ACT ONE. a game of cat-deer and mouse!
CHAPTER xiii. ❛ AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN! ❜
zuko's ship,
earth kingdom waters.
"YOUR MOVE, PRINCESS JING," UNCLE IROH PROVOKES, noticing her eyes on the shirtless boy outside. Prince Zuko was currently practicing his firebending, attacking poor Lieutenant Lee on the upper deck. He launches a fiery strike his way and Jing-hai scrunches up her nose. She hates that she's jealous of his talent. But she couldn't help it. Jing-hai bets the Prince was a natural. Rolling her eyes, the girl focuses back on the game. She lifts her shackles and points. Since the whole debacle on Crescent Island (i.e. Jing-hai launching herself upon Zuko's back), he'd ordered her bound and gagged. Of course, since the crew preferred her speaking, that idea had quickly gotten old. They even moved her pieces for her. "Hmmm...wait a minute-"
They were missing a piece.
"Driver! We must make a pit-stop!" Iroh calls out.
The ship swerves and the game pieces go flying across the room. Quickly, Jing-hai grapples onto the table for support. It isn't long before they hear the Prince.
"What is this mutiny?" he growls. "No one told you to change course!"
Before the sailor is burnt to a crisp, Iroh raises his hand. Scratching his beard, he makes a confession. "Actually, someone did. I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."
"Oh, the utmost," Jing-hai teases. She was certainly going to enjoy this.
Zuko ignores her and ponders hopefully. "Is it something to do with the Avatar?"
Jing-hai gushes when Iroh answers.
"Even more urgent! It seems, I have lost my lotus tile," he claims.
"Lotus tile?"
"For our Pai Sho game. Most people think the lotus is insignificant but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ," Iroh confesses. Then, with a wink, he grins. "You know, the Princess is actually pretty good, Prince Zuko. Conned your men out of half their bets. Perhaps you ought to take a page from her book. I'm sure she could teach you plenty."
Zuko scoffs in disbelief. The insinuation that a waterbender could be better than him at anything was clearly his final straw. The girl smiles smugly and flashes him her winnings. Zuko's anger simmers. "You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?"
"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully, they will have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life," Iroh folds his arms. Jing-hai smiles. Another detour was exactly what they needed to let Aang get a headstart.
Apparently Zuko didn't think the same.
Breathing fire up at the ceiling, the boy's tantrum was thankfully shortlived. But before he left, he turned to Jing-hai and glared. He knew, somehow, that this was all her fault. Even if it wasn't, it was.
"I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew," Iroh smiles with just a hint of teasing at the outburst.
Jing-hai snorts.
∘₊𖦹─── ·࿐࿔· ───𖦹₊∘
the stokehold,
zuko's ship.
"THE PRINCE DEMANDS YOUR PRESENCE," one of his crew tells Jing-hai later that day when the new course was set to a seedy merchant's pier. Jing-hai looks up from her cot and sighs. She cannot imagine why it is she's been summoned, but knows it cannot be good. Ever since their visit to good old Crescent Island (where Jing-hai saved Aang through sabotaging Zuko), his hate for her had been all too known. The return of her cuffs, more snide remarks, longer interrogations. He wasn't shy about hiding his scorn. But why was this betrayal any different from the last? After all, she had never pledged her loyalty to him. It is to be expected.
"Lead the way," Jing-hai sighs.
As the crewmate escorted her towards the Stokehold, the princess discovered the reason for her latest transportation: another interrogation.
Perfect.
"Prince Zuko," Jing-hai mocks him with a bow. "To what do I have the honour?"
He rolls his eyes. "Sit down."
She adjusts her chains as she sinks into the chair. Zuko stands at the opposite end of the table.
"Let me guess. You wish to know where the Avatar is heading," Jing-hai presumes boredly.
"Let me guess," Zuko responds with equal exasperation. "You have no idea."
Jing-hai narrows her eyes. "No. I know exactly why my friends are heading. I just have no intention of sharing it with my sworn enemy!"
It was true.
She may not know the every intention behind the Avatar's pit-stops but she's certainly aware of the final destination. A place she'd run from for far too long. They were heading to the North Pole. They were heading home. And when they got there, they'll discover exactly who their lying friend is. The Lost Princess: Jing-hai of the Northern Water Tribe. Perhaps getting herself captured here was just another way to avoid it. Or, at the very least, stall.
