I opened my eyes as if I had just woken up from a dream. A very long dream. Actually, it had been more like a nightmare, and being awake didn't turn out to be any better. I was floating in the middle of the ocean, completely isolated in the vast expanse of water amidst the wreckage of parts that had used to be attached to a ship. The mast had cracked and the sail ripped in several places from where it had been torn during the storm, and now it served as my only lifeline as I lay across it, having clung to it in desperation before passing out from exhaustion.
My mind was a little confused, memories flashing before me as I attempted to understand exactly what had happened until it slowly returned to me. Right. The storm. It had totally come out of nowhere and wrecked the ship my mother and I had been on with the rest of our crew, our family. We had been fighting against the water and trying to get clear of the waves before they could take us down when the mast had snapped and I'd been taken overboard with it since I'd been up there trying to tie the sails down.
"Just…perfect…" I sighed with a heavy groan, aching everywhere and feeling pretty miserable. At least nothing had come along to eat me yet. I was too weak to move, let alone do anything so I just hung there motionlessly, intending to rest for a while longer before I get my strength back. My mother must be so worried about me, the troupe were probably searching for me, but from the looks of things, I'd been carried far off course during the storm. Even worse, I had no idea how I was going to get myself out of this mess.
You see, my mother and I were from the Fire Nation, and we were part of a travelling performance act. We'd toured all over the Fire Nation, and now we had intended to branch out into Earth Kingdom territories with the colonies. My mother was a fire dancer, and she was really beautiful when she danced on stage in her silk outfit, jewels and fire bending as she moved in circular motion. I learned everything from her and I was part of the show, having grown up my entire life in the troupe. That place was home, my family, but now I had no clue how to find them again.
I didn't know which port they had intended to dock in, or even how to get there. At least I knew which nation they were in, and I guess I could just ask around about travelling performers, circuses and troupes, but we were a pretty small group. It was unlikely they'd ever make themselves well known in any of the bigger cities, and the colonies were all over the Earth Kingdom. This just sucked. Like, really bad. I better not die out here, because otherwise I would have spent the last sixteen years of my life doing nothing more than juggling for kids and doing backflips for loose change. I wanted to get out there and see the world, which was why I was so excited about finally getting out of the Fire Nation, having seen it all several times already.
Exhaling again, I moved my feet in the water, noting that they were caught up in several ropes and the sail was also kind of twisted around me. I better get out of this soon otherwise I might be dragged down. I mean, it wouldn't exactly be a problem for me if I submerged for a while, I could hold my breath for a long time, but let's avoid unnecessary problems for the time being. I felt a small tide bump against the mast, prompting me to lift my head in order to see several more ripples were following, growing bigger and bigger until I suddenly realised that I could hear the sound of an engine running. A steam ship.
Its huge shape cut across the sun which had sunk low in the sky, casting a huge shadow over me as I lifted my head and peered upwards, trying to see but my eyes were crusted over from the salt water and I was too dehydrated to focus properly. "We've got a body in the water!" Somebody yelled, voices shouting up above until a rescue mission was mounted to pull me up. They tried to rope me in at first but the sail and mast ended up being pulled with me, so one of the sailors dropped down on a rope ladder and seared through the ropes holding me with fire, burning them away until I was lifted free up and out of the water, groaning mutely as the sensations of motion and elevation caused my head to spin and whirl. "Is she alive? Is she breathing?"
"Everybody back up, give the girl room."
"What's going on here?" A younger sounding but authoritative voice demanded to know as I winced, drawing in air and coughing slightly as I disturbed some water which had settled at the bottom of my lungs. "Where did she come from? Uncle?"
"Who knows? For now instead of asking questions, we should focus on helping this young woman to recover. She has been at sea for several days, my guess is she was caught in a storm and separated from her ship." This new voice sounded very different to all the rest. It was soft and comforting, aged by time and weighed down by experience which had mellowed into wisdom through learning and seeing a great many things. I liked this voice. The person felt warm when his hand came to rest against my forehead, smoothing back my hair. "Do not worry little one, you are safe now. We will take care of you, and help you find your way home."
