Tang Ri Shan
The Water Dragon
Chapter 1: The Agni Kai
I narrowed my eyes as I gazed at my opponent. I forced myself to remain calm, my breathing controlled as I prepared myself for his imminent attack.
For a moment, there was silence, then the earth rumbled as a slab of stone suddenly shot upwards out of the ground and flew towards me.
Waiting for the right moment, I leapt up, twisting in midair so that the slab passed directly beneath me.
Landing lightly on my feet, I raced towards my opponent, keeping myself low.
My opponent, seeing me coming, levitated a block of Earth and shot it at me.
I dove downwards so the block passed over me, and leapt to my feet, just in time to see a second block shooting at me.
There was no time to avoid it, I heard an 'oof' escape my lips as the block knocked me off my feet.
Gritting my teeth, I flipped to land in a crouch before bringing my arms behind me and sweeping them out again, drawing water from the twin skins strapped to my back. Compressing the water into a bullet shape, I fired my projectile at my opponent, who raised an Earthen shield to block it, as I had predicted.
Using the shield as cover, I raced towards my opponent, drawing water from my skins again. As my water bullet smashed against the Earth shield, I shot the water I was currently holding forward to form a sort of ice ramp. I leapt onto the ramp and used it as a springboard to jump again. As my opponent's shield came down, I concentrated while in midair, drawing as much water from my surroundings as I could.
I saw my opponent look around as he tried to find where I had gone, then he saw the ramp and looked up. I saw his jaw drop as he saw me above him and shot him a sweet smile before thrusting my hands forward, fingers outstretched, causing the water to shoot forward in multiple water whips.
I saw panic flash on my opponent's face as he quickly raised an Earth shelter to defend against the whips. Scarcely had I landed on top of the Earth shelter, however, when it suddenly exploded outwards, catching me by surprise. I flew through the air to land hard on my side, cursing myself for not guessing that my opponent would adapt to the fact that he couldn't see me while using such shields to protect himself.
Pumping my legs, I leapt to my feet just in time to see my opponent grinning smugly as he performed a quick series of movements that levitated several large rocks out of the ground and launched them at me in quick succession.
I felt panic flare up in my chest as I saw the earthen projectiles rush at me and forced myself to remain calm. Focusing my energy, I drew water up from the ice ramp, and my skins, around me and gathered it around my hands and arms. Though my mind screamed at me not to, I charged forward to meet the rocks head on.
As the first one approached me, I whirled my arms, willing the water on my arms to form a pair of sharp blades, which sliced through the thick rock. I cut through one, then two, then three rocks, to find myself facing my opponent, who had a look of disbelief on his face.
Compressing the water into a pair of whips, I lashed out at my opponent, who responded by stamping and thrusting his arms towards the sky, causing a column of earth to lift up, carrying him out of the path of my whips, or so he thought.
Smirking at his mistake, I willed the water on my whips to form sharp edges again, slicing through the earth column, causing the structure to come off its base. I hears my opponent cry out in alarm as he struggled to keep his balance on top of the column. Not giving him a chance to recover, I formed an ice hook at the end of a water whip. Shooting the hook up, I watched it bury itself near the top of the column, then allowed the water to pull me up the structure to where my opponent was standing, while at the same time, using my other whip to lash out at him, keeping him occupied while I snuck up on him.
My opponent, so focused on blocking my water whip, didn't see me coming until I was practically on top of him. His eyes widened as I crashed into him, knocking him off his pillar with a satisfying 'oof'.
As we fell, I focused and reached out to encase both his hands in water, which I then froze, forming a pair of ice cuffs, trapping his hands.
My opponent, realizing what I had done, scowled at me, but there was nothing he could as he landed on his back and I landed on top of him, shooting my hands forward, forming ice claws that paused an inch from his eyes. To his credit, he didn't blink.
"I win" I smiled in victory.
"Fine. I yield" He said reluctantly. My smile widened and I hopped off of him, unfreezing his hands with a wave of my own.
"Agni, I almost had you that time, Zorra" He groaned as I waved my hands around, drawing water from the ground, and him, back into my water skins.
"Yeah, you almost did, Zheng" I aid teasingly as I helped him to his feet, giggling a little at the dark look he sent me. "Seriously though, you were pretty close, and I liked how you made the shelter explode outwards, it made up for the fact you couldn't see where I was."
"Yeah, well, since I can't actually see through earth, not being able to tell where my opponent is was a disadvantage." Zheng nodded in agreement. "By the way, nice work on the multiple water whips, is that a new technique?"
"Kind of" I shrugged my shoulders. "It's based off the octopus technique I learned from that scroll the commander gave us. I've been practicing on my own for months."
"Well, it certainly paid off now" Zheng admitted, causing me to smile at him.
"Ahem" The two of us paused when we heard a voice. We turned to see a soldier standing behind us, looking rather edgy.
I schooled my face into an annoyed expression. "Yes, what is it?" I barked in an angry tone that made the soldier jump.
I felt Zheng subtly nudge me as I fought to hide my smirk at the soldiers' barely-disguised fear. This man was clearly a new recruit, or maybe he had witnessed our sparring session, or maybe both.
As the only Waterbender in the Fire Nation Army, I had made quite a reputation for myself. In addition to my skill at manipulating water, I also had a secret trick that only I could do. I could make water boil, just by concentrating. According to Commander Zhao, this was a skill that even a waterbending master could not do. Waterbenders could freeze water, thaw it, and move it around, but they couldn't heat it without help. It wasn't firebending, but it was close enough, and I had used this ability to create a unique waterbending style that I called Water Dragon Style, which had made some soldiers start calling me the 'Water Dragon' and the name had stuck. I had been honored, especially seeing as how the only way to earn the name 'dragon', up until now, was to kill an actual dragon and, as far as I knew, they were extinct.
Zheng, my brother, was in a similar situation to mine, being one of only a handful of Earthbenders who willingly supported the Fire Nation, and he was the most powerful of them. So powerful, that he had the ability to create lava, real lava, a skill that even the greatest Earthbenders had, to our knowledge, been unable to replicate. This skill, combined with his physical strength, had earned him the title of 'Lava Bear'.
Recovering, the soldier bowed to me, then Zheng. "Um...C...Commander Zhao has requested the presence of the W...Water Dragon and the Lava B...Bear in his tent, right...right away" He stammered, and I had to fight to hide the smirk that was threatening to erupt on my face. "He...he also said to be...be discrete"
Zheng and I exchanged a glance before we turned back to the recruit. "Tell Commander Zhao we will be there in five minutes" Zheng said, his face expressionless, but I could see the humor dancing in his eyes.
"Yes, yes of course" The soldier bowed to Zheng, but he didn't leave right away. He just stood there, gazing at us.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go!" I ordered loudly and sternly, making the soldier jump again as I pointed towards the entrance to the sparring arena. Muttering an apology, the soldier bowed to me again and all but fell over in his haste to get away, which made me chuckle.
