Zuko looked up at the entrance. Maybe it was the fourth time or the fifth, he didn't know. Could have been more.
"You look disturbed today, nephew. Waiting for a particular someone, perhaps."
Zuko glared at his uncle but didn't say anything. He just turned and walked inside to grab more napkins.
His uncle wasn't wrong though. In the past few days he had seen her, she had always been there when they'd re-open the shop after the lunch break. Not once was she late. So her being three hours late was making him feel a bit...unsettled.
But he shouldn't be caring about it, should he?
He shook his head quickly before going back to his chores.
"Here?" Toph asked
"Yeah. A bit to the left, yeah there. It looks good. Appa, you comfortable, bud?"
Appa groaned in reply.
"He's comfortable," Aang smiled, sliding down Appa's side.
"Alright." Iris nodded and crouched down, "Let's get working."
She positioned her dagger and began carving out the rune on the small rock.
"The same on all?" Katara asked
"Yep,"
Together with Katara, the two of them finished carving the rocks in about 10 minutes.
"There," she exhaled, taking a deep breath, "all done."
She got up and gestured for Aang to walk out of the rock circle surrounding Appa's place on the lawn.
"Okay," she exhaled and picked her spellbook, opening to the dog-marked page.
"You think this will work?" Sokka asked
"This has to." she stretched out her hand and started reciting the spell in her head. Her hands doing the wand movement required.
Once she was done, the runs on the stones started glowing and in a flash, there was a dome around Appa, that quickly disappeared.
"It didn't work?" Aand asked
Iris smiled, closing her book as she picked a small rock and gave it to Aang, "Try it."
Aang looked at the rock, at Appa, back at the rock. Then he took it and flung it. the rock collided with an invisible wall and fell down.
"It works!" he grinned
Iris chuckled.
"It won't hurt Appa, would it?" Sokka asked
"Nah. I modified the spell. Appa will be fine. And the spell will hold irrespective of whether I'm here or not. So, a win-win for now."
"You really think they would target Appa?" Katara asked
Iris took a deep breath, "I do not want to take any risk. What they can or cannot do is not something I'm going to risk finding out. It is best if we cover all our tracks, watch our backs and just remain skeptical and safe. It is better to be paranoid than carefree for the rest of our stay here."
She turned to Toph, "Bury these."
Toph did her earthbending move and all the runic stones were buried under the earth. Iris then did a little magic to regrow the grass so nothing would seem out of the regular. She then reached and touched the shield, it stood just alright.
"Well, it's a little late. Who's hungry for late lunch?" Katara asked
"Starving!" Aang complained while others chuckled, "We've been at it for the last hour or so."
"Kid, it's only been, roughly 35 minutes."
Aang grinned at her before he ran inside.
"Are you gonna go to the tea shop?" Sokka asked
Iris took a breath, "Actually, I'm going back to the palace. I wanna check up on the King and see what's his agendas are when he not sleeping."
"And Long Feng?"
"I'll see." she exhaled
Iris wasn't exactly sure what to make of the King. She didn't even know how he was ruling. Was he even ruling?
More than 70% of decisions were influenced by Long Feng and Long Feng alone. No wonder that bastard had so much power over the city affairs. And that son of a bitch barely left the king alone to his devices. the King either had Long Feng or a Dai Li agent at least, with him.
The guard and security around the palace had definitely increased and it had proven to a little bit of inconvenience but nothing more.
She followed Long Feng more than the King since he was the major antagonist.
She followed him like a shadow, hoping to find something. What was that something she was looking for, she didn't know. But something was better than nothing. In the end, there wasn't much. Despite being pretty much alone, Long Feng was very careful and secretive. And there was only so much Iris could do without tipping him off that something was amiss.
As she sat there, looking at him, she did a quick Tempus. 6.30 PM.
She didn't suppose there was much she could find right now. So she got up and started walking. She took a couple of turns only to realize...she was lost.