Barely retaining consciousness, I forced my eyes to open somewhat, wanting more than anything to catch a glimpse of the person who was being so kind to me. I saw rich brown eyes and greying hair, with a younger figure standing behind him but I barely made out any of their features, just general blots of colour until the older guy smiled at me reassuringly. I allowed myself to fall back under, feeling completely comforted and at ease, somehow innately knowing that I could trust that person's promise to take care of me.
Occasionally I woke up to catch glimpses of things or sensations, including cooled tea wafting under my nose to reveal fragrant scents, nourishing broths and soups being fed to me little by little, cool cloths wiping away any sweat as I took a fever until finally, after a few days sleep, I woke up fully awake and alert, finding myself in a simple room tucked up in bed. I was alone in the room, which gave me time to study it properly. It was empty except for the bare essentials, making it seem like this room was either unused or the person who originally lived in it just didn't have any taste for decoration.
I felt a lot better than I did before, and way stronger than I expected. Taking it slow I slid out from the bed, finding that I was still in the same clothes I'd been wearing since landing in the sea except for my outer shirt, but I noticed a pile of new clothes had been folded up for me and placed on a chair. Thank the spirits, if I have to stay in this salt crusted shirt any longer I'm going to burn the whole thing. Quickly undressing after making sure the door was locked, I first took a wash in the water that had been left for me in a small tub which had been heated to the perfect temperature. Did they know I was going to wake up soon or something? What the hell, I'm not complaining. This tub is divine compared to that ocean.
I sank into the water and completely submerged myself, working my fingers into my hair and using some of the soap that had been also left for me. Scrubbing away I made sure to completely eradicate any last speck of dried salt from my skin, mourning the damage it had done to my skin as I looked in the mirror. Dry. My skin was so dry it looked like a shrivelled old prune. "This sucks, and I don't even have any of that lotion mom uses with me. Ugh, I look a mess. Guess almost dying at sea will do that to you." I frowned at my appearance, glaring at the mirror.
My mother was a great beauty and one of the most popular parts of our show. She had long luscious black hair which fell in glorious waves down her back, warm honey gold eyes which slanted in a fashionable angle under finely arched eyebrows, a regally pronounced nose and delicate lips she always painted a deep red to accentuate their shape. Every man who ever saw my mother fell in love with her, and her kindness and compassion simply melted everybody to the core. Being beautiful within seemed to shine through her, making her all the more wonderful to everyone around her. I had hoped that I would take after her, but I had no such luck when getting the inheritance gene pool. My skin was fair, just like hers, but instead of golden honey eyes mine were simply grey and my features were average.
My hair was a few shades lighter than hers and had some brown undertones in it, and my body still hadn't grown in yet unlike hers, which was just as perfect as the rest of her. She told me that I took after my dad a great deal, but she rarely talked about him. Not even the troupe really knew who he was, but mom insisted that they had loved each other but just couldn't be together. I could pretty much figure out who he was, and the troupe knew too once I started bending, but none of us ever made a fuss about it, or talked about it. I was born in the Fire Nation, so technically, I was a Fire National no matter who argued.
Anyway, I guess this is as clean as I'm going to get, so I better get my butt out there and grovel at the feet of the people who saved me. I remember there being an older guy, maybe a kid as well? I don't know, that part is still pretty fuzzy, but they saved my neck so I guess I owe them one. Putting on the clothes, I found a pair of simple tanned bottoms which tightened at the waist with a waist sash, coming just past my knees and opening loosely at the bottom, as well as a plain black shirt which buttoned up at the side of the chest with a high collar.
The fit was a little loose, but if I could find some thread and a needle, I could fix that up just fine. For now this will do, and with the robe made from a thicker and warmer material as well as the new slipper shoes, I was ready to head outside. I left my hair loose since I didn't have a way to tie it for now and quietly opened my door, looking up and down the corridor to see if there was anyone there. Seeing nobody about, I stepped out and started to explore, wandering aimlessly until I found some stairs heading up where I could hear something going on up top.
With daylight already seeping down below, I ascended up and out into the open where a strong sea breeze instantly caught me, causing me to momentarily wince against it until I adjusted, stepping out in the open to take a good look at the front of the ship. There were a couple of people around, several of them being Fire Nation soldiers, or I guess sailors in this case, but there was also a young kid working on some fire bending practice with a smaller man with greying hair and a rather rotund figure observing him, instructing him through the movements.
