DISCLAIMER: don't own AVATAR.
Hmm, not much to say, so, let's get on with it!
Chapter 9: The Festival (Part 1)
Flame scrambled up the ladder so quickly and so clumsily, she looked sort of like a strange monkey.
The fire and waterbender stood in the doorway of the helm, panting, and leaning against the side of the door for support. The helmsman looked upon her worriedly.
"Something wrong, Miss Flame?" Flame stood next to the helmsman, and pointed outward, toward the coastline, that was they were sailing to meet.
"F-f-festival, at land, are we stopping there?" Flame panted. It took the helmsman a few seconds to understand.
"Oh, you mean the Nation's Festival?" Flame nodded eagerly.
"Sorry, but we'll only be stopping in the Festival's port. Prince Zuko doesn't want to stay at land for long. Says that he's seen the Avatar again." Flame gritted her teeth.
Damn it, I have a feeling he simply saw a cloud that looks like their bison!
"Well then, thank you for telling me. But I will be getting into that festival." The helmsman raised an eyebrow.
But before the helmsman could ask what she meant, Flame had disappeared down the ladder.
"No." Zuko said firmly. Flame had been begging him to let her go into the festival, but he refused.
"You're my prisoner, prisoners don't get let out." Flame bit her lip in annoyance, and Zuko noted how, even when she begged, she looked extremely calm.
"Fine then, be that way." Flame snapped, and disappeared through the hatch.
They were all gone, everyone, all down at those little shops, getting supplies and what not. Even her guards were gone. Bah, they were making this too easy.
With the skill of a Ninja (hint) Flame leapt of the railing of the ship, landed on the dock with perfect grace, and walked into the Festival of Nations, unnoticed.
After all, the only thing out of place about her was her eyes.
Flame looked around in pure awe, her mother had given her beautiful descriptions of the Festival, everything was described, down to the litter on the ground, and Flame realized what she had imagined when her mother had spoke, was exactly what she saw.
Flame wandered into the Water Tribe section of the festival, full of blues, whites, moons, and oceans and waves.
People all around her stared at her in disgust, simply because of her black hair and black and red clothes. One vender called out to her.
"Yo Fire scum! In this Festival, we may be at peace, but firebenders know to steer clear of us!" Flame turned her head sharply towards the speaker. The vender paled horribly, the tan in his face was gone. The sight of her eyes, the only truly different eyes in the North Pole, was impossible to forget, and horribly frightening if you were stared at when she was angry, and not happy. If you saw her when she was sad, your heart would break in an instant, when her eyes were filled with envy, something wanted you to get the thing she wished for, just so that horrible look in her eyes would disappear.
"You. No… They said you were…" The vender, he ran off, telling his assistant he was going on break.
Flame wandered further into the Festival, looking for that familiar face…
"Waters Bend!" Flame turned around to face the kind woman who called her name. The woman, around five feet, was plump, with her hair in a brown bun, with wisps of silver in it, while her icy eyes, filled with warmth, stared at her.
"Icy Water!"
Flame embraced the old woman, and the woman returned the hug with just as much love. Flame felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she shoved them away. The woman known as Icy Water pushed Flame away and examined her.
"You are the same, Waters Bend." Icy Water said kindly.
"Are you sure about that?" Flame asked jokingly, leaning against the counter of Icy Water's stand.
"I guess this explains why you would disappear for a week every year, wouldn't it?" Flame asked, staring into the crowd. Icy Water grinned.
"Maybe." Flame laughed. Icy Water was as funny as ever.
"Has much changed in the North Pole?" Flame asked. Icy Water shook her head.
"Not much."
Flame knew that her godmother was lying, for her sake, after what she had witnessed.
"Has anyone seen Flame?" Zuko snapped. Every soldier, even his uncle, shook their head no.
"She must be in the festival." One timid soldier suggested. Zuko growled, and walked off the ship.
Damn you, Flame.
"Well, I guess I should be- hide me!" Flmae squealed, when she saw another body dressed in red advancing. Icy Water, slightly confused, simply obeyed, and shoved Flame under the counter.
"Keep quiet." Icy Water hissed as Zuko approached her stand.
"Good afternoon, sir! Can I be helping you?" Icy Water asked cheerily. Zuko humphed.
"Seen a girl with her hair down, firebender kimono, and green eyes? Goes by the name of Flame." Icy Water shook her head. Everything fit Waters Bend, but since when had she been called Flame?
"No, sir, I haven't seen anyone of the sort, I don't know why there would be such people here, no offence, you should try the Fire Nation area, I'm sure they've seen her." Icy Water said, pretending confusion.
Zuko nodded, and left that area of the Festival. Icy Water sighed, and leaned against the counter, while Flame crawled out from under the counter.
