Chapter 13: A Promise Made and a Spirit Found
A week and a half had gone by with not much excitement. The gang and the fire bender had time to relax and had made camp in a secluded area, away from enemy eyes. Aang suggested that they have a small vacation while they could and everyone agreed, even Sokka. Their camp had been settled in a clearing with a small stream running through one corner, an aspect that Katara was very pleased with. Tamara had watched the water bender several times with fascination gleaming in her eyes; she had never seen a water bender fight before and the healer was interested in the way that the water tribe girl moved. A water bender flowed with ease through the steps, just like the element they controlled. It was different with fire benders, who fought with harsh, quick steps and attacks, not only moving in the way their element did, but also in an attempt to keep up with the fire they controlled.
One day when Katara and Tamara were down at the stream, the healer had complimented the water girl on her bending.
"Thanks, but I'm really not that good. I only know the basics to water bending, I have to teach myself everything so it takes me longer. That's why we're heading to the North Pole, to find a teacher for Aang and myself." Tamara sat and pondered over everything her new friend had said. So that is why they are heading north. But if Aang did not know water bending, that meant that he had probably not mastered any other element besides his own. Tamara was again thinking that the Avatar was certainly taking his time in learning all the elements, but then again Aang was a kid, he needed to take things easier and at his own pace. However, though the healer believed that he should indeed take it easy, a small tinge of dread began to form within her; what if Aang could not master the elements in time?
After the first two days, Tamara had taken off the bandage around her head. The bump and small cut from the barrel had healed enough to where no more attention was needed, but her wrists were a different matter. The burns were still in need of bandages and herbs if they were to heal properly without noticeable scars.
During their time in the camp, Tamara had gone on several walks through the forest, searching for the specific plants she needed for her wounds. Not expecting any injuries to be caused by her element, Tamara had not kept a big enough supply of the plants she now needed, not even for her long duration on Zhao's ship. She had gone on searches several times already and had not had any luck, but that did not stop her from enjoying her walks.
Tamara quietly hummed a tune to herself as she made her way down a new trail. Her eyes constantly scanned the area around her as she walked, trying not to miss anything that could be the plant she needed. The plant she was looking for, called senay, lived in partial shade and carried blossoms and leaves that helped to sooth and moisten burn wounds and allowed them to heal with comfort. It was not a rare plant, but it could be difficult to find if the surroundings were not ideal, the problem that Tamara was encountering now. The woods they had decided to camp in were dark for the most part, the trees had grown too close together to let in enough sunlight for many plants to grow, but the healer did not give up in the search and continued on her way.
Tamara had become so enthralled with her search that she did not notice the figure following behind her. The person stayed several yards back and used the dark forest and trees as cover, slipping through the shadows unnoticed as both healer and stalker made their way down the path. At one point, Tamara turned off the trail and headed towards a promising patch of sunlight and the stalker had to jump behind a large tree before he was seen.
Sokka had been following Tamara for the past three days, trying to figure out where she was always going by herself. He still did not trust her; she was Fire Nation after all, as well as in ties with Zhao and Prince Zuko. She also had information that his younger sister had so easily told her. Chancing a peak, Sokka found that Tamara was further away than he had expected and quickly stepped out to follow her. Momo sat perched on his shoulder and chirped once, making Sokka stop suddenly and wait to see if he would get caught. The flying lemur had picked the most inopportune time to want to tag along, but Sokka had wanted to make things seem as normal as possible around camp and so had allowed the small creature to follow.
The water tribe boy watched as the healer made her way across the forest floor and hurriedly walked up to a thin tree almost completely covered with an ivy-like bush. This was the plant she had been looking for and Tamara happily began to pluck the tender leaves and buds from the bush. She had only been at it for a few moments when the healer heard something in the distance. She stopped only momentarily in her task, but soon ignored the noise, thinking that the sound had only been made by some forest creature. The noise started again, and this time closer and longer. Peering through the shadows of the forest, Tamara tried to pinpoint the location of the noise- that had not been an ordinary noise of the forest.
