Chapter 17: The Ship

Zuko awoke to familiar surroundings: the creak of metal, the hiss of steam running through pipes, the slosh of the ocean against the hull, the gentle sway of the room around him. He knew he should get up. His uncle was probably waiting for him with breakfast and some unintelligible piece of wisdom.

He sat up and his body rebelled. He was blinded by the pain in his head and his side. Every muscle ached. He fought back the sudden urge to vomit, and collapsed back into bed with a groan. Uncle could wait five more minutes.

Wait.

Uncle.

His eyes snapped open. He hadn't been on a Fire Nation ship in months. He was Lee in Ba Sing Se. He worked in a tea shop. He was captured as the leader of the resistance. He was beaten. He was … rescued? Yes, he definitely remembered Jet. But Jet was dead, wasn't he?

It was all blurry like some half remembered nightmare. Had he dreamed up the whole thing? All his time in Ba Sing Se? All the people he called friends?

Well, this wasn't his room. It was much smaller, and the full sound of the waves and the pressure of the air told him it was probably bellow the water level. And his clothes weren't very nice. They were Fire Nation, but they were cotton and not silk. And his hand…

He stared at the splinted hand in horror. Ok, it hadn't been a dream. But then, what the hell was going on?

A clank came from the hatch to the room and he took up a defensive stance – or as much of one as he could considering he was sitting, and dizzy, and his body was in ruins.

"Oh good. You're up."

He blinked twice to clear his head. "Jin?"

She grinned at him and closed the door behind her while balancing a tray of food. She was dressed in Fire Nation clothes – her top exposed her back almost completely, her skirt had a split up to her thigh, her hair was loose except for the top knot, and the color of her cloth made him feel strangely possessive.

His brain did not start to work again until she crouched next to him and forcibly closed his hanging jaw. She then placed a business-like hand against his forehead.

"Hey, your fever broke."

"My fev- What's going on? Where the hell are we?" His voice was like a croak. In response she poured him a glass of water, which he drained, and she refilled.

"Yes, your fever. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was run over by stampeding saber moose lions."

"Well, I can imagine. You've been out for a few days. I got a doctor to look at you and the good news is that you'll survive." She grinned.

He gave her a very confused look. He knew she was naturally upbeat, but this was a little ridiculous. She ignored his look and continued talking, "The doctor set and wrapped the bones in your hand. You will probably have full movement again and you can take the splints off in a few weeks. He also wrapped your ribs and patched up the cuts on your back. They were really gross looking at first, but now they're healing nicely. Also, all the small cuts and bruises should go away soon and your fingernails will grow back. Isn't that great?"

Great was not the word he would have chosen.

She poured him some tea. "Drink this. It's a pain killer. It'll also make you sleepy."

The tea was bitter. So bitter that it made him think that Jin was trying to get back at him for something. He tried very hard to remember what.

"It's good" he coughed.

"I think it might be giving you nightmares. You've been mumbling a lot in your sleep. Don't worry. You haven't said anything too compromising. Or you know, it might have been the fever rather than the tea. I guess we'll find out soon."

He took this as further evidence that she was out to get him. He set the cup down gingerly and changed the subject. "What are we doing on a Fire Nation ship?"

Her eyes sparkled and she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "We're passengers."

"What?"

"I got us two tickets. We left from the Ba Sing Se port yesterday."

"Why would you do something stupid like that?"

"It's the best way to get to the Fire Nation."

"Well, obviously!"

"Mmhmm."

"Are you insane? Why would we want to go there?"

"Because we have to find the Avatar and teach him fire bending and I think he's in the Fire Nation."

He gawked at her. "You've got to be kidding."

"Nope, Prince Zuko, I'm definitely not."

He froze.

"I… um… heh. What are you talking about?"

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes. "You know, I was upset when I found out and it wasn't from you. But I understand your reasons and I'm over it."

"You're… over it?"

"Yeah. I'd rather you be alive and have some weird, angsty back-story than not and dead."

"It's not angsty."

"Sure."

He pressed the heel of his hand into his eye.

"It's pretty neat. I'm dating a prince."

"Former Prince." Over it. Whatever. "You think it's neat so you just forgot all about the part where I lied to you and how my family is responsible for everything bad that's ever happened to you?"

"I don't forget, I ignore. And I think that you give yourself too much credit. Bad things can happen to me without you being around. You're not the center of the universe."

Oh, good grief.

Ok. Let's start this again. "So, somehow you know everything you decided that the best idea was to hunt down the Avatar and teach him fire bending?"

