Zuko and Katara never knew that Rie, Iroh, and about everyone on the ship knew that they had taken a break during their punishment and had talked without yelling, though Rie thought they might have had a clue when Zhi pronounced them perfectly healthy and lifted the Bending Ban the next day. Rie wished he had waited, though, until after she had told them about the prison hold.
Iroh laughed as Rie emerged from the cabin, soaking wet and sizzling. "I take it my nephew and the girl aren't too happy with you?"
Rie shot Iroh a look. "Why do I always have to be the bearer of bad news? It's not my fault the hold isn't safe for habitation and Zuko took the largest room. He was the greedy one." Rie shook her sopping hair, spraying everyone around with water. "I'm gonna go dry off." Rie went to her room.
Undoing her hair, Rie started drying it with light blasts of fire. "Who needs hair dryers?" Rie chuckled. "This works just as well, and it's portable." Rie changed out of the wet garments she had on and into a dryer outfit, this one with a lighter red blouse and black pants. As she was brushing her hair, there was a knock on the door. "Yes?"
"Prince Zuko would like to know if you'd help him practice. He needs someone better than him to spar with and the general is too tired," came the first mate's voice.
"Sure," Rie called back through the closed door. "I'll be out in a minute." She heard footsteps retreating. Taking her hair tie, Rie walked as she pulled hair back. "I'll dry my other clothes when I'm done," she muttered, leaving her room.
Zuko was waiting for her. Rie bowed and said, "Remember, this is not an Agni Kai. This is just sparring. No trying to maim, scar, or injure me in any way whatsoever, or I hope you like your cabin."
"Whatever," Zuko replied, falling into the start position. Rie shrugged, followed suit, then shot at Zuko, who nearly fell and returned the blast.
"Oof!" Zuko landed on his back again. Rie shook her head as she bent down to help him.
"Prince Zuko, you need to remember that your feet are not just for kicking. They work for standing up too, ya know," Rie said. "We've only been sparring for ten minutes and I've thrown you off balance, like, ten times."
"Don't remind me," Zuko muttered, rubbing his lower back. He went back to his spot, as did Rie. Suddenly, Rie heard something in the trees on the shore of an island behind her. Carefully looking back, she screamed, "Duck! Bandit archers!" Rie dropped with lightning speed.
"What?" Zuko asked. He saw the archers and ducked, but not fast enough. An arrow pierced his shoulder.
Rie stood up and shot a huge fireball at the archers, who scattered. Satisfied, Rie turned and ran over to Zuko. "Damn!" she muttered. A crew member who had been on deck came rushing over. "Quick, go get Iroh, Zhi, and the Water Tribe girl!"
"Why the girl? Won't she attack us with all this water around?"
"Why? It's not as if she can go anywhere. Just go!" The crew member obeyed with amazing alacrity. Iroh, the doctor, and Katara came even faster. When Iroh saw Zuko on the deck, shot, he moved with a speed that belied his girth.
"What happened?" he asked, kneeling next to Zuko.
"Bandit archers. They must have recognized Zuko and might have attempted raid the ship if I hadn't been on deck and blasted at them," Rie replied. "Zhi, I need you to take this arrow out."
"Help me carry him to his room. I'll be able to do it better in there," Zhi said, lifting Zuko up.
"I can walk just fine," Zuko gasped, wincing every step.
"If you're fine it's a miracle," Rie and Katara said in unison. As Iroh and Zhi took Zuko to his room, Rie pulled Katara aside.
"You're a Healer, right?"
"Yeah."
"How good are you at drawing poison from a wound?" Rie asked.
Katara gasped. "Was the arrow poisoned?"
"I'm not sure. I saw the archer put something on the arrow before he shot it, and I'm afraid it might poison." Rie and Katara walked to the cabin. "Don't tell anyone about what I saw until Zhi says something, okay? No need to freak anyone out for no reason," Rie whispered as they entered.
Zuko was lying on his bed, with Zhi standing over him. "Madam Rie," Zhi said upon hearing her enter, "I need you to pull this arrow out. Iroh is, um, indisposed at the moment." Zhi pointed to the general, who looked like a man about to panic. Katara went over to calm Iroh down while Rie helped Zhi.
The wound was turning an odd shade of yellow. Wrapping her hands in shreds of cloth, Rie had Zuko turn on his side. "It's a straight wound, thankfully. If I snap this end off, the other end comes out clean."
Zuko yelled in pain as Rie removed the arrow. "Watch it!"
Rie held up the two ends of the arrow. "Hey, at least I got it out. It'd have hurt a lot worse trying to inspect the wound with an arrow sticking up into the air." Rie looked at the point. It was coated purple goo.
