Daughter of the Moon - Book 1: Water

Chapter 13: Commander Zhao

"Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details," Zhao snickered as he leaned uncomfortably close to Zuko with a smirk. He was already onto us, I could tell.

"Gentlemen, don't be ridiculous," I reasoned with my companions as I emerged from behind them. "We need to tell Commander Zhao the truth."

Zuko grabbed my arm and stared at me with a look of betrayal. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Just trust me!" I mumbled back as I shrugged out of his grasp, walking forward until I was standing in front of Commander Zhao.

The commander gave me a strange look as I approached him, his eyes never leaving me as he spoke. "The truth?" he asked. "You mean to tell me that these men intentionally lied to a Commander? A trick like that could be considered treason."

"They only did it to protect their honor, commander," I pleaded with him. "You see, the truth is we were attacked by a sea serpent while traveling in the southern seas. We had the proper tools to fight off the beast, but there was a little misfire that caused more damage to the ship than to our assailant."

"Fascinating," Commander Zhao marveled as he grabbed my hand and linked my arm through his, his eyes seemingly glued to my figure (kind of disturbing, not gonna lie). "Join me for a drink?" he asked.

Zuko placed a hand on my shoulder, and I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't going to be left with this creep by myself. "Sorry, but we have to go," he answered.

"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect," Iroh interjected, obviously not reading the panicked expression on my face. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

And just like that, Commander Zhao whisked me away to have a cup of tea (along with Iroh and Zuko, thank goodness) .

Yeah...it was going to be a long day.

*****

The moment we entered the visitor's tent, Commander Zhao started on a tangent about Fire Nation politics and war strategy, boring the heck out of everyone in the room. Even Iroh, who had previously been a war general, found more interest in inspecting the room's decor rather than listening to the commander drone on and on about the war (some people just couldn't catch a hint).

I found myself seated in a rickety chair next to Zuko, my tea swirling methodically in my cup as I refrained from partaking (I didn't trust this new guy to not poison my drink, after all). Besides, I had a lot to think about. I hadn't forgotten what the Moon Spirit had told me, so I had spent most of my free time considering my options. What had I come up with up to that point? Nothing. I was just as lost as when I had started.

At some point, Zhao became very energetic about whatever he was talking about, promptly disrupting my train of thought and drawing my attention back to him.

"And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule," Zhao reported as he paced in front of where Zuko and I were sitting. "The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."

I heard Zuko scoff at the commander's optimism. "If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool."

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue," Zhao mocked as he sat down adjacent to Zuko. He then paused for a moment before speaking up again. "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"

At that moment, the attention of the room was drawn to a weapon stand as it came crashing to the floor. The conversation screeched to a halt as we all stared at Iroh, who suddenly became rather bashful as he simply stared at the small mess he had just created (although, his timing could not have been more impeccable).