From his vantage point behind the tree, Sokka watched as the healer tensed up and stared straight ahead, her hands still on the bush she had been working on. He had not moved from his spot, but had watched her intently and could not hear what the girl had heard. Curiosity was beginning to get the best of the young warrior, he did not know what the girl was doing, but he was going to find out.
Tamara's breath caught in her lungs as the sounds became louder and more distinguishable; she could not believe what was coming her way. The healer was lucky enough from her spot that they could not see her right away; Tamara was far enough off the trail and behind a bush to where she could easily duck and slip away, and she did just that. Taking a small detour, Tamara was able to stay hidden long enough for her to get a distance between her and the approaching enemy. She had to warn Aang and his friends, they all needed to get out of here. Tamara sped up her pace, right passed the tree concealing Sokka.
"What are you doing?" Tamara stopped in her tracks and spun around. Sokka was standing there, glaring at her.
"Sokka, be quiet. We need to get out of here." she said urgently, trying to keep her voice down to a whisper. Every moment they wasted here meant that the enemy was getting closer. When Sokka only gave her a questioning look, Tamara again answered in an urgent whisper. "There are Fire Nation soldiers coming this way, we need to go. Now." At this, Sokka's eyes grew wide with astonishment.
"I knew it, you are a traitor. You're leading them right to us aren't you?" Tamara was taken aback at his accusation, but time was running out. Taking a bold move, the healer rushed towards the warrior and pushed him towards the tree, her hand covering his big mouth. Momo was sent scampering up the tree as Sokka's body hit the trunk, but his loud voice had not gone unnoticed.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" both teens froze at the sound of the deep voice of a Fire Nation soldier. They were caught and both listened as several pairs of heavy booted shoes rushed over the forest floor straight towards them. All the commotion sent Momo screeching into the air, with Sokka trying to catch him.
"Momo, shush!" he jumped towards the frightened lemur and unknowingly exposed himself from behind the tree.
"It's one of the Avatar's friends. Get him!" Sokka dodged and ducked as a spear was thrown at him. Grabbing his boomerang, the young warrior threw it skillfully into the approaching enemy, knocking a few heads in the process. Behind him, Tamara stayed in the shadows, knowing that they needed to get out of here before they were greatly outnumbered but also knowing that she needed to stay hidden. More soldiers were beginning to pour through the forest towards the sounds of the fight and Sokka was facing them bravely, but even he could not fight them all.
The healer watched as the soldiers began to circle around them, surrounding them and soon cutting off their escape route. Finding a thick branch on the ground, Tamara grabbed it and wielded it at the nearest body that came towards her, keeping her fire bending hidden and her face in the shadows. Swinging it expertly as she had been taught in her training, the healer began forming a path through the small crowd of soldiers, keeping them at bay long enough for her and Sokka to escape.
"Sokka, run for it!" she yelled out. The young warrior did not need to be told twice. Taking one last swing at an advancing enemy, Sokka took off in her direction and before long both teens were tearing across the land with Momo above them, jumping over bushes and uprooted trees as the voices of the angered soldiers followed them. The teens soon had the soldiers greatly outdistanced; they were younger and lighter than most of their attackers and so had the upper hand. Running as fast as they could, both healer and warrior burst into camp, startling Katara and Aang.
"Hey guys, having a race back to camp? I think Tamara beat you, Sokka." Aang and Katara laughed from on top of Appa's head.
"We weren't racing Aang, this forest is full of fire benders. We need to get out of here now!" Sokka yelled out between gasps. Jumping into action, the four friends grabbed their possessions and supplies and broke camp. Everyone jumped up onto the great bison and Aang grabbed the reins.
"Appa, yip, yip!" With a grunt, Appa lunged into the air and they were soon above the tree tops. They soared over the area where Sokka and Tamara had been attacked and saw a small fire raging below them.
"What are fire benders doing all the way out here? Did you recognize any of them?" Katara asked, looking back at them. Sokka shook his head to both questions, but before he could say anything, Aang interrupted him.
