CHAPTER 13

We were docked at a small village that had a rather large market, searching for a lotus tile. So far, we've had no luck and the prince was getting more and more aggravated. I stood by Iroh while Zuko stood a little bit away from us, his arms crossed. Iroh was excited while looking at the items in the booth. He smiled while showing me an expensive and well-decorated fan. At Zuko's loud and annoyed sigh, Iroh turned to face him while setting the fan down. I turned as well.

"I've checked all the shops on this pier," Iroh said. "Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace."

"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!" Zuko shouted.

"Quite the contrary," Iroh said. Just then, a small parade of soldiers from the ship marched by us, arms loaded with items the retired general had purchased. "I always say the only thing better than finding something you were looking for, is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!" When has Iroh ever said that?

"You bought a sumki horn?" Zuko asked, his face confused. He was referring to the brass instrument that was visible in the midst of the mess someone was carrying.

"For music night on the ship," Iroh stated. Music night? "Now, if we only had some woodwinds." We began walking down the dock until Iroh stopped in front of a ship that seemed to be manned by pirates. "This place looks promising!"

As Iroh entered the ship, I stopped Zuko by grabbing his arm. He looked back at me with a questioning face. "What is it?"

"I- I have a bad feeling about this place, Prince Zuko," I said quietly.

"It's fine, Ki. Stay with Uncle and you'll be alright." I nodded and followed him in, going to Iroh when I spotted him looking at a jeweled monkey item. Zuko stood behind, eventually going to speak to the two pirates standing to the side.

Zuko:
I overheard the two pirates speaking about a bald monk and Water Tribe siblings that had robbed them of something important, which caught my attention. Walking over to them, I asked, "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?"

*Le Time Skip*
Kiara:
The stares from the pirates were making me uncomfortable as the small cutter ship from the prince's bigger ship and the pirate ship sailed parallel up a river. The pirate captain and a few other pirates were on the cutter ship with the prince and myself, accompanied by Iroh and some of the guards. I stood next to Iroh and a guard, the pirates across the deck watching me with small smirks as they spoke to each other.

I heard the short conversation between the prince and pirate captain from my place next to Iroh, and it almost made me chuckle. I did give a small smile though.

"Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" asked the pirate captain.

"We don't need to. They stole a waterbending scroll, right?" Zuko replied.

"Uh huh."

"Then they'll be on the water."

The obviously dumb look on the captain's face made me grin. Zuko's answer just then was the same type of smartass remark he would've made if I'd asked a stupid question. And the fact that he said something like that to someone else made me smile, mentally laughing at the look on the captain's face.

"What's so funny?" Iroh asked me quietly. I looked down at him as he was about a head shorter than me. I was only tall enough to reach Zuko's shoulder. "It's nice seeing you smile, Kiara."

"Prince Zuko said something funny, is all," I replied.

Suddenly, there was a whistle from one of the pirates that had gone to land in search of whoever stole the waterbending scroll. For some reason when I heard what was stolen, I thought of Katara. She wouldn't steal, would she? It made me uneasy.

As the cutter ship was beached, Zuko walked over to me. "I'm sorry for what's about to happen," he whispered. Then he left.

That's when I heard Katara's voice. "No, let go of me!" she shouted. Before anyone could grab me, I ran towards her voice. I was just in time to see Zuko grab hold of her arms and say something to make her eyes go wide. "Where's Kiara?" she suddenly asked.

He said nothing as the pirates helped to bind her to a nearby tree. Pirates and soldiers both passed me to stand with Zuko and he questioned her on the whereabouts of the Avatar. On their way by, a pirate grabbed my arms and pulled me within view of the prince and my sister. He wrapped a hand around my throat loosely to keep me in place.

"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother," Zuko said.

"Go jump in the river!" Katara replied. She glanced at me. "What about my sister? Are you going to hurt her again?"

He angrily slammed his hand onto the tree trunk by her head, making her jump and turn her head away in fear of being hit. "I already told you what happened!" Zuko sighed and moved back, away from her. He held a reasonable tone with his next words. "Try to understand, I need to capture the Avatar to restore something I've lost. My honor. Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost."

By now, Zuko was standing behind the small tree, leaning around it with his face dangerously close to hers. He held our mother's necklace to Katara's neck, making her gasp.

"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?" Katara asked in an accusing tone.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering," Zuko replied. "Tell me where he is."

"No!"

The pirate captain stepped forward as Zuko came away from Katara. "Enough of this necklace garbage. You promised the scroll!" he shouted.

From his belt, Zuko brought out the scroll and made a fire in his hand beneath it. "I wonder how much money this is worth?" The pirates gasped, some crying no! I was pushed to the ground by the one holding me before a soldier helped me up. "A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here."

The pirate captain replied sullenly, "Fine." One by one, the pirate all left to search the nearby woods.

Once they were gone, Zuko came over to me, looking me over. "What are you doing here? Go back to the ship!" he ordered, pointing to the cutter ship behind me.

I looked into his eyes, my own narrowing slightly. "I'm sorry, Prince Zuko. But I can't do that," I replied, shocking him.

"And why not?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Prince Zuko, that's my sister you have tied up over there. I have to make sure you don't make any rash decisions."

The prince leaned closer until his mouth was right by my ear. "Please, Ki. Go back to the ship. It's not safe for you right now."

"I know."

"Then go back."

"But it's not safe for you either." He leaned away from me to look at my face. "I told you that I didn't trust these pirates, yet you made a deal with them. They could turn on you and hurt you."

"You could get hurt." I shook my head. "Go back." I could tell he was becoming agitated, but I shook my head again. "Damn it, Ki. Go back to the ship. Now," he hissed.

Just then, the pirates came back with two boys tied up. Once was the young monk with arrow tattoos. The other was Sokka. Upon seeing each other, Sokka attempted to get away from the pirates and I attempted to pass Zuko and go to him. Zuko caught my shoulder and yanked me back, his anger with me clear as he handed me over to a guard.

Looking at the tied up boys, Zuko held the scroll in his hand and said, "Nice work." He sent a glare to me and whispered, "I'll deal with you later."

"Aang, this is all my fault," Katara said, hanging her head.

"No, Katara, it isn't," the boy replied.

Iroh spoke up. "Yeh, it kind of is."

"Give me the boy," Zuko said to the pirates.

"You give us the scroll," the pirate captain replied.

My brother and his big mouth made the situation worse. "You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment!?"

Zuko, already angry from my refusal to disobey him, pointed to my brother and shouted, "Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other."

The pirate captain looked at Aang. "Your friend is the Avatar?" he questioned.

"Sure is," said Sokka, "and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll."

"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko exclaimed.

"Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth..." said the Avatar.

My brother sent the pirates a sweet look and shrugged. "I'm just sayin', it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"

After a moment, the pirate captain points to the prince. "Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we will get for the kid." He looked over at me. "But since we helped you find him, you should honor your part of the bargain."

A worried glance was sent my way by Zuko. What did he do?

"Give us the girl." I froze, as did Sokka and Katara. Zuko clenched his fists in anger.

Did he tell them that he'd give me to them if they helped him catch the Avatar?