"what the fuck?" she looked around, wondering which door to open or which hallway to enter. So she did a point me spell for the nearest exit. She followed her spell's directions, down the staircases and along the hallways only for her to end up in that hallway down the prison place. Oh great, she was under the damn lake.
Her spell led her to a different route and soon enough she came across a small hatch, like a vent but slightly bigger. No grown man would fit in but she was small enough. She checked the other side and finding no one, opened crawled into it. The vent was a bit long but soon enough she saw the light.
Wait, what?
As she exited and walked around, she saw the lake.
"Okay," she muttered, looking back at the vent that was more or less covered in shrubbery. It was covered quite nicely and if one didn't know where to look, she didn't think they'd even know the vent existed.
She exhaled and went to sit by the lake. She had to find a way to talk to the King. Show him what's going on in reality.
She exhaled, swishing her hand under the water. She pressed her lips when she felt a familiar pull, which made her take a deep breath.
It had been about a week and a half since her last spiritual projection trial and while she had been reading about it and practicing, she didn't know how far she could go when it came to practicality.
She closed her eyes and assumed her meditating position.
Those three hours turned to six and eventually the time came for the shop to close but she hadn't shown up.
"I wonder where she got busy today. I didn't think I'd miss her presence."
Zuko looked at his uncle and raised a brow, "You miss her?"
"She does always order the most peculiar tea combinations, leaves good tips, and has a good and calming nature. And she's quite friendly." he smiled, "though it looks like I wasn't the only one who missed her presence."
Zuko looked away, "I don't know what you are talking about."
Iroh smiled, despite knowing that Zuko was not going to see it.
"I'm going for a stroll."
Duck. Lunge. Pull back. Right. Left foot. Block right. Block left. Turn. Right up. Tw-
"Ouch!" she yelped when Duova's dagger's blunt side slid against her side.
She pulled back and checked it to see a bruise forming.
"You are leaving certain openings. Any skilled fighter can easily figure those openings and then it won't be the blunt dagger that would hurt you."
Iris nodded, feeling her body now starting to ache with soreness and tightness.
"Now. I'd like to see how far have you come with Spiritual Projection."
She sat in front of Duova and began taking deep breaths. she put everything that Duova had taught her so far and what she had read in the book.
After a little while, she felt lighter and then weird feeling. As if she was floating but she could feel the rough ground under her.
"Hmm...Impressive."
What?
"Iris, now I want you to open your eyes without opening them."
Iris wanted to grit her teeth but didn't wish to break her concentration.
"Open your eyes, Iris."
What the hell. She slowly opened her eyes and felt...different. it was a different point of view. She looked around and-
"what in the name of-" she paused, knowing Duova was nearby.
She saw herself, or her body sitting there. She looked down at herself and she seemed translucent. she raised her hands and checked them. And then it flickered,
"What?" she muttered, her voice sounding in her ears and her head at the same time.
And then she felt a surge of energy and she opened her eyes with a gasp. She supported herself with her arms as she almost fell forward.
"what was that?!" she gasped, trying to normalize her breaths.
"You are not powerful enough to hold your projection for long and this is expected of young energybenders. It takes time. With enough practice, you can hold your projections even in the physical world with no hassle."
"so what? Everyday practices?"
"That'd be correct."
"Wonderful," she muttered getting back in her position.
"I'd like to see you in a week to assess your development."
Iris nodded and began meditating.
As soon as she returned to the physical world, she slumped and laid down on the ground, the cool breeze from the lake providing her some comfort. she tried to move, but her limbs felt sore and she felt utterly uncomfortable with the sweat drenching her top. A quick Tempus told her it was around dinner time.
She was not walking back home in that disgusting state.
She quickly removed her top, and conjured some water, using it to heal her soreness. Once she was sure she could maneuver her limbs in a better way, she used Scourgify on her top before putting it on. She stood up, worked her knots a little more, and then made her way back.
