. It had been a peaceful morning, with not much happening, Zuko hadn't even been seen. Probably off rescuing Aang.

I stood up and watched as Zuko sullenly walked across the deck, finally arriving from his adventure as the Blue Spirit. Iroh also stopped what he was doing as he saw his nephew. "Where have you been, Prince Zuko? You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song and Rachelle gave a magnificent performance," Iroh called out to Zuko. I glanced over with slight panic to Iroh as he mentioned me. For some reason, I just didn't quite want Zuko to know.

Zuko walked right passed his uncle, not even sparing him the time of day. It looked as if he wasn't going to even acknowledge the two of us standing on the deck. Then he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. He didn't look at his uncle, instead, he looked at me. I gulped as I felt his eyes on me, but I didn't shy away. Zuko seemed to be pondering something away in his head. I was mildly confused and intrigued by his action. His eyes finally rested on the remnants of the burn. It was mostly just a discolored mark and held no pain only a tight feeling. Zuko's frown deepen as he looked. He turned around and started walking to the inside, but before he completely disappeared, he called back over his shoulder, "I'm going to bed. No disturbances." I stared at where Zuko had gone in a dazed confusion, wondering what his roaming eyes were about, as Iroh started to play again.

---

So, a little knowledge about the songs that were mentioned. Both were from My Fair Lady, based on of the play Pygmalion. It's basically about this rich phoneticist, Henry Higgins, who takes this poor flower girl with a thick cockney accent, Eliza Doolittle, and turns her into a 'duchess'. Higgin is really mean to Eliza. So, Just You Wait is a song about Eliza imagining the future where the roles have been reversed and she has power over Higgins, taking her revenge. I felt that this related very close to the story.

Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm super excited for the next chapter, so hopefully I'll see all of you there. Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. They keep me motivate to write. Please leave a review with any suggestions or comments that you may have! Thanks for reading and see you on the next chapter.