We arrived in Caldera a few days later, docking in a small port about half a mile away from the city. I stayed hidden behind my stack of crates, listening for sounds of movement above me.
A few hours later, when it became relatively quiet, I made my way up the metal stairs and pressed my ear to the door, trying to make out any footsteps on the other side. I didn't hear any, so I decided it was safe to open the door.
As slowly as I possibly could, I turned the handle and edged the door open, inch-by-inch, wincing as the rusted hinges emanated a low creaking noise. When the door was slightly ajar, I poked my head out, sneaking a glance down each hall. Not a soul.
Wow, these Fire Nation ships really need to step up their security.
I tiptoed down the hallway to the gangway, throwing frequent glances over my shoulder, double-checking to make sure no one was coming. There were voices outside of the gangway, but they seemed to be traveling farther away. I pressed myself against the side of the opening, peeking out quickly, eyes straining against the bright sunlight. There were people all over the place, the small port bustling with activity. It would be hard to sneak off the ship and run down the dock unnoticed. Crap.
Then, I heard the unmistakable slosh of water against the side of the boat. Yes!
I skirted around the doorway and let myself fall off the plank that connected the dock to the ship, right into the dark blue water. Just like when I was sneaking past the blockade, I bent the water away from my mouth to form a small air pocket and took in a deep breath, letting the currents pull me into deeper water.
I swam beneath the ship, closer to the edge of the port, occasionally bobbing above the water to look for a somewhat empty area. There!
At the edge of the harbor, I could see a few huts crowded together, looking sad and abandoned. It was my best chance of going unnoticed, so I paddled over and pulled myself over the stone edge, bending the water so it gave me a push over.
Quickly, so not to be seen, I ran behind one of the small cabins and pulled the water from my hair, clothes and belongings, took a deep breath, shouldered my pack and strode out from behind the hut, trying to seem as normal as possible.
"Next!" an angry looking man barked, rubbing his eyes with one hand wearily, clearly wanting nothing more than to get out of here. I quickly stepped up, ignoring the curious stares I was receiving from others in the recruitment center. It wasn't unheard of for a woman to join the Fire Nation army, so people weren't too suspicious of me, but some still couldn't keep the intrigued expressions off their faces.
I stopped in front of the interviewer, who didn't seem interested enough to make sure I was actually standing there.
"Name?" the man asked, not bothering to look up.
"Katara."
His head snapped up at the sound of my voice, no doubt surprised that I was a woman. I wanted to roll my eyes.
"Age?" he continued, suddenly very interested, looking almost amused.
"Eighteen." A lie. I was only seventeen, but in order to join the Fire Nation army, you had to be at least eighteen years of age. I'd always acted mature for my age, but I was lucky enough to look a bit older than I was, so it wasn't really a noticeable lie. I probably wasn't the only person here lying about my age.
"Bending status?" he asked, looking down again to fill out a form on a clipboard.
"Non-bender." Well, it was sort of the truth. I could water bend, but I wasn't a fire bender.
"Father's occupation?"
"Merchant."
"Birthplace?"
"I was born on Maika, a small island near Ember Island." I'd been drilled a hundred times before I left the North Pole, rehearsing my lines, spitting back the false information I was told to memorize. I couldn't afford to make mistakes.
"Any what regiment are you here to enlist in, young lady?" he asked, one dark eyebrow raised questioningly.
"The Royal Family's Task Force," I said, completely serious.
He burst out laughing. Loud, obnoxious laughter that caused conversations and interviews to stop throughout the entire recruitment center, drawing more attention to us. I folded my arms across my chest, resisting the urge to reach over the desk and punch him, waiting until he was done.
"Ah, I'm sorry young lady, but you do know that a woman has never been accepted into the Royal Family's task force, don't you?" His tone was so condescending, like he expected me to be deaf, dumb and blind because I was a girl.
Idiot.
I plastered a fake, sweet smile on my face. "Yes, I knew that." I read the small nametag on his uniform. "Didn't you, Private Bayu?"
His amused expression fell. My phony smile turned genuine. Oh, I could have fun with this guy.
"Snide remarks will get you nowhere, girl."
"That must explain why you're sitting at a desk recruiting people while there are commanding officers out fighting in battle." I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing in his face. "Why don't you ask me some more questions before you embarrass yourself even more, huh?" I motioned to some of the snickering men surrounding us.
"Why don't you go home, little girl? I'm sure there are some clothes that need mending or a house that needs to be cleaned."