Zuko was expecting the stroll to be a casual walk. It gave him time to think about various things. What could his father and Azula be planning next? How could he find his destiny? He wanted to find his destiny but wasn't sure how. Iroh wasn't much of a help either. Was this going to be his life? Making tea and serving customers?
In his distracted state of mind, he wandered quite far away and near the lake he had heard locals talk about. It was getting quite late but he guessed a quick look of the lake won't hurt. He had never seen the lake before.
She made his way through a dirt path. Under the night sky, the lake looked beautiful. He just looked around when he spotted someone sitting by the banks. He wouldn't have paid much mind to whosoever it was had he not spotted the familiar white hair in a braid. What was she doing here?
And then, to his surprise, she reached and bent some water out of the lake and applied it over her body. He knew she was a firebender. He had seen her firebend. But how come she can bend water as well? This just confused him further.
Suddenly, she pulled over her tunic, got up, and walked away.
Who exactly was she?
By the time Iris got back to the house, Katara had already begun dinner preparations.
"Hey, how do meat kebabs and...wagashi dessert sound?" Katara asked
Iris stretched her neck and shoulders, "Sounds good. But I'd be skipping."
"You okay?" Aang asked
"Just tired and sore." she rubbed the back of her neck, "I'd be taking a hot bath and the sleep. Lemme know if something severe happens."
She walked into her room, drew her bath, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and taking care of herself.
Next morning,
"So, if we have to get to the King, we have to get rid of Long Feng," Sokka noted
"Uh-huh." she nodded, "But here's the thing, I got no clue how severely he has poisoned the King's mind. Also, Dai Li is super loyal to him. So that's another thing we have to take care of."
"How are we going to get rid of an army of elite earthbender?" Katara asked
"I have no clue." Iris muttered, exasperated, "Toph, is there anything you can do about those stone gloves?"
"I've never seen them before. My guess is as good as yours."
"Can't we just ask them to let us see the King?"
"They've put us on a wait-list for a month. they don't want us to the King."
"Sokka's right." she exhaled, leaning back, "Somehow, we have to get the King ourselves."
"Are you sure we can't just storm in?" Toph punched her other palm, "I won't mind kicking some butts."
"Appreciate the enthusiasm but" she took a deep breath, "I might have caused a little issue and they have now pretty much doubled the palace security. We can't storm in like that. We'd have our arses handed to us pretty quick."
"You sound like a wussy."
"A wussy who's a realist." she rolled her eyes, "Look, Toph this is their turf. We just can't go in not knowing what to expect. Right now, our problem ain't the King. It's Long Feng. We have to get rid of him."
"Say, Iris, what if Long Feng was to disappear all of a sudden," Katara asked
Iris checked Katara up and down, "Are you okay?"
"I like the plan, let's do this."
"Sit your arse down, tough girl."
"Are you talking about kidnapping Long Feng?" Aang asked
"He's the thorn in our way, right?"
"Yeah, but won't that trigger Dai Li?" Sokka asked, "Might make us look suspicious."
Iris nodded, "We have to pretty careful. We are already treading on thin ice because guess what, Long Feng knows we are a threat to him and his stupid non-sense as long as we are here. So we have to be careful."
"Why don't you talk to the King?" Aang asked her
She sighed and pressed her lips, "Long Feng rarely leaves him by himself. They're pretty much always together which is fucking frustrating. If somehow those two did not happen to be together for even 30 minutes, I can probably work something out."
"Maybe we can make a distraction." Katara suggested, "On a level that would make Long Feng come out, and then you'd get your chance."
Iris nodded, thoughtfully, "Everything has to be done carefully, precisely and with proper planning."
"I'll start working on it." Sokka said
"Fair enough." she got up, "Kid, you free?"
He shrugged, "I don't have anything to do exactly."
"Good, I could use some help. You three start planning something."
