Music: Unforgiven, Two Steps From Hell
Minuscule beams of weak light peeked through cracks of molded wood that made up the belly of the pirate ship, gently highlighting the forms of the couple sitting in the far end of the prison cell. They were clinging to each other in an almost desperate way as all of their pent up emotions and the anxiety from the past twenty-four hours were poured into a quickly-intensifying kiss, their hearts beating as one.
It was when Katara crept even closer into Zuko's embrace that realization suddenly hit her. Her eyes shot open and she withdrew from the kiss, her irregular breathing forming small clouds in the chilly air as she stared at Zuko in alarm.
She didn't know if she only imagined the shadow passing over his face when she suddenly pulled back from him. His hands were holding her waist, his outstretched fingers resting against her lower ribs. They had been sending blissful waves of warmth into her body before, but now he was waiting motionlessly for her to slip from his hold entirely as his chest heaved with his panting breaths.
She couldn't, though. The thundering of her heart demanded that she return to his embrace and respond to the fire burning in his eyes. She only needed to lean in. A shiver went through her as she remained in his embrace, fighting her treacherous heart but also postponing the moment she would have to pull completely away.
To Zuko, it felt like a stab to the heart when Katara broke off their kiss, and the bewilderment in her eyes harshly jolted him back to a reality in which they were imprisoned in a dilapidated, damp pirate ship. As he tried to control his uneven breathing, he knew he shouldn't be surprised. He'd never expected her to allow him to renew the contact after she'd ended her chaste kiss. But she had, and now her eyes were roaming his face with a distinctly dreamy expression, while her hand was still entangled in his hair. Her mouth formed a silent 'oh' when she noticed and she started to withdraw, but she took her time as her fingers slid through his hair in a casual caress. Zuko had to muster all of his self-control to not pull her in again.
Kissing Katara had elicited a fierce and overwhelming sensation of belonging he hadn't expected to even exist, let alone hoped to ever experience for himself. And as he stared into dark eyes resembling the bottomless depths of the southern seas, he knew that this kiss had proven false any illusions he'd fostered about marrying Mai out of anything faintly resembling love.
He swallowed when her hand fell limply to her lap, where her fingers started to fumble with the frayed hem of her shirt, and Zuko considered her bowed head with dread.
"Katara..."
She looked up and there it was, clouding over her eyes - the confusion and embarrassment he'd been fearing to see. She bit her lip, and his heart grew heavy as he saw the waterbender he loved struggle to regain control over herself again. And that he loved her, he knew for certain now.
He wasn't so sure, however, if she reciprocated the feeling. Though it left his heart aching, he shouldn't rule out the possibility that the situation had made her temporarily forget herself when she kissed him and that she was now feeling horribly guilty towards Aang.
A bitter expression passed over his features and, as he reluctantly let go of her, he decided to help her out, as a friend.
"It's a good thing the Ember Island Players never found out about you asking Aang to kiss me," Zuko said quietly, not really trusting his own voice as he touched her hands in a comforting way. "I don't want to know what they would have done with that little piece of information."
Katara hesitantly looked up at this, and her lips involuntarily twitched at the dry remark which was clearly meant to cheer her up.
"I'm also extremely relieved that he didn't follow up on your request," he added evenly while warm encouragement shone from his gaze. For a moment it felt as if he'd been wanting to add, 'but I'm glad that you did.'
This, however, wasn't possible. She'd seen his expression darkening after she'd withdrawn from the kiss. He'd obviously been thinking about Mai, and why shouldn't he? Suddenly, she'd realized to what extent she'd let herself go, kissing her friend like that. And on top of that, she'd allowed him to get carried away by her totally inappropriate move. What wouldn't he be thinking right now?
Looking back, Katara had difficulty grasping what had compelled her to lean in and kiss her traveling companion. She only knew that she'd been drawn in by the look in his eyes as her heart, exhausted from fighting it, had finally succumbed to the attraction she felt toward him. She only remembered that the ground had disappeared from under her the moment she'd felt his lips on hers.
It had been nothing like the faint brush from before when he'd renewed the hesitant caress she'd started. This time, his kiss was passionate and he had pulled her in, holding her like he would never let her go.
