Hey loves! I wanted to post again tonight, I'm simply too excited about sharing my story.
Chapter 2 – Commander ZhaoMilah was awoken from her slumber by a loud BANG. It seemed to come from the deck of the ship. She quickly stood up and tried for the door, but it was still locked. She angrily smashed her fists against the wood and screamed at it. The loud sounds continued and made her feel wary. What in the world was going on up there?
Suddenly, the ship lurched, throwing her off her feet. She smacked her head against the wall and painfully fell to the floor once again. And once again, she was out cold.
Next thing Milah knew was that she was laid down on a soft bed. Red dots began to emerge again and she tried to open her eyes. The light hurt her head, but it was manageable. Voices came towards her.
''…when can I talk to her?'' she understood. The voice was the one from the scarred man. She would recognise it everywhere.
''When she wakes up, Prince Zuko,'' another masculine voice answered.
Wait a minute… the scar… Prince Zuko… her thoughts went wild.
''No… way…'' she puffed out. It brought her attention.
''Good, you woke up. Now spill,'' Zuko declared. Milah furrowed her brows.
''What do you mean?'' Her head still hurt.
''Who are you and why are you a Waterbender on the South Pole. We wiped them all out years ago.''
''Seems to me that you missed a girl,'' she whispered teasingly but soon realising her mistake when he harshly grabbed her arm and hauled her up. She hissed painfully from the sudden movement.
''You think you're clever, huh?'' his eyes burned into hers, but she never wavered her gaze.
''Zuko, leave the girl alone. Don't you see she's still healing?'' an older voice said calmly. Zuko turned around and immediately let go of her arm, resulting in a painful fall for her, unaware of her leaning into him. His hand had made a mark on her arm which started to turn purple already. She heard a door slam and realised she was alone in the room now with the older man she had seen earlier. His face was calm, and his eyes shone kind, containing the same colour Zuko had. But the older man's eyes reminded her of a warm hearth, while Zuko's eyes were like wildfire.
''My name is Iroh, I'm Prince Zuko's uncle. And you must be Milah, the girl everyone's talking about on this ship,'' Iroh said with a kind voice. ''How are you feeling?''
Milah regarded the man warily, still not knowing his goal with her. They could, after all, be playing bad cop good cop.
''I'm… fine. Thank you for asking, Lord Iroh,'' she said softly. Her head gave her a painful stab in return, making her hiss once again. Iroh furrowed his brow.
''You are clearly in pain, Milah, and I must tell you that I am not a Lord. You may call me Iroh,'' he said to her with a slight smile on his face. ''Now, why don't you get some rest. You have a severe head injury. Sleep will do you good now.'' Iroh turned to leave the room and closed the door behind him.
Before Milah got to sleep, she took the time to take a look around the room she was in. It didn't look like a healing chamber. The walls were a dark red with on the opposite side of her view a big flag with the Fire Nation emblem. Positioned in front of the flag was a meditation spot with several candles burning in front of it. Torches were hanging on every side of the wall, creating a nice light in the windowless room. The bed she was laying in contained dark red sheets that felt surprisingly soft. On the end of the bed was a trunk that, undoubtedly, contained clothes of someone. The someone that owned this room.
Milah opened her eyes when the door opened once again. She hadn't even noticed that she fell asleep. With one eye half-open, she glanced at whoever came in. She could faintly make out the silhouette of a man, but her head gave up once again.
It must be morning, she thought when commotion sounded all around the ship. Actually, she couldn't know. There was no window in this room, making it difficult for her to estimate the time. She tried sitting up and luckily succeeded. She even felt like standing up. Slowly, she put her hands on the ground and tried to stand on both her legs. When even that was achieved, she tried walking to the door. Slowly, but steady, she found her way through the ship. She wondered if Aang was locked up somewhere in one of the rooms. She decided not to find out, fearing she would be banished to her prison when caught, instead of the comfortable room she was staying in now.