Iris turned and walked to the backyard, Aang following her. she stopped under the tree and looked at him.
"Do you know Spiritual bending?"
Aang thought for a second, "I was taught about it in lessons but I never practically learned it."
"Oh," she pressed her lips, "Can you give me some pointers? I've read so much about it but can't seem to get a grip on it."
"I can try."
"Thank you."
"Let's do it!"
She chuckled, "Let's do it."
Zuko's peripheral vision remained at the entrance where there was still no sign of the girl. After yesterday's absence, and the fact that she can bend more than one element, he was hoping she'd come so he could ask her certain questions. But she still wasn't here. It was about to be lunchtime soon enough.
But then his attention was back onto another particular girl. He quickly piled the dirty cups on the tray and behind the counter where Iroh was.
"Uncle, we have a problem. One of the customers is on to us. Don't look now, but there is a girl over there at the corner table. She knows we're Fire Nation. I knew we couldn't trust Avatar's companion."
Iroh craned to look at the girl, but Zuko forced Iroh to turn made Iroh grin.
"Didn't I say don't look!" Zuko snapped
Iroh chuckled "You're right Zuko. I've seen that girl in here quite a lot. Seems to me she has quite a little crush on you."
"What?!" and then the girl's words hit him. Was this the girl she had warned him about?
"Thank you for the tea."
Zuko, slightly startled, turned around to see her. She handed him a few coins. He took the money and was about turn around ad walk away when,
"What's your name?"
Zuko's face tightened. He might not like it but it wasn't the girl's problem. she deserved the politeness.
"My name's Lee. My Uncle and I moved here a while ago."
"Hi Lee, my name is Jin. I saw you when you were working at Pao's and the tea was great. And then I heard that you and your Uncle opened a new shop in the upper circle. It's nice."
Zuko gave a curt nod.
"Uh... well, I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime?"
That stunned him despite knowing it would be coming. He started racking his brain to politely decline her offer but before he could open his mouth,
"He'd love to!" Iroh piped in
What?!
But a smile grew on Jin's face, "Great! I will meet you in front of the shop at sundown."
And she turned and left, leaving him standing bewildered as his uncle threw an arm around his shoulders with a large, goofy grin on his face again.
"You did a lot better than I expected."
She smiled, "I'm still far from perfecting it but thank you, kid. I wish I could just have those projections in the physical world too."
"it's not easy but I'm sure you can do it." he smiled, "I have to say that all this spirit training is making me hungry."
That made her laugh. "That makes both of us. Come on. Let's see what Katara has decided to cook up"
Well, they found a bot of chaos in the kitchen.
"Uh...I'm almost afraid to ask, but what the fuck is going on?"
"Iris! Can you pls tell her to cook something else? I'm tired of eating the same five things."
"I'm not your personal chef! and this is not a restaurant!"
"Maybe you both should calm down," Aang tried but got glares from both the siblings.
"Iris?" he looked at her
"Guys, come on. We have bigger issues. Food is not really something we should be fighting about. Sokka, we have priorities bigger than what we get to eat and Katara's doesn't know how to cook a variety of cuisine. Come on, guys. Give each other a break."
"Or we can go out to eat tonight."
Everyone looked at Toph and she just shrugged.
"You know what, that's actually not a bad idea. Let's do it. Does anyone know a good place around?"
"I do!" Sokka exclaimed
"alright. Tonight's dinner is planned."
Zuko would probably do anything to get of this...situation.
He was so out of his depth at the moment, he even lost his appetite.
"So, how do you like the city so far?"
"It's ok."
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"Nothing."
Zuko looked up from his plate as the waiter approached them and directed his attention to him, "Excuse me, sir. Would you and your girlfriend care for dessert?"
That touched a nerve and next thing, he pounded the table with his fist, "She is not my girlfriend!"
