Chapter 9: Coal-escence

Dear Diary,

Today is the day Akan finally gets dumped at his new prison. From what I've heard he's not going to be let off so easily for his actions. Turns out I'm not the only one he's threatened and attacked

But even so, Lord Iroh has forbidden me from leaving my rooms or even working, on my own again until we are a day away from the mining rig.

I don't know why he's so paranoid about me not being near any major fire nation settlement, whether it be military or civilian. I mean fine, I'm an earthbender but-

There were two knocks on the door.

Wow seriously, I can't even finish an entry in peace?

Jade Shi rolled her eyes as she approached the door and peered outside.

At the sight of her visitor she smiled wide.

"Father, where have you been?" She threw herself into Ruishi who patted her back gently, however his face was grim.

"Father what-oh spirits what happened to your hands?!" Jade cried out as she held up his much larger pair of hands in her own small ones.

They were bruised and almost raw, some of them bleeding, especially the two index fingers.

"I'll tell you later" Ruishi murmured gently prying his hands out of his daughter's grip. "For now come with me to the deck. There's something you need to see."

To say that Jade was happy to see the clear sky after nearly a full week of being below deck was an understatement.

It was afternoon, close to evening and the sky was red as the sun dipped down towards the horizon line.

At once Jade felt the warm rays soak into her skin, almost like she were being bathed in it. She loved the sun; it always gave her energy and revitalized her no matter how tired she was.

Now after a week of not seeing it she could've cried. However she held herself together as she caught sight of several figures on the deck.

Two of them she recognized as Lord Iroh and Prince Zuko, the latter of whom was glaring venomously at a figure standing in the middle of several guards.

Jade' gasped as a guard shifted and she saw the prisoner's face.

It was Akan.

But no…it couldn't be.

She thought wildly as she took in his appearance. His dark hair that had always been so immaculate in its topknot was now a scraggly mess around his now bruised and battered face, as was his beard. And instead of the proud gleaming red and black Fire Nation uniform he wore tattered and faded dark red clothes that seemed baggy and unkempt.

He turned his head as he felt the younger girl's gaze, but before he could even catch sight of her, Ruishi stepped in and blocked her from view. His glare was such that not just Akan, but all the guards around him, shuddered.

Zuko himself bristled uncomfortably.

It was odd, he thought as he inspected the older man closely.

At a first glance Ruishi always appeared to be a humble and unassuming man. Yet when it came down to seeing him in action, he seemed to have the power and strength of a general equal to one of Iroh's stature. Even Zhao, for all his haughtiness and pride feared him and he was his brother.

So how did he end up being just a lowly lieutenant?

Zuko's eyes narrowed only to quickly dart sidelong as something shifted behind the lieutenant's back.

But it was only Jade. She had spotted the rig approaching the ship and her face had gone very pale.

A part of Zuko felt like he should say something, but his throat seemed to not allow it.

For some reason, ever since music night he could not bring himself to talk to her directly.

It wasn't as if they were fighting again, far from it. But every time he made to open his mouth he found a large lump in his throat, a blank head and roaring dragons in his gut. It didn't help whenever she tilted her head in confusion, her green eyes glimmering like two green gems.

What the hell is wrong with you? She's just a kitchen maid! Just give her an order and she'll be out of your hair you idiot!

He would bitterly berate himself whenever she would leave the room. Even as she met his gaze now he found himself lost for words.

Quickly he turned his face away, hoping against hope that she couldn't see his embarrassment in his face.

He was failing miserably.

Not that Jade was doing any better. In fact she was so awkward that her cheeks were almost burning on fire they were so flushed.

It was a miracle when the boat finally docked into the side of the massive oil rig.

No…actually it wasn't a miracle…

Jade felt her stomach drop at the sight of the structure.

It was tall and loomed well above the height of the ship. But what got to Jade most was the sight of the great big plumes of smoke issuing from the towers.

She'd seen factories and rigs before back close to the homeland, however for some reason the sight of the dark smog rising from the shadowy metal columns here, nearly made her blood freeze.

It was like looking at a metal prison.

Maybe because it is a metal prison…

A little voice sneered in the back of her head.