Now she felt an almost hurtful longing to be in his arms again, and she realized with painful clarity that she had never felt and would never feel anything this powerful towards Aang.
Her thoughts involuntarily went back to the moment when Sokka had posed that blunt question to her.
'Why is it that you've always had such a strong connection to Zuko? Knowing his feelings, understanding him at a level that no one else does? Think about it, Katara, and see how much you really like The Tale of Two Lovers.'
He had been right. Of course he had been right. Her older brother was goofy, but he was far from stupid. And when it came to these kind of things, he really was more attentive to the signs and overall more experienced than she was. However, she also knew that Sokka had failed to mention Zuko's side of the story.
As they spent more time with each other, she'd noticed the increasing softness in the way he looked at her. No, she corrected herself. It had always been there, but he'd slowly begun to lift the veil that had hidden the emotions from her. But she also knew that she held a special place in his heart for having saved his life. So she could very well misinterpret the softening of his eyes whenever she snuggled into his embrace.
She gave him a watery smile. "What do we do now?" she asked softly.
Zuko acknowledged the double meaning behind her question. He sighed and leaned against the wooden wall, prepared to address only one aspect of it. "We wait until we are brought before the leader of Senlin Harbor and get as much information out of him as possible. I expect that the pirates will want to try and force me to sign a letter or something to send proof of my capture to the reactionary faction among the Fire Nation nobles, so that's something I can stall. Hopefully Admiral Jee will arrive in Senlin Harbor in time to prevent the letter from being sent to Fire Nation."
This was all he could think of just now. He understood that there were countless variables in this plan which could all lead to potential disaster. Truth was, he hadn't planned beyond sending Clocks off to warn Admiral Jee and letting himself get caught to learn about the Senlin Harbor's organizational structure. He didn't even know for sure if Clocks had managed to reach the Eastern Fleet.
In the back of his head, he heard his uncle's voice admonishing him.
'You never think these things through!'
His uncle was still right, he thought bitterly. Even now, three years later and with the added experience of leading his nation, his impulsiveness could still get him into trouble. And the worst thing was, this time he was dragging Katara into it, too.
Katara didn't seem too pleased with his words either, but for a totally different reason. "If you refuse to sign, they'll still have your dagger. That's evidence enough for them even if you don't sign. They could kill you."
But Zuko shook his head. "They won't kill me, not until they've achieved some kind of understanding with those conspiring nobles to do so."
His cool observation made Katara shiver. He had become the most important piece of merchandise the pirates had ever laid their hands on and he didn't even seem to care that much.
Only hours ago he'd reacted almost as indifferently when the pirates in the barroom had mentioned how part of the Fire Nation nobility wished him dead. Times like this, she was confronted with how little she actually knew about the harsh sides of Zuko's everyday life. While everybody else had been celebrating the end of the Hundred Year War, his struggle had only just begun. At sixteen years old and with little to no experience, he'd become the leader of a state in confusion, burdened with the lonely task of showing a path of peace to a people who, for the past hundred years, had lived their lives believing in Fire Nation supremacy. No wonder this radical new objective incited resentment, especially among those who had a lot to lose.
But while the life-threat made the blood drain from Katara's face, Zuko merely seemed to be taking it in his stride.
"Will it always be this way?" Katara finally whispered.
For a moment, Zuko looked at her searchingly, his gaze expressing acceptance laced with a certain stubbornness she found strangely comforting. "That's up to Agni." He chose his words carefully. "But over time, my position will become easier. Especially with the birth of an heir."
It felt like a punch to the stomach. True as they might be, and merely the expression of simple logic, his words evoked the picture of a sombre, knife-throwing girl by his side, and it made Katara weep on the inside.
"I expect them to use a messenger hawk to send the letter to the Fire Nation."
Katara forced herself to listen to what Zuko, seemingly unaware of her dejectedness, was saying. It was their present situation which should worry her the most right now.
"A dagger is too heavy for hawks to carry, especially across the sea. To be sure, I asked Admiral Jee to seal off the harbor entrance."
"But how do you expect Admiral Jee to intercept the letter if it's sent by messenger hawk?" Katara looked at him doubtfully.
