So, uh... I lied. I know, I know, I said I'd be back by the end of November or the beginning of December and here it is almost Christmas. Finals happened, I got sick, I got a weird rash, it's been a rough couple of weeks, and to be totally honest, there were about two weeks once break started that I was basically a potato in front of the TV. Have any of you seen The Librarians? I'm obsessed, it's a genuine problem.
But I'm back, I've got my attention back on Asuni, and I've finally got this update ready! I'm going to try and get all of the Siege of the North written by the end of the year so that we can start 2016 with Book 2!
Asuni stood on the deck of Zhao's flagship, staring over the ocean and watching the ice floes bob as the sunset painted the water pink and gold. It was gorgeous, but her jaw was set. Normally she would have been overjoyed to finally be seeing the place where her mother was born, but she couldn't enjoy it, because she knew exactly what Zhao was doing.
This was the first time she'd been allowed on deck since she was taken. She was only allowed now because Zhao wanted her to see what the Northern Water Tribe looked like before he destroyed it. He wanted her to have an image in her mind of the place as it was before he arrived so that she would have something to grieve on the long sail back to the Fire Nation.
Little did he know that she was not going back to the Fire Nation. No, she would be sneaking off the boat with Zuko that very night to go and search for the Avatar.
Asuni turned away from the railing and descended into the ship, ignoring the sneers and lewd comments that soldiers made as she passed. She knew very well what her reputation was and refused to let it bothered her. She lapsed into the blank-faced expression she used when the troops lined up for inspection.
Asuni ducked into her room, shutting the door behind her tightly, and moved to her bed, pulling her bags out from underneath it. She had already decided how she would be going out into the cold. Layers were important, but she was also no longer hiding. She would be stepping off this ship in the uniform of the Royal Guards.
Iroh stepped into the tinderboat bay, shutting the door behind him. Zuko stood, maneuvering the ropes of one of the boats. He was dressed in white clothes, better suited to the environment of the north than his usual black or red. Coils of rope were slung over his shoulder, ready to be used at a moment's notice.
"You are fishing for an octopus, nephew. You need a tightly-woven net, or he will slip through the smallest hole," Iroh advised quietly.
"I don't need your wisdom right now, uncle," Zuko said grimly, straightening up.
"I'm sorry." Iroh sad hoarsely, stepping forwards. "I only nag you because… ever since I lost my son…" Iroh couldn't make the words come out, and he knew Zuko understood, and would maybe even prefer not to hear the words spoken aloud. So Iroh bit his tongue and closed his eyes.
"Uncle, you don't have to say it," Zuko assured him.
But he did need to. "I think of you as my own."
Zuko turned to face him. "I know uncle. We'll meet again," he promised, bowing politely. Iroh lunged at him, wrapping him in a tight hug. Zuko sighed and hugged his uncle bag for a moment.
"Asuni will be here any second," Iroh said, pulling back. "Watch out for her, nephew."
Zuko smiled slightly. "I thought it was her job to watch out for me."
"It is."
The door opened and Asuni stepped inside. Zuko stared as the breath was slammed out of him.
Asuni wore a pair of black pants and boots made of soft leather that moved with her feet but had armor plates covering her shins and knees. Red wrapping could barely be seen at the top. A red undershirt was barely visible under a white tunic. It fell to the middle of her calves but was slit up to her hips to allow her movement. The seal of the Royal Guards was emblazoned in black on her chest and stomach.
A thick, toughened black leather belt with faulds hanging long on either side and in front protected her hips. Over that was a thick band of tan fabric and red fabric belt that draped on her hips. Her sword was fastened to her left hip, a dagger to her right. Looped around her waist was the chained weapon he'd seen her use a dozen times before, and on her back was an oilskin sack he assumed was waterproofed and carrying supplies.
Her arms were given the same treatment as her legs – wrapped in red fabric and covered in greaves. Thin strands of hair hung on either side of her face, the rest of it pulled up into a topknot with a gleamingly sharp pin through it to hold it in place.
This was Asuni, the Royal Guard Lieutenant, as she was meant to be. She looked determined, she looked proud, and she looked capable. Even if he hadn't known her as well as he did, if he had just seen her in passing on the street, Zuko would have assumed that she knew how to use every one of the weapons on her body with deadly efficiency. She radiated calm and control.