A metal prison…to cage Earth benders…

She cringed a little as something metal clanged loudly.

But it was only the gangplank that a fire nation soldier had set from the rig to the ship.

She watched, doing her best to stop herself from trembling like a leaf, as Zuko and Iroh both made to lead the guards and Akan onto the rig.

"Jade"

Jade jumped, but it was only her father, who put a calm hand on her shoulder.

"Is this what…" she shut her eyes and looked away.

Ruishi nodded his face turning grim.

"Yes. I know it seems cruel. But I think you're old enough to know now what will happen if-"

"The Avatar was here?!" a voice bellowed out.

Jade and Ruishi both quickly turned and saw to their astonishment, Prince Zuko yelling at the rig's main warden. He was a sly faced man with long greying hair and narrowed eyes that were currently doing their best not to meet the prince's furious gaze as he mumbled:

"Yes he was. As were two water tribe children. A boy and a girl. The girl was a water bender. It was she who led all the prisoners to revolt."

"Revolt?" Zuko growled his eyes turning to slits.

"Yes" the warden looked down ashamedly "S-she and the Avatar somehow brought up all the coal from the furnaces and all the prisoners bent it against us. I and my guards were sent overboard. By the time we'd managed to swim back everyone, the avatar and the prisoners, they were all sailing away on our ships"

"Which way did they go?" Iroh said swiftly because it looked like his nephew was going to explode at any moment like a lit up powder keg.

"I don't know" the warden mumbled.

It took all Zuko had in him to not blast the damned man over the edge of the rig and back into the water.

Great just his luck! The Avatar had slipped out of his grasp again!

He rounded on the guards around him and barked loudly.

"Get the prisoner to his new cell! The rest of you try to clean up this mess! And get some supplies" he added before storming off angrily to look at the rest of the rig.

Coal was lying everywhere, in large piles, small dustings, heck there was even a large compressed boulder laying cracked in half on the ground by a vent.

He kicked at it hard only to wince as his toes almost got crushed.

As he hopped away from the boulder something blue glinted in the corner of his eye from the floor.

He quickly looked down.

There, under a small pile of black dust and powder was a blue choker with a blue pendant set in its centre. The pendant had an engraving of three swirling waves on top of one another.

Where have I seen this before?

Zuko frowned just as a voice spoke behind him.

"They'll be heading North"

Zuko turned back around. It was Jade.

She was standing a few feet away close to a large pile of coal, which she was sifting through curiously with her fingers.

"What makes you say that?" he frowned as he watched her pick up a small lump of coal and pocket it in her apron.

"The Avatar is still just a boy with only control over his natural element, Air." Jade shrugged "According to the Avatar cycle, the next element he must master is water. And seeing as there is no water bending master in the South Pole, there's only one place he can go"

"The North Pole" Zuko nodded and a small smirk spread over his features as understanding kicked in.

That's right. That's where he'd seen this necklace before. It belonged to that water tribe girl that was helping the Avatar.

He quickly pocketed the necklace before looking back at Jade who was now tossing a piece of coal up in the air and catching it for her own amusement.

"how is your shoulder" he asked and was amused to see her stumble a little in surprise, the coal hitting the floor and rolling away

"Oh…my shoulder…" Jade blushed her fingers ghosting over her covered shoulder. "Looks good so far. Chan said I could take the stitches out in a couple of days."

"That fast?" Zuko's brow furrowed.

It had only been a week since she'd had them in, and the wound though small had been pretty nasty.

He knew that benders of any element, often healed faster than normal, due to the way their chi flowed through their bodies (or so his uncle had said). But Jade was a non-bender. How could she heal that fast?

Feeling his gaze fix on her solidly, Jade coughed.

"yeah. Hopefully this means I can get back to work soon"

"Get back to work? With that? Che! You've got to be one of the craziest girl's I have ever met" Zuko snorted, though when Jade caught his eye she saw that he wasn't scathing, just amused.

Even so it irritated her to no end.

"Maybe it seems weird to you, but I do like my job." she pouted grumpily, only for Zuko shake his head.