"The Yu Yan Archers have an expert aim," Zuko said cryptically, his dark tone of voice sending goose bumps down Katara's skin. "Admiral Jee has a battalion at his disposal, since the problems with the pirates increased."
"Increased?" Katara raised her eyebrows, and Zuko nodded wearily.
"Yes, you heard right. About three years ago, Senlin Harbor was a problem, but a manageable one. We don't know why, but since then their presence on the high seas has increased rapidly. At the same time, the pirates somehow seem to have developed new ways to stay out of the authorities' grasp. I believe..." he said as he leaned the back of his head against the wall, "that Senlin Harbor either has a new leader or someone has stepped in where they've never had a leader before. Someone who knows to build and maintain a powerful, invisible, and impenetrable organizational structure. I get the feeling that the increasing menace on the high seas is only the beginning. Senlin Harbor has the ability and strength to destabilize the entire region and, eventually, the whole world if we don't succeed in stopping them."
He sighed and he closed his eyes as he pulled up one of his legs while stretching out the other one. It had been a long day and night.
"We'll stop them, Zuko," Katara mumbled in the darkness as she tentatively rested her head on his shoulder.
Relieved, Zuko wrapped his arm around her. He didn't know if he could have handled the added disappointment if she would have shied away from him after their kiss.
"Like you said before, we still have the advantage of the pirates not knowing who they are really dealing with."
Zuko rested his head against the wall. He'd told her this before, but suddenly her confidence sparked a great insecurity with him. "And exactly who are they dealing with, then?" he asked tiredly. It would still be the two of them against thousands.
"They are dealing with two of the Young War Heroes, master benders and teachers to the Avatar," Katara replied, her voice clear and stern, warning him not to forget.
"And..." she added after a second, " they're dealing with the Order of the White Lotus."
Zuko's instinctively arm tightened around her. "You're right, thank you, Katara," he sighed.
Of course she was right. But what stuck in his memory the most was the fact she had referred to Aang as the Avatar and not as her boyfriend. Gratefully, he rested his cheek on her soft hair, and he was glad when she didn't protest.
Morning. Time to stretch out a little. Careful for the polished wooden floor underneath those tatami mats. Oops...and careful for those countless side tables, too. Ow.
Still dark outside. Nothing like the last place we went. All is still quiet.
Never understood those stairs. Aren't they only slippery and fatiguing? Must wake them still.
Left. No light.
Right. No light.
Ah, the second door to the left, in there I must go. Careful with this floor, too. Mustn't wake the old man.
Oh!
"Good morning, Momo."
General Iroh had appeared in the hallway and bent over to pick up the surprised lemur. The animal chattered softly as the elderly man, who had so unexpectedly turned up on his master's doorstep, lifted him from the ground.
Iroh sat the little creature on his shoulder, feeling the soft tail curl around his neck as he did so, and petted the lemur behind his large ears. "Did you come to wake them up?"
He cast a glance through the open door into the room where Aang and Toph were still fast asleep and sighed.
It had been a week since Toph had offered to stay with Aang during the night. His nightmares had subsided considerably, but Iroh knew this sleeping arrangement was only postponing the inevitable moment when Aang had to face his demons.
Aang's nightmares were a sign, a warning for the grandmaster to not let his attention wane, that the Order of the White Lotus was still very much in danger. Iroh looked upon the quickly approaching winter with sorrow but also knew that the only thing he could do was to create the best possible conditions for the young people to fulfil their tasks. For the rest, he had to keep faith in the weavings of the spirits.
Yesterday had brought good news, though. Very good news. To be honest, Iroh hadn't been sure if the Water Tribe representative in the Black Lotus Council would even be bothered with briefing his grandmaster about Zuko and Katara's visit to the South Pole. Pakku had been very displeased, to put it mildly, with Iroh's decision to send his precious granddaughter on a perilous journey with Zuko, and Iroh had feared the moment the young travelers would arrive on the South Pole during their quest. What if Zuko would do something to upset Katara's grandfather and the old waterbender in turn would go against his grandmaster's wishes? The boy meant well most of the time, but he was clumsy. And Pakku would surely go looking for any confirmation of his doubts about the young Fire Lord.