Asuni shifted uncomfortably under Zuko's stare. She knew she looked different. She was in her uniform, for one, and it was something precious few people had ever seen her wear. After all, Royal Guards didn't operate in the open. But she couldn't bring herself to walk into her mother's homeland in disguise. It felt… dishonest, it felt sneaky, and it felt dirty. She wanted to step foot on Northern Water Tribe ice for the first time as who she was, and that was a Royal Guardswoman.
"Lieutenant," Iroh said, bowing to Asuni slightly in greeting. Asuni dropped to one knee in a bow and sprang back up easily.
"My prince, are you ready to go?" she asked.
Zuko had to shake himself free of his stunned silence to respond. Not trusting himself to talk, he merely nodded and stepped over the side of the boat.
"Remember your breath of fire!" Iroh advised as Asuni joined Zuko in the boat. "It could save your life!"
"I will," Zuko replied. He and Asuni each took a rope and began lowering themselves down into the water.
"And put your hood up, keep your ears warm!" Iroh called.
"I will!" Zuko responded, voice shaking slightly in amusement as he rolled his eyes.
They hit the water with barely a splash and both of them turned to an end of the boat, unfastening the ropes. When that was done, they turned to face each other.
"So… how are we going to do this?" Zuko asked, lifting up one of the oars. Asuni chuckled slightly.
"I thought I'd speed us along a little bit," she said, holding up her hand and waving her fingers. Zuko blushed.
"Uh, right. But won't the guards see the wake?"
"Not if we're not on the surface," Asuni said, eyes glinting mischievously. She swirled her arms through the air. A bubble of water swooped up around them, encircled the boat, and dragged them under the surface. Zuko jerked as they descended several feet, watching in awe as the ocean swirled around them.
"Good idea," he nodded, and Asuni smiled, her teeth glinting in the dim light. He was tempted to light a fireball in his palm to get a good look at her expression, but that would certainly give them away, so he squashed the urge.
"Let's go," Asuni said, and they began to move forwards. Zuko sat calmly, completely trusting that Asuni wouldn't drown them as she guided them around glaciers, growing closer and closer to the Northern Tribe. He wavered between watching the water slide around them and watching Asuni's movements in the dim light.
"Is it strange?" he asked quietly. "To be here?"
Asuni's movements stuttered slightly and there was a moment of silence.
"Yes and no," she replied quietly. "I have always wanted to come here. I just wished it would be under different circumstances."
Zuko nodded. He tried to imagine seeing the capital of the Fire Nation for the first time when it was under siege. It didn't settle right in his stomach, and he was just being sympathetic. He could only imagine what Asuni was feeling at that moment. Surely, she wanted to drive the Fire Nation away from the Northern Tribe? But at the same time, she was Fire Nation herself.
"We're getting close," Asuni said softly. "Time to come up."
The water rushed around them more violently as they emerged and suddenly they were in open air, their small boat hidden by an ice floe dotted with barking turtle seals. They were under a quarter of a mile from the huge wall. It might have been impressive under normal circumstances – a gigantic, embellished fortress of ice and snow. But huge black scorch marks marred the pristine surface. Asuni's heart tugged to see them and she wondered what her mother would think to see the place that rejected her like this.
Asuni steered to boat to the edge of an ice floe that was close to the wall. She hopped out easily and Zuko followed her. Working in silence, they dragged the boat up onto the floe and crouched down behind a jagged spur of ice, staring up at the wall. In the faded light, they could just barely see the top of guards' heads as they made their rounds.
"There's no good way over the wall," Zuko murmured, casting around. "So is there a way under it?"
Asuni shook her head. "No, the wall goes all the way to the ocean floor. The Northern Tribe isn't stupid – they knew that other Waterbenders might try to attack at some point so they made sure that even we couldn't sneak in."
"Then how are we- would they shut up?" Zuko snapped over his shoulder at a group of turtle seals who were baying loudly. Asuni glanced back to and she looked at the prince just in time to see his eyes widened.