''…want the repairs done as quickly as possible,'' she heard a voice saying. She faintly recognized it as Zuko's, aka, the big jerk. She grimaced. ''I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail.'' She followed the voice and eventually found the door that took her to the deck of the ship. Sunlight hit her eyes, making them squeeze. She could say it was fairly easy for her to move around on the ship. No one seemed to be on guard duties. She was even bold enough to assume that she could walk off the ship and escape. She had already been going down the walkway that led to the docks. While quickly looking around her, she shuffled backwards, trying to crouch down low enough so the soldiers on the ship wouldn't see her when looking down over the railing. She was almost at the end of the dock when she bumped into someone.
''Hey!'' an angry voice called out. Fuck, Milah thought. Not the Fire jerk. She looked up, straight into his eyes, with an apologetic expression. ''How did you-'' he began, but then seemed to reconsider. ''Never mind.'' He turned around again after having hauled her up by her arm. Milah kept her head down, not wanting to look at Zuko. She noticed that Iroh was standing next to the jerk.
''Our ship is being repaired,'' Iroh said calmly. Milah's head shot up, and her big blue eyes stared into two yellow ones. Eyes that were even more frightening than the ones of the jerk that held her arm. She gasped softly and unconsciously took a step closer to Zuko. The man glanced over her body and seemed to be assessing every last bit of her. Milah gulped and hang her head low again. Zuko still held her arm firmly, pressing her body against his. The muscles underneath were noticeable, warming her… somewhat. Whatever.
''That's quite a bit of damage,'' the sinister man said.
''Yes,'' Zuko said. His voice vibrated her body. ''You wouldn't believe what happened. Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened.'' Milah glanced up at Zuko with a frown on her face. What was wrong? Zuko gave her a stern look, shutting her up immediately.
''Yes. I will do that. It was incredible!'' Iroh exclaimed with an enthusiastic tone. Then he frowned and turned to Zuko with a confused look on his face. ''What? Did we crash or something?'' Milah snorted. Well, I actually wouldn't know, so I'm rather curious.
''Yes!'' Zuko said with a higher voice than usual. ''Right into an… Earth Kingdom ship.'' The whole ordeal was simply strange at a whole new level.
The sinister man, who became known as Commander Zhao, had a look of disbelieve on his face. Well, who could blame him… ''Really? You must regale me with all of the thrilling details,'' Zhao said with a nasty smirk on his face. ''Join me for a drink?''
No, please, no, Milah kept thinking. At that moment Zuko tugged at her arm. ''Sorry, but we have to go,'' Zuko said. Zhao scowled at him.
''I do have… one question for you, Prince Zuko,'' he announced. Zuko quietly growled, she could feel but turned around with her once again. Zhao looked at her directly. ''Who is this?''
It was Zuko's turn to scowl now. ''She's my prisoner. She has committed crimes against the Fire Nation and will be dealt with accordingly,'' he answered vaguely, not wanting to put any more words to the matter. Zhao gave him a questioning look.
''She doesn't look… Earth Kingdom. Is that right?'' Zhao remarked. Milah felt her throat closing up. Zuko tightened his hand around her arm.
''She came from a mining village. She is no one important. Mere… entertainment for the men,'' Zuko hissed through his teeth. Zhao laughed loudly at that.
''Now, well, let's have that tea after all,'' Iroh diverted the topic awkwardly, noticing the fire in his nephew's eyes. ''Do you have ginseng? It's my favourite. Prince Zuko, would you please escort our… prisoner… to her chambers?'' Iroh gave him a knowing look. Zuko gave him a grunt and tugged her with him once again.
He took her up the walkway again, through the door that led to the lower chambers, and eventually stopped once inside her room. He closed the door behind him and turned towards her with a menacing look on his face. ''What the hell is wrong with you?'' he shouted at her. She winced. Her head was still injured.
''I'm… sorry, Prince Zuko. It's just… I've been cooped up in here for so long, and I just wanted to see the sun again,'' she breathed and slid down on her bed, tears in her eyes. He looked absolutely blazing. ''Please, please, please don't lock me up. I promise… I'll behave. I- I promise.'' Her words were interrupted by a small hiccup. Her hand quickly shot up to her mouth, trying to muffle the sound. She was positively terrified by him. His eyes seemed to soften for a moment.
''You're lucky I kept your identity a secret. Men like him devour girls like you,'' he said with a soft voice. ''How's your head?'' Milah wiped her eyes dry, having stopped crying.
