Wow, ok, this chapter took forever to write. Sorry for the delay :/
Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys are amazing!
Things were not going well for Lieutenant Jee. This morning he had woken up in the street to find some rich kid staring at him. He had no memory of how he'd ended up sleeping there, and worse, his money was gone, either stolen or spent. He stank and his head was throbbing like a herd of komodo-rhinos were stampeding around in there.
The day had not improved when the noon rush arrived, forcing Jee to find somewhere cool and quiet to slink off to. He'd tried one of the bars, but last night must have been a worse night than usual because as soon as he set foot in the place he was accosted by three large, beefy men with a handful of teeth between them. They accused him of cheating them at mah-jong, which was preposterous! Jee never got caught when he cheated. So Jee was forced to make something of a run for it, slipping around the back and over the wall into the backing property. He lost them fairly quickly, stupid meatheads that they were, and decided to just find a quiet spot to sleep down by the docks.
Wedged between a few crates, down the disused end of the dock, Jee smirked in satisfaction as he dozed in the shade.
He stayed there for several hours, sleeping on and off, and when the sun finally started to set, leaving the temperature comfortably sweltering, he set off in search of a meal. That was when he saw the kid again.
There was no mistaking him, rich clothes, head shaved except for a girly looking pony tail and a huge swath of bandages over one half of his face. Jee's mouth twitched with amusement, the kid really did stick out in a crowd.
Jee loitered near a street foot vendor, contemplating various ways of scrounging the coin to buy one of the baozi the man was selling. He watched idly as the kid stuffed his face like he hadn't eaten in a week, the boy had just started on his second bun when he stopped and just stood there dumbly for a few moments. The kid then groped for the stand, missing it completely. He looking like he was seriously unwell and against his better judgement Jee called out to him,
"Hey kid, you ok?"
The words left his mouth just in time to watch the boy slump to the ground in a dead faint. One eyebrow snaking its way up his forehead, Jee was about to move on to a different vendor when he caught sight of the boys face. He must have damaged whatever injury was under the bandage because a bright red stain was spreading across it rapidly.
"I really, really don't want to be involved with this." Jee's mutterings were resigned; he was already making his way over to the boy. Lifting him upright didn't wake him, nor did shaking or slapping him. The boy was out cold and his skin was incredibly hot.
'Firebender' thought Jee, and one with a fever to boot.
Jee hoisted the boy up in his arms, snagging his half eaten baozi as he did so. He remembered seeing an herbalist's a few streets inland, maybe he could leave the kid there and get away before he was involved. The kid looked rich enough, paying shouldn't be a problem.
People stared as Jee made his way towards the herbalist and he tried for a look of nonchalance but it didn't feel right and he quickly switched to a glower before his face did something really stupid, like look concerned.
Toeing open the door, Jee entered the herbalist's, "Hey, anyone in here, got a kid who passed out in the street!"
Job done, Jee plonked the kid in a chair by the door and turned to leave, but something on one of the shelves caught his eye, "Couldn't hurt to have a look around," he muttered to himself.
When the old woman who ran the shop finally hobbled through the beaded curtain that lead to the back room Jee had given up on his pretence and was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest, glower firmly in place.
The woman glanced at Jee enquiringly and he jerked his head at the kid, whose face had taken on a corpselike pallor.
The woman didn't move, simply raised one plucked eyebrow and spoke in a low, rasping voice, "What? You expect me to move him? Get him in the back room." And with that she turned and shuffled back through the doorway.
Jee hefted the boy over his shoulder, manoeuvring carefully through the doorway into the back room. He set him down on a futon a bit more gently than before then quickly backed out of the room. He fully intended to leave, but somehow ended up in the chair by the door, staring blankly at herbs and roots.
He had been waiting for about ten minutes when the old healer's shocked gasp catapulted him out of his chair and through the curtain. What he saw in the other room had him backing up and sitting straight back down again. The boy's face was a mess; nearly half of it had been burned beyond recognition. Before he managed to back out of the room he caught the healer's eyes, she was glaring at him in accusation, but Jee felt too sick to deny anything. The kid couldn't be more than what, twelve? Jee wondered what had happened to him.
