The Highest Bidder
Chapter Eighteen: Against an Armada
When we returned to the ship, the soldiers reported that they had seen the flying bison cross the river in the clouds; however, something had diverted the Avatar's attention, and the team had retreated to the west. Zuko mapped out the course and handed it to the helmsman; he ordered him to stay on the course unless they spotted the Avatar again. With the mission once more active, and a lead to follow, Prince Zuko led the ship through a calm, steady river.
To me, the woodland areas and the rivers were nature's gifts upon humans, and it was us that destroyed it with not a single thought about who could be affected. When I resided on the island beside the Air Temple, I had focused on the pleasures of creating a safe environment for the animal kingdom. In this way, I became attached the wild life and its principles, and because of that, I respected the ways of the Earthbenders and Waterbenders, admired the way that the Airbenders lived, and respected the Firebenders for their energy and life. Although understanding the four elements is the Avatar's duty, it's a recommended practice for any bender. Understanding the four elements creates a whole person, which makes the Avatar so powerful.
This is one of the reasons why I enjoyed a simple hike through a forest or wading in the shallow end of a pool.
If the four nations stood together as a whole, and they cared about one another instead of raging war then the world would create an era of peace and kindness. If outside forces attempted to destroy a unified structure, the walls of all four nations could protect the other and weaknesses would be limited. Divided, everyone was weak and at fault.
I admired Azula because she honed power and incredible abilities, and she might have been the Firebending prodigy of my generation. What made her so flawed was that she didn't master her control: over Firebending, yes, but she didn't understand love, or compassion, or understanding. Azula's idea of friendship was keeping close the people who could be useful to her, but if they showed any sign of weakness, they were cast out.
As a child, I looked up to her because she was so awe-inspiring; and although she was cruel sibling to Zuko, she was knowledgeable in the history of the Fire Nation and—dare I say it—a bit humorous. But my opinion of Princess Azula changed when I failed to harm her, and in turn, she burned me.
Night time came upon us in the form of a cloudless sky and a half moon. Lt. Jee appeared beside me.
"Commander," he said calmly, "perhaps you should get some sleep. You've been up since yesterday afternoon: you haven't slept since General Iroh was rescued from his captors."
"I have a lot on my mind." I said.
"The soldiers are becoming quite curious about what you have to benefit from traveling with Prince Zuko."
I turned to him questionably.
"Do they?"
He nodded certainly.
"I know it's not their place to question your loyalty—nor is it mine—but you're so talented in many ways, and you really never showed interest in returning to the fatherland." He handed me a cup of steamed tea. I took it politely. "General Iroh has a brother; Prince Zuko has a father and a sister. But from what I've heard, you have no family to go home to. If it's not too bold to say, I would think that you're intending to put your life on the line for Prince Zuko because you feel for him."
I smiled sadly.
"Prince Zuko and I have no interest in each other like that."
"Well," said Lt. Jee uncomfortably, "perhaps I'm just assuming this, but from the times that you save him from a fight and what not, he does seem to show special appreciation."
"There is nothing between Zuko and me," I said sternly.
He bit his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I'll leave you to your thoughts."
I frowned at his retreating back.
I wanted to admit to Lt. Jee and I liked Zuko, but he had told me not to let the soldiers know about the possible chemical romance. I felt downcast after stating that there was absolutely nothing in the air between Prince Zuko and me, and I felt even worse as I gazed into the cup of tea, and could only think of what it would be like to be the girlfriend of the Fire Lord prince.
"Did you mean that?"
I was startled. Zuko put a hand on my shoulder to calm my pounding heart.
"It's just me," he said assuredly.
"Mean what?" I said breathlessly, straightening.
"Did you mean what you said? About us?"
"What us?" I snapped. "According to you, there is no 'us'. According to you, there never will be an 'us'. If the soldiers can tell that you and I could make a compatible pair, why can't you just admit that—"
"My mission," said Zuko strongly, "is finding the Avatar, not a date."
"If that's true then why did you ask me about if what I said was what I meant?"
"Can't I just be curious?"
"No," I said irritably. "A boy doesn't ask a girl if what they meant was true unless they are really concerned. It's clear that you are. So say it."
"Say what?"
"Say that you like me," I said, annoyed.
"I do."
"Then why don't you do something about it?" I said, confronting him.
"Because that's not the type of person I am."
What was so bizarre about our argument that night was that he was extensively calm and collected and I was the one who was losing her temper.
"Zuko," I said angrily, "it's not that hard. The soldiers already see it; they know that we have some kind of connection. I'm not sure what kind of connection it is, but we have it! You know it, and I know it! And if you weren't so stubborn, you'd do something about this!"