But yesterday a letter scroll from the South Pole had arrived, and Iroh couldn't help his heart missing a fearful beat when he'd discovered the scroll accompanying his dinner. Picking it up, Iroh had caught the stamp placed next to Pakku's personal seal. Apparently, the letter had traveled via Kyoshi Island. Love can melt any frozen harbor, he had thought a bit sentimentally.
In his typical curt style, Pakku had described the course of events during Zuko and Katara's stay in the Southern Water Tribe. It had been a dry enumeration, starting with the gruff announcement that the grandmaster's nephew had finally told Katara about past events the memory of which had been etched in his features forever.
For a while, Iroh hadn't been able to continue reading. Finally...finally the last barrier still standing between his nephew and Katara had been levelled. The importance of this message could not be overstated. This meant that they'd taken an invaluable step closer to each other, which was the key to the salvation of the Order.
It wasn't only for the sake of his Order, though, that Iroh had wiped away some wetness forming in the corner of his eye as his gaze had rested on the small picture of Zuko standing on his desk. He loved the boy as his own child, and Iroh felt infinitely grateful that Zuko had finally been able to open up to somebody – no, not somebody, to her - about this and that she, in turn, had not rejected him.
But the testy, tightly written letter had held another surprise for him. During their stay, Zuko apparently had displayed such dedication to Pakku's granddaughter that he had surprisingly earned some of Master Pakku's scarcely given approval.
Raising his eyebrows at this, Iroh wondered what Zuko had said or done to get on the rigid waterbender's good side, but he was proud of his nephew, who'd unknowingly put his uncle in the right.
His spirits lifted considerably, Iroh had read on, and then his eyes had widened. Pakku had complied with his grandmaster's request and had brought the travelers before the White Lotus. To be honest, Iroh hadn't been completely sure what would happen. He'd had his suspicions, of course, based on the extensive researching he'd done in the years prior to the fortuneteller's alarming letter, but none of the ancient scrolls had prepared him for the reaction of the White Lotus herself. Pakku's dry letter now confirmed his humble theory. He knew it had to be true. Pakku - especially Pakku - would not make this up.
Iroh's fist had curled triumphantly as he'd reread the last paragraph.
Pakku's letter had spoken of a blinding light which had consumed their respective nephew and granddaughter, after which the Order was presented with two new members, initiated by the White Lotus herself.
"This is absolutely astounding," Iroh had whispered at the picture of his beloved son flanking the smaller picture of Zuko on his desk. Suddenly, he had felt very small, humbled by the knowledge that whatever strategy he had in this, the spirits were carrying out a plan of their own design.
Iroh's sharp eyes now noticed that Toph had begun to stir, and he knew that she unconsciously felt his presence in the doorway. It was only a matter of seconds before she fully woke.
At that moment, though, Aang put his arm around the petite earthbender and pulled her in. Iroh watched in silent surprise as Toph sighed and buried her head in the crook of Aang's neck, tightening her hold on the sinewy airbender. Subconsciously, Aang reacted by softly brushing her forehead with his lips.
Iroh had seen enough. He softly closed the door behind him, knowing that he had been witness to a vulnerable moment that made him as happy as he had been with the letter from Pakku of the Water Tribes.
Perhaps now was a good time to read the letter he had been holding in his hand this entire time, the letter which the messenger hawk waking him up at this early hour had brought him.
A letter sent by his nephew from Senlin Village.
Clocks swallowed with difficulty as he looked down the one trail leading down the high cliffs to the small beach below. It was rocky, it was slippery, and it was steep - very, very steep. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the nausea washing over him.
Why, oh why did these things always have to happen to him? What had he done wrong in his previous life to deserve this kind of trouble? He was exhausted and hungry. He'd already felt that way when he'd tried to steal the Water Princess's bag, which was the entire reason he'd meant to steal it in the first place.
He wiped his sweaty hands on his shirt and felt the slight bulge of the ring resting underneath it. The Fire Lord's ring. Against all of his expectations, the young man had put all of his trust in him, a mere thief, to warn the Fire Navy Eastern Fleet. Clocks was determined to not let down the Fire Lord.