The restaurant went quiet as everyone glances over at him. The waiter walked away and Zuko laced his fingers and looked around at Jin who seemed to have not taken any kind of offense or, indeed, any form of notice to this outburst. In fact, she was devouring noodles from a bowl at an alarming rate.
Zuko sighed and looked around and pretty much froze.
Avatar, the girl, and their friends walked into the restaurant, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Another waiter approached the whole group and led them to a table...right across from him. The girl sat on the other side such that he and she were both face to face. She hadn't seen him yet and he wished things remained that way.
He blinked once before directing his attention back at Jin. He almost stuttered, trying to figure out anything to say.
"You have... quite an appetite for a girl."
Internally he cringed. Iroh would never forgive that.
"Um, thanks. So, Lee, where were you and your Uncle living before you came here?"
"Um, well, we've been traveling around for a long time."
"Oh! Why were you traveling so much?"
He just so happened to look across, trying to think of an answer, and found the group laughing and chatting.
"We were uh, a part of this traveling circus."
"Really? What did you do? Wait, lemme guess, you juggled!"
Zuko, arms folded paused for a moment before responding. "Yes. I juggled."
"I've always wanted to learn how to juggle. Can you show me something?"
And then Jin held out an assortment of objects apparently from the table that Zuko took in his arms. He then threw each one up in the air, one after the other, and then prepared to catch them.
He looked ahead for a split second only to find the girl looking at him with a very familiar amused expression.
He succeeded in catching none of them and one managed to fall onto his head and break into many pieces. The girl didn't laugh but just tilted her head and smiled.
He quickly tore his eyes off of her and looked at Jin, who didn't laugh either and just smiled gently.
"I haven't practiced for a while," he said, wiping the shard of pottery from his hair.
Jin was about to say something but they were interrupted by the waiter who placed two plates of sweets in front of them.
"We didn't order these," Jin said
"These are compliments from another customer." he looked a Zuko, "She said she liked the juggling."
Zuko's face got hotter and he looked behind Jin but the girl wasn't even looking towards him. She was busy talking to the Waterboy peasant.
"Oh, that's sweet of her. who is it?"
"I'm afraid she wishes to be anonymous."
Zuko was so sure that it was her. It had to be.
"Oh. Thank you."
As the waiter left, Zuo looked at the dessert. it looked like an expensive one from the menu. But it made Jin happy, who quickly began eating it.
He took a piece off it and put it in his mouth. It was amazing. He looked up and found her looking at him with a smile. She just gave a nod before her food was served and she began eating.
He slowly ate the dessert only to notice that Jin had slowed down too. He tried to be slow and stay until the Avatar and his group was there as well. Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long as that group turned out to fast eaters. The girl looked like she chided the Avatar, the little earth bender girl, and the water tribe peasant a couple of times before she had broken out laughing with them.
"Is everything okay?"
He looked at Jin, "Yes."
"You seem distracted."
Zuko blinked and looked down while finishing the dessert.
Jin was the one to flag down the waiter to pay the bill. Iroh had told him, very stressful that he's supposed to pay for the meal. Which he did. He and Jin were about to get up when he saw the water bender getting a waiter too.
He and Jin got off first and they walked outside. He suspected that she had more plans but he had some serious questions to ask the girl. He wasn't sure if he'd get to see her in the shop again and he wanted to talk to her.
Before Jin could say anything Zuko looked at her.
"Thank you for this lovely evening, Jin. I should get back to my Uncle. He required my help for something important regarding the tea shop."
Jin's cheery smile fell and after a second, she nodded.
"I understand." she smiled, "Thank you for the lovely evening too, Lee."
The next thing he knew, Jin raised to her tip-toes and pressed her lips to his cheek.
"Have a good night."
That broke Zuko out of his stupor and he looked at her, blushing. "Shall I walk you home?" he almost stuttered
"Thank you but I'll be fine." she smiled before walking away.
He watched her go before he looked ahead to see the Avatar's group coming out of the restaurant as well. Might as well get done with it.
