Avatar: the Last Airbender is copyrighted Nickelodeon Studios. Most situations presented are purely the author's ideas and are not affiliated with the original creators. Please keep this in mind when reading my fanfiction! Obviously, as such, most the prescribed characters are copyright Nickelodeon.

Chapter 3: An Explaination.

The scouting boat returned to Zuko's main ship without incident, though the girl's condition didn't change as they pulled up alongside the dark hull of the warship. As the men on either side of the small vessel attached the dangling chains to the iron rungs, the Prince turned towards his Uncle, frowning.

"What are we supposed to do with a girl on board?"

Iroh sighed, gripping onto the edge of his seat as the boat lurched upwards and out of the water, moving back up to the main deck. "It would've been wrong to leave her to die."

"I know that, Uncle." The prince said harshly, looking offended. "But what if her condition doesn't improve and she just lies in bed? We have a medic on board, but…" He trailed off, as if he wasn't sure what he was trying to explain.

"When we stop into port again," He looked at his nephew sharply, "We can transport her to a clinic. Until then, she cannot be left and expected to drift into the arms of a doctor."

"Yes, Uncle."

The vessel was secured, and slowly the men boarded the larger ship, two of his soldiers carrying the unconscious girl between them. A few soldiers gathered around, whispering, but no one really said anything. As Zuko jumped on board, he quickly directed his men to place her in the infirmary and have the ship's doctor look after her.

"He's to give me a report in the morning." The young man demanded, before striding quickly down the corridor to his own quarters. Iroh watched him go, then turned and inclined his head politely to the men on board.

"Thank you for your help, it is much appreciated."

Zuko awoke particularly early, his sleeping schedule having been particularly erratic in light of the recent events that hard surrounded him, mostly involving his close call with the boy Avatar. He dressed quickly and left his room, moving up into the misty gray of the early morning, the sun rising ever so slowly. It was damp and cool, and the prince welcomed the feeling with an almost relaxed sigh.

He walked past the stationed guard, who looked drowsy. Obviously, his replacement had yet to come and relive them. He nodded to him, mimicking the way his Uncle would. It felt stiff and awkward to the exile, though the soldier responded with a weary salute. The Prince choose to let him alone for his sloppy form – this time – and continued on his way to the very front of his ship, face in the rushing wind. They were moving faster than they had been the previous few days. Perhaps the idea of pirates had encouraged his crew to pick up the pace on the trail they were following.

His mind roamed over what was most recently troubling him – his loyalty had been called into question. The risk that he took had been great. Had he betrayed his nation, his father, by rescuing the Avatar for his own gain, perhaps setting in motion a series of events that may lead to his father's downfall? Or did he do it for another reason, a more humane reason? His shoulders sagged, and he felt a knot in his stomach grow.

"I want to please you, father." He explained softly into the salty breeze.

"I want you to welcome me back home, to treat me like your son. Not like a traitor!"

He slammed his fist down into the railing of the ship, the metal sizzling at the combination of morning dampness and the Prince's hand that had grown hot with aggravation. Slowly lifting it, the young man studied the dark mark left there, frowning.

"My Lord?"

Zuko was snapped out of his thoughts by a meek voice, and quickly turned to face the ship's doctor, who was rubbing his hands together to warm them in the morning cool. The physician bowed low before continuing, the Prince crossing his arms over his chest.

"The patient suffered a concussion to the left side of her head, though it seems to be healing up quite well. I don't see there being any lasting damage, other than perhaps a, er, scar."

The Prince nodded, gesturing for the man to continue.

"She's still asleep, though. I managed to rouse her from her unconsciousness with a few herbs, but she wasn't in the right state of mind to remain awake. I gave her a sleeping drought not too soon afterwards."

"Is she still sleeping now?" Zuko asked calmly.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Thank you, that's all I need. Notify me if her condition changes. Dismissed."

The doctor quickly turned after bowing deeply, and returned to the area below deck. The teenager watched him go, then turned to face the ocean again, eyebrows furrowed as his thought now turned back to the young shipwreck victim that he had allowed on board.

After his mid-morning sparring session and a meal, the Prince decided that he'd like to pay a visit to the young woman in the infirmary, never actually having got a good look at her in the darkness that had surrounded them all when she had been rescued. He excused himself from a game of Pai Cho with his Uncle, not wishing to play any more frustrating rounds with the retired general. He'd rather leave that pleasure to the other men of the ship.

He walked briskly down the narrow corridor before finally stepping into the well-lit room where the ill and wounded of his crew were kept. The doctor was in one corner, washing his hands as he recited some poetry under his breath. Upon noticing the Prince, he stopped abruptly and quickly bowed, upsetting the washbowl in the process. Wrinkling his nose, Zuko ignored the timid excuses from the doctor and looked over the beds.

