Author's Note: Hello, FAITHFUL readers! I know, I know! You thought I fell off the face of the Earth! I promise you that I didn't, and that I haven't abandoned you or "The Spirit Within!" I have been kind of busy recently with other things, including planting my garden, so that I can get yummy zucchini, tomatoes, and other squash later on in the year! I also, I must admit, had some trouble with this chapter. HA! THAT is an understatement! I had a HORRIBLY hard time with this chapter!
The problem was that, although I knew where I was going, I didn't know how to get there. I LITERALLY wrote this chapter at LEAST six times, and I even wrote what I thought would be the final version of the chapter (about 14 pages) when I realized that I had forgotten something important, and I basically had to trash the whole thing! *sigh*
However, once I had a grip on what I needed to say, I was able to write it, and you will be happy to know that I have nine pages of the next chapter done. I also think that I am firmly on the way to the conclusion of this fic - I know where I am going, and NOW I know how to get there! So, YAY me!
AND, by the way, TODAY is the one-year anniversary of "The Spirit Within: Part One: The Water Tribe Child," and I am so blessed and humbled to tell you that it has been read OVER 100,000 times! I am floored by that, and SO grateful to everyone who has read and reviewed it!
Thanks to my betareaders. bowow0708 and sunflower13, and to all those readers who have encouraged me by sending me PM's to inquire how everything is going, etc..
SO, anyway, enjoy this chapter, and PLEASE review!
And, for those who can't remember what happened last, Lan is continuing on her quest to amass enough Fire Nation secrets to trade for Zuko's and Iroh's freedom after what she feels is the eventual and inevitable defeat of the Fire Nation. However, in her scheme to distract Zuko from discovering her actions by being overly "flirty" with him, she attracted the attention of Iroh, who warned her that the Fire Lord might learn of her closeness to the prince and retaliate. He counseled her to distance herself from Zuko, and she reluctantly agreed. Meanwhile, Zuko received intelligence that the Avatar might be in a remote part of the Earth Kingdom, and he had decided to go to the region to investigate.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just hope that Mai finds herself a new boyfriend.
"Prince Zuko! Prince Zuko! Come quickly!" The helmsman's urgent tone reached down onto the deck, and Zuko, sparring with Jee, stopped in the midst of a jab, startled.
He looked at his partner, expressionless, and took off for the bridge at a run, followed by the lieutenant.
Iroh and Lan Chi, who had been quietly playing pai sho in the shade of a large umbrella on deck, in a quest to keep the brutal equatorial sun off them, looked at each other, as well.
"What do you think it is, Uncle?" Lan asked, concerned not only by the anxiety apparent in the helmsman's voice, but in Zuko's and Jee's reactions.
Iroh's normally placid face was etched with uncertainty. "I don't know, but perhaps we should find out."
They abandoned their game and followed Zuko and Jee to the bridge, where the prince stood at the deck railing, and, with a spyglass to his good eye, was peering out onto the horizon.
"What is it?" Iroh's voice was strong and confident; he hoped to give Zuko strength to weather whatever was coming.
Zuko silently handed the spyglass to his uncle, his face grim.
Iroh put it up to his eye, and gave a low whistle.
"What is it?" Lan asked, impatient to know what seemed to concern Iroh so.
Her uncle handed her the spyglass in turn. "It's an Earth Kingdom blockade."
Two Weeks Before
"Now, have you packed your favorite pillow?" Lan looked at Iroh with tenderness as he stood at the top of the gangplank that led to the cutter. The small boat would convey Iroh and Zuko to shore to search for the Avatar. The rhino that Iroh would ride, and the ostrich horse that Zuko would ride, were already on shore, along with Jee and several of the firebenders. They were investigating the countryside in which Colonel Na's friend, Hsu, had reported sightings of the Avatar. The area, mainly unpopulated, as far as the Fire Nation knew, had no port, of course, so Zuko was forced to drop anchor in the bay there, and ferry all the needed supplies to the shore.
Iroh smiled at her. "Yes."
"And your medicine? For stiff muscles?"
"Of course."