"You were unconscious so I made an executive decision. We couldn't stay in Ba Sing Se anymore so I thought to myself, 'How else can I help the war effort?' And I thought of the Avatar and how in order for him to have his full power he needs to know all four elements and it's pretty common knowledge that he can't fire bend because he doesn't have a teacher. Then I thought, 'Hey. Lee can fire bend. And he's an expert at tracking down the Avatar.' Problem solved."

She had obviously gone crazy.

"That's great and all, but the Avatar's dead. He died when Ba Sing Se fell. Remember?"

She grinned again. "No he didn't. He went into hiding. He re-appeared at the invasion of the Fire Nation Capital."

"The Fire Nation capital was invaded?"

"Oh. I forgot that you've been out of it for a while. You see, there was an eclipse and all the fire benders lost their bending during it. So the Avatar and his friends led a force to the capital to overthrow the Fire lord. They made it all the way to the palace, but apparently the Fire Nation knew they were coming and got the drop on them. Most of their force was taken prisoner and the Avatar and his friends escaped on their bison."

"Oh, is that all?" He tried to sound sarcastic, but it didn't work.

"Drink your tea. No, it's not all. The Earth Kingdom also took back Omashu during the eclipse. Rumor is that King Bumi did it single handedly."

"And Ba Sing Se?"

"We busted you out of prison."

"Right. Well, did I miss anything else?"

"Oh Spirits, you've missed so much." She scooted onto the bed next to him and leaned against his good side, making herself comfortable as though she were settling in for a long story. "When you were captured, the Dai Li made a big deal about it. They made announcements all over the city 'the leader of the rebellion has been captured. The rebellion has fallen.' Heh. Leader. In their dreams.

"So then we started our own campaign. We spread tales of all your great deeds: stopping the slave trade, helping wanted people escape the city, reuniting the former earth benders with their families. The people were all on your side. They were outraged. Instead of destroying the resistance it grew and the people who weren't active in the resistance were sympathetic.

"Then they announced that you were to be publicly executed."

"What? I didn't hear anything about that."

"Let me finish my story."

"They were going to execute me!"

"Let me finish."

"Is that why you rescued me?"

"What? No. I rescued you because I love you, idiot. Now do you want to hear the story or not?"

"WHAT! You can't just say stupid things like that right now!"

"What's wrong with you? I can tell you whatever I damned well please. And it's not stupid. It's true."

"It's not true. You don't even know me!"

"Yes I do. And this is not the way you're supposed to react."

"How am I supposed to react then?"

"You're supposed to kiss me and tell me you love me too."

"Isn't it obvious that I love you too?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know. Why are you being such a prick? Did you learn that in prince school?"

"There's no such thing as 'Prince School'!"

"Well, I didn't know that."

He glared at her, "you're obnoxious."

She smiled. "You're one to talk."

"Finish your damned story."

She made herself more comfortable and continued. "After they announced the date of your execution there was a day of mourning throughout the city. It was great. You would have loved it."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, this really ticked off the Dai Li. But then two days later Quin Wei himself announced that you were not only the traitorous leader of the rebellion, but you were also the banished Fire Prince Zuko and that you had betrayed your own family and deceived Ba Sing Se.

"This would have lost us our momentum, but we used it to our advantage. We spread massive propaganda even before the people could feel outraged. We told all about how you had been banished by your own father for speaking out against the Fire Lord, how you had come to Ba Sing Se like so many people as a refugee and you moved your way up to the upper ring through shear will and determination and fantastic, wholesome, tea making skills.

"A lot of people knew about the Jasmine Dragon and the good you've done in Ba Sing Se. The people banded together like I've never seen before and rioted."

"They rioted over me? Was anyone hurt?"

"Two squads of fire benders and about thirty Dai Li." She smirked.

He blinked up at the ceiling. Her story was not putting his mind at ease at all.

"Then it was announced that you wouldn't be executed in Ba Sing Se – probably because they worried about making you an even bigger martyr. They said that you would be sent to the Fire Nation and dealt with there. Rumor had it that some member of the royal family was coming to get you personally. So the Rebellion made plans for an assassination and me and Longshot and 'Bee made plans to rescue you."

"See, they weren't going to execute me."

"Yes, yes, you're so smart."

He scowled.

"… Do you have any news of my uncle?" He asked the question slowly, figuring she knew the story of his imprisonment and perhaps knew of any plans to rescue him.

"Well, the morning after you disappeared the girls came in and found a note from Mushi. He said that he was taking a very long vacation and if they wanted to they could sell the shop and keep the proceeds. He left them each a month's pay and a list of places where they would have luck getting new jobs."

"Wait. He wasn't taken prisoner?"

"Not that I'm aware. He probably escaped with his secret pai sho buddies."

"And Suri's ok?"

Jin blinked at him. "Yeah, she's fine. Freaked out. But fine."