''It's fine… although I could use some food and drinks,'' she murmured. ''And… maybe some water. I understand you might not trust me with it. But I am a healer, and I would feel a lot better if I can heal my head.'' She hoped with all her heart that he would grant her wish. He seemed to think about the matter but gave in eventually. A couple of guards would be present, but she didn't mind that.
''May I ask one more thing, Prince Zuko?'' she whispered when he turned to leave the room. He turned around to look at her. ''Who's chamber is this?'' He seemed to think about the matter when asked but answered anyway.
''Mine.'' He left directly after he said it, not wanting to see her reaction, and left quickly for his uncle and Zhao. Milah's eyes grew big and a soft gasp left her lips. Why would he… she decided not the dwell on the matter, knowing no good would come from it. Iroh probably suggested it, seeing Zuko would have the softest bed for her to heal. And to sleep in a hammock with the other men… she didn't want to think about that. A shudder went through her body.
The door opened suddenly and Milah stood up, holding her arms up in a defensive pose. ''Hold it, lady! I'm just your feeder,'' a young man said jokingly. He held a tray with food, tea and water on it. ''Prince Zuko told me you were hungry, so here you go.'' He sat down the tray in front of the meditation spot and motioned for her to sit down. ''Oh! Before I forget. Can you heal yourself now? I'm supposed to watch you while you're doing it. And when you're done… I can get down to town to pick up some supplies.'' She watched him curiously while he said that. Could she take him on?
Probably not, she thought. He looked strong and experienced. She was weak right now and didn't trust her bending enough. ''Sure,'' she only said in return and took her seat on the pillow. She bent the water out of its place and started to do the work on her head. She could feel the warmth spreading and immediately felt better. A bright white light spread over the room. The guard looked at her with a fascinated look on his face.
''What's your name?'' she suddenly asked. He looked startled.
''I'm Amim, named after my father,'' he answered quickly. He seemed to be no older than 20. He wore red armour that hid his physique and his eyes were a darker shade of gold than the Prince's.
''Nice to meet you,'' Milah smiled at him. ''My name's Milah.'' He gave her a hesitant smile back. ''Can you inform me what happened that caused the ship to fall apart?''
''Some days ago the ship was attacked by the Avatar during his escape. Two others from the Southern Water Tribe were there too, on his flying bison,'' he told her. She couldn't believe it. He already escaped, and Katara and Sokka helped him. She looked at him.
''They were my brother and sister,'' she whispered, tears in her eyes. She missed them terribly. Amim visibly gulped.
''You're… Southern Water Tribe as well, then?'' he asked her. She looked at him puzzledly.
''Yes… didn't Prince Zuko tell you?'' Amim shook his head no.
''He didn't tell us much, except for the fact that you needed to be closely guarded and committed crimes against the Fire Nation,'' he confessed. She nodded.
Their conversation was pleasant, and Amim even seemed to forget the business he was supposed to be having in town. They laughed and joked around with each other. Milah felt her spirits lift for the first time since her capture, and a hopeful bubble was beginning to bloom inside of her. And after what seemed like forever, commotion grew once again on the ship. Something was happening. Amim quickly stood up.
''It was nice talking to you, Milah,'' he told her and gave her a smile. He grabbed her hand and pressed a light kiss on top of it. ''See you soon.'' She watched him leave with wide pupils. His hand was soft and warm, nothing like the calloused and rough hand of Prince Zuko. Amim's touch was soft, Zuko's was harsh. She shook her head. What the hell is wrong with me?
Milah was deep in her thoughts when the door was slammed open. Zuko came in with a raging look in his eyes. He didn't seem to notice her and she wasn't going to make any move to make herself known either. He looked like he could kill anything at the moment.
Angrily, he searched through the trunk that was set at the edge of her – or his – bed. After finding what he was looking for, he took off his robes and stripped down to only his trousers. His bareback was visible to her and the muscles that portrayed him were captivating her. If someone else would have been present at that moment, he or she would notice that Milah did not even blink until Prince Zuko put on another shirt.
After Zuko was done changing his clothing and was turning around to walk out of his room, he noticed Milah sitting on his meditating spot with large eyes and her lips formed into a gasp. When their eyes met, she quickly averted them, not wanting to anger him even further. He shrugged his embarrassment off of him and continued his walk to the door, disappearing at the speed of light.
