Zuko was strictly business as he spoke with Jun, having very little patience for her sarcasm. The four of us walked out back, joining her Shirshu under a moth-infested lamp. Zuko held out Katara's necklace — I hadn't even noticed he'd had it on him. "I need you to find someone," he ordered.
"Oh, what happened?" Jun smirked as she petted her beast. "Your girlfriend run off on you?"
Why was everyone so sure that Zuko was dating every girl he spoke to?
"It's not the girl I'm after," he replied dryly, unamused. "It's the bald monk she's traveling with."
"Whatever you say," Jun shrugged.
"If you find them, I'll considered the damage to ship paid for."
Jun scoffed and began mounting her pet. "Forget it!"
Iroh finally cut in. "Plus, we'll pay your weight in gold!"
Jun stopped, then climbed back down. Poking him in his belly, she smirked, "Make it your weight, and we've got a deal." As Iroh laughed loudly and agreed, her gazed upon me, and she nodded towards Zuko. "Keep your boyfriend's temper under control. Got it, Princess?" I felt my cheeks burn, but I nodded anyway. Jun snatched the necklace from Zuko, and instructed us to get onto her beast as she allowed it to catch Katara's scent from the necklace. I was placed between Zuko and Iroh, Zuko's arm coiling around my waist to keep me steady on the Shirshu's back.
"Ya know," Jun said as we bolted into motion, "for someone who's not dating this girl, you seem awfully protective of her."
Zuko's arm tensed, his hand gripping tighter on my side. After only 10 minutes of conversation, this girl already knew how to get under his skin.
By noon, we'd reached an old temple of unkept greenery, where an old woman stood outside collecting the foliage with her fluffy cat by her side. "Out for a bit of fresh air, are we?" She asked.
I tuned out of the conversation quickly, growing more and more tired from the ride. I hadn't exactly slept in a long time, and I'd never missed my bed on the ship more in my entire life. Zuko held me up with ease, as if he were simply holding a doll.
Before I knew it, with the crack of Jun's whip, we were off again, speeding off to who-knows-where. Most of the ride had been silent, as expected, save the few times Jun took to torment Zuko. Iroh had taken quite a liking to her, and if I didn't know better, I'd have assumed that he had a slight crush on her.
Soon enough, after I'd woken up, we were in a village near a docile looking volcano. In front of large red doors stood an old woman, looking absolutely calm as the rest of the villagers ran for cover from the Shirshu that was now running rapidly and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Why are we stopping?" Zuko barked.
Coolly, Jun replied, "Because the girl must've spent a lot of time here."
Frustrated, Zuko grunted, "We have no time for this!" He hopped down from the saddle and held the necklace to the beast's nose once again. In response, the beast whipped its lethal tongue at him, which he'd barely dodged in time. "Hey! Watch it!"
Iroh gave a heartfelt laugh, though I did my best to stifle mine behind my hand.
"Oh, look," our guide mused. "He likes you."
The woman from in front of the gate was now standing beside us on the ground, looking up flirtatiously at General Iroh. "Care to hear your future, handsome?" She asked.
"At my age, there is only one big surprise left," he smiled. "And I'll just as soon leave it a mystery."
Zuko once again climbed onto the saddle, holding me tighter than before as if I was going to fly off of the Shirshu. Once again, we were off, leaping over a building as we continued our voyage.
Within hours, we had finally arrived to our destination: A village, mostly composed of women making perfumes. The combination of each smell was nauseating; I wondered how anyone could standing living in such a place. The beast sniffed around, pointing its snout towards an open gate that led to a forest. "We're getting close," Jun announced. She cracked her whip once more, sending the beast speeding into the woods in search for Katara.
By the Spirits, I thought, wishing that Katara and Sokka could hear me, I'm so sorry.
"We're so close," Zuko whispered. "Finally, I'll catch the Avatar. I'll be able to return home." I felt his hot breath against my neck as we followed a trail. Before I could reply, our speed increased. We suddenly we were in a trough, towering over Katara and Sokka. They attempted to run, but they were quickly cornered.
"So this is your girlfriend," Jun commented as she observed my childhood friends. "No wonder she left. She's way too pretty for you."