"And your –"
"Lan Chi," he interrupted her, his hands going to her shoulders. "Thank you for your worry, but I will be fine."
She looked at him briefly, then nodded stiffly. "You will take care of yourself." She ordered. "And Zuko."
"If he ever gets here, I shall."
"Where is he?"
"Getting his swords, I believe."
"Making certain that he has something other than firebending with which to face the Avatar."
"A wise thing."
She nodded silently, her face set.
Her uncle looked at her sagely. "All will be well, fear not."
"I know that it will. I just – worry."
"I'm an old warhorse. You know that. And Zuko – he is young, and strong."
"Do not let him get hurt by the Avatar."
"I won't."
"Or yourself."
He chuckled. "You would think that we were going for a month rather than just a few days."
"I wish that I could go with you."
"Zuko would not hear of it – and neither will I."
"You know that I can take care of myself."
"I know. But I doubt that either Zuko or I would be able to concentrate on any fight were you in danger."
"Uncle..."
"Forgive this old man his overprotective urges."
"And Zuko? He's not an old man." She said petulantly.
Iroh smiled sadly. "I think we know from where Zuko's concerns stem."
She blushed, and decided to press on. "Just promise me that you'll be careful,." She reached up to kiss him.
"I will."
"And tell Zuko the same."
He nodded. "I will see you in a few days."
She nodded and, after another kiss on the cheek, she watched as he walked down the gangplank and onto the cutter.
She turned to go to the railing, and stopped when Zuko appeared in front of her. She stepped to the side silently as he gave her a cold, sideways look, and passed her without a word.
She thinned her lips. He had been angry at her since departing Nanzhou. She had avoided him, as Iroh had ordered, and had ignored him the entire time that they were at sea. Zuko, hurt and bewildered, had reacted by ignoring her, in turn.
Now, as he disembarked, he gave her a wide berth, and she watched with sad eyes as he descended the gangplank. "Be careful, please, my love." She whispered.
Zuko's party was gone for more than a week – much longer than Iroh had suggested that it would take, and Lan was consumed with worry as each day stretched into the next.
Days of worry turned into sleepless nights. She paced on deck and wandered around the ship aimlessly while the sun was in the sky, and, at night, practiced waterbending in lieu of sleeping. Her imagination of what might have befallen them tortured her, and she spent what seemed like hours praying to the spirits for a safe return.
So, when the engineer came knocking on her door early on the morning of the tenth day of their absence, she shot up in bed and scrambled for the door.
She yanked it open. "Yes?"
He tried not to look at her in her nightrail, although it was voluminous and showed little skin beyond that of her neck. "Um. I just thought – my lady," he belatedly bowed, "That you might want to know that – Prince Zuko and General Iroh have been sighted on the shore."
A smile split her face. "Thank the spirits! Has the cutter been sent out for them?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Good, good. Thank you. I will dress and come on deck."
The man blushed, as if hearing the phrase, "I will dress," embarrassed him.
She smiled at him again, and closed the door.
They were back! They were back, and they were safe!
Had they caught the Avatar? Spirits! She had forgotten to ask the engineer if the Avatar had been sighted, as well.
Despite her impatience to see them, she took time to dress. She wanted to look presentable when Zuko saw her.
Why? She asked herself. It's not as if it matters. You can't have him.
She brushed those thoughts away and pulled out a robe of midnight blue. This would do nicely.
After she dressed, she raced up to the main deck, and over to the railing.
The crewmen were lowering the gangplank into position for the approaching boat, and Lan Chi spied Zuko standing at the bow, stern and forbidding, and her heart fell.
He had not captured the Avatar.
She gave a deep sigh. He had been so sure that the lead would bear fruit. And now...
Now he would be disconsolate.
And she would not even be able to console him. And that was all that she wanted to do. She wanted to comfort him; hold him, kiss him, and – and do all the things that she knew they ought not to do.
She turned away as he walked up the gangplank onto the ship. It would not do for him to look up and see her there, watching him. He would think that she was pitying him, and his pride would not thank her for being witness to what he was sure to feel was only his most recent failure.
