Zhao's fleet took off for the Northern Water Tribe at dawn the next morning. As they drew closer to the destination, the air in my cell got colder. With how many ships had been part of the fleet, soot from the smokestacks had begun to blend with the snow that fell from the clouds. When I dared peek out the window, the sky was just as dark. The stench of metal being heated by fire mixed with various fuels, creating an awful burning smell.
Being shackled in the cell was doing little for my growing frustration. Was Aang safe? Was Zuko alive? What about Iroh? And for that matter, what happened to the rest of the crew that had once been on Zuko's ship? No one had come for me, and the reality of me ever being rescued from this cell melted like the snowflakes turning into soot.
Yet as I struggled, I felt another sensation, something I thought had been long buried, resurfaced. Aang and I had not been there when the Fire Nation took out our people. The smiling faces of Monk Gytaso and Sister Wei appeared first. I pictured the ash falling as high mechanized weapons climbed the mountain ranges, breaking down temples and the Air Nomads being at the fiery mercy of fierce warriors with only domination on their minds. There had been no time for me to properly grieve them with everything that had happened. My eyes shut tight and I let red hot tears flow. Tears filled with regret, sadness, rage, and an emotion that blossomed bright in my heart.
Vengeance.
Yet in that fire of anger, I remembered someone else. Jet, who had let his vengeance blind him to the good people of a nation. I couldn't confront the Firebenders that killed Sister Wei and Monk Gyatso. And there was only one Firebender that came to mind when I thought of the ruthless monsters a nation once so passionate had become; Zhao. He had attempted to kill my brother. He had attacked Zuko simply to show superiority. He captured me.
I exhaled and put my focus on one single image. In it, I saw my brother and I standing besides our Airbending mentors, hands outstretched towards Zhao, his cockiness turning into fear as the might of the Air Nomads turned against him. In the air blasts, there was a water whip snapping forward, a boomerang sailing towards him, and much to my surprise on our side, a peppering of fire blasts.
I tugged once more against the shackles. The metal bit into my wrists, but it didn't stall my emotional swirl. I kicked the metal wall, the thud echoing and reverberating. Part of me hoped any soldiers and engineers heard me and knew how I was truly feeling. I kicked again, this time for a sense of release.
While no one came to the door, I did hear something clink like a dropped coin. Rolling towards me was the lugnut of a bar that was held over the window slit. I narrowed my eyes, searching for more loose bolts. I kicked it once again. A bolt wiggled in place before dropping once more. Another kick. While no more lugnuts were loosened, a support section of the bar collapsed loudly. The bar dangled before swinging back and forth like a pendulum. This time, I stepped back and ran forward to hit the wall with my shoulder. The bigger impact not only stopped the swinging, but the bar landed with a loud clatter at my feet, one end pointed in a dangerously sharp edge.
"Okay," I said to myself, "well that solves me not having a weapon…but I'm still stuck in these shackles."
Very carefully, I stood the bar up so that the pointed end was face up. I exhaled and began running my fingers around the cuff, searching for the lock. I eventually found it and slowly, carefully, lined it up with the pointed end. After three readying lifts of my hand, I thrust my hand down, connecting the metal bend with the lock. Despite my effort, it didn't unlock.
I groaned. All that effort for nothing. I lifted up one chain link on one restraint and feverishly began rubbing it back and forth on the point. Despite this, the metal only got scratched and not cut all the way through. But then, I saw a thin piece slip from the bal. It was the size of a card. I picked it up and slipped it in between the locking mechanism and the brace of the cuff. After securing the metal slip into place, I pressed down onto the cuff, pushing the metal into the brace. There was a click, and as I shook my wrist, the cuff fell open. I gave a soft laugh. It worked! I repeated the trick on my other hand, which was child's play compared to the first one.
With the weights off of my hands, I picked up the metal bar and slid it into my holster. I glanced back out the window. Just up ahead was a large, white strip against the blue sky; the walls of the Northern Water Tribe. A scout ship from the navy fleet, that had been sent forward, was now encased in ice. The Northern Water Tribe was fighting back. Or perhaps not them alone, as I saw a familiar white shape flying away from the ship and hovered.
Appa. It meant that Aang was there. He had reached the North Pole…but at what cost? A siege being brought right to the Water Tribe.
I wanted to call out to him, let him know that I was okay. But with how far away he was, I knew that it was impossible. As I watched Appa float and hover before retreating back over the wall, I sighed. He was safe. But the fleet was gaining speed, and I could see the walls of the Northern Water Tribe growing closer.
The minute that the ships were so close that I could see the insignia of the Water Tribe carved into a gate made entirely of packed snow and ice, several of the ships began firing projectiles using catapults, leaving orange streaks in the sky. Ice was being formed as several Waterbenders worked along the edge of the wall, defending the many people inside.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar grunt. Appa flew over the wall with Aang back in the saddle. The moment he flew close enough to the ship, I exhaled. There were risks calling out to him, but with how focused the ships were on firing onto the Northern Water Tribe, I had to take the chance.
"Aang!"
Appa made a quick circle turn and flew just above the window. Aang hung off the side of the bison's horn and looked in on me.
"Gitan! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm all right!" I prayed that my voice carried over the whistle and hissing of projectiles. "I just loosened my shackles and am trying to think of a way out. Don't worry about me! Just focus on the ships and helping the Waterbenders!"
"No!" Aang called back. "I'll come back for you!"
"It's too risky, Aang!" I shouted. "Go! Before the Fire Nation shoots you down!"