The moment that the soldier was out of sight, Zheng and I burst out laughing.
"Did you see the look on his face?" I giggled. "I thought that guy was gonna pee his pants!"
"And that, dear sister, is why you will never have a boyfriend" Zheng teased as we started walking in the same direction the soldier had gone.
"And what, dear brother, makes you think I want one? I fired back with a smirk. "There are too many men in my life already"
Zhang laughed and I smiled as we left the sparring arena and headed towards our private tents.
Ducking into mine, I quickly swapped my sparring clothes for a red undershirt and matching leggings. Over this I slipped on a black tunic with gold lining, secured with a gold belt, and light black armor over my shoulders, chest, arms, and legs. I pulled on my boots that curled up at the toe before stepping up to my mirror and washbasin. I washed my face and put part of my long black hair up in a small topknot, which I secured with a red hairpiece. Then I opened a hidden drawer in my mirror, I pulled out a small case, which I opened to reveal a pair of small colored red lenses set into a fluid. Opening my eyes wide, I applied the first contact to my left eye, and blinked slowly, getting used to the feeling. Then I repeated the process with the other eye.
After my vision had adjusted, I looked down and examined my appearance in the mirror. The colored lenses had turned my ice blue eyes golden brown. I smiled at my reflection before pulling a small makeup case out of the drawer. Using the mirror as a guide, I applied makeup to my face and hands, lightening the tone of my skin to match that of someone who was natively from the Fire Nation. Technically my natural skin tone was a match for people who lived in the more rural areas of the Fire Nation, but I always used makeup whenever I was ordered to 'be discrete'.
Examining my appearance in the mirror, I nodded in satisfaction before exiting my tent to find my brother waiting for me, wearing a uniform similar to mine. He had also used makeup on his face and hands, though not as much as I had, and he hadn't needed to change his eye color.
"About time, what kept you?" Zheng joked.
I snorted in amusement "Sorry, I had to fix my face" I said jokingly, making Zheng groan as we set out towards the commander's tent.
As we walked, I looked around, relishing in where we were. To our right, a row of enormous Fire Nation cruisers stretched along the docks. To our left, a sea of tents spread out almost to the distance in a large field, housing the large array of soldiers, both bending and non-bending, that our commander had put together. As we passed by one tent that was open, I heard the voice of a soldier regaling a group of his comrades on a skirmish that had recently occurred with an Earth Kingdom battalion. As I had been involved in helping end that particular skirmish, I paused to listen to the story.
"…And then the Earthbenders had us surrounded." The soldier said in a dramatic voice, and I chuckled. "I thought my time had come. I said to myself, 'Father, I will see you soon', and then, she appeared. The Water Dragon!"
I felt a smirk cross my face at the sounds of awe and disbelief from the other soldiers. This guy was a great storyteller.
"I'm serious! She took out all the earthbenders without even breaking a sweat!" The soldier said. "She was incredible! She did stuff with water that I didn't even know was possible! She is one of the most powerful benders I have ever seen and I told her so!"
Okay, now I knew he was exaggerating. Compared to my spar with Zheng just now, what I had did to rescue those soldiers was nothing incredible. A few boiling water whips, a cloud of mist to act as cover, and that was it. And even if that wasn't the case, he was definitly lying about telling me this, because I didn't recognize his face at all, and I have a pretty good memory.
"Did you...actually speak with her?" One of the soldiers asked, sounding skeptical.
"Oh yes, of course. We actually go way back, you see" The soldier bragged, to loud guffaws from his friends.
Liar! I thought, making a face. But none of the soldiers looked up or even noticed I was there, which I had expected would be the case.
This is what it meant to 'be discreet'. Even though our abilities had made Zheng and me infamous in the Fire Nation Army, Commander Zhao felt that our reputations could be a hinderance at times, so he trained both of us in the art of deception and subterfuge. When he gave the order to 'be discreet', the two of us would alter our appearances to resemble Fire Nation Soldiers and the Water Dragon and Lava Bear would disappear. We had learned to only use our abilities when they were needed, like for sparring, and for combat. In fact, the commander didn't like us going into the field that much, preferring to save us for emergencies or for really serious battles. He called us his 'secret weapons', but I personally think it was his way of keeping us close.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Commander Zhao was so protective of Zheng and I, considering he had helped raise and train the two of us. But sometimes I wished I could see more action, something I had been bugging the Commander for a white about now, to his annoyance, but I couldn't help it. I was restless, far more so than my brother, mainly because I knew it was my destiny to end this war. The spirit of Avatar Roku had practically told me this, even though he hadn't used those exact words.
I felt a tap on my shoulder bringing me out of my trance and turned to see Zheng smiling at me. "Come on, we can't keep Commander Zhao waiting." He reminded me.
"Fine" Reluctantly, I left the gossiping soldiers and followed Zheng towards the commander's tent. However, my attention was soon caught again, this time by something in the harbor.
"Hey, look at that" I paused and pointed to a ship that was easing its way into an empty dock. It was small, much smaller than the cruisers on either side of it, clearly an older design. It was also rather battered, as if it has seen action recently.
"That's not one of ours, is it?" asked Zheng.
"I don't think so" I shook my head. "Looks like an older model"
"Huh, maybe it has something to do with why the commander has summoned us" Zheng suggested as we resumed walking.
"Maybe" I mused, but I was getting a strange feeling in my gut, something I couldn't explain.
We soon arrived at the commander's tent. Zheng told the two firebending guards stationed at the entrance that the commander was expecting us and we were allowed to enter.
Inside, we found Commander Zhao gazing upon a map of the world, his hands clasped neatly behind him, his back to us.
"Commander Zhao" we said and bowed unanimously.
Zhao did not turn around, but I knew he had heard us "I trust the two of you have seen the ship that is arriving in port" He said.
"We have, sir." I could almost hear the smile in Zheng's voice and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "We were actually discussing it on our way over"
"That ship is carrying very special guests." Zhao said as he turned around. "The Fire Lord's brother and son"
My eyes widened at this. General Iroh, and Prince Zuko? What were they doing here? Last I had heard, the prince had been banished by his father for disrespecting his nation and had been sent on a quest to locate and capture the Avatar and his uncle, the Dragon of the West, had gone with him. This had been shortly after I had received my vision of Avatar Roku, two years ago.
"The three of us are going to go meet them now. While Zorra and I are keeping them busy, Zheng, I want you to question the ship's crew. I want to know what that ship is doing here and why. If you find anything of note, report it to me immediately."
"Yes Commander" Zheng nodded, and I mentally sighed. Whenever Zhao had company, I would often play hostess for them, smiling at them, pouring tea for them, while Zheng 'questioned' the crew of the official that was visiting. This ploy had worked numerous times with visiting officials, and allowed Zhao to stay one step ahead of the other commanders.
Looking satisfied, Zhao strolled out of the tent, with us falling into step behind him, and made his way down to the docks.
