Hummm….I'm still debating on whether or not to change the rating for this story. I mean, there won't be too much violence but at the same time…I dunno. Maybe I won't. (shrugs) We'll see what the future holds. I started adding horizontal rule breaks in the story to show a break in time. (shrugs) Just in case anyone was wondering.
Oh my gosh, I had a hard time with this chapter and the next. My inner critic kept saying, "This is el crappo!" And I'm like, lying on the floor crying, "Nyoooo Leave me alone you beast!" Anyway, just read it and make your own judgments about it.
Chapter 4: Hide and Seek
Maeli ran down the hall with a small plate of food in her hands, screaming Uncle Iroh's name. He came out of his room to see what was the matter. She nervously jumped up and down, "There's a giant scorpion-spider on the steps! Kill it, kill iiit!" she whined in a deep voice. "Alright, watch the master at work," Iroh slipped off his shoe and pounded the unlucky creature into the steel step. Maeli scrunched her face in disgust, "Ugh, its even creepier when its smashed!" Iroh chuckled as he picked up the dead creature in a rag.
"Those things are so scary," Maeli shuddered. "Yes, scary and deadly," said Iroh as he walked off to throw it away. Maeli walked up to the deck, making sure not to step on the spot where the scorpion-spider was killed. She stood eating another piece of scrambled egg as she looked around. "He's not here…" She went back down to find out where her prince had gone.
"Uncle, where's Zuko?"
"He went into town to find the Avatar. He'll probably be gone all day." He sighed, "He's so stubborn."
"Why is he trying to catch him anyway?"
Iroh scratched the back of his head, "Well, I think that's something Zuko should tell you himself. I could, but it'd be better if he did."
Maeli folded her arms in thought, "Maybe I should help him."
"Oh no, you don't want to get yourself mixed up in that. You'll make enemies that way."
"Okay…Then, I'll just go look for Zuko."
Iroh grinned, "Want to be with him that badly, eh?"
"Yeah," the girl smiled, "He's fun to be with, especially when he's kind of pissed. Its fun to see his wild facial expressions…When he's like-" she mocked one of Zuko's shouting-faces. Iroh laughed, "Yep. That's my nephew!" He reached into his pocket and handed Maeli some money. "Take this in case you find something nice."
"Thank you! And I'll change my clothes this time."
Just a few miles away, another Fire Nation ship was nearing Gangu.
Maeli wandered around the village. It was packed with all sorts of people: dancers, artists, fortunetellers, you name it! It was pretty populated. A fruit market caught Maeli's eye - she loved fruit. There were watermelons, cantaloupes, apples, and even some stuff she never seen before. The shopkeeper greeted her, "Good afternoon, would you like to buy something?"
"Oh, not now, just looking. Your fruit looks so fresh!"
"Excuse me," came a boy's voice. He walked up to the vender, looking tired. He had brown skin, blue eyes, wore a Water Tribe outfit, and his dark-brown hair was tied back into a bushy pony-tail. "Are you hiring?"
The woman shook her head, "No, sorry. But I think help is needed at the OstrichHorse farm."
The boy groaned, "Never mind." His stomach growled loudly. "Shut up down there!" he yelled at it. Maeli giggled, "Hungry?" "Very," the boy replied. "I'll buy you something to eat," said Maeli as she pulled the money out of her bag. The boy's face lit up, "Really? Thank you so much!" he began to drool.
They went from shop to shop, buying all sorts of food, and a lot for that matter. "Why do you need all of this?" Maeli asked. "Its for me and my friends. Wanna help me bring it to them"
"Uh, sure. By the way, what's your name?"
"Sokka."
"I'm Maeli." They carried all of the bags to an abandoned house. Inside, were two people: a girl and a boy. The girl wore the same kind of outfit as Sokka but the younger boy wore an Airnomad outfit and had a blue arrow on his head.
"Hey, Sokka's back!" the young boy jumped up. "Wow! Look at all the food!"
"Where'd you get the money for this?" the girl asked.
"She paid for it," Sokka pointed at Maeli. Maeli smiled and waved.
"Thank you so much!" said the girl.
