The Highest Bidder

Chapter Ten: The Avatar

To the jury, the defense, (and of course, my prosecutors), I always have felt a devotion to Prince Zuko then, and Fire Lord Zuko now. When I left the Fire Nation, I set my standards for a Firebender on the way he performed in front of others, his mannerisms, and his overall personality. So when I say that my loyalty through the journey belonged to the highest bidder, this doesn't point to the person who carries the most weight on their ship. I have mentioned several times Azula's name, and sometimes I coin her with a fondness that would presume that I like her: I don't. I never have. However, I respect Princess Azula's power and recognition of a fine enemy; she is, by far, the best liar I have ever seen. Although she was incredibly cruel, sadistic, and a terrible family member, Azula has her moments where she appears most vulnerable. She won't admit this, but it's true. My point is this: my devotion was to Prince Zuko because (1) I admit that I had honest, romantic feelings for him, (2) he was a far better candidate for a leader than Azula or Commander Zhao, and (3) sometimes, he was funny.

General Iroh hadn't been the only one who could tell that Zuko and I connected on a similar basis. Lt. Jee made a point to me that if Zuko had to throw anybody overboard, it would be the crew first then I would be last. Iroh, however, believed that Zuko valued me as both a friend and crew member because I was not a simple-minded soldier. Iroh speculated occasionally that Prince Zuko and I got along for the most part because we were, in a word, unique. He and I both had our problems, though I didn't see mine as a horrible destiny.

I was the only one of 'my kind', and although some would look at that as a terrible extinction of a brilliant power, I simply saw it as my own way of becoming an individual. Nevertheless, Prince Zuko—according to Iroh—saw my gift for what it was: an upper hand against the Avatar.

In my own right, I wasn't the most innocent person on board. I had my occasional mischief. It's the little practical jokes that I'm talking about; and if some of you could do what I could do, I'm certain you wouldn't have resisted. During meal times, I levitated plates and bowls off tables and let the soldiers chase after them. Knives and forks would simply appear in places that they weren't before. Switching the salt in place of the pepper when someone was just about to reach for it was probably the best trick in the book. Naturally, I did these things to relieve the tension on the ship since Prince Zuko hadn't learned how to respect his hard-working crew or his esteemed uncle. Lt. Jee inwardly disrespected him, calling him a spoiled, pampered, palace brat on a few occasions. I understand his angry murmurs, but still—it simply wasn't nice.

We sailed on Earth Kingdom waters for three days and found nothing; so Prince Zuko ordered the helmsman to make a course toward Southern Water Tribe waters, searching—or rather reaching—for a heading. During our stay on the ship, I understood Iroh's meaning about how their bending was more difficult along the icy waters. I had spent the better part of my life in a mid-climate paradise on a beach, so my adaptation was lacking as the climate cooled and the deck was no longer fit for bare feet.

The nights, too, seemed longer and the days grew shorter.

Prince Zuko and I had made up since our last argument or two, though to be honest, keeping track was more difficult than tracking the master of all four elements. It was as if every other day, Prince Zuko and I clashed; however, I digressed, realizing that arguing with my superior officer was not a respectful thing to do. Even though our arguments were in my frame of right and wrong, I didn't want to antagonize him.

I admired his courage and discipline, even if he gave his father way too much credit.

It was day light when he came to call on me while I was doing my own meditation.

When a telekinetic meditates, it is not unlike the fables that are spoken through mythology or urban legends. I am very aware that when I do meditate, I actually hover a few inches off the ground. The crossed legs, the so-called "Uummmm" is very true in my case. Like the Firebenders that control the lit flames of candles, my powers take gentle hold of the objects that are in the area around me. When Zuko came inside my room, my possessions hovered inches off the ground as well.

Later in life, Zuko—and actually the rest of Team Avatar—told me that although they thought that my powers were quite ominous and had a witch's touch, they considered my gift to be miraculous sometimes. Though, I was informed that my defense with my gifts make me appear to be a very bad sorceress, just as the Avatar looks frightening when he is in the Avatar State. According to Zuko, when my defenses are enabled, I have the illusion of one being a winged creature, mystical and fascinating while at the same time being daunting and dark.

