This is the chapter we've all been waiting for/dreading! Please let me know what you all think of this! (Yes, some of the inspiration was from Mulan. But most of it all Huo!)

Also, I've hit 50 followers and 50 reviews! Nifty! Thanks, everyone!

Chapter 17: White Bandages

No I'm not a liar
Just didn't know how to tell you the truth
All we need is time
Sometimes we don't know why we do what we do
But we do.

It was two days before Iroh heard news. He rushed down to the surgical room where the ship's doctor had been working on Huo night and day, barely taking time to rest or eat. His heart hurt and his eyes were stinging strangely as Hamin came out of the room rather than the doctor.

Iroh looked at his adviser with a curious tilt to his head. "Hamin? What are you doing here?"

The man's cold, golden Fire Nation eyes stared dead into Iroh's concerned eyes. "Huo is not who you think he is."

The general felt irate at his adviser who always treated Huo like trash beneath his feet. "Huo is a hero who saved multiple lives down in engineering, or did you forget about that? And also about how he saved my very own life!"

The old man looked uncomfortable which was something Iroh didn't see every day. "Sire...I don't know how else to say it for you to understand. This...monster is not who you think—"

"Enough! Get it out! It can't be bad enough to call the poor boy a monster—"

"Girl." The one word took all of Iroh's breath from his lungs. "The poor boy, as you say it. Is a girl. She's been lying to us since the beginning. Huo is a fully-grown woman from a family of traitors to the crown. Your crown."

"Huo is my ship's boy, Hamin. He's my second. He can't be...I mean, he saved my life! He's been with us for almost a year and you expect me to believe that...that...!"

Hamin pushed open the door to the medical bay and stood there, daring the prince to take a step. "She." Iroh just stared into the room, unable to actually move. Minutes passed, then a half an hour, then an hour. Hamin had left but Iroh was still standing there, staring at the door, unable to believe the news that he'd been given.

"Huo is a fully-grown woman."

Somehow he found himself standing over Huo. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there or how long it'd taken him to find his way inside the secluded medical room, but he was finally there. And all he could do was look at her.

He stared at her, lying there. Wondering how he'd never noticed that the thin, head-strong boy he'd hired as his ship's boy had actually been a woman. A familiar-looking fox that had caught his attention from the beginning. All the signs had been there.

Never taking off her shirt. Never using the showers when the other men were in there. Not swimming with the other minors. Acting strangely in general about male-related things. The once-a-month sickness that always seemed to come around whether cuttlefish had been served that week or not. The entire time, it'd been a woman masquerading as his second!

Her eyes fluttered open. When she saw the prince, she smiled. Iroh was surprised that Huo would be awake so soon after such a tragic surgery but the boy had always been resilient. Not a boy. No. A fully-grown woman. Those straight teeth suddenly looked too big against her too-plump lips. Her crinkling eyes were too large for her too-small face. Her neck was too small. Her shoulders were too small. She's not a boy. She's a fully-grown woman.

Huo—or whatever her name actually was—slowly sat up to avoid hurting her burns. It didn't help and she winced. That was when the blanket fell away. From her neck to the tips of her fingers, she was wrapped like some kind of old Fire Lord who'd been laid to ceremonial rest as a mummy. Her breasts were bound with a normal breast binder and the white bandages continued down to her waist, where the wound was seeping slightly and turning the bandages a sickly brownish-red. Her breasts weren't large but they were definitely feminine handfuls that would be hard to explain as a ship's boy. She must have tied herself down all this time.

She looked down and gasped in horror as she realized that her secret was no longer that. "Iroh," she pleaded, her eyes watering in a way that made his heart clench. Her voice was harsh and gravelly from disuse. He hardened his heart, though. The boy he'd become fast friends with, whom he had trusted with his life, had lied to him about what seemed like everything. "Iroh, please, I can explain!"

"Then please do!" he yelled. He noticed that the ship's doctor was nowhere to be found and for that the prince was glad. Iroh didn't know what he would do or say in the enclosed space. "Who in Koh's name are you?!" Iroh felt betrayed. His heart hurt and he just wanted to hit something.

"My name is Huo," she said in a pleading voice, her hair down around her bandaged shoulders which were round and very feminine. She was beautiful, he realized. The longer he stared, the more he found it strange that he'd ever thought of her as a boy at all.

He scoffed at that last thought. "And your family name? Not Lu, I bet."

She looked utterly ashamed as she tensed her jaw and refused to meet my eyes. "No. No, it is not. Lu is—was—my father's name. My real family name is...dishonoring."

His heart clenched in anger. He remembered Hamin's words about her being from a family his grandfather had banished so long ago. "So you're a traitor, then?"