As we approached the small ship, I could see two people wearing Fire Nation uniforms standing in front of it, discussing in low voices. One was shorter and squat with white hair and a beard. The other was taller and younger-looking, with a large scar covering part of his face.
As we approached, the younger man's voice carried over to us.
"Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's alive, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"
Commander Zhao chose this point to make his presence known. "Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?"
The shorter man looked up while the prince whirled around. His amber eyes narrowed. "Captain Zhao" The dislike in his voice was obvious.
"It's Commander now" Zhao corrected him. "And General Iroh, great hero of our nation" He turned to the shorter man and bowed.
"Retired General" The old man replied, bowing back. Then his gaze landed on Zheng and me and he raised an eyebrow.
"My bodyguard and aide, Zheng, and Zorra." Zhao said, motioning to my brother, then to me.
"Welcome General Iroh, and welcome Prince Zuko" Zheng said, bowing to each in turn.
"It is an honor to have you both with us" I said, mimicking the gesture.
"The honor is ours" General Iroh bowed to us, and I worked to keep my face blank. I had heard rumors that the Dragon of the West was a very polite and well-mannered man. I could see now that the rumors were more than true. "Zuko" General Iroh turned to the Prince, who was scowling at all of us. "Do not be rude" Though the man's expression did not change, I detected a sudden firmness in the man's voice.
Zuko narrowed his eyes at his uncle, but finally he forced a small bow in Zhao's direction.
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime"' Zhao said, his words sounding sweet, but I could sense the forcefulness behind them. "What brings you to my harbor?"
"Our ship is being repaired" General Iroh answered, motioning with an outstretched hand to the ship behind him.
Now that we were closer to the ship, I could see that the damage I had observed before was, in fact, a lot more extensive and found myself wondering what in the world could have caused damage of that extent. I snuck a glance at Zheng and saw one of his eyebrows creep up. Clearly, he was wondering the same thing.
"That's quite a bit of damage" Zhao commented, like it wasn't obvious.
"Yes" Prince Zuko turned back to us, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You wouldn't believe what happened" He paused for a moment, then turned to General Iroh. "Uncle, tell Commander Zhao what happened!"
Clearly caught off guard, the old man spluttered for a moment before quickly recovering. "Oh..um…yes. I will do that" He raised his hand up enthusiastically, a happy expression on his face. "It was incredible…" He started to say and I braced myself for what was sure to be a great story. Then the general paused and leaned closer to his nephew. "What, did we crash or something?" He asked quietly.
Now the Prince looked uncomfortable. "Yes uncle, remember? We crashed...right into…an Earth Kingdom ship"
"Oh yes…right. That is exactly what happened" General Iroh said quickly, giving us a big grin.
Now I felt one of my eyebrows creep up. What kind of story was that? I glanced at Zheng and met is eye, which mirrored my own disbelief. These two were clearly hiding something.
"Really?" Zhao sounded as unconvinced as Zheng and I felt. "You must regale me with all the thrilling details" He said before leaning closer to Zuko, a predatory grin on his face. "Join me for a drink?"
From the look on the Prince's face, that was the last thing he wanted to do. "Sorry, but we have to go" He said before turning away.
As the prince started to walk away, General Iroh caught his sholder. "Prince Zuko. Show Commander Zhao your respect" He scolded gently before turning back to Zhao. "We would be honored to join you"
"Good" Zhao said before turning to my brother. "Find out what repairs need to be made on Prince Zuko's ship, and begin repair work at once" He ordered.
"Yes Commander" Zheng said, bowing before heading past the two men. I saw an uneasy expression appear on the prince's face as his gaze followed my brother.
"Do you have any Ginseng tea? It's my favorite." General Iroh asked, stepping forward.
That was my cue. "I would be happy to brew some for you, General Iroh" I purred, hitching a smile on my face as I fell into step beside the general.
The general's eyes lit up. "Would you? That would be wonderful, my dear. Thank you!"
I heard an annoyed snort from the prince behind me and fought to keep from smiling.
The prince fumed all the way back to the command tent. Upon entering, I showed Prince Zuko to a seat, though he refused to even look at me. General Iroh wandered over to a rack of weapons and began to examine them, while Commander Zhao stood in front of the map he had been studying earlier.
I started to brew tea, using spark rocks to light the fire, then I prepared the mixture and set the pot over the fire to boil. Then, making certain that neither Zuko nor Iroh were watching, I extended one hand and slowly made a fist. Almost immediately, steam began to seep out from the spout of the teapot as I made the water boil. In truth, I didn't even need the fire to boil tea, however, since we had company, and I was posing as just another soldier, I had to keep up appearances.
"We've made significant gains in the Earth Kingdom" Commander Zhao had begun speaking as I monitored the teapot. "Our forces here are as strong as they have ever been. Skirmishes with Earth Kingdom forces have been low, and the engagements we have been in have been favorable to us far more the enemy, thanks to the resourcefulness of our troops. Our forces continue to press their advance, and by years end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule." Zhao turned to face us. "The Fire Nation will finally claim victory in this war."
I hid a smirk as I took the teapot off the fire. Zhao liked to exaggerate in his reports. In truth the war between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom was far from decided. True, we had numbers, but the Earthbenders had the terrain on their side, and they had begun resorting to hit-and-run tactics that were starting to leave us spread thin. At this point, from what I could see, we were pretty much at a stalemate, though I didn't bring that up around the Commander.
As I poured the tea into three cups, Zuko looked up from where he was sitting, his face a mask of anger and annoyance. "If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, than he is a fool!" He snarled.
I paused, my eyes widening a little. It was rare for a member of the Fire Nation to show such open disrespect and aggression towards the Fire Lord, especially in the presence of a military commander but then again, Prince Zuko had been banished by the Fire Lord, so I suppose he had nothing to lose by being honest.
Zhao went to sit next to Zuko, a smirk on his face. "I see that two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue"
I set a teacup in front of Zhao, one in front of Zuko, and one in front of an empty chair where Iroh was going to sit and stepped backwards, my eyes flickering from one person to another.
Zhao took a sip of his tea, then turned to Zuko. "So tell me, how is your search for the Avatar going?" He asked in a somewhat mocking tone.
A loud crash made us look up to see that the weapons rack that Iroh had been examining had fallen over. Iroh had jumped away, cringing at the noise and wreckage he had caused. Upon seeing everyone looking at him, he grimaced and said "My fault, entirely" before backing away.
"We haven't found him yet" Zuko replied, his voice bitter, but felt my eyes narrow in suspicion, there was something...else about the prince. Something...guarded.
"Did you really expect to?" Zhao scoffed. "The Avatar died a hundred years ago, along with the rest of the Airbenders"
As Zhao spoke, I saw the prince's gaze shift to the floor and paused. There it was again! That uneasy air, the prince definitely knew something he wasn't telling.
Zhao must have noticed too, because his face slowly morphed into an expression of smugness. "Unless...you've discovered some...evidence that the Avatar...is alive" He probed.