According to Iroh, I am a goddess and a demon at the same time during my defense state because my mind reacts to negative and positive energy: I protect the ones that matter and scorn the ones that don't. It's quite an elegant system, though a bit tyrannical, I gather.

Zuko's presence was quiet and cat-like, and I wouldn't have realized that he had been standing for there for five minutes if I hadn't felt him there. While Earthbenders like Toph Beifong can feel vibrations in their limbs from approaching enemies or friends, my spatial sense gives me the awareness of being watched. You can see why I'm paranoid, since that's the feeling that I get if anything or anyone is within ten feet of me.

"Prince Zuko," I said gently, "you can come in whenever you want."

The objects in my room relaxed to the floors, and rose to my feet to approach him.

He looked a little startled,

"I, uh, didn't mean to disturb you."

"You didn't. I knew you were for there for only a few minutes."

"You're needed up on deck. Follow me."

"Needed?" I expressed jubilantly.

Zuko said nothing in return as I stepped onto the landing.

The icy air bit me through the garments, and although I wore the appropriate clothing, I was not exactly the best person to fight off bitter wind from the tips of the icebergs. Zuko glanced over his shoulder as I froze on the spot. Because I wasn't a Firebender, living in the artic was like trying to stay warm with shorts and a shirt during flurries. This description obviously explains why I couldn't move, despite the understanding that circulation is needed to become warm again.

When I told this to Zuko, he came back to me and set his hands on my shoulders.

I frowned.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at me with a bored expression on his face.

"Why do you have to question everything I do?"

"Well, no offense, sir, but sometimes your good ideas are rash."

He grunted with disinterest.

There was a light poof noise that gently exploded from his fingertips; fire exclaimed from them. For a moment, I thought that he had set me on fire because I felt sudden heat swarm my entire body; however, considering the fact that I wasn't suffering harsh sunburn, I realized the evidence. Prince Zuko helped me out there, and I was grateful.

He indicated the cloudless skies, the icebergs that peeked out generously from the surface of a deep, blue body of ocean.

"I need more eyes on the outside in case there's a sign of the Avatar."

I silently questioned the eyes of his uncle. When I searched the deck, I was barely through the sentence of asking Zuko aloud when I found General Iroh seated on the deck under a low table, playing a card game involving the elements. I assumed it was like what foreigners call "Solitaire" though I have to admit, why anyone would play a game that implicated an eternity of solitude. I digressed from that thought and walked away from Zuko to sit by General Iroh, who poured himself a cup of tea. When he realized that I was beside him, he poured me one.

"Why aren't you down in your bedroom, meditating?" he asked me curiously. His eyes drew away from his cards and turned to me. "Isn't that what you do, now that we're in this blanket of wonderland?"

"Wonderland? It's all ice." I said firmly.

"Oh, walking in a wonderland is not always ice. A traveler enjoys a walk no matter what the climate is: from the warming heat of a sea of hot coal to the tundra of an icy blanket," he said with awe and he nudged me in the ribs, "it's all cool, isn't it?"

He gave me a wide, kooky smile.

"You're a real au natural man, aren't you?"

"I'm a man of simple tastes, my dear," he said.

Zuko clicked his tongue in my direction. I rose to my feet and stood beside him.

"What is it?"

"Keep a look out," Zuko said seriously. "We need to be vigilant if ever we're going to find the Avatar."

"An old man in this neck of the woods?" I asked sardonically. "How is that possible, Prince Zuko?"

It came from a distance across a shore; a blast exploded somewhere along the same area and from the horizon shot a light shaft into the sky. Zuko and I stopped talking immediately, and our eyes found it with astonishment. For a moment, I thought we were under attack. Zuko pulled a hand across my arms as I started to get ready to fight back. The light shaft penetrated the sky with ultimate demonstration. My next assumption was Zuko's, and he strongly believed that this was finally it.

"Finally," he breathed.

He turned behind him and said with so much earnest that I had never heard before,

"Uncle, do you realize what this means?"

Iroh remained calm.

"That I won't be able to finish my game?"

"It means my search—it's about to come to an end."

Iroh groaned. Zuko approached him adamantly.

