The spirit in the iceberg 3
its been awhile, so here is a longer chapter than normal. But be warned! For their is many a point of view change in this chapter. I don't know how to spell some names so don't kill me if some ones name is wrong. Jacks pov is in this chapter...yay? Oh and next chapter or the one after that Zuko will have an Agniki(I highly doubt that's how you spell it so sue me) and the battle will have a surprise ending...maybe. If you want something to happen that I don't know then tell me.
Zuko stalked off to his room, fuming. That woman had gotten on his last nerve, she didn't know anything about him! Yet her words stung.
Zuko's ship was still broken from his fight with the Avatar, and today they were to make repairs. The Avatar couldn't have gotten a very big head start...but before they were to pursue him, they needed the ship to be in a better condition.
Zuko slammed his door shut and locked it, he wanted no disturbances. He threw himself onto his bed and realized just how exhausted he was. Zuko fell into a fitful sleep filled with painful memories.
Rapunzel looked up from the ground when her cell door opened. She hoped it was Jack, but it was most likely another guard who came to stare at her gold hair. As far as she or anyone else knew, no one had blonde hair. Not one nation had ever had records of a blonde haired person, and so she was always the circus freak wherever she went. It didn't help that she couldn't cut it either, or else her powers would be lost forever.
The door opened, and a white haired boy came in. He unlocked her metal bindings, and she collapsed into the floor, trembling. Jack kneeled down and stroked her head, murmuring,"there there." She wiped the tears from her face and sat up, smiling softly at him. "You were getting tired of those chains weren't you?" He asked. The woman rubbed her wrists and nodded.
He causally sat down next to her and said,"so, tell me about your conversation with the prince. Her voice was horse from lack of talking. She looked at her hands and said,"nothing was said, he just stared at me like the others and then asked me my name."
She smiled at him, trying to be convincing and he was reminded that she still wouldn't tell anyone her name. "You wouldn't mind telling me your name, would you?" When she didn't respond, he said, "listen, if we had your name, then we could contact your family. You could go home! If you don't, you just might end up in a fire nation prison," his joking face grew soft."and they won't be kind to you."
Jack looked around to the piles of hair around them and she followed his
gaze. "They would likely cut off your beautiful hair. And turn it into wigs, a lot of women would pay a hefty price for golden hair." She curled her hands into fists and attempted to remain stoic.
They turned their heads to the door when a distant scream was heard. Jack smirked and said,"looks like our Prince is having nightmares again." Rapunzel fiddled with a strand of hair. She didn't share the winter spirits mirth at the fire Prince's pain.
Zuko woke up screaming with tears streaked down his face. "I'm sorry father!" He whispered aloud, his voice thick with emotion. He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. His ragged breathing became steady once more, and he slept, soaked with sweat.
Jack grimaced when he realized that he was no closer than before to getting her to talk to him. He suspected that she was attracted to him, but he still didn't want to play with her emotions. Jack didn't want to sink to that level, he didn't want to hurt her. And yet, if she could tell him about the Avatar, then he would be that much closer to meeting the FireLord. It was a very tempting proposition.
He heard people running down the hall and was pulled from his thoughts. The green eyed woman looked at him and sighed. She then got up and held out her arms to be chained. He silently attached them to her and left without another word.
Jack leaned against the door and then proceeded to lock it. He recalled the expression when the chains were put on her. Her dead, hopeless eyes...the winter spirit shivered. He twirled his always present staff and smiled. He needed to mess with someone, that would improve his mood. And he had just the person in mind to do so.
Zuko finished putting on his armor and stepped off the ship with his uncle. The damage to the ship was blatantly obvious as the other ships towered above it. Zuko rubbed his temple and tried to push back his anger.
"Uncle, I want the repairs to be made as quickly as possible. I don't want to risk loosing his trail."
His uncle calmly spoke,"you mean the Avatar?"
Zuko snapped but kept his voice low. "Don't say his name! Once word gets out that the Avatar is alive, every fire bender will be out looking for him. And I don't want anyone getting in the way-"
"getting in the way of what," A tall, middle aged man with mutton chops walked over to them. His movements were controlled, powerful, and he gave off a vile feel. "Prince Zuko?"
Zuko's shocked expression became filled with distaste as he spoke,"Captain Zhao.."
The man smiled wickedly and said,"it's Commander now," he dipped into a bow before continuing,"and General Iroh, great hero of our nation."
Zuko's uncle smiled politely and denied the complement,"retired General."
Zhao stiffened and said,"the FireLord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime...what brings you to my harbor?"
Iroh turned and gestured to the pitiful ship,"we're here for repairs."
Zhao seemed taken aback by the extensive damage, but regained his cool just as quickly. "That's quite a bit of damage."
Zuko squinted his eyes and tried to seem convincing. "Yes! You wouldn't believe what happened...Uncle! Tell commander Zhao what happened." Uncle seemed shocked that he was picked to come up with a lie and he attempted to hide it. While they wove the story, Zhao glared at them skeptically, not even trying to hide that he knew it was a load of crap.
"Really? You must regale me with all the, thrilling details. Join me for a drink?" Zuko didn't falter his gaze as Zhao attempted to imitate him. "Sorry, but we have work to do."
As he started to walk away, his uncle grabbed his shoulder. "Zuko! Show commander Zhao your respect." He chided. "We would be happy to join you!"
