ACT ONE. a game of cat-deer and mouse!
CHAPTER xvi. ❛ MAN OVERBOARD! ❜
zuko's ship,
earth kingdom waters.
"I'M SICK OF TAKING HIS ORDERS," LIEUTENANT JEE COMPLAINS as Jing-hai and a few other men gather around the furnace. The storm had chilled the crew to the bone and this was their only comfort. So, as the waterbender and co strike up a conversation, what better subject than their callous Captain? Jing-hai warmed her hands against the fire and smiled as his men agreed. Even more so when Jee continued with his rant. She had needed to vent with some like-minded haters. "I mean, who does Zuko think he is?"
"Right?" Jing-hai agreed fervently. "It's like we shouldn't even be going after the Avatar at all!"
The crowd's uproar of agreement and laughter stopped there. They all turned and stared.
"Oh, that's not-..."
Oops, Jing-hai thought to herself amidst the awkward silence. Maybe we're not there yet.
Just as Jee is about to speak, they notice Iroh standing behind them.
Jee quickly leaps to his feet. "General Iroh. We were just-"
"It's okay," Iroh reassures. He understands that Zuko isn't the easiest to love. And to like is even more challenging. "May I join you?"
"Of course," Jing-hai welcomes.
When Iroh sits, he massages his beard. Then, after a beat, he finally talks. "Try to understand. My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much. Now, I have come to understand that you like stories. I do too. So let me tell you about how Zuko got his scar."
Jing-hai's interest piques. She shuffles closer to the fire.
"Some years ago, I imagine around the same time as your own tale took place, Princess Jing, Zuko wanted to be just like his father. So much so that when my brother, the Fire Lord, began his wars, Zuko wanted to listen in. After all, he was promised to rule the Fire Nation one day. So when my nephew asked me to take him into the war room, I obliged. I warned the Prince not to speak out of turn but...he didn't listen. One of the Generals was discussing their latest ploy: to sacrifice an army of young recruits in order to distract the Earth Kingdom defences. Zuko was quick to come to their aid and call out the General for betraying his Nation but...the Fire Lord didn't appreciate this. Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out. And there were dire consequences," Iroh recalls. His face contorts with remorse. He tells the story as though it brings him great pain. "After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said the challenge against the General was an act of complete disrespect. And there was only one way to resolve this."
Jee's eyes widened. "Agni Kai. A fire duel."
"Like the one he had with Zhao?" Jing-hai frowns. She remembered thinking how cruel a Nation to crown victor the one who kills. "But...he was a child."
Iroh nods sorrowfully. "That's right. Zuko looked upon the old General he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned around to face his opponent, he was surprised to see that it was not the General. Zuko had spoken out against the General's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's War Room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father. When my nephew saw that it was Ozai who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy. Ozai tried to get him to fight but Zuko refused. So my brother taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget."
He burned him.
No wonder Zuko was the way that he was! He was taught that love came in the form of mutilation and mistakes were something alien. Jing-hai felt sick to her stomach.
"I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident," Jee admits quietly.
"I always believed he deserved it," Jing-hai adds. She feels guilty now for having even thought it knowing the harrowing truth. The girl looks to the ground. She has a hard time swallowing her shame.
"It was no accident," Iroh shakes his head. His once blithe voice sounded as weary as he looked. "After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment, he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honour."
The crewmates exchange grave expressions ━━━━━━ none quite so grim as Jee's. He nods slowly. "So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."
"Things will never return to normal," Iroh replies quickly. Then, a little softer, "But the important thing is the Avatar gives Zuko hope."
Jing-hai felt her chest squeeze. The girl knew that by what she was doing (protecting her friends, sabotaging Zuko's hunt, thwarting his plans), she was doing the right thing. But then why did it feel this way? Like the scales had tipped in the Prince's favour and her friends were losing their balance. No matter how much pain Jing-hai tries to prevent, someone always gets hurt. Why was it up to her to decide who gets stung the most? No. Jing-hai needed stop him. She didn't care whether or not he restored his honour. This was Zuko she was talking about! She hated-...no, hates Zuko. And she loves Katara and Sokka and even Aang. So the waterbender knows what she must do.
She must take away his hope.
∘₊𖦹─── ·࿐࿔· ───𖦹₊∘
zuko's ship,
earth kingdom waters.
"WHERE WERE WE HIT?" PRINCE ZUKO SHOUTS, racing out onto the deck. As night befell them, the storm's rage had reached a fearsome summit, so catastrophic that the crew could not ignore it. For this was no longer a simple thunderstorm. It was becoming a typhoon. The dangers of being swallowed by the sea were more likely than Zuko had thought. So when the crew scream and cry for help, their captain has no choice but to answer. After all, this was his mess they were in. Their headstrong leader ━━━━━━ too good to look out for his own.