They were still talking and laughing. The first person to notice him approaching was the waterbender, after which she indicated to others about his presence as well.
"Zuko," she deadpanned, "what do you want?"
He took a deep breath before looking at the girl, "I need to talk to you."
The girl raised her brow and folded her arms. She studied him for a few seconds before she nodded, "okay."
"Are you sure?" the Avatar asked, sounding a bit concerned, looking up at the girl.
"Yeah, you guys go to the house. I'll be there in a while."
The water tribe peasants seemed reluctant, and so did the Avatar, but they did turn to leave. He looked at the girl, who was looking at the group and she very subtly shook her head. If he wasn't trained in the ways he was, he wouldn't have noticed that.
Once they had left, she turned to him.
"What do you want to talk about?"
He was about to say it when he noticed the crowd at the restaurant and suddenly it started worrying him because the waterbender said his real name out loud. what if Dai Li had see-
"No one heard her say your name. Don't ask how I know it."
Zuko looked around, not really sure.
"Look, are we gonna talk whatever you wanted to talk about or should I go?"
Zuko took a deep breath, "Not here. I don't want any ears listening."
She took a deep breath, "I know a place." she jerked her head, "Come on."
He skeptically followed her. She led him to a secluded alleyway. The lights on the nearby houses were off. So it was pretty much just the two of them.
"What do you want to ask, buttercup?"
Zuko glared at her but she wasn't even looking at him.
"Don't call me that."
She didn't respond, just wrapped her arms around herself and kept walking.
Zuko took a deep breath, "Why did you help me and Uncle?"
"Seriously, this again?" she rolled her eyes, "I thought I had answered this. I'm not gonna repeat myself."
Zuko's jaw clenched but he didn't ask further about it.
They reached an intersection where there was a water fountain and several posts with candles on top surrounding it in a circle.
"Are you kidding me?" She grunted, "This is all supposed to be lit."
"What is this place?"
"Firelight Fountain. A local showed me a while ago. People don't usually come here, especially at night." she scoffed, "I was expecting it to be lit up."
Zuko looked at her, at the candles everywhere, and then back at her.
"It shouldn't be that hard."
She looked at him and raised a brow.
"I meant lighting the candles."
She looked back at the candles, playing a little with her hair as she thought about it. "Wanna see who can light them first? You take the left half and I'll take the right. The winner gets to ask the first question."
Zuko looked at his side of candles. There wasn't a lot. He could manage. Besides he was never to back down from a challenge.
He nodded at her and then walked into the circle of candles, held his hands together, and closed his eyes as he prepares. Using his pointer and middle fingers on each hand, he shot small bursts of flame in all directions at the candles to light them. He made a quick glance to the other side and she hadn't moved from her spot and her side of the candles were unlit.
He was almost done when he heard a snap and looked to the other side and to his surprise all the candles were lit. And she was smiling at him, arms folded. Oh, how infuriating was that smile. He looked back at his section and he still had two unlit candles.
She had won.
"You gonna do the last two or should I?"
He glowered at her and lit those candles as well.
She walked ahead and sat down on the dry fountain area, crisscrossing her legs.
"Guess I get to ask first, huh?" she chuckled, "How did you date with Jen go?"
"Why do you care? And her name is Jin."
"My apologies. Jin." she leaned forward a little, "And I care because I just saw you trying to juggle random things and fail. It was hilarious by the way. So I got curious. Also, the fact that you ditched her to have a conversation with me. So? How did it go?"
"It went...nice. She was a lovely company."
she smiled and patted the place next to her, inviting him to sit. He defiantly stood. She gave him a look but didn't say anything.
"Well, I'm glad you have feelings and emotions," she said, conjuring a small flame and playing with it.
"Of course I have feelings and emotions. Did you think I was heartless?"
"In my defense, so far, you and your sister have given me that impression. You can't blame me for thinking you are a heartless moron."