Under the horror, Jee felt slightly better knowing that the kid suffered a burn and not some kind of disease. It was a guilty sort of relief, but practical: burns weren't contagious. In any case, there was no way he could leave the kid alone now. He'd never seen a noble with an injury like that, and he wondered where the boy's family was.
Slumped in the chair with his head in his hands, Jee settled back to waiting.
When Zuko woke it was to the blissful absence of pain, relief immobilized him and he just lay still, relaxed for the first time in days. He cracked open one eye, taking in the fact that he had awoken in yet another strange place. His good mood slightly spoiled, he tried to sit up and figure out where he was. He felt like he was missing time, the last thing he remembered was buying a bun for dinner, yet he would swear that the sun was at about midmorning.
There was a click and a scraping sound and the room was flooded in sunlight, warming Zuko and filling him with a bit more energy. Sitting up properly he noticed the old woman standing by the shutters, hands tucked into her sleeves in a way that reminded Zuko uncomfortably of his uncle.
"How are you feeling young man?" the woman's voice was pleasantly low and rasping.
Zuko cleared his throat, working his tongue in his mouth, "Thirsty," he croaked.
"I'm not surprised, you were severely dehydrated. That's why you collapsed. How much did you drink yesterday?" The old woman handed Zuko a cup, filled with water.
Zuko sipped from the cup slowly, working the liquid around inside his mouth to clear out the cottony feeling, "Uh, I can't remember drinking anything yesterday actually."
The old healer clicked her tongue in disapproval, "That's a nasty burn you have," Zuko flinched, "burns take a lot of fluid to heal properly, you need to make sure you're drinking as much as you can until it heals."
Zuko nodded, not meeting her eyes, and finished his cup.
"Now the nice young man who brought you in is sleeping in my chair and I'm afraid that I can't do much more for you. I've made a whole jar of that salve and I can sell you some more bandages too. Other than that you just need to drink enough and get plenty of rest. And keep it clean! Burns are nasty when they get infected and you don't want that!" the woman shuffled through the beaded curtain, still prattling.
Collecting his things, Zuko stood shakily, he didn't remember anyone bringing him in but he supposed he should thank whoever it was.
Brushing the beaded curtain aside and stepping into the front room of the shop, Zuko was surprised to see the man from the day before, the one who had been sleeping in the street. It seemed he had a talent for sleeping in unusual places because he was currently sprawled in a rickety chair near the doorway, his head was flopped backward and his mouth hung open, his arms were flung out to either side, resting on the windowsill and his legs were stretched out in front of him. It looked like a deeply uncomfortable way to sleep.
Zuko turned to the old woman, who was standing behind the counter with a look of amusement on her face. She had collected together a small ceramic jar and a stack of bandages and was halfway through wrapping it all up in thick hand-made paper. Tying the package shut with some twine, she set it on the counter. Zuko dug in his bag and placed a gold coin in the old woman's wizened palm with a nod. She gave him his change and Zuko packed the coins and the package into his bag.
Turning to face the sleeping man, Zuko cleared his throat. Immediately, one of the man's eyes opened. Zuko flushed a little, embarrassed that this man had seen him collapse like a weakling. He cleared his throat again, "Thank you for your help. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
The man rubbed the back of his neck, then stretched and stood, "Well... I am hungry."
Zuko nodded, heading outside, "Yeah ok, know a place that's good?"
The man followed him after a moment; they walked in silence for a few minutes. The man kept looking at Zuko from the corner of his eye, it was a bit unnerving. He was going to say something when the man spoke, "So what's your name kid?"
Zuko looked at him in surprise, "My name's Zuko... Prince Zuko."
