This chapter contains a pretty interesting Zhao. I have officially decided that after this chapter (which is the reason why I wanted to make him like this) he will return to his "no self control" Admiral self. Enjoy.
The boat slid against the ocean water calmly but Koori could not feel the relaxing shifts that she was used to. Zhao sat beside her. He was trying to get comfortable on the cold steel floor that Koori had decided to sit on. It seemed odd to watch a spirit try to get comfortable when in any other circumstance, he or she could travel through walls and jump large staircases without a second thought.
"Why are we out here?" he asked. He finally sat still and relaxed his back against the steel wall behind him.
Koori stared into the water. She wanted it to do something—to talk and tell her what to do. She sighed and returned her soft gaze to her previous master. "I cannot sit with the rest of the concubines. They do not appreciate my company; I can feel it."
Zhao snorted and three concubines walked by. They turned their heads away from their youngest and newest member to snicker violently at the ocean. Zhao stuck his tongue out and Koori held back a small giggle.
"I cannot wait until we kill her," one concubine said.
Koori paused and held her breath to listen closely to their discussion, but she could not hear any more of their chirping whispers. Zhao stood and chased after them, leaving Koori sitting on the deck of the boat. She continued to stare desperately into the water until an odd wave traveled in front of the boat. She turned her head right to follow the odd wave. It stopped when it reached the boat in front of the one she was traveling on—the boat filled with the Fire Prince, Princess and their friends.
"No," Koori whispered. "I refuse."
She did not know what she was refusing to, but she knew that it had to do with Zuko.
Koori stood and walked into the lone room that held all of the concubines. Zhao was sitting between two women. He had himself perfectly positioned so that he could look down their kimonos. A sneaky smile was splayed across his sly lips.
The youngest concubine sat in the corner of the room and listened to the conversations but a man singing caught her attention. She looked up to see Zhao's reddening face—he was taking sips of the concubines' drinks. How he was doing this, Koori didn't know, but she heard his loud, obnoxious voice sing, "Oh, I loooove the per-ity women, the women, the women; oh, I love the per-ity women, how happy could I beeee!"
He fell into the lap of one of his neighboring women and she screamed from the sudden intense cold that overwhelmed her. Koori sat still, dumbstruck. She would have to talk to him when he sobered.
Another man entered the room. "We have arrived at Ember Island, ladies," he shouted.
The women screamed and exited the room quicker than chicken-cows. Koori watched Zhao's shaky legs stand and then strut out of the room. He hiccupped at the doorway and fell down the stairs, face-first onto the wooden dock. Koori walked through him and immediately saw the Fire Prince holding the hand of a girl with long black hair. Li and Lo stood at the base of the pier to welcome the young royalty. Koori let out a small growl. She turned her head away from them and followed the other concubines to a mansion.
The young man showed the ladies to an exquisite building. Koori looked the large house over; it was decaying and she could not imagine living comfortably in it for a full week. Although it was in a state of disrepair, the architecture was amazing. The house was a familiar Fire Nation style, but the entranceway was odd. The corners of the front door held the symbols of the four nations. They were even in the correct spiritual cycle. They walked into the house and the concubines ran for the best rooms. Koori waited until the screaming and the fights stopped. She walked past the occupied rooms and found a small, cozy room far away from the other ladies.
The room was no bigger than the one she had occupied for a couple of days while on Zhao's ship headed to the Northern Water Tribe. A bed sat by a closed window on the far side of the room, a brown, dirty rug had been laid on the floor to protect the decaying wood and a small, wooden piece of furniture served as both a dresser and a night table.
She sat down on the dusty bed and rubbed her soft, manicured hand across the greying sheets. "Out of all the pretty rooms in this place you pick the slaves' quarters?" A concubine had paused in the doorway and she stuck out her tongue and then skipped back up the hall.
Koori collapsed onto the dusty bed. She stupidly took a deep breath in and coughed. She paused when she heard Zhao's chains rattle. He walked in, hiccupped and fell onto the floor, face-first. "Did you—hiccup—know that you can get drunk really, really fast as a spirit?" he asked.
Koori rolled her eyes, grabbed the bedspread, shook it out onto the dirty carpet and left the room. She passed men carrying suitcases as she sauntered down the damp, browning hallway. They sat the suitcases down in the middle of the front room. Koori looked for hers, pointed, and a man grabbed it and followed her back to her room. He paused when he went in, looked at the other rooms and made a face.
"Are you sure that you want this room?" he asked.
Koori nodded and he sat the suitcase down on Zhao's head and left. The young girl opened the box, riffled through the meager possessions that she had packed and noticed that somebody had gone through her things and packed more. Lovely kimonos, swimming suits, jewelry, makeup and other accessories filled the box and she stopped when she found a note at the bottom. She took it out of the envelope as Zhao pulled his head out of the suitcase.
"I noticed that you packed a little too lightly. Signed, Fire Lord Ozai," Koori read.
"I am really starting to hate that man," Zhao gurgled.
Koori took out a swimming suit, held it up to herself and closed the door that connected her little room to the hallway. She locked the door for good measure and started to peel off the kimono that she was wearing. Zhao watched and a cruel smile formed on his lips. She pulled on the bikini and looked to the drunken spirit for approval. He put up his thumbs and fell back onto the floor.
"Come on, Master," Koori prodded. "I will be bored on the beach by myself."