Zuko narrowed his eyes at her but didn't object.
"How do you do it?" he asked instead
"Do what?"
"Bend more than one element."
She froze and the flame that was dancing around her hands just died. She looked back at him, expression stony. "I don't what you are talking about."
"I think you do." he stepped closer, "I've seen you bend fire back at Avatar Roku's temple and today, right now. And yesterday I saw you bending water."
"You sure didn't mistake someone else for me?"
"There aren't any other water benders other than those traveling with the Avatar. And the other waterbender has dark hair, not white like you. I'm sure of what I saw." he took a breath, "Every time we have fought, you have somehow always temporarily paralyzed me. I still don't know how you do that because that is not part of any bending I know of. And I don't think you know how to chi-block."
She glared at him.
"Every time I try to think back to our...meetings, my memories get blurry. I can't remember anything. Like the time with Zhao, I remember what happened after we were spotted, I remember that we got out of here but I don't remember how. I know you somehow make the Avatar powerful but that is not how any bending works. So, how do you do it?"
"That's a lot of questions." she muttered before looking at him, "I'll say this. You are a bit smarter than I gave you credit for."
She stayed silent for a bit before she looked back at him, "How can I know that I can trust you?"
"You can't. The same way I can't trust you to not rat me and Uncle out to Dai Li. I don't trust you to not have an ulterior motive. But seeing as you haven't already done any of that, all we can do is trust is each other."
She gave him a hard look. Out of the blue, he felt a slight throbbing pain behind his left eye. He closed his eyes and shook his head and the pain minimized.
She took a deep breath, "I can't and won't tell you everything. But I guess you are right. Blind trust is all we have right now."
He nodded.
"anything else you wish to ask before I start answering?"
There was one thing he wanted to ask.
"You never told me your name."
"You never asked." she shrugged, "Iroh asked my name, I told him. You never did, so I didn't bother."
She was proving to be difficult minute by minute.
"What is your name?"
She chuckled, "Iris."
The name suited her, he realized.
"Now onto your questions. Can I bend more than one element? yes. how do I do that? I won't be telling that to you, I'm afraid. What happened to your memories or how I managed to paralyze you? Not gonna answer that either."
"that's not exactly an answer."
"I don't trust you enough right now to give you those answers only for you to run back to your arsehole father to sell that information to win his favors."
He gritted his teeth.
She leaned back a little, supporting herself with her hands. She had a thoughtful look on her face and she stayed silent for quite some time before she spoke again.
"Tell you what. You help me, and I won't put your head on the chopping block."
His face tightened further, "What are you talking about?"
She sat straight and pulled a piece of rolled parchment from behind it before handing it to him. He took it, testily and then unrolled it. His breath hitched.
"Imagine what an anonymous tip to the Fire Nation general or something, maybe your sister, would do that the wanted Blue Spirit is none other than the banished prince of Fire Nation. I mean, at least they'll investigate if the claims are true or not. Also, a ton of soldiers saw you are Zhao's place the night we escaped. And I presume your swordsmanship with dual swords isn't something that's hidden from your family.
Spirits forbid they find you here. Banishment and treason on top of that?" she sucked in a breath through her teeth, "And that is if Dai Li doesn't deal with you earlier."
He crumbled the paper and instinctively set it on fire.
She shrugged, "I've got more copies."
"What do you want from me?"
She sat straight and out of the blue, her bluebird flew down and landed on her lap. "Tomorrow. After the shop is closed, I want you to come and meet us at our house. Neva can lead you there. As I said, you help me, I'll help you."
This chapter might be a little...choppy but I didn't have a lot of time to properly plan it. My life is currently going through a shitty phase. I just out of a toxic friendship with a childhood friend, had some hospital visits to make, and so on. the next update would also be a little later and I can't promise when. I just gotta set my life straight right now.
I'll try to update soon since this relaxes me and gives me a good distraction.
You know the drill.
Ciao