Sokka jumped in, "No, not just thank you! Bless you! Praise you! You're our savior!" He groveled at Maeli's feet. She only laughed.
"Why don't you join us?" the girl offered.
"Okay," Maeli sat down with them. The girl across from her held out her hand, "My name is Katara." "I'm Maeli," she said, shaking her hand. Katara continued, "This is my brother Sokka and this is Aang."
"Nice to meet you!" Maeli smiled.
"Thanks for the food, we were starving!" said Aang. A lemur hopped into his lap and reached for some food from his plate. Maeli took a bite of grilled fish, "Are you guys travelers?"
"Ohh! This beef is delicious!" Sokka cried with joy. Both Maeli and Katara gave him a weird look.
"Yeah, we're traveling to many places," Katara responded, chewing on an apple.
"Why?"
"Umm, well…" she looked over at Aang questioningly. Aang, who had a chuck of bread sticking out of his mouth, nodded. "He's the Avatar." Maeli dropped her fish. She stared in shock, "You're the Avatar? But you look so young!"
"Yeah, I'm 12; or technically 112."
"Whoa…But, but its dangerous to be out and about! People are out to capture you!"
"Aww, don't worry, I can take care of myself. Besides, I have my friends with me!" he smiled widely.
"You're so cute. It'd be terrible if something happened to you."
"Really? Y-you think I'm cute?" Aang's ears and cheeks turned rosy red. Maeli nodded. "Then, check this out!" He balanced a bell pepper on his head while he shook his booty. The two girls burst into laughter; Sokka didn't notice because he was too busy eating. "Is he always this goofy?" Maeli giggled. "Yeah," Katara laughed.
The gang sat talking for quite some time. Maeli couldn't remember the last time she hung out with her old friends like this. It made her kind of happy to be able to interact with easy-going people, but at the same time, she knew Zuko was hunting them down. When Aang mentioned his name, Maeli's thoughts had been confirmed.
"He's been trying to capture me but I don't know why," said Aang.
Maeli nodded, "I don't know why either" she thought. "Well, I should get going; my dad will wonder where I went. And you guys should leave this place soon, you don't want Zuko to catch up to you."
"Don't worry, we're leaving in the morning," Katara informed.
"Okay. Be careful," Maeli rose to her feet and waved good-bye. "Bye!" they all called.
Maeli was very worried - she didn't want Zuko to bother these innocent people. What was his reason behind it all? She searched frantically for Zuko, she wanted to get him back on the ship so he wouldn't find them. Suddenly, she spotted him sitting under a shady tree. She ran over to him.
"Zuko, hey! What're you doing out here?"
"Nothing," he answered tiredly. He was all sweaty.
"You look worn out. Guess that happens when you walk out in the hot sun for too long. Why don't you come back to the ship and rest?"
"I can't. I'm really busy."
"Please, just for a little while?" she pleaded.
"…Fine."
That afternoon, Maeli joined Zuko in his room to have a conversation; she found him looking over a map. "Oh, are you busy?" she asked.
"Yes. But you can stay if you want."
Maeli took a seat on the floor, resting her back against Zuko's bed and twiddling her thumbs, "Its cozy in here."
Zuko lifted his head from his work as he remembered something, "Maeli…last night, at the festival, you mentioned your ex-boyfriend…Why did you break up?" The girl blinked, "You want to know about that? Gee, well…" she scratched her head in embarrassment, "I found him cheating on me. I was going to visit one of my friends that day, when I saw him and another girl kissing. When I…confronted him…" she lowered her head as she remembered the painful memory, "he told me that he couldn't stand being around me anymore. He said that I moped around too much because my dad and brother died. He said that I was boring him and he got sick of being around me…I have to admit, I did cry a lot. I guess it annoyed him." Zuko gazed at her; it was his first time hearing this kind of story. Maeli continued, "I tried to date this other guy, but it turns out that he was only using me to make someone else jealous. I felt so stupid - falling in love with someone so easily. After that, I stopped trusting people."
"That's terrible…someone nice like you doesn't deserve to be hurt like that." Zuko fix his eyes on the girl, feeling sorrow in his heart.