"Uh-huh? Sure you do"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She scowled and Zuko's smirk widened.

"I've seen you every time we've pulled into port. You can't wait to get off. But..."

He trailed off softly his smirk falling as a small frown took its place as he stepped towards her.

"You're afraid to leave…why? What's preventing you?"

Jade gulped nervously doing her best to avoid those sharp amber eyes that seemed to pierce straight through her.

Eventually she found the courage to look him in the eye and say firmly.

"I've got a family here. I can't just leave them at the drop of a hat…now if you'll excuse me your highness."

And before he could say another word, she ducked her head down and dashed away leaving him alone in the middle of coal.

What was that about?

But even as he stepped forwards his foot kicked something solid.

He looked down to the ground and saw to his astonishment what appeared to be a small black dragon.

He picked it up, noticing with utter bewilderment that his fingers were suddenly coated in black sooty powder.

Coal? But…how could this have been…

But even as the thought crossed his mind he remembered the way a pair of small pale hands had been fiddling just moments ago.

No…that's not possible…there is no way that's possible…

He looked up quickly only to see a head of mousy brown hair rush back up the gangplank and up onto the ship.

Dear Diary,

I think I've just escaped from a close shave.

Call me paranoid but I think prince Zuko might be onto me…that is about being a…well…y'know.

I'm not sure if I'm right or not. His questions were quite vague, but the way he was looking at me…it was almost like he could see straight through me…

But that's impossible.

For the past two years no one else on board has noticed anything, and I've only ever started associating personally with the prince within the past month or so.

Then again he's smarter than he looks…or rather he's smart when he actually puts his focus properly onto something. The rest of the time he just broods like a spoilt child.

And that's what really gets my goat about him diary. It's not that he's a bad person. No, a bad person wouldn't have stopped Akan from abusing anyone nor taken care of me, a lowly kitchen servant, when I was scared after the attack.

But he did.

And yet… even after all those nice things he did, he still tries to hide that nice side under the guise of a jerk

That's not to say that nice people can't have dark sides.

My father for example.

Yeah that's right diary, I've finally found out where he's been for the past few days.

Shen wasn't lying when he said he was guarding Akan. The thing is…its not just guarding he's been doing. He's been…well lets just say those bruises I saw on Akan's face weren't the worst of his injuries.

I honestly don't know what to think anymore. I know my father is a strong man, but to me he's always been my father, he's cared for me all my life. But to think that he could inflict such vindictive harm on another person, even one as rotten as Akan, is scary.

I think he knows I know because he's been avoiding me since I got back on the ship. Not like prince Zuko.

And now we come back to my first problem.

The prince.

I swear he's been following me around the place all the time…or at least whenever he's not brooding over maps or plotting to capture the Avatar.

I try and act normal around him and try to pay attention to my chores, but that constant stare of his on my back…it's getting a little unnerving.

At least we're not yelling at one another as much as we used to. No scratch that, not all of our conversations have yelling in them, because we both still bicker.

Oh wait I can hear someone knocking on my door.

"Jade! The ship's pulled into dock!"

"Just a second Shen! I'll meet you on deck!"

"Okay! But hurry up or else I'll leave without you!"

Yeah! Like father would ever let him do that. Pff!

But anyways diary, we must've finally pulled into port again. Thank heavens for that. We're beginning to run low on black pepper.

But enough about food stocks, I'll talk to you later.

But even as Jade tucked away her diary and slipped out her door, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder.

Someone was standing around the corner of the corridor, she was sure of it. She could feel it in the vibrations of the ground. Someone was standing there and watching her every move.

Well if they think they're going to catch me they've got another thing coming.

A pair of amber eyes blinked just as a head of brown hair disappeared around the opposite corner of the darkened metal corridor.

She's going away from the deck?

The eyes narrowed and Zuko straightened up and stepped out into the corridor as quietly as he could.

To say that the crown Prince of the fire nation was merely suspicious of Jade Shi's actions would be the biggest understatement of the century long war.

In truth suspicion didn't even cover the level of intrigue he felt even as he stealthily followed the young kitchen maid's path.

She wasn't difficult to miss or follow, seeing as she had changed her clothes to something more casual, for her shore leave.

