Book 1: Water

Uhhhg, I hate work. It just gets in the way of important stuff.
Curse my need for money! And curse Sterek fanfiction too! It's too damn addictive and distracts me!

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Book 1: Chapter 4

There weren't a lot of Fire Nation ports close to the South Pole, which Rhian was both thankful and sorry for. It meant by the time they reached one, she was recovered enough to accompany Zuko and Iroh off the ship, which she was happy about. Getting off the ship was a blessing, especially in the condition it was in.

"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible." Zuko said, striding ahead of them off the ramp and onto solid land. Solid land was good. Though she wasn't afraid anymore, and could fully appreciate the beauty of the sea, some part of her had never fully gotten over her dislike of the ocean.

"I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail." Zuko continued.

"You mean the Avatar–"

"Don't mention his name on these docks." Zuko snapped around, "Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him. And I don't want anyone getting in the way."

"Getting in the way of what? Prince Zuko."

And, there was the reason Rhian didn't like the docking options in this part of the world.

"Captain Zhao." Zuko said, disdainfully.

"It's Commander, now." Zhao corrected. Ick, he'd been promoted. Rhian cringed slightly and moved to stand next to Zuko. She really didn't like this guy.

"And General Iroh, Great Hero of our Nation." He inclined his head respectfully and Iroh smiled.

"Retired General." Iroh said.

Zhao tipped his head and looked to Rhian. "And the great generals humble ward. Lady Rhian."

She crossed her arms and lifted her head to look down her nose at him. "Zhao. As always it's… nice… to see you." She said through slightly gritted teeth.

Damn it grated on her nerves to even be polite to him.

"The Fire Lord's family," He glanced at Rhian and she bit her tongue to keep from snapping at him. "are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbour?"

"Our ship is being repaired." Iroh indicted the ship. Rhian hated how much smaller it was then the others in the dock. Like it emphasised how lesser they were then the others. How unimportant to the Fire Nation. Like they didn't matter.

"That's quite a bit of damage." Zhao said.

"Yes. You wouldn't believe what happened." Zuko said, searching around for an explanation. Oh, no. "Uncle," He nudged Iroh. "Tell Commander Zhao what happened."

"Yes, I will do that." Iroh stuttered. Rhian struggled not to roll her eyes. They were screwed.

"It was incredible," Iroh stared, pausing and leaning over to Zuko. "What, did we crash or something?"

"Yes!" Zuko said, quickly. "Right into an Earth Kingdom ship." Rhian's eye twitched as she suppressed the urge to slap her palm to her face. Or just slap them. Really? Shouldn't they have discussed a cover story before leaving the ship?

"Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details." Zhao smirked, leaning down to Zuko's level. "Join me for a drink."

It was a challenge, clear as day. Rhian really wanted to punch him.

"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko said, turning to leave. Iroh caught his shoulder.

"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect. Rhian isn't being rude. Try to follow her example."

What? She spun to stare at Iroh. She just wasn't saying anything. Not the same thing.

Iroh just turned back to Zhao. "We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any Ginseng tea?" He said walking away with the Commander. "It's my favourite."

Zuko growled in frustration and threw fire from his fists before stalking after them.
Rhian sighed and rolled her eyes before following. There was almost no chance of this ending well.

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Zhao stood in front of a map on the wall of his tent, rambling on about battle plans and the glory off the Fire Nation. As he had been for the last half an hour. Though she noticed he never mentioned any specific details. He was good at that. Talking a lot and not really saying anything at all.
Zuko sat, tense and stiff in his chair, glaring at the table in front of him as Iroh moved about behind them, examining things. Rhian was slumped at the table, her head resting on her hand, trying not to fall asleep. Zhao was just so boring.
She blinked to herself as he finished his little speech. "And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capitol will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool." Zuko said as Zhao took a seat.

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue." Zhao smirked. "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"

There was a loud crash and Rhian straightened up to see Iroh scrambling around a pile of fallen spears. "Uh… my fault, entirely." He said, backing away from the mess.

Rhian was grateful for the sudden noise. It brought her back to awareness, and now was no time to be drowsy, she found.

"We haven't found him yet." Zuko said.

"Did you really expect too? The Avatar died a hundred years ago. Along with the rest of the Airbenders." Zuko looked away. Rhian saw it and she knew Zhao did too. He grinned evilly. Oh no. "Unless you've found some evidence that the Avatar is alive."

"No. Nothing." He tried to sound disheartened. It was a nice touch, but Zhao didn't buy it. Rhian felt her fists clench.

"Prince Zuko," Zhao said, getting to his feet and walking to Zuko's side. "The Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war, if you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."

Rhian almost growled. This was getting too dangerous.

"I haven't found anything." Zuko stressed. "It's like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago." Getting to his feet, he walked towards the entrance, Rhian following with a glare at Zhao. She was defiantly ready to get out of here. "Come on, Uncle. We're going." Zuko said, before the guards crossed their spears in his face.

"Hey!" Rhian's eyes widened and she spun as the Fire Nation Solider strode into the room.

"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."

Damnit.

"Now remind me." Zhao said, satisfaction leaking into his tone as he walked up behind the fire prince, pushing Rhian out of the way. "How exactly was your ship damaged?"

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Iroh, Rhian and Zuko sat unresistingly in the tent, guards behind and Zhao pacing before them. Rhian's eyes where narrowed on the commander, arms and legs crossed and her foot twitching with agitation. She hated feeling like a prisoner. Hated it.

"So, a twelve year old boy bested you, your firebenders and your… whatever she is." Zhao said, waving a hand in Rhian's direction. "You're more pathetic then I thought."

Rhian gritted her teeth and Iroh put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. She knew keeping her power a secret would have been impossible, with the crew around and tabs the Fire Lord kept on his son and brother. She knew she was just lucky they hadn't shown any extra interest in her. She wasn't working against them and was on a Fire Nation ship. That seemed to be enough for them.

"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again." Zuko said.

"No it will not." Zhao snapped. "Because you won't have a second chance."

What?! Rhian moved to stand, but Iroh's hand tightened on her shoulder and she bit her tongue.

"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I–"

"And you failed!" Zhao spun, striking fire through the air. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now."

With a growl of fury, Zuko lunged at Zhao, but was restrained by the guards at his back.

"You can't do that, Zhao!" Rhian yelled, jumping to her feet.

Zhao paused. "Oh? Why can't I?"

"Because you didn't even believe the Avatar could be alive! No one did, but Zuko! If it wasn't for Zuko's hunt, no one would know he was out there at all! He's the reason you have anything to go after in the first place! He's the one who has given two years of his life to a mission no one thought he could complete! And he's the one the Fire Lord sent on this mission! To take Zuko off the hunt would be to go against the wishes of the Fire Lord! And you have no right to do that!"

Rhian was just pulling arguments out of thin air because she knew to attack Zhao would land them all in serious trouble, and yelling at him made her feel better. She knew he wouldn't really be swayed.

"Hmm, you have an interesting point of view. I'll be sure to take it under advisement." Zhao smirked and turned away. "Keep them here." He called to his guards, and exited the tent.

With a yell of frustration, Rhian grabbed handfuls of her hair and pulled, stalking to the back of the tent. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Zuko kicking the table into pieces.

"More tea, please." Iroh said.

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