He took a deep breath and slowly started to inch down the steep trail, purposely averting his gaze from the depths below. Despite its slight weight, this ring was the heaviest burden he had ever carried.
The bright stars had already started to pale in the greying sky, indicating that it would be morning soon, when Clocks finally stumbled onto the beach. With a sigh of relief, he looked up at the high cliffs he had just survived, but averted his eyes when dizziness threatened to take over again. A bit wobbly, he stood up and swept the sand off his ragged clothes, then turned around.
Protected by the rocky cliffs surrounding the small bay, rested a silent, forbidding force of black steel warships with menacing bows and grim conning towers from which red lights glowed.
The bay must be very deep for the ships to be moored this close to the shore.
The thief's heart started to race as his gaze trailed from the intimidating conning towers to the blood red and black flags waving proudly in the chilly morning breeze. The fierce insignia of a sea-eagle within a royal flame ordained the triangular flags. He'd found the Fire Navy Eastern Fleet's Earth Kingdom base.
Not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that he would be glad to stumble upon a fleet of Fire Nation warships. But now he certainly was when he started to realize that he had made it - that he had managed to shake off the pursuers he knew the pirates had sent after him, and that he was now staring at His Majesty's Eastern Fleet. This probably wasn't even all of it - more ships had to be at sea, patrolling. He had difficulty grasping that this overwhelmingly-intimidating force belonged to a boy who'd only just turned twenty this summer.
Clocks blinked a few times to make sure that the base was actually there and not a hallucination caused by exhaustion, and then started to cross the beach. The thief's feet sank deep into the heavy yellow sand as he fixed his gaze on a particularly grim ship, the biggest of them all, carrying a flag in red and gold. This was where he wanted to go.
The flagship.
"Halt!"
Clocks jumped a little when the loud voice boomed over the beach, breaking the early morning silence. Somewhere in the distance, an albatross called indignantly.
The bellowed warning was followed by a boost of fire that seared through the chilly air, only barely missing the poor thief. He spun around to see two soldiers stepping out of the shadows of a cavern in the precipice. They wore close-fitting black uniforms hemmed with fiery red stripes and black, wing-shaped helmets with red eye covers.
Guards.
"You have no business here," the tallest of the two Fire Nation soldiers said grimly. "Leave!"
"And what business does the Fire Navy have in the Earth Kingdom? Last time I checked, this is Earth Kingdom territory," Clocks bit back before he could contain himself. His stomach dropped when the tallest soldier angrily slid into combat stance, and he squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the blow.
But the shorter soldier held back his companion. "Wait, he hasn't done anything yet." He turned slightly toward Clocks, who only saw the light-brown eyes glisten through the grim eyeholes.
"Why are you here? Let me remind you, this is Fire Nation military territory. You've just trespassed into the Earth Kingdom base of the Fire Navy Eastern Fleet, and trespassers will be severely punished, man from Senlin Harbor."
Clocks flinched, as the Fire Nation soldier's sharp gaze had made him come to the right conclusion.
He fidgeted with his hands, then said, "I wish to speak with Admiral Jee. It's urgent."
As Clocks had expected, the tall soldier scoffed at the thief's insolence, but the smaller one ignored him.
"What do you want with Admiral Jee?" he asked, his voice wary.
Clocks now turned towards the shorter soldier completely, hoping for his understanding, but he knew that what he was going to say now would not help his case. His courage sank into his boots as he took in a shaky breath.
"I come with word from the Fire Lord. His message is meant for Admiral Jee solely."
The tall soldier didn't even try to stifle his sneering laughter now as he stepped forward, grabbed Clocks by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
"Are you trying to fool us? You're insulting His Majesty before his soldiers, Earth Kingdom scum!"
With a frightened look in his eyes, Clocks looked up at the intimidating firebender, his feet dangling helplessly in the air as he tried to breathe. "I can prove it!" he wheezed, his head turning red as the man's large fist curled into his already ragged collar. "And I'm Fire Nation, too!"
"Put him down!" The shorter firebender suddenly cut in and pulled Clocks from the other soldier's grasp. "You're choking him!"