Oh, he was pushing it. I placed my hands on the edge of the wood desk and leaned forward so I was right in his face. "Why don't you wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you?"
"Young lady, are you threatening me?"
"It depends," I mused, glaring at him. "If you consider me, a mere woman, a threat, then yes. I am threatening you."
He chuckled lowly, a menacing sound that made my palms twitch in anger. "You have a lot to learn, girl." He turned slightly in his chair, motioning for another man in uniform to come over.
"Lietenant Dao," Bayu said as he stood up, slightly bowing his head to the dark-haired, middle-aged looking man.
"Private Bayu, is there a problem here?"
"Sir, I have a woman here who wishes to enlist in the Royal Family's Task Force."
Lietenant Dao turned his attention to me. "Is this correct?"
"Yes, I would like to join the Task Force," I answered. He picked up the clipboard that Bayu had used on and scanned the form that held my information.
"Private, are you aware of any rules preventing a woman from joining the Task Force?" he asked without looking up from the papers.
The private paused. "Uh, no, no sir. I'm not." Bayu's triumphant expression fell.
"Well, then," the Lieutenant paused and stared at the Private. "Send her through evaluation."
"But Sir, she's a woman!"
"Yes, thank you for pointing it out, but I was able to notice that for myself. What's your point?"
"It's just that a woman has never been admitted into the Task Force before."
"I'm aware of that, Private. Are you trying to insult my intelligence?"
"N-no sir! I didn't mean to-"
"Enough," the Lieutenant cut him off mid-splutter. "There are no rules that state a woman cannot enlist in the Task Force. Yes, a woman has never been granted admission into the force, but that does not mean it cannot happen. It is under my command that this young woman is sent through evaluation, just as any other new recruit would be." I didn't like when others fought my battles for me, but I wasn't going to step in on this one. Lieutenant Dao had a way of twisting and turning anything you say against you, putting words in your mouth if you weren't careful. So I stayed quiet. "You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir." Bayu bowed, red-faced and flustered, before returning back to his post.
"Come with me," the Lieutenant commanded. I followed obediently, staying close behind him as we walked through the recruitment center, receiving a few more curious looks. He lead us down a hallway to an office, where he motioned for me to sit in a plush chair that was placed in front of a large, impressive desk.
"I just need to ask you a few more questions, because of the different circumstances. Then you will be able to proceed through the normal evaluation before you are tested."
"Okay," I said, a little uneasy. What did he mean by 'tested?'
"Your name?"
"Katara."
"Why do you wish to join the Royal Family's Task Force?"
Oh, I wasn't ready for this question. I'd thought I'd gone over just about everything, knew every piece of false information I would need to pass as a Fire Nation citizen, but I hadn't gotten into the specific details.
But I thought for a second, an idea sprouting in my head. I decided to act on it.
"Well, it's been a tradition in my family for years that when the eldest son turns eighteen, he enlists in the army. I had a brother two years older than me that planned to enlist, but when he was fifteen, he became very sick and died a few months later. My father was devastated, left with one daughter and his only son dead, two years after my mother passed away. I hated seeing him like that, so I decided that I would join the army in place of my brother and keep the tradition going. I wanted him to be proud, so I decided that I would enlist in the Royal Family's Task Force, the most esteemed regiment in the Fire Nation army."
It was basically a modified version of what we did in my tribe back home, minus the whole "my brother died" spiel.
I waited while the Lieutenant absorbed my response, his hand holding his chin, slowly nodding his head. "Yes, I see. A very noble cause."
"Thank you." Phew, he bought it.
He asked me a few more questions, similar to the ones Private Bayu had asked but went a bit more into detail, asking about my family some more. I spouted more lies, finding it easier and easier to fabricate them as I answered more questions.
I almost started to believe they were true.
After a half-hour, the Lieutenant announced that he had asked all of the questions he needed to and sent me off to proceed through the rest of the evaluation.
My bags were checked for weapons at a security station, and I kept my breath in my chest, hoping that the inspector wouldn't stumble across my mother's necklace. He didn't, but he came close, his hand brushing the almost invisible pocket on the inside of the bag.
Then I was sent into a small room where a woman took measurements, my height, my waist, my torso. I didn't question it, seeing it pointless. Every other person I had asked something about had just brushed me off, completely evading my question and saying something like 'Oh, it's just part of the normal procedure.' I'd given up trying to get information out of these people after the third time.