The kid was pretty good, from what I could see, but observing with the knowledge my mother had taught me about fire bending, he had a very shaky foundation, like he pushed through the boundaries with pure emotion. Predominantly rage, in his case. That guy had a very mean, angry look about him. When I caught sight of the horrendous scar which had been burned across his left eye, I figured that that must have had something to do with the kid's anger issues. Seriously, he was tearing up out there, punching and pushing through everything like each hit had to be a devastating blow. Jeez.
"I see you are awake. Good. I am glad that you have recovered and are feeling well enough to join us. Come, do not be afraid. You are in good hands here." The older guy assured me, having turned and spotted me as I had just taken to standing there in order to watch. "How do you feel?"
"Better, thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found me in time. I am entirely grateful." I rushed, remembering my manners and quickly bowed, pressing one hand against my fist in the traditional Fire Nation greeting. Hearing that I was up, several curious eyes started to stray towards me, the men murmuring and even coming a little closer in order to take a look so I turned to them and bowed again. "Thank you to you all."
"Your thanks are unnecessary, it is only natural to help someone when they are in need." The older guy assured me as the kid came stomping over, looking severely pissed and more than a little suspicious of me as he folded his arms and came to stand toe to toe with me, making me blink and shrink back slightly out of caution. What's his deal?
"We don't know anything about this girl or where she came from. For all we know, she could be a spy and pretending to nearly drown was just part of an elaborate plan to sabotage me. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why were you sailing in these waters? What is your purpose? To whom do you owe your loyalty?" Is this guy for real? He seems like he's got a few screws loose. The black haired ponytail stopped swinging only after he'd finished talking, a testament to just how forceful and abrupt his movements were as he glowered at me with heated eyes like a predator bird of some kind. Totally unprepared for this, I peered around his body in order to make eye contact with the clearly more sane person on this boat, holding up my hand to cover my mouth from the kid's line of sight.
"He's not serious, right?" The old man laughed openly as he walked over, placing his hand gently onto the kid's shoulder in order to draw him back slightly and give me space, allowing me to breathe freely without the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
"I'm afraid my nephew is cautious of strangers, even ones as lovely as you." I giggled slightly, charmed by the compliment. So they were uncle and nephew. Guess the kid didn't exactly inherit any of his uncle's natural good manners and charm, huh. "My nephew Zuko does not mean to frighten you by asking you so many questions all at once. I am sure this must all be very confusing for you, and you have only just recovered your strength."
"Uncle, until we know who this girl is and who's she's working for, we have no reason to trust her. She's lucky she didn't have to spend her time recovering in the brig. There is no way we can allow her to stay when we know nothing about her." A little irritated that the kid, Zuko, was talking about me like I wasn't even standing there, I lifted a hand in order to signal that I had something to say.
"Um…this girl has a name. It's Kayo. I was born in the Fire Nation, my mother's name is Azumi and she is a fire dancer from the travelling performing troupe the Golden Dragon Birds. I was raised with them ever since I was born travelling from town to town performing, where I've spent my entire life as part of the troupe until we decided to migrate to the Earth Kingdom colonies in order to try expand our performance circles where we got hit by a storm and I got knocked overboard when the mast collapsed. The rest is history." I listed off pretty much my entire life pretty much in one sentence, making me fold my arms and smile effortlessly up at Zuko. "Satisfied?"
"So…you're Fire Nation?"
"Last I checked."
"Well, I guess you were wearing Fire Nation clothing, and there was that dragon bird insignia on the back of your shirt…" The kid mused, still undecided on whether he believed me or not until his uncle stepped in.
"Our guest must be hungry, Prince Zuko, we should not be rude hosts and neglect her needs. Come, how about we all sit down to eat, I believe tonight we have roast duck." Duck sounds good, I didn't get to eat it all that often so this will be a real treat. Before Zuko could properly argue, his uncle had placed his arm around me and turned me around in order to lead me back into the ship off the deck and out of the wind, leaving the stuttering kid behind us. "Now, tell me all about this performing troupe of yours. Perhaps I've seen one of your performances before, the name certainly rings a bell…" Laughing lightly, I began to describe all of our best acts and performers, listing everyone off one by one whilst that so called Prince Zuko just scowled after us.
Somehow, I get the feeling that it's going to be a long time until Zuko ever actually trusts me. Like, at all.