"What do you want me to do?" asked Zuko crossly. "It's not like I can stop the ship and take you to some restaurant; I have a few things to do that take a higher priority than a dinner."
For a moment, I thought something actually stabbed me in the heart.
"Ah, I see," I said coldly. "Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better, Zuko."
He winced.
"Mura, that's not what I meant. Look," he said, attempting to recover, "I know that you're angry, and I know that this mission is taking a lot on you—it's doing that to me, too—but I have to find the Avatar first. If you want whatever it is that's supposed to happen to become what it is you want, it has to be after I find the Avatar. And if you want it to happen, you have to come home with me."
"I told you," I argued, "I'm not going back to the Fire Nation."
"Why not?" asked Zuko angrily.
"Because your father is the one who took mine away from me. Your sister turned her back on me and burned me. Your father called for my arrest."
"You tried to rob my father—"
"I WAS TWELVE!" I screamed furiously.
The boat rocked beneath our feet with a jerking sensation. The helmsman cried out in surprise. The boat tossed Zuko and I into the weaponry rack; the swords and axes crumpled to the deck in a heap. Zuko pulled himself to his feet.
"You belong in the Fire Nation," said Zuko. "They'll understand that you helped me."
"I'm not going back," I said. "I don't have the rage or the drive that Firebenders have. All the people I talk to say that the Fire Nation is a tyrannical order, and you expect me to believe that if I come back with you, the Fire Lord will simply welcome me with open arms? How stupid do you think I am?"
"Mura, you don't know what you're saying."
I sighed in exasperation. He looked at me, slightly hurt.
"My father won't let us to be together if you don't come back with me; he probably knows by now that you're on my ship because Commander Zhao probably sent word to him. If you don't return with me, he'll know that you're a traitor. You won't another chance. I'm giving you that chance."
"Why do you make Fire Lord Ozai out to be forgiving and understanding?" I asked quietly, stepping toward him. "Why, Prince Zuko, do you think that your father could possibly let you return after all this time?"
"You're starting to sound like my uncle…" Zuko said disdainfully.
"Someone has to." I said, and I immediately regretted it.
"You know what," he said furiously, "you're not exactly the 'right' person to nag me about having a temper or not accepting the truth. My father is a powerful man, and he'll understand that it took me this long to find the Avatar. I have accomplished more than what my grandfather has in two years. I found the Avatar. You can't tell me that you have the most calm temper on this ship. You've lost it quite a few times around me. What makes you think that you can talk rot about my father when yours let you pay the penalty for his lies—"
"My dad did not LIE!" I shrieked.
The boat rocked recklessly again.
"Helmsman, keep the ship still!" Zuko cried out irritably.
"It's not him!" I snapped. "IT'S ME!"
The boat tossed aggressively in the calm waters.
Zuko and I both lost our balance, and we fell off feet. I staggered to regain lost composure.
"My dad said that I was a telekinetic," I breathed angrily, "and I was, but I wasn't about to throw down with Azula and throw her down a flight of stairs!"
"You should have," said Zuko furiously, "she's a twisted psychopath!"
"She was my friend then, it was against my morals—"
"It wasn't your morals that stopped you," said Zuko, stepping toward me, "it's because you were too weak!"
Well, our argument might have lasted the entire night if General Iroh hadn't surfaced. He had become aware, according to him, that the entire crew had become suspicious of the rocking ship on a steady river that they all had come aboard to find Zuko and me literally screaming at each other.
He hadn't come up in time, for when Zuko told me that I was weak, I punched him in the face, and we were lost in a battle of a physical throwdown. It was a highly reckless move on my part, considering that my physical abilities were mostly ranged in evasive maneuvering. Zuko retired to Firebending, and I fought with levitating weapons. Iroh stopped the fight by Firebending at us both, which created a unison of surprise between Zuko and me.
"Can the two of you get through one night without attacking each other's throat?" said Iroh disapprovingly. "We're all just a little bit tired from being at sea so long. Commander Mura, you haven't gone to bed yet."
I glanced at Zuko, seething, and quietly took Iroh's hint.
I didn't go to sleep immediately. I couldn't. I lay in my bed with my arms tightly folded across my chest. The more I thought about the argument, the less I was able to want to fall asleep. I glared at the ceiling.
I was a bit puzzled as my bedroom door opened, and Prince Zuko entered with an expression of summon patience.
He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him fiercely,
"For someone who should know about Firebending, you do that a lot to me."
He frowned deeply.
"I see that you're still upset."
"Upset? I'm not upset." I sat up. "I'm furious with you. What do you want?"
"Look," he said, closing the door, "what I said was out of anger."
"All of it or just the part about how I'm 'weak'?"
"You're not going to hear what I have to say, so why do I even try?" he said irritably, turning to leave.
"Wait."
He looked at me.