Clocks unceremoniously fell down at the guard's feet and coughed violently as he tried to sit up. He cursed his luck that he had to encounter these guards before he could get to Admiral Jee, but then realized his own stupidity. Of course, he should have taken into account that he would run into guards first. One does not simply get to speak with the commander of the Eastern Fleet, especially when that someone was from Senlin Harbor.
He flinched when a hand grabbed him tightly by the shoulder, and the shorter soldier looked at him with piercing eyes. "Your story doesn't sound very convincing. Why would the Fire Lord use a Senlin Harbor thug such as yourself to get a message from Capital City to our admiral?"
"Because the Fire Lord isn't in Capital City!" Clocks cried, his eyes now flitting from one soldier to another in sheer panic. "He's in Senlin Harbor with the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, and they are in danger!"
He inwardly cursed when he saw their baffled expressions. To these soldiers, the Fire Lord was an abstract entity residing in Royal Caldera City, a far away force as imposing and unyielding as a thunderstorm. Clocks wondered if Zuko had foreseen this when he'd specifically told him to ask for Admiral Jee.
"Not in Capital City?" the tallest of the soldiers repeated disbelievingly, and both soldiers turned to look at each other as Clocks tried to swallow the bile rising in his throat.
For a moment they hesitated, then the smaller one cast a glance at the trembling thief and mumbled, "There are rumors confirming this man's story. Yesterday, I overheard Admiral Jee saying something to the captain about the Fire Lord coming to Senlin Harbor... He didn't sound too pleased with it."
They both averted their gazes towards Clocks and a frightened expression passed over his hard worn features.
"You said you have proof the Fire Lord has sent you?" the shortest asked curtly.
Clocks simply nodded as he straightened his ragged clothing in order to verify inconspicuously that the ring was still there.
"I have proof, but I will show it to Admiral Jee only," he said with difficulty. He was weakened by hunger and exhaustion, and suddenly he felt that he was on the edge of losing consciousness. He looked up at the shorter soldier, his gaze pleading. He had run out of cunning plans just as he had outrun the pirates, and he simply hoped for the guards to make the right decision.
The shorter soldier studied him, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Then he suddenly grabbed the thief by the shoulder and yanked him up, supporting him in the process. "Alright, I'll take you to the admiral, but you better not be a Senlin Harbor assassin."
And without listening to the other soldier's protests, he pulled Clocks with him.
When Clocks awoke, sunlight was shining down on his face. He blinked and tried to turn away, but his sore body protested. A miserable groan escaped him and he opened his eyes. He appeared to be resting on a hard mattress on the floor of some kind of a steel-clad prison cell. The sunlight shining down on him came through a small porthole that was placed high above his head.
Carefully, he sat up and let his eyes wander across the strange surroundings as he automatically estimated the time of the day by the incoming sunlight. It should be noon by now.
Then he remembered. The message for Admiral Jee.
With a gasp, he shot up straight, and, ignoring his protesting muscles, he lunged for the door in panic. The soldiers had not wanted to wake the admiral at such an early hour and had suggested he get some sleep before making his appearance before the commander of the fleet. Reluctantly, he'd agreed, knowing he couldn't accomplish much against the armed soldiers. But exhausted as he was, he had fallen asleep on this wretched mattress and he now figured that the soldiers had forgotten about him.
Clocks tried to open the door, and his breath caught when he noticed that it was locked from the outside.
No, this cannot be happening!
He started to pound on the heavy steel door as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Let me out! Is someone there? Let me out! I have to speak with Admiral Jee, immediately! Please, let me out, it's urgent! I have..."
Suddenly, the door was yanked open and the helmed face of a soldier he hadn't seen before appeared in his view.
"Calm down! I will send word to the admiral that you've finally woken up," a light voice said, slightly displeased. A woman.
He was pushed back into his cell, and he heard the soldier talk to another soldier in hushed words, then the sound of footsteps running away on metal floors. The noise echoed through the steel-clad corridor long after the soldier had disappeared around a corner.
Clocks sighed wearily and rested the back of his head against the steel wall as he slumped down on his mattress again. Of course they wouldn't bring him before the admiral - the admiral would come see him in his cell. He didn't care, as long as the message was passed along.