She was wearing a red sleeveless high necked Cheongsam the hem of which was short with high slits up the sides. Over her legs she wore slim fitted black pants with small black flats to match the black sash she had tied about her waist.

Odd…

He couldn't help but think as he sidled around another corner. He was so used to seeing her in her long slightly worn out servant's robes and her messy apron that he never really considered that she could ever wear such a thing as normal clothes.

Just what is she up to?

He frowned in puzzlement as he quietly caught sight of her from one end of the sweltering engineering boiler rooms, where she quickly slid towards a side door. But not before glancing back in his direction.

He shrank away behind a large metal pipe just in time to hear her shake her head and sigh heavily to no one in particular.

"You really don't give up do you?"

Zuko's heart froze.

She knew. She knew he was following her…but how? He was trained in stealth, stealth was his speciality. He could well sneak past most of his crew and not be seen for an entire day if he so wished it.

But then again she's not like the other crew,

He reminded himself with a scowl.

"Got you"

His eyes narrowed as he followed her path out of the engineering room and into a corridor, only to find himself at a four way intersection.

He looked down each path.

But no one was in sight.

Jade couldn't help but giggle even as she dashed over to her brother, Shen who was quirking a confused brow.

"What's got you so excited?"

"Oh you know…land" she replied airily before grabbing his hand "Come on! Let's go!"

"Whoa Lucky! Slow down" Shen spluttered much to the amusement of the other guards as he was all but dragged off the ship.

Indeed Lord Iroh himself chuckled fondly at the pair of siblings as he saw them disappear from sight.

It was always such a nice thing to see two such siblings so close and affectionate with one another.

He wished he could say the same thing for his brother's children.

Speaking of which…

"Prince Zuko are you alright? You look quite exhausted?" Iroh smirked as a certain scar faced nephew of his dashed up on deck, puffing and panting for breath.

When he looked up at his uncle the prince scowled darkly.

"I'm fine. I've just been training in my room"

"Oh…and were you perhaps training with Ja-"

"NO!" Zuko growled so loudly that a nearby seagull screeched and flew away in fright.

Iroh's little smirk grew as he caught the eye of another passing guard who pursed his lips in an attempt not to crack up even as the older general said blithely:

"Well then if that's the case why don't we go and take a nice long walk in the village. I'm sure mingling and talking with the locals will take your mind off such concerns you may have." He added with a pointed glance towards said seaside village.

Zuko coughed and nodded.

"Of course…thank you uncle"

There was an awkward silence as the pair of them made to walk off the ship, Zuko doing his best to ignore the knowing grins and sniggers behind his back.

Once they were out of hearing of the crew he hissed to his uncle.

"Uncle, why do they keep looking at me like that? What have I done?"

What haven't you done?

Iroh wanted to say out loud but upon seeing his nephew's anxious expression he instead smiled and said calmly.

"The crew are just glad to see you up and about instead of brooding, like you have been doing for the past week"

"I have not been brooding" Zuko pouted folding his arms "I've just been thinking about our next moves"

"Against whom? The Avatar or Jade?" Iroh raised his eyebrows and when his nephew started he sighed "my nephew, I may be an old man but my eyes are as sharp as ever. I've seen you tailing that girl ever since we left that prison rig. Now it's truly sweet that you are worried for her safety-"

"It's not her safety that worries me" Zuko snapped grumpily, and when his uncle's smirk grew wide he snarled "really it isn't. She's hiding something. And I'm going to find out what it is"

"I see…"

Iroh's smirk fell at once to be replaced by something grim, as he watched his nephew begin to stride away.

"Just a moment prince Zuko" he called before the boy could disappear into a cluster of bamboo stalks.

Zuko stopped and turned his head to look at his uncle sharply.

For some reason, the older man looked rather worried and even a little forlorn even as he muttered.

"Zuko, many people have secrets that they'd rather not have dug up, because they are afraid of the consequences whether they be fair or not. Sometimes people can't help being who or what they are, no matter how much they try to hide it. But this doesn't necessarily make them a bad person. So before you go confronting or investigating any further I want you to promise me one thing."