"Why?"
I sighed. I rose to my feet and approached him.
"Zuko, I can't return to the Fire Nation; I've seen what it's done to others. I've seen what I've done to others, and although I do it out of the necessity for your mission, I can't help but think that you're searching for the Avatar for all the wrong reasons. You're more than just some prince who wants his honor back. You don't have to find the Avatar to win your honor. Sometimes, it can be regained by other deeds."
"If you're so loyal to me," said Zuko, "why do you keep telling me that capturing the Avatar isn't something that I should do?"
I felt my face flinch.
"I just don't want to see you get hurt…" I said lightly. I set my hand precariously upon his face. "Again…"
He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away.
"I'm not."
He turned to walk of the room.
"Stop telling me what I can and cannot do. Maybe then we won't argue all the time."
I watched him walk out.
I felt even worse after our conversation.
When the ship stopped, I woke from a distressed sleep. Blurry-eyed and confused, I was forced out of my stupor with a pounding headache that left my gasping in pain. A soldier entered my room talking loudly, and I only caught a few words from his announcement.
"Shut up." I said grumpily, and I tried to focus. "Just shut up for a moment."
"General," said the soldier in front of me, "It's worse than what you anticipated."
I recognized the soldier's voice as Lt. Jee. General Iroh knelt in front of me, holding a cup of Ginseng tea. His face carried a gentle expression. He lightly nudged me to take it without question. I did, but I felt only slightly better. Groaning through the mind-numbing spin as I rose to my feet, Iroh pulled me back to my bed when he realized that I had fallen asleep while angry.
"Easy," he cooed, patting my back, "Easy."
"What's happened? Why have we stopped moving?" I asked.
"We've pulled the ship ashore. The Avatar was seen flying overhead from Senlin Village. We have to go ashore. Prince Zuko will need your assistance."
"Is that right?" I muttered, disgruntled.
"Do not let your hurt feelings stand in the way of your duty." Iroh chastised me delicately. "You may think you know what's best for Zuko, but as long as he's determined, he won't hear of it. Can you stand?"
"Yes."
"Come on, my dear."
Iroh and I appeared on deck. Zuko was waiting for me by the bowsprit. He looked as bad as I did; however, he seemed more wakeful. He and I made eye contact, but neither of us said anything. It was awkward; that was something that didn't need to be said.
Senlin Village was a small town that neighbored a vast forest full of various wildlife. It was also cursed by a forest spirit named Hei Bai, who was furious at the villagers for destroying several acres of forage. The land had been scorched by the Fire Nation, but the spirit was angered by the humans, never mind the nation that was responsible. However, as Zuko, Iroh, and I traveled into the woods and came upon the village, I took notice that some of it had gone unharmed. Apparently, during the Avatar's stay, he had healed the town by crossing into the Spirit World.
Zuko, Iroh, and I came upon a man who stepped out of his house, rubbing his eyes in fatigue. As he was walking out, he walked directly into Prince Zuko. The chief stepped back in surprise, looked at Iroh then to me, and gasped with obvious fright on his face.
"Having trouble sleeping?" Zuko said. He pushed the Chief back into the doorway. "Seen the Avatar lately?"
The chief of Senlin didn't give the Avatar's directory so easily; however, after Zuko's interrogation, and my demonstration of how easy a glass vase can break once it's slammed into a wooden floor twice, the chief pleaded for the actions to cease if he told us where the Avatar was headed.
According to the Water Tribe peasants that traveled with him, the Avatar was headed to the Fire Temple, which was in the Fire Nation. When we learned of it, Zuko made a course to the Fire Nation Temple, and above us, the flying bison soared quickly through the clouds.
As the ship raced through the ocean, I especially felt quite anxious about the entire situation. Zuko looked through a telescope to keep an eye on the Avatar's trail.
"Sailing into Fire Nation waters…" Iroh contemplated, concerned and frustrated. "Of all the foolish things you have done in your 16 years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish."
"I have no choice, Uncle," Zuko said.
"Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you?" Iroh said angrily; his voice diminished into anguish and worry, "What if you're caught?"
"I'm chasing the Avatar. My father will understand why I'm returning home."
"You give him too much credit," said Iroh. "My brother is not the understanding type."
We came just below the Avatar's bison.
"Raise the catapult," Zuko ordered.
The catapult was raised from below onto the deck of the ship. It was loaded with a steaming and smoldering projectile. Iroh fanned himself, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Really, Prince Zuko," he groaned, "couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"
Zuko ignited the projectile. He raised his arm in the air. He turned to me.
"On my mark…"
A pause.
"FIRE!"
The gear beside the lever mechanism jolted on its own; it let loose and the fiery projectile hurtled into the air. It aimed straight toward the occupants on Appa. At first, I thought it was going to make contact; however Appa swerved just in time.