After I was measured, I was sent to another room, where I was questioned about Fire Nation history, something I'd brushed up on before leabing the North Pole, knowing that it would come in handy. So this portion of the evaluation wasn't too difficult. At least I thought so. Some of the other men being interviewed couldn't even answer simple questions about their own country. Hopeless.
Then, I was brought to a small room which was filled with a few others, all men, from age eighteen to forty. Two men in uniform stood up on a small platform stage, just high enough so they rose above the crowd. They spoke together closely, and by their professional-looking, black uniforms, I could tell that they must already be part of the Task Force. A few more men shuffled in after me until there were around twenty of us crowded around the stage, and then one of the uniformed men on stage called the crowd's attention.
"My name is Lietenant Jin, head of Force One. Congratulations to all of you. If you're standing here, it means that you're not as hopeless as the rest of them." He directed his next statement to the men in the back who decided it was appropriate to holler and whoop. I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't cheer just yet. The most difficult part of your evaluation is yet to come. Tonight, you will be taken to your sleeping chambers for a night of rest and relaxation. You're going to need it," he smirked. I could tell by his tone that he thought we were all complete idiots for signing up, but he respected our guts. "Tomorrow morning, you will be entering the next stage of your test. It is a test of strength, endurance and perseverance. Only four will continue to the next step. Those four will be tested further, and two will be chosen for the Task Force. Don't cry or whine if you aren't chosen. You'll still have your chance to shine…in another regiment." I decided I liked this guy. His no-nonsense attitude appealed to me, probably because I was the same way, straightforward and to the point. "Any questions?"
No one said anything. I suppose it was nerves, keeping everyone in silence. So naturally, I spoke up for the sake of others.
"What kind of test are we being put through, exactly?" I asked, on hand raised slightly in the air. Heads whipped around at the sound of my voice, some realizing for the first time that there was a woman standing in the room with them.
"Ah, well, well. Young lady, you've asked the one question I cannot answer."
"You don't know what we're being put up against tomorrow?" I asked incredulously.
"Dear girl, of course I do. But I'm not permitted to tell you. You wouldn't want me to ruin the surprise, would you?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yes, I would, actually."
"Well, my apologies, but I'm just going to have to disappoint you, my dear." He didn't sound too sorry. In fact, he sounded quite satisfied with himself. Instead of turning into a raging Saber-tooth Moose-lion, I gave a low chuckle, un-phased by his wisecracks. "Any more questions?" Lieutenant Jin asked, looking out into the small crowd. No one said anything. "Alright, class dismissed. Follow the guards to your sleeping chambers."
We were led down a few hallways and down a few floors to a large room equipped with about ten bunks, enough to sleep twenty people. There were exactly twenty of us, so everyone got a cot. The beds were filling up fast, so I quickly made my way over to a bunk that only had one cot occupied.
"Is someone else sleeping here?" I asked to a tall, dark-haired boy. He turned to me, dark brown eyes meeting my blue ones. He was very handsome, not too brawny, but not too skinny either.
"No. You want top or bottom?"
"Uh, what?" I asked, my face heating slightly. Did he seriously just ask me that?
"Do you want the top or bottom bunk?" he rephrased, looking slightly amused by my reaction. I let out a nervous laugh. Oh, wow. I looked stupid. He meant which bed I'd like.
"I'll take the bottom, if you don't mind."
He shrugged, starting to climb up to the top level, but turned around and held a hand out when he was two rungs up the ladder. "I'm Makoto."
I took his hand and shook it, giving him a small smile. "Katara."
"RISE AND SHINE, RECRUITS!" A loud gong rang, echoing off the walls of the room, stirring its sleeping members. "Let's go! Your test starts in an hour. Breakfast in the mess hall in five minutes! Let's move, move, move!"
I jumped out of bed, quickly straightening my clothes, smoothing the rinkles, as if it mattered what I looked like for the next part of my evaluation. I took a deep breath. This could be it. I was going against nineteen men for the two cherished spots on the force, and my chances weren't looking too good. As I glanced around the room at my waking opponents, I could see just how much competition I would be put against. These men were in very good shape, most at their physical peaks, muscles straining behind skin as they moved around their space.
Then I looked at my arms, skinny and fragile. I wasn't built the same as these men. Sure, I had a few advances on them, maybe. I would be quicker, more agile than them. That could come in handy during a fight, or it could be my downfall. The way their muscles rippled made it look like with a simple flex, their hands could snap me in half, ending me.
And I finally realized why a woman was never admitted into the force.
No! Stop thinking like that! Stop putting yourself below them!
But they're stronger than me.