She pulled open the door to the tower, but not before Zuko caught a flash of her robe. He followed her before he had time to think, and caught up with her in the corridor.
"Z – Zuko." She was flustered, and tried to step back, but his arm on the wall barred her way. She craned her neck to see if there were any of the other crew members with him. "You're – back. Wh – where's Uncle?"
"He wanted to take a nap. He's tired." His eyes were calculating. "Were you watching for me?"
She gave a small laugh. "No. No, of course not."
"Yes, you were. Why? Were you hoping to see my latest failure?"
"What? No, of course not!" She was indignant, and chagrined that he had guessed her thoughts.
He shook his head, calm. "No. It's all right. I didn't find the Avatar. I failed – again."
"Oh, Zuko. I – I'm so sorry." Despite Iroh's words ringing in her ears, and his obvious hostility, she laid a comforting hand on his unblemished cheek.
He removed her hand with his own, and she dropped it to her side impotently, her face now flaming.
"But now," he continued, "since we wasted so much time on this folly, we shall now have to head directly for Tao Xing. We should be there in less than a week." He stepped away from her. "I'm certain that will make you happy."
Although Lan Chi was not pleased with Zuko's pronouncement, she could raise no objections. It was true that Zuko's expedition had taken quite a bit of time, and that they were now only nine days away from the date that they had set for her arrival in Tao Xing.
She had not accumulated nearly enough secrets to satisfy General Fong – not nearly enough, she was certain, to justify to the general Zuko's and Iroh's freedom.
Well, she would just have to get some secrets from her husband. Surely he must have access to many secrets.
She abandoned the laundry she had been folding and walked to the window of her cabin, suddenly sad.
Her husband. She had referred to that – man as her husband.
Self-loathing rose up like bile in her throat. How could she give in so easily to Ozai's desires and sacrifice herself – sacrifice her life – for his petty vengeance? Because Ozai hated her, because he feared her power over Zuko, because he resented her temerity in daring to think that she could marry Zuko. Because of all of that, he had sold her to the highest bidder.
How could she allow this to happen? How? For Zuko and Iroh? She would gladly give her life so that they might live – but she did not know if she could sacrifice her life – if she could spend years in virtual, intimate servitude to a man she did not even know!
She knew the answer to that immediately. She wouldn't. She couldn't. She would not marry Ozai's choice – even if it meant running away.
In fact, the more she thought on it, the more it made sense. Once Zuko and Iroh delivered her to her fiancé in Tao Xing – once they were gone, and no suspicion could fall on them, she would run away. It would take weeks for her disappearance to reach the other Fire Nation colonies – perhaps months. She could easily travel through the colonies, collect more secrets, and return to General Fong with all the secrets that he could want.
But what would she do after that?
Well, there was always Ba Sing Se. She could melt into the city, and no one from her past would ever find her.
She gave a small smile. For the first time in a long time, she had something to look forward to.
Freedom.
"Cut the engines!" Zuko yelled, and turned to Jee. "Raise the trebuchet and get the hot stickers ready." He walked off purposefully, calling out orders to the other crewmen.
Iroh made to follow him, but Lan Chi grabbed his arm.
"Uncle, what is happening? What are we going to do?"
"Well, it appears that Zuko is preparing to fight."
"Fight?!" She was aghast. She had seen, through the spyglass, a long line of Earth Kingdom ships for what seemed to be miles. "We can't fight a blockade! Has he lost his mind?"
The sound of the engines idling caught their attention. "We've stopped." Lan observed.
Iroh nodded. "He wants to regroup and strategize."
"Raising the trebuchet does not sound like strategizing!" She protested. "It sounds like he has already made up his mind to attack!"
"Hopefully not. There is much else that we can do besides fight." He finally started after Zuko, and she followed.
"Like run away!"
"Perhaps."
They found Zuko down on the lower deck, where he was supervising the set-up of the trebuchet, a contraption that consisted of a sling and a powerful throwing arm, which was used for hurling ammunition such as rocks.
One of the firebenders dashed up to Zuko. "We have only seven hot stickers, Your Highness." He reported in a rush.