"Look down there." All four heads looked over the side of the bison and saw a village below them. None of them had realized how close they were to the village- it had been dark when they had arrived at their campsite. "They must have been out patrolling, I guess you two were at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Sokka, what were you doing out with Tamara? You didn't leave together." Katara asked, giving her brother a dirty look. Sokka seemed to shrink under his sister's glare, if he told her the truth he would surely be thrown from Appa. Before he could come up with an excuse, Tamara intervened.
"It doesn't matter, I got the plants I needed and we got out of that mess without much trouble." the healer felt certain that she knew what Sokka had been up to and, though she was hurt and somewhat annoyed that the warrior still did not trust her, she did not want the two of them fighting. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I think it's time for me to be going; it isn't safe for any of us if I stay with you." Katara did not understand, she had finally found a girl to talk to and now she was planning on leaving?
"What are you talking about? You can stay with us."
"It's not a good idea. If I stay with you and the Fire Nation finds out that a fire bender is with the Avatar, the search for you will be doubled in order to catch me. Trust me, the Fire Nation doesn't do well with traitors and I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt because of me."
"Where would you go? We can't just drop you off somewhere." Aang said, he had liked being in the fire bender's company and was sad to hear that she would leave them.
"I'm sorry to say this, but I think my only chance is with Prince Zuko. With anyone else, they would send me back to the Fire Nation and throw me back into the army." She watched as everyone glanced at each other, the same worried looks they had worn when they found out she knew the prince. They were taking a big risk in allowing her to go to the prince; they had given her a lot of information that could be turned against them. "You can trust me; I won't tell Prince Zuko anything, Healer's Honor." Aang and Katara nodded their heads, they knew she was trustworthy. Sokka nodded his head slowly as well, and Tamara smiled thankfully to them.
Putting their heads together, the four friends decided that the best thing to do would be to lure the prince to a village where Tamara could wait for him. Agreeing on the plan, Aang directed Appa towards the ocean and flew at a leisurely pace, they knew that sooner or later, the prince would find them. It proved to only take two days before they spotted the small navy ship behind them. Appa flew on ahead of it, but they all knew that Prince Zuko would be on their trail the whole time.
According to Aang's map, another day's flight would bring them to a town on an island. The second part of the plan was to lead Prince Zuko to the island where Tamara would be waiting for him; it was the only town on the island with a big enough dock and, if all went accordingly, the prince would stop there and find Tamara instead of the avatar. Everyone, especially Tamara, knew that it was a risky plan- so many things could go wrong- and if it failed, she would be stranded. But she was willing to accept that risk.
The afternoon of the next day found the four friends saying good bye before Tamara's departure.
"Be careful, you guys. I'll help you as much as I can, but if you get caught I don't know how much I'll be able to do." Katara hugged her friend tightly before she allowed Tamara to say goodbye to the others. She shook hands with and bowed to the avatar before turning to Sokka.
"I know that you don't trust me, Sokka, and I understand, but please try to remember: not all fire benders are bad. It may be hard to believe, but there are a few who actually want this war to end and want to help the avatar. Keep your eyes and mind open for them." Sokka nodded and shook her hand. For the first time, Tamara saw understanding shine through the young warrior's eyes; a good sign that made the healer smile.
"Here, I want you to have this." she said, rummaging through her bag and bringing a small drawstring pouch into view. "I know it's not much, but it should get you through a few meals until you can find someone to help you with supplies." she handed the small bag over to Sokka, the contents inside jingling together as it was placed in his hand.
"We can't take this from you. We can always get supplies and money from someone else, you'll need money, too." Katara said, her eyes growing wide once she realized what it was.
"It's a gift. I told you I would do whatever possible to help the Avatar and his friends. Don't worry about me, I kept a little for myself, but the rest is for you." Giving both Appa and Momo a final pat, Tamara said her good byes one last time. Soon, they were off in their separate ways: the avatar and his friends continuing their journey to the north and the healer towards the town, two miles away, to wait for the prince's arrival.