Zuko kept walking for a few more steps before noticing that the man had stopped. Turning, he met the man's eyes, there was some unreadable emotion there and the man wasn't saying anything, or moving, Zuko shifted nervously, "People normally... uh... bow... or something..." he struggled a bit before finding something else to say, "What's your name?"
That seemed to shake the man from whatever was bothering him and he bowed slightly, with a bit of a flourish, "Name's Jee, Lieutenant Jee as a matter of fact, pleased to meet you," he caught Zuko's eye and grinned, "your highness."
Now it was Zuko's turn to stop, and Jee nearly ran into him as he rummaged through his bag, pulling out the list the woman at the Navy Outpost had given him. Running a finger down the list he finally spotted what he was looking for, "Lt. Jee. There! You're currently waiting for a new posting, right?"
"Uh yeah, how did you know? ...Sir." Jee peered down at the list in Zuko's hand.
"I was given this list to draw my crew from, the Fire Navy ship in the harbour? That's mine, I have a mission from the Fire lord, to hunt the Avatar, and I need a crew. Do you know where I can find the rest of these men?" Zuko was excited, everything was coming together. Soon he would have a crew, then he would just need to purchase supplies and he would be ready to begin his mission.
Jee was staring at him, eyebrow raised, "If you don't mind me asking... How old are you?"
Zuko bristled, "Fourteen in eight months. Not that it's any of your business!"
Jee palmed his face, dragging his hand through his hair, "Thirteen... and you're out to hunt the avatar on that old ship with this motley bunch for a crew? Urgh. I need a drink."
Zuko frowned, he may be young, but he was still a prince. This man should respect his position and have more confidence in his ability to complete his mission. When he spoke his voice was low and dangerous, "Are you suggesting, Lieutenant, that I am incapable of fulfilling my mission?"
Jee looked down at the prince, noting the stiff arrogant posture and the angry flush creeping across his face. Forcefully restraining himself from rolling his eyes, he snapped a salute and a crisp, "No sir, wouldn't dream of it sir."
The kid seemed mollified at that and Jee suppressed a groan, his men were so screwed. They'd take one look at him and his girly little ponytail and think this was going to be some kind of holiday, never mind that he's a prince, the son of Fire lord Ozai no less. Yeah, that was going to work well.
'Looks like Lt. Jee has to step between his worthless, ungrateful, mother-less crew and some pompous, arrogant captain. Again. Wonderful.'
Crisis averted, the prince started prattling on at him, something about an abacus and some ledgers. Kid like that was far too young to be doing accounting. It's just not natural.
"...So after lunch you can round up the rest of the crew, have them meet me at the ship at sunset." Zuko nodded, apparently satisfied with his plan. Jee hadn't really been listening up until that point so he just nodded as well. Round up the crew? Simple enough and it might give him time to warn them to behave.
Jee had picked out a nice little noodle shop for lunch. They were by far the best noodles this town had to offer but Jee prepared himself for Zuko's tantrum anyway. He'd dined with noble kids before, sons of commanding officers, and they were all horrendously picky eaters.
It was with some surprise then that he watched the boy slurp noodles with both grace and gusto. Jee wondered if it was possible that the prince wasn't as picky as most noble brats, or just still starving from yesterday.
The alarming rate of noodle consumption precluded any conversation, but this was fine by Jee as he was making a mental list of all his old crew mates and their usual hang-outs. The prince finished his bowl well before Jee did and sat there, shifting uncomfortably until Jee glowered at him, "No need for that, I'll meet you at sundown. Thanks for the noodles."
Not needing any further prompting, the boy leapt up, sketched a cursory bow and sped off. Jee settled down to finish his meal, pushing aside his anxieties about this new posting in favour of spicy broth and savoury noodle.
Settled in his office on the ship, Zuko began the tedious task of counting out the available funds in the chest his uncle had left for him. He hated having to rely on his uncle's charity like this but so far he couldn't think of another option.
Taking note of the final amount and comparing it with the figures in the ledger, Zuko found that he had what amounted to a full year's budget for this ship run at crew capacity.
