The ship swayed from side to side, the ocean acting like a cradle rocking a child to sleep. It would be quite soothing if Rei wasn't feeling nauseous. She thought that the trip would be somewhat similar to her trip on Commander Zhao's ship but this was not the case. Considering that Zuko's ship was on a much smaller scale than Zhao's, the ocean was much harsher on the smaller vessel. Not only that, but being in the constant company of crushed fruit attracting flies leaves a sickly sweet smell in the air. It took most of Rei's strength to keep from puking. She wished that she could step out of the barrel for just a minute, but she couldn't risk being discovered by the ship's crew. She's been cooped up in this barrel for hours now, unable to move around or sit comfortably in the slightest. She wondered what life was like for the crew stomping around above her. Were they excited for the work day to be over? Did they work for families they left back home? Did they feel just as homesick as she did? Rei held her boulder opal necklace tightly between both of her hands, hoping that her family was safe wherever they were. Even though she felt trapped in this situation, she held onto the hope that she would see her family again soon.
Rei used her airbending to listen in on some of the nearby conversations, to find any indication on when the next stop would be, but she hasn't gotten any useful information. Some of the crew complained about pickled fish, others were excited for music night of all things. She could already tell that it was going to be a long trip.
Rei wondered how long she could stay in one place before someone would be coming down below deck. Most of the things in storage with her were food items like potatoes, leeks and rice, so she thought that she had at least a few more hours until meal time calls for food retrieval. The big question is where else would she hide? Considering that she was on a small vessel, there wasn't many options for hiding places. Maybe there was a spare storage room or spacious armory nearby? Rei couldn't know for sure, but she did know that she would need to move at some point. She decided to take the risk and pop her head out of the barrel to look around.
Rei quietly twists the top off of the barrel and slowly raises her head. The room around her was dimly lit with hanging lanterns. There were many boxes stacked on top of one another while barrels were strewn around the room in small groups. There was only one entrance in front of her; an open corridor leading to a staircase. She remembered that there was a small cellar-like door at the top of the stairs, so she could tell when someone enters the room. She decided to take a firm step out of the barrel and stretch her legs. It felt incredibly good to just be standing out of that barrel, let alone being able to stretch out. She let out a low moan of satisfaction, then walked around silently. She brushed off some of the fruit that stuck to her legs from the barrel, letting the debris fall to the floor.
Rei felt dirty, sticky with fruit juices and dust. She would kill to have a nice bath right now. She remembered the bath tub at home; a smooth tub made of granite. She remembered the day that her father and brother brought the big slab of rock home with their earth bending. It was enormous, almost three times her size at the time. She ran towards the two men when they got home and stared at the rock in awe.
"Whoa!" She cried. "That's huge! But, why did you bring a rock home, daddy?"
Her father chuckled and padded the rock. "It isn't just any rock, my little Rei of sunshine. It's granite, and would make a fine bathtub for all of us."
Rei quirked her head to the side. "How would that be a bathtub? It has no hole to put water in, and it's too big to be in the house."
Her brother, Lee, stepped forward and rustled Rei's hair. "That's why we're going to sculpt it with earthbending."
"Would you like to watch, Rei?" Her father asked.
Rei bounced up and down while clapping her hands. "Yes, please!"
Rei watched in awe as her father and brother assumed their stances and began to chip away at the lump of rock. They worked more slowly than usual, presumably because sculpting is a much more delicate procedure than flinging rocks around. She'd always been excited to see her father and brother earthbend. It was always such a magical spectacle to see rock bow down to them with ease. Sometimes she'd be jealous that her brother could bend but she never could, but Lee would always try to include her as much as possible. The two men's movements were slow and thought-out, with sudden jabs of motions. Her father's dark brown hair fell down to his shoulder as he worked, but he didn't seem to notice as his concentration was based solely on his earthbending. Lee showed just as much concentration, but breaking it once to give Rei a quick wink. Rei was mesmerized by their movements, flowing so smoothly like water in a stream. She wished that she could move like that.
Rei snapped back to the present, in the dark storage room. She thought back to her brother and father's movements and stances, and realized that she could move like that. They moved with such finesse and grace, much like water or air. She spread her legs to assume their stance and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and began to move her arms in a fluid motion, bending the air around her. She imagined that she was moving in-sync with her father and brother, all chipping away at the granite slab together. For a brief moment, she felt at home and happy. But the stance felt…off with her airbending. She tried to make the movements match those of her father, but the motions didn't match with airbending. She opened her eyes and suddenly realized that she couldn't bend like her father or brother. She was an airbender, not an earthbender. She could not match their movements and bend like they do. She couldn't join them and move as one. This realization crushed her. She let her arms fall down to her sides, and slumped the wall. She wasn't like her father, or her brother. She was an airbender, so she needed to learn different moves and different stances. But everyone who could teach her are dead. All except the Avatar, she mused.
Suddenly, Rei heard a loud creak from the entrance door. She jumped away from the wall and hid behind a group of barrels. Footsteps sounded from the staircase coming towards her. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to keep her breathing as quiet as she possibly could. She heard the footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs, the floor creaking underneath the weight of this unknown person. Rei's heart seemed to pound out of her chest, begging to fly out and away. The unknown person walked around to the side of the room, towards the barrel Rei was in. Rei pepped around her hiding place and saw the man dressed in a fire nation soldier uniform inspecting the barrel. The floor creaked underneath her, which prompted the man to whip around in her direction.
"Who's there?" A male voice called.
Rei quickly turned back to hide behind the barrels again. Her breathing quickened, hands getting sweaty from panic. She heard footsteps getting closer and closer to her hiding spot. The footsteps got slower, each step stomping louder on the metal floor until the man was right behind her. She heard the man place a hand on the barrel. For a brief moment, Rei's breathing stopped. Just before the man could peer behind the barrel, Rei made a run for it.