"That light came from an incredibly powerful source—it has to be him!"

"We've been down this road, Prince Zuko," Iroh retorted collectively, continuing to move his domino-like objects on the low table. He looked up at his nephew. "The last time that you and I thought that we found the Avatar, we came upon her"—the General indicated me with the cup of tea in his other hand.

Zuko glanced at me swiftly and frowned at General Iroh.

"It could have been the celestial lights," Iroh continued. "I don't want you to get excited over nothing. Please, sit." He patted the opposite site of the table. I merely watched from my seat at the edge of the bow.

I'm not sure how the other relatives of the Fire Nation interacted, but it was a special entertainment of mine to watch Zuko and Iroh converse: temperamental nephew versus calm-collected (and humorous) uncle.

Zuko gritted his teeth behind his lips as his uncle continued with such a relaxed tone,

"Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea?"

"I don't need any calming tea!" Zuko exploded in anger, turning around to snap at his uncle, who wasn't fazed by his nephew's outburst. I, however, almost fell off the ship from his sudden whip around, and decided that it was a better idea to keep both feet on the deck.

"I need to capture the Avatar!" said Zuko. "Helmsman, head a course for the light!"

Turning course, the ship jerked viciously in the other direction. Zuko, Iroh, and I jolted in our step as we kept balance in the frame. The sudden movement urged the tea kettle by Iroh to fall to the deck, which spilled his precious tea all over the place. He sighed, crestfallen.

It was midday, and there was no other sign of the light or the Avatar. I resigned to sitting by the table with my head in my hand, curious to know just how long Zuko was willing to outlast the sun. Iroh was still playing his game.

"Captain Mura," he addressed me, pulling me out of my reverie; he smiled at me when he realized that I had been watching Zuko this whole time. "When you lived on that island, how did you last for four years in solitude?"

"Animal friends," I said loosely, shrugging.

"What is it peaceful?" he asked me.

It was like he was asking me for a recommendation of a good vacation. He might as well have; unlike Zuko, he treated Zuko's banishment like an extended vacation. I thought the whole act was amusing, but still, the questions were quite random.

"Yes…" I answered uncertainly.

"What kind of food did you eat?"

I smiled, amused.

"Sir, are you hungry?"

"Actually, yes. When is dinner?" he said to himself as he rose to his feet. He went to ask the cook about the dinner times and the menu.

"Your uncle is a different sort of man, isn't he?" I said, still amused.

"Mhm," Zuko muttered, staring ahead.

I sighed.

I understood his malcontent for the entire journey at sea; however, I didn't like Prince Zuko to be so melancholy all the time. I walked up beside him.

"Zuko. Look at me."

He begrudgingly did so, frowning all the way.

"Tell me the truth, and don't lie to me because I'll know," I said, smiling, "but I was told by a little birdie that you and I could be something of an 'item'."

Nothing fazed him.

"What makes you say that?"

"How much you toil with me, how much we argue—I wasn't exactly the most popular girl in the Fire Nation, but I could tell that you and I connected on a level."

"Not much of a level." Zuko stated coldly.

I clicked my tongue; he glanced at me oddly.

"You're lying to me," I sighed, poking his chest. "I can tell."

"Perhaps you're losing your touch," Zuko retorted, though he met my eyes when he said it. I didn't know if that meant anything, but if it did, it didn't last long. He turned away from me almost instantly and returned his attention to the setting sun in the horizon. It was nearing night time, and there wasn't another sign of the Avatar. I waited with him in silence, simply lost in thought that if we were together, there might have been some chemical romance blossoming in the otherwise cold savannah.

At any rate, the moment deafened as General Iroh, fatigued at the incessant waiting, pulled back his muscles, stretched, and approached Zuko tiredly,

"I'm going to bed now."

He made an exaggerated yawn. I suppressed a smile. He was funny, but sometimes, I thought he made his humor known on purpose to get a rise out of his nephew. At any rate, he said pointedly,

"A man needs his rest. Zuko, you need some sleep. If you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, your grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed."

"Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Iroh didn't reply to this; at this point, Zuko was tired and stubborn. You would have more success with beating a dead horse more than persuading Zuko to get some sleep. General Iroh bided the two of us a good night; Lt. Jee and his men began the duty relief switch every four hours as usual.

I considered Iroh's words before, but Zuko's intent desperation to catch the master of hide-and-go-seek was, as I usually phrased this sort of obsession—admirable. However, standing at the bow wasn't doing either of any wonders.

I beckoned behind me.

Zuko saw my movement; he glanced over his shoulder to see two stools 'walking' toward us. He gave me a dull look. He was used to my little 'games', but I imagined that my 'witchcraft' was no longer a phenomenon. At least General Iroh and Prince Zuko had stopped becoming startled when a chair popped under the bottom when they were about to sit on air, or that knives and forks were sent in their direction as they sat down for their meals. Truthfully, all of it was amusing; however, six months at sea with me—you'd think you would get used to stuff like that.

Anyway, Prince Zuko indulged my quiet proposal. He sat down with a stiff back and crossed arms; I sighed tiredly, looking up at the stars to see them beaming down at us to light the night, along with the full moon in the sky.

He looked at me briefly, up to the sky, than back at me.

"You really are a very weird girl, aren't you?" he said dryly.

"Don't you think they're beautiful?" I asked curiously.

"They're stars, Mura. They're there every night. Why should this night be any different?" he responded negatively, waving his hand to the patches of ice and ocean.

"Because, high commander," I said sarcastically, "this time you have a headline."

He said nothing back.

"I know it's not much," I sighed, realizing what I said, "but it's better than your results in the last few weeks. This time, odds are that you won't be coming across a telekinetic who fancies you delicate determination." I rose to my feet. "Your uncle is right, though. You do need sleep. You can go mad without it. That's the last thing we need in the Fire Nation: an insane Firebender…"

And, right now, I just realized how ironic that sentence is.

At any rate that I had tried to convince him to go to bed, apparently it worked.

When I woke up in the morning, Zuko was not on the deck. Lt. Jee greeted me as I walked pass him. He was rather more pleasant than usual, and I assumed this was true because Zuko was not awake.

"Nothing," he said to me as I passed him.

I turned to him.

"What?" I asked curiously.

He looked at me.

I returned that look.

"It's a simple question." I said with a smile.

"We didn't find anything else about the Avatar when you and Prince Zuko retired for the night. My men were on the alert: nothing."

"No worries," I said easily. "We're all still young. If the Avatar is meant to be found, we shall see him again."

In the late afternoon, Prince Zuko resumed his training with two other Firebenders. He was quite agile and fierce with his powers; Iroh supervised with a pursed frown on his face. I joined him at the waist, holding a poured cup of tea, and enjoyed watching Zuko face the two Fire Navy seamen.

"Again," Iroh said when I appeared beside him.

Prince Zuko drew fire from his hands at the guards, but missed. The guards counterattacked him with their own flame fists, but he dodged. Zuko back flipped over the guards, landed behind them, and threw boiling blasts at them.

I thought he did rather well, however Iroh sighed and rose to his feet.

"No!"

Zuko turned to look at him sternly.

"Power in Firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire." He demonstrated as he released a controlled plume of flames that exploded in front of Zuko but did not him. "Get it right this time."

"Enough. I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready."

"No," you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics." Iroh said forcefully, "Drill it again."

Zuko growled angrily and blasted one of the guards backwards with a gout of fire.

I was astounded by his outburst, but not too shocked about his reaction. As you may recall, he lashed out at me with Firebending before.

"The sages tell that the Avatar is the last Airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He has had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic Firebending to defeat him. You WILL teach me the advanced set!"

Iroh sighed. "Very well. But first I must finish my roast duck."

Zuko looked as if he might gag as Iroh pulled out a bowl of the potted meat from beside him and started to gobble it up hungrily.

Prince Zuko turned to me with an irritated look.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Meditating." I answered sweetly. "Did you miss me?"

"Don't badger me, Captain."

Hands on hips, I approached him with a little attitude. I mean, really; what kind of afternoon greeting is that.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Sir?" I asked cynically. "Honestly, Prince Zuko, if you ever wish to have the respect of your crew, your attitude needs an adjustment."