Until now.
"I don't know!" Jee exclaimed back.
The ship was now in total chaos. Rain flooded the entire deck and the crewmates scrambled in fear. Some tried to thread the sails into control whilst others hung on to the edge. The screams were loud but the thunder was louder and darkness shrouded everything. From amongst the sleet and the rain, Zuko managed to make out Jing-hai's figure. She was honing her focus on something invisible to his eye. Her hands were flat and pushed towards the air whilst her tongue stuck out at its side in concentration. He soldiered through the hail and the floods just to make sure she was safe. Then, he yells, "Get inside!"
"I can help!" Jing-hai argued.
"You'll just get in the way!" Zuko shouted back over the downpour.
The waterbender either didn't hear or didn't listen but, knowing Jing-hai, it was probably the latter. Before Zuko could march over there and drag her ass inside, there was another scream.
His uncle pointed to the sky.
"Look! Zuko! The helmsman!" Iroh warns.
Up above, the mast is struck by lightning. The wood splits and there is a terrible groan as his station is blown to pieces. The helmsman slips and his body plunges. But before the man could fall to his death, he latches onto the pole. Zuko and Jee race to the ladder. Climbing together, there is no time for a fight. Both the firebenders work with one another to quickly save his life. Then, when the helmsman is safe, they know that all is forgiven. Jee offers Zuko a nod of respect and that was all there was to it. No more mutiny.
Then that stillness is torn apart. From all angles, the ship is under attack. Lightning strikes twice as though the Gods are smiting them but Iroh swiftly redirects it. Zuko's men are heaving buckets of rainwater into the ocean. The waves thrashing grows all the more violent and barrels go sliding across the ship. Amidst all the bedlam the storm had brought, Zuko finally realises what it was the girl had been doing. With every muscle in her body at work, Jing-hai bended the raindrops away. She was stopping the ship from flooding. She was saving them! And how stupid he'd been to send her away when a waterbender was all he needed. Not that the prisoner would be his first choice. He was surprised she was competent enough for such a task.
"Scoop faster!" Jing-hai cries out and his men obey her command.
Normally, this is something that would aggravate Zuko. Insubordination would not be tolerated on his ship. But since the crew were working together, he'd let it slide just this once. After all, they were no longer sinking.
"Forget what I said, uncle!" Zuko called to Iroh. "We need to get this ship to safety."
The old man nods with pride. "Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm."
Just then, as the teen prince turns, the ship makes a sudden lurch. Wicked winds force at the wheel and spins them into oblivion. They were being swept away by mother nature and nothing made them smaller. So when the boat tilts and rocks itself forwards, a barrel slides across deck. Zuko is struck in the chest by its weight as it drags the two overboard. There is a startled yell and then a splash and then there is nothing at all. Zuko had been taken by the sea.
"Zuko!" Iroh rushes to the edge.
The boy does not arise.
Jing-hai desperately stares at the waters before turning to the rest of the crew. "Someone do something!"
They all freeze up, panic-stricken.
"We can't swim," Jee finally admits. The Fire Nation, unsurprisingly, was rather scarce of water.
"You can't what?" Jing-hai repeated hysterically. "Then what the hell are you doing on a ship?!"
A reply never comes.
Instead, only the pleas of a desperate man.
"Please, Princess Jing. You have to save him," Iroh begs. His face is ghostly pale. "For me."
The girl could hardly deny him. After all the kindness the man had extended, she couldn't just let Zuko die. No matter how much she wanted to. So, offering Iroh a helpless sigh, Jing-hai kicked off her snow boots and dived into the waters after him. The shock of cold hit her like a fist (or a barrel) and the girl could hardly see a thing. Waves were threshing so mercilessly now that Jing-hai was being jerked around in all directions. She felt its pull most profoundly. It exhausted her body to try and fight it but she clumsily floundered all the same. Where was he? It was too dark, too frenzied, too much.
Jing-hai went up for air.
"Did you find him?" Iroh shouts from above as the teen takes a hungry gasp of air. She shakes her head and plunges back into the depths.
When Jing-hai was back under the surface, her head felt ready to explode. She swears that if she finds this stupid prince, going for a swim will be the last thing he does! Her brain suddenly goes as murky as the waters. Jing-hai tries to harness her focus. Cultivate it. She was a waterbender (deep, deep down).
So bend, Jing-hai, she willed. And that's exactly what she did. Because when the girl stops fighting against the currents, the ocean draws her to Zuko. The Moon above seems to join their quest; its light a beacon in the land of deep blue.
The Prince is afloat with his eyes closed shut ━━━━━━ as peaceful as she's ever seen him.
