A/N: Thanks for the reviews thus far, and all that jazz. I disclaim owning Avatar… I just like to mess with the character's heads. Also I describe the Christian belief system, so don't be offended that I'm forcing my beliefs on you. That'd be mean.
The next morning when I got up I found my hair had curled nicely overnight.
I wonder how they'll react to curly hair… it doesn't seem like anyone has curly hair here. All straight. How boring… and they seem to think blonde's a weird color too. Well, this oughta be fun then! I grinned expectantly, and put on some of my own clothes. Iroh said we'd be docking for supplies so I tried not to look too outlandish. Of course, jeans and a shirt still look outlandish, but it's close enough.
I wandered through the halls until I found the "cafeteria" as I had so named it, and got ready for the usual dirty stares and gawks. That was one part about the ship I hated: all the guys. I was bad enough around a single guy taking an interest in me, but when there's about a hundred? Overload!
However, this time when I walked into the room I didn't get dirty stares. They were staring at my hair. I smirked inside, trying to hold in the laughter that was about to bubble out.
I made my way over to my usual table where Iroh, Zuko, and his commanders usually sat. Only Iroh and a few of his other friends were there, so I sat somewhat near Iroh. I felt comfortable around him; he had an infectious laugh, a good sense of humor, and he was nice to me. Oh, and he kept the men at bay. That's always a plus. Of course, they all noticed my hair straight away.
"Amazing! I had not thought your hair could curl." Iroh leaned over his food to have a better look. I blushed and touched my hair. If I knew I'd get this much attention I might not have washed my hair forever!
"Thanks, it's only straight when I use a straightening iron. It curls much easier." That's about all I let myself say, before I immersed myself in eating my food to ignore the stares still pointed in my direction. After a minute, I regained control over my emotions and I could start talking.
"So Iroh, are we close to docking for supplies?" I tried not to hint that I really wanted to go shopping… and I wanted to get some little gifts for a few people to make up for missing Christmas at home. Apparently, I didn't hide my interest well enough because Iroh peered at me.
"As a matter of fact, in the afternoon. Why? Some auspicious occasion wouldn't happen to be approaching would it?" he must have thought it was my birthday or something.
"N- well…" I sighed, "Christmas is in two days, and I'd like to get y'all some small gifts. I would hate to miss out on that part of the holiday."
Just then Zuko walked over and sat beside his Uncle across from me. He immediately started staring at my hair.
"Oh do tell, what is this Christmas?" Iroh asked intrigued.
"Well, where I come from, Christmas is a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Earth as a man." They looked confused. Zuko kept staring. "Um… okay, God created the world and man to be with Him, but man sinned. Since God can't be near sin, when we die we can't go to Him like he originally intended, so we go to Hell. However God gave us his son, Jesus, who was born of a virgin and lived on Earth as a man. He died in our place, as a sacrifice, so whoever accepted His sacrifice would be able to be with God when they died. And Christmas is the holiday where we celebrate that by giving each other gifts. Of course, most of the Christmas traditions aren't Christian at all. They're a collection of pagan traditions turned into something Christian. Heh, it's complicated." I looked down at my food and decided it would be best if I kept eating.
"Interesting." Iroh stroked his beard in thought. "What else do you do on this holiday?" I cleared my mouth of food to answer.
"Well, we sing Christmas Carols, eat food, give gifts, and be happy and thankful." Iroh's eyes lit up and Zuko groaned softly to himself.
"We must celebrate this Christmas of yours! We will sing and eat and give gifts!" I laughed out loud. I guessed Zuko wasn't fond of this. "And you must sing us some of your home's songs!" I stopped laughing and blushed.
"No, no, no, I can't sing! Not very well at least, someone else can."
Zuko decided to get back at me for making him have to put up with this.
"Nonsense. Only you know your songs, and we wouldn't be able to fully appreciate your holiday without them." He had an evil smirk on his face and I knew I couldn't avoid it now.
"Alright… but I'm warning you, I can't sing well so don't get your hopes up."
"Fair enough. Half the men on this boat are tone deaf and can't sing either." I laughed.
"That makes me feel so much better now."
Later in the day, the ship pulled into the docks at a town along the coast. It didn't look as primitive as the last one, but it was still small and … well, not modern.