Finally reaching the town, Tamara looked around for a place where she could buy new robes to replace her tattered ones and found a market near the docks. Taking a quick look around the port, Tamara noticed that Prince Zuko's ship was not there yet, but, luckily, neither were any other Fire Navy ships. Making sure to check the port often, the healer began her walk through the market. Vendors lined the streets with their sales; this one selling fruits and vegetables, that one selling jewelry, or maps, or home décor items, everything that one could ever think of was probably in this market. Tamara walked through the small streets, swerving every once in awhile to avoid colliding with another customer or shaking her head politely as an elaborate dress was shown to her. She did not need anything such as the items shown, only a few simple robes, or at least material to stitch her old one up.
After she had checked all the small shops on the main street, Tamara decided to go down to the next one and see if anything was there. Rounding the corner of the last shop, the healer walked straight into something that was both hard and soft at the same time. Realizing that it was a person she had bumped into, she immediately bowed and apologized.
"Please forgive me; I wasn't watching where I was going." Coming up to see if the one she had run into had accepted her apology, Tamara was surprised to find herself staring into the gentle eyes of General Iroh. They both looked shocked at each other; Tamara not expecting to see him so soon and General Iroh thinking that a spirit was standing in front of him. The old general's mouth hung open in shock and his old eyes seemed twice their normal size as he stared at the young girl.
"Tamara? Tamara, is that you? It's so good to see you again!" he cried and embraced her in a bone crushing hug. Letting her go, he looked into her beautiful eyes, not believing that she was there. "Prince Zuko will be so happy to see you safe and sound, young healer. He's out looking for the avatar, but he will be back later. Come, we shall wait for his return back at the ship." he smiled and pulled her along, the market place and everything that it carried completely forgotten as the two fire benders walked along back to the dock. Iroh had rambled on so fast and reacted so quickly that Tamara had barely any time to react and allowed herself to be pulled along; there was nothing else that she could do.
Once they were both comfortable in the galley, General Iroh and Tamara shared a pot of hot ginseng tea, the old general all the while smiling at her and patting her hand, as if to make sure that she was truly there and expecting her to vanish at any moment. They waited patiently for the prince and his soldiers to come back, but they did not have long before the prince returned. Telling her to wait there, the old man hurried out to where his nephew was and found him yelling at his crew for being "worthless and idiotic" because they could not keep track of a young boy and his two peasant friends.
"Prince Zuko, would you come with me, please?"
"Not now, Uncle."
"I have something to show you." the old man said in a sing-song teasing voice, practically jumping out of his skin over the surprise.
"Is it the Avatar?" Zuko asked hopefully, even though he knew that it was not very likely.
"No, even better." Iroh said, his face engulfed in a huge smile.
"Uncle, unless you have the avatar, I don't care about anything else that you have to show me." The angered prince turned to walk away when the old general grabbed his shoulder and pushed him along to the door of the galley.
"Trust me, Prince Zuko, you will love it ten times more than seeing the avatar." He opened the door and allowed his nephew to peer inside. The young prince took a step back in shock as he saw Tamara stand up to greet him.
"It's good to see you again, Prince Zuko." She said with her trademark bow. She came up from her bow and found the prince staring at her the same way the general had. Almost in an instant, Tamara found herself in the prince's strong arms, she had not even realized that the prince had moved.
The old general looked on happily at his nephew, to him Prince Zuko's actions were not that surprising considering how miserable he had been after Admiral Zhao's bad news. The prince opened his eyes and, realizing what he had done, let her go and cleared his throat as he tried to get over his embarrassment. He looked back down into her strange eyes, once fearing that he would never see them again and now fearing that she was not real.
"Tamara, I can't believe it's you. I thought I would never see you again." She looked at him in confusion, both men were acting so strangely towards her.
"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"
"We thought you were dead." the old man said, coming in to join them. His face grave and serious at the thought of the healer's death.
"Admiral Zhao told us that you had drowned at sea during a storm." the prince said, continuing where his uncle left off. Tamara's eyes flashed in anger at his name and both men noticed it.