Zuko looked Zhao in the eye. "No" He said before looking away. "Nothing"
Zhao was silent for a moment, then, to my surprise, he turned to look at me. "Zorra, didn't you tell me that you received a vision of the Avatar two years ago?" He asked.
I blinked as everyone looked at me, not quite sure why Zhao was bringing this up. "Um...yes, Commander I did, but it was of Avatar Roku, not his successor."
"Really?" Iroh asked as he wandered over to the table. "How interesting" He mused, looking strangely thoughtful.
"And do you believe that the current Avatar may still be alive?" Zhao asked, and suddenly I realized what the Commander was up to. He was trying to get the prince to slip up by having me call him out, rather than do it himself.
"Well..." I paused when I saw a flash of fear appear in Zuko's eye. For a second, I felt strangely guilty, but I pushed it down. I had orders to follow. "I do not know if the Avatar is alive or not, Commander Zhao, but..." I paused and met the Prince's gaze. "Based on how the prince was acting just now, I do believe he knows something he does not wish to share"
Prince Zuko sat stock still in his chair, his amber eyes blazing anger at me. I returned his gaze, calm and cool, like water. Time seemed to stand still for a minute.
I saw Zhao send me a pleased smirk before getting to his feet. "Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only person who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war." He urged, leaning forward until he and Zuko were face to face. "If you have an ounce of loyalty left to your country, you will tell me what you've found."
"I haven't found anything" The Prince replied. His voice was clear and calm and this time he looked Zhao directly in the eye. "It's like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago" He got to his feet. "Come on Uncle, we're gong!" He called as he headed for the tent entrance, only to be stopped by the two guards on duty, crossing their spears to bar his path.
I smiled as I refilled Zhao's teacup. I had seen enough of these meetings to know that Zhao never let something go until he was completely satisfied, and based on the way Zuko was acting, I suspected the prince wasn't going to be leaving this tent any time soon.
The rustling of the tent flap made me look up to see Zheng enter, a strangely solemn look on his face.
I tensed. I knew that look. Whatever news Zheng had, it must be important.
"Commander Zhao" Zheng spoke up. "I interrogated Zuko's crew, as you ordered. They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but allowed him to escape."
My eyes widened in surprise and I looked at Zhao, whose face bore a look of savage triumph
"Now, remind me." He said as he stalked towards Prince Zuko "How exactly was your ship damaged?" Zhao leaned forward to speak softly into the prince's ear, but somehow the whole room managed to hear the words.
As Zuko's head seemed to slump in defeat, Zhao turned to Zheng.
"How did it happen?" He asked.
"Apparently they found the Avatar hiding with the remnants of the Southern Water Tribe. He surrendered himself to protect the tribe, but later escaped with the aid of a flying bison, a water tribe warrior, and…" Zheng's gaze flickered to me before returning to Zhao. "…a waterbender"
My jaw dropped. A waterbender? I thought the Southern Water Tribe no longer had any of those!
"So, you had, not only the Avatar, but possibly the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe in your grasp, and you let both of them slip away." Zhao sneered at Zuko. "You're even more pathetic than I thought, letting an old man and a teenager best you"
"Actually sir, that is not quite accurate" Zheng spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Zhao turned to look at my brother, who looked a little unsure of himself.
"Based on the crew's description of the Avatar, I would estimate him to be...no older than twelve." Zheng said.
"What?" I was unable to stop the gasp that escaped my lips. Zuko and Iroh looked at me in confusion and I bowed my head.
"So, it's a new Avatar, then" Zhao reasoned. I saw General Iroh move to sit down and headed over to him with a fresh cup of hot tea.
Zheng shook his head as Iroh thanked me. "Doubtful. The boy was dressed in Air Nomad garb, complete with arrow tattoos, and his preferred element appeared to be air. He only used waterbending when he fell off the ship, and he didn't use Earth or Firebending at all"
"But...that doesn't make any sense" I spoke up. "How could the Avatar have lived for over a hundred years, and still be so young?"
"I don't know" Zhao looked thoughtful for a moment, then he turned to look at Zuko, who had, by this point, been ushered back to his seat by the guards, who now stood at attention behind him. "I don't suppose you have any answers to this, Prince Zuko?" He asked.
The Prince remained silent, pouting as he stared at the floor.
"No? Well, I guess I should expect as much" Zhao said mockingly. "After all, if you allowed a twelve year old boy to best you and your firebenders, then you are clearly not adept enough to process deeper mysteries like this one" That got Zuko attention.
"I underestimated him once, Commander, but it will not happen again!" The Prince exclaimed angrily, and I paused, caught by the fire that seemed to be smoldering in the prince's eyes. For some reason, I found it very hard to look away from him.
"No, you will not, because you won't get a second chance." Said Zhao.
For a moment, there was silence, then the prince leapt his feet. "Commander Zhao! I've been hunting the Avatar for two years, and I…"
"And you failed!" Zhao cut him off, whirling around, an arc of fire cascading from his hand. "Capturing the Avatar is too important a task to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Leave it to Commander Zhao to try to gain personal glory off of another person's goals. It was one of the commander's…less admirable traits.
With an angry roar, Prince Zuko suddenly leapt out of his chair and lunged for Zhao. I darted backwards, reaching out with my power towards the nearest sources of water available, ready to protect my commander, but my training kicked in and I froze, not wanting to reveal my abilities unless I had to.
Fortunately, the two guards behind Zuko managed to grab and restrain him before I needed to do anything.
"Keep them here" Zhao said, not even flinching at the prince's actions.
"Yes Commander" Zheng confirmed and we both bowed as Zhao left the tent.
I heard Zuko breathing heavily and glanced up to see him glaring after Zhao. Suddenly, lashed out with his foot, kicking over the table and sending the teapot and the cups flying.
I bit my lip to hold back a gasp of outrage as the teapot shattered on the ground. That was my favorite teapot!
"More tea please" Iroh looked at me expectantly.
"Yes General, right away" I said, trying to keep my face as expressionless as possible, but my voice was still tight with anger and I got a sympathetic look from Zheng as I left the tent.
My search for a new teapot and cups to replace the ones that bratty prince had broken took longer than expected. By the time I got back to the tent with a newly filled pot and cups, I saw that Commander Zhao had already returned.
"My search party is ready" I heard Zhao telling Zuko and Iroh as I entered. I saw, to my satisfaction, that Zuko and Iroh were both sitting in chairs in the center of the tent, closely monitored by Zheng and the other guards. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you'll be free to go"
"Why?" Zuko growled from his chair. "Are you worried I'll try and stop you?"
I raised an eyebrow at this. How did Zuko honestly expect to stop someone as powerful as Zhao?
Zhao started to laugh. "You? Stop me?" He said incredulously. "Impossible"
Zuko suddenly leapt to his feet, his eyes flashing. "Do not underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you!" Zuko vowed.
"Prince Zuko, that's enough!" General Iroh cautioned, getting to his feet as well.