Maybe, but you're smarter. Brains outweigh brawns any day.
And I felt better, more confident.
"Alright, recruits! Here's the rules. No killing, only maiming. The four that get to the flags first will advance, the rest won't. Everyone have their weapon of choice?" Lieutenant Jin asked. We stood in a clearing, just beyond a tall brick wall, the location of our "test."
Everyone nodded, taking a hold of their swords, bows, knives, and other assorted weapons. I'd snagged an impressive looking sword from the armory, a sleek silvery blade with a cherry red hilt, and a sheath that wrapped around my waist to hold the blade. I still had the small knife strapped to my thigh, feeling slightly better that if I lost hold of my sword somehow, I could still whip out the knife on my opponent, evening out the fight a bit.
"Okay. You may begin."
I ran through the thick forest, running as fast as I could. I didn't even know where I was, let alone where the flags were. It had to be somewhere deep within the arena, somewhere only a few of us would stumble upon. I made a few pointless turns, circling the area I was in, finding nothing, no one.
It had been like that for the last twenty minutes, the over-bearing feeling that I was lost choking me. Would I ever find these damned flags?
Then, I heard rustling in the woods toward my left, and I immediately jumped behind a bush, concealing myself within its thick green leaves. The footsteps grew closer with every breath I took, and soon, I could hear the ragged pants of their owner, a few feet away from myself. It was Makoto.
I almost sighed with relief, but then realized that bunkmates or not, we were all fighting for the same thing here, fighting against each other.
So we're enemies.
I kept quiet and laid low, watching him from the safety of my bush, careful not to shift my weight in case I was leaning on any thin twigs. He slowed as he grew closer to me, his pace becoming closer to that of a walk, and leaned against a tree, catching his breath. His dark eyes scanned the area, lingering on my bush before he turned away, eyes observing something off in the distance before he ran off in that direction.
He saw something.
So after he was a good fifty paces ahead of me, I snuck out from behind the bush and followed him, matching his pace so I didn't catch up to him or lose his trail. I followed him for twenty minutes before he stopped again to catch his breath. Again, I found a nearby shrub and crouched behind it, trying to keep my ragged breaths quiet. He let out a small chuckle.
"Followed me all this way, did you?" he asked, his back still facing away from me. How did he know I was here? I stayed silent, hoping that maybe if I didn't answer he'd just think he was hearing things. "Just come out from behind the bush already, Katara."
I stood up and stepped out from behind the bush, trying to maintain what dignity I had left. How the heck did he know I was there?
"Why did you follow me?" he asked.
"You saw something," I stated plainly.
"Yeah, I did."
"What was it? The flags?"
"No," he smirked, looking satisfied with himself. "An opportunity."
"What kind of opportunity?" I grabbed the hilt of my sword, suddenly suspicious. If he didn't see the flag, then what kind of opening did he see?
"I saw a chance to lead you off course, so I took it."
I just stared at him. How could I be so stupid? I just completely played into his hands!
"You- you knew I was there the first time you stopped!"
"Yes, and I knew that you would follow me off track if you thought I'd seen something you didn't," Makoto said with a shrug.
Oh, he was smart. And a major jerk.
"But now you're twenty minutes off course," I pointed out.
"True, but I know where the flags are. You don't," he countered.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you." I unsheathed my sword, letting it hang pathetically in my hands, giving myself the appearance that I had no clue what I was doing.
"Do you even know how to use that?" he asked, nodding toward the sword that drooped in my hand. "Or are you just full of empty threats?"
"Oh, you have no idea what I can do."
And I swung the sword with surprising force at his handsome little face, not caring if I deformed its perfect symmetry. Makoto pulled his sword swiftly from his belt, effectively blocking my strike, almost like he'd intended to do that. But I could see from the expression on his face that he hadn't predicted my abilities. Don't underestimate me pal.
Again I swung at him, narrowly missing his abdomen as he swiped my sword to the side. He plunged forward, but I twisted, his blade just failing to hit my shoulder. I used the momentum from his attack to power my next move, swinging my weapon in a large arc, pushing him back from me.
"Not bad," he sneered. "For a girl."
"I was just about to say the same to you."
We jabbed and sliced at each other for what seemed like an hour, but was probably only two or three minutes, before he was able to disarm me, my blade flying out of my grasp and clattering to the ground. Makoto pointed the tip of his sword at my throat, dark brown eyes scrutinizing me. Shit.
I couldn't tell what he was going to do next. He had me standing there, my back pressed up against the trunk of a tree, held at sword-point. He could easily slice my neck and say it was an accident. That he didn't mean to kill me. I had to get out of this. But how?