Zhao opened his eyes groggily and stood. Koori put a cover-up on, grabbed a matching red beach towel and opened her window. She looked down, sneered at the height and jumped out hesitantly. She landed on her feet and fingertips. Zhao had walked through the walls and stood beside his concubine. They walked across the sand slowly until Koori could see the tide pulling in and out.
Koori ran to the ocean and threw off her shoes, towel and cover-up. She jumped into the water and splashed around. She smiled when Zhao joined her. Koori wadded closer to the beach when she got tired. She sat on the moist sand and laughed as the water pushed and pulled at her as the tide rose and fell.
"I have never played in the ocean before, Master," Koori said with a large smile.
Zhao could only nod and frown. His attention was to the other near naked women on the beach.
Koori paused when she heard a commotion. Three girls and Zuko strutted onto the beach—they sat up their towels and umbrella at a nice spot, but far away from the young concubine. She put her hand above her brow to block the glare from the sun. Boys swarmed around the girl in white. The girl in the red bikini—the princess—glared at the crowd. Zuko and a girl dressed entirely in red and black sat under the umbrella. Koori smiled at his girlfriend; she dressed like she was going to the North Pole. She must have been hot in that wintery getup.
Zhao looked over at the royal crowd. It looked as if no one at the beach knew that the prince and princess of their Nation was occupying the same sand that they were. He grinned as the prince dropped ice cream on his girlfriend. Koori stood, grabbed some of her things and made her way closer to the royalty. Zhao stood, stared at Koori's milky back and blinked. He smirked once he noticed his red, burning handprint on her back. Koori had stopped walking and turned around to glare at her drunken master. He shrugged and the burn disappeared.
"Mine," he muttered.
Zuko turned his head to face the young girl in her pink and gold bikini. Her form was familiar and when she turned her head for a second, he saw that it was Koori. He gulped and Mai noticed.
"Do you know her?" Mai asked hesitantly.
Zuko shook his head, but his body responded differently. His hands started to shake and get clammy against Mai's skin and she pushed his wet skin away from her. A grotesque sneer filled her face as she watched the young girl jump into the water.
Mai turned her attention to Azula. The young princess was watching a game of volleyball and instantly, the Fire Princess called her three companions to her and took part in a game. Zuko stood and a flock of turtle-doves reared and flew into the sky at the sudden movement. Mai stood hesitantly and Ty Lee walked toward the Fire Princess on her hands.
Koori looked over at the crowd that was gathering. She was mildly intrigued at the game the royal party was playing. Two boys, one tan with brown hair and one—a typical Fire Nation white male—with black hair seemed more intrigued in the girls that were playing than the game. The tan one turned to Koori who was in the process of putting her cover-up on. He smiled at her.
"Do you want to come to a party tonight?" he asked.
Zhao sprinted over to Koori, threw himself upon the young boy and screamed, "No, no, no!"
Koori nodded. "Sure," she whispered.
He nodded and muttered, "It starts at dusk—don't miss it." He winked at her and she blushed. He turned and both boys walked off to get a better view of the girls.
"I wouldn't go if I were you, Koori," Zhao sneered.
Koori kept her answer to herself because of the crowd that had gathered. The game ended after twenty minutes of play. The net was on fire and the Fire Princess stood before the flames, her eyes wicked and her frame hunched over. She was laughing maniacally.
Koori's curious gaze held concern as she watched the crazy girl. She looked to her right as a pair of shadows caught her gaze. Li and Lo stood before her. They smiled and ushered her away from the beach. Koori followed.
"Have you spent many hours converting the prince?" they asked.
Koori shook her head. "I am sorry, but I have not been able to do that."
Li and Lo both nodded their heads. "We will need your assistance when we return to the palace," Li whispered.
"Of course, Lady Lo and Lady Li."
"Do not follow us any further, Koori. We do not wish to look suspicious."
Koori looked at a plant and walked away from the women to inspect it. She could hear Zhao's chains rattle violently to get her attention and Koori turned to face him. "Don't you need to get ready for that ridiculous party?" he asked.
Koori nodded and grabbed her possessions. She ran down the beachfront and toward the decaying mansion that her and her fellow concubines were occupying. She paused when she saw the door, looked right and found her window. She scurried up a tree and jumped into her room, onto her bed.
Zhao simply walked through the wall to get into her second-story bedroom. He hiccupped, but he was sobering. The young concubine laughed at him when he grabbed his head and fell to the floor on his knees. Koori's fingers found some red fabric and she pulled. A gorgeous red kimono was soon pressed against her frame. She pulled off her swimming suit and found a robe. She rushed down the hall and into a bathroom.
She locked the door and drew the water for the tub. Sludge poured out of the tap. Water shot out next. It came out cold—there was no other selection. Koori put her hand in, warmed it and stepped into the crystal pool of water when it was full. She bathed quickly and drained the liquid. She dried off, threw on her robe and exited the steamy room.
"I cannot believe that they would send us out here without servants," a concubine muttered. "I cannot live without my daily massage and manicure!"
"Neither can I," her partner stuttered.
Koori scoffed at them and continued to walk to her room. She locked the door and peeled off her robe. Zhao had his eyes closed—he seemed to be asleep. The young concubine pulled on her crimson kimono, combed her hair, put on a little lipstick and looked herself over. She tied her hair back and nodded in approval at herself.
She jumped out her window once more and brushed herself off. She started her short jaunt to the party with thoughts of the old Zuko on her mind.
The party and something really interesting will happen next. I promise!