His thoughts went over what the soldier had said when suddenly, his heart stood still. The soldier had mentioned that he had finally woken up. His blood ran cold and he rushed for the door again.
Harshly, he pounded on the unyielding metal to try and get the soldier's attention.
A moment later a bolt was shoved aside angrily and a pair of amber eyes suddenly appeared before the small window in the door. "What do you want, now? The admiral is on his way, don't..."
"You said I had finally woken up," Clocks rushed, afraid that she would disappear again. "What did you mean? How long was I out?"
The eyes narrowed as if the soldier contemplated how much she would tell him. "You've slept through the day," she said finally, and then added in a more friendly tone of voice, "You must have been exhausted. You were barely conscious when the night watch brought you in."
But her last words were wasted on him as Clocks had already stumbled backwards in alarm. A day! He had been out for a whole day.
What had the Fire Lord told him before urging him to leave the city? 'Tell him to steam up for Senlin Harbor and have the Eastern Fleet seal the port by the second day of our capture.'
And he had slept through half of the time!
He closed his eyes in utter misery as he grabbed for the ring underneath his shirt, only to notice that all he was clenching in his fist was the rough cloth of his worn shirt. His eyes widened and he frantically reached for the jewel, but was met with nothing. The lotus clasps were gone, too. The soldiers must have taken them from him when he was asleep.
He let out a cry of dismay and sank to his knees.
Tears started to stream down Clocks's grimy cheeks as realization sank in that he had failed his mission. He, a mere thief, had not been worthy of the Fire Lord's trust, after all. The guards had been right. Why had Zuko not searched for another way to get in touch with his fleet commander? Now, he and the Water Princess were trapped in a pirates' den they could never escape from.
At that moment, the heavy metal door opened and two soldiers grimly stepped into the prison cell, positioning themselves on both sides of the door. An older man with grey hair and the typical Fire Nation sideburns, accompanied by a lower ranking officer, followed the soldiers. He wore a uniform similar to the other soldiers, but for the black cloak that indicated his high rank. His amber almond-shaped eyes, set in a stern face, warily eyed the panicked thief before him.
"I believe you asked to speak with me," the man said calmly.
Clocks jerked up his head and gasped. "Admiral Jee! Thank Agni! I...I lost the ring. The Fire Lord's ring. And the lotus clasps. Those, too. I promised the Fire Lord..."
For a moment, the admiral studied him silently, then his hand rose in a silencing gesture. "Calm down, man of Senlin Harbor. The ring and the lotus clasps are in my custody. The question is..." He bent over slightly, his eyes narrowing as he held out the gold signet ring to the thief, "...what someone from Senlin Harbor is doing with those highly precious jewels in his possession?"
When he saw the stylized dragons and flames on the glistening jewel resting in the admiral's palm, Clocks let out an involuntary sigh of relief. The ring was safe.
He didn't notice when Admiral Jee twitched his eyebrow in surprise. He had expected another reaction from the thief, but instead the grubby man was desperately wringing his hands.
"The Fire Lord entrusted me with these jewels so that the commander of the Fire Navy Eastern Fleet would know the Fire Lord had sent me. Please, there's little time left. The Fire Lord requests the presence of his fleet in Senlin Harbor, two days from the night he let himself get caught by the pirates."
"Wait," the admiral interrupted him, an expression of disbelief passing over his stern features. "The Fire Lord purposely let the pirates capture him?"
Clocks nodded helplessly. "And the Water Princess, too. Although the Fire Lord didn't agree with that at first, he wanted-"
But the admiral cut him off. He had no time for the thief's rambling. "So, the rumors are true then," he established coldly. "His Majesty is on a journey through the Earth Kingdom with the Water Princess."
Suddenly, he took step closer to Clocks who backed away slightly. "According to those rumors, the Dragon of the West has requested them to undertake a quest to save the Order of the White Lotus ..." the thief looked away guiltily under the admiral's piercing and somewhat accusatory gaze, "...but why would the Fire Lord put his life and that of the Water Princess in danger by coming to Senlin Harbor and let himself get caught?"