Zhao snorted, his gaze never leaving the prince's face. "You cannot hope to compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, crewed by some of the best soldiers and benders in the world"
"You think that changes anything?" Zuko snarled.
An amused smirk appeared on Zhao's face. "I'd say it certainly gives me an advantage." He answered, holding his hands out, then motioning to Zuko. "I have all this, and you, you're just a banished prince, no home, no allies, your own father doesn't even want you"
I felt the corner of my mouth curve down into a frown. That was a low blow, even for Commander Zhao. I fought the urge to wince as an angry face from my past flashed through my mind, a face that looked a lot like mine. I saw Zheng bite his lip behind the Commander's back and shot him a sympathetic glance, which he returned.
"You're wrong!" Zuko argued, and I could hear the pain in his voice, though the young Prince tried to hide it. "Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor, and restore my rightful place on the throne"
"Is that so?" Zhao raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "I think that if your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar, or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure, and a disgrace to the Fire Nation"
I saw the prince's hands clench into fists and felt myself tense. While everything Commander Zhao was saying was, technically, correct, that didn't make it any less painful, and from what I could see of Prince Zuko, he was not a person to let an insult like that slide. This could get ugly, fast.
"That's not true" Zuko insisted, the pain in his voice becoming sharper. I caught Zheng's eye and he nodded. Silently, he assumed a stance behind Iroh's chair, while I focused on the tea in the pot I held in my hands, waiting to unleash it if the prince tried something.
"You have the scar to prove it" Zhao's smirk turned malicious as he went for the core of the Prince's shame.
With an angry roar, Zuko darted forward until his face was inches from Zhao's. Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I began to subtly move the tea in the pot, heating it up as I did so, though I didn't call it out yet. Instead, I pointed the spout towards the angry prince, ready to spray him with hot water...er...tea if he attacked.
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko shouted at Zhao.
I paused, my eyes widening. Was Zuko saying what I think he was saying?
"Is that a challenge?" Zhao asked, humor in his voice.
"An Agni Kai" Zuko confirmed. "At sunset"
For a moment, Zhao just gazed at the prince. "Very well" He said finally before taking a step back, allowing me to relax. "It's a shame your father is not here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do." Zhao turned to go. "Zorra, Zheng, with me" he ordered. Grateful to get away from the bratty Prince, I set down the teapot and moved to follow the commander.
"You do not believe that Zuko can win, Commander?" Iroh's voice stopped us. I turned to see the retired general gazing at Zhao with a stoic expression on his face.
Zhao chuckled as he turned back around. "Please, I think we both remember what happened the last time Zuko dueled a master"
Zuko looked at the ground and Iroh's expression darkened.
"That was then, commander, and this is now. Prince Zuko has trained hard over the last two years, and I am fully confident in his skills. So confident even, that I would like to propose a wager on this duel"
"What kind of wager?" Zhao asked, raising an eyebrow.
A small smile appeared on Iroh's face as he walked over to Zhao. "I would rather not burden my nephew...or your aides...with the details" Iroh's gaze flitted to me as he spoke. Under the eyes of the Dragon of the West, I suddenly felt exposed, my disguise stripped away, and I felt my pulse quicken. Did he know?
"So...shall we?" Iroh motioned to the tent flap. Zhao nodded and the two men left.
I exchanged a look with Zheng. He looked just as confused as I felt.
Whatever discussion took place between General Iroh and Commander Zhao didn't last very long. When they came back in, they both sported stoic expressions, but I could sense that Iroh's contained a bit of smugness and Zhoas' contained a flare of annoyance.
As Iroh headed back to his nephew, his gaze flitted towards me again and a small smile appeared on his face. "Oh Zorra" He said, coming to a stop, and I felt my pulse quicken again. "I do not believe I ever thanked you for the tea, it was delicious"
"Um...you're welcome, General" I said, giving Iroh a small bow before following Zheng and Commander Zhao out of the tent.
"What was that all about?" Zheng whispered to me as we followed Zhao back towards the troop quarters.
"I have no idea" I confessed, though I felt a sense of uneasiness in my gut.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Zheng and I spent most of it helping load the ship that was so serve as Commander Zhao's headquarters on his new hunt for the Avatar. I kept my disguise on, thinking that it would be better for 'Zorra' to see the Agni Kai, than the Water Dragon. As we moved this from the supply tent to the warship, I could see Zuko and Iroh going through some training maneuvers in an empty sparring field. I paused during one trip, watching as the Prince went through a basic kata almost flawlessly. The prince was clearly intent on winning the Agni Kai, though I questioned why he was only practicing basic moves. Zuko was going to need a lot more than that if he wanted to beat Zhao.
The two men suddenly noticed me watching and turned to look at me. Iroh smiled at me, while Zuko glared. I smiled back at Zuko, bowed to Iroh, and moved to re-join Zheng, who was waiting for me near the warship.
"Enjoying the view, were we?" He teased as I came up.
At first I was confused, then my eyes widened as I realized what he meant. At my expression, Zheng started laughing. "Oh, shut up!" I giggled, swatting him playfully as we headed below deck.
All too soon, it was sunset. All of us had reported to the area to watch the Agni Kai. I stood with Zheng and about a dozen soldiers, as Zhao knelt before us, wearing nothing except combat pants and a garment that hung off his shoulders. Across the arena Prince Zuko, dressed in similar garb, knelt in front of his uncle.
Almost in unison, both men rose, their shoulder garments coming off with the motion as they turned to face each other.
My breath caught as I gazed at the shirtless prince. He was a lot more muscular than I was expecting!
I felt someone nudge my waist and turned to see Zheng giving me a knowing look. He mouthed 'Zuko' and wiggled his eyebrows at me.
I stuck my tongue out at Zheng, but couldn't stop my face from heating up as we both turned back to watch the action.
"This will be over quickly" Zhao boasted as the two combatants stepped towards each other.
Zuko didn't answer, he just glared at Zhao.
One of the soldiers rang a gong to signal the start of the match and I felt excited as Zhao and Zuko assumed fighting positions. I had only witnessed a few Agni Kai's in my life, and they had been mostly against soldiers. I had never witnessed an Agni Kai with a firebending master like Commander Zhao.
For a moment, the two fighters just stood there, sizing each other up. Zuko struck first, launching two fire blasts at Zhao, who easily evaded them. Zuko fired two more blasts, but this time Zhao crossed his arms and moved them in a circular pattern, dissipating the flames with ease.
I could see Zuko was already panting from the effort of his attacks, and shook my head. Zuko must have channeled most of his energy into his first strikes, a big mistake to make when fighting a master, who knew when to conserve energy and when to expend it.
Zuko grit his teeth and whirled his leg up into a roundhouse kick, spraying flames towards Zhao, who cut through the blast with his hand, then another, and another. The Prince kept up the pressure, launching kick after kick, until Zhao finally ducked down under one blast and, sweeping his hands, shot a low fire blast at the prince, who was forced to halt his offensive and jump back.