There was only one in use, towards the back. He recognized the tangled black hair and moved over to stand over her. She looked much more peaceful, now that the blood had been washed away and her head wound had been wrapped. He nodded. She should be well by the time they reach their next checkpoint, he reasoned, and then we can be rid of her. As he thought, she stirred slightly, and her eyes fluttered open. They stared at each other in silence before she suddenly put a hand to her head and moaned softly, closing her eyes once again. Zuko blinked, and looked behind him as the doctor approached the girl, sliding onto a nearby stool that he had left there. The Prince took a step back.

"Oh, ow." She murmured as the doctor nodded sympathetically, reaching into his robe and removing a small frond of leaves. He offered it towards her as he assisted her in sitting up, and she took it gratefully, putting the fresh-looking sprig into her mouth. The doctor nodded and patted her shoulder.

"That should help with the pain." He explained, and she nodded, as if already feeling the effect.

"I want to ask you some questions." The Prince said suddenly, moving around to the other side of the bed, across from the doctor. She blinked slowly and looked at him, her hand dropping from her head to her lap. The other man looked as if he wanted to say something, then rethought it and sighed, remaining silent.

"Questions…?" She repeated the teenager slowly, adjusting herself in her large red robe that was obviously made for a male of a much larger stature than her own. The Prince nodded.

"What happened to you and your ship?"

"My ship? No, it belongs to – Oh no!" She yelped suddenly, "The ship!" She looked suddenly alert, the dreamy, half-awake stupor gone from her brown eyes. She looked between the two men on either side of her, the doctor placing a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting up and out of the bed.

"Child, we found you floating in the water." He explained, and she groaned woefully.

"B-but, the ship!" She said in a pleading voice, looking at him with wide and frightened eyes.

It took some time to calm her down, but eventually, once the mild hysterics had passed, she agreed to speak to the two of them about what had happened the day the fishing vessel had sank. She didn't look at either of the men as she spoke, and instead looked down at her lap, hands gripping at the thick blanket that covered her legs.

"I was going to help my father and my brother." She began to explain, her voice soft. "Like I always do. My mother stayed at home with my younger siblings. We make our money by fishing." She paused, swallowing, before she continued. "It was an average day. We cast the nets out, the weather was nice. The sun was getting pretty high in the sky, so Father suggested we break to eat our lunch before we continued."

"We had just finished our meal when my brother spotted a ship off in the distance. Father assumed it was another fishing ship, though my brother said it didn't look like any from our village. I laughed at him, called him paranoid!" She took a deep breath, her voice cracking. "I was wrong. I was so wrong." She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, wincing as her wrist pushed up against the bandages on her forehead.

"Well, it got closer and closer, but we paid it no mind. Suddenly… there was this horrible sound like lightning cracking. And then I realized that the mast was…it had been broken in two. I had been mending nets in it's shade when suddenly it was gone, the whole thing had just collapsed onto the deck. My brother and father began shouting, and shoved me below in the tiny storage area there. I was scared… they wouldn't tell me anything."

"They kept yelling, at each other, at the boat. Then I head more explosions. There was so much yelling and smoke and fighting." She held her head in her hands and hunched her shoulders. The doctor looked at the prince, who was standing, stone faced as he looked at the girl. Inside, he felt anger growing. Pirates, they're disgusting. The scum of the ocean. He thought, bitterly recounting to himself his own ordeal with the type. And then they choose poor fishermen to get their kicks, and what is my father doing about it? Nothing. His nose wrinkled as he thought about it. Nothing.

She suddenly began to speak again, looking up at the doctor desperately. "I couldn't bear to be down there in the dark anymore, without my family. I wanted to help them! I took up an oar that we stored down there for when the sails when slack and I pushed open the hatch and climbed up. I…I s-saw these h-horrible people!" She stammered, "Fighting. My brother saw me – he was bleeding! – He screamed at me to hide. He screamed at me to run – and then I turned to see another pirate. He grinned at me, and then he rose up his club. I tried to block it with the oar, but… it was so painful, and everything was dark and wet."

The three sat in silence, before Zuko nodded. "Thank you." He said emotionlessly, and then turned and left the infirmary without looking back. He felt livid, and his skin prickled with the heat rising from him. His Uncle met him halfway down the corridor, and upon seeing his expression, invited him to have some tea. The young man needed to have a nice, claming drink, along with a nice, calming chat.

Fin – Chapter 3.

Thank you for reading!

As I wrote this chapter, I realized just how long it was going to take me to get Zuko and the mysterious fisherman's daughter to actually talk. You know, outside of questioning her about her situation and the like. I'm going to try and speed it up, hopefully without making it move too fast. Stories like this can become Mary-Sues in a split second if the author isn't careful.

Reviews are appreciated.