When a furious silence fills the room, Jing-hai stares at her captor. "Do you wish to keep me in chains forever?"
Zuko slams his hands against the desk. "Do you wish to keep your secrets forever?"
"From you, most certainly."
"And what about your friends?" Zuko asks. Jing-hai's smile doesn't meet her eyes and suddenly the Prince knows he has her. He smirks. "Of course, they don't know your true identity. Unlike me and my crew. Tell me, Princess, if we ran into the Avatar again, and failed to capture them on your behalf, how do you think your precious friends would react if one of us were to tell them the truth?"
Jing-hai's chest tightens.
She knows she must remain resolute.For their sake. If only he didn't make things so difficult.
"Then I shall have to make sure you never find them again," Jing-hai retorts, the anger escaping through the bite of her tone. Zuko glares at her with absolute loathing. But before he can blow up at the girl (hopefully metaphorically), one of his crewmates burst in.
"Prince Zuko," the man announces his presence.
"Yes?" Zuko scowls, clearly irked by the interruption.
"We have arrived."
∘₊𖦹─── ·࿐࿔· ───𖦹₊∘
seedy merchant's pier,
earth kingdom.
"I'VE CHECKED ALL THE SHOPS ON THIS PIER," IROH DECLARES, his eyes wandering around the marketplace. Jing-hai stands by his side in chains, ignoring the repulsive ogling of sleazy passerbys. One in particular was growing harder to ignore ━━━━━━ smirking at the waterbender who avoided his gaze. Zuko turned to the man and glared. He understood his interest almost immediately. How a pretty young girl with all her teeth still intact could make a fortune being sold across the black market. Her hair alone could match him triple his trinkets in cost. It was imperative nobody discovered her identity. The bounty on her head was far too tempting. And Zuko wasn't finished with her yet. He would find the Avatar. "Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace."
"Well, it's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone," Zuko mutters.
Iroh grins, unbothered by his tone. "Quite the contrary. I always say, the only thing better than finding something you are looking for is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"
As if on cue, the crew march past hauling various trinkets Iroh has market bartered on board. One even blows into the tsungi horn he bought to create a...sort of sweet kind of melody. Zuko is not impressed.
"You bought a tsungi horn?" he pulls a face.
"For music night on the ship. Now, if we only had some woodwinds," Iroh murmurs to himself before his eyes wander over to a nearby ship. The gangway was down and open for walk-ins to browse the trades of the sea. Its sign promised rare treasures and fair prices: perfect for their predicament. The only problem? It belonged to the creep whose gaze had not yet broken. Jing-hai shivered. "Oh, this place looks promising!"
"I don't think so," Jing-hai interjected.
"Luckily for us, you don't give the orders," Zuko ignored her, pulling her chains forwards. She sighs but tags along all the same.
Inside the ship, the trio surprisingly find they'd been advertising the truth. All around them were wonders far beyond their imagination. Trinkets with magical properties, paintings, instruments, exotic animals, rare shells, jewellery, golden treasures, wooden sculptures and more. Iroh was entranced by their beauty. In fact, he remained glued to one particularly eerie statue of a monkey.
"Oh, that is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?" he grins.
The teenagers pull a face.
Just then, the man from before (who was still staring creepily) enters the ship. He was tall and strong with gray wispy hair and a bicorn hat to keep it in place. On his shoulder was a pet iguana parrot and that is what cemented it in Jing-hai's brain. These people were pirates. Pirates who would gladly take off her head for a measly copper piece.
Before the Pirate Captain could open his mouth, his barter interrupted.
"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald Monk she was traveling with," he tells the man, quivering with fear. As rage flashes across the Captain's face, realisation daunts on the waterbender's. She turns quickly, hoping that Zuko hadn't heard them.
No such luck.
The Prince lunges forwards.
"This monk?" he asks, grabbing the barter's arm. Iroh looks over and Jing-hai winces. It was over.
"Did he have an arrow on his head?"
∘₊𖦹─── ·࿐࿔· ───𖦹₊∘
earth kingdom river,
the woodland.