"Where are they going?" he murmured, and moved towards them in a crouch. Asuni followed, keeping an eye on the turtle seals. They were strictly-speaking dangerous, but they could be loud if you upset them. That was part of the reason the Northern Tribe let them stay so close to the wall instead of hunting them for meat – they were a great early-warning system.
The turtle seals were gathered around a hole punched in the ice. One by one, they slipped in and vanished under the water. Zuko knelt beside the hole and observed it before looking up at Asuni.
"They're coming up for air somewhere," he reasoned.
"Not necessarily inside the city though," Asuni countered. Then she relented. "But you're right, it is our best chance thus far. That water's going to be cold," Asuni said with a wince as she stared down into it.
"You can keep it off of us," Zuko said, tugging down the high collar that covered his mouth. Asuni blinked at him. Of course she could, but it made a little warm spot start in her heart that he was so completely confident in her abilities that he was about to jump into the famously frigid waters of the North.
Zuko dove into the water and Asuni followed, stretching out her hands so that the empty space around her in the water extended forward around Zuko. Together the pair of them let the faint current carry them along through the tunnels in the ice. Asuni's bending kept out the water, but the cold still set in quickly, getting deep into their bones. They could see their breath in front of them in the air and Asuni's uncovered hands began to go numb quickly.
Asuni was relieved when they finally popped out of a hole and into a cavern. It was dark, a little bit of light filtering through the ice of the walls and ceiling. The whole place was filled with turtle seals curled up around each other in little huddles.
The pair of them flopped gratefully onto the ground for a moment's rest. Zuko shuddered and curled into a ball. He blew three quick bursts of fire, the breath of fire Iroh had reminded him of. Asuni smiled slightly. Iroh was right, it might save his life.
She shuddered violently, her teeth chattering against her will, and she curled up into a ball, tucking her hands against her stomach and curling her knees to her chest. Zuko rolled over, his eyes roving over her huddled form. Asuni gave her a tremulous smile - her jaw was shuddering.
"No breath of fire for me," she said with teasing jealousy.
'Come here," Zuko said, opening his arms. Asuni raised an eyebrow and she was sure that Zuko was blushing, even if she couldn't quite tell in the dim light. "I can warm you up a little," he hastily added.
Normally Asuni would have resisted, insisting that she was fine and he didn't need to bother – but she was freezing her ass of and if warmth came with a hug from Zuko, well, who was she to turn that down? Eagerly, Asuni crawled towards him and huddled against his side, shivering. Zuko's arms closed tightly around her and she felt his body heat begin to rise until steam nearly radiated off of him. Asuni sighed in pleasure as the remains of the water's chill were driven out of her bones.
"I'm better now," Asuni assured him, even though she would have been perfectly content to just say to hell with it and sit in the cave cuddled up with her own personal princely heater for an hour or two.
Zuko's arms slowly unwound from her and he stood up, offering her a hand. Asuni allowed him to pull her up. She cast around the cavern. There were several tunnels leading out of the room.
"If I'm oriented right," Asuni said, and pointed to one tunnel, "that one should take us inside the wall."
They started off, picking their way among the turtle seals as they went. The animals seemed content to just let them pass, aside from baying at them loudly when they came to close.
"Shut up" Zuko shouted at the animals. Asuni smothered chuckles at the disgruntled look on the prince's face.
"They're just telling you they know you're here," she chided, stepping in front of him to go down the tunnel first.
Not too far down they found a hole that poured water onto the floor, where it quickly flowed away. Asuni stepped forward, wincing as she placed her hand into the rush and felt the edges of the hole.
"This isn't natural," she said, pulling her hand free and drawing the water off of her clothes. "The opening is too perfect and the walls are too smooth. A Waterbender made this. I think it might be a drainage pipe of some kind."
"So we should come out somewhere in the city," Zuko reasoned. Asuni nodded and heaved herself into the pipe, holding up her hands so that the water flowed over her and Zuko's head and splashed down behind them. It was tricky to do that and keep her balance on the slippery slope of the ice, but she managed.