"What is it?" Zuko's brow furrowed and Iroh fumbled with his fingers.

"Zuko, I want you to promise me that whatever you uncover about Jade, you give her the chance to explain herself and think about what she says before you come to a decision. She and her family have been very loyal to us, and it would be absolutely dishonorable on our part to not give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to judging their character."

Zuko stared at his uncle his eyes widening as he looked him over.

The way he fumbled with his words, the way he avoided his eye, it was almost as if…

"You know don't you?" He murmured softly, only for his uncle's eyes to harden.

"Yes I do. But I shan't tell you because, it is not my secret to tell. Besides" and now he yawned wide. "I am still quite tired, and I would like to find a place to kick back and relax. You go on ahead and search."

"Fine" Zuko grumbled angrily before storming off into the bamboo.

Stupid uncle!

He spat bitterly in his head.

Why can't he give me a straight answer for once!

But even as he thought this he couldn't help but wonder.

But how could he possibly have known already?

How indeed…

"Jade are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Shen for the last time, I'm fine. If anything you'll be the one more in danger of getting lost."

"Jade I'm being serious. What if someone discovers you-"

"They won't discover me if you keep your mouth shut and not blab about where I am."

"Lucky you know I would never do that! But couldn't you at least have found different spot to practice. This place looks creepy"

"Creepy? It's perfectly fine! I don't know what you're talking about"

"Fine! Fine! On your own head be it! *sigh* Father's going to kill me"

Jade shook her head fondly as her brother made to stalk off into the bamboo forest, leaving her alone in a rocky clearing.

She couldn't quite describe it, but it felt as if the entire clearing was brimming with energy. She could feel it almost hum in the earth beneath her feet. She could feel it even as she touched one of the boulders.

It was almost as if it were calling out to her innermost core of chi, such was the pull of it.

She couldn't help but grin even as she looked over her surroundings. There was a tall rocky wall and several large boulders placed in a circular ring lined with pebbles. In the middle of all this was a large circular pool from where a large worn out statue stood tall in the center. The water was so calm that it reflected the statue as perfectly as any mirror.

Jade faintly wondered if it was the spirit of the forest, surveying its stony subjects and standing tall to protect them. It certainly looked like it could do the job well, what with its massive size, snarling face and six limbs.

Jade stepped closer to crouch by the water's edge, her fingers gently grazing over the surface and making ripples. The energy about her seemed to thicken as she did so, but strangely enough she didn't feel threatened. In fact she felt safe.

But why didn't Shen?

She frowned. But even as she made to dip her hands completely, something flashed like a bright light in her mind.

Fire…Fire burning trees…A black and white bear like shape trying to run, it's fur getting singed and burned in the flames…

Then the flames were gone, and the bear was left standing alone and wounded in the middle of a desolate blackened field as faceless men in red and black uniforms made to march away, a red flag flying in their midst…a red flag…with a black flame on it…

Jade blinked, and something wet dribbled down her cheek.

But she did not scrub the tear away, nor did she remove her hand from the water as she murmured softly:

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry they've hurt you so badly"

She lifted a hand to her shoulder, her reflection trembling as her teardrop fell into it.

"They've hurt me too."

She didn't know whether the spirit could hear her or not, but the light in the clearing did brighten ever so slightly…just as a shadowy figure of a bear disappeared from sight just behind the trees.

"Uncle! It's time to leave where are you? Uncle Iroh!" Zuko yelled loudly as he thundered through the dense foliage about him.

"Over here Prince Zuko!" a familiar voice called and Zuko quickly dashed towards the sound, to find himself in a clearing close to a tall rocky wall from which a stream ran down into several natural rocky pools. In one of these his uncle Iroh was sitting quite relaxed, his clothes hanging on a nearby tree branch.

"Uncle?"

The sight was so odd that Zuko stopped in his tracks and blinked like a deer-hound in the headlights. However he was quick to shake his head out and growl like usual.

"We need to move on! we're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him"

But Iroh only sighed with a smile as he slouched further into the steaming waters.