"Zhao," she spat out, as if trying to get rid of a vile taste in her mouth. "It's true that I fell over board but it wasn't because of a storm." Iroh was surprised at how fast her mood changed and even more so at the passion she showed towards her former leader. Tamara had always impressed him with her manners, so it was strange to him that when she talked about Admiral Zhao, she never used his title and spoke with such hatred in her voice. She told them about the fight between her and the admiral, everything except his marriage proposal and where he had tried to take her; those memories still too real and frightening for her to want to think about, let alone too personal to tell the men in front of her.
"But how did you get up here? We are a great distance away from where we met Admiral Zhao." Tamara hesitated a brief second before answering.
"A family rescued me from the ocean. I was staying with them until we made our way up here and then I decided that I should leave. I didn't want to overstay my welcome or become a burden to them."
"Well, I guess it was lucky that we came across each other's paths when we did." General Iroh said, smiling to her again. "And we can assure you that you will not be a burden on this ship." Prince Zuko nodded in agreement and all three sat down together to continue their conversation. Tamara did not have much to say about her two years in the war, nothing that she wanted to bring up anyway, but the prince was another story. For the past two years, he had been on the search for the avatar and had traveled all over the world; something that, under different circumstances, Tamara would love to do.
Prince Zuko went on to relate how he had first found the avatar and his several encounters with the young boy and his two peasant friends. The healer tried to look surprised, interested, and calm according to his stories, but she was finding it difficult to keep a straight, and not panicked or guilty, face. She was only saved when General Iroh suggested they show her around the ship.
Their first stop was an empty room, her new room, right across the hallway from the general and a door down from the prince. It was a bit bare and dusty inside, with a bed alone occupying one corner of the room. It was gloomy without any other furnishings, but Tamara thanked them both just the same and General Iroh told her that they could pick up anything she needed the next day.
"We'll stay here for a few more days," the old general explained, "I'm sure my nephew will want to see if the avatar is still around on the island." Tamara then followed the two men up to the deck where they introduced her to the soldiers under their command.
"As long as she is on my ship, you will treat her with the utmost respect. Understand?" every soldier nodded their heads quickly, they could only guess what would happen if they disobeyed the prince's order- especially after his explosive temper over the past few weeks. Tamara, embarrassed, thought that the order was a little unnecessary, but at the same time, it made her feel safer than she had been under Zhao's command. The healer shied away from the men a bit, especially when Lieutenant Jee came up to shake her hand.
"So this is the healer we've heard so much about?" It was only a simple gesture, but he did not know how much it had affected Tamara. The healer only shook his hand politely and gave him a small smile, but she did both quickly and had to force herself to not jump back from him. Not having been around men older than herself since the attack, it took until now to realize how much Zhao's actions had affected her. She stole a glance towards the prince and the general to see if they had noticed her behavior, but no one seemed to have seen anything out of the ordinary. As she followed Prince Zuko and General Iroh around the rest of the ship, Tamara hoped that her feelings were only temporary.
That night, Tamara ate a full dinner with Prince Zuko and his uncle as an honored guest and both teens enjoyed the others company greatly. General Iroh allowed the two to continue conversing while he sat back and watched. His nephew no longer had any anger distorting his young face and for once in a long time, he seemed relaxed and content. The old man's eyes then trailed off towards the healer where, again, he saw a great change. The general had been worried ever since they had seen the healer in Admiral Zhao's camp; she had seemed so sick before, but now things were different. A small hint of a tan seemed to be edging itself across her skin again- she was no longer as pale as she had once been. General Iroh's eyes then trailed to Tamara's smiling face and up to her own eyes. Once so distant and pale, her strange eyes now gleamed with happiness and life, they were no longer as troubled as they once were. The old man was glad to see that things seemed to be almost back to normal, the way it had been two years ago before all three of their lives had been ruined.
Soon after dinner, Tamara excused herself and retired to her new room. She pounded the dust out of her bed and pillow and sat down to check her wrists and re-bandage them. Only a few more days, she thought to herself as she unwrapped her right wrist. The burns were almost completely healed, but they still needed attention. Bringing out the small pouch containing the senay buds and leaves, Tamara mashed a few of the plant parts until the new wrap absorbed the soothing juices. She had just finished replacing the new bandage and had started on the second when a knock came to the door. Pulling her sleeves down quickly and pushing the bandages behind her bag, Tamara told whoever was outside that they could come in. The door opened and the prince walked in, his arms loaded with blankets.