The pipe widened into a more natural opening and Asuni guided them along the tunnel, once more sealing them inside a capsule of rushing water as they bobbed along. She directed them along the tunnel and up until they hit a ceiling of ice. It was thin though, and she could vaguely see part of the night sky through it, as well as the outline of buildings.
"I need you to melt a hole through," Asuni said, gesturing to the ice above them. Zuko nodded and thrust his hands through the wall of their little enclosure, his hands steaming as they hit the ice. The layer began to thin and drip away almost immediately. Zuko shot through the hole he'd made and then thrust as arm back into the water. Asuni grabbed on and he hauled her out.
Asuni stared around. They were inside what seemed to be a large drainage pipe. But more importantly, they were inside the Northern Tribe's city.
Zuko sagged against the wall of the pipe wearily, shivering slightly as his back hit the ice. Asuni crouched next to him and dragged the water out of him clothes. He looked at her gratefully.
"We're in," Asuni said with a small smile. "What's the plan now?"
"Find the Avatar. Catch him. Take him home," Zuko said bluntly. Asuni's smile wavered slightly.
And here was her eternal problem come to slap her in the face again. She couldn't let Zuko capture the Avatar no matter how much she wanted him to be able to return home. But she also knew that if she openly tried to stop him he would hate her forever, and her heart dropped to her feet at even the thought of Zuko hating her.
"Come on, we need to find the Avatar," Zuko said after a moment's rest. "We need to find the Avatar."
Asuni nodded and the pair of them slipped out of the pipe and up to street level. The houses around them were all mostly dark. Everyone was barricaded inside their homes with their families for the night, saying what might be their final goodbyes to fathers and brothers who'd be out in the fighting again tomorrow.
Asuni and Zuko were able to creep along the streets with ease. At least, they were until a small figure came flying out of an alleyway.
"Please, please help me miss!"
Asuni's dagger was halfway drawn and Zuko's hands were flaming before either of them realized that the person clinging to Asuni's leg was not, in fact, an assassin, but a six-year-old girl who was sniffling and crying.
The girl looked up at Asuni, big blue eyes watering. "Please help me!" she begged. "I can't find my mommy! We got separated when the big balls of fire came and now… now I can't find her!" the little girl wailed.
Asuni placed her hands on the child's shoulder comfortingly, but she was looking from the girl to Zuko incredulously, her eyes clearly reading 'what do I do?'
Zuko looked down at the little girl clinging to Asuni. He wasn't keep on taking a break from his plans to take the girl back to her parents, nor of being seen in the city. Then again, he was hardly going to kill or hurt a little girl to keep the secret. And he felt vile for even thinking about just leaving her alone in the streets.
"Take her to find her mother," Zuko said. Asuni's eyes hardened into chips of ice.
"I am not leaving you alone in a city full of enemies," Asuni snapped at him harshly. Zuko narrowed his eyes.
"I'll be fine – besides, she can't be too far from home."
"Yeah, but how will I find you again?" Asuni countered. "It's a city, Zuko, not some little farming village."
Zuko shook his head. "Well, do you know a good place to meet then?" he snapped, growing increasingly exasperated with the situation. He wasn't going to leave the kid out in the cold, but he couldn't be seen in the city or word would managed to make it back to Zhao. He didn't know how, but it always seemed to.
Asuni bit her lip. "There's an oasis near the northern-most part of town. It's open to the sky. It's the most spiritual place in the whole city. We'll meet there. If I'm not back by daybreak, leave me a sign of the direction you've headed and I'll follow after you."
"Good," Zuko nodded.
Asuni turned back to the girl who was still sniffling into her leg and looking up at her hopefully.
"Does this mean you'll take me to my mommy?" the girl asked hopefully.
Asuni nodded, even though she shot Zuko a look that clearly read that she still wasn't happy about abandoning him. But she knelt down in front of the girl and cupped her face, smiling kindly.
"Yes, I am, sweetie," she cooed. "What's your name?"
The little girl sniffled and rubbed at her nose. "I'm Kallik."
"Kallik, my name is Asuni," she introduced herself. "Now, where did you last see your mommy?"
Kallik pointed down the alleyway she had just popped out of. "We were taking a shortcut home from the market because of the fire balls."
"Okay. Do you think if I took you that way then you could guide me to your home?"