"Seven?" Zuko was indignant. "We were supposed to have at least a dozen!"
"What's a hot sticker?" Lan asked no one in particular.
Iroh answered. "It's a ball of pitch and wood and – other things, that we set on fire and launch at the enemy. It generally explodes upon contact, spreading flaming pitch everywhere. Very useful, but very smelly."
"Jee," Zuko ordered, "get someone into the crow's nest with the strongest spyglass we have. Find out how many ships there are, and how far they stretch."
"Yes, Your Highness." Jee nodded and turned to one of the men to convey the orders.
Zuko seemed to see Lan for the first time. "You shouldn't be out here. Get back to your cabin, where you'll be safe." He grabbed her arm, as if to walk her off the deck himself.
She slid her arm from his grip. "What?! No! You're not sending me away to – to hide! I want to stay with you!" She blushed at the implication of her words. "I mean that I want to – to stay up here."
"It's not safe!" Zuko's face, too, was reddening, but from anger. "Now, do as I say!"
"No!" She stamped her foot, in what she recognized was a childish way.
"Highness, we should have the trebuchet loaded soon. What are your orders?" One of the men asked.
"Zuko, please." Lan put a hand on his arm. "Turn the ship around."
He ignored her. "Keep it ready to fire."
"Your Highness!" Jee, who had gone to the foot of the crow's nest, came hurrying back now. "I had Cho stop counting ships once he got to twenty-seven." Jee's face was as grim as Lan had ever seen it.
"Have they seen us?" Zuko mused aloud.
Jee shook his head. "I don't think so. If they had, we would certainly see some sort of reaction, but they haven't moved, nor can Cho see any on-deck preparations."
She shook Zuko's sleeve. "Let's take this chance, then, Zuko, and leave."
Again, in what was becoming a habit, he removed her hand. "How else will we get you to your fiancé?" He sneered.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. He was going to endanger them all to deliver her to Tao Xing? "I know that you are eager to be rid of me, Zuko," she said stiffly, "but I would prefer to arrive alive, if you wouldn't mind!"
He set his jaw and glared at her. Without removing his eyes from her face, he issued his next order to Jee. "Be ready to fire when I give the word."
"Prince Zuko!" Iroh's voice was insistent, and Zuko turned to him. "It is folly to attack an enemy blockade! You must see that."
"We have an obligation to convey Lady Lan Chi to her new husband, Uncle." Zuko said emotionlessly, his eyes cold.
"Zuko!" Lan stepped between her cousin and uncle. "I don't care about getting there! Don't you understand?" She felt almost in tears; he was being ridiculous!
Iroh continued to try to reason with his nephew. "You are being foolhardy, Zuko. Your primary obligation is her safety!"
A glimmer of an idea came to Lan. "And what about your mission to capture the Avatar?" She watched as Zuko's eyes narrowed in thought. "Will you sacrifice that to try to break through a blockade?" She pressed on. "Will you disappoint your father?"
Waves of anger emanated from Zuko – he did not need to be told his duty by a girl! "Get below deck now." He said between gritted teeth.
"You can't –" She began, but Iroh gave a brief wave of his hand to indicate cessation, and, fuming, she nodded, and stomped away.
"Zuko..." Iroh started, but Zuko held up his hand until Lan had disappeared through the door leading below deck.
"Turn it around, Jee. We're not breaking a blockade today."
Jee nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."
"Head south. There should be an end to this cursed blockade."
He left Jee and went to the railing of the ship. That meddling, stupid girl! Who did she think that she was, anyway? Lecturing him like that – in front of the crew?
But she was right, his rational side whispered. And Zuko knew that she was right. But he could not allow her to think that he was capitulating because of her words.
Iroh joined him and they stood for several moments, their eyes upon the ships in the distance.
"You need not have been so harsh with her, Zuko." Iroh reprimanded his nephew quietly.
"Shut up, Uncle." He was in no mood to be lectured. He was facing a blockade, and he did not know, really, what to do. There was little chance of breaking through, and he was almost – glad of it. If they could not break through the blockade, they could not reach Tao Xing, which meant that he did not have to leave Lan with another man – and that thought made him almost giddy with joy.