Using the ledger and given the reduced crew size, Zuko grabbed the abacus he'd purchased after lunch and started calculating his own yearly budget for the ship.
After several hours work, cross referencing against the maps to note which ports he was likely to supply at and their corresponding entries, Zuko felt confident that he would be able to run his ship for a full year and about four months with the money his uncle had left. It would be tight, although if things were very dire he could use some of the funds he had allocated to hunting the Avatar, funds he would use for short trips inland to follow any clues.
Standing and stretching as he felt the sun starting to slip below the horizon, Zuko began repacking the chest. Ten minutes later he was descending the rope ladder to the docks, he could see Lt. Jee standing with a rather sorry-looking collection of Fire Nation sailors. They ranged from middle aged to elderly, and many of them sported tattoos.
Zuko paused before the group, unsure as to how to address them. He stood there helplessly for several moments before Jee looked up and, seeing him, called out.
"Ah, Prince Zuko," he waved his arm around, indicating the group, "your crew, gathered here as requested." He turned to the men, "Boys, this is Prince Zuko, your new captain." His voice took on a dark tone, "Yeah you heard me: he's a prince. So behave yourselves."
As Jee finished speaking all eyes focused on Zuko. He hadn't really been thinking about meeting the crew and was quite unprepared for their attention. He scanned the faces in front of him, becoming more agitated with every pair of eyes he met. He knew he needed to say something or he would lose their respect and he would not allow himself to fail in this.
Drawing on his courtly manners, he straightened, tilted his head slightly and spoke in what he hoped was the direct and commanding tone of a Fire Navy Captain, "You have tonight and tomorrow morning to gather your things and set your affairs in order. Everyone is to be on deck by noon tomorrow."
Having said his piece, Zuko waited for something to happen, either the sailors to leave or someone to ask a question, but they all stayed still, staring at him expectantly. Realizing what he was forgetting, Zuko gave a short nod, "Dismissed."
The men immediately dispersed in small groups and Zuko felt a surge of relief, that hadn't gone too badly at all.
Jee followed behind the largest group dispersing from the prince's little meeting, listening closely to their grumblings about snotty noble brats and their condescending airs. On a basic level, Jee agreed with them. The prince was a snotty noble brat, he oozed arrogance in everything he did, the way he spoke, dressed even the way he stood just made Jee want to punch him in the face.
But he was their captain now and hating him wouldn't make life any easier for Jee or the crew. Undoubtedly something would have to be done about Zuko before this new ship could ever be a comfortable posting. Jee hoped he wouldn't have to be the one to do it.
Jee arrived at the ship early the next morning, as he didn't have much to gather, or anything he was leaving behind. The ship was quiet when he boarded, but the tower door was unlocked so Jee let himself in and went in search of the petty officer's quarters. The ship's design was familiar to him and it didn't take long to find the small room and office. Jee packed his things away in the room and decided to head up to the officer's quarters just below the helm and see if the prince was awake yet.
Climbing two floors, Jee rapped lightly on the door, there was no answer and Jee figured the prince must like to sleep in. Shrugging, he figured he'd just go wait in the mess, everyone would gather there eventually.
On his way down he saw the prince, locking the door to the office on that floor. Jee was slightly confused, he would have thought the boy would have taken the best quarters for himself. The boy startled slightly when he caught sight of Jee but smoothed it over with a curt, "Lieutenant."
"Sir." Jee acknowledged, "Anything you need done?"
Zuko looked confused, he looked around, glanced at a few papers he was holding and then looked back at Jee. "Uh... this?" he offered the papers and Jee took them dubiously.
They turned out to be figures, listing the ship's budget for things like food and coal on a yearly, monthly and weekly basis.
"Of course sir, I'll make sure Hideki and Zheng get these figures for you."
The prince looked utterly bewildered but Jee had already started descending to the mess, their new captain would have to learn everyone's name eventually and Jee wasn't going to coddle him.
