Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender, or any of the characters in this chapter. People who tell much better stories do.
Only a few chapters left to go in this arc. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!
Firewater Rose: Arc 1, Chapter 5
In the last six hours, things had definitely gone from good, to better, in Zuko's opinion. Two years at sea had long since given him the sea-sense to know when the ship was docked, as Zhao's had been for several hours. Waiting until what Zuko hoped would be nightfall was difficult, but his patience was rewarded. The rolling of the ship told Zuko that the storm had followed them in. With no moonlight to give them away as they crossed the deck, their plan was no longer suicidal. Just crazy.
He stretched the tip of his boot between the bars and nudged Katara with his toe.
"Get up. It's time."
Katara took a moment to get her bearings before nodding a groggy agreement to the Prince. The way the ship was starting to pitch under her feet was going to make her job very tricky, she thought.
Without taking any more time to pull herself together, she focused on the water in her tin cup. She stretched and pulled half of it into a thin line and guided it into Zuko's cell where he had held his steel glove outstretched for her with the hinge on top. She wrapped her little water whip around the hinge and exhaled, freezing it in place.
He sank down to a sitting position, placing the hinge between his feet. To Katara, it looked remarkably like the position he assumed to meditate in. The expression on his face was identical to his meditation face. His breathing slowed. It became more precise. With a loud clatter, the glove exploded.
Katara knew that their time was now very short. Even if one of the other cell inhabitants didn't raise the alarm, one of the guards could have heard the noise of Zuko breaking free of his restraints. She merged the remaining water in her cup with Zuko's and gathered it into a ball that hovered over her right hand.
Zuko rubbed his wrists and palms, massaging as much of the previous weeks' worth of confinement out of them as he could. He then brought his right arm around in a single graceful arc and focused his fire and frustration on his cell door lock. The device melted under his heat and the door swung free. A repeat of the same action destroyed the lock on Katara's cell, and she emerged and gifted Zuko with one of the brightest smiles he'd ever seen.
Zuko grabbed Katara by the elbow and pulled her toward the door. A muffled noise behind them caught his attention. When he turned around to be sure none of the other inmates would tip-off their wardens, he discovered the miscreant nearest the door had developed a mouth full of ice and an expression of sheer terror. Zuko glanced at Katara and raised his eyebrow. She motioned for him to keep moving with one hand, while keeping her waterball hovering at her right hip with the other.
Katara guessed that most of the crew must've been on deck, in their quarters, or on shore. Every stray shadow that crossed their paths had Zuko pulling them into corners and behind boxes, but they didn't encounter another human being until they got up on the main deck.
The pair made a mad dash from the stairwell to the side of the forward port-side catapult. They squeezed themselves between the chassis of the catapult and several barrels of pitch. Zuko risked sticking his head around a barrel to steal a glance at the railing, and pulled back quickly.
"We're locked-down, Admiral," a man's voice said. All she could see from behind the barrels was the man's the red piping and black sleeve of the man's uniform. "We should be good to ride out the storm."
"Very well, captain. Get the flammables below deck before lightning hits something," the Admiral commanded before moving down the gangplank.
The captain motioned to someone Katara couldn't see and pointed at the barrels that were serving as their hiding place. "Get these below deck now!" he barked.
As soon as the captain turned to head below deck, someone knocked-over a barrel in the front row and began to roll it away. Zuko gave Katara a firm shove and they dashed out of their hiding spot and ran between the captain and the crewman while their backs were turned. Shadows began moving ahead of them. Men were running toward the catapults. Katara desperately hoped they were just going to help move the pitch.
Zuko yanked her down behind a stack of crates that were stacked next to the port-side railing. Neither one exhaled until all of the crewmen passed. When the last footfalls faded into silence, they hesitantly stood and glanced around. Seeing no one, they both glanced over the rail of the ship.
"I guess this is a bad time to ask," Katara whispered, "But can you swim?"
Zuko shot her a hot glare but didn't answer. Instead, he swung his legs over the rail and jumped in feet first.
Of course he can swim. What kind of idiot spends all that time on a boat and doesn't know how to swim?
Katara gathered her tattered tunic about her and silently slid herself over the rail after him. The temperate water hit her with the force of a flying bison falling out of the sky. She floundered about in the water for a moment, disoriented by the lack of any light at all, until a hand grabbed her collar and pulled. The hand kept pulling until she broke the surface.
She took on gasping breath and turned to find Zuko treading water a foot away. He motioned for her to follow. They made the swim to shore just in time to hear the bell about Zhao's ship begin its incessant clanging. Sailors scurried about the deck like ants on an anthill that had just been kicked-over.
"We'd better keep moving," she said, "They know we're not on board. They'll turn that town upside down by morning."
Zuko nodded.
"I don't think we can count on finding a room at an inn. Maybe we should head into the..." she said, but Zuko was already moving into the dense thicket that bordered the beach. Katara scrambled to catch-up to him.
"Sokka, get up!" Aang shouted.
"Mmmph. Is it morning already?"
"Almost. We've gotta get moving."
"Did you get a lead on the Fire Navy?" Sokka rubbed his eyes and sat up.
"You might say that. They've overrun the town."
"Wha?" Sokka was still too groggy to comprehend.
"The town... It's full of Fire Nation troops. They're looking for someone. Get your stuff packed, we need to move."
Iroh had spent the morning negotiating supplies for his men and was enjoying a well-deserved shopping spree for himself while repairs were made to his ship when a shadow fell across his path.
"Well, well. What a coincidence this is," drawled a very unwelcome voice.
"Admiral Zhao! What an unexpected pleasure to meet you here!" Iroh barely concealed his confusion. What have you done with Zuko, cur!