"No!" She shouted this with such force that he was made to look at her. Her tan eyes were full of passion and hurt and confusion. And pain. So, so much pain. Iroh didn't know if he could look at those tan orbs for fear that he'd lose his composure and break down. "I am not my great-grandfather! He—he was the traitor a-and my family has been p-punished for it since then!"

Iroh thought on the traitors that his grandfather had banished so long ago. It was difficult to think of; all of his great-grandfather's council members who had plotted against his grandfather, all of the servants who had been moles, all of the assassins sent to kill his grandfather...all of them had been exiled. But what of their children? Or, in this case, their children's children's children, if they weren't executed or put away for their crimes? What fate did they deserve?

Finally, Iroh marched over to her and grasped underneath the breast band that covered her. The cry that came out of her lips was weak and pitiful. He pulled her up and tried to make her look him directly in the eye. She wouldn't. "Look at me." He grasped her face with his other hand and forced her to do so. "I said look at me!" Her tan eyes, so full of defiance and passion and tears looked on as her jaw tensed under his hand. "Look me in the eye and tell me that some of you was real. That the boy that I trusted with my life didn't deceive me about everything. That this isn't some plot to kill me, or hurt my family, or sabotage my career, or—"

"Most of it was true." Huo's tears finally spilled over. "I didn't want to lie to you. I just...I needed away to fight the Equalists. I needed to hurt them just like they hurt me. No one would look at me as a woman, but as a boy, I was...I was able to take care of myself. Huo the girl was just that—a girl whose family was taken away from her. Huo the boy was a promising recruit who was going to be trained by a general to protect himself. Huo the girl would never have gotten that...would she."

He'd forgotten that. That the Little Fox in front of him had lost her family and home to the Equalists that day oh-so-long ago. Huo the boy had lost both as well, but, as she put it, seemed less traumatic because Huo then had been a boy. A boy was supposed to be strong. No one felt pity for a boy. But a girl, with no one to protect her? He hated to admit it, but her move had been strategically smart. It felt like she was just twisting the knife in his gut the more he thought about how brilliant it was. "So you used me."

Silence, for a moment. Then, "Yes. But only to learn Firebending as I should rightfully be able to do! I never meant to be put directly under your command. I never—"

Iroh threw her down and only felt a little sorry at her short cry of pain. He couldn't look at her for a moment so he turned around and stared at the far, sterile wall. He didn't know what he should do with her. Technically, she was in violation of many laws and edicts; all of them dictated that she should be put to trial and then killed for being a traitor, for dishonoring the Fire Nation, Republic City, and all officers associated with respective nations or tribes or kingdoms. This set a different burning into his chest.

He was able to replace his calm exterior like he did when he felt these kinds of emotions. I'm not Huo, I don't wear my heart on my sleeve. And yet, what had that outburst just been? "What do you think I should do with you?" the prince asked softly, so softly that he wondered if she'd heard it.

She had. "I guess you'll do what the law states should be done with me." He always forgot how smart she was—Huo the boy had been smart, sure. But the elaborate plot of keeping her gender a secret really showed how intelligent she actually was. What was worse was that Huo the boy's thoughts had usually been on the same wavelength as the prince's, so he knew for a fact that Huo was intelligent. She thought on her feet and always had a plan.

He knew for a fact how intelligent she actually was after their little discussion. "I cared about you, Huo. I held a lot of affection for you. Now, I don't know who you are."

A small whine came out of her throat as she attempted to lay back down. He didn't turn but he could imagine her lying on her back, staring at the ceiling with the blanket pulled up under her bandaged arms. "I'm the person who put lavender on your pillowcase to ease your dreams. I'm the one who trades you my crab rangoon for your dessert, no matter what it is. I'm the person you've trained and come to know for the past almost ten months, so what does it matter who I really am? You know who I am...and if I have to explain myself anymore to you, then maybe you don't know. And I've put my trust and respect into the wrong man."

HHH

I was allowed two more days of healing, which wasn't nearly enough. The burns covered fifty percent of my body, requiring constant attention, re-wrapping, healing session after healing session with the Master Waterbender (AKA Kojo's father,) and medicine. I was in constant pain and could barely make it to the restroom without wanting to throw up from the intense burn that ran across my body. Usually Kojo's father helped carry me there.

No one was allowed to visit me. I was off-limits. It made me wonder what everyone knew—if they knew that I was a woman, that I'd lied to them. Would I get to present my case? Would I be able to let everyone know that I hadn't really lied? It hurt almost as much as my non-healed burns. Kojo's dad was gentle, though, which helped start the healing. He couldn't tell me if I'd have scars for the rest of my life or not.