Kallik was clearly uncertain, but she nodded hesitantly. "I… think so."
"Okay," Asuni smiled. "Then that's what we'll do. We can pretend we're sailing a ship, okay, just like your daddy probably does."
Kallik smiled brightly. 'Yup, my daddy sails all over! He's a fisherman!"
"That's what I thought," Asuni nodded. "Now, I'm going to man the rudder, and you're going to be my navigator, okay?"
Kallik grinned, perking up at the prospect of a game of pretend. "Okay, okay!"
Zuko watched this all. Asuni was great with kids, he realized. He wasn't sure why it surprised him, probably because he'd never seen her around one. But she was definitely one of those women that would be a great mother. The kindness on her face and the way she interacted with the little girl – Zuko didn't know if he'd ever be that good around a child.
"Go on and take her," he ordered gruffly. "I need to find the Avatar."
"Avatar?" Kallik looked at him. "Oh, oh, he's the boy with the arrows?"
Zuko leaned forwards, eyes intense. "You've seen him!"
"Uh huh!" Kallik nodded proudly. "He ran by with the princess and the girl who broke the rules. They said they were going to the spirit oasis too! Maybe you can find them there?"
"Go," Asuni urged, and Zuko shot off, vanishing into the shadows of the night as he headed for the oasis. Asuni scooped Kallik up and propped the girl on her hip, holding her tightly against the shill of the night breeze. "Well, which way from here?" she asked as she stepped into the alley way and walked along.
"Uh… left?" Kallik said. Asuni walked out of the opposite mouth of the alleyway and turned left and Kallik straightened up in her arms, looking around curiously. She grinned. "Yeah, this is the way! And then we make a left at the fish shop! I remember because it's always smelly. Kallik made a face and Asuni had to resist the urge to smile. The girl was heart-meltingly adorable.
"So, who's 'the girl who broke the rules?'" Asuni asked the girl as they walked.
Kalik shok her head. "I don't know her name. She's form the Southern Tribe. But she wanted to learn to fight and the Avatar taught her even though Master Pakku said no. So Master Pakku said he wouldn't teach the Avatar either. But then the girl fought with Master Pakku, and he must have liked her, because he decided to teach her!"
Asuni knew exactly who Kallik meant from the moment she said the girl was from the Southern Tribe. It was Katara, the Waterbender who travelled with the Avatar. And somehow, she'd managed to work her way into doing what Asuni's mother had been shunned for trying to do. Asuni grit her teeth.
"I see," she said darkly. "That girl."
"Do you know her?" Kallik asked innocently.
"We've met," Asuni replied shortly as she made the left at the fish shop. "Where too now?"
"Uhm…" Kallik frowned, her bottom lip sticking out. She peered around. "That bridge! I remember because mommy always yells at me for walking on the edge." Kallik pouted as she pointed to the thick edge of the bridge. Asuni smiled slightly.
"Well, your mommy isn't here now, is she?" Asuni said, and leaped lightly up onto the railing. Kallik giggled in delight as Asuni walked along the edge of the bridge easily. Years of training made what might be dangerous for a six year old a piece of cake for her.
Asuni hopped off the other side and they found themselves in a residential district. Asuni glanced up and saw that the sky was starting to go that purplish color that came before dawn. She hoped they were getting close – she didn't have much more time to spare if she wanted to catch Zuko.
"Ooh, I know where we are!" Kallik grinned, point at a side street to their left. "Go there, go there!"
Asuni followed her navigator's orders, picking up the pace as she headed for the street and turned down it. Kallik pointed her to a right and then a left, and then told her to stop in front of a tall ice house with a wooden door.
"This is my house!" Kallik said happily.
The window was open, and from inside the house, Asuni could dimly hear someone consoling what was probably Kallik's parents. "The spirits will watch over her, she'll be kept safe…"
Asuni raised a hand to knock on the door. There was a loud scraping, like someone had stood up so quickly they moved a chair, and then the sound of running feet coming to the door. A woman's voice cried out, "Siluk, did you find her, did you find Kallik?"
The door was wrenched open by a pretty young woman who had the beginnings of crow's feet around her eyes. Those eyes blew wide at the sight of Asuni before focusing on her daughter.