The ship was a flurry of activity as the crew prepared to sail, they had not been able to fully supply in Hesan and would have to stop at another port a week north before heading to the Western Air Temple. Zuko had chosen the destination, claiming that the best place to start his search was the Air Temples because there may be clues there as to the whereabouts of the Avatar.
Even after they left port the crew were still uncomfortable and busy. The ship and its crew would need time to get to know one another and in the meantime things were chaotic. People were trying to sort out their bunks, the engineers were learning the temperaments of the boilers and finding the best place to keep their tools and the cook was trying to learn his new galley.
The sum of all this was a noisy, rowdy and inefficient start to their journey. Jee lounged in the mess, unconcerned with the noise and busy working out the shift rosters. He almost didn't notice as Zuko arrived looking extremely unhappy.
"Lieutenant, what is all this noise? Why is everybody shouting and rushing around?"
Jee looked up at the sharp tone and frowned. He knew perfectly well why everyone was acting like this; they have no idea where anything is and are trying to help each other get settled in. He was disappointed that the prince did not seem to grasp this.
"They're just trying to settle in and get to know the ship sir; it'll quiet down soon enough."
The prince narrowed his eyes but said nothing more. He left in the direction of his quarters and Jee was relieved, the last thing the crew needed while they were learning the ship was their captain breathing down their necks.
Zuko was indeed returning to his room, there was nothing more to be done on the bridge, the helmsman knew their course already, and Zuko did not have any other jobs aboard the ship. As he made his way up towards his floor he heard a squeaking, sliding sound and had just enough time to jump off the ladder into the hallway outside the lieutenant's office before a large, tattooed sailor went sliding down to the crew quarters below. The man didn't even pause, thought he caught his eye so Zuko was sure the man had seen him.
Furious, Zuko descended the ladder, looking for the man. He found him chatting with a few others in a corner of the mess hall. They appeared to be talking about nothing in particular and certainly nothing important enough for the man to be in such a rush.
Marching up to the group, Zuko drew himself up and tried to move with the confidence he'd seen in his father, whom people obeyed and respected.
Zuko pointed at the offending sailor, "You nearly knocked me off the ladder on your way down here!"
The man turned and forced an incredibly insincere smile, "Sorry, didn't see you there …sir."
Frowning, Zuko struggled to think of what he could do. The man obviously thought he was going to get away with this, that Zuko was not worthy of his respect. But what could he do about it? He barely had enough crew as it was, he couldn't just put the man off the ship for one misdemeanour.
Sneering at the sailor, Zuko voiced his decision, "You can take a double watch duty for the next month then, to improve your attentiveness." He then turned and left the room for the second time.
On his way out he thought he saw Lt. Jee shake his head a little, but he couldn't be sure.
They docked at the port of Manyu late on the seventh day; the transaction for the rest of their supplies was quick but the loading would take some hours yet and Zuko retreated to his room to sleep. His head still ached, though the salve helped and he was frequently tired. He hoped this weakness would leave him soon as he couldn't afford to stop his training for too much longer.
The burn had recently scabbed over completely and Zuko decided to leave off his bandage while he slept, to let it breath.
He slept for a few hours, waking at sunset. As he left for his office, thinking he might finally take a look at that journal, he noticed something was wrong. The door to his office was dented, the lock busted. Pushing it open, Zuko took stock of the room. It was seemingly untouched; nothing was knocked over or misplaced but it seemed off somehow, like the room was bigger than it used to be. Looking again, Zuko realized why the proportions of the room seemed wrong, the chest was missing.
The blood draining from his face and his heart pounding with anxiety, Zuko slid down the ladder to Lt. Jee's quarters. The door was ajar and Zuko pushed it open without knocking.
The lieutenant looked up from where he was polishing his armour, startled. His eyes locked on Zuko's face and he paled.
"Prince Zuko..?" he began.
But Zuko cut him off, "The chest is gone! Do you know where it could be?"
Lt. Jee raised an eyebrow and schooled his shocked expression into something more sober, "Gone, or taken?" He sounded as though he already knew.