I followed Iroh and Zuko, along with their escort, down the dock and into the small town. Zuko went with his men to get what the ship and men needed, while Iroh took me shopping for everything else. After Zuko left, he muttered something about being able to get extra tea now.
Our first stop was, no surprise, a tea-shop where Iroh browsed the collection and in a few minutes had ordered two crates of some weird sounding tea to be sent to the ship.
Nest, Iroh took me to a store where there was an assortment of clothing like theirs in different colors. He showed me which ones were the women's clothes and let me browse around picking out some things I liked. I had the lady who owned the place help too, seeing how Iroh was a guy and might not have had a fashion sense. After an hour or so, I had a nice assortment of tunics, dresses, and pants in a few different colors and styles. We also picked out some shoes since mine wouldn't match with theirs. On the way out a bolt of bright red fabric caught my eye and I turned to look at it. The silk was a rich red, and was so thin you could almost see through it. I ran my fingers over it in awe.
"This is the most amazing fabric I've ever seen! It's beautiful!" Iroh watched me with the fabric and his eyes lit up before he hid it with a busy attitude.
"It is, isn't it. Well, we must hurry! We can't hang around here all day with so much left to do." I missed the meaningful look he shot the store owner on our way out.
I made Iroh leave me alone while I bought a few things for him, Zuko, and the men. Then, when we'd gathered everything we needed Iroh and I headed back to the boat where we found Zuko and his men loading crates of food and other supplies aboard. I spotted Iroh's crates of tea among them, but Zuko didn't seem to notice.
"Ah, Prince Zuko! You must join us for some nice relaxing tea. You have had a long, hard day."
"No, Uncle. We're leaving as soon as everything's on board. I've heard word of the Avatar near here."
I looked at Zuko and Iroh, kind of excited. Maybe I'd actually get to meet this famous Avatar. However, the moody Zuko I'd come to expect in the last few days since my arrival had been replaced by a fierce, focused hunter. I could tell he wouldn't be distracted by anything until he had faced his enemy. Even Iroh had changed. He wasn't the same jolly, carefree old man I'd known. He was replaced with a stern, knowledgeable general.
I felt very out of place around them and decided to avoid them until they'd returned to normal. I discreetly tried to go below deck before the schizophrenic people spotted me, but of course Murphy's Law just absolutely loves me and Zuko noticed me.
"Hey! Where are you creeping off to?"
"I'm not creeping," I said defensively, doing the sassy 'hand on hip thing' "I'm going below deck to put my stuff up." I gestured with the collection of clothes and other items.
He glared at me, like my brother used to do when I out-thought him in something. Walking quickly up to me, he grabbed my arm very hard and shook me slightly.
"You're planning on running off, aren't you? I bet you plan on giving the Avatar some valuable information he can use against us." His hand was heating up very quickly and I was almost wincing.
"Ow, you're hurting me! And I'm not going to run off! You've been kind to me so far, why would I betray that?" I sucked in my breath as his hand squeezed on my arm tighter.
"Don't think you can fool me." He hissed menacingly at me. "I know your kind and your tricks. You make everyone think you're wonderful and kind, then you turn on them when they least expect it…" Suddenly he covered his hand clutching my arm in flames and I screamed, trying to pull away as I felt the heat burning my skin.
After a split second he let go and I stumbled back, cradling my burned arm. I'd never been really angry with someone before, but I suddenly was now. I glared at him with such anger he unconsciously took a step back. Zuko beckoned to two soldiers and they grabbed me roughly.
"Take her to one of the prison cells until I've caught up with the Avatar. I won't give her a chance to escape."
The two men dragged me down the stairs, past my room, and deep below the ship where they left me in a barred room with a bowl of water.
How dare he? Oooh! The idiot! I am so not about to run off and betray them to that Avatar; I'd just like to see the guy. He makes me so mad!
I slumped in a corner and tried to keep my burned skin from touching anything. I checked it to make sure it wasn't too serious and it didn't look too good. My skin was peeling and bright red, and I couldn't feel any pain in my arm.
I did, however, have a blinding headache and I pressed my head against the cold metal wall of my prison and closed my eyes.