"You look tired prince Zuko. Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles"

"My troubles can't be soaked away. It's time to go!" Zuko barked but Iroh was far too relaxed to listen.

"You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little. The temperature is just right. I heated it myself" and with that he sucked in a deep breath and exhaled heavily. At once on his unspoken command, the water heated up and a massive wall of steam nearly hit his nephew's face.

Zuko waved it away quickly, ignoring the heat and instead choosing to scowl.

"enough, we need to leave now! Get out of the water!"

"Very well then" Iroh began to rise, only for Zuko to cringe away at the sight of him.

"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes. But be back at the ship in half an hour or I'm leaving without you!" he cried out the last bit, scrubbing his eyes fiercely even as he made to dash away from the spot.

He loved his uncle dearly, but seeing him bathe was pushing it one grade too far.

Ahh! Nothing like a nice cool swim

Jade sighed contentedly as she moved through the water.

She was now in the pool of the spirit's statue, swimming round and round, floating when she got tired. But she was always within arm's reach of the rocky sides and always her clothes remained in sight.

The pool wasn't too deep nor to shallow. She could stand flat footed and the water still only came up to her shoulders. And it was pleasant in temperature. Not to hot not to cold.

She rarely got a chance to be alone and at one with her element, and whenever she did she was sure not to waste it.

There was just one small thing needling in the back of her mind.

Or rather, one angry, scar faced prince.

She bit her lip nervously as one clump of bamboo stalks rustled a little as something stepped out from it.

But it was only a little fire ferret.

"Hey there little guy" Jade cooed at the little red and white mammal that quickly made to rub its cute button nose with its dark red paws.

It looked at her intently, tilting its head to the side almost as if in confusion. Not that Jade could blame it.

Not many people must venture this deep into the forest. Pity…it's a nice place…

But then again maybe it was better left alone. She reasoned as the little ferret made to cautiously approach her.

"Hey it's ok. I'm a friend" She smiled as she swam towards the water's edge and slowly held out a hand towards it for it to sniff. Once it had gotten a good little whiff of her, the ferret dooked and began to lick at her fingers with much vigor.

"Wow you really are a nice little guy aren't you? Or are you just tasting the sauce from breakfast?" she giggled as the little ferret dooked again.

But even as she made to scratch his ear footsteps thumped just a few feet away.

"Wait! Come back!" Jade called as the little Mustelid quickly scurried off with a small squeak into the bamboo forest, its striped red tail flickering quickly out of sight.

"Shen what did you have to do that for?" Jade glowered as the figure stepped into the clearing only to splutter as Prince Zuko narrowed his eyes at her.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Jade screeched her hands flying to cover her chest as she waded over to the stone where she'd placed her clothes.

But there was nothing there.

Oh no…oh no-no-no-no-no!

Her gut sank as she looked up to see Zuko smirking as he held onto a bundle of red and black clothing.

"Why you little-" Jade began to hiss but Zuko cut across her, eyes glinting derisively.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you"

There was a flickering light and Jade stopped in her tracks. There in his other hand under the one that held her clothes was a flickering flame.

The bastard…the bloody little bastard!

But she kept her mouth shut even as Zuko made to slowly stalk over to stand at the edge of the pool, towering over her.

"Now I'm going to make this simple." He murmured softly, though his voice was laced with much scathing pleasure "You answer all my questions quietly and truthfully I'll give you back your clothes, and we go back to the ship as if nothing has happened."

"And if I refuse?"

"You can go back naked to the ship or stay here." Zuko muttered "Your choice."

Jade growled her hands twitching as they rested on the stone in her hand.

It was just there in her grip, she could bend it into any shape she wanted, heck she could just send it flying into his groin and knock him out, it would be too simple…but a thought in the back of her mind held it back.

What if he's bluffing? What if he just suspects but doesn't know? What if he's waiting for me to act on im-

"And don't even bother trying to overpower me. We both know your shoulder cannot take the strain. Unless" And now Zuko's eyes flashed with burning fire. "Unless you earth bend your way out?"

Dun-Dun-DUUNN!

Oh noes! Zuko knows the secret? what will he do next? :O

you'll have to wait and find out ;)

Keep R&Ring for more