Maeli produced a weak smile, "Yeah well, I'm kind of used to getting hurt now. When you're traveling all by yourself, you encounter different kinds of people. And let me tell ya', not all people are nice." She spoke from experience during her travels. She got up and moved to sit on Zuko's right side. "So, are you looking for the Avatar's location?" she asked, peeking at the map.
Zuko was still staring at her, wondering why she seemed to cheer up so quickly. He turned to his map again, "Um, yeah, I know he's here, but I just want to double check. I couldn't find him yet."
"Why are you trying to find him anyway?"
As always, he didn't answer.
"Sorry."
"No," Zuko spoke, "I'll tell you. But not now…later perhaps."
There were so many questions buzzing around in Maeli's head. She wanted to know what the rest of Zuko's family was like, what his favorite food was, and most importantly how he felt about her. She leaned away from the map and gazed upon Zuko's profile, "He's so cute when he's concentrating." She averted her eyes to the table so he wouldn't notice her staring. "Hey, Zuko…"
He looked over at her, "Hm?"
"I know we've only spent a couple of days together but I feel like we're close, you know; like friends? And I was wondering…if…"
"What?" Zuko urged.
She had the desire to kiss him. His eyes looked so gentle and relaxed, she just wanted to spring forward and grab him, "Well…I really- "
There was a knock at the door. Iroh walked in; he looked distressed, "Its Zhao."
"What?" Zuko jumped up and followed his uncle out the room. Maeli stood outside the door and watched them walk towards the deck. She leaned against the wall and stared sadly at her feet. "I'm so stupid," she muttered.
Zhao had connected a walkway between his ship and Zuko's. He stood on Zuko's deck with his hands behind his back and guards at his side. "Prince Zuko, we meet again," he smirked.
"So it seems," Zuko did not look happy to see him.
"What do you want Zhao?" Iroh asked.
Maeli poked her head out from behind a wall to spy on them.
"Its Admiral Zhao, now. The Fire Lord has given me orders to make sure that you don't interfere with my plan."
"What plan?" Zuko scowled.
"To capture the Avatar."
Maeli gasped.
"You liar!" Zuko tried to lunge at the man in front of him but Iroh held him back. "There's no way my father would assign that to you! He sent me to do it, it's my mission!"
"Not anymore," Zhao stepped closer to the prince and spoke in a mocking tone, "The Fire Lord is getting impatient. He said that you're not making any progress. He's very disappointed. So, he sent someone more responsible to do it and he said to make sure that you don't get in my way."
"How do we know it's the truth?" Iroh questioned.
Zhao waved his hand to one of the guards and he brought him a scroll. "Read it for yourself."
Zuko opened the scroll and read. It was clear by the look on his face that he was angry and hurt.
"Now, guards, take your places. Zuko has to stay in for tonight. In the meantime, I'll prepare for the mission." Zhao walked back to his ship with a satisfied grin on his face.
Maeli saw Zuko coming and tried to hide in the shadows, but it was futile. He didn't say a word - he simply stared at her with no expression. Iroh didn't say anything either. As the prince continued to march back to his room, Maeli quietly followed. Just as he touched the handle of the door, Maeli caught his other hand. She looked at him with worry in her eyes. He was too upset to speak. He gripped her hand tight as he stared at the door; it was as if he was trying to send her a telepathic message. He let go and went inside. Maeli held her head low. Poor Zuko's problems seemed to keep piling up and Maeli felt useless. She wished she could wipe away his troubles with the snap of her fingers. The only thing she could do was to get the Avatar away so Zhao wouldn't capture him. She left the ship without informing anyone of where she was going.
Zuko lied on his bed with his head stuffed in the pillow. He felt like killing something. He was so angry, yet, so sad; he felt as if he would cry. His father seemed to be playing a cruel game with him. First he tells him to capture the Avatar and now he tells someone else to do it. At this point, Zuko began to question what his father was really up to. However, he felt guilty when he thought of this. He didn't want to think that his father might hate him; he was all he had left. His mother disappeared and his sister was psychotic. Iroh has been there for Zuko over the past 3 years, but he still had a great love for his father.