After a while, Iroh walked into the room and told Milah to follow him. Together they walked off the walkway of the ship. Milah turned to him. ''Iroh, if you don't mind me asking, what's going on?'' Iroh sighed.
''My nephew challenged Commander Zhao to an Agni Kai,'' he answered with another sigh. ''Are you familiar with the term, Milah?'' She nodded, feeling anxious. As much as she loathed the Prince, she… felt concerned.
''Will he win?'' she whispered. Iroh looked at her. She looked scared. For him? he thought and stroked his beard with his hand.
''Prince Zuko is an excellent Firebender. But Zhao… he has years of experience. I am afraid I cannot answer your question. We will have to wait and see.'' Milah nodded. The old man smiled at her to help ease her thoughts. It did the trick.
After a small walk, they arrived at an arena where Zuko and Zhao were standing. Iroh strode over towards his nephew, Milah silently following him.
''Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons,'' he told Zuko. He nodded. Milah gulped, noticing the somewhat scared look on his face.
''I refuse to let him win,'' Zuko said with a determined voice. He looked at her with an unknown look before turning around and walking towards the centre, taking off the robe and exposing his bare upper body once again.
''Good luck,'' she whispered low enough so no one would hear.
Iroh and she walked towards one of the stands and sat down. Iroh looked relatively calm, while Milah's hand were gripping and tugging on the flesh of her forearm, an unpleasant habit she had had for as long as she could remember whenever she was nervous. Suddenly, the fight began. Milah averted her eyes, not wanting to see any damage done. She could feel the fire blazing through the arena and a shudder went through her, despite the heat. Iroh abruptly stood up.
''Basics, Zuko!'' he yelled. ''Break his root!''
The fight went on viciously, both of them panting heavily and landing attack after attack on each other. The fire seemed almost out of control. Milah noticed Zuko was attacking the feet of Zhao, who seemed to be wobbling out of his stance, and fell back. Milah almost shouted a 'woohoo' but restrained herself at the last moment. She did, however, jumped up from her seat and took a closer look.
''Do it!'' Zhao yelled at Zuko. Zuko seemed to hesitate but fired at Zhao anyway. Milah closed her eyes quickly, not wanting to see the inevitable death of the sinister man. But when she opened them again, all there was was a black spot next to Zhao's face. Zuko had spared him. Zhao looked at him accusingly.
''That's it?'' Zhao spat. ''Your father raised a coward.'' Zuko glared at him with fire blazing eyes.
''Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back,'' Zuko said angrily. Iroh and Milah were already waiting for him at the exit of the arena when suddenly Iroh ran forward and grabbed Zhao's foot, then tossed him backwards. He slid over the ground and glared at the old man. Zuko made a move to charge at Zhao, but Milah was faster, wrapping her arms around his torso to hold him back. But, him being a head taller and way, way heavier than her, she was glad that Iroh held him back as well.
''No, Prince Zuko. Do not taint your victory,'' Iroh told him. Milah let go of his body but still grabbed his arm to hold him in place. Iroh gave Zhao a condescending look. ''So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honourable than you. Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious.'' Iroh turned around to walk out of the arena. Milah tugged at Zuko's arm the same way he once did with her, and he followed her obediently. Milah took one glance behind her to give Zhao one more angry look before walking side by side with Zuko out of the arena.
When they were closing in on the ship, Zuko turned to Iroh. ''Did you really mean that uncle?'' he asked softly, not wanting Milah to hear his moment of weakness. Iroh smiled.
''Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favourite,'' Iroh grinned at his nephew. He smiled back.
Milah walked behind them, not having heard their conversation. She was, however, focussing on looking anywhere but Zuko's bareback. And boy, was that a hard task. With every step, his muscles bulged, tempting her. She shook her head, clearing it.
When they entered the ship, Zuko made his way to his chambers, wanting to change in something less… nude. Milah realised something when she looked down towards herself – as to avoid staring after the Prince.
Her trousers were dirty and her shirt as well. She smelled herself and grimaced. She didn't particularly reek, but it wasn't a nice smell either. A bath was long overdue, so to say. She turned towards Iroh, who was still standing next to her.