Zuko frowned, "Taken, I suspect. The door was forced. Do you know anything about this?"
Lt. Jee closed his eyes for a moment and seemed to come to a decision, piercing Zuko with a stare he stated calmly, "I suspect you'll find them in the tavern, you need to deal with this Prince Zuko, before it gets out of hand."
Gaping a little Zuko acknowledged that Jee was right. He hadn't managed to secure the crew's respect and there had been discipline problems for the last four days. If he didn't want to find himself facing a mutiny, he would have to deal with this, decisively. With purpose and a little desperation, Zuko turned and fled the ship. He ran blindly in the direction of the tavern. It wasn't hard to find, Zuko could hear the sound of drunken laughter from his ship, even this early in the evening.
He raced up the steps, barely pausing as he burst through the flimsy wooden sliding door. Skidding to a stop he looked around the room, the tavern was dim and moderately full. The tables were low and rough with long benches for seating. Near the centre of the room two tables had been pushed together and the man from the ship was standing on a bench on the other side of the table from where Zuko had burst into the room, laughing and calling for another round. He was large and muscular with heavy tattooing on his shoulders that extended down one arm and up his neck. Next to him on the floor was Zuko's chest, the locking mechanism smashed and the lid propped open. Around the table were several other faces Zuko vaguely recognized from his ship.
Lip curling in anger and determination, Zuko started towards the table, picking up speed as he went. Even as he ran, he had no idea what he was actually going to do when he reached the man, who hadn't reacted to his entrance. As he neared the bench at a sprint he planted one foot, launching himself forward across the table.
Hitting the man with a diving tackle Zuko grabbed him by the throat, and drove him to the ground. They landed heavily, the breath whooshing from the lungs of the larger man as Zuko landed on top of him, his knees driving into the man's ribs. As the breath left the man's lungs, Zuko tightened his grip on his throat.
The man clawed at Zuko's hand, but he had no breath and was beginning to panic.
"Thief! You lying, traitorous thief!"
Zuko was screaming, so it took him a little while to realize that the man under him wasn't. The man's eyes rolled and his mouth gaped in a soundless scream, arms flailing weakly at Zuko's wrist. Then Zuko noticed the smell.
It was an awful and terrifyingly familiar smell and Zuko gagged. He quickly scrambled off the man, leaning to one side, retching. As he straightened, he glanced back to make sure the man wasn't going to hit him, that's when he noticed the burn. It was a small, blistering handprint that curled around the man's throat.
Zuko stared at his hands in horror, eyes watering, trying not to collapse or vomit. Snapping his head up, he looked around the now silent tavern. Everyone was staring at him.
He stumbled backwards into the table and, catching sight of two of the men from his ship, pointed at them, "You, and you, grab that chest and bring it to my quarters. The rest of you had better be on the ship ready to leave by dawn, including him." He gestured at the gasping figure behind him.
With two crewmen following him, carrying the chest, Zuko barely managed to walk to his quarters and shut the door before he threw up and collapsed, shivering onto his futon. Eyes squeezed shut, his face throbbing and itching where the scab had cracked, leaking blood, Zuko felt his face burning.
He felt the cool stones of the arena under his knees, the sound of his pleading and his father's words of reprimand. He felt the heat and felt his flesh blister. With his own screams, real and remembered, ringing in his ears, Zuko wept until he passed out.
That morning there was a new story circulating the port town of Manyu, a story that told of a child, a demon, with half of his face cracked and bleeding, leaping on a man in the tavern and choking him with a flaming hand. The men sitting with crewman Mung in the medical suite on Prince Zuko's ship told the story quietly among themselves, and when they glimpsed the white bandages encircling their friend's neck, they shivered.
Next Time: Zuko has problems with his firebending, Mung deals with the aftermath of his thievery.
A/N: I've made a minor change to this chapter because I sensed that I was going to have major timeline issues unless I fixed things now: Instead of being four days north of Hesan, Manyu is now seven days north.