Despite her recent coolness towards him, he had long ago accepted that he was deeply, irrevocably in love with her – and always would be. He should not be – he knew that. She was no longer his, and these feelings he felt for her were – dishonorable.
"Your Highness." Jee came to him and bowed.
Zuko nodded in acknowledgment, and Jee continued.
"It seems that the line of ships extends to Whale Tail Island."
The channel between Whale Tail Island and the mainland Earth Kingdom was frequently contested by the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.
"That explains the blockade." Iroh said.
"Can we go south?" Zuko asked.
"Yes, of course, but if the Earth Kingdom is seeking to keep Fire Nation ships from passing, they will have the southern channel blockaded, as well."
Zuko looked at him with irritation. "I want to see a map."
"We have one laid out on the bridge, Your Highness."
The three of them climbed to the bridge, where a map of the world was spread out on the low table there.
"We're here," Jee pointed a finger at a spot near the center of the passage on the northern side of Whale Tail Island. "The blockade extends down to here – at least."
Zuko jabbed at the water below the island. "And here is the southern channel. We can pass through there."
"If it's not blocked, as well." Iroh reminded him.
Zuko gave him a brief look. "Yes. If it's not blocked."
"And if it is?" Iroh asked, although it was not clear to whom he had directed his question.
Zuko answered. "We'll go farther south." His own finger trailed along an invisible route on the map, around a small island below Whale Tail Island.
Jee, after exchanging a quick look with Iroh, spoke up. "Your Highness, I'm afraid that – that won't be possible. All of these islands here," he indicated, on the map, the group of islands of which Whale Tail Island was the northern-most, "are surrounded by very shallow, rocky waters. Only a skiff – or our cutter, perhaps, could navigate it. Definitely not a ship of our size."
"The cutter is not made for long-distance voyages."
"No, of course not, Highness." Jee bowed in acknowledgment.
"So the Earth Kingdom has effectively cut us off from the other half of the world." Zuko said petulantly.
"Not just us, Prince Zuko. The entire Fire Nation fleet." Iroh pointed out.
"To be frank, General Iroh, since the Fire Nation deepened the river that goes past Pohuai, we have had less need of traversing these waters. The southern course that we chose after picking up Lady Lan Chi made sense because of her proximity to this route, but there were other options available to us."
"This is the shorter route, to be sure." Iroh agreed.
"Why can't we go down here," Zuko ignored their conversation, and dragged his finger to nearly the bottom of the map, "around the South Pole?"
Jee breathed out heavily. "Well, we could, of course, but there is certain to still be ice clogging most of the shipping lanes. By late in the season, it should be entirely navigable, but, right now..." He trailed off.
Zuko reddened, and removed his finger from the map. "Make for the southern channel around Whale Tail Island."
"And if it's blockaded?" Iroh asked.
Zuko gave his uncle a hard look. "I'll decide then."
Lan leaned idly on the window sill in her chamber, looking out onto the ocean at the long line of ships that, at this distance, appeared only as dots to the naked eye.
Zuko had sent her to her cabin, but he had apparently forgotten that she had a window, and could therefore keep abreast of anything occurring in relation to the blockade. She had not wanted, of course, to leave him during this time of crisis, but Uncle had obviously thought it best that she leave return to her room, and she had, in this instance, acquiesced to his greater wisdom.
She had watched their progress southward for the past two hours, anxiously awaiting the sound of a shot from the trebuchet, or the sight of a boulder being tossed at them, but, luckily, there was only the sight of an inexorable line of ships in the distance, silent.
Their ship was neither advancing nor retreating, but traveling in a line parallel to the blockade. That was not bad news, Lan reflected. Of course, it was not good news, either. She would have preferred to put an ocean between the blockade and Zuko's ship. She wondered why Zuko had not. He could not be serious about attacking or breaking through the line. That would be – suicide.
She sighed and straightened. He could not expect her to stay in this room indefinitely.