"Zhi, come look at this arrowhead." Rie handed it to Zhi, who put on his glasses.
"Oh, no! This arrow has been poisoned with Kylon leaves!" Rie could tell by the look on Zuko's face that this was really bad news. Turning around, Rie saw that Iroh had fainted.
"Is there, like, an antidote or something?" Rie asked.
Zhi nodded. "Kylon is a paralyzing poison. You can brush up against the leaves and not realize it until you're half paralyzed. And when it's in your blood, it's even worse. The more you move, the faster the poison works. If someone were to draw the poison out of the blood system, I could give the antidote and it wouldn't kill Prince Zuko."
"Lemme guess; the only antidote for this poison if it is in the blood makes you all jittery and restless," Rie said, silently swearing. "But, once you draw the poison out, why would Zuko need the antidote?"
"Because, even when the poison is out, it can still paralyze because it also hit the prince's skin," Zhi explained.
For once, Zuko looked scared. He seemed to be dumbstruck. He hadn't moved since Zhi announced that the wound was poisoned with Kylon. Something about the name had scared him.
Looking around, Rie remembered that Katara was in the room. "Can you draw out the poison?" Everyone looked at Katara expectantly.
"I don't know," Katara admitted. "If it was a liquid poison, then probably. But isn't Kylon more of a paste?"
Zhi was inspecting the wound, careful not to jolt Zuko. "Madam, did you see the archer do anything to the arrow before he shot it?"
Rie nodded. "Yeah, he dipped it in something. Why?"
Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. "Because that something was a liquid poison." Katara came closer.
"Do you want me to draw that poison out?"
Zhi nodded and stepped aside. He motioned for Rie to follow him. They moved a bit farther from the bed. "That liquid poison was hemlock."
Rie nodded. She knew all about hemlock. One of her friend's horses had died by mistaking hemlock for a carrot. It let out a poisonous liquid that was as deadly as anything. It caused sudden spasms.
"Whoever shot that arrow knew his poisons," Rie muttered. "He knew that hemlock would cause Zuko to have spasms and that the Kylon would paralyze him when the hemlock worked. Easy murder." Zhi nodded and motioned for Rie not to tell anyone. Rie consented and they went back over to Katara and Zuko.
Zuko wasn't paralyzed, because every time Katara drew out the hemlock, he winced ever so slightly. "I think I got it all," Katara said, dumping the last of the poison into a small bowl by the nightstand.
"Are you sure? I can't give Prince Zuko the antidote for the Kylon if you didn't. This antidote won't give him spasms, but it won't do well with the other poison," Zhi warned.
"Well, how can I be sure?" Katara asked, hands on her hips.
Rie looked at Zuko. "She got it all. If she hadn't, Zuko would more than likely have…" Rie made a slitting motion across her throat. "That other poison works rather fast. I'm surprised he didn't, ya know, as soon as we attempted to move him." Everyone, even Rie, le out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Zhi nodded, then ran to his room for the antidote.
"Talk to Zuko," he ordered Katara. "Keep his mind off the Kylon. Madam, try and wake up the general. I'll be right back with the antidotal lotion."
Both young women nodded. Rie called out to Zhi as he left, "Send in two of the crew, I think Iroh will be out for awhile." Zhi nodded.
Katara kneeled by Zuko's bedside and began to talk. Rie walked over to Iroh and silently hid herself from view, after trying to get Iroh up. Making sure no one could see her, she did something she was best at. She eavesdropped on Katara and Zuko.
"Doctor Zhi said that the poison shouldn't have any lasting side effects," Katara was saying, "so you should be back to chasing Aang in no time." Rie could hear the bitterness in Katara's voice as she said that.
"You don't sound too happy about that."
"Can you blame me? I'm sick and tired of you trying to capture Aang! You're obsessed with it! It's sick!" Katara shuddered. "It reminds me too much of Jet."
"Who?" Zuko asked, moving slightly.
"This guy we ran into by accident. He was trying to kill a bunch of Fire Nation soldiers at the cost of a village of innocent people. He was obsessed with killing soldiers like you're obsessed with capturing Aang."
Zuko attempted to shake his head, but decided against it in case it aggravated the poison. "I wouldn't kill helpless people to get to the Avatar."
"You almost did on Kyoshi Island. You've made it so it isn't safe for Aang to stay in one place too long," Katara objected.
"If he didn't ride that great flying bison it'd be easier for him to hide, wouldn't it?"
"Appa was with Aang for one hundred years while Aang was in the iceberg," Katara said. "I don't think he'd give up Appa so easily."
Zuko looked at Katara. "He was in an iceberg for one hundred years?" Katara nodded. "That would explain why no one could find him," Zuko muttered. "And why he's just a child."