The sun was near setting and most of the hustle and bustle of the town had died down. Maeli ran as fast as she could to reach the abandoned house. But then she realized she didn't know where it was! She cursed to herself; now what was she going to do? She took a moment to think…Then, someone shouted her name. Maeli looked to the right, squinted her eyes, and saw a boy waving in the distance. It was Aang. She immediately ran over to him.
"Hey, I got this for you," said the boy as he handed Maeli a sunflower.
"Oh, thanks."
"I was hoping I'd see you again before we left. Hey, why don't you come with me! I found this sunflower near a giant cornfield! Its really awesome!"
"Oh, no I can't. Aang, you have to get out of here! This guy is coming out here to get you!"
Aang spoke cheerfully as if he didn't hear what she said, "Okay, well let's go have fun while we can!" He took Maeli by the hand and began taking her to the direction of the field.
"Did you hear me? I said some guy is coming to capture you and you don't care?"
"It's alright. I have my flying bison with me, so it won't be a problem once I call him to step on the guy. Besides, I've gotten out of predicaments before, so don't worry."
Maeli sighed, "I hope you're right. Let's just make this really quick, okay?"
"No prob.!"
When they came to the field, Maeli's mouth dropped. The corns were at least 7 feet tall and the entire field covered a large amount of land. "Come on, let's play hide and seek!" Aang dove right in. "Wait!" Maeli called as she followed. The field of corn was thick and a bit hard to maneuver in. "Okay, start counting!" Aang's voice echoed. Maeli stood in one spot, eyes covered, calling the numbers aloud. She could hear Aang rustling around to hide. The sky was now a rainbow of colors. When Maeli reached 8, the rustling had stopped. She reached 10 and shouted, "Ready or not, here I come!" Maeli was very paranoid about the situation that they were in; she felt like something bad was going to happen. She began walking. It was going to be hard to find someone in all this thickness. She walked and walked, pushing the tall stems out of her way; it was almost like a jungle. She heard a rustle. "Aang?" she called. There was no response. She walked some more. "I'm going to find you!" she called playfully, trying to get into the spirit. There came a sudden hurried rustle in her direction. Maeli glanced behind her - the noise came from her right. She ran in that direction, "Aang?" The rustling stopped, then started again; it was getting closer. She was about to run, but Aang came jumping out of the thickness and pounced on her, knocking her down.
"Gotcha'!" he laughed.
"You scared the crap outta me!" Maeli breathed.
"Sorry, but it was fun, huh?"
"I guess. But you're crushing my spleen."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Aang levitated off of her, helped her up and said, "Okay, now it's your turn to hide."
"But- "
"C'mon just real quick, then we can go."
Maeli sighed as she stared into his big gray eyes; she had fallen for his cuteness. "Alright, but just real quick."
"Alright!" Aang cheered.
Maeli smiled weakly, "Gosh, you're adorable…With your little bald head!" she gave Aang a noogie.
"Hey, cut it out!" he laughed. "Okay, go hide." Maeli nodded and ran off. She didn't go very far because she wanted to get this game over with. She even plotted a way of getting back at Aang for scaring her. When Aang finished counting, she could hear him trudging through the field. "Fi, fye, fo, fum!" Aang called in a playfully evil voice. He stopped moving. "He's probably calculating my location. Heh, little devil won't sneak up on me this time," thought Maeli. She moved in another direction to stay out of range. She heard rustling coming from behind her. "Don't tell me that punk found me out already!" She picked up the pace. "I know you're there!" Aang's voice echoed from the left. Maeli tried running in zigzags to lose him, but the rustling continued behind her. Then, she thought she heard rustling coming from her far left. She stopped for a moment to listen. The sky began to grow dark. All of a sudden, someone covered her mouth and pulled her backwards. It wasn't Aang, but someone else - someone much taller.
"Tell me where he is," a man whispered in her ear.
Maeli's heart raced, she wasn't sure of what to do. She broke away from the man and faced him
- it was Admiral Zhao.
End of chapter 4!
ZOMG! (falls out of chair) Even I didn't see that coming! I scare myself sometimes. Damn, I'm weird.