Iroh and Zhao walked away, talking about tea, and Zuko was filled with mounting anger. He released that rage in a blast of fire and gritted his teeth. He followed them reluctantly and had a snarl worn openly on his face.
Jack slowly walked down the halls of the ship, he wasn't going to leave, all those fire benders made him nervous. "There goes my prank," he sighed.
He heard voices around the next bend in the hallway, and he froze, listening intently. "What are you doing here? You can't be on this shi-"
"silence! How was this ship damaged?"
Their was no response, just the sound of heavy breathing. Then the sound and the glow of firebending. "Was their an airbender on this ship?"
Jack left as the crew member panicked, and told the soldier everything.
Jack new what was coming next, a search of the ship. He began running down the hall back the way he came. He couldn't let them find the woman, if they did, she would end up in a prison. He opened the door to her cell and she looked at him with surprise.
His nervousness was chilling the room, but he didn't care, he needed to get her out of here.
Jack unlocked her and grabbed her wrist. Her eyes filled with confusion but he held a finger to her lips. "Shhhh! Just do what I say!" She nodded solemnly and he lead her into the hall.
They ran to Jack's chambers, holding large amounts of golden hair in their arms, and entered the frosty room just as soldiers began marching down the hall. He told her to get under the bed, and he helped stuff her long hair under it.
He laid causally on his bed as the door opened. If the soldier was surprised at the temperature of the room, or the strange boy on the bed he didn't show it. Jack pretended to be shocked at the sight of the firebender. "What are you doing in my room?"
The tall man ignored him and began looking in Jack's closet, through his stuff(which he didn't have much of). He got off the bed and said,"hey! Don't ignore me!" The firebender attempted to shove Jack aside, to search under the bed, and Jack grabbed his arm. They stared at each other for a few moments, the promise of a fight filling the air. Jack slowly let go of the mans arm, and the man stepped away from him.
Surprisingly, they made no move to attack, and the Firebender left the room. Jack exhaled slowly and crouched to look under the bed.
The prisoner was huddled there, staring at Jack with fearful eyes. He could barely see her behind the shadowed mounds of hair, and the glowing green eyes chilled his spine. "Come on, lets get you out." He said and handed her his hand. She tentatively reached for it, and they clasped wrists.
For a moment, a tingle of excitement filled them, for unbeknownst reasons, and was gone just as fast. She sat on his bed and began running her hands through her hair, trying to free it of knots. Jack saw her wince as her hand got stuck on an especially tangly part, and walked to his desk. He opened a drawer, and took out an old, well oiled, wooden brush. She gasped when he handed it to her, and looked upon the vanity item in wonder.
She ran her hands over it, and Jack was filled with cheer watching her innocent fascination with the brush. He nodded at her and she began combing her hair.
She had a level of control in her movements that hinted at hidden skills from years of training. Jack realized with shock that this girl was a bender, or at least trained in some form of marshal arts. He pondered on what type of bender she might be, and settled on earth.
It was only logical, considering her green and gray attire and her lack of bending. Being on a metal ship in the middle of the ocean was the reason behind that. He wished that she wasn't, so maybe she could one day be a member of the FireNation. Albeit she would never be accepted as an enemy bender.
He realized that he was brooding and shook his messy white hair out of his eyes. Jack opened the cold metal door a crack and looked out into the hall. No one was there, but that didn't mean that no one was on the ship either.
He turned to look at the golden haired woman as she began humming a tune. It was soft and sweet, almost sad and he could tell that she hummed it often. Maybe were she was from they sang a song while they worked.
His imaginative mind filled with images of her and other blonde girls in trees, picking fruit. They would sing and laugh and the animals would even join in, dancing below. All of the women had long hair, but none of them rivaled the prisoner's. 'her voice would be the clearest of them all', he thought.
The humming stopped, and out of the comer of his eye Jack swore he saw a few strands of hair...GLOWING. But when he looked upon her he saw no such thing, only a strange girl with hollow cheeks and thin arms brushing her long hair.
Jack remembered that they didn't always feed her and flushed slightly. 'No wonder she looks so bad',he thought as he began to search through his drawer. He found a bag of stale fire flakes and winced. This was all he had, but tonight he would sneak her something from the kitchen, if he remembered.
Jack sat next to her and presented the food. She held out her hand to decline but was surprised to hear her stomach growling in protest. He pressed them closer to her and she grudgingly ate. Before long the bag was empty and she was ready for more. However, she hid that desire and began brushing her hair again.
Her eyes wondered over to his and they stared at each other. "Thank you." She spoke softly and meekly, like she was afraid to speak. Jack grinned a sideways grin and her cheeks flushed. When the rose faded from her face, she asked,"Jack...why are you so kind to me?" Her eyes showed that she feared the answer, but had enough determination to hear it.
Jack saw the opportunity for many things here. If he said one thing, they could get romantically involved, if he said another, she might lose all her respect and trust for him. So he decided on this,"because I don't see a reason not to be. You have never tried to escape and you have always behaved well. Hell, if you had told us what you know, you would probably be home by now."
She turned back to her hair to think over his words. Jack leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. He could wait for an answer, she would give it to him one day. His mind filled with images as he began daydreaming again. It was a nasty habit of his that he developed long ago...back when he left the spirit world.