After a short moment to process this, he let out a relieved sigh and then an almost frantic laugh. "They told me they had them."

"Torture, Lee. Torture. They lie about things." Her voice sounded bitter and it made him realize that maybe she was more concerned with this situation than she was letting on. He had dragged her through a lot lately. He reached for her, and pulled her close.

"I guess the Jasmine Dragon is dead then."

"Ha! The girls kept it. They figured out how to restock supplies and keep the books and they even hired two new girls. They kept complaining about the 'man power shortage'. And given your new found fame, business has never been better."

"You're kidding."

"No. They love that place. It's like a second home."

He thought on that one for a while. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer.

"What's it like being a prince? Did you have all sorts of servants? Do you live in a palace? Do you have a bunch of exotic animals?"

"One at a time."

"Well, you just got to ask questions. Now it's my turn."

"You answer questions in unhelpful ways."

"Well, it's hard to come up with an answer to 'what the hell, Jin? Grump grump grump.'"

"Fine. You can ask anything you want. Just ask tomorrow. I think that tea is starting to work."

"I can ask all day?"

"All day."

"And you'll be truthful?"

"No more lies."

"You sure? I ask hard questions."

"Yeah sure."

"Can I ask two tonight?"

"You've already asked like twenty!"

"I have not. And they're very important."

"Fine."

"Should I call you Lee or Zuko?" His name sounded strange from her lips. She mouthed the word again to herself.

He felt as though he'd been punched. That probably was an important question. "You can just make it easier on yourself and call me Lee. I'm used to it." A great deal went unsaid in his answer and he hoped that she knew him well enough to know what he meant: Lee is the man I want to be, the one who people are proud of, the one with friends, the one you love.

"What's your other question?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah!" She stood up and lifted her arms from her sides. "Do you like my new outfit?" She slowly turned around so he could take it all in.

He smiled. "You look stunning."

The resistance meeting was half way through when Longshot hurried into the room.

"I need to speak to Jin alone."

The room fell silent, everyone staring wide eyed at Longshot. Several of them had never heard him speak before.

Jin nodded. "If you could all wait outside." They stood hesitantly and exited the room, everyone walking slowly so they might catch part of what was happening.

Smellerbee hadn't moved. Longshot gave her a reproving look. " 'Bee." Her eyes widened in fear and she followed after the rest of the group, pausing to look over her shoulder before sliding the door closed.

"Quin Wei came to see Lee personally today." Jin's heart rate rose slightly, but she kept her face schooled and nodded for him to continue. "Quin Wei recognized him. Lee's from the Fire Nation."

Jin swallowed. "Yes, I know."

Longshot nodded. "He was identified as the banished Prince Zuko."

She stopped breathing. She searched Longshot's eyes, praying that it was a joke. But his gaze said otherwise, and the very fact that he was speaking was proof enough that it was true.

"They'll make an announcement in a few hours. They'll say that he has deceived and betrayed us, just as he did his home country."

Jin sunk slowly into her chair and closed her eyes. Why hadn't he told her this? She felt hurt and angry, not at what he was, but just that he had kept it from her. Despite everything he had never trusted her completely.

She had always wondered what that one last secret was, and now she knew. Now she had found out from a third party, in a situation where his secrecy would cause a world of trouble. Spirits damn him.

"I'll break the news to 'Bee. She'll take it pretty hard."

Jin murmured a small sound of agreement, then fell into a brooding silence.

"He's a good man." Her eyes darted up to meet Longshot's face.

Longshot never lied.

"Yes. He is."

Longshot nodded and went to retrieve the people standing in the hall. Jin pushed her emotions down, promising that she would look at them later when she was alone and after they had come up with a battle plan. Right now was the time to focus.

Jin lay next to Lee, watching him sleep. By all rights she should be furious with him. He had lied to her. Again. He had put everyone in danger. Now she had to leave her home – her family – her dreams.

But he hadn't really made her do that. It was her choice. Everything had been her choice. Everything. She saw again a lifeless body tied to a chair, blood flowing freely onto the floor, seeping into the wood, seeping into her soul.

She had done that for Lee, to avenge him.

No, she had done it for herself, for vengeance.

She squeezed her eyes closed and begged the image to pass.

Spirits, she was so stupid. Once upon a time she was intelligent and self reliant, with a brilliant future ahead of her. Now she was a love sick girl who did stupid, monstrous things for a boy. A boy who for all intents and purposes abused her trust -like so many people before him. She had chosen time and time again to trust him, to follow him, to love him. She was like a brainless heroine in a pulpy romance scroll that she had always thought were constructs of chauvinistic fantasies - completely unrealistic.

A brainless heroin with swords.

How could she have let this happen?

