The cold wind stung on her skin, but Elyrie remained on the private deck. Leaning over the golden railing, she had longed for the fresh air and inhaled deeply. The cold air tingled in her lungs. She smiled as she looked over the endless sea. Standing on the Zhao's flagship, they lead the Fire Nation Armada to the North Pole for the attack. The past days, dark clouds had accompanied them on their way to the icy North. But this early morning, the sun had broken through the clouds at last.
She smiled when she felt the sun warm her face. She cherished the warmth it gave her, for she had a thick coat over her shoulders to protect her from the icy winds. She hid her hands in the pockets of her dress, which was lined with fur. The air had grown colder as they approached the North Pole.
Behind her, a soldier watched as the sun illuminated her alabaster skin. The rays of sunshine danced through her hair, brightening the red in her auburn curls. When she turned at the sound of the door opening, he could see her face. Her blue eyes were the same colour as the dark blue sea behind her. It looked like the sun had broken through just to shine his golden rays on her. Zuko mentally shook his head at his thoughts, but smiled under his mask.
Then, his attention shifted to the pair that entered the private deck. Elyrie did the same as she bowed and lowered her eyes when Uncle nodded to her with a smile. Zhao barely gave her a glance. Slowly, she took a few steps back to give the two men more space. But she did not leave the deck. Instead, she waited and listened to the conversation of the men. Conversation might not be the correct word: it was more a monologue, with Uncle occasionally agreeing with the Admiral.
"This will truly be one for the history books, General Iroh." Zhao said with a smug look on his face, "Just think, centuries from now, the people will study the great Admiral Zhao who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe civilization." He proudly lifted his chin as he said it.
It did not sound like something you would want to history books to write about, Elyrie thought as she repressed a shudder. She estimated they would arrive tomorrow morning at the North Pole. And she feared what would happen then.
"You are lucky you're here to see it." Zhao continued as he glanced sideways to his General.
"Be careful what you wish for, Admiral," Iroh did not turn to look at Zhao, but kept watching the waves in front of him, "History is not always kind to its subjects."
Zhao clenched his jaw at this. "I suppose you speak from experience," he replied smoothly, "But rest assured, this will be nothing like your legendary failure of Ba Sing Se."
Elyrie bit her lip harder to repress her irritation. Unbeknowst to her, the soldier behind her did the same thing to hold himself back to send a fireblast at the arrogant Admiral. Iroh on the other hand did not react. "I hope not, for your sake." he simply replied.
"Tell the captains to prepare for first strike," Zhao ordered without turning to the General.
"Admiral," Iroh replied in a serious voice, "as your miliraty consultant, I must advise you plan your attack carefully. The waterbenders draw their power from the Moon, and it is nearly full tonight. This means it will probably be full moon when we reach the North Pole."
"Oh, I'm well aware of the Moon problem." Zhao said as he let his hand go over his sideburn. His eyes looked over the oceans, as if was lost in thoughts.
"If we don't defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises, they will be undefeatable." Iroh urged again. But yet again, Zhao did not respond.
After a few seconds, he finally answered "I assure you, I have everything under control."
Elyrie raised her eyebrows at his calm demeanour, as did General Iroh. For him, the attack on the Northern Water Tribe was badly planned from the beginning. If they arrive when the moon is full, no Armada could take the icy fortress.
"I intend to remove the Moon as a factor." Zhao suddenly said with a large grin on his face. He enjoyed the confusion on the face of the older General.
"Remove the Moon? How?" Iroh said, unable to hide the surprise in his voice. Nobody could remove the Moon, that was simply impossible.
Zhao placed his hands on the golden railing, as he remembered his discovery from so many years ago. "Years ago, I stumbled upon a great and powerful secret," he said as he paused for the dramatic effect. Then he turned to the General as he said "The identity of the Moon Spirit's mortal form."
He saw the look of surprise on the old man's face and he grinned. He knew about the respect General Iroh had for the Spirits, so this would come as a surprise.
"I was a young lieutenant serving under General Shu in the Earth Kingdom," Zhao continued his story, "I discovered a hidden library, underground in fact. I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them contained a detailed illustration and the words 'Moon' and 'Ocean'." He saw the parchment clearly in his minds eye. The illustration of the koi fish, who descended upon the mortal world to protect the Water Tribes. Of course, he did not tell General Iroh this. This would be his victory, and his alone. "I knew then that these spirits could be found and killed. And that is was my destiny to do so."
Elyrie's eyes snapped to Zhao. So that's why he wanted to go the North Pole, she thought as she clenched her jaw. She knew he was ambitious, but this was pure madness.
Uncle seemed to think the same thing. "Zhao, the spirits are not to be trifled with!" he said in a warning tone as his kind eyes formed into splits.
