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Chapter Four - Reunited
Jee was minding his own business.
Simply taking a break on the deck, enjoying the quiet and the view of the setting sun as he smoked a cigar. The latter something Iroh frowned upon when the young prince was around.
Prince Zuko had returned to his cabin for the night after supper, surprisingly not as sulkily as usual.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that his cousin was supposedly in this port town. Which of course, only he, General Iroh, and Jee himself knew.
However, they'd docked at just about suppertime, Iroh hesitantly deciding to wait until the morning to search the town.
But he had had no problem in convincing his bratty nephew to let the crew have a night off.
Jee shook his head. With luck, the men would stay out of trouble while they were off ship.
Hopefully, they would behave. If not, he could always make them do extra drills or ship maintenance the next day.
The lieutenant would always blame the next event on extreme tiredness or distraction.
"Hi. Have you seen my dad or cousin around by any chance?"
Whipping his head towards the sudden voice to his left, Jee found himself looking at a young girl, perhaps a year or two younger than the Prince.
The little gremlin, who had somehow snuck onto his ship and snuck up on him, had the audacity to grin up at him.
"You must be Lieutenant Jee," she said, bowing lower than she should. If Jee's assumptions were correct that is.
"Yes," replied the man stiffly, frowning down at the child. He bowed, meeting the angle of lieutenant to royalty. "Am I to presume you are General Iroh's daughter?"
She obviously couldn't be anyone else.
Jee couldn't recall meeting the general's younger child previously, but he and his son had spoken about her enough. In addition, the petite girl in front of him did look a bit like Prince Lu Ten.
And their late mother from what the lieutenant remembered of the woman from their brief meeting.
"That would be me, yes," nodded the girl. She then extended her hand, grin still on her face. "I'm Jaylee."
The lieutenant gingerly took her hand and shook it. It was the strangest, perhaps most informal, interaction he'd ever had with a royal. And that was saying something with the man he had served under for many years.
"I assume you wish to meet with your father? He has been worried about you."
"I regret worrying him," Princess Jaylee replied soberly. "I had better go and explain myself."
"I believe he's in his quarters." Jee suppressed a sigh. "Come along, I will escort you."
"Thank you," the girl said as she followed him, picking up her shoulder bag and sheathed sword from the deck.
Jee shook his head. How the princess had not only snuck aboard, but had set her belongings down beside him and spoken before he noticed her was beyond him.
He just hoped that this young royal was more like her late brother and less like her older cousin.
The ship had enough shouting as it was.
The Dragon of the West was standing at his window when he heard the knock on his door.
"Come in," he replied, thinking it was either his nephew or Lieutenant Jee. Or someone wishing to challenge him again at Pai Sho.
Jee opened the door, then addressed the retired general. "General Iroh, you have a visitor."
Iroh turned, an eyebrow raised. The sight that met him made his eyes widen and a broad smile appear on his face.
"Jaylee!"
The dark-haired girl had already left Jee's side and was running into her father's outstretched arms. "Dad! I missed you so much!"
Jee's mouth upturned in a small smile as he closed the door and left the two royals to have some privacy.
Iroh held his daughter tightly, holding back tears of joy. "Jaylee, my daughter. You have no idea how much I've worried about you."
"I'm sorry, Dad," Jaylee said, voice muffled by her father's robes. "But I had to come!"
"And I'm glad you're here," Iroh replied with a nod. He drew back, holding Jaylee at arms length. "Now, you must tell me all about your journey."
Lee stood at the top of the hill and looked down at the docks. A Fire Nation ship sat there, looming menacingly in the dark. Below him, in the village, the laughter of several Fire Nation men, some soldiers, rose up to the young boy's ears.
It was not a good night to be out of his warm bed and outside of the house Lee knew. It was less of a good thing that Jaylee had disappeared, belongings and all, from their house.
The boy frowned at the black shape on the dark waters.
Even at the young age of nine, Lee knew it was never good when a Fire Nation ship was around.
He didn't want to think about it, but the memory of a conversation he'd had with his new friend kept resurfacing in his mind.
"Where's your family?" he'd asked one time they were in the forest.
"My brother and mom died. And my dad is at sea," Jaylee had replied quietly. "He's coming to get me some day soon. One of my cousins is with him."
"Oh. My dad is away fighting with the army."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too."
Lee realized that Jaylee had never said what kind of ship or boat her father was coming to get her with. He'd assumed it was an Earth Kingdom one.
He had a sinking feeling, one that wouldn't go away, that he was wrong.
Turning, the boy trudged back towards home, angry and sad.
He thought he'd made a friend. He didn't know she was Fire Nation.
At least he could help his mom with his newly learned trapping skills now.
Lee wondered if his mom had known.
"So then I, uh, bought a moose dragon from the stables, you know, the one near the palace? And we rode off into the thunderstorm," Jaylee said gesturing as she spoke.
Iroh couldn't help but smile as he listened to his daughter tell her tale of her "kidnapping." He had to admit, it was well thought out, not to mention entertaining.
"I had to say goodbye to Oats when I got to the Harbour. I couldn't take him with me on a boat or anything, you know. I made sure to sell him to a good home though."
The retired general sipped his tea, noting that Jaylee's was untouched and still sitting where he'd placed it at the low table they were seated at. He chuckled softly and shook his head.