As the smoke cleared, I could see that Zuko was panting heavily from fatigue. This confirmed my suspicions, Zhao was letting the prince tire himself out, and now that he was, he would be all but helpless before Zhao, who stalked forward eagerly.
"Basics Zuko! Break his root!" Iroh yelled from the other side of the arena. Zuko suddenly straightened up, looking more determined.
"He's done" Zheng snorted. I nodded in agreement, but deep down, I wasn't so sure.
Zhao punched a blast of fire at Zuko. Though the prince was able to dissipate the flames, he was forced to take a step backwards. Taking a step forward, Zhao punched fire again, with the same result. This happened two more times before Zhao, bringing his hands together, unleashed a larger blast than before, knocking the prince off his feet.
Zuko landed on his back, skidding across the metal floor of the arena and I winced, remembering how much of a painful rash sliding across that surface could give a person.
As the prince tried to get up, Zhao leapt forwards with an angry cry. Landing in front of Zuko, Zhao wasted no time in launching another fire blast at his downed opponent. I felt my breath catch, was this it? An Agni Kai usually ended when one combatant managed to knock the other one down and burn them.
What happened next was so fast I almost missed it. Zuko somehow found the energy to roll away from Zhao's attack and, using a swirl-like move I had never seen before, was able to get to his feet and sweep Zhao's legs out from under him, at the same time.
I let out a small gasp as Zhao staggered backwards. The prince faced him, all his fear from earlier gone, replaced with a confident grin that burned into my eyes like the sun.
Zuko stepped forward, turning his foot sideways to send a small wave of fire sliding towards Zhao, who continued to stumble backwards.
"What is he doing?" Zheng looked confused
"Breaking his root" I parroted what Iroh had yelled earlier, a smile forming on my face despite myself. Commander Zhao's firebending style was actually closer to earthbending than the commander would probably care to admit. He favored strong motions and attacks that were powerful, but not very quick. He also preferred to use his hands to firebend, rather than his feet, so by keeping Zhao off balance, the Prince was preventing the Commander from making a move. Very clever.
Zuko continued to force Zhao backwards, his leg movements becoming higher and higher until he was now kicking fire at Zhao. After one such kick, I noticed that Zhao was now starting to falter, barely able to deflect this attack in time. With an angry growl, Zuko attacked again, and this time Zhao could not act fast enough. The attack knocked him off his feet and sent him rolling backwards across the arena floor.
Everyone in the arena tensed as Zhao came to a stop and Zuko rushed to stand over him, poised to deliver the final blow.
"No" I heard Zheng hiss under his breath and my eyes narrowed. My brother had always had a stronger bond with the commander than I had and he hated to see Zhao get hurt, even in sparring. But even the Lava Bear was powerless to stop an Agni Kai.
We waited for Zuko to land the final blow, but the Prince just stood there, as if waiting for something.
Zhao raised his head. "Do it!" He yelled.
My felt sudden panic rush through me, what was Zhao thinking? Why was he egging the prince on?
With a grunt, Zuko launched a fire blast and I tensed, waiting for the cry of pain that always signaled the end of an Agni Kai, but it never came.
Zuko's fire blast missed Zhao, striking the ground next to the commander's head. I raised an eyebrow, what was the Prince doing? I thought as Zuko broke fighting stance.
"That's it? Your father raised a coward" Zhao spat from the arena floor.
"Consider that a warning, Zhao" Zuko replied, his voice still radiating anger, but now it was controlled, like a fiery torch compared to the raging inferno his anger had been earlier. "Get in my way again, and I promise you, I won't hold back"
The Prince then turned his back on the commander and started to walk away. I heard gasps and muttering among the assembled soldiers, and I couldn't blame them. Rarely did an Agni Kai end this way, without serious injury to one of the combatants. Even so though, something in me felt happy that the prince had chosen mercy over a clear victory.
As Zhao got to his feet, I saw that his arms were tense, his hands curled into fists, and my bliss vanished, replaced by cold dread. I had a feeling what was about to happen, even though I knew it was impossible. Surely Zhao isn't going to...
Before I could finish my thought, the commander let out a vicious cry and whirled, aiming a powerful kick of fire at the Prince's back.
I gasped in horror before I felt myself moving, rushing out into the arena as the light from Zhao's attack filled the sky. However, as the light cleared, I saw that General Iroh had, somehow, appeared in front of Zuko, dissipating the attack, and grasping the Commander's foot. The general than tossed Zhao away, causing him to slide backwards across the arena floor.
"Commander!" I heard Zheng exclaim behind me as I rushed to the Commander's side.
"Commander, are you okay?" I said, plastering a worried look on my face.
Realizing that he had almost become the victim of a sneak attack, Zuko charged forward angrily, causing us to jump back into fighting stances, only for Iroh to bar the prince's path.
"No, Prince Zuko, do not taint your victory" He warned, before turning to us, disappointment written all over his face. "So, this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, it appears that my nephew is more honorable than you"
I bit my lip as I saw Zhao tense slightly on the ground. The one thing that Zhao could not tolerate was having his honor questioned, even though I will admit that some of his actions appeared to be less than honorable. But everyone knew better than to bring that up around Zhao.
"I only hope, commander" Iroh continued "...that you will still uphold the terms of the wager that you agreed to"
Zhao's sudden intake of breath was as close to a gasp as I had ever heard from him. But when he got to his feet a moment later, his face was livid. "Leave her out of this!" He snarled with such rage that I fought the urge to wince.
Iroh's face darkened. "Commander Zhao!" Iroh growled, and I this time I did cringe. Who knew such a jolly man could sound so angry? "Need I remind you that...?"
"Zorra is too good to serve under a cowardly prince!" Zhao yelled, cutting the general off.
"What?" I gasped, my eyes widening in surprise. How had my name been drawn into this?
"What?" I heard Zheng gasp as well.
"That decision is no longer yours to make, Commander Zhao" Iroh said sternly, he was still glaring at the commander.
"General Iroh, what are you talking about?" Zheng asked.
I blinked as a sudden thought struck me, and then bit my lip as dread crept down my spine. If the general meant what I think he did...
"I am referring to the wager that Commander Zhao and I made before the Agni Kai began." Iroh explained. "If Commander Zhao were to win the duel, than I was to leave my nephew's service, and enter into his"
"WHAT?" Zuko looked alarmed. "Uncle, why would you...?"
"However…" Iroh cut his nephew off, raising a hand to signal silence. "If Zuko were to win the duel, than you, Zorra…" I tensed as Iroh's gaze slid to me. "...would leave Commander Zhao's service, and join my nephew's crew, as his new aide"
I heard a small gasp escape my lips as Iroh confirmed my suspicions, and the feeling of dread only grew stronger as I heard Zheng exclaim in shock and outrage. There was only one reason I could think of as to why Iroh would want me to join his nephew's crew so badly.