"He's not just a child," Katara replied, "as you should know. He's beaten you multiple times." Zuko scowled and shot Katara a look. Katara just shrugged. Zuko sighed and looked towards the door.
"How long does it take to get an antidote?" he asked no one in particular. Rie decided to be sure they remembered she was there.
"He has to make sure that he grabs the right one, Price Zuko," Rie said, stepping into the light.
"How long have you been there?" Zuko snapped.
"The whole time. I was trying to meditate, but you two make that rather impossible," Rie said casually.
"You were meditating last night."
"Last night you two weren't talking," Rie retorted.
Katara giggled. "She has a point, Zuko."
"Shut up."
Just then, Zhi returned with a bottle and four crew members to lift Iroh to his room. "When your uncle passes out, he does a fine job of it, Prince Zuko," Zhi commented. "Now, I need you to remove that shirt so I can apply the antidote. It's in lotion form, since the Kylon didn't make it into your bloodstream." At the name Kylon, Zuko again froze. Kylon brought back some memory he didn't want to remember. Katara noticed, and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Prince Zuko?"
Zuko snapped back to reality. Rie could tell that he had just had a flashback, mainly because, given the whole Seer thing, she had seen flashes of it. A much younger Zuko, an upset Iroh, the words "mother", "died", and "Kylon". I don't have to be a rocket scientist to fill in the gaps, Rie thought. This would explain his fear of Kylon.
Zhi was helping Zuko remove the shirt, since part of Zuko's right arm, the arm that had been shot, was already paralyzed. "I'll need some help cleaning his wound and applying the antidotal lotion," Zhi said. Seeing an opportunity to bring Zuko and Katara closer together, Rie smirked inwardly.
"Katara can clean the wound," Rie answered. "I'm no good at stuff like this." It wasn't lying, really. She could clean cuts with peroxide or rubbing alcohol, but not with plain, hot water. She always made the water too hot. "She'll have to apply the antidote, as well, since she's the only one who didn't touch the arrow." Zhi nodded, and handed Katara a bowl of water and the lotion.
"Madam, I need you to heat the water," Zhi said. "It's cold, and hot water would be best right now." Rie obliged and heated the porcelain bowl. Katara then bended it onto Zuko's injury.
Zuko was obviously in extreme pain now. Rie could see him biting his lip to keep from crying out. There was a great deal of steam as Katara bended the shoulder clean. As soon as it cleared up, Zhi dried off Zuko, who nearly cried out in pain. Rie wanted to do something, but what? "Wait," she said. "Zhi, do we have any alcohol?"
"I think there's a cask of strong wine in the captain's quarters," Zhi answered. "Why?"
"Don't apply that antidote yet. I'll be right back with something to help Zuko. That wound looks hideous and has got to burn like lemon juice on a cut." Rie left for a minute, returning with a cup of wine that had been sitting for about twelve and a half years.
"This stuff is really strong," Rie commented. "The captain said that his father gave it to him about two years ago, and that it would knock anyone out who drinks more than half a cup. Which is just what we want," she added, giving the cup to Zuko. Zuko carefully sat up, drank the whole cup, laid down, and in two minutes was out cold.
Katara was able to apply the antidote without any problems. Zhi nodded as he looked at the wounded prince.
"When he wakes up, he will be very sore from all this. Thankfully, we got the antidote applied before any permanent damage was done to the prince's muscles, but removing the arrow and cleaning the cut, well, I don't think Prince Zuko enjoyed that."
"Clearly," Rie remarked. "Zhi, tell all of the crew to be careful when they're on deck. We never know when we're going to pass an island filled with all sorts of bandits and murderers." Zhi bowed in reply and left, taking the now-empty antidote bottle with him. Rie turned to Katara, who was yawning.
"Tired?" Rie asked. Katara nodded. "Can't blame you. Drawing out that poison and bending the water onto the arrow wound must have zapped you."
"Drawing the poison did, not the bending," Katara corrected. "The poison wasn't all water, so I had to focus harder. I'm going to take a nap." Rie nodded and left.
Upon returning to her cabin, Rie shut the door and did a little victory dance. "All right!" she muttered. "At this rate, Aang will win the war and I'll be home in no time." Rie started humming what her friend Jackie called her "Crazy Frog Victory Song". "De-dah-de-dah-de dah dah. De-dah-de-dah-de dah dah. De-de-de-de dah dah, de-de-de-de dah dah." Realizing she was saying it out loud, Rie opened her door a crack, looked to see if anyone was out there, the shut the door.
I don't own the song Rie was humming. Some other company does, but I don't know who. I heard on my friend's "Crazy Frog" CD and I don't know who owns the Crazy Frog.