"SHOULDN'T WE STOP TO SEARCH THE WOODS?" the Pirate Captain questioned as they sailed along the Earth Kingdom river. In a little boat much smaller than the ship, Iroh, Zuko, Jing-hai, the Pirate Captain and his barter scanned the trees on each side on another hunt for the Avatar. Jing-hai, bound and threatened, was feeling utterly helpless. Up until now, she'd had a scheme for everything. Some intricate plot to thwart Zuko's plans. But now? She had nothing. Nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates ━━━━━━ ready to hunt down her friends. She struggles against her chains. For the entirety of the night on the boat, she'd tried everything in her waterbending abilities to sink it. But it was to no avail. Her binds had left her just as useless as she felt.
"We don't need to stop," Zuko explains. He looks across the river. "They stole a Waterbending scroll, right?"
The Pirate Captain nodded.
"Then they'll be on the water."
Jing-hai bit down on her lip. Her friends knew better than to steal from pirates so just what the hell were they thinking? A Waterbending scroll? This had Katara's name written all over it.
"Waterbender," Zuko talks quietly now so that only Jing-hai can hear. He leans over her shoulder and she feels his warmth against her back. "If you try to warn your friends, they'll be consequences."
Jing-hai clenches. "I wouldn't dream of it."
He narrows his eyes.
The Prince looks as though he might say something more but the pirates on his ship behind them start to shout. One points and they follow his gaze over to the girl on the riverbank. Down the stream, in the early morning dawn, Katara practices her waterbending. No. With fright, Jing-hai jerks and tries to scream. "Kat-"
A hand wraps around her mouth and stifles her.
Of course, Zuko had relied on her disobeying his orders. What he didn't rely on, however, was how sharply the boat would hit land. As the body scraped against the edge, everybody jolted forwards. Recovering faster than the others, Jing-hai rolled across the riverbank. Quickly, she got to her feet and made a run for it. Katara could no longer be seen and she had hoped she'd gotten away. But when Jing-hai emerges out of the bushes, she could see she had no such luck. Zuko had Katara's wrist in his hand, a triumphant smirk on his face. Katara watched as one of the pirates snatched Jing-hai by the hair and hauled her towards the others.
"Don't worry," Zuko taunts. "I'll save you from the pirates."
The Prince takes pleasure in tying them to a tree.
He had gotten used to Jing-hai's antics now. Predicted them even. So he was pleased to find he had bested the princess. And kidnapping her friend? Well, that was just a bonus.
"Are the others-..." Jing-hai tried to bring herself to ask as Zuko finished with her restraints. She was worried to find the waterbender alone.
Katara glared at Zuko but answered her anyways. "They're safe."
She sighs in relief.
"Unlike you," the Pirate Captain sneered.
Zuko ignored him.
Meanwhile, the pirates surrounded the girls. They grin at them with their rotten teeth and wicked sneers.
"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother," Zuko tries gently.
Katara yells at him furiously. "Go jump in the river!"
He rolls his eyes and throws a glance back at Jing-hai.
"I can see why you two are friends," he mutters. Then, turning to Katara, he tries to take a softer approach. "Try to understand. I need to capture him to restore something I've lost: my honor. Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost."
He holds up her mother's necklace ━━━━━━ the one he took from the earthbending prison.
"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?" Katara shouts.
Zuko shrugs. "I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. I'm not the thief."
Jing-hai rolls her eyes. "Oh, please! They're pirates! They probably killed somebody in the Northern Tribe to get that scroll."
He shoots her a warning glare. "Well, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"
When Katara looks at her, Jing-hai can't meet her eye.
"Now tell me where he is," Zuko demands.
"No!" Katara shrieks.
The Captain grows tired of the hysterics. He turns to Zuko and snaps. "Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!"
If there was one thing Jing-hai had learned about the Prince, it was that he wasn't appreciative of that tone. So, when he hovered the scroll above the flames in his hands, she smiles. The pirates, however, gasp ━━━━━━ as does Katara.
"I wonder how much this is worth..." Zuko teases. Their eyes go as wide as saucers. "A lot, apparently. Now, you help me find what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here!"
The Pirate Captain glares.
He throws his crew a glance.
"Fine," he says before grinning sinisterly. He points at Jing-hai. "But I want the girl. Otherwise, how do we know you're not just going to take the scroll and betray us? Don't worry, she'll get back in one piece...probably."