"Yes, yes." Zhao said in a tone as if he was speaking to an impatient child, "I know you fear the spirits, Iroh."
Iroh's eyes remained focussed on the Admiral with a weary look.
"I've heard rumours about your journey into the Spirit World, but the Ocean and Moon gave up their immortality to become a part of this word." Zhao continued as his eyes remained fixed on the horizon, "And now they will face the consequences."
As Iroh retreated without saying another word, Elyrie followed silently. As soon as they were out of reach, she softly tugged on his arm. Iroh, who had not heard the girl behind him, turned his head. Surprised, he looked at her with frowned eyebrows. The last days, she had not said a word unless someone specifically asked her something. And even then, she answered with barely a whisper.
"Uncle, what are the consequences of such an action?" Elyrie asked as she placed her small hand on the arm of the older General. Her voice was clear and calm, like the a ticking clock.
Again, Iroh looked up in surprise. This was the first time he had heard her speak in her normal voice since they had set course for the North Pole. He looked at the girl and the dark blue eyes gazed back, serious and sharp. Her shoulders were rolled back and her back was straight, with her chin lifted as she waited for his answer.
"Everything exists together in a delicate balance." Iroh explained as he studied her face. She listened closely, keeping her eyes directed at him. "Everything has its opposite: push and pull, water and fire, moon and ocean." He continued, "If something as vital as the moon would be eliminated, the balance would cease to exist."
Iroh repressed a shudder as he thought of the chaos it would unleash on the world. But he did not say this out loud. "But like I said, the spirits are not to be trifled with" he repeated in a reassuring tone as he patted her hand, "I don't think Zhao would be so foolish to go through with the plan."
Elyrie nodded when Iroh gave her a reassuring look as he patted her hand. She pulled her hand back and smiled, thanking him for his explanation. Then, she excused herself to return to her room. Because, despite what Uncle had said, she was everything but convinced Zhao would abandon his plan.
As soon as Elyrie was out of sight, Iroh turned to the soldier behind him.
"We will be landing soon, do you have a plan?" Iroh asked his nephew.
"I'm working on it, Uncle." Zuko answered as he removed his facial mask. For now, the only plan he could come up with was leaving in a canoe once the ship had reached the North Pole to row to the icy fortress.
Back in her room, Elyrie threw her cloak over her bed as she felt the fear creep up on her. As she let herself fall on the bed, she remembered the look in Uncle's eyes. She had never seen Uncle so distressed. He tried to hide it from her, but she had seen the fear in his eyes. Despite his reassuring words, she felt the cold hands of fear grabbing her heart. Uncle did not know about the months in preparation for this. Or how she had wondered why he had been so determined to attack the Water Tribe in his quest for the Avatar.
Uncle was wise, but he was also kind-hearted with a great respect for the Spirits. Zhao, she knew, was none of this. He was ruthless, ambitious and arrogant. The fact that he even considered such a blasphemous plan, made her even more sure of his determination to succeed.
She clenched her jaw as she cursed his ambition. Glory was not enough, he wanted to be a legend. An infamous legend which will tilt the balance of the world. She turned and turned as Zhao's plan occupied her mind. The man is truly evil, she thought as she finally rolled on her back to stare at the ceiling. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks when she thought about his plans. But also, how he had wronged Jin and Kun to punish her.
She sat up straight and walked to her closet. Opening the closet, she found the small leather purse Jin and she hid in her widest clothing. Opening the purse, her locket and three rings fell in the palm of her hand. One ring was made of white gold and had a sapphire embedded in it. It had been her mothers engagement ring, one her father had made specially for her. The other two rings were the wedding rings of her parents, with their name engraved in them: Thyra and Jian.
She remembered the time she had looked up the definition of her parents names. Jian meant 'man of strength', while Thyra meant 'sacred thunder goddess'. And those names suited them. Her father had been a strong but patient man. Her mother had been a woman who let no one tell her what to do. She smiled at the memories which came flooding back, when they were together as a happy family. Warmth spread through her chest, like she had not known in many months.
As she let her finger caress the simple gold rings, she came to a realization. After the death of her father, she had lived in a fog. Unable to see ahead of her and unable to make concrete plans for the future. And when Zhao proposed, she accepted without a clear view of the future. The past months, all she seemed to be capable of was nodding and smiling.
Elyrie realised that she had been numbed by grief for more than a year. She had not cried, but instead had lost her inner fire. She agreed with the marriage out of obligation, she missed the strength to look further at her possibilities. With her father, she felt safe in their own world. Plans for the future had been far away, unneccesary even. She was sure her father would care for her, no matter what. But then he had died as well, which made her feel completely unable to do anything.