Zuko hopped down, approaching Katara like a predator. Sokka's eyes met mine — so blue, so filled with horror and hatred and anger and fear. I must've looked like I was being held captive by the same scarred Fire Nation prince that's been hunting them down for a while now. I didn't want them thinking that of Zuko; they didn't know him like I did. But I didn't want to tell them the truth either.
I didn't want to tell them that I'd been living with the enemy. That I loved him.
"Where is he?" Zuko demanded. "Where's the Avatar?"
Sokka no longer had his eyes on me. He focused on Zuko, prepared to protect his little sister. "We split up. He's long gone."
"How stupid do you think I am?" Bad question, I thought.
Sokka smirked. "Pretty stupid." Even worse answer. Sokka grabbed his sister by the wrist and attempted to run away, but they were instantly brought down by the Shirshu's toxic whip of a tongue.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Zuko asked.
"It's seeking a different scent," Jun answered. "Perhaps something that the Avatar held." The Shirshu stuck its snout into Sokka's backpack, knocking a sheet of paper onto the ground. It was clearly the right thing.
Zuko mounted Sokka and Katara on the back of the saddle, once again holding onto me like I was some damsel in distress. We bursted through gate from which we'd entered before in the exact same way. Once again, women ran away screaming in terror. The Shirshu began circling, sniffing viciously, and irritating Zuko.
"What's it doing?" Zuko snapped. "It's just going in a circle!"
Catching onto the pattern, I looked up into the sky, which led Zuko to follow suit. Soaring above us in a spiral was the Avatar himself in his glider. The beast stood on its hind legs to try and snatch Aang from the sky, but only managed to throw us all onto the ground. Motionless and unable to do anything, Sokka and Katara laid on the ground like fish on display at a market. I landed on Zuko, who still refused to lose his grip on my waist — which, might I add, was going numb.
Jun quickly stood and commanded her beast to its feet and charged at Aang, only to be head-butted violently by the Avatar's bison.
Zuko finally let me go, setting me down so gently that it seemed as if he were afraid of breaking me. He then ran after the Avatar, going into battle. I took this opportunity to join Sokka and Katara.
"Are you guys alright?" I asked, inspecting them for any injury as they lay paralyzed on the ground.
"We'll be fine," Katara said.
"I can't believe this!" Sokka shouted. "It's enough that he's after us, but he came after you too?"
"I'm so sorry you guys are going through this," I sighed, evading Sokka's probably-rhetorical-question. Before anything else could be said, there was an explosion. Instinctively, I shielded the siblings. Just as the smoke cleared, I looked up to see and hear Zuko and Aang both slamming into the roofs of buildings, drawing out a concerned gasp.
"Don't worry, Saki," Katara smiled weakly. "Aang will be fine."
That wasn't who the gasp was for, I wanted to say. Instead, I simply sighed and pulled the two out of the way before they got any more hurt. I leaned them both against the wall as we watched everything unfold.
"H-Hey," Sokka grinned, "I think I'm starting to get some feeling back." Just then, some rubble from the fighting rained down on Sokka, forcing out an elongated, Ow!
One of the women of the village approached with a vial, holding it under both of the sibling's noses. With a blech!, the two straightened up. "That thing sees with its nose," Sokka pointed out. "Let's give it something to look at."
No one needed to say anymore. Sokka and the women tipped every jar of perfume, fusing every scent together even more. I retched, then decided that holding my breath was probably the best option. Together, Katara and I bent the perfume and pushed the overly-scented wave over Aang, Zuko, and the Shirshu. The beast began spasming and flailing its tongue to and fro. Without thinking about it, I ran towards Zuko to push him out of the way, only for the both of us to get hit with its toxic touch, Jun behind hit only seconds later.
Not my best plan, I know. It wasn't even much of a plan. It just sort of.....happened.
I laid next to Zuko, my head on the crook of his arm. Neither of us able to move a single muscle. Next to us lay Iroh, who had a paralyzed Jun on top of him.
"Uncle," Zuko strained. "I didn't see you get hit with the tongue." In response, Iroh simply shushed him.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Katara and the others looking at me with concern.
Go, I mouthed to them. I've got everything under control.
With that, they were soaring off into the sky once more.
What a terrible lie, I told myself. You most definitely don't have anything under control.