Chapter Three
Kora awoke to the sound of waves crashing up against the side of the ship. She sat up tiredly, recalling everything that had happened the day before in a slight haze. Trying to clear her head, she looked outside and noticed the position of the sun: she had slept until almost noon, a surprising thing for someone who usually woke up around six in the morning for work. Shrugging it off, she slowly made her way out of bed and over to her small desk. Inside the drawer she found a small mirror and a hair brush. Silently reminding herself to thank Iroh later, she grabbed the brush and mirror and sat down to work out the tangle of hair that her curls had become. A small commotion from the deck caught her attention.
Outside, Zuko was practicing his fire-bending with one of his crew members. Kora watched in awe at his skillful moves, having always been one to admire any type of bender. When she was growing up, she would always pretend she was a bender herself while observing her father practice. Even though she admired every type of bending, Kora preferred fire over all others: graceful and elegant, yet powerful and destructive. She sighed quietly in disappointment as the duel below her on the deck ended with one swift move by Zuko.
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Zuko stood above the defeated crew member, panting slightly from his rigorous training session. Iroh looked on approvingly as Zuko walked over to him.
"Very good Zuko, I am seeing much improvement." said Iroh with as a grin spread across his face.
"Thank you Uncle..." said Zuko as he leaned up against the ship's railing. His stomach rumbled slightly as he remembered how hungry he was.
"I'm going to go find something to eat..." said Zuko, standing up again. Iroh laughed nervously. Zuko gave him an odd look.
"What...?"
"Well, we have a slight problem..." said Iroh with a silly grin. Zuko wondered what this had to do with food.
"You see, our usual cook was injured in the battle last night. So, while he's incapacitated, we'll need someone else to cook for us." said Iroh. Zuko sighed, frustrated.
"Well it's not like we can just walk into some town and post a 'now hiring' ad!" fumed Zuko.
"Ah, but I had a genius idea! What if we were to ask Kora to cook for us? I'm sure such a well-mannered young lady such as she would know how to cook a good meal." said Iroh, obviously proud of his idea.
"Uncle, she's our prisoner, not our cook! Are you going to have her clean, too?" scowled Zuko, but he was stopped by another angry growl from his stomach.
"Fine, but only for a little bit." said Zuko in defeat.
"Good! I'll go let the crew know that we need to stop for provisions while you go ask Kora." said Iroh, turning to leave.
"Wait, why do I need to ask her?"
"Aren't you the hungry one...?" said Iroh with a smirk. Zuko grumbled and walked off towards the cabins.
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Kora brushed the last snarl out of her hair with difficulty and admired her work in the mirror. She had never been one to fuss over her looks for long, but it never hurt to look decent. Setting the brush and mirror down, she pulled her long hair into her usual ponytail. Just then, the lock on her door clicked and in stepped Zuko. Kora stared at the ground quietly, ready for an interrogation.
"We have a slight problem, and I need to ask for your assistance..." said Zuko stiffly. Obviously he wasn't used to asking others for help. Kora just looked at him curiously, not quite sure what he meant.
"We need you to cook for us..." said Zuko, a little embarrassed. Kora stifled a laugh: this was the last thing she expected from Zuko!
"Alright, I'll help you." she said, deciding that cooking would be better than being stuck in her room all day. Zuko nodded his consent and turned to leave.
"You're very good, you know." said Kora quietly. Zuko turned around with a puzzled look on his face.
"Your fire-bending, I mean. You're very talented." said Kora, smiling up at Zuko. He blushed ever so slightly, not exactly knowing how to respond to her compliment.
"Thank you." he said quickly, then left and shut the door behind him.
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A few hours later, there was a soft knock on Kora's door.
"Come in..." said Kora from her bed. The lock on the door clicked and Iroh entered her room
"Would you come with me please?" he said kindly. Kora nodded and followed him out into the hallway silently.
"I must thank you again, Miss Kora. After all of this it's so kind of you to do us such a favor," said Iroh grinning. "I'm looking forward to dinner tonight..." he added hungrily. Kora laughed slightly, but remained quiet until they emerged onto the deck of the ship, where Zuko and his crew were waiting. Iroh stopped and handed a small bag of money to Kora.
"Here, get whatever you think we'll need and send it back with the crew members. Oh, I put a little extra in there for you: treat yourself." he added in a hushed tone as Zuko walked over to them.
"Let's go, we don't have all day..." said Zuko, talking indirectly to Iroh. Kora nodded and followed him off onto the island they had stopped at. The dock doubled as a fairly busy marketplace.