She nodded to herself. She was going to go out onto the deck.
She saw no one in the corridor, although that was not unusual, and she ran lightly down the steep stairs to the main deck.
She saw Zuko standing alone at the port railing, the spyglass to his good eye. She considered avoiding him and searching out Uncle Iroh, but damned that as a cowardly thing, so, instead, she came up behind him, and, in a moment of mischievousness, leaned over his shoulder.
"Any change?" She asked softly.
He started, lowering the spyglass, and, realizing her identity, stiffened and frowned at her as she came to stand beside him. "Why aren't you in your cabin?"
She shrugged. "Because I'm not a prisoner. Besides, my cabin is in the tower, Zuko, and it has a window. If the Earth Kingdom launches a rock at us, it's probably the worst place to be." She leaned on the railing.
He looked at her for a long moment, then lifted the spyglass again.
"Where are we going?" She asked idly.
"South."
She rolled her eyes. "I know that we're going south, Zuko." She stood and faced him, her arms folded. "I'm not an idiot."
He did not put the spyglass down. "I didn't say that you were."
"So we're going south. Where are we?"
"Northwest of Whale Tail Island."
That meant little to her. She was not very familiar with geography outside the Fire Nation's environs. "Oh. Where are we going?"
He sighed and dropped his arms. "We are on the west side of this island. We want to be on the east side. Tao Xing is on the east side of this island."
"Oh." She said again. "Can we get on the east side?" He ignored her and raised the spyglass again, and, irritated, she pushed it down. "Can't you even look at me?" She demanded.
Angry now, he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her into the shadow of the tower, where he knew that they could not be seen from the bridge. "There. I'm looking at you. Are you happy?" He asked, his eyes blazing.
She stared at him mutely, her eyes wide, and nodded. And, in that moment, she was. It was just the two of them, with no Uncle and no fiancé and no Fire Lord, and even though he looked at her with fury, he was looking at her, and talking to her, and the coolness of the past weeks – the coolness that she had brought on herself – was gone.
She launched herself at him, then, and he caught her in his arms. His mouth came down hard on hers, and he held her to him tightly, as if to absorb her into his body. His lips were hard against hers, and she reveled in it. His tongue pushed his way into her mouth, and she welcomed it. She could feel the sharp edges of the spyglass biting into her back where he crushed it against her, but she didn't care.
She didn't care about anything in the world other than him.
"Zuko?" They heard Iroh's voice from above them – on the bridge, presumably, and Zuko tore his mouth from hers.
"Spirits!" He swore, looking upwards for a moment, before turning back to her. "Stay." He whispered, and gently pushed her into the doorway before stepping out onto the deck to answer his uncle's summons.
"What is is, Uncle?" He called.
"Where is Lan?"
"I sent her back to her room! Is that all you called me for? I'm not her keeper, you know!"
"Lieutenant Jee and I have a rather extraordinary plan. Will you come up to the bridge?"
Zuko sent a quick glance at Lan, who nodded quickly.
"I'll be right up." He went back to where she was waiting with one hand at the base of her neck and a worried expression on her face.
He grinned suddenly, and, after delivering a swift kiss, grabbed her other hand. "Come on."
"You want me to – go with you?"
He nodded solemnly. "If I can't be rid of you, I might as well keep you near."
She looked at him again, her eyes wide, and allowed him to pull her along to the ladder leading to the bridge. He bowed gallantly to her. "After you, my lady."
She looked at him for a long moment, and saw something in his eyes that she had not seen in a very long time. A spark of – joy. She smiled. "Thank you."
She climbed the ladder before him, not realizing that he had engineered it so that he could watch her as she climbed.
They emerged in the bridge, and Iroh registered surprise. "Prince Zuko. I thought that you had said that you sent Lady Lan Chi back to her cabin."
Zuko glanced at Lan briefly. "She refused." He tried to change his uncle's focus. "What's your plan, Uncle?"
Iroh shook his head as if to clear it. "Well, it is not entirely my plan, you realize, Zuko. Lieutenant Jee was important – no, actually, I would say that he was instrumental in the formulation of this plan. Of course, we may not need it at all –"
Lan and Zuko exchanged exasperated glances as their uncle continued his monologue.