Implacably, the admiral watched the thief and Clocks bowed his head. "The Fire Lord and the Water Princess came to see me," he confessed softly. "They needed information. Which I naturally gave them. But then the Fire Lord decided to stay behind in Senlin Harbor." His defeated tone of voice betrayed that he still doubted Zuko's decision on that.
"Why?" the admiral demanded as a frightful frown knitted his eyebrows together.
Clocks winced. "The Fire Lord said that he wanted to gather information on Senlin Harbor from the inside. He...he said he had a duty to the Fire Nation, too."
The thief's anxious voice trailed away. He half expected that the admiral would berate him for not leading the Fire Lord to safety when he had the chance, but to his surprise he refrained from doing so.
Instead, Admiral Jee remained quiet, and mixed emotions flickered in his eyes before his features became impassive again.
"The Fire Lord is an honorable man whose loyalty towards his nation I hold in very high esteem," he then finally said and turned around abruptly. "Call together all captains and see that this man gets washed and fed. We're steaming up for Senlin Harbor, immediately."
"Wake up!"
Groggily, Katara opened one eye and started when Zuko suddenly shot up next to her. She barely kept herself from tumbling to the ground.
"What do you know. Here I am to come and get some prisoners for interrogation, and I catch the Fire Lord and the Water Princess sleeping in each other's arms. How sweet and symbolic. So, you two have made up with each other, after all."
That voice... It was female, low and a little husky. Katara would recognize that voice anywhere, and suddenly it dawned on her that she'd heard it before, purposely masked to avoid recognition.
'The wrists, check the Fire Lord's wrists...'
Katara jerked up her head and she was met with a familiar face. "Jun!"
The bounty hunter looked down on them with an amused expression in her hooded eyes, then turned around. "I've been asked to bring you before the leader of Senlin Harbor, so if you two would be so kind to come with me..."
"No, wait," Katara said stiffly, her voice low as she scrambled up. "Why are you here, Jun?" Disapproval dripped from her tone, and an amused smile ghosted over Jun's lips.
"They pay good money, Sweetness. But that's nothing of interest. The really interesting question here is why are you here? Does the Avatar know his girlfriend is traveling with his biggest rival?"
"Watch it, Jun," Zuko cut in on a warning tone as Katara flinched, but Jun only chuckled, her gaze trailing towards his wrist where now a vicious red scab marred the light skin. She cast Zuko a slightly mocking smile.
"A little spree, Lord Hothead. You don't mind, do you? Now, if you'd please follow me, I would be very much obliged... I have more things to do than accompanying royalty on the loose."
Upon returning to the captain's cabin, they found the room twice as crowded as the night before, and countless suspicious, unfriendly, and barely concealed hostile gazes followed Zuko and Katara as they approached the raised platform. The captain's seat was now empty.
Katara slowly let her eyes wander through the familiar room, from the carved beams in the low ceiling to the small portholes behind the mumbling pirates. She didn't have to close her eyes to sense the water behind it, and she readied herself to summon it when necessary.
As Jun took her place to the side and watched them with an amused expression, the sound of a door softly opening and closing behind the raised platform caught their attention.
Then a silky baritone voice spoke from behind the line of pirates.
"Well, well. Who would have thought we would meet again...Your Majesty?"
A tall man dressed in long green robes and with a calculating gaze in his green eyes stepped into view with measured grace. An indulgent half smile appeared on his handsome features as he stood still, hands clasped on his back.
Zuko couldn't help the shock that went through him. "The Dai Li group leader!"
The smile on the earthbender's face became smug. "So, you do recognize me. Welcome to Senlin Harbor, brother of Princess Azula."
As soon as Iroh had finished his morning tea, he took Zuko's letter and broke the seal. Though he been excited to receive a message from his nephew before, a feeling of dread suddenly knotted his stomach as he opened the scroll.
His eyes flew across the closely written parchment and, with each sentence he read, more color drained from his features. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all. His old eyes then came to rest on Zuko's signature. His nephew had spelled his name in a way it had been spelled before but only for a short while - during their time spent in exile - and never by himself.
Iroh's knuckles turned white when he understood the silent message behind its meaning.
Zŭ Kòu.
Ancestor's robber. Traitor.
It was a warning. He had to act right now.