"Be back here by sunset." said Zuko, turning to Kora. Looking towards the sun, she figured she had a few hours until then. Weighing the bag in her hand, she set off through the market with a few crew members in tow. The people behind the stands stared at her and whispered to each other, but she paid them no heed: it probably wasn't everyday that they saw someone with a Fire Nation escort come through their small town.
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Zuko stood impatiently on the deck of the ship, looking out across the docks. The entire crew had returned, except for Kora and one of her guards, and the sun was just setting.
"Where is she?" said Zuko. Iroh sat a few feet away, sipping his tea.
"Be patient Prince Zuko, she will return in time."
"Am I the only one that realizes that we don't have all the time in the world?" said Zuko angrily. "Maybe something happened to her..." he added. Iroh grinned slightly.
"It's very kind of you to worry about her so much, but I'm sure she's just fine." said Iroh, taking another sip of tea.
"I'm not worried about her! It's just that..."
"Just go find her if you're so concerned!" said Iroh, giving his nephew a playful push towards the dock. Zuko stalked off angrily.
After searching the market in vain for some time, Zuko finally spotted Kora and her guard standing by a small stand that was selling trinkets. They turned around in surprise as he came up to them.
"I'm sorry sir, I lost track of time..." said the guard. Zuko sighed in frustration.
"Just go back to the ship." he said to the guard. As he walked away, Kora quietly set down what she had in her hand and pulled out the money bag.
"Here's the rest of the money." she said, handing it back to him. He took it, and then picked up what she had been holding: a small shell.
"It's an instrument, see?" she said, pointing out the various holes on the sea shell. "My father used to play it for me before he left... for the war..." she added quietly. Zuko was about to say something when she interrupted.
"It's nothing really... I'll see you back at the ship." she said, hurrying off as Zuko continued to inspect the small instrument curiously.
Kora hurried along the darkening docks, avoiding curious glances from all of the villagers as she ran by.
"What are they all staring at...?" she said to herself.
In her distracted mindset, she stumbled over something and fell to her knees on the ground. Slightly shaken, she stood up again, but not without noticing a piece of paper on the ground. Picking it up, she gasped: it was a wanted ad with her face on it. Below her picture, it read, 'Wanted for high treason against the Fire Lord. Alert a soldier if this girl is spotted.'
"There she is! That's her!" yelled someone from a side street. Kora spun around to see a group of four masked Fire Nation soldiers rushing at her. A blast of fire seared past her head as she dove to the side just in time.
"Freeze! You're under arrest!" yelled one of the soldiers as Kora tried to stand up and run, but she wasn't quick enough. She closed her eyes as a blast of fire flew straight at her, but it never came. She opened her eyes slowly to see Zuko standing between her and the soldiers.
"You! Step away from the refugee!" yelled a soldier as they all stopped a few yards away, but Zuko ignored him. With two swift fire kicks, two soldiers were lying on the ground. The others stared for a moment, and then charged Zuko, shooting flames towards him and Kora.
"Stay back!" shouted Zuko over the commotion as he blocked all of their shots. Finally regaining her balance, Kora stood and backed up as far as she dared, fearing others lurking in the shadows. She watched in awe as a Zuko took down another soldier with ease, and then kicked up fire in the direction of the last soldier: which sent him running in the opposite direction.
"Come on, let's go. He probably went for backup..." said Zuko, grabbing her hand and half-dragging her back to the ship. They could hear shouts behind them, but they didn't have time to look back.
Uncle Iroh and the crew stared at Kora and Zuko as they ran back aboard the ship. They stopped by Iroh to catch their breath.
"Let's go! Now!" yelled Zuko to the helmsman.
"What's the rush?" said Iroh calmly, sipping his tea.
"That is the rush, Uncle." said Zuko, pointing towards a huge group of soldiers running down the dock towards them.
"I see..." said Iroh as he walked up to Kora, who was watching the docks slip away over the horizon.
"I should have known it: of course they'd have wanted posters for me!" she said, staring at the ground.
"Now now, it was by no means your fault." said Iroh with his usual grin. "Are you hurt at all?" Kora shook her head.
"Well then, why don't you go get some rest." said Iroh. Kora nodded, and then walked quietly over to Zuko, who had his back to everyone else, staring out to the sea.
"Thanks for saving me; I know you didn't have to." she said. Zuko remained quiet, so she headed towards the cabins.
"I'm going to bed. Good night Uncle..." said Zuko after a few moments of silence.
"Wait Zuko, I have a question. You could have easily taken down all of those soldiers by your self. Why didn't you?" said Iroh curiously, but Zuko remained silent, his back to his Uncle.
"You didn't want her to get hurt, that's why." said Iroh, pleased with his conclusion.
"I said good night, Uncle." said Zuko, walking away and leaving Iroh alone on the deck to consider his discovery.