"Waters Bend, why did he say your name was Flame? And I thought you traveled with him?" Flame's eyes darkened as she looked away.
"Guess you could say I was traveling."
"Waters Bend?" Flame bit her lip, and looked up at Icy Water. She sighed.
"Zuko hated Waters Bend, he told me that if I was going to be on board a Fire Nation ship, that I must abandoned anything that had to do with the Water Tribe. That. Included. My name…" Flame bit her lip, and looked away shamefully. Icy Water shook her head.
"Waters Bend, it does not matter if Zuko takes away your bending, your name, and your home. Water Tribe blood is in your veins, you were born as Waters Bend, so Waters Bend you shall always be. Never, until you lose control, will you be Flame. Never, until you forget your heritage, and you are, will you be Flame." Flame looked into Icy Water's clear blue eyes.
"And if I forget?" Icy Water smiled.
"Then you'll remember somehow. Now go, and enjoy the Festival." Flame nodded, and with a weight from her heart lifted, wandered into the Fire Nation area.
Gold, orange, red, and many, many flames, as far as the eye could see. Flame found it boring.
She wandered over to a jewelry stand, seeing if she could find anything worth looking at, when-
Great Agni and Shala above, that was the most beautiful gem she had ever seen! It appeared to be some strange ruby, and inside, it looked like it had a small flame flickering in it, like it was alive. Flame picked it up in the palm of her hand. Her hand suddenly felt warmer, and she felt stronger. Flame rolled the gem over and over, and it appeared that there was some sort of inscription on it.
ZukoWas written, with sharp jabs, into the gem. This gem belonged to Zuko? Flame looked up at the vender with wide eyes.
"How much for this?" Flame asked, pointing to the gem in her hands. The vender shrugged.
"30 gold pieces." The fire and waterbender restrained herself from gasping. Only 30? This was a fire ruby! It was possibly the rarest gem on earth! And he was selling it for 30 gold pieces? It was worth more than a million gold pieces! Any man who had a fire ruby was the richest on earth!
Flame eagerly dug into her pocket, and pulled out a heavy money sack. The vender eyed her. That gem was being held onto for a very special customer, but he wanted to see how much this young lady would pay, first.
"I have 50." The vender's hand shot out, and snatched the bag of gold away from Flame.
"Sold." After all, the man who had bought that gem the first time had paid 40 gold pieces this girl was paying more!
Flame walked away happily, holding the fire ruby in her hands, treasuring the warmth and power it held, before she returned it to its owner.
"Excuse me young lady, but I believe that gem is mine." Flame looked up to see a tall firebender in front of her. His hair was cascading down his back, and Flame couldn't help but think that he reminded her of someone. Flame snarled, and cradled the fire ruby to her, and away from the stranger.
"Back off, bud, I paid 20 gold extra for this, there is no way I'm giving it up." Flame growled. She noticed the stranger was struggling with his temper.
"Listen, little girl, that is my-" Flame cut him off with an arc of fire.
"NO MEANS NO! THIS IS MINE!" Flame screeched. Everyone around her looked up. The stranger looked down at her spitefully.
"If you're so eager to keep it, why don't we fight for it? Winner keeps it." Flame shrugged.
"That's it? Winner gets the gem? Why don't we make it more interesting?" The stranger leaned in close, and Flame could smell his putrid breath.
"Are you saying that you agree?" Flame's lips curled into a cruel smirk.
"Winner gets this pretty gem," Flame held up the fire ruby.
"And if I win, you have to pay for anything else I want from this Festival." The stranger nodded.
"But if I win, you have to be my personal slave, doing any and everything I ask for." Flame bit her lip. Men were so, perverted, anymore. Flame held her hand out. The stranger grasped it, and shook it firmly.
"Deal." She hissed.
"Now how will we fight? Weapons, bending, or just our fists?" The stranger had a sick, demented, and demonic grin on his face.
"Agni Kai, all bendings allowed." Flame nodded.
"I chose how we fight, you choose where." Flame thought, then returned the stranger's grin.
"By the dock." The stranger nodded.
"Let the fight begin." And Flame and the stranger walked away, every Fire Nation citizen in the Festival following.
Zuko wondered what was going on, and where were these people going? He stopped one man, running, who was trying to catch up with his family.
"What's going on?" Zuko asked. The young man looked up at him with bright and excited eyes.
"Some fool just challenged the Fire Lord to a duel!"
BWAHAHAHA! It took me long enough! This chapter was actually made up out of several parts from the original tale, but I'm only have way done! Lopchop, you sooooo know what happens next!
INSANITY AT ITS FINEST
LONG LIVE THE HIPPIES!
Zukoscute2