"Uncle!" Zuko interrupted him.
The old man, startled, looked at his nephew.
"What's the plan?" Zuko prompted.
"Oh. Oh, well. Perhaps Jee should explain it."
Zuko turned expectantly to his lieutenant. "Jee?"
Jee drew in a deep breath, and beckoned Zuko to come to the map, still spread on the table. "Here, Your Highness, are we." He indicated a spot on the map, not far from Whale Tail Island. "We are attempting to cross over into the eastern half of the southern ocean here, south of Whale Tail Island." He traced the proposed course. "Hopefully, we will be able to cross over here." He tapped his finger on the area between Whale Tail Island and its southern neighbor. "Because, of course, our destination is Tao Xing, which is, of course, here." He moved his finger to a spot far to the east, on the edge of the continent.
"Yes, yes. I know all of that. What is this extraordinary plan? I have seen nothing that makes me think it is a plan at all." Zuko said peevishly.
Jee cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I am getting to that, Your Highness. As I said, we hope to cross the southern channel below Whale Tail Island. However, if, as we suspect, it's blockaded as well, we have no choice but to turn around. We can't risk traveling in the antarctic waters so early in the year."
"So you brought me here to tell me that we cannot get Lady Lan Chi to her destination?" Zuko asked, and Lan's pulse jumped in hope. Zuko continued. "Is that your wonderful plan?"
"No, Sir." Jee sounded more confident now. "We can get Lady Lan to her fiancé – although it will take considerably longer than our current path."
Zuko's brow rose. "Indeed. If your idea is to go back up and around the Fire Nation and along the northern coast, I would say that that is not an extraordinary plan."
"No, Highness, that is not my plan." Jee looked to Iroh for support.
The old man nodded. "There is another route that we can take."
"Oh, well, then." Zuko was skeptical. "Do tell."
Jee gave a firm nod. "We turn around – after determining the extent of the blockade, of course, and make our way up here." He moved his finger along a line that took him back along much of their route, and inland. "To Pohuai."
"Pohuai?" Zuko asked incredulously. "Why would we go to Pohuai?"
"Because the river there has been widened, and deepened, to accommodate Fire Nation ships." Iroh supplied helpfully.
"And the river, Your Highness, cuts through the middle of the continent, bypassing all Fire Nation waters proper, and leads to the northern sea."
"So we do not circumnavigate the continent, but go up the middle! And you stay out of the Fire Nation, as your father commanded." Iroh said triumphantly.
Zuko gave his uncle a disgusted look. He needn't have sounded so gleeful about Zuko's banishment. "How does that get Lan to her husband on time?" Zuko hated considering that, of course, but he knew that it was a question that must be asked.
"Well, actually, Your Highness, it doesn't. But it gets her there. It will take probably a month and a half longer, give or take, and dependent upon the weather, of course."
Zuko glanced at Lan, whose eyes were glued to his.
An extra month or, perhaps, more, to spend with her. That extra time would give him more of an opportunity to plan. Plan a way to keep her with him – to convince her to marry him instead of the man his father had chosen. Just a few weeks ago, it would have been anathema for him to think about disobeying the Fire Lord, but that was before he had seen her again – before he had realized how much he needed her in his life, and how much he hated the thought that she might marry another man.
"Fine." Zuko said. "Provided that the southern channel is blockaded, we will go through the Pohuai River valley." He turned to Lan Chi, and, although his following words were meant only to show Iroh and the others of his commitment to his obligations, he knew that they must be said. "I will see you married one way or the other, my lady."
But to him, not to her fiancé.
Author's Note: I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. It might help to understand the geography if you look at a map of the Avatar world, which can be found all over the internet - just google it. Whale Tail Island is just below the Earth Kingdom in the eastern half of the world, in an island chain above the Southern Air Temple, and not far from Kyoshi Island. Pohuai is in the opposite direction, and north, and was the garrison where Aang was held in "The Blue Spirit."
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