Now she finally realised she had been numbed by the grief of losing everyone she ever cared for. And with the feeling that she had nothing to lose, she had complied to the will of others.
Despite these dark thoughts, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She would still be complying if fate had not brought Zuko and Iroh back into her life. Her small rebellious act of giving him the location of the Avatar had sparked some of her old fire. And she finally had been able to come back to life on the ship, where nothing seemed to be expected of her. She was treated with kindness and was finally able to talk about her parents. They brought me back, she mused as she placed the rings on the chain of her locket.
She looked down at her own engagement ring on her finger. Now she had truly lost everything, but with that nothing left to lose anymore. Without hesitation, she pulled the pompous piece of metal off her ring finger and placed it on the desk. The white gold ring took it's place on her finger as she lovingly let her finger glide over the smooth sapphire.
Then, she cried. The dam was finally broken and she let her tears flow down her face without even bothering to wipe them away. She cried for everything that had happened. For the loss of her mother, her father and finally for Zuko. But at the same time, she felt relieved. The tears were not only tears of sadness, but also of peace. The realisation made that the flames in her heart were ignited after a long slumber and she felt stronger than ever before
She had been so blind for such a long time. Numbed and beaten down by grief, but she had emerged like a phoenix from the ashes. Zhao could not break her, but she was damned if she allowed anyone else to be the victim of his cruel deeds. Remembering the burning village, she came to a conclusion.
First, she would try to set all her wrongs right. Jin was most likely send back to her village, so she would make sure she send her a letter, along with some jewellery as a way to make amends. As for Kun, she needed to find out what had happened to him in order to help him.
She felt a wave of excitement go through her. The energy that came with it, made her heart pound faster. As she opened the red velvet box on her desk, she examined the ruby bracelets and emerald necklaces. Surely, this is enough to feed a family for a couple of months, she mused as she held the stones against the lights. The sun, which came through the windows, made the stones lit up and coloured the walls of the room in a soft green colour.
She smiled as she put two bracelets, a ring and the necklace in the small leather purse. It could not be too heavy, for a hawk needed to carry it all the way over the sea. If needed, she could send more. Then, she picked up a piece of paper and dipped her pen in the ink on her small desk.
Dearest Jin, she began her letter. I am sorry for what happened to you because of me. I know I cannot do anything for you now, but I hope this will give you and your family some means of…
A soft knock startled her and she quickly placed a book over her letter. The figure that entered had kind eyes with small wrinkles around them. "Uncle!" Elyrie said, relieved.
Iroh frowned his eyebrows at the girl. He saw that her cheeks were stained and her eyes red, no doubt from crying. Her scared look at his entrance made him shudder. She must live in a permanent state of fear, he thought sadly.
"I just came to bring you a nice cup of bracing tea" the old man said in a kind voice as he showed her a tray with a pot of tea and some sweet cakes. Elyrie smiled. "Thank you, Uncle." she said as she took the tray from him, "Would you like a cup as well?"
"I wish I could, dear." Iroh answered, "But I need to arrange the landing party for when we reach the North Pole."
"Landing party?" Elyrie repeated with a puzzled look, "Does the Admiral expect the invade the city right away?"
Iroh raised his eyebrows at her efforts to keep the conversation going. Nevertheless, he was pleased to see she seemed to do better. If only I could tell her Zuko is all right, he mused as he watched her place the tray on the small desk, which stood against the wall of the room.
"Not exactly," Iroh answered after a few seconds, "But he wants a ship with fifty man as a division."
"To be send ahead instead of the full Armada at once, no doubt?" Elyrie said while smoothly covering up the sapphire ring she was wearing. Even though she knew Uncle would never betray her, it was better to keep her guard up.
"Exactly." Iroh said with an appreciative nod, "But if you will excuse me, I need to go."
"Of course." Elyrie said as she smiled at the older man. When he left the room, a concrete plan began to take form in her mind. I will no longer be on the wrong side of history, she mentally told herself as she started her preparations.
"I want the first 50 men to prepare for the diversion!" Zhao's voice roared that evening through the intercom system of the ship.
Elyrie waited behind the door as she saw the selected division of men pass. They were preparing for their departure on the smaller ship, which was to be the first to attack the North Pole in the morning.
She scanned the men that walked by, carefully selecting them. The last one was roughly her height.
"I am sorry, but can you help me?" she asked innocently as stepped from behind the door. She blocked his way, so the rest of the men went around the corner of the corridor. When they were out of sight, she smiled sweetly at the confused soldier and extended her hand. In a reflex, the soldier grabbed her hand to help.
What happened next, the soldier didn't remember. Only that he woke up in the dark corridor without his helmet or armour, but with his limbs tied together and a silk scarf pushed in his mouth.
Next up: The Siege of the North! :)