The dark ship of Prince Zuko sailed through the quiet waters at the edge of Earthbenders' territory. The artic regions were close by, so both the air and water were frigid. Many of the crew had a cold of some kind, by were kept to their daily tasks by the prince himself. They were nearing the last of the villages of the Earth Kingdom, still far behind the Avatar.
Uncle Iroh sipped his tea and calmly watched the icy surroundings go by. He was silent after trying to quell his nephew's hot temper. Prince Zuko was still fuming about the last encounter the crew had with the Avatar, coming so close to his capture. But, as always, Aang managed to slip from his grasp once more. Zuko sat at a table on deck, carefully studying a map of the region. He got up suddenly and began having a fit about how far behind they were, knocking several crew members over in the process.
"Calm yourself, Zuko, things will work out soon. For now, I prefer to relax and enjoy the scenery." Uncle Iroh took another sip of tea.
Zuko grunted in anger, trying his best to keep from uttering hateful words he'd soon regret. Instead he sat back down heavily, crossed his arms, and stared at the passing icebergs.
"Zuko," his uncle called in a flat tone, trying to get his attention.
"WHAT uncle?" Zuko's temper was delicately calming down, threatening to heat up once more.
"Look up there, to that cliff village. There seems to be trouble. You must watch these things, you can learn from them when you return to the Fire Nation." Uncle Iroh pointed to a small town sitting by the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. Rocks and debris were flying around in the air as angry villagers attacked something.
Zuko looked up with a deep frown, bored by the whole thing until something, or someone, caught his attention. He stood up with out realizing while his uncle's eyes widened and mouth dropped as if uttering a silent gasp. Prince Zuko's own eyes grew wide as a large boulder collided with a target.
A girl around Zuko's own age of sixteen was slammed off balance by the boulder. She was too close to the edge at the time and began to free fall towards the freezing ice water. She swung her arms in front of her causing a large burst of fire to erupt from her hands at the water, making only steam rise thickly. Her last effort proved useless as she splashed into the sea and some of the villagers about smiled triumphantly.
Zuko moved to the edge of the ship without thinking. "Zuko!" his uncle cried, "What ARE you doing?"
His gaze was focused on the misty spot where the girl impacted the water. His instincts told him he had to do something, but his logic mind said no. He shook his head and dove into the water, almost without thinking. But his thoughts were quickly cleared when the cold water splashed all around him.
The girl from the village sank quickly to the bottom, she laid down there motionlessly as Zuko swam towards her. Her red clothing, oddly like an Airbender's attire, was easy to spot against the dull sandy seafloor. He scooped her up and began to ascend to the surface as the lightheadedness of the lack of oxygen set in.
Uncle Iroh's heart was beating a mile a minute as he saw his nephew's head emerge from the water. He quickly shouted out orders to the staring crewmembers to help pull Zuko out of the water.
Zuko felt himself shiver violently. Leaping into artic water was not smart. The girl's chest rose and fell softly, giving the only sign she was still alive. Her cheeks, like his, were paled, and her eyes remained closed. Her hair was darkened from being so wet, but he noticed gold streaks shining from the dim artic sun. He noticed some men threw a rope overboard and were waiting for him climb up to the deck. Zuko swam one-handed towards them with difficulty. He twined the rope around his wrist tightly and held on as the men above pulled him slowly back on board.
"Zuko! What were you thinking!" His uncle's hand smacked the side of his head. "You could have drowned! You could have- My Lord! You're bleeding!" His uncle recoiled at the sight of blood slowly seeping onto the deck and on Zuko's arms. The prince looked down at himself, noticing he wasn't the one bleeding.
"Uncle, I am fine." His tone was agitated and wavering as he shivered.
"Come on Zuko," his uncle helped him up as another sailor took the girl, "You will catch a chill if you stay up here. Go to your room and warm up." His uncle stated firmly to Zuko, silently saying he was serious. Zuko reluctantly got up and wandered off to his room below deck, casting a puzzling look once more to the girl from the water.