Aang looked at me with a sorrowful expression. I gave him a sad nod. As much as I was happy to hear that he was willing to rescue me, I knew that Zhao probably had a trap in wait. Appa gave a low, mournful grunt to me before they both soared off. I saw them fly towards another navy ship, and sat back, gripping my new makeshift weapon.
The battle of fire and water continued well into twilight. Snow sprayed from the fired projectiles. I cringed watching one building become nothing but a pile of snow, steam rising from where the projectile had hit. And here I was, merely watching. I may have freed myself of the shackles, but I was still trapped in the cell.
Behind me, the lock on the door clicked. There was a creak as, after the bolt was turned the door was opened. I grabbed the metal bar and held it out in front of me. The barbed end pointed towards a Fire Nation guard with his skull-like face shield staring at me, as if he were death himself coming for me.
"Not a step closer," I warned.
The soldier held up his hands in surrender. Then one hand went to the face shield and he lowered it. Scratches and a bruise were new injuries added to his face, but I recognized this soldier. I had thought he had been killed in the explosion of his ship.
"It's me."
I lowered the bar. "Zuko?! But…how'd you..?"
He put his face shield back in place. "You can thank Uncle for teaching me the fire shield. It saved my life. Come on. We're getting you out of here."
I dropped the bar and followed him out of the cell. He put a hand on my wrist. Firmly but not aggressively. An imitation of taking me somewhere for another round of interrogation. No one else was in the halls as we walked. I stayed quiet during the trek down the labyrinthe halls of the ship. The last thing I wanted to do was alert any guards that were in wait.
Zuko opened a door nearby after we ascended a flight of stairs. A cold blast of the North Pole hit my face. Several small kayaks were tied in place. I gasped as I recognized a piece of wood leaning against a wall with a bundle tied around it. It was my staff. The bundle was filled with small rations and a water pouch. I looked back over to Zuko. He was removing the armor, revealing a long-sleeved white tunic.
"You…did all of this for me?"
"Yes." The tone of his tone was soft. Kind. I had only heard him speak this way to me only a handful of times.
I swiped a hair from my face. There was a small tightness in my chest that I couldn't place. "I suppose this is where we part ways, isn't it?"
"Yes. You're no longer a prisoner of the Fire Nation. Nor did you deserve to be." He hesitated briefly. "Gitan…I…."
"Yes?"
His expression became remorseful. "I want to be friends, but I also know our respective paths will make it hard. I promise you, this, I won't harm your brother when I find him."
Once again, we were back to the same grounds we were on when we first met. He would be hunting my brother. I would try to stop him. I picked up my staff and bundle and stepped into one of the kayaks. But as I looked up from organizing, I saw Zuko look over at me remorsefully. Our eyes met for a second, and he looked away, focusing on his own supplies.
The icy wind whipped around me as I settled into the small kayak. The sealskin felt cold beneath my fingers. Zuko watched me, his scarred face unreadable. The promise he made about Aang hung heavy in the frigid air between us. Could I truly believe him? He had been so relentless in his pursuit before. But then I remembered the silent promise he had made when I was captured by Zhao. He had come for me. Perhaps this time, he would make sure my brother was captured unharmed.
"Thank you, Zuko," I said, my voice barely a whisper against the wind. "For everything."
He nodded curtly, a flicker of something I couldn't decipher in his eyes. He didn't say anything, and the silence stretched, thick with unspoken words and conflicting loyalties.
The rope pulley system was rough and cold against my palms. I searched for a pair of gloves in the supply bundle. Finding nothing, I began tearing strips from the fabric and wrapped them around my palms. The addition was slightly warmer. Not as insulated as Water Tribe parkas or gloves, but it would do. It also kept my hands from growing raw as I lowered my kayak into the ocean. Once the boat hit the water, I rushed to untie the knots. After a few tugs, I was free.
I had only rowed a kayak once in my life. My memory was fuzzy, but even then, I remembered struggling. The oar was foreign to me. Splashing without much noise was going to be difficult. I dipped one end into the ocean and pushed forward. Well, at least I was going straight. I continued the rhythm until my arms ached. I paused for a moment, not seeing the large ice floe in front of me until the tip of the kayak bumped into it, spraying me with a cold, icy rain.
I exhaled and picked up my staff, feeling the burned and carved ends respectfully. Its familiarity warmed my heart. I gave it a swing and a spin, just to have the feeling back into my hands. It was like reuniting with an old friend, one that I would truly treasure. Yet as I dipped the staff down into the water, a sudden realization hit me. Rowing a kayak was just the same as using my staff! I switched out my staff with the paddle and repeated the motions.
Pushing off from the side of the floe, my paddle sliced through the dark, choppy water. The Fire Nation fleet loomed behind me, a dark silhouette against the pale Arctic sky. It felt surreal to be leaving, to be free. The kayak bobbed precariously as I navigated away, uncertain of where I was going except out of firing range. Each stroke of my paddle was a step further away from my imprisonment, but also a step towards an uncertain future.
Alone on the frigid sea, surrounded only by ice, the reality of my situation began to sink in. I was free, but I was also adrift. I had no clear destination, no plans beyond finding Aang. The rations Zuko had provided were meager, and the water pouch felt worryingly light. The cold seeped into my bones, a stark reminder of the harsh environment I was now in.
Clutching my staff, I turned my kayak towards the partially damaged walls of the Northern Water Tribe. The full moon was rising high, its white light emanating bright, casting pale sparkles along the snow. It was a long journey ahead, fraught with peril. But for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I no longer felt useless. I was given a chance to redeem myself not just as a nonbender, but as the Avatar's older sister. A chance to find my brother, a chance to make a difference, and perhaps, just perhaps, a chance to understand the complexities of the man who had once been my enemy.