"Kallik!" the woman cried in delight, opening her arms. Kallik jumped out of Asuni's arms and into her mothers, hugging the woman tightly.
"Mommy!" the little girl cried happily. "I found you, I found you!"
"You're home, you're safe, oh honey," her mother cooed, peppering her face with kisses and stroking the girl's hair. She looked over Kallik's head, her eyes swimming with tears. "Thank you, thank you for bringing her home," she said gratefully, reaching out a hand and catching Asuni's, squeezing thankfully.
"It's not a problem," Asuni assured her, trying to subtly pull her hand away. She needed to hurry and get to Zuko.
"Ila, what's going on, is she home?" It was the same voice that Asuni heard comforting the mother just before she knocked. She turned her head toward a door that presumably led into a sitting room. An old man stood there, leaning on a knobbly wooden cane. Next to him was a slightly plump older woman who wore her chocolatey hair in a crown of braids. The pair of them smiled happily when they saw Kallik cuddled in her mother's arms.
Then their eyes turned to Asuni, and the pair of them paled as if they'd seen a ghost. tHe man staggered a few steps forward, nearly tripping himself with his own cane.
"Wh-What?" he said faintly, squinting at her. "You… you can't be… A-Aluki?"
It was Asuni's turned to pale as she made the connection. An older couple comforting a grieving mother with words about the spirit's protecting her daughter… She was suddenly face-to-face with her grandparents.
Rage pounded through her. These were the people who had made her mother's life so painful that she left everything she knew behind and fled to a new country, a country that was at war with her homeland, just for the sake of starting a life she was happy with, one where she could live out some of her dreams.
Asuni's face hardened. "Not hardly," she said coldly. "Aluki is never coming back to this place."
"You know our daughter?" The older woman staggered forward, clinging to her husband's arm as her eyes lit with desperate hope. "Where is she? How is she?"
"I knew her for a very short time," Asuni said bitterly. "I barely remember her. She died almost thirteen years ago now. The climate of the Fire Nation was just a bit warmer than she could handle."
The older woman swayed like she was about to pass out. "Th-The… The Fire Nation? She went to that spirits-forsaken place?"
Asuni's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare insult my homeland, old woman," she snapped furiously. "Don't you dare."
"You're Fire Nation," Ila gasped in horror, tugging Kallik closer to her as the little girl perked her head up, watching the spectacle like it was a turtle seal sled race.
"That's Asuni," Kallik said innocently, pointing at her savior. "She's really great! She brought me home even though she wanted to go with her friend. He had fire in his hands, mommy," Kallik said eagerly. "She called him something funny…" Her face scrunched up, then brightened "Zuko! That's what his name was!"
Asuni's grandfather looked murderous. "You brought the banished prince into our city?" he demanded furiously. "And you have the audacity to raise your voice to my wife? Do you know who we are?"
Asuni smirked. "I know exactly who you are." She reached over her shoulder and into the pack on her shoulder. She ignored the feel of the few rations she had packed and instead dug until she felt the familiar end of a scroll. She pulled it out and held it up triumphantly for her grandparents to see.
"What-" Her grandfather's eyes widened as he recognized the scroll. "How did you get that? Aluki wouldn't have given it away!"
"By right of inheritance," Asuni said, thrusting the scroll back into her pack. Her eyes lingered on her grandparents as understanding began to flood their faces.
"No…" the old man said faintly. "You can't be."
Asuni's smile was cruel and she didn't care if she hurt the old man as she bowed mockingly and cooed, "Grandfather."
Her grandmother collapsed against a wall of the home, staring up at Asuni in shock. "Y-You're… you're our…"
"I'm not your anything," Asuni snapped at her. "You lost the right to be anything to me when the pair of you drove my mother from her home."
With that Asuni turned on her heel and stormed down the street, away from the house. Blood pounded in her ears as she heard the old man start to hobble after her, calling out for her to stop. She ignored him and pulled out her chain whip, swinging it over her head. She tossed at and caught the edge of one of the houses. She climbed easily onto the top of the roof and vanished as her grandfather gave one last cry.
"Asuni!"