And then I had an idea.
Oh, spirits. I was going to regret this later.
I took a deep breath and looked at Makoto from beneath my eyelashes, allowing my blue irises to connect with his brown ones. I pulled up one corner of my mouth slightly into a sheepish smile, and Makoto's eyes flared. I stepped forward slightly so the sword tip was pressing against my throat. He stepped back.
"Wh-, what do you think you're doing?" He took another step back, but whether it was to stay safe from me or my flirting didn't matter because he was slowly backing down, lowering his sword until it was at his side. I stepped in closer to him, bringing one hand up to brush his cheek gently, his eyes wide, watching my every movement. He was still too alert, his body tensed, ready to srike if I made any sudden movements, but I had to find some way to get his guard down. So, I did the only thing left that I could since I was weaponless.
I leaned forward on my toes, steadily inching toward him, our faces only inches away now. I let my chin lift slightly, as if to meet his lips. He slowly ducked his head toward me, letting his eyes flutter shut, ready to close the space between us when I twisted, taking a firm grip on his arm and flipped him so he landed with a "humph!" on his back. I got a hold of the small knife attached to my thigh, sat on top of him, holding down one of his shoulders with one hand while the other held the knife back, ready to swipe if he made any sudden movements. I smiled smugly down at him, relishing in my flirty defeat.
He looked up at me, surprise plainly written all over his face, and it took everything I had to not laugh.
"Like I said. You have no idea what I can do. Don't underestimate me next time." And with that, I brought my hand down, connecting the hilt of the dagger with his temple, watching as his head slumped to the side, unconscious.
I did feel a bit guilty, using my feminine powers for evil, but I needed to do it. I had an entire tribe of people counting on me.
I couldn't fail.
I picked up my sword, re-sheathed my knife, and jogged back in the direction we'd come from. When I reached familiar grounds, I climbed one of the taller trees to get a better idea of my position in this so-called "arena." When I got to the top, I peered around me, squinting against the bright sunlight. I gasped in amazement at the vast size of the arena. We must have been somewhere just outside the city, for I could see the large volcano in the distance, about a mile or two away from the tall, brick wall that acted as the boundaries for our test.
It was a beautiful sight, and I had difficulty tearing my eyes away until I realized that I needed to find those flags before the others did.
I twisted slightly, still holding onto the tree trunk for support and tried to find any place in the arena that looked like a possible location for the flags. The arena was colossal though, so finding them could be like searching for a needle in a haystack, pointless and tiring. Ready to just give up, I started climbing down.
It was then that I could see a small red flutter in the corner of my eye. The flags.
Yes!
I shimmied down the tree, untangling my clothing when it caught on branches, jumping and almost twisting my ankle at the bottom. Once I was upright and steady on my feet, I took off toward the direction of the flags, jogging at a steady pace, feeling a new wave of adrenaline spread throughout my body.
I picked up the pace as I got closer and closer to the hill, feeling more energetic, almost elated. Halfway up the incline, something whizzed by my head, narrowly clipping my ear and found a home in the tree next to me. An arrow. Oh crap.
I whipped around, pulling the sword from its sheath and holding it in front of me, ready to slice-and-dice my hidden opponent.
"Come on out!" I called into the trees, expecting someone to jump out from behind a bush and attack me. Yeah, like that would happen. "Come on and face me like a man!"
Another arrow flew by me, this time landing in the ground at me feet. I had a feeling whoever was shooting was purposefully missing, trying to toy with me, frighten me. I couldn't see exactly where the arrows were being shot from, just their general direction. If someone was shooting at you with very sharp, dangerously pointy arrows, your natural instinct is to run in the opposite direction. Well, that just didn't seem like enough fun to me.
I started running in the direction the arrows came from.
"Let's go, you coward! What's wrong? Afraid to hit a little girl with one of your stupid arrows?" And I would regret those words a minute later when arrow shot out from the trees and hit its target this time.
Me.
Author's Note: Okay, so this one took me a while to write, so sorry if the wait was long but i hope it was worth it. And just a heads up- Zuko will be making his debut next chapter so stay tuned for that! Hopefully things will pick up and I'll get some more inspiration. I've been up late editing and what not, trying to make sure I updated soon! So whoop!
I'll be on vacation soon, so I'll try to update before that, but if I can't, be sure that there will be another chapter up here soon after I get back! But here's chapter three for you guys! Hope you enjoyed it :)