Jing-hai dives quickly towards him and wraps his arms around her neck. Then, hanging onto his waist, she drags him up. At some point in the pair's resurface, Zuko's eyes flutter open. The moonlight beams down on the pair and for a fleeting moment, he thinks he's being rescued by an angel. Jing-hai's snow-white hair is glowing. It floats freely above her head and swirls around like a halo. He had never seen something so beautiful. But then his lungs are screaming for air so loudly that he cannot see anything at all. Instead, everything fades to black.
"I got him!" Jing-hai suddenly ascends, dragging him towards the ship.
When she reaches the ladder, a dozen hands work to haul them up.
Jing-hai falls against the wood of the deck, water pooling around her. She was weak and blue when she'd emerged. The glow had taken away her strength and saved Prince Zuko's life. Or had it? Someone yelled that the boy wasn't breathing. His crewmates crowded around their captain and shook his limp, drowned body. Gasping, Jing-hai forces herself to crawl. The thunder and lightning felt distant now. An afterthought. But the rain was still relentless. When Jing-hai reaches Zuko's side, Iroh is holding his nephew upright but his head keeps lolling to the side.
The waterbender shoves him out of the way.
"What are you doing?" Jee panics.
The crew look accusingly ━━━━━━ as if she hadn't just saved his life.
"It's something I know from my tribe," Jing-hai tells them.
When she looks to Iroh for permission to proceed, he nods his head in fearful approval. Taking a deep breath, Jing-hai's lips meet Zuko's. She breathes life into his lungs and draws back to pump his chest. It doesn't work. She tries again and again and again until finally an idea strikes her. Feeling for the water pooled in his chest, she bends it back up his throat. Then Prince Zuko gasps awake ━━━━━━ spluttering the ocean out. He was alive. The heir to the Fire Lord was alive and she had saved him. The girl was overwhelmed with shame.
Another betrayal against her people.
"You saved his life!" Iroh declared before hugging his unwilling nephew.
Whilst the crew cheer and commend her bravery, Jing-hai looks horrified at the fact. She collapsed against the wood of the boat. Zuko had been silent since his dance with death but when the storm clouds part and the sunshine breaks through, he falls down next to Jing-hai.
The pair lay exhausted on their backs looking up to the sky.
"The eye of the storm," is all he says before the Prince passes out.
Finally, Jing-hai has some comfort.
∘₊𖦹─── ·࿐࿔· ───𖦹₊∘
zuko's ship,
earth kingdom waters.
"SIR, THEY'RE BURNING UP AGAIN," LIEUTENANT JEE INFORMS as the General fusses over the teens. Later that night, in the space of a few, vital hours, the pair had fallen gravely ill. Their bodies shook with a terrible fever whilst their bones were cold to the...well, bone. The freezing temperatures of the deep blue sea had left their skin as pale as the moon. Jing-hai shuddered beneath her blanket cocoon and Zuko was slick with sweat. Both teenagers were in half-lidded slumber. They murmured all kind of of crazy thoughts. Whatever they were hallucinating, it had to be a nightmare. Or worse, a memory.
"Father, no," Zuko pleaded quietly.
Uncle Iroh clutched his head. Then, thinking practically, he lifted his nephew in the air.
"Get them to the hammock. They needed to stay warm," Iroh commanded. "We've tried fire and blankets and candles. We've done all we can. It's up to them now. Perhaps the heat from their bodies will save each other once more."
The crewmates listened to the General's words, scooping up the pair and placing them in Zuko's hammock. With Jing-hai in her giant parka and Zuko in his longest robes, the teens curl up into one another. It was the Prince's turn now to return the girl's heroism. Where Jing-hai had frozen to save his life, the firebender naturally ran hot. He was warm enough for the both of them. So when skin met skin ━━━━━━ hand to hand, cheek to cheek, chest to chest, it brought his uncle some relief. Jing-hai's teeth no longer chattered. Instead, she snuggles further into their sleeping bag. And when Zuko feels her wriggle closer against him, his hand comes up to her hair. Absentmindedly, he feels the silky locks between his fingers. Then his nightmares fade into nothing.
"Will they be okay, Sir?" Lieutenant Jee asks.
Iroh looks on wistfully. "That is up to them now."
Then, after a brief pause, he smiles. "But, just in case, have someone watch over them so they don't choke on their tongues!"
When the old man turns, Jee frowns. "But where are you going?"
"Why, to make them some of my famous herbal tea, of course!"
✧ ▬▭▬ AUTHOR'S NOTE! ▬▭▬ ✧
hi! so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next few ones are going to be so fun to write (evil plans coming). anyways, sick zukai will be so cute!!!!