Pulling on more clothes, Zuko stood still trembling in the small vacant space of his quarters. He had felt his body as he dressed and found no other obvious signs of change, save for one. Again, his hand hovered above the spot on his abdomen, but he dared not touch it.
His flesh, from head to toe, was unblemished.
Pushing out of the heavy iron door, Zuko stuck his head out into the empty hall. Save for the noises of the ship itself, it was quiet. After one last shudder, Zuko stepped out of the room and shut the door. It creaked and groaned on its metal hinges and Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. Still, no one came, and he tried to ease the tension in his back.
He walked down the hall, his eyes straining in the red light cast from the sconces on the walls. Everything was just the same as it had been last year, but this was not his past.
Thoughts swam as Zuko pushed through the darkness down the thin hall. Then almost blundered into the vertical ladder bolted into the wall and felt the jolt of fear when he reached it. Putting a hand to the rungs, he looked up at the closed doorway.
A sigh before he pulled himself upward.
As daylight poured through the opening, Zuko's eyes watered and the door swung heavy away from him. It hit the steel deck with a much louder clang and then he could hear running footsteps.
A pair of masked guards reached him just as he emerged.
"Ah! Your Highness!" One of them said as they both bowed their salute.
Zuko masked his hesitation by brushing invisible dirt from his hands on his pants. The air was frigid and smelled like ice.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"Still in the Sharptooth Sea. We're trying to find a port of entry nearest to the village." The other guard answered.
The same as last time. Yet that time, they had not bothered to find a safe place to pull in.
"Was there a, light?" Zuko asked haltingly.
"No sir." The second guard replied uneasily. "Did you see something? Below deck?"
"No. No." Zuko said, far too quickly to be natural. He ran a hand through his hair, a common gesture now but not then. "And my uncle-"
"We have already sent word to the Fire Lord when we sighted the village." The first guard interrupted. "Are you feeling well sir?"
Zuko froze with his hand still in his hair.
Fire Lord?
"Is everything okay?" A new voice said and Zuko turned.
Lu Ten blinked back at him.
And everything went black.