"Her? Uncle, why would I want her as an aide, or even a part of my crew at all?" Zuko scoffed, causing me to scowl at him.
"Well..." Iroh replied calmly, keeping his gaze on me. "In addition to her excellent tea-making skills..." I felt a small blush come over my face at Iroh's compliment "...I have no doubt that you will find the abilities of the legendary Water Dragon...useful in your hunt for the Avatar. Especially since we now know the Avatar currently travels with a water-bender of his own."
I tried to keep my face expressionless as Zuko's eyes widened in surprise and he turned to look at me, but inside I felt uneasiness creeping up my spine. Iroh and I had never met before, so how could he have possibly known about my abilities?
The tea! I suddenly realized and mentally cursed myself. I had used my powers to speed up the boiling of the tea during the meeting! Iroh must have seen me doing it! How could I have been so reckless?!
"You are the Water Dragon?" Zuko asked me, seemingly in disbelief.
"I am" I replied in the coldest voice I could muster. "Is that going to be a problem for you, my Prince?" As I spoke, I slowly waved my hand through the air, gathering moisture around my fingers before hardening them into ice claws, flexing them intimidatingly at the last two words.
To Zuko's credit, he did not flinch at the display, like many of the soldiers had done. Instead, he scowled, his amber eyes narrowing as he returned my stare. "No" He said finally, but his tone, while even, seemed forced. "No problem at all"
"Wonderful" Iroh smiled. "If there are no problems, then let us proceed." Turning to Zheng, he added. "When can we expect the repairs on our ship to be completed?"
Zhang glared at Iroh, but his tone remained formal as he replied "By morning"
"Good, then come morning, we will expect to see you on our ship, Zorra." Iroh said.
"No!" I was expecting an argument, but to my surprise, it came from Zheng, not Zhao. "You have no right to take my sister!" He glared at the general.
"Sister?" Iroh looked confused for a moment, then realization appeared on his face. "Ah, then you must be the Lava Bear."
"What?" Zuko's eyes widened in surprise again.
Zheng scowled General Iroh, his fists clenched. "You know who I am..." He said dangerously. "...then you must know what happens to those whom I disagree with"
I tensed as I felt a slight tremor in the ground beneath me. The threat in Zheng's voice couldn't have been more clear, even if the ground at his feet had not suddenly cracked. I saw Zuko move to stand between Zheng and his uncle, his amber eyes narrowed challengingly.
"Stand down, Zheng" Commander Zhao held a hand up to dissuade my brother, then he turned to Iroh. "Your powers of observation are surprisingly efficient, General Iroh" His eyes narrowed as he spoke, his voice suddenly alive with barely-disguised malice. "I'm starting to wonder if you had foreseen this result from the very beginning"
I gasped at this, looking from Zhao to Iroh. could the Commander be right? Had Iroh set us all up?
"How dare you accuse my uncle of something like this!" Zuko stepped forward. "Especially since you have no proof!"
"How else do you explain his certainty that a mere child like you was able to defeat a firebending master like me?" Zhao argued, his voice tight.
"I would say it was because you underestimated me, Zhao" Zuko replied, before a smile formed on his face "And now you are paying the price for it"
Zhao's face became absolutely livid at the prince's taunt and I knew, from personal experience, that the Commander was close to losing his cool again.
"Zuko, that is enough!" Iroh scolded his nephew before turning back to Zhao. "Commander, your actions alone have already brought you disrespect in the eyes of everyone assembled here, and these baseless accusations that you now throw at me are doing little to salvage what you have lost" Iroh's voice was soft, but no one seemed to have a problem hearing him. "If you have any sense of honor at all, you will uphold the bargain we agreed on"
Zhao glared at the old general, seething, his hands clenched into fists.
I waited with baited breath, my mind whirring as I struggled to figure a way out of this mess, but I couldn't see any. While it was true that I had wanted to see more of the world, serving under a bratty prince and a surprisingly conniving retired general was not the way I had envisioned myself doing that!
"Commander, please. don't do it" Zheng begged, even though it was pointless. We both knew that there was no way out for me.
Zhao must have realized that too, because he finally sighed, seemingly in defeat "Fine. Take her" He spat at Iroh, who beamed.
"Commander!" Zheng's outburst sounded as horrified as his face looked.
"The Dragon of the West is correct." Zhao said solemnly. "I am honor bound to the bargain I made with him." He turned to me. "Zorra, you are to return to your quarters at once, where you will pack your things and have them transferred to Prince Zuko's ship. Effective tomorrow morning, you will no longer serve with this unit, but will serve under Prince Zuko as his new aide and bodyguard. You will take orders only from him or General Iroh, and you will treat them with the same level of respect and discipline that you have shown while serving under me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Commander" I replied, trying to keep my voice steady, as conflicted feelings wrestled inside of me. My excitement of being able to travel fought against my horror of being separated from Zheng, who was the only real family I had left. From the look on Zheng's face, I could see the feeling was somewhat mutual for him as well.
"Excellent, then we will leave you to say your goodbyes, Zorra" General Iroh nodded at me, before turning to walk towards the other end of the arena. Zuko cast a suspicious look at me before following after his uncle.
"Zorra" I looked up to meet the Commander's gaze. "When you have gathered your things, report to me for final debriefing"
I nodded and Zhao turned away, signaling that I had been dismissed.
Sighing, I turned and began to make my way through the assembled soldiers, many of whom move out of my way like I was parting a river. I saw many soldiers were shooting me confused looks, but when their friends whispered in their ears, their faces went from confused to astonished. I realized that my disguise, and probably Zheng's as well, were useless now, as word that 'Zorra' was really the Water Dragon and 'Zheng' the Lava Bear would spread through the camp like wildfire. Even if I was not being forced to go with Zuko, I would no longer be able to enjoy the anonymity that my painted face and eye lenses had provided me.
I struggled to keep my emotionless mask in place as I left the arena. As I slowly made my way through the tents towards my own, I saw soldiers rushing from tent to tent and mouths whispering into ears. It seemed the news was spreading already. Some soldiers were already starting to look at me funny. I wondered if they would be looking at Zheng the same way. He was not going to enjoy that.
Despite my orders from Zhao, I took my time getting back to my tent, trying to enjoy what freedom I had left, for however long I had it. Eventually however, I found myself outside my tent, and forced myself to go inside. I washed my makeup off and removed my eye lenses, then started gathering my things. There wasn't very much, as Commander Zhao had taught the two of us to travel light. My mirror and makeup table were my biggest possessions, so I was going to need help moving those, but everything else I could take on one trip.
As I packed my possessions into a bag, I heard the tent flap rustle behind me.
"Zorra?" I looked up to see Zheng standing in the entrance. "Are you okay?"
As I stared at my brother, my vision suddenly began to blur. I bit my lip to keep the sudden flow of tears in my eyes from running down my face. While I should have been grateful that Zheng was so concerned about me, his presence was, at the moment, making me feel the exact opposite of okay. Sure, Zheng and I had been separated before, but who knew how long the prince's hunt for the Avatar was going to take? It might be months, or even years before I saw my brother again.