I could hear shouts between Hamin and Kojo's father down the hall when I woke up sometime later. They were arguing about something. Now, Hamin—Hamin was not a gentle man. It had only been four days since I'd been injured but he didn't care. The doctor argued with the adviser, begging that he let me heal for a while longer, but the old man didn't listen. He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me through hallways on a warpath. When the sun graced my face it was only because the old man threw me to the ground on the deck only four days after the reactor's explosion. "A woman!" he shouted to the men that had gathered. Which was everyone besides those at crucial posts for the second shift, as everyone had been called up for an all-ship's meeting.

I clenched a scratchy medical ward blanket to my chest and looked up into the eyes of all of my fellow seamen. They were shocked and awed and some even looked angry. I cowered in front of them on the cold, hard metal ground and pulled the blanket around me tighter. My entire body ached as my wounds stretched and pulled angrily at the skin on which they lived. The good news was that most of the nerves under my skin had been seared away—but everything else still hurt.

"Huo..." This came from Kojo. His big blue eyes were wide in confusion and he held a hand to his chest as he took a step back, away from me. My heart ached and I longed to reach out to him. "What...?"

I couldn't look at the boy's big blue eyes. I chose to turn my hurting heart into rage towards Hamin. "My name is not woman," I growled to the old man beside me who was still holding my hair. He pulled my head up as I yelled, "My name is Huo!"

"Bejing Huo, to be exact!" Hamin yelled out. My blood ran cold as my thoughts ran at a million miles a minute. How did he discover that? How could he have known? "I wondered when we first met you. I was good friends with your grandfather before your great-grandfather Gao was banished. Your grandfather, who has your same eyes...facial features...I looked into your lineage long ago when I thought you might be a threat. No stone left unturned, Huo. I thought we'd left you behind in Jang-Hui, but I appear to have been wrong. You sneaked aboard this ship, to, what, get into Iroh's good graces?"

Not many of the younger boys knew the legacy of the Bejings, but the older, more experienced seamen knew. Those who didn't quickly learned as Hamin spat venom about my great-grandfather from his lips and tossed my head around like I was a puppet. The men's eyes narrowed and they changed their stances to be defensive the longer Hamin spoke. I knew instantly that I'd lost them.

"Traitor!" one yelled, spitting in my direction.

"I am not the traitor!" I yelled back. My brain was moving at a hundred miles an hour. "My family, we've served our sentence. It wasn't much, what we had. But I put up with Bujing Gao and my father loved me. He and I didn't hate Fire Lord Zuko or his family. We lived on what we knew, and that was poverty. If I hadn't joined you when I had, I would have starved to death because Equalists killed everyone!" I yanked out of Hamin's grasp and stood up, trying to be regal and confident with nothing but a blanket on. My body hurt and my knees shook and I felt like I was going to pass out. "I am a loyal Fire Nation citizen and I only want to protect my country."

Hamin defensively stood to the side, ready to attack. I didn't want to let him know that I was in no shape to fight, but I also had to show that I was giving myself up willingly. "You're here to get to Fire Lord Zuko! Bujing Gao put you up to this, you treacherous snake!"

I ignored him and the tears burning in my eyes. I am strong. I am a strong, proud, noble soldier. "Now you all listen to me. I've trained by you for almost an entire year. I've grown with you. I've gotten to know you all on a deep level and me being a woman changes nothing! You've all gotten to know me and you know that there is nothing malicious about me! It changes nothing!"

"It changes everything." This calm, gravelly voice came from behind me. I didn't bother turning around as Iroh brushed past me and made to stand in between the men and me. The wind whistled and the gulls cawed, but not a single man spoke out of turn. The one large sail flapped above us, trying to catch wind, but no one was there to guide it for optimal sailing. "Huo has deceived us all."

"Iroh," I said clearly, my voice disappearing in the silence on deck. The wind whipped my hair around in a frenzy, blowing out the blanket and creating an uncomfortable silence all around. "I'm not him. I'm not my great-grandfather. I didn't do anything to deserve his punishment other than being born into the wrong family!"

He held his hand up but refused to look at me. "She's broken at least four laws in the Fire Nation and one in the United Republic. Hamin, please list her infractions."

I had to stand there, publicly shamed, as Hamin recited the laws that I had broken from a scroll that I was sure he'd had waiting up his sleeve since the second he'd seen that I had boobs. "Identity fraud. Joining the military under a false name. Impersonation of a man. Getting close to a member of the royal family as the member of a traitor family. Plus many more that I'm sure I can come up with as time goes on. The punishment for all of these is death, Sire."