She looked at Lee's face, noting his shallow, uneven breathing. Compulsively she brushed his sweat covered hair from his face, ever so gently. Closing her eyes, she rested her head in the crook of his arm and inhaled his scent of sweat and dirt and blood.

Damn him. Damn herself.

Lee thought that the torturous interrogation was behind him. However, he woke up the next morning to ticklish pokes in his ribs and an evil grin on Jin's face.

What's the palace like? How big is it? How many people live there? Do you have your own room, or suite, or wing? How many servants are there? What do they do? Isn't that an invasion of privacy? Can you tell them to go away? What's the court like? Is there lots of juicy gossip and scandals? Like what?

Where did you go to school? What did they teach you? Did you learn about diplomacy and … leader stuff? What kind of leader stuff? Who taught you dual swords? Who taught you to fire bend?

What did you do for fun? Seriously? That sounds so lame. Did you have any friends? … Any girlfriends? Do you really have a sister or was that fake?

Ugg. Of course he would have to talk about her. It was really just a matter of time. This day was just going to be a series of horrible flashbacks to his terrible childhood.

"I have a younger sister, Azula."

"You both have Zs. Zu and Zu."

"Don't call me that."

She raised her eyebrows, then developed an evil grin.

"No. I'm serious."

"You're no fun."

"I'm ok with that."

"What's your sister like?"

"She's a crazy, manipulative liar."

"Everyone thinks their siblings are crazy."

"Most of them have no idea what they're talking about."

What kind of food do they eat in the Fire Nation? How do they great each other? What kind of music is popular there? Will you sing me a song?

At this point he insisted that they go out on the deck and get some air and maybe some lunch.

"Is Mushi really your uncle?"

"Yes, of course."

"He's your mother's brother?"

"No, he's my father's brother, Iroh." Lee had quickly become aware of how little Jin knew of the Fire Nation. Not that he could blame her. He hadn't known much about the customs of the Earth Kingdom.

"Iroh… That name sounds familiar."

"General Iroh, Dragon of the West?"

"Who lead a siege against Ba Sing Se for 600 days!"

"Yeah. That's him."

"That nice old man, who was my father figure and gave me free tea!"

"Hey! He told me he was just giving you a discount."

"That's crazy! Security in Ba Sing Se is atrocious."

"Maybe you should send them an angry letter."

She wasn't listening to him. Instead her brow was furrowed in deep thought. "So is your father, like, really old?"

"What? No. He's a decade younger than my uncle."

"Huh… Then … Why isn't Mushi the Fire Lord?"

That question kind of threw him and then he rubbed his temples with the knowledge that he would have to tell that story.

"Wow. Your dad screwed over you and your uncle. Is that why Mushi came with you when you were banished?"

"No, I …. I don't know why he came." He trailed off and stared out at the sea.

"He went with you because he loved you," she said very matter-of-factly.

Were you close to your cousin? Were you close to your grandfather? What was your mother like?

It was weird. She asked about people as if they were simply members of his family and not the leaders of the war against her people. She seemed to understand that he was of two minds about his family, which was an unusual and slightly unnerving experience for him. "Sometimes the people we love can do terrible things, but that doesn't mean we can stop loving them" she murmured.

What do you miss most about the Fire Nation? If your life could be magically put back to normal, what would be the first thing you'd do? Was it hard to live as a peasant and wash your own socks and comb your own hair? Is that why your hair's so messy? What was the strangest thing about living in the Earth Kingdom? Why does Mushi like tea so much?

"You seem really unwilling to go see the Avatar."

"We don't exactly get along."

"Why not? He's the Avatar. Isn't he supposed to like everyone?"

"No."

"What did you do to him?"

"I chased him around the world trying to capture him and bring him back to the Fire Nation. Remember?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"What do you mean?"

She suddenly frowned. "Were you rude to him?"

He blinked at her. "Yes."

"What did you do?" Her voice was accusatory for the first time and it was making him anxious.

"What did I do? I captured him. Twice. I burned down one of his friend's villages. I beat all of them up thoroughly. I kidnapped one of his friends to use as bait. I stole her dead mother's necklace and used it to try to find them. You name it. I did it."

She considered this with her arms crossed over her breast. "How were you going to use a dead mother's necklace to find the Avatar? Did you ask her spirit or something?"

"No! There was this animal that smelled things and … ugg, never mind."

"That sounds like a dumb idea. Did it work?"

"Well, no. Not really."

"Were you really trying to catch the Avatar or was this some sort of complicated sabotage thing?"

"Arg!"

"You know. I can see how a reunion could be a little awkward for you. But the Avatar is supposed to be a great guy. Right? And you're a great guy. So if everyone just gives it a chance I'm sure you'll hit it off."

She was crazy. He was absolutely positive now.