"Ahh," Iroh's voice reproached from his seat of the view. "Don't bother him, Captain. He's just a little hot and bothered that his uncle is a starving old man."

"You won't be starving for a while, Uncle," said Zuko, indicating the primary weight factor in General Iroh's mid-section.

Iroh considered his nephew's statement then laughed, amused.

I turned to him.

"Did you get any sleep at all? You're awfully cranky for being a well-rested man."

"I am not cranky."

He turned to me full-bodily.

"Why are you meditating? You should be up here training with me—"

"I'm not a Firebender, Prince Zuko; therefore, training with you is abysmal."

Iroh stopped Zuko from exploding in my face.

"She does have a point, Nephew. The girl's talented as it is."

Zuko sighed, irritated.

"Fine, she's talented. Why are you pointed that out to me, Uncle? I know this."

"It's something to be brought up often…" Iroh said innocently.

He resumed his gorging on the roast duck.

It was about an hour before sunset that Zuko and I dressed for the evening (which by this, I obviously mean that neither of us were coated in Fire Nation armor, merely the customary robes for casual dress); and General Iroh had retired before the sun could set.

"So let me get this straight," I said starting up a conversation (Zuko looked away from his telescope momentarily to look at me), "so for a hundred years there has been no Avatar."

"There has been," said Zuko, "but he's been hiding."

"For one-hundred years."

"Yes."

"So for all you know, this Avatar could have died once and returned as a new one; he can't be 100-years-old; he'd be absolutely useless…"

"Then catching him shouldn't be a problem," Zuko said. He straightened his back to give me his full attention. "You talk a lot, Mura. Maybe you should be looking at the horizon with me." He threw a mini-telescope to me. "Make yourself useful."

"Zuko, Zuko, Zuko, I am useful," I said, standing beside him.

"And you also tease me a lot too," he added, disgruntled.

"That's because I'm annoying after six months on a stand-alone ship," I sighed frivolously, "and you're just too much fun."

He gave me a bored expression.

"Just look," he grabbed my telescope in my hands and made it a point for me not to talk anymore.

From the distance, a loud explosion came from the sky, though no light shined from it like the last time. Instead, brilliant signals flare shot into the clouds and fell down gracefully. Zuko and I were at alarm, recognizing the signal; we peered through our telescopes and searched for the landing.

Through mine, the signal flare landed on a nearby abandoned Fire Nation ship, covered in snow and ice on the shore of the Southern Water Tribe waters. However, that wasn't the reason why my mouth fell open in shock. From atop of the ship where the helmsman would have been located if a crew existed, there were two figures in the snow; one carried the other. The one who was doing the carrying made long, graceful jumps from the ships helm, to the deck, and down to the ground in three movements. The person didn't even slip as the two of them raced away from the ship.

Zuko sighed in relief and quiet triumph. I followed his gaze to a close by village surrounded by a weak, icy wall. The Southern Water Tribe resided there in the village: there was nothing else in the distance.

Zuko turned from the telescope and cried out to Lt. Jee,

"Wake my uncle! Tell him that I've found the Avatar…as well as his hide-out."

Zuko's face contorted in determination. He looked at me with a smirk.

I shrugged my shoulders,

"All right, you were right. The Avatar does exist."

"He's quite agile for his age," he returned, examining the scene through the telescope.

"He probably gracefully aged…" I said with a sigh.

"That's what Uncle Iroh said to you," said Zuko.

"And that was a polite way of saying that I look older than what I am," I said, slightly deflated.

"It doesn't matter," said Zuko. "Not now anyway. Get ready to fight. Those people won't give us the Avatar so easily; and if anything should happen, you need to be ready to fight them off."

"Don't have the confidence in yourself, Prince Zuko?" I asked jokingly.

"They're probably quite a few them. They'll attack you if they don't know who you are." Zuko said in a careless tone. "I can fend for myself." He approached me. "Don't think any different, Captain."

"I can take care of myself too," I said after him. "I'm not innocent or anything."

Zuko shook his head and called back,

"Just do what I say!" then he added, "Why do girls have to be so complicated…?"