Rei pushed the barrel down, knocking the man to the ground. She ran up the stairs as quickly as she possibly could and out into the sunlight. The light so blinding that Rei had to shield her eyes with her arm. When her vision adapted to the light, she saw a bunch of soldiers stopped and staring in her direction. She felt like a meadow vole in the face of a rockalanche, frozen in fear. The soldiers looked as if they were as dumbfounded as she was, until a voice emitted from the storage room.
"Stop the stowaway!" A male voice screamed.
Oh shit…
The soldiers on the main deck all ran towards Rei. Some lowered spears and others assumed their offensive firebending stances. Rei ran towards the far end of the ship, but was confronted by another group of soldiers. Quickly, Rei found herself surrounded by firebenders and other soldiers. She didn't want to expose herself as an airbender, but if the situation called for it, she would use her bending to defend herself. As the soldiers got closer, Rei readied herself for a fight. Just as she assumed her stance, she heard a familiar voice.
"What is going on here?"
Rei turned towards the source of this voice and found the teenager known as Zuko. His face was scrunched into an offended glare, hands in fists at his sides. His hair was still in his weird ponytail, and he bore a dark red and black military uniform that differed from the other soldiers. His eyes burned into Rei, but she didn't feel that his eyes themselves are that fiery. His eyes were golden, and even though his expression was full of anger and frustration, his eyes hid a small bit of warmth. He stepped forward through the circle of soldiers until he was right in front of her. They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Rei also noticed the older man that accompanied Zuko step forward, just behind his nephew. She noticed that Zuko looked like he was expecting something since he stared intently at her.
"What?" Rei asked.
"Who are you?" Zuko growled as he inched closer to her. "And what are you doing on my ship?"
"Well, I could ask you the same thing!" Rei shouted back, poking the prince's chest. She didn't know what else to say. Zuko took a step back and the accompanying crew members all shot Rei confused glances. "It wouldn't make any sense, but I could!"
Zuko brushed off imaginary dirt from where Rei poked at his chest. His eyebrows furrowed and he glared in Rei's direction. "Who…are you?"
Suddenly, the older man known as Iroh stepped in between the two teenagers. He placed on hand on each of their shoulders, pushing them away from one another.
"Easy, you two." He urged. "We are all tired from being at sea all day. Perhaps this conversation should take place inside, where we can all relax over a nice cup of tea."
Zuko was not at all pleased with this idea. "Uncle! We don't offer tea to filthy trespassers!"
Rei crossed her arms and shot a cold glare towards Zuko. "Well you're not smelling that pleasant from here either, pony boy."
"Pony boy?!" Zuko pressed up against his uncle's hand, which still served as a barricade between them.
"Prince Zuko, that's enough!" Iroh uttered sternly. He removed his hands and folded them together, hiding within his long sleeves. "Now, let's all calm down and head inside to discuss this situation further."
Zuko's nostrils flared, smoke hissing out of his nose. He flung his arms out to his sides in frustration while sending out an arc of flame. He stomped off towards the housing section of the ship, leaving Rei and Iroh in the center of the main deck. She glanced over to the old man, who was smiling back at her in assurance.
"My nephew may be hot-headed at times, but I can assure you that he is an exceptional young man."
Rei snorted. "As long as he doesn't blow his steam at me, I'm fine with pony boy over there."
Iroh chuckled. "I've never heard that nickname before. Speaking of names, I am Iroh." He bowed.
"I'm Rei." She said, bowing back.
"A lovely name for a lovely young lady." He smiled. He gestured towards the housing section of the ship, indicating for her to follow.
Rei followed behind the kind man, gazing all around her. The crew kept staring after the pair as they walked across the main deck. She hadn't noticed that these soldier didn't bear the skull masks that Zhao's men did. This gave the men more humanity, giving them a face made them seem more like people. Just seeing the soldiers' confused faces somehow made Rei feel a little bit less on-edge. She continued trailing after Iroh as they entered the main housing section of the ship. He led Rei to a nearby room, where he gestured for her to enter.
"There is a fresh set of clothes for you in here, and you can also take your time to clean up." Iroh said. He eyed her for a brief moment before continuing with a smile. "My nephew and I will be waiting just across the hall, where we can all calmly discuss everything over a nice cup of tea."
Rei nodded and gave him a thankful smile. She enters the room where she found a small bed and a wash basin on the sides of the room. On the bed lay a fresh set of fire nation clothes, which she eagerly changes into. She walks over to the wash basin and is shocked by what she saw. She saw a young girl, with wild sections of matted hair separate from a messed-up braid. There was dirt and grime all over her face. The thing that shocked her the most was the large burn mark in the shape of a large hand on her neck. She reached her hand up to the burn mark, gingerly touching it. It looked as if a giant red-hot hand grabbed her by the neck. She didn't realize that the burn was that prominent in size and shape. She thought back to the man that gave her that mark, how he terrorized her with mind games and general aggression. She remembered how she feared for her life when she was dragged down the commander's ship's corridors, not knowing what was going to happen to her. She looked at the broken, scared girl in the mirror and decided no. She flushed her face with water and started to wash her face. No, she wasn't going to be afraid anymore. She untied her hair and began to brush through it with her fingers. She wasn't going to back down no matter what. She re-tied her hair in a half-up and half-down hairstyle, and looked at her reflection. She saw a strong woman, someone who wasn't going to take any more shit. She was going to survive, no matter what else is thrown her way. She was going home.
Hey all! I hope you guys liked this chapter. Did you like the ponyboy nickname? I thought it was pretty cute with his ponytail and all! I really do want to take my time with this story too, so please rate and favourite this story if you like what you see because every review helps with my writing! Have a great week, lovelies! X