"And after that, I made my way to Shu Jing. Sometimes as a stowaway." Jaylee paused with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. "Master Piandao was a little surprised to see me. Fat wasn't impressed, but he never is. I don't think I've seen him actually smile very much... Anyways, I stayed there for a little while and Master Piandao trained me, even in rock gardening still. And then he helped me find passage to the Earth Kingdom.
"The captain of the supply boat was nice, and he taught me a lot about sailing. So I can help the crew if they need it now."
Iroh rose an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He knew his daughter's dislike of rock gardening and he actually could imagine her helping, or trying to help, the crew of the Wani with the ship. He figured at first, they'd be more confused than anything.
Jaylee hadn't stopped talking and was continuing on. "Of course, nobody in the colony town where we landed had seen the Wani so I kept going until I got here. I managed to persuade one of the villagers to let me stay with her in return for working and helping her out. Her husband has gone off to war, some of the neighbours help her though, so she and her kids will be okay. I showed the oldest one, Lee, how to trap too."
Chuckling again as Jaylee paused for breath, Iroh took his chance to speak. "Sounds like you've had quite the journey my daughter. Tell me more about this nice family who took care of you."
With a nod, the girl quickly obliged. "Well, there was Ming, she was pretty nice, she taught me how to do a lot of stuff like laundry, cooking, and weeding the vegetable garden. She's a really good mom.
"Then there is the two girls, Lin and Meng. They're six and four. At first, they were really shy, but eventually decided that they weren't really scared of me after Lee and I pranked them a couple times.
"Lee's nine. He's a good kid, and he tries to help his mom as much as he can. He misses his dad a lot I think."
"I see," hummed Iroh, smiling still. "It sounds like you and Lee became good friends."
Jaylee sent him a look. "Dad, I barely know him. And no, I don't like him like that if that's what you're suggesting."
Iroh rose an eyebrow, but said nothing, just continuing his grinning.
The twelve year old took her opportunity and continued her story.
"When I was coming back from checking the traps I'd set in the forest, you know, like how Lu Ten taught me, I seen this ship heading into the port. After supper was over and the girls were put to bed, I gathered my stuff, wrote Ming and Lee a note and left it on the kitchen table.
It was actually pretty easy to get through the village and onto the ship. But I'm guessing everybody else except you and Lieutenant Jee are in the village cause it's quiet."
Jaylee paused, glancing out the window. "I don't think Lieutenant Jee was very impressed that I interrupted his break. Or at least it looked like he was having a break."
"I'm sure he didn't truly mind," Iroh assured. "And Zuko is on the ship too, he retired to his quarters after supper.
"Now, tell me why you have come all this way."
Returning his gaze, Jaylee shrugged, raising an eyebrow. "I missed you and Zuko. And he needs me."
Iroh waited patiently for his daughter to continue.
She simply blinked at him, clearly finished.
"That is all?"
"Uhh," said Jaylee intelligently, tilting her head. "I think so?"
"Nothing to do with your uncle?" Iroh asked pointedly.
Jaylee rapidly shook her head. "No. I actually hadn't seen him much since you left."
"Good," nodded Iroh, relief evident in his tone and expression. He placed his empty tea cup back on the table. "Why do you think Zuko needs you?"
"Cause he probably misses me. And how's either of us going to train without our usual training partner? Plus, when he finds the Avatar, I bet he's going to need someone to help him catch him."
Iroh chuckled. "So, it's also because you were lonely without him?"
Jaylee looked away sheepishly. "Yeah." She then sobered. "But I think he could use a friend after... You know..."
Sighing deeply, Iroh reached across the table and place a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Yes. I think Zuko needs you, now more than ever perhaps.
"I'm proud of you, my daughter. You've shown great bravery setting out on your own to find us. You are growing up into a very intelligent, courageous young woman."
Jaylee gave him a small smile. "Thank you, father. I'm glad I make you proud."
The retired general drew back with a smile of his own. "Now, I think it's time for you to announce your arrival to your cousin. Zuko has been anxious to find you too."
"His room is across the hall?" Jaylee questioned with a grin, already on her feet.
Iroh nodded, smiling at her perceptiveness. "Yes. He is likely still awake, meditating."
"Well, meditation is over," Jaylee muttered mischievously, walking quickly to the door.
As his daughter left his room, leaving the door open and crossing the corridor to Zuko's door, Iroh poured himself another cup of tea.
Soon after she knocked, the voice of the prince could be heard, sounding irritated at being interrupted.
The door to Zuko's door was opened. "Hi, Zuko!"
"Jaylee?!"
As the door was closed behind his daughter and the muffled, excited voices of the two children met his ears, the Dragon of the West smiled.
All was well in his world. Even if the peaceful feeling was perhaps only for the evening, he was happier than he had been in weeks.
His nephew was laughing, at his daughter's retelling of her story most likely. The first time he'd heard the boy laugh since he'd been banished.
And his daughter had been brought back to him, one who he had thought had joined her mother and brother. Instead, she had technically joined he and her favourite cousin in a voluntary banishment.
Iroh's two most precious living family members were with him again. And he intended to keep it that way.
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Hope everyone stays safe and well, see you next time.