"Zuko," I said nervously, "we might have a few things to worry about…"
"What, Mura, what now?" said Zuko, staring up into the sky at the fleeing sky bison. I pointed ahead.
"That."
He followed my finger and his eyes widened.
"A blockade."
A double line of Fire Nation war ships stretched to the horizon; each ship was lined with trebuchets. I stared at the massive fleet.
"Technically," said Iroh thoughtfully, "you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. Turn back now and they cannot arrest you."
Zuko glared at his uncle.
The commander in charge of the blockade, of course, was Commander Zhao, and I was not exactly able-bodied at the moment. I approached Zuko apprehensively; my hand clasped his shoulder, concerned. He turned to meet my nervous gaze.
"Prince Zuko, Commander Zhao is relentless; he'll capture you and the Avatar."
Above us, the flying bison showed no sign of avoiding the Fire Nation armada; the Avatar was not afraid of running the blockade. If he didn't want to detour then there was a very good chance that the Avatar had to go to the Fire Temple and quickly. Zuko apparently took notice of this too.
"He's not turning around," he said, determined.
"Please, Prince Zuko," said Iroh, walking up beside me, "if the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing that I can do. Do not follow the Avatar."
Zuko bowed his head and turned from Iroh.
"I'm sorry, Uncle." To the helmsman, he pointed forward, "Run the blockade!"
I looked at the armada. I felt sickened by the charge of the ship; though I had to admit to myself that I sort of wanted Zuko to challenge Zhao's war ships.
He turned to me patiently,
"It's fine, Mura…" he set a hand on my shoulder consolingly. "You'll be fine."
From Zhao's ship, I saw a barrage of fire balls blast from each armada. They sailed toward us in a red, orange, and yellow volley; the ship illuminated with the light. Several missed the ship and landed in the water; Lt. Jee, Zuko, Iroh, and I struggled to keep our balance as the ship rocked aggressively. Water swarmed the deck and crashed against us. Another fireball hit the back part of the ship, and jolted us to the deck, knocking us off our feet. I cried out as the hit smacked me against the edge of the boat. Zuko grabbed my hand as I was almost tipped off the edge. He pulled me back over.
"Mura—"
"I'm fine," I said abruptly.
The engine master called to him, and he pointed to the billowing smoke and the loud fire that came from the propellers,
"Prince Zuko, the engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!
"Do not stop this ship!" Zuko ordered directly.
He turned to me.
"Can you concentrate on the ships that we're about to run into?" he demanded.
"Zuko, they're warships," I said incredulously. "I can't—"
"Try!"
My head started to pound as I started to grow frustrated with him. I wasn't fully rested. However, I wasn't about to get arrested by a man with a bigger temper than Zuko; so I gave it a shot.
Iroh tried to stop me, but Zuko halted him in mid-step.
I stepped toward the bow of the ship, and despite the threatening throb in my brain, temporal waves connected to the metal of a war ship that sat floating in our way. I raised my fingers in the air, attempting to at least mentally grab hold of the ship; but it was heavier than what I was used to hoisting.
I could lift humans since they usually weighed from 100-280 pounds, but a warship weighed several tons, and more than that. As I tried to levitate it, I felt my blood rush straight to my head, and I felt my cheeks burn with frustration and pain. I uttered pained grunts as I tried with all my might to focus entirely on the ship.
It levitated just an inch from the water; the crew on top of the deck cried out in surprise and fear. Just as I levitated it, another avalanche of fireballs volleyed toward our ship in unison; Zuko grabbed me by the waist and pulled me out of the way as a hot stream of ash poured from an oncoming fireball.
The ship fell back into the water.
I could only gasp in agony as my brain was clobbered by throbbing palpitations.
I staggered to my feet and leaned against the edge of the ship to regain balance on the ship. As our ship neared the armada, the ships of the blockade moved toward each other to bar the way.
"We're on a collision course!" Iroh called.
"We can make it!"
But as we came into the way of the course, Zhao's barring warships cut their engines and Zuko's ship slid easily through the blockade. I looked up to the warship that we passed, and Zhao gazed down at us with a determined look. Zuko glared daggers at him. Iroh stroked his beard pensively. Zuko, Iroh, nor me knew what to make of Zhao's move. I leaned against the edge of the ship tiredly.
Zuko's damaged ship sailed through the water. Dark, black smoke billowed from the back of the ship. Prince Zuko's hand gripped the bar of the railing; he was irritably suspicious.
"What's he up to, Uncle? Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"
"Because he wants to follow you," Iroh said. "He knows that you'll lead him to the prize that you're both after…the Avatar."
"If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke then that's exactly what I'll let him do."