I held my head high and looked up to keep the tears from spilling. There was nothing more I could say. I'd pleaded my case and it was up to my actions to speak for themselves. My shaky, disused voice said only, "I have no more to say in my defense."

The tense silence that ensued went on for far too long. One tear fell down my cheek as I stared at each and every one of the men and boys I'd served with over the past year. It wasn't until Kojo stepped up and stood next to me that I let more tears fall. He grasped my hand, the small child, and stood defiantly with his chin in the air. That chin was shaking but he was obviously refusing to cry.

A few more men came to my side. Mostly the ones I'd practiced with in the beginner courses. All of the old seamen kept hard, steely looks in their eyes and their jaws clenched against me. But Li was there, a hand lightly brushing behind my back. And so was Genji, his green eyes staring into mine with a look that said "You better be telling the truth, kid."

My friends...thank you.

"She saved my life," Zargo said suddenly. He stepped into no-man's-land and turned to look at the men who refused to join me. "And she saved many of yours. Her being a woman does not change that fact." Then, he turned to look at Iroh. His steely hazel eyes bored into the prince's soul. "She saved your life as well, General. That is not something to take lightly."

Iroh drew his sword, then. He turned and looked at me with the deadliest eyes I'd ever seen. His jaw was tense and he pointed the tip of his sword at me. "Kneel."

Kojo grasped my arm tighter and was shaking. I calmed him and knelt down to give him a kiss on his head. His cheeks reddened in some emotion—fear, fury, embarrassment—and he backed away when I told him it was okay. "I broke the law, Kojo. I must face my punishment."

"You don't deserve it!"

"Enough, Kojo," I said softly. "We were taught never to run away."

"You could've let him die out there!" the boy shouted, turning to stand in front of me with his arms out. "You know that, General?! She could've let you die in the water! She could've left you to die on deck but she revived you! She's had millions of chances to kill you and she hasn't!"

Kojo's father came and dragged the crying, struggling boy away. Iroh said nothing about the boy's outburst.

They never tell you how much brighter colors are when you're expecting to die. The sky was so blue. The sea was a perfect aquamarine. The gulls were a striking grey against the whiteness of the fluffy clouds in the sky. If I hadn't been preparing to be executed, I would have remarked how beautiful of a day it was. It was beautiful and I had my friends surrounding me, supporting me. But none of that mattered.

The dark truth fell on my shoulders. Everyone around me backed away hesitantly. I looked up at Iroh through a mess of wild, blowing hair. His hair as a mess, his clothing rumpled. His face showed his normally cool exterior. But his eyes were filled with an intense emotion that I'd never seen. The corner of his lip twitched down in a frown. His jaw was tight. When he pointed his sword at me, though, his hand wasn't shaking. He just stared me down with those full-of-emotion eyes.

His sword raised...

I closed my eyes...

I took a deep breath of the clear ocean air for the last time...

And then I heard metal hitting metal. My eyes opened to see that the sword had been dropped at my knees. I looked up in surprise. I took multiple gulps of air that would not be for the last time. The adrenaline in my body calmed and my entire torso started aching in an unbearable way. I was crying again. I couldn't not cry. I couldn't stop it, no matter what I tried to do. I wasn't sobbing but the tears wouldn't stop.

Iroh was looking off into the distance, over the waves. I couldn't see his beautiful golden eyes. "A life for a life."

Kojo ran to me and threw himself in my arms. I cried out in pain but still wrapped mine around him and looked at Iroh through the child's messy hair. "So what n-now?" I asked with gritted teeth from the pain.

"We're on our way to Republic City. I need to get council on this matter. I...I don't know what to do with you, Huo." Hamin was trying to protest but the Crown Prince cut him off. "Captain Koran Genji, affix the jail cell with some items from the medical bay. We'll have a set of guards on her at all times." Iroh's molten gold eyes met mine, still so full of emotion that I couldn't hope to read them. "For now, she's a prisoner."

Kojo protested with teary eyes as my hands were put in cuffs. I nodded and followed some men down into the hold where I would be held prisoner until we reached Republic City and I was put to trial. I took a few more breaths of air and looked up to the beautiful sky and out onto the clear ocean. It would be the last time for a while that I would see it. But I was still able to see it. I was still alive.

Iroh had believed in me. Everyone had believed in me...and I hadn't died. As soon as I laid down in the small, sparsely-decorated room that would be my prison, I let myself pass out at that thought. I didn't care that I was put on display behind bars. I didn't care that guards were posted outside my door. All that mattered was that I was alive, at least for a little while, and Iroh hadn't killed me.