Some of my despair must have shown because the next thing I knew, Zheng was standing in front of me, wrapping his arms around me.
In the confines of my brother's hug, I finally broke, and began to sob quietly into his shoulder.
"I know. I don't like it either" Zheng said soothingly, rubbing my back. "I tried to convince Commander Zhao not to let you go, I even offered to go in your stead, but he wasn't having it"
I chuckled and gave Zheng a watery smile, grateful at the lengths my brother had gone to try to keep me here. "Zheng, you know that you've always been the Commander's favorite. He was never going to let you go" I said, reluctantly pulling myself out of my brother's grasp.
"He shouldn't have to let you go either" Zheng's face took on an angry expression.
"But he did, Zheng." I said, my smile fading. "Commander Zhao offered me, literally offered me in a gamble! Like I was some kind of prize to be won!"
"I know"' Zheng's scowl darkened. "How cold he do that to us?"
For a moment, neither of us said anything. We just stood there. gazing at each other.
The rustling of the tent flap made ups look up. I quickly wiped the tears off my face as a soldier ducked under the flap.
"I have been sent to take Zorra's things to Prince Zuko's ship." The soldier said briskly. "Commander Zhao is waiting for you in the commander's tent" He added to me.
"Right. Thank you" I nodded to the soldier as I made to move past him, but paused when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I looked up in surprise to see him looking at me with an apologetic expression on his face.
"Good luck, Water Dragon" He said, before smiling at me.
I returned the smile as he released my shoulder and followed Zheng out of the tent.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who will be sad to see you go" Zheng commented. I gave my brother a playful nudge of gratitude as we moved through the field of tents. There were more soldiers out now, and from the way they were looking at Zheng and me, it was clear that Iroh's revelation had already circulated through the camp. Many of the soldiers had annoyed looks on their faces, including the one I had heard bragging to his friends earlier, but others were looking at us with respect, I even saw admiration on some of their faces. A few even bowed as we walked past.
"I guess you won't be able to hide anymore" I sad jokingly as we left the tent field and walked along the shore towards the commander's tent.
"You were always better at it than me anyway." Zheng chuckled.
"You just don't like wearing makeup do you?" I joked.
Zheng chuckled. "Yeah, once the soldiers find out I've been wearing makeup, I'll be laughed right out of the army"
"They wouldn't dare laugh at you" I said sincerely as we approached the commander's tent.
Inside, we found Commander Zhao seated in a chair. He looked up as we entered.
"Have you packed your things?" he asked me.
"They are being loaded onto the prince's ship now" I replied.
"Good" Zhao said as he came to stand in front of me. "Now, listen carefully, Zorra, before you leave, I want to talk to you about something very important."
That got my attention. "Yes sir?" I asked.
"I want to talk with you about…spying" Zhao said.
My eyes widened as realization set in. "You want me to spy on Prince Zuko?"
"Yes" Zhao nodded. "Though I had not intended to lose the Agni Kai, I now realize that this puts me in a perfect position to learn what Prince Zuko knows about the Avatar, and possibly hinder his efforts while I prepare my own. I want you to get close to him, say whatever you have to say to get into his good graces, do whatever you have to do to get him and his uncle to trust you. Lie to them, charm them if you have to, but find out what he knows and report it back to me. And if the prince somehow finds the Avatar, do whatever you can to sabotage his efforts to capture him, without blowing your cover, do you understand?"
"Yes sir, I understand." I nodded, though I didn't feel much better. Sure, I was a little happier knowing that Zhao was treating me more than a prize, and I had no love for Prince Zuko, considering his actions earlier, but having me pretend to like the Prince, only to betray him, wasn't making me feel much better
"Good" Zhao said, and to my surprise, he placed his hands on my shoulders. "Zorra, this may well be the most important mission you will ever undertake in your service to the Fire Nation. The Avatar is the reason this war has dragged on for so long. He is the greatest threat to the Fire Nation's dream of uniting the nations of the world. He has to be captured, but Prince Zuko doesn't have the manpower, or the skill to do this. He is too blinded by his obsession to regain his lost honor to realize this, so it is up to you to make certain he fails, for his own safety, and so that he can no longer bring dishonor to the Fire Nation."
Before I could reply, a resulting made us look up to see a soldier entering the tent.
"The Water Dragon's belongings have all been moved about the prince's ship." He announced.
"Good. Zheng, escort your sister to Prince Zuko's ship, then come find me on mine. We will leave as soon as you are ready" Zhao instructed.
Zheng nodded, while I bowed formally to Commander Zhao. Zhao nodded back, signaling my dismissal.
"Well, do you feel better now?" Zheng asked as the two of us left the tent into the darkening air.
"A little" I admitted. Though the weight of my situation was still there, I did feel better knowing that Zhao had not blindly risked my services in a gamble, though I had to admit that having me spy on the Prince didn't sound much better.
"I suppose this would be a bad time to say 'I told you so'" Zheng smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes, but smiled as we made our way down to the docks. Zuko's ship, still dwarfed by the ships around it, was easy enough to see, even at night, so we stopped at the edge of the pier.
"I'll go alone from here. You wouldn't want to keep Commander Zhao waiting" I said to Zheng.
He nodded, then the two of us clasped hands, before embracing each other. It was our way of saying goodbye before one of us went on a mission or into a battle.
"I will see you again, sister" Zheng promised me.
"I will see you again, brother" I promised Zheng.
Smiling, we released each other, then I turned and headed down the pier until I reached Zuko's small ship.
Here we go! I took a deep breath, and walked up the ramp. Prince Zuko, General Iroh, and a man I did not recognize were waiting for me at the top.
"Welcome Zorra" Iroh greeted me with a warm smile. "I am so happy that you will be joining us on this exciting adventure!"
Prince Zuko scoffed, and I seriously felt like doing the same thing. But I was on a mission, so I simply smiled and bowed respectfully to Iroh. "Thank you for having me, General Iroh."
I saw a confused expression appear on Zuko's face out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't look at him.
The third man stepped forward. "I'm Lieutenant Jee, captain of this ship. It is an honor to have you aboard, Water Dragon" He sad, before bowing to me.
"The honor is mine, Lieutenant" I returned the bow.
"If you will follow me, I will show you to your quarters" Jee motioned before turning away.
"Thank you, Lieutenant" I said, following him towards the hatch. As I walked, I could feel the prince's gaze on me. Curious, Prince Zuko? I thought, allowing a secretive smile to appear on my face. Good. Let's keep it that way.
And Cut!
I know a lot of people were interested in seeing this started, so here you go! I spent most of my free time the last three days grinding this chapter out, and I think it shows! I do apologize for the length of this chapter, but I just...couldn't seem to stop writing!
I will be uploading to this story on an irregular basis, but, as is the case with all my stories, the more hits and reviews I get, the faster the next chapter may come out!
Until Next Time!