''Iroh, is it possible for me to bathe somewhere? I haven't ever since I got on the ship,'' she asked him carefully. He gave her a grin.
''Of course, Milah. Although I will ask Amim to guard the door when you are busy. That should be wise,'' he answered and gave her a knowing look. Milah understood this, seeing that most of the men probably haven't been in contact with women for a long time as they were overseas.
''Thank you.'' And with this Iroh left her to give the orders to Amim. Not long after he strutted over to her with a smile on his face. She gave him one back.
''So… I didn't want to say this, but I noticed the other day that you needed a bath, I'm just glad that you finally realised it too,'' he joked. Milah stumped him.
''Oh do shut up,'' she laughed. Together they walked towards the bathing chambers. After she was done – without any male interruptions – she said her goodbyes to Amim and made way towards her chambers. When she stood before the door, she hesitated. Was he in there?
''Err… Prince Zuko?'' she called out. A faint 'come in' met her ears. She opened the door and found him making up a bed on the other side of the room. She frowned. While he was busy making the bed she took her time to sit down on one of the pillows – he added one as well.
''We are going to share this room now. I don't trust my men with you. They haven't been with a woman for a long time,'' he told her firmly while his back was towards her still. She nodded, although he couldn't see. ''You don't mind, do you?'' This time he looked her straight in the eyes. She gulped but nodded quickly.
''Err,'' she cleared her voice. ''No, of course not.'' He squinted his eyes, not believing her. ''It's probably safer for me this way, right?'' Goosebumps formed on her skin from the way he was looking at her. He slowly nodded.
''Good. Then that's settled,'' he spoke up then stood up. But when he walked towards the door to leave, he grimaced slightly. It was almost unnoticeable, but she saw it anyway.
''What's wrong?'' she asked concerned. ''Are you hurt?'' He leaned against the wall with his hand covering his right side.
''Zhao got me on my right side. But it's nothing,'' he told her. ''Don't worry about it.'' He opened the door, but she was faster. She slammed the door closed and put her arms around her chest.
''Sit down,'' she told him with a tone that couldn't be argued with. ''I'll grab some water and heal you.'' His eyebrows shot up, not expecting this from her. But he obeyed and sat down on his bed cross-legged. She left the room to find a bowl of water and came back soon after. He already had taken off his shirt again and laid down. She sat down on her knees beside him and looked at the bruise that was forming on his body. It was purple and painful looking. She put her finger on his flesh and made him hiss in pain. She looked at his eyes, finding two golden ones staring back at her. His hand grabbed hers, pulling her fingers off his body.
''Don't,'' he whispered. She didn't argue. With a flowing move of her arms, she put the water on his body, lighting up her healing powers. A white light filled the room once again. Zuko made a soft noise in the back of his throat when he felt her working. She had a frown on her face, with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. Her eyes were focussing on his bruise, her hands flowing around his side. He noticed she had damp hair and a change of clothes as well. His uncle probably gave her a shirt and trousers of his own, seeing that the clothing fell around her, hiding her physique. She smelled like roses.
''I think this should do it for now,'' she announced. He was startled by her loud voice, thinking he had been caught watching her. ''Tomorrow I'll work on it again, but I think the rest should heal overnight. If not…'' She gave him a small smile. He didn't in return.
Milah quickly stood up and pulled her trousers up. They were far too big for her, but Iroh had kindly given them to her so she could wash her own. They were far too dirty for her to wear again.
Zuko stood up as well, pulling his shirt over his body quickly. He noticed that his bruise didn't bother him anymore and that he could move around freely again. He was amazed by her ability, seeing her differently than before. She had her back to him, allowing him to watch her again. She was sitting cross-legged on one of the pillows, facing the wall, probably meditating. Her hair fell down her back in waves, stopping only at her waist. She had a petite hourglass body and her breasts were good in proportion. Her chest slowly rose and fell with her breathing, her lips in a slight pout. His body temperature rose.
Zuko shook his head to clear his thoughts and spoke up. ''Thank you.'' She opened her eyes, turning around to look at him with her big, blue eyes that resembled her roots.
''You're welcome,'' she said softly and turned around again to meditate. Zuko left the room after that.