"My uncle found these for you." he said as Tamara helped take some of the blankets from him. They both walked back to her bed and plopped them down, but not before Prince Zuko noticed her left wrist. The blankets had pulled up her sleeve to reveal a pale red burn encircling her wrist.
"What happened?" he asked as he tried to get a better look, but Tamara quickly pulled the sleeve back down.
"It's nothing, Prince Zuko. It's only a burn."
"Let me see it." he ordered. His voice was not harsh, but commanding- he knew that the healer would not disobey his orders. Tamara reluctantly pulled up her sleeve again and revealed the injury to him. He grabbed her hand lightly and looked at it, it was not as bad as it had first looked but the fact that she had a burn at all was enough to get him angry and curious. He held her wrist at an angle to where he not only saw the left wrist, but the right one as well. A small bit of white showed up under her red sleeve, enough to catch the prince's eye. Taking her other hand, the prince revealed the other wrist and the bandage that was covering it.
The prince stared at both wrists, his mind churning to come up with a reasonable explanation; the wrists were not normal places for a burn to be. He stared at the wounds for a moment longer and noticed that his hand was just a bit smaller than the burn itself. Careful to not touch the wound, Prince Zuko placed his hand directly over it and found to his surprise that it matched almost perfectly. The pieces of the puzzle had materialized in his mind and suddenly clicked together as recognition dawned on him.
"Zhao did this didn't he?" he asked, anger starting to rise in his voice. "You never told us why he attacked you. What happened?" Tamara's eyes flashed with anger before she looked away, deciding whether or not to tell him.
"I don't want to talk about it right now, Prince Zuko. I'll tell you sometime, but not now." She looked into his eyes begging to be understood and he nodded, he was not going to push her. He slowly let go of her wrist and watched as the healer pulled out a few small plants and began to mash them into pulp. The juices soaked into the new bandage but Tamara removed everything else of the plants and began to wrap the new dressing around her wrist. She was surprised when the prince's hands moved in front of hers and took the bandages from her. Under her watchful eye, Prince Zuko continued where she had left off and wrapped the remaining bandage carefully around her wrist.
When he was done, he looked at his work and let out a small grunt of approval, it was maybe not as neat as the healer could do it, but it was secure and did the job. Standing up, the prince said good night to the girl and made his way to the door. His mind was again reeling; to him, Tamara could not have done anything to deserve the admiral attacking her. Something must have happened, but what it was the prince could not say.
He reached the door and walked out of the room, closing it behind him. The healer had something she was not telling them, but he was not about to try to force it out of her. For the time being, at least, he would leave it alone and wait until she came to him. Happy with his decision, the prince looked up and was startled to see his uncle in front of him.
"Is she alright?" the old man whispered and the prince nodded his head, clearly his uncle had been standing there the whole time and had heard everything, there was no need for an explanation. Both teens had forgotten to shut the door, giving the old general an excuse to peer inside and see everything as well. Glad to know that she seemed alright, General Iroh allowed a mischievous, but happy, smile cross over his grizzled features.
"What?" his nephew snapped out when he saw the smile. To the prince, there was nothing to be smiling about, but it was a different matter for his uncle. Only a chuckle and a shake of the head came from the old man and then he turned and walked away, making the prince follow him as he tried to figure out what the older man was so happy about. Neither of them heard the small lock on the door to the healer's room lock for the night.
Finally, chapter thirteen is up. Sorry about the big delay and the lie about having a bunch of chapters up during my break, but there was so much else to do and this chapter took longer than I thought it would. Well, school has started up again and I am sad to announce that not much will be done for the story for awhile, but I will try to do my best. I hope you enjoy this chapter, though not much happens in it, but at least Prince Zuko and Tamara are back together again. Sorry if the romance part of the story is going slower than most people would like it to go, but I promise that it will get better soon. Keep reading and reviewing and I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thank you.