The girl's face pales.
She pleads to Zuko with frightened eyes.
"What is your interest in the girl?" he asks the Captain, curious. He needs to know that she hadn't been discovered. That rumours about the Lost Princess wouldn't get in his way. The last thing they needed to deal with was bounty hunters. "Why do you want her so badly?"
The Captain chuckles. "With hair like hers, well...it would earn us a pretty penny on the market."
When his hand comes up to stroke her hair, Jing-hai turns her head in disgust. His knuckle brushes her cheek instead and the smell of his rotten breath repulses her. She spits in his face.
"Don't touch me!" Jing-hai demands.
The pirates laugh.
"She's fiesty too," the Captain points. "Like in that tale. The sisters with the hair turned white from the moon-..."
"She stays with me," Zuko cuts him off.
His Uncle nods at him from afar.
When the pirates reluctantly take to the woods, Jing-hai sees Zuko is staring at her. She wanted to wipe that smug 'I'm in charge' look right off his face ━━━━━━ though it had proven difficult with her hands in chains. She shoots him a glare. "What? Am I supposed to be grateful?"
"A little," Zuko frowns. "I don't care."
Katara raises an eyebrow. "It kind of sounds like you care."
"Well, I don't!"
Before the Prince could snap some more, the pirates return from their hunt. In two nets remained the rest of their friends. Sokka ━━━━━━ who looks more than unamused, and a frightened Aang seeming younger than ever. His big brown eyes are wide with terror and Jing-hai's heart breaks. This wasn't fair. He was just a child. A child who enjoyed picnics and penguin-sledding. And now, he has the crushing weight of the whole wide world on his shoulders. The hate of an entire Nation. Because of who he was, he would be hunted like an animal for the rest of his life. Jing-hai refused to be a part of this. She will protect her friends from harm for as long as she may live.
"Nice work," Zuko told the Captain.
Jing-hai tugs against her binds.
"You can't do this!" she yells gratefully.
But, of course, he could.
Katara turns to the nets. "Aang, this is all my fault."
The boy refuses to let her take blame.
"No, Katara, it isn't," he reassures her.
"Yeah, it kind of is," Uncle Iroh points out from the riverbank. They turn and give him a glare. After all, he was never was very good at following social customs.
"Give me the boy," Zuko turns to the Pirate Captain.
"You give us the scroll," he argues back.
Sokka and Jing-hai lock eyes, immediately harbouring the same idea. To use this conflict against them. To create friction between both volatile crews. Then, when their plans are foiled, the friends will make their escape. And so, Jing-hai begins. "You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment? I thought pirates were supposed to be smart."
The pirates' eyes widen.
Zuko only scowls. He easily sees through her flimsy scheme. "Don't listen to her. She's just trying to turn us against each other!"
The pirates ignore him, taking another look at Aang.
"Your friend is the Avatar?" one asks.
Sokka grins. "Sure is. And I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll too."
When the thought of more gold lights up in their eyes, Zuko growls. "Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!"
Aang, who was now being ogled at by the Pirates the same way Jing-hai had suffered, grew frightened. As much as he had faith in his friends, Sokka was always a wild card. "Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth."
The boy only continued. "I'm just saying, it's bad business sense."
"Think how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar," Jing-hai joins in. "You guys would be set for life."
The Pirate Captain needed no more convincing. He turned to Prince Zuko.
"Keep the scroll. We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid," he sneers, snatching up the boy in the net. Zuko growls. Fire burns at the tips of his fingers but Iroh stops him in his tracks. Nudging his nephew, the boy notices the pirates with a knife to Jing-hai's throat. The girl gasps, eyes wide and afraid. Whilst the pirates work on untying the rope, the Captain strokes at her cheek. She refuses to look at him, whimpering in disgust. This only seems to goad him on. "And another thing..."
The cool blade presses hard against her neck.
"...We're taking the girl."
✧ ▬▭▬ AUTHOR'S NOTE! ▬▭▬ ✧
hi! so I don't think the notifications actually worked at the time because it didn't on my phone but I just wanted to remind everyone that I wrote a halloween special chapter for this book on halloween that you should all go check out for some bonus zukai content AFJSNSNKS. it also has some pretty plot-important elements too. anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!